Click.
She reached for the teacup sitting before her. Her heart was pounding hard enough to burst, but she took a sip, feigning total composure.
Clink.
The moment she set the cup down, her hand trembled. The surface of the tea on the saucer rippled violently.
Inwardly, she took a deep breath; outwardly, she continued her act of indifference.
It was difficult.
Why did she come here? What was she trying to do?
Her vision was blurry, as if white paint had been dissolved in it. Her ears felt muffled, like she had suddenly ascended a high mountain.
"... ... ..."
'What is...'
"... ... ... ..."
'...he saying?'
Gulp.
She swallowed hard. Her blurry vision cleared, and her hearing returned. The chirping of birds from beyond the wall tickled her ears.
"Dad, when are we going?"
"Well... I think we'll be leaving soon, won't we?"
"Let's bring the swing too!"
"Nahida, I'll make you one there if you need it."
"Dad!"
"Alright, alright, my daughter. If you need it, I'll make it for you once we get there."
"Yay!"
Am I... hearing this correctly?
"Ganyu."
"Yes? Yes!"
She snapped back to reality. She locked eyes with the man in black. The emotions reflected in his gaze were bewilderment and annoyance.
"I'm going, so tell me how we're getting there and what I need to do once we arrive."
"...?"
What was he talking about? Going where?
In that moment, the words her master had spoken earlier flashed through Ganyu's mind.
—If a Demon God turns hostile toward Liyue and joins forces with other gods to harm Rex Lapis instead of facing him alone...
Ganyu stopped thinking right there. The shock was so great her mind went blank, and her body moved instinctively to find the best possible response.
#
What is she doing now?
Gyeoul sighed as he watched Ganyu prostrate herself on the floor, her white shoulders and back fully exposed.
Regardless of his personal distaste for her, his eyes naturally drifted toward the suggestive sight of her pale skin.
Slap.
"Ow, that smarts."
Feeling a sudden sting, he looked down. Nahida, who had been smiling brightly just a moment ago, was now looking up at him with puffed-out cheeks and a grumpy expression. Was she sulking because he wasn't paying attention to her?
He gently stroked Nahida's head, but her face didn't soften as it usually did. Her tightly set lips twitched as if they were about to relax, only to return to a firm line.
What's wrong with her?
"I will do... anything. If it is something I can do... I will do anything."
And what is wrong with you?
Her voice trembled slightly, and her head was bowed low. Anyone watching would think he was blackmailing her.
He leaned his head back and sighed. Instead of the blue sky, the plain white ceiling filled his vision.
Clap, clap.
He clapped his hands twice, and the prostrate Ganyu lifted her head.
"First, let's sit down and talk."
"No. How could a sinner such as I dare to sit with you?"
"Can you... stop talking like that?"
"How should I speak then?"
"Stop ending every sentence so formally. Just speak normally."
"I under...stand."
The shift from her usual tone to this heavy, world-ending gloom felt incredibly jarring. He would have preferred her previous stubbornness.
Sighing, he sat on the sofa and looked down at the kneeling Ganyu. Surrounded by a bleak aura, she stared at him with hollow eyes, looking as if she might drop dead at any moment.
"So, why are you here?"
"It is exactly as I said before, my lord."
"As you said what?"
Ganyu's eyes shimmered with sorrow as she took on a look of grim resolve. Seeing that, Gyeoul gave up on trying to figure out why she was acting this way.
"I will do anything. So please..."
"Please?"
"Please forgive... Rex Lapis... and Liyue... I will do whatever I can, so please..."
What on earth is she talking about?
As Gyeoul thought for a moment, he remembered how Osial had attacked him out of fear that he might have allied with Rukkhadevata.
First of all, Ganyu didn't know that Zhongli had visited him.
While he was walking here from Yuehai Pavilion, whatever happened back there... but she received a report and found him faster than he could walk? No, that didn't make sense.
It was more likely that Zhongli had been watching Yuehai Pavilion from the start.
"Your Rex Lapis has already come and gone."
"What?!"
Even so, there wouldn't have been enough time for Zhongli to tell Ganyu to come here and persuade him like this. It was understandable that she didn't know.
Having finished his train of thought, Gyeoul suddenly wondered what he was even doing.
He just wanted to live in peace, so why did things keep happening?
The Golden House, being the overseer, Inazuma—he just wanted to go hide in the mountains.
Maybe he should resign after this is over.
He didn't care about the cushy job or being a high-ranking official. Being near the powerful only brought more work his way.
'Yeah. Once I get back from Inazuma, I'm quitting everything.'
He had the ability to live on his own. He'd build a house in some remote mountains, live happily with Nahida, and just focus on raising her while doing daily commissions.
He was about to tell her she was mistaken, but he suddenly found it too bothersome.
'Actually, let's just let her keep misunderstanding. If she feels guilty, she won't bother me in the future.'
He adjusted his words to fit that strategy.
The best way to make someone follow your lead is to build a good relationship and do everything they ask. Then, the other person won't be able to refuse your requests.
The nuance was different, but the core was the same: making them owe you a debt.
"Does Rex Lapis... know about this?"
"I'm sure he does."
He couldn't let her settle the debt. The key was maintaining the status quo.
Saying "Be good to me from now on" after solving a problem carried many meanings. It could mean literally being kind, but it also meant 'use what I've done for you now to repay me for something I'll do later.'
In the end, it was a concept that changed depending on interpretation.
"What Rex Lapis said was..."
"Hmm."
Nahida's education, the Inazuma trip...
"He told me to spend a day with you."
"..."
Ganyu locked eyes with Gyeoul and then bowed her head deeply. Her face was set in a look of grim determination as she bit her lower lip. Her hands on her knees and her slender shoulders trembled violently.
"I under...stand. Is there anything you need...?"
"Money, formal clothes, and information. Nothing else, really."
Even so, going like this would be a breach of international etiquette.
His shabby black clothes weren't uncomfortable, but didn't diplomats usually wear suits or formal attire? He knew as a matter of common sense that representing an organization required a certain level of formality.
Ganyu's body trembled even more fiercely.
"I understand."
As Ganyu stood up, her face was filled with a look of absolute resolve. The bright sunlight streaming through the window illuminated her pale shoulders and the nape of her neck.
"My lord."
Rustle.
Her blue silk-like hair swayed in the air. Ganyu's eyes glowed with a strange, intense light.
"I will obey. Please, do not turn against Liyue."
With those final words, Ganyu left. Watching her back as she departed, Gyeoul looked down at Nahida, who had somehow ended up lying with her head in his lap.
"My daughter."
"Yes?"
"Life is quite difficult."
"Yeah!"
Looking at Nahida's bright smile, Gyeoul quietly stroked her hair.
Is she going through puberty? Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?
Of course, Ganyu had no way of knowing that Gyeoul, who viewed the world through the lens of a game called Genshin Impact, didn't have the luxury of such thoughts.
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