Lora was not the only one stunned. Lumine and Paimon's eyes went wide too, and Chaya, sitting in front, nearly dropped her pen.
At the judge's seat, Neuvillette frowned slightly and looked at the three of them in confusion.
Each of the three had a different reaction. The Shogun was staring sternly at the plaintiff, Ei stood silently to the side, and only Makoto seemed completely unconcerned about where she was or what was happening, even smiling as she raised a hand and waved at Lora.
"Uh..." Lora looked at them and had even less idea what to say.
"Ahem..." Neuvillette cleared his throat. He looked at the three and asked, "You are the defendants?"
"Yes," Makoto said with a nod, admitting it without hesitation.
"Then, plaintiff, please recount what happened," Neuvillette said, looking to the other side.
The plaintiff nodded and cried, "Monsieur Neuvillette , you have to uphold justice for me..."
Hearing that, Lora suddenly felt an intense sense of wrongness.
What was this, some old-fashioned courtroom drama?
"Just now, I was doing business properly on the street when these three came over from the other end. I saw they were dressed like foreigners, so I wanted to go up and recommend my products while introducing them to Fontaine's local customs.
"But then... but then that woman came right up and broke my hand... They assaulted me! Monsieur Neuvillette!"
The plaintiff kept wailing, but to everyone who knew the truth about the three sisters, the whole thing felt even more absurd.
Assault?
Trying to kill him?
What kind of joke was that?
If they had really wanted to kill him, would he still be standing here talking?
"Was there some misunderstanding?" Neuvillette asked.
"No, absolutely not! I am an honest and proper businessman!" The plaintiff shook his head at once, crying as he spoke.
So Neuvillette turned to the other side and asked, "Then... what do the three of you have to say?"
"Oh, nothing much. We admit it. We did break his hand," Makoto said with a smile and a blink.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, see? They admitted it! You must lock them up in the Fortress of Meropide!" the plaintiff shouted excitedly.
At that moment, the Shogun said in a low voice, "With all due respect, Chief Justice Neuvillette, if that item were sold in Inazuma, the Tenryou Commission would already be at his door."
"What were you selling?" Neuvillette asked, turning toward the plaintiff.
The plaintiff, who had just been so worked up, suddenly became timid. "That..."
Seeing him hesitate and refuse to answer, Neuvillette frowned and said sternly, "If you lie, the Maison Gardiennage will take more severe measures against you."
"It was a drink called Sinthe, Your Honor," Makoto said slowly with a gentle smile. "We three sisters came from Inazuma, and before arriving, we had already studied Fontaine's laws. According to Fontaine law, Sinthe should be a prohibited item, correct?"
"Indeed. Sinthe is a beverage whose sale has already been banned under Fontaine law," Neuvillette said with a slight nod.
"That is why I said, if this were Inazuma, the Tenryou Commission would have already come knocking," the Shogun continued.
Although Inazuma had been rather chaotic some time ago, with the strict governance during this recent period, at least for a good while no one had dared to pretend obedience while secretly defying orders.
If anyone dared to sell contraband, then it would be: Open up! Tenryou Commission!
"The matter of your sale of Sinthe will be handled by the Maison Gardiennage. As for this assault and brawl incident... it must still be judged according to normal procedure," Neuvillette said, looking at the three of them.
"Mm, we understand," Makoto said with a nod. "Send us to that Fortress of Meropide."
At first, Lora had not known what these three were playing at, but as soon as she heard Makoto say they wanted to go to the Fortress of Meropide, she understood.
"I, for one, believe these three young ladies from Inazuma did the right thing!"
Furina suddenly spoke. She stood from her seat, looked down at everyone below, and said slowly, "If they hadn't acted to stop this man from selling Sinthe, who knows how many innocent people would have been harmed? I believe this was clearly a good deed, not a bad one!"
"Lady Furina, Fontaine's laws explicitly forbid fighting and brawling in the Court of Fontaine. I apologize... but this matter is written into the law. Even you, as a god, should not break it lightly," Neuvillette said calmly, looking at Furina.
"But..." Furina still wanted to say something, but Lora below cleared her throat and glanced up at her.
Furina froze, met Lora's eyes, and quickly shut her mouth.
"Continue, Neuvillette," Lora said, turning back to him.
"Thank you, Miss Lora." Neuvillette nodded in thanks, then activated the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
The Oratrice also delivered a guilty verdict. Neuvillette passed judgment, sentencing Makoto, Ei, and the Shogun to the Fortress of Meropide.
The Duke had just received quite the surprise package.
After the trial ended, Furina slipped away at once, giving Lora no chance to catch her and lecture her.
The one escorting the three of them to the Fortress of Meropide was none other than Rhodeia, the strongest of the Oceanids.
"Rhodeia, let me see..." Lora walked over to Rhodeia, took her hand, and turned her around to check. "Mm... nothing wrong. Thank goodness..."
"With you here, how could anything happen to me?" Rhodeia said with a smile.
She had already learned from the Abyss and Idyia what Lora had given to the Prince of the Abyss Order in order to save her.
Lora nodded in relief, then looked at the three following Rhodeia.
"Thank you."
"We're old friends. No need to say that," Makoto said with a smile, waving it off.
Ei said, "Compared to what we owe you, this is only a small matter. Leave what comes next to us."
"Be careful," Lora reminded them.
"We looked into it already, so don't worry. It's tricky, but we won't be in danger," Makoto said, reassuring her.
The Shogun looked at Lora. "We're strong."
Lora nodded helplessly and watched them follow Rhodeia toward the Fortress of Meropide.
After they left, Lora said to Lumine and Paimon, "I have some things to discuss with Neuvillette. You two can explore Fontaine on your own for now. The scenery here is quite nice."