Chapter 67

The Windblume Festival is called such for a reason.

Once the festival begins, there are various competitions. After the lively events of poetry, feasts, and flying contests, a champion is selected from the three main events. This champion then chooses a young maiden to stand on the hand of the statue of Barbatos in the central plaza. At the festival's climax, she throws a symbolic feather ball blessed by Barbatos into the crowd.

The first person to catch the feather ball receives a grand prize and a year of good fortune.

During the final years of the Lawrence family's rule over Mondstadt, this event was controlled by Buck Lawrence, a member of the family. The competitions were canceled, and he handpicked a girl to be the one to throw the feather ball. Not only did he take the feather ball, but the girl herself would be taken to his home, where her fate was grim.

This went on for five years until a wandering bard, who called himself Venti, stole the feather ball from Buck Lawrence's hands. That marked the beginning of the end of the Lawrence family's reign.

The mysterious figure who had attacked the Fatui earlier eventually escaped from Collei and Amber's pursuit. Considering that there were still mechanical birds hidden around the city, they decided to give up the chase and returned to Mondstadt. After locating all the mechanical birds, they participated in the Windblume Festival celebrations.

Encouraged by Amber, Collei even took part in one of the competitions. Although she didn't win, the kindness of those around her allowed her to thoroughly enjoy herself.

When the feather ball was tossed at the end of the celebration, Collei used the techniques she had learned from Bai Luo to deftly snatch it from the crowd. Catching the feather ball came with an unexpected bonus—a special gift.

"See you tomorrow, Collei!" Amber waved goodbye as they reached a fork in the road.

Though Amber wanted to invite Collei to her house to see her handmade Baron Bunny, Collei politely declined. She was worried that her plague might bring trouble to Amber. Besides, she had something else she needed to do.

The festival had ended, but the streets were still bustling with people, their faces filled with the joy of celebration. Groups continued to discuss the day's events as they walked.

Holding the gift she had received from the Windblume Festival, Collei made her way toward the Goethe Grand Hotel under the night sky. But before she reached the hotel, she spotted someone standing in the shadows ahead.

It was Bai Luo.

In Collei's experience, Bai Luo always preferred to stand in dark, unlit areas. With his black coat, he was easy to miss if it weren't for the white mask he wore.

Collei jogged up to him, and Bai Luo removed his mask. Underneath was his familiar, gentle smile, filled with a trace of fondness.

"Did you have fun?"

Bai Luo casually hooked the mask onto his belt. Depending on the situation, he wore his mask differently. When assassinating or negotiating, he would wear it on his face to create a sense of pressure. In formal settings where he had to show his face, he'd wear it tilted to one side, signifying his authority as an officer. But in private moments like this, the mask representing death would hang at his waist.

Collei nodded and lifted her hands, offering him the gift she had been holding for so long.

"This! I got this for you!"

"This?" Bai Luo casually took the gift box from her without much thought, assuming it was just something Collei had bought at the festival.

"Aren't you... going to open it?" Collei asked nervously when she saw Bai Luo didn't seem interested in unwrapping it.

No matter the situation, Bai Luo always wore the same calm smile. Whether he was angry or threatening someone, his expression didn't change. Collei was curious to see another side of him.

Would he show a surprised expression when he saw this gift?

She was looking forward to it.

"Gifts should be opened at the right time. Now's not the moment... Come with me. The young Sumeru scholar has arrived, and we're going to meet him."

"Oh..."

For some reason, when Bai Luo mentioned that the person who could cure her had arrived, Collei didn't seem happy. Instead, she felt a subtle sense of disappointment.

Was it because of the gift?

Bai Luo glanced at the gift box tucked under his arm and started to wonder what was inside.

The headquarters of the Knights of Favonius wasn't far from the Goethe Grand Hotel, just a few steps up from the opposite corner. It was convenient for both the Fatui to keep an eye on the Knights and the Knights to monitor the Fatui.

However, as Bai Luo led Collei toward the Knights' headquarters, she couldn't help but ask, "Are we just going to walk in like this?"

Collei knew that as a Fatui Harbinger, Bai Luo casually approaching the Knights would cause a stir. She herself was a mysterious outsider in the eyes of the knights, and they had been investigating the arson incident—of which she was the culprit.

"It's fine."

For the first time, Bai Luo took Collei's hand, and a faint, pale blue glow enveloped them both.

[Shadow Step]: After 1 second, enter stealth mode and increase movement speed by 8%. Attacking or using skills will break stealth, and the next attack is guaranteed to crit.

This ability had always been Bai Luo's trump card. After testing it with Raiden Shogun, he was certain even a god couldn't see through it.

After using the ability many times, Bai Luo had gradually understood how it worked. Essentially, it transported him and whatever he touched into another dimension.

In that state, their footsteps, heartbeats, and even their breathing were undetectable.

It was true invisibility.

Perhaps... it had something to do with the concept of quantum mechanics.

This made Bai Luo think of the term "Quantum Sea," related to the original game and miHoYo's other works.

He wondered if there was a connection.

Thanks to this unique stealth ability, Bai Luo successfully led Collei into the Knights' headquarters.

"You... when I'm bathing, you don't...?"

Realizing how terrifying his ability was, Collei's skin prickled with goosebumps. She gave Bai Luo a suspicious look.

She often felt strange while wiping herself in the bathroom. Could it be...?

"Don't worry. I wouldn't waste my ability on something so boring."

"Oh, that's a relief. I was—"

"Besides, there's nothing special about your body. I've seen it enough times while applying ointment. Honestly, my own chest muscles are more exciting than your flat board."

"..."

So much for kindness—he's colder than the Frostbearing Tree on Dragonspine!

As Collei stood speechless at Bai Luo's blunt remark, the door to a nearby room suddenly burst open.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

A small figure in red dashed out, racing toward the open doors of the Knights' headquarters.

But...

"Bonk—"

The young girl seemed to run into something invisible.

She looked up, confused, but saw nothing in front of her.

Absolutely nothing.

"Waaah! Kaeya was right! There are ghosts in Mondstadt at night! I won't run away again!"

The small, delicate girl instinctively reached behind her, but then remembered she had left her backpack in the confinement room.

"Waaah!!"

And so, for the first time, the little troublemaker who had finished her time in confinement voluntarily returned to what she considered her personal nightmare—the confinement room.