Chapter 108: Administration Scandal Case [1]

Who would have thought that Hojein Allegan was the mastermind behind all this? To be honest, it was a completely unexpected result. Of course, the other person would have been quite surprised as well.

He stabbed me in the stomach with a large knife, but I was still standing.

"Oh, well, how?"

Hojein's chin was shaking, as if he was quite surprised.

Oh, is that because i hit my head? But it didn't hit that hard.

No matter how angry you are, you should at least try to talk.

I smiled broadly and slowly spread my left arm, with the blade held in my hand.

*Snap, crack, snap!*

A red aura that burns brightly. What saved my life in that split second was the heart of the beast. I was able to capture the opponent's subtle movements thanks to the skill effect.

I looked down at Hojein and said, "Why did you do that?"

"What?"

The answer I got back was incredibly shameless. The expression on his face, as if he didn't understand English, was pure innocence itself.

'Wow! What kind of sociopath is this?'

A hollow laugh escaped my lips at the look in his eyes that showed not a hint of guilt. Still, I asked the question one more time.

"Deliat was quickly becoming normal. And didn't you give the consuls sufficient salaries and authority?"

The question was, what is lacking that is making this happen?

Until now, Hojein Allegan has held the position of consul without compensation. Wasn't the reason to see Deliat standing up straight?

The other person's expression became distorted. It seemed as if his strong will was shaken by what I said.

"That…"

Finally, Hojein's mouth opened, his expression very frowning. But then I felt a subtle pressure on my left arm. I gritted my teeth and let out a short sigh.

"Ha! It's hopeless."

This was because the opponent was secretly putting strength into the sword.

What does this mean? The intention is to take advantage of the moment of carelessness and poke at me again.

"No, just a moment."

"Don't be a jerk. There's no need to talk anymore."

*Snap!*

As I applied force to my left hand, the blade bent like a sheet of paper. Then, I punched Hojein Allegan in the face with a punch filled with anger.

*Crunch!*

"Grrrr!"

This time, it was a heartfelt punch without any mercy. It was probably even more shocking than being hit by a gavel.

Hojein, who had fallen backward, rolled his eyes. The villain who caused Deliat to regress has finally been arrested. Although it was a bit coercive, there couldn't be a more efficient way.

'No, no matter how hard I tried to have a rational conversation, it wouldn't have worked.'

From the beginning, everyone from the management to the citizens was filled with barbaric thoughts. It seemed to me that the Empire was the same, but it was especially bad here.

I felt that way even more because the country had completely fallen apart once. If so, a very powerful treatment would be needed.

'Everything from A to Z needs to be reformed.'

* * *

Those who were eating away at the Government-General were arrested one after another.

Because so many people participated, the police detention center was about to burst. It didn't really matter, though, because they were planning to try dozens of people at once anyway.

Of course, the procedure is arbitrary. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

'The police that are supposed to investigate are a mess, and the prosecution is also full of people involved.'

Still, the trial will proceed smoothly. Anyway, all the criminals were caught, and all the evidence was out there. If it's like this, it's just a standard for punishment...

No, actually, there was nothing like that. I could have just passed judgment as I pleased because the imperial code was still applied in Deliat.

Three days after Hojein Allegan was captured, the first trial was finally held.

"We will now begin the trial of the Government-General's State Administration Scandal Case."

Since there was no associate judge, I had to conduct the entire process myself. So, I lightly omitted the question of asking him to salute me.

'It feels a bit unfamiliar.'

I had seen Judge Josef Padilla do it so often that I knew I couldn't make a mistake.

As Hojein sat down as the defendant, a loud noise erupted from the gallery.

"Hey, hey! You piece of trash!"

"You don't even know the grace of the Governor-General, and you are ruining the country?"

"They say that the amount of taxes they've avoided so far is enough to build a small park in gold."

"I didn't think the Allegan family would be like that, but they're all the same."

The voices were unanimous in their fierce condemnation. There were parts that resonated with me, so I wanted to hear more, but I couldn't.

*Bang, bang, bang!*

"Be quiet."

I tried to calm the heated atmosphere by striking the gavel. But the excitement did not easily subside because most of the audience were wage laborers who made a living thanks to government-funded construction projects.

'I can't do this well. I'm not as shameless as Josef.'

Of course, I was also a tough person.

If you don't have guts, you can't even do police work.

He said that he trained by rolling around here and there on site.

"Quiet!"

*Boom!*

As the gavel came down with a rebuke, silence finally fell. It wasn't just because of the loud ringing sound.

It was because the beast's heart, which was pulled up in an instant, emitted a powerful force. Most of the audience probably felt their hearts sink.

"Ahem! Since there is no prosecutor to proceed with the proceedings, this trial will proceed at the discretion of the court. Is the defendant's name Hojein Allegan?"

"…Yes."

"The amount of embezzlement on paper was 50,000 gold. But why was there only half that amount of money in the hideout?"

Hojein, who had been chewing his lips, soon lowered his head. His head was probably spinning. Which one is more beneficial? But even so, it didn't make much of a difference.

"Stop worrying. Even if you try to hide the embezzlement, you won't be able to use it for anything."

"What does that mean?"

"If you just consider the crimes you've committed so far, you'll be in prison for the rest of your life."

"That's ridiculous! I just stole a few gold coins…"

"Defendant!"

I shouted at Hojein, who was talking nonsense.

Then everyone's attention focused on me.

A silence so thick fell over the room that you could hear a pin drop. Finally, I stabbed him with a wedge-like thrust.

"Whose dog's name is 25,000 Golden? Isn't that the total wealth of the Allegan family combined?"

It was a large sum of money that even the imperial aristocrats would be astonished by. Even if he were the governor of a small country like Deliat, he would only be a local figure.

'So that's why your eyes rolled back.'

What if a huge amount of taxes were collected, and you could do with it whatever you wanted?

Anyone would have been tempted. It must have felt like it was all his own money.

'There's no response.'

Even though I urged him again, Hojein's mouth would not open. Now was the time to gently coax him.

"Okay. If you tell me where the rest of the money is hidden, I'll cut your sentence in half."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes."

"Please explain in detail. From where to where."

Oh, you're so quick-witted. I hit it just as I thought, and then tried to shorten it to say something like this. The author probably doesn't know what the original sentence was.

It was a kind of three-pronged operation. But then you can't use tricks. After thinking for a moment, I soon spoke with confident eyes.

"25 years out of 50 years."

"Did you really intend to punish me so harshly? After all, I have devoted myself to Deliat!"

To be honest, I thought it was great. But Hojein's achievements are a thing of the past. Aren't you currently under arrest for embezzlement and dereliction of duty?

The mistakes were so great that they overshadowed the good work.

I said, pointing to the audience.

"Defendant, how are those people looking at you?"

"… … ."

Hojein looked back absentmindedly. I couldn't see his face, but it probably had a puzzled expression. Because so many people were looking at him.

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you took away their hope. Because you clipped the wings of Deliat, who was trying to fly high. Why don't you realize that yet?"

"I, I just did the same thing as the previous governors! What's wrong with that?"

Actually, if you look at it from a different perspective, he was right. Because past governors squeezed Deliat to make their own money. But I'm not the type of person to get caught up in that kind of bullshit logic.

"That doesn't mean you're allowed to embezzle and neglect your duties. Do you have anything else to say? Are you not going to confess?"

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Hojein kept his mouth shut, his fists trembling. His appearance still showed that he couldn't admit his own mistakes.

Negotiating a plea deal for that guy? Isn't that too merciful?

'It's hidden money anyway, so we can find it by hitting other guys.'

I immediately picked up the gavel.