Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (5)
"Phew. I don't know about the other seasons, but couldn't they at least make the judicial robes worn in summer out of lighter material? It's not like anything bad would happen if they did."
The senior judge spoke while removing his robe, which had grown heavy after being soaked with sweat in the sweltering summer heat, and hung it on a clothes rack.
"Heh heh, well, at least suffering in this weather paid off."
Although his body felt unbearably sticky from sweat, the thought of the heavy purse filled with gold coins from Saint-Domingue made the corners of his mouth curl upward.
Right. Everyone works just to make a living. If you close one eye a little, what's the harm? It's only a single black man dying anyway.
'This is a bill of exchange for fifty thousand livres as the advance. The rest will be delivered after the verdict. Your Honor! Please take good care of the matter!'
'What—what is this! Ahem. To think the Governor's generosity is so great in punishing such an unparalleled criminal in this world! As a servant of the law, I cannot possibly stand by and ignore it!'
'Indeed! As long as such a man continues to breathe the air of this world, every moment must be hell for the victims in heaven and their families! Kh-huh… I'm sorry. Just thinking about them makes it impossible for me to stop crying.'
The moment when justice was carried out was always thrilling.
The judge's face, savoring that emotional meeting from several days ago, had already curled into a grin that nearly reached his ears.
Knock, knock.
"Hmm? Who is it?"
"Your Honor, it's Blanchelande."
"Oh! It's the Governor!"
As expected of the governor who ruled Saint-Domingue, the land of milk and honey for France—his business ethics were impeccable!
The judge hurriedly opened the door and ushered the precious guest who had come to settle the payment into his office.
"Your Honor, that was truly an excellent verdict! Hahaha!"
The distinguished guest sat gracefully and, while speaking, pulled out a banknote from inside his coat and casually slid it onto the desk.
The number… no—! What is this? Ten… ten thousand? No—one hundred thousand! One hundred thousand livres!
His mouth felt as though it might tear apart from how wide his grin wanted to stretch, yet for some reason his lips refused to obey the commands sent by his brain.
"Hahaha! Not at all. I merely passed down a judgment of justice as the voice of the goddess Minerva."
In the end, the judge failed to suppress his laughter and grasped Governor Blanchelande's hand, shaking it vigorously.
"Hahaha!! Is that so!"
"Of course it is! Wahahaha!!"
—You must not enter here. Please turn back!
—No, I'm telling you, I just need to say one thing!
"Huh, it's rather noisy outside."
"My apologies… I clearly told them again and again not to allow anyone in except the Governor! Tsk tsk…"
"It's fine, Your Honor. Subordinates are always like this. They can't even carry out a simple order from people like us. Tsk."
"You are absolutely correct!"
"Well, it'll be quiet soon enough anyway, won't it?"
"Indeed, indeed!"
The judge rubbed his palms together and eagerly agreed with the Governor.
However, despite their conversation, the voices and footsteps that had seemed like a mere disturbance drew closer and closer to the judge's office.
I clearly told them not to interrupt this important meeting!
The judge inwardly swore that he would beat the duty officers today for failing to do their jobs properly.
…Wait a moment, though.
—Y-Your Excellency! This area is restricted to court personnel! You truly cannot enter here!
—So the judge from earlier is in here, right? Good. I found the place.
—Your Excellency! You cannot go in!
Your Excellency? Was there anyone in the courthouse who should be addressed that way right now?
The judge's curiosity was answered the moment a young man kicked the door open.
Bang!
"You fucking judge! Let's have a word."
"C-Comptroller-General… Your Excellency…?"
"And just what was the basis for a verdict like this—… Wait. Why are the two of you together?"
One of them was the judge who had just issued the ruling, and the other was the Governor of Saint-Domingue or whatever.
The plaintiff and the judge sitting side by side having a friendly chat—this reeks of something filthy.
"W-Well, you see, Your Excellency…"
"Hahaha, it's merely a social gathering, Your Excellency."
"…A social gathering?"
They looked exactly like delinquent students who had been caught secretly smoking behind the school building.
"When the two of you meet like this right after the trial ends, it's difficult to interpret it in a positive way."
"Ah… hahaha… We will refrain from it in the future, Your Excellency!"
"We were short-sighted, Your Excellency."
The two men nodded repeatedly as they spoke to me.
"Haah. Fine. Let's say it was a social gathering, Judge."
"Yes? Ah, yes!"
"Then why did the verdict come out like that? Explain it to me."
"W-Well, there was clear testimony and evidence…"
"Testimony? Evidence? You count the plaintiff's testimony as testimony? And if by evidence you mean that financial report, hand it over. I'll have the Ministry of Finance verify whether it's legitimate."
"E-Excuse me??"
"I said I'll check whether it's proper evidence."
Why is the judge looking anxiously at the governor standing beside him?
"…Your Honor."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Please step outside so I can speak with Governor Blanchelande for a moment."
"Excuse me…?"
"Would you step outside?"
"B-But… Your Excellency, this is my office…"
"Ah, this is irritating. I told you to leave."
"Ah! Yes, sir!"
Why the hell does he keep whining?
At my shout, the judge tucked his tail between his legs and hurried out of the room.
Left alone with the governor, I slowly walked toward him.
"Governor Blanchelande."
"…Yes, Your Excellency."
"I'll ask plainly. The financial report you submitted as evidence—there isn't even the slightest lie in it?"
"…There is none, Your Excellency."
None? This bastard. Does he think I'm a fool because I'm young?
Suppressing the heat rising to my face from irritation, I asked again.
"I'll ask one last time. There isn't?"
"There isn't, Your Excellency. There is not a single lie in any of the reports."
"So that's how you want to play it?"
Damn. I never thought I'd feel that same filthy frustration I felt back in the army again.
If you did wrong, just say you did wrong. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Please forgive me. Three sentences. That's all it takes. Why keep scratching at the wound and making people angry?
"Very well. Then may I take that report to the Ministry of Finance and have it examined?"
"…Of course, Your Excellency."
"Phew. Good. I'll see you later."
I opened the office door and stepped outside.
"Y-Your Excellency…"
"Judge—no. You. Deliver all the evidence to the Ministry of Finance by tomorrow. Understood?"
"Yes! Yes, I understand!"
"Let's avoid situations that make people blush like this next time. Thank you for lending me your office."
"..."
Leaving the judge silently bowing his head, I took out a cigarette, put it in my mouth, and lit it—but before I could take a single drag, I threw it to the ground and crushed it under my heel.
The half-burned tobacco crackled beneath my shoe.
This is fucking awful. The last time I felt this shitty was when I fell off the Han River bridge while smoking.
I told Toussaint Bréda all that nonsense about a "fair trial," yet the result turned out like this. It makes me feel like a hypocrite.
I walked out of the courthouse and approached the rugged, burly man waiting beside a carriage in the distance.
"Mr. Oudinot."
"Yes, boss."
"Do you know anyone in the navy or the trading business?"
"I don't personally, but I believe someone in our security company has a family member who works on a ship."
"Anyone will do. Gather every piece of information about the Saint-Domingue Governor's Office and send it to the Ministry of Finance."
"Yes! Consider it done, boss."
Blanchelande, you bastard. I don't know how deeply you stuffed money into dirty back channels, but I'll burn it all down with a twenty-first-century-style accounting audit.
And then—
"Mr. Oudinot, take me to the Jacobin Monastery."
"Yes, boss."
This part is just a bonus for you, bastard.
"So you want me to take charge of that man's defense?"
"That's right."
Monsieur Guillotine, the leader of the Mountain faction, Deputy Robespierre, fell silent for a moment after hearing my request. He took a sip of milk to wet his throat before speaking again.
"Finance Minister Guillaume de Toulon, do you truly believe that this man named Toussaint Bréda is innocent?"
"Whether he is innocent or not is not important."
"Hmm? Not important?"
Deputy Robespierre tilted his head, and I calmly answered.
"What matters is that he was sentenced to death in a rushed trial without a proper legal process."
"Hmm."
Robespierre was an upright man.
Of course, that same uprightness would eventually cross the line and send anyone he considered a threat to the revolution to the guillotine… but that's not something to think about here.
In any case, people didn't call Robespierre "The Incorruptible" and "The Virtuous One" for nothing.
For a man like him, there was only one effective way to press this case.
Emphasize that the judiciary had violated its own principles—that it had violated the presumption of innocence.
"Deputy Robespierre, what happened here is no different from threatening the rule of law advocated by Rousseau and Montesquieu."
"A threat to the rule of law."
Robespierre stroked his chin and murmured.
"Think about it. This precedent will likely operate in the future as something that shakes the very foundations of the rule of law."
"I am deeply concerned about how hastily this trial must have proceeded for the Finance Minister to say such things."
"He had no lawyer, and they sentenced a man to death based on circumstantial evidence. If that isn't a rushed trial, what is?"
"Sentencing based on circumstantial evidence is not necessarily a problem, but being tried without a lawyer is certainly a serious situation."
Hmm… Something about that statement sounded strange, but since the conclusion was the same, it probably didn't matter.
"Very well. I will take on the case, Finance Minister Guillaume."
"Thank you, Deputy Robespierre!"
Phew. That takes care of one thing.
"Brother, is it really necessary for you to get involved? If you limit it to a single verdict, it's nothing at all."
"Yes. If you think about it simply, it's nothing. Augustin."
Robespierre nodded readily in response to the words of his younger brother and fellow Mountain faction deputy, Augustin Robespierre.
"But if you think about it differently…"
Maximilien Robespierre rose from his seat and said,
"It is also everything about the rule of law."
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