episode_0197

“Chi, I said I was going to worry.”

Theodora spoke with a faint smile and I cleared my throat.

“Keuhm… I’ll talk about that later.”

I sit next to Theodora and ask the prosecutor a question.

“Okay, where is the smuggled platinum? And did you arrest the person named Yom?”

The prosecution responds to my words.

“Currently, Yom has been arrested and all platinum has been recovered.”

I nod my head at those words.

“When is the related trial? Once this trial is over, please upload the investigation records to the Ministry of Education.”

My heart races at the fact that I found platinum.

The small amounts of platinum purchased so far will be helpful in developing fertilizers and other technologies.

“Yes, I will do as Your Highness commands.”

And then the judge continues.

“Then we will proceed with the trial again.”

A tedious legal battle ensues.

“The prosecution is making claims that destroy the family and order of the empire. How can a son disobey his father?”

“The defense attorney is currently making claims that ignore the strict laws of the empire. Gentlemen of the jury! The law must be equal before everyone. But now, you should not listen to the defense’s argument that ignores the law.”

The main topic was moved to whether Lucius should have refused his father’s orders.

“The laws of the empire are equal before all. However, ethics and humanity exist, and God exists. The Bible teaches us to honor our fathers. Therefore, should the defendant’s father be made an unfilial person who will allow him to live in pain for the rest of his life? I will ask the prosecution. Is that really a strict law? Dear jurors, please think of this as your own assumption and make your decision.”

-thud!

-Suddenly!

The prosecutor is hitting the desk and gnashing his teeth in anger.

This is “ or more.”

Legally, Lucius had committed a serious crime punishable by death.

This is probably a story that anyone with even a passing knowledge of the law will sympathize with.

However, the empire has long adopted a jury system.

In the early days, Roman was a small city.

It is a judicial system created by the first emperor, so it has a long history.

I understand that it was created with the intention that no matter how excellent the law is, it cannot be above universal perception, but…

This is only possible if everyone has excellent basic civic awareness.

For people here, where the public education system has not yet been established, their families and communities are more important than the law.

“Then we will now proceed with preparing the jury’s verdict.”

When the judge said that, the jurors stood up from their seats and headed to the jury waiting room.

“What do you think will happen?”

Theodora asks quietly next to me, and I nod and say.

“Lucius will be found not guilty?”

Looking at the jurors, most of them are farmers, merchants, or blacksmiths, and with the exception of priests and young youths, they do not appear to have a particularly high level of education.

“Really? Is it such a big crime?”

“Maybe? Even if you are not at least not guilty, you will receive a light sentence.”

What is certain is that he will avoid the death penalty sought by the prosecution.

In terms of the atmosphere, it is either not guilty or a light punishment, but the death penalty will be difficult.

Theodora stares intently with red eyes.

“Hehe… Do you know that?”

“Huh? What?”

She soon smiles brightly.

“You are so cute.”

I feel embarrassed by her words.

“Huh? Cute? Me?”

Theodora nods at my words.

“Yes, I would like to help in some way. Aren’t you here because you’re worried, even though you can’t help for the sake of justice or for the majority?”

I gently turn my head at those words.

“Isn’t it like that?”

“Huh? Are you embarrassed now?”

Theodora said and poked my cheek with her hand.

He holds her pretty hand and says.

“I’m not shy, and I’m already past the age of being cute.”

“Tsk… Okay. Shall we go eat now?”

It takes quite some time for the verdict to come out, so I nod.

“Okay, it’s been a while since I’ve been out, so let’s get some food.”

After lunch, we return to court.

-widely!

“The judgment is declared to the defendant. This court declares the defendant not guilty with 3 guilty, 1 abstention, and 5 in favor. In addition, the Grand Duchy that dismissed the defendant orders his reinstatement.”

-widely! widely! widely!

When the innocence was confirmed, Müller nodded as if it was obvious and approached Lucius to talk about something.

“Hehe? Mueller is greater than I thought. How can you upset this?”

“That’s just clever.”

It is worth seeing as Mueller’s achievement of making good use of the characteristics of the jury system, but it is not a good result for politicians.

Because someday in the future, there will be people who take advantage of this ruling.

“So you will accept the ruling?”

“That’s right? The court found me not guilty, but it would be difficult for me to overturn it.”

You can overturn it by using the veto, but there is no reason to use it.

After watching the guards from the Ministry of Justice release Lucius’ rope, he stands up.

“Are you going back already?”

Theodora asks, holding my sleeve.

“No, first of all, while I’m here, I’m going to go meet the platinum smuggler.”

Theodora laughs and says at my words.

“I really can’t stop you. Then, I will return to the imperial palace first.”

I nod my head at her words.

***

“Are you Yom?”

A man in front of me who looks to be in his 50s nods.

“Yes, I am Yom.”

“Listen, I heard you smuggled platinum?”

“Yes.”

I say as I flip through the documents to the haggard man’s voice.

“I was told that they were trying to smuggle platinum to make counterfeit gold coins… is that true?”

I think as I look at Yom, who nods his head slightly at my words.

There is no major problem as the entire amount was recovered before the platinum was melted to create counterfeit gold coins.

This is an issue that can be quietly buried if me and Theodora agree.

In fact, counterfeiting gold coins is a pretty serious crime, but where the platinum comes from is important these days.

“Well, that aside. Where did you get the platinum?”

Unlike the time of Lucius, platinum is a very necessary metal for the empire now.

“Half from the New World, half from the Mondic Mountains… There is a platinum mine. I collected it from there and brought it back.”

“What?”

The Mondic Mountains are a mountain range north of Romania and located within Lombardy, the territory of Theodora’s maternal grandfather, the Duke of Jans.

“Is it true that platinum is found there?”

Yom nods his head at my words.

“Yes, it’s true.”

“I can’t believe it. I understand that the Montdic Mountains are not far from Roman and are the territory ruled by His Majesty’s maternal grandfather. I’ve never heard of it.”

I’ve heard that there is a mithril mine in the Mondic Mountains.

But a platinum mine?

I searched all the mines of the empire to see if there was a platinum mine, but I couldn’t find even a platinum porcelain.

“This is just my guess, but Duke Jans probably knows it too… Since platinum is used to make counterfeit money… I think he’s keeping it quiet because it would be difficult if it became known.”

At those words, I stroke my chin and get lost in thought.

Surely if the platinum mines come from the Montdic Mountains

“Hmm… But how did they steal the platinum from the New World? It couldn’t have been easy, right?”

In fact, platinum is thoroughly managed by the United Kingdom and stored in the sea.

Therefore, it is a metal that is difficult for even me to obtain.

You can buy aluminum or mithril, which are more expensive than platinum, with money, but it is difficult to buy platinum with money.

Because platinum is a metal with a bad reputation,

If a rumor spreads that I am buying platinum, there is a high possibility that suspicions will follow that I am trying to counterfeit gold coins.

“An acquaintance of mine runs a mining business in the New World. They say there is a lot of platinum as an impurity there. So I took it and tried to make counterfeit gold coins.”

Platinum is an impurity… Aluminum is an expensive and rare metal…

It’s an absurd situation by modern standards, but that’s not what’s important right now.

I feel excited when I can get platinum if I do well.

We recently secured everything needed for fertilizer production.

Due to the rapid development of theory and technology, mass production is imminent, but due to the lack of platinum, it has been postponed until now.

In addition, the theories and papers submitted by companies that received money from technology investment funds have proven that platinum has a very high versatility.

Of course, since it is confidential information, only those involved may not know.

Anyway, I felt better because I had a way to obtain platinum in large quantities.

It takes a long time to develop a mine.

Then, we should first think about bringing platinum from the New World and developing a mine.

With that in mind, I look at Yom.

Looking at Yom’s research records, he appears to be a highly popular person.

If you look at the petition to save him, you will see many names of famous people and famous people involved in commerce.

“From what I heard, you lost all your money because of your son, right?”

Yom nods his head slightly at my words.

I don’t know if they made counterfeit gold coins, but I understand that the security guards came in before they could make counterfeit gold coins.

I don’t know where his family is and what they are doing now, but I can guess that things aren’t going very well.

The reputation isn’t bad, but can you really trust it?

If there is a rumor that the Grand Duke who rules the empire is secretly seeking platinum, it will have a huge negative impact on the empire’s economy.

There are only two reasons why gold coins issued by the Empire are accepted in the market.

One involves a set amount of gold.

And the other guarantees it with the credit and honor of the empire.

However, if I were to accumulate a large amount here, it would be obvious that the credibility of imperial gold coins would be diminished.

in other words…

I feel burdened that the moment this Yom mentions that I am collecting platinum, it may cause great chaos in the empire’s economy.

Moreover, it is not easy to restore credit once it has been lost.

I wonder whether I should join hands with Yom or not.