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“Don’t we have any trials today that are actually interesting Neuvillette?” Focalors complained as she looked down at the man in question. “I might make one myself if I sit through another divorce trial.”
Neuvillete looked up to meet the archon’s eyes, stoic and unreadable. “As much as I’d love to remind you to stop with the levity inside the court, you wouldn’t listen.” His reply got only but a giggle from the other which got a sigh out from him.
“To answer your question, I’m afraid none of the next trials would satiate your standards,” Neuvillette answers a beat later after calling for the people on the next trial.
Focalors lets out a whine when she heard that, it seems like today is another boring day.
Can’t an archon get some kind of entertainment around here?
Hours later once every trial for today was completed Focalors followed Neuvillette around the courtroom.
“If you would like some entertainment for today, I may have a suggestion,” Neuvillette spoke which caught her attention.
“Oh? This is quite a surprise, tell me~” Focalors couldn’t help but get a bit excited at the prospect of some form of entertainment.
“Accompany me to the prison on my inspection and you might find your entertainment there.”
On one hand, the prospect of finding entertainment there was quite a hard bargain. Though on the other, how could prison be entertaining? Sure, sometimes it is entertaining to watch Sigewinne struggle to make the warden, Wriothesley, drink anything other than tea, but other than that there’s not a lot going on there.
Though she supposed there is no harm to accompany the judge for the inspection, she had nothing else interesting to do.
“Fine, I suppose I shall accompany you.”
Neuvillete only nods before he started walking to exit the court, with Focalors walking behind him.
To the prison it is.
---
The prison looks like a prison, though the red and white decors seem like a nice touch for the place and it use, not that Focalors can comment, she rather enjoys those in the hue of blue.
Suspiciously enough there didn’t bump into many people on their way to the prison, sure there were some people who Focalors can barely recognize but it was less than what she was used to, wonder where they were.
They reached the door to the entrance and even there Focalors can hear a lot of noise inside, cheering and yelling from what she could hear.
Could’ve there been a fight? Did someone get out free? So many questions and the answer can only be given once the door is open.
She looked at Neuvillete and the man doesn’t even look fazed at all, she doesn’t go to prison that much but is this a normal occurrence that the Judge himself isn’t surprised at all? Curiouser and curiouser.
“Shall we?” Neuvillette asked and Focalors nods quickly, wanting to get to the bottom of it.
And with a nod, Neuvillette opens the door and Focalors can see…
Oh!
Oh, that’s not what she expected.
Rather than a fist fight or a prisoner freed, it was quite an image that if she wasn’t seeing it now, she wouldn’t have ever thought of it happening.
There in the middle of the room was the warden himself wearing only a white button-down, pole dancing while holding a cup of tea in his one hand. Despite the very much hard thing he’s doing he looked quite bored.
Sigewinne, who usually is seen along with the warden was near the dancing warden cheering him on while holding one of her own sweet drinks. You can hear her loud “GO! DAD GO!” Even at the entrance of prison that Focalors heart would’ve melted at the cute gesture if it weren’t for the circumstances.
To say her jaw dropped was an understatement.
Here was where all the people are, the reason why they didn’t bump into a lot of people when they walked here, was because all of they are here, watching the warden, and as much as she loathes to admit quoting Navia, slay it on the pole.
His movements were swift and precise, there’s no question that the man has upper and lower body strength in the way he was able to carry his own body with some of the poses he was doing, not to mention how flexible he is when he did an upside-down split.
The move caused an uproar among the people as they all seemingly throw mora at Wriothesley, who ignores it all to continue on his routines, though avoiding Sigewinne who was walking around to grab the mora that was thrown.
Wriothesley had always had admirers, some of them would say they like how cool he was, collected even when facing the cruelest of crooks, and some would say that they love his physique, though thanks to this performance now, not only does Focalors know that those admirers will triple in size but also the reason would be more and more crazy than ever.
Speak of the devil there Navia was with Charlotte beside her watching the whole spectacle with a huge grin on her face. Charlotte on the other hand was taking pictures from every angle she can, and with the way everyone has had their eyes peeled on Wriothesley on the pole, she knew those would sell well.
Even Chlorinde as well was present as she watched from the shadows, knowing that Chlorinde usually reports to Neuvillete the two probably knew about this event.
“You knew about this.” She said it like a statement, something she already knew was true, and yet she still wanted to hear it from the judge.
“Yes,” Neuvillette replies with a tone that made her look at him, and wait, did she just see a smile on the judge’s face as he looks at Wriothesley?
Oh, this … this is good.
She definitely got what she wanted today.
Lyney and Lynette suddenly appear in front of the two, one with a smile on his face and the other expressionless.
“Welcome oh Judge and our dearest archon to the show, now I would usually make you pay an entrance fee but since you two are very important persons it’ll be free of charge!” Lyney spoke with a flair of a ringmaster as he takes off his hat to bow at the two of them.
“How did you get Wriothesley to agree on this?” Focalors reasonably asked, I mean for all the time she’s seen the warden was more composed and chill, though in hindsight even while pole-dancing the other still looks composed even if he was drinking tea while upside down, how does he even do it?
“Sigewinne,” Navia replies as she walks towards them with a bright grin on her face, she also saw Charlotte waving at them before she resumed taking pictures of the dancing warden.
“She’s right, in any other case Wriothesley would immediately say no to stuff like this, using excuses of him being too busy with being a warden,” Lyney explains. “So, we decided to let Sigewinne in on it, but we told her that this is for an advertisement for the prison so they’ll get more new members and would lessen Wriothesley’s workload.”
“You know how those two are, like father and daughter they are. Sigewinne readily agrees and it was smooth sailing from there on since Wriothesley would agree to every request Sigewinne wants from him, other than when it comes to tea of course.” Navia adds when she arrives and stands next to Lyney. “Though the whole pole dancing was all Sigewinne, we didn’t even know the man could move like that.”
“I think I know one person who would know…” Lyney said and he and Navia shared a mischievous look, which earned a grunt from Neuvillette before he spoke.
“The reason you’ve heard no news about this is that I myself made it a secret for you, as you’ve been wanting some kind of entertainment, this would’ve been a good surprise I hope.” And Focalors smiled at that, despite the cold exterior maybe Neuvillette cares for her.
“It is entertaining I admit,” Focalors said with a smile. And just in time the whole room was filled with applause as Wriothesley seems to be finished with his performance and is now walking towards them, Sigewinne joined him trying to give him one of her sugary drinks and smiles when the warden grabbed it and took a sip.
“I see it was you two who got Sigewinne to make me do this,” Wriothesley spoke, voice bored before he took another sip as Sigewinne greets everyone who was in the conversation. Somehow between the greetings everyone got at least a bottle of her sugary sweets which in Focalors opinion was exemptional, though she looks at the other and they haven’t taken a sip of theirs.
“As much as I love entertaining Sigewinne, I hope this is the last time you include her in your schemes, am I understood?” Wriothesley spoke to Lyney and Nadia in a tone that would even make anyone shudder, which caused the two to quickly nod and apologize.
Wriothesley wipes the sweat from his forehead, it's surprising how the other doesn’t seem too tired from what looked like a very extensive performance, the warden looked at Neuvillette and a ghost of a smile appears there.
“Good to see you today our Archon.” He nods at Focalors who smiles back at him, then he turns to Neuvillette. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
This caused the others to look confused, even Neuvillette himself seems confused at the question.
“I did?”
“Yes, you did,” Wriothesley replies who looks disappointed, but why?
Neuvillette for someone who’s always composed looked at Focalors and the others, he looked nervous as if he was going to do something embarrassing, and then he took at step towards Wriothesley who looked surprised at the sudden movement, only to find himself frozen in place when Neuvillete placed his hands on his shoulders, leaning in to give him a peck on the lips.
Focalors was surprised, no she was stunned at what just happened. And from the looks of it even Navia, Lyney, and Lynette were stunned as well, with only Sigewinne who seems too unaffected.
When Neuvillete leans back Focalors can Wriothesley’s beet-red face as he looks a mix of surprise and something she can’t quite place yet.
“Why’d you kiss me?” Wriothesley asked, his face filled with much more emotion than all of the time the archon has talked to the warden.
Neuvillete himself was as red as a tomato as he looks at Wriothesley in confusion. “I thought you wanted me to kiss me because I forgot to.”
“What? No! I meant the inspection!” Wriothesley explains, and a deep ‘oh’ before his face reddens more.
“Though…” Wriothesley seems to be the first one to compose himself, even if he was still red on the ears. “I appreciate it.”
That somehow managed to calm the judge down as he replies. “Good to know.”
The was a moment of silence where the two shared a look, before Focalors see Lyney and Navia’s mouths moving, about to ask about what just happened but Neuvillette beat them to it.
“Not a word about this.” That seems to have shut the two up before they could speak.
And seemingly like clockwork, everything proceeded as things should be, with Focalors along with Sigewinne, following Wriothesley and Neuvillette on the prison inspection. Lyney, Navia, and the others promptly said their goodbyes since the event was over.
Neither Sigewinne nor Focalors talks about the times the two would sneakily brush their hands, or when Wriothesley just grabs the arms of the other and link it together.
All in all, Focalors today was the best day in the week, no even the whole month! She’s most likely all of Fontaine learned about their beloved warden, some more than they probably should, and today was truly interesting and entertaining.
Hopefully, tomorrow is another exciting day.
-----
That evening Charlotte waits on a dark alleyway of the street of Fontaine as she awaits her client. The sound of footsteps alerted her of their arrival.
“As usual you are right on time!” Charlotte said cheerfully as the other merely nods in response, before speaking.
“Do you have what I require of you?”
“Of course!” She brings out her camera, showing different pictures of Wriothesley pole-dancing hours ago, with Charlotte’s expertise she was able to take some amazing shots, as well as some shots that she thinks this client will very much enjoy. “I’ll be able to print and deliver this to your office tomorrow.”
“Good to hear, how much would it be?”
“A million mora each as usual.” Charlotte smiles.
“Understood, you will receive it tomorrow.” The figure then turns around, a sign that the conversation was over but Charlotte still smiles and waves at the figure.
“Glad to be of service, I hope you have a good day Mr. Neuvillette!”
The man in question didn’t reply as he walks back to his own home, trying to hide the smile of a good purchase that he just did.