Outside the Sheriff's Office in Golden Hoof City is the open-air interrogation square, which can accommodate nearly a thousand people, and it is already crowded with people before noon. Because of the gradually rising semi-circle of the square, except for the side of the Sheriff's Building, the other three sides are where the masses are seated, and those who sit there can clearly see the center of the square, which is where the prisoners are interrogated.

Due to past experience, the square is usually opened at the end of the trial and when the sentence is executed, but the situation of the "just verdict" is somewhat different. Being able to see executions or "just verdicts" with their own eyes was a great "enjoyment" of the people of the Empire, and the idea of religious confinement was unusually conservative and closed, but the blood and screams could stimulate the excitement of these people - which is why the Empire of Oguna has always protected and supported the Papal States. The domination of the mind is an incomparably sharp knife, and the occasional little bit of violence and cruelty is the best whetstone.

The summer sun is bright and fair, and in the absence of clouds, it is able to shine on everyone except under the dungeon.

In the middle of the square, a sheriff recounts the internal interrogation of the verdict and explains the identities of the victim and the suspect.

"There are so many citizens here today, and the conditions are ripe for the number of people who have been sentenced to justice. A sheriff said to a colleague next to him.

This proves that the people of the empire are looking forward to God's judgment and want the murderers to deserve it. Darlon's somber voice came from behind the sheriff.

All the sheriffs turned and bowed to him, and Daron, dressed in a pale yellow cloak and bright red armor, walked straight to the platform in the middle of the empty interrogation square. The thousands of citizens who had already sat down immediately stood up when they saw Darondu, cheering loudly and applauding Talon's name. Talon raised his hands to signal quiet.

A man dressed in a purple sheriff's outfit walked up quickly and shouted, "I have the honor of announcing this trial today under the command of Lord Darlon, the most majestic inquisitor in the Empire. Lord Talon is the Empire..."

Before the guy who wanted to take the opportunity to brag about the pat had finished speaking, Daron waved his left hand and motioned for him to get out of the way. And the purple-clothed sheriff had no choice but to walk back in a gloomy manner.

"I heard that Talon is now the most powerful inquisitor in the Empire. ”

"And what about the three chief adjudicators on his head?

"Hehe, there are two old fellows who support Daron as the new chief judge, and it's a separate system, abolishing the three-person system. ”

"Then we'll have to get along with Lord Talon..."

The audience had turned from excitement to silence, as Darlon, who was standing below, had already spent a minute in silence.

Some of the citizens were unaware of Darlon's status in the Empire, but most of them did. All the security officers belonged to the military establishment, and only those who believed most in the state religion of the empire, fanatics, were eligible to join it. It's like the gendarmes of the Republic, but the magistrates are the most powerful of the sheriffs.

These magistrates, who could decide "everything", had power comparable to that of the aristocracy, and because they were directly subordinate to the sheriff's office and dealt with all kinds of disputes within the empire, some called them the ones who held the scales. Most of these men were strong in their faith and in good health, and their strength could rival even the nobles who commanded the regular army and the knights.

"The man we are going to interrogate today is the son of a man of status," Daron waved his pale yellow cloak back, "Avi, the son of Lady Joni, the finest horse trainer in Golden Hoof City." ”

Daron paused, surprised to find that no one had interrupted him at this point.

"The security of the empire has always been a strict warning to the mainland with strict law enforcement, no matter who Avi is, even if he is a nobleman, we will never tolerate crime. ”

Almost all the citizens applauded, and it wasn't Miranda, who was sitting in the middle.

Today, Miranda combed her hair as usual, and slightly adjusted the color of her eyebrows with her eyebrow pencil to show her solemnity—after all, she felt that she might be called to the witness stand.

"Lady Jonny is a person of status, but given the Empire's emphasis on talent, in order to avoid the interrogation process or the outcome of the interrogation that would have a negative impact on her, she cannot be present today. I'm sure even Ms. Joanne decided she would be convinced of God's will. Daron shouted.

At this time, from the building of the Sheriff's Office, a teenager was imprisoned in a square wooden cart and slowly pushed out.

The teenager struggled to open his eyes, but was relentlessly resisted by the midday sun. The night spent in the darkness had already given the boy, who had just turned eighteen, a hint of death - after all, murder was more than a capital crime, and he was "chosen" for "justice".

The citizens who had come to watch the verdict suddenly boiled again, and some threw things at Avi. Because the deceased were two young and promising knight squires, descendants of nobles, how could the only suspect be able to get their forgiveness?

Miranda finally saw Avi, who was still safe and sound, and the heart in her chest seemed to have finally been saved from the boiling water in time, but the wanton shouts of the other citizens made her heart feel as if she had just gotten rid of the boiling water and was about to be thrown into the oil pot again.

Avi struggled to open his eyes, but subconsciously closed them because of the objects flying around. Still, during this time, he was able to discern those who threw "anger" at him.

"The owner of the bar and his fat wife never let me buy their wheat wine, because it smelled of horses. ”

"The middle-aged man who comes every day to train his horses - he is always jealous of my riding skills and he has achieved nothing. ”

"And the old woman who often came to my mom for trouble—because we were the only ones who didn't have a father, and we were the only ones she could bully. ”

Avi silently remembered these in his heart, although he didn't know what he could do with it. But he remembered very well what the owl "said" last night:

"Remember your enemies with the eyes of an owl, or you won't be able to become us. ”

But reality pulled him back all at once.

"Justice verdict! justice verdict! justice verdict!" shouted almost all civilians, except for Miranda, who genuinely wanted Avi to get a verdict.

The horrific images of the past resurfaced in the boy's mind, and those scenes that made people desperate and worse than death made him want to fly his soul out of this cage and escape from the body of the man named "Avi".

But it couldn't be done, he couldn't escape.

"Everyone, please be quiet! Our sheriff has unanimously decided from yesterday's trial that Avi will accept the 'verdict of justice,'" Daron said, glancing at his co-workers behind him, and seeing that the fellows had no objections, he continued, "but for the sake of justice, we have decided to interrogate several witnesses who may have known about the day." ”

It is rare for a judge who has always been an arbitrary judge to claim that he has not yet examined witnesses. Some of the smarter sheriffs behind Daron were able to figure out what the chief meant: the focus of this public murder trial was not on the groom boy, but on Daron himself.

"After our investigation, Avi came out of Mr. Charrick's house, so we asked Mr. Charrick as our witness. Daron continued.

Miranda's father, Charrick, dressed in very formal clothes, walked out of the sheriff's office and stood in front of a wooden platform placed in the square.

"Hello, Mr. Charlik, could you please tell us about the day. ”

"Yes, Mr. Judge. Charlik glanced at Avi with concern, put his hat on the wooden table, held it down with one hand, and said, "Avi came to my house in the evening, and then chatted with my daughter in the backyard, and he left my house in the early hours of the morning." ”

"Do you know where he went after that?"

"I don't know about this," Charlik looked at Daron calmly, "but I'm sure Avi can't be a murderer, he doesn't even have a weapon, and he hasn't been trained..."

Daron waved his hand and said, "That's enough, there is no need to add to your personal speculation, now invite another witness to the stage." ”

At this point, Charlik had to leave the wooden platform, and at the moment when he put the hat on his head, he looked at his daughter Miranda and shook his head gently.

After a while, a young knight's squire came up, the companion of the two deceased.

"That's him!Who else is going to kill Roth and Anthony!?" the young man named Farrell had always been elegant and mean, but the anger in his eyes attracted the attention of others as much as his short red hair.

"Did you see it with your own eyes?"

Farrell yelled, "Yes, I saw this bastard kill someone with a short sword and then fled into the alley!"

"I didn't"

"Now is not the time for you to speak, perhaps not for you. ”

Avi was about to defend himself when he was interrupted by Darlon.

Then Daron nodded to Farrell and said, "The suspect admitted to being near that place at the time of the crime, and now that the evidence and motive are in place, the tools of the crime will be found within today." Now in order to express God's justice, I have decided to personally ask Avi if he would like to accept the 'verdict of justice'. With that, he turned his head to look at the weak and helpless Avi.

"I didn't kill anyone...", Avi, who hadn't eaten for almost two days, said word by word.

There was no pity in Darlon's eyes, and he turned to all the crowd and said, "Avi, son of Joni, is willing to accept the 'righteous verdict'," and the vast majority of the crowd shouted feverishly, "Then all the citizens present are ready to do so, for every subject of the empire has the right and duty to do justice!"