Across the endless snowfields of Snezhnaya, a tremendous explosion split the silence.
BOOM—
Violent flame shot straight up into the sky, and the fat goose-feather snow drifting down from the heavens was flung into chaos by the blast of air.
A Jumpy Dumpty packs no small punch. It had blown a deep crater into the snow, cracking several slabs of the ice layer beneath, everything smeared with black powder burns.
Not far from the center of the blast, Tartaglia was breathing hard and ragged.
"Klee, are you all right?" He hurried to help her up, looking her over front and back. Aside from a dusting of snowflakes on her clothes, she seemed fine, and he let out a breath.
"Klee's… okay…"
Klee looked at the Tartaglia in front of her and felt a prickle of fear.
To keep the shockwave from reaching her, he had unleashed his Foul Legacy Transformation, and in that state he looked distinctly unnerving.
The moment he noticed her fear, Tartaglia dismissed the form.
The Foul Legacy Transformation came with a brutal backlash. There was not a scrap of strength left in his body now, and he could only slump onto the ground, gulping down air.
"Don't be scared, Klee. We're not far from the Zapolyarny Palace. A blast like that has probably already caught the attention of the guards there."
"Oh. Okay."
Klee looked thoroughly embarrassed — after all, she was the one who had caused the trouble. Now that Tartaglia had changed back to his usual self, the fear drained away.
But when she took in the white expanse stretching all around her, and the snowflakes still tumbling from the sky, wonder got the better of her.
"Wowww, so much snow! This is great!"
It was the first time she had ever seen this much of it!
It hardly ever snowed in Mondstadt. Only Dragonspine had snowflakes dancing year-round, and Acting Grand Master Jean wouldn't let her go there.
Albedo was the only one who ever took her out to play in it, and even he never brought her deep into the mountain.
Snezhnaya's lands were sheathed in solid ice from end to end. A spectacle like this would stun a grown adult, let alone a child.
Beautiful, certainly. Just a bit cold.
Before long Klee was huffing warm breath into her cupped palms.
Dressed this lightly in weather like this, a person lost body heat fast.
Tartaglia had the will but not the strength; all he could do was hope the palace guards found them soon.
Sure enough, a squad came hurrying over not long after.
"Who dares cause trouble here!"
A Fatui squad captain came charging forward, then stopped short at the sight of a small child in red clothes some distance off.
"Wh-what? A little kid?"
"Little one, are you out here all by yourself?"
Klee waved her hands quickly, then grabbed the captain's glove and tugged him toward Tartaglia.
By now Tartaglia didn't even have the strength left to speak.
"Lord Childe!?"
"Take… her back…"
The faint, rasping words vanished into the wind and snow the instant they left his mouth, but the captain had his wits about him. Without wasting a second on questions, he had his men bundle Tartaglia into a thick heavy coat.
Klee got one too, of course — except the coat was so heavy that once it was on her back she couldn't take a step, so one of the soldiers simply scooped her up and carried her.
The rest hauled Tartaglia onto their backs and made the quick return to the Zapolyarny Palace.
Seated in front of a stove with some hot water in him, Tartaglia recovered quickly.
"Lord Childe, I've already reported to the Lord Mayor. He should be on his way here."
Right as the man was speaking, The Rooster and The Regrator walked into the warming room together.
The Rooster, Pulcinella, was on close terms with Tartaglia, and the moment he arrived he began fussing over him. "Ajax, what in the world happened? I hear there was an explosion…"
"Hm? And this little girl is…?"
Tartaglia got to his feet in a hurry and explained, laying out the accident that had occurred back in Liyue.
Pulcinella was briefly at a loss for words. "A botched job, then. Still… why does this little girl look so familiar?"
"She looks a bit like… a certain witch…"
He kept feeling that Klee resembled someone from his memory, and kept telling himself it couldn't possibly be.
Klee nodded, beaming. "That's right! Klee's mama is a witch! My mama's name is Alice. Do you know her?"
"WHAT!? You're that woman's daughter!?"
The instant The Rooster heard the name Alice, his knees went weak.
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