The Cold World

Chapter 11 The Cold World

On the way home by carriage, Hobart couldn't wait to open the document and start reading.

As Barton said, the case was simple: the defendant, Mr. Robin, borrowed £200 in cash from his friend, Mr. Henry, to invest, but Mr. Robin's investment failed, and he reportedly lost everything.

Mr. Henry was in dire need of money recently, and after failing to collect the debt, he had no choice but to take his former good friend Mr. Robin to court.

Mr. Henry has a promissory note, witnesses, and ample evidence; the case can be closed almost immediately upon opening the courtroom.

Although it was just a formality, Hobart still took his first court appearance very seriously. He began to rehearse in his mind the scene where he had a fierce debate with Mr. Robin in court, and that he would eventually apply to the judge for enforcement, with Mr. Robin ultimately losing.

At dinner, Christine had a maid pour Hobert a glass of wine: "Tomorrow you'll be officially on the job. It's a big step in your life, let's have a drink to celebrate."

Hopper didn't refuse. After taking a few sips of his drink, he gradually became more talkative: "Donna, even if I'm not watching you at school anymore, you're not allowed to date. Those boys are too immature."

Donna pouted and said, "I don't need you to take care of me. Besides, there are plenty of mature and steady guys, or guys who are humorous and talkative."

Hobart took a sip of his drink and said, "No, no, you don't know. I'm a boy, I understand what they're thinking better."

Although Hobert was somewhat estranged from this family, both the original owner and the current Hobert tried their best to fulfill the responsibilities of an older brother.

Especially since Hobert was always a year older than Donna, no matter where they went to school, he naturally had a protective instinct towards Donna.

Christine chuckled and said, "We'll leave that to Hobart."

Donna stuck out her tongue rather inelegantly, as if she had taken Hobart's words to heart, but whether she would actually do it was another matter entirely.

After dinner, Hobart returned to his room and looked at the documents several times, imagining all sorts of possibilities and unexpected events. He didn't even go to the "Land of Chaos" to continue exploring.

But what happened at the magistrate's court the next day was far beyond Hobart's expectations.

Hobert still took the family's four-wheeled carriage to work. The carriage first took Donna and Tyron to school, and then went straight to the magistrate's court.

There are many magistrates' courts in Backlund, and the one that handled this case was the magistrates' court for the Georgewood district.

Although the magistrate's court had two large windows, the lighting was still not very good. Apart from the judge's bench, the plaintiff's bench, and the defendant's bench, there was only a small public gallery with two rows of rough wooden benches.

Today, the defendant, Mr. Robin, did not renege on his debts as Hobart had imagined. He was wearing a tattered coat and a patched hat.

To show his respect for the court, Mr. Robin took off his hat and held it in his hand, pleading, "Your Honor, lawyer, please give me a month. I will definitely repay the money after a month."

"Or I can pay it back separately, £2 a week, no, £3 a week is fine too. Please don't sell my house. I don't want to lose my family, and I don't want us to move to the East End or Bridge."

This was something Hobart hadn't anticipated. While reviewing the documents, he unconsciously sided with the plaintiff, always viewing the defendant as a villain. However, Mr. Robin clearly had no intention of renegeating on his debt, and he also had his own difficulties.

Hobart flipped through the documents again and found that Mr. Robin's only asset was his small house.

He tried his best to suppress his sympathy: "Mr. Robin, I sympathize with your situation, but if we don't auction off your house to pay off your debts, my client's family will go bankrupt. Are we going to make them move to the East End or the Bridge District?"

Mr. Robin was speechless and glanced at his former good friend with some shame.

Mr. Henry was clearly reluctant, but he still said nothing. As Hobart said, if he softened his heart, his whole family would suffer.

Hobart continued, "Mr. Robin, I saw in the documents that you have a stable job with a weekly wage of about 3 pounds, and you also have a house inherited from your father that you don't have to pay rent."

"An income of 3 pounds is enough for your family to live a near-middle-class life. Why do you have to take the risk of investing? You are an adult. Since you have chosen to invest, you have to be responsible for your choice."

"I suggest you rent a place in the East District, work hard, and you might be able to buy back the house that was auctioned off in a few years."

He concluded by saying, "Your Honor, I request that enforcement be carried out."

The judge, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately granted Hobart's request.

After auctioning off the defendant's assets, the court receives a commission of no less than 10%, which is the main source of income for magistrates' courts.

In civil and economic cases handled by the Royal Court of the Kingdom of Rune, enforcement of judgments accounts for a very high proportion, leading to the bankruptcy of many middle-class families.

After the cases of Mr. Henry and Mr. Robin were over, Hobart was upset and sat in the gallery for more than ten minutes before going out to take a public carriage back to the law firm of Aslan Barton.

Hobart first reported the outcome of the case to Barton.

Barton, sitting in his leather chair, glanced at Hobart: "You look tired."

"I just..." Hobart said with a wry smile, "I just suddenly realized that I live in such a cold world."

He had previously lived only in the small world of Backlund's high society, and he had forgotten that this was Loen, this was Backlund, an era of primitive accumulation of capital.

"What do you take us for?" Barton took a sip of coffee. "We're a pack of wolves from Backlund, ready to tear a piece of flesh from any sheep we see."

Hobart was taken aback: "This is a lawyer?"

Patton smiled and said, "If you think lawyers are 'vanguards of justice,' then you are very wrong. But if you don't have justice in your heart, then you are definitely not a good lawyer."

He said, "Go back and rest today. Come over early tomorrow morning and come with me to handle an economic dispute entrusted by Earl Hall."

Hobert nodded. "Okay."

On the carriage ride home, Hobart gradually came to understand some things. He shouldn't have defined the plaintiff and defendant's character so early. His clients couldn't possibly be entirely on the side of justice, and some clients might not even be on the side of justice.

But as a lawyer, he still has to fight for and protect the interests of his clients, which is the courtroom. However, outside the courtroom, he can do his best to help those who deserve help.

During dinner, Hobart asked the maid for a glass of wine and said to his adoptive parents, "Father, Mother, thank you for protecting me in the past. Today I realize what the world is like without your protection."

Christine patted Hobert on the shoulder with satisfaction: "Time flies so fast, you've grown up so much in the blink of an eye."

Monissa was so moved by Hobart's sudden gratitude that she almost burst into tears.

Thank you to [Yu Zhe] for the 100-point reward, and thank you for the continuous rewards over the past three days.

(End of this chapter)