“Where…
is this…”
“Hiss…
my head hurts a little…”
The Winter Palace, the residence of the Fatui Harbinger of the third seat, the Damselette Columbina.
Columbina’s room was furnished very simply, or one could even say it was quite crude; aside from a bed of moderate size, there was almost nothing else.
It was impossible to tell that this was a place where a girl had lived for a long time.
Moonlight flowed into the room through the curtains by the window, falling upon the maiden, who sat by the bed and was as beautiful as the moonlight itself.
In the eyes of the bards of the various nations of Teyvat, such an image could perhaps be called quite poetic.
Some poets might even be unable to help themselves from reciting poems and playing the lute, fancying themselves peerless in their romanticism, acting like great scholars.
But at least here and now, this could hardly be called the poetry they spoke of.
Although the room was empty, it was considered tidy; that bed of moderate size was situated in the corner of this room.
At this moment, Columbina seemed to have just woken up from a “nightmare,” sitting stiffly on the bed.
One hand rubbed her furrowed brow, while the other hand propped her up on the bed, barely keeping her from falling over.
The pain coming from the center of her brow felt like it was going to crush her soul.
Columbina tried to use the Lunar Rectangular Force to alleviate that pain, but one could only say it had an effect, just not much of one.
Mostly, she still needed to use her own willpower to resist that bone-deep pain.
Slowly, at least for Columbina, a long time passed in pain.
At this time, deep in her mind, a large swath of strange memories surged in violently.
Caught off guard, Columbina groaned in pain.
But to her pleasant surprise, at least after this, the pain was also slowly fading.
she was also able to spare the energy to digest those strange memories.
“Leave…
the Fatui?”
“Silver Moon Garden…
Children of the Frost Moon…
Moon Hunter…”
“Lumine…
Arlecchino…”
“Sandrone?”
“Moon Prayer Night…
The Doctor…”
“The Doctor…
The Doctor…”
After a while, Columbina’s body, which had been trembling slightly, began to calm down, and her entire expression returned to her usual cold and detached look.
However, beneath this coldness, scenes continued to swirl in her heart, lingering for a long time.
“Just now…
didn’t I fall into the gate of the moon?”
“It seems that, just like the Moon Hunter, I was torn apart by the things behind the gate…”
“Was I not…
dead?”
“Now…
where is this?”
Columbina calmed her mind and carefully felt the surrounding environment with the Lunar Rectangular Force.
A moment later, she raised her head in surprise.
“This is…
the Winter Palace?”
“How did I return here?
Was it Sandrone and the others…”
Suddenly, Columbina’s thoughts stopped without warning, because she had just discovered that her physical state seemed a bit off.
It was not the kind of “off” that was bad.
But rather…
her current physical state was too good.
Clearly, not long ago, she had already dissipated due to a lack of power.
Columbina could feel that the concentration of Lunar Rectangular Force in her body now was very high, even higher than before she helped the Tsaritsa pull down the remains of the “Eternal Moon.”
No, this concentration…
it had even exceeded the concentration of the Lunar Rectangular Force when she was first born.
Columbina knew that her existence had never been accepted by Teyvat, and because of this, her power had been weakening; this was also an important reason why she chose to leave the Fatui.
But this situation now…
Columbina could not find a reason to explain it.
And what was strange was…
Columbina furrowed her brow, calmed her heart, and focused all her attention on exploring the place in her body where the concentration of the Lunar Rectangular Force was highest…
Power…
It was a bit different.
Not “frost moon”?
No, it was still “frost moon.”
It was a bit strange, as if something was being blocked.
Just like fog.
It couldn’t be seen clearly.
Then…
let’s go a little deeper.
However, suddenly, a strong sense of heart palpitations welled up in Columbina’s heart, and she abruptly stopped her investigation of that “fog.”
Danger!
Columbina just had a feeling that if she forcibly “ascended” that layer of fog, something bad would definitely happen.
How strange…
Columbina was full of doubts about the current situation; she couldn’t figure it out, and unfortunately, there was no one around who could answer these questions for her.
How about…
finding someone to ask?
Columbina landed lightly from the bed.
she tried to move her body and felt not the slightest blockage.
Even if she had been saved by Sandrone and the others, what was going on with her body?
Columbina shook her head in confusion.
Since she couldn’t figure it out, she stopped thinking about it.
she looked out the window and felt the moonlight.
“Is it night now?
If it is in the Winter Palace…”
“Got it, I’ll go find Sandrone.”
After simple consideration, Columbina walked familiarly towards the direction of Sandrone’s Laboratory.
Sandrone…
You must be there, right?
…
Returning from Sandrone’s Laboratory, Columbina opened the window and sat on the windowsill, “basking in the moonlight” here.
By the way, she thought about the information obtained after talking to Sandrone just now.
At least, Columbina had finally confirmed one thing now.
she had indeed “died” before.
It was just that she didn’t know why she had returned to many years ago with memories of the future.
Which was now.
Looking at the experiment Sandrone was doing just now…
It should have been six or seven years ago.
Columbina recalled the events that happened during this period.
Regrettably, she found that she didn’t seem to find any valuable clues.
It seemed that was also the case; when she was still a Harbinger, she didn’t usually care much about the affairs of the Fatui.
However…
Columbina remembered that it seemed like in two years, Rosalyne would…
Thinking of Rosalyne, Columbina furrowed her brow slightly.
After a series of events in Nod Krai, she felt that her relationship with Sandrone, Arlecchino, Rosalyne, and even Capitano and Tartaglia was more than just that of ordinary colleagues.
But rather…
“Friends.”
Although she didn’t know why she had returned, perhaps this was an opportunity?
Since her power had recovered now, and was even stronger, was there no rush to return to the “moon”?
At least before going home, she could properly say goodbye to every friend.
she still wanted to attend a tea party with Sandrone with you all.
Thinking quietly, Columbina roughly had a plan for what to do in the future…
“Lady Damselette.”
Suddenly, the movement outside the room interrupted Columbina’s thoughts.
The person who could look for her at this time…
Columbina furrowed her brow.
“What is it?”
Columbina did not get up, and even less intended to open the door.
If she guessed correctly, the person coming to find her at this time…
It was probably “The Doctor.”
Indeed, as Columbina expected, without waiting for her to open the door, the soldier outside the door spoke directly.
“Lady Damselette, I am a subordinate of Lord Doctor, ‘The Doctor’…”
This soldier did not have a chance to continue speaking, because she found that the next moment, the door opened.
Columbina was standing at the doorway, right in front of this soldier.
she didn’t say anything, but a terrifying murderous intent locked onto her, like a sharp sword hanging at her throat, scaring her so much that she didn’t dare to say another word.
“Drip.”
This was the sound of a bead-sized drop of sweat falling onto the ground.
In this place where one could hear a pin drop, this sound seemed unusually…
harsh.
Columbina furrowed her brow, used the Lunar Rectangular Force to pick up that drop of sweat, and then threw it into the distance.
Subsequently, she simply restrained that terrifying murderous intent.
Columbina did not like to use force, but “The Doctor”…
she was the exception.
It seemed that just now, when planning the things that must be done before going home, perhaps one was missing.
“Go back and tell ‘The Doctor’,” Columbina turned around and said coldly, “In the future, I will not cooperate with her in experiments again.
No interest, no point, do not come to find me again.
You go.”
Hearing this, how could this soldier of “The Doctor” dare to stay?
she repeatedly said yes, and then fled in a panic like she was escaping.
Previously, she was also the one representing “The Doctor” to come and find the “Damselette,” and the “Damselette” had never had any reaction.
But today…
The situation was not right!
Originally, staying under “The Doctor” was miserable enough…
It’s over, it’s over, if I can’t complete the task, will Lord Doctor…
This soldier did not dare to continue thinking, just quickened her pace, hoping that this way, that lord’s anger later would be less…
On this side, Columbina certainly did not know the final fate of this soldier.
Of course, she also did not care.
After sending this soldier away, Columbina paced quietly in the room by himself.
Seriously, to go against “The Doctor,” she was not confident.
After all, she was the third seat, and “The Doctor” was the second seat.
Although her strength had recovered now, she was not sure if she could defeat her.
Moreover, now this was the Winter Palace, and the Tsaritsa forbade Harbingers from fighting privately.
Here, one had to consider the Tsaritsa.
Furthermore, even if she could defeat “The Doctor,” she still had many slices, so it was best to find an opportunity to wipe out all the slices in one fell swoop.
Columbina was not good at scheming against others; she was very simple, and naturally could not think of this method.
After thinking for a long time, Columbina made a decision, stepped out of the room, and walked lightly in one direction.
That was the direction where the Tsaritsa lived.