The day of the trial arrives, a few days later, Cayden Noble and his attorney enter, both formally dressed for the occasion. Cayden in particular turns some heads, his luscious hair, stoic yet well-mannered demeanor, and the tasteful white jacket. Well dressed for the occasion, he enters the courthouse.
His lawyer's face looks onwards, emotionless, like a homunculus bred for the express purpose of defending Cayden Noble in court. He takes a seat quietly.
Meanwhile, Arata and Clemence had combined for 3 hours of sleep, and since Arata didn't have a suit, he wore a spare from Clemence's drawer. Arata was tired, having spent two all-nighters perfecting his lawyer act and finalizing preparations for the trial. Luckily, he was slim enough to fit; unluckily, that meant Ravenna's quote about how slim he was back when he was first buying clothes actually had merit. With them enters Selena, holding onto Clemence's arm in fear of seeing Cayden again.
There was quite a large audience at the venue; people of various ranks seemed interested in the trial, or maybe just Cayden. It seems Cayden carries some weight for everyone to be interested in the nobleman's personal affairs. Furthermore, the bailiff waved down Arata before the trial could commence.
The knight seemed familiar. They wore armor and had a cape to signify their rank, "Ah, Arata! You've gotten acquainted with the town, I see. It's strange to see you as a prosecuting attorney. A man of many talents, I presume? It's me, Morgan."
Arata smiles before commenting, "Are you going to root for me?" Nice to see Morgan again. They've been hospitable.
"Oh no, sorry, I should remain impartial to the trial with my position. Besides, Mr. Cayden Noble is another knight of the same rank as I."
The courthouse seems to be full today, well, no use crying about my suit. I have faith in this evidence. Is Selena alright? Selena is looking down at her shoes, not wanting to be in court; she seems unnerved.
Looking around, the room is filled with ornate patterns and wooden beams; furthermore, there is no jury, only a judge to oversee the case. An older nobleman would serve as the final arbiter in the fate of Cayden Noble. Wearing a blue suit with a gray beard, which he would constantly attempt to stroke.
The judge strikes his gavel, now shouting, "The court is in session! Cayden Noble, you stand here today accused of the murder of Edwin Velmore. How do you plead?"
Cayden lets out a confident smile, "Not guilty, sir."
The judge clears his throat before announcing, "Very well, may the prosecution please present their case?"
Clemence brings out her papers, announcing, "Your honor, Sir Noble was seen on the night of Edwin Velmore's murder and claims that it was in self-defense. With that, I call the first witness to the stand. Tobin Steward, a butler of the Noble estate."
Tobin steps up, he looks exhausted, knowing he'll be fired for testifying but unable to let go of what the man saw that night, "Wh- when I was cleaning… that's when I saw it. A single dagger covered in blood? Or at least I think it was… I was panicking at that moment."
Clemence further explains, "The injury that was detailed by Cayden remains unspecified, if you may show the court, Mr. Noble?"
Cayden lifts his bandages, and underneath is a purple welt on the man's forehead. Cayden begins to sweat, knowing that no knife could not made such an injury.
Cayden's lawyer responds in an unanimated manner despite his voice mimicking human passion, explaining, "Utterly ridiculous, sir Steward's very words show wavering, and such would imply that my client, Cayden Noble, couldn't have employed another weapon in self-defense. You've only proved that he used that knife, not his intent with it-"
"OBJECTION!" Clemence shouts, slamming her hands on the desk. This causes Arata to jump a little bit.
"So then, where is the weapon that Mr. Noble was attacked with? Edwin Velmore was a man in old years of age, and Mr. Noble was a trained knight. What could have been used to justify killing Edwin Velmore in self-defense?" Clemence smirks, as when Ravenna looked inside the building, she had only found the singular weapon.
Cayden's lawyer is now on the back foot; there was no weapon as proof. He slowly answers, "Edwin Velmore had tackled my client into the corner of a desk in a fit of rage from behind, that was where the bruise had stemmed from."
Arata decides to make his way into the conversation, "Edwin Velmore was murdered in the library, autopsy reports state that leading up to the incident, Edwin Velmore was wheelchair bound!" Arata exclaims as a gasp echoes throughout the room.
Cayden shouts, "How did you figure that out? I saw you just standing around our property. Did you actually break into my private property to unlawfully attain such details?!"
Hehe, sucks to be Cayden. Cayden is enraged, he looks like he is about to jump over the table before Morgan can stop him. Yet the thing that stops him is Arata's words.
Arata lets out a smug, condescending smile. He watches Cayden crumble under the weight of pressure as Arata begins to look down on him, "Well, the law does inhibit breaking and entering to attain such information. I didn't; such information was acquired through legal means, I just asked someone else real nicely."
Cayden had messed up. You should never blurt out in front of your lawyer, such a statement implies that what Arata said would be fact. Arata didn't even have to use his alibi to verify the details.
Ravenna had done some toying around with the theater's replay feature; she could look into the past up to one week from when Arata had reached a certain location. There she had seen the murder play out and made her own autopsy report by disassembling a mannequin.
Cayden's lawyer responds mundanely, his face molds like clay into that of anger as though he was actively trying to express such emotions, "Bullshit! How'd you figure that one out?! Just a few days before his death, Edwin Velmore was seen walking outside his house to oversee the knights. You dare lie to his honor, have you no pride as a lawyer?!
I'm barely a lawyer… I got hired yesterday, so I guess that answer would be no…
Clemence speaks, "I would like our second witness, Miss Hilda Sconemaker, the headmaid of the Noble residence, to explain her experience as a caretaker ."
Hilda goes on, "Four days ago, Edwin Velmore tripped and injured his hip and right leg. He had trouble walking due to his old age. He wasn't in very good condition near the end of his life, unfortunately."
"Your honor, if I may, could this trial continue to the next day? The facts of the case I was given were wrong, from the condition of Edwin Velmore to the existence of an autopsy report. If I may request a continuation of the trial?" Cayden's lawyer begins to plead to the judge with his face contorting back to an appearance of normalcy.
Some people seem upset about it. Clemence clenches her fingers, irritated at the request, but also Morgan, who has grown to see Cayden in another light. Wait… something about this seems a bit more unfair than I thought.