Chapter 124: Trial in Progress 4
Focalors drew a deep, steadying breath and turned to face the vast audience. "Regarding this point," she began, her voice ringing with practiced authority, "I wish to apologize to my people. As the Hydro Archon, failing to detect the abnormalities in Fontaine's water system, especially within the Fountain of Lucine, was indeed my oversight. However, this does not mean I am not a god."
Her gaze swept across the silent opera house. "As the saying goes, 'the darkest place is under the lamp.' People often fail to notice the things and events happening closest to them. As a god, I made the same mistake, and for that, I am truly at fault."
"Here," she declared, her voice softening with a convincing display of remorse, "I wish to extend my most sincere apologies to the people of Fontaine, especially to those who have been hurt due to my negligence..."
As she spoke, Focalors turned her body fully towards the stands and executed a deep, formal bow of apology.
The crowd began to murmur, their initial shock and suspicion melting away.
"It's already enough that a god would go to such lengths."
"Exactly, even gods can't be perfect all the time..."
"Lady Focalors, I believe in you...!"
Watching Focalors masterfully turn the tide with just a few well-chosen words, the expressions of Natsume and the children grew solemn. After witnessing her previously unreliable and flighty performance, they had assumed she would be caught completely off guard when her secret was exposed, making this trial a relatively simple affair.
It was a stark reminder that she had successfully maintained this divine facade for hundreds of years; she was certainly not someone who could be unmasked so easily. Fortunately, they had prepared more than just a single line of attack.
Sensing the shift in the audience's mood, Focalors breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. She straightened up and turned back to Natsume and her companions, a faint, condescending smile playing on her lips. "Next, do you have any more clues or questions? You may as well present them all now... or you can drop the charges. In light of your contributions to the case of the serial disappearances, I can mercifully forgive your crime of false accusation."
"There's no need for that," Natsume replied coolly. "We have no intention of dropping the charges. But since you brought up the disappearances, Lady Hydro Archon, you should also understand the effects of the Primordial Seawater."
Natsume gestured towards Conan, who had just scurried to her side. He held up a glass test tube, the pinkish-blue liquid within it sloshing gently.
"So," Natsume continued, her eyes fixed on Focalors, "are you willing to use this Primordial Seawater to prove that you are not an ordinary person? After all, for a true god, such a thing shouldn't have any effect on you... correct?"
Focalors's gaze fell upon the test tube, and her breath hitched, a flicker of panic in her eyes before it was suppressed.
Seeing her tense posture, Ran Mouri suddenly cried out from the plaintiff's stand, her voice laced with genuine pity. "Wait, Lady Focalors! There's no need to go this far and risk your life! You just need to tell us about the prophecy... It's too dangerous for you to touch the Primordial Seawater so recklessly!"
Looking at Ran's earnest, concerned expression, Focalors turned her head away, forcing a stiff, brittle smile. "Hehe, what are you talking about? What prophecy? I don't know anything about a prophecy. And you're mistaken—how could contact with Primordial Seawater possibly be dangerous for me? I am the Hydro Archon, Focalors. How could such a thing ever harm me?"
With that, amidst a collective gasp from the crowd, she reached out and plunged her hand directly into the beaker of pinkish-blue water that Conan presented.
Focalors held her hand rigidly in the liquid, her expression frozen. Several seconds passed in dead silence.
Then, as if suddenly remembering her role, she burst into a triumphant cheer. "Look, everyone! I didn't dissolve! Now you can believe that I am the true Hydro Archon, right?"
Her hopeful declaration, however, was shattered by the next witness Neuvillette called to the stage. It was Tsuista, a Melusine whose unique vision allowed her to perceive details hidden from the human eye.
She pointed a small, steady hand at the Archon. Her testimony was clear and unwavering: Lady Focalors's physical state was identical to that of any ordinary person exposed to the same low concentration of Primordial Seawater. The evidence was irrefutable. Focalors was, indeed, a normal human.
At the same time, a deep confusion settled over Conan and the others. Why would she go to such lengths to hide her identity? She had to know that direct contact with Primordial Seawater was a life-threatening risk for a human. Why would she rather gamble with her life than reveal the truth?
Watching Focalors's current reaction—a frantic, desperate attempt to explain away the Melusine's testimony—a terrible premonition bloomed in Conan's heart. He felt that something he desperately did not want to see was about to happen.
At this point, though Focalors tried her best to find excuses, it was no use. The evidence was simply too overwhelming. Her rushed, panicked explanations failed to convince the audience, whose faith was now visibly crumbling. They had begun to stop believing that Focalors was the Hydro Archon of Fontaine.
Seeing her slump dejectedly in her seat, head bowed in defeat after her failed rebuttal, the Detective Boys exchanged worried glances.
Ayumi's voice wavered. "I think... I think I just saw tears in Lady Focalors's eyes..."
"...I saw them too," Mitsuhiko added quietly.
Even Genta, who had never particularly liked Focalors, wore a look of pity. "Did we do something wrong? She looks so sad..."
But there was no room for regret now. With the final piece of evidence presented, Neuvillette's voice cut through the tense silence. "The trial has reached its conclusion. If neither side has any further objections, then I declare that we shall move to the sentencing phase—"
His gavel struck the sound block with a sharp crack. "Focalors, for the crime of impersonating a god and deceiving the people, is found guilty!"
As the Iudex's sentence was handed down, the children, who had been watching Focalors intently, saw the tears they had glimpsed before now streaming freely down her face. A wave of regret and conflict washed over them. Their plan had been to force the truth of the prophecy out of her, but had they gone too far?
They worried that they had truly hurt her, yet felt that if they hadn't applied this pressure, if they had let her continue to run away, the hope of ever resolving Fontaine's crisis would be even more remote.
Neuvillette continued, his expression unreadable, "Next, the matter is handed over to the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale for the final verdict."
Now, they could only hope that once the final judgment was rendered, Focalors would finally reveal what she knew about the prophecy and the crisis facing Fontaine.
A familiar, aquamarine light flashed from the grand machine. Neuvillette took the slate it produced, his eyes scanning the result. His composure finally broke, his eyes widening in shock. In a voice laced with disbelief, he read aloud the final verdict of the Oratrice: "The Hydro Archon... guilty... The sentence is... Death!"
"D-Death Sentence?!" Ayumi cried out.
"Wait, how can it be a death sentence?!" Mitsuhiko shouted, jumping to his feet.
"It was just deceiving the people!" Genta yelled, his earlier pity replaced by outrage. "She didn't kill anyone or set any fires! There's absolutely no need for a death sentence!"
"Exactly!" Ayumi and the others echoed in a chorus of alarm. They only wanted Focalors to tell them what she knew; they had never, ever intended to drive her to her death.
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