DISCONTINUING - Fairytale Dreams [Diluc x Reader x Kaeya]

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ６

"Could you pass the salt, please?"

"Certainly, here you go."

It was slightly comical seeing the way her father had casually been handed the seasoning by Guinevere. It resembled the way Guinevere had passed that salty feeling of hatred on to [name]. Of course, from the girl's point of view however, there was nothing that could really amuse her as of right now.

The four were currently at the dinner table a few hours after the small fight between Guinevere and [name]. [name] had decided for herself that day she could explain the night after why she would skip her shift to her boss, but even in her concern, the tension while they dined was more concerning for her.

Adelle faked a smile to her husband brushing him slightly on the arm from the tips of her fingers, calling him sweetly. "Baobei [1], you haven't talked much since you have came back home. How was your time up in Snezhnaya?"

He smiled back at his wife with genuine warmth. "Freezing. Endless snow everywhere, Cryo slimes covered the terrain wherever I turned to. It was a blessing that I made it back down safely." He cut off a piece of his steak, stuffing it into his mouth, politely dabbing at his lips seconds with a napkin after swallowing the piece.

"The Fatui didn't give you a hard time, now did they?" Adelle questioned next more anxious for their finance than anything else.

Cyril Aviatora kept smiling for his wife feeling his heart flutter a little as he was unable to discern that her concern was as unreal as her smile. "They were rough, but I'm fine. Thank you for worrying."

He pat the top of her hand with his then gazed over to [name] after remembering something.

"Speaking of which, [name], I had to pass through Liyue to get into the borderlines of Snezhnaya; I met your waipo, jiujiu, and juimu [2]. Your cousins are grown up now and moved out, so they want a visit from you again someday. They said that you haven't visited them in years and that they missed you." The demand was a soft one, although she noted the lack of enthusiasm in the words.

[name] shifted her eyes feeling uncomfortable about the topic. "I see..." Hearing that she didn't add anything more, her father did the same and left it at that.

The table had gone quiet.

Cyril observed one family member to the next. His mouth opened alas after a worthwhile of silent eating. "Guinevere, how is class? I heard from Adelle how great of a student Ms. Rosa had praised you as of late."

Guinevere stifled up, lightly putting down her fork. "It's been... Fine, although I struggle still with certain topics."

"Oh? What topics is it? I can help hire a tutor for you."

"No, really! I'm fine." The blonde reassured him, reluctant to accept his offering.

Cyril pressed on. "Well, it's okay to accept help, Guin. We are family, there's no need to be embarrassed in front of your parent."

"Really, really!" Guinevere kept grinning with all of nerves suffering underneath her skin.

[name] rolled her eyes muttering aloud. "If a man refuses to sow seeds in his own field during the middle of winter, should you sow it for him [3]?"

A dumbfounded Guinevere struggled to analyze what she had meant by those words. Cyril glanced over to [name] with a sharp glare, deciding to ignore her proverb and continued on pushing Guinevere. "Sweetheart, it's kind of you to be thinking of others at a time like this, but I assure you that it's truly okay."

The step daughter had contemplated how to continue counteracting this statement, unknowing to her that she had actually been insulted next by her step sister.