Author: No beta reader or proofreader means that we almost die like the reckless ballad. Woohooo! Also, I posted this fanfic at ao3 first, so it's more on advance update than here. Enjoy reading~
"" = Normal
'' = Thoughts
[] = This will be like popping out the brief introduction of a new character.
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Action, Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Supernatural, and Angst.
Warning: Full of fanservice and fluff. And yes, there's a plot.
Full Summary: This is a modern Teyvat era in the alternative universe that got ruled by the underground world secretly with a touch of fantasy and supernatural.
Lumine and Aether, a new landowners and landlord/landlady, got inherited a mansion after their grandfather died in an illness, so the twins decided to rent it to someone else.
Somehow, five rich individuals decided to rent the twins' mansion to live in their unknown circumstances.
What they did not know, troubles would start from them after agreeing to their contracts.
Would they survive the mayhem, even though one of their points that they agreed to this is because they are handsome?
Somehow, their fates intertwined each other, and it seems that their unknown pasts will slowly unfold.
Prologue
Inside the spacious living room at the mansion, two people were sitting on the couch, starting to have a conversation.
[Diluc Ragnvindr - The next heir of the famous Dawn Winery at Mondstadt. His family's wine industry is unmatched at Mondstadt, and they contributed the most to the economy and have rich histories. Not only is he a famous business tycoon, but he also has noble blood in his veins.
After the aristocratic era got terminated in the past, one of the notable noble families rebelled that are still well-known and respected at Mond, which Diluc's family is one of them. Even though there are no more royalties that rule in the country, he's secretly the uncrowned prince of Mondstadt.]
"I see that you are the landlord of this mansion." said the tall young man of average to lean build with pale skin, fiery, half-lidded eyes, and crimson red long hair that extended to his mid-back, but he tied it with a ponytail before meeting one of the owners of the mansion he was staying at.
His scarlet eyes glanced down at the teenager with an unimpressed expression, and he wondered where the other owner was, but he decided not to ask because it's none of his business.
Golden eyes blinked at him curiously, and he felt intimidated after seeing him because of his strong and confident presence.
'Okay, keep it cool man. He's a tall man, and why is he freaking taller than me? I wonder if I will grow taller than him when I reach his age. Ah, yes. Let's do the first impression. You can do it, Aether!` The golden-haired young man began to do a pep talk himself inside his mind since he was nervous and his body was stiff.
He has fair skin with a lighter tan. His hair was medium-cut with long braided golden hair. His eyes are golden-yellow that shine brightly like the sun, and he has a slim body build. He may be a slender one, but he has lightly-defined pecs that he was proud of. It all thanks to his workout and his sword sparring with his twin, but that's another story to tell.
"Uhmm… Hi?" He said awkwardly, and he felt nervous around the heir of the Dawn Winery.
`Oh, great. I screw up.` He panicked deeply. Outwardly, Aether looks like he was going to faint. Why is his twin sister not going with him instead of him going alone? He needs support for crying out loud.
Today was their first monthly visit at the mansion after the tenants, him, and her sister negotiated the rules or their agreements peacefully to rent the mansion a month ago, and they are all five handsome rich men that got blessed by Celestia.
The owners of the mansion wondered why those five rich men decided to rent at their mansion since they have money to spare to build their own. But as one of the rules in the contract said, they were not allowed to snoop on their business unless they shared it. The matter was very sensitive, they said, so the twins respected their privacy and no longer pry since they understood.
Seeing that the landlord looked pale and uncomfortable around him, Diluc crossed his arms over his chest while sighing deeply, shaking his head in exasperation while his ruby hair swayed on his movement.
He uncrossed his arms, and he reached out his black-gloved hand towards Aether.
He distracted the young landlord by taking the teen's dark-gloved hand, kissing on the other male's knuckle while he bowed slightly.
Aether's golden eyes widened, looking at him in a mix of surprise, confusion, and curiosity, and he wondered what he was doing.
After a short kiss on his hand, he pulled away. It seemed that the young landlord's expression was back to normal thanks to his distraction. His face was no longer pale unlike before. He saw that's how his younger adopted brother did for flirting, mocking, or distracting someone whenever he has that kind of mood.
In the past, this gesture was between the nobles when they kissed each other's hand if they are facing a higher status than them. Since the aristocratic era was over long ago, it was no longer practice, but when it comes to diplomacy, they could use that gesture. If his younger brother saw him doing the same as him to 'charm' the young man (According to his little brother, not him,) he would not let him live. He only kissed the landlord's hand in comfort, protection, courtesy, and distraction.
Even though the aristocratic rule was over centuries ago, in Mondstadt, their influence was still staying strong. Despite the majority of the nobles who supported the corrupted aristocrats got kicked out of the country and never allowed in again, some other nobles decided to live in peace and continuously help the country.
"I hope that we cooperate as per the agreement of our contract," Diluc said politely, and Aether nodded when they went back to business. Maybe it was his custom for what he did before? He decided to take that as an excuse.
Aether's attention was drawn away when he noticed the dark skin young man sneaking behind Diluc, wrapping his arms around his neck and bending his back a bit with an amused smirk. His chin was resting on top of Diluc's shoulder
"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk, my dear big brother. I saw what you did earlier by kissing that young, handsome landlord's hand." He glanced at Aether with a charming smile.
Both of the males blushed in embarrassment, but Diluc was more on the annoyance side while glaring at their new visitor.
[Kaeya Ragnvindr - The adopted son of the Ragnvindr family. He mostly helped as a support in the family. Currently, he's one of the Cavalry Captain Knight of Favonious.
Crepus Ragnvindr, the current owner of the Dawn Winery, adopted him after finding the lost little Kaeya in the forest, and he loved him as his own son.
Unknown to him, there's a deep origin where he came from.]
He has an exotic feature. The notable and exquisite features he got are his periwinkle eye with diamond-shaped pupils, and a left black eyepatch. He's a tall man with a lean figure different to Diluc, and he has long navy-blue hair with a streak of lighter blue that can reach his waist, so he usually tied it with a rat ponytail.
"Get off, Kaeya," Diluc said in irritation, shoving his arms off of his neck.
"Don't mind if I do." Kaeya chirped casually in a lay-back manner while standing up, and he approached the blond-haired male with a confident stride, taking his hand gently with a slight bow while kissing it a bit long. He looked at him with a smirk while pressing his dark gloved hand with his lips until he pulled away.
Aether was oblivious that Kaeya was flirting with him.
'What is wrong with these people kissing my hand like that? Wait. Why is my heart beating so fast? Am I turning into bisexual?' Aether thought in panic, having a sexual identity crisis at his age while his cheeks and ears to his neck were bright red.
'Lumine will tease me if she finds out about it.' One of his hands covered his face while looking away in embarrassment, wallowing himself in self-pity.
"Oh? Who's that cute little man?" A new guest arrived inside the living room.
"Hey! I'm not little and cute!" His embarrassment quickly changed into indignation while his face was still red, glaring towards one of the two newcomers. His yellow topaz eyes directed at the one who said that.
The tall young man has the feature of being athletically slim. He has short, choppy orange hair with dull blue eyes. His air was cheerful and friendly, but Aether knew instinctively that there's something hidden with that kind of personality.
[Ajax - A famous toy owner. He's building his own company to build up his reputation and name, so he's pretty new at being in the toy industry.
Not only is he a toy owner, he's also working in the darkness, and most people over there called him Tartaglia.
The majority of the people call him Childe instead of his real name because that's his preference. Only close family and friends could call his real name.]
He only smiled at Aether cheerfully.
"Don't be so mad, cutie. Ah, now I remembered you. You're the landlord of this mansion." Childe said out loud in realization.
"You should apologize, Childe. You are quite rude towards our landlord earlier." chided the long brown-haired, handsome young man. He was beside Childe while frowning at him in disapproval.
[Zhongli - He's a famous retired lawyer, and he currently works as a professor in a certain university as a history teacher.
He mostly wanted to live a normal life. Currently, he's on vacation. But truthfully, there are a lot of hidden secrets surrounding him.]
The young man was tall and slender. He has a stern expression with fair skin. His eyes are bright and sharp with Amber in color and yellow pupils. His long brown hair is styled in a windswept fashion with a long fringe that hangs from the right side of his face. His hair coloring was unique. The edges of his hair have faded amber-brown at the tips and are pulled back in a long ponytail that reaches to his waist.
Aether could tell that there's a sophisticated aura around that man. Diluc has that type of presence too, but different from the older man in having more experiences than the red-haired.
"Oh, my bad. Sorry. Hahahah~" Childe laughed sheepishly while his hand rubbed behind his back, apologising genuinely because he didn't want to offend him.
Aether sighed deeply and shook his head in exasperation.
"Fine, I forgive you," Aether replied while pouting at Childe, crossing his arms over his chest while sulking obviously.
"Ah, how is Miss Lumine doing?" Zhongli asked the well-being of his twin curiously and in concern. His golden eyes glanced at Zhongli, and he was done sulking. He knew that his question was genuine through the tone of his voice.
"She's fine. She's out of somewhere in the forest nearby." He answered in irritation. He was not irritated at Zhongli but his sister instead since she left him behind. He knew she was just doing sword fighting alone for wanting to beat him up in their spar as one of her goals. Aether knew that his sister didn't forget about their monthly visit, but since he loved her and admired her determination, he decided to let her slide until his irritation vanished in a few minutes.
"Aww~ Don't feel bad that Lumine is much cuter than you." Childe began to tease him.
"Wait. What?" Aether looked quickly at the toy owner in surprise, and then he glared at him if he dared. Sure, he agreed that his sister is cute, but his overprotective brother mode instinct was kicking in. Plus, Childe's statement was unrelated to his answer. How does it relate to being cute after telling them where she was? Sometimes Childe has mixed signals if he likes Lumine or not, and so is Kaeya.
Kaeya, wanting to join along, gasped dramatically when he put his hands around Aether's ears, covering it to protect his innocence or something.
"Please, don't hurt Aether's feeling like that, Childe." He reprimanded him, but he was not serious after saying that.
Meanwhile, with Zhongli, he looked lost about what's going on, so he decided to sit beside Diluc. Diluc only watched them in exasperation while shaking his head and sighing deeply.
The professor decided to comfort him by patting his shoulder in sympathy. The Mondstadtian glanced at Zhongli in indifference and let the man be.
On the doorframe where Zhongli and Childe entered the living room earlier, there's a tall man with light skin and long green hair. He has golden eyes with a pair of red oval-framed glasses. There's even a white snake, snuggling around to his neck comfortably. It seemed that he was forgotten.
[Baizhu - A famous pharmacist and the owner of his own Pharmacy, and he's also a shady merchant that sells his own products such as medicines that he created and some other items, but his products are genuine.]
He was watching the commotion, and he decided to sit beside Zhongli. After sitting down, Zhongli and Diluc nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"It seems that something interesting is happening around here," Baizhu said in amusement.
"Tell me about it," Diluc said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms around his chest while looking away.
Zhongli only chuckled softly, and he decided to watch them silently.
"Instead of insulting our dear landlord. How about we charm him and make him fall in love with us?" Kaeya suggested with a smirk, and Childe looked back at him, mirroring Kaeya.
"I'm in!" The orange-haired teen replied cheerfully.
"Wait. What? You guys are crazy!" Aether glanced at them wearily, stepping back at them after he pried off Kaeya's hands around ears earlier.
The two of them began to step forward slowly, looking at him like some kind of prey. Every time Kaeya and Childe stepped forward, Aether stepped back.
What Aether did not know. The three males on the couch got off of their seats, and their expressions were hidden by their fringes as they approached him quietly.
Something firm hit him behind his back. Curious, he looked behind while his eyes were widened in disbelief. It was Diluc's chest that he was hit with.
They have hungry expressions, the same as Kaeya and Childe have. It looked like they wanted to devour him.
"No. No! No!" He said in disbelief. After that, All five of them pounced on him, taking off his clothes first.
~Dream Ended~
Aether's eyes opened quickly while sitting down abruptly with a loud gasp, panting heavily while sweat rolled down on his skin.
His golden long hair was dishevelled and no longer braided whenever he went to sleep. He could feel his heartbeat racing inside his chest erratically while he placed his hand on his chest, sighing in relief.
He noticed that the room was still dark in his surroundings with a little bit of light thanks to the moonlight passing through the glass window.
"Brother…?" A feminine voice whispered.
"Are you okay? Do you have a nightmare?" She asked in concern, and her voice was croaking a bit because she just recently woke up. Maybe she woke up after hearing his gasp? He heard a soft rustling of materials such as clothes and blanket, and the bed shifted in weight.
There's a soft click across from him, and the light illuminated the darkroom. A small, pink lampshade helped to light the way in the room dimly. The object was on top of the bedside table.
Inside the room, two separate beds are across from each other, and they have their own items or possessions inside their humble shared room scattered in an organised manner.
His breath was finally stable after calming himself down, and he glanced at his sister with a weak smile to assure her that he was fine.
"Ah, Lumine. Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a horrible nightmare." He admitted truthfully with a shaky voice. After all, the majority of that event did happen, but the ending of that... nightmare ...is not true at all. He didn't know why he dreamed that nonsense. Is he at the peak of finding out his preferences in sexuality? He hoped that it's over quickly because he has his own problems to solve. He won't admit or deny that one of his problems was not talking about his morning wood at all.
"Ohh? Did you catch a fever? Your face looks red." She asked him in concern, and she was ready to get out of bed.
"No! I mean, no. No. I don't have a fever, Lumine. I was shaken off by the nightmare. You don't have to worry. I'll calm down soon enough." He chirped as he promised to his sister so that she won't get worried about him, and he did not want her to find out his little problem, but he was telling the truth. It was just a horrible dream for him. He cannot lie to his sister because she could read him like an open book. In exchange, he could read hers too because of how inseparable they are.
Lumine narrowed her golden-yellow eyes at him suspiciously while Aether began to sweat bullets after seeing her expression.
His sister, Lumine, has the same body build he has, except for having pecs, and she has fair skin with a light tan shade like him. Her golden hair was cut into a bob with bangs, excluding the two sections of her hair on each side that reached down to shoulder-length.
She decided to let him go.
"Alright, if you say so. I should go back to sleep. If you feel sick, don't hesitate to wake me up, okay?" She said sweetly to him, leaving the 'or else' in her voice. Aether sweatdropped and nodded quickly, and he knew she was threatening him. Even though Lumine was usually nice and sweet, his sister was scary sometimes. Unbeknownst to them, they both suffer from being overprotective and worrying about each other.
"Should I switch off the lights?" She asked him curiously. Aether nodded. After seeing his permission, Lumine turned off the lights, and then she quickly went back to sleep. After all, the young girl has to wake up early to cook breakfast, doing household duties with her brother, and other stuff.
Aether sighed in relief, and he decided to lay down on his bed. He was glad that one of his problems was over thanks to being distracted by talking to his sister.
He looked above the wooden ceiling, staring at it.
He missed having their adoptive grandfather. Even though the twins were abandoned on his doorsteps, their grandfather loved them unconditionally like being one of his family.
Their grandfather's children were already grown up, abandoning him because they have their own lives to handle, especially they have their own families to feed and work to be worried about. They rarely visited him when he was alive.
Meanwhile, with their grandmother that they never met, she was long gone because of an unknown cause, but he told them that she never woke up and just slept peacefully beside him when he woke up the next day.
But still, he knew deep down, their grandfather was lonely at first until he saw two babies in a basket while it was raining outside his house as he decided to adopt them.
He was just glad that there's a kind old man who accepted them, loving, supportive, and caring for them even though they are not blood-related.
Unfortunately, he died from his incurable illness by being heartbroken after his wife died, and he left a will to them, which he gave them a mansion to inherit with some money too.
They didn't know that their grandfather was rich, but they were glad he was happy one last time after spending time with each other until his last breath.
Aether closed his eyes with a smile.
"Grandfather… please watch over us… I just hope you are happy up there." He whispered.
After that, he slowly went back to sleep. This time, it was peaceful.
~Prologue End~
Author: I'm currently writing chapter 1. A high chance to update it on next week. But anyways, please give me motivation and encouragement. This author is prone to procrastination. If you guys follow, favorite, and review, thank you so much in advance!