TGS - Chapter 81
Chapter 81: I Object
Clearly, the Princess hadn't given up just because of the phrase "I'll wait for you in the tent." She tentatively touched the air around her, as if trying to confirm whether the goddess was beside her.
Unfortunately, Lotus was currently in a spiritual form akin to a phantom, not something as simple as an invisible person.
Lotus lowered her gaze to her waist, the spot where Alyuin's arm had just passed through.
Although there was no physical sensation of contact, she could seemingly feel a faint, resilient warmth. It wasn't like the arm had passed through her body, but rather like it had lightly brushed against her skin.
Lotus looked at the Princess's retreating figure.
Alyuin's gait was graceful and beautiful as she walked. Every step was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, her figure slender and elegant.
Like a young flowering tree stirred by a gentle breeze—straight and tall, yet its soft branches and new leaves swayed gracefully.
The very instant this description came to mind, Lotus's expression froze, and she felt a moment of bewilderment.
...Why have I been so strange these past two days?
Lotus shook her head, subconsciously brushing the thought away.
She returned to the tent, materialized her physical form, and waited quietly.
When Alyuin lifted the tent flap, she saw the goddess sitting upright.
"I'm back."
The Princess sat down across from Lotus, calm and composed, making no mention of the foolish thing she had just done—she was sure the River Goddess had seen everything.
Lotus, who had indeed witnessed everything: "..."
She also intentionally avoided the topic and said in a gentle voice, "I called you back because I overheard something."
As the conversation turned to serious matters, both of them grew solemn.
By now, it was clear that the Lord of Disimeng City and its nobles had embezzled most of the relief supplies.
If the clues Alyuin had discovered were enough to prove the existence of this major case, then the conversation Lotus had overheard outside the city lord's tent laid bare the entire sequence of events.
At the time, Lotus had followed Romuer and his entourage to the city lord's tent.
Although he had given the most comfortable tent in the camp to the Crown Prince, the one the city lord occupied was still of a high standard—clearly the type used only by legion commanders and above in the northwestern army camps.
The Crown Prince was oblivious to the regulations regarding tents, but Lotus, having spent a long time on the border, saw through this deception at a glance.
However, compared to the crime of embezzling disaster relief supplies, the charge of misusing military-grade equipment was truly insignificant.
Standing close to the tent, Lotus could clearly hear the voices from within.
First, the Crown Prince got straight to the point, questioning the city lord about whether he had tampered with the food supplies.
The city lord hypocritically denied it twice, but after Romuer listed the suspicious points, he could no longer defend himself and broke into remorseful sobs the very next moment.
"I know I have committed a great wrong, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I will submit to any punishment you see fit; I will have no complaints no matter your decision."
He also cleverly wove excuses into his confession, making it seem as if he had his own difficulties.
Something about his wife's gold ornaments being lost, and feeling guilty that he couldn't afford to replace the set for her.
Something about living in his brother's shadow since childhood, wanting to become a man of greater wealth and power, and being momentarily possessed by greed, causing him to stray from the right path.
Romuer listened to his tearful complaints for a while, and his tone took on a note of sympathy, though his stance remained firm.
"Regardless of the reason, wrong is wrong."
"I will immediately send people to verify the supplies. The crimes you have committed will all be judged according to the measures prescribed by law."
The city lord kowtowed in thanks.
As he was leaving, Romuer, unable to bear it yet filled with disappointment, said, "Lord Fenlieni, if your brother—my teacher—knew you had done such a thing, I can only imagine how saddened he would be."
The city lord responded with words of shame, and the Crown Prince left with a sigh.
However, just a moment later, one of Romuer's aides quietly circled back, looking around cautiously as he walked.
He entered the city lord's tent.
"Is anyone outside?"
"I checked. No one."
Relaxed laughter immediately followed.
Apparently, the city lord was not alone; several other nobles were also there. The clinking of cups and plates, along with the aroma of roasted meat and mulled wine, wafted out of the tent.
The aide said, "Congratulations in advance, my lord, for leaving this mess behind and returning to the royal city to enjoy yourself!"
The city lord replied, "I won't be enjoying myself for long. My elder brother can't stand seeing me idle at home. He'll probably kick me out to do business. Just thinking about it is exhausting."
Glasses clinked.
The city lord continued, "It's not bad for you all to stay here. Once Disimeng is rebuilt and a newcomer takes my place, they won't be able to ignore your opinions."
A noble laughed, "Haha, who can say, who can say."
The sound of wine gurgling down a throat could be heard.
A noble said, "Speaking of which, His Highness the Crown Prince really showed no mercy. I was almost scared. Hey, you all won't let anything go wrong, will you?"
The aide replied, "What could go wrong? We're the ones in charge of the investigation here. His Highness is just too rigid and too soft-hearted. His Majesty Horst has been starting to worry about this recently, wondering if he can ever be taught...
"Ahem, I dare not speak presumptuously of the royal family. In any case, this will be another achievement for His Highness, so this trip won't have been in vain."
They toasted and flattered one another with worldly sophistication. Even though they weren't in an exquisite mansion garden but were making do in a less-than-grand tent, this group still managed to create the atmosphere of a banquet.
Indeed, whether thousands of years ago or thousands of years from now, people like this have always existed.
Having grasped the situation, Lotus didn't plan to listen any longer.
But just then, they started talking about the Princess.
A noble, emboldened by the wine, said, "It's quite a coincidence that the Princess came to Disimeng at this time. My men sent word back that she ordered the caravan and her personal guards to distribute food today. They had quite a lot of supplies, and all the rabble went over there."
"She won't discover anything is wrong, will she?" a noble who had been silent until now mumbled.
"Of course she'll find out. We never intended to hide it," the city lord said with a laugh. "So what if she finds out? I only recognize the judgment of His Highness the Crown Prince. She's not going to openly challenge him, is she?"
"The former king's daughter... Hmph."
Lotus's expression remained unchanged, but a cold light flashed in her eyes.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
A series of choking coughs erupted from inside the tent. The group of local dignitaries, along with the visiting aide, were all choking on their wine so violently they seemed about to cough up their lungs.
Returning to the present, Lotus briefly recounted the men's conversation to Alyuin, omitting the unnecessary flattery and the final discussion about the Princess herself.
After listening, Alyuin paused for several seconds before letting out an irrepressible laugh.
It was just a short, soft laugh, its echo dissipating in the air like a taunt, or a hook.
"What a fine play. Just waiting for the righteous protagonist to punish the wicked and hold a public trial. When the show is over, the city lord loses his position and goes home to do business, the nobles pay a fine but still come out ahead, and Romuer adds another achievement to his record for upholding justice."
As the Princess spoke, she couldn't help but laugh again, a sound filled with a bone-chilling coldness.
"As for how many people died because of them, not a single one of those bastards cares, do they?"
Of course they wouldn't care.
Most of those who died of hunger and cold in the camp were poor commoners and slaves, especially the weak—the elderly, the young, and the injured.
The nobles and wealthy merchants had never cared whether these people lived or died. The natural disaster was merely a trigger; even without the earthquake, the cruelty would have persisted, just in a milder, less conspicuous manner.
A moment of silence.
Alyuin tucked a stray lock of hair behind her shoulder, revealing the elegant contour of her face.
Her bright golden eyes glanced at Lotus's face. She let out a soft breath and changed the subject.
"Horst might know something about this, intentionally leaving this place for Romuer to make a show of himself. But he probably doesn't know the full story."
Lotus: "Why?"
"This morning, I went to see the scribe compiling the statistics." Alyuin paused. "The reason the death toll from this earthquake is higher than those recorded in the kingdom's history is likely because this group in Disimeng included many of the victims who froze or starved to death in the camp in their count."
This way, it would appear that far fewer people died due to inadequate relief efforts, and it wouldn't cross Horst's bottom line.
The mastermind would also get away unscathed, leave his post to return home, and even avoid the trouble of post-disaster reconstruction.
The Princess said, word by word, "He can dream on."
"In this trial, Romuer can conduct his, and I will deliver mine."
Alyuin mentioning the Crown Prince reminded Lotus of something. "From what they said, it seems Romuer is unaware of the scheme."
"Not only is he unaware, he's also diligently reciting the law, determined not to show any mercy beyond it." The Princess didn't quite know how to describe it. After a moment's thought, she could only say, "I suppose Horst has a knack for raising his son."
Horst probably never expected that one day he would be troubled by his son being too upright.
The result of wearing a mask even before his own child was that Romuer likely had no idea what kind of person his father truly was. What would happen if Romuer discovered the truth?
The thought lingered in Alyuin's mind for only an instant before being replaced by the pressing matters at hand.
"We need to start preparing on our end as well."
Two days later, a simple tribunal was set up in the center of the camp.
The tribunal in Disimeng City had half-collapsed and was not yet fully repaired, so they had to settle for the next best thing: an open-air version, which conveniently allowed the now well-fed populace to watch.
In just two days, the Crown Prince's subordinates had gathered all the evidence of embezzlement against several of Disimeng's dignitaries, untangled their network of connections, and handed everything over to Romuer.
The most serious offender was the city lord, Fenlieni. According to the law, the value of the assets he had embezzled was just enough to warrant his removal from office.
As for the other nobles, they only needed to return what they had embezzled and pay an equivalent amount as a fine, and the matter would be considered closed.
Romuer sat in the main seat, a long table before him. On the table rested a small statue of the Goddess of Law.
The goddess wore a solemn expression, holding a scale in one hand. The left pan held the sun and moon, the right held the stars, symbolizing absolute fairness and justice.
Solancian mythology held that one could not lie before the Goddess of Law; any attempt to conceal one's crimes would only result in a more severe punishment.
Romuer lowered his head and read out the charges one by one.
He asked the city lord and the other nobles standing before him, "These are the crimes you have committed. Do you confess?"
"Yes, we confess."
The Crown Prince glanced at the city lord with a sigh, likely thinking once more of the man's brother, his own teacher.
Then he read, "Fenlieni is to be stripped of his position as city lord, fined two thousand gold coins, and immediately sent back to his hometown. Bojili and the others are each fined one thousand gold coins. Future offenses will be punished more severely."
"This is the verdict. Do you have any objections?"
The city lord: "None, Your Highness."
Romuer: "Good. Then—"
"—I object."
Hearing the voice, the spectating crowd all turned to look.
Behind them, the lips of the young, black-haired Princess curled into a smile.
Her sharp golden eyes, unwavering and direct, met the gaze of the small statue of the Goddess of Law on the platform.
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