Slandering the Anemo Archon.
Mooched meals off the Geo Archon.
Fought the Raiden Shogun.
Shared a bathroom break with the Dendro Archon.
At first, when these "charges" were listed, many people's faces twisted.
Are these… things mortals are even allowed to do?
The Archons—the Seven sovereigns of Teyvat—
beings countless people never see even once in their lives.
But the Traveler not only met several—
she'd done all manner of utterly disrespectful things to them.
Truly worthy of the name Executor.
Because of the previous "jokes," no one was too shocked anymore.
Until—
The last one.
And then everyone froze.
Some rubbed their eyes, thinking they misheard.
What!?
The Hydro Archon—who judges others day in and day out—
was judged herself?
By the Traveler?
Together with Neuvillette?
Clorinde??
And other Fontaine citizens???
The moment this dropped, it was like a meteor hitting a calm lake.
Teyvat erupted.
The uproar was not any lower than the previous "Rex Lapis assassination" bombshell.
[Ordinary Chat Group]
[Miles:How is that possible!? Why would we Fontaine citizens ever put Lady Furina on trial!?]
[Sylvie:Why would we disrespect our own Archon!?]
[Ibel:Impossible! Lord Neuvillette would NEVER join such a thing!]
[Kawa:Did the Archon commit some kind of crime!?]
[Sedena:Absolutely not! Lady Furina has always protected Fontaine!]
[Alberich:Wow… y'all actually judged your own god? Fontaine is fearless.]
[Chevreuse:Seriously!]
[Great-Sage:Compared to that, our Akademiya looks incredibly merciful.]
[Luzon:One nation defies its god, the other locks theirs up. And you two dare talk?]
[Tiantiezui:Indeed! Liyue would never imagine such a thing!]
[Transcendent Chat Group]
[Zhongli:To think the Opera Epiclese—usually a court that judges criminals—would one day judge its own Archon…]
[Eula:If it were only the Traveler, that'd be one thing. But Fontaine citizens joined too!?]
[Barbara:I can't imagine Mondstadt ever judging Barbatos…]
[Xiao:To place your own deity on trial… blasphemy.]
[Kujou Sara:Blasphemy? This is outright rebellion!]
[Nilou:I can't imagine what must have happened.]
[Tartaglia:Tsk tsk… interesting. Very interesting.]
[Dottore:Heh. Compared to this, Sumeru doesn't look so bad after all.]
[Signora:A whole nation staging a coup against their god? Even Inazuma wasn't this dramatic.]
[Charlotte:Lord Neuvillette… Clorinde too? What happened in Fontaine…?]
[Navia:Impossible! We would NEVER turn on Lady Furina!]
[Clorinde:Correct. We Fontaine people deeply respect our Archon. We would never commit such an atrocity.]
[Wriothesley:Would Lord Neuvillette ever do such a thing?]
[Neuvillette:...]
[Chevreuse:Even if there are jokes, some parts must be true!]
[Ayaka:Indeed. Could it be the Traveler manipulated you into it?]
[Yanfei:If so, that's a lawsuit no one can win.]
[Hu Tao:Why bother with lawsuits? @Travelerying @Paimon Come pre-order a funeral plan! Discount available now~]
[Traveler Lumine:...]
[Paimon:...]
Fontaine — Palais Mermonia, Neuvillette's Office
"WHAT!?"
Furina leapt to her feet.
"Badmouthing the Anemo Archon, freeloading off the Geo Archon, fighting the Raiden Shogun, and now you tell me the Traveler teamed up with Fontaine citizens to judge me—the Goddess of Justice!?"
"Death penalty! Death penalty for all of them!"
Her indignant shrieking echoed through the office.
She almost sprinted out to personally conduct the trial right that moment.
But—
Even as dramatic as she was, Furina had been hiding the truth for five centuries.
She was no fool.
As she looked at the projection—
the scene where she, alone on stage, was confronted and questioned by her people—
a sudden understanding pierced her.
Her bright blue eyes trembled.
Shock.
Confusion.
Realization.
Sourness.
Fear.
A swirl of emotions flooded her.
"So that's… what it meant…"
She finally understood the words from the person in the mirror.
That "grand, theatrical trial that will end everything"—
it wasn't about judging the Traveler at all.
It was about her.
The day the Traveler arrives in Fontaine,
Fontaine's people—and the Traveler—
would judge her, the Hydro Archon.
Nothing could be more dramatic than that.
As she watched her projected self crying alone on the Opera Epiclese stage,
Furina's own tears silently fell.
Beside her, Neuvillette's expression darkened.
"…Though the projection exaggerates for humor, there is truth in it."
"If that truly is the future… then what happened?"
"Why would I, together with the Traveler and Fontaine's people, put Lady Furina on trial?"
"…Is it because of the prophecy?"
The projection only gave fragments—
but Neuvillette was far too intelligent to miss the connection.
He immediately linked it to Fontaine's apocalyptic prophecy
and the unknown secret behind Furina's behavior.
He turned toward her.
Seeing her dazed and trembling, he stepped closer.
"Lady Furina?"
No response.
He called her again, gently:
"Lady Furina?"
"…Eh?"
"Wh-What is it?"
She jolted back to reality, wiping her tears quickly.
Seeing this, Neuvillette hesitated, then asked,
"Lady Furina… how do you interpret what we saw?"
"How else?"
She slapped her hands onto her hips, instantly snapping back into her theatrical persona.
"They're all guilty! Capital offense!"
"You, Neuvillette—my subordinate—
actually joined Clorinde and the others to judge me?"
"Blasphemy! Treason! Death penalty!"
"But… considering your years of hard work, your death sentence is revoked."
"You'll simply have to keep working."
Neuvillette: "..."
Ah yes.
She was back to normal.
Furina knew exactly what the truth was.
She just wasn't going to say it.
And since the projection showed the Traveler ultimately saving Fontaine—
the five hundred–year plan had succeeded.
Her suffering wasn't in vain.
All she had to do now
was continue acting as the Hydro Archon
until the Traveler finally reached Fontaine.
"Understood."
Neuvillette bowed respectfully.
He didn't know what she was hiding.
But he wouldn't ask.
Because with the projection appearing—
the future had already been rewritten.
That so-called coup…
would probably never happen again.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito