Since he had accepted the commission,
Mu Yang naturally began taking action.
Professionalism was his priority.
He arrived at the entrance of the Goethe Grand Hotel,
intending to walk straight in.
But he was stopped by a guard who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Ahem, I just dozed off for a second—definitely didn't abandon my post!"
"Wait, wrong thing to say."
"What I mean is—the Goethe Grand Hotel has been reserved by the Fatui delegation! Unauthorized personnel are not permitted entry!"
Mu Yang stared at him,
then barked in a deep, authoritative voice,
"Unauthorized personnel? Soldier! State your name!"
The Fatui guard was startled by the command,
snapping to attention.
"Reporting—my name is Luke!"
Mu Yang: "Good. Luke, go fetch Anastasia."
"I need to have a serious talk with her about your performance as a guard."
The moment Luke heard the name,
"C-C-Chief Envoy?!"
Not daring to delay—this concerned his future, after all—
he immediately rushed inside to call for her.
This is just my luck!
I work diligently every single day,
and the one time I slack off,
I get caught by someone important!
Not a hard life—just an unlucky one!
System: "Putting on another act? You really love theatrics, huh..."
Mu Yang: "Barging in by force would be boring."
Inside the Goethe Grand Hotel,
Anastasia was assigning tasks to her subordinates.
Following "The Fair Lady"'s orders,
they were to stir the flames in Mondstadt.
A large man nearby slammed the conference table in anger.
"Those arrogant Mondstadters—how dare they kill so many of our men?!"
"Hey, hey, be precise—allegedly Mondstadters."
"Are you out of your mind? That red-haired pyro greatsword user—who else could it be but that damn Diluc?"
According to intel from the Debt Collectors,
three people and a pet had stormed the stronghold.
Two of them wore masks.
The red-haired one could be deduced as Diluc,
the blonde and the white pet were the Traveler who had just arrived in the city,
while the white-haired one's identity remained unknown for now.
At that moment, guard Luke burst into the strategy meeting room.
Clearly, he had rushed here in a panic,
still panting heavily.
"Hah… hah… Chief Envoy! There's—there's an important person here to see you!"
Anastasia frowned. "An important person?"
"Yes! He demanded to speak with you by name, so I… I ran in to report!"
Not daring to delay,
Anastasia followed Luke toward the entrance,
muttering to herself.
"An important person? The Harbingers all have their own missions—right now, the only one overseeing Mondstadt should be The Fair Lady..."
"And I didn't receive any notice about this."
She scolded Luke.
"Idiot! Why didn't you bring them inside first?"
Luke fell silent.
"Uh… well…"
This was all his fault for failing to recognize someone important—
and offending them in the process.
When the door opened,
Anastasia saw the so-called "important person" standing outside.
Wasn't this just that swordsman Mu Yang, the one who had threatened her the other day?
White hair… right, white hair!
This was the fourth person from the stronghold invasion!
Mu Yang looked at the timid Luke and said,
"Good. At least you didn't make excuses for your actions, soldier."
"I won't punish you harshly. Dismissed."
Luke exhaled in relief,
saluted, and left.
Anastasia was stunned.
Huh?
Then it hit her.
Damn it!
That stupid guard had been tricked!
She cautiously asked,
"What do you want?"
Mu Yang was blunt.
"I'm here to see The Fair Lady."
Hearing that he was looking for The Fair Lady,
Anastasia smiled slightly.
Her attitude did a complete 180.
"Oh! So you're here to see The Fair Lady? She's in her room right now—let me escort you."
Mu Yang followed her into the Goethe Grand Hotel.
As they crossed the lobby,
Anastasia, walking ahead, suddenly whistled a few times—
as if signaling something.
"Now!"
Several figures rushed out from the shadows,
attacking Mu Yang from all directions.
Anastasia, being the closest,
pulled out an Electro Cicin Mage's lantern
and struck at Mu Yang.
Clang! Cling! Clang!
After the sounds of battle subsided,
the floor was littered with Fatui soldiers,
each clutching a different body part in pain.
"Oww…"
This time, Mu Yang had used the sheath of his sword.
He didn't want to push The Fair Lady too hard—
just make sure she didn't try anything sneaky.
Anastasia led Mu Yang upstairs,
one hand covering her left cheek,
which had been swollen by Mu Yang's strike.
Now, she could barely speak properly.
"Dis way… (This way…)"
Mu Yang looked at her, finally devoid of her usual arrogance.
"Was this really necessary?"
"M'sorry… (I'm sorry…) Thank you for sparing me."
Anastasia opened the door to The Fair Lady's private suite for Mu Yang,
then quickly slipped away.
She really didn't want to stay near him any longer.
Anastasia had lied.
The Fair Lady wasn't here.
She usually only returned at night.
Anastasia had just wanted to lure Mu Yang inside,
beat him up,
and capture him to hand over as a trophy.
What should have been a chance to earn The Fair Lady's favor
had instead backfired—
not only did she fail to capture Mu Yang,
but she'd also ended up escorting him
and even opening the door for him.
She was definitely going to suffer for this.
Mu Yang surveyed the room.
It was indeed luxurious,
but the decorations didn't seem to reflect The Fair Lady's personal taste.
She probably only used it for resting.
Mu Yang sat down on the sofa,
waiting for The Fair Lady to appear.
Before long,
a crimson crystal butterfly flew in through the window,
then transformed into a tall, imposing woman.
This was the Eighth of the Fatui Harbingers—
The Fair Lady,
her true name Rosalyne.
It was already nighttime.
Rosalyne didn't turn on the lights,
instead relying on the faint glow from outside as she moved around.
Then, with her back to the sofa,
she began changing clothes.
Mu Yang cleared his throat twice,
signaling that things were about to get unmentionable.
"Ahem…"
Rosalyne paused.
"Hmph. A righteous little rat, aren't you?"
She turned around,
arms crossed,
a faint smirk on her lips.
She had sensed something was off the moment she entered.
Had Mu Yang been distracted,
she would have taken his life in an instant.
Now, Mu Yang lounged on the sofa,
half his face shadowed by the dim light from outside.
His gaze was fixed on Rosalyne.
The villainess was indeed quite beautiful.
Rosalyne spoke.
"You've killed so many of our people, yet you dare show yourself before me?"
"Speak. I'll listen to your last words."
The temperature in the room suddenly spiked—
she was preparing to attack with fire.
Mu Yang replied,
"I want you to stop your plans to sabotage Mondstadt's defenses."
Rosalyne sneered.
"Last words, not wishes."
With that, several fire butterflies shot toward Mu Yang—
only to be sliced apart by a single slash of his blade.
Rosalyne's eyes widened slightly.
'That was fast.'
Mu Yang continued,
"There's no need for things to escalate."
"I know your real mission has nothing to do with waging diplomatic war on Mondstadt."
He shifted his posture.
"Your mission is the Anemo Archon's Gnosis."
Rosalyne's pupils trembled.
This was a top-secret mission from the Tsaritsa herself.
How could this rat possibly know?