The following day, inside the government office.
It was a room modeled after an audience hall, the kind found in any government building.
Unlike a typical audience hall, however, these were often built facing the main thoroughfare rather than tucked deep within the interior. When its double doors were thrown open, anyone passing along the main street could look right inside.
The room was designed this way because it served as a courtroom.
In the Empire, local magistrates concurrently served as judges. Whenever a case was deemed best adjudicated publicly, the doors were opened wide to hold a public trial.
In this courtroom, vested with all the formality and prestige of an imperial audience hall, I sat in the judge's seat, flanked by a cordon of soldiers.
Across the desk, Kegna knelt with his hands bound behind his back.
Further behind him, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, buzzing with curiosity over the commotion.
"I'm innocent! I didn't do anything!"
"..."
"This is sheer tyranny!"
"Silence!"
One of the soldiers stepped up to Kegna and—smack!—struck him across the face.
The blow whipped his head around with enough force to snap his neck, and Kegna's cheek swelled red in an instant.
A thick trail of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Even so, Kegna's defiance showed no sign of flagging.
"I didn't do a damn thing! I'm innocent!"
He continued to shout his innocence at the top of his lungs.
The soldier raised his hand once more.
I lifted mine in a smooth, quiet gesture.
Seeing this, the soldier stayed his hand and promptly stepped back.
"Innocent, you say?"
"Yes!"
"Innocent of what?"
"Huh?"
"I haven't asked you a single question yet, and yet that is the first thing out of your mouth. Just what are you claiming to be innocent of?"
I fixed a steady gaze on Kegna.
Undeterred, Kegna shouted even louder.
"I wasn't the one who did it, and I never ordered anyone else to do it either! I didn't murder anybody!"
I looked down at him with cold eyes.
Frankly, I was exasperated.
I had actually given the man a bit more credit than this.
Trying to expand his prostitute quota by bribing me was standard fare.
In fact, one could even commend him for being quick to capitalize on an opportunity.
As a merchant, he showed competence, which had led me to believe he was a sharp operator.
Yet right out of the gate, before any interrogation had even begun, he was already hollering that he hadn't killed anyone.
"You didn't do it, hmm?"
"That's right! You don't have any evidence anyway—there's no way you could!"
"Humph."
I gave a slow nod.
Taking that as a sign of concession, Kegna's face twisted into a smug grin.
I feigned total ignorance.
"By the way, what murder are you talking about?"
"—Huh?"
Kegna's jaw dropped.
His earlier fury vanished, replaced by an expression of pure, unadulterated stupidity.
"Wh-What do you mean, what murder? The—"
"Humph. I haven't the faintest idea what murder you're referring to. That is not why we are here today."
"Huh? Th-Then what is this about?"
"Bring them in," I commanded.
A chorus of footsteps echoed through the hall.
The soldiers escorted three prostitutes into the room.
"What...? Who are they?"
Seeing the women brought before the bench, Kegna's face filled with shock and bewilderment.
These were not the women he had tried to silence; in fact, they were completely unrelated to that incident.
Kegna, who had fully expected to be grilled over an attempted homicide, could only stare blankly at the arrival of prostitutes who were neither his targets nor connected to the crime.
"These women are prostitutes from your establishment. That is beyond dispute, yes?"
"Huh? Ah, what?...Y-Yes..."
After examining their faces, Kegna replied, his expression plainly screaming his confusion.
Since they were undeniably prostitutes from his brothel, he had no choice but to confirm it, even without grasping where I was going with this.
I gave a nod to the soldiers.
A soldier prompted the women forward.
Having been instructed beforehand, the prostitutes nodded and began to move.
One hitched up her skirt to expose her thigh.
Another bared her back, while the third pulled open the front of her dress to reveal her chest.
All three bore rose-like erythema—a distinct, blossoming rash—scattered across their pale skin.
"Roseola. I had a physician examine them, and the diagnosis is indisputable."
"S-So what of it?! Roseola is an occupational hazard in this line of work!"
"Oh?"
"It's just a fine anyway, right? A slap on the wrist like that—"
"Under Imperial Law," I said, cutting right across him.
"Brothel proprietors are legally obligated to take preventative measures against infectious diseases. Those who neglect this duty shall be subject, depending on the severity, to a fine, or—"
"See! Exactly!...Or?"
Kegna, who had begun to gloat, froze the second he realized my sentence was still hanging in the air.
With an unyielding expression, I drove the rest of the statute home.
"—measures including the outright revocation of their brothel operating license."
"Huh?"
"I shall now hand down the sentence."
Looking down at the dazed, uncomprehending merchant, I delivered the verdict:
"It is an established fact that multiple prostitutes have contracted a designated infectious disease. Deeming you unfit to manage a brothel, your operating license is hereby revoked. Furthermore, you and your kin up to the sixth degree of relationship are perpetually barred from operating any brothel within Enlil Province."
"...Kh!"
"Additionally, given the high risk of contagion, the brothel along with its surrounding facilities, personnel, and operating assets shall be requisitioned under the authority of the Governor-General for administrative management."
"—Wh-What?!"
As the realization finally sank in, Kegna turned pale as a sheet.
And naturally so. Because this was a formal proceeding, the phrasing was steeped in legal terminology, but stripped of its jargon, it meant every last scrap of his wealth was being seized.
In short, it was the total forfeiture of all his assets and an absolute ban on ever rebuilding his business.
To a merchant—a high-flying mogul who could effortlessly part with a thirty-thousand-Rien bribe—being stripped of every copper was a punishment far more devastating than death.
Such property confiscation and forfeiture to the national treasury were codified in Imperial Law as permissible penalties for crimes exceeding a certain threshold of severity.
Originally, this provision had applied strictly to high treason and offenses of comparable magnitude.
In cases of treason, the root of the rebellion had to be thoroughly eradicated. For that reason, the men were typically executed, and every asset that could ever finance a resurgence was confiscated—that was the explicit intent behind the statute.
Over time, that same principle had been adapted into other categories of penal law.
Naturally, I had selected the absolute heaviest penalty permissible under the letter of the law.
When the full weight of the sentence crashed down upon him, Kegna flew into a frenzy.
He tried to surge to his feet despite his bindings, but the soldiers instantly forced him back down.
Even pinned to the floor, Kegna thrashed, struggled, and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"This is absurd! It's completely unjustified!"
"What about it is unjustified?"
"Th—"
That is— Kegna began.
Then the words died in his throat.
"These women are prostitutes from your brothel. There is no dispute about that, correct?"
"Th-That's..."
"The rose spots on these women—as anyone with eyes can see, there is no dispute about them either, correct?"
"Urgh..."
"This disease is running rampant within your establishment. There is no dispute about that either, correct?"
"...Kh, dammit...!"
"Then an establishment that neglected an infectious disease and allowed it to spread shall be stripped of its operational rights. What possible objection could you have?"
"..."
Kegna slumped forward like a marionette with its strings severed.
Utterly defeated in argument, he slipped from the soldiers' grip and collapsed limply onto the stone floor.
A total victory. It was the precise moment the merchant known as Kegna Basque ceased to exist.
And in that very instant, a thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd of onlookers outside.
☆
After ordering that Kegna remain imprisoned until the requisition of his brothel and assets was finalized, I set out for the brothel myself.
Stepping out through the main gates of the government office, I headed toward the waiting carriage.
As I walked, Zoe, whom I had summoned, fell into step beside me.
"Master."
"I imagine the other brothel owners are in a panic now that Kegna has been made an example of."
"You are incredible, Master."
"Hmm?"
I glanced toward Zoe as we walked.
"Multiple proprietors have already reached out to me through unofficial channels to request an audience."
"They certainly don't waste time. Though Kegna was quick on his feet too, for all the good it did him."
I nodded, somewhat impressed by their speed.
"The fact that they approached you instead of coming directly to me means they're terrified of poking a hornet's nest tied to whatever Kegna was up to."
"I believe that is precisely the case... How would you like to handle them?"
"I want to avoid severe economic upheaval in the short term," I said, offering my conclusion first.
"Tell them to read every inch of the relevant statutes. So long as it isn't explicitly codified in the law, we have no intention of pursuing them."
"Understood."
Leaving Zoe behind as she bowed deeply, I stepped into the carriage.
From there, we proceeded toward Kegna's brothel as planned.
Situated in a corner of Larak's pleasure district, the establishment was a lavish, gaudy structure fitting for a high-end brothel.
What stood out most of all were the lights.
Brothels inevitably saw far more foot traffic at night than during the day.
To project an aura of thriving prosperity even after dark, the vast majority of these establishments mounted an excessive number of lanterns across their exterior walls, illuminating the facade to daylight levels to cultivate a bustling ambiance.
Even at a glance from the carriage window, it was obvious this brothel had been designed with that exact intention.
John and his troops had already cordoned off the entire perimeter.
Seeing our arrival, John walked out to greet me.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Have you rounded up all the women showing rose spots?"
"Yes, sir. Surprisingly enough, every single one of them stepped forward without any fuss."
"Figures," I said, nodding.
"Why do you say that, sir?"
"Kegna was keeping the roseola quiet. From the women's perspective, they just had a mild rash. An experienced courtesan with medical knowledge might try to hide it, but without that awareness, they'd think it was nothing more than routine skin irritation and see no reason to conceal it."
"I see. To think you had all of that figured out beforehand... You really are amazing, Master."
"You made sure to tell them they'd be receiving medical treatment, right?"
"Yes, sir. I have them all gathered together inside."
"Good."
With a nod, I followed John as he led the way into the brothel.