"You will pay for this!" Señor Grimaldo struggled against the soldiers as he and his workers were dragged through the corridors of the ground floor of the Casa Real. The officials and scribes in front of their respective offices nervously made way, whispering to each other about the scandalous sight.
The Casa Tribunal, along with other government offices, was located inside the Casa Real. And with the courtroom, there were also detention cells located at the rear of the building—two small, windowless rooms. They hadn't found much use for a while, since crimes were not rampant in rural Marinduque, and the barrio chiefs usually dealt with petty offenses in their barangays.
"This will make noise…" Colonel Abad said to me as we watched the soldiers and the offenders disappear around a turn at the back of the Casa Real. The last time someone from the principalia was apprehended, it was a Spanish governor who ordered it.
