Chapter Text
“let’s get down to business, friends. one thing to know is that i’ve been keeping an eye on the serial disappearance cases — my interest stems from a matter back from my father's time. judging from the look of things, i find lyney an unlikely mastermind.” navia explains.
paimon sighs in relief, “oh good, you believe in his innocence, too. how did you figure it out?” she asks.
“our boss is quite the genius, actually.” one of her bodyguards, a man with greying hair, pipes up.
“quite the best in the business, our demoiselle.” the second one, a man with a dark ponytail and sunglasses, chimes in.
paimon’s brows furrow in confusion, “oh, um… who are you guys?” she tilts her head.
“i’m silver, her attendant,” the dark haired one speaks, then the older man goes next.
“and i am melus, i oversee her daily affairs and needs.”
“nice to meet you two, then!” paimon smiles.
navia jumps back in once the pleasantries pass, “back to the topic at hand. you asked how i know, well, it’s pretty easy to see the discrepancies, actually. the disappearances case started twenty years ago, and if i had to guess, lyney seems to be at best around the age of twenty. i highly doubt he was committing these crimes as a baby.
most people would then think he’s simply an accomplice, but to be frank, this was simply too elaborate to kidnap an innocent girl. most of the women that were kidnapped were taken off the streets. why would someone go through such an effort in putting on a show just to nab a girl?” she points out.
“that’s true. so then, what about the accident?” paimon asks.
“just that! an accident. furina was certainly quick to accuse lyney without any decisive evidence whatsoever, right? and like your friend here pointed out, at most, lyney can be charged with involuntary manslaughter. it seemed like a genuine accident, which is why it would qualify as such. she thinks it’s premeditated, but obviously, we think otherwise.” she explains, “now, you might have already guessed, but here in fontaine, a trial begins the moment someone levels charges, and seeing as how furina did just that, we’re in for a busy ride.”
“so, what’s our plan? we only have a day to investigate.” the traveler reminds her.
“well, firstly, i have a question to ask you. what do you think about the people treating trials and justice as a mere show?”
“heinous.” kaeya answers immediately. “in mondstadt, our trials are held by the anemo archon, the grand master, and the deacon of the church. it’s done in private, with only a few witnesses present and the captains within the knights of favonius. we don’t open our trials to the public unless it absolutely has to involve them.”
the traveler nods in agreement, “i don’t think it’s right either to treat trials like a tv show. it ends up making it easier for the public to want the accused to be found guilty. they all find it entertaining, which interferes with true justice.” they express their opinion, “treat something like a game enough and no one will take it seriously.” they realize they rambled and they blush, “sorry… guess i got a little passionate there.”
navia shakes her head, “no, no, if anything, i’m glad. you basically encompassed my thoughts exactly.” she smiles, clearly pleased with their answers. “if you’re interested, i would like to join your investigation. as the spina di rosula, we try to ensure justice is delivered.”
kaeya looks to the traveler, who shrugs, “you’re the lawyer.” they tell him.
he huffs before he returns his gaze to navia, “then consider us a team, boss.” he accepts her proposal.
navia claps, delighted. “wonderful! glad to be onboard then, partners!”
“could always use the extra help, so paimon doesn’t mind!” paimon declares, “we should go check on lyney and see if he’s done so he can show us that trick of his.”
with that, the group moves back into the foyer of the opera house.
lyney looks over, and he waves to them. “oh good, you’ve returned!”
“yep! we can’t wait to see the secret art of magic.” paimon beams eagerly.
“right this way, then~” lyney and lynette lead them back into the theatre. he heads for the box in the center of the audience, a garde following them to keep an eye on the twins.
lyney opens the door to it, and he gestures, “now, before we show the secret, notice anything different about the box?”
navia purses her lips as she looks it over, “actually, yes. the decorations, they’re gone. they were there earlier, all the stars and balloons.”
lyney nods, “good eye, miss. if you look closely, you’ll also notice the back is different, as well.” he points it out, the back now a blank panel instead of patterned.
“huh. there’s another box inside this one.” kaeya deduces as he steps closer.
“exactly. very perceptive of you!” lyney praises, “there’s a passageway underneath the stage, it runs about the entirety of the theatre. there are various trapdoors along the way, and for us to perform the trick, we placed the boxes on two of the doors: the one on stage, and the one right here.” lyney explains.
“aha!” paimon chirps, “paimon knew it! paimon knew there were tunnels under the theatre!” she wiggles in the air.
lyney chuckles a little in amusement, “you have a sharp mind, paimon. now, it’s a little more complex after this. once the audience member stepped inside, the inner box is lowered underneath into the tunnels, placed on a trolley, and quickly transported to the other side and raised into the new position.”
“sounds pretty elementary, i’ve seen this trick a couple times.” kaeya comments as he nods in understanding.
“but what about you? we heard you talking on stage still.” paimon asks in confusion.
“we had recorded my side of the conversation, which lynette used while i was making my way to the other side. once the countdown started, i was already on the other side. lynette was behind the smaller box, and she walked out at the end instead of me.”
“lyney and i are twins, and if we alter our clothes and our hair, you hardly see the difference.” lynette explains.
lyney nods, “exactly, that’s why only lynette and i can really perform it and pull it off.”
“yeah, it makes a lot of sense now that we think about it.” paimon comments, “but paimon still doesn't understand how cowell got in there. where was he supposed to be?” she asks.
“i honestly don’t know. he shouldn’t have been inside it at all, and we still don’t know where the audience member went.”
“we really don’t know how any of this happened.” lynette murmurs softly.
“well, with me at the helm, you’ll be fine.” they’ll be doomed , kaeya’s mind supplies before he shushes it. he turns to the garde, “may we investigate this area?” he asks for permission, earning a nod.
kaeya leads the pack as he examines the area.
“what’s this?” navia asks, careful not to touch the hook attached to rope laying on the floor by kaeya’s feet.
“maybe it’s a prop? but what would it have been used for?” the traveler asks.
“paimon has no clue, but we better take note of it.” paimon comments before she writes it down in the notebook her and the traveler have been using.
they investigate the area, noting the discarded clothing, the broken vase, the costume trunk, and the trolley system. melus had gone back up to the stage to speak with the gardes in the meantime.
“hey, there’s a vent here.” the traveler says, “it looks big enough to crawl through.”
“maybe the kidnapper was waiting in here for the girl during the show?” paimon guesses.
“no, it seems like it only fits one person.” kaeya peers inside as he opens it, “i doubt he was able to pull her through without grabbing attention. he would’ve made more noise than that thud we heard.”
“do you think it leads anywhere?” paimon asks as she peeks over his shoulder.
“i can’t tell, it’s dark and as slim as i may be, i don’t think i can squeeze in here.” he muses, his eyes turning to the traveler.
“you’re small, do you think you can fit in here?” he asks them, earning an eyeroll at the comment.
“the tunnel leads into the opera house basement.” melus announces as he enters the tunnels, “i have asked the gardes for every detail down here, and they believe the odds are very low that the young woman was taken through there. the vent leads to the opera house's basement, and the gardes have checked the area carefully. no one left through the basement during the performance or after the incident, and no one was found hiding there.”
“welp, guess that’s that. looks like i don’t need to crawl through it.” the traveler pats kaeya’s shoulder.
“let paimon write all that down.” she quickly scribbles the information into their notebook. “okay! so that’s all the notes down here. should we go back up now?” she asks.
“sure, let’s go.” kaeya agrees.
they head back up onto the surface, congregating in the spot they met navia.
“i know everyone’s glum, so why don’t we cheer up with some desserts.” navia offers as her bodyguards pull out a traveling cooking pot.
“ooh, desserts? what kind!” paimon’s eyes sparkle immediately.
“macarons, of course!” navia declares, silver bringing out the ingredients. she sets to mixing the ingredients and baking them. when they’re finished, she sets three of them each onto plates and pours everyone tea.
“and voila! perfectly baked macarons!” she presents, quite proud of herself.
paimon immediately digs in gleefully.
“alright, down to business.” navia sits down as she helps herself to macarons of her own, “so we established that the tunnels underneath the stage can be used as secret chambers. we can assume that lyney and lynette were not alone. there’s a good chance the criminal also occupied its sealed confines. like everyone thinks, the magician twins could have committed the crimes, of course, but they lack any logical motive.”
“so, apart from the twins, we're left with two other people: the missing girl and the deceased.” the traveler taps their chin in thought.
“the vase down in the tunnels was knocked over. maybe halsey and the criminal got into an altercation?” kaeya theorizes.
navia nods in agreement, “exactly what i was thinking. the vase was broken, her clothes were discarded. perhaps the criminal thought that since she was chosen from the crowd, she would be too easy to identify if she was still wearing the same clothes…”
the traveler frowns, “maybe, but there’s no evidence suggesting a third party was even involved.”
“true, but the only people left to consider are both technically victims, whether it's the missing girl, halsey, or poor cowell…” navia trails off.
the hairs on the back of kaeya’s neck raise, and he shivers, getting the sense that someone’s watching them. however, as he scans the room, nothing seems out of place.
he shakes his head, turning his attention back to the conversation. he tries to fit all the pieces together, but he knows he’s missing far too many to see the bigger picture. it frustrates him. he truly hates locked room crimes.
“could halsey have secretly made modifications to the magic props in order to murder cowell before making her escape?” paimon asks.
the traveler immediately shoots that down, “no, she couldn’t have possibly known how the trick works. she doesn’t have motive either. she isn’t part of the troupe, remember? so she has no reason to target the deceased.”
paimon pouts, “yeah, that’s true…”
“and so we’re back to square one.” kaeya sighs. he goes to reach for the macarons he hadn’t touched yet when he notices only one is left. “huh… now, paimon, i know you have quite the big tummy, but isn’t it a little rude to take food from someone else~” his tone is teasing.
“what?! paimon didn’t eat your macarons!” she stomps her foot in the air, “paimon doesn’t steal food, paimon would ask first!”
“well, someone had to have eaten them, i certainly didn’t.”
navia waves them away, “it’s fine, you two, i’ll just make some more!”
“ah, i couldn’t possibly trouble a kind young lady to make more.” kaeya politely declines.
she shakes her head with a bright smile, “nonsense, baking is my specialty! i can whip them up in no time.” without waiting for more protests, she bakes more macarons.
they enjoy the fresh macarons, but kaeya can’t help the dread simmering in his gut. he has his work cut out for him, and he fears he might let lyney down.
“well, today’s the day.” kaeya sighs as he stands in front of the opera epiclese, hands on his hips.
“ready to do this?” the traveler asks from his side, paimon hovering near them.
“not one bit. let’s get going.” he heads inside, people already gathering in the lobby, some taking their seats.
he ignores his nerves as he makes his way up to the defense attorney balcony. lyney and lynette spot them arriving, lyney perking up.
“well, how did the investigation go?” he asks.
kaeya takes a breath, “i don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s looking to be quite the complicated case. like i said yesterday, though, a lot of the evidence is circumstantial.”
lynette shakes her head, “it’s okay, just helping us is enough.” she promises.
“awh~ why the long faces~” furina’s voice drawls out, a haughty laugh leaving her after as she stands at the prosecutor’s side. “let me guess, you realized your little ‘investigation’ was fruitless.” she mocks.
kaeya resists the very tempting urge to roll his eyes. instead he plasters his award-winning smile, “ah, don’t you know, lady furina? we keep our cards close to our chest.” he easily fires back. oh he wishes this case would go well, just so he can rub it in her face.
“since both parties are present, i declare that the trial regarding the magic show incident is now in session.” neuvillette speaks from his judge’s chair, standing tall and mighty. kaeya feels a shiver run down his spine. oh he’s in for it.
“firstly, in order for the audience to understand the causes and results of the incident, could we please have mr. lyney explain the trick?” he directs his attention to lyney.
lyney stands from his seat and steps forward, explaining the trick to the audience. when he finishes, he bows his head and steps back. his eyes cautiously look towards neuvillette, anxious for his opinion.
“mr. lyney, i admit you are rather talented in your tricks and bravado, but for the record i must ask this and ensure your statement is correct. you ran into, and then remained hidden within, the magic box in the audience stands once the trick began, and thus could not have committed the crime. is this correct?” neuvillette asked calmly, fully aware of furina’s lack of amusement during the entire explanation.
lyney nods his head, “yes, this is correct, your honor.” he promises.
“very well. then, lady furina, as you serve as prosecution, i allow you a chance to refute his statement if you see fit.” he looks over to her, vishap hues narrowing a bit to see if she will follow through.
“of course i do, my dear iudex.” she folds her arms over her chest, “mr. lyney is clearly lying!” she turns her heterochromatic hues onto the magician, “there is no chance you could have been in the box the entire time if you were to abduct poor halsey and senselessly murder cowell. in fact! i’d like to propose that you weren’t in the tunnels at all .” she declares her facts.
kaeya huffs under his breath, what a ridiculous hypothesis.
lyney frowns, “that’s just conjecture, lady furina, based on your assumption that i’m already guilty.”
she arches a brow, “oh? then if that’s the case, you surely would be able to tell us what you heard when you were in that box, then, right?” she leans forward on the railing.
“of course! i heard the roaring countdown of the crowd! that’s how i was able to keep track of the time.”
a sinister smirk appears on her lips that immediately sinks dread into kaeya’s gut, “and you heard nothing else? at all?” she asks.
“nothing.” lyney confirms.
“interesting.” she turns to the audience, “you see, my dear people, if lyney had been inside that box the entire time, then surely he would have heard that thud around the thirty second mark, wouldn’t he?”
the audience immediately clamors, talking over each other and murmuring that they wondered what the sound had been. as they agree with furina’s point, the scales on the oratrice begin to tip.
“wait…” the traveler mutters, “how did lyney not hear it?”
kaeya swallows thickly, but he keeps his pokerface. it’s not looking great, that’s for sure.
furina continues, standing taller and all the more cocky and arrogant, “and that’s not all! you see, i did a little investigation of my own. after all, as the god of justice, i have to cover all my bases.” she’s almost gleeful at this rate, “tell me, lyney and lynette, don’t you two come from the house of the hearth ?” she drives the point home.
kaeya’s mind falters. wait, he had heard of that when he was trailing his father, trying to learn any and everything of all the harbingers. his eye shifts to the twins who look stiff as stone. fatui? they look like they couldn’t hurt a fly.
at this revelation, the audience breaks out into a bigger disarray, kaeya blinking a few times to try and think of something — anything to say.
neuvillette narrows his eyes as he raises his cane and slams it down.
“order! order in the court, now.” he demands, the chaos silencing almost immediately as he looks to lyney.
“mr. lyney, the prosecution has raised two valid issues. firstly, the issue with the thud, if you were in the box within the audience stand, or even if you were in the other box on stage, you should have heard it. secondly… the fact you are a member of the house of the hearth was never mentioned to anyone.”
lyney stammers, heart racing, “w-well, yes, but our identities have nothing to do with the incident.. as for the thud—”
“see? no matter what lies you try to spout, you’re guilty. i think we’re done here~” furina looks quite proud of herself, and kaeya feels his blood boil. judging someone just based on their associations? that isn’t fair, but the oratice didn’t care when it began sliding towards furina’s favour.
“your honor, wait. may we please have a moment?” kaeya quickly calls out. this is all happening way too fast, and they need to touch base. letting it go out of control will only make the situation worse.
“and may i ask why you need a moment, mr. alberich?” neuvillette asks, making sure his tone was not insulting or disrespectful, but a mediating tone.
“seeing as our client withheld some information, i won’t be able to proceed with the defense until we settle this. may i request a brief recess?”
at his request, the audience scoffs, some murmuring that there would be no use, and kaeya fights the urge to tell them to buzz off.
“silence, gallery.” neuvillette demands, waiting for them to quieten down again before he turns to lyney. “mr. lyney, is this true? did you hold back key evidence from your own defense team?”
lyney takes a breath, “it isn’t like that, your honor. we didn’t think this would be relevant to the case, as it has nothing to do with cowell’s accident, or the girl going missing. i swear it.” he promises.
“believe me, mr. lyney, i understand better than anyone else. but the issue remains about the thud. you did not tell your defense you never heard anything, that is the key evidence i am more concerned about, not your identity.” neuvillette explains.
kaeya raises a hand before placing it over his chest, “i will admit that was an error on my part. i assumed he was aware of it, so i did not question. regardless, may we please have a second and then reconvene in a moment? nothing will be tampered with, nor will anything change, we just need to gain a better understanding.”
“very well, as there is miscommunication going on,” he stops, glaring at furina who he knew was about to say something. “there will be an hour recess. this court is adjourned, we will reconvene in an hour.” the iudex declared, tapping his cane once.
kaeya bows his head gratefully, then follows the twins, the traveler and paimon backstage.
lyney’s face is pale and guilt etches his features.
“listen, i — we didn’t mean to keep this a secret. i swear it, we aren’t like the rest of the fatui.” he begins, kaeya lifting a hand to silence him.
“look, i don’t care if you’re fatui.” kaeya promises, “it shouldn’t matter where you come from or who you know. they don’t define you, nor do their actions reflect on you as a person. it’s not my place to judge you for that, especially the actions of my own family.” he reassures them, “in any case, yeah, we kinda fumbled a little here, but what’s important is to cover every detail, alright? no more secrets from here on out, is that agreeable?”
lyney nods almost erratically, “yes, of course. anything you’d like to know, i’ll share what i can.”
the traveler looked over to lyney, confused a bit. “so where were you when the thud happened then? that’s the main issue, like monsieur neuvillette said, he didn’t care about the fatui thing, he cared that you didn’t hear what everyone else heard.”
“the truth is… well, i guess our identities are a part of this, but… our ‘father’ wanted us to investigate the secrets of the oratrice, to see if it can help with the prophecy.” lyney starts, kaeya’s nerves immediately fraying at the last word. a prophecy? there isn’t a possible chance that these people know about his prophecy? right?
“prophecy? what… prophecy?” he asks once he finds his voice.
“the one about fontaine. it’s been around for a long time. the water will rise, the people will dissolve, and the hydro archon will be alone, weeping on her throne.” lynette explains.
“how do people dissolve?” paimon blurts out.
lyney shrugs, “supposedly, when we touch the primordial seawater, we dissolve. no one knows the reason why, but that’s why ‘father’ asked us to investigate. she thinks the oratrice might have answers, and… well, the base of the oratrice is in the basement.
so during the countdown, i jumped out of the box, hurried through the vent, and came out into the small space.” he explains, “but… i heard a voice when i was in there, so i quickly left and went into the box that was in the audience. i still had a few seconds left, so i just went on with the show.”
“a voice in the oratrice…? was it masculine, feminine?” kaeya questioned, curious more about this than the trial.
“it was a woman’s voice, and she said my name. i don’t know who it was, i didn’t stay long. on the way back, i noticed the clothes and the broken vase, but because i was running out of time, i just continued on like i said.”
“alright, so then… what do we do?” paimon asks.
“we tell the truth, furina can’t argue with facts. neuvillette was already tired of her actions as well.” kaeya pointed out. “all we need to do is prove without a shadow of a doubt lyney and lynette didn’t kill cowell or kidnap someone, this proves it.”
“we still have a lot unaccounted for, but… you’re right, kaeya.” the traveler agrees. “the people’s judgement all seem to hinge on the fact that the fatui is indirectly affiliated. we need to find a way to disperse that…”
“can’t you summon your ‘father’ and have her testify?” kaeya grumbles.
lyney shakes his head, “she was returning from snezhnaya, so she isn’t quite back yet… not to mention, if i hadn’t slipped up, this was supposed to remain a secret.” shame fills his tone at the end, lynette lifting a hand and placing it on his shoulder comfortingly.
“eh, it happens.” kaeya waves off. “you’re young, and no one expected a fucking murder.”
“thank you… really, for still believing in us. i know things just got difficult for you.” lyney expresses his regret.
kaeya shrugs, “i don’t see why i wouldn’t. i’ve had my fair share of unfortunate associates, but i’m still my own person, just as you are.” he sighs, “anyway, let’s get back out there and face the music.”
with that, recess wraps up, and they return to their respective places.