"Acting Grand Master Jean!"
At that moment, a Knight of Favonius rushed in, panting heavily. His face was anxious, his words tumbling out in a rush:
"The Knights have received an emergency report—there's been a massive explosion at Master Albedo's alchemy workshop!"
"Albedo's workshop?!"
Jean's expression instantly darkened, a flicker of shock flashing through her sea-blue eyes.
Albedo's alchemy workshop—exploded?
That had never happened before.
Albedo was Mondstadt's most brilliant alchemist, meticulous to the extreme in every experiment. How could such a grave accident possibly occur?
Jean's heartbeat quickened slightly. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
"How bad is it? Were there any casualties nearby?" she asked quickly.
The knight shook his head. "The explosion was confined to the workshop itself. Fortunately, it didn't spread to the surrounding streets. The area outside remains unaffected—it seems Master Albedo managed to contain it."
Hearing that, Jean finally exhaled softly.
Thank goodness…
At least the citizens of Mondstadt hadn't been harmed.
Still, her face remained tense, her mind racing through every possible cause.
Albedo was never careless. He wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.
This explosion—there was no way it was a simple alchemical accident.
Then, a sudden thought made Jean's eyelid twitch.
Could it be… related to Klee's bombs?
She recalled that Albedo had come by the office yesterday and taken Klee's backpack to study those very bombs.
He'd personally assured her that although Klee's bombs were powerful, they could never cause an explosion on the scale of the one at Cider Lake.
Without hesitation, Jean drew a sharp breath and gave firm orders:
"Mobilize patrol squads immediately. Increase city security. Report any unusual activity at once!"
"And keep a close watch on the Fatui."
"Yes, Acting Grand Master!"
The knight saluted crisply and hurried out.
Jean, without missing a beat, grabbed her cloak from the chair, threw it over her shoulders, and strode out of her office, heading straight for the workshop.
She had to see Albedo herself—and confirm the situation.
For this, Jean even drew upon her Anemo Element to hasten her pace.
The wind surged around her, brushing through the crowd as Jean, cloak billowing with the emblem of the Knights of Favonius, advanced at astonishing speed.
By the time she arrived, a large crowd of citizens and patrolling knights had already gathered outside the alchemy workshop.
Faces were pale, voices full of confusion and alarm. People were whispering, trying to make sense of what had happened—but none dared approach too closely.
Thick black smoke still billowed upward, and the air was filled with an unsettling, almost dreadful presence that made one's skin crawl.
Without a moment's pause, Jean strode through the haze of soot and into the ruined workshop.
The moment she stepped inside, her expression changed drastically.
She felt it—a familiar, ominous aura.
It was the same residual energy she'd sensed at last night's massacre—the one that had obliterated the Fatui elites.
But here, that Destructive Aura was even stronger.
"Cough… cough…"
A soft cough snapped Jean back to her senses.
She willed a current of wind to swirl around her, clearing some of the dust and smoke. Her eyes turned toward the back of the ruined workshop.
There stood Albedo—before a shattered experiment table, a shield of crystallized Geo energy protecting the area around him.
His clothes were covered in soot, golden hair disheveled, yet his expression remained calm—his eyes even carried a glint of deep contemplation.
Before him lay a pile of charred fragments—the likely source of his thoughts.
"Are you hurt?" Jean hurried over. "What happened here?"
Albedo gave a small, wry smile, brushing the ash off his cloak. "Thankfully… nothing too serious."
"As for the explosion—" he sighed lightly, lowering his gaze to the scorched debris beside him. His voice turned grave.
"This bomb was indeed one I made for Klee, using my usual materials. But someone tampered with it."
"This aura… it's a special kind of power."
"There was a mass of energy inside—something I couldn't fully analyze."
"It's… more violent than Pyro, and even more unstable than Electro."
"I tried dismantling one, but I must have triggered a reaction—the whole lab chain-exploded as a result."
Just as she feared.
Jean's expression grew heavier still.
She'd already suspected as much before coming. Now Albedo's words only confirmed her worst fears.
And worse yet—it involved Klee.
Someone had secretly modified Klee's bombs, infusing them with this unknown, destructive energy.
An energy so dangerous that even Albedo himself couldn't control it.
If it spread further throughout the city…
Mondstadt would be in peril.
"What's wrong?" Albedo asked quietly, noticing Jean's shifting expression. His teal-green eyes were sharp and curious.
Jean didn't answer right away. She looked at him deeply before finally exhaling.
"Albedo… did you know? Last night, something abnormal happened here in Mondstadt."
Albedo's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened intently.
Jean didn't hold back—she recounted the events of the previous night: the mysterious deaths of the Fatui elites, the use of Delusions, and her and Kaeya's deductions.
"In short," she concluded, "it wasn't a simple skirmish. It was either an assassination—or a test."
"The Fatui used their Delusions, yet even then, they were annihilated instantly by a force we couldn't identify."
"And more importantly—"
She paused, her eyes darkening.
"The residual energy at that scene is nearly identical to what I sense here today."
Silence fell.
Albedo's expression finally changed.
His pupils contracted, and he ran a hand through his messy hair, fingers tightening slightly.
"…Such a thing happened?" he murmured, his tone unusually grave.
There was one crucial point that made his heart sink.
The bomb—was one he had made.
He had given it to Klee.
Now that same bomb had been modified with some unknown force.
It caused trouble near Cider Lake yesterday…
And today, its aftermath is tied directly to the deaths of the Fatui elites.
Even worse, the traces pointed toward the Abyss Order.
Albedo's brows furrowed deeply.
Has the Abyss Order already begun experimenting with such an energy?
Jean, noticing the sudden seriousness in his demeanor, asked in a low voice, "You've realized something, haven't you?"
"This bomb came from Klee's backpack," she continued, her voice growing tense. "Doesn't that mean… Klee herself might already be entangled in the Abyss Order's scheme?"
Albedo's eyes sharpened to a cold gleam.
Even though Klee was currently confined in the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, if that unknown energy had already infiltrated Mondstadt…
Then Klee—without even knowing it—might have become the key to someone's dark scheme.
Albedo took a long, steadying breath.
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