"Well done. In my original estimation, I believed you could handle these monsters, but not so easily. You would have certainly been injured."
Arlecchino landed gracefully, glanced at the monster corpses dissolving into carbon molecules, and then looked at Lu Li. "But it seems a change I did not anticipate has occurred in you?"
"Mm, I feel that this is not my limit," Lu Li said with a confident smile, scratching his head. "So, after finding my own confidence, the strange bottleneck that had been troubling me was broken."
"I see. No wonder your final finishing move was completely different from any Debt Collector technique I've ever seen..." Arlecchino murmured thoughtfully, rubbing her chin.
"Then, Lord 'Father,' does that mean I passed the test?"
"You passed a trial of over a hundred monsters with a frontal assault, smoothly and without injury. Of course, you passed. From that comparison, I have a rough idea of your true level." Arlecchino said slowly, "You're very similar to a junior I know. Can you guess who?"
"...A junior? In other words, someone on the same level as you, Lord 'Father'? Then there's only one answer. Is it 'Childe,' Tartaglia?" Lu Li asked, surprised.
"Mm. Your current strength is on par with his when he has activated his Delusion but not his Foul Legacy Transformation. At least in terms of elemental bursts, I can see there isn't much difference between you."
Lu Li nodded thoughtfully.
"Then, let's continue. Only when we get there can I fully test your limits and know which path you should take."
Lu Li paused, then nodded solemnly and followed her.
————
The further they walked, the more familiar the surroundings became to Lu Li. When he saw the dilapidated ruins of a manor on the cliffside, he finally understood why Arlecchino had brought him here.
This was the former location of the House of the Hearth.
At that time, the House was not led by the current "Knave," Arlecchino, but by the previous "Knave," a pink-haired woman who often wore a smile. Her name was Crucabena, and she was the "Mother" to all the children. Under her rule, the children fought and killed each other to select a true king.
And in fact, Crucabena had succeeded.
Peruere—the current "Knave"—emerged victorious, and in the final battle, she executed Crucabena with her own hands. When the Fatui took her into custody for interrogation, by a joint decision of the Tsaritsa and "The Jester," Peruere was declared innocent and appointed to take over the position of the previous "Knave."
Lu Li was one of the few in the House of the Hearth who had witnessed the rule of two generations of "The Knave." He was very young at the time, but the memory was incredibly profound.
"Do you remember this place, Lu Li?" Arlecchino asked softly, stopping before the ruins.
"Mm... the former residence of the House of the Hearth," Lu Li said, his expression complex. "If I'm not mistaken, Lord 'Father,' this is where you completed the transfer of power, right?"
"You remember correctly. At that time, just like you a moment ago, I came to a deep understanding of myself and achieved my final breakthrough," she said coolly. "But I didn't bring you here to reminisce. Lu Li, do you remember things from your childhood?"
"Hm? What things specifically?" he asked, puzzled.
The next moment, he saw her take out a small, pink handkerchief from her coat. It was hard to imagine her carrying such an item; it seemed too pink and completely at odds with her aura.
But at that moment, Lu Li felt a sharp pain in his head. Fragments of memory scattered in his mind like shattered glass. He couldn't grasp any useful information. Staring at the pink handkerchief, he only felt an unprecedented throbbing in his head. It felt incredibly familiar, yet strangely alien. What is this...
Arlecchino's eyes flickered as she watched him fall into a pained and contemplative silence. She waited for a long time, but in the end, his reply was a quiet and regretful, "I'm sorry, Lord 'Father.' I only feel that it's familiar, yet strangely foreign. I can't remember what it is. But, oddly, I feel a sense of sorrow."
"Sorrow?" Arlecchino said softly and put the handkerchief away. "Well, it's not something worth remembering anyway."
As she turned to lead him forward, Lu Li couldn't hold back his doubts. "Lord 'Father,' that handkerchief... is it related to me? Is that... why you treat me so differently from the other children?"
She paused, then said, "That is an important reason, but not the only one." She turned to face him, her hand gently caressing his cheek. "Are you curious?"
"Mm..." After a moment of silence, he nodded with a complex expression.
After moving to the Hôtel Bouffes d'été, he had only then begun to interact with the friends he knew now: Navia, Clorinde, Chevreuse, the three siblings... But before that, his memories of life in the old House of the Hearth were only of training and pain. Everything else seemed to have been artificially erased; he couldn't remember it at all. He knew he had forgotten something, but no matter how he tried, it wouldn't come back. And now it seemed that this forgotten memory was the reason for Arlecchino's special treatment.
"When you were a child, you were very close to us," she said softly. "But later, when everything fell apart, I had to do things I didn't want to do, and I incurred more and more debts."
"Whether it's to compensate you, or because I promised someone I would take good care of you," she said, her eyes filled with a complex emotion, "to me, you are very special."
Lu Li grew thoughtful. Then, he felt a sense of release.
"I understand. In that case, let's keep going!"
"Mm." She nodded, and led him forward.
-------
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