"All right." Lora nodded and watched Neuvillette leave.
Lumine and Lora had arranged to hold the meeting in Poisson. Since the town had already been evacuated ahead of time, the entire place stood empty, making it the perfect location for a gathering like this.
Strictly speaking, what they were about to discuss was itself a serious violation of Fontaine's laws.
By the time Lora arrived, everyone was already seated around the round table. Lumine and Paimon were there, along with Lyney, Lynette, Freminet, Navia... and, somewhat unexpectedly, Arlecchino as well.
"Looks like you really did finish all the preparations," Lora said with a sigh as she looked around the table.
Otherwise, Arlecchino likely would never have attended.
As the Fatui Harbinger stationed in Fontaine, she understood perfectly well that every one of her movements was being closely monitored by the Court of Fontaine.
What Lora did not know, however, was that Arlecchino had agreed to attend this meeting precisely because Lumine mentioned Lora would be there.
She was deeply curious about this mysterious woman.
After Lora took her seat, Lumine began explaining:
"We found several stone slates inside a Domain. They contain records related to the prophecy. But one slate is missing, so we believe the missing piece is connected to Furina."
Lumine laid the stone slates on the table.
"These three slates record the prophecy itself."
Lora lowered her eyes toward them.
Each slate depicted a different scene.
One showed a goddess leading her people to kneel beneath a floating island.
Another showed a goddess falling into the water while countless people surrounded her.
And the final slate depicted a goddess sitting upon a divine throne, silently weeping.
Lumine pointed toward the first slate.
"This should represent Celestia. Based on Navia's and my deductions, the goddess kneeling beneath Celestia alongside her people should be the former Hydro Archon, Egeria."
As Lumine spoke, she quietly watched Lora's reaction.
But Lora's expression never changed in the slightest.
"The former Hydro Archon, Egeria..." Arlecchino frowned slightly. "Why would she kneel beneath Celestia? And why bring so many of her people with her?"
Navia shook her head.
"We don't know either. Right now, we can only speculate. I think Egeria must have committed some kind of sin. Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to kneel there together with so many people. Besides, that also matches Fontaine's old rumor that the Hydro Archon bears sin."
"These slates were discovered together, so we believe Egeria's sin must be directly connected to the prophecy!" Paimon added quickly.
After everything they had experienced lately, even Paimon had become noticeably sharper.
Lumine continued:
"So we believe that, as Egeria's successor, Furina must know many things—including the truth behind the prophecy itself. But she refuses to tell anyone. Even after the Water from the Primordial Sea flooded Poisson, she still remained silent."
Paimon immediately picked up where Lumine left off.
"So... we think Furina has been deliberately hiding the truth from everyone! That gives us enough reason to put her on trial!"
Lora looked at them quietly, then at the stone slates, before slowly nodding.
"Mm. Your reasoning makes sense."
"A god concealing the truth while Fontaine faces disaster..." Arlecchino nodded slightly. "That is indeed sufficient grounds for a trial. I see no issue with it."
Since even Arlecchino agreed, Lyney and the others from the House of the Hearth naturally had no objections. This had been Lumine and Paimon's plan from the beginning, and Navia had no intention of opposing it either.
At this point, everything depended entirely on Lora's decision.
Everyone's gaze gathered on her.
After several seconds of silence, Lora finally nodded.
"Then we'll proceed that way. After all, the Hydro Archon truly has concealed many things. And all of those truths must eventually be revealed during the trial."
Once Lora agreed, everyone around the table visibly relaxed.
Among everyone present, only Lumine and Paimon were not Fontainian. The others all instinctively placed immense trust in Lora's judgment. Even Arlecchino unconsciously leaned toward her decisions.
Now that she had approved the plan, the atmosphere finally eased.
"Then next, we need to figure out how to get Furina onto the trial stage," Navia said thoughtfully. "We obviously can't just walk up and tell her we plan to put her on trial, right?"
"Of course not." Lyney shook his head immediately. "If we do that, she'll definitely refuse."
Freminet looked at everyone nervously.
"Then... what do we do? If Lady Furina refuses to appear at the Opera Epiclese, the trial can't even begin, right?"
After Freminet spoke, everyone fell into thought.
Arlecchino suddenly suggested:
"Why don't I just tie her up and drag her there?"
Lora immediately shot her a cold look.
Feeling that gaze land on her, Arlecchino instantly corrected herself:
"No. Forget I said anything."
After silently warning Arlecchino, Lora's eyes shifted toward Lyney.
She already knew how things originally would have unfolded.
Lyney's magic show.
A deception.
A trick to lure Furina onto the stage.
But that was not what Lora wanted.
She did not want Furina to be deceived by them.
Listening to everyone discuss ways to force Furina onto the trial stage, Lora finally let out a soft sigh.
"Leave that part to me. When the agreed time comes, I'll personally bring Furina to the Opera Epiclese. As for everything else... I'll leave it in your hands."
Lumine looked at Lora as though she wanted to say something, but Lora immediately stopped her.
"It's fine. There's no real difference." Lora shook her head quietly. "It's better if I bring her myself than for all of you to trick her into coming. No matter what, my relationship with her runs deeper than yours. I'm the most suitable person for this."
After saying that, Lora stood up and quietly left the meeting, leaving the remaining discussion to them.
Everyone silently watched her departing figure.
Navia frowned slightly.
"Why do I feel like Miss Lora looked really sad?"
"Well..." Paimon spread her hands helplessly. "She and Furina are really close. Asking her to personally bring Furina to stand trial... no matter how you look at it, that's gotta hurt."