Neuvillette arrived at the northern beach of Fontaine's city district, looking at the clear, azure waters.
His mind couldn't calm down for a long time.
The words that Su Yuan had urgently spoken to him early this morning made him feel an immense sense of trouble and difficulty.
Chevreuse, Kirara, Wriothesley...
Everyone was in different locations, each with the potential corrupted by Eerie force.
Among them, the most difficult to understand was Wriothesley...
The conditions for his Eerie were quite clear—if he didn't drink tea, nothing would happen.
So, Su Yuan and Neuvillette split up.
He went to the Fontaine Hospital to deal with Chevreuse's father's situation, while Neuvillette headed to Fortress of Meropide to investigate what was going on, to see if he could stop Wriothesley before his Eerie took place.
But in this urgent situation, every bit of time was extremely precious...
Fontaine was far from Meropide, and even with the most advanced airships, it would still take a long time.
However, for Neuvillette, there was a method to reach Meropide at an incredibly fast speed...
"How long has it been since I have fully immersed myself in nature's waters like this?"
Neuvillette murmured to himself.
He then leapt gracefully into the air, forming an elegant arc, and without causing a splash, dove into the water.
This scene happened to be captured by a passing reporter with a camera.
.................
Fortress of Meropide, Wriothesley looked at the cup in his hand, a light brown drink with some transparent black specks at the bottom, feeling somewhat puzzled...
What is this? From the color, is it a dairy product? Or something like coffee?
Wriothesley was about to take a sip when he suddenly heard someone report:
"Your Grace, Lord Neuvillette has arrived!"
"Neuvillette? What is he here for?" Wriothesley suddenly showed a puzzled expression.
"Didn't we agree to meet him at Palais Mermonia once we're done with our business?"
"Lord Kamisato, it's a good opportunity. The highest judge of Fontaine, Lord Neuvillette, has arrived. Why don't you join me to meet him?" Wriothesley looked at Kamisato Ayato and said.
"I was thinking of finding a good day to visit Lord Neuvillette and Lady Furina at Palais Mermonia…"
Kamisato Ayato glanced at Wriothesley's milk tea and smiled as he said, "But now works just as well. There's no time like the present. It's all fate!"
Soon after, Kamisato Ayato followed Wriothesley to a meeting room, where they met Neuvillette.
"Haha… Neuvillette!"
As soon as they met, Wriothesley threw the drink at Neuvillette, who easily caught it with his hand.
"Let me introduce you. This is the head of the Kamisato family, the Shogunate's executive, Mr. Kamisato Ayato," Wriothesley said, pointing to Ayato.
"This drink was originally given to me by him, but since I know you, Neuvillette, like water and drinks, I'll reluctantly part with it so you can taste this exotic drink!"
Neuvillette did not immediately drink the beverage but instead looked at Kamisato Ayato and calmly said,
"Head of the Kamisato family, I've heard of your name."
"But why am I unaware of your presence in Fontaine?"
"Generally speaking, exchanges and visits between nations require an application and a process..."
"Lord Neuvillette, you misunderstand. I am not representing Inazuma on this visit to Fontaine, but rather coming in my personal capacity, so no reports or applications have been made."
Kamisato Ayato smiled faintly and said.
Neuvillette eyed him warily.
The last person who secretly infiltrated Fontaine was "The Doctor," Dottore...
Moreover, Kamisato Ayato wasn't here alone—he had brought many people from Inazuma, yet he had received no information about it.
This was highly suspicious...
Neuvillette then looked at Wriothesley.
At present, Wriothesley showed no signs of being affected...
The condition for Wriothesley's corruption was drinking tea.
Could it be...?
Neuvillette pondered, glancing at the drink in his hand, then at Kamisato Ayato, and asked, "Head of the Kamisato family, may I ask what this drink is called and what it's made of?"
"Hahaha..." Kamisato Ayato chuckled, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Neuvillette and said, "Lord Neuvillette, you don't think I've poisoned this drink, do you? I would never do something that could harm the peace between our nations..."
"Answer my question," Neuvillette said firmly.
"Alright, alright, Lord Neuvillette, don't be angry. I'll tell you," Kamisato Ayato said with a smile.
"This drink is called milk tea. As the name suggests, it's a sweet drink made by mixing dairy products and tea leaves..."
"It's not only a local specialty from Inazuma, but it's also one of my favorite drinks..."
"That's why, when I came to Fortress of Meropide, I thought I'd let the Duke try it too..."
Upon hearing the words "tea leaves," Wriothesley's expression immediately became serious.
He looked at Kamisato Ayato and asked, "Does it contain tea leaves? Why didn't you tell me?"
Kamisato Ayato smiled innocently, giving off a harmless appearance, and replied, "Ah? Duke, you can't drink tea? But I heard that you really enjoy tasting tea. In fact, you spent quite a lot of money just to collect specialty teas from all over Teyvat..."
"Actually, when I came from Inazuma, I also brought a lot of fine local specialty teas..."
Finally, Neuvillette understood why Su Yuan had told him that Wriothesley would undergo corruption—it was because of this.
But Su Yuan's intelligence was always so detailed.
Why hadn't he anticipated this?
Was it because Kamisato Ayato's involvement had caused all of this?
Both Neuvillette and Wriothesley were unfamiliar with Kamisato Ayato, so they didn't know whether the person before them had been corrupted or not...
Had it been a mere coincidence that he gave Wriothesley the milk tea, or was it intentional?
"Sigh... what a shame..." Kamisato Ayato sighed, looking at Neuvillette and Wriothesley.
"Seems like I came at the wrong time..."
"Next time... next time, I will definitely visit Lord Neuvillette and Lady Furina at Palais Mermonia in Fontaine in person..."
As Kamisato Ayato spoke, he turned to leave.
"Head of the Kamisato family, you can't leave! I still have a lot of questions for you!" Wriothesley grabbed Kamisato Ayato by the shoulder.
"I can't leave?"
"Heheheh..."
Kamisato Ayato let out a strange laugh and turned to look at Wriothesley...
Both Neuvillette and Wriothesley could clearly see that, in that moment, Kamisato Ayato's face began to twist, and crimson, foul-smelling liquid dripped from it, but it quickly returned to normal.
"I want to leave..."
"Can you stop me?"
With his normal face, "Kamisato Ayato" squinted and smiled.
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