Voir-Dire

III : Circonstances mitigés

Lumiose City was, according to several noted historians, the birthplace of the first coffee culture in the world.

Coming from an era when political gatherings against the Jardin Throne of Kalos were disrupted with fire, it was thought that having enough Occa Berries in an area would serve as a ward against fire and arson. This had led to the development of anti-monarchical tea-houses specialising in serving the brew, around the same time as the start of the Université d'Illumis around 1150. The spread of Occa Berries had been facilitated with the entry of Kiloude City into the then-Kingdom of Kalos, which served as a gateway to Dahara City and the Occa Berry trade.

The coffee culture of Lumiose had endured several wars, unrest, the Revolution of 1789, and the spread of Standard – quel horreur! – with the rise of the Kanto model Pokémon League. It remained the centre of many a Kalosian social life, and Gilles Moreau was no exception. There were several famous cafés along Vernal Avenue alone; however, Gilles found himself approaching the Café Classe, apparently the centre of the Kalos region's clothes retail gossip.

Magazines, including Pomme Dorée and Les Merveilleuses, were laid out on a rack next to the long bar-top counter. Tables scattered around and outside of the upscale salon de thé that Marguerite Linden du Bois had summoned him in were filled with the fashion scene of Lumiose City, if not Kalos itself. The neat trench coats and suits around made him feel slightly out of place, and the Pokémon looked like Sybil – well-groomed, cultured, perhaps even working independently. More than one Pokémon had become independently wealthy in the human economy, after all.

"Ah, bienvenue!" the bartender started. "La semaine de la mode hasn't started yet, you know. It's about five months away, mademoiselle," he added to Sybil, who jumped up to the counter.

Now the location was understandable. Fashion week had not begun yet, thus the Café Classe was relatively deserted, on top of being within walking distance of the Sycamore Laboratory. "Deux expresses, s'il vous plaît."

"Table, monsieur?"

"Oui. Madame du Bois viendra bientôt aussi."

The bartender had a strange look on his face. Gilles shrugged, choosing the table that was furthest from the epicentre of la mode du Kalos and settled down to wait.

The woman that had summoned him breezed through the doors in a navy blue double-front coat dress and brown riding boots over black tights. A brown felt hat with a gold star pin was perched on her head, and a brown strappy purse swung from her left arm. Marguerite Linden du Bois drew a few looks as she sank across Sybil and Gilles, an icon of style amongst the urban elites even if she was not exactly wearing the latest Illumisian choices.

"Bonjour, Sybil. Comment ça va, Gilles?" she nodded, dropping her purse as she stood back up.

The barista immediately rushed over, bearing a small plate with three cups of Occa Berry preparations, a tiny jug of milk, and a sliced cheese croissant. The plate was placed upon the table. "C'est... comme d'habitude ?"

"Oui, Donar. Merci."

The boy rushed off. Marguerite Linden du Bois cast a look at Gilles, pouring a dash of milk into her own cup before adding a packet of sugar from the cup of sachets on the table. "I have had the distinct displeasure of entertaining a Mademoiselle Mélèze today at my workplace."

"Oh," Gilles said. He looked at his own coffee. "I need to not drink chocolate for a bit."

"It's Occa Berry."

"Yes, and we're drinking it instead of using it in battle, but still," Gilles sighed. "Mélèze is a Jynx-morph. She works... worked with my mother."

"I presume she is well?" Marguerite absently enquired.

"Dunno. She can't reach me in Lumiose. Too many Dark-types around the place." Gilles sighed, finally reaching for a tiny cup after setting one in front of his Meowstic. "So... Mélèze came to you. A professor of anthro-Pokémon sociology. About a case concerning a dead Vivillon photographer killed by a Klefki and a Mawile, on behalf of your Hex Maniac ward. The case which is right next to your house, more or less."

"As my former student, I applaud your assembly of the facts at hand as my work," was Marguerite's reply.

"I'll bite. Why did Mélèze come see you?"

"Orders from Adeline de Mandragora."

"Sacré bleu," Gilles swore. "The poor girl."

"I do not believe that Léa is the target. At least, not intentionally."

Gilles blinked at his former teacher. "You do realise, I have no idea what you're talking about. Unless... is your research dissing the Cent-Feuilles or something? You know how the old landed gentry are."

"Apparently so do you, since you know so much about them," Marguerite sniffed. "It is me, Gilles. I am sure of it."

"I'm listening. Why?"

"Adeline de Mandragora is my grandmother." Marguerite admitted quietly. "She sent Mélèze to tell me that a Fairy Tale Girl murdered the photographer."

"You're... I thought the Mandragora are strong in Couriway Town!" Gilles hissed quickly. "You're... a Mandragora? The heiress?"

"Yes. The Coque-lourde and Luzerne as well," Marguerite admitted miserably.

"You do know that that old lady's gaga for the end of the region, right?" Gilles hissed, sinking into his chair. "The Revolution might have happened, but that just meant that the noblesse changed their titles. Those tiny little monarchies around Kanto, Johto, hell, even Hoenn, are going to take on a new significance to the Pokémon League."

"We have discussed competing hegemonies of Trainer-certified power in class," Marguerite waspishly replied, but nodded, picking up the croissant and biting into it. She took a draft of her coffee and swallowed. "What else do you remember from that module on Pokémon and Politics?"

Gilles blushed. "...lots of it. Mostly about that case of Hoopa prosecution."

"Relevant enough," Marguerite nodded. "I have argued, based on Professor Oak's monograph on the interaction of humans in Dragonite migration patterns, that the reason why our world enjoys things like blanket protection of human and Pokémon rights, unified currency and standardised rules of warfare, is largely because of the hegemony of the Pokémon League. In the absence of political entities having the force needed for warfare to be politicised, city-states agree to band together for more negotiating power on the global stage – hence the development of the region, a collective of sovereign city-states that don't actually have centralised power, and thus cannot enforce legislation beyond their walls. The Hoopa case, while minor, is an example for the complications of law enforcement and the challenges of it without localised central power, the kind that a unified sovereign entity such as a republic or a kingdom with the resources to monopolise violence, can fulfil."

"The cross-regional prosecution of criminal Pokémon aside," Marguerite spoke, "I do not wish to become the Queen of Kalos. My grandmother disagrees, and so do the Raiponce, apparently. Martin was an accident, and I'm fairly sure you can settle Léa's case without revealing what I just told you, Gilles. The next order of my business would be to leave Lumiose City for a bit. These are my legal instructions."

Gilles accepted the paper and the envelope that she slid across the table to him, holding the latter to the light. "A...?"

"A guarantee. I wired your retainer to your cabinet. Madame Châtaigner will send you a message about it."

Gilles nodded, looking at the slanted words. "...instructions. So you'll lie low, and I'll be doing all of your legwork."

"Donar is another student of mine," Marguerite looked at Gilles archly. "You may borrow him."

"That kid?" Gilles did a double-take at the black-haired barista. "He's young!"

"Eighteen. He also placed in the top ten at the Île-de-l'arc Conference. He will help you, since he knows that it's for my sake." Marguerite stuck out her bottom lip at Gilles, a surprisingly childish move for such a mature woman that, for a second, she looked like a young damsel. "You'll do it, right?"

Gilles swallowed. "You got the heiress of one of Kiloude City's Five Families as your ward, and you're also the heiress of the Three Great Ducal Houses. Better take Mademoiselle Morelle along too."

"I intend to. I will also arrange for a protector at Kiloude." Marguerite finished the croissant. "A warning, though."

"M- Marguerite?" Gilles breathed.

"They will come and kill you." She spoke quietly, her face almost hidden in shadow. "I expect you to do more than survive."

"We'll be in one piece," Gilles assured her. "Since you sponsored my education on top of fending off Psychics once a week, we owe you. Just wait for the good news."

Marguerite smiled. The sight sent bubbles in Gilles' stomach.

Critiquez, s'il vous plaît!