I was excommunicated from the Holy Knights

18 – Merchant of Bennett 8

Cazeros advanced to the center of the court.

Then, taking out the pen she had been holding in her left hand and a large piece of paper she had prepared in advance, she began to write something down.

Her act of writing letters in the middle of the courtroom without even using a desk.

As a result, people’s attention automatically began to focus on her.

Cazeros’ behavior was meticulously recording while looking around people as if he were an inspector inspecting something.

As a result, the atmosphere in the courtroom, which had been hectic for a while, became momentarily calm.

Recognizing that, Cazeros threw the fan he was holding in his left hand to the floor.

and..

“Zhhhhh!”

“!?”

“uh?”

Immediately after that, Cazeros tore the paper he was writing on.

As a result, people’s faces instantly began to show a bit of surprise and wonder about the reason for her behavior.

and..

This series of actions…

Right after he succeeded in drawing scattered attention to himself through a ‘performance’ similar to how the savior drew people’s attention by writing letters on the floor in the past.

Cazeros is slow as it is.

Among the contracts presented as evidence in this trial, along with the part of the paper he had torn, he held the page in Shylock’s possession intact in front of the judge and said,

“Before starting the argument. Your Honor, please look closely at these things.”

“huh? eww… Yeah.. Ah.. Okay.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed by Cazeros’ behavior, the judge took the situation a little more seriously than before.

As he was originally a loose-fitting character who was not firm and loose, he began to look at the contract in front of him and the random writings she wrote, just as Cazeros said.

And the moment he saw it… he was automatically able to recognize one fact.

“… ? this is something Why is the handwriting on the contract similar to yours?”

“Yes, Your Honor, it is because I was writing with my left hand just like when I was filling out the contract form.”

A trick similar to the one from one famous classic revenge novel.

If you write with your left hand, you can write with a different, uniform feel from your own handwriting.

It is a method often used by writers to hide their own handwriting, and Anton had also filled out the contract form this way to ensure that the evidence was concealed.

Of course, now it has become a self-propelled water that reverses the atmosphere.

“That… was it? Hmm.. Although there are definitely subtle differences, it feels quite similar. But what does that mean? Even if this form was filled out with the left hand, is there any guarantee that the author was not Shylock or one of his men?”

“Yes, but at least I can open up the possibility that this is not 100% written by Mr. Shylock.”

“Um… Yeah… that’s true, but…”

The judge seemed to back down slightly at Cazeros’ words.

Although this alone could not completely reverse the situation. At least Cazeros’ actions served as a reminder to the judge and the people that this case was not to be judged so simply.

‘People are easily swept away by their emotions, but at the same time, they are also beings who think a lot about it in many ways when the slightest suspicion arises… just like Santana-sama said…’

Cazeros succeeded in stopping the one-sided atmosphere for a while.

Although that time won’t last very long.

At least through this, it was clear that the time and psychological space for the defense was obtained.

As soon as he seized the opportunity, Cazeros immediately looked at Anton in front of him and spoke in a slightly chilly voice.

“Then, I will still reserve judgment on this part, and I will ask the victim some questions from the position of a lawyer.”

“..Umm.. me.. you mean me? well, good Let’s try it.”

Anton responds with a bit of perplexity, sensing that the atmosphere is going strangely contrary to his thoughts.

Seeing him like that, Cazeros asked him in a quiet voice.

“The victim said that he had no choice but to sign this contract because he obviously needed money. Is that right?”

“That… that’s right. As a Merchant, it is not uncommon to suddenly need a large amount of money as you operate a guild. Because of this, I was forced to borrow money on the terms offered by the filthy Jew.”

Anton, though shaken a little, still maintains a fearful appearance as he talks about the situation at the time.

Regarding his answer, Cazeros continued to ask him questions.

“In other words.. the defendant signed the contract with the consequences prepared under circumstances that could not be helped in his own way, does that mean?”

“okay. That’s right.”

Anton nodded clearly and spoke.

Regarding this, Cazeros did not stop there and continued to ask Anton questions.

In a slightly different atmosphere…

“Then the accused… does that mean that you did not know that the expression contained in this contract… that giving up one’s heart in case one breaks one’s promise is a common idiom among the Jews?”

“And.. an idiom.. was there such a thing? I have no idea. There is no way that I, a faithful member of the church in the first place, knew the idioms of the wicked Jews.”

“Is that so? But it’s surprising… that the person who basically went to borrow money from a Jew didn’t even know this basic expression…”

“that… What do you mean! Again, I’ve never heard of an expression like that!”

Anton answers Cazeros’ question with a strong tone.

If he admits this part, Shylock desperately denies it, as it would be like admitting to himself that he did nothing wrong.

at that time..

“Counsel! Are you intimidating the victim now? Currently, the victim is suffering from the mental pressure felt by Shylock. No matter how dirty you are to defend the heretics, stop being more rude than this!”

A potion that opens its mouth while recognizing that the situation is showing signs of worsening.

Regarding this, Cazeros nodded slowly, stepped back from Anton as if he knew, and then spoke to the judge and observers.

“This phrase, which is the cause of this trial, is simply an idiomatic expression among Jews used in the Western sense to keep a promise with all their might. It is unreasonable to see that the accused, Mr. Shylock, tried to kill the victim with just such a thing.”

Common sense that anyone who has studied a little about Jews can know roughly.

For now, based on this, Cazeros tried to defend Shylock’s actions, but Potion, who had anticipated her behavior to some extent, immediately spoke in a firm tone.

“No, it is not. Even if there is such an expression, it is used only among the Jews. We, the members of the church, cannot be judged by such expressions! It’s simply that Shylock used a cunning trick to cover up his sins!”

“Where is the proof? Is there any proof that this phrase is really a promise that the victim, Anton, will give his heart to Shylock?”

“The proof is here! look! The tears of the victims who felt their lives were in danger by those evil Jews… the tears of the holy believers are the proof!”

In fact, Anton is full of tears and seems to be carrying all the suffering in the world.

As Shylock did not take any physical action in relation to this phrase, this was, of course, nonsense.

However, unfortunately, this place was full of people who basically hated Jews and had no choice but to defend the believers of the church.

Even if it’s hard to completely agree, at least it’s not very pleasing to see Shylock, who is recognized as ‘evil’, doing well, so the overall mood is moving toward sympathy for Anton anyway.

In this world where there is no principle of presumption of innocence, if the situation goes ambiguous, the judgment will be decided according to the atmosphere.

In response to this, Potion’s mouth began to smile slightly in victory, and Anton, who was wringing out tears, also began to smile quietly inwardly.

at that time..

“… All right. If so.. it can’t be helped.”

Cazeros speaks in a heavy voice

As a result, Shylock and his butlers, who were watching the situation, began to see deep despair on their faces.