Jean had long hoped that Noelle would learn one simple truth
a person cannot live solely for the sake of others.
Noelle's tendency to ignore her own safety for anyone who needed help was dangerous—far beyond normal devotion.
She once charged alone into Dragonspine during a blizzard to rescue an adventurer.
After searching for half a day in the freezing storm, she finally found the man half-frozen, dragged him out of the mountain, and collapsed from exhaustion.
She ran a high fever for three full days.
Because of this, Jean and the Knights created "safe chores" just for her—
Tasks that would keep her from throwing herself into peril over and over again.
So now that Noelle herself asked for leave, Jean felt not worry… but pride.
She didn't even ask when Noelle would return—only encouraged her warmly.
"Noelle, go. Do what you need to do."
"Th-then… I'll be off!"
Jean smiled as she watched the girl skip away, then returned to her paperwork.
Knights' Training Grounds
Even after Noelle disappeared, Luo Li still had no clue what she planned to do.
After casually evaluating several knights and finishing another lazy "workday," he prepared to head home.
But as he passed Windrise Plaza, he noticed numerous Fatui agents stopping townsfolk, questioning them one by one.
Strange.
This event definitely didn't exist last time.
He glanced once, lost interest immediately, and kept walking.
Meanwhile—
For the twentieth time today, Darrell and Boris received nothing but confused stares from the citizens they questioned.
"Look at this picture carefully—have you seen this man?"
"Sir… that's just a blurry back view. How am I supposed to know?!"
At first they had been angry.
Now they were simply numb.
"This is impossible to find…" Darrell sighed.
Boris rubbed his temples.
Orders were orders—even the Fatui envoys and diplomatic staff were assisting in the search.
Rumor had it even Anastasía, the Fatui consul in Mondstadt, was asking every high-ranking official she could find.
"Let's continue. If we don't find him, we're dead men."
The fear in his voice made it clear—he had experienced this kind of "punishment" before.
Darrell nodded weakly.
But just as Boris turned to question the next passerby—
He froze.
His eyes locked onto a distant figure walking leisurely across the plaza.
A back view.
A silhouette.
A presence.
His heart jumped.
He immediately compared the drawing in his hand.
"Darrell—Darrell! I think… I think I found him!"
Darrell whipped his head around.
The two stared hard at Luo Li's retreating back again and again.
The aura was unmistakable.
Even blurred, the silhouette in the sketch carried a presence no normal person could replicate.
Someone had once tried to impersonate the figure for reward money—
He was exposed instantly.
The two Fatui grunts trembled with excitement.
This was a major credit, one that could reach the eyes of the Lady herself.
They split up at once—
One to investigate the man's identity,
The other to report the discovery immediately.
Fatui Secret Base
The Lady twirled Mondstadt's Gnosis in her hand, expression blank as her subordinates praised her "victory."
Once, such success would have filled her with cold pride.
But after seeing the familiar silhouette two days ago…
Even the accomplishment of stealing a Gnosis felt hollow.
Her thoughts drifted back, unbidden, to him.
The man she loved across five hundred years.
The man she had believed dead.
She tossed the Gnosis carelessly.
Her subordinates froze, confused and terrified.
Their whispering died instantly when Boris suddenly burst in, panting and shouting:
"Executive! I've found him! I found him!"
A guard stepped forward to scold him—
But before a single word could leave his mouth—
SLAP!
The Lady sent the man flying without even looking at him.
Every remaining guard silently retracted their steps, thanking the Archons it wasn't them.
Her body leaned forward, trembling with urgency.
If the answer displeased her, Boris would not survive the next second.
He swallowed hard.
"Reporting… I've identified the man you seek.
His name is—
Luo Li."
The Lady froze.
The world stopped.
And for the first time in five hundred years—
The ice around her heart cracked.
Her anticipation dissolved into raw emotion.
Tears slipped from beneath her mask,
yet her lips curved into the most radiant smile Boris had ever seen.
"Is she… is she crying? Or happy?"
Boris had no idea whether to be afraid or relieved.
Even the other Fatui stared blankly.
Never—never—had they seen the Lady show such emotion.
She was frost and steel incarnate.
But now she looked… human.
Alive.
Breathing.
"Where is he?" she demanded, voice trembling.
Boris stiffened.
"This… we are still determining his exact location.
Please allow us just a bit more time."
For a moment, it looked like she would explode in fury.
But she didn't.
She forced herself still.
Even if she knew where he was…
How could she face him in this state?
Her fingers touched the scorched, ruined skin beneath her mask.
She could not—would not—allow him to see her like this.
Not until she found a way to heal the scars she had borne for centuries.
She would allow no imperfection in herself—not before him.
Her heart had remained frozen for half a millennium.
Yet beneath the armor of cruelty and bloodshed…
She was still the girl who once wrote love songs for him during the Windblume Festival.
Still the brave young scholar who journeyed across nations to confess her feelings.
—Rosalyn Kruczynski Lohefalter.
The woman who had chased love across the continent.
And now… that love lived again.