The Judgment began near the crime scene, where the lingering metallic scent of blood still hung heavy in the air.
The crowd formed a circle, their gazes mixed with complex emotions as they watched the young woman standing in the center beside Furina.
In the Fortress of Meropide, the girl enjoyed immense popularity, rivaling even Wriothesley in the hearts of many. Her formidable strength and unforgettable beauty had captivated countless souls.
Yet now, she stood firmly by the side of the seemingly incompetent Archon Furina, leaving many feeling betrayed.
Many blamed their current predicament on Furina, harboring no respect—only cold indifference or outright animosity—for Fontaine's Hydro Archon.
Rumors circulated that the girl's arrival in the Fortress of Meropide was also connected to Furina, leaving them baffled by her unwavering faith in the Archon.
Meanwhile, the man leading the accusation stood a short distance away from the girl and Furina, facing them down.
In contrast to Furina and the girl, the man stood near the group serving as Justices in this Judgment, representing the collective sentiment of the majority present.
The Overseers formed a circle inside the hall, maintaining order.
Tartaglia found it peculiar that these Overseers seemed so obedient to the girl, even to the point of conducting a major event like this private "Judgment" without reporting it to Wriothesley.
However, Tartaglia kept his questions to himself, content to play the role of a mere spectator, quietly awaiting the unfolding drama.
At the same time, Tartaglia felt a surge of excitement. Though the current spectacle wasn't a clash between powerful warriors, witnessing the people's "Judgment" against their own Archon was undeniably intriguing!
He had never seen anything like this before, nor even heard of it. This was a perfect opportunity to broaden his horizons!
The makeshift "Judgment" venue was far from ideal, yet the oppressive atmosphere of this proceeding surpassed even most "Judgments" conducted under the watchful gaze of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
"I will record everything that happens here truthfully," Charlotte said. "This record should serve as a valuable reference for Monsieur Neuvillette during the official Judgment later."
Charlotte observed the scene with a complex expression. Though she believed Furina would never commit such an act, her primary duty as a journalist was to document the situation from an impartial perspective.
Furina felt a bit nervous facing the situation before her. But as she felt the young girl's strength in her grasp, her heart gradually stilled. Composing herself, she addressed the man:
"I admire your courage to accuse me, but you are destined to fail in this 'Judgment'."
"I would never kill these people. If you refuse to believe my words as an Archon, then let the truth speak for itself!"
"However, when it's proven that your accusations are merely malicious speculation, the damage to my reputation as an Archon will be immeasurable."
"What price will you then pay?"
The man merely smiled disdainfully at Furina's question.
"Rest assured, Hydro Archon. I've already made my resolution."
"If it's proven that you weren't responsible for this, I will take full responsibility for my actions."
"I will join my brothers."
Hearing his unwavering conviction, Furina's heart trembled.
"N-no need to go that far..."
"So be it. If my accusations against you prove false, I'll take my own life."
The surrounding crowd was deeply impressed by his words, their sympathies shifting further in his favor.
"Lady Furina, there's no need to persuade him any further," the girl said.
Hearing this, Furina replied anxiously, "That's not right! Even if his accusations are flawed, even if he misunderstands me, all we need to do is clear up the misunderstandings. A minor punishment at most would suffice—why escalate things to the point of death?"
"But the crime of slandering an Archon is too grave for him to bear," the girl said slowly, looking at Furina.
"Once the truth comes to light, even if you, Lady Furina, were merciful enough to pardon his crime, the rest of the world would never forgive him. At that point, living would be no better than dying."
"But... but still, living is always better than dying!" Furina insisted anxiously.
Suddenly, Furina had an idea. She called out to the man in the distance, "Hey, listen up!"
"If it turns out your accusations are false, I order you to live and face the consequences. That will be your punishment!"
"Punishment? Is that so? You're truly heartless."
The man shook his head mockingly.
"Why must you torment people like us, who could vanish from the face of the earth without anyone even noticing?"
"Forget it. I don't want to waste any more words on you."
The man turned to the young woman and said:
"Miss Emily, may the Judgment begin?"
"You seem quite eager."
The young woman smiled at the man before continuing.
"Since you're so impatient, let's proceed. According to Fontaine's rules, as the accuser, you must present evidence to support your accusations against Lady Furina."
"Hmph. Someone saw the Hydro Archon Furina near the scene of the crime around the time of the incident."
"Hydro Archon Furina, may I ask why you abandoned your duel with Monsieur Tartaglia to come to this place?"
"It's obvious—that was when you arrived at the crime scene and brutally murdered all my brothers!"
"Moreover, I just obtained surveillance footage from that time. This footage not only corroborates this woman's testimony but also clearly captures the Hydro Archon Furina entering this area."
"Miss Emily, if this place is so remote that my brothers had no reason to come here, then I have just as much reason to question the Hydro Archon Furina."
"Why did you come to such a secluded place at that time? Do you really think a simple 'No comment' will clear your name?"
Upon hearing the man's words, the surrounding crowd nodded in agreement, finding his reasoning sound.
They had never believed Furina's explanation from the start. Having lived in the Fortress of Meropide for so many years, they hadn't been to the Forbidden Zone, but they were generally familiar with the rest of the fortress.
If Furina had been heading toward the Forbidden Zone, they might have entertained her explanation. But since there were no Forbidden Zones in the vicinity, her story simply didn't hold water.
In their eyes, Furina's explanation was nothing more than a flimsy excuse to exonerate herself.
"Miss Emily, one last piece of advice: don't serve the Hydro Archon Furina any longer. It's simply not worth it!"
"Finished speaking?"
The girl smiled faintly at the man, completely unmoved by his words.
"If you're done, then it's our turn, right?"
The man snorted coldly and finally gave up trying to persuade her.
"Since you claim the surveillance cameras captured Lady Furina's image, they must have also captured what she was holding at the time," the girl said, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.
"That was a cake I personally made for Lady Furina, hoping it would lift her spirits while she handled important matters."
"So, Monsieur, if Lady Furina was indeed going to commit murder as you suggest, why would she bring my cake along?"
"That's easily explained," the man retorted immediately. "The Hydro Archon Furina possesses such immense power that she can manipulate the Hydro Element to effortlessly stage a crime scene without lifting a finger."
"Perhaps the Hydro Archon simply enjoys savoring her cake amidst pools of blood?"
Hearing this, Furina immediately bristled with anger, wanting to retort, but she restrained herself, instead turning her gaze to the girl.
"You're right. With Lady Furina's strength, carrying irrelevant items wouldn't hinder her in the slightest."
"However, you've overlooked one crucial detail: when you saw Lady Furina, she wasn't carrying the cake."
"So, in other words, Furina ate the cake during that time."
"Then a thorough search of the area where Lady Furina enjoyed the cake should reveal the cake box and utensils used at the time."
"What a powerful counterattack!"
Charlotte waved her arm excitedly before adjusting her position to capture a dramatic close-up of the girl. Then she began scribbling furiously, recording the scene verbatim.
"So what? Couldn't the Hydro Archon Furina have killed the victim first, then gone elsewhere to enjoy the cake?"
"Regrettably, based on the victim's time of death, it occurred within the half-hour prior to the discovery of the body."
"Clearly, your scenario of her leisurely enjoying cake elsewhere after committing the murder doesn't hold up," the girl stated calmly.
"I bet you're about to suggest that Lady Furina might have eaten the cake before killing the victim, right?"
"However, the first person to discover the crime scene was a sanitation worker regularly cleaning the pipes, and her route went from the outside in."
"The crime scene was a dead-end tunnel. I've already questioned the worker, and she confirmed that no one exited the tunnel during her cleaning process."
Hearing the girl's words, the man immediately retorted, "Doesn't this further prove that the Hydro Archon Furina is the murderer? As an Archon, she could easily deceive mortal senses without a trace!"
"She could, but there's no need," the girl replied with a smile. "To explain why, it's because Lady Furina is an Archon—and an extremely flamboyant one at that."
"If the murderer deliberately avoided the first eyewitness, that very fact proves they couldn't possibly be Lady Furina!"
The surrounding crowd, initially leaning toward the man's perspective, now had to concede that this wasn't Lady Furina's usual style.
Furina wanted to feel vindicated, but found it hard to muster genuine joy. Deep down, she never craved such ostentatious attention. Yet, it was precisely this flamboyant reputation that had cleared her name.
"This is just speculation! It's not proof!" the man insisted.
"Monsieur, your accusations are equally baseless. According to Fontaine's newly revised laws, accusers must provide concrete evidence to support their claims for an accusation to stand."
The man bristled at the young woman's words.
"This is the Fortress of Meropide, not that place above the water."
"Very well," he retorted. "Since you have such faith in the Hydro Archon Furina, tell me this: who in the Fortress of Meropide, aside from Lady Furina and that Fatui Harbinger, could have committed such an act?"
"The Fatui Harbinger was recuperating in the infirmary at the time. Could anyone other than Lady Furina have been responsible?!"
Hearing this, the crowd, which had momentarily swayed toward Furina's side, now shifted back to the man's. To them, this was irrefutable evidence. No matter how many arguments Furina might offer, she could never escape the fact that she was the murderer.
"That's not necessarily true."
The crowd turned to the young woman, eager to hear her explanation. But then they realized the voice wasn't hers, or even Furina's—it was a man's.
Tartaglia stepped forward and spoke again.
"Actually, a couple of days ago, a researcher approached me claiming to have the Duke's permission. He asked for my cooperation in testing the Gardemek's latest weapon."
"I was bored at the time, so I became interested in what he said and participated in the weapon testing," Tartaglia continued, reminiscing.
"I must admit, Fontaine does have some impressive technology. It's astonishing that such a large Gardemek could carry so much energy."
"Among the weapons demonstrated, there were models capable of causing destruction on the scale of the crime scene."
Hearing Tartaglia's words, the others were stunned.
If that's the case, doesn't that mean anyone in the Fortress of Meropide could be the murderer?
Would this Judgment against the Archon become a complete joke?
"Of course, it's technically possible, but that weapon is enormous. It requires over ten Gardemeks to transport and consumes an immeasurable amount of energy. It's highly unlikely it was used in this case."
Tartaglia waved his hand dismissively, sparking outrage.
"Then why the hell did you even bring it up?!"
"Damn Snezhnayan, stop interfering with our affairs!"
"Get lost! What business does a Snezhnayan have meddling in Fontaine's affairs?"
-
"Keep insulting me!"
Unable to defend his family with words against the barrage of insults, Tartaglia decided to settle the matter with force. He began rolling up his sleeves, but Charlotte rushed over and stopped him.
"Monsieur Tartaglia, your subordinates seem to have woken up and are looking for you in the room. You should go check on them right away!"
Hearing Charlotte's words, Tartaglia felt a headache coming on. These subordinates were constantly giving him trouble.
If he remembered correctly, after knocking them unconscious, they were still wearing their black leather bodysuits, fishnet stockings, and bunny ear headbands.
Worse still, he had chosen only male subordinates, and given the need for additional firepower, the group included a disproportionately high number of Cryo and Hydro fatui. Just imagining the scene was enough to fill him with despair...
To prevent the spectacle of them scrambling around in those eye-watering outfits while searching for him, only to be gawked at by everyone, Tartaglia decided to postpone his "family defense war" for now.
"I'll settle the score with you later!"
With those parting words, Tartaglia hurried away.
Seeing this, Charlotte breathed a small sigh of relief and smiled at the young woman and Furina.
"We've managed to handle it for now."
"Miss Emily, Lady Furina, you must keep trying!"
The two women nodded almost simultaneously.
"Then I'll return to my notes."
With that, Charlotte returned to her original position.
Upon her arrival, the Overseer expressed his gratitude.
Maintaining order at the scene was their responsibility, but it was clear that Tartaglia was determined to act, and they couldn't possibly have stopped him alone.
Failing to restrain him, they would have been held accountable for any consequences that followed. Hence their immense gratitude toward Charlotte.
"Heh, a bit disappointed, aren't you, Miss Emily?"
"By expanding the pool of suspects hundreds of times, the suspicion on Hydro Archon Furina would naturally diminish. Too bad luck doesn't seem to be on your side."
The problem had returned to square one, and the man smirked smugly.
"The murderer is clearly no one but Hydro Archon Furina!"
"That's not true!"
The young woman immediately refuted his claim.
Faintly, the crowd seemed to hear the sound of a bullet being chambered.
"While a weapon is unlikely to be the murder weapon in this case, this line of reasoning gives us a new perspective."
"By cleverly using a tool, even someone without great strength or Hydro Element control could achieve a similar result."
The girl's words immediately plunged the assembled crowd into deep thought, as they considered the plausibility of this theory.
"There's no such tool!"
"Of course there is."
"Then tell us! How did the murderer do it?!"
The girl smiled at the man who shouted the question, then turned to Furina, who was also deep in thought.
"Lady Furina."
"What is it, Emily?" Furina snapped out of her reverie and responded quickly.
"It's time for you to take the stage personally."
"I've laid the groundwork. Now it's up to you to reveal the truth."
"But I haven't figured out the murderer's method yet!"
Furina spoke with a hint of shame, admitting that even after the Judgment had progressed this far, she remained utterly clueless.
"You can do this, Lady Furina."
"Believe in yourself, and believe in me. You should know the answer better than anyone."
"The final act of this Judgment should be concluded by you. As the Hydro Archon of Fontaine, you should stand at the forefront, not behind me."
"Come, let us bring this Judgment to a magnificent conclusion together. I will guide you to discover the crucial clues."
Hearing the girl's words, Furina's heart inexplicably filled with courage.
Furina stepped forward and took the girl's hand, feeling an unprecedented sense of peace.
"Yes, let us uncover the truth of this case together."
Furina's gaze sharpened with focus. Never before had she felt such an intense desire to find the answer. Her eyes swept over the collected evidence, finally settling on a photograph taken by the Overseer—a picture of a section of rusted, broken iron pipe.
The iron pipe's appearance was utterly bizarre. If it had been struck by force, it should have been dented inward from one side. Instead, it was twisted like a braided rope, riddled with jagged gaps, and one end looked as if it had been blasted apart.
Furina shifted her gaze to other photos of the victims. Each had been killed instantly by a powerful, frontal blast of water, their heads remaining intact while the bones in their bodies had been completely crushed, allowing their limbs to be arranged in any position.
Blood, forced backward by the immense pressure, spread out in a fan shape before rebounding off the walls and pooling in crimson puddles on the floor.
Though this wasn't Furina's first time witnessing such carnage—and she had been terrified by similar scenes before—the photos still sent a chill down her spine.
Staring at the photo of the iron pipe, Furina vaguely sensed a connection, but the feeling quickly vanished.
After a long silence, the young woman gently asked, "Lady Furina, have you figured out the murderer's methods yet?"
"Not yet. I just have a feeling the murderer used this iron pipe for something, but I can't figure out the details."
The young girl shook her head.
"Then allow me to offer Lady Furina a hint."
"This iron pipe was used by the murderer to convert other powers, a tool to deceive everyone."
"A tool for deception..."
Hearing the girl's clue, Furina's eyes lit up. She immediately turned to the man and exclaimed,
"I know how the murderer faked the crime!"
"The key lies in this iron pipe—the one that appeared damaged by some elemental force and fell to the ground!"
"The murderer isn't actually a Hydro Element user. Instead, they injected their own power into one end of the water-filled pipe."
"The immense force caused the water to spray out the other end, creating the illusion of Hydro Elemental manipulation."
"The proof is in this photograph: the pipe is severely damaged, but it's clearly not from external impact. It's as if a powerful force surged through it from within!"
"Therefore, the real murderer deliberately framed me for this crime! I am not the killer!"
After hearing Furina's reasoning and seeing the photos she presented of the damaged pipes, the crowd fell into stunned silence.
As Furina had pointed out, the damage to the iron pipes was indeed peculiar, bearing none of the hallmarks of damage from external force.
Could they have truly misjudged Furina?
"No, no! This is all a charade you've staged yourself!" The man's voice rose with agitation. "You claim the murderer framed you? Then tell me this: no one knew you'd changed your mind and abandoned the battle with the Fatui Harbinger mid-fight. Your presence in this area was pure coincidence!"
"Hydro Archon Furina, tell me—how could the murderer have possibly deduced all these facts, devised such an elaborate plan, and then framed you so perfectly?!"
The man's relentless questioning sent a chill deep into Furina's heart, instantly freezing her in place.
Furina's sudden change didn't go unnoticed. Assuming she couldn't find a valid rebuttal, the crowd chimed in:
"Exactly! This is simply impossible!"
"If you're going to frame someone, you'd at least need to establish a clear timeline. What if the two were in the middle of a fight when the framing occurred? The plan would fall apart instantly!"
"I almost thought we had truly wronged Lady Furina, the Hydro Archon. But it seems she had prepared all this in advance to exonerate herself."
"That's right. Since she previously claimed to be handling urgent matters, and Lady Furina herself declared she wouldn't reveal the details to us mere mortals, no one should have known her whereabouts that day. How could she possibly be framed?"
No, that's not true...
Her whereabouts weren't entirely unknown...
There was one person who knew...
The person who had been by her side day and night for a month.
The person who had shared both the frustrations and joys of life with her.
The person who had understood the pain in her heart and given her courage and support...
The cake that person had made with their own hands was so delicious.
The smile on that person's face was so sweet.
That person's words were so warm and comforting...
It was also that person who had told her to wait here.
It was also that person who had fought for her.
And it was still that person who stood firmly behind her, saying they would always believe in her and always support her...
"Lady Furina, it seems your heart has already found its answer," the girl said softly, drawing Furina back to consciousness.
Furina gazed at the girl's usual bright smile, yet a surge of immense fear welled up within her.
"Please speak it aloud—the name of the murderer you believe it to be."
"Let this Judgment reach its magnificent conclusion."
"You may begin, Lady Furina."
"This stage is yours alone."
Furina stared at the girl, whose smile grew ever brighter, her throat parched. Her gaze was complex, filled with unspoken and unexplainable emotions.
At the girl's words, the surrounding crowd turned their expectant gazes toward Furina, waiting for her to name the true culprit.
Even the man who had made the accusation ceased his struggles. For him, uncovering the real murderer far outweighed venting his anger on Furina.
Under the intense scrutiny of the crowd, Furina finally parted her lips and spoke.
"Yes... I did it. I... I am the murderer..."