"Miss Sancoeur, were you aware of your employer's activities during his time as Hawk Moth?", the defence counsel asked her next witness. "Please bear in mind that you are under an oath to tell the absolute truth.", she added, preemptively stopping the prosecutor's objection.
"I was.", Nathalie replied. "In fact, I assisted with a good amount of his alibis."
"And would you consider any of those activities to be outside the jurisdictions of French law?"
"No, I wouldn't.", was the answer. "No murders or property damage were committed during any of the incidents that Mr. Agreste is charged with. Indeed, very few witnesses can attest that Hawk Moth was responsible for their creation. The only ones who retain any recollection of the incidents in question are young children, hardly a reliable source."
This got the prosecutor to speak up. "Your honour, id like to cross-examine the witness."
"I'm gong to allow this.", The judge said, intrigued as to what he hoped to accomplish.
The prosecutor walked over to Nathalie. "Miss, Sancoeur, If your employer wasn't trying to conquer the world and commit acts of terrorism during his absences, then what was he trying to accomplish?"
Nathalie's confidence did not waiver, as the prosecutor had hoped it would. "He was trying to bring his wife Emilie out of her coma. She's been in that state for a few months, and Mr. Agreste told me personally, and I quote "I can't lose her, Nathalie.". But your people didn't bother to check for any of the telltale signs. You just look tossed her into the dirt like a grandma, rather than examining her with a competent doctor."
It was then that the judge interrupted her to venture a question of his own. "Who oversaw the body of Mrs. Agreste?"
"It was Detective Wan Jut-Sen.", Lt. Roger answered.
"Bailiff, incarcerate Detective Jut-Sen.", The Judge commanded. The bailiff complied, taking the Asian Detective from the crowd and placing handcuffs on him, as they walked away.
"No further questions.", The prosecutor said, stepping back. The defence indicated for Nathalie to step down./p
"Defence council, will there be any more witnesses, or can you move on to evidence to support your case?", The Judge asked.
"Very well, your honour. I shall move on to present what little evidence I have." She pulled out a Disc. Now, with Ladybug repeatedly reversing all damage caused by these attacks, gathering evidence is near impossible. However, what I have gathered is simple enough to make my case clear. She inserted the disc into a DVD player. "This is the file footage from Agreste House, on the day that the Akuma known the Collector appeared." The disc showed the eponymous Collector turning back into Gabriel. "It stands to reason that Hawk Moth would theoretically be unable to akumatise himself. If he could, then why would he seek out and convert hapless victims, rather than go and face him himself."
"Objection!", the Prosecutor yelled. "The defendant was in fact witnessed by thousands attack Paris on Heroes Day, along with an army of Akumatised victims. And several more saw him engaging in combat with Ladybug and Cat Noir."
"Sustained.", The Judge declared. "Do you have a rebuttal?"
"Indeed I do, your honour. The footage from that incident in question shows his powers wearing off when his staff is broken, but no Butterflies are shown exiting the staff, as with every other such victim. That, and the appearance of the giant moth creature afterwards indicates that Hawk Moth has an accomplice capable of giving their targets additional abilities."
The prosecutor, realising that he couldn't possibly make an effective comeback from this right now, spoke up. "Your honour, I'd like to declare a recess in order to properly construct my case. It seems that I have some things I need to consider."
"I'm going to allow this.", The Judge responded, banging his gavel. "There will be a recess of 48 hours for the Prosecution to make his preparations. But if you take longer than the allotted time, I will have no choice but to dismiss the case."