You were born into this world all alone, But here in the House of the Hearth, you will grow up to be strong. Your goal is to learn, to compete, to defeat all your brothers and sisters in battle, and become “King”
Snezhnaya’s House of the Hearth is an organization that shelters war orphans from around the world and trains them to become spies for various nations. The former leader, “The Knave” Crucabena, was affectionately called “Mother” by the children. However, despite this maternal title, she is not as kind and gentle as she appears; although referred to as “Mother,” she has never truly seen the children as family.
She teaches the children martial arts and then guides them to fight each other until only the strongest “king” remains. Those eliminated in the process are either discarded or handed over to the “Doctor” for experimentation. It’s hard to imagine how the Doctor manages to conduct so many experiments. For Crucabena, the House of the Hearth’s “battle royale” is merely an intriguing experiment, while the children remain trapped in this false dream. To ensure fairness, she even has her own daughter, Clervie, participate. Despite being her biological daughter, Crucabena shows no affection for her and instead favors another girl, Peruere.
From a very young age, Peruere discovered that she could control a unique type of flame. This special power drew considerable attention from others. Additionally, Peruere is the only child, apart from Clervie, who knows the truth about the House of the Hearth. Unlike Clervie, Peruere is cold-blooded enough to easily see through Crucabena’s facade. Moreover, she has no intention of rebelling, as she is confident that she will become the final “king.” As a result, the two clear-headed young women naturally became friends.
The two rabbit plushies here represent Clervie and Peruere. The pink rabbit represents Clervie, while the white rabbit represents Peruere when she was still a servant. They relied on and helped each other as they grew up, forming a deep friendship. It’s worth noting that these two plushies, the Clervie bunny plush and the arlecchino bunny plush, not only appear in the animation but have also been officially made into merchandise, faithfully reproduced in 1:1 scale. Through these plushies, it’s like witnessing the heartwarming scenes of Clervie and Peruere relying on each other.
Clervie tried to escape multiple times, but each attempt failed. They stumbled through their upbringing until the day of their final duel arrived. Clervie chose to let Peruere live and willingly faced death. In the moment when the blade pierced her body, she felt content, as she had found her own freedom—the freedom to choose death. Clervie’s fate ended there, but for the remaining Peruere, the story was far from reaching its climax.
The experiment to select the “king” had concluded, but Crucabena did not halt her mad ambitions. Peruere decided to pick up the abandoned plan on her own—the plan to kill her “mother” and build a new home. She continuously honed her skills, allowing her uncontrollable power to stain her arm pitch black. Then, on a certain moonlit night, a Vision quietly descended—a testament to her defiance against fate and her control over the future. Ultimately, Peruere used the power of the Vision and her bloodline to kill Crucabena, and the process was nothing spectacular.
After killing Crucabena, Peruere was imprisoned for “mother’s murder.” While in prison, the Tsaritsa personally met with her, pardoned her crime, and granted her the title of Harbinger. From then on, Peruere became known as Arlecchino Genshin.
With this, the story of the House of the Hearth comes to an end. Arlecchino becomes the new head of the House, taking in homeless children and providing them with a place to call home. Additionally, Arlecchino negotiated with Neuvillette, ensuring that Fontaine would accept the children who had left the House.
With the children settled, the final matter was Clervie. Arlecchino did not use flames to destroy the “Shadows,” but instead, as the head of the House, she “exiled” Clervie, resolving her inner conflict. Although many years had passed and they were separated by life and death, the two very different souls remained friends throughout.
