bookbashuk Chapter 991 Diluk Wants to Relax
Chapter 991 Diluk Wants to Relax
At the same time, Mond was shrouded in darkness.
In the Dawn Winery in the Blue Wind Highlands, there was a hint of unease.
Tonight, Jean finally finished her busy cleanup work and decided to visit her senior Diluk, whom she hadn't seen for a long time.
Due to the blizzard caused by the Abyss Cult, the vineyards of Dawn Winery suffered heavy damage and most of the grapes were frozen to death.
Replanting the grapes will take quite a long time, so the winery staff basically don't have much to do except take care of some miscellaneous tasks.
When Jean walked to the gate of Diluc's Dawn Winery, she saw the head maid Adeline patrolling the yard from afar.
Adeline also noticed the arrival of Captain Qin. She walked over quickly, opened the door of the winery, and greeted with a smile, "Captain Qin, it's so late, what can I do for you?"
Jean looked at the buildings in the manor with a somewhat tangled gaze. After a moment's hesitation, she asked softly, "Maid Adeline, may I ask, is Senior Diluc here?"
Adeline nodded, a look of worry on her face, and replied, "Master Diluc is resting in his room. However, he hasn't left the house for several days..."
"He always locked himself in his room. He refused to open the door except for meals!"
When Qin heard that Diluk had locked himself in his room, she asked distressedly, "Can I see him?"
Adeline nodded. She also hoped that Jean could give Diluk some psychological counseling or at least get him out of the room!
……
Late at night in the Dawn Winery, a few faint rays of moonlight filtered through the window of Diluc's bedroom, casting long, thin shadows on the floor.
The wide bed cast a lonely outline.
Diluk lay flat on his back, his red hair spread messily on the pillow, his eyes staring blankly at Tianhuan above him. He seemed to have been drained of all his energy, and even his breathing felt dull.
“Click—”
The sound of the door lock turning was particularly clear in the silent night, like a stone dropped into stagnant water.
Diluk slowly turned his head, his empty gaze fixed on the doorway that had been pushed open a crack.
The moonlight outlined the figure, the familiar blond ponytail, and the iconic Knights uniform.
It was Jean Gunnhildr.
Diluk's eyes remained expressionless, his voice hoarse as if covered in dust. With a deep sense of despair, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
Qin pushed open the door and walked slowly to the bed. In the dim light, she could clearly see Diluk's decadent appearance.
His eyes were dull, his mouth was turned down, and he exuded an aura of "letting himself perish".
Qin felt as if something was tugging at her chest, and she said softly, "I came to visit the senior."
Upon hearing this, Diluk lazily raised his eyelids and rolled his eyes at her. There was disdain and fatigue in his eyes, but more of a sense of alienation that seemed too lazy to pay attention.
He raised his hand, waved it weakly, and drove it away: "What's the point? Go away quickly and don't disturb my rest."
The word "rest" coming out of his mouth sounded more like an excuse to escape.
Qin looked at his self-destructive, detached demeanor, and felt both anxious and angry. However, she managed to hold her temper and tried her best to comfort him, saying, "Senior, I know you're very angry..."
"go!"
Diluk interrupted her abruptly, his voice suddenly colder, his finger pointing straight at the door.
"I don't want to see you. Let me calm down for a while."
At this moment, all the grievances and helplessness that Qin had accumulated along the way burst out in an instant.
For the stability of Mondstadt, she had to deal with various forces and endured so much pressure, but Diluk didn't even give her a chance to explain.
Her voice was filled with anger and aggrieved expression that was difficult to conceal, and her volume rose unconsciously.
"I'm doing this for Mond! Senior, I don't really want to make peace with the Fatui!"
Seeing that Qin was still angry, Diluk sat up from the bed angrily and started arguing with Qin!
"Ask Dr. Dottore, a man with the blood of Mond people on his hands, to help? Is this what you call doing it for Mond?"
He leaned forward and demanded, "Let me ask you, a few days ago, Dotore was walking around the streets of Mondstadt with impunity. How do you expect the people of Mondstadt to view the Knights of Favonius?"
"To treat an executioner as a guest of honor, is this your way?"
Qin's fingers curled up and clenched her foot, and the sound was as low as a mosquito's buzz.
"Alechino said she would keep him under control..."
"Ha!" Diluk suddenly laughed out loud, his eyebrows raised high, and his laughter was filled with a biting chill.
"And you believed it! Huh? You actually believed the assurances of a Fatui? Jean, what have you learned in all these years of your time in the Knights?"
This sarcastic remark snapped Qin's tense nerves, and the accumulated grievances and pressure instantly broke down all her restraint.
"What can I do?" Qin's voice suddenly rose.
"Senior Diluk, who can I blame? Blame the Wind God? Blame Shao Yun? I can only blame myself for being useless!"
She took a step forward, her hands clenched white, her knuckles blue from the force.
"I'm the acting leader of the Knights of Favonius! The entire burden of Mondstadt falls on me, and I must make a decision! Do you know how much pressure I'm under right now?"
"My sister Barbara has gone completely crazy! The Grand Commander's expedition team hasn't returned yet! What should I do if I don't think of a way to save the Wind God? Should I hide in bed and cry for mom and dad?!"
The last few words were almost shouted out, and the ending tone broke into a crying voice, creating a buzzing echo in the silent bedroom.
Diluk looked at Qin's red eyes and uncontrolled crying, and the coldness in his eyes not only did not diminish, but instead condensed into a layer of colder ice.
You have your own difficulties, but what about me? Qin, are you trying to compete with me in your misery?
"Qin, do you think I'll soften my heart? You have your reasons, but what about me? Are you trying to compete with me to see who's more miserable?"
The bloody memories that had been forcibly suppressed in his heart surged up again.
"Do you know how I've been spending the past few days? Every time I close my eyes, I see my father lying in a pool of blood! It keeps running through my mind, like a curse!"
The moonlight shone through the window onto his face, revealing the dense red bloodshot veins under his eyes.
Then, Diluk pointed out the biggest difference between himself and Jean, saying:
"Your father Simon Page and mother Frederica Gunnhildr will be able to come back to see you in a few days. They will pat you on the shoulder and tell you that you tried your best. What about me?"
"I'm all alone!" He almost shouted, each word carrying a tearing pain.
"My father was killed by the Fatui's executive officer, 'Doctor'! Dottore, the one you allowed into Mondstadt and even asked for his help, has my father's blood on his hands!"
When he said the last few words, his voice suddenly became hoarse, and the hard ice shell in his eyes suddenly shattered, revealing the surging pain underneath.
"Do you know how devastated I am when I see you protecting him for the so-called 'greater good'?"
"It's like someone is holding a knife and cutting my heart over and over again..."
The color drained from Qin's face in an instant. She subconsciously took a step back, her hands tightly clenched, her fingertips almost digging into her palms.
The pain in Diluk's eyes was like a red-hot iron, burning her to the point of embarrassment.
Her lips moved for a long time before she squeezed out a choked word.
"We... We've all experienced a painful past, but we can't be defeated... Senior Diluc, Mond needs us now, we must stick together..."
The voice grew quieter and quieter, and even she herself felt that her words seemed so pale and powerless in the face of Diluk's accusations.
Diluk felt a tightness and pain in his chest as he listened to Qin's words about "we are in this together".
He slowly leaned back against the head of the bed, his back against the cold bedside, and the last bit of emotion also cooled down.
The anger and pain that had just surged seemed to be exhausted, leaving only a fatigue that penetrated deep into the bones.
"Don't talk about anything else. Now please give me a reason to stay in Mondstadt."
Qin seemed to be nailed to the spot by these words, her eyes wide open, and she didn't come back to her senses for a long time.
"what?"
Diluk didn't look at her. He seemed to be talking to himself, or thinking seriously.
"Tell me, how is Eula doing in Fontaine? Is she very happy after leaving Mondstadt?"
When Eula left behind her surname, which was like a shackle, she left. Now thinking about it, perhaps that was liberation.
"Senior, do you mean that you are leaving too?" Qin's pupils shrank suddenly and she looked at him in disbelief.
Diluk nodded slowly, and said with a dead heart, "I feel like there's no point in me staying in Mondstadt anymore."
"No!" Qin stumbled back a step, hitting the edge of the table behind her with a light sound.
She looked at Diluk's calm face and felt her vision go dark.
Eula is gone, Eula is gone, and the Lawrence family has disappeared from Mond's history.
Now that Diluk is gone, will the Leggenfinder family, the family that has protected Mondstadt for generations, also disappear into history?
"You were just saying that in anger, weren't you..." Qin's voice suddenly rose, with a crying tone.
Diluk didn't answer, but remained silent.
Qin laughed bitterly and asked, "What do you want me to do? Watch the Wind God we've believed in for over two thousand years die? Watch Mondstadt completely collapse?"
"Do I have to kneel down and beg you to forgive me? Or should I just… just let me…"
When he said the last few words, it felt like something was blocking his throat.
The following words were stuck on the tip of my tongue and I couldn't say them no matter what.
Diluk looked at Qin's red eyes and trembling shoulders, and his heart softened.
He was indeed heartbroken, but he couldn't completely sever his ties with Mond like Eula did for the time being.
"I'll take a step back, Jean," Diluc compromised. "I need to calm down for a while and go out for a walk. As for whether I'll be back... we'll see."
"Are you going on a trip?" At least it wasn't a farewell forever, and this thought made Qin calm down a little.
Diluc nodded. "Indeed. But it could also be that they're looking for a place for me to live in the future..."
Then, he suddenly raised his eyes, looked directly into Qin's eyes, and said, "The only thing you can do is respect my wishes. I need to calm down!"
Qin's heart sank, her legs went limp, and with a thud she sat down on the cold floor.
"Wow... I'm so incompetent... Why did it turn out like this!?"
Diluk looked at Qin, who was crying with tears in her eyes, and felt pity for her.
He was silent for a moment, got off the bed, reached out to help Qin, who was sitting on the ground crying, and comforted her, "Don't cry,
His voice was still not gentle, but it was less cold and hard.
"I don't want to say anything comforting... It's so late, just rest in the manor. Let Adeline prepare a room for you, and then return to Mondstadt tomorrow."
Qin raised her tear-stained face, with crystal tears hanging on her eyelashes. She opened her mouth, but only a broken whimper came out.
Diluk sighed helplessly, turned around, walked to the door, opened it a crack, and instructed the head maid who was guarding outside, "Adeline, take Captain Jean to the guest room to rest."
……
When the footsteps faded away and the room returned to silence, Diluc took out an unopened bottle of wine from the wine cabinet in the manor and walked to the armchair by the window and sat down alone.
There was a slight sound when the cork was pulled out, and the deep red wine slowly poured into the crystal glass, shining amber in the moonlight.
He picked up the wine glass, but did not drink it. He just looked out the window at the dark night.
Go and relax, it's so suffocating staying in Mondstadt!