Volume 1 Chapter 16 The Kingdom Government - A Letter
On that day, the royal palace of Alexandria was filled with a tense atmosphere like never before.
The palace officials, as well as the maids and servants, were all paying close attention to the king and the ministers. This was because they were all in a very bad mood today.
The reason for the bad mood among the important figures of the country was due to a letter that arrived at the Royal Academy yesterday. It was a letter from the Dukedom of Highland, located in the northern part of the kingdom. What was written there was...
'We request permission to accompany the exiled former Marquis's eldest daughter, formerly known as Elizabeth von Braubelg, as a companion for our child, Randolph Victor, during his studies abroad.'
...It was a request for temporary entry from Elizabeth, who had been exiled from the country.
Normally, this would be dismissed as "ridiculous," but it was not that simple, which is why the important figures of the country were so on edge.
Despite their irritation, the king and the other important figures gathered in a large conference room.
"Now, I think everyone understands, but... yesterday, this letter arrived at the academy."
The one who spoke was King Gerald Roa Alexandros, the ruler of this country and the father of Crown Prince Edgar. The king threw the bothersome letter aside, and a nearby man picked it up, passing it around for everyone to read.
"Isn't it impossible to allow someone who was exiled to re-enter the country?"
"What are you saying? They have 'returned from exile'! And it's the Beast Forest! We should show some tolerance."
Voices of agreement rose from the crowd, supporting both sides of the argument.
"I understand what everyone wants to say. I get it, but──."
"I will explain the details."
The bearded man next to the king──Prime Minister Dill Weissman──stepped forward.
"This time, we have received letters not only from the territory in question but also from our kingdom's government. The content is──."
Prime Minister Dill took out several letters from his chest.
"The content is about granting citizenship to the protected young lady... This has the seal of approval from the Dukedom, so there is no mistake. And this one letter is the problem."
With a bitter expression, Prime Minister Dill opened one letter for everyone to see. What was written there was simply:
'I believe in a 'generous' and 'independent' kingdom government.'
The elegant yet powerful handwriting, despite being just one sentence, gave off a strange pressure.
However, those gathered in this room were seasoned politicians. While they felt the pressure from the letter, they frowned at its abstract content.
"I see, 'generous.' Indeed, we should show the capacity to accept someone who has atoned for their sins."
"Ridiculous. Are we really going to listen to the words of a small country, especially from a minor noble?"
"But it's the Beast Forest, right? They survived that."
The reason their opinions were so divided was due to the nature of the exile punishment.
The method of exile established by the Kingdom of Alexandria is...
One, to strip the person of their citizenship.
Two, to inform the entire nation of this decision.
Three, to notify the country where the person is being exiled.
Four, the punishment is complete once the person is expelled from the country.
...In other words, once Elizabeth is thrown out of the country, she has paid for her crimes, and no further punishment can be given.
If interpreted according to the law,
"Having paid for her crimes and no longer being a citizen, does that mean we should allow her a temporary stay? Ridiculous!"
Such words burst forth, and voices of "Isn't that just a ridiculous argument?" rose from all around. In reality, it was nothing but a ridiculous argument, but it was also true that the law did not specify any further actions after the expulsion.
"Why was this loophole left unaddressed?"
All eyes turned to one man──Minister of Justice Leonard Row.
"To begin with, I never considered the 'possibility of re-entry'."
He said, looking as if he had bitten into a bitter bug. As he pointed out, in the few past cases of expulsion, no one ever returned.
Why was that?
When someone is expelled, they are always stripped of their citizenship. This stripping happens at the border, but when the criminal leaves the country, they become stateless until they are protected by the destination country, even if only temporarily.
Citizenship is, of course, proof that a person belongs to that country, but in this world, it means more than that. It guarantees the person's origin and shows that they are managed under the law.
When one says "managed under the law," it may sound bad, but for citizens, it is not a bad thing. As long as the country guarantees their status, they can enjoy peace under the law, which is what citizenship means in this world.
Those without citizenship are considered not to be under the protection of the country's laws. This means that it is allowed to do anything to them, which is a very loose interpretation.
To put it simply, citizenship protects human rights.
To be stripped of citizenship is equivalent to having one's human rights taken away, and one can easily imagine what happens to such a person...
Though it is called expulsion, in reality, it is just a system to execute people who would face too much backlash if executed in their own country.
That is why there was no need to include a ban on re-entry in the law.
Therefore, for Elizabeth, who has overcome that hell,
"I told you so. She has overcome her expulsion. We need the capacity to recognize that she has paid for her crimes."
It is not surprising that voices of support arise.
"I see your point, but... why was she not attacked this time?"
"This time, we did not notify the Dukedom about the expulsion."
The one answering this reasonable question is once again Minister of Justice Leonard. Normally, there is a custom to inform the destination country of the expulsion, but this time, it was not done.
Usually, with such information made public, bandits would gather near the border for that purpose. Even if ordinary people do not know, those who make a living from crime are well aware. After all, a target with no risk is coming. They cannot let that opportunity slip away.
It is said that anything can be done to those expelled from the kingdom. In other words, they are like executioners.
However, this time they were not aware. Of course, rumors had spread, but it was unclear where the border would be crossed, and it could be said that even bandits could not cover all the way to the Beast Forest.
"Why didn't you inform the Dukedom?"
Hearing voices from all around, Prime Minister Dill let out a big sigh.
"That's where 'independence' comes into play."
With a bitter expression, Prime Minister Dill began to explain that the Holy Church, which had recognized Catherine as a saint, was involved in this expulsion from the country.
At first, the Holy Church demanded the death penalty for Elizabeth, claiming that the disrespect and injury towards the saint was a blasphemy against the goddess.
However, the kingdom believed that even if she was a saint, it was too extreme to impose the death penalty for a conflict between students. Then someone pointed out, "But the Crown Prince said she should be exiled from the country."
Of course, the kingdom's government did not agree to this from the start.
The reason was that exile from the country was almost the same as a death penalty in effect. In other words, it was too severe a punishment.
And it would make it seem like they were yielding to the Holy Church.
The kingdom had to prevent any situation where it appeared that the Holy Church could interfere with the government.
Additionally, there was considerable dissatisfaction from some of the local nobles from the same territory as Elizabeth's family, Braubelg, questioning, "Are we really going to expel someone over a children's quarrel?"
That said, they wanted to avoid worsening their relationship with the Holy Church, which was designated as the state religion.
So, what they came up with was something that looked like an expulsion from the country.
If they informed the Dukedom, it would be the same as a death penalty. If that happened, there would be a strong backlash from the local nobles, questioning, "Is the government yielding to the church?"
However, a mere verbal warning would not calm the church's anger.
Not informing them would allow them to maintain the church's dignity as a mercy from the saint while safely sending Elizabeth abroad with proper guards without informing the local nobles.
But another intention crept in. There were those who viewed the Braubelg family as a danger.
Taking this opportunity, those who wanted to weaken the Braubelg family's power set the destination to the Beast Forest and assigned poorly behaved guards. It was truly a wicked act, as the saying goes, "Dead men tell no tales."
And the ones who actively pushed this forward were:
Prime Minister Dill.
Minister of Justice Leonard.
Both felt threatened by the Braubelg family, which had extended its power to the center. The royal family felt the same way.
The father of the Crown Prince's fiancée. Even though he had appointed him as Minister of Finance, his sharp skills and the strength of the Braubelg territory made even the king feel threatened.
──At this rate, the Alexandros family would be taken over.
In such anxiety, the devilish whispers of Catherine and the Prime Minister echoed. They thought that by using Elizabeth, they could find a way to weaken the Braubelg family.
For them, this incident was a fortunate opportunity:
Favoring the church.
Dissatisfaction from the local nobles.
Shameful vanity.
And the threat from Braubelg.
The complicated situation twisted into a public execution disguised as an exile.
Prime Minister Dill, who had finished explaining this ridiculous situation while glossing over the details, sighed once more.
"In other words, to satisfy both the church and the noble lords, we had to pretend to arrange a safe exile..."
At this point, Prime Minister Dill was trying to protect himself by claiming it was a staged exile, but no one seemed to notice.
"Since we have carried out the punishment, if we don't accept that reasoning, our kingdom will be seen as being controlled by the church."
Hearing those words, Prime Minister Dill nodded bitterly. If he refused here, it could give the impression that the ministers were right, both to foreign nations and to the noble lords.
As an 'independent' government that does not bow to the church, they needed to show a 'generous' action according to the law.
That was exactly what that statement indicated.
"So, King, what do you intend to do?"
All eyes turned to King Gerald.
"What else can we do but accept it?"
The king's bitter murmur caused a stir in the assembly.
"There is nothing in the law about this, and the person in question has already atoned for her sins and even obtained foreign citizenship. To put it bluntly, we can't say we can't accept just one young girl; that would be too narrow-minded."
As King Gerald covered his face with a tired expression, a voice rang out, "What about the church?"
"The exile itself was a performance for the church. Now that we have carried it out, the church has no right to complain. On the contrary, this move could serve as a warning to the church."
King Gerald, holding his head, continued.
"The kingdom is equal under the law recognized by God."
What King Gerald meant was that the name of the god worshipped by the Holy Church was included in the joint signing of the kingdom's laws. Since their god also recognizes these laws, they cannot complain about actions taken according to the law. It was a warning that the kingdom would follow the law recognized by God, not the church.
"That said, at least issue a ban on approaching the saint. Even if she has committed a sin, the ultimate responsibility lies with the Dukedom."
With King Gerald's last-minute self-preservation words, voices of agreement began to rise from the assembly. Foreigners who commit serious crimes domestically are usually forcibly repatriated according to agreements with their home countries.
Once that happens, it becomes a problem between the Dukedom and the church. The moment they realized it had nothing to do with them, their discussions quickly reached a conclusion.
"Then, I permit Elizabeth's temporary entry for the Lord Victor."
* * *
"He was quite an interesting man."
Marquis Lucian, swaying in the carriage, relaxed his cheeks at the peaceful scenery of Victor's territory flowing outside the window.
"Randolph, right? He was indeed an interesting young man."
Lucian let out a small laugh, "Hmph," in response to Marchioness Flora, who was also looking out the window.
"Randolph was interesting, but his father, Alan, Lord Victor, was too."
Still looking out the window, Lucian recalled the discussions about Alan and Elizabeth's entry.
(Could I really make such predictions with the information I gathered...?)
Of course, Lucian had a good idea of what to expect, but that was because he understood the kingdom's government. He couldn't hide his surprise that Alan, who didn't know that, made predictions that surpassed his own and showed a breakthrough.
(Could there really be such a genius in this remote area?)
"The world is still full of surprises."
Lucian laughed happily as he looked at the fields where the harvest had begun.
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