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"Before I deliver the verdict? Are there any who have an objection? If not then Herman Essar will be given a dea . . . . ."

"Objection!"

I wave my hand with all my might toward the elderly sitting above everyone like a king. The judge in this courtroom.

"You may speak, princess"

I, Erwin, and a middle-aged man named Herman Esser are inside a courtroom. I am here as the defense attorney, Erwin as a witness, and the middle-aged man as the suspect. There is also a person with a glorious mustache who keeps giving me unfriendly glances across this room named Laster Arc. My father, Arthfael Irmhilde AKA. . . the crown prince also comes as an attendee for some reason. Together with his guards and many wealthy-looking people.

So? How did the situation become like this?

As usual, Erwin accompanied me when I wanted to go back to the dormitory. Thinking about getting some change of pace, I asked him to forgo the carriage and just walk with me.

But it turned out that it was a mistake, our journey got tainted by the scenery of a group of slaves being dragged by their master. Walking side by side with us.

The sight of people with their hands tied and forced to walk like livestock certainly made me feel uncomfortable. But I had known for a long time that slavery was still normal in my new world. So, I tried not to voice my complaint to anyone and swallowed all the disgust I felt.

However, when one of them fell to the ground and was then kicked by the owner into the middle of the road. My body reflexively tried to move towards them to try to help.

It was at that moment I realized a fast-moving horse-drawn carriage came towards me. And after seeing me suddenly running toward the middle of the road, the driver panicked and tried to steer the horse sideways. But while I got saved, the carriage ran straight to the slave who just got kicked.

I thought the driver would surely try to turn his carriage once again. But then, what I see is. He just let his horse barrel down toward the fallen slave.

I know that making a lot of sudden turns would jeopardize the balance of the carriage. Even so, he should still be able to slightly alter the course of the carriage's course to avoid the slave. But then, I catch a glimpse of the driver's face.

That guy. He doesn't care if he overruns a person. Not only that, He actually smiled like someone who spots a chance to blame someone for his mistake. Which is probably what actually happened.

If he makes a tight turn and the carriage if the carriage rolls over. It would be his fault, but they fall because someone obstructed their way. It was that person's fault for falling.

When I had given up and braced myself to see the future terrifying scene in front of me. I spoke. . .

"Someone please. . . ."

Help him!!!!

I didn't expect for someone to actually come. My words are just reflexes coming from a brain that is struggling to think.

"Goddamit!!!"

But then someone did just that. Granting my wish.

With a burst of speed unimaginable for any ordinary person. Erwin runs and quickly overtakes the carriage. He then stands in front of the fallen slave with both of his hands in front of his shoulders.

"Get out of the way you brat!!"

Even if the driver wanted to stop his carriage, the horse could no longer stop its momentum. I just reflexively screamed something, imagining the worst outcome that is. Instead of one dead person, we would get two dead people. And one who is, my close friend.

But.

Together with the loud neigh of the horse, Erwin . . . .

"Haaa!!!"

Grab the base of the horse's forelegs and hold its momentum with his body. I can see he still got pushed for almost a meter back, but then the horse loses its balance before falling.

The driver got thrown forward but only got a minor injury, the carriage is stopped and the salve is saved. Thanks to his power Erwin is pretty much unscathed, and I finally can breathe a sigh of relief.

That was cool.

His power is simple. What he can do is just harden his body or whatever his body touches.

But from what I gathered so far, people with special power also tend to have higher strength and stamina. Yes, even the one with non-physical special abilities. So, even If what you can do is just make a cold drink with your power. By default, you are still stronger than ordinary people.

Of course, not everyone with special abilities can do a stunt as Erwin does. Only because he has that specific power can he be reckless.

I'm already in the mood for a celebration. But, not long after. A man in his forties comes out of the carriage.

From his overall appearance, You can easily guess that he is a noble. And from his arrogant, annoyed, and disdainful face, I know that he is the traditional Amteric noble.

And that is how we all got into a court.

"The charges are not supported by any evidence!"

The accusation made against the slave named Herman Essar is a premeditated murder. Which, no matter how you looked at it. It was clear that everything was just an accident.

The charges should never have been issued at all.

Furthermore, if anyone should be prosecuted. It should be me or Erwin jaywalking.

The objection I raised seems strong enough to make the judge reconsider his decision. After that, he looked in another direction. More precisely, in front of me where someone was standing confidently.

The prosecutor of this court.

"Then does the princess have evidence that the defendant is not guilty?"

"Huh? What kind of question is that?"

I may not have studied law, but at least I remember that this country adheres to the principle of 'innocent until proven guilty'. So during the decision-making process, a person's position in court should only be a suspect, not a criminal trying to defend themselves.

Furthermore, the person in question is not even trying to defend themselves and is just silent like a statue.

"If you don't understand the law, please just step back and let us do our job."

Do you think I wanted to be here? No!

I don't care about the owner getting fined for a massive sum. But If I didn't defend Herman, the slave. He literally would get executed for no reason. He just goddam fell, and yet he needs to die for it? What kind of joke is that?

"Sigh. . . . ."

Erwin said that the court in this country is just a formality, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. The man who should have been the victim is now a suspect, the court which should have been a place of deliberation is only a theater.

Now I understand why it was not me or Erwin in Herman's place. If it was me or Erwin, who relatively have a high position got tangled into this trouble. The problem would spiral out and become a political matter. But If everyone can just blame the innocent slave, we all can throw everything under the bush.

Yes, even we have to kill a person for it.

"The defendant, Herman Essar, tried to save me from the oncoming carriage and in the process accidentally injured its passenger! making the action an act of self-defense."

And self-defense actions cannot be categorized as criminal acts. The negative consequences of self-defense actions such as physical injury, damage to property, or financial loss to the victim only need to be compensated with something of equal value by the defendant.

What I wanted to say is. Just shut up and get your money! We do not need to escalate this any further. No one needs to die. My solution perhaps would make the man shoulder a massive debt, but that is still better than losing his own life right?

"Princess, please don't make up stories in court."

"Makeup stories? Then please provide evidence that what I'm saying is not true."

Once again! Just shut up!

"Ugh..."

If you want to play dirty, then I'll play dirty too. If you make baseless accusations, then I'll provide baseless reasons and justifications for his actions too.

If he dares to say that I have no evidence to support my defense, I'll say that he has no evidence to support his accusations. If both sides continue to be in a stalemate, at least I can buy time to find other defense material once we have additional time.

"Very well, Princess. If your defense is indeed true, then I propose a sentence of twenty years imprisonment, a fine of fifty gold coins, and also public service to the country within the same period."

"I object, Your Honor."

Are you serious? Do you have a hobby of seeing people suffer? The slave literally has nothing. Why are you so adamant about taking so much from him?

The demand given is excessive. The punishment he is trying to give is too heavy.

Why should someone be given such a severe punishment just because a nobleman bumped his head in his carriage?

"The injury and loss suffered by the victim are insignificant, which is why the prosecutor's demand for punishment is excessive."

"Please reconsider your Honor, although the injury suffered is indeed small, the possibility of the victim's life being in danger is a fact."

He continued.

"Furthermore, there is no guarantee that there are no hidden injuries that we have yet to discover. That is why Herman Essar deserves severe punishment."

Heyyy, what the fffff. . . . . . You don't ffffkkkeennn punish people because of "WHAT IF".

"You are right."

Please don't tell me the judge will accept such a dumb reason!

"Your Honor? I beg you to stay within the context of this case! The trial that is being held is about what happened at present, not something that may happen in the future..."

. . . .Without hesitation, the prosecutor interrupted my words . .

"Your Honor, the victim is a noble descent of the families who built this country"

He turned around and raised his hand,

"That's why His future is very important, you could say that his future is the future of this country itself."

No longer able to listen to his dumb rambling, now it's me who interrupted his speech.

"Mr. Prosecutor, what you're saying is irrelevant to this case! We're discussing a matter between the defendant and the victim!"

He turned back to me and put on a genuinely confused face.

"Princess, are you insinuating that the life of a slave is worth the same as the life of a great nobleman?"

"Of course! what are you talking about?"

"Princess, please do not joke in court."

"What?"

After that, the room became crowded. And as I looked around, I realized that most of the people present in the room were nobles. And all of them looked at me with a gaze that seemed to say "Are you dumb?" or "What is this child talking about?"

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"So that's how it is."

Ever since I was born into this world, I always felt that the place I was in is just a bit different than my previous world. Until I met Erwin, who had special abilities.

But.

This world is a different world. A world with different laws, cultures, and common sense that is far from what I remember and used to.

I never thought a country could be so corrupt, I never thought the law could be so unfair. I know the world is unfair. But this is too much.

I'm not the defendant here, and I'm not the victim of injustice either.

Even so, I can't stop thinking that everyone here except Erwin is. . . . My enemy.

If even I, who is in a privileged position keep thinking that this country just should just disappear already. I wonder what people like Herman would think about this country? No! about this world? would they think that the world should just get destroyed already?

"From the beginning, I never had a chance to win."

When they let me become the defender for the man named Herman Essar earlier, I thought they really gave me a chance to be a part of this trial. But I was wrong. It seems that they let me, a five-year-old child, be here just to make the trial look formal and legal.

I should have suspected as much. But even with my memories from my previous life. At the end of the day, I'm still a dumb kid.

Memories are just memories.

"FINE!"

If they wanted a clown! I will be the clown.

"But! I don't want to lose to these people!"

I don't want to lose to those idiotic people who can only play around with their little game!

I don't want to accept the decision made by a sick person with a bit of power!

I! don't want to accept the fact that. No one is ever punished for toying around with the life of the innocents.

"Your Highness"

My voice isn't directed to the judge, the prosecutor, or the attendees. But to my father. The crown prince of this country.

"I have a question!"

I want our first interaction to be more casual and relaxed. I want to talk to him as a father and daughter. I, for the longest time, want to treat him as a family.

But too bad, it seems our first foray into building some relationship would be based on the foundation of politics.

I look into his eyes directly. In return, he also looked into my eyes directly.

"Speak."

"Do you love this country?"

"Please wait prince. . . . . . "

The judge leading the trial immediately tried to reprimand me. But my father, the crown prince, stopped him. And as a person with the highest authority, the judge reluctantly obeys. Not only that, but every single person in the room also shut their mouth.

"Of course, I wouldn't even hesitate to sacrifice my life for this country."

"I'm deeply moved, but! What is even a country?"

Without any hint of hesitation. He says. . . .

"Territory..."

Without territory, a country is just a symbol.

"Government..."

Without government and politics, a country is just a group of disorganized people.

"Then, the people!... no! I should place them at the start..."

Because without the people, a country is not a country. And as my father implied, the most important element of a country is its people. Without the people. Politics and territory have no value.

"You may treat a mere slave as a tool, but nevertheless, they are also a part of what we call 'the people"

And the value of "the people" cannot be compared to that of one or two noble children.

"You can't compare a whole population to a single person princess."

Even though I know that my argument is ridiculous. So no wonder the prosecutor saw fit to rebuke me on that point even when my father especially asked everyone to shut up. But. . .

"Then how much is equal to the value of one noble? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? One thousand?"

With a tired face akin to the one you showed to a dumb kid, the prosecutor then said.

"We are talking about just one slave princess."

Well said.

So I went back to my father.

"Your Majesty, if you had to choose between the people or the nobles? which is more important"

"Of course the people!"

"Your Majesty?..."

That answer surprised the prosecutor, but he immediately put on a calm face when everyone put their sight on him. He realized that. Even if you don't actually think that the people are important, you should at least put a facade in front of the royal family. At least you should agree with his general idea.

And everyone did agree with him. No one opposed his opinion.

I bowed to him and said.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right"

Good, if even my father had also said that nobles are more important. I honestly don't know what to do anymore except kick the table in front of me with all my might.

It was a shoddy plan relying on luck. But it was still a plan. In my position, what else could I do but pray and hope that luck was on my side? Even my previous life memories are pretty much useless for this farce.

"But as the prosecutor said, we are talking about one slave and one noble."

Well, exactly.

"Once again, Your Majesty is correct."

The prosecutor smiled after hearing my father's conclusion. But from the beginning, I never thought that I could use that logically flawed premise to bring me victory.

This is just the opening act.

"Last question"

Father, please. If you still consider me as your daughter. Do me a favor and play along.

"If your majesty commits a criminal act and asks for compensation, which will Your Majesty give?"

Do you give the victim a bit of your children's pinky finger?

Or would you give the life of your friend as compensation?

My choice of compensation is very out there. I know.

But this court itself is a massive joke. It's just a stage to legalize a punishment with no basis. If they want to use the "what if" scenario to justify their punishment. I can do it too.

And because it was just a "what if" scenario. I can put forward even dumb stuff like that. And fortunately, my father decided to follow along.

"I can't choose"

I don't know why he tags along on this wild ride of mine. Maybe he was just curious about his dumb daughter, maybe he did care about the people, or maybe it was just a whim he wanted to play around with me.

But thanks anyway Dad! If you ever come again to the house. I will definitely give you a big hug.

"Why, Your Majesty?"

A friend is pretty much just an outsider who happens to be close to you. They shouldn't be more important than your children.

"The health of my children is important since they are the future leaders of this country, but that doesn't mean I can sacrifice my friend's life just to protect them!"

After all. . . .

"The scale of the compensation is too extreme."

"Yes, the scale of compensation is too extreme"

Do you get it, Dad? Do you finally get what I'm trying to say?

". . . .

My father seemed to think for a moment before looking back at me. And from his expression, I'm very sure he gets it.

"So that's it"

"That's right"

I don't know if anyone else understands what we are talking about, but at least I'm sure that my father understands what I'm trying to tell him.

Compared to all the people who work hard and produce something, nobles who only rely on the power of their families should not be worth that much. They, literally produce nothing. We, literally produce nothing.

After all, we only govern. Without the people we govern, we are NOTHING. Whether you want to accept it or not. Managers without employees are just useless people.

Now, compare the value of a wound that can heal in three days and the life of a productive person. Which one has more value?

Slaves may not have the same rights as normal citizens, but it does not mean that they are not important. Almost twenty percent of the workforce in this country are slaves.

Imagine if everyone treated them as they pleased and treated their lives as mere toys. Imagine you break an expensive machine because you are in a bad mood.

That's too extreme.

"As a descendant of nobles who have served the country and made many contributions to the kingdom, I understand that the health of the victim is more important than a mere slave"

The small wound suffered by the victim is something that can heal in a few days. Although his life may be much more important than that of a slave, the fact that his life is not even in danger at all remains unchanged.

"Please, your judgment, Your Majesty!"

Meanwhile, because of such a trivial matter. Someone's productivity must be disrupted for a whole twenty years. After which his weakened body must be forced to work at less than full capacity while bearing the full weight of his unreasonable debt.

How can someone contribute to the country when he can barely live? We know that every penny the noble got from him. It would end up becoming dead money anyway, going nowhere except their own bloated stomach.

Contributing nothing to the people you said is very important.

" . . . "

Please! Just accept my convoluted logic and lighten the punishment for my client. I already give you the reason, now you just have to decide.

"Amelie Irhimlde. . . ."

I can sense his conflicted feelings. From our previous interaction, I know he isn't like the typical noble in this country. I can feel that he wanted to help the poor slave. But it seems all of my arguments are still not enough.

"Yes, your majesty"

What should I do? I was honestly out of bullets to shoot.

"Your Majesty, please do not make the wrong decision! You don't want to get into trouble right?"

My eyes widened. I never expected that help would come from the enemy. If I'm in an online chat, it was exactly the time when I should spam LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. . . .

I lift my face and call out to him.

"Mr. Laster?"

Aside from the judge, witnesses, defenders, and prosecutors. No one except my father should have the right to speak as he pleases. But it seems that he has no intention of following that rule.

Which is a boon for me.

And the irony is not lost on anyone.

Everyone in the court throws a scornful look at him. Even the prosecutor on his side seemed to want to say "Can you please shut up!" to him. However, he ignorantly…… just ignored everyone's reactions while still plastering a confident face.

Looking at his clueless face made me just reflexively smile.

"What?"

"It's nothing, Mr. Laster"

At this stage, everyone already knows that this trial is a lost cause.

Why?

"But, I want to make sure! You are not threatening His Majesty, right? Mr. Laster?"

Since entering this farce of a trial. I have understood that he has enough influence and connections. Everyone in the courtroom is a noble's ally, his ally. Even so, I never expected him to behave that arrogantly. In front of my father, of all people.

"My family has been protecting this country since the founding of Amteric, Of course, it is the duty of the royal family to protect us in return."

WOW. Just look at that. Did he just request protection from the person he just threatened? That shamelessness, that arrogance, that smugness. This guy is a bonafide nut.

". . . ."

When I look back at my father's face. Well, his face didn't change much. But I can clearly feel that he was holding back from saying "Guard! Chop this person's head!". Which of course, I would gladly use to further achieve my agenda.

"Mr. Laster's family has indeed done a lot for this country, but what about Mr. Laster yourself?"

My family is extraordinary, so I am extraordinary too is the logic that's more often used by someone who has nothing but the name of their family. It's a childish logic fit used by children.

Although I have never been a victim, I have seen some of my classmates use their family name to boss around other students, ask for unreasonable things from the school, and proudly brag about their birthright when introducing themselves.

"If you don't want to get into trouble! Just shut up kid!"

By the way, I am a princess if you remember.

"Mr. Laster, once again! You're not threatening the royal family right?"

I am a kid, but not just an ordinary kid. Just like you, I am also a child of a powerful person from a powerful family. The family that rules this entire city.

"Princess, please refrain from provoking Mr. Laster."

No!

I'm going to use the opportunity to win this case.

"Your majesty!"

The capital city is strictly under the king's rule. Because of that, no one is allowed to gather military forces, use weapons, or use their position to carry out any violent acts without special permission from the king himself. Even when they have an actual justification.

In this place, the king's authority is absolute.

But Laster just said that he will do "something" if both me and my father didn't accommodate him. Of course, we don't have anything concrete. And maybe he is just bluffing too. But even just hinting that you will bring harm to the royal family is already OUT.

". . ."

I look straight into my father's eyes.

After clearly being underestimated like that? After disrespecting you like that? Are you still going to defend that fool? Come on! Show who's in charge! Don't let people like Laster wander around in your home and act like they own the place!!

Show him what will happen if someone dares to oppose you!!

"..."

My father put on a thinking expression for a moment before whispering something to his adjutant sitting next to him. Which was then conveyed to the judge. Which then visibly sighs.

"The court has decided that the defendant Herman Essar is innocent due to lack of evidence"

I WIN!

"But the defendant has to pay fifty gold coins as compensation for the injuries and damage to Mr. Lester's property, The court is hereby closed."

Yes!

Without making a sound, I celebrated my victory and clenched both of my fists under the table.

I'm not satisfied with the outcome, but it was still better than the previous judgment. Yes, now he has a not-small amount of debt. His life might become even more difficult, and his position as a slave is unchanged, but he still had his life. And as long as someone can still live, they can change their fate

Please do not lose hope! No one knows what future holds.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider your decision."

Not you too Laster. For you, please just give up already and be grateful my father doesn't sue you for treason.

"Are you questioning His Majesty's decision, Mr. Laster?"

The judge said the words calmly. But everyone can read the implication of what he is saying. Well, if you don't understand. Basically, He wants to say a royal word is a law itself and you shouldn't oppose it. More so here, on our own turf.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

I bowed and after that. The judge declared that the trial had ended.

With that, the trouble finally comes to an end.