Late morning, inside the minister's office at the Ministry of Justice.
I was alone with Vinnie, the Vice Minister.
After reading through the list of names in his hand, Vinnie concluded his report.
"The above are the principal offenders and accessories to this act of treason."
"Impressive how it's entirely composed of people around His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince."
Every single one was a name I recognized.
The Crown Prince's confidants, his former tutor, his knights...
A lineup that anyone would see as nothing less than an armed rebellion and treason plotted by the Crown Prince's faction.
"How shall we proceed?"
"..."
I sighed and rubbed my temples.
If it were just these men, all we had to do was sentence them according to the law.
The problem—I glanced briefly at Vinnie.
Vinnie uncomfortably averted his eyes.
A natural reaction.
The problem was singular:
Whether the Crown Prince was implicated in this or not.
Under Imperial Law, even when royalty breaks the law, there are clauses that somehow lighten the penalty.
There is only one exception—treason.
If a member of the imperial family is involved in treason, regardless of whether they are a principal offender or an accessory, the penalty is fixed at the heaviest sentence: bisection.
And with a lineup so deeply tied to the Crown Prince, there was no way he could claim he "knew nothing about it."
Even with ordinary crimes, failing to report an offense while knowing about it constitutes a crime—well, for something like theft, it would end with a light punishment or a fine of around one Rien.
However, that is still an offense explicitly defined by Imperial Law.
And if the Crown Prince "failed to report to the Emperor despite knowing of the treason," it would be deemed that an imperial family member was involved in treason, which on its own carries the death penalty.
Here lay the problem.
The Crown Prince's treason—and execution.
That would become an unthinkable scandal, capable of shaking the very foundations of the Empire itself.
"Has His Majesty said anything?"
"Yes. I was instructed to repeat his exact words: 'Those individuals are to be subjected to appropriate punishment.'"
"...So that's how it is."
I let out a sigh.
"What does that entail?"
"It seems His Majesty intends to avoid causing an uproar. Well, naturally."
"Then?"
"Yeah, we will execute only those on the list. Fortunately, treason is an established fact, so there is no need to extract confessions."
"Indeed."
"Therefore, all of them are sentenced to death, to be executed this very day."
"...As expected of Your Highness."
Vinnie bowed deeply.
The upward glance he cast toward me held profound, heartfelt admiration.
Even with the death penalty, there are two distinct categories depending on the timing of the execution.
One is immediate execution, while the other is slated for a collective annual execution.
If a crime is particularly grave or leaves no room for extenuating circumstances, the execution is carried out immediately.
Conversely, if there are mitigating circumstances, or perhaps other unresolved crimes, the execution may be postponed.
If it is postponed, one might even happen upon a general amnesty.
For example, suppose a man's family was brutally slaughtered, and he killed the perpetrator in revenge.
In this case, Imperial Law dictates decapitation.
However, given the unique circumstances, the decapitation could be scheduled for up to three years later.
If an amnesty occurs in the interim, that person becomes a free man.
Or there is also a story like this.
A man sentenced to death had extenuating circumstances and waited through a three-year stay of execution, yet never encountered a general amnesty.
His family bribed the prison guards, sent in a woman, and had her conceive a son so that the bloodline could continue.
In other words, an execution can indeed be put off.
Yet, I decided on immediate execution for every single one of them.
His Majesty clearly does not want the Crown Prince dragged into this—"at this current point in time."
That was why I made this choice.
Having made the decision, I stood up from the minister's chair.
"Where are you off to?"
"I'm going to have an audience with His Majesty. Just to be sure."
"Understood. I will proceed with the preparations."
"I'm counting on you."
I left the minister's office, exited the Ministry of Justice, boarded a carriage, and headed straight for the imperial palace.
Upon requesting an audience with His Majesty, I was directly shown into his study—a room as vast as a library.
Reading some documents inside, His Majesty looked up, saw me, and stood with a smile.
"Oh, you have arrived, Noah."
"Yes, Father."
I dropped to one knee on the spot to pay my respects, then stood up to face His Majesty.
"What is your business?"
"It concerns the matter of the treason."
"I see. What of the sentencing?"
"In accordance with Imperial Law, the principal offender shall receive bisection, and the accessories and below shall each receive the death penalty—"
I paused here to deliver the most crucial point separately.
"—and I have determined that all shall be executed this very day."
"Mm, well done."
His Majesty clasped his hands behind his back, paced around the study for a moment, and spoke.
"Cruz."
"Sire."
His trusted eunuch, Cruz, appeared out of nowhere as usual.
"Noah has performed admirably. Increase his annual stipend by one thousand Rien."
"By your will."
Cruz received His Majesty's imperial decree with businesslike efficiency and departed without an expression.
Just as I thought... keeping the Crown Prince out of it was the correct answer.
A judgment of this level hardly constituted an achievement worthy of a stipend raise.
The fact that he gave one anyway was His Majesty's way of sending that specific message.
"Truly remarkable, Noah."
His Majesty approached me, patted my shoulder, and looked straight into my eyes.
"You have done well."
His solemn expression made me even more certain of his intentions.
"I continue to expect great things from you. Keep up the good work."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Leaving the study, I boarded the carriage outside the imperial palace and returned to the Ministry of Justice.
Now that it had come to this, the traitors had to be executed immediately.
Hurrying the carriage back to the Ministry of Justice, I found the place in such an uproar that it was noticeable even from the outside.
I leaped out of the carriage and questioned a young gatekeeper who was pacing frantically.
"Hey, what happened?"
"Y-Your Highness! The truth is, intruders have—"
"Intruders, you say?"
"Yes! Several of our men have already been killed, and the intruders are inside—"
"...You, head to the Ministry of Military Affairs and tell my brother—"
Have him send military reinforcements.
Just as I was about to say it, I stopped myself.
At this exact timing... blowing this out of proportion would be bad.
"Gather everyone who's out here. Let no one leave and let no one enter except for me. Even if it's an imperial prince."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Go!"
Watching the gatekeeper run off in a panic, I drew Leviathan from my bracelet and restored it to its original size.
With the magic sword in hand, I charged into the Ministry of Justice building.
Once inside, the clash of steel, along with screams and angry roars, reached my ears.
Advancing toward the sounds, I spotted a dark shadow dashing toward me after cutting down one of the guards with a dagger.
Straining my eyes, I saw the figure was completely clad from head to toe in black attire to conceal their identity.
"Kieeeeeegh!"
Letting out a bizarre screech, the assailant accelerated further, lunging at me to slash with the dagger.
"Naive."
I parried the strike with Leviathan and severed the tendons in all four of their limbs on the return swing.
As the intruder crashed to the ground, I generated a gag inside their mouth using the ring linked to the magic sword.
To prevent suicide.
Having virtually immobilized them, more assailants arrived.
Three this time, dressed in identical fashion, their black garments heavily stained with splattered blood.
The three lunged simultaneously.
From the front, and from both flanks.
A well-coordinated combination.
I parried their dagger strikes with Leviathan, guiding their slashes in a swirling wheel so that A slashed B, B slashed C, and C slashed A.
Then, in the exact same manner, I severed the tendons in their limbs and gagged them.
The commotion gradually died down; at the very least, the sounds of combat ceased.
"Your Highness!"
From around the corner of the corridor, Vinnie rushed over in a panic.
"Are you unharmed, Your Highness—good heavens! You took them all down? What extraordinary martial prowess..."
"You think so?"
"Yes! After all, over twenty guards have been killed or wounded, and furthermore..."
"Furthermore?"
"The treasonous conspirators... have all been murdered."
"..."
Because the matter was so grave, the faction of conspirators had been held at the Ministry of Justice rather than regular prison cells.
"All of them?"
"Every single one."
Looking straight at me, Vinnie nodded.
That is what this means.
I understood what he was implicitly saying.
In other words, these four were the Crown Prince's men.
To prevent the fallout from reaching himself, the Crown Prince had moved to silence them.
"What shall we do?"
"..."
Without a word, I used Leviathan to slash my own abdomen.
I cut slightly deep into my flank, sending blood gushing forth.
"Your Highness?!"
"These four did this to me. What is the heaviest sentence for inflicting grievous bodily harm upon an imperial prince?"
"—!"
Gasping, Vinnie seemed to understand.
"In every case, it is the death penalty, and that by summary execution."
"Then carry it out."
"Understood!"
Vinnie complied, summoned the guards who were still mobile, and delivered the finishing blows on the spot to the four men I had immobilized.
After confirming that every one of them had breathed their last, Vinnie returned.
"The execution has been carried out."
"Right."
"Your Highness... truly remarkable."
"...With this, this matter is closed."
Phew...
Honestly, one wrong move and the nation would have been shaken to its core, dear Crown Prince.