LIGHTNOVELONLINE The High Court investigators and the High Court judges are in a cooperative relationship.
However, the disparity in status is at the level of officers and soldiers.
Therefore, the judges, like heavenly beings, mostly issue orders or scold others.
But suddenly interrupting their casual chatter like this…
“Damn, had I known it would turn out like this, I should’ve just pretended to investigate properly and come back chattering.”
But spilled water can’t be collected anyway.
“Whatever will be, will be.”
“They’ve been spending a suspicious amount of money lately at the Olbia Baron Clan.”
Behind this statement lay an important implication.
“Given the circumstances, they seem to be involved in crime.”
However, even though the Toscan Empire uses advanced investigative techniques to beat and arrest suspects upon finding any reasonable suspicion,
they do not detain nobles, especially those of baron rank or higher, for “ambiguous suspicion.”
No matter how much power a High Court judge holds, investigating or arresting a baron for ambiguous suspicion would mean that the one who ordered the investigation would lose their position.
In the worst case, they might not be dragged to the gallows for the crime of insulting a noble, but they could end up languishing comfortably in prison.
As a member of the legal noble Dante, who possessed nothing but his title aside from his public position, he had to be cautious.
“It seems rather hasty to say. No matter how trivial the chatter may be with colleagues, for a High Court investigator to suspect Baron Olbia based on only such inconsequential circumstances, well, let’s see.”
Judges working in a court like the High Court, as members of the royal administration, must successfully graduate from university.
And at university, due to the limits of printing, students memorize laws, all sorts of poetry, and major texts while attending lectures.
Hence, it would not be unreasonable to assume that high-ranking individuals like judges have effectively memorized the law books in their entirety.
Cold sweat began to form on the back of the light-tongued investigator.
“If I can’t satisfy Vice Chief Judge Andante, I’m as good as dead.”
I wouldn’t actually die physically.
However, the various scoldings that would come down from Vice Chief Judge would be relentless.
“You would be guilty of contempt of nobility. It’s written in Article 12, Section 4 of the Imperial Penal Code. In the case of our High Court investigators and judges, as per Clause 5, Section 1 of the penal code regulations, the sentence can be mitigated. Even with mitigation, you would still lose your title.”
The High Court investigators, while perhaps not as powerful as judges, still held a degree of authority.
To be precise, nobles did not want to clash with them, so they would occasionally hand over “gifts.”
Though these were not as substantial as the large gifts judges receive, over 30 years of diligent saving could allow one to buy a small territory in the countryside.
So, to step into this position, one needed a titular knightly title at the very least.
What if the title vanished?
While living as an investigator, friends with grudges against him would potentially take what they might consider a cute revenge (death).
Yet even Andante did not want to impose such strict standards on an investigator who was technically one of their own.
If they did so, they’d end up in a situation akin to “whistleblowing” and spend the rest of their life in discomfort.
“If there’s nothing concrete, we should just give a strong warning and leave it at that.”
Of course, just as a frog might bruise from a stone carelessly thrown for fun, an investigator with a loose tongue could end up being tormented to the point of wishing for death…
“I’ve been a High Court investigator for 5 years, would I make baseless claims? It’s just that the amount of money being spent in the Olbia Baron Clan seems way too suspicious.”
Under usual circumstances, if there was truly no solid evidence, investigators would bow their heads and quickly apologize after such a warning.
Failing to do so would only add contempt charges, leading to bigger trouble.
But to assert that he hadn’t spoken nonsense instead of apologizing?
“This seems like I might actually have something solid here.”
“They say they aren’t even distributing cakes bought from Cafe Medici to mere servants, and even the grooms are wearing plate armor and wielding swords. They are indulging in all sorts of extravagance.”
“Hmm, it’s not an unreasonable story.”
Typically, nobles would give swords to grooms for protection.
However, in the city areas that nobles frequent, it’s often impractical to even wield a longsword, and wearing armor would be downright uncomfortable.
“This is purely for the purpose of bragging about their wealth…”
From past experiences, those who strutted around often had plenty to hide once you pulled a knife on them.
Of course, among nobles, there’s no one who won’t be stripped bare when tax investigations or inspections happen.
Yet there’s a world of difference between having much to steal and having little.
“And there are rumors that lately, the number of carriages traveling back and forth between the Olbia Baron territory and Florence has significantly increased. Oddly enough, there’s said to be a lot of guards accompanying those carriages.”
Hearing this, Andante became convinced.
“They usually pull such tactics when smuggling precious items like spices, gold, silver, or jewels.”
Of course, outside of Baron Rothschild, nobles generally do not directly delve into smuggling.
Besides, the smuggling Baron Rothschild does is hardly that crude.
“If it were Baron Rothschild, the entire Florence High Court would need to brace themselves to have a chance of catching him?”
And still, the most serious suspicions are of individuals who might destroy evidence or wipe out records to somehow evade capture.
So, they have been illegally earning money through tax evasion or dubious methods, and on top of that, Baron Olbia seems to be in a “power struggle” with Baron Sisia.
Determined to establish a reputation, he had to pry into this matter unconditionally.
Excited about making a hefty profit, Andante pulled out his wallet.
He took out several silver coins and handed them to the investigator who had provided him with the information.
“Chatting like that during working hours will only lead to misunderstandings. Talking about gossip is something anyone can do, but save those chats for the tavern with drinks. Let this money treat everyone to some beef.”
“Thank you!”
The investigator felt proud, having escaped death and earned the right to a “beef gathering.”
And decided he should keep his mouth shut from now on.
Andante promptly knocked on the door of Mancini’s office.
“Chief Judge, an opportunity has arisen for a big case.”
Mancini wondered if this kid had drunk too much since getting married.
However, seeing the look in his eyes, he sensed that Andante must have genuinely found something significant.
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard Baron Olbia has been excessively lavish lately. And there are several suspicious carts heavily guarded that are coming and going.”
The role of the High Court is investigation, supervision, and trial.
Arresting a single noble translates directly into results and promotion.
And catching tax evaders?
Typically, 5-10% of taxes that were evaded or funds that were embezzled go to the members of the High Court who led the investigation…
“Getting promoted while also making money, it’s a double win.”
“It’s definitely suspicious. Let’s investigate and flush them out. There’s no one who isn’t hiding something; let’s see how long he can last.”
Andante quickly enlisted the help of investigators and soldiers to seize various documents and begin the search.
Among those documents were details of all sorts of misdeeds by Baron Olbia.
It was as if someone had written “Take this” on the documents for easy retrieval…
Everyone just thought they were fortunate.
Who in their right mind would willingly organize their family’s corrupt practices for others to find easily?
After the search at the High Court concluded, the Olbia Baron Clan had become a complete mess, I mean, a total disaster.
Within the clan, vassals holding key positions such as treasurer, war minister (military affairs), and informant were forming factions and squabbling.
Now that the Chief Judge, righteous and fair Mancini, declared that there would be “no leniency and no sanctuary in investigations…”
Baron Olbia felt like he was losing the hair from his head.
“This is truly hopeless, utterly hopeless. What kind of worthless scoundrel dared to mess with us?”
The Olbia Baron Clan had shown nothing but steady behavior until now.
They may have indulged in a bit too much luxury, but for the High Court to move against a baron and begin a search like this, it was utterly unfathomable.
Someone had clearly leaked insider information to report them.
Yet even after monitoring all the clan’s vassals, there wasn’t a single suspicious character.
It was a situation where one couldn’t even specify the culprit or raise any suspicion.
Is that why? Even in the conference room where Baron Olbia had gathered his key clansmen, clear and clean words flowed.
“You sold us out, didn’t you, Treasurer? If not, why on earth would the High Court come investigating?!”
“What nonsense are you spouting? It was the War Minister who sold our clan’s secrets, wasn’t it? You probably needed a lot of money for your son’s wedding!”
“What on earth was the informant doing in terms of information management?!”
With the High Court uncertain of what ruling would be handed down, it was clear that a massive blow was looming over the clan.
Moreover, since they didn’t even know who their enemy was, they couldn’t take any countermeasures.
Even within the clan, infighting had erupted, making subsequent actions even more challenging.
…Baron Olbia seriously wanted to cry.
However, he had to brace himself and carry the humiliation and shame to survive.
Because being a noble ultimately means being responsible.