I didn't mean it in a strictly judicial sense either. No person that decides to intentionally and in a pre-planned manner take another human's life (outside of special circumstances like self-defense, although even that hardly ever happens with prior planning) AND goes through with it to the very end can be considered innocent in any meaning of the word for me.
I don't think that's how the crime of attempted murder works. You still would be punished for the attempt. And it usually is harshly. Just because she's related to his friend doesn't change that. If she had no relation should she have received a harsher judgment? He's a leader and he would have to show strength in his judgement because if it got out that he pardoned his assailant with just menial labor it would really look bad for the nobility as he just shrugged off the in his life. As a noble he represents all of nobility with his actions not just his fiefdom.
That might be a valid point under different circumstances, but logically he shouldn't really care about that at all. He was betrayed and thrown away by the royal family to become the lord of famine-stricken boondocks, where the lord has traditionally been a hated scumbag. He should feel more or less zero mutual allegiance to other nobles (not that there would be any other within multiple days of travel). He's a goody two-shoes, so he actually never showed any bitterness, but one should still expect nothing extra from him. He's doing what he deems morally right, what is good for his town and wife; the other nobles can look after themselves out there. That's actually what border nobles always do, enjoying the freedom granted by the distance from the capital. He's also not hiding in his mansion but regularly getting his own hands dirty to develop the town, which probably would also make many a capital noble frown.
Even if considering the circumstances he let someone who almost murdered him off with an extremely light punishment. Also not all of the nobles are scum as you see that they have some joining the second prince to fight against the corruption. That judgment he gave would be considered corruption due to him doing that for his wife and friend. Would he also do that for a person who had no affiliation to him or anyone in his circle? I understand she has a story but so does everyone else. I would like to see how he would act with someone who wasn't related to anyone he knew.
I would as well, seeing how much of a Disney prince he is, but I suppose this isn't the kind of story that would present such a troublesome case. The only case we got, and probably will ever get, was one where another victim was manipulated by the villain to commit a crime. Not concretely punishing her is the same as showing the middle finger to the current social order enforced by the corrupt royal family, which is just fine.
