Chapter 298: The Trial in Millbrook
Early the next morning, Mayor Elric was already present at the City Hall when the sky outside was not yet fully bright. His hands were constantly clutching a thick stack of law books.
He had to stay awake all night to flip through the pile of books to read. He immediately presented his thoughts upon seeing Kaelen and Sane’s faces:
"My two Lords, regarding our detention of people and confiscation of the Merchant Guild’s wagons, our Lyra’s law has enough reasoning to defend it. However, I personally still think we should escort this entire group of people back into the city to open a trial. Opening a court right at the Millbrook border, located right next door to Voss’s territory, that action is no different from seizing the opportunity to slap him right in the face in front of his tenant farmers. I fear he will act recklessly out of resentment."
"Our main purpose is exactly to let his tenant farmers open their eyes wide to see." Sane coldly answered back.
Elric turned to look at Kaelen for help, carrying the hope Kaelen would soften his heart to speak a word in Elric’s defense. However, Kaelen nodded in agreement:
"Just bring them out opening a public court in Millbrook."
Elric had to bitterly sigh. He obediently hugged the law book stack walking outside to prepare the files.
The Millbrook villagers were immediately hired by the Department of Labor throwing money to laboriously erect a wooden podium right at the empty plot beside the abandoned windmill. That was exactly the place where the villagers gathered standing listening to Dale speech about the canal digging matter a few weeks ago. Several rows of long wooden benches were arranged in front of the wooden podium.
The final cargo wagon in the Merchant Guild’s caravan was beside the trial podium. The wagon’s floorboards were still pried completely open in a mess, exposing the pitch-black secret compartment below the wagon’s belly. A messy pile of iron chains was placed majestically right before the podium on a large wooden table. Every single chain was already tarnished with rust. The ankle lock rings were even clotted with dried blood stains.
The person sitting in the presiding judge chair was Mr. Hollis, a skinny old man wearing reading glasses. He originally worked the profession of a law teacher for the aristocratic children in the Royal Capital in the past. Rumors had it he was fired by his employer simply for the crime of daring to open his mouth teaching students that the law must be applied fairly for both the rich and the poor.
The person stepping forward acting as the defense lawyer for the defendant’s side was Miss Beatrix, a young girl having just newly stepped into working at the Lyra Court for a mere three months. The girl tied her hair in a neat ponytail. Her hands were always hugging a thick stack of notes about various law clauses.
The land plot was already packed tightly with people flocking to watch right from the early morning mist. There were not only Millbrook village people but also many people in the neighboring villages hearing the rumors flocking over. The latecomers failing to grab seats stood on tiptoe. Failing to see the developments standing, they competed climbing straight up the tree branches, climbing onto even the nearby thatched roofs. The workers exhaustingly digging the canal out there also threw away both hoes and shovels, rushing over swarming around standing to watch.
Old woman Agnes did not know when she slowly walked over but had already occupied an extremely prime seat right in the front row. She rested her two hands on her wooden cane. Her cloudy eyes did not leave the wooden podium for a single second.
The Voss family’s butler Pym was also stealthily present. He stood furtively at the very outermost edge of the crowd. His hands were tightly gripping an envelope. His facial expression was extremely tense.
Morley and six accomplices in the caravan were escorted by soldiers up standing on the podium. The crowd below immediately buzzed pointing fingers.
"Those are the Merchant Guild’s people..."
"Truly formidable, the majestic Merchant Guild’s people also have a day having to be dragged up standing before the court?"
Judge Hollis knocked the handheld wooden gavel down onto the tabletop three times in a row. The entire noisy land plot instantly fell silent. He slowly stood up, loudly reading the indictment with a monotonous tone, clearly articulating every single word. The defendant Morley along with six accompanying followers committed the act of using modified wagons to transport thirty chain-footed people passing through the land belonging to Lyra city’s sovereignty, seriously violating the clause banning and abolishing the slavery system along with article twenty-seven of the Lyra Covenant.
Following the indictment reading part was the physical evidence presentation part. The vehicle containing the secret compartment, the blood-stained iron chain pile, along with all thirty human selling contract papers searched and found in Morley’s secret iron chest were sequentially brought out exposing.
Mr. Hollis patiently read aloud the content of every single contract paper. The crowd below fell speechlessly silent to whatever information he read up to. Arriving at reading the Elven little girl’s selling paper, on it writing the price determined to be exactly equal to the selling price of a draft horse, a man in the crowd suddenly could not suppress his indignation cursing out loud once.
The first person stepping out acting as a witness was the Dwarf clan old man. The old man was named Durk. He originally was an honest blacksmith in a tiny town far away in the South in the past, being detained by creditors because he could not manage to pay the high-interest debt.
The old man stood trembling on the podium. His calloused two hands tightly gripped the table edge, beginning recounting the head and tail of the situation with a hoarse voice. They consisted of thirty people bought gathered from several different towns scattered in the South, being stuffed smuggled transported up to the North. On the escorting way, they were locked under the dark underground cellar of a vast manor for exactly seven days and nights before being herded pushed onto the wagons.
Mr. Hollis pushed his glasses frame, gently asking: "Sir, do you know which manor that was?"
"I do not know its name." Durk answered honestly: "But on the gate of that manor there was carved the image of a bird perching on a watchtower."
The crowd hearing that exclaimed once full of terror. The Millbrook villagers present there all simultaneously turned their heads staring intently toward the South, toward the direction of the Voss family’s manor. Butler Pym standing peeking at the outermost edge of the crowd, cold sweat had poured out soaking his entire collar part.
The second person stepping up acting as a witness was the Elven little girl. Because she could not speak the human language in this region, Ivy was invited up to the podium to act as an interpreter.
The two small Elven girls stood beside each other on the podium, one telling the story, one translating back into words. That girl cried while recounting that she had an older sister. The two sisters were caught sold away at the same time, but when the wagon arrived at the second town the older sister was torn away sold to another caravan. She had not been able to meet her older sister again since that separated day.
Ivy translated the story reaching the final part. Her voice also choked up due to emotion. She had to pause resting for a long time before she could raise her voice continuing translating.
It was female lawyer Beatrix’s turn standing up defending the defendant.
The village citizens bewilderedly watched the young girl hugging a paper stack leisurely stepping up the podium. Someone annoyedly whispered asking the person beside them seeing which side this girl belonged to, why she stepped forward speaking reasons helping that animalistic human trafficker bunch. The person standing beside was also completely clueless not knowing, only knowing to shake their head exhaustedly.
Lawyer Beatrix completely paid no attention to those malicious cursing whispering sounds. She began presenting her reasoning very coherently, sharply. According to the kingdom’s currently effective law code, those thirty people were exactly the legal property of the person having spent money buying them.
The defendant Morley and the accompanying followers were essentially only laborers hired to transport goods. They also had a proactive attitude requesting to turn the wagon’s head when requested. Furthermore, article twenty-seven of the Covenant code clearly wrote it applied toward people passing through Lyra city’s territory, while their caravan only passed across a stream-side wasteland several miles away from the main city wall.
The lawyer finished speaking. The entire vast land plot was dead silent. Some people hearing finishing that reasoning nodded agreeing, some people resentfully got angry to the point their faces turned bright red.
Judge Hollis calmly pushed his reading glasses frame up his nose bridge, raising his voice answering breaking every single point.
That rocky stream-side strip of land had been officially issued a decision merging into Lyra city’s administrative boundary by the Lyra City Hall. That decision had been transparently publicly announced, clearly copied every single word onto the wooden board erected right beside the checkpoint. And defendant Morley’s very own eyes had stood reading carefully from beginning to end before loudly demanding soldiers to raise the barrier pole up.
Lyra’s law code must mandatorily be applied on Lyra’s land. The kingdom’s corrupt law considering humans as property to buy and sell completely had no enforcement effect here.
As for the reasoning the defendant was only hired laborers to transport goods, there was a notebook inside Morley’s secret iron chest recording clearly detailing how many profit percentages he was divided to eat on every single successfully sold human head. People purely hired to transport goods earning a salary would not have such a profit-dividing notebook.
Finishing debating, Mr. Hollis turned looking at Miss Beatrix, gently nodding once: "Many thanks to the defender. You have very excellently completed your work part."
Miss Beatrix also respectfully bowed returning the greeting, then hugged her paper stack stepping back returning to her seat.
The official verdict was pronounced right in that fading afternoon. Thirty chain-footed people on the human trafficking wagon were officially declared freed. Defendant Morley was sentenced suffering three years of hard labor reformation. Six accompanying followers each person had to suffer a six-month sentence.
Eight horse carriages along with the caravan’s entire goods amount were confiscated for public funds, used making compensation property for the losses of the thirty newly rescued people. The Merchant Guild’s two registered swordsmen alone were not criminally convicted, but were permanently expelled from Lyra land by the authority, having a ban never allowed to return.
As for the execution place of the seven criminals’ hard labor sentence, Mr. Hollis pointed his finger straight toward the water canal currently being exhaustingly half-dug.
The citizen crowd fell silent for a few seconds, then burst out into noisy discussing cheering sounds.
Old woman Agnes still sat meditating peacefully right in the front row. The woman sitting next to her turned whispering softly, saying she could not expect that cruel human trafficking bunch also had a person stepping forward arguing on their behalf before the court. Agnes did not bother turning her face over. Her aged eyes only stared straight up the wooden podium. A really really long time later she finally raised her voice saying:
"They bear heinous crimes yet are still allowed to step forward arguing reasons. While lowly statuses like us completely have no sin, let me ask have we ever been allowed to open our mouths arguing back a single sentence with the superiors."
That woman hearing finishing that philosophy was stunned silent. She did not say anything more.
Before the trial reached its concluding moment, the Voss family’s butler Pym finally tremblingly timidly stepped forward to the front. He opened his mouth asking permission to read Baron Voss’s letter aloud.
In the letter, Voss solemnly declared that the Voss family’s crest seal had been stolen by a vicious villain since several months ago. Those human selling contract papers were all sophisticatedly forged fake items. The noble Voss family completely had absolutely no involvement. In the letter’s final part, he even eloquently condemned Lyra City Hall’s act of arbitrarily ordering detaining and judging the Merchant Guild’s people was an action going against the kingdom’s law.
Mr. Hollis patiently sat listening entirely. He ordered the secretary staff member recording that letter’s entire content into the trial minutes. He then spoke to Pym with an extremely gentle voice:
"Baron Voss’s fiefdom territory does not lie within Lyra Court’s authority scope, therefore this Court will not proceed judging the Baron. However, the witness’s testimonies about that manor having the carved image of a bird perching on a watchtower, along with this vindicating letter, all will be carefully preserved remaining in the case file. Trouble you to return transmitting the message back to the Lord Baron."
Pym fearfully said yes repeatedly. He brought his sleeve wiping the cold sweat pouring out on his forehead. He stepped back fast out the crowd’s edge then curled his legs running really fast toward the South.
Thirty newly rescued people were invited out by staff inquiring about every single person’s personal wishes, seeing if they wanted to return to their hometowns or wanted to choose staying in Lyra city establishing their careers.
Old man Durk sadly said his family had no relatives left, he decided to ask to stay. The skinny Elven little girl also asked to stay, because she wanted to be somewhere closest to the trading road, harboring hope who knew there would be a lucky day meeting her older sister again. Nine people relentlessly wanted to return to their old hometowns in the South. Lyra City Hall promised to arrange for them to follow the Maritime Fleet’s closest ship trip.
Exactly three nights after the trial ended, Mr. Pell’s family stealthily escaped from the Voss family’s territory.
The Pell family originally had worked the poor tenant farmer fate for the Voss family for up to three generations. The day opening the public court trial, Mr. Pell was also present hiding within the crowd. He stood cowering in the very last row, pulling his cloth hat swooping down obscuring half his face. Returning home that night, he kept sitting blankly silently for an entire evening. His wife pressing asking anything he completely did not part his lips answering. Only arriving at the third night did he aggressively stand up, silently pulling several wooden chests holding belongings out stacking carefully onto the cart.
His wife stood rigidly at the door watching her husband stacking belongings. She did not drop a single asking word, only silently turning inside the house waking several sleeping children up.
By the time the sky neared dawn, the Pell family’s pulling ox cart clattered wading ploddingly across the dry stream segment, going up the other bank, then patiently parked stopping waiting before the ten-coin one-price store door. That morning, Dale just stretched opening the registration notebook then had to diligently write the Pell family’s name into the canal digging laborer list.
Arriving at the next week, three more households also did exactly the same. Then it increased up to five families. Then ten families dragged each other leaving. Dale’s tired hands had to ask for two new registration notebooks.
One windy weekend afternoon, Kaelen and Sane stood shoulder to shoulder on the canal bank taking a panoramic look down the ditch bed. Morley was half-naked holding a shovel exhaustingly scooping dirt down in the deep canal bed. Beside him were several followers in his merchant caravan. On the bank were two Department of Military Affairs recruits holding spears standing strictly guarding.
Morley originally used to happiness, now scooped dirt clumsily. He just struck a few shovels and was already panting heavily out his ears. The robust young men of Millbrook village digging the canal thunderously right beside him, absolutely no one bothered throwing him even a single pitiful look.
Kaelen crossed his arms standing looking at that scene for a long time, then softly whispered into his mate’s ear: "Earlier I kept thinking seeing this scene I would feel more satisfied."
Sane stood beside, conveniently taking his coat off draping it warmly onto Kaelen’s shoulders.
"You do not need to feel satisfied at this moment. Let’s just save that feeling until the time we directly meet that Voss guy."
Kaelen turned looking at his angular face, ultimately also bursting into a hearty laugh.