Ch.144Governance (3)

“Have you heard? Those Caroling bastards all cowered after getting a scolding from His Majesty!”

“Who doesn’t know about that? It’s been the talk of the town since yesterday. Seriously, what were they thinking, acting like that without knowing the law?”

“Hehehe, if they’d lived in Dijon for even two days, they would have come to their senses.”

The citizens of Dijon mock the nobles and clergy from Caroling who caused a commotion, making gossip out of their troubles.

How dare they break the law in front of His Majesty, who acts like a madman when it comes to legal matters? They clearly weren’t prepared to live as people of Lotharing.

“What’s going to happen to them now?”

“They caused a disturbance at the Governor’s Palace and attacked a soldier on duty… My nephew who went to university told me they’ll likely get up to three years of forced labor.”

“Forced labor? But they’re nobles and priests…”

“They still broke the law, didn’t they?”

“Hahaha!! Those high-and-mighty folks have probably never worked a day in their lives. They’ll come out of the labor camps with much stronger bodies!!”

What satisfies the citizens most is the punishment being handed down to these people.

Generally, in this world’s common sense, even for the same crime, the punishments for commoners, peasants, nobles, and clergy are all different.

If a noble kills a peasant, they pay a fine; if a peasant injures a noble, they’re executed. Isn’t that the usual way?

But Lotharing’s laws are completely different.

The laws that were thoroughly revised when the Duchy of Burgundy became the Kingdom of Lotharing apply the same standards to everyone regardless of social status.

“If they’re going to labor camps, I hope they go to the plaza rather than the farms— ugh… that smell…!”

“Urgh…!”

Just then, the citizens who were happily discussing the fate of the Caroling people caught a terribly foul odor, causing them to close their mouths and pinch their noses.

The street that had been bustling with noise just moments ago is now silent as everyone covers their noses and mouths.

Rattle-rattle—

A cart loaded with barrels passes by the citizens without concern.

The foul smell comes from those barrels, which are filled with waste produced by Dijon’s citizens.

During the development of Dijon and its outskirts, environmental improvements were also implemented, resulting in the disappearance of various wastes that were commonly seen on Dijon’s streets.

Of course, they didn’t just vanish—they were simply no longer visible.

The citizens of Dijon are obligated to collect their waste and household garbage at designated “disposal centers” and submit them along with their taxes. The collected waste is stored at these centers, then placed in barrels and transported by cart to saltpeter fields.

This policy, which maintains urban cleanliness while ensuring a stable supply of niter for gunpowder, is implemented not only in Dijon but in all cities under royal jurisdiction. However, it’s also the policy that receives the most complaints from the people of Lotharing.

“Damn it, that cart always passes through here.”

“Ptui! The smell still lingers.”

The waste that used to be disposed of separately is now collected together and ferments in shady, damp underground spaces, creating an unbearable stench. Moreover, people have to pay taxes for the waste disposal costs!

Although the city has become cleaner and more livable, people, being human, tend to feel their losses more keenly than their gains.

Above all, since gunpowder is a military secret, most people don’t know why the waste is collected separately. From the perspective of Lotharing’s citizens, this practice seems like an unnecessarily troublesome and expensive way to handle waste that could simply be thrown onto the streets.

Nevertheless, the people of Lotharing have no desire to violate the “Regulations on Urban Waste and Garbage Disposal.”

“If only it didn’t smell so bad, it would be perfect.”

It’s clear that the urban environment has improved since the regulations were implemented, except when the carts pass by. Additionally, measures are in place to prevent citizens from breaking the law, such as requiring them to record their personal information and dates when submitting to disposal centers.

Moreover, the penalties are extremely severe. Rather than being caught disposing of waste secretly and being sent to labor camps or paying fines, it’s better to pay the small “processing fee” tax and submit household garbage and waste to the disposal centers.

This is how the cities of Lotharing are gradually beginning to shed their medieval characteristics.

……….

“Therefore, I sentence the 28 defendants, excluding the ringleaders, to one year of house arrest and 80 hours of special legal education. The three ringleaders are sentenced to two years of forced labor. Additionally, all armed guards who escorted the defendants at the time will be stripped of their ownership and placed under the direct control of the Governor’s Office.”

“This cannot be!!”

“Forced labor?!”

While the nobles and clergy sentenced to forced labor scream and rage wildly, the others who received house arrest and education sentences quietly hold their breath and watch cautiously.

They instinctively realize that objecting to or refusing the punishment would only create more trouble. Moreover, they want to leave this prison where social status means nothing as quickly as possible.

“This is an unjust punishment!! Let me see His Majesty at once!!”

“Did you say ‘unjust punishment’?”

“Yes!! I have no intention of accepting this hasty trial conducted by such an incompetent fool, so right now, to His Majesty—”

“Six months added for contempt of court.”

However, one of the ringleaders who received a severe punishment lacked the composure to think calmly, and ended up having his sentence extended for insulting the judge.

Those who had kept quiet confirmed that their judgment was correct and felt greatly relieved.

“Y-you! Are we not allowed to express dissatisfaction with the trial?!”

“Having dissatisfaction and showing contempt for the judge are entirely different matters! If you have complaints, file a formal appeal!!”

The judge of the Lutetia Governorate says this while presenting a certificate bearing the royal seal, which guarantees the judge’s authority.

The noble who had been causing such a commotion until just now may not know exactly what this certificate is, but he immediately recognizes the seals of the House of Burgundy and the Kingdom of Lotharing, causing him to fall silent at once.

“…An appeal, you said? What is that?”

In place of the frightened noble, a priest standing beside him carefully asks the judge about the concept of an appeal.

This priest is also one of the ringleaders who instigated the incident and is greatly dissatisfied with the verdict, having caused a commotion just moments ago. However, having clearly seen the noble beside him punished for insulting the judge, he maintains a respectful attitude.

“It’s a system where you can formally request another trial if you’re dissatisfied with the verdict. It’s a new system created by the recent legal reforms.”

“What happens if we appeal?”

“Instead of being tried by me in this court established at the Governor’s Office, you will be retried at the Central Royal Court in Dijon. Generally, appeals are not allowed to reduce judicial burden when there’s no room for dispute, but given your status and the scale of this case, which could generate different kinds of arguments, you qualify for an appeal.”

Lotharing’s laws allow appeals only once in all cases.

As society develops over time, this may change, but for now, society isn’t so complex that most cases can’t be resolved with two trials.

“However, I don’t particularly recommend it.”

“Why is that?”

“Given the nature of this case, you would likely meet His Majesty in person. Can you handle that?”

“…? Why would that be a problem?”

The ringleaders don’t understand the judge’s warning at all.

Until recently, the King of Lotharing was the ruler of an enemy country, but isn’t it a great honor to be tried in the presence of their lord? Wouldn’t it be good to clear up any misunderstandings directly?

A commoner judge like this might harbor hostility toward noble blood and conduct a biased trial, but His Majesty the King, who has noble blood (albeit half), wouldn’t have such a biased perspective.

Surely, even in the Kingdom of Lotharing, devout clergy and those of noble blood lead the country just as in the Kingdom of Caroling, so they wouldn’t treat nobles and clergy harshly. The prison conditions must be quite good too.

“His Majesty’s standards are strict. He is the one who extensively reformed this legal system in the first place.”

“Strict, you say! That’s excellent! This kind of verdict— Ah, no… Yes, we can receive a fair judgment!”

“Then since His Majesty created this law, we could appeal directly to him and have the verdict overturned.”

“We can also report the Governor’s tyranny directly…”

However, the nobles and clergy understand the judge’s warning quite differently.

With their concept that the king’s word is living law, they want to seize the opportunity to speak directly to the king, receive a not-guilty verdict, punish the insolent commoners, and report the tyranny of the governor and judge.

“…So you wish to appeal?”

“Of course we do!!”

“Please, we request it.”

The judge doesn’t explain further to the nobles and clergy who fail to understand.

He simply accepts their appeal applications with eyes that look upon them as poor lost lambs, writing down each of their names on the document one by one.

And on that list were not only the ringleaders but also some of the simple participants who had received house arrest sentences.