Undercover in Snezhnaya, My Teyvat Spy Life [76]

After she finished admonishing Artem—

Arlecchino did not leave Mondstadt, nor did she try to seize Artem’s authority or meddle in his affairs from behind the scenes.

Most days, she was either nowhere to be seen or could be found standing atop a rooftop, gazing silently out over the city.

So everything proceeded just as originally planned, running smoothly and without interference.

And soon, Artem’s plan bore new fruit.

The Knights of Favonius’ patrol and cavalry squads encountered the dragon Ursa in the wilds outside the city.

Even though Jean had already pulled more than twenty [Vision] bearers from other squads and assigned them to these teams—

Under Ursa’s assault, the Knights still suffered devastating losses.

The original patrol captain was killed on the spot.

Counting him, a total of eight [Vision] users fell in battle, along with more than forty knights covering the retreat.

If Frederica hadn’t risked her life, managing to blind one of Ursa’s eyes with a desperate thrust and barely drive the beast away—

The losses would have been even more catastrophic.

But such a victory came at a terrible price: Frederica was struck down by Ursa’s claw, gravely wounded and nearly killed then and there.

Had the healer assigned to the squad not exhausted every last bit of their strength, by the time the fighting was over...

Jean and Barbara would have become orphans for real.

This mutual destruction was more than just a heartbreak for the Knights; the entire city of Mondstadt felt as if a cold wind had swept through their hearts.

Jean had believed that with her mother, Frederica—a fighter second to none in Mondstadt—and an elite squad, they could surely drive Ursa away.

But she hadn’t foreseen one thing.

After Dottore captured Ursa, he’d subjected the dragon to a brutal transformation—making it far stronger, faster, and tougher than it ever was at its peak.

Yet the Knights were still working off records from a thousand years ago, from Vanessa’s era.

It was this gulf in information that led to the disastrous defeat.

And what stung even more, for all Ursa’s newfound power there were still people in Mondstadt capable of killing it.

Compared to a being like Dvalin, one of Barbatos’s chosen, Ursa was still a lesser threat.

But those few who could defeat Ursa single-handedly had already been sent out to protect Mondstadt’s key strongholds, thanks to the ongoing crisis with Dvalin.

Among those left in the city: Lisa couldn’t be spared, Alice had vanished somewhere on an adventure with Klee—no one even knew where they were.

And right when Mondstadt was beset by internal and external troubles, The Fatui, quiet for a time, made their next move.

They announced, with great fanfare, that they would dispatch troops to hunt down the dragon threatening their Mondstadt allies. The mission would be led personally by the Snezhnayan envoy and Fatui Chief Inspector, Artem Vetrovski.

When Jean heard the news, she could only think, So it’s finally come to this.

She had always suspected the Fatui had ulterior motives.

After all, Ursa’s last known location was near the Dawn Winery, and the dragon had made several clear attempts to attack the estate.

So, whether the Fatui’s expedition was truly meant to slay the dragon or to target Master Crepus—who could say?

After that disastrous battle, the Knights no longer had the manpower to spare for monitoring Fatui activity.

All Jean could do now was be grateful she’d had the foresight to invite Albedo to the Dawn Winery ahead of time.

With Mondstadt’s chief alchemist there, at least Crepus’s safety was assured.

“The Fatui are moving so slowly.”

“That dossier was delivered days ago. Why is this ‘Albert’ still walking around like nothing happened?”

Watching the Fatui soldiers marching out of the city with their slogans, Jean’s face was clouded with worry.

Still lacking in experience, she had barely taken up the role of Acting Grand Master before finding herself facing an enemy who knew Mondstadt inside and out—an enemy with deep-seated hatred and unfathomable schemes at every turn.

It was a hellish way to start her tenure.

---

Artem sat on a boulder, overlooking the estate from above.

Eula sat beside him, also gazing toward the winery, her mind full of tangled thoughts.

“Your superior,” she said quietly,

“She always gives me a strange sense of familiarity.”

“Is there anything else you know about her? Tell me, will you?”

Ever since meeting Arlecchino that night, this question had lingered in Eula’s mind.

She couldn’t explain it.

There was something about Arlecchino that felt like someone she’d met before, yet she could never quite recall where.

But with Arlecchino always appearing unexpectedly around Mondstadt, there’d been no chance to ask Artem.

Now that she’d finally caught Arlecchino absent, she seized her opportunity.

Artem’s answer left her stunned.

“Yeah, she’s a Lawrence, same as you.”

“It’s not surprising she looks familiar.”

“…???”

Eula’s eyes widened in shock. “She’s from the Lawrence clan too?”

Weren’t all the Lawrences supposed to be in Mondstadt?

How could there suddenly be one who’d ended up in Snezhnaya—let alone as a high-ranking Harbinger?

“She’s probably from a branch that fled to Snezhnaya back when Mondstadt exiled the Lawrences.”

“That’s all I know, honestly.”

“Information about the Harbingers is always shrouded in mystery. Pretty much the only one in all the Fatui who knows their backgrounds is the first seat—The Jester. Even Her Majesty the Tsaritsa doesn’t have the full story.”

Artem sounded resigned.

The truth that Arlecchino was a Lawrence descendant was exceptionally well hidden. In the Fatui, almost no one knew.

The only reason Artem had managed to piece it together was because of his roots in the House of the Hearth and the fact that he’d interacted with Arlecchino more often than most. He simply knew her better than the rest.

Plus, as his rank had risen, he’d been granted increasing levels of access to the Snezhnayan archives.

Only after digging through scattered, seemingly trivial reports had he managed to piece together the truth.

“But you should still keep your distance from her.”

“I can joke around in front of her because I get results—whatever she asks, I get it done, no matter what. That’s why, even knowing I was once a Mondstadt spy, she’s still willing to protect me.”

“But you’re different.”

“With Arlecchino’s temperament, if a useless Lawrence relative came trying to get close, odds are she’d finish you off on the spot.”

“So don’t think that being from the same clan will make her any friendlier. Honestly, the farther you stay from her, the better. If you see her, just turn around and walk the other way.”

There was a clear warning in Artem’s words.

Eula understood. She nodded, sighing softly. “I’m just surprised there were any relatives left out there.”

“Strictly speaking, Arlecchino probably never considered herself part of the Lawrence family,” Artem added with a wry twist of his lips. “All she cares about is benefit. To her, this useless clan—only good at dragging her down—is just dead weight.”

“And it’s not just you. I’ve been in Snezhnaya all these years and I’ve never heard a whisper about the Lawrences.”

“To have someone so powerful and influential stay utterly anonymous all this time… Sometimes I wonder if she just found her clan an eyesore and wiped them all out herself.”

Eula’s eyelid twitched.

Could anyone really be so cold-blooded as to slaughter their own family?
Just what kind of maniacs and monsters are these Fatui Harbingers?

Just as the two of them were talking about Arlecchino, the distinctive shouts of a sixty-man Fatui unit echoed through the forest, drawing closer.

“Everyone’s here. Time to get to work.”

Artem hopped down from the boulder, stretching with lazy satisfaction.

Then, eyes fixed on the Dawn Winery, he couldn’t help grinning. “After all these days of waiting, it’s finally time to get down to business.”

---

The Knights of Favonius headquarters in Mondstadt received a visitor who introduced himself as a Fatui Harbinger.

The gate guards didn’t dare be careless; they hurried to escort him straight to the Grand Master’s office.

The moment he saw Jean, the newcomer narrowed his eyes, his smile genial as he extended a hand.

“Good day, Acting Grand Master.”

“I am the Ninth Harbinger of the Fatui, under the Tsaritsa’s command.”

“You may call me the ‘Regrator.’”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“My main purpose here today is to discuss establishing a branch of the Northland Bank in Mondstadt.”

---

T/N: omg 3 harbingers in mondstat :sob: its so over

This is a fan translation of 提瓦特之我在至冬做臥底 by 曉風殘月聽荷 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!