A few days later.

The weather was perfect, ideal for a trip outdoors.

Yu Xie stood by the window of his office, gazing outside, letting out a slight, helpless sigh.

Such beautiful weather, yet he had to stay in the office—what a shame.

"Miss Furina, with weather like this, are you really planning to stay here with me the whole day?" Yu Xie turned around to glance at Furina, who was lounging on the couch.

She had come in early this morning, picked a book from the shelf, and had been reading ever since.

"You've got it pretty good here," Furina said casually, glancing at the pastries and tea on the coffee table. "Food and drink, all at your fingertips."

Yu Xie found himself unable to do much about Furina, especially since she was technically his superior now.

Besides, having someone around to keep him company was definitely better than being bored on his own.

Just then, the sky began to darken.

Heavy clouds gradually blocked the sunlight, and a deep rumble of thunder echoed from within the clouds.

What had been a beautiful day suddenly turned for the worse—it looked like rain was coming.

With the first few drops of rain falling on Fontaine, the downpour quickly followed.

"It suddenly started raining so heavily." Furina put down the book and walked over to the window.

The rain was indeed intense. In Yu Xie's memory, it had been several years since Fontaine had experienced such a heavy downpour.

The raindrops, as big as beans, fell in such dense sheets—it had been a long time since he'd seen anything like this.

The low-lying areas of the road quickly began to accumulate water. The streets of Fontaine, once full of life under the clear sky, now seemed to have temporarily fallen into a deep sleep.

Could it be that Neuvillette is crying? No, that shouldn't be it. When Neuvillette sheds tears in his heart, it wouldn't rain this heavily. The thought flashed briefly through Yu Xie's mind.

"This kind of heavy rain is perfect for reading a novel indoors, heh." Furina laughed lightly, then turned around and walked back to the couch, resuming her reading.

In front of Yu Xie, Furina didn't put on much of a divine or lofty air.

Just then, there was a knock at the office door, the sound a bit urgent.

A vague sense of unease passed through Yu Xie's mind.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and the person who entered was panting heavily.

"Lord Yu Xie, Mr. Callas has gone to a banquet held by the Confrerie of Cabriere!"

At these words, Yu Xie's heart gave a jolt.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Faint memories became clearer in that instant, and Yu Xie remembered— the day Callas was framed, it had been a day of heavy rain.

The event had happened after all, and it seemed to have occurred a bit earlier than the original timeline.

"Has the banquet started yet?"

"According to the information, Mr. Callas has already arrived, and the banquet is about to begin."

"Where is the banquet taking place?"

"The Confrerie of Cabriere is holding it at a manor on the outskirts."

Yu Xie didn't ask any further questions and didn't say another word. He quickly turned and rushed out.

.....

Outskirts.

The rain fell in torrents.

The dense curtain of rain hammered against the grass, and all that could be heard in the countryside was the roar of the downpour.

Yu Xie moved swiftly, and in the distance, the manor had come into view.

Damn it, this shouldn't have happened so soon...

This event should have occurred after Uncle Callas was diagnosed with a rare illness, shouldn't it?

Could it be...?

Yu Xie suddenly understood.

Although he had been monitoring Uncle Callas' condition, Uncle Callas had still successfully deceived him.

As he drew closer to the manor, an ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger.

Bang! A gunshot rang out, cutting through the rain and reaching Yu Xie's ears.

Bang! The second gunshot followed quickly after.

Yu Xie gritted his teeth and pushed himself to run faster.

Finally, he arrived at the manor.

Under the heavy rain, many people were staring at Callas, who stood in the rain, their expressions filled with shock.

Callas was holding a rifle, and not far in front of him, a person was lying on the ground.

Blood was flowing from the gunshot wound on the person's body, washed away by the pouring rain.

In another spot, there was a piece of clothing that had fallen to the ground.

"Callas... killed Jacques?"

"Impossible, he was his friend."

"But there's no one else here. The rifle is in Callas' hands. It looks like..."

The murmurs continued.

At this moment, Callas slowly raised his head. Through the dense rain, he saw Yuxie.

He raised his hand in a gesture, signaling Yuxie not to approach.

The two of them stood there, separated by the rain curtain, silently staring at each other.

Yuxie understood—he had come too late.

What had happened could not be undone.

In this damnable situation, no one would ever guess that the true culprit who killed Jacques had already dissolved into water, mingling with the rainwater on the ground.

Callas suddenly smiled at Yuxie, a smile filled with resignation.

...

"Mr. Callas, according to the testimonies of the witnesses, after hearing two gunshots, most of those present rushed to the sound and saw Mr. Jacques lying in front of you, with the gun in your hand, having been fired twice. Do you have any rebuttal to this?"

From the high seat of the Opéra House's courtroom, the Chief Judge, Neuvillette, asked the defendant, Callas.

"...I cannot refute it." Callas responded quietly.

"While what you've said is true, it lacks direct evidence to prove that you are the murderer. Do you have any evidence to defend yourself?"

Callas remained silent for a moment, choosing not to speak.

In the courtroom, remaining silent was never a good choice.

Yu Xie sat in the position of the duel's representative, observing the trial.

Clorinde was seated beside him.

The only bit of luck was that Navia was not present.

Yu Xie already knew what would happen next. He lowered his head, hiding his eyes from others' view.

Clorinde remained silent, equally anxious about the situation.

"...I request a duel." After a long silence, Callas finally spoke again.

The Chief Judge, Neuvillette, furrowed his brow slightly.

"Mr. Callas, may I understand this as you rejecting the trial and choosing instead to use a duel to defend your honor?"

"Yes." Callas answered.

"According to the laws of Fontaine, the request is approved."

A murmur rose from the audience in the courtroom below.

Many people knew that both of the duel representatives present had significant ties to Callas.

"Then, I ask duel representatives Yu Xie and Mr. Callas to move to the stage below. The duel will begin immediately." Neuvillette glanced at Yu Xie.

Today, it was Yu Xie's turn to serve as the duel representative, so it was naturally expected for him to step up.

Callas did not hesitate, quickly walking to the center of the stage.

Under everyone's gaze, Yu Xie hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he stepped onto the stage as well.

Yu Xie was very clear that if he chose not to participate in this duel, then Clorinde would take his place. In that case, things would unfold exactly as they had originally.

Although the situation had already developed to this point, he still didn't want to see Clorinde and Navia grow distant because of this matter.

But was this duel really something that had to happen?

As people often said, there is always a second choice.