He changed Tiwat

“I’m ready.” Jean no longer held back. “At the opening ceremony of tomorrow’s ‘Badminton Festival,’ I will publicly announce a commendation order to praise Yura for punishing the Fools who illegally excavated the Snow Mountain ruins and protected Mondstadt’s precious cultural heritage.”

Han Fulai clapped his hands: "Ha, in this way, the Fools and the Lawrence family will have no choice but to take action against Miss Yura, this 'traitor'... Oh, it seems I should invite Miss Yura to visit the 'Badminton Festival' together, otherwise I won't have any reason to be affected. But Miss Yura doesn't give me a good look, so I'm afraid... I'll have to ask Director Qin to help me with that."

Qin readily agreed: "Please rest assured, this is all within my duty."

Han Fulai extended his hand to Qin: "It's a pleasure to work with you."

Qin grasped Han Fulai's hand: "It's been a pleasure working with you."

After leaving the "Cat Tail Tavern", Yura stood there for a while to enjoy the breeze.

Although she had made up her mind while drunk, the thought of actually asking Vice Minister Han of Liyue for help made Yura's legs feel heavy again.

Anyway, she couldn't go to see people drunk, so Yura convinced herself that this was just a short rest to adjust her posture, not that she felt ashamed.

Her gaze fell on the message board outside the "Cat Tail Tavern".

Yura used to enjoy reading the messages at the "Cat Tail Tavern." This "confessional" place always had a variety of interesting topics, such as someone confessing their love to someone else, or someone complaining about someone else. She even saw someone write a "challenge" to declare war on Mondstadt's flying champion.

And this time, there's a new message on the message board:

Even I sometimes think back to my carefree life. The warmth of the Knights, the friendships, my father—everything was so wonderful back then. But we can never go back.

For the sake of the future, we cannot indulge in beautiful dreams. Or rather, in order to allow people the luxury of indulging in beautiful dreams, someone must wake up and face the darkness before dawn.

There are some things that, while rationally understood to be things that must be let go, still evoke a sense of nostalgia. It's truly frustrating.

Wishing your store great success. The competition in the liquor industry is fierce.

The one who would speak in that tone is, of course, Mr. Diluc of the "Dawn Winery".

So Diluc also comes to "Cat Tail Tavern"?

Yura and Diluc weren't familiar with each other. Diluc had just left the Knights when she joined, and Yura only knew that some changes had occurred that made Diluc seem very unfriendly towards the Knights. Yura had previously witnessed Diluc mocking Kaeya to his face—this confirmed for Yura that Diluc was a troublesome person, and it was best not to deal with him.

But seeing this comment, Yura felt a little empathy.

Yes, there are some things that we can't overcome emotional barriers even when we rationally understand what to do. But we always have to get over that hurdle. As Diluc said, in order for people to have the luxury of indulging in their dreams, someone must wake up and face the darkness before dawn.

This Diluc does occasionally say a few kind words, doesn't he?

Yura thought for a moment, then picked up the chalk next to the message board and wrote her response:

Life is like wine; it needs refinement and change to mature.

After writing that sentence, Yura stopped hesitating and stepped forward.

Chapter 170 Late at Night, a Lonely Man and a Lonely Woman

It was already late at night when Han Fulai left the Knights' office.

As he left, he glanced at the grandfather clock in the commander's office; it was almost 10 p.m.

The library across from the office had already closed, and the knight Willag, who was in charge of guarding the library, had already left for the day. The knight Wood, who had helped Jean invite him over for a talk, was also nowhere to be seen—if nothing unexpected happened, the two of them had probably gone out for drinks together.

The "Badminton Festival" is a holiday commemorating the founding of Mondstadt, essentially Mondstadt's "national day." Even the Fatui have a holiday, so the Knights of Favonius in the Knights of Favonius naturally get a break too. Only Jean, the acting Grand Master, would stay in the office on the eve of the festival to work overtime.

Han Fulai stepped forward and knocked on the library door, but no one answered. He then tried turning the doorknob... but the door was locked.

In Liyue, the library, which closes at 9:30 pm, usually stays open until 10 pm or even later. There are always some students who are so engrossed in past exam papers that they won't broom away unless you chase them away. It's rare for them to leave on time. But this is Mondstadt, after all.

Qin, the boss, is still working overtime in the office, while her subordinates outside have already run away at the appointed time. This is something that would be absolutely unimaginable in Yuehaiting...

Han Fulai recalled telling Mona that he was "more like the leader of the Qin Troupe," and couldn't help but sigh. It really had come true. At least in terms of "working overtime while others are on holiday," he and the leader of the Qin Troupe did have a lot in common.

He had originally planned to meet Mona, but it seems he missed the chance.

He obtained a lot of important information from Abedo during his trip to the snow mountain, and just now he also got some information about the Lawrence family and the "Ice Seal" from the leader of the Qin Troupe. He planned to ask Mona to do a divination while exchanging information with her—Han Fulai naturally wanted to make good use of such a useful "cheat code" as "Water Divination".

However, there was no rush to see Mona. He knew the apartment Mona rented, so he could just get up earlier tomorrow and knock on her door.

The empty Knights Hall looked rather desolate, a stark contrast to the lively festive atmosphere outside.

Han Fulai didn't have the habit of going to bed this early, and he wondered if he should go to the city to browse other stalls.

When Qin mentioned the events of last year's "Badminton Festival," she also shared some anecdotes about the festival with him. For example, in addition to traditional Mondstadt games like "building towers," the "Badminton Festival" also features spectacular performances by the Fontaine Circus, and supposedly a special show by the famous Fontaine magician.

He was quite interested in how magic was performed in this world where gods and magic existed—the "minor tricks" of the Guhua School were similar to magic when they were used for performing on the streets. He wondered how the magicians in Fengdan would do it, and whether there were any tricks he could learn... cough, this should be considered "the acting head of the Guhua School researching advanced foreign technologies," right?

As Han Fulai was thinking, he opened the door to the Knights Order and almost bumped into someone.

The person who arrived was none other than Yura.

And... she's a Yura who's not quite the same as usual.

Yura's face was flushed, and she smelled a sweet aroma of dandelion wine and apple cider mixed together... she had obviously drunk quite a bit.

Yura stood on the steps and looked up at him, her eyes seemingly veiled with a layer of mist, making her appear somewhat fragile, completely different from the guerrilla captain who never held back her sharp tongue.

Han Fulai paused for a moment, then quickly stepped aside to let the door open.

"Miss Yura, you must have come to see Commander Qin, right? She's still in her office, please come in."

He remembered that Jean had mentioned that Yura's uncle, Schubert Lawrence, had once delivered a letter to Yura in the Knights' dormitory. Jean had later given that letter to Yura and assigned her to investigate Schubert's intentions.

Considering the smell of alcohol on Yura and the fact that she arrived at the Knights' Order so late, Han Fulai deduced that she had just spoken with her uncle, obtained important information, and came to report to Qin.

Qin had just said he wanted to talk to Yura again and get her to cooperate with his actions, but now he's saved himself the trouble of looking for her.

His guesses were mostly in line with the facts, but he only guessed the process, not the result.

Yura stared at him for a few seconds, then shook her head.

"No, I came to find you."

"Oh? I didn't expect that. Could it be that Miss Yura wants to invite me to the festival celebration?" Han Fulai joked casually, wondering if something had changed again.

His plans always seem to encounter various changes, but he's gotten used to it.

Surprisingly, Yura nodded: "...Yes, that's right."

Han Fulai's eyes widened slightly—wait, this time the unexpected turn of events was actually Yura inviting me? What's going on today?

Yura glanced back, and the two knights standing guard outside the gate of the Knights Order quickly turned away, pretending not to care.

Those two gatekeeper knights have been watching this side the whole time—Yura came looking for a man late at night after drinking—this gossip will probably spread throughout the entire knightly order by tomorrow.

Yura gave a soft hum and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Come with me."

After saying that, she turned around, showing no intention of joining the Knights at all—so she really did come just to find him?

Without a second thought, Han Fulai followed.

The headquarters of the Knights of Favonius is built in the style of a Roman castle and covers a large area. In addition to the knights' office area and training ground, the logistics canteen and dormitory are also all located in this ancient castle.

If they wanted to talk, they could have gone to the Knights' dormitory or lounge, but Yura seemed to want to find a place outside.

The two left the main gate of the Knights and turned a corner. Although it was just a small turn, it took at least several hundred steps.

Yura looked around and stopped.

"Let's stay here."

This is an open space to the side of the Knights' headquarters. It is very secluded, with no one around and only a few dilapidated wooden stakes standing there all alone.

Han Fulai recognized the place—Eileen's training ground.

In the game, there's a girl named Irene who's a huge fan of Jean, and she spends her days practicing her swordsmanship on a wooden dummy in this spot. She wants to learn Jean's excellent swordsmanship and follow in her idol's footsteps to become a Knight of Favonius.

Eileen has a father, Herman, the adventurer who chose to retire for his wife and daughter. The adventurer's pocket watch that Han Fulai found in the snow mountain was something Herman used to own.

Eileen trained extremely hard, often practicing alone until late at night, as evidenced by the extent to which she used the wooden stake. However, on the eve of this festival, Eileen also gave herself a rare day off.

Of course, none of these are the main points. The main point is, why did Yura specifically take him to a secluded place to be alone?

In the dead of night, a lone man and a lone woman... A word popped into Han Fulai's mind... Could this be considered a secret rendezvous?

Chapter 171 Yura has made up her mind; you will be her fiancé.

Of course, the so-called rendezvous was just Han Fulai's random association. Such a remote little training ground was not a romantic place for a date, and his relationship with Yura could not possibly have reached that point.

But Yura was behaving really strangely tonight.

Yura could have easily gone to the Knights' quarters, or to a restaurant or a bench outside to talk to him, but she deliberately chose a secluded spot. If there was a reason, it was probably only one—to avoid being seen.

But this is so unlike Yora's style.

Yura is the kind of person who upholds the pride of a knight and the arrogance of a nobleman, and always strives to act in a dignified manner. She even had unpleasantness with him and Abedo because of this... So what exactly does she want to do this time?

Just as Han Fulai was wondering, Yura lowered her head and said in a very soft voice, "I would like to ask you for a favor."

"...Is it related to the Lawrence family?" Han Fulai asked.

Yura nodded, "Yes... could you come with me... come with me to see my uncle?"

Han Fulai raised his hand and stroked his chin. Accompanying her to see Schubert Lawrence could probably be seen as a necessary condition for Yura to gather further information? There were several reasons he could think of, but...

"Why do you want me to go with you?" Han Fulai continued to ask.

If you're talking about cooperating with Yura to gather intelligence, shouldn't you find a professional intelligence agent like Kaeya or Violet? If you want a trustworthy person, there are plenty of options, whether it's Amber, her subordinates in the guerrilla squad, or the other knights in the Knights Order.

He was a complete outsider to both the Lawrence family and the Knights of Favonius.

Yura did not answer immediately.

Han Fulai noticed that Yura was biting her lip, biting it very hard.

Does this mean she's making a very difficult decision?

After a long silence, Yura finally spoke: "...because your identity is the most suitable."

"Identity?" Han Fulai frowned.

How do I get to talk to Schubert? Are there any professional title requirements?

In terms of professional titles, his official position is listed as "Chief Private Secretary of Yuehaiting; Deputy Director of Yuehaiting Office and Executive Deputy Secretary-General (in charge of daily work); Exclusive Secretary of Yuheng Star; Enjoying special allowances from Qunyu Pavilion".

If compared to the Chinese system, Gan Yu would be considered a vice-national level official, while he would be a ministerial level official.

...Does the Lawrence family, a fallen noble family, mean that people below the rank of department head are not allowed to meet them?

“Your identity is very suitable… suitable to be my…” Yura’s voice grew softer and softer, until the last word was so faint that it could not be heard at all.

"When you are what...?" As a demigod, Han Fulai's hearing was far better than that of ordinary people, so he vaguely heard a strange word, but he thought he had misheard it.

“When my… future…” Yura’s face was almost buried in her chest, and her voice was just as loud.

Han Fulai really didn't hear clearly this time.

"...Could you please speak louder?"

Yura suddenly raised her head, her face full of anger... to put it more clearly, she was furious with embarrassment.

Perhaps out of despair, she spoke quite loudly this time.

"...Be my fiancé!"

Yura was already so embarrassed by hearing this once that she wanted to bang her head against the wall, but then she said it three times in a row in front of him—Yura is now really crying, with tears welling up in her eyes.

Han Fulai staggered back several steps as if he had been punched.

A second later, he exclaimed in surprise, "Your fiancé? Me?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Yura pounced on him and covered his mouth.

In the past, this was a physical contact that Yura would never have made.

Having probably reached the extreme of shame, Yura crossed a certain threshold and simply threw away her sense of shame altogether.

"What exactly is wrong with you being my arranged marriage partner? Is it really that you hate me so much that you want to run away?!"

Hmm, this feeling of fearlessness isn't bad either; it's quite similar to the feeling of "cold heart"...

—In fact, the pattern of the "Ice Mark" has already faintly appeared on Yura's back, and she is now truly in a state of "cold heart".

With Yura's icy palms covering his face, Han Fulai's mind finally started to work.

So going to see Schubert means—meeting the parents? I've only known you for a few days! And you're already meeting the parents?!

And you clearly know I have a fiancée, don't you?

Are girls in Mondstadt really this open-minded? Do they care if you're married or not, and just propose to you if they like you? And you skip the dating stage and go straight to engagement?

So going to the snow mountain together counts as a date, right?

Isn't your Mondstadt marriage and dating culture a bit too free?

The shock he felt was beyond words.