Undercover in Snezhnaya, My Teyvat Spy Life [41]

Night had fallen.

A faint, contented smile lingered on Eula’s face as she drifted into a deep sleep, her head pillowed on Artem Vetrovski’s lap.

After knowing her for so long—

It was the first time he’d ever seen her look so genuinely, utterly at peace.

Artem gently stroked her hair, his mind already turning over everything he still had to deal with.

First was the matter of the Lawrence Clan.

Eula losing her [Vision], would, to any normal family, be a cause for inconsolable grief at the fall of a prodigy.

But for that bunch of cold-blooded wretches, they’d more likely see it as a stroke of good fortune.

The Lawrence Clan, already decayed after centuries, Eula’s parents included—none of them had ever truly accepted Eula’s betrayal of their ancestors’ will by joining the Knights of Favonius.

When she lost to him in that duel before, the Lawrence family had already kicked up a fuss, trying to seize the [Glacial Seal] from her.

So now, if they got wind of this, there was no doubt they’d make a scene all over again.

He had to find a way to sever ties between Eula and the Lawrence Clan as quickly as possible—to make sure they couldn’t keep bothering her.

But it wasn’t just the Lawrences.

There was also Varka.

That old fox’s habit of making empty promises was just a ploy to keep him on the line.

All because he was afraid Artem might one day switch sides.

In Varka’s mind, there was no way Eula would ever get too close to someone who was, on paper, a Snezhnayan envoy—at least, not if she wanted to truly belong in Mondstadt.

Which meant Varka could drag out his so-called promise for three years, five years—maybe forever.

What he could never have predicted was that Eula would choose to walk away from Mondstadt so quickly, undoing years of his efforts in a single stroke.

If Artem didn’t handle Varka, there was no way he’d be able to leave safely with Eula.

Then there was the problem of the Fatui.

Just thinking about that made a cold glint flash in Artem’s eyes.

Krupp.

That bastard—if he so much as saw Artem with Eula, he’d be sure to cause trouble.

Krupp had to die. Otherwise, Artem wouldn’t even be able to sleep at night.

And finally, one last thing...

Eula’s [Vision].

He had to find a way to reignite her [Vision].

Losing her Cryo abilities meant she couldn’t use the [Glacial Seal] anymore. Even her weapon, the [Song of Broken Pines], was now sealed within her [Vision].

With her strength so badly crippled, following him would only put her in even greater danger.

But reigniting a [Cryo Vision] was almost impossibly difficult, far harder than reviving Diluc’s [Pyro Vision] had been.

Eula’s wish was so complex—so painfully difficult.

Even the preconditions alone set her up for heartbreak and impossible choices.

If Eula ever gave in to despair, it wouldn’t just mean her [Vision] would never reignite—he himself would be torn apart by guilt and pain.

And all this was just his best guess at how a [Cryo Vision] worked.

If he was wrong...

Wouldn’t that mean Eula was suffering all this for nothing?

These problems circled endlessly in Artem’s mind, giving him a pounding headache.

He’d think up a solution, only to realize it wasn’t feasible.

Come up with a new idea, only to shoot it down for the same reason.

And so he pondered, racking his brain, the entire night through.

It was only when the first faint light of dawn crept in that he finally worked out a plan that was both reasonable and thorough.

After going over the details several more times, he was certain—

This plan had an extremely high chance of success.

Of his four goals, the only one that might fail was reigniting Eula’s [Vision].

The other three could all be handled smoothly.

And out of all the methods he’d considered, this one also gave Eula the best shot at reclaiming her [Vision].

“You stayed up all night, didn’t you?”

Eula’s voice broke through Artem’s thoughts.

Artem looked down to see her still blinking sleepily, and replied softly, “I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d think things over instead.”

“Your wounds aren’t healed yet.”

“If you don’t rest, they’ll recover even slower.”

“Come on, lie down and get some sleep.”

Eula hurriedly sat up, her heart aching a little as she saw the bloodshot fatigue in Artem’s eyes. She grabbed his arm, trying to coax him to rest.

But just as she reached for him, a swirl of Hydro element appeared out of nowhere in Artem’s hand.

A moment later, the Hydro burst into a misty blue glow and washed over him, swiftly healing his wounds.

“!”

Eula stared in mild shock.

She’d already guessed that Artem was the masked man who’d fought her in the wine cellar—and the mysterious powerhouse who’d wiped out a whole tribe of hilichurls atop Starsnatch Cliff.

But to actually witness him so casually wielding different elements—it was staggering.

“So this is that [Delusion] power you mentioned?” Eula asked curiously.

“Mm.”

Artem responded without hesitation, taking out all eight of his [Delusions] from his coat.

Seven different elements, plus the one he’d taken from Crepus.

He showed each one to Eula in turn.

“I knew it.”

Eula’s gaze lingered briefly on Crepus’s [Delusion] before she let out a soft sigh.

“When I saw those elemental traces up on Starsnatch Cliff, I already suspected the real culprit behind the attack on Lord Crepus.”

“So it really was you.”

“Heh.” Artem gave a sly laugh. “If you go report me now, who knows—maybe Varka will reward you for it.”

Eula shot him a glare. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

But she frowned, asking, “So, Inspector Eroch—he was framed by you and the Grand Master working together, wasn’t he?”

“Smart.”

Artem chuckled, giving her a thumbs-up.

“Why?”

Eula was puzzled.

She just couldn’t wrap her head around it. Mondstadt and Snezhnaya had been at odds for years—why would Varka work with a Fatui agent to frame his own Inspector?

“Which part are you asking about?”

“Why Varka wanted to work with me?”

“Or why we had to frame Eroch?”

Artem met her gaze, a faint smile playing at his lips. “Or maybe you’re wondering why the real target was Crepus?”

That was a lot to take in.

So much, in fact, that Eula’s mind almost couldn’t process it all at once.

She could more or less guess that there was something shady about Eroch.

Varka, she figured, probably couldn’t act openly himself, which was why he’d brought Artem in. That, too, made sense.

But as for why the real target was Crepus…

Staring at that [Delusion], glowing faint red and exuding a dangerous aura, Eula shivered involuntarily.

She realized, all of a sudden, just how little she truly knew about Mondstadt.

Seeing her stunned expression, Artem shook his head and asked again, “Are you sure you want to know? I’m warning you—it might ruin everything you thought you knew.”

“Go ahead.”

Eula bit her lip, nodding firmly.

“It all started with Crepus’s [Delusion].”

“…”

“Eroch took bribes from Snezhnaya and became a traitor to Mondstadt.”

“…”

“To punish Eroch—and also to warn Crepus, to strip away his ill-gotten power—”

“…”

“In the end, I struck a deal with Varka.”

“…”

“That’s the truth. Not that complicated, really. Just a bit of a mind-breaker.”

Artem didn’t embellish anything, just tweaked the details a bit.

He left out the fact that he was a Mondstadt mole, and that Eroch had actually been working with him.

Some things, Eula was better off not knowing.

Otherwise, she’d just end up putting herself in danger.

When Eula finished listening, she fell silent.

Truth be told, she rather regretted asking in the first place.

Just as Artem had warned, it really did turn her worldview upside down.

The always genial, well-respected Lord Crepus, secretly trading with the Fatui’s mad Doctor, and doing so for years.

An Inspector—someone of Eroch’s rank—betraying Mondstadt, selling out secrets for profit.

And to keep his hands clean, Grand Master Varka inviting a sworn enemy’s Inspector to team up and quietly dispose of a Mondstadt traitor.

“What a mess…” Eula managed a wry smile.

“There’s a lot you still don’t understand.”

Between nations, this isn’t child’s play.

Fully healed, Artem got to his feet and pulled Eula up beside him.

“Come on. Let’s head back to Mondstadt.”

“There’s still plenty to do.”

---

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!