Damn it, I don't even know how to control Elemental Power!
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Furina's forehead. This isn't good...
Crap, I'm a fake now.
Damn it! If my Hydro Archon disguise is exposed, Fontaine will be doomed!
Thinking quickly, Furina crossed her arms, feigning nonchalance.
"If Divine Miracles could be shown to you so easily, they wouldn't be called Divine Miracles, would they?"
"You really are a fake!"
"Don't push it too far, repeatedly calling me a fraud."
"I've only refrained from prosecuting your blasphemous acts against the Archon out of sheer compassion and mercy!"
"If you continue spouting such nonsense, I'll have no choice but to bring you to justice!"
Furina feigned great anger as she addressed the Maison Gardiennage officer.
"Ha ha ha! A fake trying to prosecute me first!"
"Very well, then let's see if anyone else will listen to you, Lady Furina!"
Furina bit her lip, then snapped, "Guards, seize this arrogant blasphemer immediately!"
Furina raised her hand, but when no Maison Gardiennage officers moved after a long moment, she turned to look at them, only to meet gazes filled with hesitation, mockery, or outright anger.
Growing fearful, Furina raised her voice.
"Why are you all standing there? Do you dare defy the Hydro Archon Furina?!"
Yet, even after Furina spoke these words, the Maison Gardiennage officers remained motionless.
One or two seemed about to act, but they were immediately restrained by their comrades, who shook their heads and urged them to stand back in line.
At that moment, Furina's inner fear intensified.
Do none of you believe that I am Furina, the Hydro Archon?
No one replied to Furina's question. Everyone simply stared at her in silence, an invisible pressure steadily weighing down on her fragile shoulders.
Furina felt deeply wronged. Though she wasn't the true Hydro Archon, she was the one who had always appeared before the public.
It was one thing to have initially failed to recognize the imposter, but now they were questioning her very identity.
"Everyone," a Maison Gardiennage officer facing Furina declared, "let's seize this person impersonating Lady Furina! When Lady Furina, the Hydro Archon, learns of our actions, she will surely reward us handsomely!"
His words immediately stirred doubt in the hearts of many Maison Gardiennage officers.
The Furina standing before them refused to display even a hint of divine power, making her seem highly suspicious.
Exposing her deception now would surely earn them great rewards.
With that thought, one Maison Gardiennage officer moved, taking two steps forward.
This action served as a signal, and the other officers began to advance as well.
"Y-you, what are you doing?"
Furina panicked as the officers approached.
If she were arrested here today, the situation would become utterly irreparable.
Thinking this, Furina took a step back.
"You'd better think carefully! Your current actions constitute an offense against the Archon! When the time comes, I will—hold you all accountable!"
Furina's words had the desired effect. Though everyone sensed something was off about this Furina—that she was likely an imposter—what if she were genuine? The consequences of mistreating the real Hydro Archon would be beyond the capacity of lowly Maison Gardiennage officers to bear.
"Fortune favors the bold!"
"Alright, brothers, I'll lead the charge!"
Suddenly, one of the Maison Gardiennage officers charged toward Furina without hesitation. The others froze for a moment, then snapped out of their stupor and followed suit.
Humans are like that—once someone takes the lead, they can easily make decisions they previously couldn't.
Seeing the officers rushing at her, Furina recoiled in terror, retreating rapidly while shouting:
"What are you doing?!"
"Aren't you afraid of my punishment?!"
"D-don't come any closer!"
Just as Furina was contemplating whether to flee outright, a sigh drifted from the side.
"Enough. This ends here."
Hearing the deep, mature voice, the Maison Gardiennage officers immediately halted and bowed respectfully to the figure who had materialized in mid-air without anyone noticing.
"Monsieur Neuvillette."
"Mm, you should go and evacuate the crowd gathered at Fountain Plaza. I'll handle things here."
"And this woman before you is indeed the Hydro Archon Furina, as you know her. I can vouch for that."
At Neuvillette's words, the Maison Gardiennage officers flinched, then fled in even greater haste, bowing their heads low to avoid Furina memorizing their faces for future retribution.
However, one officer remained rooted to the spot, looking utterly bewildered, bound by the promise he had made earlier.
Watching him, Neuvillette sighed softly again.
"You should leave with the others as well."
"This situation is complex, and it's understandable you were mistaken."
"But since you've made this decision, Lady Furina still retains the right to pursue charges against you. We'll see how things unfold later."
Hearing this, the officer immediately fled in a panic.
"Neuvillette!"
"You're finally here! I'm so glad!"
Once they were alone, Furina couldn't contain herself any longer. She rushed toward Neuvillette and grabbed his hand tightly.
"Those Maison Gardiennage officers actually suspected me of being the imposter! It's outrageous!"
Neuvillette frowned slightly as Furina wiped her tears and snot all over his sleeve, but he managed to restrain himself.
"You're the only reliable one, Neuvillette! You recognized me right away!"
After venting for a while, Furina's emotions finally stabilized, and she released Neuvillette's now-soiled arm.
Seeing this, Neuvillette's frown deepened.
However, his inner composure quickly returned. He was used to this by now.
"Lady Furina, as I've said before, your unique presence is impossible for ordinary people to imitate."
"Ha ha! Are you saying I possess a distinctive aura that sets me apart from the common folk, Neuvillette?"
Hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina couldn't help but burst into laughter through her tears.
"I never thought you'd be complimenting people now, Neuvillette!"
Neuvillette regarded Furina in silence for a long moment before finally speaking slowly.
"It's about what you expected, isn't it?"
"Now that it's just the two of us, Lady Furina, would you care to explain yourself?"
"Who is this other 'Furina'?"
Furina paused, startled by Neuvillette's words, then responded with bewildered defiance.
"Who is she? How would I know?!"
"She's impersonating me and deceiving my loyal followers! Such an act is utterly unforgivable!"
"If I knew who she was, wouldn't I have already had the Special Task Force bring her back?"
Seeing Furina persist in her charade, even Neuvillette's expression grew considerably more serious.
"Take a look at this first."
With that, Neuvillette handed the newspaper in his hand to Furina.
"What's this?" Furina asked, taking the paper with a curious glance. But her eyes were immediately drawn to the contents, and her gaze began to waver uncontrollably.
[Breaking News: Hydro Archon Furina publicly wields her Archon's Power for the first time, constructing Palais Mermonia entirely from Hydro Element before the eyes of over ten thousand witnesses... ]
"Lady Furina, after reading this report, do you have anything you'd like to say to me?"
Furina was utterly stunned. Though she possessed no Archon's Power herself, her years of dealing with various powerful figures had given her a clear understanding of the immense strength required to accomplish what the report described.
Without a doubt, this could truly be called a Divine Miracle, for no ordinary person could possibly achieve such a feat...
At that moment, Furina finally understood why the Maison Gardiennage officers had been so certain she was the impostor. If she weren't directly involved, even she would have believed the other woman to be the true Hydro Archon.
For the first time, Furina saw the impostor's face in the newspaper photograph. The unsettlingly perfect likeness shook her to her core.
The differences were subtle: the impostor's face remained expressionless, and her formal gown was a shade darker.
Yet, in a way, the other woman's demeanor seemed more befitting of an Archon.
A flurry of questions flooded Furina's mind. Could the real Hydro Archon have returned? she wondered. Could I finally be free?
But she quickly dismissed this idea. If the other woman were truly the Hydro Archon, she would have sought Furina out immediately, rather than impersonating her at a public gathering with the Fontaine citizens.
Who is she? Why is she pretending to be me? What does she want?
When Furina remained silent, Neuvillette shook his head slightly.
On his way back from the Judgment, he had suddenly sensed an overwhelmingly powerful Hydro Element aura emanating from Fontaine. He immediately rushed back at top speed.
Upon arriving, he learned that the aura had come from Furina performing a Divine Miracle before tens of thousands of people. This news only deepened Neuvillette's concern. To be honest, he didn't believe Furina would use her Archon's Power—something she hadn't touched in centuries—for such a trivial matter.
While purchasing a newspaper along the way to gather more detailed information, Neuvillette arrived at Fountain Plaza and immediately saw Furina in grave danger.
By this point, Neuvillette was certain that the Furina who had appeared before the public earlier was not the one he knew. The Furina before him now, however, seemed much more like her—a god who resembled an ordinary person. This was the Furina he recognized.
Neuvillette had initially believed Furina must know something about the recent events. Yet seeing her current state, he suddenly felt uncertain. He couldn't tell if she genuinely didn't know anything or was deliberately concealing information from him.
Though Furina appeared utterly naive, Neuvillette sensed that she was far more enigmatic than most people he knew. She was a walking contradiction, her every move steeped in paradox.
"Lady Furina, if you know anything, please inform me beforehand. This is crucial."
After another long silence, Furina remained unresponsive, prompting Neuvillette to offer a gentle reminder.
"I... I truly don't know anything," Furina finally stammered, snapping out of her daze.
"Why is she so powerful...? I mean, I don't understand how she could possess power so close to mine?"
Furina trailed off mid-sentence, suddenly realizing her slip. She immediately forced herself to appear calm, though the stiffness in her expression betrayed her forced composure.
By now, Neuvillette had grown weary of challenging Furina's falsehoods. After a moment's contemplation, he addressed her:
"Lady Furina, if you truly have no knowledge of this matter, then Fontaine may soon face a grave crisis."
"The individual in the photograph likely belongs to that mysterious organization."
"Only such a place could cultivate such a formidable entity."
There was one other individual Neuvillette refrained from mentioning: the Doctor, Dottore.
Neuvillette believed that even the mysterious organization couldn't achieve this feat alone; Dottore's assistance was almost certainly involved.
If creating Archons were so simple, the Teyvat continent would have long been engulfed in another Archon War.
"Neuvillette, are you saying that mysterious organization is making moves again?"
Upon hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina immediately tensed, but her anger quickly overshadowed her anxiety.
"Damn it! That mysterious group has been targeting me from the start. They're completely lawless!"
"When I get the chance, I'll put each and every one of them through a Judgment!"
Neuvillette shook his head at Furina's indignant outburst.
"While the situation is still under control, you need to prove your identity to the public."
Furina stared at him in disbelief.
"Neuvillette, are you out of your mind?"
"I have to prove to others that I am who I am?!"
Neuvillette nodded and explained, "If the public can't recognize and distinguish the impostor Hydro Archon now, it will be too late once she commits some uncontrollable and dangerous act."
Hearing his explanation, Furina understood the gravity of the situation and reluctantly asked, "Fine, fine. But what exactly am I supposed to do?"
"The first method is to demonstrate your Archon's Power before the public."
Neuvillette paused, then continued.
"This is the most direct and effective method."
"Mhm, mhm. That's a good point, Neuvillette, but I'll choose the second one."
Having anticipated Furina's answer, Neuvillette immediately proposed the second method without hesitation:
"Control the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale to deliver completely contradictory verdicts."
"The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale was created by your own hand. If you can control it, the citizens of Fontaine will believe in your identity as the Hydro Archon."
After hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina scratched her head and gave an awkward smile.
"Is there a third option?"
Neuvillette: "..."