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IT was impossible to know Kenneth Angus’s true intentions for the things he accomplished now that he was dead, but it was possible to guess.
Kenneth was born as the heir of the Marquess title. Once he inherited the title and the territory, he was chosen as the person to lead the people. He didn’t question this fact, and he didn’t hate it either. He had a strong sense of responsibility, and believed it was only natural that he would risk himself for the good of his people.
After becoming lord, there wasn’t any obvious change, but he governed his territory well, and was liked by his people. He was satisfied with his work, seeing the people at peace, and their appreciation of him.
But his rule was not forever.
He believed his people must remain secure even after he had gone, which was why he raised his son and heir, Julian, to be a splendid lord. Like his father, he had a strong sense of responsibility and believed it was natural to give himself for the people.
But Julian had a naturally weak and indecisive nature.
Kenneth felt uneasy. He worried his people and his territory wouldn’t fare well if he passed them on to Julian as he was.
Age made Kenneth panic. Every morning he found getting out of bed a little harder, every day he looked in the mirror and saw more wrinkles on his face.
He gathered the greatest tutors from across the country for Julian’s education, believing it to be an investment for the people. Sometimes Julian’s education was harsh, sometimes…it was even harsher.
It was effective. Julian grew strong, hardy, clever, but Kenneth still wasn’t satisfied. He worried because his son grew rebellious towards him, and he wondered if he truly thought of the people.
His worries ended with his death.
“Is this all it takes to rule? It’s simple so long as you’ve learned how to do it,” said Julian, sitting in his throne-like chair in his audience chamber. He snorted, looking at the mountain of paperwork that was essentially complete.
The harsh studies day and night had done him some good. If you knew geography, you knew what to do with the land. If you knew about the flow of money, you knew how to make the region prosperous. The work he took over from his father was so easy it made him yawn.
This was the fruits of his father’s labor… No, no it wasn’t. Julian was certain he could have attained these heights by learning on his own even if his father hadn’t forced him to.
The most important responsibility for a lord was making political decisions. Some things had broken down with Kenneth’s sudden death, like when goods fell out of a packed carriage when it screeches to a halt, but Julian came to decisions without hesitation for every problem he tackled head-on.
“Hm? Hey, Dekis!” He suddenly scowled as he continued reading a document, then called for the retainer that served as his secretary. “Get me a call charm and connect to the Chief Justice.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Julian continued working on different paperwork while he waited. A few minutes later, Dekis returned with a slip of paper with magic symbols placed carefully on a tray. When quickly contacting someone in the same city, these were better than using a communication facility.
Call charms could be used to communicate between the set of two charms. On the other end of this charm was the Chief Justice, already connected and waiting for Julian. The Chief Justice was a man named Simon, viscount and vassal for the Angus Marquessate.
Julian traced the pattern on the charm and shouted into it with obvious irritation. “Am I talking to Chief Justice Simon?”
“Yes, my lord. What can I do for you?” The hoarse voice that came back was from an old man.
Viscount Simon had held the position of Chief Justice in the Angus Marquessate for the past twenty years after a career in the justice system.
In Martgarz (and in most countries), justice was carried out by the lords. This usually involved the guard gathering evidence which a judge (a position filled by either someone elected by the people or a noble, it varied) examined and made a decision. Particularly great crimes, or serious political crimes, were tried directly under the name of the lord. These were heard in the Lord’s Court.
“I just received the decision about the trial in the Lord’s Court. What is this?” said Julian. “The leader is getting life imprisonment and the others are only serving a term? Why give them such a soft sentence? They’re bandits. They’ve likely killed many people.”
“They were originally farmers and are citizens of the marquessate. They fell to stealing as a means of survival after the poor harvest two years ago. We are at fault for failing to help them and we should give them the opportunity to change their lives…according to your father’s opinion.”
Julian listened to the Chief Justice speaking irritatingly slowly, an inexplicable rage boiling up inside him. “People who have killed others get to use a reason like that to save their own lives? No. Sentence them to death. All of them.”
“Ah… My lord, they never killed anyone unnecessarily during their thefts…”
“Besides, even among farmers struggling to find food, there are people scraping by. There are possibly even some who bravely choose death by starvation rather than committing crimes. Even beggars are better than bandits. There are all those people out there choosing other paths, but these ones chose a life of crime. What justice is served by taking pity on them? And by removing their heads, we’ll be reducing food rations. It’s only logical.”
The call charm remained silent, as if the person on the other end couldn’t find anything to say in response.
“I’ve come to see that all of you and my father ruled relying on ‘feelings’ and ‘mood.’ But from now on, you’re going to do things my way. Don’t worry, everything will turn out great.”
Julian ran a finger across the charm, ending the call, then slammed his “Veto” stamp onto the decision document.
“My lord…are you finished?” said Dekis with significant hesitation, having listened to the conversation from the side.
“Do you disagree?”
“It’s not that, my lord… I have something else to report. Preparations for the attack force for Mount Kugus have been completed, just now…”
“It seems we managed to make it before the court stepped in. Ha, I was getting nervous,” replied Julian quietly. Then he quietly stood.
Everything was just a simple calculation, just the labor of overwriting the incorrect things with the correct things.
But for Julian, there was no greater joy than forging his own path as he saw fit.