Spying on the Wind | Venti♡Reader

💫𝕊𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ𝕋𝔼𝔼ℕ💫

Childe's POV:

They were chatting away like bosom buddies. I sighed inwardly. I just got sent to oversee whatever problem the retarded spy, Y/N, might have since she failed to show up to assist Scaramouche in Inazuma, and what did I see?

The Anemo Archon, tricked by her friendly demeanor, not knowing that behind that smile, behind those innocent eyes, was a demonic soul and an icy cold heart. To put it simply, she was evil, even by Fatui standards, though some of my comrades thought otherwise. The Balladeer, or Scara as Y/N called him, for example, was one of the few who really hit it off with her, though that might be because she declared that he was the hottest Harbinger—which simply wasn't true.

We agreed to act as though we all got along perfectly well-a show for the Tsaritsa, as well as a show for the public, but I could still feel the tension in the air whenever we were together. Y/N was demanding. For instance, she demanded that I call her Accipitridae Oculus Uterque, a nickname her aunt came up with, which was basically gibberish as far as I was concerned. I never hated her aunt so much in my life.

Also, she had an annoying habit of making me pay for everything, saying that I was "used" to it because I frequently provided a certain consultant with free Mora. A selfish act that was, too, since she had twice the amount of Mora that I had, and her savings were increasing at a much faster rate.

The Anemo Archon should take the blame for that—my savings weren't increasing rapidly because he demanded for a shit ton of wine every time he paid his lil old pal a visit, which was quite frequently recently. Otherwise, he would keep bothering Zhongli, and I hated to see Zhongli unhappy. As a result, I would run out of Mora sooner or later—my estimate was a hundred years.

I turned my attention to Y/N and Venti once more. It was improbable that she could fool him for long. A couple of years ago, Zhongli was also charmed by her friendliness and grace till he was better informed of her identity after reading a neatly-written letter—courtesy of me. At present, Zhongli and Y/N's relationship were even shakier than ours.

I wondered when that bard would discover the truth and imagined his reaction. He was alone for millennia and might view her as a true friend, letting his guard down. As annoyed at him as I was, I did not wish for him to be deceived, only to discover that although Y/N was a brilliant fighter, elegant even in battle and kind on the outside, her heart was a dark abyss, icy and void of any emotion. She was not a shining star; she was akin to a black hole with multiple tricks up her sleeve.

Or maybe that was my jealousy talking. After all, I had never beaten her in a duel.

"This looks nice! This too! I can get them for a friend of mine!" the ignorant bard exclaimed in delight, snapping me back to reality. I narrowed my eyes. With how close they seemed to be, it was as though they spent the night together, which was actually plausible. At least it would explain why they were chatting at three in the morning-and still chatting then, five hours later, only adding shopping to their activity list.

"This one comes in multiple colours. All colours on the spectrum seems to be available. Such diversity! We'll take them all," the spy spoke casually before turning her head and snapping her fingers. "Tarta- ahem! Childe, I know you've been stalking us. Pay for all of it, will you? We're off." Then, they headed to another store.

The shopkeeper beckoned for me to go to him so I shuffled out of the tangle of tree branches and leaves. I glanced at the price tags and shut my eyes, feeling the blood drain from my lovely face. There were too many zeros to count-even with all of my toes.

The both of them treated me like a walking wallet till noon. For someone who was as broke as Zhongli, Venti sure had an eye out for exquisite items with exorbitant prices. The sun shone mercilessly directly above our heads, making me feel like dying. I couldn't ask Y/N about her task with so many people around and so, I was practically forced to follow her-and pay for her. We strolled past Wanmin restaurant multiple times, but nobody seemed hungry, so we never stepped in despite how hot it was out in the open.

"Why doesn't this come in cerulean and violet?" the agitated spy demanded and the jewellery seller took a tiny step back.

Noticing her bad mood, I thought that it was best not to mention how hot I was, and that I was starving...