The Canary's Counterattack

Balthasar looked at Trisha.

She had once been his brilliant, cherished student.

But she was a girl who did not know her place.

So he had decided to crush her—so thoroughly that she could never crawl back up again, as an example to the rest.

He had thought it was finished.

Yet like a stubborn weed she had risen again and was now ruining everything.

Must have been that slum-born vitality—tough as a weed.

Should he have snipped the bud from the start?

"What do you intend to do now, Trisha? Will you make an enemy of the Empire after all?"

"I do not defend people in order to turn them into enemies or allies. I defend my clients, and that is all. Was that not your teaching, Master?"

Trisha's eyes had regained their composure.

The old man's expression hardened.

That stuttering, cowering girl he had once crushed underfoot was now refusing to be stepped on any longer.

Trisha continued.

"I once respected you, Master, but now you are personally turning every last one of your teachings into garbage."

Balthasar's face twisted savagely at Trisha's barb.

The kindly hypocritical mask fell away completely, and his ugly true nature stood nakedly exposed.

"You insolent little slum-born commoner bitch. Just because your brain works a little fast, you think nothing is beyond you? Don't delude yourself into believing that winning today's trial means you've beaten the entire Empire."

The old man spat the words low, venomous enough to chill the bone.

"That witch you just got acquitted, and those slum family of yours you risked your life to protect—do you really think they'll stay safe?"

It was a blatant threat of retaliation.

The memory of the night before Mikhail's trial—when he had completely crushed her soul—began to shake Trisha's heart once more.

Just as her breath caught and terror tried to devour her soul, Trisha clenched her teeth and forced her eyes wide open.

This time she did not yield as she once had.

Instead she met the old man's cold gaze head-on and smiled with open mockery.

"Watch carefully, Master. But before that, you should start worrying about your own safety first."

"What?"

"All those fixed trials you ran with the judiciary under the Bell Family's power, and the forged documents and evidence you left behind in the process. Did you think I wouldn't know? You seem to have forgotten—I never forget anything I have seen even once. Right now every last one of your filthy traces is stored in my head. Along with exactly where to dig to find the evidence."

Trisha pushed up her glasses, stepped closer to the old man, and whispered quietly.

"Soon I will formally dig up every one of your crimes and make you shed tears of blood in this very courtroom. Ah, but first I plan to file for a retrial of Uncle Mikhail's case. The one where you threatened me into abandoning the defense."

"You—you little bitch...!"

Old man Balthasar went pale and his hands shook violently, but Trisha had already turned her back on him without a shred of regret.

Whoa... that was pure catharsis. Felt like watching a movie.

This was the moment the genius canary who had lost her voice regained it—and bared the claws she had been hiding.

Trisha approached me with a smile.

Reaching me, she bowed at the waist with perfect courtesy.

"Thank you, Client. If you hadn't steadied my heart again, I would have spent my whole life as a stuttering failure living in that old man's shadow. Truly, thank you."

Through her glasses I could see sincere green eyes.

"Aw, what's with the formality all of a sudden? It's thanks to you steeling your resolve, Counselor. As promised, let's strip that corrupt old geezer down to the bone and get Uncle Mikhail a full acquittal."

"Yes! Even if it costs me my life, I will secure victory!"

Trisha clenched her fist tightly.

She looked ready to take on the Imperial Family itself.

Alright—now for the request I had been saving up.

I leaned in to Trisha's ear and whispered in a serious tone.

"Hey, Counselor, I'm only asking because you're a real powerhouse lawyer..."

"Yes, please speak. I'll put all my knowledge at your disposal."

Trisha's eyes sparkled as she perked up her ears.

I glanced around, then got straight to the point.

"So... you know the Imperial Community Unified Gallery? Can we sue those mod bastards? I only wrote one post and they hit me with a thirty-day ban. That's clearly a violation of free speech plus abuse of moderator authority. Can we sue right now?"

"...Excuse me?"

Trisha's head locked up for a second like a robot.

"...Huh? This is easy mode for you, right, Counselor? Let's file the suit, yeah? We can win this one too, right?"

But Trisha pushed up her glasses and spoke with absolute firmness.

"Witch. I'm sorry, but that lawsuit is impossible."

"What?! Why?! You're the top of Imperial Law School! You said you chewed through the entire code!"

When I protested with a pout, Trisha picked up her briefcase and shook her head resolutely.

"I believe it is better for the client not to take on a fight with a zero-percent win rate. User bans fall under the community terms of service as the administrator's exclusive authority. Moreover, I have no confidence that I could, in good conscience, stand in court and argue that my client's 'board-disrupting behavior' was justified."

"Tch... you're super strict about this. Fine. Fine already!"

As I stuck out my lower lip and grumbled, Trisha smiled again and adjusted her bag.

"Anything else legal, I'm happy to help anytime. After all, you're my benefactor, Witch!"

But that was the one thing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I needed.

Even though the revenge plan against the mods had fallen through, just thinking I could finally go home made my heart soar.

After finishing the release procedures and stepping out through the courthouse main gate, the outside air brushed my cheeks.

"Man... outside air really is the best!"

On the way to the carriage as a free woman, I even hummed a little tune in excitement.

Today I'm joining the sweet-and-salty party too, so wait for me, guys!

Inside the carriage headed back to Ash Valley, I habitually turned on my smartphone and logged into the gallery.

The moment I entered the gallery, a popup appeared on the screen.

"...Huh? Did that mod bastard suddenly grow a conscience?"

Ah...! Wait—maybe Trisha already wrecked the mods ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for me!?

I got the not-guilty verdict, got out of prison, and even the mods admitted I was innocent!

Excitedly entering the gallery board and checking the recommended posts, I nearly dropped my phone.

When I refreshed the screen, the post I had just read vanished as well.

"What the... what did I just see...?"

A chill ran down my spine.

"Hmph. Conspiracy theories are a dime a dozen."

I was trying to soothe my uneasy heart when suddenly a bizarre fairy tale someone had posted years ago—with only three views—flashed through my mind.

Ding, ding, ding. The bell tolls.

When the next bell rings, whose soul will turn to smoke and vanish—?

Far outside the carriage window, the towering spires of the Imperial Palace were visible.

Somewhere on that summit, an invisible bell seemed to be slowly raising its clapper.

"Ah, I don't care! I'm too hungry to even think!"

I pressed my temples hard and shook off the ominous thoughts.

Whether the bell rang or not, the rumbling from my stomach was more urgent right now.

"Driver! Turn the carriage around. Not to Ash Valley—let's go ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to Gloria Avenue!"

The shadow cast by the palace spires was already fading into the glittering lights of the commercial district.

Of course the first schedule for a newly released nouveau-riche witch was a luxurious flex of everything she had missed out on!

The carriage dropped me right in the middle of Gloria Avenue, the Empire's finest commercial street.

"Ah! How long has it been since I breathed the air of the shopping district!"

During those days lying like a corpse in the prison solitary cell, only one thing had filled my mind.

Meat.

I headed for the Empire's best barbecue restaurant—the one I had been eyeing ever since prison.

"One barbecue platter please, and slather it with the spiciest, most intense sauce you've got. And a glass of hard liquor—oh, and since my throat's dry, a beer too! Well-chilled!"

"Ah, understood, guest..."

The waiter looked like he was wondering whether I would eat it all alone or if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had company, but soon took the order and began bringing out the food one by one.

A plate piled with various cuts of pork fragrant with smoke, a glass of hard liquor, and an ice-cold beer.

I elegantly lifted a fork and speared a tender-looking piece of meat.

Dipping it in the spicy sauce and stuffing my mouth full, I closed my eyes.

Ah... delicious...!

Hard times really do need to be solved with meat.

Savoring the soft meat filling my mouth and leaving a residual of juices as it slid down my throat, I mixed the liquor into the beer and gulped it down.

Not quite as good as soju-beer, but it's a similar vibe!?

With every piece of meat that disappeared, the bitterness of prison was chewed up and swallowed along with it.

"Yeah! Now that I'm out, from today on I'm being reborn through other people's flesh!"

It was a perfect meal that filled my belly with meat.

"Hmm, now it's time to go buy that?"

I stood up and walked into the bustling crowds of the commercial street.

And—

Somewhere in that crowd, someone had fixed their gaze on me and was carefully following.