Just like the day before, the General Mahamatra left early to meet up with his new friends. It mattered little to him— if anything, Cyno going on his own was more useful. They both could work at their own pace while not wondering what the other was up to. He clearly didn't care to think what the Akademiya's famous Hat Guy did when he wasn't watching. Oh well, it didn't matter.

"The Traveller? Yes, I did see him once weeks back." After some intel gathering, he had found some young rich man who had the honour of meeting Lady Furina in the Palais Mermonia. It wasn't that hard getting them to talk; all it took was a little prodding and the pompous fool went on length boasting about the time he met the great Hydro Archon. "It was the second time my request was accepted and I must say, the difference in Lady Furina's attitude was like night and day!"

"And by that, you mean…"

"Compared to the first time, Lady Furina was a lot chirpier and smiley. It was like she was a completely different person," the wealthy man explained. "The first time, she was sociable to be sure but was reserved to an extent. She let me drive the conversation but the second time, she went on length about how everything was starting to look up for her and she could never be happier. According to my fellows who've had the honour of getting an audience with Lady Furina, this was the first time she's ever been like that."

"And where does the Traveller come in?" As much as he appreciated the info, the Wanderer could only take so much about hearing how over the moon the Hydro Archon was over her new relationship status.

"Right about halfway through my appointment actually. He entered the room in the middle of our conversation. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that someone like him doesn't know the proper etiquette in high Fontainian society." the man scoffed in disdain.

'Didn't sound too much like a conversation to me.' The Wanderer wanted to say but just rolled his eyes. He could drive this guy away later.

"Honestly, I question what is going through Lady Furina's mind. If I heard correctly, she and the Traveller weren't on the friendliest terms yet there they were saying "we" like they were together for a long time." The man crossed his arms as he recalled that day further. "He came in, saw me and said, "Oh, we have a guest?" They couldn't have possibly been together long but he acted like he owned the place! The nerve of him! The Palais Mermonia isn't some hotel or apartment for rent, it's the administrative seat and most important building in the entirety of Fontaine! Well, aside from the Opera Epiclese of course.

The Wanderer didn't know whether he wanted to punch the man or himself unconscious more…

"But I'm getting too ahead of myself. The Traveller joined us for the rest of my appointment at Lady Furina's insistence. I paid good money and called in some favours to have a one-on-one talk with her but she'd rather spend her time dotting over him. Do you understand how frustrating that is?"

He only gave a disinterested nod which was more than enough for the idiot. The Wanderer knew he asked about it but he was starting to tune out the man's voice.

"Are you sure Neuvillette will be fine with me joining your meeting with Beaubois?" Aether asked. It was technically not against the rules of his detainment but he wasn't meant to meet with anyone either.

Furina waved off his concerns, saying that if Neuvillette had granted Beaubois permission to have an audience with her then he was fine with it. "He knows you're stuck here and has been accompanying me in these meetings. Monsieur Beaubois had also paid double the usual fee; even he's expecting you to be there and paid accordingly."

"If you say so…"

"And even if you're not supposed to, I'm making you join me anyway. Monsieur Beaubois is not like the others and doesn't only sing my praises the whole time but hearing people on the current going ons in Fontaine bore me," Furina sighed. "Sometimes, I think being Archon is more of a hassle than it's worth." Her complaint made Aether fall silent before— "Hey, don't…"

"There there." Aether comforted her with his new favourite method. He may have to get up to do so but it was worth it to cheer Furina up. "It may be tiring but you're still doing a great job as the Hydro Archon," he praised her while gently patting her head.

Furina's face quickly flushed at the gesture. "Will you ever stop treating me like I'm a child?" She pouted but did not attempt to stop him.

"It depends. Will you ever stop acting like this?"

"…I'm not acting right now…" She muttered just loud enough for Aether to hear. "But thank you, Aether."

"Always remember, if you need to cry, I'm here for you. Even in your sleep." Mainly because they sleep right next to each other but Aether meant it wholeheartedly. He wished for Furina to not shed another tear anymore than she already had. He had wiped away to see more than enough in the first few nights than he needed to know that Furina needed someone to confide in— far more than enough…

After the mental torture was over with, the Wanderer walked off from the rich man with a very hesitant thank you. He had gotten enough intel out of him along with a lot of unnecessary info. He initially planned to find more people and wrangle info from them too but he correctly figured they'd just tell him the same thing.

'What now…' he thought to himself as he walked down the street towards the main square. As he was deep in thought, he wasn't really watching where he was going. It didn't take long before he bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." the woman that just came out of the station apologised in a gentle but very familiar voice. The Wanderer glanced up but he already knew who it was before even seeing her face. Once he did, there was no doubting it even though she was wearing a different outfit and even tied up her hair— more than likely a disguise; there was no way he was mistaking her for someone else. "Hmm… Do I know you from somewhere…"

Before she could take a closer look at his face, the Wanderer lowered his head and tipped his hat down to hide. "No, I'm afraid not. Sorry," he said concisely before hurrying away, no doubt leaving her confused. Once he turned a nearby corner, he hid and carefully peeked out. He watched as she asked nearby locals for directions, who pointed her towards wherever it was she wanted to go.

After only a second of hesitation, he decided to follow after the Electro Archon and find out what she was doing in Fontaine too.

Reading documents may have been her job and she was great at it, but Keqing needed a break. She still had too much on her mind to properly focus on her current task; she had to reread the same set of papers multiple times to make sure she didn't miss anything— something she rarely did! After a while, she decided enough was enough and she needed to take a walk.

She asked the others to take over for her while she cleared her mind and they thankfully obliged. The Kamisato girl looked like she wanted to say something but decided to stay silent; Keqing believed she wanted to join her. There was no doubt she was also still taken aback by the recent news from last night.

The Yuheng walked out of the Palais Mermonia and turned right to stop where she wanted— the Statue of the Seven. She stood underneath the shadow of the divine statue and stared up at the figure carved into it. As she gazed at the sculpture depicting the Hydro Archon, Keqing's vision started turning blurry as a single thought ran through her head— 'Why her…'

She tried her best to not break down crying and was doing a fine job at that. However, she was completely cut off from the outside world and didn't notice someone had walked up next to her until they started talking. "I didn't expect to see another familiar face here. How have you been, Miss Keqing?"

"Huh?" Keqing snapped back to reality to see— "M-mister Zhongli? What are you doing here?!" She blurted out before remembering her less-than-presentable appearance. After quickly drying her eyes and clearing her throat, she answered the older man. "I'm doing fine. I just had something in my eyes."

"Is that so?" The inquisitorial tone he had made it clear he didn't believe her. He let it go though and answered her question in turn. "I'm in Fontaine to do some promotional work for the Funeral Parlor. However, I've unfortunately run afoul with the local authorities and they confiscated all the flyers and coupons I had."

"That sounds terrible, Mister Zhongli. At least they didn't arrest you…"

"…" That mute look said it all

"…Er, so what will you do now?" Keqing changed the topic.

"I still have a few days before I return to Liyue. The Director will be disappointed in me but she'll understand," Zhongli sighed. "The only plan I have now is to watch the Traveller's trial; it should be held in a few more days if I recall correctly."

"Yes, 3 days to be exact," nodded Keqing. It will be the first and only trial that day. There was also the dialogue to be held with Monsieur Neuvillette regarding what would be done should Aether be found guilty. She hoped they'd be given confirmation on that soon.

Before she could say anything more, she felt her stomach growling slightly— reminding her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was already time for lunch. "Have you eaten yet, Mister Zhongli? If not, allow me to treat you. I read about a nice teashop while going through the travel guides."

"Since you're offering, it'd be rude for me to decline," he accepted the invitation maybe a bit too quickly but Keqing couldn't really complain. She needed someone to talk to and who would be better than the wisest man in all of Liyue? Well, she hoped he was also wise when it came to the matters of the heart…

A/N: And done! Finally, the headpats have finally been deployed after so long along with a little hint towards something very important in that same scene. Wanderer has also finally appeared again and who else but to bump into than you know who~ That just leaves one more Archon and we'll finally have a full house. I also can't wait for the next chapter cause it'll be a scene that I've been dying to write since I thought of it during Aerina Week. That week-long break from this fic had made me come some great ideas for OPB (the execution might be another story though).

Anyway, Christmas was yesterday so a belated Merry Christmas to y'all who celebrate it! And just a happy holidays to all of you who don't (like myself). Chances are I'll be able to crack out a new chapter before new year but in case I don't, Happy New Year to everyone too!

As always, thank you for reading, please leave your thoughts, and see you all next time!