The trial for the boy stealing Aileen’s purse was going to be held in the temple hall that day. Mr. Gideon and his wife had been invited as witnesses. According to the king’s law, gerpas were to act as police for violations of religious law and civil crimes, so the king can focus more on the kingdom’s politics, military, and economic welfare.

Before going to the court hall, Aileen asked her husband to stop by the temple so they could pray for their children. Although she wasn’t familiar with Herod’s beliefs, Aileen felt an inner calm when praying.

It was quiet. All the people had gone to the court hall. However, Aileen saw that there was a shadow movement. It seems like someone was there, hiding behind a stone wall.

Feeling curious, Aileen walked over to her tiptoes. She held her breath when seeing the figures of a man and a woman hugging and kissing. Her eyes widened as she recognized the two figures.

It was Bram and Princess Isabel! Aileen was aghast. How far has their relationship been? That question just popped into her head.

A few seconds later, the two lovebirds noticed her presence and immediately ran out of the temple.

Aileen and Gideon looked at each other in silence—not knowing what to do.

“Just pretend you never saw them,” said Gideon in a low voice. They then left the temple and headed for the trial hall.

Five great gerpas were present as judges. One of them was Karl Agerd, the old gerpa that offered Gideon’s sacrifice. He served as the head of the temple and was responsible for leading the trial.

Queen Julia represented her husband, who couldn’t attend the trial. She greeted Aileen and Gideon and sat down next to each other. In a trial, the king or his representatives were usually present to know persons who potentially disturb the city’s security and order. The king can also take part in monitoring how the law was enforced.

The defendant’s father was also present to testify in the hope of mitigating the final sentence. Dressed in rags, he was just a poor commoner.

“Where is my daughter? The trial is starting.” Queen Julia looked right and left, searching for Isabel. Her daughter came with her, but they separated for a while. Isabel reasoned she wanted to pray at the temple.

Gideon signaled his wife not to share what they had seen.

After searching all over the room, the queen found her daughter standing next to Bram near the hall entrance.

Huh… That damn boy again, Queen Julia grumbled. She didn’t like the relationship between her daughter and the young gerpa.

“I heard you want to match your son with my daughter?” Queen Julia asked Aileen.

“That’s right, Your Majesty. If you approve,” said Aileen.

“Where is he now? Why hasn’t he arrived yet? I don’t like him getting so close to that gerpa.”

“I don’t know either. He should have arrived last week,” said Aileen. She was also worried about the fate of his children.

“Relax, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” The queen tried to console Aileen. “When he arrived, I will arrange the marriage soon. That gerpa boy. He likes to do everything in his own way. I suspect that lately my daughter often goes out at night to meet him. Besides, he’s just an adopted son of the ruler of the northern region. I don’t like it there. It’s freezing,”

“They spend too much money on religious interests despite their wealth. If you visit the north, you will find a temple more magnificent than the castle,” said Queen Julia being unhappy.

The northern region was indeed the center of Herod’s belief growth. It was the location where the philosopher gained enlightenment and began to spread Herod’s teachings. Bram was ordered to go to the capital to help spread this belief.

A moment later, the gerpa head started the trial with a prayer. He clenched his fist, placed it on his forehead, and moved it to his chest as a religious symbol. After that, he ordered a young gerpa to bring the accused kid into the courtroom.

“Please forgive me,” plead the thief—looking frightened—as he was seated before the jury.

Ignoring the defendant’s pleas, Karl began questioning the ten-year-old boy, identified as Henry.

“You were charged with attempted theft. Do you admit what you did?” asked Karl. His voice was firm and intimidating.

“I… Yes, sir.” With a choked voice, the kid admitted everything he had done. He reasoned he had to do it since his mother was sick and his family was having financial difficulties. His father said the same thing. He couldn’t work since he had to take care of his sick wife.

After the jurors finished questioning the defendant, it was now Gideon’s turn to testify. He told the incident as it is. Out of pity for Henry’s family, he said that he had forgiven the boy. The noble also asked the jury to give him a lighter sentence.

Since all the statements had been submitted, the five jurors must decide what sanctions are appropriate for the crime. They then discussed it for a while. Meanwhile, the courtroom was getting more boisterous. People gossiped about punishment suitable for the thief.

Besides being attended by related parties, the public may also come to see the trial and execution. This was intended so that people can learn the values of justice from Herod’s religious teachings.

After a few minutes, Karl stood up and raised his hand to calm the audience down. As the case had been decided, Karl then spoke on behalf of the other jurors. “We will give him five strikes on the right hand. This is a warning that any crime would get its consequence!”

Considering that the defendant was young and willing to cooperate, the sentence was deemed sufficient. The condition of his family who had economic difficulties was also a consideration not to impose the punishment of hand cutting, which was usually given to thieves. Although objecting to the punishment given, the defendant could do nothing.

“You should remember that stealing is a mistake! If you are in need, ask the temple for help! We will try to help,” said Karl. He wanted to convey the message that there was a way to get out of problems without breaking the law.

After that, Karl ordered that the sentence be carried out immediately while the other criminals were brought before the court. To be efficient, trials and executions were held for one day for several people at once.

The young gerpa swiftly took the thief out of the courtroom into the courtyard to be executed. They tied Henry’s hands to a block of wood and forced him to his knees. The boy looked at his father with teary eyes. His fear was obvious as her tiny body trembled even before the punishment was handed down. The executor came bringing a whip stick.

“Please, forgive me…” begged Henry. However, the executor ignored it. He was only in charge of carrying out orders. Without hesitation, he swung his whip to hit Henry’s right hand. A sudden heart-wrenching shriek broke the silence. Henry’s hands trembled even more. His tears melted from enduring the pain.

As if not wanting to let the defendant get the slightest leniency, the executioner immediately swung a second lash, making Henry scream more hysterically.

“Please… stop it.” Henry’s father knelt before the executioner. He could not allow the child he loved to be treated so rudely. However, he was helpless when a gerpa pulled him out.

The third lash hit the same spot as the previous lash. Blood was flowing from the wounds. Henry’s face and eyes reddened with pain. However, the boy was strong enough not to lose his consciousness.

“I can’t see this anymore. Let’s go.” Aileen, who had closed her eyes earlier, asked her husband to leave. They then bid farewell to Queen Julia, who seemed used to seeing such punishments.

“Do you think the punishment is fair?” Aileen asked her husband’s opinion while leaving the temple.

“I feel sorry for him, but… yes, it seems like the punishment was fair enough. When there are only a few officers in charge of keeping the city safe, a sentence like this can have a deterrent effect on those who think of committing a crime.”

“But wouldn’t this lead to a grudge against the government?” Aileen asked further.

“Possibly, but their families don’t have the power to retaliate. It would be a different story if the culprit was someone of influence. Laws that were sharp down but blunted up were a common government practice.”

“We are lucky to be born into noble circles. Sometimes I feel sorry for those born poor. I think something is wrong with our government system. This feels unfair.” Aileen expressed her feelings.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right, but I don’t think the world is fair.” Gideon took his wife’s hand and continued on their way back to the castle.

***

Meanwhile, Eric continued to gallop his horse towards the capital. He focused on his goal of getting to Kingsford. He stopped occasionally, only to eat and rest his horse. By then, it was getting dark. However, he couldn’t find any lodging in the vicinity. Even though he wanted to keep moving, his horse was too tired. It didn’t want to take another step, forcing Eric to give his horse a chance to rest.

Eric led his horse into the meadow. Meanwhile, he laid to rest under a tree. Inwardly, he was curious why there was nothing around there. No lodge, no shop, no one, nothing. Luckily, he had a loaf of bread he bought several hours ago in a store along the way. He ate it to satisfy his hunger.

The wind blew gently, relaxing his tired body. Eric fell fast asleep after finishing his bread.

Towards midnight, the sound of rustling grass suddenly woke Eric from his slumber. Feeling danger, the knight got on his guard.

Bandits, he thought. A flash of black shadow appeared and disappeared from behind the trees. There were three people… no, four… or five. He took out his sword from its scabbard. His eyes moved to the right, left, and back. His body spun around, following the black shadow that kept moving from tree to tree.

The bandits were moving closer and closer. A few seconds later, Eric saw a knife flying toward him. The clanging sound of metal clashing was heard as the knight fended it off.

The next attack—which came from behind—could be parried. Eric countered the attack with a swift kick to the opponent’s chest. One opponent fell to the ground, but two more rushed and attacked from both sides. Eric parried the sword slash from his right side while dodging another attack that was aimed at his neck.

Two more men ambushed from behind. Eric leaned back, blocking the incoming blow with his shoulder while making the opponent’s slash stop there. His elbows moved quickly to hit two of his opponents’ stomachs.

The knight retreated to take some distance while the bandits stepped little by little in a circle to surround Eric. Their faces were all covered in black cloth to hide their identity.

The next attack came again from behind. Eric turned his body to the side to avoid the slash from above. He then dropped his body backward to dodge another attack. Seeing the defense open, his feet swiftly kicked the opponent’s head, causing him to stagger backward.

Eric rolled on the ground as he continued to dodge. Fighting five people in the forest’s darkness was not a simple matter, even for a skilled fighter. After fighting for several minutes, he still couldn’t launch a deadly attack. The bandits forced Eric to keep dodging and parrying by launching attacks repeatedly. Metal and metal colliding create sparks in the night.

Up, down, right, and left, the attacks kept coming. Eric parries, jumps, ducks and rolls to survive. Over time, his body was tired and his breath panted. Constantly dodging was clearly not a solution. Understanding that there was no chance of winning, he looked for an opportunity to escape. He tried to run as fast as possible, but the bandits moved swiftly to confront and surround him again.

Eric fended off several attacks that came later. The clattering sound was heard repeatedly. In his exhaustion, Eric saw a small opportunity to attack. He slashed with his sword against the opponent’s body. Even though that attack successfully knocked down one opponent, it caused him slightly off guard. Another bandit took that chance and cut his leg with a sword. Eric dropped himself while rolling to avoid the next deadlier attack.

While enduring the pain, Eric tried to stand up again and brandished his sword. The opportunity to escape seems closed. He couldn’t move fast with his injured leg.

“Give me everything you’ve got!” said the bandit leader.

“NO WAY!” Eric refused firmly, even though his condition was getting weaker. As a knight, there was no way he would surrender.

“Then we will take it by force.” The four remaining criminals then charged with their swords drawn. Eric swung his sword again to withstand attacks that came from various directions. His injured leg made his movement slower.

As the loud clang of clashing swords broke the night silence, Eric continued to parry and dodge. On one occasion, he snatched the arm of an opponent. However, it was not a fatal wound. The villain could still launch his next attack, along with his three other comrades.

Eric continued to parry while moving back to keep his distance from his enemy. Unfortunately, because of the dark night, he did not see a root across his leg. He fell on his back. His defenses are wide open. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, one bandit stabbed the knight’s left thigh, making him scream in pain.

Even though the wound was deep, Eric didn’t give up. He slashed his opponent’s neck and killed him instantly. The three remaining criminals advanced fiercely. With a gaping wound on his leg, he can no longer stand. The knight was forced to withstand the attacks of his opponent in a sitting position—which wasn’t ideal at all.

Despite his best efforts, against three armed men in a tired and badly injured body, Eric had no chance. A criminal stabbed his right shoulder from behind. The knight screamed once more. His sword slipped out of his grip and clattered to the ground. A powerful kick followed, then landed right on his face. Eric fell to the ground, covered in blood.

However, it didn’t stop there. Another criminal stepped on the wound on Eric’s thigh, making him scream in pain. His hands wriggled and pounded the ground. “JUST KILL ME!!” Eric couldn’t take the pain anymore. His mouth tasted fishy from the amount of blood, his eyes were watery, and his body was sweating cold.

“Take it all!” The criminal who stepped on Eric’s feet said to his friends. One bandit then took a bag of gold that Ogier had given him, while another took his sword. They knew the quality of Eric’s sword was excellent.

After that, a criminal intends to kill Eric but was prevented by his friends. “Just let him suffer a little longer and bleed to death.” He then stabbed Eric’s right thigh to make sure he couldn’t go anywhere.

“Don’t forget the horse that’s still tethered there.” After that, they left Eric lying weak and almost dead.

In the middle of the dark, Eric groaned softly in pain. The stab wounds in his both legs and shoulders, plus the bleeding from his nose and mouth were so painful. His weak body could no longer move and shivered in cold.

In desperation, his consciousness dwindled. His vision was getting darker. As it was getting close to dawn, Eric couldn’t stand it anymore. Complete darkness engulfed him, numbing all his senses.