Crimes and Affairs || Wriolette

Chapter 1

Neuvillette sat down in his chair and put his head in his hands. He placed down on the table the cup of water he had in his hand and lazily eyed the tons of papers he had scattered on his working desk. The whole room, in fact, was a mess. There were tons of books all over the floor, books about cooking, Art of Water, and an interesting series called 'How to catch a criminal in 10 minutes.' That, of course, is impossible, even for Monsieur Neuvillette.

Yet the white-haired man still appreciated a well written book, even with the complete lie in its title. After finishing the first volume, he bought the entire series in an instant. He kept bragging about it to his fellow friends, especially Lady Furina. It was not that she wasn't interested in Neuvillette's venting, but as she was so busy, she could never concentrate on whatever the man was saying. Luckily, he was not disappointed at all by the series.

Among all those books, one could even find his cane, as he threw it in there from frustration. This wasn't his usual behavior at all. As far as everyone in Fontaine, the nation of justice knows, Fontaine's judge is an organized and responsible man. Never lacking any skill, many admired and adored him.

However, you can never be admired by everyone. The work of a judge is not easy at all. No matter what he decided up there, there would still be unhappy people wishing for his downfall.
If he got lucky in court, there would be unsatisfied ex-husbands, sad that they had lost the divorce. However, here in Fontaine, most cases were not that simple. It is only clear that he would also sometimes get overwhelmed by the courts he has to attend to. Unfortunately, there was this one case that was turning him upside down.

The sun's radiant rays sat directly on the case he wished to never see again.
A picture of a blond haired man dressed in a white buttoned up shirt, along with a red tie. He wore a huge black coat over the blouse. His black jeans were truly complimenting his outfit. Half of his face was covered by a black mask, so all Neuvillette could see were his icy blue eyes.

This was the only photo Neuvillette owned of Fontaine's most wanted criminal, also known as Fontaine's Fear. He killed his own parents, killed over 200 people, and was guilty of theft, terrorism, drug trafficking, and kidnapping. What else is there? This man was known for everything. No wonder he was known as Fontaine's Fear. Everyone feared him. If you're wondering why he wasn't caught yet, then you must not truly know this aggressive feline. Besides the cold-hearted crimes he committed, this guy was also extremely intelligent.

He somehow always knew how to hide his identity, nobody knew his real name, and there were no files regarding his identity. This was exactly why the detectives and police of Fontaine asked Neuvillette to help them find this criminal. Of course, as Neuvillette kept staring at the photo, he began to realize this man might not even be the criminal he wanted to put in court. All he could do was trust Charlotte, Fontaine's ziarist, and now detective. She recently joined the detectives, so she was asked by Neuvillette to go on a little trip and search for 'a creepy guy doing creepy stuff' and 'someone who might be a criminal.' Somehow, Charlotte understood the assignment and came back one week later with this photo in her hand. Truly, Neuvillette never saw this man on the streets of Fontaine before.

It was once rumored that this criminal broke in the archives locked in the judge's office, searched for the secret files regarding his identity, and burned it all. Neuvillette, however, had to deny this rumor. There were never any files about his identity, and nobody actually knew this man. Neuvillette even started wondering if this man was even real. What if this extravagant blond man was just a Fontaine passerby? The crimes he committed made him wish he just wasn't real. He stared at the photo intensely, studying his body anatomy. Maybe that would help him find the man.

His whole body was indeed well made, especially his chest. The buttons on his blouse did seem like they would rip any moment if he were to make any sudden move. He looked at the man's face. The mask on his face was indeed suspicious, but Neuvillette tried to ignore it by telling himself the man in the photo was either sick, either highly allergic to everything around him. Neuvillette really did wish Fontaine's Fear didn't exist. He looked in his eyes. They looked like they were staring back at his own. Those scary blue eyes truly gave him the chills.

Fortunately, it has been a few months since Fontaine's Fear last striked. Many years ago, he would strike every day, then move to once a week, then a month... now, nobody knows.

~♡~

Neuvillette hasn't even noticed Miss Charlotte entering his office. The girl surely knocked on the door, but as the judge was too busy analyzing some random guy's, possibly criminal's body, he never heard any knocks. As she didn't hear any answers from the other side, she rushed in, worried.

'Monsieur Neuvillette! Is everything all right? Did anything happen?' The pink haired girl asked. Neuvillette was curious how she could mentain her pink her so well while also having such a complicated job. Could it be it was natural like his? He stared at her before opening his mouth to speak but closed it. He just then realized how messy his office was. Next time, he might consider locking the door. He hurried next to the books on the ground and picked up his cane. He turned around to face the girl and spoke. 'Miss Charlotte, no need to worry. Everything is all right. I was just now looking at our criminal's photo.'

He paused for a moment and eyed Charlotte, not sure if he should continue talking. He did not want to worry others, but at the same time, he wanted to warn his nation of the danger. He decided to continue anyway.

'Charlotte, are you sure this truly is Fontaine's Fear?'

Charlotte remained silent, and there was a moment of silence before Neuvillette continued. 'How are we so sure he is not just a regular person who decided to visit Fontaine?'
Hearing that the man before her actually made a point, Charlotte placed two fingers at her temple. She hummed before answering.
'Monsieur Neuvillette, I simply got lucky after you asked me to bring you a photo of someone who I think could be Fontaine's Fear.'

Neuvillette unconsciously frowned his eyebrows. He didn't have the time to say anything before the pink haired girl continued. 'You see, Monsieur, just as I was walking around Fontaine, I overheard some men talking about Fontaine's Fear recent crime. You should know it as well. Remember when he assassinated some of the guards at Opera Epiclese?'

Neuvillette remembered that day so well. It was like this man did not even care about the consequences of his own actions. He remembered watching the camera footage for three weeks straight. However, Charlotte continued. 'That's what I overheard the men talk about. They talked about the cameras at the Opera Epiclese, that there should be at least one that caught a glimpse of this sneaky cat. I have to ask you, Monsieur, are you completely sure you watched the entire video footage?'

Confidently, Neuvillette nodded.

'That's wrong, Monsieur. Even one milisecond is enough to lose track of someone.' Charlotte said as she took something from her pocket. It was an USB drive. She approached the small computer on one of Neuvillette's desks. She then asked. 'May I?'
Neuvillette nodded once again, and Charlotte opened the computer. Not long after, she inserted the USB. Turns out it was video footage of the cameras at the Opera Epiclese. Neuvillette watched intensely her every move.

She slowed down the video. It took her many tries to pause at the right moment. She then pointed to the screen, showing this blond haired guy running from the crime scene. He was only visible for a milisecond indeed. It seems like he was pretty fast since he was already so far away from the corpse in such a short time. Was that even possible? Neuvillette thought. They both turned to face each other. Neuvillette gave a brief smile and said:
'Miss Charlotte, you really are amazing. I'm glad I trusted you.'

The pink haired girl smiled back. She retrieved the USB. She put it back in her pocket.
'I think I should get going.' She said as she started making her way back to the door. She looked around the office and noticed the series 'How to catch a criminal in 10 minutes' laying on the floor. She chuckled, and before she could open the door, she stopped, hearing the man's voice behind her.

'Miss Charlotte, what was it that you wanted to visit me for? I am pretty sure it was not to show me the video footage.' Neuvillette said, his face straight. However, Charlotte's smile faded. It seems she must've forgotten why she was sent here for.
Just before she could answer, someone rushed in the office.

'Monsieur Neuvillette! He's back! Fontaine's Fear is back, h-he striked again!'

Hearing this, Neuvillette's eyes widened. It seems like it had all started again.