<h4>Chapter 128: Viin Simtor, Ch 127</h4>


    At that moment, La Signora wished more than anything to hear the words "I know you" from Lucas''s lips.


    However, he merely shook his head. "No, I just thought it was a beautiful name, that''s all. I''ll keep this contract. From today onwards, you''re free...."


    "Huh?" Her expression changed. "Aren''t you going to take me with you? Byw, I... belong to you now."


    "No, you don''t belong to anyone." Lucas shook his head. "Go do what you want to do, live the life you want to live."


    For some reason, his words left La Signora feeling an unexpected sense of disappointment.


    For a fleeting moment, she thought that if he had simply said, "Come with me," she might have abandoned everything to follow him.


    Of course, that was impossible.


    Bing a Harbinger had meant severing all connections to the world. She could never leave—the Fatui and Her Majesty the Tsaritsa would never let her go.


    "Hmph..." She gave a coldugh. "Maybe one day, if I feel like it, I''lle back to this line of work."


    She said this to provoke Lucas, but he merely replied calmly, "If you really did that, I''d buy out all your time, just so you could only ever serve me."


    At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside the room. Hong Jie burst through the door, her brow furrowed. "There''s trouble—the Knights of Favonius are here for an inspection!"


    "The Knights of Favonius?" La Signora looked surprised. "Who has the nerve? Don''t they know who''s backing this ce?"


    "It''s E Lawrence," Hong Jie replied helplessly. "I told her, but she wouldn''t back down!"


    Lucas'' face immediately turned a deep shade of red.


    Yesterday he had been celebrated as a hero of the Knights, and today he might end up in a cell.


    And of all people, it had to be E—the one person who wouldn''t back down, no matter what.


    As he looked around the room in disarray, he knew that if E actually made it inside, he''d have a lot of exining to do. Or rather, there would be no exnation that could save him.


    "Open the door!"


    "Captain, there''s no one in this room!"


    "Split up and search over there—I''ll take this side!"


    That familiar voice was now just outside the door.


    If E found him here, she''d likely regret ever handing him her family''s heirloom sword.


    A loud knock sounded on the door. "Knights of Favonius! Open up!"


    "Stay here. I''ll handle this."


    Just as Lucas felt he was out of options, La Signora stepped up and left the room without a word.


    ---


    "Hurry up and open the door!" E demanded coldly. "Or I''ll kick it down myself!"


    "What''s with the racket?"


    The door opened, and La Signora stepped out slowly, sneering, "The infamous Spindrift Knight of the Favonius? You do realize this establishment is under the protection of the Fatui, don''t you?"


    "So what?" E replied, unfazed. "In Mondstadt, all establishments are subject to Mondstadt''sws. You''re not conducting any... illegal business in there, are you?"


    "How rude!"


    With a piercing re, La Signora removed her mask. "Do you honestly believe I would stoop to making deals in a ce like this?"


    "La... La Signora?" E took an instinctive step back, visibly shocked. "Why are you here?"


    "Of course, I''m here for some covert dealings," she said mockingly, stepping aside. "Please, Captain E, go right ahead and take a look."


    In the booth, Lucas nearly dove under the bed in panic. Facing murderers on the streets was one thing, but this level of social humiliation was another matter entirely.


    "But... if you don''t find anything suspicious," La Signora whispered, "rest assured the Fatui won''t take an unfounded insult to a Harbinger lying down."


    Though E was known for her fierce personality, she wasn''t reckless.


    She didn''t understand why La Signora was here, but with her status, there was no way she was involved in anything shady. If she searched and found nothing, the Fatui would surely make a scandal of it.


    At that moment, the other Knights arrived, reporting, "Captain E, we found... nothing unusual."


    "This is a legitimate massage parlor," La Signora said with a shrug. "I just came here to rx, only to be mistaken for some woman of the night. Is this how the Knights of Mondstadt handle their investigations?"


    "I..." E was left speechless and seething, unsure of how to respond.


    Continuing the search would undoubtedly give the Fatui leverage, but backing down here could damage her own credibility in front of her subordinates.


    Just then, a loud explosion shook the air outside. A Knight rushed in, looking rmed. "Captain E, an unknown explosion just went off at the Church of Favonius—it appears to be intentional!"


    This sudden turn of events provided E with an exit. She immediately ordered, "Everyone, follow me to investigate."


    "Oh?" La Signora taunted. "Not going to keep searching?"


    "There''s a time and ce for everything," E shot back with a re before turning on her heel. "Consider yourself lucky today."


    After the Knights left, La Signora finally allowed herself to rx.


    Despite her bold front, she had no idea how she would have handled things if E had indeed forced her way inside.


    ---


    "They''re gone," La Signora said, donning her mask once more and opening the door to the booth. "You''d better leave quickly."


    "I..." Lucas hesitated, feeling a pang of reluctance. "Will we... ever meet again?"


    "What''s this?" La Signora sneered. "Not satisfied?"


    "No... it''s not like that," Lucas shook his head. "It''s not that kind of meeting I meant."


    "We probably won''t," she said, suppressing a flicker of disappointment. "Wee from two different worlds."


    "I understand." Lucas nodded, a touch of mncholy in his expression. "I have onest request, then."


    La Signora seemed to have anticipated his request and replied calmly, "If I''m not mistaken, you probably want to see what I really look like, don''t you?"


    Lucas nodded silently.


    "That''s out of the question!" Hong Jie protested at once. "She''s—"


    "Hong Jie, step outside, please," La Signora waved her hand. "It''s fine."


    As a Fatui Harbinger, La Signora rarely showed her face publicly. Even in Mondstadt, only a few high-ranking members of the Knights of Favonius had ever seen her true appearance due to work-rted interactions.


    Reluctantly, Hong Jie left the room.


    La Signora hesitated for a moment, then slowly removed her mask.


    In that instant, it felt as if the very air around them froze.


    It really was her.


    What shocked Lucas wasn''t her face itself, but the realization of who she was and the mystery of why she was in a ce like this, doing such things with him.


    But La Signora simply asked, "Beautiful, isn''t it?"


    "Yes," Lucas nodded. "It''s worth far more than fifty million Mora."


    "Think of tonight as nothing but a dream," she said, putting her mask back on. "Also, that bracelet on your wrist is incredibly dangerous. You''d better find a way to get rid of it soon."


    Lucas blinked, remembering that as a Fatui Harbinger, she might indeed know something about the bracelet.


    But just as he was about to ask, he held back. After all, in the real world, he and La Signora weren''t supposed to have any connection, much less knowledge of each other''s true identities.


    Perhaps that was why she had shown him her true face.


    In her eyes, his reaction was merely that of being captivated by her beauty, so she said nothing further, turned, and walked back into her room, leaving him with four final words:


    "Forget about me."


    It had been but a fleeting dream.


    La Signora understood her own nature all too well; she was a consuming ze, and anyone who came close to her would eventually be engulfed.


    ---


    Lucas wandered the dark streets in a daze, too preupied to even notice that Kaeya had mysteriously "disappeared" without a word.


    Out of all the women he''d encountered in various simtions, La Signora, or rather Rosalyne, was unlike any other. Bound to him by a five-hundred-year entanglement that went deeper than any ordinary connection, she was not someone he could simply forget.


    Especially after her parting words, "Forget about me," which seemed to dere the end of whatever destiny they might have had in this life.


    Rather than returning home, he roamed the streets aimlessly, until the sound of hurried footsteps caught his attention.


    "Who goes there? Why are you wandering the streets at this hour?"


    He looked up to find a group of Knights of Favonius, the leader already gripping the hilt of his sword with a wary expression. "Could you be the thief who stole the Holy Lyre?"


    Before Lucas could respond, a familiar voice called out from behind him, "He has nothing to do with this; he''s a friend of mine."


    E had appeared behind him at some point, frowning slightly. "Why are you always outte at night?"


    Theirst encounter had also been during the dead of night.


    "I... couldn''t sleep, so I went for a walk," Lucas said,ing up with a weak excuse before changing the subject. "What happened?"


    "Hmph, didn''t you hear the explosion earlier?" E replied with a huff. "Someone blew up part of the Church of Favonius and stole the Holy Lyre of Barbatos. To pull off something this outrageous—this is personal!"


    "Could it have been... Klee?" Lucas ventured.


    "No, not likely. As mischievous as that little girl is, even she wouldn''t go this far," E shook her head. "Unless, of course, she wants to spend the rest of her life in the confinement room."


    "I''ll help with the search," Lucas said, giving his face a light p to snap himself out of his thoughts. "Might as well make myself useful."


    [500 Virtue Points Awarded]


    In truth, he just wanted to distract himself.


    And perhaps earn a few extra points.


    "Suit yourself," E replied, nodding in acknowledgment of his abilities. "If you pull this off, you might even be granted honorary knighthood with the Knights of Favonius."


    "Me? A Liyue native, joining the Knights of Favonius as an honorary knight?" Lucas chuckled. "No need for that—happy to lend a hand."


    "Let''s search over that way," E ordered her men. "And inform the guards to lock down the city. Tonight, I don''t even want a fly to slip through."


    If word got out that the Holy Lyre had been stolen, it would be a massive embarrassment for the Knights of Favonius.


    As E led her team away, Lucas took off in a different direction.


    With his enhanced senses and the [Night Vision] ability, his skills were well beyond ordinary, and he was ideally suited for tracking in the dark.


    However, searching the streets on foot was inefficient. While climbing walls would be faster, his current white attire made him too visible, risking detection.


    Then he had an idea.


    He took out the <i>Nano Suit (Youth Edition)</i> and slipped it on, issuing a few quickmands to transform it into a ck stealth suit,plete with a hood and cloak.


    "Hello, Mondstadt''s very own Batman!" he said to himself, striking a pose and admiring his appearance.


    After all, every young man dreams of being a superhero at some point, and Lucas was no exception.


    Thus, Mondstadt weed a second "Dark Knight" to its skies that night.


    ---


    "Hey, kid!"


    In a dim alley, two thugs had a young boy cornered, sneering, "Hand over your coin pouch!"


    "No! I earned this money by collecting empty bottles every night!" The boy held his coin pouch tightly to his chest, defiant. "I''m saving up to find my dad!"


    "Little Timmie, your dad''s long dead," one of the thugs taunted,ughing. "Tell you what—give us your money, and I''ll be your new dad. Go on, say ''Daddy''! Hahaha..."


    Bang!


    ----


    Author''s Note: Oh well