Chapter 271: Chapter 271

Faced with his strong denial, the duke smiled, adjusting his glasses.

Baron Enen, you work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where you are in charge of the trading and customs with the Lisa kingdom. Right?

Thats right.

Then you must know well how to avoid inspection or tariffs when trading with the kingdom of Lisa, right?

No, I do not know.

You have been in charge of that section for over five years. You dont know how?

No, Im embarrassed to say.

Duke Verita, who smiled again at Baron Enen who consistently denied, said, Really? Its very strange. I heard that the merchant group of the Enen family has grown significantly for the past five years. I hear your merchant group has been mainly dealing with items, especially duty-free items from the kingdom of Lisa.

What are you talking about? Our family doesnt have a merchant company.

Duke Verita, once again smiled and refuted his remarks, said, browsing through the pile of documents on the desk, Yes, your family doesnt run any merchant company, but one of your relatives is a priest. That priest, the third son of your great-grandfather, in other words, your uncle, runs a merchant company.

What are you talking about? How can a priest run a company? Thats impossible.

Ah, he certainly didnt make the merchant company under his name, but arent you the real owner because you are behind the company, enjoying great benefits from him.

Its natural for a priest to do something good. Dont you think there is a leap in your logic when you argue that Im running a merchant company on behalf of him just because I benefited from him?

The baron defended himself passionately as if he was insulted and disputed Duke Verita confidently.

Was he encouraged by the barons counterattack? Earl Wrestling, who was silent until now, opened his mouth. It seemed that he was speaking on behalf of Duke Jena or Earl Hamel who were watching the situation.

I think the baron is right. I dont think you cant make such a conclusion just because he benefited from the priest.

Of course, I would not have said that without any hard evidence. Now, this is a list of donations to the priest from the merchant company. As you can see, the donation was not made to the temple, but to this particular priest.

The owner of the merchant company gave great favor to the priest? Well, why do you think thats strange?

Well, he donates exactly 80% of the merchant companys profits to the priest every time. What do you think?

I have heard that there are certain types of donations that are made with a fixed rate.

Although the amount of the donation is rather large, I think it totally depends on the individual how much he donates.

When the two were engaged in the heated argument, the emperor raised his right hand. When they stopped immediately, he said coldly, Well, it seems your argument will go on and on. Duke Verita, please explain first why the merchant company of the Enen family is related to the current case. If there is no connection between the two, it doesnt matter whether the Enen family made a lot of money by importing tariff-free goods.

Yes, Your Majesty. This is surprisingly simple. As you know, it is customary not to check import items entering the temple even if they cross the border. Baron Enen exploited this and brought poison into the empire through the merchant company of his family. In other words, he imported poison by disguising it as the items going to the priest.

Hmm, how would you prove it?

I have summoned the chief of the merchant company and the priest here. So, you will be persuaded if you listen to them.

Okay. Bring them here.

Shortly afterwards, the two men stepped in. The elderly man in a pale yellow-green robe had a somewhat relaxed expression, while the other man, in his mid 30s, was nervous and pale.

May the blessings of life be with you. I, Priest Sorel, am honored to greet Your Majesty, the Sun of the empire!

I, Barba Roan, am honored to greet you, the Sun of the Empire.

I looked down at the middle-aged man, trembling and stuttering before the duke.

Given that he has no middle name, he looked like a life-time only nobleman, but he seemed to be treated as a commoner, not a family vassal.

Roan. How are you related to the Baron Roan family that was exterminated fifteen years ago?

Exterminated family? I dont know much about it. Im serious. All I know is my great great grandfather was the second son of a barons family. Please trust me, sir.

The duke smiled faintly at the man who was desperately appealing to him with a terrified expression.

Okay, let me believe you. Instead, answer honestly my questions. Do you understand?

Yes, of course! I will answer honestly. Thank you so much, sir.

Barba Roan, you are the head of the Barba merchant company that specializes in importing items from the Lisa kingdom and selling them in the empire, right?

Yes, yes, thats right.

Are there any import items you send to the temple?

Of course. I often buy the necessary items for the priests and donate them. Tea and leather goods are very popular, sir.

I glanced at the man who kept babbling on, with his head down.

Is that person really a noble of the empire? His tone and way speaking are strange. Is his language the so-called commoners dialect? I heard that his way of speaking was pretty common among the commoners.

Duke Verita continued to question him.

Have you provided a special item to Priest Sorel on a regular basis for the past couple of years? For example, some small things but very expensive or some rare medicine thats hard to obtain.

No, I didnt. Priest Sorel is a very frugal person, and he despises expensive items.

Then, do you have any item you should deliver to him by all means or something you were told to keep well?

I dont know. Probably not.

Barba Roan, are you going to continue denying even though I have hard evidence here? Have you never brought in poison for the purpose of harming Lady Monique?

Did you say poison, sir?

The mans face was white with fear when he saw the paper that the duke was shaking.

Baron Enen hurriedly stepped forward and said, looking up at the head table, Your Majesty, this is an obvious blackmail! Can you continue to let this trial go ahead?

If I had known it was prison, I would never have given it to the priest! Im serious!

Hmm. Baron Enen, I know what you mean, but I think I should listen to him. Barba Roan, continue. What did you convey the priest?

The baron staggered back at the emperors cold response.

Only

As if he noticed the emperors harsh attitude, Barba Roan stuttered in a strangely awkward tone, Well, the priest told me two years ago that he needed precious medicines to be delivered to the priests in the capital. So, I obtained them for him sometimes. He told me to keep it secret because he would be in trouble if other priests came to discover it. But I really didnt know the item was poison. Im serious!

Can you swear?

Yes! I swear to God. Lady Monique is such a precious woman as to be the next empress. How could I smuggle poison to harm the First Lady of the empire? Im also a citizen of the empire. I really couldnt do it.

Did he just mention the empress ?

I felt strange to hear that. I thought it was a title that didnt have anything to do with me, but there were still people who regarded me as the next empress. Perhaps it was natural for ordinary people who didnt know the political situation of the central government to think so. Until recently I was widely introduced as the child of Gods prophecy and the emperors wife offered by Vita, our God.

Maybe Priest Sorel might have not noticed it was poison. Please trust me! He is not the type of person who would try to harm the next empress. Besides, she is the child of Gods prophecy, right? How could he try to harm the future First Lady of the empire decided by our God? I dont think our good priest could try to harm such a precious woman.

Hmm, you claim that Priest Sorel is innocent, right?

Yes, our priest cannot do that! Oh, I think its clear that he was deceived like me! Yes! Im confident that Baron Enen must have deceived him because he often took money from our priest!