The sky was gloomy, and a biting gale howled through the streets of the Winter Capital.
A thinly clad, dark-haired youth stood all alone before the grand entrance of the House of the Hearth.
The piercing chill made him shiver uncontrollably, yet his spine remained rod-straight, like a slender stalk of bamboo that refused to bend.
Before long, a tall, striking woman strode toward him.
She held herself with regal poise and commanding presence, her features as frigid as frost.
A dangerous yet alluring aura clung to her every movement.
Her elegant high heels clicked rhythmically against the icy cobblestones.
The crisp, sharp taps drew steadily closer, radiating an overwhelming pressure with every step.
Just as she was about to pass him, the youth took several sudden steps forward.
His knees buckled, and he dropped straight to the ground before her.
In his field of vision, nothing remained except those slender, pointed heels and the sharp tips of her feet encased in black tights.
*My wife.* “Lady Knave, I want to support you in your old age!” he shouted, bowing his head in earnest sincerity.
Arlecchino halted.
She cast her gaze downward, staring at him in utter silence.
Only after a long moment did she speak in an indifferent tone: “The House of the Hearth will not accept you.” With those words spoken, the youth clenched his freezing, stiff fingers.
He parted his lips slightly, but said nothing more, remaining on his knees in the snow.
Arlecchino paid him no further mind, turning away to walk into the House of the Hearth.
Even after her figure vanished behind the gates, the youth still did not rise from the ground.
At some point, pure white snowflakes began drifting from the sky, fluttering down and gradually coating his shoulders and the tips of his hair.
His consciousness slowly blurred…
Just then, a proud, cold female voice rang out from in front of him: “What an utter fool!
Come with me!” The youth struggled to lift his head.
What met his eyes was a mature woman wearing a half-mask.
Her long golden hair shone through the swirling blizzard like a soft beam of warm sunlight.
*My wife.* Yet the youth still did not stand up.
“Are you truly stupid?” The woman’s brows knitted slightly.
“The House of the Hearth will never take you in!” “Lady Rosalyne, I’m not stupid.” A helpless smile surfaced on the youth’s frostbitten, pale face.
“It’s just that…
my legs have gone numb.” * * * “Hey, Ye Xun, did you know?
Three years ago, some idiot actually knelt in front of the House of the Hearth, begging to join.” On the streets of the Winter Capital, a young Fatui patrolman named Karski walked alongside his colleague, gleefully recounting the old story.
Ye Xun remained impassive, asking in return, “Is there something wrong with the House of the Hearth?” “Hey!
Don’t play dumb with me!” Karski slowed his pace and eyed him in astonishment.
“Are you really telling me you don’t know what happens to the children who get eliminated?” “Of course I know.” The corner of Ye Xun’s mouth curled slightly.
“But badmouthing the House of the Hearth like this…
aren’t you afraid that Harbinger might invite you over for ‘tea’?” A violent shiver ran down Karski’s spine.
He clamped his mouth shut instantly, not daring to utter another syllable.
The two continued forward on their routine patrol.
It was early summer, and the Winter Honeysuckle Trees flanking the street were lush and green, lending a rare touch of vitality to this perpetually solemn city.
Just as they were about to pass a medical research laboratory, a commotion suddenly erupted ahead, mingled with weeping and the sounds of a violent struggle.
“Father…
please don’t send me in there…
Waaaah!” A scruffy, middle-aged man was forcefully dragging a young girl of about ten years old toward a sinister-looking Fatui operative.
The girl struggled frantically, crying and screaming, yet she could not break free from those rough, callous hands.
“Ye Xun, let’s go!” Karski whispered, turning on his heel to leave.
Ye Xun, however, stood rooted in place, unmoving.
“That laboratory is a human enhancement research site run by The Doctor.” A knot tightened in Karski’s chest, and he quickly urged, “People who can’t pay back their loans to the Northland Bank sell their children there for paid experiments.” Ye Xun fell silent for a moment before speaking calmly: “Karski, you head back first.” “Why?
Are you out of your mind?” Karski couldn’t help raising his voice, his eyes filled with anxiety.
He genuinely did not want to see his usually gentle colleague throw his life away over a child he didn’t even know.
“I haven’t lost my mind.
I just don’t like what I’m seeing.” Ye Xun smiled calmly and took steady strides toward the sound of the weeping.
By now, the young girl had already been handed over to the Fatui operative by her father.
Her sallow little face, etched with chronic malnutrition, was fraught with despair and grief.
She had already survived one experiment; she knew the agony of that living hell all too well.
What terrified her even more was that of all the children who had entered the trial with her, she was the only one who had walked out alive.
She truly did not want to die!
But…
who could possibly save her?
Just as she was on the verge of losing all hope, a gentle voice rang out, cutting through the suffocating darkness like a sharp blade: “Someone reported illegal child trafficking taking place here.” The moment the words fell, the area dropped into dead silence.
All three people turned their eyes toward Ye Xun as he leisurely strolled over.
“Officer,” the middle-aged man said, adopting a fawning tone upon seeing the Fatui uniform, “she’s my biological daughter.
This isn’t trafficking.” “Did I ask you?” Ye Xun gave him an indifferent glance, then crouched down in front of the little girl.
His voice was as gentle as a spring breeze.
“Tell me, is this man your father?” Without a single beat of hesitation, the girl blurted out, “No!” “You little bastard, how dare you lie!” Furious, the man raised his foot to kick the girl.
Before his leg could even rise halfway, Ye Xun shot to his feet.
A brutal, iron-hard elbow strike slammed straight into the man’s chest.
In the next instant, the man was launched into the air, tracing an arc across the sky before crashing heavily onto the ground.
Ye Xun lowered his elbow and turned to the Fatui operative.
“See that, brother?
He really was a human trafficker after all.” As he spoke, he casually let the Delusion hanging at his waist catch the light.
Not every Fatui operative was granted a Delusion; only high-ranking members or those with powerful backing possessed one.
The operative’s expression shifted slightly.
After a brief hesitation, he released his grip on the girl.
Ye Xun took the little girl’s hand and moved swiftly away, eager to leave this troublesome spot behind.
Yet just as they were about to walk out of reach, the Fatui operative suddenly spoke, his voice low and vigilant: “Wait a moment!”