Penal Verdict or Laser Vision? (Part 4)
The Republic of Prius was in an uproar over the scandal involving the scheming and corrupt State Commissioner Garcia Valen, of course. But why was the royal family of the Lheinhatz Kingdom also in such chaos?
The reason was simple. The government of the Prius Republic, now harboring deep resentment toward me, had issued an economic sanction. They were furious that Lawrence Marquis had exposed the republic's internal rottenness to the world. "Lawrence Marquis harbors a reckless side that disregards consequences! Because of him, the kingdom itself has suffered harm this time, and we must clearly distinguish responsibilities in this matter!"
Thanks to that, I was dragged into a council room where the high nobles were mercilessly pummeling me. It was called a "strategy session" on the surface but was really a hearing.
The venue was the nobles' meeting hall. The host was the king. Thirty-one high nobles ranked at least as high as counts, the crown prince and second prince, plus other princes and princesses who never appeared in formal audiences, filled the room. The king and second prince gave me irritated looks. The crown prince kept glancing sideways and barely holding back laughter, clearly enjoying himself. The other princes and princesses, perhaps having lost in the succession struggle, showed little interest in politics. "If we ignore this crisis, Lawrence Marquis will definitely repeat the same mistake! As the elder and senior in the noble society, it is our duty to teach him right from wrong through punishment!"
Ali Tranton Marquis, right? I hadn't even made an enemy of the guy, yet he was clinging to me like a leech. He was the second-in-command mage after Duke Heins, and he belonged to the second prince's faction like me. Was he genuinely trying to make his senior repent, or was he starting to feel pressure inside the faction and wanted to crush me before the tide turned? I didn't know for sure, but when the second prince stayed silent and several nobles in his faction nodded in agreement, I realized he had made up his mind. "Humph."
— Your Majesty! "Eh! You're not listening!"
The king, seated at the top, reacted with clear discomfort at Tranton's powerful argument. He was clearly worried he'd triggered a mad dog and caused it to go berserk. After all, I wasn't just some ordinary noble anymore—I was the hottest noble in the kingdom and the rising power figure. Otis Change Marquis, who had been quietly listening, raised his hand to draw everyone's gaze. "Change Marquis, speak."
The king swiftly passed the baton, and the veteran who had fought beside me on the battlefield in the last war stepped forward to defend me. "The Republic of Prius and our kingdom don't even have much trade volume. In fact, it's less than that of our neighboring kingdom, Jordy. Proposing sanctions from such a country won't cause much damage. We can just ignore it and not let things escalate."
— The Republic of Prius is deeply connected to the Triton continent. They will definitely try to pull us in. You don't know how many weapons and artifacts we've supplied to the Triton continent, do you?
— That's true, but they're outsiders who came to beg Lawrence Marquis for favors while the kingdom is in turmoil—fighting a war with the Brigham Empire externally and dealing with the revolutionary forces' offensive internally. Would the Triton continent really want to make enemies with us just because they trust such a chaotic republic?
Otis Change Marquis's words actually received nods from the crown prince's faction. At this point, it was hard to tell who was really on whose side. "Change Marquis has a short-sighted and optimistic mindset. Looking at the current situation, the republic won't collapse in war. Once the war ends, the revolutionary forces will be cleaned up amid the chaos. The Triton continent countries probably don't know this either. There's a good chance they'll join us."
— Then we can discuss punishment later! Why should our Lheinhatz Kingdom be intimidated by empty threats from similar countries like the republic? If they pull in the Triton continent, we'll just unite with our allies and stand firm. "Similar countries, huh? This world is dominated by feudalism, so all kinds of opinions float around."
This was all because of the corrupted politics of the republic. I felt the words stuck in my throat after accepting them as thanks for siding with me, but Otis Change Marquis's logic still tasted bitter. As Tranton's fierce debate with Otis raged, the nobles' expressions shifted. And then... "Huh?" "Eh?"
An unexpected figure raised his hand. Everyone, including the king, reacted with surprise, and even I was startled. "Lawrence Marquis, speak."
No one else could have raised their hand. It was Arsia. "You weren't usually shy." "Wasn't I? I thought you were mute." "This is the first time I've heard your voice." "Even though you're quiet, you seem eager to protect your fiancé."
Murmurs rippled through the hall. No matter how high their status, high nobles were still ordinary people. "What's with these biased looks..."
I felt the stares were oddly different from the surrounding atmosphere. While many hurled negative looks at me, everyone gazing at Arsia was filled with affection. Since most high nobles were men, maybe that was it? But soon I understood their reactions. "Anyone could pick a woman like her. How well she protects a man like this time bomb."
That was a backlash from my image. I twitched my eyebrows. Once Arsia received speaking rights from the king, I focused on what she would say. "I don't understand well... What exactly did Lawrence Marquis do wrong?"
Her question was so basic that everyone froze. Tranton Marquis, who had been hammering me moments ago, smiled and replied, "Because Lawrence Marquis publicly exposed the republic's rottenness to the world." "But I didn't lie. I simply told the facts as they are." "That's the problem. Because of that, the republic government is in trouble."
— Then isn't it their fault for exposing a fact and causing the problem? It's not my fault as Lawrence Marquis!
— That's...
An innocent question from a child, yet it accurately pointed out the facts and made the veteran politician Tranton hesitate. "Arsia has grown."
I sighed inwardly. Her words unexpectedly drew applause. "That's exactly right." It was the king himself. He nodded, clearly agreeing with Arsia. The faces of those trying to punish me, centered around Tranton, showed confusion. "Y-Your Majesty! Even if the deal was disgraceful, publicly exposing it to put the other party in trouble is a violation of ethics."
— That's your story when you accepted the disgraceful deal. ...
— What if Tranton Marquis lost money, and I told you the thief who stole your money? Should I be held responsible for making the thief's life miserable?
— Your Majesty, that's an overly dramatic analogy.
It was exaggerated but not entirely wrong. This time the republic government was the thief, I was the whistleblower, and the citizens were the victims. Arsia, who shared my way of thinking, tilted her head and said she didn't understand the wrongness. Tranton shook his head in distress. But then... "Haha! Lawrence Marquis, your words are right, and Change Marquis, yours are right too!"
It was the second prince, who had been quietly watching the family fight within his faction until now, bursting in with his signature hearty laughter. "Lawrence Marquis's article made the republic government uncomfortable, but that's just the people who committed the crime suffering. If it's just personal complaint, national sanction is excessive retaliation. And as Change Marquis said, we're not weak enough to worry about sanctions on the republic's ragtag group."
Did you know this and stay silent?
I sighed inwardly. Perhaps the second prince resented me for stepping forward as the leader? The crown prince stole his line. "Therefore... There seems no need to punish Lawrence Marquis. If the republic looks down on our kingdom and imposes sanctions, we should confront them head-on and cooperate with our allies. First, we should issue a statement condemning the republic's choice."
The second prince glared at the crown prince, teeth gritted, but the king, regardless of the outcome, looked relieved that opinions had unified. This reaction was all thanks to Arsia's words. "I feel glad she's grown enough to speak out like this on her own initiative."
— But let me ask one thing. "Huh?"
Once again, an unexpected figure claimed speaking rights in the meeting whose momentum was already shifting. Everyone's gazes turned to the king's left, and we saw Princess Diana. She was the king's fourth child and the eldest daughter, holding the third place in the succession order. Of course the gap between third and second was huge, so she was no rival, but she had once been called the kingdom's treasure. She looked straight at me and asked, "What makes you so calm even while discussing punishment?"
The stares, full of resentment, poured toward me at the unexpected question. I scratched the back of my head, looking troubled, then shrugged. "I have materials for the 'what if' scenario." "Materials?"
Instead of explaining, it was better to show. I projected a video. It showed the dining scene with Princess Sia Lin from the day before yesterday. [I'll refuse this proposal.] [Boom!] [What is that!? You need to properly convince me.] [You're mistaken. This is the Defteron continent.] [What do you mean?] [Why would I think the Brigham Empire would lose by helping them? I support the Brigham Empire, which is on the same continent, in this war. I have no reason to fix problems inside the republic that would favor the Brigham Empire in war.] [Isn't that just between different countries? Lawrence Marquis, shouldn't you think about what benefits you'll get?] [Looking bad to the Brigham Empire in the long term would be even greater damage. And shouldn't domestic problems be resolved by the government itself? If the citizens are listening to suspicious groups, there must be a reason. I think it's simple to fix by dealing with it myself.]
As soon as the shape of Garcia Valen, the State Commissioner, appearing in the conversation came out, the meeting hall buzzed. "Haha!" Only the crown prince laughed alone inside. He was showing too much favoritism toward me. If the second prince noticed, what then? "Is the 'Brigham Empire is scary' hashtag on the online diary post the meaning?"
The second prince used a tone that usually showed respect for me, but in a hall full of people he was being casual. Naturally, since we were enemies. "Yes." "You're truly meticulous. If this video is released, the Brigham Empire will have no choice but to intervene. Since they value face, they won't be able to leave you unprotected after you took the damage for their sake."
One video and the Brigham Empire became my ally. Of course, if they didn't care, it would end there. But considering their empire personality, I believed they wouldn't. "The State Commissioner walks around without recording or filming?" "He would, but you got through it. The other party is a great mage." "If there are such materials, he would have released them earlier. He just talked to waste his breath." "His personality is really strange."
I only wrote about what demands Garcia Valen had made when posting on SNS. I didn't include the conversation because I knew this reaction would come and wanted to see who would speak what. This clearly sharpened my distinction between friends and foes inside me. However, my image among the nobles worsened because of this incident. It seemed they couldn't shake the thought that I had been toying with them. But no matter what, I maintained my own pace. While staring one by one at Tranton Marquis and the nobles who had joined him to push my punishment, I made a gesture of engraving their faces in my memory with my fingers. The targeted people were sweating profusely, as if asking when I had changed their expressions.