"I remember. I'll never forget it. When I testified in court, the victim's mother went mad with rage," Srimani said absently. "But what could she do? She was just a widowed peasant woman who had been unable to afford even the bail for a second appeal."
"Grand Judge Brennan, that impartial judge," Tales said, breaking his long silence. "Didn't he say anything in court?"
Srimani shook his head.
"I was lucky Brennan wasn't assigned to that trial," the Defense Lawyer said with a bitter smile. "But even if he had been, what difference would it have made? He understood the law, while we... we understood the statutes—and Emerald City's rule of law was the finest in the Star Kingdom."
Tales fell silent.
"What happened to that peasant woman afterward?" Shilai pressed.
Srimani shook his head blankly.
"I don't know. I didn't go... I didn't dare ask."
He rubbed his face.
"And that was it. I escaped disaster. My superior said I had exceeded his expectations... In any case, he kept his promise and gave me a chance to qualify as an Alert Officer. 'You'll make a good Alert Officer,' he said. A good Alert Officer, haha..."
Srimani could not stop laughing, his face full of mockery.
"But what else could I do? Could I say no? My wife had been in poor health, physically and mentally, ever since giving birth, and the salary of a regular Alert Officer..." He sniffed, his eyes moist. "We... we could finally move into a bigger house and afford a servant."
But his eyes dimmed.
"But after I changed into my uniform, brimming with confidence, what they gave me wasn't a baton. It was paper, a pen, and ink..."
Tales frowned, having guessed what was coming.
Srimani nodded painfully.
"So, under my superior's orders, I