Chapter 57: I Have Seen Through Everything (Double Chapter, 4k)

“You didn’t bring me here for such trivial matters, did you?” The servant, her patience finally exhausted, cut Furina off mid-sentence. She fixed her gaze on Lu Mingfei, deliberately avoiding the woman’s face; she could not allow that foolishly smug grin to cloud her thoughts.

“Huh?”

Furina blinked in surprise, scratched her head, then turned to Lu Mingfei, tilting her head as she asked, “Wait… are we supposed to have some other objective?”

Just a moment ago, out of fear of the servant, she had clung to Lu Mingfei’s back, her chin resting on his shoulder. Now, with her head slightly cocked, she could see his profile. Perhaps the thrill of her earlier mockery had gone to her head, or perhaps for some other reason, Furina’s cheeks were particularly flushed at this moment.

Though she usually carried herself with a dignified air, enigmatic and inscrutable to most, that was only the version of herself forged under the weight of power and duty—a self shaped by necessity, not choice.

If one could live simply and joyfully, who would willingly bear such burdens? She simply had no choice.

Across from her, Lu Mingfei looked at Furina’s lovely, rosy face, so close to his own, and felt his heart race. The flutter of attraction and shyness made it difficult to meet her gaze, yet he couldn’t quite look away.

He glanced at the servant, then at Furina, distractedly replying, “The… objective—do you mean the business of killing the servant a few times?”

The servant: What?

You’re treating killing me as a business objective?

Is this even something humans would say!

For an instant, the servant’s fists clenched tight. But immediately after the surge of anger came fear, then despair.

The intimate, bashful air between Furina and Lu Mingfei, the peculiar atmosphere of their conversation—all of it felt deeply wrong to her. It was as if she were nothing more than a prop in some bizarre game between the two.

That was far more terrifying than any direct threat.

For the servant’s eyes were sharp enough to pierce the truth: their performance was not a calculated act meant to deceive her. They were simply speaking as they were, and even their banter was genuinely flirtatious.

Perhaps…

Lu Mingfei was far more powerful than she had imagined.

Drawing her into a dream was nothing difficult for him.

But if that were so, why hadn’t they simply used the Dream Tapir to pull her in and attack from the start? Why wait until now to fight back?

Even if the Water God relished drama above all else…

Wait—drama?

Dramatics!

The servant’s pupils shrank in sudden realization. In an instant, she saw through the absurdity to the truth beneath.

It was all a setup from the very start.

Yes, that must be it! Furina had been playing her from the beginning! Lu Mingfei hadn’t retaliated immediately, not because he couldn’t, but because Furina adored theatrics. She had deliberately delayed his intervention to mislead the servant, causing her to misjudge Lu Mingfei’s abilities and make seemingly reasonable, yet in reality utterly foolish decisions.

Perhaps, to those two, her request in the city center to be judged by Furina in the opera house was nothing but a farce—a laughable spectacle.

They did it on purpose!

They wanted to see her humiliated!

They were taking their revenge!

At this realization, the servant’s composure began to unravel. If her suspicions were correct, then what had all her suffering, her endurance and humiliation in preparation to strike back at the Water God during judgment, amounted to? Was it all just an amusing diversion in their eyes? A piece in their little game?

No wonder Lu Mingfei had always looked at her with such arrogance and disdain. It wasn’t an act to protect Furina; it was his true attitude, and she had misunderstood all along.

How utterly…

“Furina, you are far more ruthless than I imagined.”

The servant fixed Furina with a cold glare, her anger barely contained as she murmured.

The clearer the truth became, the easier it was to understand Furina’s elation. She was the director of this entire drama, yet she had continued to act, and so convincingly that the servant hadn’t realized it until now.

That despair during the chase, the terror upon meeting the servant within the dream—none of it was real. In terms of acting, the servant had never seen anyone better. In that respect, she could only concede Furina was the greatest.

“Huh? What did you say?” Furina asked, puzzled. It seemed to her the servant had seen through something, but after consideration, she could think of nothing to hide—aside from not being the Water God.

She could not fathom the servant’s gaze.

“Hmph. You know perfectly well,” the servant answered icily.

That look of transparent foolishness on Furina’s face filled her with disgust and rage. Even though she had seen through everything, Furina continued to act—deliberately and unyieldingly.

Such acting, when the enemy sees through it yet cannot respond, was a kind of humiliation, a supreme mockery more unbearable than any direct rebuke.

“Lu Mingfei, she says I know it in my heart. Is there something I should be aware of?” Furina turned to ask.

“Perhaps you mocked her too harshly. Her psychological tolerance is a bit weak, so now she’s broken. Who would’ve thought a Fatui Harbinger would have such poor nerves? The world truly is in decline,” Lu Mingfei replied with a mocking sigh after a moment’s thought.

He had no idea the servant’s thoughts had run so deep. He only knew she’d been infuriated by Furina’s earlier taunts, then seemed to figure something out and accused Furina of being ruthless.

Was she just slow on the uptake? The taunt was long over!

He couldn’t understand it.

Yet, to the servant, Lu Mingfei’s words meant something else entirely.

She believed he was aware of everything, and so his comments about her weak resolve were, in full knowledge of the facts, the taunts of a victor.

Such mockery perfectly matched her impression of Lu Mingfei: proud, dominant, never seeing his foes as people, always supremely confident.

Indeed, the two were of a kind.

They were both trying to break her spirit!

“Furina, you wouldn’t want me to suddenly commit suicide in prison, would you? If I were to do that, Fontaine would be thrown into turmoil for some time. At such a crucial moment… that wouldn’t be wise, would it?” The servant’s eyes reddened, a feral glint flickering within.

She, too, had a wild side—and those who had faced it rarely survived.

But fate had placed her before Lu Mingfei, and not only that, but Lu Mingfei within the Dream Tapir. Facing such a formidable foe in a dream he controlled, she could only despair.

‘I should never have gone after Furina that day. She was the bait on the hook, and I was the arrogant fish. I thought I could snatch the bait and escape unscathed, even from a Seven Sovereign. I was gravely mistaken. Lu Mingfei, who can draw enemies into dreams, kill them there, and carry the wounds back to reality—he’s even more troublesome than the Seven Sovereigns. I can’t escape, and I don’t even know how he drew me in!’

One false step, a lifetime of regret. Now, she could only do her best with what she had left—use her life as a bargaining chip. This was her last resort.

Though it might not work…

“A threat? You think I won’t kill you?” Lu Mingfei met her gaze head-on, gold and crimson staring each other down, the pressure in the mental domain mounting.

“She is the Water God. She must protect Fontaine,” the servant replied in a low voice.

Furina’s foolish smile faded. She had to admit, as the Water God, she could not allow Lu Mingfei to kill the servant. Still, she was surprised the servant would use her own life as leverage; it didn’t fit her expectations.

To be killed three times—was it really worth this?

The Fatui Harbingers of today have truly fallen. To be threatened with one’s own life after dying merely three times in a dream—how shameless!

Lu Mingfei and Furina exchanged glances, each sensing the unspoken thoughts in the other’s eyes.

The servant, seeing their silence, quickly continued, “Furina, my goal is the Heart of God. You are the Water God on the surface, so I could only come to you for it.

“But when I discovered you were not truly the Water God and lacked the Heart, I withdrew of my own accord. I have not harmed you from the beginning, and you have suffered nothing but a slight fright. Now, I have paid the price—shouldn’t you let this end?”

“I, the servant, was once one of Fontaine’s own. I know the prophecy. If you would show mercy, I will lead the Hearth House children to stand with you in Fontaine’s darkest hour—I swear this on my loyalty to the Tsaritsa.”

“…I see,” Furina lowered her head in thought, her gaze unconsciously drifting to Lu Mingfei, only to quickly look away.

‘I can’t keep relying on him. When it must be him, that’s one thing, but for choices and judgments that are mine to make, I must bear the responsibility myself. That is what I must do.’

Lu Mingfei noticed her glance and said nothing, merely taking Furina’s hand quietly, offering her silent, steadfast support.

She was, after all, the Queen of Fontaine.

“I have always known your goal. You thought you could ambush me unnoticed? Laughable! The flaw you found was one I left for the sake of drama. Everything afterward was my stage, my joy. And you, the pawn, now seek to step off the board? You have nerve indeed!”

Furina adopted an inscrutable, lofty air. After five centuries as the Water God, she was a master of performance. Her haughty, enigmatic smile was flawless.

The lines were improvised, but she smiled with pride. If the servant raised any objections, she would simply improvise further—after five centuries in the Water God’s role, she was supremely confident in her ability to perform in the moment.

As expected. It was so!

She admitted it!

A glimmer lit the servant’s eyes. She had known it would be so, had known Furina was acting all along. This was the real Furina.

How could anyone who had played the Water God for five hundred years be simple? She had underestimated her before.

The pain she now endured was the price of her arrogance; she ought to have been more cautious.

‘She believes it! She truly believes it!’

Furina’s gaze was sharp, and since the servant believed things truly were thus, she didn’t bother to mask her expressions. The subtle shifts in her face did not escape Furina’s notice.

Good. Continue fooling her!

With her confidence restored, Furina flashed a knowing smile, squeezed Lu Mingfei’s hand before letting go, and he, immediately understanding, mirrored the gesture.

That was true rapport—no words needed.

“Surprised? Astonished? Everything you have experienced, every choice you made, was within my expectations. Every possible decision was as transparent to me as water. For I am the God of Justice: Focalors, Furina de Fontaine, Queen of all waters, all lands, all peoples, and all laws!”

Furina released Lu Mingfei’s hand and strode forward to confront the servant alone, looking down at her with utter confidence, as if she feared no attack. Evidently, all her previous terror had been an act.

Behind her, Lu Mingfei was ready to unleash his mental domain at a moment’s notice should the servant grow violent. Furina dared approach only because she trusted Lu Mingfei completely—she felt secure enough to act boldly.

This, too, only deepened the servant’s conviction.

It was just as she had imagined.

She knows everything!

The servant stared at Furina, now within arm’s reach, tempted to strike yet holding back. She understood that, just as before, Furina’s seeming defenselessness was only because she had no fear. The servant even suspected that, had she attacked then, Lu Mingfei might have pulled her into a dream and killed her on the spot.

She had been caught in the act of assassinating the Water God. Had she died then, none would have questioned it.

She had nearly died that day.

Had she pressed her attack, she would have faced unimaginable catastrophe.

With that thought, the servant let out a deep sigh, gazing up at the proud Furina. “Very well. Since you foresaw things to this point, you must have written the next act as well. In your script, will the Hearth House and the Fatui stand as allies against the prophecy?”

“But of course!” Furina turned with grace, danced lightly on tiptoe to Lu Mingfei’s side, took his hand, and leaned naturally into his arms. She turned to the servant, a confident smile on her lips.

“I never intended to kill you. Because I know—you will help me, won’t you, Servant?”