This is the most prestigious place in all of Snezhnaya.
Beyond the luxury and grandeur of the architecture, the more important reason is naturally that the most noble person in Snezhnaya—or rather, God—resides here.
The Tsaritsa, Anastasia Fedorovna Snezhnaya, whose God name is Barnabas.
Anastasia rarely closes her eyes to rest.
Most of the time, when the people living in Snezhnaya City occasionally brave the bitter cold outside to steal a glance into the distance, they see that the heart of Snezhnaya City, that castle, almost always looks the same.
Even in Snezhnaya’s darkest and coldest nights, it continuously emits a faint, hazy glow.
Like a monarch, she silently gazes down upon her subjects from her high perch.
Resolute, cold, and heartless.
Columbina had a rough idea of what the Tsaritsa was doing, but she didn’t care for those grand plans.
Nor did she like the Tsaritsa, the Doctor, or anyone else who constantly demanded power from her.
The only reason she cooperated with them was a simple exchange of interests.
Regardless, the Fatui had at least given her a place to stay; the Tsaritsa had at least taken her in.
They were different from Sandrone and the others; they were merely ‘colleagues,’ not friends.
“Lady Damselette.”
Columbina arrived gracefully before the castle.
According to protocol, seeing the Tsaritsa naturally required an announcement.
Stopped by the guards at the gate, Columbina gave a slight nod, her voice as cool and devoid of emotion as ever.
“I am here to see the Tsaritsa.”
The Fatui Soldiers on guard duty exchanged brief glances.
Soon, one guard stepped out and hurried into the depths of the castle to report her arrival.
“Please wait a moment, Lady Damselette.”
Columbina gave a soft “Mm” in response, then turned around, looking up to feel the bright moon in the sky.
After recovering her strength, Columbina could feel the falseness of that ‘moon’ even more clearly.
Columbina lowered her head somewhat dejectedly; even the decent mood she’d maintained since her rebirth dimmed a little.
Home…
Frost Moon Workshop was not it, the Fatui were not it, and that fake moon in the sky certainly wasn’t it either.
Beyond that false sky, would that true moon, the ‘frost moon,’ be her home?
At least for now, Columbina did not know the answer to that question.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Columbina’s beautiful eyes crinkled slightly.
She gracefully raised her hand, quietly feeling something in her palm.
It was a snowflake.
“It’s snowing.”
Columbina squatted down, doodling on the thick layer of white snow on the ground.
Most were meaningless patterns, reflecting her current state of mind.
She then scooped up a pile of snow with both hands and rolled it into a snowball.
In her mind, she recalled the games she played with Arlecchino and the others during the Moon Prayer Night.
If only Sandrone, Arlecchino, and the others were here too.
She had heard that the children of Snezhnaya liked to roll snow into balls, just like this, and then throw them at each other as a game.
It seemed to be called…
a Snowball fight?
She had never tried it before; the thought of it seemed interesting.
Perhaps…
At some point, the corners of Columbina’s lips curled upward.
It seemed she had thought of something amusing.
“Lady Damselette.”
The voice of the guard from earlier came from behind her.
“The Tsaritsa requests your presence.”
Columbina was forced to set aside her amusing thought.
She buried the freshly rolled snowball back into the snow, stood up, and headed into the depths of Snezhnaya Castle.
As if to express the Tsaritsa’s aloofness and ruthlessness, the path to the depths of the castle was very, very long.
The straight corridor stretched into the darkest part of the castle’s interior, flanked by divine statues that looked as if they were forged from eternal ice.
Sacred and inviolable.
Columbina rarely came here.
She didn’t like this atmosphere.
But today, she had a reason she couldn’t ignore.
“Your Majesty.”
Since she was still a Harbinger of the Fatui, Columbina gave it a brief thought and decided to use a respectful title.
Anastasia was currently reviewing documents.
Hearing Columbina’s voice, she didn’t stop her work, merely asking expressionlessly,
“What is it?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Columbina stated her purpose.
“I wanted to ask about my ‘mission.'”
The question wasn’t abrupt.
Even in her past life, Columbina remembered asking the Tsaritsa many times before.
However, the answer was always the same.
“The time has not yet come.”
Sure enough, hearing this answer, Columbina nodded silently.
Combining it with events from her past life, she had a suspicion: could this ‘mission’ be to use her power to pull down the remains of the constant moon from the sky?
Columbina just didn’t quite understand.
If it was just that, she could do it at any time; the phrase ‘the time has not yet come’ made no sense.
But Columbina didn’t intend to press the matter.
“Then…
Your Majesty, I wish to make a request.
I am applying to withdraw from the Fatui.”
Hearing this, no matter how calm Anastasia had been, her heart couldn’t help but shudder.
Her hand stopped moving as she looked up at the ethereal, moonlight-like girl before her.
Anastasia remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Reason.”
Her plan still had a place for the girl.
No matter what, at least for now, the Damselette was not allowed to leave the Fatui.
On the other side, Columbina breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed she still had utility in the Tsaritsa’s eyes.
For this deity who ‘would never love again, and likewise would never be loved again,’ Columbina chose to engage in an exchange of interests.
“I no longer wish to participate in the Doctor’s experiments.”
“Very well.”
“I want to go see other places.”
This request made Anastasia fall silent for a moment, but in the end, she nodded.
“As long as it is within the borders of Snezhnaya, you may.”
After a pause, Anastasia added,
“Including Nod Krai.”
It seems the Tsaritsa thinks I want to go back to Nod Krai to take a look?
The thought flashed through Columbina’s mind, but she didn’t dwell on it, as her goal for coming to see the Tsaritsa today had been achieved.
Columbina naturally wanted to ask the Tsaritsa for the Doctor’s data and such, but that was clearly impossible.
Getting this far, plus knowing that she was still very important in the Tsaritsa’s heart, was enough.
As for the rest, she would take it one step at a time.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Columbina said, though her tone held little actual gratitude.
“I shall take my leave then.”
“Wait.”
Anastasia stopped Columbina as she was about to leave.
“Columbina, how long has it been since you joined the Fatui?”
Upon hearing this, Columbina paused, then shook her head and answered softly.
“I don’t remember.”
This was the truth.
Life here, except for the brief moments spent with Sandrone and the others, was mostly monotonous and could hardly even be called good.
How could it leave any lasting impression?
“Sigh…” Anastasia sighed, a hint of guilt appearing in her gaze as she looked at Columbina.
“Columbina, there were indeed many things I didn’t consider carefully before…
Here, take this.”
Anastasia produced a medallion from somewhere.
“You should…
ahem, this is the cryo sigil.
Seeing it is like seeing me.
Furthermore, you have the authority to issue orders to anyone below the Seventh Seat under special circumstances.”
“Finally…
it contains a portion of my power, which you can use for self-defense in an emergency.
Take it.”
Anastasia let the medallion float over to Columbina.
After a moment of silence, Columbina accepted it.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Leaving behind that sentence devoid of any emotion, Columbina gracefully departed.
“♪♪♪～”
As Anastasia watched Columbina’s figure gradually recede, the smile on her face slowly faded.
She sat on her crystal throne, thinking for a while before summoning a guard from outside the palace.
“Go and ask Pierro to come see me.”
…