When the Stars Fall [Genshin Impact]

Chapter 20: Traitor, Traitor

Your assigned room was simple, but comfortable. You didn't spend too long there since you couldn't stand to be in enclosed spaces for any longer than you absolutely had to. The curtains billowed lightly as wind gently blew in from the open window. The room set up for your accommodation was very close to the entrance, and with the door open you could see the main section of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, where guests usually came in.

"Tell me about what happened to you, my liege. The letter disclosed only as much as I needed to know," Xingqiu said to you from across the table. His tawny, amber eyes observed you silently, in a mixture of curiosity and slight suspicion.

"How much do you know?"

"That doesn't matter. I'd much prefer the whole story."

And so you did. You told him about the meteorites and the Adventurer's Guild and the Dawn Winery, and then Scaramouche and the Fatui. You skipped some of the more unpleasant details, and those you deemed to be for your ears and eyes only - namely, the strange book about Khaenri'ah.

"I see... I never would have known that the Fatui would have been so active in Mondstadt and Liyue."

The conversation quickly returned to a lighter note, thanks to you steering it to a less difficult topic. When Xingqiu discovered that you were also a fellow bookworm, his eyes lit up. His attitude instantaneously switched and he started to talk endlessly about the books he was reading.

"I recently read the novel, 'A Legend of Sword'. It was a fantastic read, though I'm sure you've already read it," you remarked as two servants placed dishes onto the table.

Xingqiu smiled, even more than you had seen him previously. You wondered why as you tucked into the lunch in front of you, also remembering to take a pill for your injury.

Two full days passed without any disturbance. You were still anxiously awaiting news of Liyue Harbour's borders reopening, but none had yet arrived. It would be soon - Xingqiu had assured you so - but even then, you couldn't help but feel as if a dark cloud was constantly hovering over you.

Scaramouche would surely be furious. You shuddered as your left hand involuntarily reached up to touch the deep gash on your right arm. The wound was slowly healing - the medication was working.

Speaking of anger, you had felt a surge of emotion that day with Childe. You had caught yourself constantly irritated and snappy. You rarely ever felt like this - much less one with such intense feelings you couldn't control.

Perhaps it was because you hadn't had a chance to properly process everything. Everything had happened in a blink of an eye. And now, after things calmed a little, your emotions had inevitably caught up to you in a tidal wave, drowning you in your own bitterness.

You felt far more at peace. You still felt disdain, but to a much lesser extent. Scaramouche had lied, built a mutual alliance of trust through foundations of deception and falsehoods; and that was all destroyed when he revealed his true self.

You had only yourself to blame, right? Diluc was always going on about not trusting people easily. You hadn't even verified his intentions until it was too late. What frustrated you more was the fact that you had an inkling of suspicion about Scaramouche from the start. The letter you had found in the Fatui camp hadn't seemed like much - rather, a painfully strange coincidence, but now, it all made sense.

And yet it didn't.

The contents of the letter were not yet clear. If the letter really was written by Scaramouche, then, what was he trying to do? What could be so impossible that even the Archons themselves could only attempt to achieve?