"If there's a crisis in Mondstadt later, and you earn the people's gratitude after saving it, I'll let you go and promise not to lay a hand on Amber. How about it?"
Eula didn't answer right away.
She stared at Ye Xuan for several seconds, trying to find a flaw in his expression.
But Ye Xuan just looked as if he couldn't care less whether she believed him.
Of course she didn't believe this man was kind enough to do that, but the terms mentioned Amber. She had no choice.
"Fine." She gritted her teeth. "If I lose, you can do whatever you want with me."
"If you lose, we'll finish what we started in front of this mirror."
Eula's face burned. She turned away rather than look at him, but her ears were scarlet.
She cursed him under her breath in her heart, but said nothing aloud.
"Now, go wash up." Ye Xuan stretched. "Put on some clean clothes. We have business to take care of later."
Eula strode into the bathroom. As the door closed, Ye Xuan could still hear her footsteps falling a little harder than usual.
When Eula came out after getting ready, her hair was still a little damp. She had changed into a practical outfit that was less restrictive than her usual Knights of Favonius uniform.
Ye Xuan was already waiting by the door, with Ronava standing beside him.
"So Lumine went to steal the lyre?" Ye Xuan asked.
Ronava nodded. "They're planning to go once it's completely dark."
Ye Xuan rubbed his hands together, his eyes lighting up. "Then let's go steal the lyre too. C'mon, let's steal Jean from the Knights of Favonius first. She shouldn't be off work yet."
Eula stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "What do you want Jean for?"
"Don't you think it'll be interesting if the Knights of Favonius are all there when Lumine shows up at the Holy Lyre der Himmel?"
Eula shot him a speechless look and kept walking. "You're as full of nasty ideas as ever."
"Life is so dull. I have to find some amusement for myself."
After Ronava used the Debate Club to lull all the Knights of Favonius guards to sleep, the three of them infiltrated the headquarters without a hitch.
It was much more useful than the Authority of Death.
The three made their way to the door of Jean's office.
The door opened.
Amber, Kaeya, Lisa and Jean were all there, not one of them missing. Documents lay spread across the table; they were clearly in a meeting.
"Oh, everyone's here." Ye Xuan raised a hand and greeted them without the slightest hesitation.
"Eula..." Amber called Eula's name first, then turned to Ye Xuan, her brows knitting. "What are you doing here? What nasty idea have you got this time?"
Her fists were clenched tight as she spoke.
Amber had always felt that the meal she'd treated Eula to back then was what had brought this on her.
That guilt and hatred were tangled together. She hated Ye Xuan, and she hated herself too.
"Little bunny, you're being unfair to me." Ye Xuan spread his hands, looking innocent. "I came to warn you-someone's going to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel tonight, so I thought I'd take you along to lie in wait for them."
Jean rose from behind the desk, her expression turning grave. "Sir, do you know who it is?"
"You'll find out when we get there. There might be more than one group."
"All right." Jean finally nodded. "We'll go with you, sir."
The group arrived at the cathedral's hidden chamber, where the Holy Lyre der Himmel was kept.
Ye Xuan found a secluded corner and tucked everyone into it, then crouched down at the very edge himself.
"Take this, Ronava! Eat my Choice Specs Zapdos's rainy-day Thunder!"
"Didn't you say Thunder? How was that Hidden Power · Ice?"
"I see you don't get it." Ye Xuan wagged a finger, looking smug. "Why would I use Thunder and call it out while your Gliscor was still alive? You're so easy to fool, Ronava."
"Damn it..."
Ronava bit her lip, her controller clicking away.
The wait was taking far too long.
Ye Xuan simply pulled out two Switches and sat down facing Ronava for a tense, thrilling Pokémon battle.
Ronava was like a raw recruit against him, her underwear practically laid bare. Whether it was the timing of his switches, his judgment on when to stay in, or the accuracy of his predictions, Ye Xuan had the upper hand at every turn.
Jean watched from the side, her temples throbbing. After holding back for a long time, she finally couldn't take it anymore. "You two, weren't we supposed to stay hidden and wait for the enemy?"
Ronava didn't look up. She was considering whether she still had a chance to turn the battle around. "Aside from Asmoday, no one can steal anything under my watch. If someone can, it means we can't stop him anyway. His strength far surpasses mine."
Jean swallowed what she had been about to say.
Ronava and Ye Xuan played a few more rounds. Then her hands suddenly stopped.
"Someone's coming."
Everyone immediately held their breath and focused.
Lumine and Paimon crept in, their footsteps light. They glanced around furtively, looking nervous and guilty.
Paimon floated in midair and asked in a hushed voice, "Lumine, are you sure this is the place?"
"It should be... This is the hidden chamber Venti mentioned."
Lisa chuckled from the shadows. "So it's our cutie."
Amber's eyes went wide. "Why would Lumine come to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel?" She whipped around and glared at Ye Xuan. "You bad guy must have put her up to it!"
"I'm not taking the blame for that. Barbatos was the one who tricked her into coming. Mondstadt is hilarious. Barbatos has to steal his own lyre to use it."
"Even if he revealed his identity, nobody would believe him."
Just as Lumine's hand was about to touch the Holy Lyre der Himmel-
The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.
A flash of lightning streaked past. An Electro Cicin Mage sprang from the shadows, snatched the Holy Lyre der Himmel first, and leaped back into the darkness.
Lumine and Paimon froze. Paimon cried, "Ah! Someone stole the lyre!"
The Knights of Favonius members' expressions all changed.
It was one thing for Lumine to sneak in, but how had the Fatui gotten in too?
What was going on with this hidden chamber in the cathedral? Was it a street anyone could stroll down?
Jean looked the worst of all.
Someone had treated their headquarters like a marketplace and snatched something right in front of her. It was an enormous loss of face.
In the end, this was a failure on her part as acting grand master.
She was about to retrieve the Holy Lyre der Himmel.
"Don't rush," Ye Xuan said. "Before I came, I had Lawrence go get Diluc. He should be waiting outside now. That mage won't get away."
Jean stopped and let out a long breath. "If it's Diluc, then there really won't be a problem. You were very thorough, sir."
"All right, save the pleasantries for later." Ye Xuan pointed toward the other end of the chamber. "Lumine's about to run. Someone go stop her."
Eula looked in the direction he pointed and saw Lumine pulling Paimon toward the exit. "Who should go?"
"Obviously, the one among us who looks most like a bad guy."
Kaeya sighed, smiling a little helplessly. "All right, when you put it that way, it must be me."
He rushed out and stepped in front of Lumine and Paimon, blocking the door completely.
"My dear friend, where are you going so late? If you have nowhere to go, the Knights of Favonius' confinement room isn't a bad option."
Paimon screeched to a halt in midair. "Kaeya!"
Lumine turned to run in another direction, but as she spun around-
Ye Xuan, Ronava, Eula, Lisa, Amber, and Jean, who had already drawn the Aquila Favonia, stood neatly lined up in front of her.
Lisa even raised a hand and wagged a finger at her. The meaning was plain: Don't bother, cutie.
Ye Xuan greeted her with a grin. "Hi~ Did you miss us?"
Lumine took a deep breath and raised both hands. "Ye Xuan, if I said I heard the Fatui were coming to steal the lyre, so I rushed here to stop them... would you believe me?"
Paimon nodded desperately beside her. "Yes, yes, that's right! We came to help!"
Ye Xuan turned to Jean and asked, "Do you believe her?"
The corner of Jean's mouth twitched, but she didn't answer.
"See?" Ye Xuan turned back and shrugged at Lumine. "Nobody believes you."