The Fatui Harbinger Pantalone suddenly recalled a sentence the Tsaritsa had personally spoken when she appointed the young man before him as the Prince of Snezhnaya:
"The Prince's will—must never be disobeyed."
At the time, the Harbingers had thought it was merely the Tsaritsa shielding the Prince.
Only later did they realize—
She was trying to keep them alive.
"Your Highness still remembers the Qingxu Pool domain we discovered in Liyue two years ago, correct?" Pantalone said cautiously.
"After prolonged investigation, we uncovered an ancient cavern within it—containing the remains of a fallen god."
"To mint Mora, gold and Cor Lapis alone are insufficient. Geo elemental power is also required. That god's corpse contained an enormous concentration of Geo energy."
Severin nodded lightly.
"That was the project you handled jointly with Il Dottore."
Two years earlier, one morning, Dottore had submitted a proposal. Severin had approved Pantalone's request for cooperation, allowing him to travel to Liyue and assist in studying what was suspected to be a subterranean god's tomb.
Dottore required massive funding and materials to manufacture Delusions. Cooperation with Pantalone was inevitable.
"While Your Highness was in Inazuma," Pantalone continued,
"we successfully opened the domain. It was confirmed to be the burial site of a Geo-element god."
The expressions of Liyue's high officials shifted instantly.
Most affected was Uncle Tian, who loved fishing. He had once worked with Yelan to investigate Fatui activity in Qingxu Pool.
In the end, they had only captured a few low-ranking agents and fully exposed Zhi Yi's duplicity—nothing more.
Uncle Tian turned to glance at the head of the Kun family, holder of the Yaoqing position.
The Kun family controlled the Millelith and the Blackcliff Armory. They, too, had sent people to investigate Qingxu Pool—without results.
The Kun family head shook his head, equally at a loss.
The Fatui had uncovered a god's corpse in Qingxu Pool, while Liyue itself knew nothing.
None of the Seven Stars felt comfortable with that fact.
Even the heads of the Eight Bureaus under the Ministry of Civil Affairs sighed in frustration.
Setting down her wine jug, Ningguang raised an eyebrow.
"We had a contract with the Fatui. Any treasure discovered in wilderness domains within Liyue must be reported to the Seven Stars. Pantalone, you violated our agreement."
"I demand joint development of the god's remains."
Pantalone sneered.
"Lady Ningguang, still as domineering as ever."
"Leaving aside whether you could even locate that domain without Fatui technology—just opening the mechanisms and seals of a god's tomb cost Snezhnaya enormous resources."
"We lost no fewer than a hundred men."
"You open your mouth and demand half. Do you take the Fatui for pushovers?"
"Pushovers?" Ningguang replied coldly.
"You flatter yourself. You're nothing but a rotten egg."
Pantalone's plan aimed to seize Liyue's minting authority, undermining the very foundation of its economy.
Had the Prince not forced him to speak tonight, the Seven Stars might never have realized how far the Fatui threat had already progressed.
If counterfeit Mora flooded the market, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Ningguang clearly remembered the words once spoken by Rex Lapis:
"All currency circulating across the land is my flesh and blood.
I use it to guarantee humanity's labor, wisdom, and future.
To betray it is to stain my blood."
If Pantalone succeeded, the Seven Stars would bear grave responsibility—losing their positions would be the least of it. Divine punishment would follow.
It was no wonder Ningguang was furious enough to want Pantalone dead.
Severin raised a hand, halting the argument.
"Enough," he said calmly.
"Pantalone, Ningguang's concern isn't the god's corpse—it's your attempt to counterfeit Mora and replace the Golden House."
"Would you like to hear my assessment?"
"Please instruct me, Your Highness."
Severin uttered two words:
"Crude."
Pantalone immediately lowered his head, scarcely daring to breathe.
A verdict from the Prince meant the plan was unqualified.
Severin took out the ancient coin Ji Fang had gifted him.
In an instant, as if by sleight of hand, it transformed into a brand-new Mora.
Then—recalling insights gained while testing strength against Zhongli in Wanwen Bookhouse's tea room—he infused it with a trace of Geo elemental power.
In appearance and aura, it was indistinguishable from genuine Mora.
Or rather—
It was genuine Mora.
"To counterfeit Mora," Severin said evenly,
"why bother with a god's corpse? With sufficient materials, I can mint it myself."
Pantalone's heart shook violently.
The difficulty in forging Mora was never the materials—it was the Geo Archon–level power required to imbue it.
Across all of Teyvat, only a handful of Geo gods were known to exist: Rex Lapis and Azhdaha.
Yet the Prince had casually displayed Geo Archon authority—
something even the Tsaritsa herself could not do.
The shock felt by the Seven Stars was no less intense.
They stared in utter disbelief.
Severin set down his chopsticks.
"Even if your plan succeeded, it wouldn't only hurt Liyue. Snezhnaya's economy would suffer as well."
"And more importantly—you crossed Morax's bottom line."
"Based on my understanding of him, he would reduce you to ashes the moment he discovered this."
"Don't assume your status as a Fatui Harbinger would protect you. Even if the Tsaritsa herself arrived, she wouldn't be able to save you."
Cold sweat poured down Pantalone's back.
He had indeed overlooked the Geo Archon's reaction.
"Pantalone," Severin continued, idly turning the ancient coin between his fingers,
"you said your goal was to help Snezhnaya obtain minting authority and control the economic lifelines of the Six Nations."
"But as I recall—when you left Liyue to join the Fatui, you had another reason, didn't you?"
Pantalone's face went deathly pale.
He rushed to explain.
"For money—for Mora! I love the act of earning it. I'm intoxicated by its circulation. Mora gives me security. Only Mora makes my existence meaningful—"
"Lie to me again," Severin said coldly,
"and you know the outcome."
An ice blade formed above Pantalone's head, radiating death.
Pantalone dropped to one knee, crying out.
"Y–Your Highness, I deserve death! I lied!"
"I don't understand!" he shouted.
"My talent in the elemental arts surpassed everyone since childhood—yet no god ever looked upon me!"
"Why could others receive Visions, while I could not?!"
"After that, I gave up on Visions and became a merchant. I believed enough Mora could grant power."
"But in the end, I realized—the true power of wealth belongs to Rex Lapis alone."
"No matter how hard we mortals struggle, we can never surpass gods!"
He struggled to raise his head, tears streaming down his face.
By Snezhnayan law, lying twice to the Prince meant death without exception.
But before dying, he wanted to speak the truth of his heart.
"I abandoned my immeasurable fortune in Liyue and joined the Fatui—
to seize the minting authority that should belong to humanity, from the hands of gods!"
"Your Highness…"
"I hate Liyue."
"I hate Rex Lapis."
"I hate this world!"
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