As Neuvillette pronounced the final Judgment, the two elderly figures wore expressions of utter disbelief.
"You corrupt Justice! You must have been colluding with this heartless wretch from the start!"
"He killed someone! Why isn't he sentenced to death?!"
"How can our daughter rest in peace with such a verdict?!"
Hearing their curses, a lucky audience member could no longer restrain himself. He rose from his seat and shouted, "Silence, you two doddering fools! How dare you insult Monsieur Neuvillette!"
"Monsieur Neuvillette's judgments have been flawless for centuries! What right do you ignorant old fools have to challenge them?!"
"Exactly! If anything, the sentence was too lenient! What a reasonable man he is! I truly pity this brother. If I were the one wronged, your entire Family would be begging for reincarnation!"
Hearing the audience's condemnation, the two elderly people paled, their lips trembling with rage.
The middle-aged man, on the other hand, wiped away tears of gratitude, repeatedly thanking those who had rallied to his defense.
This display immediately garnered more sympathy, and more people joined the chorus denouncing the two elders.
With the Judgment concluded, Neuvillette saw no need to remain. Despite the chaotic scene, he simply instructed Maison Gardiennage officers to maintain order.
"You're driving us to suicide!" the elders wailed.
"Come on, stop shouting from up there! If you've got the guts, jump down here!" the crowd retorted.
"I'm warning you, don't push us! When we snap, even we're afraid of ourselves!"
"Spare us the crocodile tears and empty threats! If you've got the guts, jump! Jump!"
Just as Neuvillette was about to leave, he overheard the conversation. A sense of foreboding washed over him. He turned around just in time to hear two heavy thuds from afar, followed by panicked screams. He sighed deeply.
Immediately, a torrential downpour began.
Neuvillette didn't even need to return to his office; he immediately began working overtime, launching a new round of Judgment regarding the two elders who had jumped to their deaths from the dock.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, we had no idea!"
"We were just talking! We never thought they'd actually jump! This whole family must be insane!"
"Be more confident—they are insane! Otherwise, they wouldn't have spouted such outrageous nonsense earlier!"
-
After the initial shock subsided, the audience, truth be told, felt little sympathy for the two deceased elders. On the contrary, they seemed to feel much better about themselves.
Neuvillette watched the defendants in the dock protest their innocence, a headache brewing.
Although this was a suicide case, the fact that multiple individuals were accused of inciting the act made it particularly complex.
Firstly, the nine defendants in the dock might not be all those who had urged the elders to jump.
A crime originally meant to be shared by ten individuals was now being borne by only nine, clearly violating the principles of legal fairness and justice.
Secondly, before the audience's incitement, the two elders had already threatened Neuvillette with their lives. From a cause-and-effect perspective, it was difficult to determine whether their suicide was due to his final judgment or the audience's incitement.
Lastly, forensic examination revealed that both deceased elders had heart conditions. It remained unclear whether a sudden heart attack had caused them to lose their footing and fall, and whether the audience's accusations had triggered their cardiac episodes in the first place.
Neuvillette had served as Chief Justice for centuries, presiding over countless cases. Yet recently, he found the task of overseeing judgments more challenging than ever before.
Moreover, Fontaine's current laws were woefully inadequate to resolve this particular case. Discussions on revising the Fontaine Law were still ongoing, with no end in sight.
Just as they reached a consensus on nearly universally satisfactory provisions, a new, utterly absurd case would emerge the very next moment.
Neuvillette had taken the time to visit the individuals revising the Fontaine Law. He found them with bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, and severe dark circles, their hands still frantically flipping through legal codes from various nations—historical versions before revisions, as well as precedents for exceptional cases. Fearing they might collapse from exhaustion at any moment, Neuvillette promptly arranged for two physicians to monitor their health around the clock.
In the end, these individuals were not sent to the Fortress of Meropide. Instead, they were temporarily released to resume their normal lives, provided they remained within the city limits and remained available for immediate recall.
This policy, recently enacted at his urging, was designed for those who had committed minor offenses but couldn't be immediately sentenced due to various circumstances.
Returning to his office late that evening, Neuvillette gazed at the mountain of documents piled on his desk, his weariness deepening.
He flipped through the stack until he found Wriothesley's reply, rereading it several times.
Finally, Neuvillette decided to adopt Wriothesley's suggestion and construct another tower on land. He found Wriothesley's reasoning sound, realizing its long-term value and the wisdom of starting construction without delay.
"Neuvillette!"
The office door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.
Neuvillette's eye twitched. He looked up at Furina, her smile radiant, and spoke sternly.
"Lady Furina, one should knock before entering another's chambers."
"Oh."
Hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina nodded obediently, backed out of the room, and slowly closed the door.
Knock, knock!
"Enter."
Bang!
The door crashed open again, and Furina strode purposefully toward Neuvillette.
"Neuvillette!"
"Guess what? I just saw the most fascinating murder case!"
Neuvillette felt a headache coming on. He couldn't fathom how Furina could associate such incompatible terms as "murder" and "fascinating."
"Neuvillette, don't you want to hear about the case?"
"Lady Furina, the case you were involved in should already be in these files on my desk, so there's no need."
"If there's nothing else, as you can see, I have a great deal of work to do."
"I believe you should return to your chambers, get a quiet night's sleep, and rest up for tomorrow's Judgment."
With that, Neuvillette turned his attention to the documents on his desk, flipping through them.
Furina immediately bristled.
"How could you? I've been waiting ages to share this fascinating murder case with you!"
"This is my, Hydro Archon Furina's, heartfelt gesture! You can't just reject it!"
Yet Neuvillette completely ignored Furina's words, continuing to meticulously handle his work.
He assumed that if he simply didn't respond to Furina's whims, she would eventually realize she was wasting her time and leave. But he had underestimated her determination this time.
Furina's small head slowly peeked out from above the stack of files. With a sigh, Neuvillette set the files down and looked up at her as she perched on his desk.
"Neuvillette, it's so late already! It's past working hours!"
"Lady Furina, have you forgotten that you entrusted all your duties to me for handling?"
"Ah, right, is that so?"
Hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina's expression immediately turned awkward, but she quickly forced herself to regain her composure.
"Ahem, I hereby grant you a day off, Neuvillette!"
"So stop working now!"
"Where's Miss Clorinde?"
"Ah? Oh, you're asking about Clorinde? The Maison Gardiennage is short-staffed, so she's helping out there."
After hearing Furina's explanation, Neuvillette finally understood the real reason she was pestering him so late.
No, I need to find a way to get Clorinde to keep an eye on Furina again. Otherwise, I'll never get any work done.
Having made up his mind and resolved to act tomorrow, Neuvillette patiently asked, "Tell me, what case were you looking at earlier?"
A triumphant smile spread across Furina's face as she leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "It's a secret..."
"Neuvillette, do you know how to defeat the Raiden Shogun?"
Furina's words instantly wiped the playfulness from Neuvillette's face, replacing it with grim seriousness.
Though Furina had always boasted about being able to judge even the gods of other nations, could she truly be considering such a reckless act?
The Raiden Shogun—even Neuvillette himself couldn't defeat her, let alone Furina, who had only been the Hydro Archon for five centuries.
If he were to reclaim his full authority, he could at least stand a chance against her. But what would be the point?
Was Furina planning to settle old scores because the Raiden Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi had once carved a forbidden zone into the sea? For years, Electro Elemental Power-infused seawater had flowed with the ocean currents, creating smaller forbidden zones and disrupting countless lives. Was she now foolishly trying to settle accounts and drag him into this suicide mission?
Seeing Neuvillette's increasingly grave expression, Furina immediately realized his thoughts had strayed far astray. She hastily interrupted his train of thought.
"Neuvillette, are you overthinking this?"
"Just throw Scissors!"
"Because Baal-zebub!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha! I'm dying of laughter!"
Watching Furina laugh so hard she could barely stand, Neuvillette took several deep breaths to suppress the urge to unleash a Dragon Sovereign water blast at her.
"Alright, Lady Furina," he said. "You've finished your jokes. Now, let's discuss the case details."
"What? Was it not funny?"
Furina looked at Neuvillette's impassive expression with a hint of disappointment, though she quickly regained her composure.
"In that case, here's another one!"
"When Ningguang, the ruler of Liyue, saw two people fighting in the street, she immediately stepped in and punched them both several times. Do you know why?"
"Because they were both in the wrong?"
"Wrong! Because Ningguang is the Tianquan (Heavenly Authority) Star, the 'Adding Punches' Star!"
Neuvillette: "..."
"Still not funny? Then how about this one?"
"Why is Wriothesley the administrator of the Fortress of Meropide?"
This time, Neuvillette didn't respond verbally to Furina, but that didn't dampen her enthusiasm in the slightest.
Seeing Neuvillette's silence, Furina said with a smug tone, "You don't get it, do you? It's because of Wriothesley (Private)!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha! I'm dying of laughter!"
"And there's more, there's more..."
Neuvillette quickly cut her off. If she continued, he felt he might need to put on more layers.
"Lady Furina, if you have no intention of discussing the case, I must ask you to leave."
"But I am explaining the case!" Furina protested.
Seeing Neuvillette's still impassive expression, Furina finally abandoned her attempts at cold jokes and explained, "The case I'm looking into is about a man who told these jokes while chatting with a friend. The friend laughed so hard he died, and now the man is charged with manslaughter."
Neuvillette: "..."
"Oh, and get this: when the man recounted the jokes in court, another spectator laughed himself to death! Now he's facing two counts of manslaughter."
Neuvillette: "..."
"How tragic... Pfft!"
Watching Furina cover her mouth with both hands to avoid losing her karmic merit, Neuvillette felt a complex mix of emotions.
Should he perhaps push for policies encouraging higher birthrates?
"I've reviewed the case details. If there's nothing else, Lady Furina, you may leave."
"Otherwise, there are some tasks here that were originally your responsibility, so you might as well..."
Before Neuvillette could finish, Furina had already vanished.
"Neuvillette, I suddenly remembered my black tea is getting cold on my desk! I must dash—see you tomorrow!"
Neuvillette shook his head helplessly, closed the door, and sat back down.
Just as he picked up the documents, something else occurred to him. He set them aside again, pulled out his ledger, and wrote down a new rule with his pen:
[No telling cold jokes in court.]
With this new regulation in place, Neuvillette finally immersed himself fully in his work.
On the other side of town, Furina strolled alone through the streets.
Though night had fallen, Fontaine's evenings remained relatively bright due to ample energy reserves.
"What a stick-in-the-mud! He didn't react at all!" Furina muttered to herself, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. "I thought I might at least see a flicker of something different on Neuvillette's face."
"Honestly, he's always so stern. Can't he ever let loose and laugh wholeheartedly?"
"Meow!"
Suddenly, Furina's eyes lit up as she spotted an exceptionally adorable black cat ahead.
"Little kitty, don't run away! Let me pet your fur!"
Furina chased after the cat, oblivious to the figure seated on a nearby bench, completely shrouded in a black robe...