"Wait, dad called you and asked you to handle my case?" Nero was taken aback, for entirely different reasons. Did mom know dad was on talking terms with his ex? His mother, for all her many great qualities, was an intense woman in every aspect. She was intensely loving, protective, capable, but that also made her intensely possessive and… intensely jealous.
For some reason, the moment he heard that his dad had asked June to take over, he relaxed. It was as if, on a subconscious level, he felt like everything would be alright now that his father had a handle on the situation.
"Of course. I'm usually in Lorilem. I had to travel overnight to get here in time, and let me tell you, ever since that silver moon appeared in the sky, night time has been even more dangerous than usual. The number of Apparition curses in the wilderness has increased manifold. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. The reason he asked me to take over is because I don't lose.
Ever.
"From the moment I took over, your case was as good as handled. Let alone everything that happened after."
"What happened after?" Nero asked as soon as she paused. He could tell that June liked to build suspense, and then give big revelations. For the sake of speeding things up, he humoured her as much as possible.
But June lacked the sense or urgency that filled Nero, and was insistent on taking her time. She smiled, and for a moment her eyes seemed to lose focus, as if she were lost in thought.
"Do you know what a true man is, Nero?" she asked, though this time she did not pause for impact, and just continued speaking. "A true man is someone who can gain deep, heartfelt admiration for anyone around him. Someone deeply reliable and trustworthy, so that the people around him want to help him, even if it doesn't give them anything in return.
At the same time, a true man is someone who can help others in their time of need, without making them feel as if they accepted charity, or make them feel weak for needing help.
"Your father is a true man, Nero. You have no idea the kind of influence he has. If it weren't for…"
June's eyes suddenly regained focus, and she caught herself from saying something she shouldn't. She focused on Nero, and smiled.
"The point is, Nero, that after new judges were assigned to your case, there was a reinvestigation. All evidence was reexamined, and witnesses questioned again. A lot of details that were previously missed came to light. Tell me Nero, do you know what your mother has been doing the past few months?"
"No, I haven't met her since my synchronisation," Nero answered truthfully, though he couldn't understand what she had to do with any of this.
"Personal grievances aside, I have to acknowledge that your mother is exceptionally talented and skilled. She is so skilled, in fact, that she was recruited into a special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
It's one of the rare few units where the military and civil government work together, giving its members an extremely high level of executive power, all so that they can target those within Kolar who are charged with corruption, fraud, treason, etc. Suffice to say, she's been very good at her job, which also means she's attracted a lot of scrutiny and hate from certain groups.
"Targeting your mother is not so easy, but targeting you is much easier. There is no exact proof of this, so it won't stand up in court, but it's basically an open secret at this point that you're being targeted to get back at your mother. This has caused a lot of political turmoil, and an immense level of dissatisfaction from those in the MIA.
At the same time, many Great families, who are being implicated in this case for interference, are also dissatisfied, claiming that they're being targeted unfairly.
"Although all of this started out as a fairly simple fratricide case, it has become a three way standoff between the government, the army and the great families. Combined with the fact that details of the proceedings continue to be leaked everyday, there is a very large chance that this is heading towards a mistrial.
Do you know what happens when there is a mistrial in a case with a panel of judges?"
Nero shook his head, though he was slightly distracted as he tried to understand the ramifications of what all this meant. The situation was completely out of hand… or, as June's demeanour suggested, well within her and his fathers expectations.
"One of two things will happen. Either the case is sent up to the Supreme Court, which in this case is highly unlikely. The Supreme Court even has authority to sentence Sages, and as such only receives critically important cases that can influence the entire country. Or the case will be handled according to martial tradition.
"Kolar is a country of warriors, formed by soldiers, for soldiers. Strength and service are respected above everything else. If it can't be proven that you are a traitor to the country without slightest bit of doubt, then you will adhere to the tradition of redemption through service.
Regardless of whether you are innocent or guilty, you will be sent to perform military service for your country - though all of it will, of course, be counted in your military record. If you have enough merits, you can even gain ranks during the course of your service.
"So, Nero, when you go up on the stand, your objective is not to prove that you're innocent. That will hardly matter. No, your objective is to make an impression on as many people as possible so that for your reconciliatory service, you are assigned to the best possible department."
Nero took this all in, and at the same time realised that he had been conducting an obvious and blatant oversight in many of his introspections. He had been wondering why he had been receiving so much attention by Sage Haiden, and then gaining so much political relevance thereafter. He completely forgot to consider that it might not be because of himself, but because of his parents.
"By the way, you'll be interested to know that during all of this, there is one Great family in particular that has been extremely active in controlling the narrative, and benefiting greatly from all the attention," June said, a flicker of playfulness flashing in her eyes, her serious tone finally fading back to its original, jocular state.