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Given his important position, Monsieur Neuvillette wasn’t the kind of man that would pay attention to the rumours concerning the Opera épiclèse.
The Mother house of justice was the subject of dozens of unlikely stories that would spread between those walls like wildfire.
However, when he deigned to pay attention to the futile conversations that surrounded him, Monsieur Neuvillette noticed that a certain subject was often at the centre of worldly conversations
It is said that during night time, while the opera was empty of its usual visitors and daily hubbub, a shadow would appear.
In the beginning, none of the guards had believed that poor, petrified, man who swore to have seen the phantom of a masked woman.
But when the same thing occurred to the most experienced and calm nightwatchman, everybody considered that it was impossible for it to be a lie.
And it didn't take long for these corridors’ noises to swell and reach the ears of citizens.
We named her; the Phantom of The Opera.
According to the few descriptions we had of her, hair was falling on her back like a waterfall.
She was dressed in a white gown that would reveal a gaping scar on the top of her chest. And despite the revealing clothing, her eyes were covered under a magnificent mask assembled with ornament and details of all kinds.
The few that had seen her were always left with the same impression:
"How is she able to see?”
Some even say they saw her with The Hand of Justice spectre by hand; a badge of divine power that meant justice will be done.
The more days went by, the more the rumour grew and it became impossible for Monsieur Neuvillette to ignore it. Every day that passed meant being questioned once again about the veracity of the words by worried people.
But Monsieur Neuvillette was a busy man who, when he wasn't in his office signing and studying cases, was on the throne of Justice applying the law.
Those silly little stories were, in fact, not his absolute priority.
But all of this changed when, one day, he spotted a new file on his desk. Wondering himself what could it be, he asked one of the melusine what this case was about.
"This morning one of the Opera’s guard dropped it. Apparently it was about your person."
All the more intrigued, Monsieur Neuvillette kindly thanked the melusine and allowed her to leave his office.
By leafing the few pages of the case, Monsieur Neuvillette quickly understood that it was an accusation against the so-called Phantom of the opera.
Apparently two nights ago, during his night shift, a guard, who was doing his surveillance round in the Opera’s main room, witnessed a strange scene.
In the distance, of the furthest seats, he was able to spot a white figure standing near the Supreme Judge seat, imitating a plea.
But the "most striking moment",quoting the very same words of the guard, was when she abruptly slammed her spectre on the ground and yelled :
"SILENCE!"
Only for her to gently sit on the Throne and point her finger in the immense void of the room, and calmly but firmly say :
“Monsieur Neuvillette, I condemn you.”
Once he had finished reading this document, Monsieur Neuvillette sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He was annoyed to have to investigate such a ... minimal situation, which concerned his person, moreover.
Alas that was his job, so he quickly pushed the papers out of his sight and decided that it will be better to leave it for later.
Later turned out to be several days later, more specifically in the late and calm night that provided Fontaine.
After long days of trials and investigation he finally reached the bottom of his documents pile.
And there he was, once again, with the case concerning The Phantom Of The Opera between his hands.
The Comtoise clock announced 0:00 in the morning, and it was, for Monsieur Neuvillette, the perfect time to investigate directly on the premises.
With an external eye, his current situation was similar to overwork.
However, for Monsieur Neuvillette ,and as a direct representative of justice, it was important to devote every little moment of his life to Fontaine's safety.
That mindset ,therefore, led him to such a situation as walking in the middle of the night to reach his new source of problems; The Opera Épiclèse.
Completely absorbed by his countless thoughts, he didn't even notice that he was arrived at his destination.
He raised his head towards the huge clock whose hands announced 0:15 in the morning.
Perfect. He thought to himself.
If he referred to the guard’s statement, the Phantom was inclined to appear in this time slot.
Pushing the large double-leaf entrance door, he could sense the agitation that animated the entrance hall.
His sudden appearance, however, forced a return to calm, the guards having to greet the Iudex of Fontaine.
In the other hand, his arrival sounded like a relief for the night guards.
"What a boon your honour, your timing is perfect!”
-The man almost shouted-
"One of the guard told us a few minutes ago that he had heard noises coming from the room but none of us are brave enough to go check."
Saying this in a defeated tone, the Head Guard, seemed to reach for the help of Monsieur Neuvillette in a last, desperate, attempt.
He sighed.
Wasn’t it their job to protect this place?
But in the back of his mind he understood them, after all it was in the human nature to be afraid of the unknown.
"I’ve heard you, if you'll excuse me, I must go investigate.”
Making his way through the few people gathered in the hall, he quickly reached the upstairs door that opened onto the main room.
And there, he could hear it.
Now that he was standing just behind the closed doors, it was clear that something wrong was going on.
Because how was it possible to explain that the organ could be heard right now, in the middle of the night?
As cautiously as possible, he opened the door and slipped inside to face a somewhat "incongruous scene".
Below him, was a pale figure frantically taping on the keys of the cords instrument in a deafening crash.
He couldn’t believe his own eyes.
How could anyone be so shameless as to break into government property?
That little moment of pure chaos lasted for few more seconds before Monsieur Neuvillette was struck by a angelic yet puissant voice, forcing him to refocus his full attention on this mysterious woman.
"And though you turn from me
To glance behind
The phantom of the opera is there
Inside your mind."
And the almighty sound of the organ picked up again.
For Monsieur Neuvillette, these few words sounded like a desperate appeal in the middle of a storm. Like if a story was being told.
And as if immersed in his reflections, he almost missed the fact that the melody had faded into the silence of the night.
Suddenly, applause erupted.
"May I say, I’m impressed that someone as indiscreet as you managed to sneak in this very secured place."
An exclamation of surprise could be heard on her part, before being followed by giggles.
"As for you, you are truly discreet my Honour. However, it would be more correct to say that I live here. That being said, I must leave now."
With her last sentence being pronounced she just stood up and disappeared, carried away by her cape.
Given the distance between them, it was impossible for him to follow her.
From this short interaction, Monsieur Neuvillette was left with a huge amount of personal questions.
During the exchange, she never took her eyes off her instrument so, how was she able to recognise him in an instant?
By glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes?
Impossible.
Her mask obstructed her vision.
And that voice’s timbre of her, he was sure he already heard it somewhere.
But where ?
But how ?
But when ?
_____________________________
This incident was occupying the Iudex thoughts.
The very same file that had been pushed to the corner of his office, in order to be forgotten, was now running through his mind day and night.
He was unable to explain it, but it’s as if the Opera was calling him.
And since that night, he could never resist answering this bewitching call.
Each night, without fail, he turned up in the main hall.
Each night, at the same time he was there, desperately waiting for her to appear.
But she never showed up.
For 5 months, it was as if their first encounter had changed everything.
The guards were gently amused by the sudden change in Monsieur Neuvillette's behaviour.
He, who had not taken the first report seriously, was now almost doing their jobs for them.
Checking one by one the dozens of rooms in the Opera.
From the underground cells to the luxurious apartments.
This situation interfered with his work and it was sometimes impossible for him to free his thoughts from thousand and one hypotheses about this woman.
But it got worse after the Sun would dissapear to let the Moon rise, he would continually watch the clock on the wall, impatient to hear the twelve strokes of midnight.
And tonight was no exception.
As usual, the guards greeted the supreme chief of justice, and as always the Head-Guard was waiting for him at the end of the line.
"Good evening Monsieur.
As has been the case in recent months, I regret to inform you that no suspicious activity has been reported to me."
"You’ll see me reassured, but I’ll insist on doing my usual security round.
If you’ll excuse me."
And, has the guard predicted, he indeed found nothing.
As to enter inside the, last but not least, main room he was once more dissatisfied to notice that nothing unusual came out.
But as he was about to leave the place, a familiar sound interrupted him in his momentum.
Silence.
A spot had just been turned on behind his person.
Seing the faint light illuminating the wall in front of him, he thought dreaming for a second.
But as he slowly turned around to met what he thought was only an hallucination of his, turned out to be what he had secretly been hoping to see every night for the past few weeks.
There she was, standing near the organ.
Her fingers slowly tracing the wooden instrument.
And has he expected it, she took a seat on the bench. But yet, no sound from the organ could be heard.
She was sitting with her arms at her sides, lost in her thoughts.
For long minutes.
"I’ve spoken nothing but the truth, yet every one of you has turned your back on me."
She spoke.
She hesitated, lifting her arm to press a key, but then abruptly stopped and rose to her feet.
A sudden wave of fear invaded Neuvillette body.
The fear of her leaving and never returning.
He desperately extended his arm in order to reach her, yet he unconsciously teleported himself by her side.
His fingers firmly pressed against the bare skin of her arm.
She let out a soft sigh.
"My-my! Were you lurking me in the dark, Neuvillette?"
"I’m deeply sorry if I scared you.
That was none of my intentions."
The sudden distance separating them could make the world stop, but for now, only Neuvillette’s breathing stopped.
The grasp he had on her slowly fainted, yet still keeping a morally acceptable distance.
"I don’t think I need to remind you that it’s illegal to break in. Isn’t that so?”
"It goes without saying that my Honour."
The way she insisted on the last word sounded like a mockery, but Neuvillette brushed it off.
"I'm willing to close my eyes on tonight events under one condition only, tell me who are you?
Answer that simple question and you shall be free."
"Oh!”
Sadness and melancholy would be the perfect words to describe this reaction of her.
"I’m sad to hear that you didn’t even recognise me."
"What is the meaning of this?
Explain yourself!”
She could sense true incomprehension in Neuvillette voice.
"I'm the same as before and yet you cannot see through my eyes."
She took a deep breath before starting over.
"I am…"
"HERE!
MONSIEUR THE IUDEX CAUGHT HER!"
"No! That can’t be!"
She yelped trying to run away.
But was pulled back by a strong hand.
And from that moment, the only thing she recall from the fury of the scene was a little word pronounced out of breath.
" I’m sorry… "
_____________________________
"Have you not heard yet? They finally caught her."
"It said that the trial should be held in two days."
"Monsieur Neuvillette was the one who caught her."
"He’s not the Supreme Chief of Justice for nothing!"
Gossip.
Far underground, in the bassement of the opera house, none of them were strong enough to break through.
And yet, she still felt theirs weight on her shoulders.
However, her mask still on her nose, indeed, meant she had yet not cracked under the constant pressure of all of them .
It was her way of comforting herself.
"Are you even listening to me ?
Answer my request."
She sighed.
Behind the cell bars was Neuvillette glancing over at her.
"I’ll be blunt, no.
And once again, I will not take off my mask.
There is no law article about hiding eyes."
"Fine."
He finally abandoned, she thought to herself.
"I will send you an attorney in the following hours."
"No!
I’m able to defend myself alone."
"You don’t seem to know what charges are being held against you…"
"Let me guess, trespassing on government property and defamation of a public figure."
She answered in exasperation.
"At least, declare your identity for the official record."
He was really desperate to have even a crumb of information.
"You already know me, look deep into your heart and you shall find the answer.
'The Phantom of the Opera' will be all fine."
She smiled, proud of her.
In a movement he turned his person and looked over his shoulder.
"Guards will come in two days to take you to your trial.
If you’ll excuse me I must take my leave."
"Farewell Neuvillette."
The way she insisted on his name, it was like déjà vu all over again.
_____________________________
The big day that had kept all of Fontaine on the edge of their seats had finally arrived.
The trial of the 'Phantom of the Opera' should start any moment now.
"Silence in the assembly.
I declare the trial open."
The sudden appearance of the Iudex made everyone in the room felt silent.
"On this day, the court case will face the ‘Phantom Of The Opera' against this guard here present.
The accused is charged with unlawfully trespassing on private government property and defamation of a public figure according to the guard statement.
Is it right mister ?"
"Yes my Honour."
"Great.
Let's bring in the accused."
And from that very moment, everything in this room stopped.
Breaths were held.
Eyes were wide open.
Hands were holding the chairs.
Everything and everyone wanted to glimpse the faceless woman. The same woman, everyone had heard of but never seen.
The seconds ticked by, and as they did so, the sound of shoes tapping against the wooden floor became clearer and clearer.
She was coming.
The Archon herself rose from her seat to lean over the balcony.
Dazzling as she was in this white, almost angelic, dress, she finally appeared.
The Phantom was there, her eyes still covered under the mask.
"Let the trial begin!"
Shouted Furina, excited by the idea of the end result.
"Lady Furina, no unauthorised intervention please."
—————————————
"Let me ask you this one last time.
Remove your mask or you will be charged for resisting."
She slapped her hands on the railing in front of her.
"Then, evacuate the room.
I don’t want anyone to see me!"
Neuvillette pinched the bridge of his nose, completely distraught by the situation.
It had been less than ten minutes since the beginning of the session, and yet, he was already exhausted.
"This is a public matter, nothing can be hidden from the public."
The latter, and the guard himself, stared in bewilderment at the scene unfolding before their eyes.
The very representation of justice arguing against this emblematic figure.
"I fear you’re right, it’s a public matter and nothing should be hidden from the eyes of the world."
Deep breath.
"My eternal slumber finally reached to its end!
Yet even in my furthest memories, I vividly remember that night Neuvillette.
The night where you stole everything from me!"
She marked a pause and looked upon Lady Furina.
"God may forgive, but I won't."
"Only one last thing remains to be said: May the storm downfall on YOU."
She dramatically pointed her finger in Neuvillette's direction.
"I'll ask you this one last time, remove your mask."
"I’ll shall give you my name as well that removing my mask."
She reached for the mask on her nose, determined to show her face to the world.
"I’m [Y/N], daughter of the unknown but victim of the illustrious Neuvillette."
Neuvillette froze upon the realisation of what was currently happening.
“The court is suspended!
That all of you leave the room now!"
True panic.
These eyes, these scars upon them, this name.
Everything recalled to him.
This face of her.
He has caused her so much pain, suffering and contempt so long ago.
_______________________
300 years ago, in the streets of Fontaine:
"I’m glad you find some time to met me!"
"Officially, this meeting is for diplomatic purposes."
"Come on, don’t be so strict.
This may be a ‘diplomatic meeting', but nothing prevents us from doing it this way.
Am I right?"
"It’s not very ‘diplomatic' of us to stroll through crowded streets in such close proximity.
Am I right, [Y/N]?"
"Neuvillette, you’re such not funny.
Or you, maybe, prefer the name 'Monsieur Neuvillette de Fontaine, the Great Iudex of Justice'.
Sounds more ‘diplomatic', no?"
He gently laughed.
The two of them then agreed to visit a place further away from civilisation; a cliff overlooking the eternal blue sea.
"Do you like it?"
She asked him with a bright and radiant smile on her face.
"I’ve asked my dad to build this gloriette long time ago, but I wanted to wait for the flowers to bloom before taking you there."
Saying that he was amazed wasn’t enough, because in front of him stood hundreds of white and blue flowers.
His colours.
"This place looks as beautiful as you."
She chuckled at the compliment, politely placing a hand in front of her mouth to cover it.
"Let’s take a sit then."
Her frail fingers slowly wrapped around his hand to guide him.
They each took a place on the bench,
Her hand still in his.
Looking over at the infinite sea, that was their peace.
But still, Neuvillette could sense that she was acting strangely.
Usually she’d be talking, laughing, teasing him…
"Is something wrong my dear?”
The sound of the waves hitting the rocks below was his only response.
"My dear?"
Still no response from her.
He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him.
"Please talk to me."
She was avoiding his gaze like the plague.
But after gathering enough self strength, she finally dared to look at him.
"The other day when I was looking through my late great-grandmother archives, I stumbled across a document where your full name appeared."
She took a deep breath.
"Like everyone else, I knew that you weren’t a normal human being.
Yet, reading that paper broke my heart because I am now sure that our love will never defy the divine law, and that sooner or later I'll abandon you."
Tears started to gather at the corners of her eyes, but he wiped them away with his knuckles.
"Don’t cry my love.
Let's enjoy the present together without worrying about the future."
"Oh no!
I’m so sorry, I’ve ruined the moment."
"It’s alright my love."
His soft voice was trying to calm her.
She could feel raindrops on her nose
"And it’s going to start raining."
Gently embracing his figure, she was now so close to his heart that she could hear it.
"Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, don’t to cry or you’ll soak my love."
"My love…"
"Your secret is well kept with me, do not worry my dear Dragon."
He could fell her smile against his chest, and for that reason alone, he knew he had nothing to fear.
_____________________
And in the end, the only thing that separated them was not death but the naivety of his beloved.
Indeed, during years his secret had been well hidden from the eyes of the world, but a clumsy mistake on her part led to her downfall.
One night, will out of town, one of her maid sneaked into her room and stole her diary.
By dint of watching over her master’s shoulder, will she was writing in it, she was able to spot Neuvillette’s name.
Hooping for a juicy scoop about the Iudex, she was not dissatisfied.
Indeed, few days later, a certain rumour about a certain Dragon involving Monsieur Neuvillette started to spread in the little village.
According to the rumours, [Y/N] was telling anyone who would listen that the supreme judge was the Hydro Dragon.
When these rumours reached her ears, she realised her mistake far too late.
Everyone in the village was already calling her 'The liar', her own family started to turn their backs, and the most heart breaking thing was when Neuvillette himself showed up to refute the remarks without even taking the time to clear his sweetheart's name and honour.
And when he turned to walk away from the crowd, she followed him.
Unfortunately the crowd followed her too, ready to make this slanderous woman pay.
"Neuvillette!
What does all this mean?!
Are you just going to turn your back and leave me here?
Answer me!"
Suddenly, she was pulled back by her hairs by a man in the crowd.
And… he did nothing.
Nothing.
He just looked over his shoulder his ‘beloved' being hit, walked over, spat on and so many other atrocities that history did not remembered.
And from that night, only God knows how much she suffered.
In the dawn of the day, she was nothing but a bunch of bruises, injuries, blood stains and the new mother of two gigantic scars that stretched from her eyebrows to her chest.
According to the villagers, this public punishment was necessary because no one could lie about such an important figure as the Supreme Chief of Justice.
And from that night, only God knew how much she despises Neuvillette.
Unfortunately, Neuvillette was the one gifting her with a poisoned gift; immortality.
He, who was once concerned about losing her, gave her a drop of his life.
And she was now forced to live for eternity, but dead to the world.
And that's what she did.
That’s what she did, until feeling the need to reappear and disturb the tranquility of his life.
____________________________
"Do you remember Neuvillette?"