The first item on his agenda was the one he deemed most pressing: securing the food. Now, Albedo wasn't so inconsiderate as to pressure the staff of Good Hunter and ask them to put together an entire assortment of party foods the day of Sucrose's birthday, so he only had one request to make when he approached Sara that day.
Back when it was the Traveler's birthday, he had seen them and Paimon wandering about with some kind of dark blue birthday cake. The cake had had two layers and was iced with a midnight shade of frosting and decorated with a full crescent moon. He knew that Sucrose shared his sweet tooth, so he figured that he could not fail by presenting her with a similar kind of cake for her birthday.
"Good morning, Sara," he greeted the waitress. He nodded to himself, pleased that the typical congregation of eager breakfast-goers had yet to assemble in front of Good Hunter. "Could I bother you for a special request? It's for Sucrose." He especially added the last part, for, a few weeks earlier, Sucrose had donated her surplus specimens of sweet flowers to the chefs of Good Hunter, and the experimental plants produced sugar in great volume, effectively slicing the restaurant's sugar cost in half. They were extremely thankful to her and never failed in attempting to show their gratitude.
Upon hearing Sucrose's name, Sara, who was adjusting the various cuts of meat that hung from the restaurant window, turned to look at him in interest. Wiping her hands on her apron, she smiled and asked, "Of course. What can I get you?"
"Do you remember that cake that you made for the Traveler on their birthday?" When she bobbed her head, he continued, "Would it be possible for you to make something like that, only in green instead of blue for Sucrose's birthday party today?" He pondered for a moment. "And perhaps instead of the moon pattern you used, a butterfly or an alchemical flask instead? If it isn't too much trouble."
"Oh, is it her birthday today? Tell her we at Good Hunter wish her a happy birthday! Also, I think we can manage that. What time would you like to pick it up? For Sucrose, it'll be on the house." Sara pulled out a small notebook from her apron and motioned for him to respond.
"About an hour before sundown," Albedo conveyed. Surely that would be enough time to carry the cake all the way to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters and ensure that it was still fresh.
Sara nodded. "That's doable, then. Make sure you pick it up on time! I can't guarantee that someone on the staff won't take it home if it's still here by the time we close."
"Understood. Thank you, Sara." Albedo walked out of the windowed section of Good Hunter, realizing that the breakfast crowd had now started to line up behind him. Not allowing himself to feel too worried, he hoped that the enormous line of customers didn't hinder the chefs at the restaurant from baking Sucrose's cake, since there were so many more people waiting for their orders to be taken than normal today.
Looking back down at his clipboard, Albedo read that next to the checkbox marked "Food," he had specified "Cake and other." He had ordered the cake; now it was time to procure the "other."
While he had not anticipated this busy of a day at Good Hunter, he knew that the popular restaurant's food was always in high demand, which was why he had been prepared to make the simpler party fare on his own.
Walking further away from the line, Albedo situated himself in front of the large stove that sat next to the restaurant. He opened his bag, pulling out various ingredients he had taken from his pantry at home. Out came an assortment of vegetables, flour, jam, crab roe, and cured meat. The more perishable foods that wouldn't last long out of his icebox he had planned to buy from Monstadt General Goods across the street.
After purchasing several quantities of milk, cream, and butter from Blanche, Albedo set to work in front of the stove. He knew he was a passable chef, and he knew that whatever he made would turn out at least somewhat palatable.
As it turned out, his assessment of his own skills had been accurate: his rendition of Sucrose's specialty dish, Nutritious Meal (V. 593), was just the right blend of salty and vibrant and was the perfect healthy green color. For those who preferred bite-sized pieces of food rather than a thick slice of verdant casserole, he had also made well-seasoned Chicken-Mushroom Skewers, thin rods with chunks of Monstadt Grilled Fish on them, personal portions of Mushroom Pizza, and delicate, but meaty, Moon Pies. Forsaking massive quantities of food for variety, he only made a few of each and spent an hour and a half at the stove.
Even though he only held one Nutritious Meal (V. 593), twelve Chicken-Mushroom Skewers, fifteen Monstadt Grilled Fish, six Mushroom Pizzas, and eight Moon Pies, the stack of food towered over him. When he reached to pick it up, he found he could not see over it.
He grimaced. Perhaps it would have been more prudent to make the food later. He had only done it first to ensure that he would have enough time to make everything. Before he could think of a plan on how to deal with this dilemma—surely he couldn't carry this much food while he ran the rest of his errands—he spotted Timaeus setting up shop at his alchemy store.
Peeking out from the side of the stack of food, Albedo carefully guided himself and the food across the Monstadt plaza over to his fellow alchemy scholar.
"Timaeus," he called, trying to adjust his balance so he could keep the food tower upright.
The man, who had been poring over items he had placed on his alchemy table, looked up at Albedo's voice and waved enthusiastically. "Albedo!" He appeared confused for a moment, looking around. "Where are you?"
Albedo poked his head out from the side of the stack of food, again. "I'm here." He turned to look at the contents that Timaeus had put on the alchemy table. "Doing some conversions here, I see."
"Yes, it's something I read about recently." Timaeus reached to the shelf behind him and pulled out several jars of what seemed to be white powder. "I found out that if I use three parts of this substance called 'Dust of Azoth' and one of these Vajarada Amethyst fragments," he held up a richly-colored purple gem shard, "I can transform them into a single Agnidus Agate fragment." Timaeus looked deflated a moment later. "Although I'm sure you already knew that."
Albedo blinked in agreement. Feeling generous, he added, "It's fascinating, though, isn't it? The Dust of Azoth was only recently mined, but its potency in gem conversion is unparalleled." It wasn't fascinating at all. The mythical dust was only recently found in corporeal form, but whispers of its existence had circulated throughout Teyvat for centuries. Any basic scholar of alchemy would have heard about it …
Timaeus brightened. "Oh, certainly! From my research, I also found—"
Lest he waste time in listening to Timaeus ramble about beginner's alchemy, Albedo balanced the food on one hand precariously, and gently held up the other to stop the scholar. "I'm sorry to cut you off, but I'm in somewhat of a hurry, right now, but if you'd like, we can certainly discuss this topic more later. For now, do you mind if I leave all of this food here at your store? I'll make sure to pick it up before sundown."
Timaeus frowned but did not look offended. He gestured toward the small stall that housed his alchemy wares. "I'm sorry, Albedo. As much as I'd like to help, I don't think I've got much room to spare in here."
Albedo sighed. "That's fine—"
"But," Timaeus interjected, "I'm sure that Angel's Share is empty right now since there are not that many day-drinkers in Monstadt. If you ask Charles, I'll bet he'll let you use the upper floor of the tavern to store all your food." He smiled as realization dawned on him. "Oh, is all that for Sucrose's surprise party?"
Albedo nodded. If there was one thing he had done in advance for the party, it was mail out the invitations. Granted, he had done that only yesterday, but everyone had already R.S.V.P'd "yes," Timaeus included. "That's a good idea, thank you." He already had to go to Angel's Share to order beverages for tonight, so asking Charles if he could leave the food there, for now, was very efficient thinking. He held up his hand in salutation to Timaeus as he walked away, calling, "See you tonight!"
As he walked past the crowd at Good Hunter, which had evidently grown larger since he had last seen it, Albedo peeked from beside his tower of food and noticed a pair of figures coming through Monstadt's gates directly before him. The figures were far off, but upon recognizing who one of them was, Albedo felt bile rise up his throat.
Now, he had always tried to act civilly toward Bennett, since very few people did, considering the young man was a talisman for bad luck. Albedo wasn't entirely sure he believed in the idea of fortune and chance, but there was one thing that was for sure: nothing good ever seemed to happen around Bennett, and he could not afford anything bad occurring today of all days.
He considered changing direction and walking around With Wind Comes Glory to get to Angel's Share, but it was too late—Bennett was already in front of him. He seemed to pay Albedo no mind, for he was animatedly conversing with a strange boy smelling strongly of meat and Wolfhook that walked next to him.
Albedo walked quickly as the pair strode past him, but as he concentrated on trying to avoid Bennett, he neglected to watch where he was going and stumbled upon the steps that led down to where Marjorie usually stood. He himself did not go flying and regained his footing immediately, but all the food that he had been holding became airborne, soaring through the air until their momentum gave out and they fell unceremoniously onto the floor.
Marjorie was in her souvenir shop just then, Kathryne was too far away to notice all the commotion, and the people congregated at Good Hunter did not seem to hear the clattering and clanging that went about, as his pots and pans danced down the staircase.
Bennett and his friend, however, were just close enough to see what went on and rushed to his aid.
"Whoa, you're Albedo, right? Head Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius?" asked Bennett, collecting the pots that had rolled farthest away, while Albedo picked up the ones nearest to him. "You really should be more careful." He laughed sheepishly as he handed them back. "Guess I'm not really the right person to tell you that, huh?" Bennett's eyes widened when he noticed his friend was eagerly scooping scraps of ham and chicken into his mouth from off the floor. "Razor, what're you doing, eating Albedo's food? It's been on the ground!"
Razor huffed indignantly. "Food still taste good!"
Albedo sighed. "Yes, I'm Albedo, and it's okay, he can have whatever he likes. I can't serve this at the party, now, anyway."
"Oh, you're throwing a party? Good luck getting more food, then. Cat's Tail doesn't do catering and I heard Good Hunter's packed today. Placing an order now would cost more mora than I've ever seen in my life!" Bennett exclaimed.
Perspiration bloomed on Albedo's forehead, as Razor paused in his foraging and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Bennett only sees one mora in every chest, so not a lot of mora."
"I get one mora per chest if I have a good day. But I'm serious," he said, turning to Albedo, "one of my dads tried to get same-day catering for a retirement party for one of the older adventurers, and the fee was over twenty times more than usual!"
Albedo ran a hand frustratedly through his hair. "I assumed as much. That's why I made all this food," he gestured toward the crumbled mess around him, "by myself."
Bennett cringed. "Oh, man, that sounds awful. I really wish we could help, but Razor and I just came to the city to get some supplies and valberry salve from Barbara. We've got a full day of adventuring ahead of us."
Massaging his forehead, Albedo groaned, "It's fine, I'll manage. I appreciate the offer, though."
As Bennett and Razor gifted him sympathetic smiles and walked away, Albedo felt a headache thump in his skull. Money was no object to him, and he had no qualms in spending as much of it as possible to ensure that this party was a success, but he pat his mora pouch worriedly. Would he even have enough to commission same-day catering from Good Hunter? Sara had promised that Sucrose's cake was on the house, but would she be so generous to give him party fare free of charge, too?
He doubted it.
He sighed and turned back to see if the line at Good Hunter had waned enough so that he could place his order. It had not. And there certainly wasn't enough time to make everything over again, considering the rest of the party preparations had yet to be done.
Armed with his pots and pans, Albedo made his way over to Angel's Share, only stopping once at Floral Whisper to buy Sucrose's favorite Windwheel Asters from Flora; surely they would make a good table decoration, and besides, fresh flowers didn't cost much.
The dark tavern was quiet, only the faint sloshing of wine and beer breaking it, just as Timaeus had predicted. Charles was manning the bar and Albedo walked up to him, clearing his throat.
"Excuse me, but I heard that you serve non-alcoholic drinks here?" he asked. If Klee was going to come to Sucrose's party, serving alcohol was a very foolish idea.
Charles surveyed him as he wiped a glass clean. "You heard right. What can I get you? We've got some variety: Apple Cider, Berry & Mint Burst, and Wolfhook Juice. Be warned, though: Master Diluc's ordered all our non-alcoholic drinks for today."
Albedo clenched his teeth. Didn't people usually come to bars to order drinks to consume then and there? Yes, he was ordering them for later, but he was sure he was in the minority in this. What was the point in telling him all the available drinks, only to punctuate the sentence with "Sorry, none of that I just said is available, today, actually?" The headache drummed even louder.
And besides, what exactly did Master Diluc need all those beverages for? Grand Master Jean had, for some reason, asked Albedo to invite him to Sucrose's party, and the wine tycoon had politely accepted the invitation. Did he have some other engagement that required copious amounts of non-alcoholic drinks beforehand? Albedo couldn't dwell on the question for long, his head ached so.
"I'm afraid I need …" He went through the guest list in his head, "five servings of each by sundown today." He cleared his throat, fingering his mora pouch and dreading his next question. "Is there any way that I can persuade you to sell me those fifteen and have them ready by then?"
Charles crossed his arms. "No can do, I'm afraid. Master Diluc said he wanted all the non-alcoholic beverages for today. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Sighing, Albedo asked, "Do you mind if I leave these pots and pans here for now on the upper floor? I'll be back to pick them up at sundown."
"Be my guest," said Charles, nodding. "Make sure you put them somewhere inconspicuous up there, so they aren't an eyesore."
Albedo did as he was told. Before he left the upper floor of the tavern, he eased out the Windwheel Asters, which he had initially left in one of the pots, gently placed them in his bag, and pulled out his clipboard. He scowled and erased the checkmark he had originally placed by "Food." Since procuring drinks, too, had been a flop, he had yet to cross off anything on his list. Placing a hand to his aching head, Albedo scanned the next item he had written down. It read "Entertainment."
He supposed that was easy enough. He had heard tales of Monstadt's resident idol, Barbara Pegg, and had learned that she was a deaconess in the Church of Favonius. She sometimes stopped by at the Knights Headquarters to see the Grand Master Jean, and he had spoken to her once before. She had seemed kind and accommodating, then. He had asked to meet with her yesterday, but she had been busy and offered to converse with him today after the Church's afternoon service to discuss performing for Sucrose's party.
Like most Monstadt citizens, he exclusively offered his prayers to Barbatos on Sundays, so he had no idea when the services ended on weekday afternoons.
Albedo supposed that, if the line at Good Hunter hadn't thinned enough for him to place his order relatively quickly, he could go check if the service had ended, seeing as it already was afternoon. Realizing the time only caused his headache to flare even more severely. He certainly hadn't expected to go to these lengths to plan a party, but he reminded who he was doing all of this for. Sucrose deserved a glorious party, and he wanted to be the one to give it to her.
He shook his head and exited Angel's Share, walking back to the plaza. He noticed that the breakfast-goers had mostly dispersed and only a few stragglers remained. The lunch crowd would arrive soon, so he decided that instead of trekking to the Church of Favonius now, he would wait in line at Good Hunter before the crowd could swell again. Despite the "few stragglers," the line was still quite long, and Albedo stood at its tail, which happened to be right in front of Timaeus' store.
"Albedo!" exclaimed Timaeus, looking surprised. "You're getting more food for the party?"
Albedo grimaced. "Yes, I accidentally dropped all the food I had before, so now I'm here to order more instead of wasting time making it all over again." He squinted at the sky. "Hopefully I can get everything before sunset."
"Before sunset, you say?" Timaeus rubbed his chin. "It's possible, but I wouldn't hold your breath."
The line shuffled forward, forcing him to move farther away from Timaeus. "So I've been told." As the people in front of him ordered and received their food, Albedo found himself at the front window of Good Hunter fifteen minutes later. "Good afternoon, Sara."
Sara's eyes widened. "Albedo! I thought we agreed that your cake would only be ready a bit before sundown!"
"It is," he assured her, "but I'm here to order something else."
The waitress looked skeptical. "For lunch?"
"No, no, I'd like to have Sucrose's birthday party catered. It's tonight at sundown, and we'll need something to serve the guests."
He felt his heart drop when Sara's brow furrowed. "A rush job like that will cost a lot, I'm afraid," she warned, "and it's so late, I can't guarantee that we'll be done in time."
"I'm willing to pay for your trouble," Albedo promised, wondering just how much money this would cost.
Sara adjusted her apron, looking deep in thought. She pursed her lips. "Four thousand mora. And no, I'm not trying to overcharge you. We'll have to close the restaurant down to finish your order and that's about how much profit we'd be losing."
Albedo gulped. That was double the amount he had paid to commission Xingqiu to letter Sucrose's book. However, her face flashed through his mind as he thought this, and it made saying "Four thousand mora it is, then" much easier. It didn't, however, stop the cacophonous thumping in his head.
"One party platter coming right up. See you at sundown. Make sure you come on time: the owners don't like to stay open much past closing, and we close at sunset. Either your food will be sent to the Church or someone on our staff will take it home." Sara told him, nodding.
She tacked a sign that said "CLOSED" on the windowsill and swung the shutters to Good Hunter shut. At this, a collective groan snaked throughout the plaza. Ignoring the swaths of glaring Monstadt citizens, Albedo kept his eyes forward, making his way up the stone stairs in the direction of the Church of Favonius.
The monotonous pounding in his head beat in tandem with his footfalls as he clumped past the imposing Barbatos statue that stood sentinel in front of the Church. Very few people were in the courtyard, but, as he clomped up yet another pair of stairs to the entrance of the Church, he found two figures waiting at the balcony.
He recognized them as Bennett and Razor, the former of whom was attempting to swing about the latter's heavy greatsword and failing miserably.
"Hey, it's Albedo, again!" welcomed Bennett, dropping the greatsword as he waved his hand in greeting. It clattered loudly to the ground and he chuckled, rubbing his neck. "Don't mind us. Razor's just teaching me how to use his claymore since a good adventurer should always be prepared to wield any weapon!" He sighed. "We'd be on our way, but we're still waiting for Barbara to come out of the afternoon service so we can get the valberry salve from her."
"Noonday long-talking almost over," added Razor helpfully.
"Yeah, the service is almost done, I think, but we've still gotta wait," Bennett said, nodding in agreement.
Albedo bit his lip. There was still so much else to do, and he wasn't sure how long he could afford to wait for Barbara. "How much longer do you think she'll be?"
Bennett cocked his head thoughtfully. "About ten minutes, give or take."
"I can wait that long." Actually, he couldn't, considering he was sure his other tasks would take significantly longer than ten minutes, meaning that while waiting for Barbara, he would be doing nothing. He massaged his temples and took out his clipboard, flipping to an empty page underneath his list. Perhaps he would get some sketching done.
As he surveyed the Church courtyard from the balcony, looking for something pleasant to draw, Albedo felt his stomach twinge with hunger. He pulled a ripe Sunsettia from his bag. It was fragrant and firm, and because Sunsettias were in season this time of year, extra-sweet.
He took a delicate bite out of the fruit, reveling in the syrupy juice that spread across his tongue. He hadn't spent one minute enjoying his bite before he heard a wry chuckle behind him.
"Cavalry Captain Kaeya!" Bennett gasped in awe, poking at Razor, who was scratching his side absently
"Why, hello there, Bennett, Razor," Kaeya replied, his smooth voice gliding through the syllables in a way that, on anybody else, would sound insinuating. He turned to Albedo, nodding a greeting. "Head Alchemist." He smiled, seeing the fruit in his hand. "I see someone has been getting their daily dose of sucrose."
Something in the way Kaeya said that caused Albedo to feel very warm. He kept his voice steady, though, as he answered, "Fructose is the sugar that's most common in Sunsettias. If I wanted sucrose, I would eat an Apple."
Kaeya ruffled Albedo's hair patronizingly and in a teasing tone said, "If you wanted sucrose, that's not the only thing you'd do, it seems." As if by magic, an envelope appeared between his middle and index finger. He waved it in Albedo's face. "I got your invitation if it wasn't clear."
"Yes, you R.S.V.P'd this morning, I believe." He knew Kaeya was one to vibrate between double entendres and generally mysterious dialogue all at the same time, and Albedo had decided long ago not to give too much thought as to what the Cavalry Captain said.
"As soon as I saw the invite I knew I had to come," Kaeya affirmed. His periwinkle eye danced. "I have it on good authority that something very interesting will happen tonight." With that, he turned away from the trio and made his way to the Church doors.
"Wait, Captain Kaeya!" Bennett warned. "The afternoon service isn't over for another two minutes!"
Without looking back, Kaeya waved his hand nonchalantly. "I'm only looking for Sister Rosaria. Trust me, she won't be doing anything even remotely related to the service now."
Seven minutes passed after Kaeya walked through the Church doors.
"Noonday long-talking taking even longer," commented Razor worriedly.
Albedo tapped his foot, impatience swirling like a cesspool inside him. Bennett had said that Barbara would only need five more minutes after he'd arrived, but five had passed since her estimated arrival time.
Bennett folded his lips anxiously. "I wonder where Barbara is. She knows that we need the salve today." He shuffled toward the doors, pressing his ear up against them, and sighed. "I still hear singing. I think they're stretching the afternoon service even longer." He turned toward Razor, putting his hands on his hips. "I don't think we're going to go adventuring today, buddy. We need that valberry salve if we don't wanna get eaten alive by bugs in the forest. We can wait here for Barbara to get it, but I don't think there'll be enough daylight to actually go on an adventure."
Razor whimpered but appeared placated.
Albedo was nowhere near appeased. That was it. He could not wait for Barbara one second longer. Perhaps, once he had finished the rest of his errands, he could come back to see if she was available, but if she wasn't, the party would just have to go without entertainment, drinks, and quite possibly food, if the Good Hunter staff wasn't able to finish his order in time.
He turned to look at the sky. Afternoon was near over and he could see orange rays of the sun creeping in the distance. There truly wasn't much time before the party guests were to arrive.
His headache reached what felt like maximum agony as he mumbled goodbye to Razor and Bennett and stumbled down the Church steps, thinking back to when the morning had felt so new and full of possibilities. He had been so sure he would be able to complete everything on his list, then. Now, he had only one more chance to get something checked off: the list item "Decorations."
He had bought those Windwheel Asters from Flora earlier today in hopes that they would serve as something decorative, but he knew that that wasn't enough. The party was to be held in his and Sucrose's alchemy workshop, which was hardly ornamented enough to forgo any kind of party décor.
Albedo didn't know what else would be suitable to decorate such a room, so he decided that flowers were still his best bet. When he arrived at Floral Whisper, however, he realized that no matter how inexpensive he had initially deemed flowers to be, there was no way he could afford any more if he expected to be able to pay Good Hunter for their catering.
Albedo would have to go flower picking himself.
But what would he pick? His personal favorite, Cecilias, were only found farther out on Starsnatch Cliff, and while he longed to sketch the scenery and smell the soft fragrance of the Cecilias that blossomed there, he knew that it was much too far of a hike if he wanted to get back to Monstadt city in time.
The closest flowers to Monstadt were the dandelions, as they were right outside the city gates, but even though they were the signature flowers of the wind, he didn't dare bring them inside enclosed spaces like the Knights of Favonius Headquarters; their seeds were the chief allergen of far too many people.
He bit his lip. If he was remembering his flora correctly, there would be a few Snapdragons on the way to the Whispering Woods, where he was assured to find several patches of Small Lamp Grass. That wasn't too far to walk.
Disappointed by the lack of variety in flowers—Snapdragons and Small Lamp Grass were common plants and hardly decorative—Albedo forced himself to try and squash his headache, as he tromped down the main path out of Monstadt and down the road that led to the Whispering Woods. The squashing was futile, however, and he felt near the brink of collapsing from the pain in his head.
He did, however, manage to procure three Snapdragons and twelve Small Lamp Grass before he felt the need to sit down on the dry forest brush and put his head between his knees.
By then, the sky was slowly blossoming into a medley of oranges and pinks. A perfect sunset. Albedo raised his head slightly to catch a glimpse of the beautiful sight. He'd seen many sunsets before, but there really wasn't a time where he hadn't appreciated the sheer resplendence that occurred when the sun sank into the horizon.
Nevertheless, the glorious effect was marred when Albedo felt a fat raindrop plop onto his head.
And then another.
And another.
The air suddenly felt very chilly as the sky grayed and rain began to fall in heavy sheets around him. He flipped up the hood of his cloak and tried to sequester his fresh-picked flowers into his waterproof bag, but he was too late; the flowers were already dripping and dilapidated.
Frustration welled up inside him, deeper and darker than it ever had before, as he threw the broken, sodden stems onto the forest floor and sprinted out of the Whispering Woods.
He never cried, he wasn't even sure he could, but it felt like the sky cried for him as it rolled thin rivulets of rain down his cheeks. Mud caked his boots and rain bedewed his eyelashes, making it difficult to see, but after a few minutes, he found himself back at Monstadt's gates. The two guards standing in front of him nodded at his arrival, but no one else was in the city. It seemed, at the first sign of rain, all of Monstadt had closed down.
Albedo's eyes widened. The food! Surely Good Hunter would still be open—they had a physical building in which they could shelter themselves from the rain! He gulped. Then again, he had promised to pick up his food at sundown. Before the rain had started, the sun had certainly started to go down. What if he was too late?
He remembered Sara's words: "Make sure you come on time: the owners don't like to stay open much past closing, and we close at sunset. Either your food will be sent to the Church or someone on our staff will take it home." They were a catalyst, propelling him to sprint to the Monstadt plaza.
There was no one there.
Good Hunter still had their "CLOSED" sign up, and when he knocked frantically at the shuttered window, he received no answer. Several more times he knocked, but the only sound he heard was pattering rain against cobblestone. He realized that the same scenario would probably play out if he headed to the Church to look for Barbara.
Something like a scream reverberated in his throat and the need to let it out felt more powerful than the thudding in his head. But he kept quiet.
For now.
All he could do was sprint toward the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, rain pelting him with tiny pricks so forceful that they felt like they would bruise. He didn't even nod a greeting to the guards in front of the building, only shoved the door open to free himself from the abusive downpour.
Dripping worse than if he had been in a flood, Albedo walked down the tiled hall and up the stairs, his steps weary. No longer bothered by the rain, his headache crescendoed into a throb that caused an otherworld of physical pain.
He once again sat down, only this time, in front of his workshop doors. He did not hear Klee from the outside, noisy as she was, so he assumed that he had been so late that she had to go get ready for Sucrose's party with Grand Master Jean. He probably should have told her that there was no point: this wasn't going to be a party worth putting any effort in dressing up for.
Putting a hand on his forehead, Albedo felt something bright inside of him.
The Windwheel Asters he had bought from Flora.
He quickly dug them out of his bag.
Wilted.
They were wilted.
He should have known they would wilt—most of the powers granted by his Vision revolved around flowers, for Barbatos' sake, so he knew a little something about botany—but after being so caught up in other things, he had completely neglected to find a sugar-water solution to preserve them in.
Seeing the dry red petals made it feel like something had broken inside him. All he had wanted was to give Sucrose a nice birthday. How had things gone so wrong?
His wishes were innocent enough! A little food, a little drink, a little entertainment, a little party décor! A few friends to celebrate Sucrose with! That was all he wanted!
And yet, nothing, nothing had gone right.
Albedo was normally very pragmatic. He thought things through, he reasoned things out, he didn't let trivial things bother him. He was eager to understand and learn all that he had yet to know and never faltered from a challenge if he knew he had a chance of succeeding.
He knew he had had a chance of succeeding today.
But he didn't.
Why?
Why was a scientist's, an alchemist's, most important question.
Today he found it the most pressing of all.
Why was it when he had put so much work, so much effort, to see someone smile, to see someone happy, to see someone get all they deserved, he failed so fantastically?
The scream he had been holding ached in the back of his throat, and putting both hands on the side of his head, he let it out.
It was loud, primal, and even to him, it sounded terrifying.
As soon as it exited his mouth, he felt calmer, and the door behind him opened.
Sucrose peeked out, looking somewhat anxious. "M—Mr. Albedo? Are you alright?"