Arlecchino looked at the rather bizarre group in front of her but said nothing at first.
She calmly took out the gift she had prepared, handed it to Furina, and formally apologized.
"My sincerest apologies, Lady Furina. I left you with unpleasant memories after last night's incident."
Furina accepted the gift before immediately asking:
"As a Fatui Harbinger, what exactly are you doing in Fontaine?"
"I assume this is related to the Harbinger imprisoned in the Fortress of Meropide some time ago... Childe?" Neuvillette asked calmly as he looked toward Arlecchino.
Arlecchino nodded.
"Yes. I came precisely because of that matter. I firmly believe our Harbinger Childe would never attack the Hydro Archon."
"Then why did you attack me yesterday?" Furina immediately shot back. "According to Fontaine law, shouldn't you be thrown in prison too?"
Lora nodded enthusiastically beside her.
"Mm-hmm. Furina's absolutely right."
"So should we sentence you too?" Furina continued. "Maybe send you to the Fortress of Meropide so you can visit Tartaglia personally?"
Lora nodded again.
"Sounds reasonable to me."
Neuvillette and Chaya exchanged a brief glance.
Neither of them had known Arlecchino attacked Furina the previous night, but judging from Lora's expression, it was obvious she was deliberately helping Furina pressure Arlecchino, so both wisely remained silent.
Arlecchino looked at Furina, then at Lora.
After a short pause, she finally said:
"My apologies. I merely wished to confirm our Harbinger was safe."
"Wouldn't personally going down there confirm that?" Furina immediately countered.
"Exactly," Lora added with a smile.
Watching the two work together to corner her, even Arlecchino found it difficult to maintain her usual composure.
Still, as a Fatui Harbinger, she preserved her flawless facade and replied politely:
"I believe we already made things quite clear yesterday. After the apology and compensation, this matter should already be settled."
Looking at Arlecchino's expression, Lora smiled toward Furina and said:
"See? The Fatui aren't actually that scary. In the face of overwhelming power, little schemes usually just backfire."
The wording was blunt, but Arlecchino could not deny the logic behind it.
The reason the Fatui caused trouble throughout the Seven Nations was ultimately because they lacked the confidence to seize the Gnoses directly by force.
Mondstadt, of course, was a special case.
After all, Mondstadt's Anemo Archon looked absurdly easy to bully.
Lora then turned back toward Arlecchino.
"Don't worry. Tartaglia helped me before, so nothing's going to happen to him."
"He helped you?" Arlecchino narrowed her eyes slightly, clearly trying to determine whether Lora was telling the truth.
But Lora merely smiled casually without the slightest shift in expression, giving Arlecchino nothing to read.
In the end, she chose to trust her.
"Understood... then I'll leave this matter in your hands, Miss Lora."
"Enough about Tartaglia." Lora changed the subject naturally. "You claim you came to Fontaine because of him, but that's not the real reason, is it? You actually came for the Gnosis."
The moment the word Gnosis was spoken, both Furina and Neuvillette immediately looked toward Arlecchino with far more serious expressions.
Chaya, meanwhile, remained completely relaxed.
A Gnosis?
She had already handed that thing over ages ago anyway.
After hearing Lora say it directly, Arlecchino's expression gradually turned serious as well.
"Yes. I also came for the Gnosis. I assume all of you have already heard that the Fatui are collecting the Gnoses from every nation."
"We've heard." Lora nodded. "I also heard Mondstadt's Anemo Archon got bullied pretty badly by the Fatui."
"Uh..." Arlecchino looked visibly confused for a moment. After thinking carefully, she finally asked:
"How exactly did you learn about that, Miss Lora?"
"The Fontaine intelligence network covers all of Teyvat. Learning something like that isn't difficult," Lora replied matter-of-factly.
At those words, both Furina and Neuvillette instinctively glanced toward Lora.
Fontaine's intelligence network covered all of Teyvat?
Since when?
Lora ignored their looks and continued speaking to Arlecchino.
"You're not getting the Gnosis right now, so stop entertaining ideas about taking it by force. Stay quietly in Fontaine and behave yourself. If I discover you doing anything that threatens Furina again, every Fatui in Fontaine will pay the price."
As she spoke, Lora made no attempt whatsoever to conceal her killing intent.
As a Harbinger, Arlecchino was extraordinarily sensitive to such things. She knew immediately that Lora was not joking, and that she genuinely had the power to follow through.
After taking a slow breath, Arlecchino finally nodded.
"I understand."
Once the meeting ended, Arlecchino took her leave.
Neuvillette and Chaya returned to handling Fontaine's governmental affairs. As the conflict within the Primordial Sea intensified, more and more problems began surfacing throughout Fontaine, and their workload steadily grew heavier.
Meanwhile, Furina followed Lora out of Neuvillette's office.
Watching Lora walking ahead of her, Furina hesitated briefly before finally calling out:
"Lora?"
"What is it?" Lora turned back and looked at the hesitant Furina.
Furina stared at her silently for several seconds before quietly asking:
"Um... a Gnosis. That's basically a god's heart, right?"
"You shouldn't have asked that question, Furina."
Lora let out a soft sigh.
Then she placed a hand gently atop Furina's head and softly said:
"Be good. Stop thinking about things like that. I'm here."
...
After leaving the Palais Mermonia, Arlecchino returned to the Fatui headquarters.
Or rather, their so-called headquarters was already entirely under Lora's surveillance.
Within the Court of Fontaine, there was practically nowhere beyond her awareness.
Unless the Fatui abandoned the city entirely and hid deep in the wilderness instead.
With Arlecchino restraining them, the Fatui remained relatively quiet for some time afterward.
Meanwhile, Lora continued closely observing Lumine and Paimon's movements.
Seeing that they had already made contact with the Spina di Rosula and successfully earned Navia's trust and cooperation, she felt extremely satisfied with how quickly events were progressing.
But whenever she remembered that this final trial had been pushed forward by her own hands this time, she could not help feeling uncertain about how she should face Furina afterward.
The final judgment would eventually arrive no matter what.
But regardless of the outcome...
she would never allow her daughter to suffer any injustice.
Beneath Fontaine's seemingly calm waters, dangerous undercurrents silently surged.
And within the Fortress of Meropide, the crack sealing away the Water from the Primordial Sea finally erupted open.