Chapter 409 - Episode 392: Public Execution
A few days after finishing the extraction of information from the operatives like Igor.
An execution platform had been erected in the central plaza of the capital city, Noeina.
For citizens living in a peaceful society, an execution is the ultimate departure from the ordinary. Because this was the first public execution to be held in this land, including the era of the Arqvist territory, and combined with the fact that those being executed were the culprits who had unsettled the capital over the past few weeks, a vast number of citizens had gathered in the plaza.
The emotion filling the crowd was anger. Their peaceful lives had been threatened, the relationships they had painstakingly built with neighbors and acquaintances of different races had been threatened, and one of their compatriots living in this country had been killed. The anxiety and fear of the people, which had been swirling without an outlet until now, transformed into anger and was directed toward the three standing on the execution platform.
Soldiers of the Grand Duchy Army stood in a line around the platform, maintaining a state of high alert. They kept a sharp watch to ensure no one let their anger explode and attempted to assault the criminals. Additionally, Pence Schoenberg and several Guard soldiers stood beside the criminals, preparing for any event such as the criminals attempting to flee or the crowd pressing in on them.
In some noble territories of the Lordberg Kingdom or the Lancel Kingdom, light assaults on criminals by the residents are tolerated, but in the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, Noein does not permit it. This is because he believes that execution is something to be carried out by the ruler under their rights and duties.
Therefore, while shouting insults at the criminals was permitted, acts such as throwing stones or objects were strictly forbidden.
The criminals were bound, gagged, and had been exposed on the execution platform since morning. They continued to be assaulted by fear and shame, receiving looks of anger and hatred from over a thousand citizens of the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, as well as looks of curiosity from merchants of neighboring countries and mercenary guards who happened to be visiting the Grand Duchy on this day.
Then, the sovereign, Grand Duke Noein Arqvist, ascended the speaking podium placed next to the execution platform.
The crowd gathered in the plaza stirred at the appearance of the sovereign, accompanied by his close aide, Honorary Knight Matilda, and the Chief of Military Affairs, Baronet Yuri Granat. This was because they understood that the execution would be carried out shortly.
"The words of the great sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, His Excellency Grand Duke Noein Arqvist! Silence, everyone!"
As Noein stood before the Voice Amplification magic item at the center of the podium, Yuri beside him raised his voice toward the crowd. As a veteran warrior standing at the peak of the Grand Duchy Army, his voice possessed a power capable of silencing everyone present even without a magic item.
At Yuri's words, the crowd became quiet over a short period of time. Everyone waited for Noein's words.
Beside the stairs leading to the podium, Eleos, held by the hand of Grand Duchess Clara, was also gazing at Noein. While the still-young Philia was staying home at the mansion, for Eleos, who had already reached the age of reason and was scheduled to eventually inherit the Grand Ducal house, this too was a lesson.
Additionally, many nobles and retainers were watching the execution. Among them were the figures of Knight Radley Nordheim, who had come from the fortress city Aspida, and the retainer Dant, who had come from the mining city Kilde.
Receiving the gazes of his subjects and the citizens, Noein opened his mouth.
"...First, I wish to apologize to you all. I am sorry."
At those words, a stir arose among the crowd. No one had expected the sovereign's first words to be an apology to the people.
Noein waited in silence for the surprise of the people to subside and for the area to become quiet.
Then, he spoke again.
"There are two reasons why I apologize. First, it is that I have left you in anxiety for nearly a month. Though they were small, mysterious incidents occurred one after another, and you must have been afraid. Eventually, there was a victim among the citizens, and you must have felt terror and indignation. There were likely acquaintances and friends of the victim. I am truly sorry."
Cutting his words there, Noein paused for a duration that made the crowd feel slightly impatient.
"And the second is... that there are those in this country who loathe other races. I am sorry for having let you harbor such suspicions."
Some of the people tilted their heads, unable to fully grasp the meaning of those words. Toward them, Noein spread both hands and spoke further.
"I believe I have strived to make this country a land where everyone living in it can enjoy happiness. Happiness for commoners as commoners. Happiness for slaves as slaves. Whether they be humans, demi-humans, or beastmen, I believe I have struggled to make this a land where anyone can obtain happiness commensurate with their efforts..."
To make the crowd, whose education levels varied, understand the talk and to keep their concentration, Noein spoke while placing pauses appropriately.
"...However, my efforts were insufficient. I, the sovereign myself, began to doubt that there are those among the humans and demi-humans who still cannot cast aside strong feelings of discrimination toward beastmen, and who cannot abide by the logic of this country's society. You were likely the same. Some humans and demi-humans may have felt shame, some beastmen may have felt fear, and some may have created a rift in their relationships with neighbors or friends of different races. That, too, is something I must apologize to you for... but please, be at ease."
Saying so, Noein pointed with his hand behind him—toward the criminals who were about to be executed.
"As a result of the struggles of the excellent subjects serving the Grand Ducal house of Arqvist and the brave soldiers of the Grand Duchy Army, we have captured the culprits of this series of incidents and forced them to confess their crimes... With this, it has been revealed that there were no such people in this country who loathe other races."
At the point Noein indicated with his hand, there were three criminals.
Each had both arms bound behind their backs, their torsos bound over that, and their legs bound as well, restrained so that escape was absolutely impossible. There were no conspicuous wounds on their faces, and from the neck down they were covered in plain, thick cloth clothing, so the crowd could not tell that the three had undergone harsh interrogation—or rather, torture.
The three bound figures were attempting to appeal something with desperate expressions, but because they were gagged, no one other than the individuals themselves knew what they were saying.
While thinking that they were likely saying things like "This isn't what we agreed" or "You promised to let us go," Noein ignored their actions and returned his gaze from them to the citizens.
"Everything was the doing of these three. The hatred toward beastmen, the revenge against humans, everything was something they planned, staged, and forged. There are no citizens in this country who would hurt someone simply because they are of another race. There are only kind-hearted, rational, and wise citizens here. The importance of cherishing compatriots of all races and joining hands, which I have preached to you, has taken root correctly in your hearts. I am truly happy to know that."
At Noein's words, many of the citizens listened quietly, but among them were some who looked around with slightly anxious expressions.
They were likely humans and demi-humans who secretly harbored discriminatory feelings toward beastmen, and beastmen who secretly harbored loathing toward humans and demi-humans, though the degree varied.
While Noein spoke ideal words loudly before the people, he also understood the reality. He knew that among those who had lived in the Lordberg Kingdom, where discrimination against beastmen had existed for ten some years or several decades, there were those who still could not cast aside the discriminatory feelings they had cultivated since birth—and in some cases, those who would never cast them aside in their lifetime.
He would place a lid and drive a nail into the negative emotions those people kept locked in their hearts. Such an intention also existed in the speech Noein was currently giving. The intention to show, at least on the surface, that not persecuting beastmen is the natural state of things in this country, and that everyone follows that natural state, and to make them abide by it.
"I shall apologize once more. There is no discrimination or persecution of beastmen in this country. There is no hatred toward other races. Despite this, due to my lack of strength, I have caused you unnecessary anxiety. I have caused an awkward atmosphere to exist between you and your acquaintances or friends of other races."
The repeated apology was the finishing blow.
Noein's support in the Grand Duchy of Arqvist was absolute, and Noein's words were absolute. That Noein himself apologized to the people and declared, "There is no conflict between races in this country." Even if there were those who remembered their hidden loathing for other races due to this incident, no one would attempt to move to concrete action at this stage. Noein thought so, and believed so.
"That, too, is now over. From today, from this very moment, peace returns to this country. The unsettling days end—with the execution of the criminals."
On the podium, Noein sent a glance to Pence and gave a small nod, and Pence saluted and gave instructions to the Guard soldiers.
Cloth bags were placed over the criminals' heads, blocking their vision.
Sensing that the execution was about to be carried out, the criminals attempted to resist by writhing their bodies even more than before.
Among them, the largest man—Igor—forcibly shook off the soldier's hand, fell onto the floor of the execution platform, and tried to crawl away like a caterpillar, but naturally he could not escape; he was kicked in the stomach, pulled by the ropes, and forced up.
Then, the three stood in their respective positions on the execution platform. They were forced to stand.
Ropes were placed around the necks of the three. At this point, the man who looked like a skilled merchant standing in the middle stopped struggling, as if he had given up everything. The young man standing to his left was still struggling, and Igor, standing to the right, had perhaps vomited from the impact of being kicked earlier, as he soiled the mouth of the cloth bag while still writhing his body, searching for a means to escape.
The preparations were complete, and Pence turned toward Noein while drawing his sword.
Noein nodded to Pence and raised one hand.
"...Henceforth, these criminals shall be sentenced to death by hanging. The charges are theft, property damage, injury, and murder. And, attempting to collapse the public order of our country through illegal operative activities."
As the citizens began to stir, Noein declared with a raised voice.
Then, Noein lowered the hand he had raised. At that moment, Pence swung his sword and cut the rope stretched between the pillar and the floor beside him.
In synchronization, the mechanism of the execution platform activated, and the trapdoor supporting the feet of the three criminals opened.
The three bodies fell into the hole opened in the floor, and the ropes connecting their necks to the pillars directly above them snapped tight. Three dull sounds of necks breaking from the impact of being suspended by the ropes echoed through the plaza almost simultaneously.
The execution of high criminals. Witnessing that moment, the stirring of the crowd swelled, encompassing voices of excitement and roars.
Amidst the plaza which became noisy all at once, Noein looked toward his wife and child below the podium.
Perhaps because Clara had almost no opportunities to see people die directly, her complexion was slightly poor, yet she still looked firmly toward the execution platform.
Eleos, while his eyes widened at the first moment of human death he had ever seen, showed no sign of fear and witnessed the way his father performed the most cruel task as a sovereign.
Confirming this, Noein turned back toward the execution platform. The three criminals, naturally, were no longer struggling. The perpetrators who had brought chaos to the capital city Noeina and the Arqvist territory took responsibility with their deaths. The corpses would be exposed in the plaza for the remainder of the day.
"...Now, all that's left is to wait for Bart's report."
Noein muttered in a voice audible only to Matilda and Yuri beside him.
He had killed the perpetrators, but this did not mean everything was resolved.
He had to completely identify the mastermind who ordered the operative activities of the three including Igor, expose their intentions, and make that mastermind take responsibility as well.
[Author's Note]
From the next update, I would like to change the update dates to days ending in 5 and 0 (the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th of every month)...
I apologize for the personal circumstances, but balancing the writing of the web version, book-related work, my main job, and my private life has become truly difficult with every-other-day updates...
The update pace will drop, but I would be grateful for your understanding and forgiveness.