Winter Solstice | Fatui One-Shots (Genshin Impact)

The Soul's Sincerity | Pantalone

Pantalone
○ Soulmate AU I
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"So then, you must be my soulmate."

He had you pinned against the exquisite mahogany counter in the empty lobby on the 1st floor. His left hand was on your chin, forcing you to look up at him, the other fiddling with the ends of your hair, and you couldn't say a word. It wasn't out of fear so much as anything you said would bring out the undisputed truth.

It was two months ago that you realized who your soulmate was.

"My Lord, this is the report for the recent fiscal year," you said.

The Regrator didn't even spare you a glance as he said, "Set it on my desk."

You did as he ordered, pausing only to say, "It doesn't seem to be in order."

What an awkward way to phrase it, and to have not even meant to say that? You had quite literally meant to tell him the opposite, but your voice had other plans.

"Excuse me?" he glanced at you.

You were quick to bow you head, "M-My apologies, I spoke out of turn."

"If there's something wrong with the report, fix it, and don't return until you're sure it's accurate."

Except, you were sure it was accurate, at least until you'd tried to tell him that. "Of course, my Lord," you scampered out his office.

Closing his door quietly, you sighed heavily, relief washing over you like a rogue wave. What was that? You briefly sifted through the report, but nothing immediately stood out to you. It was only when you had it looked at by a senior accountant that the traces of embezzlement revealed themselves.

"I'm glad we caught wind of this before Master Pantalone reviewed the report; we would have had our assess handed to us," the accountant nervously chuckled.

"I'll have someone investigate this immediately," you said. "Continue analyzing the data and let me know if you find anything else."

"I'll get right on it, Ms. Y/N," she assured you.

You didn't generally handle the input of numbers so much as you compiled analyzed data, but you were baffled you let an embezzlement scheme make its way into the final report. Surely if not for that fluke you would have been fired.

You spent the next few days overseeing the investigation, eventually following it through to a branch location inside Snezhnaya, shockingly right under your nose. The perpetrators were found to be bank tellers who hid their tracks by depositing fabricated numbers. It could have easily been caught had just one person bothered to double check the actual figures in the bank, but you supposed they reasoned no person would dare attempt such fraud with the Fatui.

With the new report in hand, you returned to the Regrator's office, sheepishly greeting him before adding, "This is the new fiscal report."

"I take it all has been resolved?"

"Of course, my Lord."

The Regrator had yet to dismiss you.

"For what reason, pray tell, did the investigation take so long?"

It would have been simple enough to sweep the whole thing under the rug by calling it a miscalculation with the bookkeepers, but even though you had intended to say just that, the entirety of your thoughts were caught in your throat.

"No one was equipped to handle embezzlement from within our own ranks," you admitted, strangely resolute.

The previous fluke was looking more and more like divine intervention.