One of the illegal businesses and the one that generated a great sum of money to fund Joaquin's campaign was the gambling house, located right in the eighth district. Although gambling was a good business to drain people's wealth, there were more disturbing things that were happening inside that not everyone was aware of.
This particular establishment had also become the center of the drug trade. And the man who was the biggest distributor of this was none other than the crown prince. Yes. The reason the opposing parties who were aware of this would never side with someone who could potentially ruin the empire was because of this matter alone.
The only reason this hadn't blown up despite knowing all this was the lack of evidence to tie the involvement of the crown prince. Joaquin was a thorough person, and it took Ismael and his people years to gather enough evidence to put him on trial. Even if the incident earlier today didn't happen, Ismael had already planned to use this card anytime soon, and at the perfect time.
This wasn't the perfect time, but it was the only card they could use against the crown prince.
In the residence of the chief of supreme justice, who was also closely affiliated with the church, Ismael rode his steed and requested an emergency audience with the man who was in charge of convicting felons. Since the man requesting this audience was the revered third prince, the minister allowed this meeting.
"Here is the evidence I had gathered for years regarding the matter of the drug trade that had been corrupting the empire for years." Ismael placed the documents on the coffee table between him and a man. He gazed at the middle-aged man, tall, dark, dashing, and mustached.
The minister of law and justice, Modesto Vida, was the person who was entrusted to administer fairness regardless of the status of the people involved. This also included trials of aristocrats and lower nobles. Although the royalties were in a different case, he had the authority to approve a trial if one of the royalties was being accused of a felony, since the emperor had handed him that authority.
One more thing about this person about why Ismael approached him was that he was neutral. He was known for his clean track record and those who tried to bribe him had faced the maximum punishment.
Modesto bent over to pick up the documents the third prince presented him. As he did so, he raised his eyes to Ismael.
"Evidence of drug trade?" he asked and the third prince nodded.
"Yes." Ismael took a deep breath, jerking his chin towards the documents in Modesto's possession. "In it lies the data going in and out of the empire, the operations, the locations of the trade, and the distributor, backed with legitimate documents as proof to all the ones I had mentioned."
"Good lord!" Modesto huffed as he leaned back, raising the documents to skim through what could have been a huge scandal in the empire.
Everyone was already discreet about it, although the existence of the drug was no secret as it had ruined the lives of many — from aristocrats down to peasants. Ismael studied the man's expression across from him, nodding in satisfaction seeing how the minister reacted.
"These are all…" he trailed off when Ismael cut him off with a resolute;
"Legitimate marked by a seal and signatures of those who were involved in the operations."
"Bless this empire… just what… the crown prince?" Ismael nodded as Modesto let out a deep exhale at Joaquin's name written on the records.
"Right now, my men, and the minister of defense, the eighth prince, are already on their way to raid the center of their trade," he explained solemnly, knowing every second counted to turn things around before Joaquin could take action. "Once we get your approval, we'll seize the crown prince to face just trial."
Modesto let out another sigh once again as he threw his head back, eyes closed. When he reopened his eyes, he gazed back at the third prince.
"This… if the crown prince is seized, it'll be a huge scandal, Your Highness." Modesto briefed and saw Ismael nod. "Not only it will put the royal family in a tight position, but every royalty will be investigated, and that includes you."
"I am confident I will come out clean," Ismael affirmed. "To regain the trust of His Majesty's subjects, we, as the members of the royal family, must prove our innocence and take responsibility for our mistakes. Only then we would gain credence and proved that no one — even the royal family — is above the law, and thus, we weren't ruled by a tyrant."
Modesto rocked his head as what the third prince had said deserved respect. He remained silent, pushing himself from his seat with the documents still in his hand.
"Throughout my time, I had met people — aristocrats and common people — who had committed unspeakable crimes, but this one is something that is hard to believe," said the minister as he walked towards the fire. "Your Highness, you are truly someone I had admired and your faith in the justice system of the empire is enough to move me to tears."
Ismael simply stared at his towering figure while he stood by the fire, extending his patience as he respected that this was a pill that was hard to swallow. Just as Modesto said, this matter would put the royal family in a tough position because the person involved was the crown prince. But alas, the words he heard next were something that made his blood run cold.
"Your Highness, are these the original copies?" asked Modesto in a slightly different tone, and then glanced back at the third prince. Ismael's grip on the armrest slightly tightened, studying the minister of law and justice vigilantly.
"Why are you asking me such a trivial question?" as soon as the last syllable escaped his mouth, the side of Modesto's lips stretched mildly. That very moment, when a subtle glint flickered across the man's eyes, realization dawned on him.
He was fucked.
"Well, of course, to make sure the credibility of the complaint." Modesto smiled mildly before he glanced at the fire. "Your Highness, I meant it when I say I admired your faith in our justice system. But alas… it was proven as a failure long ago when the matters of the death of Prince Manuel were considered a case closed, letting the mastermind get away and take the title of the heir."
He carefully moved his hand and tossed the documents inside the fireplace, where they were engulfed by fire almost instantly.
"You…!" Ismael sprung up to his feet, wide-eyed, watching all their years of hard work turn into ash. But even before he could take a step to recover what was there to retrieve, Modesto spoke.
"A week ago, I also received the same report regarding the drug trade in the empire." Modesto faced Ismael solemnly. "Your Highness, you're a step behind. You and I are aware that a step behind and ahead is akin to heaven and hell. May God bless your heart."
As soon as that left Modesto's lips, the door suddenly flung open, revealing knights speaking words of 'justice' regarding the arrest of the man, who was also the suspect behind the drug trade in the empire.
Ismael Imperial.
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