Господин Барон / The Baron: Глава

Chapter 18

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 09:37

Gravstein greeted us with the usual gloomy skies and light rain. Elepar said goodbye without going into the courtyard, so I walked down the street to the gate with mixed feelings - it was nice to be back in my own home, and it had been a fun trip, but there would be problems, demands, strange people, and all the other things that go with ancient castles. I can't worry about them. I'll just solve it somehow! Or I'll leave it for the morning. Am I a baron or not? I'll have a feast with my faithful retinue.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 09:39

Egelbert was waiting for me at the gate, as frowning as everyone else around me.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 09:40

"Got dag, Mr. Baron."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:40

"Could be a little less formal, mate. Or have we got a problem? Of course, something happened. I hope the castle hasn't been captured yet."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:40

"No, this morning's siege went well. We won again."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:41

"Nice! So what's so bad then?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:41

"Baron Elig von Custhiv visited the town. Unfortunately, there was an incident..."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:42

We were approaching the main tower, and it was strangely quiet. I wanted to get away from the drizzle from the sky, too. The rain was a mental mockery. I could call upon myself the kitchen duty to be closer to the hot ovens!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:43

"What kind of incident?'

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:44

"Miller, the one who owns the shop at the corner of the castle, took slight offense at the demand made of him, after which he caused the baron to be disrespected by his words and actions... the Baron's indignation. The shopkeeper was detained in accordance with the nobleman's demand. He is now in a cell in the castle prison, as von Custhiv has sentenced the commoner to the proper punishment and placed him in your hands to administer justice."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:45

"Couldn't he do it himself?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:46

"He took the opportunity to hand over the accused to you." Von Schnitze's voice was strange. "First, the defendant is a Gravsteinian, and second, you, as the eldest of the country's barons, can and must protect the interests of other barons by exercising the right of 'counsel at his word'."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:47

"OK, let's put him on trial, get an acquittal."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:47

"The trial has already been held by Baron von Kusthiv."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:51

"Then send him for a further hearing so he can be pardoned. Or no, I'll put him on community service for a week. That's the third complaint!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:53

I threw my bag on the bed with relief and turned to the door. The stewart stood with his head still lowered and nervously twitching his cuffs.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:54

"A convicted person can only be pardoned at dawn the next day."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:54

"What? Oh, yes, I seem to recall you saying something like that. Then put the old troublemaker in a cell and let him sit up till morning to think about his anti-social behavior. Don't forget to bring him a pillow and a proper blanket."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:55

"Alexander... Mr. Baron... The sentence under the Truth of Esks shall be carried out before sunset of the same day."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:55

Before sundown... the trial has already taken place. Baron. Commoner. Several pieces of the puzzle clicked together, and the next moment I raked the old man by the collar and hissed in his face:

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:56

"Are you suggesting that I execute a man?!"
*******

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 13:56

"That's what the law says... Alexander, I don't know what to do!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:13

"To hell with those laws!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:14

"It was adopted by our ancestors."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:14

"To hell with the ancestors too! Let's make an exception!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:14

"And how long before someone decides it is okay to make an exception for themselves? The law is an internal need, validated by experience and accepted as a rule. The law is what we believe in."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:15

He averted his eyes, but the phrase was too familiar to object. Letting the manager go, I walked over to the window. It was still an hour and a half before sunset. Oh, dear!

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:15

"How is that even possible?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:16

"You see, Alexander, our laws were passed in brief moments of freedom, which were, alas, very rare. And in such moments..."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:16

"You've been pulling away for all the past."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:17

"You could say that." His voice was wistful. "The Righteous Court Act was passed by the Volksraat for a very specific reason when one of the barons was using the support of another invader to overtly abuse his rights."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:18

"And how many people remember him?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:18

"Perhaps only historians. That period of liberation lasted less than six months, and the only person affected was the person against whom the law was enacted."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:19

"And who's so memorable one?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:19

"I don't know, Alexander. Will you think of something?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:20

I was silent. So, one of my townsfolk has been sentenced to death for misunderstanding the political moment. The baron-jerk exercised his right to pass the sentence on to me. Technically he was even right - but the fact that the peaceful, though acrimonious old man would have to be executed was another matter. According to the law, everything is right.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:22

Do I believe that von Kusthiv didn't know what he was doing?

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:34

"Where is that bastard?!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:35

"He left as soon as Sir Ulfric's guards arrived, but he had time to conduct the trial and the procedure of transferring the defendant to the senior baron of the land of Esk in front of witnesses. To you."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:36

"Misbehaved and got away with it, the bastard. Any options for postponing the execution?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:37

"Alas, I couldn't find it. I called you, perhaps we could have done something in a day, but I couldn't get through."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:37

"I turned my phone off while I was talking to de Nui, and then I just forgot about it. But why did you... at least make a run for him?!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:38

"We have been waiting for you, Mr. Baron."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:38

"They waited! Fucking waiters..." I ran through the possibilities one more time and asked again without hope: "Is the case registered?"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:39

In the Town Hall and in the Police Station papers.

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:40

The only thing left to do was to swear. It was an idiotic situation when the Esks, considered by the people around them to be shallow and, to put it bluntly, a little turned on by customs and laws, trapped themselves in a trap concocted by someone else and justified this opinion. Everything is right. Everything is according to the law. Albeit against common sense. Like the whole thing about secession and bringing back old customs... customs? Customs!

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:41

"Right, stop!" I rushed frantically to the cupboard, where I had thrown all the old books and scrolls von Schnitze had applied... there was something here, wasn't there? There must be something! Not in a book, but in these scrolls, which the steward had slipped to me for a better understanding of the spirit of the nation. Did I see something that... this? No... Yes!

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:43

"There! It is said that according to custom, the condemned person can recite a prayer while the executioner is preparing, and only when he has finished can the execution be carried out!"

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:43

"It's only an indication, not..."

Camrad_RIP 09.02.23 в 14:43