Little Tyrant Doesn't Want to Meet with a Bad End

Chapter 201: Leave it To Me

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There was a commotion at the entrance of Rosa City the following morning.

At the break of dawn, an investigation squad dispatched by the Saint Mesit Theocracy had arrived at Rosa City. They brought the Sorofyas’ servants, who had previously been working for the Diamond Rivière, together with them.

Grace and the others had been taken into custody by Nora’s knights for a week now. They were still allowed to do whatever they wanted to, just that they were restricted from straying too far away from the group. The plan was to send them back to Rosa, but they didn’t tag along with the first convoy from the Ascart House as there were too many of them. Instead, they followed Nora’s convoy, which departed slightly afterward, resulting in them missing the Liberation Day celebrations.

It wasn’t really a huge deal missing the holiday, since it was an annual celebration for Rosaians anyway. Nevertheless, their late arrival in Rosa still left Grace incredibly panicked.

During her time in the Ascart Fiefdom, she had managed to gather quite a bit of intelligence, and she discovered something that, if true, could put her young miss at an extremely great disadvantage.

“When are you going to release me? We’ve already entered Rosa City, haven’t we?”

Locked within the bounds of the Diamond Rivière, the infuriated maid bellowed angrily at the knights of the Theocracy. However, the knights were strictly instructed to not allow any of the Sorofyas’ servants to leave the confines of the carriages using the pretext of having to hold a formal handover.

Grace looked at Bishop Philip, who was chatting leisurely with someone else about the unique sights in Rosa City, and she had no choice but to drop the idea of breaking out forcefully.

“Young miss...” murmured Grace worriedly.

...

Meanwhile, in the Rosa Conference Hall, an elegantly dressed Charlotte stepped forward to greet Nora and the church’s legal task force standing behind her.

Earlier today, after entering the city, the investigation squad, tasked with the important responsibility of looking into the kidnapping case of the proxy fief lord of the Ascart Fiefdom, marched into the Rosa Conference Hall under Nora’s lead and summoned the prime suspect, Charlotte Sorofya.

Roel should have been here too, but he was excused in view of his ailing health. The church would instead dispatch personnel to Hundred Birds Gallery in order to obtain his testimony.

Charlotte had anticipated such a move from Nora, and she had prepared herself for it. This was evidenced by the imposing squad of Rosaian lawyers standing at attention behind her.

The situation was tense right from the get-go.

“Based on Clause 4 of the ‘Saint Mesit Theocracy’s National Security Act’, whenever a fief lord has his freedom restricted as a result of unlawful kidnapping, abduction, or actions of similar nature, the Theocracy’s government and the Xeclyde Royal Family are permitted to intervene and use all possible means to stop, arrest, and punish the criminals involved. The criminals will be brought to Holy Capital Loren to be tried for their sins.

“We have grounds to suspect that Miss Charlotte Sorofya from the Rosa Merchant Confederacy has violated this clause and many others. With the evidence we have gathered thus far, we are authorized to conduct a forceful arrest.”

An old, white-haired supreme judge from the Theocracy started off the negotiations with powerful words dripping with threat. Years of dealing with the law had built up his air of authority, giving him an imposing presence. While everyone present knew that ‘authorized to conduct a forceful arrest’ was utter bullshit under present circumstances, they still found themselves intimidated.

However, the forceful attitude of the Theocracy was bound to be faced with equally forceful resistance from Rosa. Under the imposing gaze of the supreme judge, an elder with a snowy beard shakily rose to his feet. He was a retired senior official in the Rosa Legal Department. Despite his old age, his composed rebuttal was nothing to be made light of.

“According to the special clause stated in the ‘Strategic Alliance White Paper of the Rosa Merchant Confederacy and the Ascart Fiefdom’, during wartime, if a member of either ruling house is severely injured or in a dangerous position due to exceptional circumstances, the other party is obliged to provide a safe environment and satisfactory medical treatment for that individual.

“As far as I know, the incumbent fief lord of the Ascart Fiefdom, Marquess Carter, is currently fighting on the frontlines of the eastern border to repel the deviants. This could be said to be an exceptional circumstance for the Ascart Fiefdom. Miss Charlotte Sorofya noticed that Mister Roel Ascart had sustained significant injuries, and her judgment led her to believe that the Ascart Fiefdom is unable to provide satisfactory treatment for him in the absence of Marquess Carter. It’s on those grounds that she chose to bring him over to Rosa for treatment, and it’s a legitimate and logical course of action.

“As for the accusation claiming that she has kidnapped Mister Roel Ascart, that’s nothing more than a misunderstanding arising from a miscommunication between both houses. I’ll have to ask the investigation squad to construe its words carefully in order to avoid further misunderstandings.”

Those two old men had a combined age of over two hundred years, and yet, they were glaring at one another across the long table, shooting sparks at one another. Under their lead, their aides quickly stepped forward to further push their cases.

“The ‘Strategic Alliance White Paper of the Rosa Merchant Confederacy and the Ascart Fiefdom’ you have quoted is nothing more than a private agreement signed between the Ascart Fiefdom and the Rosa Merchant Confederacy. It carries no legal power in the Saint Mesit Theocracy, and its priority is far beneath that of our ‘National Security Act’!”

“Based on the clauses of the ‘Third International Humankind Alliance Agreement’, local laws should be prioritized when it comes to private disputes between two fiefs. The private strategic agreements that fiefs have made with one another at their discretion hold binding power under such circumstances.”

“The sudden disappearance of Mister Roel Ascart is an international affair which has affected the stability of the Saint Mesit Theocracy and undermined the authority of Her Highness Nora Xeclyde. Given its far-reaching impact, it should not be trivialized as a private affair between two fiefs. I’d have to ask the lawyers of the Rosa Legal Department not to misrepresent the nature of the incident!”

It was an intense clash of legalities between both sides. The participating members in this heated battle were top legal talents of both countries, and they had no trouble quoting all sorts of little-known clauses and cases. Thick law books were flipped through at an astounding pace as both sides swiftly searched for references to reinforce their arguments. The scope of their debate included the laws of the Saint Mesit Theocracy, the Ascart Fiefdom, the Rosa Merchant Confederacy, and even the international strategic coordination agreements signed by all human countries. There was nothing they wouldn’t use as a weapon here.

The Theocracy’s Supreme Judge Karsted fought toe-to-toe with Ex-Senior Official Caloo of the Rosa Legal Department, unhesitatingly taking each other’s arguments down. As the clash grew more heated, they soon became emotionally charged in the debate. Piercing glares were shot across the table as they huffed furiously.

At this point, it was no longer about being their young misses’ wingmen anymore. This battle was slowly becoming a confrontation between the legal forces of the Theocracy and Rosa. A loss here wouldn’t just disappoint either Nora or Charlotte; they would find themselves unable to raise their heads before the other party in the future too.

For three whole hours, they debated with a fervor that wouldn’t lose out to even the fiercest of housewives. Nora’s investigation squad was on the offense here, but under the tight protection of the Rosa lawyers, they were unable to pin a crime to Charlotte that would stick.

Charlotte took a sip of tea, unsurprised by the outcome. She had made thorough preparations for this very day, not to mention that the lawyers of Rosa, due to frequent court cases arising from business disputes, were extremely skilled in debates. Bruce even personally engaged the help of the retired Caloo, who had achieved many outstanding merits for the Rosa Legal Department. With the line-up they had here, it was almost implausible that they might lose today.

“The condition of establishing whether there has been a restriction of personal freedom in this case depends on whether the person-in-question, Mister Roel Ascart, has willingly chosen to come along with Miss Charlotte Sorofya. Before setting out to Rosa, Miss Charlotte Sorofya has requested Mister Roel Ascart’s permission, and they have even engaged in entertainment activities including stargazing. The evidence on this point is at odds with the legal definition of kidnapping.”

After a series of debates, the inquisition squad was still unable to make any progress. So, Supreme Judge Karsted turned around to look at Nora, who was seated behind leisurely, and the latter nodded slightly.

“I see. In that case, we shall temporarily set aside the accusations we have on Miss Charlotte Sorofya’s infringement of the law, and move on to discussing the engagement contract between Miss Charlotte Sorofya and Mister Roel Ascart.”

Those words plunged the courtroom into a state of momentary silence. The lawyers on Rosa’s side looked at one another for a moment before heaving a sigh of relief.

In their view, there was nothing much about the engagement to discuss. It was true that there were some laws regarding engagements, but they were very vague especially since it was more of a civil matter. If the other party was unable to indict Charlotte under the crime of kidnapping, they would have very little ground to forcefully annul the engagement. Basically, what they had to do here was just to insist on the fulfillment of the engagement contract.

The worst was finally over, and it looked like the other party wanted to take a rest too.

With such thoughts in mind, the lawyers finally released a bit of their tension. After hours of debate, it was already nearing noon. They were all exhausted, and some of them were already thinking about what they should have for lunch.

It was amidst this peaceful atmosphere that Supreme Judge Karsted posed a question.

“May I know which laws the engagement contract between Miss Charlotte Sorofya and Mister Roel Ascart comes under?”

“It’s the ‘Saint Mesit Theocracy’s Engagement Act’ and the ‘Rosa Merchant Confederacy’s Engagement Act’. It has a legitimate contract created under the testimony of the laws of both our countries.”

“I see. That’s great.”

Those words brought a satisfied smile to the lips of the white-haired judge.

...

“Lord Brother, what’s wrong?!”

In the Hundred Birds Gallery, Alicia stared at the wheelchair-bound boy in astonishment. For a moment, she felt that the world was spinning around her. She immediately dashed to Roel’s side, and unknowingly, tears had already begun dripping down her fair cheeks. She didn’t even dare to touch Roel out of fear of worsening his injuries.

“Ah? W-wait a moment, don’t cry! I’m fine.”

Watching as the tears of his beloved adopted sister continued to flow, Roel felt like his heart was going to shatter. He grabbed her hand and placed it next to his face before gently explaining everything that he had been through during this period of time.

When Alicia heard that Roel was being plagued by three side effects, making even walking strenuous for him, her body trembled in fury. Just thinking about how Charlotte dared to blatantly make light of Roel’s condition made her utterly infuriated.

Charlotte! This matter isn’t over yet!

Alicia jotted down this score in her debt book while Roel began asking her about how she had been doing.

“Alicia, how has your training been going? You should have reached Origin Level 5, right?”

“Ah? I, well, I just reached Origin Level 5. What’s wrong, Lord Brother?”

Roel heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Alicia’s lie. He took some time to pick his words before stringing them carefully together.

“Well, as it happens, one of the side effects I’m suffering from is ailing life force...”

“Ailing life force... Alright, I understand.”

A sharp glint flashed across Alicia’s eyes. She leaned in toward the black-haired boy’s ears and whispered tenderly.

“Lord Brother, leave it all to me.”