Inside the grand and majestic palace, the Tsaritsa, cold as frost and snow, sat gracefully at a round table set with a chessboard.
Seated opposite her was Fatui Director Pierro.
At this moment, their game had entered its most fierce and decisive stage.
Lifting a slender finger, the Tsaritsa picked up her Queen and calmly captured his Bishop, speaking casually: “Director Pierro, I have recently heard some…
negative rumors regarding the Fatui.” Pierro’s expression did not alter, his voice calm yet firm.
“Your Majesty, to achieve that ideal, any price is worth paying.” As he spoke, he pushed another Pawn forward, turning it into cannon fodder.
However, the Tsaritsa made no move, merely saying softly, “Children should not become sacrifices.” Pierro pondered briefly before speaking slowly, “I will forbid Dottore from conducting further experiments on children.
As for the rest…
they will continue.” As his words fell, the Tsaritsa captured the Pawn he had advanced.
This was tacit approval, as well as an unavoidable compromise.
Though Dottore’s experiments were excessively cruel, Snezhnaya had no choice but to embrace this darkness in order to overthrow the Heavenly Principles.
Had there been a better choice, she would never have tolerated such acts.
It was just that…
destiny left no retreat.
She had no choice, nor did Snezhnaya.
Before long, the match came to an end in a draw.
The Tsaritsa withdrew her hand and turned to the main topic.
“Mondstadt has been ravaged by the dragon threat recently.
This presents the perfect opportunity for us to seize the Anemo Archon’s authority.” “Indeed,” Pierro agreed with a nod.
The Tsaritsa continued, “Director Pierro, who do you think would be the most suitable person to send?” “Rosalyne,” Pierro stated without hesitation, having already selected her in advance.
Though there were many Fatui Harbingers, only two or three were truly suited for this mission.
And among them, Rosalyne was the most loyal.
The Tsaritsa nodded slightly.
“Then make the arrangements for her to go.” “Understood!” Pierro answered in a deep voice, then took his leave.
A short while later, he returned to the Fatui headquarters.
Just as he sat down in his office chair, an intelligence officer hurried in, tightly clutching a newspaper.
“Lord Director,” he bowed, handing the paper to Pierro.
“This is today’s issue of *The Steambird*…
It features an article extremely disadvantageous to us.” Pierro took it with a furrowed brow and looked down at the newspaper.
The moment he read the front-page headline, his expression darkened.
“Why must it be at a time like this?” ……
Mondstadt.
The streets, recently harassed by the giant dragon, were in complete disarray.
Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Acting Grand Master Jean was directing dozens of Knights of Favonius to assist the affected citizens with repairing houses and clearing the debris.
Just then, a knight wearing a single eyepatch strode over quickly.
“Master Jean, you need to return to the Knights’ headquarters immediately,” he said in a low voice, his tone unusually serious.
Jean froze slightly upon hearing this.
“Kaeya, what happened?” “We’ll talk once we’re back,” he replied tersely.
Jean asked no further questions, immediately hurrying back to the Knights’ headquarters alongside him.
A moment later, they arrived at the front entrance of the headquarters.
Just as they were about to step inside, a tiny fiery-red figure bolted out from around the corner, nearly crashing headlong into Jean.
“Oh no!
It’s the evil Master Jean!” Klee let out a shocked cry, screeched to a halt, and instantly turned tail to run, ducking straight into the solitary confinement room and slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
Jean had no time to worry about her discipline right now and headed straight for her office.
Kaeya followed close behind.
Upon entering the room, they found the librarian, Lisa, sitting lazily on the soft sofa, seemingly having waited for a good while.
Seeing this, Jean instantly realized the gravity of the situation and turned to look at Kaeya.
Kaeya said nothing, simply handing her a copy of *The Steambird*.
Jean took it and looked down.
A clear and striking headline caught her eye: *The Truth Behind Snezhnaya’s Forced Conscription in Mondstadt: A Cruel Human Experiment*.
“Several years ago, Snezhnaya launched a conscription drive in Mondstadt, enlisting a total of two hundred local youths into its ranks.
Afterward, they claimed these soldiers had all perished in a battle against monsters.
However, this was nothing more than a carefully crafted lie.
In truth, they never set foot on a battlefield.
Instead, they were secretly transported to Snezhnaya’s underground research facilities, reduced to subjects for human experimentation…” Having read the entire article, Jean turned to Lisa first, her expression solemn.
“Is the content of this newspaper report true?” “The numbers differ significantly—it should only be a few dozen people.
But as for the rest, it is mostly accurate,” Lisa gave her answer calmly.
Jean’s brows creased tightly, feeling the matter to be exceptionally thorny.
If Grand Master Varka were still in Mondstadt, the Knights of Favonius would undoubtedly demand an explanation from Snezhnaya without hesitation, insisting on harsh punishment for all masterminds behind the conscription scheme.
However, at present, that expedition had taken away most of their elite forces, leaving the Knights’ strength severely depleted.
Furthermore, Mondstadt City still had to deal with Dvalin’s frequent harassments.
Yet if they did nothing, how could the Knights of Favonius be worthy of the Four Winds?
Composing her thoughts, she asked Kaeya beside her, “Kaeya, what do you suggest?” Kaeya seemed lost in a memory; hearing the question, he visibly faltered for a moment.
After a moment’s thought, he said seriously, “I believe we should formally demand that Snezhnaya hand over the responsible parties to Mondstadt to face trial by the Knights.
If they refuse, we should immediately sever diplomatic relations between our two nations and expel all Fatui members from our borders.” “Right now…
a stance this tough may not be suitable…” Jean’s tone carried a hint of hesitation.
“No,” Lisa’s lips curved slightly, a sharp light of wisdom flashing in her eyes.
“Quite the contrary—now is the most opportune moment.” “Why?” Jean asked, puzzled.
“Because we still have an ally—Fontaine,” Lisa smiled as she provided the answer.
The moment the words left her mouth, Jean understood her meaning.
Fontaine and Mondstadt shared a similar predicament.
If both sides exerted pressure together, Snezhnaya would face an unprecedented diplomatic crisis.
After a brief silence, she decisively took up her pen and dispatched formal diplomatic dispatches to both Fontaine and Snezhnaya.
Stepping out of the office, Lisa slowed her pace and turned her head toward Kaeya, who seemed distracted.
“Kaeya, this recent series of events…
someone must be pulling the strings behind the scenes.” “Without a doubt,” Kaeya’s eyes narrowed slightly, his tone certain.
“This intricately linked scheme clearly comes from the hand of an extraordinarily brilliant mastermind.” Lisa nodded slightly and sighed softly, “It seems another remarkable figure has emerged in the mortal realm.” “‘Another’?” Kaeya raised an eyebrow.
“Why say ‘another’?” Lisa smiled softly, her eyes gleaming.
“Because before this, there was me.”