Why Do You Lie? || Heizou

1

"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

She stared at the court and at the judge, an eyebrow raised. "You must know by now that I'm an expert liar. Nothing I can do about it. I'll raise my hand if you want me to, and say whatever nonsense you have on this paper, but the truth? No. I'll lie and lie and make you believe me anyway. So help me Archons."

The white-haired judge stiffened, his cane frozen mid-air. The courtroom fell into a hush, the spectators' whispers dying down to a murmur. He cleared his throat, his voice echoing in the silence, "Miss L/n, I'll have you know perjury is a serious offense."

She shrugged nonchalantly, her eyes gleaming with defiance. "I'm not under oath yet, am I, Monsieur Neuvillette?"

Neuvillette sighed, a weary look crossing his face. "Very well," he said, signaling the bailiff. "Proceed with the oath."

As she raised her hand, she surveyed the court room. There was not one person left unseen by her watchful gaze. "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," she recited, the sarcasm in her voice ringing out clearly. 

There was a murmur of laughter from the gallery, which Neuvillette silenced with a stern glance. He turned to the witness, who was seated beside his lawyer, his face a picture of nervousness.

"Defendant, please state your name and occupation."

"Y/n L/n, painter," she replied. Her eyes glinted in the light, her posture ramrod straight.

"Miss L/n, did you commit the murder?"

Y/n's lips curled into a smirk. "Well, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it?" she replied. "But if I were to answer that, I'd say no."

A murmur ran through the courtroom. Neuvillette raised an eyebrow, "And why should we believe you, Miss L/n?"

"Because," she said, leaning forward, her eyes meeting Neuvillette's, "I was at the Marcotte Station, admiring the Fountain of Lucine at the time of the murder. Ask the security guards. They'll vouch for me."

"Miss L/n, the Fountain of Lucine is nowhere near Marcotte Station. Do you really expect the court to believe that?"

She smiled, her white teeth flashing, and her gaze flickered over to the burgundy haired man sitting next to the witness. "I," she drawled slowly, as if the judge was stupid, "am not the killer."

"Why is she looking at us like that, Detective?" the witness whispered, leaning closer to the green eyed man.

Heizou ignored the question, his eyes locked on Y/n. 

He had been asked to visit Fontaine due to a series of unsolvable murder mysteries that had left the local law enforcement baffled. His reputation as a top detective from Inazuma had reached Fontaine, and they had requested his assistance. The mysteries were intricate, the clues sparse and the suspects many. But Heizou was known for his ability to see through the fog of deception and find the truth. 

She wasn't stupid, that much was obvious. Her eyes were alert- intelligent even, and her body language calm.

The only sign of anxiety was her fingers drumming lightly on her thigh, but even that was barely noticeable.

Back in the stand, Y/n continued her testimony. "I was at the Marcotte Station," she repeated, her gaze never leaving Heizou's, "admiring the Fountain of Lucine."

Neuvillette looked taken aback. He glanced at his notes, then back at Y/n. "Miss L/n, the Fountain of Lucine is a well-known landmark, but it's nowhere near Marcotte Station. Are you suggesting you were in two places at once?"

Y/n leaned back. "I never said I was at both places at the same time, did I?" she replied, her voice calm. "I merely stated where I was and what I was doing."

The courtroom fell into a stunned silence. Neuvillette frowned, clearly thrown off by her response. "We now turn to the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale."

The Oratrice hummed to life, its mechanical parts whirring. Neuvillette didn't even have to glance at the paper to know the verdict it would deliver. "Innocent," it declared, as it always did in every case she was accused of.

A wave of murmurs swept through the courtroom. Y/n merely smirked, her eyes gleaming with a mix of triumph and defiance. "As always," she said, her voice ringing out clearly over the whispers.

Neuvillette slammed his cane onto the ground, silencing the spectators. He turned to Y/n, his expression unreadable. "Miss L/n. You were acquitted once again."

"Well, of course I was!" She winked at him, a wide smile plastered on her face.

Heizou stared at the scene unfolding in front of him. What the hell was she playing at? He couldn't shake off the feeling that Y/n was not just playing with the court, but also with him.

"Miss L/n," Heizou finally spoke up, his voice steady, "Your games might amuse the court, but they don't fool me."

Y/n turned to look at him in surprise. "Oh, Detective!" She smiled, a sickly sweet smile that caused a shiver to run down Heizou's spine. "I'm not playing games. I'm merely telling my truth."

Heizou's gaze hardened. His intuition, which had never failed him before, was telling him there was more to her words than met the eye. 

How was she doing it? There was no way she was innocent, yet the evidence against her was inconclusive. And the Oratrice always came up with the same verdict - Innocent.

It was as if she knew something they didn't, and was using it to her advantage. But what?

Heizou studied Y/n closely. There was something about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

As she exited the witness stand, her gaze flickered over to him. She held his stare, her lips curled into a smirk. Then, in an instant, she was gone.

Heizou sat still for a few minutes, lost in thought. Something wasn't adding up, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

~

In case you missed it in the description: I created this for class when I had to turn in a short snippet created by a dialogue prompt. Not exactly sure if I'm going to continue it, but I wanted to share since I ended up really liking it!! :)