The court continued after a short break. Neige was still hesitant about his theory on the case but felt like there weren't any other possibilities. Everyone patiently waited for the judge to speak and officially start the trial.

"May the trial of Neige Chance resume. We declared that the witness's alibi still stood and that her story didn't make enough sense."

"Just so we are on the same wavelength, this woman pretended that she hired another woman to pass off as herself while she committed the crime." Explained the prosecutor.

"Yes, thanks for this summary. Miss Alya, I think you had something to share with us."

"Indeed." The lawyer took a paper with notes on it, trying to read it the best she could "Someone came forward, allegedly, she's the person that helped Zayda forge her alibi."

"R-Really? So Zayda might be the culprit after all, who is this person that helped her?"

"She wrote her name on the paper but I can't read it, it's poorly written. But this person is here and can testify!"

"That's great news, bring her to the bar."

The woman Alya talked about took place at the bar, seemingly intimidated by the people around. Neige quickly recognized her, it was Ada, the anomaly. It still felt weird for him to see her, as she wasn't wearing her usual nun outfit and instead wore clothes from this world. It seemed like she wasn't here for him this time and instead was helping her other self lie through this case. The judge took a lot at her and was surprised by how close she and Zayda looked.

"Can you state your name and occupation?"

"I'm Ada, a former nun. I was the one that helped Zayda."

"You do look very similar! Are you related?"

"Not that I know, I just help a fellow nun protect her friend."

"How noble of you."

"I'm not sure it's noble." Alya said, interrupting the juge "It's still a crime."

"Err, yes. Anyway, Miss Ada, Can you explain to us everything you know about Zayda and her plan?"

Ada was about to start explaining. Neige already knew she was lying and only needed a way to prove she was. Once it was done, he would finally be able to reveal the truth.

"So I was going to the church, I'm no longer a nun but I still pray to the Lord. There I met Zayda, we bonded over our faith and she asked me to take care of the mass for the night of the 14th. She asked me to act like I was her, so no one would be disturbed by unnecessary thoughts."

The judge nodded his head, satisfied with the story.

"I see, so Zayda did forge her alibi. I think there aren't any doubts left, why would she go that far if it wasn't to commit the crime?"

"Objection!" Yelled Neige "This doesn't prove she did, only that she forged her alibi. She's as suspicious as me!"

"While I agree, this makes this case more complicated. I think we will need to postpone this trial to gather more evidence."

"W-Wait!" Neige knew this wasn't good, he couldn't afford to stay here for so long. If Ada lied, then he had to match her to reveal the truth "I was here when the murder occurred!"

"You... What!?" The judge couldn't believe what he was hearing. The court was getting loud, forcing the judge to hit his gavel to ask for silence "Please calm down, I know this is surprising news but we need to hear his testimony first."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Ada stared at Neige with saddened eyes, begging for him to stop. But no matter how emotional she looked, Neige had no plans to stop.

"Neige, I'm trying to innocent your other self. You're just making this harder for everyone."

"I'm sorry, but I'm here to reveal the truth, I know it's what my other self would have done."

"Other... Self?" The judge looked at the two arguing, not understanding a thing "Anyway, can you testify Neige? What happened the day of the murder?"

Neige thought about his theory, in the end, all he had to do was to convict the real culprit, even if the truth got lost.

"So I went to see Noir. I knew about Zayda's gun and thought she would be at the mass that night. If I used her gun, she had an alibi so I knew she wouldn't get suspected. I went to Noir and killed him. I probably did it before Zayda, since I saw no trace of her."

"So you admit you killed him?"

"I do your honor."

The judge closed his eyes, thinking about the case. Zayda's voice interrupted him in his thoughts, yelling at everyone.

"I forged an alibi! It's my firearm! I am the killer! Furthermore, Neige wasn't available on the 12th, only I could have done it."

"It's too complicated for me to answer." Announced the judge "We should probably end here for today and-"

The judge stopped in the middle of his sentence, interrupted by the opening of the door of the courtroom. Neige recognized the people entering, there was Sepide, helping an exhausted Silva to walk, and his other self. The judge was looking at the two Neige, deeply confused.

"I... There... Can someone explain what is happening?"

"Neige!? What are you doing here?" Zayda asked, concerned for her friend.

The man stepped into the bar and looked at his other self next to him in the eyes.

"Your friends explained that you covered for me, thanks, I'll take care of the rest now."

Neige, the one from the Kronos, nodded his head and went to Silva and Sepide with worries in his eyes.

"Is Silva alright?"

"I am..." Answered Silva "I just need rest..."

Neige nodded in relief and observed the rest of the trial from a distance with his two friends, waiting for the true defendant to explain what happened.

"I am Neige Chance, I was away for a bit but I'm here now. This other guy just pretended to be me."

"There are a lot more doppelgangers than I thought, that's already the second one today!" The judge paused for a moment, calming himself from all the emotions that were happening "So will you testify about what you did the night of the 14th?"

"I wasn't planning to, but I think we should tell everyone the truth, what do you think Zayda?"

Neige looked at his friends, who seemed surprised by the demand.

"The... Whole truth? But then we-"

"Yes, I know, but we sinned after all. We deserve to be punished for what we did." Neige smiled innocently, convincing Zayda who came next to Neige.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea... I'll confess to everything I did." The nun took a deep inspiration, preparing herself mentally "When I learned about Noir's trial, I was a bit worried about his odd of being judged guilty. He was a great detective, it was more than likely that justice would be soft on him. Neige would have been the second suspect, and I couldn't allow that."

"So you did kill him." Said the judge, to which Zayda shook her head in disagreement.

"I didn't... Well maybe, I'm not sure how the law works in that situation. On the 12th, I tried to kill him. The reason I chose this day was because Neige was at the hospital, running multiple tests. I know there would be various medical records, which would make a good alibi for him. Sadly, I hesitated. I shot and immediately left. I was in such a hurry that I didn't even notice he was still alive."

"That explains the first bullet found in his body."

"Indeed. The day after, I learned that he survived. He knew I was the one who shot him but stayed silent. Maybe he thought it would make an amusing mystery, this man always had creepy thoughts."

"I think I'll explain the rest." Said Neige "She told me what she did and was worried. She urged me to get an alibi so I would stay safe while she finished him, but I didn't want Zayda to end up in jail. Since I had an alibi for the first day, I decided she should have one on the 14th. I would be the one killing him, forcing him to stay silent. Since we both had alibis for the two days, I thought they would let us go, but I suppose our motives were enough to be suspected."

"I-I understand." The judge said, still not sure to grasp the full situation "But Zayda confessed to forging her alibi, even hiring another woman to do so."

"Oh, that. I have no idea who she is. She just said she'd help to protect Neige."

"I see. I suppose that it's time for the verdict. I hope you understand that the jury will most likely consider you guilty, Neige. And for your friend, she'll be judged for attempted murder."

"I realize that. I met someone that fought so hard for what she deemed just, I knew I couldn't keep this lie forever, for me like for Zayda's sake."

Neige turned behind him to introduce Silva but realized that the two girls left. Even Ada and the other Neige left like they never were here, adding to the mystery of their involvement in this case.