Chapter 26 Revolt of Hadrianus (V)

Due to Hercule's encirclement tactic, practically all the nobles died because they were in the front giving directions. The ones who left mercenaries in command or only contributed money survived; they were captured right away by Hercule though.

Hadrianus tried to seek refuge in Bulgaron, but the Bulgaroni captured him instead and sent him to Hercule to repay their debt.

Then… a trial convened.

"…Let's make this short, shall we? Pray tell, why were you plotting rebellion?"

"T-That's…"

Hercule summoned the nobles to the Senate and inquired them one by one. Under the judging eyes of the senators, one noble replied.

"I-I wanted to free Your Majesty from the claws of your wicked retainers…"

"I see. Why did you acclaim Hadrianus emperor, then?"

The noble was at a loss for words. He frantically shook his head and rocked his brain trying to find an excuse.

Seeing his reaction, Hercule said while grinning, "You was deceived, right?"

"D-Deceived?"

"You was deceived by another noble, who is richer and owns more land than you."

At that point, the nobleman realized what Hercule was getting at.

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"T-That is correct!! I was deceived completely!!"

"By whom. Give me his name."

"The traitor who deceived me is…"

The noble vivaciously laid the blame for his wrongdoing on another noble who was more powerful than himself. The senators bore into him with scornful gazes.

"Properly speaking, crime of treason should be met with the death penalty and the revocation of noble status. But your house has served the Julianos Clan for many generations. It would be in poor taste for me to disregard those achievements and put you to death, abolish your house, confiscate your property and throw your family members and vassals out in the streets."

Hercule said exaggeratedly.

"I sentence you, the family head, to thirty years of penal labour. Your wife, children and vassals are excused. You shall also have to pay a fine of…"

Hercule nonchalantly specified the noble's punishment. It was remarkably lenient for someone who conspired rebellion.

"That is all."

"Understood… I am most grateful for Your Majesty the Emperor's lenient judgement. I will never forget this debt."

"Sure, sure. There are still other people waiting for trial."

Debt or whatever, he will forget about it in three years anyway, Hercule thought while watching the noble promptly get taken away.

"Okay, next. You are…"

After that, Hercule continued to ask small to average nobles if they were deceived, encouraging them to testify that they were tricked by great nobles, then he gave them light punishments.

Why did Hercule do such a thing? There were several reasons.

First of all, it's a bad idea to kill off too many nobles. It wasn't like wiping out all the noble clans who took part in the rebellion would curtail the nobility's influence. Other nobles would just fill in the power vacuum, and new great nobles would spring up from there.

In addition, it was mostly non-elven nobles that took part in the rebellion. They were only a small fraction of all non-elven nobles… But if Hercule punished them too harshly, the non-elven nobility would lose influence and the elven counterpart would consequently get empowered. Hercule was not an elven supremacist.

If Hercule repressed non-elves too much, they might very well become the spark of new troubles. It was better for him to give them some peace of mind.

The second reason was, small to average nobles weren't a threat. They had already spent all their funds in the last war; they would fall into ruin on their own with Hercule doing anything. Making them pay up was more than enough to curb their power.

That's why Hercule let them off with just a fixed fine and a jail term.

And the third reason was…

"Then, next…"

Standing on the stand was a great noble among the top brass in Hadrianus's faction. This man held immense power and wealth among non-elven nobles and even had clout on the central government. His influence was on such a scale that even Hercule could not brush aside.

Somehow, the man still looked audaciously pompous. He was probably thinking that no matter what punishment he received, it wouldn't come down to the death penalty. That his clan would not be abolished; at most he would pay a hefty fine and stay in prison for about ten years.

How was he able to think like that? That's simple to explain.

He knew about how Hercule listened to the pleas for leniency and spared most nobles.

Many nobles, even some among Hercule's faction, either had ties with or were indebted to this great noble. If Hercule bore his subordinates in mind then he had no choice but to deal with this man leniently.

That was why the great noble was so confident. He opened his mouth, casually beginning to explain himself.

"I…"

"I deprive you of your rights. Dismissed."

Hercule interrupted to announce his verdict.

Eh? A look of surprise appeared on the great noble's face… which promptly turned pale.

In the Lemurian Empire, deprivation of rights was an even heavier punishment than the death penalty.

In principle, being executed by beheading was an honourable way to go as a noble.

But having one's rights deprived of was different. A person subjected to the deprivation of rights penalty would lose all his legal privileges and possessions within imperial territory. His honour included.

You're probably thinking, that's still better than being put on the chopping block, isn't it? But that is too naïve.

A regular death row convict was guaranteed of his legal rights, honour and social status; his execution would be carried out as painlessly as possible.

A dead man walking who was deprived of all his rights, however… It's obvious what would happen to such a person.

The most terrifying thing was… the body of someone who got himself killed after having his rights deprived of would be burnt to ashes.

Cremation is, puzzlingly, a common practice in Japan. But in the Messianic faith's view, a dead person whose body was cremated would not go to heaven but fall into purgatory.

Death was frightening enough. Having your corpse incinerated after death was even more terrifying.

"P-Please wait!! I…"

"Guards, throw this trash out. The next one is waiting."

The guards dragged the great noble away at Hercule's order. It differed greatly from how they handled the other nobles… It was like they were throwing an insect's remains out of the window.

That's right—from the start, Hercule's target was the great nobles who couldn't simply be tried in court.

By making the smaller nobles lay all the blame on them, nobody could object even if Hercule punished harshly them. In addition, the nobles who had betrayed their allies once wouldn't dare conspire together again. Making them paranoid was another goal of his.

Hercule unconcernedly dealt with the great nobles. The light offenders were stripped of all their possessions and sent to the gaol; others were beheaded. The most unlucky ones were deprived of their rights.

And thus, a total of twenty great nobles vanished from the Lemurian Empire.

The only one remaining on the list was…

"So, Esteemed Elder Brother. No, Hadrianus the traitor. Have any excuse to say?"

Hercule questioned the last defendant, Hadrianus.

"Excuse?"

With a pale expression, Hadrianus asked Hercule.

"Hmm, like… somebody tricked you, for example."

To tell the truth, Hercule wasn't thinking about killing Hadrianus. He didn't really feel a need to kill him.

Hadrianus by himself had little power. Hercule had already thoroughly purged the great nobles. The smaller nobles were now too paranoid to conspire together, and even if they could somehow join forces, it was doubtful how much strength they could muster.

It's fine to spare Hadrianus' life and just confine him somewhere, Hercule reasoned. They were blood-related brothers, more or less. Killing him would do more harm than good to Hercule's reputation.

He didn't intend to just let Hadrianus off though. Hercule still had to keep face.

The minimum conditions were…

He must submit to Hercule completely. He had to acknowledge his error. He also must blame everything on the great nobles.

These three conditions.

"I… I…"

After murmuring for a little while, Hadrianus said to Hercule,

"Your Imperial Majesty. It was all my fault… P-Please, spare my life…"

"Smart decision."

Hercule smiled and sentenced Hadrianus to life imprisonment. Inside, he thought,

(As I had promised you, Your Highness the Empress Dowager, I tried my best to compromise.)