No matter how effective and many he got through on a daily basis, there never seemed to be an end to the paperwork Neuvillette needed to do. Even after returning from Opera Epiclese for the court trials set for the day, he still had a lot of work to do. Fortunately, they were relatively simple ones that the Oratrice delivered its verdicts with little issue. He was just needed there to oversee them as was his job. But that'd also mean he had to deal with his Archon's antics for a while.

Although she has mellowed up for the most part recently, she still had the uncanny ability to give Neuvillette a migraine no matter what. At least he no longer needed to deal with her ceaseless complaints about how boring the trials were as much. That was ironically a blessing in its own right but for him to enjoy the quiet he had now, someone else had to suffer in his place. 'Apologies again, Aether,' he thought again as he resumed working. The Traveler had to deal with his Archon and her peculiar personality every day instead of him—granted, Neuvillette would still see Focalors during the court trials but compared to what Aether has to do now… Neuvillette knew he had to do something to make up for the torture. No matter how nicely he was being treated at the Archon's estate, everyone had their limits.

He had received the news that the Traveler's lawyer had arrived in Fontaine; as such, the trial could be moved up from its initial set date later that week. But if he were to do that, his "case", if could actually be called that, would be settled sooner and he'd be free to come and go as he pleased. And if the Traveler was not around after the court trials, the burden of dealing with Focalors would fall on…

—Knock knock

"Sir?" One of his aids politely interrupted his work. "The envoy from Mondstat has arrived. He's waiting in the lobby."

"Send him in," he instructed, which they obeyed and left. A couple of minutes later, there was another knock. Neuvillete recognised it to not be his aid— "Come in," he responded.

The door creaked open and a tanned man with dark blue hair. He had a rather interesting outfit, atypical of the normal Mondstadtian fit Neuvillette would sometimes see, and a patch over his right eye. "My sincerest apologies for disturbing you, Chief Justice Neuvillette." The envoy spoke with a smile and a charming but laid-back tone. "I am Kaeya, the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius," he introduced himself.

"Greetings, take a seat and we can get to business." Neuvillette motioned towards the fancy woodwork chairs in front of his desk for occasions such as this. Kaeya said a brief thank you as he sat down. Once he seemed comfy enough, Neuvillette resumed the discussion. "From the letter from your Grand Master—"

"Acting Grand Master," Kaeya politely corrected him. "Grand Master Varka is still on an expedition away from the nation; Jean is working in his place while he is gone."

"I see…" hummed Neuvillette, "I've read Acting Grand Master Jean Gunnhildr's letter. I understand that Mondstadt has a vested interest in an upcoming trial and it has every right to. The Traveler, as he is colloquially known, is an Honorary Knight, correct?"

"Among many other things," Kaeya nodded. "He is well known in our city and always helps us whenever he can. There are even some rumours going around that he may be a bit too friendly with some of the people around Mondstadt if you get what I mean. They're more than likely hearsay but rumours have to start somewhere." Kaeya then let out a short cough, sounding embarrassed with himself. "Forgive me, I got distracted. In any case, the Traveler is a friend to Mondstadt and the Knights. Just recently, he accompanied the ward of the Acting Grand Master on an expedition to Sumeru."

"Yes, I am well aware of that," Neuvillette recalled a passing conversation with Aether; he had mentioned that he encountered some Oceanids that had left Fontaine, including one taking refuge within the Sumeru Desert. The judge let out a prolonged sigh before bluntly telling Kaeya, "I know what you are doing, Cavalry Captain."

"Oh, and what might that be?" He feigned ignorance but still had a grin.

"You are trying to sway me to be more, let's say… merciful, towards our mutual acquaintance. But you should know not only am I more than capable of separating my feelings towards a defendant, it is ultimately not up to me what the verdict will be. The Traveler, along with any witnesses and evidence, will be presented before the Oratrice and it will decide his judgement."

"Hmm… I suppose this was a lost cause from the beginning," Kaeya sighed, putting a hand on his head. He quickly recovered from the obvious act and asked, "But is it possible for me to take the stand during his trial?"

"You may serve as a character witness for the people of Mondstadt. That much I could give."

"And that is more than enough." Kaeya bowed his head in gratitude. "I suppose this meeting is now adjourned?" The smug smile on his face made Neuvillette want to slap him.

He tried his best to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Yes, you may be on your way now. Details on the trial will be sent to your temporary residence once we have everything settled."

Kaeya thanked him again before getting out of his seat and making his way towards the door. As he was closing the door, however— "Oh, before I forget." Kaeya poked his head through the gap. "Am I allowed to ask if the other nations have sent envoys like me for the Traveler's trial?"

"No."

"Too bad." The door then closed, leaving Neuvillette to resume doing paperwork until the Liyue diplomat arrives.

'This is going to be a long day, isn't it?' He mentally sighed.

Cyno stared out the window at the streets below. Their room was on the same side as the main entrance of the hotel, allowing him to see just how crowded it was. It seemed only now did the tourists arrive, no doubt attracted by the prospect of seeing Aether in court. Headliners like that were sure to result in many scrambling to see it in person.

While now would be easy to sneak out and survey the area, Cyno was still waiting on the seemingly unmotivated Wanderer. He was currently writing a report on some old textbook he bought at an antique shop the other day. When he wanted them to blend in as much as possible, Cyno didn't mean for them to actually conduct research and such.

As he was ruminating on their situation, his thoughts were interrupted by the Wanderer. "Hey, Mahamatra. I'm running out of ink. Go out and buy me some."

It was obvious what his intentions were and frankly, Cyno was mildly surprised. Sure, being ordered like that was slightly insulting but he was still grateful for him giving him a reason to go out and look around. "I'll be back in an hour," Cyno told his temporary boss before he exited their hotel room. At the moment, the hallway was empty but earlier, he heard neverending footsteps as the new arrivals went to their rooms. Cyno was sure their floor was fully booked out.

As he went down the hallway and passed by a room, his ears picked up on a muffled conversation— "—veler's being held…"

'The Traveler?' While that was naturally a hot topic, Cyno's instincts told him there was more to the conversation taking place inside that room. Making sure there was no one else in the hallway, he pressed his ear against the door.

"Not even the prison?" A deep male voice asked to which a woman replied.

"I won't say it with a hundred percent certainty, but if a high-profile criminal was being held even temporarily there, their security should be increased. The number of guards I counted patrolling around matched exactly as my reports."

"Why again do you already have intel on Fontaine's prison?"

"It never hurts to be prepared, don't you agree? After Aether's previous run-in with the law here, I thought having some people investigate would be a good and necessary precaution. Granted, I didn't think him being charged with kidnapping the Hydro Archon would happen but at least my men's work isn't going to waste."

"So if he isn't in the prison, where else would they hold him?" A second female voice asked. "Is there any other place you've looked into?"

"Xiao and I've passed by most of the locations I had marked as special interest but neither of us noticed anything out of the ordinary."

That… was very interesting. Cyno easily pieced together what the people in the room were discussing— the whereabouts of the Traveler. The only question he had now was why were they talking about that. He did not recognise any of the voices and could not say if they had good intentions yet.

"Whatever, I'm still going to do my own investigation," the male said with a small scoff.

"Oh, not satisfied with my report, Mr Ragnvindr? I'll come with then, two sets of eyes are better than one."

"Three," another male stated bluntly, joining in on the second look through the city. However, Cyno was focused more on the name being mentioned. He knew he heard of it before but couldn't place a finger where…

"While you all do that, I have a meeting with the Chief Justice. Hope that I can get something useful out of him," the second female said before Cyno heard footsteps coming towards the door. That was his cue to leave. He dashed down the hallway towards the stairs and only managed to make the corner as the sound of the door opening echoed. "That's odd… I thought I heard someone…" he heard.

'Looks like I have my first clue…'

"Heyyyy…"

"No."

"Come onnnnn~"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Because the last time I carried you to bed, I got arrested."

"…Well, it's not like you'll get arrested again."

"Yeah…I'm not going to risk it."

"Then I'll have the guards lock you up in your room."

"Remind me again why I put up with you again?"

"Because you have to."

"…I'm pretty sure that's not the reason," Aether sighed, already knowing it himself.

"Oh, before I forget," Furina suddenly remembered something. "The Steambird wants to have an interview with you. They've put in a request and I granted them it."

"…"

"Get ready at the crack of dawn so we can go to their office."

"Why do I put up with you again?" Aether can no longer remember the reason.

A/N: 4.0 Trailer finally dropped and that art is making my brain run at 75%! It's usually only at 5%. In a case, less than 2 weeks! The wait is painful but it'll be worth it~

Now I just have to resist the banners to save for Furina… The Lyney and Zhongli banners are really tempting. (I'm copying this straight from the original Ao3 version but a reviewer actually asked lol. Anyway, this will be the last chapter in the backlog so the waiting begins for the next chapter~)