Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 51 Ms. Castor
Milo woke up at one or two in the morning.

Kang probably thought Milo was just taking a short nap after dinner, and didn't expect Milo to sleep for several hours straight, especially sleeping face down.

When Milo woke up, he felt an intense soreness in the back of his neck.

"hiss……"

He rubbed his neck and stood up, only to find Emma sitting across from him at the table.

"What time is it? Why aren't you resting?"

Milo glanced at the wall clock and realized that, strictly speaking, it was already the next day.

In the next room, the snoring of Kang and Finn could be heard one after another.

Emma sat calmly, holding a pen in one hand, her pen holding Milo's notebook and information about the Sherman family.

She looked up at Milo:

"It's really rare to see saliva and nosebleed flowing at the same time."

Milo subconsciously touched his face and found some sticky stuff. Only then did he realize that he had a nosebleed again.

When will these aftereffects ever end...?

……

After a quick wash, Milo returned to the living room.

He glanced at the documents in front of Emma.

Emma not only compiled all the information about the Sherman family members, but also wrote down a general outline of the businesses currently owned by the Sherman Corporation.

Some of the materials were even excerpted from newspapers from a long time ago, so it's clear that the preparations didn't begin today.

The newspaper even included some seemingly worthless information, such as advertisements for the Rose Restaurant, the favorite restaurant of Earl Sherman…

Milo thoughtfully examined Emma's delicate profile:
"What do you want to do?"

Emma neither answered Milo's question nor stopped writing; she calmly returned the question to Milo:
"What do you want to do again?"

"Um……"

Milo scratched his head, pulled up a chair, leaned back, yawned, and after composing himself, placed his hands on the table with his fingers interlaced. He then solemnly said to Emma:

"I thought the same thing as you."

……

Emma picked up a yellowed piece of paper: "Is that all?"

“You always have to start by gathering the simplest information.” Milo shrugged.

"Any ideas?" Emma looked at Milo, her clear, light blue eyes devoid of any emotion.

Milo's eyebrows twitched, and then the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

He knows Emma too well.

Everyone could have stopped Milo from provoking the Sherman family, but only Emma would ask at a time like this: "Do you have an idea?"

……

"Wait a minute."

Milo got up, closed the door to the room where Kang and Finn slept, and returned to the dining table before beginning to speak:

"Here's what I think: where does the power of the nobility come from?"

“A hereditary title, and the title that comes with a seat in the House of Lords,” Emma replied succinctly and quickly.

“That’s right. That’s why law enforcement officers can’t easily take action against the aristocracy, because once there’s friction between them, it represents a clash between the House of Lords and the Supreme Court, which is something that those in power will not allow to happen.” Milo nodded.

“That’s why you took the exam to become a law enforcement officer.” Emma said thoughtfully, “But once you put on this badge, you can’t lay a hand on nobles anymore. It’s for self-protection, but it’s also a constraint.”

“What constitutes taking action?” Milo shook his head, pushing aside the pile of documents with his fingers to reveal Harrison Sherman’s page below.

"Considering the harsh words this person made before, I think whatever I do next should be considered self-protection."

“Go tell the judge.” Emma’s slender fingers twirled the pen back and forth, speaking in a rare, teasing tone.

Milo smiled slightly: "No, think about it. The unspoken rule is that law enforcement officers can't just touch nobles. This rule only holds true when two conditions are met simultaneously, right? First, I've already met the condition of being a law enforcement officer. So, what if the other party isn't a noble?"

He pulled a page from the files on the desktop: "Edward Sherman, 78 years old, Earl." "Are you planning to kill this old man?" Emma's words were as startling as ever.

Fortunately, Milo had closed the door to Kang and Finn's room beforehand.

This woman really dares to say anything, and her tone is completely devoid of emotion. She's a dignified earl, one of only about a hundred in the entire country; she's not so easy to kill…

“Killing him won’t do any good.” Milo kept shaking his head: “Titles can be inherited, okay? The Sherman family’s hereditary title is set by the Royal Decree, which stipulates that the title is inherited by the eldest son among the legitimate children of the descendants.”

As Milo spoke, he ran his finger down the first line of the tree diagram in his notebook, stopping at the name "Dylan Sherman".

The eldest son of the second generation of the Sherman family, and Harrison's elder brother.

“After Edward’s death, his title will be inherited by Dylan in order of succession, and the Sherman family’s status will remain unchanged,” Milo said calmly.

"So, the people don't matter, what we need to do is get rid of their family's title, that's what I mean."

Emma pressed the end of her pen against her forehead, deep in thought. A moment later, her eyes lit up, as if she had just realized something:
"Remember the Blue Ocean Incident? The duke who was stripped of his rights for treason? What law was it based on? The Law on the Disqualification of Titles?"

The Blue Ocean incident is the closest Gulf War to this era, occurring about ten years ago. The post-war trial at that time included the punishment of a duke in the country.

“No, no, it’s the Confiscation Law. Treason is considered ‘corruption of the blood,’ resulting in the removal of one’s position and title,” Milo replied without hesitation.

"How do you remember this so clearly?" Emma was taken aback at first, then continued, "So, if we find evidence of the Sherman family's treason, can we use the 'Confiscation Law' to destroy this noble family?"

"That's still not right. The Confiscation Act was reformed. Was it last year or the year before? I forget the exact time. Both houses of parliament passed a new version of the Confiscation Act, which abolished the blood corruption provision. Nobles convicted of treason will be removed from their seats in parliament, rather than losing their noble status. So... even without their seats in the upper house, they are still nobles."

When discussing legal codes and laws, relevant information would automatically pop into Milo's mind without him needing to think or recall it.

The amendment to the Confiscation Law can be seen as a measure taken by the aristocratic class in recent years to protect their own rights.

In other words, even in the worst-case scenario, they would still retain their titles and wealth, losing only their power, and could still live comfortably.

"Where did you learn all this?" Emma was taken aback again.

“A dead man taught me that,” Milo shrugged, offering no further explanation.

Emma never pressed Milo about things he didn't want to talk about; she shifted the focus of the discussion back to the Sherman family.

“Actually, I think your thinking is a little too impulsive. Just think about it, even if the Sherman family loses their title, you still don’t have the equivalent strength to threaten them, right? Your black coat can scare away ordinary people, but in the eyes of the Sherman family, you are still not enough, far too insignificant.”

Emma bluntly pointed out the problem with Milo's approach.

“That seems to be true.” Milo thought about it and realized that it made perfect sense.

"Have you forgotten what your boss told you before?" Emma casually reminded her, "Big fish eat little fish."

“Yes, I understand what you mean, but I don’t want to get too involved with the church right now.” Milo nodded, naturally understanding what Emma was implying.

“I trust your judgment.” Emma nodded, turning to the pages in her notebook where she had written, and then spreading out a collection of newspaper excerpts in front of Milo:
"For the time being, I can't think of any other organization besides the Golden Law Church that can rival the nobles, so if nothing unexpected happens, there should only be one path left."

The news excerpts from the newspapers were mostly about the Sherman family business.

"Sherman Corporation Reportedly Suspended Due to Internal Disputes" and "Sherman's Integration of Nanwei City's Alchemy Manufacturing Industry Suspected of Irregular Merger"...

A series of titles prominently feature the name Sherman.

“I’ve been keeping a close eye on the Sherman family lately. I have a suggestion for you: shift your attention from Harrison to this woman.”

Emma lightly tapped Harrison's name on the tree diagram with her finger, then slowly moved her fingertip along the table to another name of his generation—"Grace Sherman".

Earl Edward had only three children: his eldest daughter Grace, then Dylan, and then Harrison.

"These three Sherman children come from three different women in Edward's family. The eldest daughter, Grace, has an unknown mother, and strictly speaking, she should be considered an illegitimate child. Dylan's mother is Edward's only legal wife. Harrison's mother is similar to Grace's, but Grace has been with Edward the longest and is currently the person with the most real power in the entire Sherman family business. Her nickname is 'Lady Castor Bean,' and she is a... ruthless woman, an old woman."

“You mean the Sherman family isn’t a monolithic entity?” Milo raised an eyebrow.

“Definitely not.” Emma’s tone was very certain: “But the move to merge the alchemy workshops in Nanwei City was itself part of the internal power struggle within the Sherman family. The old Earl is getting old, and his children have begun to try to hold onto as much wealth and power as possible.”

“If you want to deal with the Sherman family, you can even ignore Harrison, but you must be careful of this ‘Castor Bean Lady’.”

……

"You've been locking yourself away all this time just to study these things?" Milo looked at Emma's sickly pale face.

“You’re overthinking it. This kind of thing can only take up my free time. What’s most important to me is the year-end college entrance exam.” Emma shook her head, neatly stacked the files she had organized on her desk, and pushed them in front of Milo.
Whatever you do, be careful.

Milo nodded:
"it is good."

(End of this chapter)