Chapter Text
“Hey, Traveler!” a pink haired girl with a monocle over one of her blue eyes rushed up to them, one gloved hand on her hat to keep it from blowing off and the other on a camera, “Traveler, Paimon, wait up!”
The Traveler paused in their tracks, turning to look at the girl with mild surprise. Paimon, floating beside the Traveler as usual, perked up and waved, “Charlotte! Hello!” she said in her high-pitched, chipper voice, “Everything okay? You’re all sweaty..”
“You guys walk so fast,” Charlotte panted, bending over to rest her hand on her knee as she caught her breath, “I just wanted to ask for some help, that’s all. Phew, I haven’t ran that fast since the time I tried catching Lady Furina, and she was running!” Charlotte stood up as she regained her composure, flashing a big smile and placing a hand on her hip, “I need to ask you two to help me with interviews again! It worked so well last time.”
The Traveler thought for a moment, recalling the time Charlotte had them running around interviewing people about the Weasel Thief or something, though honestly so many things have happened since then, so they couldn’t really remember the details, other than Lyney being a big part of the investigation. Paimon chirped, tilting her head, “About what, exactly?”
“Well, about that trial with the Fatui Harbinger in it, of course!” Charlotte said happily, holding her camera up excitedly, “You two knew him personally, right? So this could give you some useful info on your friends whereabouts, while I get a good scoop! Sounds like a win-win, right? The stuff you got from Wriothesely didn’t help your investigation on Childe, nor did it help much for my papers, so maybe this could be a good chance for both of us to get the info we need from the people!”
“Wow,” Paimon said, leaning in to speak into the travelers ear, “She really knows how to sell her ideas, huh? Maybe that’s why she’s such a renowned journalist in The Steambird.”
“Percisely, Paimon! Being able to pitch your ideas and make them convincing is one of the best qualities a journalist can have! The second being able to listen to whispers really well,” She winked, and Paimon yelped, backing away from Travelers ear, a little flustered.
“O-oh…Hehehe…” Paimon giggled nervously, and the Traveler shook their head. Clearing her throat, Paimon decided to change the topic, “A-anyway, Paimon and the Traveler are free right now, so we can help! Maybe then we’ll have something good to report to Monsieur Neuvillette!”
The Traveler smirked slightly, tilting their head, “...The Traveler and Paimon. Grammar.” they said simply, and Paimon huffed.
“Whatever! Paimon doesn’t even use grammar in the way Paimon usually speaks, anyway!” Paimon stomped her foot in the air in a fit, and the Traveler simply chuckled.
Charlotte considered the two for a moment, before turning to look amongst the crowd, putting a knuckle to the underside of her lip, “Come along, you two, off we go! Amazing scoops await, hidden within the minds of the people of Fontaine!” She marched forward, the two at her heels, “Let’s see..Who looks like they may have something interesting to say..?”
“Umm..” Paimon looked around a little uncertainly, before pointing over at a woman near a fontain wearing a frilly yellow dress, an umbrella in one hand and a fan on the other. She seemed lost in thought, watching the waters fall, “How about her? She seems like she’s thinking about something interesting! Hey, you! Pretty lady!”
The woman perked up, looking up at the three with interest, “Oh, my, if it isn’t the renowned Traveler and Paimon- Oh, and Charlotte, from the Steambird! How wonderful it is to see you all. To what do I owe the pleasure to speaking with you all today?”
“Hello, ma’am! We’re out here looking to interview people about the big trial that happened a week ago with the Fatui Harbinger to see if we can get any leads on his current whereabouts,” Charlotte said, holding up a notebook with excitement, “We’re really sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but Paimon here said you looked like an excellent source of info. Could you spare us a bit of your time to share your opinion on the case?”
“Oh, yes, that trial was absolutely striking, wasn't it? The plot twists and drama hardly ever get that surprising, especially not at the very end,” The woman said, fixing her umbrella in her hands as she spoke to the three interviewing her, “After all, when Monsuier Neuvillette was in trial himself, he still lost, even though he was still the one judging the outcome. Surely he wouldn’t be biased in a trial about a man he barely knows, you know?”
Paimon shot further into the air in suprise, “Neuvillette was on trial before?!” She squeaked, and the Traveler pulled her back down with a stern look, “...Oops, sorry. That’s just so- So surprising!”
“You’ve never heard of that case?” Charlotte looked at her two companions with surprise, “That was one of the biggest events in Fontaine! …Well, not really, actually, a lot of people completely glossed over it, but I think it’s pretty important!”
The Traveler looked thoughtful, and Paimon piped up, “What crime did he commit, then? And why was he still allowed to judge over it?”
“Crime? Monsieur Nuevillette wouldn’t commit a crime, silly,” Charlotte laughed, “He lost custody of his daughter.”
The Traveler tilted their head, “Daughter?” They asked slowly, and Charlotte stopped laughing, looking at the yellow woman.
“You didn’t know? Monsieur Neuvillette used to be married to the Duke Wriothesely, and they adopted a melusine named Sigewinne. Certainly you knew that, being so close to the Iudex?”
Paimon shook her head, in absolute awe, “Wriothesely and Neuvillette were married?” She said, looking at the Traveler with wide eyes before back to the woman and Charlotte, scratching her head, “Um..Paimon’s sorry, Paimon knows we’re supposed to be interviewing this nice lady, but…What the heck?! You have to tell us about this!”
“Oooh, I love this story,” The woman said excitedly, “I don’t mind talking about it, if Charlotte doesn’t mind postponing her interviewing!” the well-dressed lady looked over to Charlotte with a polite smile, and the Traveler and Paimon both turned to look at her as well. Charlotte took a long moment, before sighing.
“Well, I suppose interviews can wait, if you really wanna know that bad. A journalist like me can’t just let her assistants walk around without any prior knowledge of the most interesting trials in Fontaine to date!” Charlotte said, more so convincing herself than the others, before moving to sit on the side of the fountain with a thoughtful expression, “Where to start, though..”
“Oh, dear,” a monotone, yet gentle voice washed over them, and the four turned to see the subject of conversation himself; Monsieur Neuvillette, dressed in his usual overly complicated robes, a hand on his cane, “I appear to have come at a bad time. Apologies.”
Paimon shot into the air as if she got caught eating something she wasn’t supposed to be, “O-Oh! Monsieur Neuvillette! We weren’t talking about you, or anything!” she squeaked.
“Good evening, Iudex,” the finely dressed woman bowed her head, and Charlotte quickly squabbled to get her notebook back out, squeezing her pen to the point the ink might have exploded from the tip, “We were simply talking about the case of Wriothesely, all those years ago.”
Nuevillette’s demeanor changed a little bit, getting a little stiff, “Ah. Yes, that..” He looked up, and the sky seemed to grow a little darker, “Which one, precisely? The murder trial, or the custody?”
“Both, Monsuier Neuvillette,” the woman said, bowing her head, “I hope you do not take offense, of course, but it was simply a matter of-”
“It is fine,” Neuvillette said, waving a hand, “The Traveller and Paimon are good friends of mine. They have a right to know, if they are curious,” He regarded the four separately, taking his time to examine them, before relaxing, “If you would like, I could tell the story.”
Charlotte squealed in excitement, “Oh, you would?! You wouldn’t mind if I write it down, would you?!” she asked, “Sure, it was an old scoop, but to have the Iudex share a firsthand account- Oooh, I’m smelling payday for sure!”
“I do not mind personally,” Neuvillette said simply, moving to sit on a bench, “I do have an event to attend to tonight, though, so I cannot stay for very long,” he bowed his head, “Now, let’s see..Let’s begin from the start, shall we?”