Chapter 222: Chapter 222: King’s Rulings

As I sit on the cathedra, two men stare at each other in front of me.

One is fat and the other is thin. I don’t have any particular impressions of them beyond that. They are actually two members of noble families that were previously sent to Redcliffe. As they were deemed to be too coward to incite anything, I ordered them to be reinstated to their original land. We lack administrative manpower here after all.

"It would be a disgrace for a nobleman to withdraw while being humiliated in such a manner. In order to protect the honor of my family, my knights and I have merely taken a shot back at this rude person!"

"What nonsense are you spouting!? It’s preposterous to ambush someone with a group of people out in public without a challenge letter! And leaving aside the cowardly deception, it is this man’s fault for causing an incident resulting in a sword wound on the road. I advise you to bring severe punishment on him."

To summarize, these two who never got along happened to pass by each other, and the thin one deliberately knocked the fat one off his horse and mocked him for not being able to get back on.

The fat one took offense, gathered his men and ambushed the thin one, beating him so badly that his leg bone broke.

Apparently, many noble heads are fat too.

"It’s a trivial fight, but it turned into a huge mess that got the whole family involved."

Myla peeks out from my right side.

"And since both are baron whose family’s status are almost equal, neither can back down."

At this rate, they’d have to fight each other with all their family despite their positions were just reinstated.

But they don’t want to do that, which is why they came to me for a ruling.

"It is possible to rebuke them for seeking the king’s judgement over a trivial matter. However, by sentencing appropriately, this is also a good opportunity to show the citizens and lords that the royal authority is being used correctly."

Sekrit's voice comes from behind the opened door at the side of conference room. I imagine she must be leaning on the wall while being nonchalant. 

"Both of you have some nerve not looking at me."

My threat grabs their attention perfectly.

In all cases, it’s over if the opponent looks down on you. About the only thing that starts with that is intercourse.

"To confirm, neither fight was in the capital, right?"

"Yes Your Majesty! But the highway that extends to the capital is the kingdom’s――"

One fierce glance from me silences the thin man in the middle of his statement.

I didn’t ask for your opinion.

Next I ask the fat man who retaliated.

"You drew your sword?"

"No! I am aware that scattering his blood on the kingdom’s road is disrespectful, so I merely disciplined him with a wooden stick! In the first place, he only broke his leg because it got caught in a ditch as he was trying to escape on his――"

I glare at the fat man, who shrinks, as I tell him I don’t need unnecessary information.

Man, these two really like to talk.

Alright, I’ve come to a conclusion.

Without standing up from my throne, I declare to the thin man in an intimidating tone.

"You are the one who started the fight. Therefore, you will be fined 50 gold coins for causing needless disturbance in the kingdom."

"But gathering men and attacking with an ambush was very sneaky. Breaking his leg was also excessive. Thus, you will pay him reparations of 50 gold coins."

The fat man scowls and pouts.

Yeah, don’t smile when I’m intimidating you.

"That’s all. Any objections?"

I retract my intimidation and smile.

"But Your Ma――"

The thin man covers the fat man’s mouth.

"N-no, we have certainly received your verdict. We will pay without delay."

"Good."

After speaking, I accept and drink the water offered by Myla.

"W-what are you doing!? Take that dirty hand off me, you idiot!"

"You are the idiot! If you’re going to spin a tale until the end……do it by yourself!!"

The two men jostle with each other as they leave the room.

It would be bothersome if they fought again. I turn to Myla.

"No matter how foolish or ridiculous the fight, if they seek a ruling, you have to listen!"

"That is the duty of the king!"

Myla, reading my intentions, continues.

"However, to challenge the ruling once it is given――would be tantamount to disobeying Your Majesty."

Silhouette of tall light brown skinned woman dashes from the door to behind the fat man. Sekrit's hand covers his face.

The fat man whose mouth is being covered shudders and stops struggling.

With a smile on her face, she addresses both of them. Her other hand is waving her a sword.

"Lucky for you. You were one word short."

"Hiieeeee!!"

The two men run away, hugging each other’s shoulders.

That scared them a bit.

It’s not like I expect them to get along, but at least they shouldn’t have to depend on a ruling to solve their dispute.

"Next is a dispute over water rights. I heard one side had a large irrigation channel connected to a river meant to be shared between the territories, reducing the rate of flow and greatly affecting the harvest of the other side."

My hand stops squeezing Myla’s cheek.

"Oh that, I know about it."

"You were aware? The person being complained about is related to a major merchant who has a large influence in the capital. Although the person doesn’t have a high rank, even those in the vicinity acknowledge his abundance of financial power. On the other hand, the one complaining is your typical rural noble whose only source of income is agriculture and so water rights is a matter of life and death."

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"Without funds, developing……is probably not possible."

Here come the concerned parties.

The poor side presents their claim desperately while the rich side has a composed attitude.

"HM. I understand. I don’t mean to say this after hearing your story but a conclusion had been reached by the legal official."

The poor side’s face grows dark while the rich side shines as if victory is assured.

That smile is a really triumphant one.

I take out a heavy bag from my compartment and throw it at the rich individual.

I throw it at his face, not in front of him.

It was a solid sound.

The rich person holds his crooked nose in pain.

"Sorry, my hand went out of control. 50 gold coins are heavy. Did you break your nose?"

"Wha-!? Are you trying to bribe me!?"

I retrieve another bundle from the compartment as I scratch my head.

It’s lighter than the money bag but dirty so I have to be careful when holding it.

"I should also return this to you."

This time I throw it in front of him.

The bundle unwraps from the impact, and out rolls two severed heads.

"M-my nephew――"

"And the legal official, who apparently had a good relationship with him."

It’s not a difficult problem.

Whether it’s territorial conflict or water rights disputes, it’s all about authority when it comes to my ruling.

Unless it’s a big deal, I don’t bother collecting data or racking my brain for a conclusion.

The legal official usually summarizes the case and I just read it out loud.

Consequently, this guy’s nephew bribed the legal official, advising the official to rule in his favour, but Myla discovered the deal so I just lopped off their heads.

There is no mistake that these guys tried to warp my judgement by bribes. "However, I didn’t ask whether it was your instructions or not. I cut them the moment I saw them."

Of course, that was a lie. I know the answer and have proof.

Even if I didn’t have proof, if I say he’s guilty, he’s guilty.

"O-obviously, I wouldn’t do that kind of outrageous――"

"Oh, you didn’t do it?"

The rich feudal lord shakes his head in fear.

"Then that’s good. Hm, I forgot what we were discussing because of the severed heads. Can you both present your arguments again?"

I urge the two parties to speak.

The poor man’s voice is strained as he repeats the same message with slightly different words.

But the rich man becomes incoherent, and the sound of his teeth chattering is louder than his voice, making him somewhat incomprehensible.

"It seems from what I’m hearing, you are at fault. Demolish everything from the aqueduct to the windmill. Any objections?"

"N-none! I have none!!"

The ruling is one-sided towards the rich party, but he doesn’t complain.

The only thing in his head is to get away from this place as soon as possible.

"Alright. You are dismissed――I don’t want to see you again."

The rich noble leaves with his head down and legs bent like a grasshopper.

"Is it fine to let him go?"

Kurotsuchi appears quietly from behind the cathedra.

"Yeah. It’s not like he disobeyed me, and with how scared he is I’m sure he won’t do anything unnecessary."

To tell the truth, killing noble feudal lords is bothersome even they were just reinstated to their positions.

I won’t hesitate if they rebel against me, but I don’t want to waste my time when things have finally calmed down.

"I’ll need another round of threats from your side."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Myla nods.

"Bribery is the greatest poison that can corrupt a nation. If rumors about this incident spread, the bureaucrats and those who seek to win them over will think twice or face His Majesty’s wrath. After all, His Majesty is uncompromising."

"Rough yet clean, words that don’t seem to match but are interesting when put together."

Meanwhile Myla is staring at Kurotsuchi with blushing face.

"…lewd."

"I-it can’t be helped! This is my uniform!!"

Kurotsuchi is wearing her naughty see-through outfit that shows off the outlines of her body.

I allowed her to cover up her nipples and crotch with fabric as it might be too mean for her to be completely exposed in public, but her whole body is still visible.

"That said……it doesn’t seem like you are very dissatisfied. Do you actually like it a little?"

"――not really."

Kurotsuchi looks away.

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