If Ayaka was being honest with herself, she was barely listening to what Lady Furina was going on about on the way back from the opera house. While she was talking with Kaeya about Aether, it was mainly about his past actions in Mondstadt. Occasionally, she'd be asked about some of the things he's also done in Inazuma but Ayaka only gave brief summaries. No, she was more preoccupied with figuring out what was happening behind the scenes in Fontaine.

One glance at Lady Furina as she talked about Aether made it abundantly clear she held him in the same light Ayaka did; the stars in her eyes and the wide smile she had were impossible to fake. 'Yet she is the one holding him captive…' It would definitely be an abuse of power but as the nation's Archon, couldn't she just waive off the charges placed on Aether? Especially since the victim of said crime was herself? Unless she had reasons not to do so, Aether by all rights shouldn't be held in chains right now and his trial wouldn't be happening.

The only conclusion Ayaka could come to was Lady Furina wanted this trial to proceed and Aether detained.

She'd also glance at Monsieur Neuvillette who, like herself and Diluc, was trying his best to stay out of the conversation. "Lady Kamisato, what do you think of all this?"

"Huh?" The sudden question from Kaeya snapped her out of her thoughts.

"About Aether's arrest? What do you think about it?"

'Oh…' Ayaka thought about it for a moment before giving her opinion. "I want to say it's unbelievable but at the same time, it does sound like him to be get caught in something like this."

"Unfortunate misunderstandings seem to follow my dear Aether everywhere, doesn't it?" Ayaka hoped nobody noticed her eye twitching.

Kaeya, on the other hand, noted something about what Lady Furina had said. "Misunderstandings? If you say that, is it safe to say his arrest was a result of a misunderstanding?"

The Hydro Archon nodded earnestly at Kaeya's question, "That is correct, Mister Alberich. Let's just say there were a few messages that were lost in transit—" Ayaka noticed her eyes darting towards Neuvillette for a second, "—but the law's the law, especially here in Fontaine. In spite of— or rather, because of —his relationship with yours truly, even Aether must be judged fairly in court. And with the way things are shaping up with the presence of you two, wouldn't you agree it would be a trial to behold? It might just turn out to be the trial of the century with how many parties are going to be involved!"

"I cannot disagree with you there, Lady Furina," Kaeya chuckled while Ayaka remained quiet.

A source of entertainment… is that all he is to you?'

After the ride back, it was time to return to their temporary lodgings; bidding farewell to Lady Furina and her entourage, Ayaka and the two Mondstadters made their way to their hotel where they split halfway there. "Diluc and I have one more task to do," Kaeya said before telling her the room number where everyone in this multi-national team would be gathering to formulate another plan. "Tell Miss Yelan or whoever answers the door I sent you. I hope to see you there."

With that, Ayaka said goodbye to them too and went the rest of the way without incident. Waiting outside the entrance, however— "There you are, milady! Welcome back." Thoma greeted her with relief evident in his voice. "I tried asking the Palais Mermonia staff about you but they said didn't see you enter the building. Thank goodness you're unharmed."

Ayaka apologised for worrying him and told Thoma she was at the Opera Epiclise all day. "I did manage to speak with Iudex Neuvillette," Ayaka added as they entered the hotel. "I also met with a few folks whose interests align with us. What is our room number?"

Their room was a couple of floors higher than the room where they were supposed to meet Kaeya's group. First things first, Ayaka headed for her room to freshen up and get something to eat. It was only now she realised she hadn't eaten much today. About an hour later, Ayaka, accompanied by Thoma, descended the stairs to the right floor. She stood before the door and, after mentally preparing herself, knocked on the door.

Keqing had little idea what to think of the Inazuman heiress whom Kaeya invited into their little plot. She knew who she was, naturally, but never thought she'd ever get to meet the famous Kamisato Ayaka of Inazuma's Yashiro Commission. Aether mentioned her a couple of times in passing when talking about his adventures in the Nation of Eternity but with how things were, Keqing doubted they'd ever meet outside of a diplomatic mission.

'Then again, this is exactly the type of situation we'd meet…'

Currently, Ayaka was looking over the notes she had written throughout her deep dive into Fontaine's various press. Keqing occasionally heard her mutter things to herself, Aether's and the Hydro Archon's names chief among her mumblings. And the look in her eyes… 'Could it be…'

"Keqing, can you come here for a second?"

"Hmm? Oh, give me a second." It was a habit of hers to straighten up her papers, even if she was here in another nation. Aside from the notes Ayaka was currently reading, Keqing set aside her work before joining Yelan and Cyno's discussion. "What is it?"

"What do you think of them?" Yelan quietly asked, glancing at Ayaka and Thoma, the latter of whom was borrowing the room's stove to prepare dinner for everyone. "I'm sure they'll carry their weight but the more people we have involved, the riskier it gets."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to ask that magician for help?" Cyno pointed out but Yelan handwaved it away with a justification Keqing agreed with.

"Lyney and his siblings are trained in the art of intrigue. I can count on them to work covertly should they need to. Those two, however… What do you think, Keqing?"

The Yuheng gave it some thought for a few seconds before sharing her opinion. "I believe we can trust them since we share the same goals. And I'm sure you'd agree not to judge a person so prematurely."

"Hmm… well said," nodded Yelan before readdressing Cyno. "And I assume you're in agreement, General?"

"Naturally. I know better than to turn down a helping hand. They're already here after all. Wouldn't it be riskier to send them away now?" That was another good point.

"In that case, we can begin our planning once everyone returns," Yelan decided which reminded Keqing that they were still missing three members. She had no idea what "other business" Kaeya dragged Diluc into but as for Xiao, he should be spying on—

—knock knock

Oh, speak of the Yaksha…

Yelan went to open the window Xiao was knocking on and welcomed him back. "How did it go?" She asked. Keqing noted Xiao seemed to be deep in thought about something and took his time answering Yelan's question. When he did—

"It was meaningless. Charlotte was just interviewing that magician for an article."

Later that night…

"What are you doing here, Venti?!" Aether whispered-yelled as he opened the window. The Tone-Deaf Bard, taking that as an invitation to enter, glided into the bedroom and touched down gracefully.

After dusting off his clothes, he spun around and loudly— to Aether at least —answered the question. "What? Am I not allowed to visit a friend in jail? But I must say…" he glanced around the room "This is one nice cell they gave you. If this is the sort of place they throw an evil criminal like you into, I'm shocked the crime rate isn't higher. You even have a lady in bed, and one of the Seven at that!"

"Shhhh—!" Aether hushed, his eyes darting in the direction of the bed. Furina was still asleep but he worried Venti might stir her awake. If that happens, an Archon or not, Venti would be in a whole load of trouble.

"Alright, alright, sheesh…" Venti thankfully started talking in a lower voice. "So how've you been? Fontaine's treating you well, I presume?"

"Ur… Sort of? Wait no, why are you here?" Aether asked again.

"It's a bit of a long story. I was playing my harp outside the city walls a couple of days ago," Venti began narrating his story. He said that sometime in the afternoon, he noticed Jean returning to the city. Upon surprising her by appearing behind her, he asked what she was up to. "And so she told me of your little arrest here in Fontaine. I thought 'Hey, it's been a long while since I visited the beautiful Nation of Hydro' and hoped on the next boat out of Mondstadt. I was exploring the city the entire day and might have an arrest warrant on me."

"Venti?!"

"In my defence, how was I supposed to know it was illegal to play music on top of someone's roof?" Venti puffed his cheek at the indignation of being chased around by a bunch of short water fairies but that was in the past. "Anyway, can you tell dear Focalors there to pardon me when she wakes up in the morning? I'd rather not spend the rest of my stay here in a cell… unless it's like yours. Minus the Archon, of course."

"How are you already wanted?"

"I know right? I thought it would take a couple more days before that happens," the mischievous Anemo Archon grinned. He then slapped Aether lightly on the back and skipped back towards the window. "I'm counting on you, Aether. I don't want to be put in handcuffs when I visit again in the morning. As they say in Fontaine, au reviour!"

Aether watched as Venti jumped out of the window before letting out a long, exhausted sigh. He wasn't worried about the incognito god getting hurt— Venti would just use his powers to safely land again. However, he already knew the next couple of days would be a whirlwind of chaos if Venti was around. He just hoped he wouldn't cause too much trouble for Furina and Neuvillette… Actually, knowing Neuvillette's opinion about the other members of the Seven, he'd probably be ecstatic if he saw Venti in legal trouble. While a part of him was worried and dreaded Venti being in Fontaine to check up on him, Aether was equally happy that Venti actually came as soon as he heard.

Wait… 'Why was Jean outside the city in the first place?'

…Nah, he could wonder that some other time. He was more exhausted than before and needed some shut-eye. Venti was coming by in the morning anyway so he could ask him then. Filing away this nighttime encounter, Aether returned to bed and rejoined Furina. She (fortunately) had slept through the entire thing; Aether shuddered to think how much more trouble Venti would have been in had she woken up. He heard her mumble something in her sleep but couldn't decipher it in his tired mind. Whatever it was, it didn't really matter. If she wasn't having another nightmare, a little snuggling would solve that. And if it was nothing, he… was still going to snuggle anyway.

Aether could forget about his troubles for the night here… Nothing else mattered in the safety of this room.

A/N: And done! I thought to add a Xiao-centric section but thought it'd be saved for the next chapter to flow a bit better since it would be jumping back a couple hours for a second time (since we went from Venti being Venti to a bit earlier again). Either way, Venti has pulled another Venti already and is in hot water. We also get a sprinkle more of Aerina at the end. Just a small chapter this time.

Anyway, the 4.3 stream is out! And I need 4.3 now to get the sweet sweet Aerina moments. Them making a movie together is precisely the sort of thing I need to further fuel my brainrot. Oh, and some Inazuma peeps are here too. I won't pretend I didn't know they were coming but I genuinely didn't know in what capacity. In any case, a couple of Discord peeps unintentionally gave me a few prompts to work with: 1. Rumours of a love triangle between the director, kamera operator, and main actress spreads; 2. Ayato and Neuvillette fighting behind the scenes as to who Aether will be dating. Dunno if I'll ever get to writing that (I'm already writing Ayaka as second place in this fic and knowing my preferences…) but who knows? Now, to roll for Mistsplitter or not…

As always, see you all next time!