Chapter 307: Replaced by Gold Coins

Ambrose did not leave Lyra right after that private meeting.

The next morning, he requested an additional official working session. This time, Mayor Elric, Mr. Hollis from the Court, and two secretaries sitting ready to take minutes were fully present. He carefully wore the neatest outfit he brought along, placed a paper stamped with the Royal seal on the table, then raised his voice reading its content out loud.

The content included two main clauses.

The first clause, the Royal Family requested Lyra city to fully declare the revenues since the day of promulgating the Covenant and immediately pay the missing tax portion back to the treasury.

The second clause, based on the complaint petition of the Merchant Guild and of some owners in the South, the Royal Family requested Lyra city to return all the people currently being detained here whose buying and selling papers still possessed legal validity. Including thirty people obtained in the Merchant Guild’s caravan and the people who followed the Maritime Fleet docking returning to Lyra.

Finishing reading, Ambrose calmly placed the paper down onto the table, looking up at Kaelen.

"Holy Son, I was forced to read out loud for you to hear this second clause. Because that is my duty." He said: "As for now I am speaking with the capacity of a person having done this inspecting profession for twenty years. The first clause then you can use money to pay. But the second clause then what do you intend to pay with?"

Elric sitting beside, his face was white as a piece of paper.

"I also ask permission to clearly state adding one point lest you misunderstand." Ambrose tapped his finger on the paper: "The Royal Family completely has absolutely no intention of suing you regarding the detaining caravan incident. That matter is a private matter between you and the Merchant Guild, and the Merchant Guild also is not foolish enough to drag each other to court when inside their wagons there are thirty chain-footed people. The Royal Family only demands back the property having valid paperwork, only that much. But that much is already enough trouble for you."

Sane sat at the head of the table, his two hands crossed before his chest. He completely did not radiate killing intent, but his lazy, deadpan silver-gray glance caused the temperature in the meeting room to seem to drop to the freezing point. Ambrose unconsciously gripped the paper tightly in his hand, his heart rhythm beating irregularly under the invisible pressure of an apex predator.

"Not returning." Sane’s voice completely without fluctuation, judging like driving a nail into a pillar.

Ambrose gritted his teeth enduring that suffocating oppressive wave, striving to maintain the calmness of a Special Envoy:

"If you resolutely refuse to return then the Royal Family will consider Lyra as blatantly usurping the subjects’ property, and that crime then completely does not need the Church interfering, completely does not need the Merchant Guild raising their voice, only needing exactly one decree promulgated down and it is done. Lord Divine Envoy, I know your power is very strong. But a city once labeled by the kingdom as pillaging bandits then there will be no merchant caravan daring to pass through the city gate anymore."

Kaelen sat silently throughout from the beginning of the session. Arriving at this moment he slowly spoke up. He reached out his hand, lightly patted the back of Sane’s hand to stop the thought of wanting to level the entire Royal Capital of his.

"Lord Special Envoy, I will not return the people." He said: "But I will pay with money."

The entire room simultaneously turned looking at him surprised.

"On their buying and selling papers the value is clearly recorded. Thirty people in the caravan, every person has a price level, having proper papers having proper signatures." Kaelen continued speaking, slowly clearly articulating every single word: "Lyra will dig into our pockets redeeming exactly equaling the price recorded on that paper, absolutely not bargaining a single coin. Whoever is holding the paper then just come receiving money, finishing receiving then that paper will be destroyed right in front of their face, the person having their name on the paper officially becomes a free person."

Ambrose frowned bewilderedly: "How many people do you intend to redeem?"

"However many I will also redeem."

"Holy Son, the number of people following the Maritime Fleet returning here alone is already nearly four thousand people."

"Then redeem all four thousand." Kaelen decisively answered.

Brian sitting at the corner of the table immediately flipped the ledger, his small finger running along several number columns. The boy bowed his head calculating for a moment then looked up, his voice already slightly trembling:

"Father, I just tried calculating following the price recorded on the thirty papers obtained in the Merchant Guild’s caravan. Averaging every person is eighteen gold coins. If bringing multiplying with nearly four thousand people then..."

"Then it comes out to how much?" Sane asked.

"Then about seventy thousand gold coins." Brian swallowed: "Equaling nearly three years’ revenue of the entire City Hall, and that is exactly in the case we do not spend a single coin on anything else."

The entire meeting room simultaneously turned looking at Kaelen.

"I know." Kaelen calmly answered: "I do not intend to pay all at once. Whoever brings the paper arriving first then I pay first, every year gathering how much then paying that much, paying until the end of my life is also fine. The thing I need is starting from today, on white paper with black ink, inside this city there is no longer anyone being the property of another person anymore."

Ambrose looked at him for a really long time, then bent down recording.

Mr. Hollis sitting beside pushed his glasses frame, lightly cleared his throat. The veteran old man immediately saw the dangerous spot that the others had not had time to see.

"Holy Son, please allow me to speak straight." He said: "If we spend money redeeming following exactly the price recorded on the paper, then it means we are indirectly admitting those papers have value. And once having admitted that a human being can be brought out to price with money, then our Covenant is contradicting itself."

Kaelen nodded: "I know."

"You know yet you still resolutely do it?"

"If I use Divine Energy crushing that army of the Royal Family, that matter is too excessively easy. But Mr. Hollis, I cannot use the Deities’ violence to protect Lyra forever. If doing that, the laws that we painstakingly built will have no meaning anymore." Kaelen answered with a deep voice, his eyes looking straight at the old man: "Furthermore, once declaring war, the Kingdom will use their machine to crush thousands of innocent people in the places that we have not had time to reach our hands out to. Therefore I will buy them back."

Kaelen’s lip corners slightly curled up into a freezing cold smile: "But I will set a condition for that buying and selling matter, a perfect trap, and that condition is exactly the place I need you to lend a hand helping."

The next day, Lyra Court opened a public trial session right at the central square.

People erected a wooden podium right before the City Hall’s steps, arranging bench chairs into four long rows. The news was broadcasted since yesterday afternoon through the trumpet speakers hung on the poles, therefore arriving at the hour opening the court session the entire square was packed tightly with citizens. Thirty rescued people in the Merchant Guild’s caravan were all fully present, sitting forming a long row in the front pew row. Old man Durk sat at the very edge, his two hands resting on his knees.

Special Envoy Ambrose sat in a separate chair placed beside the podium, along with his two secretaries.

Mr. Hollis acted as the presiding judge of the trial session.

This session completely had no defendant, therefore the Court appointed for Miss Beatrix a role that the entire square hearing finishing were all bewildered, that was the objector. The young girl’s duty was to dig finding at all costs loopholes in the very decision the City Hall was about to promulgate out.

Ambrose sat beside the podium, hearing to that part slightly raised his eyebrows. Twenty years rolling around going inspecting everywhere, he had never seen anywhere people spend money hiring a person standing up nitpicking themselves right in the middle of a crowded place like that.

First Hollis read the Royal Family’s request, reading exactly the original text, completely not cutting off a single word, making the entire square exclaim "oh" once then become dead silent as paper.

After that he finally read to the City Hall’s decision.

That decision included four articles.

The first article, Lyra city does not return any human being currently residing on its land to anyone.

The second article, anyone holding a buying and selling paper of a person currently residing in Lyra has the right to arrive at Lyra Court to receive the redemption money. The money is paid exactly equaling the price recorded on the paper, paid with face-value gold, paid right in the day.

The third article, the person arriving receiving money must mandatorily personally be present at Lyra Court, personally signing confirming into the minute record, and inside that minute record clearly states that the signing person had bought and sold humans, clearly records the date and month, location and names of the people having been brought out buying and selling.

The fourth article, all such minute records will all be copied into three copies. One copy stored at Lyra Court, one copy handed to the person having just been redeemed, and one copy sent straight up to the Royal Family.

Hollis reading to here paused, looking up looking down at the noisy crowd below.

Ambrose sat beside the podium, his hand currently holding the pen suddenly halted in mid-air.

He was the person understanding the situation earliest in that entire square.

That third article looking over seemingly looked gentle, but actually it meant that whoever wanted to take the redemption money mandatorily must personally sign a paper confessing themselves as a human trafficker, then that paper was again sent straight up to the Royal Capital. The kingdom’s law although completely not banning owning slaves, but strictly banned the transporting of people passing across boundaries without declaring and without paying tax. And the human trafficking crowd since ancient times never had anyone willing to declare to anyone ever.

Speaking simply, Lyra held out money with the right hand, while the left hand held ready a piece of paper for people to personally sign their own death sentence.

Hollis turned asking the objector seeing if she had any opinion. Miss Beatrix stood up, presenting exactly one point, that the third article might make many owners not dare to arrive receiving money, and like that then the people waiting to be redeemed would forever not have valid paperwork.

Hollis recorded that opinion into the minute record, then coldly answered that the Court does not have the obligation to make the human trafficking matter become more comfortable and convenient.

The trial session ended before arriving at mid-noon.

The first person standing up was old man Durk. The Dwarf old man rested his hands on the chair armrest slowly standing up, turning down looking at the crowd then turning up looking at the wooden podium, intending to open his mouth saying something but ultimately only managed to utter exactly one sentence:

"So from now on... I have a certificate paper right?"

"Exactly so, you will have a paper." Hollis smiled answering: "Having a proper paper, having a proper red seal, and having a copy sent all the way up to the Royal Capital so that up there must also record your freedom."

The old man stood still like a statue for a moment, then slowly slumped down sitting, his two trembling hands raised covering his face currently streaming with tears.

That afternoon, Ambrose arrived at the small meeting room to bid farewell.

He placed onto the tabletop a copy of the trial session minute record that he just ordered people to copy down, patted lightly onto it then said:

"Holy Son, I will bring this minute record back. I also say beforehand with you, I will write the report exactly matching what I saw with my own eyes, including both the spots beneficial for you and the spots detrimental."

"I completely have no intention of asking you to write differently." Kaelen answered calmly.

"I know. Exactly because you do not open your mouth begging so I actually feel troubled in my heart." Ambrose breathed out a long sigh, the first time throughout over ten days here revealing a truly tired appearance: "Twenty years doing this profession, wherever I go down inspecting people shove giving me something. Some places shove gold, some places shove women, some places are more decent and smart then shove giving me a sophisticatedly faked ledger copy. Here then you actually shove giving me a real ledger, and a twelve-year-old child daring to step forward catching my wrong adding mistake."

Sane hearing that snorted laughing once.

Ambrose stood up, preparing to turn his body leaving returning, but when arriving at the door he stopped, turned his head saying adding a final sentence:

"I advise you one thing, considering as repaying the favor of being allowed to drink decent tea these past few days. The first clause in that request paper, that tax money amount, you should declare it really truthfully and pay it really truthfully. Absolutely do not declare missing."

Kaelen frowned asking back: "You advise us we should pay tax to the Royal Family?"

"Yes." Ambrose nodded: "Because whatever day you still pay tax then that day you still are a part of this kingdom, and deciding bringing troops going attacking a part of their own selves then people always have to think longer. While arriving at the day you arbitrarily stop paying, then that day you are no longer a city belonging to the kingdom anymore, but are another country. And with another country then people do not need to think long to bring troops going attacking."

Finishing speaking he bowed greeting then stepped walking away.

The Special Envoy’s delegation left Lyra the next morning, still going out through the South gate, still stopping at the checkpoint for the recruit boy guarding the post to clumsily rummage searching the chests again.

This time all eight escorting knights sat quietly obediently on horseback, completely no one frowned showing annoyance anymore.