Volume 6, 31

Volume 6, Chapter 31

Led by Hamilton who walks in front of him, Ryouma went inside the House of Lords.

It was a fairly large building, not as big as the royal palace of course.

But he had been walking around ten minutes already.

In the meantime, Ryouma scratched his head lightly, with Hamilton glancing at him once in a while.

Certainly, it was normal for Hamilton to look uneasy, after all, his family was held hostage by the Iga clan.

Furthermore, when he returned home, his home was empty and there was only one letter being left there.

Hamilton head must’ve been full of questions as to who was the one that took hostage of his family, and for what…

And the person with the most motivation and power to did that was currently standing in front of Hamilton.

Had they didn’t have escort knight with them, it was easy to imagine that Hamilton would’ve flared up at Ryouma by now.

Surely, Hamilton must be thinking Ryouma as a demon or a devil right now.

He didn’t think the reason why he was being targeted.

(The letter said that if he does his jobs properly then there won’t be a problem. From the way he took a glance at me once in a while too, I guess it was easy to predict from who huh…?)

When Ryouma turn his gaze at Hamilton, he immediately averted his gaze away in panic, which made Ryouma sighed a little.

(It’s not like I don’t understand his feeling but, am I really not that trustworthy? Geez… Even though I looked like this, among my classmate I could be said as a good person, you know?)

Certainly, just because he followed the order in the letter, it didn’t mean that Hamilton family would return unharmed, and besides, even with a proper guarantee, Hamilton himself won’t trust it.

But, at least for Ryouma, he won’t break the promise that he once made.

Even though he used the same method, he was not the kind of a person like the late general, who kidnapped Elena’s daughter and forced her to quit as a general, then broke the promise and sold her family to slave traders.

Of course, he could just make an excuse where he said that there was no such promise written in the letter.

It was the so-called gray-zone.

However, he would absolutely won’t step his foot on the black territory. -

Even if it was a one-sided thing like this one.

Even kidnappers who made the business out of it would always release the hostage whenever ransom had been paid.

Of course, there were many kidnappers who killed their hostages, but that was maybe because the purpose of the kidnapping may not be because of money.

However, on the other hand, it was undeniable that there was a high chance that the hostages would be returned when the ransom was paid without police intervention.

But in the end, the question rest in whether the criminal was a professional or not.

Because professional criminals would never break an agreement or a promise.

Because they knew their credibility of fulfilling their promise was an important thing, especially for those who choose to break the law.

Of course, they also demanded the same credibility from the other party.

Because trust should be two-ways.

And people who could not understand that would end up paying the price due time.

And not differentiate family…

In that sense, Hamilton was still lucky.

Surely his action had rouse Ryouma’s anger but, at least Ryouma didn’t think he should kill his family just because of that. -

(After all, grandfather had always told me that if one lost the trust of the people, it would take a long time for it to recover… Though at that time, I thought of his words only as an annoying thing…)

Those words were words that parents must’ve told to their children at least once.

And it could be said that was the most important thing when it comes to human relations.

After all, a human cannot live alone.

And as long you cannot live alone, trust was the most important thing to live in a group.

Truth was the result of past activities and achievements, and people would make a positive forecast based on that trust.

That was why Ryouma never trusted Lupis anymore because in his eyes she had used her power to break her promise one-sidedly.

(Well, I will let them use it this time…)

When Ryouma thought something while having a smile on his face, Hamilton who leads them stopped in front of a door.

Probably they have arrived in front of the room used for the hearing.

And looking at the splendid decoration and the guards guarding the door, that guess seems to be right.

After Hamilton nodded slowly, the door was opened by the guard knights. -

(Well, I will leave him to the Iga… I have my own work that needs to be done…)

Ryouma quietly enter the room with Hamilton looking at him as if he had something he still wanted to say. -

It was fairly a large room.

No, rather than an ordinary room, this was more like a courtroom.

Though Ryouma didn’t know, it was the same room that Roberto and the others had fought yesterday.

In Japan, when the inquisition was held, they need to pass the inquisition room first, but it seems to be different in this Rozeria Kingdom.

“your Excellency Baron Mikoshiba. This way please…”

One of the guard knights standing near the door escorted Ryouma.

Ryouma then followed his lead and quickly gaze around the courtroom.

(Very well guarded… Well, this is a courtroom, after all, it is no wonder for the security to be strict… Looking around, around 40 to 50 knights are being stationed I guess?)

Since the house of lords was one of the important institutions in the Rozeria Kingdom, it was natural that knights were deployed to guard it.

However, even with that reason, that number was still a bit too much…

“Please stand here.”

It was exactly the center of the room.

The spot was one step higher than the floor.

In front of him, a small table was placed to make it possible to put materials.

From that point of view, the court itself was no different even though this was another world.

(However… There’s no chair huh?… Geez, I wonder if my legs could hold on…)

Whether that was pure harassment or Ryouma was the one who was foolish to ask consideration from the people of this world, no one know the answer but, it seems he needs to stand until the hearing end.

Ryouma took a small sigh and stood in the middle of the room.

As if waiting for it, the sound of a sound block being hit by a mallet(gavel) could be heard.

And among the twenty aristocrats sitting in front of Ryouma, a man sitting in the highest place gradually opened his mouth.

“Now then, let us start the hearing…”

Apparently, there was no word of apology for making Ryouma waiting in that cramped room for an entire day.

-

Furthermore, since they know who he was, it seems they also think that Ryouma knew who they were…

(Well, they are the leader of noble factions. In this country, no nobleman doesn’t know their face but…)

Certainly, this was an unpleasant situation.

However, Ryouma could not afford to underestimate Marquis Halcyon powers.

Aristocrats faction. It was the largest faction in the country, composed of the Rozeria Kingdom nobles, with the former Duke Grahardt at the top.

However, even within the aristocrats’ faction, various internal faction exists.

For example, some aristocrats aim to make their territory prosper, while others place more importance on the struggle of power within the royal palace than managing their territory. As for those who have their territory close to the border, they would mostly focus on the military.

And Marquis Halcyon was the head of a faction called the bureaucratic aristocrats who control the politics of the Kingdom.

In fact, Marquis Halcyon power cannot be underestimated.

And House of lords was a place where they could deal with and punish aristocrats, in other words, it was a court dedicated to the aristocrats.

Sure, the most powerful person in the Rozeria Kingdom was Queen Lupis as the chief executive. In her hands, she held everything, administration, legislature and judiciary powers.

But even for the most powerful person that didn’t mean she could handle all of the work personally.

Though of course, the final decision rest on Queen Lupis hand.

But, in the end, she left the practical work to other people.

And the one who holds that practical work position, Marquis Halcyon, was sitting in front of Ryouma and smiled at him arrogantly.

(Now then… how will the Marquis proceed with this… First, should I shot and see how it would go?)

Ryouma took a deep breath and slowly opened his mouth. -