Episode 357 Crime and Punishment (3)
“Nakazanye”, the chief judge of the center of the ecliptic.
The hounds of the night, standing in a place where those who commit serious crimes are judged, just stand still with their characteristic expressionless faces.
Contrary to what everyone was worried about, Bikir was quite relieved.
‘……All the things to do at the academy are finished.’
My shoulders lightened when I was relieved of many of the tasks I had to do.
Now that everything is going as expected, only the final phase remains.
That’s why it’s a light heart to get out of the way. Rather, I came to the trial here with a feeling of even a little expectation.
On the other hand, there were numerous eyes looking at Bikir, who was standing with a calm expression.
First of all, members of the iron-blooded swordsman Baskerville Madou family Morgue religious chant Quo Vadis chaebol family bourgeois extreme poison family Leviathan Changhae singer Don Quixote Shingobi Usher, who make up the 7 families of the nation-savior, are among them.
Representatives of the family sat separately in the judge’s seat as members of the jury, and other family members sat in the audience as spectators.
Now that the emperor is absent from the trial, the representative of the imperial family sits down wearing a nun’s uniform, the distinctive attire worn by members of the imperial family, and proceeds with the trial in a mechanical and businesslike manner.
“Iron-blooded swordsman Hugo Les Baskervilles, juror of Baskerville.”
Hugo Les Baskervilles, a member of the jury representing the Baskervilles.
He was sitting in a wheelchair with his back to the judge.
The agent called Hugo by name and asked.
“Attempted poisoning of the second son, Set Les Baskerville, and the owner, Hugo himself. You accused Vikir van Baskerville of stealing the ‘Red Whistle’, a sacred object that can mobilize the family’s military power. Is that correct?”
“…”
Hugo turned his back and didn’t answer.
The reason was that it was difficult to answer, let alone move, because of the poison.
Instead, Osiris, his eldest son, stood by and nodded instead.
“…”
With an extremely dry expressionless expression.
With that, the agent ended the final interrogation of the iron swordsman side.
and condensed
“The argument of the Baskervilles is as follows. Although the crimes, such as rebellion, murder of an ascendant, and poisoning of the head of the family are serious and heinous, the accused deserves to be treated like a nobleman as he inherited the blood of the Baskervilles. Therefore, this point should be taken into account. I ask for a verdict.”
There were no objections.
The deputy took his eyes off the Baskervilles and looked at the Morgues beside him.
Morgue’s Jury, Morgue Mu Lespane.
She stood over the judge with a stiff expression on her face.
The agent still reads the contents of the document in a dry voice.
“The argument of the House of Morgue is as follows. Although the crimes are serious and heinous, such as rebellion, murder of an ascendant, and poisoning of the head of the family, the accused deserves to be treated like a nobleman. Therefore, we request a verdict with extenuating circumstances on this point.”
L’Espane of the House of Morgue made the same judgment as the House of the Baskervilles.
No matter how serious the crime is, as long as he is of aristocratic blood, he should be treated higher than that.
L’Espane opened her mouth in a calm voice.
“……The previous precedent on this can be found in the ’47 unrest’ 35 years ago.”
At the time of the ’47 unrest’ in the past, the problem was much more serious.
A situation where the empire could have been overthrown.
“At the time, there were two heroes who suppressed the 47-man unrest. ‘Winston’, who is now dead, and ‘Orca’, who cannot attend this event. The dangerous situation could be quelled at an early stage with the sacrifice of these two.”
All the judges swallowed their saliva at Lespane’s words.
“But what was the verdict at that time? The two heroes who suppressed the situation, Winston and Orca, strongly petitioned for the death penalty, but the Marquis of Angagement Sade de Sade, the main culprit of the unrest, was not sentenced to death in the end. The reason is that Wasn’t it because of ‘respect for the great nobility’?”
Therefore, since Bikir was also born with the blood of a great noble, it is too much to go to the death penalty.
Lespane ended his speech with these words.
Demian, a member of the jury of the House of Quo Vadis who succeeded him, and the member of the jury of the House of Nabokov I Bourgeois, expressed a similar opinion.
“All right… That child is a devout believer in runes. He can’t help but take into account the circumstances of the dead, but he can’t help but be merciful. In my opinion, the death penalty seems excessive.”
“It is believed that the defendant has already put in enough money for the deposit. Since the astronomical amount of the deposit already shows that he is repenting for his crimes, I also judged the death penalty to be excessive.”
Baskerville Morgue Quo Vadis Bourgeois.
Four of the seven families argued for Bikir’s sentencing.
But there were also those who did not.
“This is nonsense. If the murderer who has killed so many people is not put to death, who are we to put to death?”
“That’s right. I think we should at least isolate them forever so that they won’t crawl back into this society. For that, the death penalty is the best.”
The attitude of the jurors who came out of Changhae Changga Don Quixote The New Lady Usher was rather hostile.
They were agents who came to this place on behalf of Cervantes and Roderick, who needed recuperation due to the Naraksu incident.
Don Quixote La Mancha Pasamonte and Usher for Madeline.
These two young men and women were each the younger brothers of the family head, and stood here as jurors with the qualifications of the family head’s representative.
They were also the uncle and aunt of Tudor and Bianca, respectively.
Lastly, Hobbs de Leviathan, the head of the extremely poisonous Leviathan, broke the heavy silence and made the final decision.
“……The death penalty. No punishment other than that will make him pay a reasonable price.”
Four of the 7 families insisted on extenuating circumstances, and the remaining three insisted on extreme punishment without extenuating circumstances.
It was the first time that the jury members had such mixed opinions, so even the representative of the imperial family looked very embarrassed.
He turned to Bikir and asked.
“Do you have anything to say before the verdict?”
Bikir raised his head at those words.
“…”
Calmly sunken eyes scanned the judge.
Hugo sits in a wheelchair and turns around, whose expression is unknown.
Osiris frowns.
L’Espane’s expression hardened as if she was thinking of her daughter.
Nabokov I and Damian with complex expressions.
On the other hand, the facial expressions of the other three members of the jury are different.
Passamonte Madeline Hobbs.
On the outside, they appear to be calm, just, and fair, but in fact, they are uglier than anything else and harbor a hideous malice.
‘…… Almost all the rest of them jumped out.’
Vikir was keeping an eye on the three remaining demons.
Originally, it is the ‘Door of Destruction’ that can be opened only when ten devils gather.
However, there were only four survivors, so there was a high possibility that they would make more extreme choices to complete their mission.
And before that choice, it was clear that he would want to get rid of Bikir first.
‘I’ll gladly go along with your plans.’
Vikir also had a separate target, and it did not conflict with the target of the three demons.
So Vikir just quietly closed his eyes and swallowed all the arguments.
Meanwhile, those who attended the trial were agitated by Bikir’s attitude.
“Look at that shameless thing!”
“There is no sign of remorse after killing so many people!”
“……I thought you were a hero, but I’m very disappointed.”
“It’s the death penalty! Such wicked people must be put to death!”
“Let’s show that justice lives!”
It was only after the security guards left that the audience’s commotion subsided.
Before long, the representative of the imperial family fluttered the hem of her nun’s robe and came down the stairs and asked.
“…I’ll ask you again. This is the last time. Do you have anything to say before the verdict?”
Only then did Bikir answer.
His gaze was directed towards the representative of the imperial family, but his voice was directed elsewhere.
“Retreating is not running away, and when danger outweighs hope, it is not sensible to just wait. A wise man learns to forego today for tomorrow’s sake and does not risk everything in one day.”
A story left by a brave knight of the Don Quixote family in the distant past.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Upon hearing that, Passamonte Madeline Hobbes exchanged meaningful glances with each other.
Soon the verdict was handed down.
The representative of the imperial family read the verdict in a reverent voice with the hem of her nun’s robe hanging down.
“The accused, Vikir van Baskerville. He is a devout follower of the Runic religion, the son of the Baskervilles, and the godfather of the Bourgeois, the prospective son-in-law of Morgue, the evangelist of the Quo Vadis.”
It means that he is a descendant of the Baskervilles, has a good religious relationship with the Quo Vadis family, and has been engaged to Morgue, and also that Damian of the bourgeois family considers him the godfather of his deceased daughter.
“However, the accused committed the unforgivable felony of murder several times. Also, the people he killed were all those who played an important role in the security and development of the empire, so their crimes can be said to be more serious and vicious. I can. With this…!”
A final verdict has been issued.
“The death penalty is dismissed in consideration of the noble lineage of the accused.”
At that, a sigh of relief came from Baskerville Morgue Quo Vadis Bourgeois.
“However, considering the defendant’s serious and heinous crime, a simple prison sentence is meaningless.”
This time, exclamations came from the Don Quixote Usher Leviathan family.
Before long, Bikir’s disposition was officially decided with certainty.
“…Therefore, the accused Vikir van Baskerville is sentenced to ‘3021 life imprisonment without parole’. In addition, the place of confinement will be a ‘special prison’ for the purpose of permanent social isolation for serious criminals, not a ‘general prison’. limited.”
Life imprisonment without parole. And that’s over 3,000 times.
It means that even if you live and die and end your life once, you will not be able to get out of prison while the process is repeated 3,000 times and 21 more times.
This was a ruling that reflected the court’s strong stance that Bikir would never be allowed to return to society.
……but. Prior to sentencing, Bikir paid attention to something else.
Not a ‘general prison’, but a ‘special prison’. This meant only one thing.
‘……Nouvelle Vague.’
It is a prison that exists on the outskirts of the empire.
A terrifying prison where even the souls of those imprisoned once die are imprisoned.
Bikir is imprisoned in such a harsh and terrible prison that the death penalty is considered preferable.
That’s during the life sentence that will continue 3021 times!
A somber atmosphere pervades the audience on the Baskerville Morgue Quo Vadis Bourgeois side.
On the other hand, a warm wind was blowing among the audience on the Don Quixote Usher Leviathan side.
A whirlwind of emotions in which the joys and sorrows of many people are mixed.
Standing in the middle of it, Bikir was quietly sharpening the sword in his heart.
‘……Now it’s the final phase.’
End game.
A handful of chess pieces left on the board. An extremely fierce water fight.
It was the beginning of the final chapter in earnest.
