"Fatui?! How are they here?" Paimon exclaimed when she saw the Lady appear out of nowhere, followed by a whole squad of Fatui agents.
"And judging by the look of them, they're here to steal Venti's Gnosis?!"
"We have to help!" Lumine drew her White Iron Sword and was about to charge forward when a squad of Fatui Skirmishers surrounded her in an instant.
More Fatui kept flooding in from all directions, judging by their numbers, there must have been several hundred of them.
Even Richard couldn't help but glance at Venti with a helpless look. "What exactly does your Mondstadt Knights of Favonius do all day?"
So many Fatui had gathered, how had there been no warning at all?
"Probably means Mondstadt is in trouble of its own right now, maybe?" Venti answered uncertainly.
"Don't count on reinforcements. Mondstadt can't even protect itself at the moment. Hand over your Gnosis now, and I'll let you all walk away. If you turn back now, you might still make it in time." The Lady's lips curled into a mocking smile, as if she already had them in the palm of her hand.
Venti and Richard exchanged a glance. From Venti's eyes, Richard could read the silent message: 'Your former colleague… has she always been this bold?'
"She's from Mondstadt."
Venti: "...."
"Hmph! So you choose death over obedience." Seeing Richard and Venti ignore her, the Lady's pretty face darkened instantly.
"Don't tell me you're counting on Hydro Archon Focalors to protect you? I admit, her power's not bad. But her mistake was meddling in Mondstadt's affairs, burning through all her strength."
"After she healed Dvalin, I doubt she can even stand now. Hah, another fool sacrificing herself for others. But this saves me the trouble. I'll just take her Gnosis too while I'm at it." She was even eyeing Furina now.
What she hadn't noticed was that when the Fatui surrounded them, this so-called Hydro Archon had quietly slipped behind Richard without anyone noticing.
Clearly, Furina knew exactly who the true powerhouse here was.
"Richard, there are so many of them… can you handle it?" Furina tugged at Richard's sleeve, her voice soft as she glanced nervously at the sea of Fatui.
As if she were worried he might lose, she turned to Barbatos too: "Aren't you the Anemo Archon? Can't you, you know, whoosh, fly us out of here? If that won't work, at least get me and Richard out; we can bring back reinforcements. My personal guards are quite good, you know."
"Forgive me for being blunt, Lady Furina, but in this situation, even your personal guard wouldn't be much help."
"Huh? Then why hire so many guards?"
"To make you believe you're safe."
Furina:?
"…Just kidding, Lady Furina. The situation's not that dire yet." Richard smiled.
"No, I can tell you're not joking. So… my guards really are useless?" Furina was no longer the naive version of herself; at the very least, she could now tell when Richard was joking and when he was dead serious.
Judging by what he said about her "guards," she knew he meant it!
"Well, not entirely. Clorinde is still pretty strong," Richard thought for a moment and answered.
"She's no longer my bodyguard. She's my private secretary now," Furina muttered wistfully.
"Alright, then I guess you're right." Richard shrugged.
"Chirping away like sparrows. Are you finished? Should I tell the Anemo Archon to call his little hamster back? Maybe then you'd stand a chance of fighting back." The Lady sneered coldly.
But her patience was clearly wearing thin too; she couldn't drag this out much longer. If she did, the Knights might catch wind of this, and the Hydro Archon might be buying time to recover her strength.
"Richard, when you betrayed Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, did you ever think you'd see this day? Do you think the one you're clinging to for protection now still has the strength to shield you?"
From her perspective, Furina looked like a harmless little bunny, not an ounce of power left in her.
The Fair Lady didn't think too much of it; she simply assumed Furina had burned through all her divine power fighting the Abyss Order and helping Dvalin purge the poison.
But Furina, hearing this, gave the Lady a strange look. So the saying's true, big chest, no brain!
She's the one protecting Richard? If anything, it's the other way around!
After this trip to Mondstadt, she'd glimpsed just a fraction of Richard's true strength. Her Secretary General's hidden depths far exceeded what she'd imagined.
'Betrayed the Tsaritsa… plus the way Yae Miko had acted when she visited… not to mention he'd grown up here in Mondstadt.'
Who knew, maybe he'd traveled to Natlan, Sumeru, or Liyue too; she just hadn't found out yet.
The more Furina thought about it, the more she felt her secretary was a walking vault of secrets. But then again, she had plenty of secrets, too, so maybe they were even.
"I should correct you on one thing: I never betrayed the Tsaritsa. We were partners, where I went was my own choice. Besides, if Her Majesty herself didn't mind my departure, why are you so worked up?" Richard said calmly.
"Hah! Don't take Her Majesty's mercy for granted!" As the words left her lips, the Lady flicked her wrist. The air solidified, and sharp ice spikes formed, shooting straight for Richard.
But just as they were about to hit Richard and the two people hiding behind him, Venti and Furina, the ice spikes dissolved into harmless motes of light.
Again with this strange trick. The Fair Lady's brow furrowed. 'Could it be that the Hydro Archon's weakness was all an act? Did she still have power left?'
"Thinking back, of all the Fatui Harbingers, only a handful have actually witnessed my strength firsthand; you, I believe, aren't one of them."
"That would explain why you're so terribly mistaken about me." Richard shook his head. Before the Lady could react, the ground beneath her feet froze over.
'The Tsaritsa's authority?!' The Lady shivered.
"No, my authority," Richard said, as if he'd read her mind, correcting her calmly.
Before she could reply, the ice spread, encasing her completely.
What was left was a beautiful statue of a woman frozen in clear, pure ice.
The ice was so pristine that one could see her delicate features perfectly through it.
To keep her from suffering dry eyes, Richard had even kindly left a little space so she could blink.
…Though she didn't exactly seem grateful for it.
Inside the ice, the Lady was trying desperately to break the seal with searing flames, but it was utterly futile.
The raging fire, which could incinerate anything in its path, couldn't even melt this thin layer of ice.
The two forces simply weren't on the same level at all!