First Turnabout

Today was the day of the trial, the trial of Raoul Kostall.

At the present time, Xander was now making his way to the opera house and was currently seated on the aquabus headed towards Erinnyes. While the people of Fontaine have gradually grown to bore such rides, Xander couldn't find himself the same.

Looking over his shoulder at the passing scenery was always a wonderful treat, perhaps it was just his method of calming his mind after and before solving crimes. Whatever the case may be, it was truly a wonderful experience.

"Welcome to the Navia Line, I am Elphane. We will be departing imminently, so please follow the proper safety procedures to avoid any potential accidents. Any accidents as a result of the disobedience of these rules will not be the responsibility of the aquabus operator."

Elphane, the melusine responsible for operating the Navia Line aquabus, was delivering her usual speeches whenever people either board or are currently riding the aquabus. An aquabus was never really an aquabus without its melusine operator.

"Oh, why if it isn't Xander!"

"Hm?" As Xander was enjoying the wait, a familiar voice sounded as he turned his head to see a pair of individuals walking over after having walked up and onto the aquabus. "Ah, a pleasure to see you, Lyney. Of course, Lynette as well."

The pair that had just approached him were Lyney and Lynette, a pair of rather popular magicians that Xander had spoken with a few times in the past. A majority of those times were when he happened to come across them performing in the Court of Fontaine.

The both of them were twins, evident by their similar facial features, violet eyes and ash-blonde hair. In regard to their form of attire, while not exactly what Xander would call flashy, certainly were unique amongst the crowd.

Lyney had his hair pulled back into a braided style, and seemed to be wearing a white shirt underneath a black corset, along with a pair of black shorts. He also had on a pair of black and white gloves, as well as a fancy top hat and black cape.

Lynette had her hair tied into a low and thin ponytail tied using a large checkered bow, and framing her face were two prominent strands of hair that rested beside her bangs. As for clothing, she had white sleeves along with a black lace leotard with a short ruffled skirt.

Unlike Lyney, Lynette strangely had a genuine pair of cat-like ears in addition to a cat tail that could be seen calmly swaying behind her as she walked. While he honestly wondered why Lynette had cat-like features and Lyney didn't, he wasn't one to really ask.

As Xander expected, Lynette's words were short and to the point. "Good morning."

"So, what brings Fontaine's two genius magicians to the Navia Line today?" Xander asked with a small smile as both twins sat down on the seats in front of Xander. "Since we're headed to Erinnyes, are you perchance coming to watch the upcoming trial?"

"Haha~, as expected of you. You figured it out instantly!"

"Lyney wanted to go immediately after hearing about it." Lynette also added her own words to the conversation. "While he may not pay much interest in trials overall, he was quite interested once he heard that you were going to be the defense attorney."

"Oh~?"

"Did you have to tell him all of that, Lynette?" Lyney chuckled after Lynette finished her words, his tone of voice obviously not matching the nature of his previous sentence. "It's true though. As the detective who saw through my magic tricks, I naturally needed to come watch!"

"Oh right, did you perhaps come up with anything new yet?" Xander responded as a bit of a teasing smirk soon formed on his face. "It's always a great honor to witness one of your magic tricks. Considering your reputation, how could a common detective such as myself ever hope to see through such genius?"

"..." Lyney felt a small twitch in his eye as he saw Xander's smirk, both he and Lynette could practically feel the sheer amount of sarcasm flowing out of Xander. "Matter of fact, we have indeed come up with a new trick that is sure to wow the audience. I sure hope you'll have time to come watch!"

"Of course, I'll always make time!"

"That's enough, you two. The aquabus is going to be departing soon." Lynette shook her head, though she did have a small smile that was barely visible on her face. "How confident are you, Xander? It is your first trial, after all."

"Hmm, I'd say I'm pretty confident." Xander gave a small shrug as he answered. "Plus, being too nervous isn't going to help me. If I'm going into a trial as a defense attorney, confidence in my actions and myself is crucial."

"Well said!" Lyney nodded. "I'm sure you'll hit the audience with surprise akin to a raging river!"

Xander frowned a bit at this, though quickly returned to his natural expression. He still didn't really agree with the idea of holding public trials as forms of entertainment, but who was he to question the proceedings of an entire nation?

Now that he thought about it though, if he wasn't mistaken, he had learned about how trials were apparently an important source of energy for the nation. That's probably the only reason he'd ever agree to see criminal trials as forms of entertainment.

"Believe me, it won't be like a raging river. I'll be hurling an entire tsunami at them."

"Then we'll certainly be looking forward to it!"

✦----------------✦

The aquabus ride didn't take too long, and Xander spent most of the time having idle chatter with both Lyney and Lynette. After arriving at the opera house, Xander and the twins naturally went their separate ways.

During the hour that Xander had to prepare for the trial, he was simply going back through all the evidence that he had gathered. Even if he was confident in his conclusions, he still wanted to make sure that everything he had was in order.

[Your first trial, huh? I wonder how this is going to go!]

'Interesting, that I can assure you.' Xander smiled faintly as he heard Karma's voice ring through his head. 'As long as nothing has been deliberately tampered with or hidden away from me at the crime scene, I should have it all figured out.'

[And if it has?]

'Simple, I'll just have to bring that misconduct to light in the trial.'

As Xander continued to look through his recorded evidence, the doors to the waiting room he was provided were opened up and he looked to see a guard walking in. Upon seeing Xander, the guard gave a small tip of his hat in greeting.

"Monsieur Xander, the trial is about to begin."

"Understood, please lead the way."

"Follow me."

Xander gathered up his papers before following after the guard, and upon leaving the room, he could already hear the noise from the crowd within the opera house already echoing through the entire damn building.

It didn't take long before the guard had guided him up to one of the balconies that overlooked the entire opera house stage. On the opposite wall was another balcony, and a middle-aged man wearing a fancy suit could be seen standing there with an air of arrogance.

Looking down, he could see the many seats of the opera house completely filled up, trials truly did seem to be popular shows of entertainment in Fontaine. Scanning the audience, he could see both Lyney and Lynette amongst the crowd as well, both of whom gave him small waves which he returned.

The two individuals that stood out the most though were none other than Neuvillette, who was currently seated on the judge's throne atop the stage. The other was none other than Lady Furina herself, seated with a rather exaggerated pose on a seat opposite Neuvillette's.

"Hm? Heh."

Xander scoffed a bit when he looked onto the stage, where he could see both Raoul and Elaine standing with each of them having two guards standing behind them. Raoul was glancing up at him with hope, and in contrast, Elaine had a look of disdain.

He wasn't surprised in the slightest, after all, Elaine would naturally despise him now considering he was defending the person whom she had accused of being the person who murdered her husband in cold blood.

"So, you're my opponent in this trial?" An arrogant voice spoke as Xander looked forward at the person opposite to him on the other balcony. "What a waste of time, a mere rookie who isn't even an official attorney dares to stand against me. In my opinion, this trial is already over!"

"Well, in my opinion, I think your opinion is shit."

"Tch. Such vulgar words, as expected of a lower-class individual. You'd best go back to running around, Detective Xander" The male scoffed with utter contempt as Xander just crossed his arms over his chest. "The one you speak with is none other than Prosecutor Floyd, your superior."

"Really~? I don't really need to introduce myself, seems like my reputation proceeds me. I'm truly flattered!"

Floyd could obviously hear Xander's snarkiness in his words, so he naturally wasn't too happy and gave Xander a small glare, which really didn't do anything at all. If anything, Xander looked more amused the more he saw it.

"Order, order. I demand silence from the audience." Neuvillette's voice sounded as everyone immediately went quiet. Waiting for a moment, Neuvillette nodded before continuing. "With both parties present, the trial of Raoul Kostall shall now commence!"

As soon as Neuvillette announced this, the audience whispered silently to one another while both Xander and Floyd glared at one another. Floyd with an obvious look of contempt, and Xander more mischievous as his eyes were shadowed while his mouth was curled up into a smirk.

"Before we begin, we shall first have the witness Ms. Elaine explain what she had seen during the night of the crime."

"Y-Yes, Your Honor!"

Elaine sent Xander one last look before doing as Neuvillette requested, and everyone in the opera house listened carefully as she recalled whatever it was that had happened during the murder of her husband Maxwell.

'Hmm, her testimony here is exactly the same as what she told me back when she first gave me the job.' Xander thought to himself as he continued to listen to Elaine. 'Nothing has changed from what she said, aside from how it was worded. Guess she really is staying true to what she has planned.'

"That's when the murderer over there ran away!" Elaine finally shouted as she pointed at Raoul, who gritted his teeth but didn't say anything in response. Seeing this, Elaine snorted. "That's all from me, Your Honor!"

"I see. Thank you, Ms. Elaine." Neuvillette nodded. "I shall now call on the prosecution - Floyd. Do you have anything to refute about this testimony?"

"Not at all, Your Honor." Floyd held both hands behind his back as he responded. "From what has been said, it is simply too clear who the guilty party here is. The witness herself saw the defendant standing over the body, it's clear as day!"

"I'll have to disagree!" Xander didn't waste any time in shouting. "Even if the defendant was standing over the body, that doesn't prove that he's the murderer. He could've simply been someone who rushed over after seeing the body."

"Still so naive, detective!" Floyd shook his head at this. "It was late at night, and no other witnesses were on the streets during the time of the crime! Aside from Ms. Elaine, only the defendant was found present. Who else could it have been?"

'Oh, I can definitely tell you...' Xander didn't change his expression at all, instead turning his head to look up at Neuvillette. "Your Honor, this back and forth between us won't go anywhere at this rate. I'd like permission to begin my cross-examination."

"Very well, Mr. Xander. Please proceed."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Xander nodded before turning to look down at Elaine. "Ms. Elaine, you said that the defendant smashed through the shop's window to gain access? Frankly, I find that rather hard to believe."

"What do you mean!? I already locked the shop's door long before nighttime, that was the only way he could've gotten in!"

"Oh? I can't find myself to believe you."

"I object!" Floyd shouted as he pointed at Xander. "What nonsense are you speaking, detective? The witness clearly stated that she locked the doors, thus the only entrance was through the front window! The defendant smashed the window and entered before killing Maxwell Garnege!"

"That does make sense..."

"How else could he have gotten in?"

"It is pretty obvious."

The audience obviously seemed rather attracted to Floyd's words as the scales shown on the Oratrice had tipped in favor of Floyd. Seeing this, Xander didn't show any signs of panic, his expression didn't change in the slightest.

"I think you misunderstood me, Monsieur Floyd." Xander shook his head as he said this. "I may not agree that the defendant smashed the window, but never once did I say that I disagree that he entered through it."

"What..?"

"Mr. Xander, do you mean to say that you believe someone else had destroyed the window?" Neuvillette asked with a hint of curiosity as Xander merely nodded his head in response. "If that's the case, then I assume you have evidence?"

"Of course I do." Xander chuckled as he opened up his folder before taking out what looked to be a small but very clear photograph. "While investigating the scene, I took a few photos for reference. I have already handed all the necessary materials to the Gardes, so please have a look at this photograph I've provided."

The guard that stood beside Floyd handed him said photo, the same thing happened to Neuvillette as one of the guards quickly rushed up to hand him the photo, which Neuvillette took before looking at it with interest.

"This..." Neuvillette muttered. "Seems to be a photo of the shattered window."

"This doesn't prove anything, detective!" Floyd scoffed as he quickly stopped scanning the photo without much care. "If you wish to waste our time with such things, you had better step out of the courtroom immediately!"

"Your observational skills are quite lacking, aren't they?" Xander sighed as he shook his head. "This photograph displays some vital information that completely changes the witness's testimony. If you can't see it through this photo, which I've deliberately made said information the main focus, your skills of observation are simply... elementary."

"What did you say...?!"

"Please explain to the court your point, Mr. Xander." Neuvillette interrupted. "I apologise, but I too do not seem to see just what it is you're trying to tell us."

"I'd like everyone to look at the shards of glass." Xander spoke as he tapped his finger against his own copy of the photo. "If you look closely, the positioning of the shards is truly puzzling. If it had been shattered from the outside, the shards would've been thrown inside instead of outside the shop. Which can only mean..."

"No way... the window was broken from the inside?"

"B-But how could that be...?"

The audience was obviously taken aback by this as they immediately sprung into constant whispers, though with the sheer number of people here, the small whispers collectively were quite loud within the opera house.

"Order, order." Neuvillette spoke in a calm but firm tone. "This indeed does threaten the authenticity of Ms. Elaine's testimony."

"Th-This is ridiculous!" Floyd stuttered as he shouted this, throwing the photo onto the ground as he pointed his shaking finger at Xander. "How could it have been destroyed from the inside? The murderer came in from the outside!"

"Are you sure? What if the murderer was already inside?"

"What are you saying? The only people in the shop were... wait, are you trying to say-?!"

"Indeed I am..."

Xander intentionally didn't add anything else for a bit as the attention of the audience was immediately completely focused on him, even Furina up top couldn't help but stand up before leaning over the railing to hear.

"The true murderer... is Ms. Elaine herself!"