"I know," Bai You said, looking up at him. "The Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, the god of ice."
"Oh? You know quite a bit," Tartaglia said, growing more interested. "Then tell me, what do you need to see Her Majesty for?"
"Something very important," Bai You said solemnly. "It concerns the future of the Fatui."
Tartaglia froze for a moment, then burst out laughing, doubling over. "Hahahaha! Little girl, you're too funny! It concerns the future of the Fatui? Do you know how many people are in the Fatui?"
"I know." His laughter made Bai You blush a little, but she insisted, "Anyway, I have to see Her Majesty."
Tartaglia laughed for quite a while before stopping. He looked at Bai You's serious little face, a trace of curiosity flashing in his pale blue eyes.
The little girl didn't seem to be joking. Her gaze was resolute, completely at odds with her age.
"What's your name?" Tartaglia asked.
"Bai You."
"Little Bai You, huh?" Tartaglia rubbed his chin. "Where's your family? Why did they let you run off by yourself?"
"I don't know."
Tartaglia frowned. "That won't do. Your family must be worried. How about this? Tell me where you live, and I'll take you home, okay?"
"No." Bai You took a step back. "I'm not going back. I want to see Her Majesty."
Tartaglia looked at her stubborn expression, feeling a little helpless.
He had met plenty of stubborn children, but she was the first so young who had dared to come to the gates of Snezhnaya Palace alone and demand an audience with the Tsaritsa.
"Why are you so determined to see Her Majesty?" Tartaglia's tone grew more serious. "Is it really something important?"
"Mm, extremely important." Bai You nodded vigorously.
Tartaglia was silent for a few seconds, then sighed. "All right, even if you really do have something important to say, you can't just see her whenever you want.
"Her Majesty has countless affairs to attend to. Not just anyone can get an audience by sending word. Do you have a special reason?"
Bai You felt that just saying this definitely wasn't going to work.
Thinking of how young she looked, she could only resort to her final trump card.
"I just want to see Her Majesty. Waaah, you're a bad person. I hate you."
With that, Bai You started crying.
Bai You burst into tears on command, tears falling like beads from a broken string. Her little shoulders shook, and she looked utterly pitiful.
Tartaglia froze.
He had faced countless vicious enemies, but he had never dealt with a little girl bawling her eyes out in front of him.
"Hey, hey, don't cry!" Tartaglia hurriedly crouched down, wanting to wipe away her tears, but afraid he would only make things worse. He could only wave his hand awkwardly in the air.
"All right, all right, I was wrong. I shouldn't have been harsh with you. Can you stop crying?"
"Sniff... I just want to see Her Majesty..." Bai You stole a glance at him as she cried. Seeing him panic, she cried even harder. "You're a bad person... You won't let me see Her Majesty..."
"I didn't say I wouldn't let you see her." Tartaglia rubbed his temples with a headache. "I just said Her Majesty is very busy, and not just anyone can see her..."
"Then you won't let me see her!" Bai You cried even louder. "You're a bad person! I hate you!"
The guards at the gate exchanged looks, none of them knowing what to do.
They had seen all kinds of people trying to force their way into the palace: assassins, spies, and citizens with petitions. But they had never seen a child crying and shouting to see the Tsaritsa.
If a passerby saw this, they would think the Fatui were bullying a child right there.
"Little miss, I'm begging you, can you stop crying?" Tartaglia lowered his voice. "If you keep this up, everyone in Snezhnaya Palace will come out to see."
"I don't care..." Bai You sniffled. "If I don't see Her Majesty, I'm not leaving... I'll cry here all day..."
Tartaglia looked at her reddened eyes and the tip of her nose, both annoyed and amused.
This little girl was far too stubborn, and... she was quite strategic about her crying. She had clearly figured out that he couldn't handle children.
"All right, all right." Tartaglia sighed and raised both hands in surrender. "I'll pass the message along for you, but let me make this clear: I can't guarantee you'll get to see Her Majesty."
"All I can do is pass the message along. Whether you get to see her depends on Her Majesty."
Bai You's crying stopped abruptly.
She raised her tear-streaked little face. Her eyes were still wet, and tears clung to her eyelashes, but she was already smiling in triumph. "Really?"
"...Really." Seeing how quickly her expression changed, Tartaglia's mouth twitched. "You stopped crying awfully fast."
"Because you agreed." Bai You wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, looking entirely justified. "If you hadn't, I'd still be crying."
Tartaglia laughed at her. "You little rascal, you really know how to handle people."
She said to the system in her mind, System, take out the invitation.
[Yeah, yeah,] the system said lazily. [Hold on to it. Don't let your hand shake and drop it on the ground.]
The next second, a pitch-black card inlaid with golden patterns and ice crystals appeared in Bai You's little hand.
She held up the invitation and tilted her little face up, looking childlike but utterly serious as she said to Tartaglia, "Take this to Her Majesty. Once she sees it, she'll definitely see me."
Tartaglia's gaze fell on the invitation, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
He thought, She didn't say she had something to deliver. Her Majesty definitely doesn't accept letters and things like that. It'll be even more awkward when I'm left holding this.
But afraid the little miss would start crying again, he could only agree.
"All right, all right, I promise. Wait here, and whatever you do, don't cry again."
Tartaglia then headed into Snezhnaya Palace.
[Not bad, host.]
The system's voice rang out in her mind, carrying a hint of approval.
[I didn't know you had that trick up your sleeve. You've got some impressive crying skills.]
Cut the crap, Bai You shot back in her mind. If it weren't for your lousy idea to have me apply to be a Harbinger, would I have needed to cry here?
[How can you call that a lousy idea?] the system said matter-of-factly. [It's called strategy. Look, didn't it work?]
This counts as working? Bai You looked at the magnificent palace ahead, still feeling a little uneasy.
When I see the Tsaritsa, what am I supposed to say? I can't just say, "Your Majesty, I want to be the twelfth Harbinger," can I? She'll definitely think I'm crazy.
[What are you afraid of? This invitation carries quite a bit of weight,] the system said.
[When you see the Tsaritsa, she'll naturally take you seriously. As for what to say... just improvise.]
Improvise? Bai You's mouth twitched. Easy for you to say.
[You can do it, host. I believe in you,] the system said cheekily.
[If all else fails, just cry again. The Tsaritsa might fall for it too.]
Get lost.
The book is in its verification period for the next two or three days, so I can only post three chapters a day. I owe more than five bonus chapters for gifts now. In a few days, I'll keep to five chapters a day to make them up.
For gift bonus chapters, every 100 Power for Love gifts earns one extra chapter. Other gifts count toward it too.
As for the plot, things will pick up a little from here on. I'll also listen to suggestions and make changes to any problems in the earlier plot.
The author's classes don't start until the 12th, so I can post three chapters a day now. Once classes start, I can only do two a day. (Gift bonus chapters excluded.)
Putting the thank-yous in the author's note would get Shenhe stuck, so I'm not putting them there, to get this out faster. (Don't worry, the main text has enough words ୧( ⁼̴̶̤̀ω⁼̴̶̤́ )૭ )
Thanks to the following friends for their gifts (let me know if I missed anyone):
Special thanks to: LiliaLimu Yi: Flower ×2, Boba Milk Tea ×2, Inspiration Capsule ×1, Love Letter ×1
- Legend of the Jumping Horse!!!!: Love Letter ×1
- 墨上．玉衡: Flower ×1
- Gulu's Capybara: Boba Milk Tea ×1
- Huohuo Doesn't Love Huo Huo(me): Love Letter ×1
- Lianqi Awakening the Past: Like ×1
- About Not Knowing How to Choose a Name: Update Reminder ×1
- Woexin: Like ×1
- Paihong Yingxue: Inspiration Capsule ×1
- Xiongyingqiao of Edu Valley: Like ×1
And thanks to everyone for the Power for Love gifts.
Thank you all for your support~ദ്ദി˶˃ ᵕ ˂ )✧