A Crusader with System in the Middle Ages

"You bastard, you’re asking for it..." Belem snarled through gritted teeth.

"Did you hear that? What did he just say? ’Bastard’? What does he think you all are, esteemed nobles? Is *this* the equality between Tuscans and Normans that the Marquis talks about?" Cesare gloated.

"Do Tuscans never argue amongst themselves?

Just because the one cursing is a Norman and the one being cursed is a Tuscan—just because they were born in different places—this can be escalated into an issue of inequality?

If a single argument can be escalated into an issue of inequality,

then I say that so-called equality is far too fragile.

Is it verbal equality that you want?

If it is, then I suppose everyone who ever gets into an argument should be thrown in prison.

Let me tell you what equality is.

The equality I speak of is not about whether a Norman or a Tuscan calls the other a bastard.

It is equality before the law!

Whether you are a Tuscan or a Norman, there is no special treatment under the law. Anyone who commits a crime must be punished!

Even if that sinner is a noble Count!

Now, let me tell you what false equality is!

False equality is when you cannot call someone a bastard to their face, but you receive preferential treatment under the law because of your Identity and ethnicity!

It is when a murderer is pardoned simply because of his ethnic Identity!

Calling someone a ’bastard’ is a matter of morality, not a matter of law!

If you start legislating morality, then anyone who relieves themselves in the street had better watch out, because that could land them in prison!

Now, tell your lords, is this the kind of false equality you truly desire?"

Eric’s gaze swept across the people in the main hall.

The crowd began to avoid his eyes.

"He’s right. It only matters if it’s written into law. What have we been arguing about?"

"If we start putting matters of morality into the law, the sheriffs will make a fortune."

"If this Norman Marquis can actually do what he says..."

The crowd began to lean in Eric’s favor.

"That’s not the point! The point is that Count Belem, even after being punished, has shown no remorse! Therefore, I demand that the Holy See impose further punishment—a spiritual punishment!" Cesare cried out.

"My esteemed Tuscan vassals, nobles of the various cities of Italy, townsfolk, and citizens. You are likely unfamiliar with the full story behind this case.

As Administrative Officer Cesare just said, a person’s Identity and origins do not determine whether they are good or evil.

A man may have a rugged face and a fiery temper, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. We all know many city butchers are just like that.

They are unkempt, powerfully built, and short-tempered. This is because they deal with animals all day in a business that requires spilling blood. Day after day, they do nothing but swing their axes in their shops, and over time, their personalities are molded by this work.

It is a result of their lives, their profession, and their environment.

We Normans are the same. The lands of the Normans are not as fertile as Italy’s, nor is our commerce as prosperous.

But our population is large, and our small patch of land cannot support us all.

We are forced to leave the land that raised us and travel to faraway places to seek a living.

Yet we have nothing to our names. Our only recourse is our bodies and our Longswords. We can do nothing but endlessly swing our Longswords and Lances.

Because we are not as clever as the Italians, nor as fortunate, the Sword is the only thing we can rely on.

We are forced to make ourselves terrifying, martial, and fearsome, but killing is, in truth, a painful thing for any human being.

Every Norman, when he first steps onto a battlefield, feels that same fear. He feels timid and thinks of running away.

God teaches us to be peaceful.

But in order to survive, we are often forced to betray that creed.

If we do not, we cannot go on living.

Can you imagine it?

Even in a noble family with twelve children, eleven of them are ultimately forced to leave and wander.

There are countless such unfortunate families in Normandy.

Belem was born into such a family. The Montgomery family are merely recent upstarts.

They only began to rise with his father, Roger."

Then Eric walked over to Belem and pulled open his shirt. His upper body was covered in dense welts. Most had already scabbed over, but some were still seeping blood.

The nobles felt a stir of pity at the gruesome sight.

"Just a few days ago, only one person filed a complaint with the Marchioness: this lady’s husband, Antonio, a noble of Florence. And yet, as everyone knows, under the laws of Normandy, ten freemen must testify together before a man can be convicted of a crime.

Perhaps being convicted by only two freemen is in keeping with Tuscan tradition, but to Normans, this is incomprehensible. Nevertheless, this Count Belem whom you detest was still willing to obey the ruling of the Marchioness, the Holy See, and the College of Cardinals.

He did so to atone to God for his own alleged and unproven actions, which may have caused Lady Lucrezia to misunderstand him.

Some say this is the sign of a guilty conscience.

But I must speak in his defense. Under the laws of Normandy, this charge of seduction would not even be valid. At that time, I had not yet been crowned the Tuscan Marquis, so he could have easily used his Identity as a Norman to escape a Tuscan trial.

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