Hearing this, Mr. Yuto smiled and nodded, then said,
"Since Ms. Arlecchino is so understanding... Palais Mermonia should also show some appreciation—"
"There's no need for your appreciation, Mr. Yuto."
Before Mr. Yuto could finish, Arlecchino gently interrupted him.
"Your intention in doing this... is to deter those nobles who are as restless as the Noclan Family, right?"
"Coincidentally, the Fontaine branch still has some of their accounts outstanding. Taking this opportunity... I'd like Palais Mermonia to help us clear these bad debts. How about that?"
Hearing this, Mr. Yuto nodded slightly, then said with a half-smile,
"Of course, as business partners, Palais Mermonia and Northland Bank should help each other."
"Originally, I planned to return all the service fees for this debt collection to Northland Bank, but Ms. Arlecchino's generosity is overwhelming.
I can only express my gratitude to Ms. Arlecchino on behalf of the Marechaussee Phantom members who assisted in the execution."
As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Arlecchino's face instantly froze, but she quickly recovered from that somewhat awkward state.
After all, it wasn't her mora being spent, so she didn't feel any pain. As for the expenses and bills... that was Pantalone's headache, not hers.
Thinking of this, Arlecchino resumed her previous elegant demeanor, then stood up from her seat and said,
"Thank you for your praise, Mr. Yuto, but if you have nothing else... I'll be leaving early."
"After all, so many families need to be collected from at the same time, and Northland Bank's new batch of employees has only just arrived in Fontaine, so they still need a little time to adjust."
"Alright, if the time comes to close the net... I will arrange for someone to notify you at Northland Bank."
Hearing this, Arlecchino nodded slightly, then her gaze fell upon Furina, who had remained silent since entering.
After scrutinizing Furina, Arlecchino smiled playfully and then said,
"Although I'm not very interested in Fontaine Opera, the Fontaine Opera you and Lady Furina are performing together is quite worth watching."
"I will be there on time to admire your graceful performance on stage."
Hearing this, Furina raised her head slightly, looked at Arlecchino, who was watching her playfully, and said very appropriately,
"Fontaine Opera is the art of Fontaine. If Ms. Arlecchino can come to like Fontaine Opera because of Mr. Yuto's and my performance, then that would be even better."
Looking at Furina, who was well-mannered, showed no fear on her face, and instead maintained an elegant expression, Arlecchino was momentarily stunned with surprise, then smiled and nodded, walking out of the reception room door.
She had originally intended to tease Furina, but... the current her, compared to the one who once sat in the Water God's position... was simply two different people.
"Is it because Mr. Yuto and Neuvillette are by her side, so she isn't afraid of me?"
Arlecchino raised an eyebrow slightly, tentatively guessing the root cause of Furina's change in state.
But she quickly dismissed her initial thought.
As a Fatui Harbinger, as the "Father" of the House of the Hearth, Arlecchino had seen many people who were strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
But it was clear that Furina's natural expressions and movements just now were completely different from those who were strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
After a brief thought, a look of understanding appeared on Arlecchino's face, and she couldn't help but murmur,
"Actually, what she was most afraid of at first wasn't me, but rather her fear that her death would lead to the failure of the plan..."
"For her, the responsibility of breaking The Prophecy and saving Fontaine was more important than her own life."
With that, Arlecchino gently closed her eyes and smiled softly.
"As expected of the Water God... everything is becoming more and more interesting."
...
"So... you actually want me to cooperate with you to eliminate those old nobles?"
Neuvillette looked at Mr. Yuto, who was calmly drinking tea by his side, a hint of doubt flashing in his grey eyes.
He knew very well that in handling such matters, Mr. Yuto's methods and shrewdness far surpassed his, so he should be able to handle these matters independently.
But...
Why would he need his help now?
As if sensing the doubt in Neuvillette's heart, Mr. Yuto smiled and waved his hand, then said,
"It's not about eliminating those old nobles, but about giving all nobles the proper deterrence, so they don't dare to repeatedly test the boundaries of the law like the Noclan Family."
"With the Noclan Family as a negative example, other nobles should also know what to do."
Hearing this, Neuvillette nodded thoughtfully, then asked pointedly,
"Then, what about that matter you planned earlier?"
"I just have some ideas, and it will take a little more time to put them into practice, but... the success rate should be quite high."
Neuvillette frowned slightly, his tone becoming unprecedentedly serious.
"Are you really going to do that?"
"Of course, this is the only way to make up for the victims' shortcomings."
Listening to Neuvillette and Mr. Yuto's somewhat disjointed conversation, Furina tilted her head slightly, then asked,
"So... what kind of riddles are you two playing? Why is even regret being brought up? Is there something I'm not supposed to know?"
Furina tilted her head slightly, looking at the two people beside her whose expressions were normal, and pouted, seemingly dissatisfied with their silence.
As if he had long anticipated Furina's dissatisfaction with these words, Mr. Yuto merely smiled gently, then said,
"Nothing, Neuvillette and I are just discussing how to deal with those people."
"Only by giving them a sufficiently heavy blow can those who suffered losses because of them... receive true comfort and compensation."
"After all, their actions of treating people like livestock, using them as consumables, and a series of other inhumane behaviors cannot be compensated by mere mora."
"The damage their actions caused to the labor market and the psychological harm to workers are very difficult to reverse."
"But since this has happened, we, as the higher-ups, must make some correct decisions to compensate for their losses."
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