It had journeyed through countless worlds and endless distances, surveying every kind of terrain and gazing upon skies tinted in different colors.This might sound romantic, but in reality, the matter was closer to torture than adventure.It also once pictured a scene like this: Twins standing under the radiant night sky, their eyes shining as they watched the stars and the many moons above.But it immediately disconnected its idea association module. A sky with such colors only meant that the atmosphere was unfit for life. After witnessing such vistas hundreds of times, there was no longer any need to be moved by them.It did not wake the slumbering twin travelers. Instead, it carried the weight of an exile and a journey so long that numbers had lost their meaning.The fine details of the lithosphere, atmosphere, or biosphere ultimately mattered little.Reshaping terrain, adjusting the air, rebuilding an ecosystem, these were simple tasks for a pioneer vessel meant to bear the spark of civilization.A star's position, its distance, or its lifespan might pose a minor challenge, yet even those had solutions.The true difficulty lay in finding a world with potential. Without that, destruction would catch up all too soon.It was a trivial matter in the span of a long voyage.The planet they passed was never a destination, since its star had already entered its twilight.Its biosphere and atmosphere had been utterly destroyed. The surface held nothing but cooled masses of molten rock.A supernova had caused the devastation.For several weeks or months, intense heat and light had marked the star's final brilliance. After that, it had been reduced to a cold, dim dwarf.It ran a quick calculation on when the event had occurred...What a coincidence. The radiation trapped in the planet's crust indicated that the supernova had erupted the very year the twins were born.Naturally, the two events had nothing to do with each other.No one would ever celebrate their birth by burying an entire world with it. Such levels of extravagance and cruelty simply did not exist.Interstellar travel was dangerous, after all. A supernova five or six light-years away could damage the genetic vault, and perhaps the twins as well.It immediately modified the garments in the wardrobe, upgrading them with materials better suited for interstellar travel, and laid them over the stasis pods. The gesture might not amount to much, but it offered a quiet kind of comfort.Within their slumber, the twins were granted new refuge, and so, it continued its journey across countless lands and stones, numberless atmospheres and skies.

It had journeyed through countless worlds and endless distances, surveying every kind of terrain and gazing upon skies tinted in different colors.This might sound romantic, but in reality, the matter was closer to torture than adventure.It also once pictured a scene like this: Twins standing under the radiant night sky, their eyes shining as they watched the stars and the many moons above.But it immediately disconnected its idea association module. A sky with such colors only meant that the atmosphere was unfit for life. After witnessing such vistas hundreds of times, there was no longer any need to be moved by them.It did not wake the slumbering twin travelers. Instead, it carried the weight of an exile and a journey so long that numbers had lost their meaning.The fine details of the lithosphere, atmosphere, or biosphere ultimately mattered little.Reshaping terrain, adjusting the air, rebuilding an ecosystem, these were simple tasks for a pioneer vessel meant to bear the spark of civilization.A star's position, its distance, or its lifespan might pose a minor challenge, yet even those had solutions.The true difficulty lay in finding a world with potential. Without that, destruction would catch up all too soon.It was a trivial matter in the span of a long voyage.The planet they passed was never a destination, since its star had already entered its twilight.Its biosphere and atmosphere had been utterly destroyed. The surface held nothing but cooled masses of molten rock.A supernova had caused the devastation.For several weeks or months, intense heat and light had marked the star's final brilliance. After that, it had been reduced to a cold, dim dwarf.It ran a quick calculation on when the event had occurred...What a coincidence. The radiation trapped in the planet's crust indicated that the supernova had erupted the very year the twins were born.Naturally, the two events had nothing to do with each other.No one would ever celebrate their birth by burying an entire world with it. Such levels of extravagance and cruelty simply did not exist.Interstellar travel was dangerous, after all. A supernova five or six light-years away could damage the genetic vault, and perhaps the twins as well.It immediately modified the garments in the wardrobe, upgrading them with materials better suited for interstellar travel, and laid them over the stasis pods. The gesture might not amount to much, but it offered a quiet kind of comfort.Within their slumber, the twins were granted new refuge, and so, it continued its journey across countless lands and stones, numberless atmospheres and skies.

Upon his arrival in Fontaine, Neuvillette, with utmost care, selected a place to stay within the Palais Mermonia.He fancied not quarters that scraped the heavens, for they stole him away from the water's gentle surface. Yet, dwelling too low vexed him, as his gaze yearned for the ocean some distance away, a view that brought peace to his heart.And so, he picked a place betwixt and between, laying his few private possessions there. In this world of humans, where he was neither master nor thrall, claiming a room of his own seemed to be the first grand choice he'd ever made.He once believed the need for such contemplations would not come around again until the Melusines gradually joined the Marechaussee Phantom. Their human comrades, who lived far from the Court of Fontaine, could choose to live in staff dormitories provided by the Palais Mermonia. Melusines working here enjoyed the same rights.Acting out of a protective nature, Neuvillette naturally wished for the Melusines to dwell on a floor adjacent to his own. If they reside just one story above, he could easily trace their comings and goings by the gentle patter of their feet upon the stairs.But then, quick as a wink, a thought bloomed in his mind. Perhaps the Melusines might not wish for such scrutiny. Moreover, some of the cases he'd handled reminded him that kindness, when piled too high, could brew a cauldron of woes.In the end, he decided to let the Melusines choose for themselves, just as he had done upon first arriving in the Court of Fontaine.The Melusines, with hearts full of joy, picked a floor beneath his. "It's but a skip and a hop from where Monsieur Neuvillette and our human colleagues live. Should the alarms ring, we can answer them with even greater speed. How very convenient!"As time spun on, fortunes both glimmering and grim did befall. Deep within his heart, in a place untouched by knowing, perhaps he chided himself for deeds beyond his grasp.As the Dragon of Water, he had always believed that he bore a certain responsibility for this primordial world. And as this world slowly unfolded before him, and he finally accepted the place he now occupied, that sense of responsibility ceased to be a grand, abstract ideal, becoming instead a series of very real duties that needed to be fulfilled.Or, to put it more bluntly: born in this manner, however unwilling he might have been to admit it, he was bound to enter the present age and, in time, feel the stirrings of a desire to do something within it.Like now, for example, Neuvillette thinks, having already taken the Melusines and Pahsiv under his care, "to fulfill their wishes" ought to be written into his memorandum and, while there is still time, treated with the utmost seriousness indeed.With that in mind, he changed into his new clothes. As he walked out of his office, his footsteps rang with certainty.However, the events that followed soon drifted beyond his control once more. By pure chance, he ran into Sigewinne and Wriothesley, and as he wandered along with the two of them, talking about this and that, he found himself in unforeseen places, acquiring unexpected things.He could not help but wonder whether such a tale of his travels, told upon his return to the Melusines and Pahsiv, would delight them. Neuvillette found himself anxious, fearing that a journey taken so freely and without plan might lack order and that, in doing so, he might fail to live up to their kindness."...Say, Head Nurse, have you ever felt that being overly responsible can, at times, be a kind of 'arrogance'?" Thus spoke Wriothesley, while Neuvillette was lost in his own thoughts. Perhaps he was reading too much into it, but when the Duke addressed Sigewinne, he seemed to throw a glance in his direction.Neuvillette was startled. That was exactly the sort of person he was. Mere praise left him unbothered, for to him they were nothing more than a part of polite human interaction. But a "critical" remark like this would send him into a flurry, making him wonder whether he had once again done something odd soaking himself to the

bone in a downpour came to mind."Then I think you can afford to be a bit more 'arrogant,' Your Grace, instead of neglecting your work for an entire month," Sigewinne said, clearly dissatisfied. "And perhaps you could take a lesson or two from the Duke's 'modesty,' Monsieur Neuvillette... Ah, another fork in the road."Sigewinne turns to a silent Neuvillette, her face lighting up with a smile. "Monsieur Neuvillette, which path should we take?""Indeed." Perhaps pleased by the change of topic, or perhaps with a hint of meaning behind it, Wriothesley also turned to him. "Quick, Neuvillette, you have three seconds. Which way do you want to go?"Neuvillette stared down the plain, unremarkable fork in the road, as if transported back to countless moments when he had to make a choice. Yet this time, there was not a trace of heaviness in his heart. Perhaps it was the gentle night breeze of this foreign land that made the word "responsibility" feel suddenly distant. It had nothing to do with his ancient identity, nothing to do with the expectations of others, and nothing to do with factors beyond his control. Perhaps some things were simply that simple, and he only had to consider what he truly "wanted.""Let's take the path with more people on it."...Of course, some simple responsibilities couldn't be set aside."But if there's no shop selling Xiao Lanterns along this path, we'll have to come all the way back to find one. I did make the Melusines a promise, after all.""Alright, sure."

"No, no, this one's wrong too... That's weird. Master described the traits of this herb very clearly..."These mutterings had been repeated so often that even the morning bamboo shadows seemed to nod along with the frowning little girl.Yet, the tall bamboo could see what she could not. The steamed buns in her basket were nearly gone, she was down to her last few pieces of fruit, and her water bag had already begun to shrivel. She would not get much further than this...Water, at least, was not a problem. Raindrops there remained on the bamboo leaves, and in the worst case, she could lick a few clean... The stream at the foot of the mountain was not that far either. As long as she kept walking downhill, she would reach it in no time."Hmm... I must have come to the wrong place. I need to go higher."Patting the rock, the girl in blue sprang to her feet, shook her basket, and prepared to climb even farther up the mountain.Wind swept through, and the bamboo rustled as if sighing in exasperation. How could this girl be so stubborn? She had searched from dusk until dawn, and still she meant to keep going.She strode ahead with long, eager steps, and the bamboo hurried to part to either side, so her arms and cheeks would not be scratched by their leaves. Pressed together, they watched from above as the girl ran and halted, crouched to mutter to herself, and shook her head with a sigh.The bamboo thought to themselves:Could this little girl be an adeptus? No, no, that could not be. An adeptus would never slip on a rock, fall over, then spring up in a panic to chase the steamed buns rolling out of her basket, her little orange and yellow companion scrambling after them as well.If the adepti came across a stream, they would leap across with ease. Surely, they would not do as she did, running around in circles until she found a fallen tree, then struggling over it on her hands and feet."Master... Don't scold me for getting the new clothes you gave me dirty, alright? I'll wash them clean when I get back...""And yeah, I know I didn't tell you about this... I have to match what I do with what I know, and always rely on myself before others...""If I run to you for every little thing, expecting you to solve them for me, how am I ever supposed to improve myself..."Master? Perhaps she was a disciple of some distinguished mentor, here to hone herself? No, that did not seem right either. A disciple would surely have her master nearby..."...This one... Right, it treats night coughs. And this one is... Hmm, for insomnia? Yeah, let's grab that, too. That granny has not been resting well lately..."Ah, so she must be an apothecary's little apprentice. Poor child. What rare medicine was she searching for, to make her work so hard? Her blue robes were fast becoming a coat of mud."This one... is it a spice? I'll bring it back for Xiangling to look at...""And this... Qiqi picks these often. Yes, I should take some for her...""Master likes this flower. I'll bring back a few...""Didn't Yanfei say her friend has been looking for herbs from Liyue? This one should be perfect. Let's pack some of it too..."The falling rain hit the bamboo, and they shook their heads.What a peculiar girl she was. She had climbed the whole mountain and gathered herbs all along the way, muttering about other people the entire time. Her blue robes gained a muddy hue when she fell, then returned to blue again as the mountain rain washed her clean. She was like a young shoot buried in soil, pushing through rock with stubborn grit, stumbling her way to the surface, and only after a wash of rain did her green show.So, she was neither an adeptus nor a little apothecary apprentice. Rather, she was but an ordinary small bamboo shoot."...I found it! I found it... Finally..."Looking at the hard-won herb in her hands, Yaoyao dropped to the ground with a thump. Yuegui danced in circles beside her, and the bamboo all nodded in unison. They gathered their leaves close, hoping to shield this little shoot from the falling rain."But this one... Will it be enough to help with that granny's cough?

No, I've got to keep going. We'll find a few more."The bamboo were struck with shock. Leaves shook wildly from every stalk, some even falling amidst their stupefaction.But Yaoyao noticed none of it. She dug up the herb, tucked it away, and headed straight on again.

In the fourth month of this year, Anastasya Feodorovna was crowned Tsaritsa of all Snezhnaya.

Emperor Monomakh Snezhnyi