The Bouffes d'Été mansion located in the Vasari Corridor is a beautiful building.
Its walls are spotless, and its doors and windows gleam.
Every day, neat and elegant children come and go here.
Unlike the other beautiful mansions in the Court of Fontaine, the registered property owner of the Bouffes d'Été mansion does not live here. In fact, no one in the surrounding area has even heard of her.
The name signed on the documents is nothing more than a pseudonym. The true master is someone else.
When the main gate closes, the children's whispers rise in the darkness of night.
They often mention one title: [Father].
When speaking of "Father," some show adoration on their faces, some harbor fear, and others display complicated expressions.
But without exception, their tone always becomes respectful.
The organization the children belong to is called the [House of the Hearth], which is affiliated with the Fatui.
It takes in orphans from all over the world.
The expensive Bouffes d'Été mansion is merely one corner of "home."
And the "Father" they speak of—the master of the House of the Hearth.
Is none other than the current Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers, [Knave] Arlecchino.
Anyone who has dealt with the [Knave] can almost always feel an invisible sense of oppression from her.
She can easily seize control of any conversation.
When those special eyes look over, very few people can hide the secrets in their hearts without changing expression.
She never shows mercy when she acts, cleaning everything up with a smile and a chat.
She will even thoughtfully clean the scene so that those who come later do not suffer psychological trauma.
But none of this is what makes her the most difficult to deal with. The [Unknown] is the source of all fear.
Even the children who live with her day and night cannot claim to truly understand her.
But Mu Yang is clearly not in that category.
He possesses Arlecchino's information.
Therefore, when the two of them sit face to face, the one truly in a state of the unknown is the [Knave]'s side.
The [Knave] certainly does not think so.
She believes her investigation has already been conducted quite thoroughly.
There are not many people who can make her care this much.
She even made a personal trip to Inazuma for this.
The Knave poured Mu Yang a cup of black tea.
She never hides her cursed hands.
To the weak, this might become a point for others to attack and slander.
But she is strong. No one dares to question it.
The Knave thought Mu Yang would be interested in this.
Unexpectedly, after taking a sip of tea, what Mu Yang asked about was Lynette and Lyney.
He was very direct.
"You are the intelligence department. Since you thought of monitoring me, you should know that I have never gotten along with the Fatui."
"Yet you actually sent your two most outstanding children. Aren't you afraid they won't return?"
"Mr. Mu Yang seems to think too highly of himself," the Knave said, crossing her legs.
"The children simply found you somewhat unfamiliar and took a few extra glances."
If this matter were really made public, neither side would be in the right.
If it even reached the Opera Epiclese, the people of Fontaine might lean more toward the locals.
Seeing that Mu Yang did not respond, the Knave continued, "I wonder what plans Mr. Mu Yang has in coming to Fontaine this time?"
"As far as I know, Fontaine has no opponents worthy of your challenge. Compared to a combat fanatic like [Childe], I prefer to resolve matters at the negotiation table."
Based on the investigation results.
The Knave had already classified Mu Yang.
He was the same type of combat maniac as [Childe] and the Raiden Shogun.
His merchant disguise in Liyue Harbor was merely to deal with a certain crisis.
This identity also conveniently allowed him to open trade routes to Sumeru.
As for why Mu Yang did not obstruct the Fatui's plans in Sumeru.
The Knave had no way of knowing.
Logically speaking, Mu Yang should have been very much looking forward to the trip to Sumeru.
After all, before the Dragon Calamity in Mondstadt, only the Doctor had met Mu Yang.
And the Doctor's mission was precisely the Gnosis of the God of Wisdom in Sumeru...
Mu Yang remained unhurried. Even when speaking, he looked directly into the Knave's eyes without any fear.
"I'm just doing some small business. I grew some new tea at home and wondered if I could open up sales channels in Fontaine."
Seeing this, the Knave actually began discussing the tea business with Mu Yang.
The two of them went back and forth like this.
Both pretending to be confused while understanding everything perfectly.
It was all about reading the message but replying randomly.
Knowing full well that the other party was probing, they still only talked about tea.
After several rounds of verbal sparring, the Knave's attitude clearly changed.
Because she now knew that Mu Yang was more suitable to be a Harbinger than Childe.
Childe was a highly gifted combat genius. Given time, his strength could rise even further.
But he had one flaw: he was too pure.
He liked to assume good intentions in others.
For example, the Rooster.
By ordinary people's thinking, the Rooster frequently visiting Childe's family during holidays had an obvious meaning.
"I have leverage over you. Behave and do your job obediently."
But Childe did not think that way.
He thought the Rooster was a good person. The mayor was so busy yet still found time to care about his younger brother and sister...
A good person?
Could a good person become mayor?
But Mu Yang was different.
Perhaps due to his experiences, this person was very complicated.
Mu Yang could easily hide his true thoughts.
He speaks the language of humans to humans and the language of ghosts to ghosts.
He says lies in reverse and only tells half the truth.
No one can see through his real inner thoughts.
What a pity. Such a person cannot be used by her.
Then again, not necessarily. The Knave also looked down on the Doctor.
Perhaps there really would be opportunities to cooperate with Mu Yang in the future.
After having this thought, the Knave finally stopped pretending.
"Mr. Mu Yang, have you ever heard of Fontaine's prophecy of destruction?"
"A person from the mountains and wilds, drinking tea and practicing the sword. I have never heard of it."
Mu Yang knew, but "Mu Yang" should not know.
He was probably asleep at that time.
The Knave stood up and began to recount the prophecy.
All people of Fontaine are born carrying sin.
No matter how much the just nation of Fontaine carries out trials, it cannot be absolved.
Until one day, the sea level of Fontaine will begin to rise. People bearing sin will gradually be submerged by seawater.
In the end, everyone will dissolve into the sea, leaving only the Hydro Archon herself weeping on the throne.
Only then... will the sins of the people of Fontaine be washed away.
The Knave said that compared to the Gnosis, she cared more about whether her homeland would truly be destroyed.
The reason the Knave was so open and honest was also because she had investigated Mu Yang's special care toward the blonde Traveler.
And that blonde Traveler was also very interested in the Gnoses.
However, the Knave's vivid and dramatic performance.
Could only be met with Mu Yang secretly complaining in his heart.
"You're talking about your homeland Fontaine as if it's real. Are you even a person of Fontaine?"
On the surface, however, Mu Yang would not be so blunt.
You're worried about your homeland, right? Then I'm worried too.
I'm worried that my good tea will have no sales channels.
Seeing that Mu Yang was so impervious to persuasion, the Knave felt that this meeting had reached its end.
She had originally thought that after investigating so much, she should be able to get a handle on Mu Yang.
But now she was no longer certain.
Why does Mu Yang, while gathering information by himself, seem to know more than all of them combined?
Fortunately, this trip was not without gains.
For Lyney and Lynette.
It was also a pretty good trial.