The messenger from the Yashiro Commission arrived at dawn, exhausted from the expedited journey across two nations.
He wore the distinctive blue and white of the Kamisato clan's retainers and carried a sealed letter marked with Ayato's personal crest—the kind of official correspondence that demanded immediate attention from the highest authorities.
The guards at Mondstadt's gate took one look at the seal and the messenger's urgent expression and immediately escorted him to the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
He was shown to a waiting room. Offered tea. Told the Acting Grand Master would see him shortly.
Twenty minutes later, Jean entered, already dressed in her full uniform despite the early hour. She rarely slept more than four hours a night, and those hours were constantly interrupted by one crisis or another.
"You have correspondence from Inazuma," she said without preamble. "From Commissioner Kamisato Ayato. That's unusual. What's the nature of the emergency?"
The messenger bowed deeply. "Acting Grand Master Jean of the Knights of Favonius. I bear urgent news regarding Miss Klee and Miss Yoimiya. Commissioner Ayato requests immediate communication regarding a supernatural incident that occurred yesterday."
Jean's expression didn't change, but something in her posture shifted. "What kind of incident?"
The messenger handed over the letter. "The Commissioner felt it best explained in writing. But I am authorized to tell you that Miss Yoimiya experienced what appears to be a sympathy curse—magical pain inflicted simultaneously on both her and, presumably, Miss Klee. There was also an earthquake centered on the Kamisato Estate. Property damage, but no casualties.
However—"
Jean had broken the seal and was reading rapidly, her eyes moving faster with each line. The color drained from her face.
"—the Commissioner believes Miss Klee may have experienced the same event at the same time," the messenger continued. "He respectfully requests confirmation of her wellbeing and any information about a possible curse or artifact linking the two girls."
Jean looked up from the letter, her expression carved from stone. "When did this incident occur?"
"Last night Approximately 7 PM Inazuma time."
"LAST NIGHT!!?"
Jean's mind raced through the calculations. Time zones. The curve of Teyvat. Seven PM in Inazuma would be approximately 5 PM in Mondstadt. Three days ago.
When Klee should have been in her room.
"Wait here," Jean said, her voice dangerously calm.
She turned.
For the briefest instant the room seemed to hold its breath with her—lamplight trembling faintly against the polished floor, the lingering warmth of the council chamber pressing against her back like an unspoken accusation.
Then she walked out.
Her steps were measured, deliberate. Each heel struck the stone with quiet precision. Not hurried. Not frantic. Acting Grand Masters did not run through their own headquarters like frightened recruits.
But urgency clung to her all the same.
It lived in the stiffness of her shoulders. In the way her gloved fingers curled once—tight, controlled—before relaxing again at her sides. In the pace of her stride, just a fraction faster than protocol allowed.
The heavy door closed behind her with a low, resonant thud.
The corridor beyond felt colder.
Tall windows stretched along the outer wall, moonlight pouring through them in pale ribbons that striped the marble floor. The headquarters was quieter here—no murmuring officers, no rustle of paperwork—only the distant echo of footsteps and the faint whistle of wind slipping through the stonework high above.
Her footsteps carried down the hall.
Sharp. Even. Unwavering.
Click.
Click.
Click.
She reached the staircase and ascended without slowing. The iron rail was cool beneath her palm, almost damp with the night's chill. Each step upward echoed through the stairwell like a measured drumbeat, the sound folding into the hollow space above.
Halfway up, her breath caught—barely noticeable, gone as soon as it came.
At the landing she didn't pause.
Second floor.
The air here was different.
Still.
Heavier.
The residential wing stretched ahead in a long corridor lined with closed doors, their brass nameplates glinting faintly under the lanterns mounted along the walls. The soft glow of the lamps left pockets of shadow between them, dark spaces where silence pooled thickly.
Her pace quickened again.
Just slightly.
Fabric whispered with every stride—the faint rustle of her uniform coat brushing against her boots. Somewhere far down the hall a floorboard creaked, settling in the quiet.
Then she saw it.
The door.
Set apart from the others. Reinforced iron bands crossing the wood. A narrow observation slot cut through the center like a watchful eye.
And beneath the lantern's glow, the brass plate gleamed.
Spark Knight — Solitary Confinement
She stopped.
Not abruptly—no, she slowed first, the final step softer than the rest until the sound faded entirely.
Silence settled around her.
Knocked twice.
No answer.
Jean opened the door.
The room was empty.
Not "Klee is out doing something" empty. Abandoned empty. The bed was made—military precision that suggested it hadn't been slept in for days. The desk was clear except for a folded piece of paper propped against a stuffed toy.
Jean crossed the room in three strides and snatched up the letter.
Dear Brother Albedo,
I'm sorry. I know you'll be mad...
She read the entire letter in thirty seconds, her hands beginning to shake.
I have to go alone because if anyone travels with me, they might touch the necklace...
Yoimiya experiencing simultaneous pain.
Two days ago.
Jean's hands crumpled the letter. Her breathing had gone very shallow, very controlled—the kind of breathing that preceded either complete calm or absolute fury.
She turned and walked back into the hallway. Her voice, when she spoke, could have cut glass.
"Someone fetch Albedo, Amber, Kaeya, Eula, Lisa, and Sucrose. Conference room. Immediately."
The guard who'd been passing looked at her expression and went pale. "Y-yes, Acting Grand Master!"
He ran.
---
The conference room on the third floor was used for serious matters—disciplinary hearings, mission briefings, strategic planning. It had a long table, uncomfortable chairs, and an atmosphere that discouraged casual conversation.
Albedo arrived first, still in his work clothes, chalk dust on his sleeves. His expression was carefully neutral, but his eyes went immediately to the letter Jean held.
Amber came next, looking confused and worried. Then Eula, perfectly composed. Lisa, suppressing a yawn. Sucrose, nervously clutching her notebook. Finally Kaeya, his usual lazy smile firmly in place.
"Master Jean?" Amber ventured. "What's—"
"Sit." Jean's voice allowed no argument.
They sat.
Jean remained standing at the head of the table, the letter from Inazuma in one hand and Klee's note in the other. She looked at each of them in turn, her gaze methodical and terrible.
"Last night," she began, voice perfectly level, "an incident occurred at the Kamisato Estate in Inazuma. Yoimiya experienced what has been identified as a sympathy curse—magical pain transmitted through an artifact. The curse was strong enough to cause an earthquake, render her unconscious. Commissioner Ayato felt it necessary to send an emergency diplomatic message to Mondstadt."
Lisa had gone very still. Amber's face was ashen. Eula's hand had moved unconsciously to her sword.
"According to the Commissioner's letter," Jean continued, "this curse is linked to a necklace. A cursed necklace that connects Yoimiya to another individual. Specifically—" Her voice dropped to something dangerous. "—to Klee."
Silence.
"I went to check on Klee this morning," Jean said. "She wasn't in her room. Her room showed signs of not being occupied for multiple days. And I found this letter—" She held up Klee's note. "—explaining that she has left Mondstadt. Alone. On a journey to Inazuma. Because of a curse that connects her to Yoimiya. A curse that apparently causes agonizing pain when anyone touches the artifact in question."
She set both letters on the table with deliberate care.
"So here is my question for all of you." Jean's eyes moved from face to face. "Who knew about this curse? And who decided that keeping it secret from me was an appropriate course of action?"
No one spoke.
"I'll ask again." Jean's voice rose slightly. "WHO. KNEW?"
Amber broke first. "I did. Master Jean, I'm so sorry, I—"
"When did you learn about it?"
"The first incident. At Windrise. Three days ago. I accidentally touched Klee's necklace and it—" Amber's voice cracked. "It hurt her. Hurt both of them. Klee collapsed. We brought her back here and—"
"Three days?" Jean's volume increased. "This has been happening for THREE DAYS and no one thought to inform me?"
"We were trying to find a solution before—" Lisa started.
"Before what? Before the curse killed her?" Jean slammed her hand on the table. The sound cracked through the room like a whip. "Before she decided to run away across two nations to try and fix it herself? Before a CHILD took it upon herself to do what ADULTS should have been handling?"
"Master Jean—" Eula attempted.
"Who else knew? I want names. Now."
They looked at each other. Then, one by one, they raised their hands. Amber. Eula. Lisa. Sucrose.
And Albedo.
Jean's gaze locked on him. "You. You knew about this."
"Yes." Albedo's voice was steady. "I knew. From the beginning. I was with Klee when Yae Miko gave them the necklaces. I should have recognized—"
"You should have told me." Jean's fury was cold now, precise. "You're her guardian. I trusted you. I trusted all of you. And instead of bringing this to me—instead of utilizing the full resources of the Knights of Favonius to solve this problem—you decided to keep it secret. To handle it yourselves. To let Klee believe she was so dangerous, so cursed, that she had to flee her home in the middle of the night."
"We were trying to protect her," Albedo said quietly.
"By lying to me? By letting her run away?" Jean's voice rose again, control slipping. "She's eight years old! She's alone! She's been alone for TWO DAYS in hostile territory, and we have no idea where she is or if she's even alive!"
"The letter mentions an incident," Kaeya interjected calmly. "If Yoimiya experienced the curse three days ago, then presumably Klee did as well. Which means she was alive three days ago."
"Alive and experiencing agony that none of you bothered to warn me about!" Jean rounded on him. "And you! You knew about this too, didn't you? You're always watching, always knowing things you shouldn't. Did you know and say nothing?"
Kaeya's smile had faded. "I suspected something was wrong. I didn't know the specifics. If I had—"
"Everyone out." Jean's voice had gone quiet. Dangerously quiet. "Except Albedo. The rest of you—conference room two. Wait there. Do not leave. Do not speak to anyone outside this group. Consider yourselves under investigation for dereliction of duty and conspiracy to deceive a superior officer."
"Master Jean—" Amber tried.
"OUT."
They filed out quickly, leaving only Jean and Albedo in the room.
Jean stood at the head of the table, hands pressed flat against the wood, breathing slowly and deliberately. Albedo remained seated, expressionless, waiting.
"Explain," Jean said. "From the beginning. Everything. And I swear to Barbatos, Albedo, if you leave out a single detail, I will have you stripped of your rank and expelled from the Knights."
So Albedo explained.
He told her about Yae Miko's gift at the dock, noticing Klee touching the necklace frequently but not recognizing the significance, Amber's accidental trigger at Windrise, red lightning, the earthquake, Klee's collapse, his research into sympathy curses, the attempted potion solution, the material gathering, discovering Klee's letter this morning, realizing she'd been gone for days.
He spoke in his usual measured tone, presenting facts without emotion, treating it like an alchemical experiment that had gone catastrophically wrong.
When he finished, Jean was gripping the edge of the table so hard her knuckles were white.
"You made potions," she said slowly. "Invincibility potions. To protect me. Using materials Klee gathered. Which means you sent her out—sent a cursed child into dangerous territory—to collect ingredients for protection magic that wouldn't even solve the actual problem."
"The potions were intended to prevent accidental triggers while we researched a permanent solution," Albedo said.
"And did you? Find a permanent solution?"
"No."
"So your plan was what, exactly? Keep Klee isolated forever? Hope the curse never triggered again? Wait for her to die from accumulated exposure?"
"My plan," Albedo said, and for the first time, emotion crept into his voice, "was to keep her safe until I could find an answer. Until I could—"
"Protect her by lying to me." Jean's voice was flat. "By deciding that my leadership, my authority, my right to know about threats to my knights—to my daughter in all but name—was less important than your pride. Than your need to solve things yourself."
"This isn't about pride—"
"Then what is it about?" Jean's fury finally broke through completely. "Tell me, Albedo! Tell me what was so important that you let Klee believe her only option was to run away! To walk across two nations alone! To risk her life because the adults around her were too busy playing researcher to actually HELP her!"
"I WAS TRYING TO HELP HER!"
The shout echoed in the room. Albedo was standing now, his carefully maintained composure cracking. "I was trying to help her! I was trying to find a solution that didn't involve locking her in this building for the rest of her life! Because that's what you would have done, Jean! You would have quarantined her! Put her under guard! Made sure no one ever came within ten feet of her! And she would have been safe and miserable and trapped!"
"That is not—"
"It is exactly what you would have done!" Albedo's hands were fists. "You're so afraid of losing people that you smother them! You work yourself to exhaustion because you can't trust anyone else to do things right! You micromanage every aspect of the Knights because you need control! And if you'd known about the curse, you would have controlled Klee right into a prison of safety!"
Jean's expression was stone. "At least she would have been HERE. She would have been SAFE. I would have KNOWN where she was!"
"Would you? Or would you have known where you PUT her? There's a difference, Jean. One is protection. The other is imprisonment."
They stared at each other across the table, both breathing hard, both furious.
Finally, Jean spoke, her voice cold and precise. "Captain Albedo. As of this moment, you are suspended from active duty pending full investigation. You will surrender your rank insignia and confine yourself to quarters. You are forbidden from conducting any research, accessing any Knight facilities, or communicating with anyone outside this building without my express permission."
"Jean—"
"That's Acting Grand Master to you. And I'm not finished." Jean's eyes were hard. "Outrider Amber, Librarian Lisa, Spindrift Knight Eula, and Alchemist Sucrose will also be suspended pending investigation. Cavalry Captain Kaeya will receive a formal reprimand for failure to report suspicious activity."
"And what about Klee?" Albedo's voice was sharp. "While you're busy punishing everyone, what's your plan for finding her?"
"I'm issuing an immediate all-units alert. Every Knight will be mobilized. We'll coordinate with Liyue's Millelith and Qixing. We'll contact Inazuma's Commissions. We'll search every road, every village, every port between here and there until we find her." Jean moved toward the door. "And when we do, I will personally ensure she receives the protection she should have had from the beginning."
"The kind of protection that suffocates?"
Jean stopped, hand on the door handle. "The kind that keeps her alive. Which is more than your approach achieved."
She opened the door, then paused.
"I trusted you, Albedo. I trusted all of you. And you betrayed that trust. Not just mine—Klee's. Because now she's out there alone, believing she has to save herself because the adults in her life failed her. Failed to protect her. Failed to be honest with her. Failed to give her a reason to believe she could come to us for help."
"We were trying—"
"I know what you were trying to do. But intentions don't matter when a child is missing. Results matter. And the result is that Klee is gone, possibly hurt, definitely in danger, and we have no idea where she is."
Jean stepped into the hallway, then looked back one final time.
"You're right about one thing, though. I am afraid of losing people. I'm terrified of it. And right now, because of your decisions, I might lose the one person I can't afford to lose. So yes, Albedo. I will smother her with safety when we find her. I will lock her in the tallest tower if that's what it takes. Because a living, unhappy Klee is infinitely preferable to a dead one."
She closed the door.
Albedo stood alone in the conference room, staring at nothing, his hands still clenched into fists.
On the table, Klee's letter sat like an accusation.
I'm sorry. But I have to do this alone.
"I'm sorry too," Albedo whispered to the empty room. "I'm so sorry."
---
Within the hour, the Knights of Favonius headquarters had transformed into a crisis center.
Jean stood in the main operations room—normally used for coordinating patrols and missions—surrounded by maps, reports, and increasingly grim-faced knights.
"Status report," she commanded.
A junior knight stepped forward. "Acting Grand Master, we've confirmed Klee left approximately two days ago based on guard logs and witness statements. She was last seen in Mondstadt proper at approximately midnight. Gate guards report no official passage, but—"
"She used the invincibility potion," Jean said flatly. "The one Albedo made. It has perceptual dampening effects. She walked right past them."
"Yes, ma'am. We've alerted Springvale, Dawn Winery, and Stone Gate. No confirmed sightings at any location, but—" The knight consulted his notes. "—a merchant caravan reported seeing a small child matching her description on the road to Stone Gate two days ago. Traveling alone. Heading south."
"Toward Liyue." Jean moved to the map, tracing possible routes. "She'd avoid checkpoints. Take back paths. She's clever and she knows wilderness survival. Amber taught her."
Another knight spoke up. "Ma'am, we've received response from Liyue. The Qixing are mobilizing search parties. They're also investigating a reported incident last night in Guili Plains involving treasure hoarders and an unknown child. One casualty."
Jean's head snapped up. "Casualties?"
"One of the treasure hoarders. Death by electrical burns. Witnesses report red lightning. The child was taken into custody by legal advisor Yanfei and is currently—" He checked his report. "—location unknown. Yanfei's last known position was en route to Liyue Harbor."
Red lightning.
The curse.
Klee had been found. And then lost again.
"Get me communication with this Yanfei. Immediately. I want to know where my knight is and what condition she's in." Jean turned to another group. "I want a full search team ready to deploy within the hour. Experienced trackers. Survival specialists. Amber—" She stopped. "No. Amber is suspended. Get me whoever's next best at tracking."
"That would be Outrider Amber, ma'am," the knight said nervously.
Jean's jaw tightened. "Fine. Unsuspend her. Temporarily. She's under direct supervision and reports only to me. Same for Eula—we need her combat expertise if we encounter hostile forces. Lisa stays suspended—she's library staff, not field personnel."
"And Captain Albedo?"
"Remains suspended. Confined to quarters. If he attempts to leave, he's under arrest." Jean's voice was iron. "This is non-negotiable."
The operations room buzzed with activity. Messages being sent. Maps being marked. Equipment being prepared.
Jean stood at the center of it all, coordinating with the precision that had earned her the Acting Grand Master position at such a young age. But beneath the professional exterior, fear gnawed at her.
I failed you, Jean thought toward wherever Klee was. But I won't fail you again. I'm coming. Hold on. Please, just hold on.
---
In the small room where the suspended knights had been ordered to wait, Amber sat with her head in her hands.
"This is my fault," she said quietly. "All of this. If I hadn't touched the necklace—"
"If Yae Miko hadn't cursed them in the first place, none of this would have happened," Eula corrected sharply. "You were not the instigator. You were a victim of circumstance."
"But I triggered it. I hurt Klee. And I didn't tell Jean immediately like I should have."
"We all made that choice," Lisa said from where she sat by the window. "We all agreed to keep it secret. To try and solve it ourselves. The responsibility is shared."
"Jean doesn't see it that way," Sucrose said softly. "She sees betrayal. And she's not wrong."
They fell into uncomfortable silence.
Lisa's voice was firm. "That child is tougher than all of us combined. She survived treasure hoarders and survived the curse. She'll survive until we find her."
"And when we do?" Sucrose asked. "What then? Jean will lock her away. Albedo was right about that. She'll be so afraid of losing Klee that she'll smother her."
"Help her see that Jean's overprotection comes from love, not control. And help Jean see that protection without trust is just another kind of prison." Lisa said
The door opened. A guard stood there, expression neutral.
"Outrider Amber, Spindrift Knight Eula. The Acting Grand Master requires your presence. You're being temporarily reinstated for search and rescue operations. Report to the operations room immediately."
Amber and Eula stood.
"Bring her home," Lisa said quietly. "Whatever it takes. Bring our little spark home."
They nodded and left.
And in the operations room, Jean was already mobilizing her Knights, preparing to cross two nations if necessary, to move heaven and earth if required.
Klee was out there.