One day Childe was taking office papers to Scaramouche when he could see him talking to Pulcinella from a distance.

"He now manages the new foul legacy form and everything else I taught him. However, Tartaglia has a fierce destructive power that he could use to blow himself and all of us up. I think it would be beneficial not to leave him here at headquarters," Scaramouche said, touching his upper arm because he was a bit insecure about it.

"Are you afraid of my little apprentice boy Tartaglia? Anyway, Pedrelino suggested we need support in Liyue, so let's send him there," Pulcinella replied, amused.

Childe cleared his throat and entered.

"I just heard Liyue!" he said excitedly. He hadn't heard much else, just murmurs. Hope sprouted in him that he would finally be allowed to accept a special mission, abroad to be added... just as Pedrelino had announced. He had not forgotten about that.

"You heard right, Tartaglia. And you'll come along," Pulcinella said, nodding at him.

With amazement and joy, the young Harbinger almost dropped the papers. At last... finally the day had come when he would go to Liyue together with this man, as he had once resolved to do.

"Wow... really now?" he said in surprise, beaming. "When are we supposed to leave? I can't wait to go to Liyue with you!" he added excitedly, throwing the documents on Scaramouche's table. The big hat Harbinger, displeased, took the documents and hid behind them. Childe, on the other hand, had already completely forgotten that the latter was present; after all, he could easily be overlooked. His attention was focused solely on Pulcinella. He just wanted to hug him, because he was so happy.

"Yes, the Harbingers have decided you're going. Get ready to leave in two weeks," Pulcinella replied, but before he could finish, Childe just suddenly came closer and hugged him.

"Aaaaaa I'm so happy! Then we can explore Liyue together!" the young Harbinger said overjoyed.

Pulcinella took a deep breath and exhaled, then pushed Childe away from him.

"I'm not going," he said tersely, and turned away. Childe stared at him in disappointment. Dreams burst like soap bubbles. Whatever he expected from Pulcinella... he was always disappointed and he could not understand this man. Why then had he made such an effort? Or was he hoping for too much?

"Why?" he said with difficulty. He didn't want to show weakness in front of him, and he already had. Over and over again. If Pulcinella had his way, he wouldn't be one of the harbingers, nor would he go to Liyue now... what did he actually expect?

"I prefer to stay with the recruits. Signora will accompany you, she has business in Liyue," Pulcinella explained. Then he turned back to Scaramouche.

"Yes... all right... Thanks," Childe replied quietly, running a hand through his hair. An awkward silence ensued.

"If there's nothing else, you can leave. We have something to talk about," Scaramouche muttered, rolling his eyes.

"No, it's all good. Goodbye, then, gentlemen," Childe replied, smiling slightly before leaving the room. Outside, his smile disappeared. Somehow he felt that the other Harbingers were constantly keeping something from him and also underestimating him. He didn't really feel on equal footing with them. Pulcinella was also turning away from him more and more... But hey, he was finally allowed to go to Liyue. Maybe he could finally prove himself properly there!

#

The weekend before he left, Childe had taken the opportunity again to visit his family. After all, he wouldn't be able to see them for a while while he was stationed in Liyue. The trip to the village dragged on, but he definitely wanted to say goodbye. Although he had only met them every once in a while during his training, his family was very important to him.

As Childe approached the village, he smiled wistfully. As much as he was looking forward to seeing Liyue, he was still sad that he would not be coming here for quite some time. His siblings would surely be sad too. Arriving at the house, he looked around and noticed that everything was still as usual. He rang the doorbell and waited.

"Ajax!" he heard the cheerful voice of his mother, who hugged him suddenly. It had been so long since anyone had called him by that name, so it felt strange for a second.

"Ajax is there!" he heard his sister Tonia in the background and also the voices of his little brothers Anthon and Teucer. Joyfully they greeted each other and then went into the living room where their father was sitting.

"Not so loud, I have a headache," he muttered, rubbing his temples. By now he had become a grumpy old man. Childe laughed.

"Maybe you'll feel better when I tell you I've been promoted!" he said proudly. The moment that his father looked at him admiringly was enjoyed by young Fatui harbinger.

"Promoted? To what?" his father asked, frowning.

"I'm one of the harbingers now. So I'm one of the most important members. I can make many decisions, take on more important missions, and more!" explained Childe enthusiastically. The father nodded appreciatively.

"I'm happy for you, boy. It was obviously the right decision to send you to this training," he said, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, and you know what? I get to go to Liyue now!" he said happily.

"To Liyue?" the father asked in surprise. The rest of the family also reacted in an astonished way.

"But then you're going away!" said Tonia, a bit shocked.

"Big brother must not go so far away!" complained Teucer, who was now eight years old.

"They need me there. And I definitely won't be there forever, either. You know what? I promise to write!" said Childe, winking at his siblings.

"Writing isn't enough," Tonia agreed, laughing.

"That's right. You have to bring something, too. Like rocks or something. They have lots of those there, don't they?" added Anthon.

"What are we supposed to do with rocks? I want toys from Liyue!" demanded Teucer, grinning.

"I'll send you letters and souvenirs. It's a promise!" said Childe, smiling. Still, he hoped his family would visit him there one day, too. Even though he wasn't sure if his father would ever want to leave the country's borders.

But time would tell. For now, Childe wanted to enjoy the short time he had left with his family. The departure came anyway surely faster, than expected. Even if he loved Snezhnaya, he was so excited about Liyue... surely everything would be different there... Than it ever was before...