T/N: Changing Ludi Harpastum Festival to Windblume Festival.
The Fatui had withdrawn.
Although it was just a few diplomats, it was enough to give the Knights of Favonius some relief.
Compared to the envoys, these diplomats were much harder to deal with.
Not only were they rude, but they were also aggressive in many aspects. They were extremely picky about food, clothing, and accommodations, even driving some knights to the point of wanting to roll up their sleeves and throw punches.
If it weren't for Acting Grand Master Jean stepping in to calm the knights, a diplomatic incident might have occurred.
In short, there weren't many in the Knights of Favonius who had any fondness for these so-called diplomats.
Kaeya was in charge of escorting them.
Originally, he hadn't wanted to take on this task, as he felt it was more important to stay in Mondstadt and keep an eye on the Instructor.
But the identities of these diplomats were significant. Not only him, but even Acting Grand Master Jean had personally intervened, so he had no choice but to set aside his surveillance of the Instructor and focus on completing the escort mission.
"Form up and prepare!"
After giving Amber some instructions, Jean began directing the Knights of Favonius to get ready for departure.
As for Kaeya, who appeared to be daydreaming but was actually eavesdropping on the diplomats, Jean shooed him to the front of the procession.
As the Cavalry Captain, he had to lead the way.
Meanwhile, Acting Grand Master Jean would guard the side of the carriage to prevent anyone from plotting against the diplomats.
Their mission was to escort these diplomats to the border of Mondstadt, where the Fatui would take over.
As long as nothing happened to the diplomats within Mondstadt's borders, everything would be fine.
The gathering of the cavalry squad also drew the attention of Mondstadt's citizens.
They stood at a distance, whispering among themselves about the squad.
Although they didn't know the specifics of the Knights' mission, the Fatui emblem on the carriage made it clear that it was related to those pests.
Such a lively scene was rare in Inazuma.
The only time something similar had happened was when Arataki Itto had been arrested.
"Honestly... it's a shame to ruin such a beautiful scene."
Standing atop one of Mondstadt's windmills, Bai Luo looked down at the crowd below and couldn't help but sigh.
Mondstadt had many such windmills. Blessed by the Anemo Archon, these windmills provided a constant source of power, offering various conveniences to the city.
Now, they served as Bai Luo's viewing platform to enjoy the scenery.
He had come to Mondstadt with a mission.
But it wasn't Klober's task of recruiting experimental subjects.
Three years ago, Il Dottore had used a substance extracted from Mist Grass to invent a mechanical bird.
This mechanical bird could incite monsters to rampage. Il Dottore had Klober place the bird on the carriage of Crepus Ragnvindr's party, causing the dragon Ursa to attack them.
To protect his son Diluc, Crepus had used the power of a Delusion at the cost of his life, driving away the dragon.
But he himself suffered the backlash and died in front of Diluc.
It was at this time that Diluc and the Knights of Favonius had a falling out. Diluc resigned from the Knights and began his journey across the seven nations.
Afterward, due to these mechanical birds, the dragon Ursa frequently harassed Mondstadt, causing great suffering to its citizens. At this critical moment, Il Dottore and the Fatui had appeared.
Il Dottore easily subdued the dragon Ursa, putting Mondstadt in his debt.
What followed was forced conscription.
Many promising young men and women were taken to Snezhnaya under the guise of conscription, subjected to human experimentation to create a more powerful army.
But as time passed, the Fatui's influence in Mondstadt had gradually waned, hindering the progress of conscription.
Bai Luo's mission was to reignite an incident similar to the dragon Ursa's attack during the Windblume Festival, replaying the events of three years ago to deepen the Fatui's influence in Mondstadt.
This so-called withdrawal was merely an attempt to take back the Fatui's research on the mechanical birds to avoid leaving any evidence.
"Hmm?"
As the Knights of Favonius gathered, a figure in the distance caught Bai Luo's attention.
It was a foreign girl, her body wrapped in bandages, her expression gloomy. From her exhausted gaze, it seemed she had been traveling for a long time.
She staggered onto the city's bridge, scattering the pigeons gathered there.
A boy feeding the pigeons nearby wanted to complain, but seeing her condition, he chose to remain silent.
Noticing his evasive gaze, the girl's face twisted into a mocking smile.
"Collei..."
Bai Luo recognized this girl, though she didn't know of his existence.
Back when he was working under Il Dottore...
This girl had contracted a plague and was on the verge of death. Perhaps out of some twisted amusement, one of Il Dottore's subordinates, a missionary, injected her with the remnants of a demon god and then abandoned her.
At the time, Bai Luo, just an ordinary Fatui member, took pity on her and secretly cared for her while she was unconscious, hiding it from the missionary.
But during that time, due to his excellent performance, he was transferred to the Debt Collectors' unit and forced to leave.
Unfortunately, by the time he left, the girl still hadn't woken up.
Bai Luo had thought she had died from the torment of the demon god's remnants, but it seemed her will to live was stronger than he had imagined.
Honestly... back then, he had meant well, but perhaps living in such torment was worse than death for her?
Staggering, Collei was stopped by the Knights of Favonius at the city gates.
First, the city was currently preparing to escort the Fatui diplomats.
Second, her bandaged body and strange odor made her look like someone suffering from a severe illness.
Allowing such a person into the city would likely cause a disturbance.
Especially now, on the eve of the Windblume Festival, if tourists were to contract some strange disease because of her, it would be a disaster for Mondstadt.
It was at this moment that the convoy escorting the Fatui diplomats left Mondstadt.
Seeing the slowly departing carriage, Collei instinctively moved to make way.
But when she noticed the Fatui emblem on the carriage, her expression changed.
Her pale purple eyes turned a deep red.
Black flames coalesced into the form of a giant serpent, instantly engulfing the entire carriage.
"F-fire?!"
The two pampered Fatui diplomats had never experienced anything like this.
When they tried to grab the research materials and escape the carriage, they found the door locked (or welded) shut, impossible to open.
Thus, both of them, along with the carriage full of research materials, were reduced to ashes by the strange black flames, leaving behind nothing of value.
Meanwhile, Collei took advantage of the chaos to slip into Mondstadt.
"Finally... I'm in..."
Seeing that familiar emblem, she couldn't resist using that power in public.
But its side effects were also affecting her.
Stumbling into an empty alley, Collei clutched her head, forcing herself to ignore the whispers in her mind.
She knew that if she gave in to those whispers, she wouldn't be able to take revenge on that missionary. Instead, she might lose herself completely, becoming a mindless killing machine.
Suddenly, the tormenting whispers vanished, and the surroundings fell silent.
At first, Collei didn't understand what had happened, until... she saw the dark figure standing at the entrance of the alley.