The Main Character is the Villain

This case was a very complicated one. It was complicated, and it was fucking annoying.

It was a trial that would never have even been established if either my opponent or I had just a little less clout. If Eve had killed a territory resident for insulting her, no one would have made an issue of it. The dead person's family would have been too scared of me to even file for a trial. But of all people, the one who died was the son of the Northern Grand Duke.

If I were just a Country Bumpkin Lord and not the Southern High Priest, I would have had to run the moment I heard Eve killed the Grand Duke's son. It's only because I'm a High Priest and a member of the hero's party that defeated the Demon King that they're even holding a trial on a fucking ridiculous topic like 'Whether Mermaids are Human or Not'.

I would have preferred to settle things with the Amur Territory through a territory war, but the problems were too complicated for that.

First, the problem was that the Amur Territory had filed for a trial along with Grand Duke Rubicon. A trial was a method of dispute resolution that could peacefully resolve conflicts between territories before a war. It was a tool used as a safeguard when the issue was trivial, when a war would cause too much damage to both sides, or when someone was trying to attack another territory by finding some fucking ridiculous fault with them.

Once a trial was filed between territories, a Royal Judge would immediately come down, and the dispute between the two territories would be suspended for the duration of the trial period. And when the trial result for that dispute was announced, both territories had to cleanly accept the result.

For example, let's say I raised my troops to invade the Amur Territory because the weather was too hot. The Amur Territory could then file for a trial on this matter. Once the trial began, I could not attack the Amur Territory, and the judge would gather our respective testimonies to conclude whether my reason for attacking the Amur Territory was legitimate.

If the verdict came out that it was legitimate, I could charge into the Amur Territory and shatter it. But if the verdict was that the matter was unjust, I would have to compensate for the damage I inflicted on the Amur Territory and withdraw my troops. Furthermore, any dispute with the Amur Territory would be prohibited until I found another legitimate reason.

Simply put, it meant that those cunning bastards from the Amur Territory knew they would all die if I came at them with weapons, so they filed for a trial instead of a war.

Of course, that wasn't the end of the problems. If the issue was simply that a trial was filed, I could just wait until it was over. But the noble who filed the trial, and the subject of this trial, were also problems. The noble who filed the trial was Grand Duke Rubicon, along with the Amur Territory. Grand Duke Rubicon was a noble who ruled the region near the northern Dragon Mountains, even according to the game setting. He was a warrior of great skill and power who had pioneered mines by subjugating the demi-humans living in the mountains and even temporarily joined as a companion during one of the original game quests.

About half of the northern mines were within his territory, and there were rumors that his troops, hardened by driving out demi-humans, were a match for the capital's Royal Guard. On top of that, he was also the Primary Patron of the Archdeity Church, making the largest donations to it.

In short, he was a noble who held command over the entire Northern region. And Eve had gone and stabbed this guy's son just because he insulted her.

The subject of the trial was also truly perplexing. 'Since Eve is not human, the statement made by Rubicon Condrix was not an insult. Therefore, Eve's killing of Rubicon Condrix was not a legitimate right but merely an impulsive and horrific murder case.'

I thought that since she married me, Eve was obviously human. I thought I could just submit the documents authorized by the Archdeity Church and the Royal Palace as evidence. But when I actually went through the documents, that wasn't the case. The Archdeity Church document that recognized my marriage to Eve was written as follows.

- The decision of the Southern High Priest is a beautiful one that carries on the motto of the Archdeity Church. We acknowledge that love knows no borders or species and respect your choice. However, it is regrettable that you did not consider the social repercussions or controversy that this decision might cause.

'Acknowledge that love knows no borders or species.' That meant they would respect it even if I married a monster bastard, not that they would give Eve the treatment as a human.

If I submitted this as evidence, Grand Duke Rubicon would surely dance a jolly shoulder dance, excited at the thought of frying Eve to a crisp. Besides, it was impossible for the Archdeity Church to take my side and declare Eve human, even if I pleaded desperately. That's because it was a trial where it was fucking difficult to pick a side.

One side was the Southern High Priest who had defeated the Demon King but was a mermaid-lover, and the other was the Northern Grand Duke who gave the most donations to the Archdeity Church and whose son was killed by a mermaid. It was a truly ambiguous balance, making it hard to favor either side.

So I completely gave up hope that the Archdeity Church would intervene in this trial. Religion couldn't get involved. From their perspective, they were surely praying that neither I nor the Northern Grand Duke would drag them into this.

The Royal Palace's document also didn't prove that Eve was human.

- The Royal Palace accepts Peta Lusius's request and pardons the murderer Eve and her mother mermaid from their sins. However, if Eve divorces Peta Lusius or commits an act equivalent to her previous crimes, this pardon decree will be revoked, and the criminal Eve and her mother mermaid will be put to execution by dismemberment.

The fact that it used the word 'criminal' here meant the argument that they were treating Eve as a human wouldn't fly. This was a world where even though a mermaid was a 'mer'maid, they weren't treated as people, and even though a demi-human was a 'demi'-human, they weren't treated as people.

This document merely proved that if I lost the trial, Eve would be transformed into mermaid tempura.

In the first place, the fact that a mermaid who had committed dozens of serial murders and serial rapes, gaining notoriety throughout the entire city, was pardoned and allowed to marry a lord was an fucking unprecedented treatment made possible only because I had defeated the Demon King. Even a normal person would find it hard to get a pardon for doing that stuff unless they saved the country.

To summarize the story so far, it was like this.

The Amur Territory and the Northern Grand Duke filed a trial over Eve stabbing the Northern Grand Duke's son to death. If it was proven here that Eve was not a person, Eve would become Eve tempura, and if it was proven that Eve was a person, I could go to the Amur Territory and smash the lord's head.

If it was proven that Eve was not a person, then Eve's act of killing the Amur Territory's aide and the son of Grand Duke Rubicon was wrong, so I would have to pay compensation, and I also couldn't complain about our territory's soldiers getting beaten up, as it was a reasonable act of retaliation.

Of course, I had no intention of meekly handing Eve over, saying, 'Please fry her until she's crispy,' if I lost. The moment I lost, I planned to cause a scene in the trial venue and run away with the kids.

But Grand Duke Rubicon was a person with great influence in both the Royal Palace and the Archdeity Church, and I had nothing that could prove Eve was a person. Simply put, it was a disadvantageous trial that was already premised on me running away.

Having thought this far, I bowed my head and let out a sigh. I had just come back from a pleasant dungeon capture, only to be hit with a tough situation to handle. As I sighed, Eve, who was kneeling beside me, flinched her shoulders.

"Have you reflected?"

"No, I mean... Eung."

Eve tried to make an excuse, then hung her head low. I looked at her and spoke again.

"From now on, if there's a guy like that, just beat him up and throw him in prison. If I kill him, there won't be any problem."

"Groom. What do we do now? Aren't we fucked?"

Eve naturally added 'groom' and asked me. Seeing her on her knees, so deflated, I could certainly feel her desperation and anxiety. I was amazed to see Eve so dispirited. I stood up, hugged her tightly, and said.

"It's okay. Everything will be fine."

"Really? Right?"

Eve wore an expression that said she felt sorry enough to die. It was a new realization, but I found it a bit strange that she even had the emotion of guilt.

"I'm going out. And you don't have to be on your knees anymore."

"Okay..."

Eve's words trailed off as she watched me leave. My mind was too complicated. I ruffled my hair and went down to the first floor. Through the first-floor window, I could see Cellu swimming leisurely. Come to think of it, if Eve died, Cellu would die too.

I went out into the yard and spoke to Cellu.

"Cellu."

"What's wrong? Do you want to do it outdoors?"

Cellu asked, sticking her tongue out playfully. I wasn't in the mood to fuck right now, so I shook my head.

"We're both about to become fried fish, and you can say something like that?"

Seeing Cellu's overly leisurely expression, I got a little irritated. I couldn't see anything that could turn the trial around, but the risk if I lost was fucking huge. Cellu laughed at my irritation.

"Heh. You don't look like you're in a good mood today."

"Of course I'm not. Cellu, you said it yourself. That Eve needs to live among people. But this is the result. They're holding a trial, saying Eve has to die because she's not a person."

"If you win, is Eve a person?"

Cellu asked. I nodded. At my words, Cellu narrowed her eyes and said.

"Interesting."

"That's why it'll be harder to win, right? A verdict that a mermaid is a person is absurd. Besides, the opponent is the Grand Duke of the North. That nobleman is wide-eyed and alive..."

Hold on. A good idea suddenly occurred to me. If I did this right, I might be able to win the trial. The verdict method for a trial could be decided differently according to the judge or the consensus of the parties to the trial at the time.

For example, if two people couldn't reach a consensus no matter what, they would sometimes mediate and tell them to see the result through a horseback race or a duel.

I stopped talking to Cellu and went back into the mansion. And I started to gather the things I needed to win the trial.

Grand Duke Rubicon is a more hot-blooded person than I thought. On top of that, his level during the in-game Dragon Mountains Quest was around 20. Even if I assume he's gotten stronger from continuously subjugating demi-humans, he wasn't strong enough for me to not be able to win.

A man who commands battlefields in the North won't be scared by the story of defeating the Demon King. This trial. If I could just drag it into a duel, I could win. It was a fight to prove whether she was human or not, anyway. In a fight like this, the one who is better with words wins.

If I somehow latched onto his words, twisted them, changed the conversation topic, and kept provoking Grand Duke Rubicon with absurd sophistry, there was a high possibility that Grand Duke Rubicon would draw his sword first and challenge me to a fight. Then I would proudly draw my Holy Sword and declare an honorable contest.

Just you wait, you fuckers.