Mu Yang had no intention of killing anyone.
He simply wanted to scare them.
He knew the two were only carrying out [The Knave]'s orders and executing their mission.
Fortunately, [The Knave] still had some sense of proportion. The task she gave was only surveillance.
If Lyney and Lynette had shown any killing intent toward Mu Yang.
Then it would have been a different story.
The two 'Mu Yangs' merged into one and spoke to Lyney and the others.
"Lead the way. I want to meet your [Father]."
The two bowed respectfully and then led Mu Yang toward the Station Courtyard.
The three of them would take the aquabus back to the Court of Fontaine.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile hung on Mu Yang's face.
Lynette felt that this smile was very cold.
However, the terrifying oppressive feeling from earlier had disappeared.
How long had it been since she last experienced this kind of sensation?
It seemed that ever since she obtained her Vision, she had never encountered such helplessness again.
When Mu Yang had locked onto her, she had truly been a little afraid.
The thing Lynette feared most was becoming a burden to her brother.
After experiencing so much, she didn't want to be the one who was only protected.
The aquabus arrived.
Even though it was currently the evening rush hour, there were unusually only three people on the boat.
Mu Yang seemed to be discussing magic topics with Lyney.
Something called a fatal magic trick related to a pair of twins.
Lynette didn't listen much.
Her thoughts drifted back to the past, and she actually fell asleep leaning against Lyney.
Mu Yang fell silent and stopped discussing with Lyney.
The little girl had been staring at him for most of the day. She was probably exhausted.
After being scared like that, she wouldn't have nightmares, right?
Lynette was indeed dreaming.
In the dream, she returned to the days when she wandered with her brother.
In those dark days of drifting between city streets and noble mansions.
Her brother was her only support.
Until [Father] rescued the two of them and brought them back to [home].
Lynette didn't know why she was having this dream.
Was it because she had almost lost her brother earlier?
Or was it because she had once again become the one being protected by her brother?
In the dream, Lynette watched her younger self and Lyney.
The two of them knew they had to seize the opportunity [Father] had given them.
They endured harsh training and supported each other through countless missions.
Reality had long since worn away their childhood innocence.
The dream suddenly shifted.
Lynette remembered this place.
A mountain villa belonging to a Fontaine noble.
The two of them had been sent here to perform magic.
The real purpose was to seize the opportunity to steal criminal evidence hidden in the study.
The mission itself was very ordinary, and the two carried it out very smoothly.
Using the performance as cover, Lynette had tampered with the doors and windows of the villa.
After the performance ended, she would quietly return and sneak in to steal the evidence without anyone noticing.
"Three, two, one." Lynette counted down in her dream.
Because she had already experienced all of this. It was merely a replay in the dream.
Three flames lit up in the forest outside the window—that was the signal from the [family] members on standby observing.
Three flames corresponded to the worst possible situation:
The Maison Ordalie had already set their sights on the target and had even sent people to the door.
If they retreated along the original route now, they would very likely run head-on into the Maison Ordalie.
Once it was exposed that they were carrying out missions using their magician identities.
Not only would they be doomed, but it might also implicate the family behind them.
The noise outside the door grew louder. To retreat in the fastest and most covert way, they could only take a desperate gamble.
Lynette and Lyney exchanged a glance without saying a word. They tightly held each other's hands and leaped out the window.
The villa was built against the mountain, and outside the window was a cliff. Below was a rushing river.
"Splash—"
That was the sound of water slapping against Lyney's back.
Before hitting the water, he desperately used his own shoulders and back to absorb the impact.
Once again shielding Lynette.
The violent impact swallowed his consciousness.
In her panic, the young Lynette grabbed a piece of driftwood and dragged the unconscious Lyney as she struggled to shore, coughing up water nonstop.
Enduring the burning pain in her lungs, the young Lynette anxiously checked Lyney's condition.
His face was pale, his eyes tightly closed, without his usual vitality.
The Lynette watching from the side roughly understood why she was having this dream.
Even after so many years, she still remembered this loneliness and fear…
"We've arrived at the station."
Lyney's voice and gentle shaking pulled Lynette back from the dream.
The two of them led Mu Yang toward Hotel Bouffes d'ete.
Along the way, none of the three spoke.
Mu Yang noticed that Lynette didn't dare look at him the entire time.
He complained inwardly, "She wouldn't really have a nightmare, right?"
Hotel Bouffes d'ete, [The Knave]'s reception room.
In front of outsiders, [Father] did not say any words of reproach.
She simply let Lyney and Lynette go rest first.
Perhaps she had already known the outcome when she sent the two of them out.
Otherwise, why would she have sent only these two most outstanding children?
The two walked out of the study. Lyney smoothed his sister's hair, feeling somewhat guilty.
He had thought he would never let his sister experience this kind of life-and-death separation again in this lifetime.
He just hadn't expected that he was still too weak after all.
"Idiot brother."
"Hm?"
Lynette gave Lyney a light punch with her small fist.
Then she ignored him and went back to her room to rest.
Lynette lay on the bed and took out her Vision.
The continuation of that dream earlier was related to this thing.
Lynette's fear stemmed from her helplessness toward her own weakness.
She didn't want to only wait under protection, nor did she want to only tremble in the darkness.
She hoped to always join hands with Lyney to overcome difficulties together.
Perhaps it was because Mu Yang's pursuit had made her recall this fear again.
That was why she had this dream.
The continuation of that incident was:
Lynette tightly gripped Lyney's hands and carried him on her shoulders.
Her eyes could no longer see the path ahead.
But she still had her ears.
She perked her ears up high, carefully listening to every sound of the wind.
The sound of wind blowing through tree branches, through bushes, brushing across her cheeks…
Gradually painting a blurry landscape before her eyes.
Lynette groped forward in the darkness. Thorns along the way pricked her skin.
The seeping blood dyed her clothes red.
The scenery before her eyes gradually became clearer.
She didn't know whether it was because her ears had adapted to the sound of the wind or her eyes had adapted to the darkness.
Her steps became increasingly agile and firm.
On this stage without lights, in this performance without applause.
Lynette completed her solo dance.
She was not someone who could only rely on her brother's protection—
The Vision that appeared as the 'performance' concluded.
Was proof of all this.
She was an assistant, a partner, a sister.
The two of them could fight side by side.
She could do many things for Lyney that she couldn't do before.
Lying on the bed, Lynette gazed at the Anemo Vision flickering in her hand.
Was this something [Father] had deliberately arranged?
Only [The Knave] herself could answer that.
In the reception room at this moment, [The Knave] was pouring tea for Mu Yang.
"Would black tea be alright?"