"Mm... I thought I might be able to go back...."
When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me. The instant I realized I was in the House of the Hearth from Crucabena’s era, I had desperately shouted, ‘I want to go back!’ But no such miracle happened.
"Anyway, that filthy personality of hers is just like I’d heard—Agh!"
When I tried to rise from the bed, a sharp pain shot through the back of my neck.
That bitch Crucabena.... Is that any way to handle a child when you run an orphanage? No wonder Peruere killed her.
"Oh? Looks like you’re awake?"
The door flew open, and the pair of Fatui who had brought me here—Sergei and Angelina—walked in.
"You two are...."
"Angelina, didn’t I tell you? I said this kid would become a valuable Fatui asset! To awaken a Vision at this age!"
"Yes, yes~ Let’s say you were right this time."
As the two traded words, Angelina asked me a question.
"Hey, where did you come from? The place where we found you was incredibly remote, even by Fontaine’s standards."
How should I know? I wanted to know why I had come here, too. When I remained silent, Sergei questioned me this time.
"You! Do you know you slept for three whole days? You were terribly rude to the Harbinger, and then you slept like a log! And what’s your name? Even an orphan must have a name, right?"
They were asking for my personal information now. It would be better to hide my real name; it was probably a name that would only work in Liyue.
"I don’t know."
"You don’t know? That’s quite unfortunate. In that case, I, the great Sergei, shall bestow a name upon you!"
Angelina panicked at that.
"You idiot, Sergei! Are you a Harbinger or the Tsaritsa, that you think you can bestow someone’s name?"
"I’ve always wanted to try something like this, you know? Now then, what would be good?"
Sergei went into thinking mode. This guy looked like he was about to name me something weird, like Raspberry or Mint. I should just say that I wanted to choose my own name here.
"Um... shouldn’t I be the one with the right to choose my—"
"How about Avrora?"
Avrora? What was that? Was it the name of something edible?
"Ooh, you pig. I thought all you ever thought about was food, but that’s actually not bad."
Seeing Angelina say it was fine too, it probably was not some utterly ridiculous name.
"In Fontaine’s language, it would probably be Aurora? In Snezhnaya, we call the aurora Avrora. My hometown is in northern Snezhnaya, so you can see them better there. Therefore, I bestow this name upon you."
Aurora? It seemed decent enough. It felt unpleasant to have my name chosen not by my parents, but by some strange guy, though he had brought me here out of goodwill, hadn’t he?
"It sounds nice. But there should be a first name and a family name, so what about my family name...?"
"Wouldn’t that naturally be Snezhevich?"
Crucabena’s voice suddenly rang out as she approached me. My face twisted as I looked at her.
"Hey! How can you make that face at the Harbinger...!"
"It’s all right~ I rather like spirited children. That murderous intent makes it look as though I killed your parents, doesn’t it?"
If she found any weakness in me, I would be finished. Crucabena regarded me with interest and continued speaking.
"As the Harbinger, I shall reward you two for bringing me such a child. Cancel your operation, return to Snezhnaya, and enjoy yourselves on vacation."
"Thank you, Harbinger!!!"
For some reason, I felt like they had sold me at a slave market and profited from it, which left me, the person involved, deeply unsettled.
"Now then, since a new child has arrived, you should greet the other children, shouldn’t you? Let’s go out."
"..."
I silently got up and followed Crucabena.
"Hey, Avrora, don’t forget me! I’m the great Sergei who bestowed that name upon you!"
"There’s nothing this kid can’t say, honestly.... Well then, we’re off. Play nicely with the children here."
The two of them then walked off in a different direction from us. Those two nameless Fatui grunts felt like they would remain vividly lodged in my mind.
Once they disappeared from sight, Crucabena, who had been walking ahead, turned toward me and began inspecting me from head to toe.
"Then your age is, hmm.... You seem a little older than Clervie.... Should I bring that child here?"
Hm? Clervie? Had Crucabena not taken her in yet? Then was this a point in time when Clervie was under six years old?
"You are different from the other children, so I will train you personally at an accelerated pace. You have the makings of a king, after all. Still, get along well with the other children, too, all right? This is that sort of place."
"Yes, I understand."
"You’re such an obedient child. And call me [Mother], all right? I will become your mother."
Mother, my ass. This was the first time the word ‘mother’ had ever filled me with such disgust.
As my face twisted, Crucabena tilted her head, apparently wondering whether there was something wrong with her choice of words.
"Does the word mother mean something to you? Were you abandoned by your parents or something? What truly pitiful parents. They failed to obtain a child who had awakened a Vision!"
Smiling, Crucabena spoke as she caressed my face as though it were some precious jewel.
"I am only telling you this because it is just the two of us. You will soon meet your friends, and I cannot say this in front of the other children, so I may as well tell you now. Though it will merely be an incomprehensible rambling to you."
Crucabena’s expression then turned blank as she touched the Vision on my chest.
"This is a blessing for you and me. Why? Because it happens all too often that feeble little things come here, fail to fulfill my hopes, and become Dottore’s experimental rats. Yet I have found a child who awakened a Vision at such a young age."
"Normally, I would have to work them for at least ten years before one useful child emerged, but I can skip all that? And with even greater potential? If I could dispose of every child currently here, I would want to do it immediately."
"But... it is obvious that you would hate me if I did that, isn’t it? A prince like you must be raised with indulgence, mustn’t he? So I shall teach you your path. The path to becoming a king."
At those words, Crucabena’s face looked utterly enraptured. As though she were looking at someone she had fallen in love with at first sight. It sent chills down my spine.
"So you should grant Mother’s wish, shouldn’t you? In exchange, I will hand my daughter, Clervie, over to you. Kill her or keep her alive as you please."
I could not believe my ears. She was going to sell her own daughter to someone else however she pleased? As expected of Crucabena.
"Taking Clervie in would look good on the surface as well. It would show Mother’s fairness, after all. But in truth, she would become your slave."
"Ah, if there is a child among the ones inside whom you like, bring that child to me. I will treat that child especially well. And they will become your hands and feet—your slave. A king must know how to make good use of his subjects, after all. In every respect."
Having finished speaking, Crucabena seized my arm and led me into the room where the sounds of children could be heard.
The door opened, revealing children a little younger than me sitting inside. And among them, I had no difficulty finding a girl with distinctive white hair.
I knew you were here, but I got to meet you sooner than expected.
‘Peruere....’
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