CHAPTER 89……………………………………………
Count Miloam brushed off Elliot’s protest with a laugh.
“Haha, my apologies. I just wanted to feed you bread as thanks!”
“Unbelievable, honestly.”
Elliot clicked his tongue once and washed his throat with water. If this had been when they first met, he would have spent at least three minutes tearing into the count with sharp criticism. But it seemed he had learned by now that most words simply didn’t get through to the count.
“If you’re that grateful, then testify in my favor at the trial I’m going to face.”
That remark came from that very context.
“Say that Elliot Rude is a valuable talent who contributes to the nation’s development, and ask them to reduce my sentence in consideration of that.”
In the lighthearted atmosphere, Elliot spoke in a joking tone as well.
“……”
However, the air around us instantly sank. Count Miloam, who had been single-handedly steering the mood of the table, suddenly clamped his mouth shut.
“C-Count?”
After a moment, I called out to him. Elliot and Vineta also looked at the count with puzzled expressions.
With a face deep in thought, he slowly chewed what was in his mouth, swallowed it all, and only then spoke.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”
He looked at Elliot with a blank expression—so unlike his usual cheerful grin.
“The trial you’re going to face… it’s about that incident, isn’t it? The Iver Merchant Guild everyone’s been talking about lately.”
So he already knew Elliot was connected to Iver, I thought. When I first brought the count here, I hadn’t explained Elliot’s crime. At the time, the investigation into the Iver Guild had been conducted in secret.
The case had been officially reported yesterday, but the count’s attitude hadn’t changed much. I had wondered if he still didn’t know that Elliot was Iver’s vice-leader—but that wasn’t the case.
“Well, how should I put it… I’m a simple man, so I can only give simple sermons. That’s why I usually try not to say much, but…”
Count Miloam scratched his closely cropped hair with his thick fingers.
“You… you’re not even a little bit remorseful, are you? About the crimes you committed.”
Elliot’s eyes widened. Count Miloam, though slow, articulated his thoughts clearly.
“If you were reflecting on your actions, that’d be different. But I can’t say good things in court for someone who feels no remorse. It has nothing to do with whether you’re a genius or not. If a person commits a crime, they have to pay for it.”
Elliot set down the bread he had been eating.
“I’ve lost my appetite. All of you are unpleasant to look at—leave at once.”
“Since we’re on the subject, let me ask just one thing. Why did you do it?”
Elliot, who had been about to stand up, paused.
“With a brain like yours, couldn’t you have used it for the good of the world? So why commit crimes?”
“Ha! Why should I strive for the world? I live for one person alone. As long as that person acknowledges me, that’s enough!”
“Did you commit those crimes for that person?”
“Yes.”
“Does that person know you’re going that far for them?”
“They always told me they were grateful. Graciously, they even said I was the pillar supporting them.”
“Then that person is wicked.”
With a single sentence, Count Miloam stepped squarely on Elliot’s landmine. For Elliot, Riena was a sacred, untouchable domain.
“What did you say?”
“They only say they’re grateful. They don’t truly cherish you.”
Bloodshot veins rose in Elliot’s eyes.
“What would a nobody like you know?!”
“Even if I’m a fool, I know that much! If they were truly a good person—if they truly cared about you—”
Count Miloam shouted louder than Elliot. Vineta and I covered our ears. His voice was so booming it was as if he had swallowed a train whistle.
“They wouldn’t stand before you after you’ve committed crimes and spout nonsense about gratitude! They’d stop you! They’d guide you back onto the right path!”
“…What do you know? Does shouting louder make you right?”
Perhaps he had shrunk at the volume, or perhaps he had been persuaded even a little. Elliot’s fierce momentum waned.
“She is a good person. To begin with, equating illegality with evil is itself a simplistic, black-and-white way of thinking.”
Not exactly words befitting someone who believed anyone opposing Riena was automatically a villain.
“What are you talking about? Explain it so I can understand.”
“I’m saying she’s a good person! Not recklessly good—just appropriately good.”
“I don’t understand. Is someone who commits crimes ‘appropriately good’? Then are people who follow the law ‘recklessly good’?”
“She does not cross the minimum line of goodness—such as tormenting those weaker than herself. In fact, she even uses extralegal means to protect the weak.”
“Extralegal means…?”
“I’ll kindly give you an example, since you’re so dull. If you saw a thug beating an elderly person on the street, what would you do?”
“I’d beat him up a few times and make him swear never to do it again.”
“Assault is a crime. The only reason you’ve gotten away with it is because you’re a noble. So? If all illegality is evil, then you’re a bad man too, aren’t you?”
“W-Well, that’s true.”
“She, too, uses force to punish villains who torment the weak. The difference is that she does it discreetly and without leaving consequences—far more skillfully than you.”
“Really? I like the sound of that… But what does that have to do with tax evasion? Is not paying taxes also punishing villains?”
“How foolish. Taxes, no matter how faithfully you pay them, only end up filling the pockets of the wrong people. It would be nice if the system functioned ideally, but if those at the top are corrupt, it’s useless.”
Elliot pushed up his glasses.
“If you’re going to throw money into a trash can, it’s better to spend it somewhere worthwhile.”
In short, the country was rotten, so he didn’t want to pay taxes. What an excuse. It would at least be honest if he simply said he hated parting with his money.
Count Miloam looked gloomy.
“You’re right. There are many in this country who only care about stuffing their own bellies. But there are also quite a few good people working to make it better.”
“Nonsense.”
“It’s true. As you can see, I’m penniless and hardly able to repay anything, but sometimes there are nobles who lend me money if I beg hard enough. Thanks to them, our territory has become a little more prosperous.”
“They’re only a minority.”
“They are few, but nobles don’t exactly have money to spare either, so it can’t be helped.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Hmm… It’s hard to put into words all of a sudden. Give me a moment to organize my thoughts.”
Count Miloam spent some time muttering to himself and tapping the floor with the toe of his shoe. The surprising thing was that Elliot waited without complaint.
“After thinking it over, I still believe taxes must be paid. Barren regions like our territory have no choice but to rely on subsidies from the state. Ah, of course I know it feels like a waste. Our region receives more benefits than it gives, but when it’s time to pay…”
“Get to the point.”
“Don’t commit tax evasion out of greed and then make excuses! You shameless brat!”
“W-What?”
“Do you think I don’t realize everything you’ve been saying is nonsense?”
“You’re just babbling!”
“You’re the one babbling! You’re smart—so you should know how ridiculous your arguments are.”
“……”
“Stop saying things you don’t even believe! Say what you truly mean! Stop wrapping it up! Your real feelings!”
Elliot lowered his gaze. He spoke quietly, almost like a sigh.
“I thought you wouldn’t understand even if I told you, so I tried to humor you. But I suppose that won’t work.”
Soon, a sense of relief spread across his face—like a snake shedding the skin that had wrapped around it.
“Yes. Tax evasion goes against social justice. The other crimes the Iver Guild committed are the same.”
But so what? the genius asked.
“Idel, you understand, don’t you? Lady Riena is exceedingly lovely, adorable, beautiful, elegant, noble—she was born blessed with every blessing in the world.”
Ecstasy dripped from his voice.
“So what if someone like her makes a few mistakes? So what if we commit a few crimes for her? Can’t people just overlook it? Can’t they simply find it cute?”
Goosebumps rose along my forearm. The Elliot who had been laughing earlier now began to rage.
“It’s sacrilege! How dare you attempt to punish someone so sacred and noble with the petty laws of the human world!”
I had seen someone wear a similar expression before. Marianne, Cassius’s head maid, who had slammed her head against the floor without hesitation for Riena during the divorce trial.
“Lady Riena may be human, but in terms of her adorableness she transcends humanity! She didn’t kill anyone—breaking a few trivial laws means nothing for someone like her!”
Elliot, veins bulging in his neck as he ranted, looked anything but normal. Vineta drew her sword from its sheath.
I hadn’t realized Elliot’s condition was this severe… As Terence said, do we have no choice but to kill him?
Just as I contemplated that last, reluctant measure, Count Miloam strode straight up to Elliot.
“C-Count!”
The words ‘It might be dangerous’ died in my throat. With a loud thwack!, he smacked Elliot on the head.
“Ah! That hurts like crazy!”
Of course, due to the artifact Elliot possessed, the one who felt the pain was the count himself.
“Still, I couldn’t stand not hitting you at least once. What? Someone so lovable and cute that even the law mustn’t punish them? Are you an idiot?”
Count Miloam sneered at him.
“Where in this world is there such a person?”
