The present time, back in the courtroom.
No one spoke. Words were unnecessary in the face of such injustice. Their glares said everything as they fixed their eyes on the accused.
Noonien Turqoise.
“What is this?” he shouted, his voice trembling. “What is this charade?”
Noonien struggled to maintain his composure, his face a mix of indignation and disbelief. The rich scholar fought back his emotions, determined to project an air of righteousness in his defense.
“Your honor,” he declared with barely restrained pride, “I am Noonien Turquoise, not this lowly scholar named Wing. I was not born in Three Lily Hamlet—I was born and raised in the grand city. I have a future ahead of me as a tutor for the Royal Prince! This is a blatant waste of my time and a clear demonstration of the Constabulary's ineptitude in investigating the death of a mere courtesan! To accuse me, someone with no connection to this case, is simply absurd!”
“Hold on right there!” The Judge yelled back as he rose from his desk, “You were at Green Lion Valley to bribe Fae Fae to keep her silence! Her brother can act as witness! And you have motive to kill her, to keep your secret identity!”
“Where is the evidence to conclude I killed her!? Everything you’ve been spitting out are nothing but theories and coincidences!” Noonien threw a carefree laugh in the court, “Why, I can so much as walk out of this courtroom without punishment! Even your peers in the Judge’s circle will stand by my side, there is nothing to keep me detained here against my will!”
Inspector Lee stormed over to try and cut off his escape, “I don’t care if I lose my job over this! But I ain’t letting you waltz out of here – not after what you’ve done to Fae Fae’s entire life! She loved you and protected you, but you went off to start your own happy family behind her back! How dare you call yourself a man, Wing!”
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“MY NAME IS NOONIEN! NOONIEN TURQUOISE!”
The rich scholar’s fury erupted uncontrollably as he stormed towards the door. The guards tried to restrain him, but he pushed through them like a sheet of paper given his social status. “I’m warning all of you! If you so much as lay a finger on me, my father-in-law will find the right people and ensure that each of you will be scrambling for a new job! Get out of my way!”
Before the Judge or the Inspector could intervene, Noonien threw open the gates and stepped out, only to--
SWEET MERCY!
--duck just in time, narrowly avoiding a sudden danger.
A giant dragonfly flew in through the gates, nearly clipping Noonien’s head off!
When everyone believed it was a devil of a monster breaching the premise, they realized it was actually a construct! Crafted from shimmering magical cloth it fluttered into the tight courtroom with a graceful flutter.
Its wings, nearly translucent and woven with complex patters of glowing symbols, hummed softly as they beat the air up into dust clouds with a mesmerizing buzz noise. The body of the construct was long and elegant, formed from layers of magically manipulated robes, cloth, scarves, and other series of fabrics – like a living quilt of some sort.
The construct dragon fly moved with eerie precision as it touched down onto the stone tiles. The second it’s ‘feet’ touched the ground, the four beating wings froze in place in complete stop.
“Coming through. Watch your step!”
Martial Yellow Sister had returned. She climbed off of the dragonfly construct powered by her [Soul Silk Construct Formation], followed by several elderly looking individuals. While she was used to flying on strange magical contraptions, the passengers made it clear they were not even close to her level as they dropped to the ground and started kissing the tiles – solid land.
“Your honour,” Martial Yellow Sister spoke up with a bow. “I apologize for the wait. I’ve brought the solid evidence for this case.”