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"By the way, I read the third act of your Mondstadt story."
Furina suddenly spoke up.
The second act of the novel had only been released a few days prior.
While the second act was being published, the third act had already been submitted to The Steambird.
At that time, Furina had already read the third act's story.
"What about it?"
Lucian wasn't surprised that Furina had read the third act—he was well aware of her intelligence-gathering capabilities.
What puzzled him was why she brought it up now.
"Based on the information I've gathered, your third act might no longer count as a prophecy."
"The Anemo Archon has already resolved the dragon crisis," Furina said.
"Oh?" Lucian was startled. If it were anyone else altering the future, it wouldn't be strange—but this was the laziest slacker of them all.
The slacker actually stopped slacking? He actually took initiative?
Oh no, oh no—something big must be happening! Could it be that the Heavenly Principles are about to awaken?
He never would have guessed that Venti's rare moment of diligence was solely to one-up him.
But this time, Venti's backstab actually succeeded.
Lucian was about to release the third act of the story and Jean's Story Quest.
From his conversation with Furina, he had already learned that Venti had resolved the dragon crisis.
Since the dragon crisis was already resolved, the third act could no longer be considered a prediction of the future—it was more like a historical account of how the crisis was resolved.
For the people of Mondstadt, this meant losing the element of surprise that came with spoilers about the future.
In terms of the story itself, the only real shocking moment was when Venti bared his heart.
As for Jean's Story Quest, it was just another day in the life of the Knights of Favonius.
The biggest impact of this story would probably be reducing Jean's workload—oh, and maybe making some Mondstadt citizens feel guilty.
After seeing how hard Jean worked for them, they'd at least stop bothering her over trivial matters.
Furina looked at Lucian curiously, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting his figure.
Her large eyes blinked adorably as she asked,
"You didn't foresee this future?"
Lucian sighed inwardly. How would I know the future? I just have more information than others. My "predictions" rely entirely on that advantage.
I can't actually prophesize, but I understand you all. Since Venti resolved the dragon crisis early, he'll probably find another way to hand over his Gnosis later.
"Because once people know the future, they always try to change it."
"So some deviations are perfectly reasonable."
Furina nodded, though it was unclear whether she truly understood.
Doesn't matter if you get it or not—just believe me!
He even knew her secret—that she wasn't the true Hydro Archon. At this point, what reason did she have to doubt him?
"By the way, the Fatui took the Anemo Archon's Gnosis."
"Will they try to take the other Archons' Gnoses too?"
Furina asked the question that concerned her most.
She believed herself to be a false god, one who didn't even possess a Gnosis.
If the Fatui targeted her, she—completely powerless—would likely be even more pitiful than Venti, who had merely been acting.
"They will. They'll come for yours too," Lucian said with a mischievous grin.
"There's an extremely ruthless and powerful Fatui Harbinger—codename [The Knave]."
"She's about to come to Fontaine to attack you and steal your Gnosis."
"She's terrifying—incredibly strong, with ice-cold eyes."
"She'll wield a machete and slash her way from Snezhnaya all the way to Fontaine without even blinking!"
Lucian was just trying to scare Furina a little.
Logically, [The Knave] should still be in Snezhnaya right now.
What he didn't expect was that, precisely because of his presence in Fontaine as a "prophet," [The Knave] was already on horseback, rushing toward them.
Now he really was a prophet.
"W-what? Then... what do I do?" Furina was frightened.
She absolutely couldn't let them take it—if the Fatui tried to steal her Gnosis, they'd quickly realize she didn't have one.
And then her secret—that she wasn't the Hydro Archon—would be exposed.
"Relax, I'm here, aren't I?"
He had already converted his Emotional Value into strength.
Since he'd chosen the mage path, the main boosts were to his stamina and Elemental Mastery.
Lucian patted Furina's ahoge reassuringly.
"Thank you, Lucian."
Furina let out a sigh of relief. Right—Lucian was here.
He could see the future. How could anything go wrong?
"You're welcome."
She had completely forgotten that the reason she was scared in the first place was because of Lucian's teasing. And now she was thanking him?
To this, Lucian could only say: When there's danger, I'm your protector.
But when there's no danger? I'm the biggest danger of all. Ehe~
Lucian managed to calm Furina down, but she still remembered [The Knave]'s name.
She now felt fear toward this Fatui Harbinger she had never met.
Meanwhile, [The Knave] was still on horseback, making her way to Fontaine.
If she knew what was happening, she'd probably want to throttle Lucian.
Originally, I'd have to actually risk attacking the Hydro Archon to earn fear and wariness.
But now? Before I've even made a move, the blame's already been pinned on me?
On this point, her colleague [Signora] could relate all too well.
I've done nothing, yet I'm still shouldering all the blame.
The book says I cursed the Knights of Favonius and stole the Holy Lyre—but I did neither!
Little did she know that once the third act was released, she'd also be blamed for stealing the Gnosis—even though she hadn't gotten her hands on it.
Speaking of [Signora], she was currently in a foul mood after finishing the "Ballad of the Bard."
The story was too good—so good that even [Signora], a dedicated hater, couldn't help but feel the Anemo Archon's charm.
But while she felt his charm, she was also furious.
If the Anemo Archon had played the Song of the High Sky for me back then, would I have walked this path? Why couldn't he grant me salvation?
Without the benefit of hindsight, she didn't know that Venti had his own burdens.
[Signora] angrily threw the book to the ground.
Right now, the Fatui could barely move freely in Mondstadt, so all she could do was read.
And now, this book's story had left her so frustrated—nothing was going right!
Worst of all, the story also reflected her!
Wasn't I, too, bound by the "past"?
Truthfully, [Signora] could no longer remember anything about her past.
What was my personality like? What were my habits? Who was I?
She had forgotten all of it.
But even though she'd forgotten everything, she was still trapped.
Because she remembered being called... the "Witch."
Can I, who have abandoned the "present," still move toward the "future"?
As the "Witch," I suppose I have no chance...
"Lady [Signora]! Something terrible has happened!" A Cicin Mage rushed into the room to report.
Hearing this, [Signora]'s blood pressure spiked. Again? Can't anything good happen for once?
"Speak!"
The Cicin Mage hurriedly reported,
"We just received the third act of the novel from Fontaine!"
"The book says that we, the Fatui, stole the Anemo Archon's Gnosis!"
"What?!" [Signora] was stunned.
While they had planned to take the Gnosis, being exposed before they'd even succeeded would ruin everything!
"Damn it, damn it all! Damn that Shikikan!"
[Signora] stomped on the book she had thrown earlier, venting her fury as if it were Lucian himself.
"I wish I could go to Fontaine instead of [The Knave]!"
"I'd burn you to ashes with my flames!"
After her outburst, [Signora] finally calmed down.
"...Sigh. Go buy me another copy."
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice-Over: Signora – About the Past
"The past? Knowing my past is meaningless. Because... I never needed salvation. Never..."