Chapter 39 Hangman Square
The specific location of Legal Square is at the southeast corner of White Queen District and the intersection with Lloyd District. The two areas are connected by "Prince Lloyd Avenue".
Because a long, long time ago, this was the location of the Law Courts of the Kingdom of Avalon.
Even though the Attorney General's Office was later abolished and its functions were incorporated into the Courts of Justice, and the Attorney General became the administrator of the Courts of Justice... this place is still called Legal Square by the residents.
Aiwass did not walk to Legal Square, but took a carriage with "Anne Alexander" and his son.
"Let me test you, Annie."
Aiwass sat in the car, clasped his fingers together and took Lulu's hand beside him.
To keep her from getting bored and also to relieve her stress, Aiwass casually asked, "Do you know which area Legal Square belongs to?"
"...Lloyd's Quarter."
Lulu was stunned for a moment before she realized that "Annie" was calling her name.
So she answered without hesitation: "After all, it is on the east side of Prince Lloyd Avenue."
"But in fact, from the perspective of Lloyd's residents, Legal Square has never belonged to Lloyd's."
“…Huh?”
Lulu was stunned for a moment: "Why?"
"Because it has large, flat marble floors and many white buildings that serve as official landmarks, it doesn't fit in with the 'dockyard' style of Lloyd's Quarter. Instead, it has streets and buildings similar to White Queens Quarter."
The biggest difference between the Red and White Queens districts is the color of the pavement and buildings. The buildings in the White Queens district are mostly white, and the pavement is also white or off-white, while the Red Queens district tends to be more brown, dark brown, and brown-red.
"That seems to make sense." Lulu nodded thoughtfully.
"However, from another perspective, residents of White Queens also disagree that Legal Square belongs to White Queens."
Aiwass raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a somewhat malicious smile: "Because it's too dirty here - the environment is dirty and smelly, and the public security is terrible.
"Since the last King Tudor III, people prefer to call it Hanging Square—"
……Why?
This doubt just emerged in Lulu's mind.
But the next moment, her pupils began to vibrate violently!
Soon after Mr. Fox finished speaking, she saw two rows of full gallows in the marble square.
Two rows of corpses hung quietly above.
No more, no less, exactly forty.
Among them, about six or seven bodies had obvious signs of decay, with mosquitoes and flies flying around them. The remaining hanged bodies were still relatively fresh, no more than two days old.
Most of the corpses' clothing was torn, and many had visible bloodstains and mutilations on their faces and bodies. Some had hollowed-out abdomens, and others were missing limbs. It was unclear whether these were left behind before death or afterward.
Although hanging was clearly a more civilized form of execution than beheading, there was a faint, lingering smell of blood in the square that seeped in through the carriage.
Lulu subconsciously wanted to break free from Aiwass's hand and put it over her mouth, because she was worried that she would vomit and appear rude.
—but Aiwass's grip was so tight that she couldn't break free.
Instead, he held Lulu's hand even tighter, until she felt a little pain.
But because of this, Lulu's distraction was able to slightly dispel the strong feeling of discomfort in her heart.
"Are you all right, Annie?"
Aiwass asked with a "slightly puzzled" concern: "Haven't you been to Legal Square before?"
“…This is the first time I’ve seen so many corpses.”
She murmured softly, "I've seen many dead people. I've long been accustomed to death..."
However, this was the first time she had witnessed such a "cruel death".
She thought she would vomit it out, but in the end she didn't. Now Lulu only felt a speechless visual shock.
"Every Sunday is the execution day. We didn't make it to the execution day... On Sundays, many people who have time off from work come to watch the execution. That's also the day when pickpockets are most active."
As Aiwass spoke, the carriage passed by a body that was hung high.
Lulu looked at his hideous face with one eye missing and half of his face covered in blood, with a look of astonishment and some fear.
Leaning close to her ear, Aiwass pointed at the corpse and whispered maliciously, "Look, this body is still very fresh, only two days old. Otherwise, there would be maggots in his eye sockets... His eyeballs must have been stolen and sold on the black market. Some demonologists' rituals use a man's left eye - look at the rip in his crotch, the things inside must have been stolen as well."
"It seems that thirty-three people were executed this week. There are still seven bodies left over from last week."
“…Is this a lot or a little?”
"It's normal in this day and age."
Aiwass only gave half the answer.
Fourteen years later, the death penalty rate on Glass Island has dropped significantly.
But that wasn't because public security had improved...it was because of the mining collapse incident seven or eight years later, which required more workers.
"Fifty years ago... oh, more than thirty years ago, that was the heyday of the death penalty. Even a minor crime like theft was punishable by death, and death wasn't the end, nor was it the harshest punishment - there were many cruel tortures in life, and some after death.
"Queen Sophia abolished thirteen cruel forms of capital punishment, including beheading, retaining only hanging. She also significantly reduced the severity of punishment for other crimes... Many crimes that were previously punishable by death are now punishable by exile, imprisonment, or forced labor. During wartime, there's even the opportunity to redeem oneself for meritorious service..."
As Aiwass was speaking, the carriage suddenly stopped.
"gentlemen."
The gruff driver asked, "How do I get to that bar you mentioned?"
"Oh, we're almost there," Aiwass said in a gentle and good-natured voice, "Just leave us here."
"Then you better be careful of the Strangler Party."
The driver kindly reminded him, "Besides, it's only five copper coins up to this point—that's half a copper coin off for you."
The smallest denomination of the copper hourglass in Avalon is not "1". Below that, there are half copper coins and quarter copper coins, which are two-thirds and half the size of a copper coin respectively.
This is a less commonly used subsidiary coin. The quarter copper coin was discontinued twenty years ago, and the half copper coin was discontinued five years ago, leaving only the remaining coins in circulation.
But now, fourteen years ago, half a copper coin was still a relatively common unit.
Hearing this, Aiwass looked at Lulu.
Lulu was stunned for a moment before she realized the money might be in her hands. She rummaged through the money for a moment, then pulled out a red coin and walked over to the driver, politely handing it over with both hands.
This red coin is equal to ten copper coins, which is twice the price.
"No need to look for it, sir."
She said seriously, "You have worked hard."
"You are so beautiful and generous, ma'am."
The coachman praised him, took the money and left happily.
After he left, Aiwass came over with a smile.
"You should remember that everything here is fake, right?"
He said softly.
"I remember," Lulu nodded, her expression complicated. "I just felt... even if they were fake, my feelings at the moment were real. I didn't know what else I could do... so I could only give him some money."
"This is rather devoid of devotion, my dear Anne?"
Aiwass said calmly.
"I don't care," she said without hesitation. "Like other children born on Glass Island, I was educated on the path of authoritarianism, but I still chose the path of beauty. Because I just want to do what I want to do... what I think I should do.
"I simply like the principles of this path and its mysterious techniques. I'm not attracted by the extraordinary abilities it brings me, nor do I intend to tie my personality and life to it."
Lulu, who always seemed to have no opinions and no confidence, seemed to have touched upon something sensitive when discussing this topic, and she talked about a lot of things that Aiwass didn't mention.
“…That’s not easy.”
At this moment, a cold, childish, and deliberately lowered voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
A young newspaper boy who had been staring at them motionlessly since they got off the bus suddenly came over and said sarcastically, "You are walking on an innocent and extremely dangerous path.
"The path to transcendence is destined to abandon humanity... Madam Lulu."
(End of this chapter)
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