Just as Lorne was muttering to himself, a small figure slipped through the door under the moonlight.
The pointed ears under the hood, the light purple hair, and the small figure clearly belonged to the little princess of the Kingdom of Colchis, Medea.
The witch, who had not yet become famous, stood in the courtyard holding a basket somewhat nervously.
Facing her senior fellow disciple behind the table, she revealed a slightly embarrassed expression and spoke. "My aunt refuses to eat. She said that if you don't let her out, she will go on a hunger strike."
Hearing her words, Lorne glanced at the basket filled with food and raised his head with a cold smile.
"So she has that much backbone? Fine. Put the food here. Let her starve for a few days first."
"Th... that's not very good, is it?"
Little Medea could not help but hesitate when she heard that.
"There's no need to worry about her. Once she finishes making trouble, she will calm down naturally."
Lorne said as he took another copied fable manuscript from the table and handed it over with a smile. "I wrote this today. See if you like it."
"Alright!"
Little Medea's eyes instantly lit up.
She grabbed the few pages of parchment and ran into the house, completely forgetting about her aunt.
She was still just a child after all.
Watching the young witch's undisguised excitement, a certain senior fellow disciple, who was clearly far more mature and steady and much more cunning, shook his head inwardly as he evaluated the scene.
Obviously, the reason this girl was willing to run errands for him and deliver big bowls of prison meals to Circe every day was not out of filial devotion or teacher-student affection.
It was simply because she could read the latest Fable updates as soon as possible.
However, when Lorne thought about how Circe had immediately sold out her own disciple as bait when she tried to escape, he felt quite relieved.
That silly bird, as a teacher, did not have much integrity.
How could anyone expect her disciples to hold her in high regard?
Lorne put down the file in his hand, recalling the scene of their first meeting beneath War God Mountain, and his face darkened again.
Running to Athena's territory to sell "special ingredient" cakes.
Only she could think of something like that.
Moreover, she actually managed to offend four deities in one go: Stheno, Euryale, Nike, and Chiron.
If he had not been present at the time and used the excuse of a public trial to protect her, that stupid bird might have been beaten to death by the enraged victims.
Fortunately, Astraea understood his intention and temporarily threw Circe into the dungeon of the Athenian Acropolis on the grounds that the case was quite complicated.
However, judging by the time that had passed, the case should already have reached its conclusion.
Forget it; no matter how evil and stupid she was, she's the one who raised him, after all.
He couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted.
After thinking about it for a moment, Lorne picked up the basket full of pastries on the table and, under the bright night moon, headed to the residence where Astraea lived.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
The next moment, accompanied by the creaking sound of the door hinge turning, the goddess of justice walked out, her body surrounded by faint, moist steam.
When Lorne saw the golden hair covered in droplets of water and the nearly transparent blue cloth clinging tightly to Astraea's figure, he instinctively looked away and coughed lightly.
"Were you bathing?"
"It doesn't matter. I've already finished."
Astraea nodded gracefully, then invited the visitor outside into the house while asking as she walked.
"It's quite late for you to come find me. Is something urgent?"
"It's nothing serious. It's about the case of the witch Circe selling dangerous food.
The situation is clear now, and the evidence is sufficient.
The case should be ready to close."
Sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, Lorne directly explained his purpose.
Astraea glanced at the pastries on the table and unconsciously frowned slightly. "Then how do you think the sentence should be decided?"
"Three to six months of labor service. She must restore the damaged buildings to their original state and compensate the victims for both financial and emotional losses."
Lorne thought for a moment and added another point.
"In addition, she will be prohibited from selling any food in Athens without approval. Her guardianship of Medea will also be revoked. I will temporarily take responsibility for her."
"Then we will do as you say."
Hearing his non biased words,
Astraea nodded lightly in agreement.
The crease between her brows relaxed as she lowered her gaze to the opened draft of the written law on the table.
Her eyes swept over several of the detailed clauses, and a trace of satisfaction appeared on her face.
No favoritism or abuse of law.
Very rare indeed.
With the objective achieved, Lorne was also very satisfied.
Such a verdict would avoid trouble from Stheno, Euryale, Nike, and the other little troublemakers, preventing Circe from being beaten to death after leaving prison.
At the same time, a six-month sentence was neither too long nor too short.
It perfectly overlapped with the period when Hecate was recruiting replacements for the Underworld.
In that case, even if their grand teacher returned from Corinth empty-handed without finding the kidnapped God of Death, if she later came to War God Mountain to visit, he, Athena, and Hestia would have enough reason to keep that stupid bird Circe in Athens.
After all, even if they wanted her to return to work on Aeaea Island, they would still have to wait until Circe finished serving her sentence.
And for that stupid teacher of his, labor service and repairing city walls would be extremely easy work.
The only painful part would probably be the compensation money.
If the amount really turned out to be too much, he could simply cover the difference for her.
Lorne carefully reviewed everything in his mind once more.
After confirming there were no omissions, he finally let out a relieved sigh, his gaze drifting toward the basket of pastries on the table, and he silently complained.
For the sake of a perfect solution, he had exhausted himself for that stupid bird, yet the woman still refused to appreciate it.
'Fine, you won't eat?
Then I will.'
Thinking about it, he grabbed a pastry and bit into it fiercely as if venting his frustration.
Then he spread out a sheet of parchment and used his self made quill pen soaked with ink to write the jointly discussed verdict.
He solemnly signed it with his own name as the judicial magistrate and then handed the pen to the Goddess of Justice, who had presided over the trial.
"If there are no objections, we will sign it."
Astraea nodded, reached out, and took the quill pen, naturally writing down her divine name.
However, halfway through writing, the Goddess of Justice seemed to realize something, as her wrist paused, and she quickly crossed out the previous characters before rewriting the name Αστραια, Astraea.
"Alright then. I will keep the closing document for now. Tomorrow morning I will hand the verdict to the executor."
Lorne smiled as he picked up the parchment with the ink still wet and placed it into his clothes before standing up to take his leave.
Astraea opened her mouth as if she wanted to ask him to stay, but before she could speak, his figure had already disappeared into the moonlit night.
Careless...
The Goddess of Justice looked at the ink remaining on her hand, a trace of annoyance appearing in her eyes.
But it was only a small writing mistake.
It should not be so easy to discover, right?
Thinking about it,
The Goddess of Justice comforted herself inwardly.
Then she closed her eyes and raised the thumb of her right hand, turning the golden scales at both ends of the Sword of Judgment by one hundred eighty degrees.
Instantly, the vast and obscure aura that resembled the starry sky disappeared.
When her eyes closed and opened again, what replaced it was a sharp and unstoppable aura.
"Ah, there's food? It even looks like offerings specially used at the sacrificial grounds to worship the gods!"
Looking at the delicate pastries in the basket, Astraea's eyes lit up.
She immediately grabbed one and stuffed it into her mouth, eating happily.
.
.
.
At the same time, on a road nearby.
Lorne stopped walking, took out the case closing document from his clothes, and examined it under the bright moonlight before his gaze moved across the dark ink stain.
Because it had been smeared too heavily, the original writing could no longer be distinguished.
However, Lorne could vaguely see the first three letters.
"Θεμ..."
Making one mistake would be understandable, but getting the first letter and the following two wrong was obviously unlikely.
So...
Combined with the various strange behaviors the Goddess of Justice had shown earlier and her reaction just now, Lorne already had a vague answer in his mind.
Θέμις? (Themis)
So it really was her...
No wonder Hecate did not dare to act recklessly that night.
With her presence, he could be at ease.
Lorne smelled a faint sweetness drifting through the air, then turned his head and looked toward the residence of the Goddess of Justice beneath the night sky as a teasing smile appeared on his face in the darkness.
'Is that meal tasty, Lady Themis?'
In a cheerful mood, he placed the closing document back into his clothes and walked home under the moonlight.
However, the moment he opened the door, a tall figure standing in the courtyard turned around.
While wielding a shining spear of victory, she smiled slightly at him, revealing her neat, white teeth.
"You're back? You came from Astraea's place, didn't you?"
"Gulp..."
Seeing Athena walking toward him step by step, Lorne's throat moved, and cold sweat began to appear on his forehead.
(End of Chapter)