Inside the House of the Hearth in Snezhnaya.
Jing Chen stood protectively in front of Colombina, questioning Arlecchino.
"Arlecchino, isn't the Ninth Company already under my command?! They just barely survived the Chasm.
Are you planning to drag them into the Hydro Archon's trial?!"
Arlecchino sat at the table, calmly sipping her wine before looking up at Jing Chen.
She said to him with an air of nonchalance.
"You're a bit confused about your position, aren't you, Harbinger? Everyone must serve Her Majesty the Tsaritsa."
Colombina snorted coldly.
"Arlecchino, with enough incentive, you'd betray the Tsaritsa in a heartbeat."
"Oh?! Colombina, they say it takes three years to recover from being a fool, and I think that applies to you."
Colombina closed her eyes, smiling gently.
Jing Chen stood protectively behind Colombina.
"Arlecchino, if you have even a shred of decency, revoke the order sending the Ninth Company to Fontaine."
Arlecchino sipped her wine, gazing at Jing Chen through the glass.
"My dear Knight, what use is so-called decency to us Harbingers?
You've long opposed my House of the Hearth, as well as Dottore's experiments.
"But Her Majesty, and besides Sandrone, Colombina, and that one who lowers the level of us Harbingers…
Who doesn't look at you like you're a clown?!"
Colombina waved her hand, and countless feathers gathered around Arlecchino, instantly crushing the wine glass in her hand.
She could erase her at any moment.
"Arlecchino, shut your mouth!!
Besides me, no one in this world, not even all the gods, is allowed to speak about my Jing Chen!!"
Arlecchino elegantly picked up the fragments of the wine glass, then put on the white robe of a Harbinger.
She also closed her eyes and shook her head, standing up and strolling leisurely through the terrifying feathers.
"Ugh, I really don't understand you and Jing Chen."
"You two are such… good people?! No, good Seelie, I suppose."
"My House of the Hearth and Dottore's experiments, they're just using some worthless trash. Shouldn't their lives and deaths be nothing more than ants in the eyes of us Harbingers?"
"Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa, who loves all people, hasn't opposed us, yet you two… Isn't this a form of overstepping your bounds?!"
"Aya, go back to the Serenitea Pot and rest. I will handle Arlecchino."
"But, that woman's ability to argue is far superior to yours."
"But her strength is far inferior to mine."
Colombina nodded slightly and entered the Serenitea Pot to rest.
Jing Chen summoned Pacification.
"Arlecchino, I'm not here today to let your, wicked House of the Hearth, disappear from the history of Snezhnaya.
I'm just here to warn you, that no one from the Ninth Company will accompany you to Fontaine."
Arlecchino still had her eyes closed, still shook her head, and paced back and forth with her hands behind her back.
"The Seelie were a great race that led humanity in ancient times, but I only see in you and Colombina.
Pitiful pity, lamentable kindness, and that damned love.
The Ninth Company was originally a pawn that could be discarded at will, yet you, a Seelie who is not cursed, an Harbinger..."
"Why do you care so much about the lives of these ants?!"
Jing Chen gazed at the snowflakes drifting outside the window, even in the icy wasteland of Snezhnaya.
The people of the House of the Hearth were still training. They were orphans, controlled by Arlecchino from a young age.
The Ninth Company had been the same once. Katarina had told him that many of their comrades had died during training.
Because they didn't meet certain standards, those people were casually abandoned by Arlecchino in the cold snow.
Or they were taken by Dottore, living a life worse than death.
He wasn't a saint, but he didn't want to see these things happen again and again.
First, save the Ninth Company, then deal with Arlecchino's House of the Hearth, and finally, completely eliminate Dottore.
"They are people, Arlecchino, not your castoffs. They also yearn for an ordinary life.
They yearn for blue skies, white clouds, and the future."
"Yearn for an ordinary life?! Yearn for the future?!"
Arlecchino suddenly threw her head back and laughed uproariously.
"Your Excellency, the Knight, is still so naive and adorable. You've seen the absurd justice of Fontaine's judgments.
You've walked through the windless Sea of Ashes.
After witnessing death countless times, why do you still care so much about these ants?
Oh, right, I remember. Before meeting Colombina, Your Excellency, the Knight, confessed to other girls."
"Is this the reason for your boundless love?!"
Tsk tsk, if I had met you before Colombina and put on an elegant and friendly act for you…
Would you have confessed your feelings to me? How interesting, it really is interesting to think about."
Jing Chen's face darkened; this Arlecchino was a complete madwoman.
In a way, she was the same as Dottore.
"Arlecchino, hand the Ninth Company over to me completely."
"Oh?! And what benefits will you offer me in exchange?"
"In the future, I can save your life from Focalors and the Chief Justice."
Arlecchino laughed again. Save herself?
Heh, for the sake of witnessing Fontaine's judgment, nothing else mattered.
"Very well, Jing Chen, come here for a moment."
"Huh?"
Jing Chen warily eyed Arlecchino. Was this person about to launch a sneak attack?!
"What, you're afraid I'll attack you? The esteemed Third of the Harbingers is afraid of being ambushed by me, Arlecchino?!"
Jing Chen gave Arlecchino a cold glance, and instantly, icy crescents materialized around them.
Then, he walked forward.
"Arlecchino, what do you want?!"
Arlecchino gazed at Jing Chen with a smile, Jing Chen's crimson eyes reflecting her image.
"Your eyes are beautiful. If I could, I'd like to collect them."
"Heh. Do you have the guts?"
"Who knows? When I go crazy, I even frighten myself.
But, never mind. Colombina, that girl is terrifying."
"Give me the Ninth Company's insignia."
Arlecchino waved her hand casually.
"My dear Knight, you know how I am. I don't usually bother with pawns that have lost their usefulness.
The Ninth Company? That was just a story I fed Sandrone to mislead her.
They're still on leave at the Fatui headquarters in Snezhnaya."
Jing Chen glared fiercely at Arlecchino. This woman was really playing with fire.
And, why did she look so much like Eula? Perhaps I should ask her about it.