A Great family benefiting from the attention somehow? Nero's thoughts immediately went to the Dom family. Besides the original issue with them forcing Patricks sentencing, they had never done anything to Nero's family - at least overtly. Even so, he would think that they would be at the forefront of trying to get rid of Nero and his parents.
If his mom had recovered, and moreover managed to get a job in the MIA, then families such as the Dom family, who used their power and influence to persecute others would be the first to suffer. Considering their own personal history, she would likely target them first, which is why they might want to eliminate Nero's family - or at the very least get some leverage.
But when he saw the look in June's eye, Nero knew it had to be someone else.
"It's the Grant family," she told him, after dangling the bait for a bit.
Grant family? For a split second Nero tried to recall any such family that he had heard of, but then realised what June was saying. Since his mother had risen to the rise of a Mystic, technically speaking her family became a Great family.
They were still at the very bottom of the totem pole as far as Great families were concerned, but technically they fell under the umbrella of a great family. Still, considering that their start into this society of Great families was marred by them acting against the interest of other Great families, he wasn't sure how it would turn out.
"How has the Grant family benefitted from this?" Nero asked, in an amused way. It was funny to think that, as a member of the family, he had to ask others what benefits he had received.
"It's not much too complicated," June said. "The narrative is quite simple. Those who target the Grant family will suffer, and suffered people have. You do not know what kind of power it takes to get a judge arrested, or the kinds of things that have happened in the past few days. You've probably heard of Jacob Dom, right?"
Nero's expression did not shift, and he showed no signs of being agitated. His control over his desire for vengeance was like a vice grip. The more political things got, the more he knew the value of hiding his intentions.
"I have heard the name," Nero said plainly, as if he was not intimately familiar with the details of the man responsible for his brother's exile to a cursed zone.
"Well during the reinvestigation of your charges, it came to light that he may have influenced certain events to make the charges against you seem more convincing. Before he could even be judged, he voluntarily signed up for service in Broceliande forest and departed."
"He signed up to go to a cursed zone?" Nero asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"The alternative was much worse for him, trust me," June said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Anyway, we are getting side tracked. Remember, your current objective is to make a strong impression. Assuming the pattern of this trial's proceedings being leaked continues, then whatever you say is going to be read by a lot of people."
"What can I expect when I go up to the stand?" Nero asked.
"A military trial is not the same as a civilian trial. The only thing that matters here is the judges opinion. The state lawyer, who has been assigned to prosecute you, will ask you questions, and you have to answer. That's about it. You may not be able to tell what accusations those questions pertain to, or what anyone else has said.
It's basically standard practice to keep the defendant unaware of what has been said or what is going on.
"Keep in mind that the judges will be using cards to determine if you are telling a lie, and you will be under observation through various means. All I can really say is… don't say anything you don't want anyone to know in case it might have been left unsaid. But besides that, just go make your mark."
Nero pursed his lips as he thought about what to say and what not to say up on stage. He was restricted from saying a lot of things anyway by his various oaths, but the court might waive the authority requirements to mention the things restricted by the official oaths. In that case…
"Oh, right, silly me," June said, slapping her forehead. "One thing you should know is that before you are questioned, the judge will use their judicial power to speak freely on topics pertaining to the case even if you have oaths restricting it. But… the details of your last mission within the Research Facility have been sealed by a Sage, we don't know which.
It is completely impossible to question you, and therefore persecute you for anything that happened during that time."
Nero maintained a neutral expression, as if he had nothing to hide, but June made a knowing expression, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Though, Nero did not think for even a second that she had any idea that he had basically orchestrated the handover of an unranked card to a spy from an enemy state, and discovered some immense secret that he had not disclosed.
Over the past few days, Nero genuinely wondered if the secret he had discovered was somehow bigger than that of the Luminari card. He found it hard to imagine, but there was nothing he could do about it for now anyway.
Before their conversation could continue, the judge slammed his gavel, indicating the end of the fifteen minute period he had to get caught up.
"Good luck," June said, and gave Nero a thumbs up as he walked up to the stand beside the judges panel.
Nero no longer minded the pointed looks he got, and instead focused on depicting the very image of poise and discipline.
He went over all his thoughts one more time, ensuring that he knew what things to avoid mentioning, and basically deciding on how he would go about this. One thing was certain - this was not the time to be humble.
"Nero Grant, I hereby grant you authority to answer any and all questions asked by your prosecutor during the course of this examination - even if your official oaths forbid you."
The words were simple, and it was as if he was getting simple permission to speak, but he felt a fluctuation in the aether within himself. His oath had adjusted itself according to the judges words.
Nero wondered how that worked exactly - it was not like his oath came with an instruction manual concerning who could, and could not influence it.
"You may begin," the middle judge said, turning towards the prosecutor.
A rather mature man, wearing early signs of older age, walked up to Nero's stand, dressed in military uniform. His stern expression might have been an attempt to intimidate Nero, but if it was, it wasn't working. Compared to the berserkers and tentacle monsters, the man almost looked like a harmless child.
"I'm going to be asking some basic questions to get started," the lawyer told Nero, his voice cold and unfriendly despite how disarming his words were meant to be. "State your name and age."
"Nero Grant, fifteen years old," Nero responded succinctly. He was interested to see how these questions would go.
"How long have you lived in Aetherpeak?"
"All my life."
"And during this time, have you had any affiliations or encounters with any criminals, terrorists, anti-state agents or international spies?"
"Obviously," Nero answered with an expression that said he had been asked the most absurd question ever. "Jailwalkers and shoplifters aside, I have faced what I can only assume were terrorists or enemy agents on many occasions. On the day that I synchronised, the AAB was attacked. During my draftee training for fire squads, we were attacked by the group known as Clear Path.
Even when I went to Lumina, I'm pretty sure I encountered foreign forces, though I cannot be sure what their background was."
Nero had to be careful with his answers. While he could not be questioned or persecuted for things during his last mission in the research facility, open-ended questions were dangerous for an entirely separate reason. The fact that he had recognised Vanessa but never reported her put him at risk.
He was walking a tightrope, and he had to be careful of what he said - especially if the judges could tell whether he was speaking the truth or not.
He wished he knew exactly what the cards they were using had as their description. Their ability to detect the truth might not be as thorough as Nero was assuming, but he had to be prepared for the worst.
"Have you ever colluded with these forces against the interest of Kolar?" the prosecutor continued without a moment's pause.