Undercover in Snezhnaya, My Teyvat Spy Life [24]

The idea to impersonate one of The Doctor’s men and trick Crepus, that was Artem Vetrovski’s own plan.

After all, that particular [Delusion] Crepus possessed was just too unusual.

Artem had spent three years among the Fatui, rising to a status second only to the Tsaritsa and the Harbingers.

But he’d never seen another [Delusion] capable of wielding a deceased god’s power quite like this one.

Maybe I just haven’t reached a high enough clearance to see those secrets…

But the more that was the case, the more likely it was that Crepus had interacted directly with The Doctor.

After all, [Delusions] themselves were The Doctor’s invention.

The mass-produced standard [Delusions] could be made in a factory, any Fatui officer could get their hands on one.

But this type... a unique, custom-made Delusion—could only be crafted personally by The Doctor.

That was why Artem had decided to try bluffing Crepus in The Doctor’s name, to see what he could shake loose.

Of course, if Crepus hadn’t recognized The Doctor, he could always switch tactics, use other methods to pry out the truth.

He still had Diluc as leverage, after all;
if all else failed, he could always threaten Crepus with his son’s life.

But he hadn’t needed to.

On the very first try, Crepus confessed everything, including ten years of cooperation with The Doctor.

...

Head down, Artem wandered through Whispering Woods, feeling oddly unsettled.

He’d expected something like this, but actually hearing it still left a bitter taste.

The Dawn Winery.

The respectable Master Crepus Ragnvindr, turned out to be involved in all this.

Whenever Artem remembered the “experimental materials” he’d seen in The Doctor’s lab, he would grit his teeth and, in his frustration, send a tree crashing to the ground with a punch.

“Well, that’s quite the temper.”

“Don’t tell me Crepus didn’t give you anything?”

Varka’s voice drifted through the trees, and soon he stepped into view with a smile.

“There was something,” Artem muttered, “but nothing good.”

“Want to hear it?”

He kicked a loose stone with no enthusiasm.

Seeing him like this, Varka’s smile faded. His tone grew serious.

“So it’s true, then—Crepus was colluding with the Fatui?”

“Tell me everything. I can handle it.”

For all his bravado, Varka’s face was grim.

His worst fear had come to pass.

As Mondstadt’s largest economic force, the Dawn Winery’s position was untouchable.

If the master of the winery was compromised, the damage to Mondstadt would be catastrophic.

Varka had already judged Crepus in his heart.

But as Artem continued, Varka suddenly realized he’d been far too lenient.

“He’s been working with The Doctor—The Fatui’s Second Harbinger—for ten years now.”

“Their arrangement? Supplying the Fatui with children who matched The Doctor’s criteria.”

“And on top of that, he was asked to steal something. I don’t know what it is, only that you keep it on your person, and Crepus couldn’t get close, so the matter was dropped.”

When he finished, Varka’s face was so dark it looked like he could wring water from it.

The Doctor was no stranger to him.

Artem’s reports had described him in detail.

A master of human experimentation—responsible for [Delusion] development and the modification of Fatui soldiers.

An absolute powerhouse.

Artem’s own assessment:
In terms of combat ability, The Doctor was godlike.
In terms of character: a madman, a monster, ruthless in pursuit of his goals.

And the most terrifying part?
There wasn’t just one Doctor.

He’d somehow managed to create “slices” of himself at every age.

No one knew how many there were—only that every single slice was just as insane.

Artem’s intelligence reports had especially highlighted The Doctor’s “experimental materials.”

All of them—children of a certain age.

That was one of the main reasons Mondstadt resisted Snezhnaya at every turn.

But it turned out The Doctor had infiltrated them long ago.

While the Knights of Favonius fought off the Fatui’s schemes on the surface, Crepus was quietly sending “materials” to The Doctor from the shadows.

The more Varka thought about it, the more twisted his expression became.
His fists clenched tight, joints popping as he fought the urge to return to Mondstadt and strangle Crepus himself.

At that moment, Artem spoke up, voice low.

“If you’re thinking of killing him, you might want to consider the consequences.”

“Crepus’s crimes are grave, sure. But Diluc’s loyalty to Mondstadt is beyond doubt.”

“If you take action against Crepus without a solid reason, aren’t you worried about losing Diluc? What if he jumps ship to the Fatui and turns against Mondstadt?”

“And then there’s Kaeya.”

“Let me put it this way: If Crepus dies at Mondstadt’s hands, Kaeya would probably flash you a big smile and say, ‘Well done.’”

“And a few days later, every secret Mondstadt has—including the color of your underwear today—would be sitting on the desks of the other six nations.”

Those words hit Varka like a bucket of ice water in summer, his anger snuffed out in an instant.

He was forced to calm down, to weigh all the possible outcomes Artem had pointed out.

Killing Crepus was easy.

The problem was how to do it without causing a crisis.

Diluc was the rising star of Mondstadt’s younger generation, in terms of talent, only Artem could rival him.

Beyond him, only Jean, Eula, Rosaria, and a handful of others were in the same league.

Mondstadt simply couldn’t afford to lose someone like him.

The same went for Kaeya.

Crepus’s adopted son, sharp as a blade and never one to mince words, young as he was, he always completed every assignment flawlessly.

Both of them were pillars of Mondstadt’s future.

They were the next generation Varka had been counting on.

Losing even one would be a disaster.

“Damn it… If I’d known, I should have had you kill Crepus days ago—would’ve saved us all this trouble.”

Varka pounded his fist on his head in frustration, unable to come up with a good solution.

“Tch—”

“A few days ago? Varka you didn't know back then Crepus was in league with The Doctor.”

Artem snorted.

Honestly, he thought. I only just found out myself.

“Fair enough,” Varka sighed, shaking his head. Then he looked at Artem.

“How about this, can you take care of it?”

Artem spat in disgust. “Forget it! What, you want Albedo hunting me across all of Teyvat?”

“Ever since I left the Dawn Winery, he’s been hunting everywhere for me. Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

“If you want me dead, just say so. No need to beat around the bush.”

“Uh…” Varka was at a loss for words.

He did know—Albedo hadn’t approved of the way Eroch had used multi-elemental power.
He’d been searching all over for the true wielder.

If Albedo ever figured out it was Artem, their entire scheme to kill Eroch would come to light.

Given all that, it really wasn’t the time to ask Artem to get involved again.

Varka could only shake his head.

“In that case, we’ll have to think of something else.”

With a heavy sigh, he turned to leave.

But Artem grabbed his arm in a flash.

“What, is there something else?” Varka asked, confused.

Seeing Varka’s bewildered face, Artem bristled with annoyance.

“Yeah, something else.”

“Something important.”

“What about the wife you promised me?”

“Don’t you dare say you forgot!”

“Or tomorrow morning, all of Mondstadt will know you sleep hugging a bunny pillow—”

“A pink one!!”

---

T/N: THATS SO CUTE VARKA!!!!!!!!

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!