Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Bennetsa Merchant 10
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Anton suddenly found himself accused of an unthinkable crime: attempted suicide.
At the same time, the courtroom atmosphere—which had focused solely on punishing Shylock no matter what—began filling with looks of contempt directed at Anton for trying to commit such a horrific sin.
'I can't stand that Shylock guy, but suicide? That's something no faithful believer could even imagine.'
'Throwing away the precious life God gave you over money? That's crossing the line, no matter what...'
'In the end, he clung desperately to that one phrase, and look where it got him. Pathetic fools—if you're going to scheme, at least do it properly.'
There was still no one openly claiming Shylock's innocence.
However... not a single person who had sympathized with Anton remained either.
For all intents and purposes, Anton had confessed his guilt outright in court.
No one felt comfortable siding with someone like that anymore. Worse, they risked getting swept up in the mood and suffering backlash themselves.
The spectators stared at Anton with cold eyes, and he—and Potion—were starting to realize it.
Just moments ago, they had boldly demanded Shylock's punishment. Now, they trembled in fear at the courtroom's complete reversal.
If things continued like this, Anton really could be branded an attempted suicide and thrown into a boiling cauldron.
Seized by extreme terror, he tried to rush forward desperately.
"W-Wait, Anton!"
"L-Let go! I... I can't die like this!"
"N-No! If you do something like that, our plan..."
"Forget the plan! I don't need any of it now! Die over a few coins? No way in hell!"
Shaking off Potion's restraining hand, Anton bolted to the center of the courtroom.
He then dropped to his knees before the judge and Kazeros standing beside him, pleading in a desperate voice.
"I... I'll confess! I... I knew about that phrase all along! That 'offering one's heart' is just an idiomatic expression used among Judains!"
Anton flipped his story like a pancake, admitting what he'd desperately denied just moments before.
To avoid being labeled with the "attempted suicide" crime that would land him in a boiling cauldron at all costs, he half-panicked and spat out the truth.
And...
Watching this, Kazeros spoke in a chilling voice laced with blade-like coldness.
"So that means... everything you've said in this courtroom so far was a lie?"
"Y-Yes! It... it was... because... my business went under, and I couldn't pay Shylock back, so I..."
"...Even now, in this situation, you try to lie again? Regrettably, the collateral you offered in the deal should more than cover the debt, shouldn't it? Or are you saying you forged official documents too...?"
"! N-No... Th-That's not... it's not like that..."
Anton tried desperately to minimize his guilt even now, but his hastily concocted excuses didn't fool Kazeros one bit.
"Your Honor, it seems Anton here lacks any credibility for further testimony in this court. As such, it would be proper to proceed with punishment for attempted suicide per standard procedure."
"Hmm..."
His statement reversed, and now even that reversal under suspicion.
The judge began pondering gravely, while Anton's face grew ever paler.
At this rate, he really could end up tossed into a boiling cauldron.
But with his credibility in doubt, he couldn't even make excuses anymore.
'N-No... I can't... I can't die alone like this... If that's the case...'
Half out of his mind in abject terror, Anton ignored Potion's gaze from behind and began spilling everything.
"I-I'm sorry! Th-The truth is, this whole thing was to frame Shylock! Th-That woman paid me a fortune to set this up... I... I just followed orders!"
Pointing at Potion the prosecutor standing behind him.
In the shock of his life hanging by a thread, he clung to survival by biting the hand of his backer.
"?What nonsense is that? What is Prosecutor Potion babbling about now?"
The judge spoke in stunned surprise at the unexpected claim. Potion's face filled with bewilderment as she replied in a trembling voice.
"N-No! H-How could I ever... Anton is just delirious from fear and confusion right now! I have nothing to do with this..."
Potion tried to cover for Anton somewhat as she spoke.
But to the panicked Anton, her actions looked like she was cutting him loose.
Betraying him to save herself.
As a result, to survive—or at least not go down alone—Anton pulled out the item he'd always carried for emergencies.
"Don't lie! L-Look, I even brought proof! You paid me big money and made a deal with me! You said if I helped bring Shylock down, you'd let me take over Bennetsa trade routes!"
"!? W-What...!?"
With those words, Anton pulled a single document from his bosom.
Potion's face twisted in shock and deep betrayal at this utterly unforeseen revelation.
"You... you bastard... D-Did you plan this from the start...?"
"Y-You thought I'd go down easy? I carried it just in case, but if you're ditching me like this, no choice! I won't die alone! If I go, you go too!"
Handing it to the judge, Anton's words made the man's face harden in astonishment.
Though usually apathetic and lax in his duties...
This contract before his eyes contained content that even someone as indolent as him couldn't ignore.
As a proud citizen of the Bennetsa Republic, he couldn't help but be appalled and enraged.
It was a contract requesting cooperation to let the Holy Empire seize Bennetsa trade routes—and the rewards for doing so.
Clearly stamped with Anton's seal.
And the seal of Potion, the prosecutor and bishop from the Holy Empire, right before him.
"...This is far beyond what can be decided here."
"I agree, Your Honor."
Until moments ago, this trial had been about disputes between Bennetsa citizens.
But this document raised an entirely different issue.
Clear evidence of a foreign power attempting to invade Bennetsa trade routes.
Potentially sparking an international dispute, the judge realized it must be handled by the Republic's council, not this court.
And before that.
Faced with this massive scandal tantamount to foreign aggression, the judge deemed continuing the trial pointless and ended it.
"The defendant Shylock is recognized as having been falsely accused due to a Holy Empire plot to seize Bennetsa Republic interests. I hereby declare him not guilty."
The gavel slammed down.
No protests rose in the courtroom. Nor cheers or sighs of relief.
Just the usual indifference, tinged with a hint of bitterness.
To these churchgoers, a Jew like Shylock being acquitted meant little more than that.
At this moment, all attention focused solely on Anton and Potion, entangled with Holy Empire-Bennetsa affairs.
In this atmosphere, spectators filed out, while Anton and Potion—bound and hurling curses at each other—were dragged to prison.
Leaving behind the apathetic crowd and the two conspirators who spectacularly self-destructed...
Shylock gazed at his stewards showing thick relief and joy before him.
Then, he deeply bowed to the two who had saved him from this crisis: Kazeros and Santana.