The second act of the story had concluded.
This ti, the people of Mondstadt weren't as quick to act as they were after the first act.
The reason was simple—the first act had warned them that Dvalin would attack Mondstadt, so they had to take precautions to prevent losses.
But the second act contained no urgent events. The entire segnt felt more like a transition, so there was no need for panic.
If anything, the only notable incident was the Fatui's theft of the Holy Lyre der Himl.
What? You say the Traveler was involved too? Don't be ridiculous—the Anemo Archon permitted it.
Even if it was theft, it was "authorized theft."
That said, the Knights of Favonius wouldn't need to intervene in the Fatui's theft of the lyre—because it likely wouldn't happen at all.
In the original story, the Fatui could stubbornly deny their involvent since the Traveler took the bla.
But now that their future theft had been exposed, if the Holy Lyre went missing, they'd be blad regardless of whether they did it.
At this point, the Fatui wanted the lyre to remain safe even more than the Knights did.
anwhile, Venti, the central figure of the second act, was still lounging in the tavern.
He no longer had any intention of using the Holy Lyre to summon Dvalin.
After all, his original plan was just to gauge how closely the Abyss was monitoring Dvalin.
Now that the book had already given him the answer, there was no need to proceed.
"Let's just gather a team and head straight to Stormterror's Lair. It's ti to settle this."
Besides, it was irritating to have this author constantly predicting the future.
I wonder how he'll react if I resolve everything before he publishes the next act.
The author himself, Lucian—the one who could foresee the future—had just finished the party.
Lying on the floor like a dead fish, he was completely drunk.
Since the party had been a last-minute decision, Lucian hadn't booked a venue, so it ended up being held at his place.
Now, his ho was in complete disarray. The reason he was sprawled on the floor was because Navia had claid his bed.
"I told you to drink less," Charlotte sighed as she carried Lucian to the sofa and tucked him in with a blanket.
"Clorinde, how's Navia doing?" Charlotte asked.
Lucian and Navia had been the most enthusiastic drinkers at the party. Charlotte couldn't afford a hangover since she had to travel early the next morning.
Clorinde, due to work obligations, rarely drank at all.
Chiori had so alcohol too, but she paced herself and wasn't too drunk.
"Navia's already asleep," Clorinde said as she stepped out of the room.
"Everything's settled. Let's clean up and head out," Chiori said quietly, putting away the asuring tape in her hand.
She had been helping in the room earlier, taking Navia's asurents while removing her outerwear.
Charlotte nodded. She definitely wasn't staying overnight—she had an early trip tomorrow.
"You two go ahead," Clorinde said, not planning to leave.
Since both Navia and Lucian were heavily intoxicated, she decided to stay behind to keep an eye on them, just in case.
Chiori and Charlotte didn't press further, assuming the three were just close.
After cleaning up, Chiori and Charlotte left first.
While Lucian and the others were enjoying themselves, Marcel (Vacher) was growing increasingly uneasy.
Though Navia's investigation into the Serial Disappearances of Young Girls case still hadn't made any progress,
the fact that her social circle was expanding was not sothing Marcel wanted to see.
"She's becoming more and more of a nuisance!" Marcel gritted his teeth.
If not for his fear of the evidence in Callas' possession being exposed, he would've already disposed of that ungrateful woman, Navia.
"Damn Callas! Damn Navia!"
"No, Callas is already dead. Navia… why don't you join your father?"
Marcel seethed with hatred. He didn't know how much evidence Callas had gathered,
nor who he had entrusted it to.
But he knew that even if the evidence wasn't enough to convict him, it would still make him a suspect.
His identity was fabricated. Once suspicion fell on him, it would only be a matter of ti before he was exposed.
Even if he wasn't convicted as the mastermind behind the serial disappearances, he'd still be exiled from Fontaine.
But his experints could only be conducted in Fontaine—he couldn't afford to be banished!
"Should I keep her around?" Marcel hesitated.
He glanced at the schedule in his hand—Navia's schedule.
As her "uncle," Navia didn't guard her plans from him, so her itinerary was no secret to Marcel.
Tomorrow, Navia was going fishing by the seaside with her new friend, Lucian. This would be their third outing.
It seed Navia had genuinely taken a liking to fishing.
"Maybe I should arrange an 'accident' tomorrow?" Marcel pondered.
His factory was located deep underwater, but he wasn't worried about them stumbling upon it.
After all, Fontaine's seas were vast, and his facility was hidden in the depths. Without knowing its exact location, finding it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Three trips wouldn't be enough—not even thirty, or three hundred.
Besides, Navia hadn't even uncovered the issues with "Lumidouce Bell" yet,
let alone discovered that he was its distributor. There was no reason for her to go looking for so hypothetical underwater factory.
As long as no one realized that Fontainians could dissolve into water, his cris would remain hidden forever.
"Hah, you self-righteous Fontainians. If only you'd believed sooner…"
If they had, the Serial Disappearances of Young Girls might not have remained an unsolved cold case for so long.
Or perhaps, if they had trusted him, there might not have been a case at all?
No—the case would've happened regardless. Even if they had believed him, he still would've conducted his experints.
Marcel—or rather, Vacher—was a selfish man. He would harm others to fulfill his own desires.
So even if the people of Fontaine had believed him back then, he would've proceeded with his experints for his own sake.
As long as his own emotions were satisfied, nothing else mattered.
"Navia… it seems your uncle will have to bid you farewell."
Marcel had made up his mind, Navia had to be eliminated.
Even though she had no leads, no knowledge that Fontainians could dissolve into water—
Marcel couldn't shake an overwhelming sense of dread, as if sothing was closing in on him.
After much deliberation, he concluded that the source of this unease was Navia herself.
She was the one who refused to let go of the serial disappearances case.
Marcel hadn't felt this way before, but lately, he sensed a change in Navia.
On the surface, she seed the sa as always,
but he could tell that after eting that Lucian fellow, sothing about her had shifted.
Had she beco… happier? More willing to enjoy her personal ti?
That wasn't a good sign. Soone burdened by deep-seated hatred wouldn't suddenly grow cheerful.
Marcel didn't believe Navia had simply fallen in love. She wasn't the type to abandon her father's unresolved grievances.
Unless… she had found hope?
Marcel was convinced this was the root of his unease.
"Lucian, huh? I don't know who you really are, but you shouldn't have stepped into these troubled waters."
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice: Lucian – About Alcohol Tolerance
"I think my alcohol tolerance is pretty good. Every ti I get drunk, Zhongli makes sobering tea, but I always wake up before he finishes brewing it. Doesn't that an I sober up fast?"
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