Are They Female Colleagues?

The elegant private room at the Hotel Debord was warm and inviting, with floor-length curtains filtering out the outside noise. The exquisitely carved table was set with delicate Fontaine- style tea snacks, cream waffles, and fruit tea.

Sandrone lightly touched the rim of his glass with his fingertips, gazing at the crystal-clear streetscape of Fontaine outside the window, his tone tinged with a touch of wistfulness:

"Fontaine, it's been so long since I've been back. I heard the Hotel Debord recently got a new head chef; I wonder what he's like."

Arlecchino picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and calmly replied:

"It's a pity, it's afternoon tea time now, and the head chef isn't in charge of making these snacks. Her most famous limited-edition cake is already booked until next month. Only eight slices of this cake are available each day, with one reserved specifically for the Water God. However, today's snacks are quite delicious; you may wish to try some. What do you two think?"

At that moment, Columbina held a delicate dessert in each hand, her cheeks slightly puffed out. She quickly swallowed the soft cake in her mouth and replied crisply, "Delicious!"

Before she could finish speaking, she eagerly stuffed another small bite of the dessert into her mouth.

Looking at her, Sandrone said helplessly, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

She sighed softly, turned to Arlecchino, and explained with a hint of helplessness, "Honestly, when she heard I was coming to Fontaine, she insisted on coming along. I couldn't refuse her, so I had no choice but to bring her. But this tea and pastries are indeed quite delicious; you can tell the chef put a lot of effort into them."

Arlecchino smiled gently when she heard that the two were quite satisfied with the tea and snacks:

"I will fulfill my duty as host for your presence in Fontaine today, and I am also grateful for the personal assistance of Sandrone."

Upon hearing this, Sandrone's relaxed expression vanished, and he gave a soft hum, his tone becoming serious as he began to discuss business:

"In the end, that guy named Xingsu is now an instructor at your House of the Hearth, and it's clear that he's very capable."

Snezhnaya is currently planning to design a True Ice communicator, but with current technology, it can only make basic calls within key locations, and it's extremely bulky. I've never even heard of a technology that allows a communicator to be clipped to the ear. The value of a portable communication device is self-evident.

Upon hearing this, Arlecchino nodded slowly and explained, "Xingsu is currently training the children at the mansion. I will formally introduce you to them after this tea party."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Columbina, who had been engrossed in eating her dessert, suddenly looked up.

A smear of cream still clung to the corner of her mouth, her clear, ethereal eyes fixed on Arlecchino, her voice pure and innocent as she asked simply:

"Arlecchino you dating Xingsu?"

Sandrone froze, almost instantly raising her hand to cover Columbina's mouth, and quickly interjected, "Columbina! Don't talk nonsense!"

Then she quickly looked at Arlecchino: "Arlecchino, don't mind what she said, she is—"

"Yes."

Before she could finish speaking...

Arlecchino smiled gently and readily admitted to it.

"Nonsense... huh?"

The private room fell completely silent instantly.

Sandrone's words caught in his throat, and he froze, staring in astonishment at the usually cold and composed Arlecchino.

Instead, Columbina, who had asked the question, blinked, and while Sandrone was still in a daze, she broke free from her restraints and whispered, "That's wonderful, I want to date Sandrone too."

I really like a quote from Arlecchino and Sandrone:

"Ah?"

Sandrone snapped back to reality, her entire body contorting into a rage. Her voice rose involuntarily as she gritted her teeth and uttered each word with a mixture of shame and anger. "Columbia! What the hell do you want?!"

Columbina tilted her head innocently, blinked her clear eyes, and softly asked, "What's wrong Sandrone?"

Sandrone clutched her forehead, feeling like her logic was about to overload, her face contorted in despair. "Who wants to date you?!"

Columbina's voice was filled with grievance and confusion. "Don't I get along well with Sandrone?"

"This isn't about whether we have a good relationship or not, is it?" Sandrone said helplessly.

"Then why can't I date you?" Columbina pressed, looking intently at Sandrone as if trying to solve a riddle.

Sandrone was completely incoherent, both embarrassed and exasperated, and replied in a fit of exasperation, "Why are there so many whys? We just can't be in a relationship!"

Arlecchino, suppressing a smile, seemed to have noticed Columbina's misconception and spoke up to explain:

"Columbina, dating is something that should only happen between two people of the opposite sex."

Columbina paused slightly upon hearing this, blinked her clear eyes, pondered the words seriously, and then tilted her head in confusion:

"But... Arlecchino and Xingsu got together because they understood each other's feelings, right?"

"That's right." Arlecchino nodded.

"So, when it comes to mutual affection, do we still need to distinguish between same-sex and opposite-sex relationships?" Columbina asked softly, her tone still ethereal and peaceful. "I really like Sandrone, I want to be with Sandrone forever, I want to be in a relationship with Sandrone, is that not okay?"

Upon hearing this, Sandrone's cheeks flushed again, and she hurriedly interjected, "Don't misinterpret! That's not how it works at all!"

Arlecchino paused, thought for a moment, and slowly said:

There are many forms of affection. The friendship of companionship is very precious, but romantic love is a particularly special kind of emotion.

Columbina didn't respond immediately. Her gaze shifted to Sandrone, who looked flustered beside her, and she whispered, "..."

"Sandrone, is it simply because we are both women that you are unwilling?"

Sandrone avoided her gaze, momentarily speechless, feeling that this afternoon tea was even more of a headache than the meeting at the Snezhnaya Palace.

Faced with Columbina's persistent yet earnest questioning, Arlecchino and Sandrone could only patiently take turns explaining, one on each side.

Columbina listened quietly, eating her small cake as she slowly processed their conversation, her clear eyes blinking gently.

The private room was silent for a few seconds.

Columbina lowered her eyes and thought for a long time. Her ethereal brows slowly relaxed, and she finally nodded as if she understood, softly saying, "Oh, I see... I get it now. I thought having a good relationship meant being in love."

She looked up at Sandrone, whose face was filled with relief, and smiled faintly, "Then I won't date. I still prefer being with Sandrone and Arlecchino; this is fine."

Sandrone let out a long sigh of relief, finally escaping the awkward situation he had just been in. "Really... don't say things like that next time."

But Columbina's curiosity hadn't waned at all. Her clear eyes were fixed on Arlecchino, and with a childlike innocence, she softly asked:

"Did Arlecchino and Xingsu hold hands?"

Arlecchino nodded slightly.

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Columbina's eyes lit up, and she pressed on, asking earnestly again:

"So... did you kiss?"

Arlecchino smiled faintly and nodded again.

Sandrone, who had just relaxed, suddenly widened his eyes in shock and froze in his seat.

She rubbed her forehead, sighed helplessly, and was completely defeated by the blunt question and answer, "... That's enough. You two are certainly quite frank."

Columbina's eyes lit up as she stared intently at Arlecchino, finally asking seriously:

"Then... you two do it..."

You can't ask that!