Over the last few weeks— nay, it started months ago if subtly —things have started to change in Neuvillette's daily schedule. To sum up what it was like before, the Iudex woke up early to go to the office, read a bit on the upcoming trials, occasionally cried a bit, made his commute to the Opera Epiclese, oversaw every trial if there were any that day while dealing with Lady Furina who made it clear when she's bored, occasionally cried in private between trials, went back to his office to continue some paperwork while also dealing with Lady Furina's complaints for about an hour if she had no visitors scheduled, and lastly went home where he occas— er, rarely cried himself to sleep. It was a very very massive simplification and slight over-exaggeration of his schedule but accurate nonetheless.
Lady Furina's complaints after the trials usually boiled down to how boring said trials were. A part of Neuvillette understood what she felt on some level. After 500 years, most trials tend to be… forgettable was the right word for it; they blended together and rarely stood out from one another. It was admittedly a bit distasteful to consider trials "fun" or "exciting" but entertainment in the eyes of a divine being is different than those of mortals.
Of course, most Fontainians also have similar feelings but that was neither here nor there.
However, things started to change the day he arrived. Her complaints that day were slightly different; there were no trials that day but there was a magic show scheduled at the opera house. He shouldn't have to deal with her that day… but then shortly before he left his office— "The nerve of that Traveller!" Lady Furina (and Clorinde) dropped by after a brief visit to Romaritime Harbor to "welcome" the famed Traveller who was finally coming to Fontaine. Evidently, he did not respond well to her welcoming party— probably because she tried to arrest him. Even on their way to the opera house, she ranted on and on endlessly about "that insolent Traveller", "his utter disrespect towards a divine like me", and how "he'd pay for that attitude!"
At some point, it started raining.
Luckily for him and his mental health, she went up to her seat while he took his in the front row. It allowed him to rest for a bit away from the troubles of the court and his boss which he enjoyed every moment of. He glanced up at Lady Furina a couple of times while waiting and noticed she was testing off various poses on her throne. He wondered what that was about but soon got his answer; it was natural for Lyney to arrive early as he was the headliner of today's event but what he didn't expect was him to have a companion, especially for that companion to be the Traveller— Aether —his Archon had been rambling about. Neuvillette chatted with him a bit after Lyney introduced them to the other and eventually, the Iudex would mention that Furina was also at the opera house. It was then that it clicked in his head that she was waiting for the Traveller. How and why she'd assume he would come to see Lyney's show especially since he had just arrived in Fontaine earlier that day was beyond him but judging from the small grin on her face when they looked at her, that seemed to be the case.
Then the infamous magic show happened and they became witnesses to a murder onstage. Lady Furina immediately accused Lyney of being the guilty party and Aether stood forward as his attorney. The trial the following morning was admittedly unlike any Neuvillette had experienced in recent memory and ended with Lyney being proven innocent thanks to Aether's efforts and Lady Furina getting humiliated for wrongfully accusing the magician even though all signs did point to him. In any case, her complaints afterwards in his office were much different than usual. Instead of being loud and talking his ears off, Furina kept to herself and just sat on his couch while grumbling under her breath about "that Traveller". It was… actually pretty quiet for once after a hectic day. By the next day, she was back to her usual self but Neuvillette couldn't help but notice she was more tempered than she used to be. Aether beating her in court had more effect than he thought it would.
Over the next couple of weeks, Furina would start spending less and less time in his office in order to do something else. Eventually, the Traveller would enter the public consciousness again as he uncovered the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of young women over the last few decades. While his friend still was found guilty by the Oratrice, his solving one of the most notorious unsolved crimes has cemented his reputation as a reliable helper to Fontaine's people. Neuvillette certainly thought so and judging from how Furina's "complaints" were now coming less from annoyance and more from a place of begrudging admiration. At some point, Furina stopped dropping by his office; if piqued his curiosity to see what she was up to but the Iudex minded his own business for the most part. One night, however, after finishing his work for the day, he bumped into Clorinde who was also getting off the clock after escorting their Archon back to her home floors above them. "What has our fair lady been up to lately? She hadn't bothered me as much as she used to," he asked out of a whim and got an answer he should have expected.
"She's been looking into the Traveller and his activities around Fontaine recently. Her hours after court are now spent keeping track of what he's been up to, where he's been going, and who's been talking to," Clorinde answered as if it was a normal thing and not slightly concerning. Granted, it wasn't exactly unnatural for someone to follow the exploits of such a famous individual but Neuvillette wasn't going to ignore how Furina's behaviour sounded… stalkerish. However, if it meant he could work without dealing with Furina's childish crying, he wasn't going to put a stop to it. Not unless it became hazardous for someone's health.
And for the few weeks after, Neuvillette was able to work more comfortably while his boss was preoccupied with her celebrity crush. That was, until the Knave came around— it was not the Harbinger's fault directly as she didn't ask the Traveller's help specifically, but her "request" for Neuvillette to look into Childe's disappearance led to the Iudex sending Aether to the Fortress. The day after the Traveller was arrested— "Why did he get arrested, Neuvillette?!"
Furina was not happy with his actions even if it was for the good of Fontaine. It was mainly because he did so without even consulting her but in any case, Neuvillette had unintentionally taken away her source of entertainment and interest. And he was soon to pay the price for it; after she had calmed down after he explained himself, Neuvillette quickly learned what sending Aether to the Fortress meant— Furina would fall back to how she was like before as her break from the mediocrity of her day-to-day operations for the past five centuries was now gone. And from the look Clorinde was giving him from the corner of his office, she knew he was the reason both of them were suffering through Furina's rants of boredom again which always ended with the Archon asking when Aether'd be released.
45 days… He had to suffer through it all again for 45 days.
Fortunately, halfway through that month-long torture, something happened that tempered her again. Neuvillette didn't know what it was but Furina became slightly more quiet again with a hint of fear(?). Whatever the reason was, her question of when the Traveller would be released sounded more like desperation than anything. After that, the second meeting with Arlechinno took place and the Fortress was nearly swallowed by the Primordial Seawater. While he dealt with the latter, Neuvillette sent Aether to take his place in the meeting. Neither the Traveller nor Furina fully told him what was said during it but whatever it was, Aether seemed to be more receptive and sympathetic towards her. He also figured out the Iudex's secret but that ultimately didn't matter to this tale.
Aether then returned to the Fortress to needlessly serve the rest of his sentence. Fortunately for his and Clorinde's mental well-being, Furina's rant was not as long or loud as before; she was just anxious and impatient for the Traveller's release. In the days leading up to it, it was apparent she was planning something — muttering about something under her breath, occasionally writing on a notepad, just… thinking. It was intriguing and clear what was bringing such a difference in her behaviour.
On the day of, however, it was business as usual. Neuvillette did his job like any other day of the week; Aether did drop by to see him after leaving the Fortress but other than that, his morning remained the same. After the trial though… "Clorinde, why is Lady Furina sulking on my sofa?"
Clorinde explained that she had been preparing to invite the Traveller to dinner as a thank-you for all he's done. The problem was, Furina saw it fitting to do so on the day he would be released but didn't manage to write her speech in time. When he asked why she didn't leave the speech-writing to someone else, both Furina and Clorinde gave him "the look" and put an end to the conversation. Lady Furina would soon leave still sulking, making Neuvillette wonder if that was how she'd be for the foreseeable future. He overheard Clorinde muttering something about asking "her" for help but thought nothing of it at the time.
The day after was the same bar Aether's visit; as he thought, Furina was still beating herself up for missing her chance and would return upstairs sad again. However, the morning after that…
"Isn't that…?" As he was going to the office early in the morning as usual, he noticed someone sneaking about near the Statue of Seven. It only took him a moment to recognise the person and approached Aether from behind. "May I ask what you are doing around the Palais so early?"
"Wha—?! Neuvillette! Hi!" His panicked reaction was strange but Aether quickly regained his composure. "I was just taking a walk before doing my commissions, that's all. Speaking of, I better go do them. See you next time." Aether leaving in such a hurry made him look awfully suspicious but Neuvillette couldn't ask him about it. He went into the office and only had to deal with paperwork as there were no trials being held that day. But in the middle of his work, he was interrupted in a rather unexpected way. Lady Furina bursting into his room with no notice was not the unexpected thing; rather, it was how happy and upbeat she was that was strange. It was as if she hadn't been moping around about her failed endeavour to get the Traveller's attention.
As she left the Palais with a spring in her step, Neuvillette asked Clorinde if something had happened last night. "It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" She had a small satisfied smile and added to thank Navia and not her.
Days passed and Neuvillette would rarely see Furina outside of trials and the occasional morning visit. He would also occasionally see Aether sneaking around again in the early morning. It did not take much to put two and two together. Rumours would soon go around too that there was something between those two which would soon be confirmed by Furina herself to all of Fontaine. It was the talk of time and many wished happiness for the couple, Neuvillette among them. If Furina was happy, so was he… and also because he was now free from his torment. He was sure Clorinde was grateful too.
Furina would rather spend her time with her beau rather than complain in his office. Aether himself would stop sneaking out and just take the elevator down in the morning, passing by the Iudex most days as he went to complete his commissions. The Traveller would also occasionally drop by his office too if he was there after completing his Adventurer work. It was a nice change to his routine and one he sorely needed; it was… perfect.
Then the Traveller left Fontaine for a week to visit friends, leaving Neuvillette and Clorinde to deal with Furina again. She talked about how dull things were without him around, mentioning all the things they did together such as cooking and telling stories (mainly Aether) but it was clear that she was already missing him. All Neuvillette could think about was how cruel fate was to have him deal with this again after getting a taste of peace. In the back of his mind, he wondered about ways to keep the two together— mainly by keeping Aether in Fontaine somehow. Perhaps by giving him citizenship and not letting him get a passport but that'd mean he'd have to contend with Mondstadt; though he's not technically a Mondstadter, Aether's main document all came from there as that was the first nation he appeared in. Something told Neuvillette that Mondstadt won't let their Honourary Knight go so easily.
The Iudex would continue thinking these sorts of thoughts for the week until Aether returned and it was back to his new routine. There was a constant worry in his head that Aether would leave again either for business or pleasure or— worse of all —the couple's relationship would somehow break down. He dreaded to think what would happen should the latter situation, however unlikely it was, happen. The immediate aftermath might see Aether arrested for "crimes against a divine" but after that… for Neuvillette's sake as well as Clorinde's, steps had to be taken to prevent it.
That opportunity would soon appear in the form of a single question— "Is it alright if I borrow Furina for the rest of the day?" Aether suddenly asked him that faithful day. It was nothing out of the ordinary and Neuvillette responded by saying Aether could take her for the rest of the week… and that he should take her for the rest of the week. Naturally, Aether turned down that offer, saying that he already was anyway with how much time they were spending together. Neuvillette then continued on with his business while those two went on their date until he went home for the day. The Garde out front mentioned how Lady Furina was still not back but he told them not to worry about it.
The next morning, he came to the office to find it in disarray. The Gardes there told him that Lady Furina was still missing and neither she nor the Traveller were anywhere in the city. Neuvillette himself was not worried and was about to tell them to calm down when one Garde asked something that would cement all their future: "Isn't this technically kidnapping? Do we arrest Sir Aether for this?"
It was a spur-of-the-moment question, not coming from anger but rather a simple stray thought. There was no way Aether was planning to harm Furina in any way; in fact, Neuvillette was pretty darn sure what they were doing all night. He should tell them there was nothing to worry about, that Aether was completely innocent in all this. He really should… "Even if he means no harm, he should not be seen as above the laws of Fontaine."
…Neuvillette hated himself for letting his impulses get the better of him.
And now, in the days after, he was now dealing with the consequences— more extensive paperwork, answering reporters about the case, and most importantly of all, dealing with the envoys sent by the other nations. As he watched the Gardemeks and Melusines station at the Opera Epiclese chase after one such envoy (the one from Mondstadt), he regretted what he said that day.
Well… at least those two seem to be enjoying themselves these past couple of days.
A/N: So I was writing the next chapter of my other Aerina fic when I thought "hmm… I should write the opening paragraphs of this chapter." So I procrastinated on VH to write this… and write… and write and somehow the Neuvillette-centric section ballooned into this Neuvillette-centric chapter. All of this in the last 24 hours by the way, that was how much engrossed I was in writing this chapter. So anyway, back to VH I go, I want to write angst and comfort after this.