Chapter 41: The Law
Creakkk
The door of the office opened. The three figures seated inside instantly turned to look at who had come in. Inside the office were Raze’s father, a slim man in corporate-looking attire, and a fat man with a heavy bald head.
Raze instantly knew who the viscount was. His eyes lingered on the fat man for a good five seconds before shifting to his father.
"Raze! What the hell are you doing in here?" his father barked, eyes burning with anger. Raze could tell that his father was genuinely frustrated at the moment, and him walking in wasn’t helpful at all.
"Tsk, after your children made a lot of noise outside, one still proceeded to walk in. Do you have no control over your kids?" the viscount asked, his voice dripping with disdain and mockery. The baron’s face twisted in anger when he heard that. He clenched his fist and bit into his lower lip.
His eyes moved to the only person he could take his anger out on, Raze. But as their eyes met, Raze gave his father a soft nod and an assuring smile. The baron didn’t know why, but that smile somehow calmed his nerves slightly.
The rage wasn’t gone, but deep within, something asked him to trust his son. He was skeptical, unsure about it, but he decided to wait for a moment.
"Viscount Luke, I’d prefer if you kept talks about my family to the side. That isn’t what you are here for," the baron said, forcing himself to be calm as he spoke.
"Tsk, now you have the gall to speak to me? Your survival rests in my hands," the viscount said, faking an angry expression while slamming his fist into the table.
"It doesn’t," Raze suddenly chipped in, pulling the attention of the three.
"What did you say, brat?" the viscount snapped.
"Please don’t shout, you’re one loud tone away from a heart attack," Raze said. His words instantly stung the ears of the viscount and almost made the slim man and the baron laugh. They did everything in their power to stop themselves.
"You worthless brat!" the viscount burst out, bellowing at the top of his lungs in anger.
"You really don’t like your life, do you? Breathing so hard and yelling, your poor lungs can only take so much, not to mention your heart," Raze continued, then walked forward.
"I’ll have you killed for speaking to me that way!" the viscount barked.
"Tsk." Raze clicked his tongue and then looked at the slim man. "I’m guessing you’re the legal advisor here, right?" he asked. The man was taken by surprise. He hadn’t said anything to Raze, so how did Raze know?
"Are you?" Raze asked again.
"Yes yes, I am," he replied hastily.
"Tell your boss the law when it comes to disrespecting a noble, and how you can set it up in court to have that person punished," Raze said.
The man’s eyes widened slightly. He looked at Raze, then his gaze shifted to the viscount, who was evidently pissed. He wanted to back away and not speak.
"What’s wrong? Before my son came in, you spoke perfectly. I’m sure the viscount also wants to know where this is going," the baron said.
’Raze, you better know what you’re doing. I’m risking everything here on a whim and supporting you rather than reprimanding you,’ the baron thought.
"Go ahead," the viscount said.
The man took a deep breath and then spoke. "Based on the law, if a noble is disrespected in a threatening way by someone lower, or anything threatening was said, he can take said person to court. His word of mouth can lead to certain punishments like whipping or some days in the dungeons.
"This only applies in the case of commoners. But if the noble wants to push for a death sentence, he must bring two to five witnesses that can accurately retell what happened and serve as witnesses.
"The commoner is also allowed to have two or three witnesses to offer their accounts in defense, and the judge, who can be the count or someone from the Senate, will rule.
"But in the regard of two nobles, regardless of standing, both are seen as assets to the kingdom, and the case is seen as serious. The accusing noble must bring at least five witnesses, or if he doesn’t have that, can bring two or three along with sufficient evidence against them.
"The defending noble can do exactly the same. Though in court the higher noble’s word tends to have more value and sway the judge more, his evidence still needs to point to the fact that it was indeed true."
The man finished speaking, and only now did he understand why Raze had asked for this.
’This sly kid... tsk, he might have just put me in trouble,’ the man thought, looking down.
Raze smiled and then looked at the viscount. "Now, from what you heard, do you think you can do anything to me for what I’ve said?" Raze asked.
The face of the viscount twisted. He wasn’t a dumb man, so he understood that this entire ordeal was Raze telling him that he couldn’t do a thing against him regardless of what he said.
Raze smiled as he saw the realization form on his face. "Now that you know you can’t do anything, I’ll speak to you however I want," he said, then looked at his father. "What does this fatsoul want?"
His father, who was visibly impressed, quickly shook off his shock and responded, "Thirty percent of all our lands to flag off all taxes that we owe the count."
"Wait, you said owe the count, not the viscount," Raze said.
"Yes, the baron has paid taxes, but his taxes only cover the amount that should go to the viscount. Which means no tax has been going to the count, and your father owes the count for about a year now," the legal advisor explained.