Author's Note

The title change from the default was forgotten at first for the last chapter, I hope that wasn't too confusing. It was in the correct order! I hope you enjoy this one, I promise that I remembered to name it this time.


Albedo

There was a short silence after the spymaster departed into the whirling snow, but the stunned quiet melted quickly in the heat of friendship.

"The pick of the army for a stealth mission," Kaeya crowed, "who would've thought."

"You know that means your brother is going right?" Lumine challenged, smiling at the animator.

Kaeya's head dropped under the weight of mock realization, and he let out an exaggerated sigh. His excitement had rapidly diminished, as it seemed. Albedo smiled softly.

"Well, she's right. We need the Bandit for starters," General Gunnhildr noted.

"Who else?" Aether inquired. The young man relaxed in the councilor's absence and slumped down in his chair.

Albedo sat up higher in his own, without thinking. Should he consider himself for the mission? His most defining abilities were not so useful on the battlefield and his only notably influential quality in this situation was his mental aptitude, but would he not be of greater impact in such a vital circumstance as this?

Everyone else was considering the matter as well, and the only person who looked apprehensive was Jean.

He realized, he wanted this. He was tired of holding garrisons. He wanted his laboratory more than anything, but an espionage assignment was far enough from boring. He was patient, but he was capable too. Sitting still was a waste, and he did not want to be killed by Childe of Snezhnaya.

Albedo stood from his seat and tightened his gloves. "If we are to send a general, I believe that I am most well-suited to travel north. The valor and kindness of generals Zhang and Gunnhildr will surely be sung of fondly in the city of bards, but those things are needed here, for the soldiers and for the people. I am not, and I do not deny that I have some want for excitement."

Beidou nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, man. I think you're right, you need to go."

"I agree, but who with you?" Jean asked.

"Sneaking into the north with a large group would be very hard, I assume we will be disguised. An ice mage would certainly not be out of place in the north, but I wonder if Kaeya could stomach his brother for that long…" Albedo mused, watching the younger man with careful humor.

Albedo's jab earned a balled-up napkin thrown his way, but even so; Kaeya broke his scowl to agree. "I suppose I would be happy for the opportunity."

"Good, you should have it," Jean Gunnhildr affirmed. "That goes for the two of you as well."

Aether looked back at the headmaster in surprise."Us? Are you sure?"

"I second the proposal. You're uniquely capable, and we all know the Caustic Raven could stand to be proved wrong," Beidou remarked.

"Varka was that bad?" Kaeya asked.

Aether and Beidou groaned, but Lumine's eyes just flitted to Albedo's and met them evenly. She must have known she would be asked, but he wondered; what did she think of the assignment? They should be coming, but it was risky for them, he couldn't deny it.

Lumine looked away, towards the other generals. "Can we even travel under a fake identity? Won't we be somewhat of a risk?"

"Well, I can disguise you with an illusion of course. It wouldn't be exceedingly difficult, and you wouldn't need to be cloaked until we come near to any settlement. Both Diluc and myself are fluent in the language while the rest of you can get by, so we should be able to subvert suspicion anyway," Albedo reasoned.

He had already thought through this, too.

"I see. What else would we need?" Lumine asked.

"We could do well with more firepower, so to speak. Is Captain Ren available?" Albedo wondered.

The last he had heard, Zhongli was still in Liyue.

"Well he's at least here, I know that. I met with him in the city, at headquarters. He wanted to know for himself how it went up north," Beidou informed him.

That might be just what they needed.

"Would you find him, to ask if he would join us?" Albedo suggested to the other general.

"Yeah sure. Who's recruiting Diluc?" she responded.

"Not it," announced Kaeya, ducking into the kitchen with a tray full of dirty dishes pillaged from the tables.

"Well, then I'll find him," Albedo offered.

"Check the armory," Aether offered, bouncing to his feet.

"Very well. Everyone else, let us meet tomorrow morning, at eight."

Albedo strode into the blustering evening, leaving Kaeya to bemoan the early meeting time with Aether.

He stepped into the outer hall ringing the courtyard, and sure enough, Diluc was fighting in the middle of it. The Snezhnayan man was wearing heavy boots and baggy black pants. He was wearing only a black tanktop despite the temperature, his jacket hanging from a nearby sword rack. His hair was tied into a neat ponytail high on his head, lifting his curling hair off of the bulging muscles showing through his shirt.

Currently dodging away from the swing of Diluc's two-handed training sword was a lithe, dark figure. The jade hair and feline eyes of Li Xiao were easily recognizable; even through the vapor condensing from his breath and the shadowed lighting of the evening.

As Diluc swung his sword once more, Xiao leapt and stomped on it, whacking the dull, hardwood tip on the cold stones below them. As Diluc moved forwards to throw Xiao away, the younger combatant twirled on his front foot and danced higher onto the faux broadsword. He spun his back foot around in a whirling kick as air currents lifted him slightly upwards.

Diluc danced backward, but his shadow clone materialized in the space where he had been. It snatched Xiao's leg from the air and hurled him across the yard with one brutal twist of its wraithlike form.

Albedo saw Diluc watch calmly as Xiao spun in the air. As the half-Adeptus neared the ground a layer of anemo force crystallized beneath him. He tumbled over it like it had been ground but he seemed to be in no pain as he eventually settled softly to the stones by Albedo's feet.

"General. I hadn't seen you there before," Diluc's deep voice called through the dusk. The other man sounded unfriendly at best, but he always did and rarely meant it.

"It seems you were preoccupied. I hope your time off from assignments has been… peaceful," Albedo answered, helping Xiao to his feet.

"Would that it was, my friend. Xiao has been giving me some trouble recently," Diluc noted.

"More than a bit," the windrider scowled.

"Didn't look like it to me," Albedo joked. He was happy to see them, no matter that they were the most morose possible pair to find in conversation on a winter night.

"Yeah, well he got damnably lucky. Again," Xiao huffed with a small smirk, which he hid as he went to retrieve his own jacket.

"Can we help you, Albedo?" Diluc cut in seriously.

"Perhaps. I'm pulling together a small spy force, to travel north on short notice," he answered. "It's an operation overseen by the Yunyao division and should be kept rather quiet.

Diluc frowned as if intrigued, and Xiao cleared his throat. "Should I be here for this, then?"

Albedo shrugged. "If you didn't know that already it just means that you probably missed a call from Aether at some point while I was walking over here."

Xiao looked up sharply. "He's going?"

"Who else, I might add?" Diluc spoke up

"Yes, Aether will be with us." Albedo turned back to the captain. "I've opted to bring along the twins, and your brother."

"Wise choices," the captain agreed. "I see why you might take me. A stealth mission in the north would not be so far out of my element."

Albedo sat down on a bench and pulled his long golden coat tightly around his ribs. Stepping into the sunless yard had made him even colder, but the setting sun wouldn't have helped for much longer. "It isn't an order. But if you're interested, you should come with me now."

"General," Xiao started. He had been quiet for a minute, and Albedo looked to him again. "That still leaves you without a scout."

He was right. But they wouldn't necessarily need one. At least, not a windrider. Then again, Xiao was a warrior in his own right.

Albedo's phone buzzed in his pocket. Just in case, he glanced over it.

Zhou Beidou: Zhongli is out.

Zhou Beidou: He has "another subtle operation altogether to tend to"

….

Zhou Beidou: What a nerd

"You are correct, I suppose, and very well-timed. Why don't you come along too."

"The research would likely be contained within the Iron Campus. They have no reason to hide in their own city, or so they think," the director explained.

A map of Oryntsovo was spread out evenly on the table before them. Albedo looked back to the campus, a large blue area in one corner of the chart. The complex was huge, on the coast, and it would be well-guarded. Breaking into it would not be easy, and breaking out might honestly be harder.

"We have some information on the campus, but no agents have ever made it to the inside. You'll be given what we know, of course, but you will be required to work on your own initiative once you're in the city."

Lumine examined the map in front of them. "Thank you, Councilor."

"We have to get in there first," Diluc noted, tracing a finger along the outer wall.

"Fortunately, that will be easier, to an extent," Lowthe responded. "We have someone on the inside who can bring you in."

"A spy?" Aether asked.

"No, the director of an opera house." Lowthe smiled softly at the confusion that flickered across the younger faces in the room.

"I don't jest, her name is Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter; however she's generally known as the "Madame". She has invested in a number of varying businesses, and she can get you into the city."

"What reason does she have to help us?" Kaeya asked.

"Rosalyne has no love for her government, though I couldn't tell you her full story. Communications into and out of the north are difficult at best. She has come through for us in the past, but she isn't to be trusted any more than is necessary."

"So, we'll be… smuggled in?" Aether guessed.

Lowthe shook their head. "Far too risky, unfortunately. There are no reliable means of getting unregistered people into or out of any of the walled cities within the Tsaritsa's court."

Xiao paced restlessly to the side. Albedo knew this was not exactly his kind of assignment, but Aether would be grateful… and the loftscion was among the best of both fighters and scouts that the military had to offer.

Lowthe looked down, scratching the back of their head slowly. "Rosalyne operates a certain series of establishments that offer some,,, intimate services. If you have heard of the Curtained Palace here in Mondstadt-"

Kaeya nodded. "I'm familiar," he muttered.

Everyone turned to him.

"Not- hey! Not that familiar! Director, what were you saying?" Kaeya exclaimed, stepping away from the table.

"Ah- yes. Well, it has two sister operations. The Adeptus' Temptation in Liyue Harbor and the Frosted Rose in the very city we need you in."

Lumine visibly balked at that. "Wait a moment, you don't mean to say-"

"I'm afraid so. You'll have to be disguised as nighttime escorts."