In truth, Wriothesley had already noticed the anomalies surrounding the President of the Mutual Aid Network. For instance, he hadn't known she could bake cakes.
While this might seem like a minor detail to most, when combined with the increasingly bizarre atmosphere pervading Fontaine and the fact that the individual in question was connected to Fontaine's Hydro Archon, Wriothesley felt compelled to exercise even greater caution.
"Alright, Lady Furina, if there are no further questions, perhaps I should show you around other parts of the Fortress of Meropide? We can chat along the way."
As Wriothesley spoke, he clapped his hands, and Furina watched as the Gardemeks withdrew in perfect formation.
"Eh? Weren't these Gardemeks supposed to be my bodyguards?"
Seeing the Gardemeks depart left Furina feeling slightly insecure.
"What if we run into my crazed fans on the way? I wouldn't know how to handle that!"
"Don't worry, Lady Furina. As long as I'm here, that's more than enough."
Wriothesley patted his massive iron fist.
"In fact, if this opportunity allows us to flush out some restless little rats, all the better."
"Is that so? It seems you're quite capable, then?"
"Heh, of course I can't compare to Lady Furina."
"But dealing with a few rats hiding in the shadows? That's more than enough for me."
Wriothesley chuckled and turned to lead Furina onward.
"Look! Isn't that... isn't that Lady Furina?"
"Why would Lady Furina come to the Fortress of Meropide? Is she here on an inspection?"
"I heard Lady Furina was implicated in a murder case and sentenced to imprisonment."
"Really? Isn't Lady Furina the Hydro Archon?!"
"Apparently, to uphold the fairness and justice of Fontaine Law, Lady Furina refused to evade her responsibility."
"So... does that mean we're cellmates with Lady Furina now?"
"Being cellmates with Lady Furina? This prison sentence just got a whole lot more worthwhile!"
As people on the road caught sight of Furina's figure, they began to stop and whisper among themselves.
Furina enthusiastically greeted everyone, but only a handful responded.
Slightly embarrassed, Furina turned to Wriothesley and explained, "It seems everyone in the Fortress of Meropide is rather shy!"
Wriothesley glanced at Furina, unable to tell whether she was genuinely naive or feigning ignorance.
Finally, he shook his head and said, "Lady Furina, the people here are primarily convicts striving for a fresh start. I doubt many would willingly wait in line for years just to meet you."
Wriothesley's words were remarkably diplomatic. The vast majority of the Fortress of Meropide's residents were criminals. If they had possessed any reverence for the Archons, they likely wouldn't have committed crimes in the first place. Moreover, many might have been wrongfully convicted. Simply not resenting Fontaine would be a miracle; expecting them to revere their nation's Archon was utterly unrealistic.
It was understandable why so few voices responded to Furina's call; most of those who did were only doing so out of consideration for Wriothesley.
News of Furina's imprisonment spread like wildfire through the Fortress of Meropide. By this time, Wriothesley had already taken Furina on a tour of the facility's infrastructure before leading her to the production area.
"Lady Furina, this will be your assigned task for the next month."
Furina followed Wriothesley's gaze to the rows of machinery grinding and polishing parts. Her face stiffened immediately.
"This job might not be quite suitable for me. Is there anything else I could do?"
"Other options? Well, there are some." Wriothesley nodded. "Lady Furina, can you cook?"
"Does making pasta count?"
"If I have different sauces, I can make various flavors," Furina added, a touch embarrassed. Wriothesley simply chuckled.
"How about medical care?"
"...Perhaps we should just discuss the parts grinding again."
Terrified that further conversation would expose her complete incompetence, Furina hastily abandoned her unrealistic notions.
Following Wriothesley's lead, Furina toured many other parts of the Fortress of Meropide.
"Wishing you a pleasant stay in the Fortress of Meropide, Lady Furina!"
"Your dormitory has been stocked with basic daily necessities and a little surprise. I hope you'll be satisfied."
With these parting words, Wriothesley departed.
He had achieved his immediate objective: to gauge the temperament of the Hydro Archon.
How to put it... she certainly has quite the personality. I haven't felt this drained even after a full day's work.
"A surprise?"
Intrigued by Wriothesley's mention of a surprise, Furina abandoned her plans to further explore the fortress and headed straight for the dormitory area.
After searching for a while, she finally located her dormitory.
As she entered the room, a familiar figure greeted her.
"We meet again so soon, Lady Furina."
The young woman wore a faint smile.
Clorinde arrived at Fountain Plaza to investigate the scene, but found nothing of value.
It was a horrifying act that left no trace. The murderers and victims had all been dissolved into water, and the rain had washed away every trace of their existence.
Fortunately, due to the Hydro Archon Furina's trial, most people were either at the Opera Epiclese or watching the Judgment at designated broadcast locations. Fountain Plaza was sparsely populated at the time of the incident, so the fallout remained manageable.
But this was too strange. Shouldn't the perpetrators have wanted to attract more attention? Why would they choose such a quiet moment to strike? Or were these people not their true target?
Clorinde felt uneasy. She turned to the Special Task Force Captain of the Court of Justice, the officer in charge of the investigation.
"Evacuate all living personnel immediately. Leave the remaining work to the Clockwork Mekas."
Because of Clorinde's unique position—despite being only a Champion Duelist—the Special Task Force Captain heeded her advice. He ordered the crowd evacuated and instructed his officers to withdraw.
Soon, guided by the Clockwork Mekas' sensors, they discovered a bomb buried beneath the plaza.
The bomb's yield wasn't large, but it was powerful enough to kill anyone within several meters of the blast.
This discovery made the Special Task Force Captain clench his fist in anger. It turned out the terrorists' true target was Fontaine's law enforcement officers—they intended to emulate the deceased No. 6 and declare war directly on the Fontaine authorities.
"A bunch of delusional fools!"
Just then, a Special Task Force member rushed in.
"Captain, we've tracked down the criminals responsible for this terrorist incident. The others are already engaging them in combat and requesting reinforcements."
Hearing this news, the Captain visibly relaxed. He immediately arranged for reinforcements to be dispatched, but Clorinde had already set out earlier.
The fact that their escape route was so easily detected by Fontaine's law enforcement proved they were nothing more than a group of inept copycats.
With Clorinde leading the charge, the entire group was swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.
At that moment, the Maison Gardiennage received a threatening letter demanding the immediate release of the prisoners, or they would stage an even larger terrorist attack.
This time, however, the Maison Gardiennage successfully traced the letter's origin, and following the trail, captured another large group of criminals.
After these two major successes, everyone suddenly realized that it wasn't their own incompetence that had plagued them before, but rather the late No. 6's airtight strategies that had made him so elusive.
Upon hearing this good news, Neuvillette found himself unusually relaxed, and the skies over Fontaine finally cleared once more.
At that moment, Clorinde entered the room, placed the documents she was carrying on the desk, and stood to one side with one hand on her hip.
"Some of them have already confessed. The leader of the organization appears to be a man named Amos."
"Here's some background information on Amos."
Hearing Clorinde's words, Neuvillette picked up the documents from the desk and began to review them.
[Amos, male, Fontainian, age 56, born in...]
"I heard the Cult of No. 6 was originally established in the very town No. 6 saved back then, and its initial core members were all townspeople."
After reading the documents and listening to Clorinde's additional information, Neuvillette let out a soft sigh.
"Humans are truly a complex species, driven by intricate emotions and behaviors."
Though they were victims of the incident, they had developed a worshipful mindset towards the murderer.
"To be honest, I don't want to be grouped together with these lunatics. It's deeply unsettling."
"My apologies. I didn't consider your feelings."
Clorinde shook her head helplessly at Neuvillette's words.
"There's no need to apologize. In any case, how about you leave the rest to me?"
"Now that Lady Furina is a prisoner under Wriothesley's watch at the Fortress of Meropide, I've finally managed to free myself from my duties for a while."
"Of course, I trust you implicitly to handle this matter, Clorinde."
Neuvillette nodded, stamped a document, and handed it to Clorinde.
"This will grant you certain conveniences."
"Thanks."
Clorinde took the document, turned, and left, waving it over her shoulder as she walked away.
Watching her receding figure, Neuvillette withdrew his gaze, a hint of helplessness crossing his face.
Entrusting this matter to Clorinde shouldn't pose any major issues, but there was another matter that demanded attention.
Before Furina even arrived at the Fortress of Meropide, Wriothesley had already purged all Fatui spies from the facility.
While infiltrating foreign nations with spies was generally prohibited, the usual practice was deportation. This was the first time Fontaine had witnessed such a swift and large-scale purge.
Neuvillette had merely informed Wriothesley by letter about Furina's likely imprisonment, and the Duke had acted with such decisive speed.
Since the deed was already done, Neuvillette had no choice but to feign ignorance when facing Arlecchino and try to make concessions in other areas.
Just as Neuvillette had anticipated, the incident caused a considerable uproar within the Fatui.
Arlecchino frowned as she stared at the newspaper reporting Furina's imprisonment, lost in thought for a long while.
Wriothesley had gone too far, resulting in heavy losses for the Fatui.
However, Arlecchino's primary concern wasn't the losses themselves, but rather Furina's true identity.
The more Furina desperately tried to conceal what had happened that night, the more Arlecchino's suspicions grew.
If Furina wasn't the Hydro Archon, then the real Hydro Archon could only be hiding within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale!
With this realization, Arlecchino summoned Lyney and Lynette and instructed them:
"I need you to perform a magic show at the Opera Epiclese. Use the opportunity to approach the core of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale."
"Yes, Father," they replied.
Upon receiving Arlecchino's orders, the siblings were initially startled, as the timeline had been moved up considerably from their original plan. However, their expressions quickly returned to their usual composure.
Arlecchino's orders required no questioning—only obedience.
"Neuvillette will approve your reservation for the Opera Epiclese," she said.
With that, Arlecchino abruptly stood up.
"I need to temporarily leave Fontaine and return to Snezhnaya for a while. Lyney, I'm entrusting all matters here to you for the time being."
Hearing this, the two were startled again.
"Lyney, have more confidence in yourself. Your abilities are already sufficient; you simply lack experience," Arlecchino said as she walked toward the door.
"I hope that when I return to Fontaine, you will have gathered complete intelligence on the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale."
After Arlecchino left, Lyney and Lynette exchanged puzzled glances.
"What's gotten into Father? Why would he suddenly deviate from the original plan?" Lynette murmured, shaking her head slightly.
Arlecchino hadn't revealed the results of her probe into Furina, leaving Lyney and Lynette utterly clueless about her true motives.
"Sigh... Father's really given me a tough task this time," Lyney sighed.
"Even if we manage to secure the Opera Epiclese, how can I approach the core of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale undetected, given our public identities?" Lyney forced a bitter smile.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Brother," Lynette reassured him. "Father and I both believe in your abilities."
Lynette's encouragement revitalized Lyney's spirits.
"Alright, accomplishing the impossible is exactly what a Magician should be capable of!"
"Let's prepare a grand Magic performance for this!"
"For the grand finale, we'll stick to what we rehearsed earlier—"
Suddenly, images flashed through Lyney's mind, and he abruptly stopped speaking.
"What's wrong, Brother?" Lynette asked anxiously, noticing his unusual reaction.
"It's nothing," Lyney replied with a forced smile, shaking his head. "Just some unpleasant memories resurfacing."
"Never mind, Lynette. Let's scrap the underwater escape Magic trick and pick something else."
After a moment of silence, Lynette murmured, "Okay, Brother."