"Pacify the inside before the outside."
"We clear every last Fatui out of Mondstadt City and the surrounding territory first."
Fixing his gaze on the distant Goth Grand Hotel, Rowan Galehart's eyes cooled.
The Fatui had long since bought out the place; aside from the service staff, everyone inside belonged to them.
They'd barred Mondstadters from entering altogether, posturing as if the Goth Grand Hotel were their embassy in Mondstadt.
Jean had warned them more than once about their arrogance.
But because Jean's stance was too gentle, the Fatui simply shrugged it off.
New ruler, three fires. Rowan would make the Fatui understand that starting today,
Mondstadt was no longer the soft target it used to be.
Rowan's eyes shifted to the space between the Cathedral of Favonius and the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
That spot had been empty before—but a month ago,
construction began, and a Mondstadt-styled, Anglo-inspired palace rose from the ground.
It wasn't fully complete yet—the main hall alone had been finished.
Even in Teyvat, raising a palace takes time.
Completing a thousand-square-meter hall in a month was beyond even Liyue's pace.
Finishing just the main hall, though—that was doable.
The project had started when Venti ordered it after Rowan agreed he would become King of Mondstadt in one month.
For a month's work, this was already impressive.
Why had no one questioned it before building?
That was the force of sacred authority.
Every nation holds absolute faith in its ruling divinity.
Liyue especially—Morax, the Geo Archon, could appoint the Liyue Qixing at will and redirect Liyue's course as he pleased.
No "Eight Gates" below would dare disobey.
This was also why, after Zhongli's retirement, some criticized Liyue for being "rule by men."
There's nothing wrong with rule by men—but does this world even allow it?
After all, Teyvat has Archons.
Power is always the yardstick of a nation's strength.
When a nation loses its Archon, it loses its greatest power.
Look at Mondstadt now.
Because the Anemo Archon had been absent for so long, the Fatui bullied the city however they pleased.
Don't pin it all on Grand Master Falga taking most elites away. Even when he hadn't,
the Doctor had already experimented on Mondstadters, and the corrupted dragon had assaulted the city.
These happened under Falga's watch; even Diluc's father died in that span.
A man who could have succeeded Falga as Grand Master—gone; and afterward Diluc quit the Knights entirely.
Of course, his departure was mostly because he saw how rotten the Knights had become.
But at the root, Mondstadt was too weak—so the Doctor set his sights on it,
treating Mondstadt as a testing ground.
Compare that to the Fatui presence in Liyue:
There are barely any of them. You see them at the Northland Bank or out in the hinterlands.
That's only because, after signing a pact with Liyue, they agreed to join the Millelith in sweeping the Chasm's monsters—then they were allowed entry.
From this alone, it's clear: the Fatui are bullies who fear the strong and prey on the weak.
When Mondstadt is weak, they run wild.
When Liyue is strong, they behave.
You see the same thing with those fools in Sumeru's Akademiya—Fatui walk the halls like it's their home.
That idiot Grand Sage even naively believed the Doctor came to help. Brain-dead.
But from this moment on, everything would change.
"I've summoned everyone to the palace. You can come now."
"I've already explained things to them."
Just as Rowan was about to head to the palace, Venti's voice brushed his ear.
Rowan knew—the god was speaking from within the palace, his words riding the wind across a thousand li.
For the Anemo Archon, such a feat was trivial.
He could hear what he wished from the thousand winds that roamed Teyvat—even in slumber.
Only, his condition wasn't great—this wasn't his prime.
At full strength, Venti could have known Teyvat's happenings without ever leaving Mondstadt.
"All right—just don't interfere with my decisions," Rowan replied.
"Even if I fail in the end, I'll bear all consequences. If Snezhnaya comes pressing, pin everything on me."
Venti, who'd been looking forward to Rowan's coronation, paused—an uneasy feeling rising.
He's not… planning something huge on day one, is he?
No way… right?
Before Venti could ask what Rowan intended,
Rowan's figure flickered—and he was standing before the palace.
Taking in the splendid, commanding façade, he nodded, satisfied.
Knights lined both sides. At his sudden appearance they stiffened, wary at first.
But when Rowan's form shifted—ornate knight's armor clasping over him, a blue cloak billowing into place—
they sensed who he was, stepped back to either side, and saluted with right fists to hearts and slight bows.
The Knights of Favonius' formal courtesy.
Rowan strode into the hall, and as he crossed the threshold,
every eye turned to him.
On the left stood the Knights of Favonius. Closest to the throne was Acting Grand Master Jean Gunnhildr.
Behind her were her close friend Lisa, and at her feet the daughter of the famed adventurer Alice—the Spark Knight, Klee.
Then in order: Kaeya, Eula, Amber, and the various squad captains of the Knights.
On the right stood the members of the Church of Favonius, led—unsurprisingly—by Barbara Pegg, daughter of the Church's cardinal, Seamus Pegg.
Behind her were priests and sisters; the last of them was a familiar face—Rosaria.
He hadn't expected her to come.
Clearly, for this coronation, Venti had summoned everyone he could.
As expected of Barbatos.
"Looks like everyone's here."
"From this moment, I am the King of Mondstadt—the Knight-King!"
"And Mondstadt is my domain. As my first decree upon ascending—"
"I declare war on Snezhnaya and the Fatui!"
(End of Chapter)
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