You: "Miss Vyne's allegations are absurd! In fact, I daresay she may simply be trying to throw off suspicion after having murdered Sir Culler herself. She had motive, you know, being his bastard daughter. If he had married and had legitimate children, she would have no hope of ever inheriting! I always knew the girl had, as they say, daddy issues, of course — but, well, we don't have to go into that. Unless you want me to."* the audience murmurs *
Miss Vyne shifts uncomfortably for a bit, but otherwise remains smug and unphazed.
Judge: "This is... another startling discovery. So Sir Culler was your father then, Miss Vyne?"Miss Vyne: "Technically speaking. Though I wanted no part of his life, nor his inheritance; I'm doing quite fine on my own. Miss Hearthia, however... the fragile doe clearly could not bear the thought of sharing a bed with him on their wedding night, much less a lifelong involvement, and knew she had to act fast. And who could blame her, I suppose. Well, aside from everyone, most especially myself."Miss Vyne: "Look, everyone knew that Sir Culler was insufferable, but he was my father, and I just..."Her voice breaks and she looks down, tearing up for a moment.
Miss Vyne: *sob* "I just want justice for him..."* the audience is silent... *
Judge: "...I'm truly sorry for your loss, Miss Vyne. We will do the best we can to find the guilty and shed light on the truth."Miss Vyne takes a moment to gather herself.
Miss Vyne: "Thank you, your honour. Truly."Judge: "Now Miss Vyne, do you have any tangible evidence that Miss Hearthia lied about her whereabouts on the night of the murder? It seems to be your word against theirs."Miss Vyne: "All I can say is that I saw her there. It's hard to mistake a physique like Miss Hearthia's. Aside from that, I'm sure there were others there who saw her as well."Judge: "Hmm, very well. I will look into that. Thank you for your testimony, Miss Vyne, and again, my condolences for your loss."Miss Vyne: "Thank you, your honour. My only regret is that Sir Pent seems to be protecting my father's killer, out of clearly misplaced affection. I do hope that in the end he is not dragged down along with her."Miss Vyne glances at you with a slightly frustrated pout as she leaves the stand. Walking back to her seat, she shoots Azumi a cold and menacing stare, as Azumi looks back with worried tenseness.
Judge: "Well, that looks like all the witnesses we have for today. Honestly, I'm still very confounded about all this. We will have to look into it some more and resume at another time."Judge: "As for Sir Pent--"??: "Your honour, if I may, you need not worry about the case any further, nor about Sir Pent."Judge: "What!? What do you mean?? Who are you??"An old man in the audience stands up and walks towards the witness stand, hands behind his back.
Old Man: "I am called Anexatus, but that is not important. Just know that this case, along with anything else regarding Sir Pent, is no longer in your hands, nor the Court's."Judge: "T-that's ludicrous! What gives you the right to interfere!?"Anexatus ignores the judge as he begins chanting a spell.
Anexatus: "Anima everazati bestiat istoria nunc facti quod..."Judge: "W-what is this!? Guards, seize him!"The guards begin to move in on the old man, but then suddenly a massive flying beast crashes through the courtroom walls and ceiling... the very same flying beast that killed your parents many years ago when you were a child!
The creature roars and knocks away the guards, as Anexatus then leaps onto its back and speaks to you.
Anexatus: "Sir Pent, there is still much for you to learn, but for now you must find your own way."The beast slams its wings against the judge, sending him crashing into the wall behind you. It then grabs Azumi and leaps into the skies, flying into the distant horizon.
To be continued...