"Lora!"
The moment Furina saw Lora standing there, she immediately ran toward her.
Arlecchino still tried to reach for Furina, but Lora was faster. She stepped directly between them, shielding Furina behind her.
Furina grabbed Lora's hand tightly.
Through that touch, Lora could feel her trembling.
She was genuinely terrified.
"I'm sorry, Furina..." Lora comforted her softly before raising her eyes toward Arlecchino. "Aren't you going to explain yourself, Miss Arlecchino? Or should I call you The Knave instead?"
The moment she heard that, Arlecchino immediately understood.
She looked at Lora carefully and quickly recognized her identity.
"So you're Miss Lora—the one Lyney mentioned in his letter." Arlecchino narrowed her eyes slightly. "You really are no ordinary person. You did this deliberately?"
"Yes," Lora admitted openly. "I did."
Arlecchino asked calmly, "And what exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
Lora looked at her in return.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? As a diplomat from Snezhnaya, you attacked Fontaine's Hydro Archon. Are you trying to start a war between Fontaine and Snezhnaya?"
"Of course not." Arlecchino shook her head.
She glanced at Furina hiding behind Lora before continuing:
"But... was the person I attacked truly the Hydro Archon?"
"You... how rude!" Furina immediately poked her head out to protest before shrinking back again.
Lora shielded the visibly frightened Furina behind her and calmly replied:
"Furina has ruled Fontaine for five hundred years. Of course she is the Hydro Archon."
"Is that so?" Arlecchino gave Furina another long look but said nothing further.
Instead, she turned back to Lora.
"My apologies for frightening your Hydro Archon. I'll formally apologize again during tomorrow's meeting. Farewell."
"You offended the Hydro Archon and think you can just walk away?"
Lora blocked Arlecchino's path.
"Even Dottore didn't leave that easily after provoking me. And you think you can simply walk off? Aren't you underestimating me a little?"
"Dottore?" Arlecchino's eyes narrowed further when she heard that name.
Why had Dottore never mentioned this woman before?
Who exactly was Lora?
Unable to determine her background, Arlecchino frowned slightly.
"Then what does Miss Lora intend to do?"
Instead of answering, Lora turned toward Furina.
"Furina, how do you want to handle this?"
That was the entire reason she had come tonight.
This time, she was standing up for Furina.
If not for the fact that Arlecchino was ultimately acting for Fontaine's sake as well, the attack earlier would never have ended with something as mild as a water arrow.
Furina peeked out from behind Lora again. She looked at Lora, then at Arlecchino.
The attack from earlier had clearly frightened her badly.
Lora gently reassured her:
"Don't be afraid. I'm backing you up."
Hearing that, Furina took a deep breath.
She stared at Arlecchino for several seconds before finally speaking:
"You... when you apologize tomorrow, you have to give Fontaine a proper gift. And all the Fatui must withdraw from Fontaine!"
Arlecchino answered calmly:
"My apologies, Lady Furina. Sending gifts is not a problem. However... the Fatui's deployment in Fontaine comes directly from Her Majesty the Tsaritsa. I do not have the authority to interfere with it."
The latter half of that statement was not entirely true.
The Tsaritsa had granted the Fatui Harbingers extremely broad authority, and Arlecchino was fully capable of ordering the Fatui in Fontaine to withdraw.
But she had no intention of doing so.
Lora understood that the Fatui were not truly Fontaine's enemy this time, so she did not press the matter further.
Furina puffed out her cheeks.
"Then your compensation had better be sincere. Fontaine won't accept anything cheap."
Arlecchino nodded slightly.
"That will not be a problem. Then... Miss Lora, may I leave now?"
Lora looked at her for a moment before finally stepping aside.
"You may. But remember to keep the Fatui under control while you're in Fontaine. Calling them public enemies here would hardly be an exaggeration."
"I understand." Arlecchino nodded. "Then I shall take my leave."
With that, she quickly departed.
Only after Arlecchino was gone did Lora turn back toward Furina.
"How are you feeling now? Still scared?"
Furina looked at Lora standing protectively in front of her and remembered how she had confronted Arlecchino without hesitation moments earlier.
She shook her head.
"I'm not scared anymore. As long as you're here, I'm not afraid."
"Good." Lora smiled and rubbed Furina's hair. "Then let's head back. I'll buy you your favorite little cakes."
"Okay!"
...
Arlecchino returned to the Fatui's base in Fontaine.
Both Lyney and Freminet were waiting there. The moment they saw her return, they immediately bowed.
"Father."
Arlecchino gave a quiet hum in acknowledgment before sitting down.
Then she looked directly at Lyney.
"Tell me everything you know about Lora."
"Yes, Father." Lyney nodded and recounted everything that had happened since meeting Lora at Fontaine Harbor.
After listening to the full story, Arlecchino's expression grew even more thoughtful.
"So she's the sister of Fontaine's acting Chief Justice..." she murmured softly. "The position of Chief Justice isn't one just anyone can casually occupy. It seems I'll have to test the waters during tomorrow's formal meeting."
After reaching that conclusion, she sent Lyney and Freminet away to rest.
...
The following day, the Court of Fontaine officially arranged a tea meeting to receive Arlecchino.
The attendees included:
Neuvillette, Chief Justice of Fontaine;
Furina, the Hydro Archon;
Chaya, Fontaine's acting Chief Justice;
and Miss Lora, an extremely enthusiastic citizen of Fontaine.
One could say the lineup was unusually extravagant.
The moment Arlecchino entered Neuvillette's office, she immediately sensed the oppressive atmosphere inside.
And that was with all three of them already deliberately holding themselves back.
"Oh? The Knave is here." Lora smiled as Arlecchino entered. "Please, have a seat."
Everyone sat down around the sofas.
Arlecchino sat alone on one side.
Furina sat by herself on the opposite side.
As for the other three, for reasons unknown, each had dragged over a chair and positioned themselves around Furina.
It looked half like they were spectating a performance… and half like they were standing guard over her.