Rosalyne listened, bored, to the elemental mayhem raging not far off.
Even mad, the Balladeer was nowhere near Dottore's level. Maybe because the puppet was a prized specimen, the Doctor stayed his hand from the killing blow.
Not that she cared who won. Best outcome? Both of them croak.
What mattered was what she should do next.
If she didn't know Su Xuan had his eyes on this place from offshore, she'd have already greased her heels and slipped away. But now that she did know, bolting would feel… cheap. Like she didn't trust him.
"He's watching. I should be safe… right?" she thought, eyes on the diary, waiting for the next update—waiting for direction.
She didn't wait long. After the Tsukuyomi footage, Su wrote again:
[Beidou and Kokomi just asked what I really think about Thunder Cannon.]
[Honestly? Rosalyne personally killing him isn't the optimal play.]
Rosalyne: "!"
[Since Ei scrapped the Vision Hunt and locked borders, Inazuma's finally stabilizing.]
[But Snezhnaya and Inazuma are at each other's throats.]
[Who's at fault? As ruling Archon, Ei bears the most.]
[Whatever her intent, the outcome was bad. As the highest authority, there's no dodging responsibility.]
[Second: the two Commissions that took Fatui benefits and sold out the nation.]
[And without those 'talents,' with Ei's headspace she might never have dreamed up "eternity" as border-locks and eye-seizure.]
Raiden Ei: "…"
Yae Miko hid her smirk behind elegant fingers. Got scolded, didn't you?
[As for Snezhnaya: they're the external enemy. "Responsibility" doesn't apply.]
[Inazuma's options?]
[Stomach the anger and wag fingers at morality.]
[Or sail across half the world and declare war.]
[But if it comes to blows, aside from Ei, the rest of Inazuma's forces are tofu to Snezhnaya's teeth.]
[Even with my help, Ei's not bullying the Tsaritsa's house.]
[Capitano can solo Natlan's Mavuika. Columbina likely ties deep into the Seelie.]
[And Pierro—the Khaenri'ahn court mage turned Harbinger Convenor—was rival to sage Haelotati; once he grasped world-tier power he became a seer. He won't be weak.]
Ei: "?"
Add the Tsaritsa herself… even now, no quick "flatten Snezhnaya." And one slip could cost dearly.
What about the rest of Inazuma's muscle…?
Ei's eyes slid toward Miko.
Miko's eyes narrowed. "Don't look at me. I'm a shrine maiden, not your frontline bruiser. And Su hasn't even listed Fourth, Fifth Seats, etc." She shrugged. "Outside of you, our hard power's… lacking."
Ei: "Sigh…"
[If Ei can't crush the Tsaritsa's heavy hitters fast, or if she wastes time up north…]
[…Snezhnaya's regular forces can roll Inazuma in the meantime.]
[The Tsaritsa keeps a special task force: the Azure Star Legion.]
[They've never shown themselves, but their kit isn't the same world as everyone else's.]
[War favors Snezhnaya. Ei knows; that's why she's purging Fatui ties at home, not charging north.]
[At this juncture, Thunder Cannon is the key piece.]
[Don't kill him—hand him over to Inazuma.]
[Vision Hunt and Lockdown were Fatui-abetted. Even executing the two Commissions won't vent the people's anger.]
[Add a Harbinger, and the public balm becomes real.]
[After, Rosalyne returns to Snezhnaya and wires a reparation fund to Inazuma for development, as apology for the decrees.]
[Both sides step back, thaw the freeze.]
[As for Thunder Cannon's charges, I've drafted them already.]
[Scaramouche, an Inazuman by birth, joined the Fatui out of spite for the Shogun.]
[He engineered the slaughter of the Gokaden to "avenge" her, dooming innocent smiths.]
[He bribed the two Commissions to ram through the Vision Hunt and Lockdown, then built and pushed Delusions, preying on Inazumans.]
[All of this was his personal vendetta.]
[When the Tsaritsa learned the truth, she ordered the Eighth, Lady Rosalyne, to arrest him and return him to Inazuma for judgement.]
[Close the book there.]
Eyes lit up all around.
Clever readers saw it plain: Su was making the Balladeer a lightning rod—lifting the blame off both Ei and Rosalyne.
Ei hadn't stormed Snezhnaya because she knew the decrees were done with her tacit leave; marching north would only advertise her failure as ruler.
Rosalyne… didn't push Delusions herself, but the decrees were a Fatui gambit to seize a Gnosis. As a Harbinger, who would hear her pleas?
Whatever the end, Inazuma needed a clean accounting. Pin it on the two Commissions and Scaramouche, then pay reparations—every piece clicks:
clears the Gokaden's name,
gives the people a public sentence,
and buys a truce.
"A tidy, many-birds-one-stone plan," Kokomi breathed, eyes bright on Su.
Beidou snorted. "Didn't expect the brat to be that useful. Nice one, Su."
Shenhe, cool as ever: "You strip other Harbingers' culpability because Rosalyne—and perhaps others—hold diaries."
Su nodded. Then wrote:
[As for "cultivating the heart," I've always believed the first rule is: please yourself.]
[I don't fuss over who's right.]
[Inazuma is Ei's. If she wants to swing her sword every day and cull citizens, that's her business.]
[So long as our bond is sound and she brings me value, that's enough.]
[Same with Rosalyne.]
[As for Scaramouche and the two Commissions: they can shoulder it. I've no ties to them. Their lives aren't worth a line in my book.]
[If blame must fall, let it fall for their own dirty hands.]
Heads bobbed. That was Su: blunt, simple. If you're tied to him, even your flaws are tolerable; if you're not, your virtues don't matter.
And after learning Thunder Cannon's charmed life, this approach felt… merciful. He wasn't framing them—just recounting what they'd done.
"Heh-heh…" Rosalyne finally exhaled. "He's said it. Settled."
No redemption. No "washing white."
The Balladeer's new fate was to face Inazuma's wrath and pay in blood.
"This is your destiny now, Scaramouche," she murmured. "Blame the fact that even a world that writes everyone's fate bows its head to him. No one will save you. Not even 'fate.'"
Out on the field, the thunder ceased. Dottore had, unsurprisingly, subdued the puppet and knocked him cold.
He looked up as Rosalyne strode over—and immediately stiffened.
"Heh. You've found your nerve again," he said. "From panic to that infuriating arrogance. So—you know why Scaramouche snapped."
The Balladeer's frenzy had reeked of Tatarasuna's truth. Learning it all in an instant, and then attacking him… Dottore couldn't parse the method, only the cause.
He understood one thing: the mystery behind Rosalyne had fingers in it.
"Whether I know why he snapped is irrelevant," Rosalyne said coolly. "What matters is this: even if you spared him for being your pet specimen, you're not taking him today."
"I need him for something else. Something important—for me, and for Snezhnaya."
Dottore's eyes narrowed. Layers he couldn't read. Caution held his hand.
"What do you want him for?"
"No comment. But don't delude yourself," she said. "He's not leaving with you."
Dottore ground his molars behind the beaked mask. Was she bluffing?
Scaramouche's bizarre behavior forbade carelessness. The prudent choice was the ugly one.
He stared, then dropped a cold verdict: "He stays. You carry him off."
"But Rosalyne…" he added, voice low, "Everything you did, and the 'man' behind you—I'll report all of it to Her Majesty and the other Harbingers. Face the consequences yourself."
Rosalyne nearly squealed. Report to the Tsaritsa? Please. She knows more, and earlier, than you ever will. Even if the Tsaritsa came in person, she'd hand Scaramouche to Ei with both hands.
You? Threaten me?
"Do as you like," she said, expression icing over. "If there's nothing else, kindly disappear from my sight."
Dottore: "…"
He choked on the air.
"Hmph. We'll speak again—" He turned to leave—and didn't move.
His body felt like it had been filled with lead.
"My body…?" His pupils pin-pricked. Panic slipped into his voice. "Rosalyne—what did you do!?"
Rosalyne: "…?"
She eyed the rigid Doctor, then smiled, bright and sharp. "Oh, what a pity."
"And here I thought he wasn't interested in you."
"But seeing you struggle like that… it seems he simply doesn't want you walking away so easily."
She tilted her head. "What can I say? I warned you: some existences aren't for ants to name."
"And you didn't just name him—you swore, to my face, you'd pry into his secrets. If he's displeased…"
"Even Heaven waking won't save you."
Dottore: "!?"
"Rosalyne! What is this!?" Now he was rattled. He'd game-planned a dozen outcomes—not this one: that the presence behind her outclassed Celestia.
"You're bluffing!"
Rosalyne ignored him. Her eyes were on the diary, where fresh ink bloomed:
[Hey now… I never said Dottore could leave. Rosalyne telling him to "vanish"?]
Rosalyne: "!?"
"Rosalyne—!" Dottore started—
—and caught an open palm across the mask.
"Shut up, you miserable clown!"
Dottore: "?"
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