Chapter 77: A Game of Nerves

At those truly deranged words, I hurriedly waved my hands.

“Poison? Your Majesty, would your loyal subject truly do such a thing?”

However, the Emperor’s twisted mindset was never something to take lightly.

“Assassination by poison usually comes from those closest to you.”

I wanted to ask since when we’d ever been that close.

But if I said that, he’d probably throw another line back at me.

Asking whether that was all our relationship amounted to.

What a ridiculous checkmate.

Then again, wasn’t it only natural?

Without that kind of insane verbal skill, he could never have won political battles against the nobles.

But why use it on me?

I need to get out of this damn situation as fast as possible.

I spun my brain wildly, searching for a way out.

Yet the more anxious I became, the less any solution came to mind.

Then, at that very moment—

“There is no issue whatsoever, Your Majesty.”

Those words came from Baron Adit, who had inspected the teacups and tea leaves.

To me, it sounded like a voice of salvation.

If that man had verified them, then wasn’t it all over?

Of course, that didn’t mean the Emperor’s pressure disappeared.

If it were him, he could twist things in the most bizarre ways and still send me straight to my grave.

“So it seems. Sit.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Fortunately, Emperor Karon didn’t press the matter any further.

His expression returned to its usual indifferent calm, as if nothing had happened.

Wow. Someone just took a round trip through heaven and hell.

My insides were boiling, but this wasn’t the time to be swayed by personal feelings.

Why had I come to this terrifying place in the first place?

To overhaul the court’s absurd rules.

Should I see if my ability works on him, even just a little?

After resolving countless incidents, my system functions had been greatly improved.

Now, I could call up a character information window even without knowing a person’s name.

If so, didn’t I qualify to peer into the Emperor’s profile as well?

[Information on transcendent individuals cannot be accessed.]

[To see through the target, you must possess the appropriate standing.]

Damn it.

I’d had a sliver of hope, but as expected, it still wouldn’t open.

That left no choice but to use the second-best option.

Using Shugle’s ability to read the Emperor’s true intentions.

Do your job.

I slowly rubbed my chest.

He was hiding in my shirt’s front pocket.

At my signal, I felt a wriggling movement.

— Don’t worry. What do you take me for?

I almost said ‘a stupid half-demon,’ but now wasn’t the time for that.

Soon, I began reciting the lines I’d prepared.

“Your Majesty, though it is presumptuous of me, I have a matter I wish to petition.”

“This is interesting. To think I’d have this kind of conversation with you. Go on.”

“Please allow changes to the court’s trial regulations. As things stand, it is difficult to deliver proper verdicts.”

The Emperor remained silent for a long while.

I needed some kind of reaction to adjust my approach, but this silence was suffocating.

Still, I had a trump card.

Tap, tap.

I lightly tapped my chest, and Shugle squirmed.

However, the answer I wanted didn’t come.

Why aren’t you saying anything?

I’d pushed this plan forward relying entirely on him, so this sudden silence threw me into panic.

Perhaps because of that, I ended up scratching my chest repeatedly.

It was my way of telling him to give me something.

Watching this, the Emperor bluntly tossed out a remark.

“Your actions hardly match the gravity of your words. Are you itching?”

“Ah, yes. Just for a moment.”

“You say it’s difficult to deliver proper verdicts. Why is that?”

“That is…”

I explained the court’s circumstances in as much detail as possible.

Yet the Emperor listened with half an ear, idly fiddling with the teacup I’d given him.

Judging by his expression, the gift didn’t seem to please him.

Should I have brought dried cordyceps pills instead?

The Emperor was still young, but there might be issues with his ‘functionality.’

Just like Vargas, the Sorcerer of Nermeia.

Considering he had no children so far, maybe that was the case?

No, this isn’t the time for that kind of thought.

If I spaced out, another ‘poison’ remark might come flying at me.

I straightened my focus and waited for the Emperor’s response.

Soon, a soft chuckle escaped him.

“The court’s trial regulations fall under the discretion of the chief judge. Why not change them as you see fit?”

No, of course I knew that.

But you were the one who made them in the first place—what if you accused me of disrespect and had me executed?

Naturally, I needed permission first.

“However, this would shake the very foundations of the law code. How could I act so rashly without Your Majesty’s approval?”

I launched into a fervent speech, like a Joseon-era minister beseeching his king.

As though I were a truly loyal subject.

At that, the Emperor’s lips curled upward even more.

“Interesting. Proceed.”

At last, a clear answer.

It seemed he quite enjoyed the performance.

I inwardly cheered and bowed deeply.

“Thank you. The judges will greatly praise Your Majesty’s will.”

“Enough. I’ve no interest in hearing such empty flattery.”

Though his reply was curt, it was easy to tell.

His mood was quite good.

If so, could I push things one step further?

Technically, this was something I could do on my own, but just in case.

“Your Majesty, I also wish to change the court robes…”

“What now?”

“The current robes lack dignity.”

“I designed those myself, you know.”

THUD!

It felt like a massive boulder dropped inside my head.

That answer was completely unexpected.

Josef Padiya had said they were a baseless tradition, didn’t he?

That they’d only been worn for fifty years.

That rotten bastard was just showing off half-baked knowledge?

Changing two things the Emperor himself had made was no small matter.

It wasn’t overtly rude, but it could be seized upon.

Something like this, for example.

‘Do you want to change everything that badly? Then why don’t you become Emperor?’

‘Why stop there? Why not try to replace the Emperor himself?’

Just imagining it made my head spin.

I looked up with a pale face and met a rotten smile.

Then the Emperor spoke calmly.

“I’m joking. They were made fifty years ago, before I was even born.”

“I was flustered, thinking I’d committed a grave discourtesy.”

“Enough. Do as you wish with that as well. But how do you intend to change them?”

“I will show you at once.”

I immediately asked Baron Adit for paper and a pen.

Perhaps because my drawing skills had improved, even a rough sketch came out fairly presentable.

When the form was complete, the Emperor nodded.

“Not bad. Start by making one for me.”

“Yes. Yes?”

I answered reflexively, then jolted in surprise.

Why would the Emperor need court robes?

Does he plan to preside over trials personally?

He’d shown leniency last time, but there was no guarantee he would continue to do so.

Too many heads had rolled under this man to expect that.

In any case, I had no right to refuse.

“I will make it neat, yet more splendid than this.”

“Good. You may go now.”

“Y-Yes.”

After paying my respects, I hurriedly left.

Only after completely exiting the imperial palace did I finally let out a breath of relief.

My heart’s about to give out, but it worked, at least.

Honestly, I never imagined it would go this smoothly.

I’d piled most of the credit onto the Emperor, building a lot of goodwill.

Still, the opponent was the very incarnation of political scheming.

A man who’d crushed his enemies with a deranged mind and transcendent rhetoric.

“If I could’ve properly read his intentions from the start, I wouldn’t have needed to gamble like this.”

With an irritated expression, I thumped my chest.

What was that earlier?

Didn’t you say not to worry?

“Hey. What was that about?”

— It’s complicated…

“What’s complicated?”

— There’s a demon in the imperial palace.

“That’s you, isn’t it? Or are you talking about the Emperor?”

— Neither. Another demon interfered with my ability.

“Huh?”

— And it was definitely stronger than me.

“…”

It felt like the Emperor’s personal half-demon.

That would explain how it interfered with Shugle.

“Wait. If that’s true, then…”

Didn’t that mean my attempt had been exposed?

That half-demon must’ve reported everything to the Emperor.

“We’re screwed.”

Fortunately, nothing happened afterward.

I proceeded to change the court’s trial regulations as carefully as possible.

I couldn’t copy Delriat’s system wholesale, so I made slight adjustments to suit the Empire’s circumstances.

Of course, that didn’t drastically reduce the judges’ workload.

It just gave them time to make wiser judgments.

They no longer stumbled through trials only to reach bizarre conclusions.

Either way, things had definitely become smoother.

Case assignments were also adjusted dynamically, taking various factors into account.

That was how I ended up handling the most difficult cases.

“Let’s see what we have here.”

There were ten bundles of documents on my desk.

The one on top was probably the hardest case.

With a grave expression, I turned the first page.

Swish.

Right from the start, an outrageous word jumped out.

“Pa— parricide?”

I never imagined I’d be handling a case like this.

The details were surprisingly simple.

The location was Count Antonio’s territory in the north.

The son had assaulted his father for mismanaging the domain.

Naturally, the defendant was the son.

It was a domain of considerable size by northern standards, and there was another factor complicating matters.

The retainers had split into two factions and were locked in fierce conflict.

Just like the Kurosu Brick Factory case in Delriat.

With employee testimonies contradicting each other, they’d become meaningless.

It was probably the same here.

Each side would only say what benefited them.

No wonder it’s hard to judge. No matter who I side with, I’ll get cursed out.

But I had the character information window.

If needed, I could even use Shugle to peer into their inner selves.

I immediately prepared to open the trial.

“We will now begin the trial of the Antonio Count House parricide case. All rise for the presiding judge.”

It was Josef Padiya’s shout, one I hadn’t heard in a while.

Did he really have to use the word ‘parricide’?

That made it sound like the son was clearly in the wrong.

Judges were supposed to remain neutral.

Under the revised trial rules, procedures like evidence examination could be completed in advance.

However, with so many cases piled up, I decided to proceed as usual this time.

It wasn’t much of a constraint for me, anyway.

Still, the results of calling up the victim’s and defendant’s information windows were disappointing.

Ah, this again. I can’t distinguish them.

It was a case where good and evil couldn’t be determined, only differing perspectives.

As I sat there frowning, Shugle’s voice suddenly rang out.

— Hey, this time it works.

“Oh? Really? Did you find something?”

— Yeah. They both like the same woman.

“…”

Wait a second.

This wasn’t a parricide case.

It was an adultery case, wasn’t it?