Meanwhile—
While Rowan was dealing with Dvalin, something big erupted in Mondstadt.
One of Mondstadt's three great houses—the Lawrence clan—found itself surrounded by troops led by Eula.
After briefly straightening out Knights of Favonius affairs, she took her personal reconnaissance squad and returned to the Lawrence estate.
Facing the manor that sprawled over a thousand acres, a flicker of memory crossed Eula's eyes.
She'd been born here over a decade ago.
Here she learned noble etiquette, dance, a knight's discipline—day after day, year after year.
Until a few years back, when she inherited the Glacial Seal and gained recognition from the clan's sacred arm, Song of Broken Pines.
Everyone in House Lawrence assumed Eula would be the next clan head.
But her ambitious uncle, Schubert, stripped her of that right on the grounds that she was still too young.
Leaning on his status as her uncle, he took the position of acting patriarch and handled all clan affairs.
Back then, because she was young and ignorant, she let Schubert pull the strings.
If she hadn't cut ties with House Lawrence and joined the Knights of Favonius, once and for all—
She might never have become the independent Spindrift Knight she was today: Eula Lawrence.
Now, a new king had ascended.
The Knight-King pardoned the Lawrence family's past crimes and allowed them to join the Knights of Favonius.
If the Lawrences still didn't know the height of the sky and depth of the earth—if they clung to old-noble arrogance and dreamed of reviving that bygone glory—
Then she wouldn't hesitate to bring her greatsword down hard as the Knights' new vice grand master.
Any who refuse to submit to Mondstadt will be judged for treason.
No mercy.
Her liege had already issued the final ultimatum. Compared to all of Mondstadt, the rise and fall of one family meant nothing.
No one understood that better than Eula.
The king had given House Lawrence a chance. If they didn't take it, the only path left was death.
Rather than letting the Knights of Favonius clash with the Lawrences later—
She'd rather bear the infamy alone and end this white-eyed wolf that could never be raised tame.
That was why she'd come back.
"Captain, the Lawrence compound is sealed," a Knight reported, stepping up. "Not even a fly is getting out. Are you really going to do this?"
As a member of Eula's recon squad, she knew exactly what kind of person her captain was.
The king had given an order; Eula would carry it out.
And if the Lawrences refused to submit, with Eula's temperament, the manor would run red. The Spindrift Knight rarely left herself a retreat.
So the trooper didn't want Eula shouldering this alone. Better that the Knights share the heat.
Eula's reputation had only just begun to recover after the king's decree made her merits public.
If word spread now that she'd slaughtered the Lawrence clan—even with their blackened name—she could imagine perfectly how foul the stench on her own name would become.
Eula tightened her grip on Song of Broken Pines and sighed.
"I want a peaceful resolution."
"But if they refuse, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"I am the vice grand master of the Knights of Favonius—the Spindrift Knight. I protect Mondstadt, not House Lawrence."
She raised her right hand. A sigil of frost floated in her palm.
The very Glacial Seal Schubert had dreamed of possessing.
Only one who awakened the Glacial Seal could lead House Lawrence.
"What I lost, I'll take back with my own hands."
"Uncle Schubert—are you ready?"
Her fist snapped shut; the sigil burst like ice dust. She sheathed her greatsword and strode into the Lawrence grounds.
Moments later—
Eula reached a familiar spot: a small courtyard.
It had been her childhood home.
Time had not been kind; the yard lay in disrepair. Eula's gaze softened with a sigh.
A grating voice cut through her reverie.
"Well, if it isn't the Lawrence traitor—Eula."
"What's wrong? Couldn't hack it outside, so you've crawled back?"
Eula looked up. A young Lawrence.
She knew him—cut from the same cloth as Schubert. One of those fools who believed the Lawrence name supreme and dreamed of restoring its "glory."
A childhood playmate, once.
After she joined the Knights, he never spoke to her again.
Eula gave him a cool glance and moved on, leaving the past where it belonged, heading for the largest building in the distance.
Her destination: the clan council hall—the patriarch's seat.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
"You traitor—who let you—"
He lunged, fury spiking at being ignored.
Shing.
"Aaaaagh!"
But Eula hadn't come to play house.
Without so much as a look, Song of Broken Pines flashed into her hand and swept once.
His arm hit the ground. He crumpled, clutching the stump as blood sprayed.
The decisiveness of it sent the onlookers—who'd been ready to jeer with him—scrambling back into their houses, souls half-scared out of them.
No one answered his cries. No one cared whether he lived or died.
Eula saw it all, and her heart grew heavier.
So many years had passed, and House Lawrence had rotted to this—indifferent even to their own.
The king was right. Leave them be, and even if Mondstadt never raised a hand, House Lawrence would destroy itself.
Boom!
"Eula—you go too far!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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