The investigation was finally official per Neuvillette's order, he immediately begun forming a team for the case. Luckily he allowed you special authority to also be a part of the investigation with the condition of your main focus to be on any evidence related to Rohrette instead of actually solving the case. It was the closest you would get to 'real' detective work especially working with the Marechaussee Phantom, his special Melusine detective force.
"So.. How do these investigations normally go?"
you ask
"Well this one won't be particularly 'normal'"
"Oh?"
"Firstly due to the fact you and I will take part in it, secondly because this team I created consists of both Gardes and Marechausse Hunters"
He proudly flips the paper towards you, allowing you to review his team plan. It's organization reminded you of a seating chart. Each Melusine was paired with a Garde, a buddy like system for them to investigate the crime scene.
"You mixed the two groups together?"
"Yes, not only will it seem like a fair investigation but will remind the people of harmony. Instead of pitting against each other we should work together to find the culprit."
"Ah I see, very smart political move"
you praise
Looking closely at the page you scanned for your name, since you weren't part of either division you wondered who'd he pair you up with. He noticed your furrowed expression as you frantically scanned the page, like an open book he knew and dragged his finger to tap the top of the page which you had excitedly skipped over. The tap of his finger redirects your attention to the top where you see your name paired under his. Looking up with a grin you gasp
"We'll be investigating together?!"
"Mhm, we are the outliers of the group"
he takes a small sip of his water
"And perhaps I also wanted to spend some of my professional time with you"
"Should I get the disguises?!"
you ask with excitement
"Uh.. I don't think that necessary, it's not secret afterall"
"I'll do my best for this investigation, I won't let justice down"
you declared with seriousness
"Very well, you will meet with me at my office to start the investigation. Do bring that charming enthusiasm of yours."
He takes your hand to plant a gentle kiss to which you respond with a nod, it was a giddy feeling to have someone admire even your subjectively 'annoying' side. Though he was allowing you to retreat for the night you couldn't help but linger, lost in hestitance as you nervously scratched your cheek.
"Is there something you need?"
his head tilts
"Can I...Kiss you?"
your head nervously reeled from your bluntness to ask him that
a bit suprised by your fowardness his face softens at your sweet requested
"Abso ahem yes, that would pleasant"
He lowers his head for your convience, shutting his eyes to prepare for your gesture. However his lips remained untouched as you opted to kiss his cheek instead. Opening an eye he looked at you with curiosity,
"Was that all?"
his tone showed some dismay
"Ah well, I didn't want to get too ahead of myself"
you laugh nervously
"I wouldn't have minded"
"Then, it's okay if I..."
Leaning in again you press a quick kiss on his lips, backing away with a reddened face
"While im not particulary picky about your expressions of affection, I do enjoy this one quite a lot"
You smiled, simply happy with your place and time in the world to be sat there sharing such a awkward yet sweet moment with The Iudex. Surely you'll get past all those invisible walls that keep you from knowing him on a much deeper level. Little by little but first there was an investigation you needed to rest for. Bidding him farewell for the night you finally retreat for rest.
When the morning came you had realized you hadn't analyzed the plan sheet properly as you didn't know what you'd both would be investigating exactly. Not only did he form teams but each one was in charge of a specific job or area. Smiling proudly you assumed you'd help him with an important role such as bossing or leading the others around, he is the leader of the Marechaussee Phantom afterall.
Marching your way to Palais Mermonia the others notice your smug confidence, this investigation has clearly gone to your head. However the gestionnaire's allowed you to have this moment with no backhanded comments. Entering his office he would stood by the clock attentive of the time,
"Am I late or something?"
you ask
"Hm? Oh no, I am waiting on Furina."
"She's coming?"
"Briefly. I am obliged to tell her of the investigation and reason for my absence today"
he explains
"Should I come back in a bit then?"
The door swings open as the enthuastic preformer of an Archon waltzes in with her grand entrance.
"Behold, I have arrived!"
she announces
respectfully you clap for her as she takes a bow, Neuvillette gets straight to the point.
"Miss Furina, do try to be on time as you know I have matters to attend."
"Yes, yes I am here now. However if I had arrived earlier I wouldn't have the pleasure of a grander audience of ah, the melusine babysitter?"
she refers to you
"The Chief of the MPS"
he corrects her
"Its a pleasure to see you Miss Furina"
you greet her
She was your nation's Archon, it had only been recently since you started treating Neuvillette causually so you still had to be very respectful with her. As for personal thoughts about her you enjoyed her knack of finding fun in many situations.
"You should come to the trials, I'd be better familiar with your face and name. What was it again, [ShName]?"
"[Name]"
you reply to her
"Ahem, Miss Furina. I have sent you a detailed letter but I doubt you had read it yet so to put it breifly, the towns pipes are being sabotaged. My absence today will be to start the the investigation"
"The pipes are being sabotaged? Find this perpetrator immediately, this is a serious offence that will call for a huge trial."
"It's that severe?"
you ask
"Duh! it's practically an attack to the nation itself to damage our city's pipe systems"
"Yes, we will get to the bottom of this"
He assures
You give her a small bow before following Neuvillette out the door. First he was to meet his investigation group by the sewers entrance. Smugly you thought this would be a light day of telling others what to do.
Arriving at the location the place was caution taped off, inside the scene stood a couple Melusines with their respective Garde. A small pink Melusine known as Kiara skipped happily toward Neuvillette.
"Hello Monsieur Neuvillette and [Name], I've reviewed with the other groups they know which section to investigate."
"Perfect, hand me a blank journal please"
he responds
The Garde next to her pulled out an investigation journal, these were important tools that detectives use in each case to write down important notes or evidence. To your surprise he then hands the book to you,
"We'll be off then"
"We will?"
You were confused. If you were not bossing around the others then why were you leaving the crime scene?
"We will be interviewing the citizens, didn't you read the paper properly?"
he reminds
"Oops"
Still, you were given such a prominent role to be in charge of writing down the core details and evidence. It meant you had to be attentive and observant to any clues hidden beneath the words of others and- why was he taking out an identical book?
"Remember, your job is to focus on details relating to Rohrette. I will write down the general ones towards the actual case."
"..."
disappointment
"But if you think there's something I may have missed then do give some input"
he tries to appease
"Very well, I will show you just how observant I can be"
you crossed your arms a bit stubbornly
It was a lot of walking around and finding people who were interested in sharing their words publicly which can be used as legal evidence. The first location was around the city's fountain,
"Yeah, so like one day I was showering and my water just poofs cuts off and i'm left with soap"
this one lady rants
Despite Neuvillette's order to try and focus on specialized details you wrote down a lot of little details. The thing is anyone could be the culprit so you had to analyze these people that were being interviewed as well. While you were not supposed to focus on finding the culprit you didn't want Rohrette to take the fall for anyone either.
"This is ridiculous, a problem like this has never happened before!"
"My walls began to flood!"
"My tenants are angry!"
"They aren't fixing them efficiently"
"It all happened when that Melusine joined!"
That last comment from a stranger earned a stern glare from Neuvillette. He was socially exhausted, these people weren't offering anything useful just complaints.
"What do you think a Melusine's motive would be?"
you ask, not to try and criminalize her but to understand their reasoning
"W- well it could be.. that she's trying to get the others fired!"
the stranger tries to defend
"Others fired... interesting theory"
That could've been complete slander but any leads and theories, good or bad were of use. To be honest, you didn't think she was responsible for this but when it comes to law one must be unbiased.
"I feel like I heard this problem began to start in the older parts of the city, where the first buildings were established"
Finally some useful input that put an expression of relief on his and your face. You walked with him towards the older buildings.
"Hm, Kinda seems normal for them to have experienced this first."
you rubbed your chin, reading through all your little scribbles and notes
"Yes the pipes are older but the crew should be tending to it frequently."
"The people sure are angry about all this"
"I apologize if investigating is quite what you thought it would be but it's very necessary"
"I don't think it's all that bad however, there's not much relation to Rohrette other than various allegations"
you sigh
"There not being sufficient evidence to incriminate her is evidence itself"
he tries to give you a different perspective
"Hm, good point. Any leads on your side?"
"None"
he huffs
Arriving at the buildings you pick a random one to knock on. An elderly lady then comes out, she's a bit startled to see the Iudex at her door.
"Is there something I can help you dears with?"
"Ah, we'd like to know if you'd be interested in a interview on the matter of the pipes incident"
he calmly asks
"Pipes? oh yes"
Neuvillette asks her basic question such as if she was inconvenienced by it, know of any suspicious traits relating to it, and just basically anything noteworthy. She mentions how the pipes in that part were fragile and prone to breaking naturally however the crew always steps in to fix it. She also notes that her neighbor was perhaps the first to have faced the sabotage since others in the newer parts also began to complain.
"Yes, he was quite distraught because it would be a pricy fix however others too began suffering from it so it didn't seem like a natural issue anymore."
"Who is your neighbor exactly"
"His name is Samael, I believe he is off work today."
"Sounds familiar"
Neuvillette pointed out
Knocking at the other building's door a middle aged older man opened it. His face is serious, but his pupils constricted. Everyone always gets a little startled at first by the presence of Neuvillette.
"We are looking for Samael"
you ask
"That would be me"
"Could we interview you in the matter of the pipes, we hear you might've been the first victim"
Neuvillette takes his journal out
"I suppose thats fine"
As Neuvillette asked him the usual questions you noticed this man had a special pair of boots, ones made specifically for walking in wet murky areas.
"What's your occupation?"
you blurted out
"[Name]? I don't see how that relates to-"
"I work for the plumbing crew, specifically manager of the security subdivision. My office is closed due to your investigation"
"Oh! No wonder your name seemed familiar. If you work for the security did you see anything suspicious caught on footage?"
"Not necessarily if I did we'd send it right away, the prick responsible for this is too cunning. They genuinely leave no trace behind"
he begins to rile up
"Are you the only one who looks at the footage?"
he flashes you an offended look
"Are you insinuating something, what are you a fencer?"
he jabs at your weapon
"Please don't mind them, i'm sure they didn't mean anything accusatory by it"
Neuvillette tries to defend you
"Well i'd hope not! I mean this is such a disgrace I work hard monitoring those pipes and some criminal is sabotaging them right under our noses"
"Yes yes, I understand this is very upsetting-"
"Do you even know how much mora this is going to cost? My job doesn't pay enough to fix this level of damage"
he begins to rant
"Do not worry about the costs, as it is a criminals fault and not natural then the government will fund all the repairs."
Neuvillette tried to calm him down
"... okay, I trust in the chief justice to have this resolved. If the security crew and I see anything we'll report it straight away."
he finally relaxes
Feeling too exhausted to continue interviewing Neuvillette is satisfied with the amount of notes collected for the day. You escort him back to Palais Mermonia,
"Do try not to speak out of bounds next time, your wording and tone offended that man"
he lightly scolds
"Sorry, I got caught up in the mystery. I'll try to be more mindful"
you didn't mean to offend the guy with the harmless question.
"I will admit that was a good catch about his occupation though."
"Told you I was observant"
you wink
"You can hold onto the journal for now, just know we are to strictly turn them in at the end of our investigation"
you nod, giving him a thumbs up
"See Ya"
"Have a good evening [Name]"