Charlotte had not slept at all the night before. She was too excited. She had spent the whole night staying up reviewing the questions she had prepared again and again. Everything had to be arranged perfectly!
The Enigma Unveiled: Chief Justice Neuvillette's Exclusive Tell-All Interview!
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! The Steambird was going to quickly run out of papers the moment this article hit the streets! Charlotte sat rigidly in her seat, trying to digest the fact that she was in the Palais Mermonia, having tea with the Chief Justice of all people, with free reign to ask whatever she wanted!
"Miss Charlotte…" the Chief Justice cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, "I must admit that I am no expert in the field of journalism, however perhaps it would be best if you could begin-"
Right! Yes, she needed to stop freaking out and actually start asking questions!
"Monsieur Neuvillette, thank you so much for granting me this exclusive interview! Rest assured, on my honour as a reporter for the Steambird, I will do my best to do justice to your words!" Charlotte shot out.
Charlotte winced inwardly. W-Was he going to be mad that she had interrupted him?
" Breathe , Miss Charlotte," Neuvillette smiled, "There is no need to make haste. I have cleared my schedule to ensure that you have more than enough time to pose your questions."
"O-Of course, thank you, Monsieur Neuvillette!" Charlotte felt herself relax a little. It was a lot easier to talk to Neuvillette than she had expected. She continued, "First of all, it is well documented that you have served faithfully as the Chief Justice of Fontaine for more than four hundred years. Our readers would be very curious to know- what inspired you to take up this post and what keeps you going to this day?"
Neuvillette nodded in acknowledgement. He paused for a moment before he began to speak, "Thank you for your question, Miss Charlotte. To answer, I simply see the value in my own work. The law is a mirror to humanity. It is vital that the purity of its reflection is maintained so that dignity and prosperity are upheld," he paused and added thoughtfully, "As for what keeps me going…perhaps I am simply used to the routine of work by now. It is, as ever, my duty and honour to serve Fontaine."
"That's a commendable perspective, Chief Justice!" Charlotte sensed an opportunity, "However, if I may ask, how did you start your career as the Chief Justice of Fontaine?"
Neuvillette fell silent, his gaze going distant. Charlotte found herself considering him carefully as she waited for him to speak.
Everyone was familiar with the figure of the Iudex, illuminated eternally at the centre of the courtroom. His white hair and cold visage made him appear like a flawless marble statue under the harsh spotlights of the Opera Epiclese- with just about as much sympathy and compassion for the accused. However, in person, he was very different from what she had expected. When he spoke, he was thoughtful and gentle with his words, not putting on airs despite his high social status. He spoke fondly and sincerely of Fontaine with an almost paternal air. It made her very curious about him- how he had appeared in Fontaine, where he had come from, if he truly was not human as some people had speculated.
"Monsieur Neuvillette…?" Charlotte prompted tentatively after a few minutes had passed.
"Pardon me, Miss Charlotte, I was lost in thought," Neuvillette cupped his chin thoughtfully, "It has been a long while since I first became Chief Justice. At the time, I accepted the post because the Hydro Archon promised me that the position would allow me to better understand humanity and by the by…better understand myself."
"Huh?" Charlotte blushed when she heard herself exclaim. She couldn't help it though. What a weird answer…what did he even mean by saying that?
Neuvillette coughed into a hand, "My apologies, have I said something strange, Miss Charlotte?"
"N-Not at all, Monsieur Neuvillette," Charlotte waved a hand nervously, "I just…didn't expect such a…a direct answer! So, you became the Chief Justice to…understand yourself?"
Neuvillette nodded slowly. He seemed to consider her for a long moment before he finally spoke again, "Human behaviour is multifarious and complex. When interacting with humans, I often find myself resonating with their emotions, hence the conclusion that understanding them better would enable me to understand myself as well."
Charlotte bit her lip. She took a deep breath and closed her notebook decisively after a moment, "If I am going to be level with you, Monsieur Neuvillette, the position of Chief Justice doesn't seem like one that is best suited to sympathising with people," she rushed out her words quickly before she could make herself think twice.
Neuvillette, who had been watching her intently, smiled, "Perhaps so. It has recently been brought to my attention that that high and mighty chair in the Opera Epiclese has a tendency to insulate oneself from truly understanding certain aspects of humanity…and so I must also admit that becoming the Iudex was one of several conditions that the Hydro Archon imposed upon me in exchange for allowing me to join human society."
Charlotte stared at him, "You…aren't human at all, are you?"
Neuvillette nodded. Charlotte watched him take a measured sip of tea. Perhaps it was a somewhat obvious conclusion, considering how long he had lived, the odd shape of his eyes and the blue ornaments in his hair…which were perhaps not just ornaments after all. However, it struck her in that moment how…alien…his point of view was, as if he had been standing outside the bounds of humanity all along, looking in as though through a looking glass.
"Perhaps you are wondering why I have answered you so frankly, Miss Charlotte?" Neuvillette mused.
Charlotte nodded hesitantly, "This…isn't something I can put to paper, Monsieur Neuvillette," she said cautiously.
Neuvillette chuckled, a low rumbling sound, "Opportunities to speak like this are rare for me, Miss Charlotte. Additionally, I must express my admiration for your discretion in reporting the matter of Kiara's threatening letter. It was heartening to see how Fontainians rallied to support the Melusine community in the wake of your article in the Steambird."
Charlotte blushed at his praise, "I-It was nothing, Monsieur Neuvillette. I was merely reporting the matter as it occurred. It wasn't right for an innocent to be threatened like that!"
"Even so, there have been those who would have taken the opportunity to sensationalise the case to the detriment of the harmony and cohesion of Fontainian society," Neuvillette closed his eyes briefly, "The peace we have now was hard won in the past. It must not be taken for granted."
"I don't think there's cause for concern there, to be frank. Perhaps in the past, but…" Charlotte adjusted her monocle, "Would people really dare to stir up trouble like that in this day and age?"
"There are always those who are dissatisfied with society, regardless of its state," Neuvillette shook his head, "It would be more difficult now than it was before, but I would not go so far as to say that it is an impossibility for instability to arise."
"I…suppose that's the case," Charlotte frowned. The thought was worrying. In fact, she'd recently heard rumours regarding the judgement of the Oratrice during the Fatui Harbinger Childe's trial…but then again that was unlikely to develop into any large-scale incident she guessed. After all, the rumours about Fontaine sinking had been going around for ages but people still carried on as they were, confident that Lady Furina and Monsieur Neuvillette would find a way to deal with it if anything really happened.
Neuvillette said as much, continuing, "Naturally, I would take the necessary actions to ameliorate the situation if an incident were to arise."
Charlotte flipped open her notebook, shooting the Chief Justice a smile. She felt a lot more confident about continuing the interview, especially after he had shared such personal opinions, "Speaking of the Melusine, you are also famed for spearheading their integration into Fontainian society-"
The doors to Neuvillette's office burst open. Charlotte completely lost her train of thought as she watched the Hydro Archon herself flouncing in.
"My dear Iudex! I heard that you- Oh!" Lady Furina came to an abrupt halt, her mismatched eyes widening as she spotted Charlotte seated in the chair opposite Neuvillette.
Charlotte hurriedly stood up, "U-um, good afternoon, Lady Furina! I'm Charlotte, a reporter from the Steambird here for an interview with Monsieur Neuvillette!" she rushed out.
Furina was oddly silent for a moment, and then her face suddenly grew animated. She clapped her hands together, turning her gaze to Neuvillette, "Oh my! How delightful ! My dear Chief Justice is finally gracing the public with his presence!" she looked between the two of them with a catty grin, "Why, you might even start making friends at this rate, my dear Neuvillette!"
"Lady Furina," Neuvillette's tone was distinctly unimpressed, "Would you care to take a seat?"
Charlotte froze in place as the Hydro Archon pulled up a chair and sat beside her, facing Neuvillette. Furina turned to wink at her, "Don't be too shy with your questions, my dear! Ask away! He's much more of a softy than he looks!"
" Lady Furina ," Neuvillette repeated, clearly exasperated.
"Oh alright, I'll behave!" Furina crossed her arms petulantly. She turned to Charlotte again, "Well, what were you going to ask next?"
Charlotte looked between Furina and Neuvillette, intrigued. Was it always so casual between them? What was their relationship exactly? Some people had speculated before that Neuvillette had been granted a long life because he was Lady Furina's most favoured servant while others had suggested that they were possibly even romantically involved, although neither had ever made an official statement to that effect. She had been about to ask a few questions about Neuvillette's connection with the Melusine but before that…
"You seem to be very close to Lady Furina, Monsieur Neuvillette," Charlotte said brightly, "I hope you don't mind if I ask but…what exactly is your relationship?"
Furina froze like she had been struck by lightning. Neuvillette took a sip of tea and looked away, seeming to find his teacup very interesting. They both spoke up at the same time.
"We have worked together for four hundred years-" "R-relationship? What relationship? Ha! W-we're just-"
They both stopped when they realized they were talking over each other.
"Ahem. Lady Furina is the Hydro Archon, hence it is my duty to-" "There's n-nothing going on between us! My dear Iudex is just-"
Charlotte's eyes glittered as her pen raced over her notebook. This was positively juicy , but most of all, "Oh, I just knew you two were dating! Navia owes me so much mora!"
Neuvillette and Furina turned to look at her. Charlotte registered what she had blurted out.
"Um, oops…?" she laughed nervously, "Please pretend you didn't hear me say that."
"...I see that you are still taking notes, Miss Charlotte," Neuvillette said after a moment.
"The public deserves to know!" Charlotte squeaked out, continuing to write frantically.
Furina clambered over the arms of her chair to lunge for Charlotte's notebook, her face flushed bright red.
"Gimme!" the Hydro Archon demanded.
"No!" Charlotte held her notebook over her head, standing tiptoed on her chair as Furina jumped up and down trying to reach for it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Neuvillette cover his face with a sigh.
Navia sneezed. She had a sudden feeling that someone had revealed something they shouldn't have about her. Was it Charlotte? Probably. The reporter was a good friend, but Navia couldn't exactly say Charlotte was any good at staying out of trouble- quite the opposite in fact.
"Are you…feeling alright, Navia?"
Navia smiled tightly, hiding her discomfort with a sip of tea, "Y-yes, I'm fine. Just…had a sudden thought, that's all."
Opposite her, Clorinde also drank her tea, the Champion Duelist averting her gaze as she spoke, "I see."
What did she see exactly? Navia was almost tempted to ask her, but she wasn't sure if it was okay to speak so flippantly. Instead, she bit her lip and said, "What do you think of the tiramisu? I heard good reviews about the cakes at this cafe."
Clorinde looked down at her untouched cake and then carved a chunk off with her fork, sampling the dessert, "It's pretty good. I believe your tiramisu is better though."
"R-right, I used to bake for you all the time, huh…" Navia laughed awkwardly.
It was…difficult to talk to Clorinde. Navia had thought that after she'd come to terms with the truth of her father's death that she would be able to be friends with Clorinde again, but they had gone without speaking with each other for so long. Now that they were trying to be friends again, Navia had to be careful with what she said- she didn't want to mess up and push Clorinde away again, especially since it wasn't even Clorinde's fault that she had to follow her oaths…
"I've been trying to bake lately," Clorinde said quietly, "Perhaps I could ask you for feedback sometime, Navia?"
Navia perked up, "Sure! I'd love to try your cooking, Clorinde!"
The two women exchanged a smile. It wasn't going to be easy to be friends again after all that had happened, but surely it would work out if they both kept trying their best. Navia smiled as she leaned back in her seat, sweeping her gaze over their surroundings.
Cafe Lucerne was located at a prime spot within Vasari Passage and it was a popular location for many of the office folk in the city to take their afternoon tea here. It wasn't uncommon to see clerks from the Palais Mermonia, assistants from the nearby shops, the occasional Melusine from the Marechaussee Phantoms…
Speaking of which, wasn't that one of the regulars over there…?
"-you take that back right now!" Menthe was saying. The Melusine officer glared up at the leader of a group of half a dozen or so humans, an unusually fierce expression on her normally sleepy face, "You're wrong! How dare you say that about him!"
"What are you going to do about it, huh?" the human man sneered back challengingly at her. He waved his arms to the side, "Arrest me? That'd only just prove my point!"
"Why you-!"
"What's going on here?" Navia had walked over by this point. She frowned, "Surely there's no need to get so agitated."
"No need?" the man glared at her, "Miss, there's every need to protest! The people have been lied to! We need to take action and call for our own justice!"
Menthe waved her arms, "Miss Navia, they're accusing Monsieur Neuvillette of tampering with the Oratrice!"
Navia stared at the group of protestors in disbelief, "You're accusing Monsieur Neuvillette, of all people, of tampering with the Oratrice? We are talking about the Chief Justice of Fontaine here, right?"
"Monsieur Neuvillette may be impartial most of the time, but we all know he would do anything for Lady Furina!" the man replied energetically. He looked around at his companions and snapped his fingers brusquely, "Where are the flyers, Jose?"
"I have them right here, Mr Charles, sir!" a fresh-faced looking young man stumbled forward, handing a cheap paper flyer to Navia. There was a crudely printed picture of the Oratrice on the top of the page, next to the symbol of the Fatui.
Charles stabbed the back of her flyer with his index, "We all know that Fatui Harbinger Childe couldn't have been involved in the serial disappearances case! He's barely in his twenties! What was he, five, when the first serial disappearance case happened?! How could he possibly be guilty?! Yet the Oratrice declared him guilty and Monsieur Neuvillette actually agreed with the judgement of the Oratrice because he is trying to punish the Fatui and cover up Lady Furina's mistakes!"
"Monsieur Neuvillette is corrupt! The Oratrice is broken!" Someone in the crowd yelled.
"You can't say that about Monsieur Neuvillette!" Menthe balled her paws, almost looking like she was about to cry as she stamped her foot, "Hasn't he done so much for Fontaine?"
"Do you all see that?!" Charles exclaimed victoriously, "He's even sending his minions here to stop us from protesting!"
The commotion was beginning to grow out of control as Arouet, the cafe manager, tried to push forward into the crowd to get them to stop blocking the entrance of the cafe. Menthe was nose to nose with a protester, shouting to get her point across.
"Hey, stop it! Everyone just calm down-!" Navia stumbled as she was jostled from behind by a protester.
The man whirled around to face her angrily, "Mind your own business, you-!"
"That's enough!" Clorinde's voice cut through the protest with a loud shout. A ripple of uneasy murmurs spread amidst the crowd as the intimidating figure of the Champion Duelist slowly stalked forward.
Clorinde rarely, if ever, raised her voice, but when she did people always paid attention. It was her sheer presence, Navia reflected- right now, it wasn't her friend Clorinde standing before her. No, this was the greatest Champion Duelist of Fontaine, a woman who had walked into an arena with hundreds of the most vicious condemned criminals across Fontaine and always walked away without a scratch.
"It is illegal to hold private events on other people's property without the owner's permission," Clorinde began, "Offenders may be charged with up to two weeks in prison and up to forty thousand mora in damages."
"S-so what," Charles tried to muster a response, but ended up dropping his gaze in fear as Clorinde turned to stare at him, "W-we can just protest on the street instead, or is that illegal too?!"
Clorinde nodded once, "It is not illegal to stage a protest," she narrowed her eyes sternly, "You are advised to notify the Maison Gardiennage in advance so that arrangements can be made to manage public safety and the flow of traffic, however. Am I clear?"
Charles made to speak, but faltered again as Clorinde glared at him.
"Am I clear, Mr Charles?" Clorinde repeated coldly.
"Y-you can't stop us from protesting!" Charles beat a retreat from the cafe, his followers in tow, "Monsieur Neuvillette is corrupt!" "Yeah, he's trying to cover things up!" "We must take justice into our own hands!"
"Thanks," Navia muttered, as Clorinde came over to her side.
"I should have stepped in sooner," Clorinde sighed. She knelt down next to Menthe, "Are you alright, Menthe?"
"I-I'm fine," the little Melusine wiped her eyes, "Why would people be so m-mean to Monsieur Neuvillette?! He's always so nice to everyone!"
Navia and Clorinde looked at each other.
"What those people were saying about the Oratrice…" Navia trailed off.
"I know," Clorinde nodded, frowning, "Something's not right."
Navia had been there when Childe's judgement had been delivered. It was obvious that something had gone wrong, but people had still accepted what Furina had said at the time. This was probably because people had faith in Neuvillette after his centuries of serving impartially as Chief Justice- or more cynically, perhaps because people had simply wanted to feel like they could trust Neuvillette after Childe had frightened them all with his violent display of power.
Obviously, the apparent misjudgement of the Oratrice had shaken the faith of the people of Fontaine…but to the extent where Fontainians were protesting on behalf of a foreigner, a Fatui at that? Something was fishy here.
They could hear the protesters shouting slogans distantly down the street. How many protesters were there on the streets now? A dozen, a hundred?
"I had better get back to the Palais," Clorinde said, "Neuvillette must be informed immediately. Menthe, please work with the Maison Gardiennage to keep an eye on the protesters."
Menthe nodded, clenching her paws, "A-Alright, we can't let those mean people cause trouble!"
Navia gave her a firm nod, "I'll mobilise my people too. We'll find out who's pulling the strings."
Navia and Clorinde smiled at each other before they went their separate ways. It felt good in a way, to be talking with each other like this again, even under the current circumstances.