Aeron soon arrived at the reception hall of Palais Mermonia.
There, seated gracefully on a sofa with a cup of black tea in hand, was the elegant woman he had come to meet. Aeron nodded slightly in appreciation.
Putting aside their political positions, he respected punctuality—or better yet, arriving ahead of schedule. In any collaboration, such a gesture fostered respect, smoothing the path for future dealings.
Of course, as a transmigrator, he also knew that Arlecchino bore no true malice toward Fontaine. His concern lay elsewhere.
Most of the children in the "House of the Hearth" were war orphans. They had no sense of belonging to that place. Inevitably, many would attempt escape—or defect after joining the Fatui.
And given the Fatui's ruthless methods… defection usually meant a gruesome end. Death, in fact, was the kindest outcome.
In his heart, Aeron could not accept such fates. But if he waited until later—until the "main storyline" forced Arlecchino into cooperation—it would be too late. By then, resistance would be entrenched, and those children would suffer needlessly.
Which meant… the time to act was now.
Adjusting his tie, Aeron calmly sat down across from her.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting, Lady Servant."
At his words, Arlecchino gently set down her teacup. Her eyes—marked with the blood-red "×"—swept over him before she replied:
"There was no long wait, Regent Zacharias. I merely arrived five minutes early. The tea and refreshments you prepared were quite fine. But… shall we move on to the main topic?"
Aeron smiled faintly. He wasted no time.
"As the letter of invitation stated, Lady Servant, today's discussion is entirely for the sake of the children in the House of the Hearth—and for the future orphans of Fontaine."
He lowered his gaze for a moment, considering his words, then continued:
"Forgive my bluntness, Lady Servant. From what I've observed of the Fatui's recent actions… your goal is the Gnosis, isn't it?"
Arlecchino blinked once in mild surprise, then nodded. To her, this was hardly a secret; her colleagues had made the pursuit so blatant that denial was pointless.
"Even so, what does that have to do with today's meeting?"
"Quite a lot, in fact."
Aeron's smile deepened.
"Once your mission concludes, regardless of whether you succeed in securing the Hydro Archon's Gnosis… tell me, will the House of the Hearth—already unpopular within the Fatui—truly be allowed to survive?"
"And without their support, how far could the children go? Would their lives be peaceful and safe?"
At this, Arlecchino froze briefly, then gave a faint, dismissive smile.
"So what are you implying, esteemed Regent? You don't mean to seize the House of the Hearth yourself, do you?"
"Of course not, Lady Servant. I only propose relocating those children whose ambitions lie elsewhere into Fontaine's newly built state welfare orphanage."
"That way, the new facility won't sit idle, and you would save considerable resources in the process."
"..."
Silence fell.
As the "Father" of the House of the Hearth, Arlecchino bore responsibility for those children—an oath she had once made. But it wasn't time yet. She still had too many plans in motion, too many pieces left to arrange.
Still, she knew today would not be their last confrontation. This man would cross her path again.
At length, she sighed softly, rising with composed elegance.
"I will consider your suggestion, Regent Zacharias. Forgive me—I've only just returned to Fontaine, and there are still matters at the Northland Bank requiring my attention. I must take my leave."
Without waiting for reply, she turned to go.
Aeron made no attempt to stop her. Instead, he calmly poured himself a cup of tea, sipping at leisure.
Only when one of Arlecchino's feet crossed the threshold did he speak, voice even:
"Lady Servant, I once heard a saying from Liyue's Tianquan Star: 'Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back for the arrow.'
"But in this situation, that proverb does not quite apply. What matters here is not the bow… but whether your arrow is tethered by a cord.
"If it is, then even once drawn, the arrow can be pulled back—so long as it hasn't yet struck its mark."
Her steps faltered. For a long, still moment, Arlecchino remained silent at the doorway before murmuring:
"…Thank you for the reminder, Regent."
With that, she left without looking back.
Watching her tall, graceful silhouette vanish, Aeron exhaled softly.
"That's as much as I can do… Arlecchino, I can only hope you'll understand what I truly meant."
At that moment, his panel lit up with new text.
[Task: "Hold a conversation with the Servant, Arlecchino" – Complete. Reward incoming…]
[Reward: Deferred Popularity ×100]
[Deferred Popularity: All of your current actions will affect future popularity settlements.]
[Next settlement point: Upon release of Arlecchino's Legend Quest]
Frowning slightly, Aeron felt puzzled.
Deferred popularity? What on Teyvat was that supposed to mean?
Back in his old world, he'd read countless web novels—system tropes, rebirth tropes, disaster-player tropes, self-sacrifice tropes. But this… this was something new.
"Could it be that my every action is altering the progression of all Teyvat? But from the moment I arrived here… my choices have always been shaping this world, haven't they?"
Shaking his head, he turned his gaze toward the "11.5h" countdown ticking on the panel.
"Barely half an hour passed… Maybe once that so-called 'Full-View Livestream' appears, I'll understand what's really happening."
With that thought, Aeron rose from the sofa and made his way toward the Chief Justice's office.
In his mind, the Melusines' roles could be expanded beyond serving as guides for tourists or clerks of the "Bureau of Administrative Supervision." They could be integrated into wider duties—saving manpower, while also helping them better understand and connect with humanity.
"But of course… I'll need to speak with the president of the Melusine Protection Association first."