Berkland, Queens District.
Audrey Hall sat in a hanging chair in the shady corner, gazing at the flowers that bloomed under the sun. She pondered on the matter Valse Fort asked for her help with.
According to Viscount Grenlint's verification, there really was a girl named Hui Delia who was imprisoned in one of the temporary jails in the northern part of Berkland. Her crime involved severely injuring a respectable gentleman due to a property dispute, leaving him bedridden and possibly unable to walk again.
Valse Fort explained that this gentleman wasn't a good person; he was the head of a gang operating in East Berkland, making a living from usury. The incident began when a borrower found out his interest payments were much higher than expected and couldn't repay even if he declared bankruptcy. After failing to negotiate with the gentleman, the borrower turned to Hui Delia, who had gained some local fame as an "arbitrator," hoping she could persuade him to waive unreasonable parts of the debt.
The gentleman refused to follow Hui Delia's "judgment" and even threatened to take the borrower’s wife and children. Consequently, Hui Delia changed her approach and resorted to physical methods, unintentionally causing serious harm in the process.
Viscount Grenlint investigated the incident and confirmed Valse Fort’s account. He also noted that the gang leader had lost control over his men. After a mysterious visitor's visit at night, he forgave the borrower and provided a statement absolving Hui Delia of any blame. However, the case would still go to court as serious injury cases were prosecuted regardless.
"Viscount Grenlint hopes to resolve this using normal methods. He consulted with a well-known lawyer who said that while there's a chance for lenient sentencing, defending her would be difficult unless she could provide proof of mental instability or developmental disability," Audrey mused inaudibly, leaning towards her friend’s opinion.
For her, the most important thing was to avoid any clear association between herself and Valse Fort or Hui Delia. After the Tarot event, Audrey no longer saw herself as an innocent young girl.
"A dance party is happening at the Viscount Wolf's home tomorrow night. I will tell Viscount Grenlint about it and follow the lawyer's advice," Audrey decided, nodding slightly.
In Reunland Kingdom, lawyers were divided into general practitioners and specialists. The latter handled cases without going to court, such as collecting evidence, talking with clients, drafting wills, supervising property distribution, and providing legal consultations. They could also appear in lower courts for simpler cases.
General practitioners, on the other hand, studied evidence and represented their clients in court. According to Reunland law, they had to maintain an objective stance, so they couldn't directly contact their clients; instead, they worked through assistants—specialist lawyers—who gathered information.
Feeling relaxed again, Audrey watched the colorful flowers with a hidden presence, thinking of something:
"Mental instability or developmental disability... Psychiatrist..."
"If the Association of Mental Alchemists has mastered 'Playing Techniques,' could it mean we might find them among psychiatrists?"
Realizing her idea was correct, Audrey's eyes sparkled like gemstones.
Meanwhile, she noticed Gigi, her golden retriever, sneaking behind the flowers and moving to an area only gardeners would access.
"Are you doing something, Gigi?" Audrey whispered in the shadows, perplexed.
Gigi, distracted by the scent of the flowers, didn't notice its owner. It opened its mouth and made eerie sounds: "Ah ah ah," "Yah yah yah."
Then it caused a ripple in the air as it spoke:
"Hello."
"How are you?"
...
Audrey's mouth widened, completely forgetting her ladylike manners. She couldn't believe what she saw or heard.
She stood up abruptly and exclaimed, "Gigi, can you talk? When did you start talking?"
Startled, Gigi jumped, facing its owner.
It wagged its tail rapidly before saying:
"I..."
"I don’t know how to explain it because I am just a dog."
Audrey was momentarily speechless upon hearing this.
...
On Monday morning, after his vacation, Klein reviewed and consolidated his knowledge of mysticism. Then he took a public carriage to Hoy University to interact with Mr. Azick and see what information he had.
In the third-story graystone building that belonged to the history department, Klein chatted with his mentor, Dr. Kahn Quentin about ancient ruins related to Mount Hornachis.