Chapter 440 (1/2)

Chapter 440: The Court Trial

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Roland was studying the power grid layout of a residential district when he heard the news. After Carter had concluded his report, Roland put down his quill pen and sighed lightly. Although he knew that something like this was inevitable, he felt helpless and sad that it truly happened. He had repeatedly publicized the strict ban on private sales of food, yet there were people who still took the risk for the sake of a small profit. As this was the first case of its kind, it was clear to him that a heavy sentence should be issued to deter others.

In addition, he felt the urge to finalize the laws, and then to recruit specialized legal officers to conduct interrogations and handle cases. After all, when the city was fully constructed, criminal cases would only increase, and he would not have time to play judge to all of them.

It was decided that the trial would be conducted in the castle hall.

Roland had requested for Barov to come to the castle, and together, they would hear the case of this food smuggling crime.

In the hall, the two suspects knelt on the floor. Their ghost pale faces and vacant eyes suggested that they were new to this sort of occasion.

Roland took his seat on the throne, cleared his throat, and said, “Explain everything that you did. You’ll be doubly guilty if you hold back or lie about anything.”

“Yes, yes, Your Highness.” The two suspects seemed as if they had just awoken from a dream. They scrambled between themselves to tell their personal accounts of what happened, particularly the serf, who shouted at the top of his voice, “Your Highness, Lord! I know that what I did was wrong, but if I didn’t sell the wheat… I wouldn’t be able to live on! Those officials didn’t buy wheat according to your demand. I’d no choice but to do this!”

The case turned out to be very simple, and Roland cleared his emotions halfway through listening.

In order to reassure the citizens, the City Hall had set the individual quota for purchasing grains to be slightly higher than the actual consumption. Therefore, there would be a small excess of wheat every month. Parker, who resided in the Sixth Residential Area, smelled a business opportunity. He would grind the excess wheat into flour and add in a few of his self-grown herbs to make savory pancakes. It sold well—fortunately, the sale restrictions in the Convenience Market only applied to staples, while poultry and eggs could be freely sold in the stalls.

The business brought in some silver royals for him every month. However, there was only so much excess wheat, and hence, he had to reduce his own consumption in order to expand the scale of the business. Parker thus set his sights on serfs who did not sell all of their food to the City Hall, and soon got in touch with “Gold” to establish this trafficking deal.

However, the serf’s final words puzzled Roland. “Why didn’t the officials purchase wheat according to the rules? Does this affair involve the City Hall?”

Roland looked at Barov. The latter faced him back and said softly, “The Ministry of Agriculture is in charge of purchasing. The minister is Sirius Daly, whom I believe is unlikely to have made such a grave mistake. You can call him in for questioning.”

Roland nodded and had his guards summon the Minister of Agriculture to the castle.

Sirius Daly rushed to the castle hall, and after making a very impressive Knight’s bow towards Roland, he enquired if His Highness had any decree for him. His mannerisms retained the style of the Wolf Family’s knights.

The prince delineated the parts of the case which he did not understand. “Did you ever refuse to purchase the serf’s grains?”