81: Chapter 60 Lord’s Court_2 81: Chapter 60 Lord’s Court_2 “Since he didn’t come, I’m spared the unnecessary chatter.”
Publicly and privately, the crimes of Boris only lead to death.
However, rather than the life and death of a village scoundrel, Leon was more concerned about other issues at the moment.
He pondered over his choice of words, then lifted the quill in his hand and dipped it into the small jar of ink on the table.
The pen was uncomfortable to use, and over time, maintaining it with a knife was a hassle, but it was better than nothing.
Office supplies, once taken for granted in his previous life, were now luxury items.
Fortunately, this world’s history had seen the invention of barely usable paper, which, although expensive, was at least cheaper than exorbitantly priced parchment.
While mentally complaining about the cost of writing materials, Leon continued to write a string of Chinese characters on the brownish paper.
The limited knowledge of the Felu language of the original owner couldn’t support the elaboration of complete legal articles, so he had no choice but to write in Chinese to facilitate his own memory.
After all, this material was only for his own viewing for the time being, as none of the villagers, except for a few wealthy families like Olivia’s and Brian the Blacksmith’s, were literate.
A gentle knock on the door sounded.
“Big brother, lunch is ready.”
“Oh, bring it in,” Leon responded while continuing to write.
Lena pushed the door open and neatly placed the meal tray on the table.
She looked at her new master and, seeing the mysterious square characters Leon was writing, asked admiringly and curiously, “That’s amazing, are you writing?”
“Yes, I’m trying to draft a code of laws that might be minimally usable within the domain, although it’s of no use now.”
Leon put down his pen and stood to dine at the large table.
Lena stared at the paper on the table, blinking and not quite understanding this profound and abstruse word.
“It’s a book of rules specifying what people shouldn’t do, and the punishments for doing wrong,” Leon explained as he washed his hands in the water bucket, dried them, and started eating while talking to the young maid.
In truth, Leon himself did not understand law.
But even as a semi-legal illiterate, he was not accustomed to this kind of society where customary law rules entirely vacuums without written statutes.
He didn’t even know if there were any decent codified laws throughout the entire Orland Kingdom.
At the very least, he had learned that small villages like Selva, Longka, and Platon certainly did not have them.
People’s behaviors were traditionally governed only by the most basic moral customs.
Crimes were either deliberated in gatherings like tea hall discussions, led by village officials and elders, or adjudicated by the local lords.
And how did noble lords adjudicate?
Anyone could guess with their toes—it entirely depended on the lord’s personal will and preferences.
This societal structure wasn’t even as good as in Seryan.
At least in the Seryan Kingdom, the Holy Sun Church had priests in towns and villages, educating and reciting ecclesiastical laws to the populace.
Every crime had a written clause to refer to, rather than being solely at the whims of noble masters.
Shaking his head, Leon knew that having or not having laws meant little for his current minuscule territory, but who knew if he might govern a larger territory in the future.
Now he was learning to record various customary laws of Orland, so that if needed in the future, he could modify them based on Seryan’s ecclesiastical laws and put them to use.
…The second day after the youth’s return to the village.
The villagers had not yet moved on from yesterday’s sorrowful mood when Leon had sent people to notify every household early in the morning, gathering all the subjects.
Three high-backed chairs were laid out side by side in the village square, facing the community hall.
When almost everyone had arrived, Leon and two others, dressed in splendid armor to assert their identity, walked through the crowd with deliberate solemn expressions and took their seats in turn.
There was no choice but to wear armor to impose some authority, given their youthful appearance might not be enough to maintain order otherwise.
Resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, Leon waited for the murmuring crowd to quiet down before raising his voice.
“You may have heard from others, but if you’re still unaware, let me repeat—I am Leon Pendragon, and alongside my two companions, we have been knighted by Baron Eriv Farolis and have become your new lords.
Use this opportunity to remember my face, so you won’t mistake me in the future.”
Although most people were somewhat prepared, hearing this young-looking youth confirm his knightly status still seemed unbelievable to the returning villagers.
Without waiting for the villagers’ reaction, Leon continued loudly, “I’ve gathered you here not just for introductions but also to have you join me in judging a criminal and decide on some matters.”
Leon gestured, signaling two young men at the entrance of the community hall to bring out the village scoundrel.
As Boris, with his hands bound, was forcibly pushed through the crowd, some young adults, not yet informed of the full situation, exchanged puzzled looks, unsure of what was happening.
Boris, his face ashen, had been imprisoned for several days and now lacked the arrogance he once flaunted in the village, displaying only a lifeless expression.
Tok among the crowd closed his eyes in pain.
With stumbling steps, Boris was pushed to the open space in the middle of the crowd.
Before Leon could speak, he was forcibly pushed onto his knees by two furious young men standing behind him.