"Hmph... 'World Tree.' What a pretentious name," Pantalone remarked, his voice dripping with disdain. "Does he truly believe a single tree can support an entire world?"
His dismissive tone immediately drew a sharp retort from across the table. A woman with striking black-and-white hair—the Harbinger Arlecchino (The Knave)—let out a cold snort.
"Enough. How long do you intend to bicker? Our subordinates are out there, paying with their lives to secure fragments of intelligence, while you 'dignitaries' hide in the safety of Snezhnaya. Is this truly how we honor the fallen? Rosalyne's death is the priority today. Tartaglia's failures are not a topic for this moment."
Arlecchino's eyes flashed with a dangerous light. As someone who spent her life in the field, she found the bickering of the "Regrator" and the "Pulcinella" exhausting.
From a nearby chair, the small, doll-like figure of Sandrone (Marionette) spoke in a soft, mechanical drone. "Indeed... Lord Tartaglia has already paid the price of an arm. Since his mission failed, he hasn't hidden in shame; he has remained on the offensive. As for the disaster with Osial... at least he fought. What about you, Pulcinella? Do you dare set foot in Liyue to face that man yourself?"
The elderly mayor, Pulcinella (The Rooster), shifted uncomfortably, his face sallowing behind his spectacles. He remembered his last attempt to infiltrate Liyue's borders—he was nearly intercepted by the Black Shadow unit and pursued for a hundred miles.
The borders of the three nations had become an iron fortress. Any Snezhnayan traveler faced a scrutiny so intense it bordered on an interrogation. If your papers weren't perfect, you were detained; if you were suspected of Fatui ties, you vanished. For a high-profile target like the Rooster, entering Liyue was a death sentence.
[The Jester's Command]
"That is enough. This 'Winter Night's Lazzo' has gone on long enough," a voice rumbled from the darkness.
Heavy footsteps echoed as a man wearing a half-mask emerged. The bickering stopped instantly. This was the strongest among them: Pierro (The Jester), the First Fatui Harbinger.
His silver hair and the deep lines of experience on his face commanded a silence that no one dared break. He looked over the assembled Harbingers with a gaze that felt like a physical weight.
"The Tsaritsa has issued her command," Pierro stated. "Our focus must shift to the other nations. We must ensure the plan for Sumeru proceeds without further interference. Dottore... can you guarantee there will be no 'surprises' there?"
Dottore (The Doctor) chuckled, a metallic, grating sound. "I am not like the others, Jester. Rest assured, within three months, the Dendro Gnosis will be in our hands. But... what of the other three nations? How do we reclaim what was lost?"
"I am assigning six Harbingers to form an elite infiltration unit," Pierro replied coldly. "We are withdrawing our bulk forces from the borders to bolster our efforts elsewhere, but we will not abandon those three territories. We will pivot from broad conquest to surgical, high-level infiltration."
With a final nod, the empty coffin of Rosalyne-Cruzchka Lohefalter was carried into the depths of the palace. The "Damselette," Columbina, began her haunting, mournful song again. Though the casket was a hollow tribute, the ritual marked a grim transition for the Fatui.
[The Knave and the Childe]
As the Harbingers dispersed, two figures lingered, walking toward a secluded, snow-covered garden. Arlecchino stopped and turned to Tartaglia.
"I have something I need to confirm with you."
"Speak," Childe replied, leaning against a frost-covered pillar.
"Is Rosalyne... truly dead?"
Childe's brow furrowed. "What? Are you suggesting I provided false intelligence?"
Arlecchino shook her head. "No. I believe your report of the battle. But... there was no body. No witness to the actual moment of her expiration. I find the circumstances of her disappearance suspicious."
"You think Su Han showed mercy?" Childe scoffed. "Arlecchino, you've seen the tapes. That man is a monster to his enemies. He cut an arm off the Prince of the Abyss without blinking. He isn't the type to spare a Fatui Harbinger."
"Perhaps," Arlecchino mused, looking up at the aurora-filled sky. "But consider the aftermath. All of Rosalyne's subordinates in Mondstadt were wiped out or vanished. We assumed they were executed by the Knights of Favonius. But the bodies were never confirmed. And the expeditionary force on Dragonspine? Silence. I suspect they aren't dead... they've been 'reassigned.'"
"Reassigned? To where?"
"To Su Han." Arlecchino handed a folder to Childe. As he scanned the contents, his eyes widened. "Why haven't you shown this to Pierro?"
"They only believe what they see," she replied. "But consider the facts. A man who can convince the Raiden Shogun to share his bed is a man capable of anything. Even 'impossible' resurrections."
"Even so, Rosalyne's body was a wreck," Childe argued. "She lived on a Delusion. Without it, she had a month to live, at most. That's a medical fact."
"Is it?" Arlecchino's voice dropped to a whisper. "Have you heard the rumors about Lisa Minci? The genius librarian of Mondstadt? She was cursed by the power of a witch—a condition more volatile and lethal than any Delusion. She was dying. But since Su Han arrived, she is seen in public daily, healthy and vibrant. Her 'incurable' condition... was cured."
Childe took a sharp breath. The implications hit him like a physical blow. If Su Han could cure a witch's curse, he could certainly stabilize a dying Harbinger.
"You're saying... she's still alive. And she's working for him."
"Think about it," Arlecchino said. "Rosalyne spent five hundred years fueled by hatred. But what happens when a man appears who can not only solve her physical pain but also promises to destroy the very systems—the Abyss and the Heavens—that caused her grief? A woman's heart is a fickle thing when faced with a man who can actually change the world. There is a ninety-nine percent chance she surrendered."
A cold chill ran down Childe's spine. If Rosalyne was alive, she carried five centuries of Snezhnayan secrets directly into Su Han's hands.
"Su Han hates evil," Childe whispered, "but he does have one undeniable weakness... he has a soft spot for beautiful, powerful women."
100+ chapters are available now and daily updates! @patreon.com/Zefyrus