As cool as her punch had been, she was just as panicked now.
For some reason, the system popped up as if possessed, apparently hoping to enjoy the spectacle-
[Ding! Damage to Snezhnaya Palace caused by host detected: exterior wall ×1, roof ×1, audience chamber load-bearing structure ×1, ice-patterned chandelier ×1, marble floor (extensive area)...] [Preliminary repair cost estimate: 980 million Mora.] [Friendly reminder: host's current account balance is 20,000 Mora.]
Bai You: "..."
Bai You: "System, shut up!!!!"
Atop the throne of ice.
The cold, impassive ice-blue eyes finally showed a marked change.
The Tsaritsa silently looked at the enormous hole in the wall, then lowered her gaze to the innocent-looking little girl before her, who had just sent Tartaglia flying with a single punch.
Several seconds of silence passed.
The corners of her lips curved ever so slightly, and an exceedingly faint, exceptionally rare smile spread across her cold features.
"It doesn't matter."
"Come with me."
The Tsaritsa slowly rose, her ice-blue and white robes trailing along the floor. Her sacred, imposing presence filled the entire hall, and then she entered an office next door.
After Bai You followed her inside, the office door closed behind them.
Unlike the audience chamber outside, with its enormous hole smashed through it, this room was quiet enough for the faint crackle of the ice-crystal candle flames to be heard.
The four walls were made of solid slabs of frost crystal, books with silver-stamped spines lined the shelves, and a large ice-jade desk stood in the center, with only a number of chess pieces standing silently atop it.
Bai You followed her in on her short little legs, turning her head this way and that.
Then she stood properly, hands folded in front of her, and looked up.
Rather than return to the seat behind her desk, the Tsaritsa casually pulled over a chair and sat down three steps away from Bai You.
The gesture caught Bai You off guard. She had imagined the Tsaritsa would either look down at her from on high or interrogate her across a long table. In any case, she hadn't expected this-like... like a big sister from next door.
"Sit." The Tsaritsa pointed to the chair opposite her.
Bai You climbed up. The chair was too high, leaving her short little legs dangling in midair, swinging back and forth.
The Tsaritsa watched her swinging legs, a flicker passing through her eyes.
"Interesting." She raised a hand and gently tapped the ice-jade desktop with a fingertip.
With a hum, a pale blue barrier rose from the desk and enveloped the entire office.
Bai You heard a hum in her ears, and the sounds of the wind and the candles outside all vanished.
Bai You's swinging legs stopped in fright.
She realized that what came next was the real business.
And here she'd just been thinking the Tsaritsa was some big sister from next door. So she'd lured her in here to kill her.
Now this really was an old-timer toying with a child.
She started cursing the system again in her head.
System, get out here! Fuck your mother! I'm gonna die! And you wanted me to be some kind of Harbinger???
I still want to stay in Varesa's arms! No! My sweet-smelling, soft Varesa, am I going to lose it all?
You've screwed me over!
But now the system seemed to have vanished, giving no response.
The Tsaritsa leaned forward slightly, her cold ice-blue eyes taking their first serious look at the little girl before her-more of an appraisal, really.
"Bai You. The power within you is something that normally couldn't exist in Teyvat."
She paused. "Tell me-"
"Who are you? And... where did you come from?" The office was frighteningly quiet.
System, get out here! Stop playing dead, I'm really gonna die!
[What kind of idiot are you? You've been through all that plot, and it was all for nothing???] [You're on your own. I'm getting out of here. I still need to sleep. Besides, I don't think you're going to die anyway.]
I $￥#%&￥$&#@@@#~&#&&#% system.
After cursing out the system, Bai You hurriedly racked her brain for the plot.
Bai You fell silent for a moment, struck what she thought was a serious pose, and slowly spoke:
"You don't need to care who I am, or where I came from."
"You only need to remember that we have a common enemy-the Heavenly Principles."
On a snowfield outside the city, a huge, deep crater had been smashed into the thick snow with a thunderous crash, sending powder and shards of ice billowing into the sky.
Tartaglia lay buried deep in the center of the crater, his back slammed hard against the frozen earth, every bone and joint in his body seemingly knocked out of place.
Agonizing pain spread wildly through his limbs and body, and the dull ache in his chest nearly suffocated him.
For several seconds, he remained rigid in the position he'd been sent flying, the disbelief on his face lingering.
His mind was blank, his ears rang, and the image of that punch was seared into his mind.
It was absurd.
Tartaglia struggled to move his fingertips. His whole body was sore and weak, and he barely had the strength to lift a hand.
His signature gray coat was completely ruined, its fabric torn to shreds and covered in snow, ice, and dirt, its collar split open.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and down his jaw, its vivid red standing out starkly against the pristine white snow.
Bracing himself on his numb, aching arms, he dug his fingers deep into the cold snow and, inch by inch, used it for leverage to slowly push his upper body out of the crater, looking utterly battered.
Tartaglia was now battered and disheveled, covered in wounds, without the slightest trace of a powerhouse's bearing.
He looked down at his slightly trembling hand, his mind rapidly replaying the fight.
At that thought, a chill suddenly ran down Tartaglia's spine, and a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.
Dread, shock, and awe intertwined, filling his heart completely.
Most terrifying of all, after he was struck, a powerful force had canceled out part of the punch's impact for him.
That was Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's power.
In other words, the true strength of this seemingly soft and well-behaved little girl was probably comparable to the Captain's.
"Well... live long enough, and you see everything."
Tartaglia murmured under his breath, his voice full of self-mockery and respect.
Pushing against the snow, he shakily got to his feet. His legs were still a little weak, and he staggered slightly.
He casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and brushed the thick snow and ice off his body, his tattered coat flapping in the wind.
He steadied his ragged breathing, suppressed the surging pain in his body, and turned, swiftly heading back toward the towering, majestic Snezhnaya Palace.
A somewhat unsteady blue figure was speeding back toward Snezhnaya Palace.
All the Fatui guards stationed outside the palace froze, staring fixedly at the approaching figure.
It was Lord Childe.
But he had never looked like this before.
The Harbinger, usually spirited and flamboyant, always neat and put-together, was now in an utterly sorry state.
Who could have done this?!
Along the way, every Fatui soldier and attendant he passed froze in place, eyes wide, their minds collectively grinding to a halt.
Ignoring the shocked stares around him, Tartaglia strode through the corridors and entered the ruined audience chamber.
But when he came through the door, neither Her Majesty the Tsaritsa nor the little girl Bai You was there.
Then he felt the Harbinger's token on his person trembling slightly.
"That means... Her Majesty the Tsaritsa is calling a meeting of the Harbingers?!!!"