Magicapita

They quickly entered the building, passing through a brief security check along with the bodyguards that were attached to Serulia for obvious reasons. Cæ could faintly detect that the two magetants trailing her were powerful senior mages.

It meant that unless Lady Leonora herself chose to attack, there was no way that she would be able to arrange for his or her death. It appeared that Lord Leonul was dead serious about taking no chances when it came to his daughter's safety, or the man who had the testimony needed to bring her to justice.

"Miss Serulia, I am Selven Mernt, an associate on your legal counsel," he addressed with a deferential tone. "I am here to guide you to the legal team assigned to you. Miss Morspen has decided to undertake your testimony training and to initiate criminal proceedings on your behalf."

Cæ raised an eyebrow.

Morspen was the name of the law firm.

Did that mean the managing partner was going to prepare them for their testimony? He gazed at Serulia, who was clearly pleased, with a raised eyebrow. He wondered just how money Lord Leonul must have paid to the firm when purchasing a stake in the law firm for the managing partner herself to undertake a criminal case.

Especially so since this was a criminal trial, a private law firm could only go as far as to represent their client in court, not conduct criminal proceedings, which would be left to the public prosecutor put in charge.

Cæ could already imagine the sheer amount of magicapita and political capital that both the Vritra Family were deploying to get a prosecutor with a background and a track record that was in their favor, or perhaps even bribe prosecutors to nudge the proceedings in their favor ever so slightly.

Of course, that was an area that gave him an edge over the Walyn Family. They were in Colohen City, as was their power base, and if they were being represented by the Nelnmonts, then the Vritra Family didn't stand any chance of getting a prosecutor or a judge who was in their favor. The Nelnmonts had far too much influence and power within Colohen City.

Though with a law firm as extravagant as Morspen, it was likely that they wouldn't get a particularly biased judge or prosecutor who was highly compromised by any party.

That was the best that the Vritra Family could hope for. They obviously couldn't pursue the criminal trial in the Durmen Principality; they would have to fight in their enemy's home court, which would make things very difficult for them.

It also meant that things would likely get hectic even for him. He heaved a heavy breath as they followed Selven through the complex of buildings and a maze of corridors before finally arriving at a large, posh conference room with sleek modern decor.

Within it was an older woman who looked to be in her early fifties, with short, neatly combed salt-pepper hair that reached her shoulders. She wore a blazer above a white button-up shirt, while her skirt was beige. She sat at the table, poring over several documents with thick spectacles.

Her expression was hardened while her elderly eyes were sharp, giving her a feel that sharply contrasted with what one could expect from the

CLACK

Selven opened the door, drawing her attention.

"Miss Morspen, they're here."

"Ah…" The elder woman got up with an aged smile on her face. "You must be the scion of the Vritra Clan, Lady Serulia."

She walked towards Serulia with a firm, measured gait, stretching her hand out to the young lady.

"I am Nyir Morspen, the founding and managing partner of this firm." She smiled at Serulia in a pleasant manner. "Your father has gone through a lot to secure my services at the very soonest, so rest assured that I will be doing my absolute best to ensure that you get the justice that you deserve."

Serulia reciprocated her pleasantness with a courteous smile. "Thank you, Miss Morspen. My father has told me much about you and your law firm. I am confident that I will be able to get my justice in your services."

Miss Morspen's gaze shifted to Cæ. "And you must be… the prime witness, Mr. Cæ, am I correct?"

She already knew who he was, which meant that she had already familiarized herself with the details of the case. Even though a little over twenty-four hours had passed since the incident had actually occurred. The law firm had probably gotten the case much later than the incident, obviously.

It was a good sign of competence.

"Yes, Madam," Cæ replied respectfully. "I hope to do my best."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Mmm, I like your spirit. We'll see to it that you do." She nodded at him with a less respectful, albeit courteous tone.

He was hardly surprised. His father wasn't a master mage and the patriarch of one of the most powerful families in the Durmen Principality. Of course, he hadn't ever known his father, so he couldn't say that with certainty, but given that his mother had gotten with him in the slums, it was definitely someone who had paid her for a night on a dangerous day and then never appeared again.

Not exactly the prime candidate for a powerful master mage.

"Now, before anything else can happen, the one thing that we must immediately get out of the way is a highly detailed, moment-to-moment description of the sequence of events that unfolded from the inception of the event to its conclusion. From all the information that I have gathered…"

She walked over to the pile of documents on her table, pointing to a particular page. "The sequence of events began with the victory of Team Cæ in the organized Capture-the-Flag match-up and ended with the fainting of Miranda Walyn, correct?"

Cæ nodded. "Yes, Madam."

"And that timeframe lasted about ten seconds?" She turned to Cæ with a serious expression.

"About, yes."

"Good, then we're going to need a second-by-second understanding of all the events that transpired," she remarked. "Using your testimony, along with those of the others present at the time, we will build a comprehensive, detailed, visual understanding of exactly where each person was, and what events happened at what time. The most important part is ironing out all discrepancies and coming to a shared understanding of all the events that occurred. When we file an FIR on your behalf, we need to have consistency so that the police can have enough material to be deemed solid enough by the prosecutor to be worth pursuing. Of course…"

Her expression and smile relaxed. "With eighteen witnesses who saw brazen and direct attempted murder in front of everybody, it should be a slam-dunk case. There is absolutely no chance of our failure as long as you cooperate, young man."

She directed a pointed gaze at him with a heavy cadence, indicating the significance she placed on his testimony. "Your testimony, along with magic energy readings, is really the only thing that we have going for us when it comes to the magical power that she put into the attacks against Serulia. The latter isn't reliable because it can be explained away by the fact that everybody was casting powerful magic, to my understanding. Your testimony is essential for nailing attempted murder."

"I have every intention of cooperating," Cæ replied. "Please instruct me as you deem fit."

She nodded with a pleased expression, hardly surprised. Given how serious Lord Leonul was about getting justice for his daughter, she had no doubt that she had compelled the young man to partake in the criminal trial as a witness, using either the carrot or the stick. Though judging by how calm he appeared, it was most likely the latter.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Cæ was not calm.

On the inside, he was sweating bullets.

An intense fear gripped his heart in a vice, causing the faint, unpleasant tingle of nervousness in his chest. 'we will build a comprehensive, detailed, visual understanding of exactly where each person was, and what events happened at what time,' she had said.

His worst fears were manifesting in real time.

He would need to find a way to ensure that his testimony was consistent with what everybody saw, while also ensuring that it was viable, plausible, and didn't mention pure magic.

All of this had to be done well enough to fool police investigators and other magic law enforcement, as well as opposing counsel led by the Nelnmonts, a judge, and jury.

'I might just be completely doomed.'

He didn't know if it was possible to fool all of them.

The fact of the matter was that it was possible that his using pure magic then and there had completely damned him, making any explanation entirely implausible. Perhaps there would be too many contradictions.

He knew that if asked about whether they saw Cæ casting magic circles to protect Serulia, they would definitely say no. He hadn't cast any magic circles because he was using pure magic.

If asked about how he made it in time when everybody was caught off guard by the murder attempt, he wasn't even sure what could be compelling. He could say that he had already cast the spell ahead of time because he was anticipating Serulia being attacked within the game by Miranda, but would that actually stand up to serious scrutiny?

He wasn't sure.

He could only hope.

'I can't afford to give up on my freedom and sovereignty. I have to find a way.'

"Now then…" Miss Morspen drew Cæ's attention.

He turned, surprised to spot a digital board with a map of the forest environment with the bases of the two teams marked upon it. Another image overlaid within the same frame that zoomed into Team Cæ's base, with the locations of both Serulia and Miranda.

"This…" She said as she skimmed through ten different frames of the same map and location. "Will serve as our timeline for now. I do intend to move to a more sophisticated representation of the unfolding of events eventually, but for now, this will suffice. This will help us gain a good understanding of the sequence of events that unfolded and help all witnesses maintain a consistent testimony, which is highly important for building a strong, compelling case for a jury to decide. Now then…"

She smiled at Serulia and Cæ.

"Let's begin."

Serulia nodded with a serious expression while Cæ tried to control his growing dread, maintaining a dreadful expression on the outside.

"Let us begin with you, Miss Serulia," Miss Morspen began, gesturing to the seat opposite her. "You are the complainant and the victim. Your testimony will be one of the most important, along with Mr. Cæ's."

Cæ felt a little light-headed when he remembered that Serulia could remember the 'impossibility' that she had seen, but didn't quite remember. It was possible that this deep broaching with such detailed timelines could stir her memories and unlock the secret hidden within the depths of her subconscious mind.

"Alright, Miss Serulia… why don't we start with a basic description of the events from the start? We can get more detailed from that point on."

Serulia shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "…I remember getting the flag of our opponent's team back to our base. I remember the head coach declaring our victory and ending the match. I remember… undoing my invisibility magic, turning to Miranda with a smirk on my face and then…"

Her expression tightened.

"…Her expression became one of rage and hatred. She snapped, launching all her activated spirits against me. I… I would have died if not for…"

She smiled at Cæ.

"If not for you."