Rosalyne returned to her quarters, completely disregarding the small interlude with Balladeer earlier.
"Lady Harbinger, we just received the latest intelligence from Mondstadt."
"Heh, did Barbatos fall?"
"Uh… this…"
"Leave it."
"Yes!"
Rosalyne poured a glass of wine and sipped it while reading the intelligence report.
As she read, Rosalyne stopped drinking and stared intently at the report.
When she saw the name of the only person who died in that great battle, the iron wine cup in her right hand was directly crushed out of shape.
"Ahhh, Barbatos, you good-for-nothing!!!"
Everything on the table was thrown out by the enraged Rosalyne; she even overturned the entire table.
"Worthless! Bastard, you good-for-nothing who can't do anything but drink!!!"
Still not appeased, Rosalyne began smashing everything in the room, the crashing sounds making the Fatui guarding outside the door look at their noses, then at their hearts, not daring to make a sound.
After venting, Rosalyne sat back down on the only chair that hadn't been smashed.
"Heh, what did I say back then? The Anemo Archon you believe in is an asshole; he can't do anything, but you wouldn't listen, you argued with me. Now look…"
"Protecting Mondstadt? Utter nonsense. It was such a foolish idea that harmed you all. It's all that drunkard's fault!"
After muttering to herself for a while, Rosalyne let out a long sigh:
"If you had listened to me back then and come to Snezhnaya with me, you wouldn't have died. Was it truly worth it, giving up everything for Mondstadt?"
Rosalyne looked up at the ceiling, a glint of crystal tears flowing from the corner of her eye.
---
Liyue.
Those close to and frequently interacting with Mu Qingge, noticed that the Kaiyang Star, who had originally gone on vacation, had become melancholic upon her return.
She began working frantically, work overtime day and night, as if she wanted to make up for the vacation time she had taken.
But the truth was clearly not like that; everyone could see that she seemed to have something on her mind.
Finally, after she had pulled two consecutive all-nighters, Ganyu proactively found her on a stone chair on Yujing Terrace:
"Qingge, what's wrong? Is something on your mind? Can you tell me?"
"Ganyu…"
Mu Qingge had very dark circles under her eyes:
"I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm just feeling very sad and can't sleep."
Ganyu sat next to Mu Qingge and gently patted her shoulder:
"Maybe if you tell me, I can help you."
"Ganyu, do you… still remember Ruola?"
Ganyu thought carefully: "Are you talking about that lively Mondstadt girl who was with you during the last Lantern Rite?"
"Mm…"
"What happened to her?"
"She died in Mondstadt's recent calamity."
"This, how could this be…"
Ganyu knew about Mondstadt's calamity; it was said to be a monster riot caused by the Abyss, which even resurrected a powerful Dvalin.
Did that little girl die in this calamity?
No wonder... no wonder Qingge has been so dejected lately.
"I… I feel very sorry. She was so young, so vibrant…"
"I said I would avenge her."
Ganyu looked at Mu Qingge hesitantly: "But the Abyss is so vast; how can you avenge her alone?"
Mu Qingge stood up:
"The Abyss has always been our enemy. I'm just adding another debt to this blood feud."
Actually, she wanted to take revenge on Malice, but she didn't need to say all of that; this was enough.
"Thank you, Ganyu. Don't worry about me; I'll rest well."
Ganyu reached out, but ultimately did not speak.
---
Liyue, prison.
"Lady Mu!"
"Where is Childe being held?"
"His identity is special; he's held in the innermost cell."
"Give me the key."
"Yes!"
Holding the key, Mu Qingge walked towards the innermost cell.
Tartaglia had been imprisoned for more than ten days. As a Fatui Harbinger, how could he obediently remain confined?
At first, he thought Liyue was just going through the motions, but he never expected them to keep him locked up for so long!
He hadn't even heard of any Snezhnaya envoys coming to demand his release.
What, was he, a dignified Harbinger, abandoned?
Tartaglia didn't want to wait any longer; if he didn't act soon, who knew how long he'd be locked up.
After a few days of observation, he finally decided to escape today!
Getting out of this door wouldn't be difficult; someone usually came to deliver meals around this time, usually three people, whom he could deal with instantly.
The difficult part was the escape route after getting out of this door; when he came in, he noticed there were many Millelith guarding outside.
What Tartaglia worried about wasn't the Millelith, but the powerful enemies that might be attracted if the Millelith were alerted.
If she was attracted, then it would be over.
Footsteps suddenly echoed in the corridor, and Tartaglia immediately perked up.
Only one?
Even better.
The key was inserted into the lock, opening the door, and Tartaglia struck instantly.
Mu Qingge never expected such a scene when she opened the door.
She immediately tilted her head to dodge, her small hand, wearing fingerless gloves, tightly gripping Tartaglia's fist.
Tartaglia: "!!!"
How could it be her?!
The moment he saw Mu Qingge, Tartaglia knew it was over. He wanted to pull his hand back, but his fist had already gone towards her face.
"What are you doing?"
"Cough, I was just practicing my punches. I've been locked up for so long, if I don't move my body, it'll rust."
Mu Qingge released Tartaglia's hand:
"You want to knock out the guards and break out?"
Tartaglia: "…"
You know and you still ask?
Unfortunately, he didn't dare to say that.
"Lady Mu, we were once friends, after all. I did do many excessive things to Liyue, but that was just serving our respective masters. Besides, as an envoy of Snezhnaya, isn't it a bit inappropriate for your country to keep me locked up like this?"
"No, it's very appropriate. Based on the crimes you committed in Liyue, you only need to be locked up for a few more centuries."
Tartaglia's face fell:
"Lady Mu, you know me; my nature isn't bad, and I only did those things because I had no choice. Look…"
Tartaglia leaned close to Mu Qingge's ear, lowering his voice: "How about you quietly let me go?"
Mu Qingge's mouth twitched. You're trying this with me?
"Impossible!"
"Oh, alright."
Tartaglia suddenly stretched, then lay back on the bed in his cell:
"Then I'll just die of old age here… It's a pity, though, that my younger siblings and older siblings will never see me again, and a certain someone who wants to fight won't find a good opponent like me anymore…"
As Tartaglia spoke, he secretly observed Mu Qingge's expression.
Mu Qingge's forehead was covered in black lines.
"Alright, alright, you can go."
"Huh?"
This time, it was Tartaglia who was surprised:
"You said to let me go?"
"Yes."
"You're just letting me go like that?"
"Are you going or not?"
"Going, of course, I'm going, but… why?"
Mu Qingge was too lazy to explain. She had come to let him go anyway. The captain had already compensated a lot for Liyue's losses, and besides, just as Tartaglia said, it wasn't appropriate to keep him locked up like this indefinitely.
She was the Kaiyang Star; she had that much authority.
After confirming three times that Mu Qingge wasn't joking, Tartaglia decisively left.
"Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal next time."
.
.
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_