Rose Empire

Chapter 47: More Barbaric Than Barbarism

Charlotte had accepted the mountain folk, but with reservations. After the necromancer's attack decimated the territory, leaving three to four thousand dead, the nearly one thousand mountain folk served as a partial replacement for the lost population. Consequently, Charlotte didn't object to their presence.

However, the mountain folk had a notorious reputation. When news spread that the lord intended to settle a group of them within the territory, the residents panicked, and even some riots erupted.

Furthermore, the knights believed the majority of the mountain folk were criminals – runaway slaves, debt evaders, and their descendants. Many had also raided villages outside the mountains. Granting them immediate civilian status would be seen as encouraging ignorant and foolish individuals to commit crimes, which was deemed highly inappropriate.

Given the concerns of both the residents and the knights, Charlotte reached a compromise. She instructed Cecilia to inform Black Wolf that the Ripple Bay Viscountcy could offer the mountain folk shelter and enough food to survive. However, they would only be granted the status of the viscount's slaves and would reside in designated slave camps. If the mountain folk found these terms unacceptable, they were free to leave the viscountcy.

Black Wolf agreed to these conditions. He was acutely aware of how challenging it was to find any lord willing to take them in.

Despite Black Wolf's agreement, the other mountain folk were deeply dissatisfied with Charlotte's decision to classify them as slaves. They frequently clashed with the residents of Charlotte's territory, leading to ongoing conflicts. There were even instances of mountain folk breaking into civilian homes at night, assaulting the men, and committing terrible acts against the women.

Charlotte had anticipated this. These mountain folk were wild and untamed, their nature shaped by years of living in the Kamber Mountains, where the law of the jungle reigned supreme. They had shed all pretense of civilization, morality, and human decency. Their integration into the territory was inevitably going to increase the crime rate. Charlotte had initially wanted Fado to discipline them, but the cowardly Fado shirked the responsibility.

As the stack of unresolved cases on her desk grew taller, Cecilia, sitting before two kneeling men, rubbed her temples in exhaustion.

"Why have you come to file a complaint?" Cecilia asked, forcing herself to remain alert.

"My Lady, he killed my donkey," the older man, dressed in clean linen, immediately accused, pointing at the disheveled young man beside him.

"Why did you kill his donkey?" Cecilia asked the young man.

"My Lady, he was the one who hit me first!" the young man retorted, gesturing to the bruises on his face.

"Is this true?" Cecilia asked the older man.

"My Lady, he was trying to steal my donkey, and I caught him. I only hit a thief!"

"That's a lie! I wasn't stealing your donkey. You called me a 'black pig from the mountains' and whipped me. That's why I killed your donkey!"

"You're lying!"

"You're the liar!"

...

Cecilia was overwhelmed by the cacophony. While she was confident in her understanding of the law, she realized that acting as a judge was far more complex than the books described.

Take this case, for example. There were plenty of eyewitnesses, but they either refused to testify or sided with their friends, twisting the truth with their fabrications.

After listening to the witnesses' testimonies, Cecilia's only thought was that it would have been better not to have heard them at all.

Just as Cecilia was struggling to make sense of the case, a tall figure in armor pushed the door open and entered.

"Knight Garcia," Cecilia stood and greeted the newcomer.

"Miss Cecilia," Jarrod Garcia offered a slight bow.

Cecilia's official position in the Ripple Bay Viscountcy was Charlotte's steward. In noble circles, stewards were often considered part of the noble family, so Jarrod Garcia was obliged to show her some respect.

"The viscount has assigned me to handle all cases involving the mountain folk slaves," Jarrod Garcia said stiffly, clearly unenthusiastic about the task.

However, Cecilia barely registered his tone. She said with relief, "That's wonderful! I lack experience in judging cases. Since Lady Charlotte has sent you to handle these complicated disputes, you must be a very experienced judge."

"Uh... I suppose so."

Jarrod Garcia's response was noncommittal.

Coincidentally, there was a case right in front of him, and Jarrod Garcia decided to demonstrate his skills to Cecilia immediately.

"Are you a commoner?"

After hearing the details of the case, Jarrod Garcia pointed at the older man and asked.

"Yes."

The older man kowtowed, trembling as he answered.

A knight in full armor clearly intimidated commoners far more than Cecilia in her simple cotton dress.

"Are you one of the mountain folk?"

Jarrod Garcia then pointed at the young man.

"Yes."

The young man also answered.

"Drag him out and execute him," Jarrod Garcia ordered his attendants, pointing at the young man.

"Huh?"

Before Cecilia could react, Jarrod Garcia's attendant knights moved.

The young man shouted, "Why should I be executed? I didn't steal the donkey! I was framed!" But it was futile. The attendant knights dragged him out like a dead dog.

Jarrod Garcia took all the case files related to the mountain folk from Cecilia and established a temporary court in front of the slave camp where they lived. He summoned the involved mountain folk one by one and began addressing the backlog of cases.

The trial process was unremarkable. In any dispute between a mountain folk and a commoner, the mountain folk was invariably found guilty. In cases between mountain folk, both parties were deemed guilty both were at fault.

If a case was too convoluted to judge, the verdict was always the same: death.

"Drag him out and hang him!"

Just as Jarrod Garcia was about to sentence another mountain folk to death for allegedly spitting at a commoner, Cecilia finally couldn't restrain herself and reminded him, "According to the Oran laws, if a slave offends a commoner without causing injury, the punishment should be whipping, not execution."

Jarrod Garcia glanced at Cecilia. She flinched, thinking he might become angry, but he merely muttered something and crossed out his original verdict, changing it to, "Twenty lashes."

Cecilia was surprised. This knight, known for his harsh reputation and seemingly ruthless demeanor, turned out to be quite reasonable.

The backlog of cases, which had accumulated over several days, was cleared in less than an hour under Jarrod Garcia's swift and decisive handling.

Seeing the hatred in the eyes of the mountain folk, Cecilia couldn't help but worry. "Knight Garcia, won't your actions breed resentment among the mountain folk?"

Jarrod Garcia sighed.

Did he want to do this?

No, he didn't.

He was only handling the cases this way because Charlotte had instructed him to.

Charlotte needed an unreasonable tyrant, a butcher more barbaric than the barbarians themselves, to suppress the wild, uncivilized nature of the mountain folk. Jarrod Garcia, known as the "Bloodhound," was the perfect choice.

Jarrod Garcia had come to realize that Charlotte was dumping all the dirty work on him. He felt helpless. Was there any hope left for his reputation?

He had only wanted to be an ordinary double agent.

Jarlod wanted to vent his frustration about Charlotte's cunning, but he knew Cecilia was Charlotte's confidante. Complaining about Charlotte in front of Cecilia was no different from complaining to Charlotte directly. So, he could only sigh silently. Life was tough…

Then, Jarlod channeled his frustration onto the mountain folk who were gradually gathering around. His sharp gaze swept across the crowd, and he asked with a dark expression, "Does anyone have any objections to my judgment?"

When the mountain folk saw the three wings of light behind Jarrod Garcia, they felt immense pressure. Their eyes darted around, and they quickly scattered.

Jarrod Garcia wasn't surprised. He had participated in numerous battles defending against tribal raids and knew that the mountain folk were a greedy, cruel, yet cowardly bunch.

"You see, Miss Cecilia, they have no complaints," Jarrod Garcia said to her.

Cecilia was speechless.

Another reason Jarrod Garcia was assigned to oversee the mountain folk slave camp was that the Ripple Bay Isthmus, which had been blockaded for nearly a month and a half, had finally reopened.

Not long ago, Martin Kramer and Harvey Sherwin had visited Charlotte again, expressing that the Ambradul Council hoped Charlotte would offer further concessions on the tariff issue.

Martin Kramer knew this would be difficult, but he had no choice. The Citizen Assembly needed a way out.

The democrats had already forced the Citizen Assembly to reopen tariff negotiations by driving up prices. If they presented the same tariff agreement for another vote, it would be like the Citizen Assembly slapping itself in the face again. Even if the assembly compromised this time, the conflict between the democratic elders and the Citizen Assembly would only deepen, making it harder for their resolutions to gain support in the future.

However, if Charlotte could make some concessions and offer better tariff terms, the Citizen Assembly could claim that the previous rejection was due to the terms not being favorable enough, rather than a rash decision.

At least the Citizen Assembly would save some face.

However, Martin Kramer hadn't anticipated that after Harvey Sherwin spoke again, Charlotte would choose to make further concessions.

Charlotte agreed to waive Ambradul's tariff compensation for another year, reducing the total compensation period to three years, with Ambradul paying it off over six years.

"Here, we must express our gratitude to Knight Harvey Sherwin."

The Ambradul Citizen Assembly was convened once again. At the assembly, the democratic elder Oliver Capino stood on the podium and announced the "good news" that Martin Kramer had brought back.

"Thanks to Knight Harvey Sherwin's tireless efforts, the Ripple Bay Viscount has agreed to grant Ambradul even greater leniency. His kindness and integrity are truly admirable."

Harvey Sherwin stood beside Oliver Capino, his belly protruding, basking in the praise from the democratic elders and the upper-class citizens of Ambradul. Words like "elegant and noble," "a true aristocrat," and "worthy of the royal bloodline" were lavished upon him. Harvey Sherwin beamed with pride.

However, just then, a voice rang out from below the podium: "If he's so great, why didn't he just get the Ripple Bay Viscount to cancel that damned tariff compensation altogether?"

It was Pand again.

The podium fell silent.

"Mr. Pand, you must understand that this is the best deal the elders could secure. Let's proceed with the vote," Oliver Capino responded coldly, then ordered the voting urns and pottery shards to be brought forward.

Pand had exposed a truth no matter how much the democrats tried to sugarcoat it, Ambradul was still the one at a disadvantage.

Most Ambradul citizens agreed with Pand deep down, but the prices in the city hadn't dropped yet, and some even feared they might rise again.

So, no matter how reluctant they were, the citizens had to make a "rational" choice.

The Citizen Assembly passed the tariff agreement between Ambradul and the Ripple Bay Viscountcy by a narrow margin.

Faced with this outcome, Pand was utterly disheartened.

"Don't be upset, child. The Citizen Assembly has made its decision," the one-eyed old citizen Logan patted Pand's shoulder and said.

"I feel like this isn't right," Pand said, lowering his head.

Pand's feeling was correct. This vote had been completely manipulated by the democrats. The so-called universal vote was just a charade, and the Citizen Assembly had lost its intended effectiveness. However, Pand's experience and knowledge weren't sufficient for him to articulate exactly what was wrong.

Logan, however, seized the opportunity to stir up more discontent: "Of course it's not right. We're being extorted by Oran nobles, yet we're supposed to thank them. When has Ambradul ever been humiliated like this? Look at how those elders are groveling before that knight…"

Pand looked up at the podium, where a group of democratic elders were gathered, celebrating. Harvey Sherwin stood in the middle, laughing heartily. To Pand, it seemed like the elders were fawning over Harvey Sherwin.

Pand felt that Logan was right and couldn't help but clench his fists.

The voting crowd hadn't yet dispersed when a fast horse galloped in. The rider dismounted it was Antanas, the leader of the oligarchs.

"Everyone, I must interrupt your celebrations," Antanas said, holding up a piece of parchment with a grave expression. "I've just received news that the Little Sassinian have burned twelve of our detained citizens to death!"