Chapter 594
"Are you sure that what the Naxos Inspection Office is doing is against the law?" Antonios asked again.
"Of course! Although there are a lot of laws in Diónia, I've been reading them all these years. I can recite most of them. To be honest, I think I'm qualified to be the highest judge, "Laodisian said with a hint of boasting.
"Alright, I'll talk to Tritodemos about it." Antonios finally nodded in agreement. With this reason, he could talk to the judge who had been in office for more than a decade.
"One more thing, Antonios," Laodisian said. "It's already September, and Strompoli's term is about to end. We should choose a successor as the governor of Naxos as soon as possible! I heard that the Asistes and his family have just left. How did your discussion go?! "
Hearing this, Dorin looked at his husband with a slightly worried look.
Antonios looked at Laodisian, who seemed to be in a hurry and spoke casually. The words that the Asistes had said previously came to his mind, and he inexplicably felt a little disgusted. He said unhappily, "Paphocles caused such a huge mess, and it's still a problem whether or not it can be solved in the end. Now you're actually worried about the candidate for the governor of Naxos? My father-in-law, you're too careless! Do you think that we can decide who the governor of Naxos is just because we want to? "
"If the governor of Naxos is someone we're familiar with, the other senators and I will feel better in Naxos. Look at what Strompoli has done in Naxos in the past few years. It's nothing compared to what you've done in Naxos. We're also worried that the order in Naxos will be disrupted, so we want to choose a senator we're familiar with. That way, he won't cause trouble in Naxos … Besides, the election of the governor has always been the most important matter for us senators. Only we know the affairs of Sicily the best, and the other elders generally won't fight with us for it, am I right?" Laodisian retorted confidently.
"You're really stupid!" Although he had quarreled with the Asistes earlier, it was not as if he did not have his guard up. He looked at the smug Laodisian and finally could not help but scold him, "Who do you think you are? King of Diónia? All the candidates for the chief executive of the city have to be approved by His Majesty the Devers before they can be appointed. In the past, he didn't speak during the election because he didn't think it was necessary. But this time … You should know that he hates citizens who mistreat slaves the most! What do you think His Majesty Davus will think if you jump out to seek benefits for yourself at this time? "
These words stunned Laodisian on the spot.
"What … what should we do?!" Doreen asked worriedly.
"I hope His Majesty hasn't noticed the incident with Paphogris …" Antonius sighed.
… …
"… The Asistes's whole family went to Antonius's house for a banquet …" The Devers read the new information presented by Aristiras and smiled slightly, "Aristiras, aren't your subordinates too free? Why are you so insistent on such a small matter?"
"Your Majesty, I felt that this news was worth paying attention to, so I decided to show it to you," Aristiras, who was standing at the side, said calmly.
"What do you think …" The Devers looked up at him with a calm expression, but the majesty he exuded made Aristiras involuntarily lower his head slightly, "Then tell me, what did they talk about at the banquet that made you feel that there's a problem, hmm!"
"This … I don't know," Aristiras answered straightforwardly. "But I know that before the Asistes returned to Turís, Antonius, Laodisian, and the other Sicilian senators have been trying to elect the Asistes to take office in Naxos. I just received a secret report from Naxos that there was a shocking murder case there. Laodisian's son, Paphogris, is a major suspect, and has been detained by the Naxos Inspectorate."
"Paphogris? The young man who caused a scandal at Adoris's graduation banquet … "The familiar name reminded the Devers of the farce that happened in Turís two years ago. At that time, the incident did not shock him as much as the others. After all, he was from his previous life. It was common for energetic young men to get physical with each other when they drank too much, and in the end, no substantial harm was caused.
"It's him, Your Majesty."
"How did he get involved in the murder case this time?" the Devers asked again.
Aristiras hurriedly told the Devers the whole case in detail. After listening, the Devers' face gradually became gloomy. He said in a deep voice, "This son of Laodisian is very bold. It seems that he is determined to leave his name in the legal history of the kingdom. He killed six people in a row, which is unprecedented! If he can get away with this, what's the point of the existence of the Kingdom of Diónia? "
* Slap! * The Devers' right hand slammed on the desk, causing Aristiras' heart to skip a beat. The Devers then said, "You said that the Naxos Inspectorate is now detaining the slave who voluntarily confessed to the crime and the real criminal. What do you mean by that?"
"Your Majesty, I don't know. However, Lord Strompoli has met with the Judge of Naxos, Aldarus, several times, and refused the Laodisian's slave butler many times. Also, Priest Hades of Naxos went to the Inspectorate's prison once … "Aristiras said cautiously.
"It seems that Strompoli's secret letter is about to arrive … I want to see what they're up to!" The Devers tapped his fingers on the back of the chair and fell into deep thought.
It was not a big deal for the son of an elder to kill someone. A warrant was issued for a thorough investigation, and it would not cause too much of a commotion. However, through this murder case, the Devers saw a deeper problem. Why did the Naxos Household Registration Officer not discover the problem of the Laodisian slaves in time, which led to the female slaves being killed one after another? (According to the laws of Diónia, slaves purchased by citizens must also be registered in the Household Registration Officer of the city. Every year, when the city population was checked, the number of slaves and their health would be checked.) The mountain where the Laodisian Household's farm was located belonged to the kingdom. Why did the people of Naxos not dare to go there? Otherwise, someone would have found the burial place a long time ago! Why did the members of the Naxos Parliament intercede for the son of Laodisian when something happened to him? Because of this, Strompoli had no choice but to close the door! Also, why did the Judge of Naxos not work together with the Inspectorate to sentence the real murderer as soon as possible? Instead, he delayed it like this? …
Naxos was in big trouble now! Naxos was not the only one … The Devers tapped on the back of the chair. After the Great Hellenic War, Diónia occupied almost all the land in Greece. However, because of the war, the population decreased sharply, and empty land was everywhere. Coupled with the fact that the kingdom was newly established, many systems needed to be adjusted. The Senate and him had a lot of work to do, so they naturally focused their energy and work on Greece first. After all, this was the foundation of the Kingdom of Diónia. The governance of Sicily was relatively lax. As long as it remained stable and did not cause any major trouble, there were no more strict requirements. That was why the so-called "Conqueror of Catania", Antonios, had been the governor of Naxos for six years. Because of the trust of the exiles of Catania, Antápolis, a new elder who had never had any administrative experience, also became the next governor of Catania.
Now that the overall situation in Greece was on the right track, the Devers originally wanted to wait for the end of the Doneian War before focusing on cleaning up Sicily, but now it seemed that the plan had to be brought forward.
"Laodisian … Antonios …" The Devers silently recited the names of these two people in his heart. Suddenly, he thought of something again. He looked up at Aristiras, who was standing upright. "Is Antápolis still the adjutant of the administration in Sirium?"
"Yes."
Andraporis's administrative path could be said to have started high but ended low. He first served as the chief executive of Katanai, but Katanai was a large city with a large population, vast territory, and complicated members. He, who lacked administrative experience, soon felt powerless and even nearly caused a riot. In the end, in his second year in office, he took the initiative to ask to step down.
The Devers sent Antápolis to replace him. Antápolis, who was reluctant to resign, took the initiative to ask the Devers to work in a local place to gain administrative experience. How could the Devers refuse such an ambitious young elder? So they arranged for him to work in Sirium, which was being rebuilt: two years as a city inspector, one year as a city supervisor, two years as a city census officer, one year as a city agricultural officer, one year as a city commercial officer, and now as the adjutant of the administration of Sirium, mainly in charge of trade … It took Antápolis eight years to serve almost all the major middle-level public officials in Diónia.
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