Chapter 28

Chapter 28 — The First Legal Principle: Indirect Perpetration (1)

Before making his proposal to the hunters, Doyul had agonized over the case for quite some time.

He had already figured out the facts.

But understanding what had happened and devising a strategy that could actually win the criminal proceedings were two entirely different matters.

"...Damn. How should I handle this?"

If the case were judged purely according to the substantive truth, each person's criminal liability would look something like this.

"Pasu and Seoko would be joint principals in murder."

The Ibang had died after being struck by three arrows fired in succession by Pasu and Seoko.

At that point, there was little practical value in determining which individual arrow had actually caused his death.

It was cleaner to treat the two hunters as joint principals who had committed the same act of murder together.

"If they had known he was an official when they killed him, it would amount to the murder of a government official. But in this case, it would simply be ordinary murder. They may have intended to kill someone, but they didn't know the person they shot was the Ibang."

And as for Jeongmu...

"...Jeongmu would be liable for instigating the murder of a government official."

Even in modern law, this sort of issue was complicated enough to have Supreme Court precedent on it.

And the current situation was even more troublesome.

"If I insist on the legally orthodox theory that Jeongmu instigated Pasu and Seoko, two problems arise."

The first problem.

Proving the truth would be almost impossible.

"To establish Jeongmu's instigation, I first have to prove Pasu and Seoko possessed intent to kill."

Doyul frowned.

"But why would those two ever confess that they intended to kill a person?"

And the second problem...

"...It would take far too long."

Before Jeongmu could be convicted as an instigator, the direct perpetrators, Seoko and Pasu, would first have to face criminal proceedings.

Only after Doyul somehow proved that they had murderous intent and had them convicted of murder would he even gain the opportunity to bring a second case against Jeongmu for instigation.

"But what if Jeongmu's plan was aimed at me?"

Doyul had already begun to see the outline of their scheme.

The most plausible explanation for why Jeongmu had chosen to come to Eonyang was that he wanted to lure Doyul away from Yeongsan.

A feint in the east to strike in the west.

"Jeongmu must have predicted there was a good chance Kim Jiseok would send me to Eonyang."

"In that case, the choice I need to make now is..."

Sometimes, in order to punish a greater evil, one had to show leniency toward a lesser one.

"W-What kind of offer are you making us?"

"Confess during the hearing that Jeongmu ordered you to do it."

Pasu and Seoko froze.

Is this man a ghost?

We never told him anything. How did he figure out that Jeongmu ordered us?

Even so, neither of them spoke.

"The reason you're keeping quiet is obvious."

"..."

"Confessing wouldn't benefit you in any way, would it?"

"...What are you talking about?"

Doyul's voice became heavy.

"Promise me."

"..."

"If you promise to testify, I intend to overturn the entire structure of the case."

"What... does that mean?"

"...Listen carefully."

"Y-Yes!"

Doyul explained his plan without hiding his displeasure.

The moment Pasu and Seoko understood what he meant, their eyes widened and they nodded frantically.

"W-We will!"

Jeongmu, tied tightly in rope, protested in panic.

"M-Me? The d-defendant?! There must be some misunderstanding!"

"We will begin the interrogation of the defendant, Jeongmu."

Doyul completely ignored Jeongmu's reddened face and said only what he wanted to say.

"First question. Did Pasu and Seoko intend to kill the Ibang?"

"...!"

Jeongmu had been struggling to understand the completely unexpected turn of events.

But the moment he heard the question, his mind sharpened.

What the hell is this?

I can't understand what that damned bastard is planning.

First he binds me and suddenly declares me the defendant, yet the first thing he asks is about those two?

Jeongmu thought carefully about which answer would benefit him most.

He soon reached a conclusion.

That bastard is definitely plotting something.

But one thing is certain. Admitting that Pasu and Seoko intended to kill would only hurt me.

After a brief pause, Jeongmu answered.

"...Naturally, they must not have known he was the Ibang. But why have you bound me, when I came here as their legal representative, and why are you asking me such questions?"

"Second question."

Doyul ignored him again.

"Did Pasu and Seoko know the target they were shooting at was a human being?"

Jeongmu's face twisted.

Damn it! What is this bastard thinking?!

The two questions sounded similar.

But they were completely different.

The first asked whether the hunters intended to kill a government official.

The second asked whether they even knew their target was human.

Pasu and Seoko truly had not known the target was the Ibang, so the first answer had been truthful.

However, Jeongmu had explicitly instructed them to shoot if someone who looked like a person came up the mountain.

So the truthful answer to the second question was yes.

Yet after considering his options, Jeongmu lied.

"...Naturally, they didn't even know it was a person. They were hunters who went up the mountain and mistakenly shot what they thought was game. It was simply an unfortunate accident."

His voice rose.

"But what does any of this have to do with me being treated as the defendant?!"

"...Third question."

Just as Doyul was about to continue...

"...!"

"...Huh?"

Yeoni arrived in Eonyang County.

Seeing the masked girl enter the government office with several government slaves, Choi Sihyeon frowned in confusion.

"Who is that, coming into the government office with her face covered?"

Doyul answered with obvious relief.

"...! She is the ojagin of Yeongsan County."

"...What? A-An ojagin?"

It was extremely unusual for an ojagin to leave the county where she worked.

Which meant that if this masked ojagin had come all the way to Eonyang...

Doyul and Choi Sihyeon reached the same conclusion.

...Kim Jiseok sent her here for a reason.

A satisfied smile appeared on Doyul's face.

As expected, Kim Jiseok is quick on the uptake.

He must have sent Yeoni to strengthen our position in the hearing.

This will make things easier.

After completing his judicial bargain with Pasu and Seoko, Doyul had already heard the entire truth of the case from them.

"Hm. Jeongmu gave you something like that?"

"Very good."

"Y-Yes... But if we reveal that, won't it also cause problems for us?"

"Don't worry about that."

"Huh?"

"The same substance can become poison or medicine depending on how it's used."

"Everything depends on how you use it."

If Yeoni is here, that means the first examination is finished.

And if Kim Jiseok sent her here after finishing the examination...

Yeoni abruptly held something out toward Doyul.

...Then the evidence has arrived too.

"Good work."

Nod. Nod!

Doyul patted Yeoni once on the head, then boldly unpacked what she had brought.

Damn it! Damn it! Daaaaamn it!

Jeongmu desperately tried to understand what was happening.

Nothing made sense.

That bastard definitely coaxed Pasu and Seoko into talking.

Otherwise, there would be no way he could put me in the defendant's position.

He must have gotten a confession out of them.

But... no matter how much I think about it, I don't understand.

There was one question Jeongmu simply couldn't answer.

What in the world did those idiots get promised that made them tell the truth?

Jeongmu had never trusted Seoko and Pasu.

But he had been certain they wouldn't confess.

The reason was simple.

If you admit that I ordered you to do it... then you two will also be punished for the serious crime of killing a person!

I warned you about that again and again.

So how in the world did he convince you to confess?!

Doyul read the evidence Yeoni had brought and the letter sent by Kim Jiseok.

Then he muttered quietly.

"Ugh. As expected. We really did need to finish this quickly."

This time, he turned toward Pasu and Seoko.

"I will now question the witnesses."

"P-Please ask!"

Jeongmu still couldn't understand the situation.

You fools! You idiots!

Did you really fail to understand something as simple as this?

If I die, you die with me!

Doyul smiled and held up a silver hairpin.

Part of its surface had darkened.

"Do you know what this means?"

"...? No, sir."

Doyul answered slowly.

"When a silver hairpin is inserted into a corpse, it can sometimes turn black."

"There are only two common explanations."

"The corpse has begun to rot..."

"Or the victim was poisoned."

"...! Th-That..."

"But the examination began shortly after the Ibang died, so the corpse could not possibly have decomposed enough to cause this."

"In other words..."

"This is evidence that the Ibang was poisoned."

Doyul looked at the two hunters.

"I'll ask again. Did you coat your arrows with poison?"

"...!"

Using poisoned arrows for ordinary hunting was uncommon.

That made the evidence highly suggestive of murderous intent.

However...

"W-Well! Yes, we sometimes use poison!"

Pasu hurriedly continued.

"But not some deadly poison! When hunting large animals, hunters sometimes use substances that increase bleeding or cause numbness!"

The silver hairpin could only indicate the presence of something poisonous.

It could not identify the exact substance.

So this was the best possible defense.

Doyul smiled at their answer.

"Then what poison was used, and what effect did it have?"

"...What? W-Well..."

The two men hesitated and couldn't answer.

Of course they can't.

"It seems you don't actually know what poison was applied to these arrows."

"W-We apologize, but... that is correct."

"...What?"

The people in the government office immediately sensed something strange.

Hunters used poison on their arrows, but don't know what poison it was?

Doyul continued questioning them.

"Going hunting without knowing what poison is on your own arrows is certainly unusual."

Seoko glanced at Jeongmu.

Then he squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out.

"...That's because someone else supplied the poison!"

"...!"

Jeongmu's face turned deathly pale.

Doyul looked toward him.

"The hunters testify that despite using the poison, they did not know what it was."

"Do you dispute that?"

Jeongmu had only one possible answer.

The poison had indeed been prepared by him.

And the hunters truly did not know what it was.

If he instead claimed that they had known exactly what poison they were using...

Then their intent to kill would be established.

And Jeongmu himself could then be punished for instigating murder.

"...They probably didn't know! Yes, they wouldn't have known!"

His voice cracked.

"But what does that have to do with me?!"

"I will ask Pasu and Seoko again."

"What...?"

Jeongmu stared blankly at Doyul.

Doyul ignored him.

"...Based on the statements of both the defendant and the witnesses, it is clear that the two hunters lacked murderous intent."

"Th-Thank you!"

"However, their actions were far from ordinary, and there are clearly circumstances that must be explained."

Doyul had kept his promise.

Now it was the hunters' turn to keep theirs.

Both men immediately burst into tears and threw themselves to the floor.

"Yulli! Forgive us! Just as you said, we truly didn't know!"

"Someone told us we'd be paid a great deal if we climbed the mountain and fired the arrows that had already been prepared for us!"

"If we'd known it was the Ibang, of course we would have refused!"

"We thought we only had to use special poisoned arrows prepared for hunting wild animals!"

Doyul smiled.

"Then who ordered you to do it?"

"The man tied up over there!"

They pointed.

"Jeongmu!"

Jeongmu felt as though every drop of blood had drained from his body.

Only now did he finally understand Doyul's goal.

I... I've been had!

Doyul turned toward Choi Sihyeon.

"I would like to present my conclusion."

"Go ahead."

Choi Sihyeon let out a hollow laugh.

Truly... everything happened exactly as you predicted.

I can say with certainty that I've never seen anyone this intelligent.

Not Kim Jiseok.

Perhaps not even Siyoon...

From Jeongmu's reactions to the hunters' testimony...

Everything had unfolded within Doyul's grasp.

To Choi Sihyeon, the boy's overwhelming intelligence almost seemed monstrous.

"Although the hunters caused the Ibang's death, it would be wrong to punish them as the true perpetrators."

"And why is that?"

"Pasu and Seoko did not know the person they were shooting was a government official."

"They did not even know their target was human."

"And they did not know what poison had been applied to the arrows."

"The witnesses and defendant agree on all of those facts, and there is no separate evidence giving us reason to reject their statements."

"Therefore, unless new evidence appears, their statements should be accepted as true."

"Your reasoning is sound."

Even in Joseon, the principle that a person should not be punished without sufficient proof of guilt was among the most basic legal doctrines.

"Therefore, these two did not commit the crime with the necessary intent."

"The true perpetrator must be someone else."

"Explain in detail."

"We have obtained testimony from the witnesses."

"They truly did not know the full circumstances."

"But the person who instructed them was different."

Jeongmu finally understood.

...H-Haha.

So this is why you kept asking questions designed to prove those hunters innocent.

Doyul continued.

"The defendant Jeongmu saw the public notice announcing that Yeongsan County would conduct a mountain survey."

"Therefore, he knew that the person who came up the mountain would be an official of Yeongsan County."

...You absolved those bastards in exchange for making me bear everything!

"Accordingly..."

Doyul's voice remained steady.

"It is proper to view this case as one in which the defendant used these two men as tools to commit the crime."

"If a murderer grips a sword and kills someone..."

"Would it make sense to punish the sword?"

"Or the person wielding it?"

Doyul's objective was clear.

"Therefore, the defendant Jeongmu should be punished as the true perpetrator of the murder of a government official."

"Hahaha..."

Doyul remembered the moment he had struck the deal with the hunters.

Damn it.

There was no other choice.

"Reveal that Jeongmu gave you the order."

"In return, I will not charge you with murder."

"H-How is that possible?"

"I intend to place you in the witness stand."

"You will never even be defendants in the first place."

"So how could you be punished as defendants?"

"G-Gasp!"

Doyul's offer had been irresistible.

Rather than become defendants and desperately argue for acquittal...

It was far safer never to become defendants at all.

Doyul clicked his tongue inwardly.

Damn.

I don't like letting these two walk free.

But I had no alternative.

Once this proceeding is over, I'll have to think of another way to make them answer for what they did.

Choi Sihyeon slowly considered Doyul's argument.

"Because he used people as tools..."

"The proper course is to punish the true perpetrator."

"Hahaha!"

If Doyul had relied on instigation, holding Jeongmu responsible would have been nearly impossible.

As long as Jeongmu and the hunters remained bound together by the same interests, there would have been no way to make them confess.

So he severed that connection entirely...

Doyul recalled a single legal principle.

Sacrifice the flesh to take the bone.

How should the law treat someone who uses another person as a mere instrument?

Even if I have to let the direct actors go...

There is only one legal doctrine that lets me guarantee Jeongmu's conviction.

A form of participation in crime.

Indirect perpetration.

This is the doctrine that will let me destroy you, Jeongmu.

"D-Damn it!"

"Daaaaamn it!"

"You... you damned bastard!"

...My one and only legal principle.