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(Simulator) Chapter 121: Elders: Why Doesn’t the Twelve Tables Apply to Us?
🕑 Added 2024-11-14 12:54:23 +0000 UTCAt this point, many senators felt it was utterly absurd!
In full view of the public, Lista had severed an innocent senator's arm in the central square.
If this did not violate Roman law, what could be darker?
The elders could only see blackness before their eyes.
At this moment, Night addressed their angry, disbelieving "curiosity."
"According to Roman law, when a person betrays their country and there is solid evidence of their crime...
As a noble, I have the right to execute first and report later, to impose a degree of punishment on the criminal for treason to prevent their escape.
If necessary, they may even be sentenced to death immediately!
This is the second matter I wish to discuss at the Civilian Assembly, alongside the establishment of the new laws.
A public trial for certain guilty individuals!"
What?!!
Treason?!
"You… you’re slandering us!"
The elders trembled, both shocked and enraged.
"Are you trying to say that Lord Babos betrayed Rome? That’s impossible...
As a member of the Senate, Lord Babos has always been dedicated and loyal, never one to betray Rome!"
"Slandering the nobility is punishable by death, Lord Lista...
Additionally, you have committed intentional harm against Lord Babos.
Even if you were executed twice, it would be insufficient.
Moreover, according to the Ninth Table of the Twelve Tables, no one has the right to convict or sentence anyone to death without a proper trial."
....
Night however said,
"Mr. Pompey, perhaps there’s a problem with your hearing.
I have made myself very clear—
I hold irrefutable evidence of Lord Babos’s treason, and as a noble,
I have the authority to administer immediate punishment.
When laws conflict with one another, we accept the one most appropriate for the situation.
Special circumstances require special measures!"
Night spoke slowly, calmly, and then signaled for people to bring out evidence that had been carefully prepared.
These included letters and documents.
When Night was planning his action against a group of elders, he ensured he was not unprepared.
Though it might be satisfying to violently overthrow the Senate…
That alone would not completely tarnish its reputation, and would risk leaving a mark of infamy.
While he wouldn’t mind earning a reputation as a tyrant or demon king since this was a simulated universe, but after all—he had chosen to support Tiberius’s succession.
Even with the Roman blessings that now allowed him to march through the Senate, he had not changed his plan.
He would continue with the original strategy—
Not only would he openly execute the Senate’s nobles in public, but he would do so thoroughly, making these guys powerless to fight back.
Since Tiberius began to gather support from the Roman military forces,
Though some noble generals, led by Scipio the Younger, refrained from taking sides, they had gathered substantial intelligence from civilian officers within the ranks.
After being betrayed by Roman officials during the Spanish campaign,
Tiberius never ceased his investigation to identify who was responsible for harming soldiers on the front lines.
The investigation revealed a disaster: a vast network of power gradually unraveled, connecting officers at various levels.
Among these discoveries, clear evidence emerged that a particular noble officer had been in correspondence with Babos, a senator, discussing their collusion to embezzle military funds—secrets that could never be revealed publicly.
And Babos was not alone—several veterans were implicated.
Later, Gaius Gracchus, Tiberius’s younger brother, used his connections within the army to investigate Babos and employed various tactics.
Eventually, he found more critical evidence at Babos’s home—items like records of embezzled funds and other damning documents.
Collecting this evidence relied heavily on Night’s influence.
With his enhanced abilities, Night, who was practically a superhuman within Rome, found it easy to track down the evidence he needed.
After obtaining this material, Gaius Gracchus—a man historically known for his ruthlessness—reported a law,
The law regarding special circumstances that allow nobles to take direct action to Night.
Even though Night was only familiar with the Twelve Tables and other Roman laws that became more prominent in later generations, he hadn’t initially known about these legal loopholes that could be exploited for arbitrary acts.
According to Gaius, this legal clause had been specifically added as a safeguard when a noble accidentally killed a commoner.
Suddenly, Night wasn’t surprised anymore…
After all, in Rome, even the sacred Twelve Tables were not set in stone.
The nobles could interpret and shape the law to suit their needs.
The existence of the law primarily served the nobility.
This situation only improved in later periods when Roman law gained clearer and more explicit provisions.
However, even after collecting the evidence, they hadn’t immediately acted against the elders, wanting to avoid raising suspicion.
Instead, they waited for the right moment to capture all the elders in one calculated move.
And so, Night presented the evidence and openly accused several elders in front of the gathered assembly.
The faces of many elders turned pale, as if they had seen a ghost.
Some of the evidence looked painfully familiar leaving them unable to comprehend how it had fallen into Night’s hands.
Certain documents had been kept hidden in secret rooms within their homes.
When?!
How did he manage to obtain it?
Curse him!
....
“I’m sorry, elders.
I was hoping to play this game with you a bit longer, but our little game ends here.
Now, it’s time for your judgment!
I will accuse you of your many crimes, and I will judge you before everyone here and sentence you to death!"
...
As Night’s words fell, the atmosphere shifted, becoming as heavy and ominous as a brewing storm.
Roman citizens, having seen the undeniable evidence, roared in fury…
They shouted to send the senators to the gallows and the guillotine!
The sentiment was clear: the senators were guilty, and they deserved death.
By now, the elders were drenched in cold sweat.
Night had shown, through his actions, that he was willing to take real measures—
Applying laws that the nobles usually regarded as mere formalities or jokes, many of which were created by the nobles themselves as protective measures against the common people.
For instance, nobles had the privilege to "execute first and report later" if deemed necessary.
Now, he was using this very privilege against the nobles themselves.
Such actions would never be accepted under normal circumstances.
But now, as with the "Hortensian Law," every legal loophole in Night’s hands had turned into a weapon, a sharp blade cutting into the nobility.
Lawless! Truly lawless.
.
.
.
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