After leaving Emilie's residence, Rei walked in the direction of the Palais Mermonia, intending to go to the Marechaussee Phantom to examine Flora's case file and see if he could find any other clues.
After all, a single button bearing the Cappet family crest was far from enough to convict Olev. To bring the murderer to justice, he had to construct a complete chain of evidence.
Just as he was about to arrive at the Palais Mermonia, the walkie-talkie at his waist suddenly beeped, and Federic's anxious voice transmitted through it. "Captain, come to Chioriya Boutique quickly! A few thugs are causing trouble here!"
Rei's expression instantly became cold, and he replied in a calm voice, "I'll be there immediately!"
After speaking, he walked briskly toward the direction of Chioriya Boutique.
About a quarter of an hour later, Rei rushed into Chioriya Boutique.
He saw five or six thugs in dirty clothes making trouble at the shop entrance. They were shouting loudly and bumping into customers who tried to enter, making it hard for Chioriya Boutique to do business.
To the side, Federic was desperately holding back an emotionally agitated Chiori, preventing her from taking drastic action in the heat of the moment.
When Rei appeared, the thugs stopped acting bold and tried to look innocent and harmless.
"Vice Captain Rei, my brother bought a piece of clothing at Chioriya Boutique, and a dispute arose because of quality issues. If you lay a hand on us, we will file a complaint with the Maison Ordalie!"
The leader of the thugs feigned composure and emboldened himself to speak.
Rei did not speak. He stared straight at the thug, his eyes looking cold and serious.
The thug felt very afraid and his whole body became cold.
After a long while, Rei finally opened his mouth, asking word by word, "Speak. Who instructed you to come here?"
The thug's body trembled ceaselessly, and he replied with a quivering voice, "No... nobody instructed us. The conflict really arose because of the clothing quality."
Rei's expression grew even colder. He extended his right hand, grabbed the thug by the collar, and said coldly, "I'll count to five. Five, four..."
Along with the countdown from his mouth, the force in his hand became increasingly heavy.
The thug felt like it was hard for him to breathe.
Just as he was about to reach his breaking point and prepare to confess everything, a sharp rebuke came from not far away.
"Rei! You actually dare to openly harm an innocent citizen? Let go immediately!"
Rei turned toward the sound and saw a man wearing the uniform of the Maison Ordalie striding over.
The man had a thin face, and his narrow eyes looked cold and mean.
"I am Officer Ske Cappet of the Maison Ordalie. I order you to release this innocent citizen immediately, apologize to him, pay compensation, and subsequently accept an investigation by the Maison Ordalie!"
He stood still in front of Rei, shouting bossily.
Rei glanced at him, and a meaningful smile suddenly floated up the corners of his mouth. "Officer Ske, just which eye of yours saw me harming a citizen?"
As he spoke, he released his hand and even seemingly thoughtfully tidied the thug's collar.
Ske snorted and looked at Rei with hate. "Rei, you really are arrogant! Everyone saw it. When you grabbed his collar, you were clearly threatening him!"
Rei turned to look at the thug, his smile calm but serious. "This officer says I hurt you. Is that true? Think carefully before you answer."
The thug couldn't help but shudder. He waved his hands frantically. "Vice Captain Rei didn't... didn't harm me. He was just helping me tidy my collar just now."
Ske cursed "useless trash" in his heart, but his face remained impassive. He spoke with feigned magnanimity, "Since that's the case, this matter ends here. Everyone disperse!"
The thug felt as if he had received a great pardon, turned tail, and fled in disgrace.
Ske cast a scornful glance, then turned to leave.
"Officer Ske, please stay!" Rei's voice rang out abruptly from behind.
Ske's steps paused. He turned around, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smile. "Rei, what scheme are you trying to pull now?"
Rei smiled faintly. "Your false accusation just now has caused a very negative impact on my reputation. I demand that you apologize to me and pay compensation. Furthermore, the Maison Ordalie is not the superior of the Gardes and has no right to issue any orders to the Gardes. Your behavior just now clearly violated the administrative laws of Fontaine."
As his voice fell, Ske's face suddenly became very ugly.
He had originally thought Rei was merely a straw bag who had climbed the ranks through flattery. Now, it seemed he had completely miscalculated.
In Fontaine, it had become customary for the Maison Ordalie to dispatch the Gardes to execute tasks. Over time, everyone had tacitly accepted that the Gardes were a subordinate unit of the Maison Ordalie.
But in reality, the two were merely equal relationships of mutual cooperation.
Therefore, his act of bypassing the chain of command to issue orders to Rei just now had violated administrative law.
"Vice Captain Rei, just now I was solely concerned about the safety of the citizen. I was anxious for a moment, which led to a misunderstanding." Ske tried to smile, but he was not really happy. He wanted to fix the situation.
Rei responded with an indifferent expression. "Officer Ske, I can understand your starting point. But as law enforcers, we should all the more set an example and uphold the dignity of the law."
Ske secretly clenched his fists, his face looking angry and pale. "Then what exactly do you want?"
"Apologize, and pay compensation." Rei's tone was calm, yet it revealed an unquestionable toughness. "If you can't give me a satisfactory answer, I will file an administrative lawsuit, or even appeal to the office of the Iudex."
Hearing this, Ske stared dead at Rei, his eyes filled with venomous spite.
He took a deep breath and tried to hide his anger. "Vice Captain Rei, regarding the misunderstanding just now, I apologize to you. As compensation, I am willing to pay one hundred thousand Mora."
"One hundred thousand Mora? That little money probably isn't even enough for me to get psychological therapy once. It really makes one doubt... are you truly a core member of the Cappet family?"
Rei's voice was full of contempt.
Ske's face instantly flushed crimson, veins popping out on his forehead. "Two hundred thousand Mora!"
He shouted, holding his fists tight.
Rei shook his head, a look of regret appearing on his face. "It seems that in the Cappet family, you're just an inconsequential fringe character."
These words made Ske very angry.
He hated when people talked about his place in the family.
Ske abruptly pulled out a bank card and flung it viciously at Rei. "There is one million Mora in here. This should be enough now!"
Rei was quick of eye and hand, steadily catching the bank card. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Officer Ske, truly worthy of being a member of the Cappet family; so generous right off the bat! Since the compensation is in place, this matter ends here."
Now Ske finally understood that Rei had made him angry on purpose.
He felt very annoyed but was too proud to ask for the bank card back.
In the end, he could only leave behind a cold remark: "One day, I'll take it back—with interest."