Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

Fanes was awakened by a very faint mechanical whirring sound.

I opened my eyes groggily, and my vision was first filled with a blurry warm light, which then slowly focused on the bed curtains above my head—dark silk with intricate gear patterns embroidered along the edges, and small copper gear decorations inlaid on the tops of the four corner posts.

Fanes blinked, and it took him about five seconds to remember who he was, where he was, and what had just happened.

Oh right, I hid under Sandoni's bed to avoid a pillow fight, and then I ate too much and fell asleep.

But wait.

It's not under the bed now.

Fañes propped himself up slightly and looked around, finding himself lying on Sandone's soft bed, covered by the thick quilt he had used as a temporary fortress, with a few white down feathers scattered around his pillow from the pillow fight.

The room was decorated exactly as he had seen it before he went to sleep—walls covered with mechanical design drawings, a table piled high with parts, and a half-finished mechanical puppet standing in the corner—undoubtedly, he was still in the puppet's room.

It's just that it was moved from under the bed to the bed.

Fanes looked down at himself. His clothes were intact; his pink vest was still there, only the hem had rolled up from sleeping, revealing the corner of his white shirt underneath. He yawned and was about to get out of bed when his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the other side of the bed.

A person was lying there asleep.

Sandonne lay sprawled on the other side of the bed, her face buried in the pillow, her light brown hair mostly loose, strands scattered messily across the pillow. She was fast asleep, her breathing even and deep, her small body rising and falling gently with the rhythm of her breath.

Fanes noticed a delicate metal structure protruding from her back—a wind-up mechanism—that gleamed faintly in the moonlight filtering through the curtains.

No wonder Sandonne slept on his stomach. Faenes suddenly realized. With the spring-loaded back pressing against him, it must have been uncomfortable to sleep on his back.

He quietly rolled over, his two short legs dangling from the edge of the blanket over the bed, ready to slide down silently. But the moment he looked down to find his slippers, he suddenly noticed someone else lying on the sofa on the other side of the bed.

Girl.

Long hair cascaded down the sofa armrest, the ends brushing against the carpet. She was curled up on the sofa, her light-colored dress wrinkled, the mesh veil still covering her face, her breathing as light as a feather drifting in the wind. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully, in a position as if she had slipped off somewhere in the middle of the night.

But the moment Fanes stared at her, the girl moved.

The girl tilted her head slightly, and her lips beneath the mesh veil curved into a small arc. Her voice was soft and gentle, with a nasal tone from just waking up: "You're awake, Little Twelve."

Fanes nearly fell off the edge of the bed. Startled, he took two steps back, his lower back hitting the headboard. "You—you weren't asleep?!"

The girl slowly sat up, her movements sluggish, her whole body as limp as if she had no bones. She stretched, raised her arms above her head, her long hair slipping down her shoulders, then turned her head toward Fanes—though her eyes were still closed—and gave him a smiling look.

"You were asleep. But when you woke up just now, you made a lot of noise turning over, so I woke up."

Fanes's lips twitched. He just rolled over; how much noise could that make? A six-year-old's entire body probably wouldn't even weigh as much as that sofa cushion. What kind of commotion could a roll over cause? Just how outrageous are this Third Seat's perception abilities?

Before he could even complain, the girl had already stood up from the sofa, walked barefoot to him, and bent down to get close to his face. Through the mesh veil, Fanes felt as if he were being stared at by a sharp-eyed cat.

"Why do you call me Twelfth?" Fanes took a half step back, leaning against the headboard to avoid her face, which was too close.

The girl tilted her head, her light-colored hair swaying with the movement, as if she were seriously considering the question. After a short while, she answered, "Because your name is too unique!"

Fanes remained silent.

Okay. It's certainly unusual. You probably won't find another ordinary person with the same name as Tenryu on the entire continent of Teyvat. It's a bit conspicuous for him to make a living among the Fatui with this name. Being called "Little Twelve" at least allows him to keep a little bit of a low profile.

"We think it's more appropriate to call you Little Twelve."

The girl reached out and poked the nose of the little snow fox on his vest's chest patch. "How do you like it? Is the bed comfortable?"

Fanes recoiled slightly from the poking and instinctively replied, "It's very comfortable. I'll install one in my room when I get back."

The room he's currently staying in is the standard accommodation assigned to the 12th Seat by the Fools. Although it's much better than his leaky attic in Fontainebleau, the mattress is definitely on the firmer side.

I'll submit a report later to request the same soft bed. Anyway, the clown said "the budget is limited," but surely he won't be so stingy as to not even provide a mattress, right?

The girl nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly turned her head to look in Sandone's direction—even though her eyes were closed, Fanes felt that she "saw" everything clearly.

Sandoni was still lying there asleep, breathing steadily, showing no signs of being woken up.

The girl turned back, lowering her voice as if she were plotting something big, "Sandonie is asleep, let's go out and play, don't disturb her here."

Fanes blinked. "Okay, okay. But where are we going? Everything's closed this late, right?"

The temperature difference between night and day in winter is not significant; it's just as cold. However, all the shops on the street are indeed closed, except for a few bars that stay open all night. Going out at this time is either to see the snow or to go ice skating.

The girl smiled mysteriously, a sly smile curving her lips beneath the mesh veil: "We can go to the Queen's palace. The palace kitchen is stocked with delicious food 24 hours a day, with hot soup and freshly baked pastries always available."

Fanes' eyes lit up. But then he remembered something: "Didn't Sister Rosalind advise you not to go? Saying it would offend Her Majesty the Queen or something..."

The girl waved her hand, her light-colored hair swaying lightly beside her face. "Rosalyn isn't here right now. She's already gone back to her place and told me before she left. No one's stopping us now, let's go together!"

Fanes hesitated for about two seconds.

In two seconds, he quickly weighed the pros and cons—what was the risk level of sneaking into the Ice Queen's palace kitchen at night to steal snacks? If he got caught, would the clown deduct his wages? The twelfth seat's salary wasn't much to begin with; if it was deducted, wouldn't he be working as a child laborer for nothing?

But then he remembered something else. He had been eating black bread for three months in that leaky attic in Fontainebleau (he stopped eating it after he started earning money for the last three months), and before he transmigrated, he worked overtime until he had a perforated stomach. Now, a dignified Executor of the Fools was standing in front of him and saying, "Come with me to the Queen's palace kitchen for a midnight snack"—if he didn't go, what difference would there be between him and a salted fish?

"OK."

Fanes jumped off the edge of the bed, his feet landing on the cold carpet. "Let's go, let's go, before Sandone wakes up."

The girl took his hand, her movements as natural as if she were holding the hand of a younger brother. Her palm was cool, but her grip was very light. She led Fanes around Sandone's bed, pushed open the side door of the room, and slipped out silently.

The corridor outside was deserted. The dim light streamed down from the crystal lamps on the walls, casting long shadows on the floor.

The girl's steps were as light as a cat's, and Fanes followed beside her, his short legs struggling to keep up with her pace.

In the distance, the main hall of Winter Palace stood in the night, its spire covered with thick snow, and the moonlight made it look like a silver-white castle.

Fanes pulled his coat tighter around himself, silently encouraging himself: "Just go. The worst that can happen is I get a scolding. It's not like I'll lose a piece of my flesh."

Besides, if you steal the hot soup and snacks, it's not a big deal to get a mild scolding.