Chapter Text
The trial for the serial disappearances case was progressing rather poorly.
No, "progressing" was a stretch, because the trial couldn't even begin properly. The accused, Mr. Tartaglia, eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, was seemingly deliberately trying to make a mockery of the trial, in retaliation for what he claimed to be "bullshit" charges against him.
Furina could probably count on one hand the number of times she saw Neuvillette get genuinely angry during a trial, and one look is all it took her to know this was going to be one of them.
The situation had admittedly taken them by surprise. Near the end of what should have been a normal day at court, a Garde came running and told them in a panicked tone that Mr. Tartaglia had been arrested after he was found in possession of vials containing primordial seawater.
From what Furina would hear later, it seemed that the arrest did not go very smoothly. In fact, Tartaglia had beaten up every single Garde that tried to detain him. After that, three Melusines from the Marechaussee Phantom showed up at the scene and started chasing him on the streets for a while before they cornered him at a dead end, after which he finally gave up and turned himself in. However, he refused to wait until the next day to be tried and threatened to break out using his Delusion if he didn't get what he wanted.
And so it was that Furina and Neuvillette found themselves with this impromptu trial. It was getting late, the audience was getting more and more noisy as people exchanged various theories between them, and Tartaglia had yet to properly answer a single question that Neuvillette had asked him during the past hour. Instead, he cracked jokes at Neuvillette's expense:
("So you're arresting me for possessing water? I heard you're uptight but damn...")
("Serial disappearances case? 20 years ago? Well yeah, I suppose I did disappear for a while around a decade ago, would you say that's connected enough?")
And when he wasn't doing that, he was asking for duels against Clorinde, and judging from her expression, the Champion Duelist had already grown weary of his "advances" days ago. He even challenged Furina herself when she tried to chide him for his behaviour, and Furina thanked the heavens that at the very least when it came down to duels, she had enough sensibility to just refuse them and not push herself into a corner trying to meet the expectations of her audience.
Alas, the trial wasn't progressing at all, and Neuvillette was just about convinced to postpone it until the next day, even if it meant having to personally subdue an angry Harbinger for the rest of the night. But right at this moment, a familiar blonde girl barged into the opera house, her two bodyguards behind her, and declared Mr. Tartaglia to be innocent.
Furina watched as Neuvillette willed every single muscle in his body to not snap at the sudden interjection. It was honestly kind of amusing, how his personality inside and outside of the court were so different. He's usually so kind and gentle, but even something as simple as taking too long to answer a question during trial was enough to get on his nerves. Furina would know, after all, just the other day she had been the subject of his ire when she... Actually, she didn't want to remember that.
The blonde girl, Navia of the Spina di Rosula, accused the one she claimed to be the true mastermind behind the serial disappearances case: Mr. Marcel of Confrerie de Cabriere. She went on to try and link the serial disappearances case with the case of "Callas the Unfaithful". Truth be told, Furina felt very conflicted about the case. On one hand, Mr. Callas had done so much for the people of Fontaine and both she and Neuvillette held much respect for the man. But on the other hand, she couldn't understand why he chose not to defend himself in court, opting instead for a duel that ended up taking his life. His actions had led to his name being tarnished, and without much evidence to work off of, Furina couldn't do much to protect his reputation, which cost her her good relations to the Spina.
This time however, she had a chance to make things right, so she personally assisted Navia during the trial, and helped her establish good grounds for reopening her father's case. She knew Neuvillette would understand, the ending of that case had never sat right with him either after all.
Unfortunately, Marcel wasn't making things easier for them. Even after Navia managed to establish a link between the two cases with the reveal of the usage of primordial seawater, he simply deflected with the fact that he had only come to Fontaine way after the disappearances had begun. Furina could clearly see, however, that Navia wasn't about to back down.
And for the second time on that evening, a blonde person loudly barged into the court. Neuvillette's exasperation was reaching new heights, but Furina calmed him down. The moment she understood that the Traveler was once again working in tandem with the young head of the Spina, she realized that they were going to win this trial.
After all, it was this very same duo that had managed to beat her so thoroughly just a few days ago.
"It's alright, Monsieur Neuvillette. Given their confidence, I expect they've found the crucial evidence."
And with that, the Traveler went on to reveal the truth of Marcel's, or rather Vacher's vile deeds. By the end of it, Furina could no longer hide her disdain for the man.
"So that's it. Even the villains in opera performances rarely go that far..."
A clear motive had been established, Vacher had no more room for an argument. Navia and the traveler had managed to drive him into a corner. But Vacher neither fought back nor expressed any guilt about his actions. Instead, venomous words spilled out of his mouth, denouncing the court, and blaming his actions on the society that had failed him when he needed it most. His words carried so much hatred for the court, the people of Fontaine, and even the very same girl he was calling a daughter just moments ago.
Whether his comments on what should be considered, by all means, her failures as an Archon held any truth didn't matter. For now, she had an image to maintain. A case that had went unsolved for 20 years had finally reached its resolution, the criminal was caught and brought to justice. The ideal of the Hydro Archon had prevailed once again, and nothing this criminal could say was going to change this fact. So after he was done with his tirade, she knew what she had to do next.
"According to the judgement of the Oratrice Mécanique d'Analyse Cardinale, Mr. Vacher is... Guilty."
Just as he should be.
"Gardes! Take Vacher away..."
With that, this long trial had finally reached its conclusion. Furina should be happy, really. A case that had weighed heavily on her mind had been solved at last, and Mr. Callas' name had been cleared... All way too late. She sighed, she still had to go over the rest of the evidence the Traveler had brought. Truth be told, she wasn't looking forward to that. The little details the Traveler had shared during the trial were already enough to send a shiver down her spine, she already knew that she won't be able to sleep after reading the full documents.
"Should I just leave them to Neuvillette? ...No ...No, I have to face this. It's the least I could do... for the people I had failed to protect."
She was about to leave when she heard Neuvillette's voice.
"Mr. Tartaglia, please wait for just a moment."
Oh, right, she almost forgot. Tartaglia was the one who had originally been accused, so Neuvillette still had to declare a verdict on his charges. Well, she only has to wait for a few more seconds.
"According to the judgement of the Oratrice Mécanique d'Analyse Cardinale, Mr. Tartaglia is..."
After all, the truth had already come to light, and the verdict was obvious.
"Not guilty."
And that's a wrap.