Chapter 58: The Old Law
I couldn’t escape.
The command post wasn’t where I was headed—it was the garden, where Her Highness Princess Emma, the Second Princess, awaited. Before I could make my getaway, the soldiers gathered at headquarters gently apprehended me, almost as if handling something fragile, and led me along without resistance. Just like that, I found myself delivered straight into Her Highness’s presence. While she subjected me to an unending stream of complaints—sharp, insistent, and impossible to ignore—a physician worked carefully to treat my injuries.
Her Highness likely never realized it. The doctor attending to me had been visibly bewildered, clearly at a loss in the face of her overwhelming overprotectiveness.
“……”
And now—
Just as planned, Her Highness Princess Emma and I had arrived at a reception room within the royal castle. Our purpose was to meet a member of the former royal family of the old Kingdom of Poln.
“……Um.”
“What is it?”
The noble we were meant to meet had yet to arrive, and in the meantime, Her Highness continued to stare at me, her gaze damp and heavy with unspoken reproach.
Seated gracefully in her chair, she had twisted only her neck at an almost impossible angle, looking back toward me where I stood diagonally behind her, her eyes fixed on me without a single moment’s reprieve.
“…Your Highness, Princess Emma. The representative from the Kingdom of Poln—”
“…I know.”
The approaching footsteps echoed clearly enough for both of us to hear. At last, Her Highness drew her gaze forward again, straightening her posture with practiced elegance.
At that exact moment, the door to the room opened, and a stout, middle-aged man stepped inside.
“My, my, I must apologize.”
The man approached us while bowing his head.
“I was somewhat occupied… Have I kept you waiting long?”
“The burdens of governing a nation as royalty are something I, too, understand as a fellow member of a royal family. It is no trouble at all. Please, have a seat.”
Still seated at the head position in the room, Her Highness answered with a composed smile, gesturing for the former royal of the Kingdom of Poln—who had remained standing as he apologized—to take his seat.
“…Ha ha.”
Letting out a strained chuckle at the veiled remark—Though it is our army that governs now, isn’t it?—the former royal of Poln took his seat. The balance of power was still clearly in our favor.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Emma Virside, Second Princess of the Virside Dynasty of the Kingdom of Lunoa, and a Lieutenant General in the Lunoa Royal Army. I look forward to our association.”
“You are most courteous. My name is Fox Yarkies. The pleasure is mine.”
“Then, King Yarkies.”
“…!”
At the word king—spoken without hesitation—the man seated across from her raised his brows ever so slightly.
“There is much to discuss regarding what lies ahead, but first, an apology. Approximately one hour ago, several soldiers belonging to our army committed an act that should never occur—they assaulted a woman. I offer my deepest apologies.”
“…Yes, I am aware. It took some time to confirm the facts, but we have verified the incident on our side as well.”
“For the time being, we intend to impose punishment upon those soldiers.”
“Yes… As one who resides here in Warmir, I must insist on a severe punishment.”
“We could judge them under the military law of the Kingdom of Lunoa. However, it is only proper that misconduct committed by soldiers within an allied nation be judged according to that nation’s laws. Extraterritorial privileges are not something we can accept.”
“This is Warmir, a single city under the dominion of the Rosha Empire. As for laws that ought to be respected here—”
“I have read the laws of the Kingdom of Poln.”
“…The Kingdom of Poln’s laws?”
“Yes. We have determined that judgment should be rendered in accordance with those laws. From this point forward, this country will be an allied nation of the Kingdom of Lunoa. It will make a new beginning as the Kingdom of Poln.”
“Please wait!?”
Sensing the unmistakable seriousness in her tone, King Yarkies raised his voice in protest.
“Do you… truly understand what you are saying!?”
“Yes. I am speaking in earnest.”
“The laws of the Kingdom of Poln… You mean to judge them according to the laws from before our nation was divided by yours?”
“Yes.”
“…Do you truly understand? The punishment for sexual offenders in the former Kingdom of Poln was one hundred lashes, carried out publicly. It is by no means something suited to this modern age.”
“…Heh.”
As King Yarkies broke into a cold sweat, questioning her sanity, Her Highness merely responded with a faint smile.
“That is precisely why it will serve as an example, wouldn’t it? If fools are publicly whipped, discipline within our ranks will tighten, and no one will dare commit such acts again.”
And with that, Her Highness Princess Emma calmly declared that the very punishment King Yarkies feared—public flogging—would serve as a warning to all.