| “ | The audience must remain forever... in the audience... Bathing in the reflected glow of the spotlight. | „ |
| ~ Valant Gramarye |
Valant Gramarye is a supporting antagonist in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. He's a member of Troupe Gramarye that was blackmailed by Magnifi Gramarye into causing an incident that would lead to Magnifi's demise. In spite of backing out from killing him, after witnessing Magnifi Gramarye shoot himself he planned to frame the suicide as a murder caused by Zak Gramarye. In spite of being mostly successful, Valant would soon regret what he did after 7 years.
Biography[]
Valant Gramarye at some point in the past joined Troupe Gramarye as Magnifi Gramarye's student. He lived a life of success as a magician alongside his fellow performers. However, when performing a rehearsal Thalassa Gramarye was accidentally shot by one of the two performers which were himself and Zak Gramarye her husband. No one knew who dealt the shot that critically injured her, and she was rendered presumed deceased after suffering a coma. Magnifi distraught over the incident would soon blackmail his son Zak and Valant his disciple over the shooting.
Valant would receive a blackmail letter from a dying Magnifi Gramarye, telling him to "shoot, one shot square in the forehead". Thinking he meant to kill Magnifi and to take his inheritance, Valant schemed to kill his mentor and to pin the crime on Zak by changing the IV Fluid to tamper with the time of death. However, when he went to the hospital bed, he couldn't bring himself to kill Magnifi and decided to leave. However, Magnifi stopped him revealing that he was testing him, and that Zak passed the test and gained his inheritance. Valant was saddened over this and when Magnifi shot himself in the forehead instead, he immediately schemed to get his fellow magician convicted for murder out of jealousy. When on the stand, Phoenix Wright would slowly tear apart his testimony and get close to figuring out the truth behind his scheme, however it would not come to pass as another attorney schemed to throw the trial and get him convicted for forging evidence. Zak in turn fled the courtroom to hide from his conviction. As a result, Valant was able to walk free after being detained under suspicion of being the culprit.
For 7 long years, Valant waited for Zak to be presumed deceased before inheriting the performance rights from Magnifi. In the meantime, Valant took on lower ended gigs for shows, including one for Lamioir in which he was involved with another murder case. Eventually, Phoenix broke him the news that Zak revealed himself to him and the notary Spark Brushel in order to pass the rights to his daughter Trucy. After Phoenix revealed Zak's "confession" of the murder to Valant, he finally realized he was foolish and selfish for all those years. Regretful over how his actions spiraled himself and his family into a depressing situation and seeing nothing left for him, Valant turned himself in to pay for his crimes.
Personality[]
Valant is an envious performer, not wanting to be in other's shadow, most notably his partner Zak Gramarye. Despite this, Valant is shown to care about his fellow performers, being distraught when Thalassa suffered an accidental shot to the head during a rehearsal. After her accident, his relationship with his peers and mentors soured, turning into a domino effect of rivalry and coercion. Valant's envy and guilt would soon drive him to want to kill his mentor and frame Zak for it. What little care he had left of his peers vanished when Magnifi shot himself, realizing he and Zak were played for fools by Magnifi and that he'd be left without an inheritance. As a result, Valant would live in spitefulness for many years, feeling justified in what he did to Zak. However, it's only when he realized how much damage he caused that Valant eventually comes to regret all his actions and realized there would be nothing left for him, seeing that he destroyed his family and has to live with his guilt along with having no hope to be as big as he once was. As a result, Valant accepts responsibility for everything he did and comes clean to Phoenix and the police, giving the tragedy the closure it deserves.
External Links[]
Valant Gramarye on the Ace Attorney Wiki
