At last, the fated moment approached.
The courtroom was packed with people, most of whom were priests and paladins affiliated with the church, along with a number of merchants.
In other words, it was highly likely that they all held some grievances against Shylock, the Jewish merchant.
The reason for the presence of such people in the courtroom meant to uncover the truth could be attributed to the nature of this trial, given that the defendant was a merchant and a heretic. However, if I were to dig deeper into the circumstances, I could easily understand that these individuals were selectively gathered by the Sacred Empire behind the scenes.
Amidst such people, I watched Cazerose, stepping up as the defender in this trial, and I felt an unsettling anxiety like that of a father sending his daughter to the battlefield. My heart raced as I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“It has to work out well… Please don’t let there be any mistakes…”
Even though I handed Cazerose my own formula for victory, it was entirely up to her to assert it and steer the situation.
As a person who had been excommunicated like me, I couldn’t even utter a word here, and thus, I had no means to assist her should she find herself in peril.
With my heart racing, I waited for the trial to begin…
Before my eyes, the judge, the prosecutor, and the defendant Shylock along with the “victim” Anton, the author of this mess, began to come into view.
“Is that Anton? He looks just like a third-rate villain from some story.”
Even though it’s not right to judge a person by their appearance, in this situation where I already knew about his true nature, the narrative changed.
In fact, Shylock was enduring this hardship because he hadn’t judged others based on their looks.
With this thought in mind, I started to glance around the courtroom once more, wondering if sometimes it was necessary to base judgments on appearances.
“As for the judge… he clearly seems disinterested. Even in a way, he must have received some kind of backing. Well… that’s better than having a fanatic showing overt hostility.”
Amidst this, the judge yawned, clearly bored. Of course, it would have been better if he were more reliable, but I’d take this over a blindly aggressive zealot any day.
The more such people there were, the higher the chances of them being swayed by the atmosphere around them.
Then my gaze was drawn to the actual orchestrator of this trial and the person who formally accused Shylock.
It landed on the female bishop named Potion, who was the prosecutor for this case.
“Her name is Potion, but she looks more like a viper than a healer. She clearly doesn’t look easy to deal with.”
This woman gave off an impression as if she could even squeeze the juice out of a flea. However, at the same time, I sensed her annoyance with the current situation.
“Well, I can’t blame her. She probably thought there’d be no one to defend the Jew Shylock, and now, out of nowhere, a paladin showed up to counter her plans.”
Even though she was a low-ranking one, paladins are classified under the Holy See, thus carrying some weight. For her, a paladin stepping up to defend Shylock was akin to having an undeniable opponent popping up unexpectedly in what she thought would be an easy win.
As I savored the slight satisfaction of witnessing the schemers getting their comeuppance, I began to calmly watch the trial.
“Then, let’s begin the trial against the defendant Shylock.”
With those words, the judge lightly pounded his gavel. At that moment, while Cazerose was reviewing her notes one last time, she slowly placed the papers down, adopting a cold expression as she prepared for the situation.
In that instant, an unidentifiable shiver ran through me.
From the moment the trial began, Potion and Anton were clearly feeling off about things.
Their envisioned scenario had been to effortlessly deal with Shylock, who they believed would be completely isolated and defenseless without a lawyer. Until just a day before the trial, they were quite certain that everything had been going according to plan.
While Shylock wasn’t someone to underestimate, in the current situation, there seemed to be close to zero chance that he could counter the reactions from the multitude of witnesses or defend against their offense.
To the pair, the paladin defender who appeared just before the trial was akin to an unseen reef loomed in front of a ship sailing smoothly—their enthusiasm was instantly dashed, replaced with annoyance.
“Wait, a paladin is going to defend that wicked heretic? She doesn’t realize what fate awaits her, does she?”
“Did Shylock promise her a fortune? That seems to be the only plausible reason. If that’s the case, we might have a chance to exploit this later, but for now, crushing that reckless girl comes first.”
While they were unaware of the exact circumstances, it was evident that Anton and Potion needed to defeat the person before them to achieve their goals.
However, despite their bad mood and slight concern, especially Potion, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in their minds that they would emerge victorious.
“Though our evidence is weak, this is our domain where we laid the groundwork. All the clerics, merchants, and even the regular witnesses here are believers of the church. No one here would dare support the heretic Shylock.”
As Potion felt a deep sense of confidence that everyone surrounding them was actually on their side, she began reading the prepared indictment.
The content summarized roughly as follows:
“Using the desperate plight of the virtuous merchant Anton, Shylock attempted to take his life, forcing Anton to sign a nefarious contract against his will. When things went awry and Anton was unable to repay his debt, he tremblingly reported this fact, leading to the trial.”
“Even if Anton had some guilt in failing to repay his debts, the crime of Shylock, a heretic daring to harm a beloved believer of God endowed with divine grace, far exceeds that. Thus, I, the prosecutor, demand the complete confiscation of the wicked heretic Shylock’s property and his eternal banishment from Benetsa.”
“Yes, indeed!”
“How dare a heretic aim to harm a virtuous believer of the church!”
“We must punish that evil one immediately!”
Starting with the indictment, which began from a false premise of Anton being the one who brought the contract, the reactions of the witnesses were fervently enthusiastic, marked by a lunatic zeal, and Shylock lowered his head in silence.
Although he had managed to find a lawyer with the help of Santana, a friend, changing the already tilted atmosphere and flow of the trial wouldn’t be easy.
From the outset, this trial lacked logical sense; it fundamentally rested on simple hatred towards Jews.
At the moment when Shylock was essentially giving up everything…
“Now, now, let’s settle down. No matter how great a罪犯 may be, there are proper procedures in the law. Defender, if you have anything to say, now’s your chance.”
With a hint of annoyance and an implied desire to finish things quickly, the judge spoke.
In response, Cazerose walked slowly and steadily to the center of the courtroom, unflinching.
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