Chapter 222: The Land of the Sighted Blind (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 222: The Land of the Sighted Blind (1)
A crowd draws its courage from numbers.
The people who had initially done nothing but stamp their feet in anxiety over Jacklin's capture suddenly surged with fierce momentum. Now that they were a mob, they looked ready to tear Roman Dmitry apart. People flooded endlessly into the square, stopping just a few paces away from Roman and his soldiers as if drawing an invisible boundary line.
A taut tension choked the air.
A man stepped forward from the throng of citizens, raising his voice on their behalf.
"Jacklin is a hero of Redford! What did he do wrong to deserve such persecution?!"
"Everyone here already knows," Roman Dmitry replied, his tone perfectly calm.
He remained completely unfazed before the angry mob. Determined not to back down, the citizen flushed red.
"Count Rondon is a traitor who sold out his country! We have eyes and ears too! We know exactly what kind of scheme he's trying to pull with the Dmitry family. The gold loaded into that carriage is Redford's property! His intention was obviously to smuggle it out and seek asylum in Dmitry. Jacklin merely seized a traitor's money for a righteous cause! That is not something an outsider like you has any right to punish!"
"He's right!"
"Release Jacklin immediately!"
The crowd stirred.
As their fear faded, their eyes began to gleam with murderous intent.
A single raid.
They had tasted blood.
Having realized that the nobles' forces were not invincible, they believed their sheer numbers—thousands of them—could easily overpower Roman Dmitry and his handful of soldiers. That was the extent of the common sense permitted by their world. They did not know it was entirely possible for a single human being to slaughter thousands.
They were ignorant.
They were foolish.
Even with their eyes open, even with their ears open...
They could neither see nor hear the truth.
Roman Dmitry spoke. "Where is the evidence for your claims?"
"Evidence? Our own experience is the evidence! Everyone knows Count Rondon is trash, and right after you visited, he tried to smuggle away a carriage loaded with a hundred thousand gold coins! Not ten thousand, but a whopping hundred thousand gold! If that massive sum isn't an asylum fund, what on earth else could it be used for?!"
"So, your conclusion is based on mere speculation."
"Don't dodge the issue! This isn't speculation; it's a fact based on experience!"
Traitor.
One hundred thousand gold.
Roman Dmitry.
Connecting these three elements, the people had firmly concluded that Count Rondon was committing treason.
Roman Dmitry let out a soft chuckle.
Their accusation that he was dodging the issue only proved they couldn't refute his words.
"Innocent people died because of you. The soldiers and knights serving Count Rondon did nothing wrong, yet you murdered them, utterly convinced that your baseless claims were righteous. This is no simple robbery. People have died, yet you stand here repeating the same words like parrots. 'We have no proof, but we are right. We have no proof, but Count Rondon is a traitor.'"
He pulled something from his breast pocket.
Untying the cloth binding a stack of documents, he tossed them to Jacklin.
Thud.
"Read."
It was an unexpected move.
Not only Jacklin, but the citizens as well looked bewildered, unable to comprehend what was happening. What on earth could those documents be?
When Jacklin hesitated, Roman silently stared him down, urging him to act.
Rustle.
He picked up the papers.
And then...
The moment he scanned the contents, Jacklin's face drained of color, replaced by sheer shock and horror.
"……W-what is this?" Jacklin stammered in panic.
His eyes went wide, darting frantically between the documents and Roman Dmitry.
*
His eyes trembled violently.
The contents of the documents... he couldn't bring himself to accept them. However, the official seal stamped at the bottom proved that every word was the absolute truth.
"Read."
The voice urged him once more.
Jacklin swallowed hard. His pale face made it clear he couldn't cope with the reality before him.
"……The Golden Bank hereby certifies through this document that Roman Dmitry of the Dmitry family has repaid the one hundred and ten thousand gold coins borrowed by the Kingdom of Redford from the Golden Bank."
Drop.
The papers slipped from his grasp.
As he stared at Roman Dmitry in utter disbelief, Roman spoke, his expression perfectly indifferent.
"You confidently claimed that the hundred thousand gold was an asylum fund. But the truth, as proven by this document, is that it was money meant to repay the Kingdom of Redford's national debt. A few days ago, Count Rondon received an ultimatum from the Golden Bank and borrowed one hundred thousand gold from me. If the carriage had arrived safely at the designated location, we wouldn't have had to pay an additional ten thousand gold in interest. That is the truth you turned a blind eye to."
"Bullshit!" Jacklin roared.
This was simply...
...impossible.
There was no reason for Roman Dmitry to lend out one hundred thousand gold, and more importantly, why on earth would Count Rondon pay off the country's debt? Count Rondon was no patriot. He was human trash who only cared about his own interests! The rumors circulating throughout the kingdom proved exactly what kind of person he was.
If so...
...this had to be fabricated evidence.
There was no other way to explain the contents of the document.
The veins in Jacklin's neck bulged.
"Do you think I don't see your filthy intentions?! This document is clearly forged! Count Rondon is trash who turned his back on his country's plight! While everyone was starving and crying out in hunger, he stripped away the people's very livelihoods through power struggles among Redford's merchant groups! Even after raking in massive wealth, Count Rondon did absolutely nothing! He didn't share a single copper! Instead, he indulged in luxuries we couldn't even dream of—just like that grand party he threw to welcome you!"
The party that day.
That was when Jacklin's patience had finally snapped. He could no longer tolerate the sickening luxury Count Rondon enjoyed.
Hearing this, Roman asked, "The authenticity of the document can easily be verified with the Golden Bank. Rather, I have a question for you. Just as your claim about him smuggling asylum funds was nothing but a delusion—where is the evidence that Count Rondon is the traitor you claim him to be?"
At those words, a massive tremor shook Jacklin's eyes.
*
Count Rondon.
Where did his terrible reputation originate?
It wasn't that he intentionally wished to look like trash. He simply hadn't bothered to deny the malicious rumors circulating around the world in order to keep the truth hidden.
The beginning of it all...
It started with the scheming of Baron Dread, his rival in the merchant business.
Baron Dread had fought Count Rondon over the capital's commercial rights. When he began to lose the financial war, he devised a new plan: leveraging patriotism to build his reputation. While Count Rondon's father had been a universally acknowledged patriot, the son who inherited the family did not display his patriotism publicly like his predecessor.
Therefore, Baron Dread spread rumors that Count Rondon was selfish trash who only cared about his own interests.
At the same time, Baron Dread distributed his wealth to the commoners, presenting himself as a benevolent figure who returned a portion of his earnings to society.
It was a highly convincing act.
Baron Dread went out at dawn to distribute food to the people, winning their favor with a fake smile. Thanks to this, rumors spread that doing business with Baron Dread's merchant group was the patriotic thing to do for Redford.
Had it stopped there, Count Rondon might not have ruined Baron Dread. However, behind the scenes, Baron Dread committed unimaginable atrocities.
Human trafficking and drugs.
He dabbled in heinous illegal activities, establishing ties with the Kronos Empire and selling off Redford citizens who came to him looking for work. In truth, Baron Dread's stellar reputation wouldn't have lasted long. Given time, the truth would have surely leaked out. But before that could happen, Count Rondon crushed him and absorbed his merchant group.
That very action...
...made Rondon look like a villain.
The common people believed Baron Dread was a good man. Because they didn't know the truth, Count Rondon—the man who had ruined a "good man"—naturally became the target of public condemnation. The rumors of him being a traitor started then. Although he had never actually sold out his country or done anything to harm it, the people condemned Count Rondon based solely on superficial appearances.
One year, two years.
As the years passed, this perception took deep root.
Even when he did what was entirely natural for a merchant, people pointed fingers, claiming the money-mad traitor was at it again.
Roman Dmitry spoke. "Has Count Rondon ever committed a single act that could truly be called evil? His conflict with Baron Dread cannot be considered wicked. It was a standard business competition, no different from how you compete with others in your own workplaces. In the process, Count Rondon settled all the debts left behind by Baron Dread, even though he had no obligation to do so. Why do you think he did that? Because he cared about public opinion? No. People were already pointing fingers at him; his reputation didn't matter to him anymore. He made that decision entirely out of consideration for the innocent suppliers who had delivered goods to Baron Dread."
The truth was laid bare before them.
The people had viewed him through heavily prejudiced eyes. Some might argue that the deceiver, or the one who failed to actively clear his name, was at fault.
But...
...was that really a valid argument?
Before rushing to judgment, there had been clear ways to discern the truth. If they had looked into Baron Dread even slightly, his villainy would have been exposed. Furthermore, Count Rondon had followed transparent and proper legal procedures in merging the Dread Merchant Group. How on earth did that make him an evil man? Simply because he did something that displeased them, the people labeled his every action as wicked.
Count Rondon's reputation was entirely manufactured.
One spark had led to another, snowballing endlessly.
"If anyone here can present clear evidence that Count Rondon is a traitor, I will release Jacklin on the spot," Roman challenged. "For what reason do you call Count Rondon trash? Because he indulged in luxury? Because he threw a grand party? Those are merely legitimate uses of his own hard-earned wealth. Even if Count Rondon were a man who only cared about his own interests, he does not deserve your condemnation simply because he refused to sacrifice himself for you."
A single prejudice had shackled the people's minds.
Just as the Demonic Cult Scholar Yoo Hyun had once assumed that because someone was poor, they were inherently in need of help and would accept it with gratitude, the people of Redford believed that because Count Rondon was wealthy, he must have committed illegal and evil deeds unlike ordinary people.
Both assumptions...
...were nothing but delusions.
The world one lives in is different from the world others live in.
Even if one person would choose to do good in a given situation, another might choose to do evil; that is simply how the world is.
"I ask you once more. Is Count Rondon truly the traitor you claim him to be?"
This barrage of truth...
...threw the mob into utter confusion.
*
Roman Dmitry's words...
...were perfectly correct.
Was Count Rondon really a traitor?
Thinking back, there was absolutely no evidence.
They had branded him an evil man simply because he overthrew Baron Dread, who had bestowed superficial favors upon the people. From then on, they had viewed everything Rondon did with blind hostility.
In truth, the reason Jacklin had started the riot was absurd. Count Rondon had merely spent the money he earned himself, yet they had raged at him for indulging in luxury.
The citizens of Redford began to panic.
Their attack on the carriage.
They had slaughtered innocent soldiers.
Even when facing blood and death, they had clung to the justification that this was a righteous act. But if the premise that Count Rondon was an evil man vanished, they lost that justification entirely. In the end, they were nothing but murderers—beings who had committed murder while blindly following a non-existent truth, all to satisfy their own self-righteous indignation.
The truth before them...
...was devastating.
Roman Dmitry was the benefactor who had resolved Redford's national debt.
And Count Rondon, rather than seeking asylum, had been trying to act for the good of his country, only to be unjustly assaulted by his own citizens.
Their beliefs crumbled.
Their hostility withered away.
However...
...no one wanted to accept this reality.
The moment they laid down their weapons, they would have to face the consequences. They lacked the courage to take responsibility for the horrific deeds they had committed out of sheer delusion.
It was then.
"In Redford, there is a place called the Annabelle Orphanage," Roman said. "Surely, none of you are unfamiliar with that name. The director of the Annabelle Orphanage, who cares for homeless children and helps those in need, is someone you—much like Jacklin—call a hero of Redford. But why did you never stop to think about where the orphanage's funding came from? Annabelle is a mere commoner. Didn't you find it strange that she possessed the immense wealth required to help people for so many years?"
While they ruthlessly scrutinized the actions of those they deemed wicked, they never once questioned the actions of those they deemed righteous.
Simply because she performed good deeds, the people treated Annabelle's orphanage as a sacred sanctuary, free from suspicion.
Instantly, the crowd panicked.
Why was he bringing up the Annabelle Orphanage now?
Just as a creeping, ominous thought led them to a single, impossible conclusion, Roman Dmitry spoke.
"The secret patron of the Annabelle Orphanage—it is Count Rondon, the very man you condemn as trash."
The hidden truth was finally revealed.
It was a story of a world entirely different from the one the people thought they knew.