Oldman knew it was no accident. The officer in charge had rushed and just copied the statement from an old case.
But who could have imagined that the man before him would actually remember the statement of a case from over two hundred years ago!
After a moment of silence, he made a quick decision and said, "Monsieur Neuvillette, I think there are serious problems with how the case was handled. In my opinion, the Maison Ordalie should review it again."
Neuvillette responded with a calm expression, "I have already arranged for agents of the Marechaussee Phantom to investigate this matter as a criminal case."
Oldman knew saying more would be useless, so he quickly changed the subject. "Vice Captain Rei of the Gardes has acted badly and keeps disobeying his bosses. Someone like that is a real troublemaker in our government and courts and should be fired right away."
Hearing this, Neuvillette looked at him and said, "Follow procedure."
Oldman would not give up and kept trying to convince him. "Following the rules takes too long and can cause more problems. Why not suspend him now, and deal with the official steps later?"
Neuvillette thought for a moment. Then he said, "If you want to do that, you need to write a report, and it must be signed by all of Rei's bosses and coworkers to show they all agree."
Oldman bowed in salute. "Monsieur Neuvillette, I will go handle it right away."
After speaking, he took his leave.
As soon as he walked out of the office, Oldman looked very unhappy.
Things were already starting to get out of his control.
Once the truth was revealed, the Cappet family would undoubtedly suffer a heavy blow.
This was absolutely unacceptable!
To protect his family's name and interests, he decided to hide the truth completely, no matter what it took.
Next, Oldman told his assistant waiting outside the door what to do, then quickly left the Palais Mermonia.
After leaving the Palais Mermonia, he walked for about ten minutes and entered a large, expensive house.
In the big living room, a young man was laughing and having fun with two women in short dresses.
The moment the man saw Oldman appear, he froze instantly and hurriedly waved for the two women to leave.
Slap!
Oldman walked up to him and slapped him hard, making a loud sound.
Olev covered his burning cheek, forcibly enduring the pain, and asked with a trace of grievance, "Father, what did I do wrong? Why did you hit me?"
"You still ask me why!" Oldman was both anxious and furious. "Olev, do you know just how big a disaster you've caused?"
Olev didn't think much of it. While rubbing his face, he muttered, "It's just a dead commoner, that's all. Father, when you were young, didn't you also..."
Before he could finish, Oldman became furious. He slapped Olev hard several times in a row and shouted, "Where did you hear such talk?"
Olev's face was very swollen, and some blood slowly came from the corner of his mouth.
He sucked in a cold breath from the pain and stammered, "It... it was Mother who told me before she passed away."
Hearing this, Oldman calmed down a little. He spoke in a stiff voice, "She just listened to other people's nonsense. You are not allowed to talk about this again."
Olev nodded frantically and responded repeatedly, "I understand, Father."
When Oldman saw how hurt his son looked, he felt sorry for him and spoke more gently. "Olev, for now you must stay in the house. Do not go anywhere. Neuvillette has already sent people to look into Flora's case."
Olev was suddenly startled, finally understanding why his father was so furious.
He pleaded with a crying tone, "Father... hiss... You must save me! I don't want to be locked into the Fortress of Meropide!"
Oldman snorted. "If I hadn't worked behind the scenes, you would have been locked up a long time ago."
He paused, then asked, "Think back carefully. Did you miss any details during the entire process? Speak now, and it can still be remedied."
Olev squeezed his eyes shut, carefully replaying the entire process in his mind.
Suddenly, he remembered the outfit he had worn on the day of the crime.
But then he remembered he had already told his servant to burn it, so he stopped worrying and said through the pain, "Hiss... there's nothing else, Father."
Oldman did not press further. With a grim expression, he ordered, "Remember my words. You are absolutely forbidden from going out during this time!"
Having said that, he turned and strode away.
As soon as Oldman left, Olev's servant immediately came up to him, saying with a face full of concern, "Young Master, are you alright? I'll go get a doctor right away!"
"Wait!" Olev stopped the servant in time and looked straight into his eyes. "That outfit... You burned it, right?"
Hearing this, a trace of unnaturalness flashed instantly across the servant's face, but he quickly covered it up and replied categorically, "Young Master, it was burned long ago. Even the ashes were flushed into the river by me; absolutely no traces remain."
When he heard this, Olev felt relieved.
But for some reason, he felt a little uneasy.
In the afternoon, the sun was shining on the quiet streets of the Court of Fontaine.
Rei sat in a remote open-air café, comfortably enjoying the coffee and snacks gifted by the shop owner.
Ever since becoming Vice Captain of the Gardes, whenever he came out to eat, shop owners would always gift him food under various pretences.
In the beginning, he wasn't used to it and refused the shop owners' gifts.
But such refusal actually caused them anxiety.
So, afterwards, he accepted the shop owners' gifts.
However, at the end of the meal, he would still leave some money for the food so no one could use it against him later.
Just then, a middle-aged man with a resolute face walked over with steady steps and slowly sat down opposite him.
The man wore an eyepatch over his left eye, and his gaze revealed a hint of exhaustion. "Vice Captain Rei, you have business with me?"
"President Callas, those thugs causing trouble at Chioriya Boutique... they are your people, aren't they?" Rei put down his coffee cup, looked up to meet the other's gaze directly, his tone carrying a trace of ice.
A flash of helplessness crossed Callas's face, and he admitted it frankly. "That's right, they are my people. This was negligence in my management; I apologise to you."
Rei did not let the matter rest there. He continued to press, "Then how do you intend to deal with them?"
Hearing this, Callas felt a headache starting.
Since the Spina di Rosula started building the Fontaine waterways, they had a serious money problem. Many gang members could not even get paid and had to find other small jobs.
Those thugs looking for trouble at Chioriya Boutique were also forced by their livelihood.
If he punished them harshly now, it would make Rei happy, but the Spina di Rosula would probably lose spirit and break up right away.
Thinking of this, Callas smiled bitterly and asked in return, "Vice Captain Rei, how do you wish for me to handle it?"
Rei gave a cold smile.
"I have always been a kindhearted person. Let them leave their hands behind, and we'll consider this matter settled."