LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 16: The Execution
Owen listened while drinking tea.
"King Doris has not intervened, and Prime Minister Ware is marching on with the case. The judge is a hardliner appointed by King Doris. The death penalty is most likely punishment," Josef, the former prime minister who now acts as secretary for Owen, reported.
"Even after all the protest?" Owen asked.
"Yes, if anything, the protest made them more determined."
Owen frowned deeply.
He has fought for justice for the people his whole life but wasn't willing to let his son die like this.
"Rachel, what do you think I should do?" Owen asked.
"Nothing. This is the equal justice you fought for. You want to throw it away now that you achieved it?" she said.
"You're wrong! I have fought for equality for a long time, but that's only second to myself and my family. If justice is on one side and my family on the other, I would always choose my family," he said.
"I don't know; I just make pills. These difficult matters are for you to solve."
Then Rachel went silent.
Owen closed his eyes and started thinking.
Then he decided!
…
Prime Minister Ware prioritized John's case.
After only ten days, the judge quickly entered a guilty verdict, with the punishment being the death penalty.
This speed was unbelievable for a case like this.
The execution date was set for around one year later.
He immediately appealed the ruling.
However, chances would be slim for anything to change, as there are many witnesses, and virtually no one denies that John did kill someone.
…
On a table, two people sat.
One was Owen; the other was Doris.
"Are you well, father?" Doris said with a smile.
"Of course." He said.
"You know what I'm here to say, right?" Owen said.
"It is my brother's case, right?" Doris said.
"That's correct. I'm not saying he shouldn't be punished, just that he shouldn't be punished with death. You should consult with the prime minister and abolish the death penalty altogether and for everyone." Owen said.
"Ware won't accept it, and I can't do it alone. Both the prime minister and king must approve any law." She said.
"This is within your powers. After all, you can pardon anyone, so use it. Say that you pardon every death penalty if he disagrees with abolishing it." Owen said.
"But father, I don't want to do it; I swore an oath to keep justice equally," Doris said.
"That's why I say abolish it for all. That's equal justice." He said.
"Would you have said that if it wasn't about John?" Doris said.
Owen frowned.
"I'm telling you, I don't want my son dead, no matter the laws. If the laws harm my family, then they should change." He said.
"You were the one who dismantled nobility. Why are you like this now?" Doris asked.
"I did all of that, but my child is different. You are different, John is different. Rose is different. Have you thought about what happens if John dies? Rose can never reach rank 1 mage and dies of sadness. Your other brothers and sisters will fear you, and you'll be lonely. Trust me, you don't want that." Owen said.
Doris thought momentarily and said," Father, John should have thought about the consequences before killing someone. Now, a woman is dead, and justice must be done; otherwise, there is no justice, and we might as well bring back the nobility."
"I'm telling you to do it. It's not negotiable!" Owen said with anger.
Doris took the crown from her head and presented it to Owen" You do it, father, take back the crown!"
Owen reached his hand but stopped midway.
He gritted his teeth and took back his hand.
"Doris, think about it; think about the consequences to your family," Owen said, leaving.
He loved Doris more than any of his children.
If John was the king and Doris was facing the death sentence, he would have already gone to jail and released her, regardless of the law.
But he couldn't bring himself to do it while he gave the throne to Doris.
"Owen, your emotions will kill you someday! You still have the time to change it. Let pure energy wipe a bit of your emotions; you can't survive like this," Rachel said.
"What is the endgame? It'll become like a puppet, meditating all day with nobody to care for."
"Mage training is a lonely path. Everyone knew it! Endgame for you is much higher, and you may reach even the legendary 10th rank! But all of that is an illusion in your current state." Rachel said.
Owen shook his head and went to his room.
…
The eleventh day of the third month of the year 989986
After exhausting all his appeals, John is scheduled to die by execution today!
Doris rejected all of the pleas for pardon from Rose and everyone else.
She was reading another letter from Rose while smiling!
"Begin king is great! My justice points have broken through the 10,000 mark again!"
Doris has a 'cheat' from the first day she transmigrated.
It is called 'mark of justice'.
It gives justice points that can be used to buy anything.
Pills, weapons,' techniques, and everything else one can imagine.
"My strength is improving steadily with the pills I bought with justice points, but it will still take decades to reach rank 2. After all, I used my starter package to rank 1 quickly."
In these two years she has been the king, she put many pro 'justice' judges around the county.
Each of them is considered an agent working for her, and every time they hold justice, she gets points.
"I still cannot believe how much justice point John is giving! I wonder how much I get after he is executed!" Doris smiled with anticipation.
She always hated John.
He was so entitled like he had a right to everything.
Even though Doris was the eldest child, he always saw the throne as his.
Still, Doris wouldn't have killed him if he hadn't committed murder.
In her previous life, Doris was a politician who died of old age.
When she transmigrated into this life, she never accepted Rose and Owen as her true parents nor her brothers and sisters as her siblings.
She started working hard to gain more personal strength when she found this world has true magic.
Personal strength was severely limited in the previous life, and one could get power only through politics or money.
Doris was blessed with mage talent in this life, so she did her best to improve as fast as possible.
"I wonder whether it gives enough justice points to reach the middle stage!"
…
Owen was very gloomy.
He waited a long time for Doris to see the 'truth,' but she insisted so much on true justice that even he hesitated whether she was right.
"Owen, why are you so lost? Why are you hesitating? You weren't like this before!" Rachel said.
"I guess I got old, even if my looks don't show it."
"Rachel, I'm lost. After my ancestor's death, I lost my way and never found it. He was the one who gave me direction all of my life; without him, I don't know where I'm going." He said.
"I'm telling you, the way is doing whether it takes improving your rank," Rachel said.
"But that's what I'm saying! What is the point of me improving my rank? To achieve what? I must witness my family, kingdom, and everything I know die." Owen said.
"You ask too many questions. Can't you meditate without so many questions? If you want a purpose, I give you one. How about the most generic purpose, reaching beyond rank 10 and reviving your family!" Rachel said.
Owen shook his head and thought about John.
After many months, he finally decided not to save John.
He decides to let Doris do the thing she thinks is right.
If Doris lets John be executed, he has decided to leave this Robels kingdom and go for an adventure.
After all, the world is bigger than just here.
With Robels kingdom having a guardian, he feels he deserves a vacation.
…
On the noon of The eleventh day of the third month of the year 989986, Price John Rbels was executed by hanging!
Many people mourned.
The kingdom had progressed a lot. However, the culture was still very different from the Earth.
Doris was speechless to see people sad about the death of a murderer.
That would likely not happen on Earth.
However, people don't believe everyone's life is equal here.
Ordinary people don't see the life of a prostitute and senior king Owen's son as equal.
Many felt there should be a punishment, but death is too much.
However, 'mark of justice' had its way of calculating justice points.
It wasn't dependent on how ordinary people felt about justice.
After the execution, it gave Doris an unbelievable 1 million points!
It was ten times larger than every point she got before it!
"Why did it give so much? What is so different about this case?"
"Is it because John was my family? Or maybe it's because everyone opposed it? Or maybe it's because so many people are sad about it? More experiment is needed!" she thought.
Rose was devastated, not coming out of her room for years after the incident.
Owen was incredibly disappointed with Doris, deciding to go out for an adventure.
An adventure might clear up his mind.
…
Dyer's continent was immense.
The areas where the academies dominate are tiny in comparison.
Many other mortal kingdoms and non-human settlements exist outside those areas.
Most of the continent isn't suitable for any magic plant and lacks magical minerals.
For this reason, there rarely are any mages outside the main areas where the academies are.
...
Owen looked at a city in the distance.
It has been a year since he left Robels kingdom.
At this time, he has cleared his mind and feels much better.
"This is an elven settlement? We have never seen one. Let's go there." Rachel said.
She has been enjoying this adventure.
Although, for some reason, she also enjoys just about everything.
For example, remaining static as a pill container and not talking for days should be incredibly dull, right?
For some reason, she doesn't feel it's boring at all.
She feels comfortable, like under a blanket on a cold day.
"Is this work of the system?" Rachel thought to herself.
She didn't know how to find out, so she ignored it.
Owen said," That's correct. It is an elven settlement. We can't go in like this because they are not friendly to humans."
He cast a 'disguise' spell on himself.
His skin immediately turned from dark black to snow white, and his ears turned pointy.
"Do elves look like this?" Rachel asked.
"These snow elves do look like this," he said.
Walking toward the city, he started seeing some elves on the sides of the road.
Owen's clothes were completely different from theirs, so he sneakily knocked one of them unconscious and stole his clothes after casting a 'clean' spell on it.
Now, he fits right in!
He reached the gate, and after paying some pieces of gold, they let him in!"