A Drop of Justice 4 (Patreon)

A Drop of Justice 4 - Or ‘Playing Ace Attorney has never been so French!’ (Genshin Impact AU, Lawyer!SI)

This was going to be a rather tense affair.

I had the opportunity to examine the documentation that I was given by Clorinde, confirming that perhaps I had judged Furina (or rather Neuvillette) too harshly on the way they were tackling this situation.

From the way the papers expressed themselves compared to the report I got, the situation I was supposed to handle was a bit limited in my handling compared to what I could technically do.

And as I had the opportunity to call my clients and evaluate the papers Navia had for me from what they got from the Gardes… Well, I was given proof that I was correct with my assumption the Fatui were to act as scapegoat for something more local.

“So, the Gardes are planning to do something and they… they used Freminet’s affiliation to create this fake crime?” Lyney asked with a hint of surprise, the three siblings clearly perplexed by this news.

“A crime did happen, but the way it was built around some odd evidence suggests this goes deeper than what many are aware about. I don’t even know how far and deep this one goes, but it is clear that Lady Furina with the aid of Iudex Neuvillette is investigating the matter. It’s very possible the Gardes will be ready to retaliate if I try to push against them myself, which is why I have a hope either of those two will tackle the matter themselves.”

So, I wasn’t preparing a counterclaim despite this being the most logical solution in a trial such as this one. The Gardes were expecting me to escalate and cause some ruckus, but I wasn’t dumb enough to let my eagerness to grill them expose me to any potential retaliation of any kind.

So, my focus for the remaining day was to submit the documentation for the defense, and then establish some backup plans in case surprises were to come up. After all, from what I could find on the witness was that they had a debt that suddenly vanished (through legal means that were still questionable) and a degree of dislike for the Fatui.

So, I knew that Furina was going to press on that the most and try to have it dispelled early on. At this point, we were no longer calling this a proper trial- it was the ultimate lie for the sake of yanking whatever conspiracy was forming around this particular event.

And I have a feeling that this was why Furina was ‘quite ecstatic’ about me being the defense attorney.

She was literally taking steps to be defeated as part of a spectacle. A defeat that wouldn’t stain her reputation and one that would actually set her up to try and approach me some more.

Dodging her after the trial itself was going to be a nightmare.

Soon, it was the ‘T-Day’, with my clients arriving early on the schedule, swift in gearing up with the right attitude to have during the trial as there was no doubt they were going to hard-press us on the idea of ‘The Fatui are all scheming bastards’ and so we were going to show the ‘opposite’ of that.

In that sense, people that are barely connected to the Fatui and that had legitimate businesses in Fontaine rather than any supported by the Fatui themselves.

Everyone was soon taking their position in the right booths as Neuvillette took his high seat and started the due process. After a brief introduction, Freminet was asked to express his awareness of the trial’s current order as of today.

While he was speaking and providing an exemplary and objective understanding of the trial and his not-guilty status, I had my eyes aimed at the Gardes within the audience.

Some seemed to be quite ‘vigilant’ for some reason, and I really hoped this wasn’t a sign I had to worry about an insurrection within the building. That would be… displeasing to say the least.

“Lady Furina, you may start by introducing a preliminary explanation on how the accusation came to be and how the prosecutorial view of the situation is.”

The Hydro Archon smiled as she stood up. “Your Honor, dear denizens of Fontaine, the events that transpired are indeed suspicious as the passing of the victim comes at a rather unusual timing- in fact, his death unfolded five years after one of his relatives, a missing woman that had been presumedly kidnapped by some shadowy organization in the nation. Of course, there is not enough proof to open a case around this other matter, yet the coincidence can’t be truly ignored. Especially when the victim was a known activist in the efforts of finding his relative’s kidnappers and that he had suggested many times the Fatui were involved. As it stands, Monsieur Freminet is a member of the House of the Hearth, a known organization led by ‘The Knave’.”

I glanced at the audience, people already rolling their eyes and glaring at an awkward-looking Freminet while denouncing him as the possible criminal in this case, having yet to hear a shred of proof that he was indeed involved in this.

The Oratrice made a clicking noise, showing that the accused was close to being turned into a ‘guilty party’. And that’s where I stepped in.

“Your honor, objection!” I loudly proclaimed, claiming attention with that gesture. “Lady Furina is not being completely honest on the House of the Hearth or the importance of evaluating each member of this organization with a proper lens. Specifically, there are members of this organization that are considered Fatui only because they were claimed by this group as children. Not many of those, as a few interviews of some of the former members of it that now sit within the High Judicial Council confirm that this is not an absolute proof that my client is a proper Fatui.”

I turned to the jury. “Likewise, this characterization is not built around a need to justify my client’s motivation for the crime, but to try and layer first a coat of prejudice to cover a glaring issue on the prosecution’s case: there is plenty of proof that confirms the attacker was none other than a marine creature as the tool for the killing was a natural stinger that can’t be harvested and used as a weapon.”

“T-That’s…” Furina appeared a bit surprised at my swift rebuttal, but managed to shake off most of her unease shortly after. “That’s indeed a good point. However, the matter stands that your client could have enticed the creature to commit the act. After all, Monsieur Freminet has experience in marine biology as confirmed by a few interviews with his contractors.”

“Contractors that also have expressed great admiration for Monsieur Freminet’s genuine interest in pursuing research on the topic and that have means to prevent young students from acquiring these creatures. The way this also unfolded with the victim’s last known location being irregular for the victim to be there for no apparent reason.”

“It was that Fatui Scum!” The ‘witness’ spoke angrily jumping out of his chair mid-outburst, clearly infuriated by the sight of the Oratrice favoring me twice in the argument. “These bastards are up to no good and it would be dumb to let them get away with it!”

“Order!” Neuvillette raised his voice, then glanced at the Archon. “Lady Furina, this court request you keep your witness under control.”

Furina nodded awkwardly, glaring at the man despite the guy appearing unfazed by the development itself. And I took this opportunity to get this trial moved closer to the end.

“Actually, your honor, I wish to interrogate the witness as his testimony may contain falsehoods.”

“This request is-”

“I ain’t talking to some Fatui-loving scum lawyer!” The witness boomed again, face reddening and a hint of a slur manifesting in his speech.

But I had a special detail helping me with this little issue.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, if the request is accepted I would also pass the motion to treat the witness as a hostile one.”

Neuvillette closed his eyes for a moment and then… he opened those with an exhausted look.

“Motion granted for both requests,” He turned to the witness. “Monsieur Delcasse, you will answer Monsieur Bukharin’s questions or this court shall throw your case out due to your behavior.”

The witness’ face was burning red, but he seemed to realize just now that he had no friends in the trial itself.

“Fine.”

“Good, then… your name is Thomas Delcasse, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“And you work as a ship-builder, correct?”

“That’s my job.”

“Glad to hear that. Is it true that you have a tendency to visit pubs during after work hours?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Please, keep answering and not antagonize, monsieur,” I snidely remarked, leaving the man grumbling some more. “Now, would it be fair to say it is habitual of you to be drunk most of those times you are visiting those places?”

“...Yes.”

“Now, your testimony says here that you witnessed the scene around the evening. You left the bar, you were drunk as you mentioned there and then you saw a ‘blonde figure’ attack the victim. Even though the victim’s body was found in the middle of the water when he was found.”

“Th-That’s not how it went,” The man weakly returned, but he wasn’t to be given any mercy.

“And yet it is the testimony you provided me, monsieur,” Furina quipped, showing some anger and finally gaining a flinch out of the ship-builder.

Yet, I wasn’t done with him yet.

“Now, another detail that jumps to my attention is the testimony in regard to how you reacted to this event. You first got back home, slept, then you woke up and went to the Gardes to notify them of what happened. And, from what it says here, you received a… ‘reward’ for bringing up to their attention this event? A monetary reward at that.”

“They- They said that the Fatui brat was a repeating offender.”

“Well, you will be surprised to know Monsieur Freminet has a pristine clean life when it comes to his lengthy stay here in Fontaine,” I argued calmly. “I have reason to believe they have paid you because your information was useful in a matter beyond what you truly saw. An excuse, if we can call it, to start something bigger than this trial.”

And as I said that, one of the officers appeared in front of the audience.

“Your honor, Monsieur Neuvillette! My apologies for the interruption, but my superiors have notified me that we have found vials of primal water among Monsieur Freminet’s belongings.”

That was… a big smoking gun. But one that was retrieved through some irregular means. Freminet tensed up, shocked about this matter, but I was the one that had to make his outrage known in the trial.

“We were not notified that the court had issued an investigation of my client’s personal belongings,” I sharply mentioned to Neuvillette.

“That’s because the court has not issued such a request. On what ground did your superior instruct you to go through this unwarranted request?”

The officer tensed up, but he wasn’t done being grilled.

“Indeed, no request for a perquisition was handed out by any of the parties,” Furina pushed through, looking down on the officer. “I motion to have this ‘evidence’ struck out due to the ludicrous way this came to their attention.”

“I-It’s important! The Fatui are up to something.”

“Then you are free to ask the court for permission for such an action. Yet you overruled the court’s authority and then decided to come back with potentially fabricated proof,” Neuvillette rebuked. “But alas, this proof is inadmissible due to the way this was retrieved and the lack of proper legal approach to its true origin.”

“I-I-AAHHHHH!” The man suddenly screamed, the sight of a man turned into water in a process that seemingly killed me leaving me quite shocked.

The audience stood up all at once, some ready to flee at the horrible scene, but-

“Order! Gardes, secure the area and I want each and every one of you controlled for any similar mechanisms behind this attack!”

The trial saw Freminet proved innocent, but the main attention was aimed at this event. Someone had used Primal Water, the same item that the Gardes had ‘somehow’ found in Freminet’s stuff, to actually kill a man by turning him into water.

The Primal Water was pretty much a horrible way to die which is why most researchers were banned from pursuing studies on the topic. Only those with high experience and awareness of the threat were allowed to take part in limited studies on the topic.

Still, the court was to reimburse my legal fees, so that was a relief and I didn’t have to worry about facing further trials against the Gardes for the time being. As I walked out of the booth with my clients and Lyney promised to offer me a free life-long ticket to his spectacles, I couldn’t help but notice the trio suddenly tensing up as they noticed a figure leaning against the wall and, as we approached, moving towards us.

The woman was not someone I was familiar with, yet her appearance was indeed eye-catching. Her white hair mixed with black bangs, kept short with just a single tied tail proceeding down to her knees. Her eyes were dark orbs with unusual red crosses, and her masculine clothes further exerted a sense of authority and formality.

“Father,” Lyney greeted quietly, way quieter than usual but…

Wait, ‘Father’? That’s clearly a woman!

I was immensely confused for a moment, but then I remembered reading that the ‘Father’ in the House of the Hearth was actually the Knave. Even though a woman, she had a thing to consider herself the ‘father of the orphans’ that were part of the ‘family’ she led.

“Lyney, Lynette,” The woman greeted back, her voice dull as she then turned her gaze to the remaining sibling. “Freminet, you held yourself well.”

The short-haired blond nodded. “Thanks, Father.”

“Alas, my gratitude, on behalf of the House of the Hearth, goes to you, Monsieur Bukharin.”

I nodded, keeping it professional. “I worked with Freminet as he was a potential customer of mine.”

“I am glad that this is your mindset on the matter, but let’s be clear that the House of the Hearth shall allow you a single favor for your assistance.”

Surprising, but they did have a mafia-like vibe and… I didn’t like that. I couldn’t blame the kids, but the Knave was slowly getting on my nerves with her slow tone and yet intense staring. So, I decided to cut her a bit for that effort to appear intimidating with me. After all, from the way Maeve was hugging my legs and hiding from the woman, I had a feeling she deserved it.

“If that’s the case, may I ask for the Fatui to give up their endeavor on kidnapping women? I believe it’s ridiculous that such a criminal effort has gone without a chance of lessening not even once.”

My words had the woman raise an intrigued look. “I am afraid that is above me, Monsieur Bukharin. But I admire your endeavor to pursue a good form of justice.”

I nodded at her words. “And I wish to really thank you, Lady Arlecchino, for telling me that the Fatui has a degree of presence on the topic. Many thanks really, but I have places to be and papers to sign. To a later date.”

I barely saw her eyes widening a fraction, shifting fast out of sight as I took hold of Maeve and started to pace fast before any other circumstances of worrisome degree unfolded before me.

Sadly for me, I turned the corner and bumped on someone that was soon smiling at me while pressing her chin on my chest and looking up at me.

“Hello there, Monsieur Bukharin~.”

And thus my plight with the Hydro Archon of the Bratty kind unfolded.

—--------d-d-d-d—-------

AN

Next time, John submits but abstains from breeding a brat for Clorinde and Maeve’s sakes.