She had mostly calmed down from the trial, after Valia was found innocent, but reading through the confession it's like she's back in the stands, watching the prosecutor try to twist Valia's words to trick people into thinking she'd broken the law. She can just imagine him smirking as he forced Valia into signing to this — she can't read, did he even tell her what she was signing to? — feeling proud of how much Asmodean trickery and outright lies he'd somehow gotten her to agree to.

And it's full of that kind of trick. You can barely go a sentence without finding one. Through a speech which I intended to have distributed, and which was distributed, diabolist trickery meant to make it sound like she'd been the one to distribute it. Blaming Valia for the innocent people Delegate Ibarra murdered, when he was the one to kill them. I accused men falsely of being unrepentant evildoers, an outright lie, as if that devilspawn didn't try to murder Valia. All the crimes he tricked Valia into "admitting" to committing when she didn't, they checked, and the magistrate agreed. The trickery just goes on and on — surely the magistrate would have seen it for what it was, but maybe he wouldn't have—

"...There's a lot wrong with this but I don't think not reading people's minds would help."

"I am inclined to blame Strong Drink. However I am Generally Discomfited though perhaps I would not be were it my own Attacker in the Cell. That said your Goddess might Frown upon me for it but I do not feel especially Vengeful; I have heard Dead Delegates are being Raised and so I suppose in the end neither of us Permanently Died of it, and I would rather put it in the Past."

She digs out a gold piece from her person.

"On the subject of your Goddess I suppose you have just mentioned your Need of a new Holy Symbol and as Select Wain has left for Lastwall perhaps this portion of Funds I had meant to use to her Benefit can go to you; you may consider it Owed to Her. Though perhaps in the Longer Term you may be Taught to Write Letters of the sort that might Effect the Return of your Possessions. I would for instance write at first a Blandly Officious Letter saying 'the Possessions of Delegate Ferrer', here Enumerating the Possessions, 'held in Bailment, may be Delivered at your Earliest Convenience to the following Law Offices, or else Reply with Instructions for our Courier', and so on."

"Oh, they didn't get me drunk, I didn't know they did that to Valia." Victòria is not sure how she feels about that. If they get someone drunk enough that he admits to a bunch of crimes, that seems good, except they could just read his mind. If they get someone drunk and so he forgets about all the ways he's hurt people, that would probably be bad? She's still confused how it would be enough to get Valia to "confess" to all of this but maybe that was just the thing where she can't read.

"And, uh, I was just going to make myself a new one at the Temple of Shelyn, but... I mean, if you're offering me money I'm not going to turn it down? Thank you? —Uh, that reminds me, Feliu said I should ask you to teach me how to write petitions to the Queen in a way that makes it sound to her servants like I know a bunch of fancy nobles. But I'm not sure we have time for that tonight."

An archon is very suspicious about this gold piece, not that any humans present can tell the difference between whirring thoughtfully and whirring neutrally.

"It is perhaps one of the Greatest Lawyerly Secrets despite its Simplicity and Obviousness that a Well-Drafted Letter may have Great Effect. If you wish to make Useful Study of the Law then the Knack of Drafting is Assuredly Vital. My Offices are Open to you whenever I am Present, which is Frequently."

"—Oh, I'm not a lawyer, I'm Chaotic. But Feliu said that if there's a nobleman or a member of the Watch or someone like that who's going around hurting people, doing things that would be illegal for anyone else where the Watch wouldn't help, I should write a letter to the Queen about it, and that you'd know how to make it sound like something her servants wouldn't just ignore even if they were Evil or bad at their jobs."

"You must not Judge yourself Harshly on Foibles of Alignment, which is as my Colleague of Heaven says a Coarse Partitioning of the Multifarious Human Spirit. Far more important to the Lawyerly Art is Skill at Drafting which can indeed be taught; such Useful Factors as Officiousness, Narrowness, in petitioning the Queen or Nobility the Proper Sort of Deference, for while the Queen is Above, those who Write to Queens are not so Low, and the Fearful Commons will be Shown Out by their Timorous Phrasing. I will make a Lesson of it. Perhaps I shall search out Example Letters in my Files."

Nod. "When should I come back to learn how to do that?"

"I am most often to be Found Here when not at the Convention, though I have many Errands in the City and may be instead Dashing About. However I have the Wizard's Unfortunate Need for Sound Sleep and am therefore Abed at Night. But the Early Evening is quite Suitable on any Day."

"I'll probably come by tomorrow evening, then, if that works for you? Assuming nothing else comes up."

"That is Agreeable enough for Me."

"Ah, I look forward to seeing you again! Possibly. I do want to witness the proceedings of a Constitutional Convention. Sorry, a Constitutional Convention. Though I'm still negotiating that."

"It is a Great Many Spells, and not a Negligible Expense," she replies sullenly.

...She hasn't really been processing the fact that the archon is an archon. She kind of wants to spend the next hour asking it questions and kind of wants to do anything but that. For some reason.

"If you wanted to stick around that would be really helpful!" she says to the archon. "I bet you'd have all kinds of useful things to tell the Judiciary Committee."

"I appreciate it! Though I'm hardly qualified to opine on strange mortal politics. But I may have some thoughts now and then."

Invisible, inaudible grumbling.

"Well, have a good evening, both of you, and I'll see you tomorrow."

And she leaves.