That night, most of the Maison Gardiennage was dispatched throughout the entire Court of Fontaine, quickly surrounding the manors of several nobles.
Unfortunately, the nobles were deeply rooted. The Maison Gardiennage was riddled with moles working for the nobles and would notify them ahead of time. However, since all entrances and exit of The Court of Fontaine had already been sealed by the Maison Gardiennage; the nobles' plans to flee were ruined, leaving them to rely on their private militias to put up a last-ditch resistance.
But in the end, it was more rather a confrontation between private militias and officials. Although the Maison Gardiennage couldn't break in immediately, if the stalemate continued, the nobles would eventually be trapped to death.
Andre (the old man who sat in the middle during the previous noble meeting) sat in his living room, head bowed and eyes closed, deep in thought.
He beckoned to one of his subordinates, who immediately stepped forward.
"Jacques, are the backup plans ready?"
"My Lord, everything is prepared."
"Good, then I can rest easy. If I haven't returned within 24 hours, activate the backup plan immediately."
"Yes, My Lord."
Andre pushed open the door and walked slowly into the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped out, all weapons were pointed directly at him.
Furina had also arrived. As the current top-ranking noble, the Hydro Archon needed to personally oversee his arrest.
Andre slowly raised both arms.
Everyone immediately entered a state of high tension, their concentration peaking.
Furina swallowed hard. In truth, she was also a bit afraid; she wasn't like Rina, who possessed such immense power.
However—Andre slowly raised his arms straight up.
That's right, it was a gesture of surrender.
"Huh?" Furina was confused.
"Dear Hydro Archon, after much deliberation, I have come to understand—resistance is futile. Therefore, I intend to go with you."
"But before I leave, I have a few words I would like to say to you."
"Speak." Furina said while maintaining the dignity of the Hydro Archon.
"If I have not returned here by this time tomorrow, a little... small trouble might occur within The Court of Fontaine."
Hearing this, Furina's heart skipped a beat, though her expression remained unchanged.
"May I interpret those words as a threat?"
"No, no, no, dear Hydro Archon. This isn't a threat; it's a transaction." Andre's expression didn't change at all, as if he were simply talking to an ordinary person.
'Furina, take him away first. We will discuss this later.' Rina's voice reminded her at the right moment.
"Maison Gardiennage, take him away first."
Andre was handcuffed and led away. As he was being taken, he turned to look at Furina, leaving behind a meaningful smile.
"Oh Hydro Archon, I hope you can make a wise choice."
At the same time, the squads arresting the other eight nobles encountered the exact same situation. After temporarily taking the nobles into custody, several squad leaders rushed to report the situation to Furina.
"I understand. This is a grave matter and is not suitable to be handled entirely through the Tribunal. Notify the Maison Ordalie that I will personally handle this case for now."
"Yes, Lady Furina!"
'Other Me, what do you think?'
'It's obvious we're being threatened. I didn't do well; I was careless. I wanted to uproot the nobility in one go but overlooked how vast their influence in Fontaine truly is. Their hands have reached into every industry in Fontaine. Clearly, the previous idea of arresting them all won't work.' Rina frowned. She thought the matter was settled, but now this had happened, making her naturally quite displeased.
'However, this plan can serve as a secondary alternative.'
'What is it? What is it?' Furina was curious.
'Look, like this...'
.
.
.
"But if we do that, won't it leave behind hidden dangers?"
'There's no other way. If we really arrest all of them, The Court of Fontaine would probably explode tomorrow. If you want to lock them up, you can; after all, you are the Hydro Archon of Fontaine.'
'Then forget it. I don't want my people to get hurt, nor do I want my country to be destroyed.' Furina said in a low voice.
A few hours later
Furina and the arrested nobles arrived at a relatively secret location.
"Lady Furina, it seems you have made your decision?" Andre asked. From his expression, it was clear he was confident in the outcome Furina would provide.
"Ahem." Furina cleared her throat and didn't answer him directly, instead announcing the verdict.
[T/L: Grab some popcorn cuz it's gonna be long]
"I, the Hydro Archon, Focalors, will announce the results of the case regarding the nobles' plot to attack the Fontaine Patrol Team."
"Andre, Renard, Armand, Guillaume, Louis Demont, Henri Lebrun, and Edmond are suspected of participating in the plan to attack the Fontaine Patrol Team. Their crimes are serious, but considering they are first-time offenders and were not deeply involved, they are sentenced to the confiscation of 60% of their total personal assets, stripped of their noble titles, removed from all positions within The Court of Fontaine, and ordered to disband all private militias, among other punishments."
"Delore, as the proposer and initiator of this plan, is guilty of heinous crimes. He is sentenced to the confiscation of all personal assets, deprivation of political rights for life, life imprisonment, stripped of his noble title, removed from all positions within The Court of Fontaine and ordered to disband all private militias, among other punishments."
"Louise participated extensively in the plan and committed major crimes. She is sentenced to the confiscation of 80% of her total personal assets, 20 years of imprisonment, 20 years of deprivation of political rights, stripped of her noble title, removed from all positions within The Court of Fontaine, and ordered to disband all private militias, among other punishments."
"Although Henri De Monsault participated extensively in this plan, he has shown remorse and proactively confessed his problematic behavior. Therefore, he is sentenced to the confiscation of 70% of his total personal assets, 8 years of imprisonment, 8 years of deprivation of political rights, stripped of his noble title, removed from all positions within The Court of Fontaine, and ordered to disband all private militias, among other punishments."
"If there are any objections to the above results, please submit them to the Palais Mermonia within 15 working days."
As soon as Furina spoke, different expressions appeared on several faces.
The first seven people looked normal; everything was within their expectations.
Henri De Monsault, upon hearing this result, showed a joyful smile: "Thank you for your magnanimity, Hydro Archon!"
Even though most of those seven nobles who weren't imprisoned had a higher level of involvement than he did.
As for why he was being sent in?
That was because Rina had previously promised him a shorter stay in Fortress of Meropide. Since she had said it using Furina's body, wasn't that equivalent to the Hydro Archon saying it? The Hydro Archon naturally had to keep her word.
However, Delore and Louise's expressions were not so pleasant, especially Delore's.
"Lady Furina, aren't you worried about something happening in The Court of Fontaine tomorrow?" He stopped acting and stared fiercely at Furina, speaking in a tone that was nearly a threat.
"Oh, right, let me add one more thing. If any malicious incidents occur within Fontaine in the next 50 years, the lives of you ten might not be safe~" Furina's voice rang out eerily.
Upon hearing this, those seven immediately glared fiercely at Delore and Louise. Andre, in particular, revealed an ambiguous smile and spoke slowly: "Don't forget, I know where your wife and children are, and I have several old friends in Fortress of Meropide."
The two immediately cowered.
"Well then, if there are no objections, I shall leave. There is follow-up work for me to handle. Farewell, everyone."
"Maison Gardiennage, take the three of them away."
"Yes."
The Maison Gardiennage immediately stepped forward to handcuff the three and sent them directly to Fortress of Meropide.
Palais Mermonia
'Other Me, did you see how well I imitated that line you taught me!' Furina was quite excited, perhaps because she had severely crippled the power of the nobility this time.
'Mmm, it was passable. Alright, go to sleep early. That Iudex will be arriving tomorrow.' Rina wasn't particularly happy, though she wasn't angry or dissatisfied with the result either; that was just her usual personality...