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La Signora stared at the man and felt something was off.
Something on Ryou seemed to be radiating an effect, and the sensation only grew stronger by the second. Her heartbeat sped up—fast enough that she recognized what it was.
It was the feeling of being moved.
She'd only ever felt that for one person, five hundred years ago. And yet here it was again, out of nowhere.
…But she still hated this man.
He was far too loud, far too showy. And she knew exactly who Ryou was—she'd heard he'd married Keqing not long ago. Outsiders might not understand what kind of power stood behind him, but La Signora did.
The Qixing.
This bastard acted lawless because he could hide behind his family's influence. Men like that were the ones she despised most.
Without his family, could he have married Keqing?
Without his family, would he dare act this arrogant?
La Signora gave Ryou an icy look and strode forward at an unhurried pace. "Let them go. If you don't have a reason to arrest people, I won't let you off lightly. And don't think your father showing up would change anything."
Ryou's eyes stayed cold as he looked her over. "I'm here to detain them for investigation. If we got it wrong, we'll give you an explanation. You want to stop me? Who do you think you are? Do you even know what kind of place this is?"
"Good," La Signora said, her temper flaring. "Very good. You really think I won't lay hands on you?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Ryou felt it—Northland Bank seemed to fill with crushing pressure. It was like the air itself had been wrung dry. His breathing hitched under the weight.
He understood immediately.
She was trying to use her presence to force him to bow.
[Ding! Battle Frenzy activated!]
[Ding! Battle Frenzy active targets: 7!]
[Ding! Congratulations—All attributes increased by 700%!]
[Ding! Darkened Mode active in your heart, lungs, and kidneys—Overall condition increased by 100%!]
Ryou heard the notifications and couldn't help laughing.
An 800% boost across the board. That was absurd.
He lifted his gaze to La Signora. "What, you thought you'd lean on your status and crush me? Today, you're not leaving either. You're coming with me."
"You…" La Signora's voice turned razor-sharp. "You're asking to die!"
Elemental power surged off her in waves as she moved to strike him down—hard enough to cripple him.
But she couldn't kill him. As Ryou said, this was Liyue Harbor. His father's reputation here was enormous, and the Qixing's influence was no joke. Her own family already had two seats among the Qixing, and now Keqing was one as well.
If she truly injured Ryou, the aftermath would be a nightmare.
Even so, her disgust for him boiled over. If she didn't teach him a lesson, she'd choke on the anger.
Smack!
Her hand connected—and her elemental power flowed through her arm into him—
Only for La Signora to freeze.
Ryou didn't have a single mark on him.
For a moment, her mind simply didn't catch up.
The next second, she forced even more power into the attack. It still didn't matter. Whatever she threw at him scattered in an instant, swatted apart like dust.
"Using elemental power in front of me?" Ryou snapped.
He seized both her wrists and yanked her forward. With one hard pull, he twisted her so her back was pressed toward him, pinning her posture in place.
He turned his head toward the Millelith. "Take them away. As for this woman—I'll escort her to the Ministry of Civil Affairs myself."
"Yes, Ryou-sama!" the Millelith answered, hauling the bank staff out.
La Signora's body went rigid under his grip—furious, humiliated, and genuinely shaken.
Ryou was wrong in a lot of ways, but one thing she couldn't deny was how unnatural he felt. Her elemental power barely worked on him at all. Even she—she, a Fatui Harbinger—had been forcibly restrained like this.
And on top of that…
This man was pressed right against her.
Him. Of all people.
La Signora's teeth nearly ground to powder. She wanted to kill him.
No man had ever treated her like this.
To be fair, Ryou wasn't entirely to blame. La Signora's figure was frankly ridiculous, and she always wore the same outfit—showing far too much skin like she owned the world.
It took real effort not to let his mind wander.
He shoved those thoughts down hard, locked his grip around her arms, and forced her forward.
Click.
As he opened the door, Ryou hadn't even spoken yet before he noticed two figures standing outside.
Keqing and Ganyu.
La Signora was being pushed forward, her posture pinned, and the angle made what she revealed… impossible to ignore. Both women stared for a split second, stunned into silence.
Sss…
This woman was huge.
"What are you staring at?" La Signora snapped, catching Keqing's expression and glaring daggers. "Keqing, what is this supposed to mean? Your man storms into our Northland Bank for no reason, arrests our people, and even arrests me—this had better come with an explanation!"
Her anger spilled over into something uglier. "Your husband's no saint, and you're no better. Keep looking all you want—like those little buns of yours could compare to me."
Ryou's expression darkened. "Still got the mouth to insult my wife? Fine. I'll make sure you spend a few months in a cell."
He shoved her forward another step and shot her a warning look. Then he turned to Keqing. "Keqing, we'll talk at the Ministry. I'm taking this woman back first."
"O-oh." Keqing nodded on reflex.
Then her brain caught up and she jolted.
Wait—what?
She and Ganyu had rushed over worried he'd run into trouble… and instead he'd arrested everyone in Northland Bank.
And he'd even arrested a Fatui Harbinger.
He actually grabbed La Signora and dragged her out like it was nothing?
No way.
My husband's been hiding this kind of strength?
Ganyu blinked, still processing what she'd just seen. "Uh… were we worried for nothing? He took down all of Northland Bank by himself, and even La Signora got arrested. What exactly were we supposed to help with?"
Her tone turned more cautious. "And he was terrifyingly strong just now. Honestly… stronger than someone with a Vision should be. But it doesn't make sense. La Signora should be far stronger than Ryou, so how did she end up getting caught?"
Ganyu's confusion wasn't an act. La Signora was a Fatui Harbinger—someone blessed with power that brushed up against the level of gods. If she went all-out, she could be even more terrifying.
And yet she'd been restrained.
Keqing's expression tightened. Ryou was strong, yes, but a Harbinger was still a Harbinger. She'd seen enough intelligence reports to understand the gap.
Yet the scene from a moment ago kept replaying in her mind—Ryou walking out, casually dragging La Signora along like it was routine.
Something about it was deeply wrong.
"Let's go back to the Ministry," Keqing said, glancing at Ganyu. "Once we're there, we'll figure it out."
"Alright," Ganyu agreed, still frowning.
Back at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Keqing found Ryou sitting in the main hall, calmly drinking tea. Staff moved around handling paperwork, and no one seemed to be actively interrogating the Northland Bank people.
As for La Signora… Keqing couldn't even tell where they'd locked her up.
Ganyu watched Ryou more closely and felt her unease deepen.
His presence was back to normal.
He still felt stronger than an ordinary person, but compared to what she'd sensed earlier, it was like night and day.
What was going on?
Could Ryou force his own strength up and down?
"Ryou," Keqing demanded as she walked up, "what was that just now? How did you catch La Signora?"
"Don't rush," Ryou said. "Let's talk in my office. Ganyu, you too."
He glanced at Ganyu and gave her a quick wink, then took Keqing by the hand and led her upstairs.
Ganyu stopped for a heartbeat.
Her face went hot—like it had been set on fire.
She touched her cheek without thinking, caught the strange looks from people nearby, and hurried after them.
Damn it…
Why did he wink at me?
And why am I this weak to it?
Keqing's right there—thank goodness she didn't notice how flustered I got, or I wouldn't even know how to explain myself.
What is Ryou trying to do?
I really need to think before I do something stupid…
But my heart's actually skipping, and I don't even know why.
And… why does Keqing suddenly feel a little in the way?
Inside the Ministry office, Keqing didn't let him sit down before pressing again. "Explain. La Signora is one of the Fatui Harbingers. She's way stronger than you. Forget you—even I'm not her match. How did you possibly arrest her?"
Ryou acted far too casual about it, and Keqing's irritation flared. She reached out and pinched him—hard.
"Hng!"
Ryou sucked in a sharp breath and glared at her.
But with Ganyu sitting right there, he couldn't do anything in the moment. Still, his eyes promised payback.
Fine.
Once we get home, I'll deal with you properly.
And honestly… after getting tempted by La Signora earlier, he couldn't let himself think about other women.
But his own wife?
That was different.
Besides, he'd noticed Keqing's injuries had already healed.
"D-don't look at me like that!" Keqing yelped, cheeks burning as she pulled her hand back. Then, almost instinctively, she blinked at him with a pleading little look, trying to act cute her way out of trouble.
Ryou let out a low chuckle. "Too late."
He reached over, pinched her cheek, and clicked his tongue. "Trying that now won't save you."
"Hmph! You only know how to bully me!" Keqing pouted.
Across from them, Ganyu's expression went flat.
We were talking about something serious.
Seriously.
And you two are flirting now?
She rubbed her forehead. "Can we please talk about the actual problem first?"
Keqing coughed, embarrassed under Ganyu's stare, and shoved Ryou's shoulder. "It's your fault. Just say it already."
Ryou sighed and finally got to the point. "I think the Fatui have some kind of plan. Maybe she's here to trade for something. But there's one thing that really doesn't add up."
He looked between the two of them. "If you hadn't seen me arrest La Signora with your own eyes… who would even know she came to Liyue Harbor?"
Keqing and Ganyu both went still.
Keqing hadn't been at the Ministry much these past few days, but before that she'd been receiving reports constantly. Even her own contacts—people like Yelan—had never mentioned La Signora arriving in Liyue.
Not a single word.
"This is wrong," Ganyu said, her tone turning grim. "We received no intelligence at all. We didn't even know La Signora was in Liyue Harbor, and she just appears out of nowhere."
Her brows knit tighter. "Even Ningguang might not know. First the Sigil of Permission… and now Fatui Harbingers showing up in Liyue Harbor. Something is seriously off."
[End of chapter]
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