The Iudex's day off

Chapter 109 - Laughter in the Courtroom

 Very well then.

 It's not as if we weren't prepared for this question.

 "It was indeed kept secret. Lady Furina and I decided that no good would come of revealing such information."

 "No good would come of it, Chief Justice? Wouldn't it have been better for the public to be aware of such dangers?"

 Well, now he's really pushing it.

 Just as I had the urge to retort quite a bit angrier than befitting my position, I bought sight of Wrio waving at me.

 As soon as he noticed that he had my attention, he pointed to his ear as if telling me to listen.

 "While you are indeed incredibly hot when you get angry, I would rather keep that sight to myself." He said teasingly.

 His words earned him a smack on the back of his head by Furina followed by a bout of scolding.

 "Can't you keep it a bit more appropriate?"

 "It's not like anyone else could have heard it."

 "I heard it!"

 Yeah.

 That certainly works.

 I felt my anger fade somewhat as I fought back a smile.

 I knew of their plan to have Wrio keep me from getting too angry. They weren't exactly subtle when making it.

 I didn't expect it to work so well though.

 Now a bit calmer, I turned back to Gerald.

 At this point, he had the public opinion on his side already and if this question was actually part of the trial, the Oratrice would have probably tipped in his favor as well.

 But it was a mere small victory.

 "I indeed thought and still think that not informing the public of this matter was the best course of action. What would the people have done if they knew? Panic would have ensued. People would have started to fear each other. Above all, this would have given your people another opportunity to extend their business. After all, what better way to keep yourself safe than to have a bottle of Primordial Seawater yourself?"

 And look at that.

 That's all it takes to turn the public opinion around once more.

 He might have been smart, but he was still far too young to compete with me in this area.

 I am more than capable of twisting public opinion as I please, especially if I'm in the right.

 I turned to the spectators and sure enough...

 "The Iudex is right. That would have been the most likely thing to happen."

 "That would have only caused more Primordial Seaawter to spread."

 "At that point, we might not have needed the prophecy at all. We would have destroyed ourselves."

 That is how easy it is to influence the public.

 Obviously, he hadn't expected me to turn it around so easily. Even though he tried to hide it, it was quite obvious that he was flustered.

 "May I continue now, Mr Traver? Or is there anything else you wish to add?"

 "I-"

 "That was a rhetorical question."

 As soon as those words slipped past my lips I heard Furina exclaim.

 "Wow. Neuvillette being passive-aggressive. Who would have thought."

 She perhaps spoke a bit louder than intended as it drew the attention of the onlookers as well.

 Behind her and out of the spectators's sight, Wriothesley was doubled over with laughter trying very hard to stay silent.

 "Anything to add, Lady Furina?"

 "No, no. Please continue." She waved it off.

 "Very well."

 I shall ignore your comment this time.

 I took a deep breath, returning to the story.

 "After some thorough contemplation, it was decided that we would work with the Duke of Meropide as he had some resources we did not. This was what led to my lengthy trip to Meropide. It was at this time that-"

 "OH! That's when they fell in love!"

 That shout echoed through the silent room.

 Silence followed.

 A long silence before someone started laughing.

 It started as just one, but it quickly turned into two, then three, till eventually everyone in the courtroom was at very least struggling to stiffen their laughter.

 Even Navia and Clorinde weren't exceptions to this.

 No matter how much of a serious face they tried to keep up, they couldn't completely cover up their amusement.

 As for Wriothesley...

 He was smirking at me as he said:

 "Well, he isn't exactly wrong, now is he?"