Fontaine, Opera House Epiclese, inside the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
Focalors sat with her legs pulled to her chest, staring intently at the water mirror before her, fixed on the individual currently huddling close to Furina.
'Furina, oh Furina, please use your head! That person isn't us at all!'
"Don't squeeze so close to her! Can't you pay some attention to how this looks?!"
'Wait, what are you doing? You're actually feeding her snacks? Stop it, stop it right now!'
But her cries remained trapped within the Oratrice. She could only watch helplessly as that little thief opened her mouth with a look of utter reluctance... 'And you have the nerve to act like you're the one being inconvenienced!'
Seeing this, Focalors' irritation flared up uncontrollably. 'Ahhh, that suspicious little thief! Get away from my other half!!!'
Unfortunately, Furina was not in sync with her and could not hear the internal screaming. She continued to smile sweetly while stuffing pastries from the side into Xia Yu's mouth.
"No, really, so many people are watching," Xia Yu reached out to block her. "At least pay some attention to the public image, okay?"
"What's wrong with being close to my own sister?" Furina didn't see any issue with her behavior.
After all, in her eyes, this was her genuine, biological younger sister! After five hundred years of being a "lonely ruler," she finally had a relative to look forward to. Couldn't she spoil her just a little?
Inside the Oratrice, Focalors looked on with eyes nearly bursting from their sockets. 'You little thief! Let go of my other half!'
She desperately wanted to jump out and say just that, but she looked up at the sky and could only resign herself, hugging her knees again and staring blankly at the water mirror.
'Furina, oh Furina... please be smarter. That's a bad woman, a bad woman!'
Evidently, she wasn't the only one who couldn't stand to watch any longer.
Neuvillette, standing at the high bench, looked at the two of them fooling around and sighed helplessly. "Lady Furina, please stop pestering Lady Ei. She is a vital witness for today's case. And you, as the Hydro Archon, should return to your divine seat."
"...So boring," Furina pouted. "Fine, I'm going."
Inside the Oratrice, Focalors was moved to tears. 'Neuvillette, you did a great job! It wasn't in vain that I think so highly of you!'
Before leaving, Furina stuffed a large stack of notes into Xia Yu's hands. Xia Yu glanced at them and found it to be... well, a rather legendary tale.
It had to be said that Furina's aesthetic and writing skills were beyond reproach. Just from the beginning, it felt quite good; if it were published as a book, it would likely find a large audience even without the Hydro Archon's name attached.
However, this material wasn't needed here today. Furina had lived like this for five hundred years, relying on such methods to stabilize Fontaine, so she had fallen into a fixed mindset.
In reality, judging Vacher didn't require so much theater. He would readily confess to every charge brought against him today. After all, Xia Yu had specifically requested the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol to avoid the Fountain of Lucine when transporting him.
As long as he still hoped to reunite with Vigneire, he wouldn't cause any trouble.
His absolute cooperation over the past few days, identifying all those behind him who had protected him, was the best proof. This madman would abandon anything just to see Vigneire again.
Today's trial was essentially a formality to appease the anger of the victims' families; the outcome had long since ceased to be in doubt.
"Silence!"
Neuvillette looked at the whispering audience below and tapped his cane against the floor. "Now that all witnesses are seated, I declare the trial regarding the serial disappearances of young women open!"
"Bring in the defendant, Vacher!"
Having not been seen for many days, the criminal who had once questioned the Hydro Archon now stumbled onto the stand. His hair had turned mostly white, and he had thinned out considerably, leaving only a fanatical, paranoid light flickering in his eyes.
"Vacher, a Snezhnayan, once worked for the Fontaine Adventurers' Guild. After his lover Vigneire went missing and failing to find help in Fontaine, he returned to Snezhnaya. Years later, he changed his appearance, adopted the alias Marcel, and founded the Cabriere Association."
Neuvillette looked toward Vacher. "Do you admit to this charge?"
"Yes, I admit it," Vacher didn't look at him, staring instead at Xia Yu with intensity. "I admit everything! As long as you let me see her, see her again..."
"Please note, Mr. Vacher, the court relies on evidence!" Neuvillette frowned. "Please refrain from speaking of irrelevant matters!"
"Right, I know, I know," the latter replied, though his eyes remained fixed on Xia Yu.
"Then, would the accuser, Lady Ei, please present her questions to the defendant and begin the cross-examination."
"Questions? Cross-examination?" Xia Yu smiled and looked at Neuvillette. "Is there any need?"
"This is the law of Fontaine," Neuvillette frowned. "Lady Ei, I must remind you that if you are dissatisfied with this law, you may raise a challenge to the Hydro Archon after the trial is concluded to seek an amendment."
"Neuvillette, you really are rigid," Xia Yu shook her head. "The focus today isn't on the trial itself."
It was on the dissolution.
To bring the truth to light, Vacher's motives had to be recounted from start to finish, and the most unavoidable part was Vigneire's dissolution.
One could imagine the blow to Fontainian society if such a thing were confirmed in court. Everyone would remember that prophecy—which had seemed like a joke—and would live in constant dread.
A nation of water where everyone feared water; it wasn't an impossible scenario.
Thus, how to soothe the restless populace after the trial was the real challenge.
"But a trial is still necessary," Neuvillette shook his head. "It is my duty."
"Fine, I won't argue that with you then," Xia Yu turned her gaze toward Vacher.
"Vacher, twenty years ago, you and your lover Vigneire met with misfortune during a ruin exploration."
"Tell us. What exactly happened?"
It sounded less like presenting evidence and more like giving an order, yet Vacher didn't question it at all.
"Twenty years ago, while Vigneire and I were exploring ruins, we discovered a pool filled with a strange, surging, milky-white spring water."
He recalled, "The color was truly curious and especially attractive to Fontainians. I am from Snezhnaya, so my resistance was slightly better, but Vigneire... Vigneire completely forgot the essential rules of exploration. She reached out and touched that spring water."
"Then, Vigneire turned into water right before my eyes and vanished. I lunged toward her, trying to grab her, but all I touched was a patch of wetness."
"She didn't even have time to leave a single word before she was abruptly gone from this world."
'What?!' Hearing this, Arlecchino could no longer sit still.
Earlier, the "Shadow of the Hydro Archon" had called out her name, which had already made her curious. Now, this earth-shattering news was being revealed.
Truthfully, she had her own information channels and knew the ancient prophecy was real. She had been seeking a solution but had yet to see any hope.
She hadn't expected to find a clue here.
The audience around her wasn't faring any better.
"Absurd! How can a person dissolve into water?" someone frowned.
"Exactly. Surely they aren't taking that prophecy seriously?" another sneered.
"Has he gone mad? He dares to bring such a story into the courtroom?"
"Is he trying to escape punishment by playing the fool?"
Because of Vacher's words, the crowd erupted in discussion. Just as Neuvillette was about to quiet them, Vacher suddenly burst into laughter.
"Haha, hahaha, hahahaha..." Standing on the high defendant's stand, he looked down at the audience. "You find it funny? You find it absurd? You think I'm mad?"
"And you think I'm trying to escape punishment? Haha, punishment? You think I care?"
"Have any of you experienced my pain? My helplessness? Have you watched the person you love most dissolve before your eyes?"
"No one helped me. No one even believed me. Decades ago, even the members of the Marechaussee Hunter told me it was impossible for a person to dissolve into water, saying I must have gone mad from an accident!"
"Just like you today!" A hateful light flashed in his eyes. "Vigneire's death was ignored by all of you with a single word: 'absurd'!"
"I know that among those sitting below, there must be family members of those who died over these decades," he curled his lips. "But do you know? It's too late. Those who were dissolved are never coming back! Hahahaha!"
A commotion broke out below, to the point where the Gardes had to send people to restrain the emotions of the furious victim's families.
"It's all your fault!" He turned back to look at the Hydro Archon and Neuvillette on the stage. "Putting on these high-and-mighty trials, chasing justice, chasing spectacles, while remaining indifferent to the suffering of ordinary people!"
"Vigneire is dead! I promised her we would go everywhere together! That was our pact!"
His voice took on a sob. "But I'm not Fontainian! I can't dissolve!"
"I can't dissolve! I can't dissolve! I can't dissolve!!"
"I promised her!"
At this point, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes. "Since I couldn't go to where she was... didn't I have to find a way to bring her back?"
"Twenty years ago, under the moonlight, I kidnapped the woman who had mocked me the loudest. She was usually jealous of Vigneire's popularity at the Guild, and after my lover's accident, she was the one spreading rumors everywhere."
"So I kidnapped her, returned to those ruins, went through immense hardship to find that pool of spring water, and threw her in."
"Haha, hahahaha! Do you know what I saw? She dissolved, just like Vigneire."
He gripped the railing with both hands, screaming hoarsely. "In that moment, I knew I had never been wrong. What was wrong was this nation, this world—what was wrong was all of you!"
"So I returned to Snezhnaya alone, destroyed all traces of the identity 'Vacher,' forged the identity 'Marcel,' and came back to Fontaine as a merchant."
"While running my small business, I secretly kidnapped young women around Vigneire's age for experiments," he murmured. "It went poorly at first, until I stumbled my way into creating Sinthe."
"I don't know why, but you Fontainians always have an unusual obsession with Sinthe, while people from other nations think it tastes mediocre. Regardless, I finally had a steady income. Though it couldn't see the light of day, relying on the Sinthe trade, I befriended many powerful figures and officials, using them as a shield to continue my experiments."
"Then, two years ago, Callas began investigating me. His reputation in Fontaine was beyond doubt. To protect myself, I had to risk using the water from that pool to set a trap and frame him."
"Heh, since he died, no one has continued to give me trouble. I could finally continue researching that water, until I was caught at my base."
"Are you satisfied now, Chief Justice Neuvillette?" He looked up toward the high seat. "Now, can you judge me?"
"...Though it deviates from procedure, since the defendant has confessed and all human and physical evidence is present," Neuvillette spoke. "Then, according to the established process, the charges against Vacher will be submitted to the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale for the final determination."
As the document entered the Oratrice, the rumbling sound of machinery echoed.
Focalors picked up the booklet but did not open it.
She already knew the entire truth; after all, she could see everything Furina saw.
Although that individual's push for this matter made her feel wary, in the end, dozens of human lives made her abandon any irrational thoughts.
Those were all children of the water.
'However, since you have revealed the existence of the Primordial Sea water, how will you calm the public's panic next?'
'Furina, whatever you do, do not give up...'
After a long while, the Oratrice gave its verdict. A sea-blue light enveloped the entire Opera House.
"According to the judgment given by the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, Vacher is... guilty!"
"Then, today's trial concludes—"
"Wait, wait, wait," Xia Yu called out helplessly, stopping Neuvillette. "It's not over yet. Neuvillette, didn't we agree?"
"Apologies. Force of habit," Neuvillette turned his head slightly.
"Fine. People of the water, I know what you are worried about," Xia Yu looked toward the audience. "You have surely thought of that prophecy."
"Regrettably, the threat in the prophecy exists. On this point, as the Shadow of the Hydro Archon, I cannot hide it from anyone."
She spoke with righteous dignity. "But there is no need for concern, children of the water! Our great Lady Furina has long since devised a countermeasure!"
"Why has the prophecy existed for five hundred years yet never been fulfilled?"
"Because the great Hydro Archon has been using all of her divine power to control that Primordial Sea water, preventing her people from being affected! If not for that, as the dignified Shadow of the Hydro Archon, how could I have gone to Snezhnaya for an investigation and failed to apply for even a fraction of divine power, left with only a Vision for self-defense?"
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