"I must be seeing things..."
Lyney rubbed his eyes hard, even taking off his Magic Hat and pulling out glasses from it to put on.
"Did I accidentally conjure up a hallucination while doing a magic trick?"
Lynette's usually calm cat eyes were wide with shock, and her tail unconsciously straightened. She uttered two words with a blank expression: "Abnormal."
"Fa... Father, she..."
Freminet's voice came muffled from inside his diving helmet, filled with immense confusion and a hint of imperceptible panic.
"...Is she feeding cake to the Hydro Archon?"
The three little ones from the House of the Hearth were currently huddled behind a large decorative flowerbed in a highly unprofessional manner (mainly because they were too shocked to maintain their disguise), their six eyes fixed on a scene outside a nearby cake shop that was enough to shatter their worldview—
Their dignified, powerful, and absolute "Father," the Fatui Harbinger "The Knave" Arlecchino, was holding a small, exquisite silver spoon, carefully offering a piece of delicious-looking fruit cake to Furina, the Hydro Archon of Fontaine.
And Lady Furina, with an expression of "facing death bravely," "righteousness," and "this cake must be poisoned," closed her eyes tightly, trembled, opened her mouth, and ate it.
Lyney: "Father must have her own profound reasons! This must be for Snezhnaya's grand plan! Like a strategic feeding to numb the opponent with sugar!"
Lynette: "I deeply doubt the effectiveness of this strategy. The target's expression is one of suffering, suggesting a failed feeding."
Freminet: (Whispering) "But... but the cake really does look delicious..."
...On the other side, Arlecchino tilted her head slightly, pure confusion evident in her red eyes.
Why? Every time she offered the spoon, this Miss Hydro Archon would look like she was about to go to the Guillotine, yet still obediently eat it?
Was she really that scary?
This was completely different from the warm and wonderful memories of sharing cake with Clervie when she was little!
The steps weren't wrong, were they?
One, buy the most delicious cake.
Two, bring it to their mouth.
Three, the other person eats it and smiles.
Four, share with each other... Where did the problem lie? Was it because Furina didn't feed her back?
Arlecchino looked at the half-eaten cake in her hand, falling into deep philosophical thought... "Ugh! Damn it! How outrageous!"
In another corner, Chef Escofier was gnawing on her handkerchief (literally), her eyes spitting fire as she stared over.
"That hateful Fatui Harbinger! Insidious! Cunning! To actually use such a sugar-coated bullet to corrupt our pure Lady Furina!"
She was heartbroken.
"I wish I could feed Lady Furina like that too! To watch her eat the cake I personally chose, like a noble and adorable kitten!"
"Look at Lady Furina's expression, scared yet forced to submit! It must be that wicked woman used some despicable means to force her! It must be!"
Navia, standing beside her, looked helpless, sighing as she massaged her forehead: "Escofier, that's enough... You're going to chew your handkerchief to shreds. And..."
She paused, her expression also becoming a little subtle.
"Although I don't understand why, that Harbinger looks... uh, quite focused? This shouldn't be a bad thing... right?"
Oh my god, what am I saying, this scene is too bizarre!
..."Click!"
An extremely faint camera shutter sound, almost inaudible amidst the noisy street background.
Jesse, having drunk an Invisibility Potion and completely concealed his figure, triumphantly shook the Kamera in his hand, which was also magically invisible.
"Done! 'Shocking! Fatui Harbinger Feeds Hydro Archon in the Street, Heartwarming Reason Behind It (physical),' 'Live Record of the House of the Hearth's Three Little Ones' Worldview Collapse,' 'Spina di Rosula President's Incompetent Rage, Chewing Handkerchief'... Tsk tsk, I've already thought of the titles for this series of photos!"
Looking at the perfectly captured images on the Kamera—the dumbfounded three little ones behind the flowerbed, the ambiguously (?) intimate feeding and forced eating in front of the cake shop, the jealous and distorted Escofier in the corner, and the despondent Navia—
Jesse nodded in satisfaction.
"Perfectly recorded this historic (and absurd) moment! All done, time to clock out!"
With that, he silently disappeared from the spot, his Merit and fame deeply hidden, leaving behind everyone still immersed in their respective immense emotional shocks, completely unaware of the "recording" that had just taken place.
The sun was bright, and the streets of Fontaine City were still bustling, but for some, their emotions would likely take a long time to calm down.