Chapter 649 Judgment
The next few days were a whirlwind of meetings, dinners, people requesting mana gathering charms, and fancy outfits for Wolfe.
By day four, he was running out of ideas for clothing, but didn't want to recycle a look before the week was out. So, today he was wearing a white leisure suit with a gold silk shirt, unbuttoned halfway down, while Rail wore a matching gold silk dress and white accessories.
The Royals thought that it was fabulous, and if the guests thought otherwise, they weren't brave enough to say anything.
But today was the day that the trial was to be held for the corruption charges that were facing the Guard General and the Ministers from the King's cabinet. It was only a formality, as they had already been sentenced by the Queen, and all but one had started their punishments, but bringing out the Guard General to pay a public price for corruption in the middle of an event celebrating the return of an assassinated Queen had the townsfolk incredibly excited.
It seemed that the only ones who didn't know that there was some major corruption going on were the ones living in the Palace, and the Guard General didn't have a very good reputation around town.
Once they heard that he was going to face trial for stealing money from the payroll, though, any sympathy they might have felt for someone getting a bit on the side evaporated instantly. There were some things that you just didn't mess with, and one of them was payroll.
Wolfe had a front-row seat, assigned to him by the Queen, to sit next to the Nobles on a balcony overlooking the town square.
Rail was up front with the investigation team, including Minister William and an agent from the Intelligence Ministry. Not a working agent, one of the public relations officers that everyone knew worked for the Intelligence Service.
That, along with the hard copy evidence, would be more than enough to convince the gathered crowd that he fully deserved what was coming to him.
"Welcome everyone, thank you for coming today and giving up some time out of your celebration schedule to see Justice served." Minister William greeted the crowd.
He would be the prosecutor today, as the Palace Security Minister, and he was a familiar face to everyone, as he had held the position for a number of years before the transfer. When there was an incident at the Palace, he was the one that informed or reassured the crowds in the city outside the walls.
"I am certain that there has been a lot of gossip going around the city these past few days, but I will clarify the situation for you. Advisor Moria, Agriculture Minister Cell, the Palace Steward, and Foreign Affairs Minister Dalton have all been cast down to the pits for a permanent sentence on charges of treason and theft of Royal Property.
The Guard General accepted bribes from them to allow the stolen goods and funds out of the Palace. For that reason, he has been charged with dereliction of duty and Corruption by a Public Official.
Now I will lay out the evidence for you all."
The crowd went completely silent as the General hung his head in shame. He knew full well that the outcome had already been decided, and that this sham of a hearing was for the benefit of the public so that there were no misconceptions about what had happened to him.
The others weren't public figures, at least not like the General of the Palace Guard was, so they could be disappeared without any issues, and only the nobles would ask. But he was constantly leading units through the city.
"First up, we have the Steward's ledger, recovered from the Palace Steward himself, which details the weekly payments to the Guard General in addition to his salary.
Secondly, we have the testimony of the agents from the Intelligence Service, who witnessed the transaction firsthand while the targets were under surveillance.
And finally, we have our newest Senior Investigator, Rail, who was personally involved in extracting the confession of the other conspirators."
The promotion was news to her, and Rail remained frozen in shock at the news. Fortunately, the crowd took it as Stoic disapproval of the General's actions, and didn't notice that she was inwardly overjoyed to have gotten the promotion.
Minister William cleared his throat then continued. "The total theft amounts to over nine thousand gold coins over the course of the year, the majority of which have not been recovered. For his part in this ongoing corruption, the former Guard General has been stripped of his rank, his family have been stripped of their titles and lands, and he will be punished.
Does the convicted have anything to say in his defence?"
The General stepped forward, and the Minister stepped aside to allow him access to the podium, with its voice amplifying spell in place of a microphone.
"People of the city, I have failed you. I allowed greed to cloud my mind, and accepted bribes to look the other way to what went on inside the Palace. I deserve this punishment, but I ask that you find it in your heart to not hold it against my family.
They have done nothing wrong and are innocent of my crimes. For their sake, I will accept even the harshest of punishments willingly." He declared.
It was considered good form in the Demon Kingdoms to accept your punishment without whining or crying, so if he really did live up to his words, it would help the people regain some respect for his family line, even though they had lost everything.
"The convicted has spoken. What say you, people of the Kingdom?" Minister William asked the ritual words that would end the trial.
The crowd murmured for a while as they discussed among themselves if his family should be held responsible for his misdeeds. They had most likely benefitted from the money he was taking, but they had repaid it with the loss of their lands. It also helped that they were a well-known family from nearby, as the people knew them and weren't just relying on sympathy for strangers.
One after another, the crowd raised fists, and the Minister nodded.
"It is decided. No further sanctions or shame will be levied on his family. I now ask the Queen for her sentence."
Queen Elizabeth stood to her feet and cast a disapproving glare at the former General that made most of the crowd in the front rows flinch back at her power.
"For the crime of corruption, a betrayal of the people by the head of the guards assigned to keep them safe, I hereby sentence you to banishment. Your body does not deserve to rest in the soil of the people you betrayed for money. You will be given one day to reach the border, may you find atonement for your actions during the remainder of your days."
It was a far less harsh sentence than anyone had thought she might pronounce. They had all assumed that he was going to be executed. This way, his family was free to leave with him and try to make a home somewhere else if they wanted. They wouldn't lose their most powerful provider, though his ability to provide anything might be questionable now that he was an aging guardsman with no rank and no history in any other nation.
But it wasn't death, and that alone was shocking.
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