If all Fontainians are born with original sin, Neuvillette cannot fathom the day when the tides will rise to take you and every other citizen away.
Impartiality not only helps him maintain legitimate status but prevents him from attachment of temporal figures. However that notion holds no relevance as he dreads the moment when you are no longer present in his life.
After attending a trial earlier in the day he was informed that Sedene went out to handle a matter involving you. He did not think much of it as he expected you to lively waltz into his office and recount your day to him clearing up any initial worry he would have had.
Instead he was met with dull knock from one of the gestionnaires and a note left by you.
"What's this?"
he expresses confusion
"[Name] requested to submit a written report."
she explains
"How unusual... can you enlighten me as to why?"
he meticulously examines the envelope
"I can only assume they are not in the mood to talk. When they entered they not only seemed lifeless but also roughened."
"I see, thank you."
He retains his worry until she shuts the door, the description can only imply that you had a difficult day. Before acting rashly he opens the letter to assess what had happened,
The contents of the letter recounted your events but the deeper he read into the letter the more disturbing it appeared. You expressed thoughts of negativity and low confidence in your abilities suggesting you had failed him and your honor.
Humans are fragile, even the seemingly capable ones fall victim to the consequences of over-exertion. He is appalled by the behavior of the aggressive man, the bystanders, and employee's who mistreated you.
Most importantly he is concerned about your whereabouts. To be left alone in such a state holds risk, the human mind can only take so much until it snaps. Not to say that this in particular will completely break you, mainly that he wants to return the support that you always offer to others.
Stepping out of the office he is met with various stumps, no one knows where you could have ran off to. The public is curious as to why the Monsieur is frantically roaming around the streets at night to find the pirate looking chief.
Finally near the outside gates of the city a Garde mentions recalling seeing your feathered hat figure. He describes that you traipsed outside of the gates not too long ago towards the beach.
He saw your moonlit silhouette by shore, you stood there solemnly dragging your sword along the sand. It is with great irony that the tides rise highest when night falls. All he knows for sure in this moment is that he mustn't let you succumb to the cruel fate of a sinner.
-
For some peace of mind you exited the city to stand by beach. The ocean's waves bring tranquility to the disrupted mind. You are careful not to let the salty water splash on your untreated wounded hands, the sting would only remind you of the mishandled fiasco.
After a while you began to draw in the sand with your sword, meaningless squiggles and made up shapes solidified into ice. The only thought in your mind being how you'd even wake up energized and ready for work. Not like it mattered, it's just what you had to do for the Melusines and Neuvillette.
Heavy footsteps softly crunched in the sand as they made their way towards you. Turning around you were met with the Iudex. He hardly leaves Palais Mermonia which is a shame because this scenery enhances his elegant features perfectly to their fullest.
Though you didn't expect him to arrive, you sort of knew why he was here. Still, you can't help but ask in attempt to make sense as to why he would go through the trouble.
"Why did you..."
you're unsure how to put it in a polite way.
"I received your letter"
he begun
Turning back towards the waves you sat down,
"Don't worry about it, i'm just a bit exhausted is all"
"I can't prevent disasterous days, but I can offer you my support."
Somehow he manages to maintain that aura of elegence as he sits next to you. Many may not know but Neuvillette is surprisingly compassionate.
"You don't think I can handle one rough day?"
your lips pursed in slight offense
"Oh, it seems you have a troublesome pride."
he glances at you with an amused smile
"I think I have just enough pride."
You slam your hand at the sand for emphasis but, wince at the applied pressure to the bruises. Then you took a deep breath, the reason for coming out was to not lash out at others from stress. Neuvillette took the time to check up on you and here you were acting childish.
He hand extends out to you,
"May I see?"
Averting your gaze as you place your hands in his,
"It was my own fault"
his tongue clicks disapprovingly,
"Tsk tsk, excessive pride can lead to a dreadful fate"
he warns with emphasis
He hums, careful not to cause you any more unnecessary pain. The faint hand imprint on your cheek is just about barely noticeable. Abruptly, he releases your hands and takes ahold of your jaw, tilting it slightly for a closer look. The action startled you but his firm grip keeps you in place.
"He must've used a lot of force if it's still visible."
his tone shows concern
"It's still there?!"
"Faintly"
he assures as his other hand brushes over the spot
It is then you realize how private the moment felt, mixed feelings of embarrassment but mainly guilt. A day of bottled up harshness with the contrast of his kind comfort, it is then you feel comfortable to be vulnerable. You bury your face into the coolness of his gloved hand and muttered,
"I'm sorry about my performance today."
he was bemusede you would even apologize for that, it meant that you applied a lot of pressure on yourself.
"Perhaps I overestimated the simplicity of this job"
Your stomach drops at these words, immediate regret for not remaining resilient sets in.
"You... don't think i'm fit for the job?"
The crack of your voice causes him to rethink his wording, it may have come off too harsh.
"No, that's not at all what I meant."
"This is embarrassing.. I shouldn't need someone to comfort me."
"Perhaps you're demanding too much of yourself?"
he tries to make you realize that the self inflicted pressure was unnecessary.
"Isn't that what you want from me?"
your eyes showed desperation
"All I ask is for you to do your best, the effort and dedication you put is simply enough."
"Aren't you mad? I recklessly failed and hurt the Melusine."
"Sometimes things happen out of our control, but you still tried and that's all that I need from you."
He notices a glisten at the corner of your eye
"So.. you won't fire me?"
you give a nervous laugh
"Of course not, why don't you take the day off tomorrow to rejuvenate. I'll handle things in the meanwhile."
He wipes the tear before letting you part away.
-
You took the day off as he suggested coming to terms with the fact that you can't flawlessly help everyone. Though you still felt a bit embarrassed by the fact that he was the one who had to comfort you at the end of the day.
The injuries on your hand were finally tended and wrapped up, if you didn't do that soon enough it wouldn't heal properly. Perhaps due to the stress of the situation is why your ice came out spikier.
You weren't sure what he meant by handling things until you eased back into work the next day. The Melusine from the shop that wanted the bottle was at the post office, her leg was still bandaged.
"Oh! Hello [Name]"
Her mood was unusually chirpy
"Is your leg fine?"
"Yeah, it's healing quick. Don't worry, I knew you were just trying to help."
she assures, noticing your guilt ridden face
"Um, so what brings you to the post office?"
you ask curiously
"Monsieur Neuvillette had the product ordered and shipped to me on fast delivery."
she enthusiastically showed you the package in her mitts.
"He did?!"
you were impressed he was able to do that rapidly.
"Mhm, next time i'll think about pre-ordering."
she says before leaving
You felt relieved that she was able to get her product in the end, Neuvillette sure was something. As you walked around the environment felt a little strange. At the cafe you spoke with to Menthe,
"The tea still bitter?"
"Yeah, I think I should add some honey to it."
she sticks her tongue out in disgust
"Oh, let me get some for you."
before you could walk towards the counter some lady at a nearby table walked up,
"They are out of honey for today, but we have some extra sugar packets if you'd like?"
"Thanks"
you awkwardly smile, normally people don't interfere to assist you in any way.
"I suppose sugar will be fine."
Menthe holds the cup for you to add the sugar in
This day seemed to be strangely working out smoothly. On your way to Palais Mermonia you passed by the boutique you were banned from, surprised to see the other Melusine from that day there.
"They let you back in?"
you ask
"You don't know? They lifted the ban on us well except that crazy guy."
she explained
"What happened to him?"
"He got really violent during detention, so they sent him to the Fortress of Meropide."
"They did?! Serves him right I suppose."
You held the cheek that he had slapped
"I think his sentence was two months or something, so hopefully we don't encounter him after that. He was really scary, thank you for being there."
she smiles
"Of course, just doing.. my best."
her gratitude was all you needed to remember the good parts of your job.
Entering the Palais of Mermonia you were surprised to see a new table with a warm beverage dispenser. The gestionnaire's were crowded around it with their cups.
"What's this?"
you approach them
"Oh, Monsieur Neuvillette had it installed for us. He thought it would be good for the work environment if we had access to soothing drinks like tea or such"
One of them walked up to you with a warm cup,
"We accidentally made an extra one, take it."
she waives it towards you
You could tell that was lie, the endearing action was the last poke to your sentiments. This is what he meant by handling things, you were beyond grateful.
"Why are you looking at me like that, just take the drink?"
she snaps
She gasps when you go in for a hug muttering,
"Thank you"
"Ah, cut that sappy stuff out [Name]"
she flustered
You wanted to express this hug to Neuvillette but that would be a bit of a boundary cross. So instead you expressed your gratefulness to her in a way you couldn't for him.
From the door Neuvillette had watched the scene, initially he wanted to make sure they held off on the teasing for the day. Seeing you at a much happier state was enough for him, though he couldn't help but wonder why you showed such gratitude to them when he was the one behind it all.
You enter the room with that signature charming smile. Experimentally, he held out his arms, he wouldn't mind accepting your gratitude the same way. The action confused you at first, so you took his hand thinking he expected a handshake.
"Thank you for everything Neuvillette"
The appreciative expression on your face was just as satisfactory for him,
"It's my pleasure"