The Frostine

"Nothing here!" Shouted a knight after checking a shaded part of an alleyway

"None here too!" Another knight said as he checked the surrounding houses

A group of knights was currently huffing in exhaustion, indicating that they were running after something or someone.

One knight came back running and reported to a person protected by other knights.

"Captain, there were no signs of her here!" Reported the knight on between his huffs

The captain who was currently with them sighed as he heard this. "Continue searching. Lord Lawrence had already put the infamous Assassin, "Frostine", on his watchlist. We must capture her at all cost!"

"Search each alleyway and the sewer entrances!" Shouted the knight captain

"Yes!" The other knights shouted in unison as they bowed. Soon, they did as what they were told and started searching every crack they see.

Seeing the knights scatter as they search for the whereabouts of the person they were running after a few minutes ago, the knight's captain sighed before finding a place to sit on.

Just as he was about to sit, his eyes slightly contacted as his thoughts began racing. He didn't know why, but all of his instincts are currently telling him to lift his sword if he wants to live.

Following his instincts, the knight's captain immediately picked up his claymore right in front of his face.

*Swish*

A piercing sound was heard as an arrow traveled in the wind with great speed.

However, instead of hitting the Claymore, the arrow that came from an unknown location pierced the knight's captain's wrist.

"AGHHHH!" The knight's captain shouted in pain as his left wrist was completely pierced through by an arrow.

*Thud!*

A loud sound of metal dropping to the ground was heard. And soon, crimson blood appeared on the ground as the knight's captain grunted to the ground, holding his bleeding arm.

'Shit, I'm gonna die here!' The knight's captain immediately thought of this.

He knows who sent that arrow. The person they were chasing and the infamous rising assassin in the underground society.

Appearing seemingly nowhere, she rose up in popularity as she completes missions impossible by normal standards.

As for how they know that it was her, it is because she leaves behind "Marks" right next to her victim's dead bodies. This has become her way of showing a complete mission, and fear to the people.

In the past few months, she has been the knight's main target, and Lord Lawrence's bane.

Closing his eyes, the knight's captain expected for another arrow to pierce his head.

However, after a few moments, he opened his eyes to see his other knights rushing toward him to help him.

'I'm... Alive?' The knight captain thought as he was picked up by another knight.

'I see...' Realizing what had just happened, the knight's captain looked up at the full moon up in the sky.

'It was a warning.'

Suddenly, in the knight's captain's imagination, the vision of a woman with a dark hood and a mask that covers half of her face appeared.

Her pupils glowed under the hood as her daggers were only a few inches from his neck. The dagger sunk into his flesh as fresh blood dripped down.

He couldn't do anything and just stood there as he looked at her indifferent cold face with horror. However, instead of the dagger digging deeper, it stopped and she retracted it before disappearing into the darkness.

'She's saying... That she can kill me anytime...' The knight's captain sweated even more. 'I'm... At her mercy.'

* * *

Angel's Share Tavern.

The tavern's door opened as Daleth's figure entered. Currently, a handful of people are inside the tavern.

Daleth was still keeping the mask Isaac had given her, but her outfit had now changed. She now wears a dark cloak with a hood, and underneath, she wore a simple white dress shirt.

Of course, needless to say, she always brings a weapon with her hidden inside her cloak, just in case.

She walked toward the counter and a familiar voice greeted her.

"Another successful hunt?" A mischievous voice greeted her behind the counter

Standing there, a red-haired man in his early 20s was arranging bottles of wine in a cabinet. Of course, it's none other than the enigmatic Alec.

"More or less." Daleth gave a simple answer before continuing. "The usual, please."

"Coming right up." Alec said before taking out a few wines and juice to brew a cocktail.

As for how Alec knows about Daleth's killings, well, she was pretty infamous around Mondstadt.

Heck, Lord Lawrence even put up wanted posters of her in and out of Mondstadt. Of course, it only showed sketches of a woman wearing a good and mask.

And as for why Alec is not reporting her, well, the two talked it out.

During these past few months, Daleth had inspected Alec and found that he was just someone occasionally dealing with the underground society.

She checked a bit more to see if he was a big figure, but couldn't find any traces of him doing anything big. Well, other than selling information.

Still... She still couldn't get that feeling enigmatic feeling about him off of her mind. It was as if he was keeping something in secret, and is doing it very well.

"How's my request?" Daleth asked as she waited for the cocktail Alec was making.

"Oh, that? It's been months since you put up that request..." Alec sighed while smiling. "Well, as far as I know, no one still has any clue regarding any Adeptus of Liyue."

"I see..." Daleth sighed. "Well then, do you have any other wines?"

"Oh yes, we have a brand new wine that just arrived." Alec smiled as he gave her a paper

Oh, and the "Wine" they're talking about is a code for "Missions".

Daleth picked up the paper and started reading them. It was a normal newspaper sold in Mondstadt. However, some letters were unnaturally dark or white and some paragraphs have wrinkles below them. It was a decrypted message.

Daleth immediately deciphered the code and started reading.

As she read the paper, one of her eyebrows subconsciously rose.

"The Imunlaukr Clan and the Landrich Clan are setting up another Sal Vindagnyr exploration?" She whispered under her breath to Alec

Alec nodded as he put the final toppings for Daleth's cocktail with a cold cherry, just as she likes it. "Yup, but this time, it looks like the Imunlaukr Clan are putting more resources into this."

"..." Daleth stayed silent as she read the contents of the deciphered letter. 'What do they want with Sir Isaac's mountain...'

In her mind, Isaac was the one and only ruler of Sal Vindagnyr. He has all the right to do whatever he wants to it and none shall obstruct him.

So when she saw a powerful Clan such as the Imunlaukr Clan, she immediately got on guard.

She continued reading the paper and saw the mission.

'It looks like they put up a mission to the underground society...' Daleth scanned the mission. 'They want as much manpower as they can for this...'

'And it will all happen in two weeks.' Daleth's eyes squinted at this part.

"Here's your cocktail ready~" Alec said as he slid the blue cocktail to her.

The cocktail was ice-blue. Not just that, but it also emits coldness around it. One of its key ingredients is a Mist Flower, which can freeze any water it touches.

Mist Flower can also be extracted to be put in a wine. Although it was not as popular as the other wines, Daleth was one of the few people who enjoy it. Much to Alec's delight.

Daleth picked up the cocktail called "Cold Embrace" and took a sip. She slowly drank it as if enjoying it.

"Oh yeah! A letter for you came again." Alec said as he started searching the bottom of the counter.

Daleth stopped drinking and put the glass down.

"Here you go." Alec handed it to her. "And just as always, I didn't check any of it."

Daleth gave a small nod. She had already taught Isaac how to make the same "Mark" she does to put on letters. So that when Isaac sends a letter to her, the letter itself has a "Mark" that will keep anyone from seeing it alive.

She started opening the letter as she picked up the cocktail and started drinking once more.

As she was reading, her eyes slightly contracted as she accidentally spat out the cocktail juice from her mouth from surprise, landing on Alec's vest.

"..." Alec's smile remained on his face, but the irritation was clearly showing itself. "How rude..."

"...Sorry." Daleth apologized as she picked up the letter again sent by Isaac.

'Is Sir Isaac serious?'

There were a lot of things written in the letter. But one of them says: "I want to make a novel. Can you publish it for me there? Probably gonna take a few weeks though... Thanks~" Followed by a winking face of a chibi character that Daleth doesn't know.