Chapter Thirty-One: A Conspiracy

With Bethalia’s assistance, Daya settled the craftsmen and laborers recruited at high wages from Sea Rock City throughout the town.

As for the knight attendants, a two-story watchtower on the outskirts of Blood Keep was cordoned off as their camp, to be managed by Elina. This was to repay the favor she owed to Wren.

Ironport City is surrounded by mountains to the north and faces the sea to the south. Consequently, the southern wall follows the coastline while the northern wall traces the mountain range, giving the city an elongated shape.

Elina divided the city into three districts—West, Central, and East—and assigned the knight attendants to rotate through them. They were to work in three shifts, and during patrols, they were required to wear full armor; removing it to slack off was strictly forbidden.

These attendants were youths of sixteen or seventeen, most still possessing fresh, youthful faces. However, once they donned their leather armor inlaid with steel plates and hoisted iron swords and shields onto their shoulders, they instantly took on the menacing, murderous aura of weapons of war, causing passersby to cast wary glances in their direction.

Since she was repaying a favor, Elina was diligent and conscientious. Every morning, she personally led the patrols and instructed the attendants:

"A knight's combat prowess depends on their physique, equipment, technique, and courage."

"Of all these qualities, courage is the most important. For even if a sheep grows sharp claws and fangs, it remains but a grazing sheep."

"You are still young, your bodies not yet fully developed, so you are not yet suited for the tempering of iron and fire. Thus, you shall begin with the city's patrols and vigilance."

"Remember the looks the commoners give you—it is timidity, it is fear; it is the look of a sheep gazing upon a lion."

"Carry yourselves like lions!"

The knight attendants looked around and, seeing the fearful, cowering expressions of the commoners, could not help but puff out their chests, feeling their hearts swell with boundless courage.

Inside the castle, Daya and Bethalia had begun acting on behalf of the Lord, listening to the petitions and grievances of the populace.

Watching two men brawling on the floor before them, Daya sighed helplessly and ordered the castle servants to separate them at once.

"My Lady, I beg for justice!" one man cried out. "This neighbor had an affair with my wife, and when I caught them, he beat me! You must punish his wickedness severely!"

"My Lady, your wisdom is like a torch!" the other man shouted. "His wife seduced me first! Then he burst in and tried to force me to pay him ten gold crowns! Where would I get that much money?"

As the two argued more and more fiercely, it seemed they were about to come to blows again. The wife beside them began to wail miserably:

"Seduction? That never happened! It was my neighbor who harbored evil intentions toward me, and now he is framing me. I do not wish to live anymore..."

Daya found the situation incredibly headache-inducing, thinking that since the woman was crying so pitifully, she surely could not be lying.

"Bethalia, what do you think?" she asked the Dark Elf, turning her head.

Bethalia smiled faintly. The Dark Elf race generally lacked a moral compass; what kind of troublesome commoners had the Rose Queen not seen? She quickly cut through the trio's cacophony and spoke with authority:

"Since the three of you have conflicting stories and no evidence to prove your innocence, you shall all be judged as guilty and receive the maximum penalty."

"For an unmarried man to commit adultery with a married woman, and for a married woman to commit infidelity, the punishment is death by stoning. For extortion, you shall pay tenfold."

The moment these words fell, the man and woman sentenced to death were stunned into silence.

"Take them away for execution!" Bethalia waved her hand and commanded sternly. "Execute them immediately!"

"My Lady, have mercy!" the wife suddenly threw herself to the ground, sobbing. "It was not that I voluntarily committed adultery; my husband gambled away our money, and when he couldn't pay his debts, he forced me to seduce the neighbor to extort money from him! I was completely coerced!"

The husband, hearing this, refused to admit it and began to argue fiercely with his wife. But caught off guard, how could he fabricate a flawless excuse? One moment he claimed there was no coercion and that his wife was slandering him; the next, he claimed his wife was the mastermind and he had been bewitched.

Daya observed and listened throughout, finally confirming that the couple had conspired to entrap the neighbor. She picked up the *Imperial Code* and sentenced the couple for false accusation and adultery, applying the corresponding legal statutes.

"Phew, I almost got tricked." Once the trial ended, Daya exhaled a long breath and smiled at Bethalia. "It’s a good thing you saw that the couple was lying."

"Little Daya, let me teach you a lesson." Bethalia rested her chin on one hand, speaking languidly. "When you sit in the seat of judgment, defending justice is the last thing you should care about."

"An excellent Minister of Justice can flexibly bypass the limitations of legal text, making the people believe the law protects everyone’s interests; a mediocre Minister merely follows the letter of the law mechanically, leading the people to grumble but remain helpless."

"The most unfit Ministers of Justice are those with a firm belief in justice in their hearts. They blindly favor the weak, and in doing so, do not hesitate to offend the strong. The gratitude of the weak is worthless, but the hatred of the strong can weaken the authority of the law and even shake the foundation of the kingdom’s rule."

Daya fell into an embarrassed silence, knowing that Bethalia had keenly captured the sympathy and pity she had shown toward the sobbing wife earlier.

"But it doesn't matter." Bethalia stretched and smiled. "Because you are not yet a Minister of Justice; you are just a small administrative officer for the Salt Island Lord. There is no need to think so far ahead."

Daya nodded, yet her heart felt somewhat lost.

She felt Bethalia’s perspective was too extreme and did not conform to her fantasies of law and justice. Yet, the facts of this case proved that blindly favoring the disadvantaged could lead to even greater disaster.

Just then, the castle steward hurried in.

"Lady Bethalia, Lady Daya," he bowed quickly. "There is a matter I must report: the fleet base has received a new shipment of corpses. Nearby residents complain that the stench is unbearable. Shall we open negotiations with the fleet?"

Daya frowned with disgust. She had long heard of Kalich Fahel’s hobby of feeding corpses to seagulls. No one could control that at sea, but Ironport was Wren’s territory. Did she need to remind Wren to intervene?

Bethalia’s thoughts were deeper, and she glanced at the castle steward with interest.

Kalich was Wren’s uncle, not some nobody to be treated lightly. Naturally, it was best for someone under Wren to "take the initiative" in matters that might offend him.

If things escalated and infuriated Kalich, Wren could simply play the innocent and say, "I didn't know; my subordinates acted behind my back," thereby easing relations with his uncle.

Being able to quietly arrange an exit for one's leader was not something just anyone could think of.

"I will go tell Wren," she said, rising gracefully.

Wren was currently in the study at the top of the castle reading a letter. Although he had ceded his position as an elder of the Amazon Association to Bethalia, Mashan seemed to have become more convinced that Wren was a friend "worth cultivating" and frequently wrote to him to chat.

Seeing Bethalia enter, Wren tossed the letter aside and asked, "What is it?"

"Can't I come see you if there's nothing wrong?" Bethalia sat on the desk with a charming smile, showing off her figure intentionally or otherwise.

"Heh." Wren sneered. Though he said nothing, his eyes clearly conveyed a certain sentiment.

Bethalia paused for a moment and said, "Your uncle with the unique hobbies has brought a shipment of corpses into the harbor, and the nearby residents are complaining about the stench. Does he think Salt Island is his own private territory? That he can do whatever he wants to amuse himself?"

"Do not underestimate him," Wren said calmly. "To have my father entrust him with the escort fleet, my uncle is certainly no fool..."

At these words, both of them froze.

If Kalich was no fool, he must have known that bringing corpses to Salt Island without permission might provoke Wren’s displeasure. So why would he do it?

Reversing the logic, it meant Kalich had a reason to do so, even while knowing the risk.

"It smells of a conspiracy," Bethalia said with a smile, her crimson pupils flashing with excitement.

Wren did not answer; he simply looked at a seagull on the windowsill outside.

It was busy pecking at the leftover fries from Wren's lunch.