UL'DAH - Fans of schadenfreude and society-watchers rejoice; another bold-faced name falls to scandal and ruin. The so-called "Cherry Blossom Socialiste," heiress Annunu Nunu, former fixture at high society soirees and dinners across the sultanate, completed her plunge from grace Firesday as she plead guilty to unlawful participation in and financing of an unauthorized and unlicensed mercenary group.
In a sworn statement before a magistrate, Nunu confessed to utilizing her formerly vast fortune behind the group known as "Khamja," which was said to be involved in several incidents at Garlean strongholds across Eorzea that threatened to reignite the Alliance's war against the Imperial aggressors. Nunu confessed to being Khamja's chief financier and organizer, plowing no doubt vast sums into hiring sellswords, former pirates, brigands, and ne'er do wells to combat the might of the Garlean Empire in an excess of patriotism, as she claimed.
The confession capped nearly a year of increasingly erratic behavior from the heiress, once seen as Ul'dah's most eligible bachelorette for consortium owners and aspiring businessmen looking for a quick infusion of cash along with their bride. Nunu shocked high society last year by very publically taking vagabond Miqo'te storyteller Chuta Allfriend as a lover, and further defied convention by announcing their engagement several moons ago. According to information exclusively revealed to the Lantern by an anonymous source close to Nunu, Allfriend greatly contributed to Nunu's financial ruin.
"Why else would he take up with a Lalafell half his age?" our source affirmed. "When she first became besotted with him, he realized he was set for life - the gravy train had rolled in! He was never far from the dice pits and the chocobo races after that, spending her money like water." Our source noted Allfriend only proposed to lock up access to Nunu's wealth for the long term.
It was shortly after her engagement, however, that Nunu fell in with the hardened criminals and sellswords that comprised Khamja's core leadership. The Lantern has identified one Erwin, an Ala Mhigan refugee and mercenary for hire, as a key commander in the group. The mercenaries spun fantasies of victories against the Garleans for the dim-witted heiress, claiming they only needed the appropriate funds to drive the Empire out of Eorzea. As beguiled by Khamja as she had been by Allfriend, Nunu again opened her pursestrings, paying heavily to arm and train the group. She also provided strategic intelligence from snippets overheard mingling in high society circles, which informed Khamja's misguided attacks of a moon hence. The Lantern has learned that Erwin has been recently released from Flames custody after posting a sizable bail and his current whereabouts are unknown.
According to our source, Nunu's heavy involvement with Khamja - and the subsequent loss of money - was a key factor in Nunu's rumored split with Allfriend two moons ago. "The well began to run dry," our source confided. "He got angry and scared that his sweet set-up for life was gone. So he told her, 'Me or Khamja.' But I guess she saw Khamja as a 'cause' by then, a real chance at ending the war - that, or she finally clued into the fact that he was only in it for the money." Based on the Lantern's knowledge of the Cherry Blossom Socialite, we'll guess the former. The Lantern has even obtained sale records for Nunu's familial estate in East Thanalan, said to be in severe disrepair due to neglect - a sign of Nunu's increasing financial desperation.
After hearing Nunu's sworn confession and testimony, and taking her motivations and all of the facts into account, the magistrate sentenced her to two years' imprisonment and a hefty fine of 3 million gil. The magistrate deferred Nunu's sentence on the condition that she obtain a recommendation by Her Resplendence's internal security unit, headed by Knight-Captain Elyas Rosewater, who will be conducting Nunu's security review.
Despite the deferred jail time, perhaps feeling the weight of her financial and personal ruin, Nunu wept as she was led from the courtroom in chains.
In a sworn statement before a magistrate, Nunu confessed to utilizing her formerly vast fortune behind the group known as "Khamja," which was said to be involved in several incidents at Garlean strongholds across Eorzea that threatened to reignite the Alliance's war against the Imperial aggressors. Nunu confessed to being Khamja's chief financier and organizer, plowing no doubt vast sums into hiring sellswords, former pirates, brigands, and ne'er do wells to combat the might of the Garlean Empire in an excess of patriotism, as she claimed.
The confession capped nearly a year of increasingly erratic behavior from the heiress, once seen as Ul'dah's most eligible bachelorette for consortium owners and aspiring businessmen looking for a quick infusion of cash along with their bride. Nunu shocked high society last year by very publically taking vagabond Miqo'te storyteller Chuta Allfriend as a lover, and further defied convention by announcing their engagement several moons ago. According to information exclusively revealed to the Lantern by an anonymous source close to Nunu, Allfriend greatly contributed to Nunu's financial ruin.
"Why else would he take up with a Lalafell half his age?" our source affirmed. "When she first became besotted with him, he realized he was set for life - the gravy train had rolled in! He was never far from the dice pits and the chocobo races after that, spending her money like water." Our source noted Allfriend only proposed to lock up access to Nunu's wealth for the long term.
It was shortly after her engagement, however, that Nunu fell in with the hardened criminals and sellswords that comprised Khamja's core leadership. The Lantern has identified one Erwin, an Ala Mhigan refugee and mercenary for hire, as a key commander in the group. The mercenaries spun fantasies of victories against the Garleans for the dim-witted heiress, claiming they only needed the appropriate funds to drive the Empire out of Eorzea. As beguiled by Khamja as she had been by Allfriend, Nunu again opened her pursestrings, paying heavily to arm and train the group. She also provided strategic intelligence from snippets overheard mingling in high society circles, which informed Khamja's misguided attacks of a moon hence. The Lantern has learned that Erwin has been recently released from Flames custody after posting a sizable bail and his current whereabouts are unknown.
According to our source, Nunu's heavy involvement with Khamja - and the subsequent loss of money - was a key factor in Nunu's rumored split with Allfriend two moons ago. "The well began to run dry," our source confided. "He got angry and scared that his sweet set-up for life was gone. So he told her, 'Me or Khamja.' But I guess she saw Khamja as a 'cause' by then, a real chance at ending the war - that, or she finally clued into the fact that he was only in it for the money." Based on the Lantern's knowledge of the Cherry Blossom Socialite, we'll guess the former. The Lantern has even obtained sale records for Nunu's familial estate in East Thanalan, said to be in severe disrepair due to neglect - a sign of Nunu's increasing financial desperation.
After hearing Nunu's sworn confession and testimony, and taking her motivations and all of the facts into account, the magistrate sentenced her to two years' imprisonment and a hefty fine of 3 million gil. The magistrate deferred Nunu's sentence on the condition that she obtain a recommendation by Her Resplendence's internal security unit, headed by Knight-Captain Elyas Rosewater, who will be conducting Nunu's security review.
Despite the deferred jail time, perhaps feeling the weight of her financial and personal ruin, Nunu wept as she was led from the courtroom in chains.
People have forgotten this truth. But you mustn't forget it. You become responsible forever for what you have tamed.
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