She continued, “First, I should point out that we’re entitled to seize assets in the form of war reparations. You might have assumed that that’s unnecessary since the Ho family army has remained virtually unharmed, but any war on this scale will necessitate some form of compensation.
“In addition, I can’t fully accept what you just said, Sharun. You see, if the assets aren’t seized, then they’ll be passed on when you die. That will create all sorts of problems. If we simply follow witch customs, your fortunes will be inherited by your closest relatives, and it would be up to them to decide how they’re used.
“Suppose several of your closest relatives survive the trials and inherit all of your assets, while everyone else is left to handle the payments themselves—that is, of course, unless the inheritors are generous enough to help them. Those with the highest ranking would be left with money, while those beneath them would be left with debts.
“For every witch left with debt, there’s a victim who didn’t get the compensation they’re entitled to. I dislike that idea on the grounds of fairness. If Yuri permits it, I’ll seize all of your assets and place them in a foundation that can later divide them equally between everyone who’s owed compensation. That way, even if some of your relatives are left with debt, it’ll be spread evenly among them. If there’s anything left over after paying out compensation, it will go to the national treasury.
“That said, I will consider every family on a case-by-case basis. Not all witches participated in the war, and some may have considerable assets left over after compensation is paid. I accept that it might not be fair for us to keep it all. Of course, if we do decide to kill every last witch, then their assets will be seized in full and this discussion becomes moot. That’s all I have to say.”
Myalo made it clear she was finished speaking by stepping back against the wall.
“What she said. It’ll have to be good enough. I won’t instruct the courts to apply unusually harsh punishments,” I added.
Sharun Charleville sighed deeply. “Haaah... I can’t argue with that. Your underling really knows what she’s talking about. All right, I accept your offer.”
With Sharun in agreement, I hoped we were about to reach a deal.
But Vivila Marmoset had more to say. “What about our pride as witches? Our kind would be better off dead than live as victims of such slander.”
“You’re only thinking about yourself because you don’t have children. No one’s better off dead. What if he offered to spare our lives as part of the deal? Would you still reject it? I’ll bet you’d save your own skin. You talk about pride, but you’re just thinking about yourself in the end.”
“How daw you?!” Vivila’s nose was still blocked.
“And what pride does it leave us if we reject the deal and let all our kind be massacred? Do you think we’re all going to have fancy tombstones with ‘Witches had nothing to do with the crusade that came’ carved on them? That’s not how it works.”
Sharun was right. She was just saying whatever I wanted to hear to save her own relatives, but she made a good point. Without definite proof of their crimes, it would be harder to blame the witches, but their fate wouldn’t change. Besides, I might find all the evidence I needed when I searched their hiding places anyway.
“Looks like I’ve got this old woman’s agreement. I don’t need every one of you to accept. Just tell me where the documents are and that’ll be enough. I’d rather not spend all night listening to a bunch of witches argue.”
“Sorry, but we’ll need to hold a vote,” Sharun said. “The Seven Witch Promise demands it. Let us follow it to the end.”
A vote? What a pain. What’s wrong with them?
“Geagul, what do you think?” Vivila Marmoset asked in a nasal voice.
“I’m against it. The lack of proof makes all the difference to how our future generations are treated. And all my family members will be executed no matter what I say,” Keagul replied.
That might’ve been true for the Cursefits. Even if I were to let them live, female officers, whose only responsibility had been to ensure women controlled the royal guard, would have no more role to play.
“Ghulah, what about the Temper family?” Vivila turned to the other witch. She was acting like the meeting’s chairperson or facilitator.
“I’ll accept. We kept our business strictly limited to the ports. Unlike your family, we rarely killed, kidnapped, or engaged in cruelty.”
“Pfft. Ah ha ha!” Luida Gudinveil laughed like she couldn’t contain herself any longer. “Hah... Sorry, please go on.”
Something must’ve really amused her.
“Kiki, what about the Enfillet family?”
“I’m in favor... Just think about it, Vivila—everyone wants to live. Is pride important to the dead? Only our descendants themselves can say whether their lives are worth living. It’s not for us to decide—we owe it to them to let them choose.”
Hearing her make that argument filled me with anger. For a moment, I rose from my seat, intending to kill her. How can she say that after all she’s done? I’ll make sure she never speaks again. But I couldn’t reduce the seven to six just yet. I’m going to kill her later anyway, I reminded myself, which helped cool my head. I let my tense muscles relax and slowly sat back down.
“Kiki, the youngster came close to killing you just now. You might want to watch your tongue,” Luida Gudinveil said.
You should watch yours too.
“Oh, I see... I’m sorry.” Kiki Enfillet was quick to apologize and bow to me while still bound to her chair.
“How two-faced you are,” Luida spat. “All meek and apologetic, but I’ll bet you were the one who used your connections in the royal castle to talk the idiot princess into doing what she did. Though I don’t know whether you voted in favor of the plot.”
“I voted against it. Ghulah and I both did. Her Majesty and I were close, and Ghulah’s experience in trade told her that Kulati can’t be trusted.”
They must’ve voted in favor four-to-two.
As meek as Kiki Enfillet sounded, I knew she was responsible for ruining the patent system. She’d put pressure on the personnel, ensured that one of her underlings took charge of the Patent Monitoring Office, and generally made a mockery of the system others had carefully developed. Thanks to her, patents filed by aspiring inventors throughout the city had been torn up, and even my own Ho paper had to compete with blatant knockoffs. Maybe all that interference had occurred after votes had been held here as well.
They were a rotten bunch.