Early in the 11th month, 1546th year, Continental Calendar - Midnight
It happened in the domain of a certain noble within the Elfrieden Kingdom.
In the manor of the important noble who was lord of that domain, twelve
shadowy figures were holding a secret meeting in the darkness.
"What do the rest of you make of this summons?" one of them asked.
"Of all the nobles in the land, our fourteen families have been summoned. Most
likely... the kingdom has caught on to us."
"There have been reports of the black-robed one's dogs sniffing around us, as
well."
"Then, the intent of this summons is..."
"...to make an example of the others, no doubt."
"To make an example? It isn't a trap?" one suggested in a hysterical voice.
Another laughed dryly. "Heh heh heh. Unlike the nobles who have engaged in
corruption, we haven't been caught doing anything. With no crime to condemn us
for, that king and the black-robed one cannot bring us to justice."
"I see... That is why he is making an example of the others."
"Indeed," one of them agreed. "To keep us in line by making us think, 'Tomorrow,
that could be me.'"
"Two of the three dukes have fallen, and those nobles who didn't participate in
the recent war have lost their influence. If he can just keep us quiet, there will be
nothing left to stop that king."
"Hmph... All as the king planned," one of them said. "Or was it the black-robed
one?"
"It doesn't matter which of them it was. But, if we look at it from another
perspective, we can say that this was the best the king could do against us."
"Heh heh heh, you are quite right," another chuckled. He added, with a sneer,
"That is why, for now, we must lay low. We must act in a way that will not anger that
king, that will not give him reason to punish us. No, if anything, we must cooperate
with what the king does."
"It galls me to do it," another one said irately.
"It's no matter... I doubt it will take long," the sneerer replied. "Once all obstacles
have been removed, I am sure that king will rush forward with revolutionary
policies at an even faster rate than he has been. Reform taken too quickly will breed
resistance. We need only support those people from the shadows. The more of them
he executes, the more that king will be seen as a tyrant, and that will only breed
more resistance."
The other men nodded, impressed by the man's words.
"I see. He cannot keep at it for long, then."
"Indeed. When the time comes, we will push the king from power and place
someone more malleable on the throne."
"When that is accomplished, we can take things back to how they were under
King Albert's reign."
"The momentum is with that king for now. We mustn't be caught in it. In order to
wait it out, we must do as the king demands for now. But, in due time..."
The men laughed darkly.
Then one of the men raised a question. "What do we do about the houses of
Jabana and Saracen? Haven't the heads changed?"
"Leave them be. If they displease the king and can no longer maintain their
houses, that is their concern, not something for us to get involved in."
"Of course. Now, gentlemen, I ask you to all follow the plan we just agreed on."
"Yes. To take back our era."
"""To take back our era."""
However, they had not realized that there was a watcher in the darkness.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was a sunny afternoon. I was helping Souma with his administrative work
again today.
"Okay, Liscia," Souma said. "Hand these papers to Hakuya for me."
"Got it."
Taking the papers from Souma, I went to leave the office, when...
"Liscia!" Souma called out to me.
Wondering what it could be, I turned around. Souma seemed to be trying to say
something, but it wasn't coming out. He either was trying to tell me something and
couldn't find the words, or kept opening his mouth to say something and then
hesitating.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Ah...! No, um... it's nothing."
"Okay... Well, I'll get going then."
I left Souma and headed out from the governmental affairs office. When I closed
the door, I sighed despite myself.
Souma probably felt obliged to say something to me because of what happened
with Duke Carmine.
Geez... It's not something Souma should feel responsible for...
Even when I'd been told Duke Carmine had committed suicide in the dungeon, I
hadn't lost my composure. That man I had respected like a father and a teacher was
dead, yet I felt strangely calm. That surprised me.
It wasn't that I wasn't sad. Actually, I felt like my heart had been torn apart. But,
still, I was able to act like my usual self. That was surely... because I'd had something
like a premonition that it would turn out like this. That the Duke Carmine I knew
would chose the path of ruin, taking all of the darkness that has infested this country
with him. And that Souma would accept his determination to do so.
Georg Carmine and Souma Kazuya.
Georg Carmine was a great man who I held in high esteem. He was strong and
noble, a warrior who epitomized everything I should aspire to be. I respected him,
and I thought I wanted to be like him.
And, as for Souma... he was the man I had decided, of my own will, to support.
I had lived a life largely detached from love and romance, so I wasn't sure what it
was that I was feeling for Souma. Being a member of the royal house, I'd never held
any great hopes for what my marriage would be like.
But when I'd seen Aisha's beaming smile when she became his second fiancée, or
Juna's smile when he told her, "I swear, I will take you (as my wife)," I had felt just a
little pain in my chest.
...I knew now. This was probably that sort of feeling. I felt strongly enough about
Souma to be having those sorts of emotions.
This was something that two men who were important to me had decided on.
Even if it was sad, if it was painful, I had to accept it or I would be making a mockery
of their resolve. I chose to believe in their decision.
That was why, when I heard about Duke Carmine's death, I didn't take out my
frustrations on Souma.
Duke Carmine wouldn't have wanted to hurt our relationship. That was why, if I
stayed right there at Souma's side, like normal, that would be paying my respects to
Duke Carmine. That was how I felt.
I would continue to believe in Souma. No matter what decision he made, I would
accept it and stand by him.
Today was the day of judgment for Duke Vargas and Carla. As her friend, my
desire to spare Carla remained unchanged, but no matter what decision Souma came
to, I was prepared to accept it. No matter what tragic conclusion it might lead to.
And yet...
Hey, Souma, I thought. Why do you have such a pained look on your face?
A strange atmosphere had fallen over the great hall in Parnam Castle.
This was the place where Castor and Carla's sentence was about to be handed
down.
In response to the pleas of Duchess Walter, who had contributed greatly to the
recent war effort, Souma had taken the right to judge them from the courts, and
would be doing so personally. It was no praiseworthy act for a king to insert himself
in the affairs of the courts, but Duchess Walter had gone so far as to return all other
rewards for her service in order to make the request, so he had been able to force it
through.
Now, Souma could judge the two of them personally.
People were positioned more or less where they would be in the audience hall.
Souma was seated higher than the rest, using a chair that, while not the throne,
was still fairly impressive, with Aisha and me flanking him on either side. Aisha's
position as bodyguard was no longer diagonally behind him, but directly beside him,
a change made to reflect her new status as a candidate to become a queen. That
inevitably meant that she was in the center of everyone's attention, so Aisha seemed
tense.
Looking down at the floor there was the former General of the Air Force, Castor
Vargas, and his daughter, Carla, both kneeling with their hands bound behind their
backs. They both, perhaps because they had resolved themselves to accept their fate
at this point, were sitting up straight.
Between them stood Prime Minister Hakuya and Duchess Walter, facing one
another. Hakuya's role was to call for them to be prosecuted for their crimes, while
Duchess Walter was to defend Castor and Carla. In a normal trail, the prosecutor and
the defense argue over whether a crime has been committed, but on this occasion
the two's crimes were already known.
Because of that, Hakuya's job was to seek punishment for their crimes, while
Excel's job was to defend their actions and seek a more lenient punishment. If her
defense was successful, their punishment would be lightened, and if she failed, they
would face the punishment Hakuya was seeking. Therefore, there could be no
finding of innocence.
Also, to observe this trial, there was a long table facing sideways with fourteen
nobles seated in a single row. Souma had told me he would seek their opinions
during the trial.
I had been told their selection was random, but... was it really? The nobles
seemed to be whispering to one another.
No matter what's in store, I won't be surprised, I thought. This is a trial that was
thought up by Souma, after all.
While there hadn't been many cases of the king taking the right to judge from the
courts, it had happened before on occasion. However, in those cases, normally the
king gave a verdict which could not be contested. This format, where the king held a
trial where he would be the judge, was unheard of. It was a form of trial with no
precedent. I couldn't predict anything that might happen.
"Now then, let us carry out the trial of Castor and Carla," Souma declared in a
quiet voice.