Soon the hall filled, and the session began right on time.
Xia Zhi was surprised to see Jean herself presiding.
With how busy she was, she still came in person… clearly his call last night had worried her deeply about Eula. Enough to put aside her official duties.
Two Knights escorted Schubert and Sergei forward.
Jean began listing their crimes.
The crowd grew furious at every word.
Finally, she looked up at them. "Do you plead guilty?"
Sergei shouted, "This is slander! I demand diplomatic immunity!"
"Denied. The testimony is complete, the evidence indisputable."
"It was forced under torture! False testimony!"
"Bring forth the eyewitness."
Rosaria, as executioner, wouldn't appear publicly unless absolutely necessary.
So it was Eula who walked up alone, calmly recounting what she'd seen without embellishment.
Most in the hall knew her—and knew her relation to Schubert. Their faces twisted with schadenfreude.
The silent Schubert suddenly exploded at her words. "Eula! You treacherous wretch! How dare my own kin betray—"
"Silence!" Jean snapped.
But he ignored her, spewing curses at Eula.
She stared at him coldly. "Is this what you call noble dignity, Uncle?"
He choked mid-word.
Eula's tone cut like ice. "I thought that when you, as an elder of our house, spoke in public, you'd have lofty words to share. Yet all you spew is filth."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, Dragon King and his companions exchanging odd looks. The phrasing sounded distinctly Liyue.
Eula narrowed her eyes, recalling the script. "Hear me. The Lawrence family rose alongside Mondstadt's founding, sharing in the Anemo Archon's glory. Our history is long, our bloodline enduring. But there were those of evil intent, who sought to seize rule of Mondstadt. Justice struck them down, and the Lawrence clan fell into disgrace. Since then, we have been treated as vermin, shunned and reviled, our forebears shamed, our name dishonored. Now, in this time of crisis, Uncle—you, a pillar of the family—what have you done?"
"You—you—!" Schubert sputtered.
"Enough!" Eula cut him off sharply. "I know your life well. From birth you were burdened with expectation. Yet your nature was wanton, your conduct base. You learned nothing, failed every family trial. Instead of working for our kin, you idled away, demanding without ever giving, parading as a noble while loitering in the streets. You sketched Mondstadt's defenses and schemed with the Fatui to overthrow the Knights of Favonius. With such venom in your heart, would you drag Mondstadt—and our family—into ruin once more?"
"You—you—!"
"You are forty-six years old, half your life wasted. No accomplishments to your name. Even if you repented today and ended yourself here, how could you face our ancestors?"
"I—I—!"
"A broken-backed cur, too cowardly to cower, yet still barking wildly… I have never seen such shamelessness!"
Schubert's face flushed red, rage choking him.
Eula's gaze was merciless. "How pitiful, that the Lawrence family today is still filled with such heartless wretches. A thousand years pass, and still no repentance. From a great house, to ruin in a single generation!"
"You dare speak so of your own family!?"
A cold laugh escaped her lips. "A family like this—I want no part of it!"
"Eula! You'll regret—"
His words were cut off by a sudden gust of wind.
Before her, a gleaming Anemo Vision appeared, radiant with light.
Eula blinked, then reached out and caught it.
Wind surged around her form.
Gasps swept through the hall as people rose to their feet.
"It's the will of the Anemo Archon! He acknowledges her words!"
The hall erupted into uproar.
Schubert's vision swam black. Blood gushed from his lips as he collapsed onto the floor.
---
Although there were some surprises during the trial, the final verdict didn't change.
The criminals were declared guilty and escorted to prison, and the crowd burst into cheers.
As the session ended, Jean glanced at the Anemo Vision in Eula's hand, then at Xia Zhi and Venti.
Her thoughts returned to the phone call Xia Zhi had given her last night. He'd said he knew a little of the inside story. Was this what he meant?
As a Vision holder herself, Jean's perception of Anemo was sharp. When Eula had reached out to catch that falling Vision, the power spreading from her was indeed Anemo.
But that didn't prove Eula was really controlling it.
It might just as easily have been Venti—the Anemo Archon himself—intervening.
After all, in all of Teyvat's history, no one had ever wielded two Visions.
Jean couldn't help but harbor doubts. But she was too busy. The fact she'd even stolen time to preside this morning was already indulgent. She had to rush back to her office; there was no time to press Eula for answers.
Even if that Vision was fake, Barbatos himself was here. He hadn't stopped Eula from receiving it. That was recognition enough. Fake or not, it now counted as real.
She bid a quick farewell to the others and hurried off.
Among the crowd, other members of the Lawrence family were watching Eula with looks of outrage and disbelief.
Eula met their eyes calmly, then ignored the many stares around her and walked straight to Xia Zhi.
"Miss Eula," he told her, "you did wonderfully."
Eula stroked the Vision in her palm. Its smooth texture felt oddly like a glass marble. She smiled faintly. "It was thanks to the script you gave me, Mr. Xia."
Dragon King, overhearing this, raised a brow. "Those lines you said just now—Mr. Xia wrote them?"
Xia Zhi shook his head. "Xia Ci revised them."
Dragon King instantly relaxed. "Ah. That explains it…"
Venti glanced at the time on his phone. "After something this big, we've gotta celebrate at lunch, right?"
Dragon King nodded. "Exactly!"
"Let's book the same restaurant as yesterday, get a private room. Rosaria and Diona are still stuck at the tavern, so they don't have much time. Tonight we'll all head back to the Serenitea Pot for dinner, and that can double as celebrating the tavern's opening tomorrow."
"Sounds good!"
Word of Eula becoming a dual Vision holder spread quickly.
In Mondstadt, an Anemo Vision always carried special meaning—just like Geo did in Liyue.
But even before the locals had fully digested the news, Ningguang already knew.
Charlotte had live-streamed the trial to the group chat on her phone.
So even in distant Sumeru, Nahida saw it. In Fontaine, so did Furina.
Nahida wasn't too invested—she'd just learned new abilities through the [Book of Erudition], giving her confidence to deal with restless sages and their Fatui conspirators.
Furina, however, was brimming with interest. After five centuries of presiding trials in the opera house, she was practically an expert judge. Compared to Liyue's drawn-out proceedings, Mondstadt's simple, fast trial left her desperate to critique every detail.
But she couldn't expose her identity, so she writhed on her bed in sheer frustration, biting back her commentary.
It was torture.
Focalors' reflection surfaced in the mirror, watching her with exasperation. "You've got another trial to attend this afternoon. Why are you still lazing around?"
"I know, I know."