It happened on that very same day. At dawn, Sucrose was finishing one of her experiments before going to sleep. The last one and then she got some sleep, or that is what she told herself for the fifth time that night.

Too many times did Sucrose spend the entire night inside her laboratory, doing experiments, and consuming sugar candies she synthesized herself to keep her energy levels in check. Even though as of late she was trying to redress that bad habit of hers, she relapsed into it with utmost ease:

"One last experiment," she told herself every time.

And then, once she was finished with it, something else caught her attention, and since she didn't want to leave it for later, she got on with it while repeating that same sentence. Over and over again during the whole night until the rays from daybreak shone through the windows made her realize she had, once again, spent the whole night inside her laboratory.

"I did it again…" she sighed. "Oh well, I should at least have some breakfast."

She put her tools away and arranged all of her test tubes and potions. Everything was tidied up, and she was about to leave the laboratory. However, at that moment someone knocked at the door, and opened it without waiting for a response. Cavalry Captain Kaeya came in accompanied by two other Knights of Favonius. At first, Sucrose thought that he had come to tease her, but then she noticed that the captain looked serious.

"Is something the matter, Captain Kaeya?"

Kaeya hesitated, as if he didn't want to do what he must. He then let out a painful sigh and spoke:

"Sucrose, by order of the Acting Grand Master Jean, you are hereby under arrest for public disorder, damages on private property and assault."

Kaeya's statement paralyzed Sucrose with great awe. Sucrose, bewildered, remained still and silent. She was expecting for Kaeya to make his usual wry smile and say "Just kidding!" at any moment. But the Captain's expression denoted that no such thing was going to happen; in fact, he himself wished everything were just an awful joke.

"We would appreciate your cooperation," he continued.

"W-wait a minute, Captain Kaeya!" Sucrose shuddered. "What have I done, if I may ask?! I have been here the whole night!"

"That's what I'd like to know as well. For the moment I only know that Jean has ordered your immediate arrest under these charges. We're taking you to her."

It didn't seem like the situation could be solved at that moment. Besides, the two knights were ready to jump into action at any time. One of them even had shackles prepared in case they were needed.

Sucrose tried to hold back her tears to no avail. She clenched her lips, trying not to cry. Then she bowed her head and raised her arms as a sign of submission.

They left Sucrose's laboratory in two pairs. Sucrose and Kaeya were in front while the other two knights followed suit. Sucrose felt her whole body crumbling under its own weight. If it weren't because Kaeya was guiding her with his hand gently put on her back, she wouldn't move an inch. To make things worse, she could hear people whispering about her as they passed.

"I can't believe she really did that…"

"And here I thought she was harmless…"

"It's always the quiet ones…"

She felt more and more miserable. The only solace that she could find was that at least she wasn't shackled.

They reached the door to the Grand Masters' Office. Kaeya knocked.

"It's Kaeya. I brought Sucrose."

"Come in." said a voice from inside.

Kaeya opened the door and led a frightened Sucrose inside. The two knights stayed out guarding. Sitting at her desk was the Acting Grand Master Jean talking with a silver-haired girl wearing a maid dress modified as armor. That girl was Noelle the Maid and Apprentice Knight. Noelle turned to the door, and when she saw Sucrose her expression saddened. She averted her gaze and turned back to Jean.

"Very well, it will be done," she agreed with a reverence.

Noelle left the office looking down and without saying another word. Sucrose approached Jean's desk with a plodding step and with Kaeya's help. She could feel Jean's intense gaze all over her.

Jean asked her with a stern voice, "Well? Do you have something to say?"

Sucrose got like a dozen lumps in her throat. Jean's mere presence already overwhelmed her enough that she didn't dare to talk to her on a normal basis. Now it was like a mouse facing a dragon, and that mouse that she was needed to speak for herself no matter what. She needed to gather the strength and the words to speak without hesitation, because if she didn't speak in her defense, no one would.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she trembled. "I have been in my laboratory since yesterday."

"Since yesterday, you say?" Jean repeated without changing her tone nor moving her gaze. "And is there anyone who can confirm that?"

Sucrose shook her head.

"Because, in my case," Jean continued, "I have several witnesses confirming your actions, myself included."

Sucrose felt suddenly out of breath, like if someone had just punched her hard in the stomach. She had no doubt that she had been inside her laboratory for at least a day and a half, and she didn't have any gaps in her memory. Still, Jean's version was a complete contradiction from hers, and the Grand Master wasn't someone who would make up a story just to accuse someone.

Sucrose was having an endless stream of disorganized thoughts. The more she tried to think about a logical theory, the less she understood what was happening. Seeing that Sucrose wasn't saying anything, Jean decided to speak herself:

"Two hours ago, around four o'clock in the morning, one of the knights from the night shift came to me while I was ordering some documents here, in my office. He informed me about a quarrel in front of the Goth Grand Hotel.

"I went there with him and found you at the scene, bickering with some Fatui agents. Before I had time to intervene, you tossed something at them which exploded and sent them flying, injuring them and wrecking the hotel's main door. Right after, you fled towards the north gate. I ordered the knights to go after you while I stayed to attend the wounded and explain the situation to the others. Unfortunately, they lost sight of you; nobody even saw you reach the gate.

"Once the crisis had calmed down enough I returned to my office and dispatched every knight available in your search. Some time later, I received a message of anonymous origin stating that you had been spotted in your laboratory. I admit I almost guffawed when I read it, because that was the very last place I expected you to be. You can guess what I did thereafter.

"Well? Do you have something to say now?"

Sucrose began to hyperventilate, her emotions overflowing her. She could no longer hold back her tears. Nothing Jean had said made sense to her whatsoever, yet she didn't have any way to prove her own version.

"There must be some kind of misunderstanding!" she fretted desperately. "I really didn't leave my laboratory! I really didn't!"

"I would like to believe you, I really do," Jean expressed with a concerned expression. "However, your figure was unmistakable: your clothes, your hair, your ears, your face, everything. That's what we saw with our own eyes, and I can't think of any other possible explanation. You must please tell me why you did it."

It was too much for her; she couldn't take it anymore. Her legs gave away and she fell on her knees. She bursted into tears. Both Kaeya and Jean watched her with sorrow. Neither of them would believe that Sucrose would be capable of committing something like that. In fact, nobody would have believed that story if the Grand Master hadn't seen everything herself. Alas, those were the actual facts, and that wasn't the worst part:

"This is very serious," Jean explained. "The Fatui are remarkably upset. This could trigger a diplomatic crisis with Snezhnaya. And to top it all off, two Harbingers are in the city at this moment. I have no other choice but to lock you up while I try to deescalate this state of affairs."

"No… Please, no…"

Jean asked Kaeya to take Sucrose away. Kaeya grabbed Sucrose gently by her arm and helped her stand up. They both left the Grand Master's office, Sucrose leaning on Kaeya, dragging her feet and sobbing. After Kaeya closed the door behind him, Jean stood up and went towards the window. She rested her head against the glass and let out a long sigh.

"I thought I would have some peaceful days now that Klee is in Dragonspine with Albedo…" she lamented. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would she do it?"

Sucrose's cell was small, cold and damp. It had only a wooden plank hanging from two chains to lie on. Sucrose was sitting down in a corner, hugging her legs and sinking her head on her knees. She didn't know how long she had been there. She didn't even pay attention to the food tray lying in front of her. The recent succession of events played in her head over and over again while wondering what would become of her. She had her Vision confiscated, which was stored inside a safe near the cells. She wasn't crying anymore; she was just tired.

That scene remained still for a long time until somebody appeared before her cell.

"Sucrose? I brought you dinner. Oh, I see you haven't eaten anything…"

It was Noelle. She asked the warden to open the cell door for her. She entered the cell and swapped both food trays. She looked at Sucrose, who hadn't moved an inch yet, but she didn't dare to touch her.

"Grand Master Jean asked me to look after you," she said. "I leave this freshly made food. Please, eat something."

Sucrose didn't budge nor did she make any sound. It was like talking to a statue. Noelle shook her head in a sorrowful manner and left the cell. The warden locked the door again and the sound of their footsteps grew more distant.

Once again that motionless scene. Sucrose didn't feel anything; she had even stopped thinking. She didn't care at all about anything anymore. She only heard her own breathing. At first she wanted to wake up, thinking everything was just a horrible nightmare. She pinched her cheeks, bit her forearms and even banged her head against the wall, all to no avail. It wasn't a dream; it was the sheer, harsh and grim reality.

The motionless scene ended some time later once again by the sound of footsteps. Somebody had stopped at her cell door again.

"Stand up."

Sucrose reacted to that voice she didn't recognize. She raised her head and saw something she would never have expected: the figure of a person covered and hooded under a black cloak stood before her on the other side of the bars.

"Who… are you?" she asked the figure.

"Someone who knows about your innocence," was the mysterious figure's answer.

Sucrose stood up and ran to the bars as fast as she could. She tried to see who was under the hood, but the figure had hidden themselves under that cloak so well that Sucrose couldn't even catch a brief glimpse. She only knew that they both had the same height and, guessing by their voice, it was a girl. The figure put her index finger on Sucrose's mouth and shushed.

"Don't shout. The warden is now sleeping on cloud nine," she told her. "We wouldn't want to disturb him now, wouldn't we?"

"Are you here to help me?" Sucrose whispered.

"Indeed I am."

"Will you speak in my defense?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." The figure shook her head. "You see, the Fatui are demanding your head."

Sucrose was about to shriek, but she managed to cover both her mouth and her nose with her hands and suffocate the noise. She was agitated, terrified to an extent she had never been before. She wasn't able to calm down and small squeaks left her mouth one after another.

"What do we do, then?" she asked, horrified. "What should I do?"

The figure approached the cell door, and with utmost silence picked its lock. The door was now open. Then, she extended her hand. She was holding Sucrose's Vision in it.

"Escape," she answered. "Now is a good time: it's raining heavily outside, so there's no one out in the streets. This may be your only chance"

"I can't do that!" Sucrose protested. "My whole life is here! And besides, what will the Fatui do when they find out that I'm gone!?"

"Don't worry about that. It's easier to come up with a story if you're gone. Also, regarding your life here, you know it pretty well already: no matter what you do, it's over."

Hearing it from the words of another hit much harder than all the times Sucrose had thought about it together. And now she could see it in the decision she had before her: run away and live a fugitive life, or stay and most likely die executed.

The mere thought of becoming a fugitive terrified her. She didn't know how she would be able to live on. However, on the other side, she was aware of how the diplomatic relationships between Mondstadt and Snezhnaya worked. If the Fatui wanted her dead because of that incident, they could use that incident as a reason good enough to make it happen without the Knights of Favonius being able to prevent it, no matter how much they wanted to. Therefore, what awaited her if she stayed was only execution.

"Come on!" the figure hurried while shaking the hand in which she held Sucrose's Vision. "We don't have much time!"

Sucrose clenched her teeth. With a sudden movement she took her Vision back. She came out of the cell. Her life might be over, but that didn't mean that she was going to just do nothing and wait for death to come.

The figure guided her in the opposite direction of the way out, towards the wall at the end of the hallway. There, the figure put her hand on a certain block in particular and pushed it. The block sank into the wall and the wall opened, showing a passage.

"This is the service door I've used to come in," she explained. "If you go through here, you'll get out at the windmill near the Adventurers' Guild.

"Go to Liyue. Run with everything you have, don't look back and, whatever happens, never stop running. At least not until you've left Mondstadt."

"And what about you?" Sucrose asked, worried. "Aren't you coming?"

"Don't worry about me: the Fatui won't lay a finger on me, neither diplomatically nor physically. Now, go. Hurry."

Sucrose nodded and ran following the passage. Like the mysterious figure had said, she came outdoors at the windmill, it was pouring and nobody was to be seen. The rain was so intense that in mere seconds it drenched her and made her unable to see through her glasses. She knew there was no point in wiping them, since they would be soaked again in an instant; thence, she took them off and held them in her hand.

She took the shortest path towards the city's main gate. That path led to her house. When she passed in front of it, she stopped. She couldn't help but to think of her parents. How were they feeling? What would they be thinking about her? The thought that maybe she wouldn't see them ever again tormented her, all the more since she was about to leave without saying a word.

The idea of seeing them one last time tempted her. She reached her hand towards the doorknob. When she was about to grab it, she remembered the mysterious figure and what she had told her. All of her efforts in setting her free would be in vain if she were caught. Her hand trembled. She bit her lower lip with so much strength that it almost bled. She ran away. She crossed the main gate and the great bridge over Cider Lake. Without slowing her pace she vanished amidst the rainy dark night. Far away from her home, far away from her family.