Chapter 170: class debate II

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: class debate II

"Then what’s stopping it from expanding that interpretation?"

Christopher answered calmly.

"Legal limits."

Damian gave a faint smile.

"Who decides those limits?"

"The treaty."

"And who interprets the treaty?"

"The relevant international court or institution."

"Exactly."

Damian turned toward the professor.

"An institution interpreting its own authority is still exercising authority."

The room became quieter.

Christopher didn’t immediately answer.

Professor George watched him.

Christopher finally said,

"Then perhaps the solution isn’t refusing international oversight."

"It’s creating clearer limits on when that oversight can be exercised."

Damian shook his head.

"That doesn’t answer the problem."

"It does."

"No."

Damian’s tone sharpened.

"It simply moves the problem."

A few students exchanged glances.

Christopher remained composed.

Damian continued.

"Let’s take the actual situation."

"A government is facing a drug crisis."

"Thousands of citizens are dying."

"The government determines that the existing judicial process is incapable of addressing the threat."

"Now an international institution, sitting thousands of miles away, tells that government how it may respond."

"Why should an unelected foreign body have greater authority over those citizens than the government responsible for them?"

Christopher answered immediately.

"Because those citizens are still human beings."

Damian’s eyes narrowed.

"And the government is supposed to ignore the crisis because someone outside the country disapproves of its methods?"

"No."

Christopher’s voice remained steady.

"The government can fight the crisis."

"It simply cannot claim that fighting crime gives it unlimited power to execute people without trial."

Damian leaned forward.

"What if the people being executed are unquestionably guilty?"

"Who determines that?"

"The government."

"And if the government is wrong?"

"It accepts responsibility."

"After someone is dead?"

Damian’s jaw tightened slightly.

Christopher continued.

"That’s precisely why due process exists."

"Because governments can be wrong."

The room fell silent.

Professor George watched them both.

Then Damian spoke again.

"You’re assuming the international institution is less likely to be wrong."

"No."

Christopher shook his head.

"I’m saying that two imperfect systems are better than one system with no meaningful restraint."

Damian stared at him.

"Even when that restraint prevents a sovereign government from protecting its own citizens?"

"When protecting them requires executing people without trial?"

Christopher met his gaze.

"Yes."

For several seconds, neither moved.

Then Professor George raised his hand.

"Enough."

The room released a collective breath.

Professor George looked around the fourteen students.

"That..."

He gestured toward the board.

"Is the problem."

He underlined SOVEREIGNTY.

Then HUMAN RIGHTS.

"Both principles sound perfectly reasonable when discussed separately."

"The difficulty begins when they collide."

He turned toward Damian.

"Mr. Blackwood."

"Your argument assumes that sovereignty must be protected from external interference."

Then he looked toward Christopher.

"Mr. Archibald."

"Your argument assumes that international obligations can legitimately restrain sovereign action."

He faced the class.

"Neither position is sufficient on its own."

He placed the chalk down.

"International law exists precisely because states have agreed that sovereignty does not excuse every action."

"But international institutions themselves possess limited authority."

"So the question isn’t simply..."

He looked toward the class.

"Who is right?"

"It’s..."

"Who has the legal authority to decide?"

That question lingered in the room.

Professor George glanced at the clock.

"Write a two-page response."

A collective groan immediately followed.

He smiled faintly.

"Argue either position."

"Justify the legal basis for your conclusion."

"And don’t tell me what you personally feel."

"Tell me why your position survives scrutiny."

He gathered his papers.

"Class dismissed."

Chairs shifted.

The students began packing their things.

Christopher closed his notebook.

As he stood, he noticed Damian watching him again.

There it was.

That same look.

Christopher paused.

He genuinely couldn’t think of anything he’d done.

He waited until Damian had finished collecting his books.

"Blackwood."

Damian looked up.

"Yes?"

Christopher approached.

"Did I offend you somehow?"

Damian blinked.

"What?"

"You’ve been looking at me rather strangely."

A brief silence.

Damian looked genuinely caught off guard.

"I have?"

Christopher nodded.

"Since yesterday."

Damian stared at him. ℴ

Then shook his head.

"No."

"You haven’t offended me."

Christopher studied him.

"Are you sure?"

"Quite."

Christopher accepted the answer.

"All right."

A faint smile appeared.

"Then I must have imagined it."

"Perhaps."

Christopher gave a small shrug.

"Fair enough."

He turned away.

For a moment, another thought crossed his mind.

Could it be that rumor?

That Damian was interested in Vivienne Beaumont?

He had heard it before.

But rumors at St. Albion were rarely worth taking seriously.

And after the Student Council meeting, Christopher already knew that Anthony and Vivienne’s engagement had ended.

Mutually.

There had been no dramatic falling-out.

No betrayal.

Nothing that explained why Damian would have a problem with him.

Christopher dismissed the thought.

It wasn’t really his concern.

He left the classroom.

Julian immediately looked at Damian.

"What was that?"

Damian glanced at him.

"What?"

"You and Archibald."

Adrian joined them.

"You’ve been acting strange around him."

"I have not."

Julian raised an eyebrow.

"You’ve been watching him since yesterday."

Damian frowned.

"I haven’t."

"You have."

"And you were practically trying to kill him during that debate."

"It was a debate."

Julian stared at him.

"That was not a normal debate."

Adrian nodded.

"You challenged almost every argument he made."

"Because his argument is debatable."

Julian smiled.

"You’ve disagreed with him before."

Damian had no immediate answer.

Julian and Adrian exchanged a glance.

They didn’t need to say anything.

Damian noticed.

"Don’t."

Julian lifted both hands.

"We haven’t said anything."

"You were about to."

"We’re merely curious."

"Be curious about something else."

Damian picked up his books and walked toward the door.

Julian watched him leave.

Then looked at Adrian.

"Definitely something."

Adrian nodded.

"Definitely."

Damian heard them.

He ignored them.

Because the truth was...

He still didn’t know.

Christopher hadn’t said anything about Vivienne.

He hadn’t mentioned her.

He hadn’t even looked at his phone during the entire class.

Which should have reassured him.

It did.

A little.

But it told him nothing about what had happened outside the classroom.

Nothing about yesterday.

Nothing about this morning.

Nothing about whether Vivienne had sent him a message...

Or whether Christopher had sent one to her.

Damian exhaled quietly.

He had spent far too much time thinking about it already.

And somehow...

He still had no idea.