Chapter 65
“Be careful.”
“About what?”
“You know Ingrid’s lord passed away in prison, right?”
If the people behind the attack on the Magic Saint Sena are really the <Men at the Center>,
“That means they won’t hesitate to kill even someone who was once on their side, if necessary.”
Cassian said this as they walked down the courthouse corridor.
His expression was serious.
I asked quietly,
“Cassian, are you worried about me?”
“Wouldn’t I be?”
“Then…”
“Yes.”
“Can I get a hazard pay?”
“…….”
♡☆♧Yes, I’m jaded♧☆♡
“The employer’s verbal concern is always fake.”
If you truly care about your employee, show it with pay and benefits.
The only real way to show your sincerity.
Money.
“If I had money, I could buy a big sickle or saw to fight them off if they attack, right?”
“Not a gun, but a sickle and saw?”
What are you planning to do? Cassian gave me a bewildered look as he shook the front paw of the tofu he was holding.
“I’m going broke because of the Magic Saint. Johann Mendelssohn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Mozart, Debussy, Park Yeon, Strauss III. You go out and earn some money.”
Tofu, who had been napping in its thick padded coat and hat all day, lazily opened one eye to glance at me and then shut it again.
“It says no.”
“Aw, come on.”
I scratched the tofu’s forehead, which had gotten a little sticky from being petted too much, and opened the courtroom door.
It was five minutes past the session start, but it was quiet.
“What? Why aren’t they starting?”
I had rushed here, afraid of being late.
I found a corner seat where I could remain unnoticed and sat down. About five minutes later, a court officer shouted.
“Honorable Judge Cameron is entering. Everyone rise and show respect to the court.”
“Tofu, you don’t need to stand.”
I patted the top of Tofu’s head and stood.
Soon, Judge Cameron entered, his white wig swaying with his robe.
Before entering, I recalled the schedule posted at the front of the courtroom.
‘There’s only time to handle one case.’
This trial was…
A case where some academy student violated a restraining order and persistently followed the victim.
“…….”
It already felt ominous.
Count Cameron, a judge of the respected Loire Central Court, thought:
‘Where have I seen that girl before?’
A black-haired girl sitting in the corner of the gallery with some delinquent-looking guy.
Pretty, with sharp, lively eyes—just the kind of impression a typical academy graduate assistant would have.
‘I’ve definitely seen her somewhere…’
Was she one of my students who attended my lectures when I gave special courses at the academy?
I glanced at her occasionally while focusing on my thoughts and missed some of the prosecutor’s words.
“…Your Honor?”
“Huh.”
I cleared my throat in time, but it didn’t really matter.
It was a simple case.
Case Overview
(From Judge Cameron’s perspective)
Case number: Don’t remember.
Victim’s name: I think it was Eve. Let’s call it the Eve Case.
Eve, a librarian at the academy, about three months ago, felt that the defendant, who was sitting across from her at the loan desk, was staring at her intently.
Even when their eyes met, he didn’t look away. The defendant came to the library daily, staring at the victim for around seven hours before leaving.
She consulted her supervisor, but there was no solution. She asked the Capital Guard, but they replied, “We can’t do anything if he’s just looking.”
Two weeks ago, after her shift, the victim found the defendant waiting outside the library.
The defendant claimed he wanted to ask her questions about the library’s collection and tried to stop her to talk.
The victim refused, saying, “Come back during work hours,” but the defendant followed her to the academy’s main gate.
(Witnesses testified that the defendant blocked her path, grabbing her wrist, etc.)
Her supervisor, arriving for work, found the struggle and called the Capital Guard.
A restraining order was issued.
During the investigation, a Capital Guard officer exposed the victim’s address to the defendant.
(“Miss, your address is **Street, Number **, right?”)
Two days later, in the early morning, the defendant tried to break into the victim’s house by smashing her window.
Fortunately, the victim’s boyfriend was present, and after a struggle, the defendant was arrested.
“The defendant is a third-year student at the Academy’s Law School and was intoxicated at the time of arrest……”
‘Pathetic.’
Judge Cameron clicked his tongue internally, thinking of the victim.
‘The victim happened to be with her boyfriend.’
So she wasn’t even alone with her husband, just her boyfriend. At that hour?
“The defendant has been an outstanding student throughout her three years at the Academy, never missing the top rank, growing up in a difficult environment with a father who values noble reputation and a mother who values practicality, constantly at odds……”
Ah, so the defendant goes to the Academy’s Law School.
She’s one of my juniors. I was top-ranked when I was in school too.
“She testified that she lost control momentarily and is now reflecting on her actions……”
By the way, did I eat too much lunch? Why does my stomach hurt so much?
‘I need to finish this quickly and go to the restroom.’
Rubbing his protruding belly, Judge Cameron flipped through the papers before him.
Letters of appeal from acquaintances of the perpetrator and 140 pages of handwritten apology by the perpetrator.
50 million gold deposited in court as a token of reflection.
The victim refused to accept the money, demanding severe punishment, but that wasn’t relevant. What mattered was that the perpetrator deposited it.
Ahem. Judge Cameron cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“Attempting to break into the victim’s home, violating the solemn restraining order of the court, is indeed a grave offense……”
However,
“Considering the defendant was mentally impaired at the time of arrest, has no prior criminal record, comes from a troubled family, and is genuinely remorseful……”
Also,
“Given the defendant’s exemplary record of maintaining top rank in Law School for three years, it would be a significant loss for the Empire if one momentary mistake ruined the future of such a promising young individual.”
Judge Cameron raised his gavel.
“This case is dismissed.”
Bang, bang, bang.
“That’s right!”
“No way!”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, Your Honor!”
The perpetrator’s parents, who had been anxiously biting their hands, smiled and shook hands with the lawyer, hugging their son in prison clothes, patting his back and praising him.
Meanwhile, the victim’s cries, unable to look at them, echoed in the windowless courtroom.
Judge Cameron had already left the courtroom.
That evening.
“Phew. I’m tired.”
After finishing his day, Judge Cameron returned to his room inside the courthouse.
His attendant caught the judge’s robe as he tossed it aside carelessly.
Judge Cameron let out a long sigh and sat down.
“Master!”
Through the door that had been opened briefly for ventilation, the Cameron household butler burst in.
“Master! The young lady—!”
“Huh? My daughter?”
My daughter, who had gone to the dormitory to focus on studying? Why now?
The butler shouted.
“Master! The young lady! Through the dorm window she lives in—!”
“…Window?”
A sudden sense of dread hit Judge Cameron, and he leapt to his feet.
