Neuvillette walked quickly to King's side and lowered his voice: "There is a distinguished guest outside who wants to meet you."
"A distinguished guest?"
King's brow twitched slightly.
There were very few people in all of Teyvat who could make Neuvillette specifically use the words "distinguished guest."
"Who?"
Neuvillette's expression was subtle for a moment: "It's difficult for me to explain this person's identity to you. You'll understand once you see for yourself."
Looking at his hesitant manner, King felt a flicker of curiosity rise in his heart.
He turned and walked toward the reception room of the Palais Mermonia... Outside the Palais Mermonia.
The sky was just beginning to brighten.
The morning mist had not yet fully dispersed, and the distant buildings were shrouded in a hazy veil.
Arlecchino stood at the bottom of the steps, her long silver hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.
Her crimson eyes stared directly at the closed doors of the Palais Mermonia. Her face was expressionless, but her fingertips unconsciously rubbed against her gloves.
That was a habitual gesture she made when she was nervous.
Behind her, a slender figure was tilting her head, curiously observing everything around her.
Her ink-black long hair was like silk woven from moonlight, draped smoothly behind her back.
Her eyes were tightly shut, yet it didn't seem to hinder her from "seeing" her surroundings clearly at all.
"Fontaine's mornings are so quiet~"
Columbina's voice was ethereal like a sleep-talker's, carrying a child-like innocence.
"The air smells of dew, and... hmm... the scent of freshly baked bread?"
Arlecchino said nothing.
Her entire attention was focused on that door.
The Fatui's intelligence network was the largest in all of Teyvat.
Regarding the battle outside Liyue Harbor, Snezhnaya's intelligence personnel had obtained a complete report almost immediately.
One punch.
Just one punch.
It didn't even look like he was being serious.
It was just an ordinary punch.
That corrupted Abyssal Demon God, the monster that had suppressed two Archons and forced Morax and Beelzebul to go all out—
Was turned into flying ash by King's single punch.
Not even a scrap remained; not a single trace of the God's resentment was left behind.
It wasn't a kill.
It wasn't an elimination.
It was an erasure.
Like using an eraser to rub out pencil marks, it was completely erased from the world.
Arlecchino asked herself, how long could she last against that monster?
One second?
Or half a second?
The answer made a chill run down her spine.
And now, she was about to meet that man.
That terrifying man who could turn a God into ash with one punch.
Columbina, I'm doing all this for you!!
*Creak—*
The doors of the Palais Mermonia slowly opened.
A soldier wearing the uniform of the Equitable Judgment walked out and bowed to the two of them.
"Ladies, Lord King requests your presence."
Arlecchino took a deep breath and stepped up the stairs.
Columbina followed behind her, her steps as light as if she were walking on clouds.
Passing through long corridors and up several flights of stairs, they were finally led to the door of the Palais Mermonia's reception room.
The door was open.
A figure wearing a blue trench coat was standing inside the doorway.
Arlecchino's pace faltered for a moment.
That face, no matter how many times she saw it... she couldn't find the right words to describe it.
That face made one involuntarily want to look away.
Not out of fear.
But because staring straight at him gave one the feeling that their own insignificance was being infinitely magnified.
Arlecchino suppressed the trepidation in her heart, stepped forward, and bowed slightly according to Fontaine etiquette.
"Mr. King, please forgive us for this unannounced visit."
King looked at her and said nothing.
Arlecchino felt her heart rate accelerating.
She was just about to state the purpose of her visit—
"It's Little Brother King!"
An ethereal, dreamlike voice exploded behind her.
Arlecchino's body froze instantly.
She raised her head with difficulty.
Columbina had somehow already skipped in front of King, her exquisite little face full of a brilliant smile.
Those closed eyes were now slightly curved, as if she were acting spoiled.
And that form of address she had used—
Little Brother?
Arlecchino's brain went *buzz*, turning completely blank.
She saw King's expression.
On that calm, rippleless face, a crack appeared.
His brow twitched, the corner of his eye spasmed slightly, and his lips pressed into a thin line.
His whole person was stunned in place.
Clearly, this Guardian of Fontaine was also dumbfounded by this address.
Arlecchino felt her blood pressure soaring wildly.
She took a deep breath and then rushed forward.
*Thump!*
She smashed a fist onto the top of Columbina's head.
It looked heavy.
In reality, she had used a clever technique to make it very light.
Columbina shrunk her neck slightly and then turned her head back aggrievedly.
"Arlecchino, why did you hit me..."
Her voice carried a hint of grievance.
The veins on Arlecchino's forehead were throbbing.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Her voice was kept very low, but the sound of her gritting her teeth was clearly audible.
"Do you know who he is?!"
"Do you know that if he gets angry, neither of us will walk out of this door today?!"
"Do you know how many children I still have to raise?!"
She uttered three consecutive "Do you knows," each word sounding as if it were squeezed through the gaps in her teeth.
Columbina blinked.
The eyelashes of those closed eyes trembled slightly.
"I know."
Her voice was ethereal, carrying a sense of taking things for granted.
"Little Brother King is the Lord of the New Moon."
"Which means he is the fifth Moon Goddess, right?"
She tilted her head, her exquisite little face full of confusion.
"I am the fourth, so he is my little brother."
The air froze.
Arlecchino held her fist up, frozen in place.
Her mouth opened, then closed.
Then it opened again.
Then it closed again.
On that cold and elegant face, the expression shifted from anger to confusion, to astonishment, and finally to an indescribable blankness.
It can even be explained like that?
She slowly turned her head and looked at King.
King was also looking at her.
Their gazes met in the air.
From King's eyes, Arlecchino saw the exact same confusion as her own.
"Am I... a Moon God?"
King finally spoke, his voice carrying a rare trace of doubt.
"Mhm, mhm!"
Columbina nodded vigorously.
"You are the youngest Moon God."
She reached out her hand and began counting on her fingers.
"The first, the Goddess of the Constant Moon."
"The second, the Goddess of the Frost Moon."
"The third, the Goddess of the Rainbow Moon."
She reached the fourth finger, stopped, and pointed at herself.
"The fourth is me, the Goddess of the Empty Moon, Columbina."
Then she pointed at King again.
"The fifth is you, the God of the New Moon, King."
After she finished speaking, she revealed an innocent and pure smile.
"Hello, Little Brother King. I am your big sister."
King: "..."
Arlecchino: "..."
The morning breeze blew through the courtyard of the Palais Mermonia.
Bringing the aroma drifting from the distant bakery.
In Arlecchino's mind, only one thought was currently looping repeatedly:
Columbina, are you freaking insane?!!!
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