The people sent to investigate Lyney's magic troupe's luggage quickly returned. A man named Vaughn said to Neuvillette, "Monsieur Neuvillette, we found a bottle of pinkish-blue liquid inside Lyney's trunk, along with proof that he is a member of the Fatui!"
"What? The Fatui?"
The moment Vaughn spoke, nearly the entire audience erupted in disbelief.
Someone immediately shouted, "If that's true, then everything makes sense! If he's with the Fatui, then of course he could've done all this!"
Neuvillette looked toward Lora, but she wore an expression that clearly said, Don't ask me. I don't want to talk about it.
Left with no choice, he turned to Lyney and asked, "Mr. Lyney, do you have an explanation for this?"
Lyney fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"I had no intention of deceiving anyone. I am indeed a member of the Fatui, but that has nothing to do with this incident. Even if I am with the Fatui, does that automatically prove I'm the mastermind behind everything?"
"If it's the Fatui, then it's absolutely possible!" someone from the audience shouted.
"The great magician Lyney is actually a Fatui agent? How wonderfully dramatic! Just what are you planning in Fontaine?" Furina demanded from the high platform.
Lora glanced up at her and made a quieting gesture.
Furina blinked, then immediately took a step back.
Soon, another person arrived carrying a letter.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, we found this," she said. "This letter contains a list of names. They're all victims from the serial disappearances of young women!"
"What? The serial disappearances?"
Those words instantly set off another uproar in the courtroom.
Lora swept her gaze across the crowd. She did not say a single word, yet the explosive atmosphere was immediately suppressed. Once the audience finally quieted down, she gestured for Neuvillette to continue.
Neuvillette took the letter and carefully examined every name written on it.
The names truly belonged to the victims of the serial disappearance cases, including the recently missing Miss Aurelie.
"I've never seen this letter before," Lyney said with a frown.
"Mm, I agree. He definitely didn't have time to do all this," Lora nodded.
Only then did Lyney realize that her voice was exactly the same as the one he had heard earlier outside the chamber of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
He looked at her in shock, only to meet her smiling gaze.
Some members of the audience immediately objected.
Vaughn also spoke up. "How do you know Lyney didn't have the opportunity to do these things?"
"Oh, because he secretly went to the entrance of the Oratrice's chamber earlier," Lora replied without hesitation, directly exposing Lyney's actions.
"What?"
Both Neuvillette and Furina were visibly surprised.
"You approached the chamber of the Oratrice?" Neuvillette asked with a frown as he looked at Lyney.
Lyney glanced at Lora, then at Neuvillette staring at him, before finally nodding.
"Yes. I approached the chamber housing the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale..."
"What were you doing there?" Neuvillette asked.
Lyney answered, "I wanted to uncover the truth behind the Oratrice! Haven't you noticed, Monsieur Neuvillette? Only a small portion of the energy it stores is used to power the Court of Fontaine. The vast majority of that energy disappears somewhere unknown!"
"That is not a matter the Fatui should concern themselves with," Neuvillette said gravely.
"But it is something a Fontainian should care about!" Lyney shot back.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Neuvillette asked.
Lyney stared at him silently for a moment before demanding, "I want to know what really happened in the Court of Fontaine!"
Neuvillette paused briefly, then turned toward Vaughn.
"Bring me the bottle of pinkish-blue liquid you found."
Vaughn nodded and carefully took out the bottle, handling it with extreme caution.
That excessive carefulness immediately caught Neuvillette's attention.
After taking the bottle, he inspected it closely, while Liliane suddenly shouted from nearby, "That's it! That's the liquid that guy splashed on me in the underground passage!"
Lyney stared intently at the bottle before suddenly saying, "Monsieur Neuvillette! Do you still remember Fontaine's prophecy?"
"The prophecy?" Neuvillette looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
Lyney nodded.
"Everyone will dissolve into the sea, and only the Hydro Archon will remain weeping upon her throne. If I'm not mistaken, this bottle contains seawater capable of dissolving Fontainians! Cowell splashed this liquid onto Liliane in the underground passage, but he didn't know she wasn't from Fontaine. That's why the seawater had no effect on her."
"A very good deduction."
Neuvillette naturally recognized it as Water from the Primordial Sea and knew exactly what it could do.
Looking at Lyney, he asked, "So, Mr. Lyney, are you confessing to being the mastermind behind the serial disappearances?"
Lyney immediately shook his head.
"No, absolutely not!"
"It has to be you!" Vaughn frowned and pointed at him. "Otherwise, how would you know so much about Water from the Primordial Sea?!"
The moment he said that, everyone present, including Furina, turned to look at Vaughn.
Zhongyue asked, "How do you know it's called Water from the Primordial Sea?"
"What?" Vaughn froze.
Chaya, standing below, continued calmly, "And when you handed that bottle to Neuvillette just now, you were far too cautious. That is not how someone who knows nothing would behave. So I'm guessing you know exactly what this water does, which is why you were afraid to touch it."
"I..." Vaughn staggered back with a shocked expression.
"Come clean and things may go easier for you. Keep resisting, and they won't," Lora added casually.
Zhongyue walked over to stand beside Neuvillette and stared at Vaughn.
"Well, kid? Are you going to talk, or do I beat it out of you?"
Chaya immediately said, "Zhongyue, you cannot use torture to force a confession."
"But if I actually get serious, he'll simply die from the beating. If he doesn't die, how does that count as torture?" Zhongyue turned back to Chaya and asked a genuinely thought-provoking question.
Chaya: "..."
"Confess. You should know how to lessen your own punishment, Vaughn," Neuvillette said calmly.
Vaughn staggered backward step by step.
Finally unable to withstand the pressure from so many powerful figures staring at him, he broke down completely.
"I... I was only following orders!"
Furina hurriedly asked, "Whose orders?"