6. The Reversal Opening Ceremony (19)
6. The Reversal Opening Ceremony (19)
Take that!
Anais let out a silent battle cry and thrust forward a name from the [Character List] she had meticulously compiled.
[Ghost (??): A mysterious figure who walks through walls. Dwelled beneath the cabaret and exploited young women.]
The spectators tilted their heads at the piece of evidence she presented.
What of it? What did this Ghost matter?
A look of belated realization dawned on Baron Dosville's face.
Anais planted a hand on her hip and gave a firm nod.
"Baron, you yourself stated when explaining the case: Ghost possessed the power to walk through walls and was the true mastermind pulling the cabaret's strings. But consider this. Given that ability, debating the comings and goings of outsiders becomes meaningless from the start. He could appear anywhere he pleased."
The murmurs of the crowd swelled.
Now that they thought about it, she was right.
Ghost could pass through walls.
Baron Dosville's entire argument hinged on the premise, 'He is the sole suspect, therefore he must be Ghost.' But if Ghost could walk through walls, the logic that cornered him as the sole suspect collapsed entirely.
His accusation contradicted itself.
Baron Dosville scrambled to mount a counter-argument.
"Regardless, it is a fact that the defendant vanished during the performance, is it not? If the defendant used that power to fly into the ceiling, it would explain—"
Anais slammed her palm down on the table with a bang.
"Objection! The prosecution is not presenting facts or testimony, but speculation."
"Sustained. The prosecution's speculation is overruled."
"Tch."
The baron hung his head, his face a mask of frustration.
Anais let out a quiet sigh of relief.
This did not mean the suspicion that Wonderstein was the culprit had vanished.
It was still a fact that he had vanished from his seat.
But the 'sole suspect' logic had been dismantled.
[Circus Troupe Fame has increased by 2.]
From that point on, the trial fell entirely under Anais's control.
Baron Dosville called in a representative from the Alchemy Guild and attempted to connect the fact that Anais's bodyguard, Sir Porshu, had purchased sulfur on the day of the incident with the revelation that Yvonne's attack had involved sulfuric acid.
When Sir Porshu took the witness stand and testified that he had 'bought sulfur at Wonderstein's request,' the Circus Troupe's Fame plummeted sharply.
The calls to string the defendant up rose once more from the gallery.
But the moment Anais posed a few questions, the entire argument fell to pieces.
"Sir Porshu purchased the sulfur in the afternoon on the day of the incident. Miss Yvonne was attacked earlier that morning. Doesn't the chronology run in the opposite direction?"
"W-well, that is, because sulfuric acid was used, perhaps the sulfur was bought to replenish supplies—"
"Objection! The prosecution is presenting speculation yet again."
"Sustained. The prosecution's conjecture is overruled. Exercise proper restraint."
His argument crumbled once more.
At this, Baron Dosville shot a pointed glare toward the police contingent.
Sergeant Sabo, the investigating officer, averted his gaze with a sheepish grimace.
After all, Sabo had been the one who had presented the evidence with triumphant cries of "Found it! Found it!" before even bothering to verify the time of the sulfur purchase.
In a normal court, this would never have happened.
A prosecutor would have meticulously reviewed the case details and evidence, realized it was nowhere near sufficient for trial, and dismissed the charges.
But winning today's trial had never been the objective from the start.
The goal had been to hurl as many accusations as possible within two hours, burying the opposition in public opinion.
Just painting the other side in a suspicious light would have been enough. That was why matters like the logic or credibility of the evidence had been glossed over.
Baron Dosville had been confident that, with even that much material, his own eloquence could drag the proceedings into the mire.
If only his opponent had not been Anais.
"Objection!"
"Hold it!"
"Take a look at this evidence!"
No matter what wild speculation Baron Dosville threw out, no matter what straw he grasped at, Anais shot it down on the spot. She gave him not a single opening to fan the flames.
A roar of approval swept the hall.
Now, the mere act of her raising a finger was enough to draw cheers from the gallery.
Even the prosecution's own supporters could only gape at her defense, utterly dumbfounded.
The people surrounding the stage had, before anyone realized, reverted from being spectators at a hearing back into an audience watching a performance.
What they were witnessing was a dazzling acrobatic display of language and logic.
- Ha ha, so this is the Iron Mask's reputation.
- A young woman barely twenty years old, utterly overwhelming Baron Dosville, whose silver tongue is notorious even in Rouge...
- No wonder the Bergson Trading Company prospers with every passing day.
- Did you not say earlier that you would sell all your shares in the company?
- Ahem, a slip of the tongue. Do let it pass.
Amid the cheering crowd, General Director Yug Maroine felt a strange, delighted fury rise within him.
The performance he had poured his heart and soul into preparing for today was likely already erased from everyone's minds.
Because the finest show to grace Hall 1 of the Rose Windmill today had turned out to be this one right here.
[Circus Troupe Fame has increased by 3.]
[Circus Troupe Fame has increased by 4.]
[Circus Troupe Fame has increased by 6.]
As Anais systematically dismantled each of the opposition's arguments, their Fame soared at a staggering pace.
It even shattered the previous record high of 40.
The magician who had cured the incurable Anais of the Iron Mask!
The circus troupe led by the man she now personally defended!
That fact alone was enough to send their name value skyrocketing.
Had Wonderstein attempted to defend himself, he could never have produced such results.
Even if he had mobilized every means he knew to raise Fame, it would have been an exceedingly perilous game, barely holding the line just short of the quest failure threshold.
If his Fame had been ground down to three or less in a single stroke as it nearly had been earlier, he surely would not have even been able to get a word out.
- That person, 'Ghost,' who visited my hospital room? Hmph, he looked nothing like this man, Wonderstein. His height, his voice—completely different in every way.
With Yvonne's testimony, the examination of witnesses drew to a close. Baron Dosville tried desperately to extract some 'theory of two Ghosts' from her and tie it back to Wonderstein, but having already accrued a mountain of ill will from the Rose Windmill's people, she had no reason to cooperate with him whatsoever.
Listening to her testimony, a small curiosity flickered within Wonderstein.
When he had met her, he had been using 'Derek's vocal cords,' so her claim of a different voice was accurate. But how was he to interpret the claim that his height had been entirely different? Was it merely an attempt to spite Baron Dosville?
Just then, his eyes met Yvonne's as she returned to her seat.
Through the thick waves of her crimson hair, he caught the corner of her red lips curling slightly upward.
Ah, she knows.
She must have realized it the moment she heard Anais had been cured.
That he was the same Ghost who had appeared in her hospital room and healed her skin.
With every line of questioning thwarted, the prosecution now played its final card.
It was the testimony of Sergeant Sabo of the Mounted Police, the very man who had led the investigation.
Though he had cut a shoddy figure throughout, he was still the officer in charge.
If the dust-speck suspicions he had uncovered could be gathered together, they might yet make a minor news story.
His testimony began.
And indeed, he lived up to the prosecution's expectations.
His testimony would surely fill a page of tomorrow's newspaper.
Under the headline: 'The Grand Humiliation of the Rouge Mounted Police.'
- There is a gap of one year since the last victim! Conveniently, the defendant's circus troupe began its activities nine months ago! Is that not a perfect match? The monster that had been lurking underground has finally emerged into the bright world!
His assertions were crammed with such baseless speculation that even Baron Dosville, his own ally, found it hard to offer any defense.
- He went out in search of a new victim! I have heard that this circus troupe conveniently happens to have two sixteen-year-old girls!
The expressions on the troupe members' faces soured.
What was that supposed to mean?
Find a circus anywhere that doesn't have kids.
- I have also given thought to the culprit's motive. In order to bring glory to his troupe's name, he forced Miss Yvonne off the stage and then used his own Deputy Leader to take her place upon it!
The people of the Rose Windmill shook their heads in disbelief.
The logic was leaping into ever more absurd territory.
- Why did Ghost descend underground in the first place? Let me present my theory. To evade the world's pursuit, of course. And why was he being pursued? I believe it is connected to the reason he has now reemerged into the world. Because he is none other than the 'Black Magician' who attacked the Circus Grand Prix seventeen years ago! He has emerged from beneath the theater to attempt once more what he began all those years ago!
Sabo thrust a finger toward Wonderstein and bellowed.
Groans and sighs rippled through the hall.
The judge barely restrained himself from hurling his gavel to crack the man's skull open.
Anais shook her head, a picture of utter pity.
Baron Dosville gnashed his teeth, glaring daggers at him.
"Seventeen years ago would mean... the defendant committed such an act at the age of ten?"
"Well, if one supposes he used some magic to alter his body—"
No one even wanted to dignify it with a response any longer.
Baron Dosville turned away with a deep, heavy sigh.
At some point, the number of people seated in the prosecution's gallery had drastically dwindled.
Those who had taken sides due to personal connections or political calculations had all departed, leaving only the core members who had orchestrated this conspiracy to hold their seats.
The color on their faces did not look good either.
This entire scheme had been meant to stain the opponent's honor, but now the public noose was swinging back around their own necks. The finishing touch had been delivered by that imbecile of a police officer over there.
"Your Honor, would it not be time to render a verdict?"
At Anais's words, Baron Dosville nodded with a somber expression.
Dragging this out any further would only give people more to gossip about.
Just as the judge nodded in agreement and took up his gavel, the doors to Hall 1 burst open with a slam and a policeman came rushing in.
All eyes snapped toward him.
Startled by the sudden flood of attention, he hesitated a moment before hurrying over to the highest-ranking superior present in the chain of command: the Deputy Chief of Rouge Police Station. The deputy chief, whose body was wrapped in bandages after being hoisted into the air and flung about several times over the past few weeks.
Throughout the proceedings, the deputy chief had maintained a stance of strict neutrality.
He listened to his subordinate's report and nodded gravely.
"Ah, so that's how it is."
The deputy chief skimmed the report his subordinate presented and then submitted it to the judge.
The judge read through its contents meticulously.
The eyes of everyone in the hall were fixed upon him.
What did that report say?
Baron Dosville watched the judge's lips with a faint, desperate hope, while Anais suppressed a slight unease.
The moment the person with the least patience in the room let out the first groan, the judge spoke.
"A forensic report has just arrived from Rouge Police Station. It pertains to the unidentified body discovered at the end of the sewer two weeks ago. The body was missing one arm, and forensic analysis has confirmed that the severed limb found in the cabaret basement matches the cut surface of this corpse. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that this body is the source of the years' worth of vital traces left in the cabaret underground."
It took a moment for the precise implications of the judge's words to sink in for everyone present.
But seeing Baron Dosville squeeze his eyes shut and Viscountess Bergson break into a wide, radiant smile, all understood at once what it signified.
"This court finds the defendant not guilty."
Tap-tap-tap.
Along with the crisp, light rapping of the wooden gavel, a roar of cheers shook the hall like thunder.