previous chapter: during lumine's time at dawn winery, she gets some insight into what diluc's life is like. it becomes clear that the rift between him and kaeya will continue to do harm and no good. after besting diluc in a tense chess game, she makes her request for reconciliation.

I deeply inhaled the salty ocean air and held steady as the ship came to a halt at the docks. Judging by the low number of students that boarded with me, everyone else must still be enjoying their winter break to the fullest.

Though I was back early, my days in Mondstadt had more than satisfied me. Besides exploring Dawn Winery and building strategies in chess, I visited the city. The first time, Diluc had taken me around all of the shops before we ended the night with him working at the tavern. The second time, we ran into Amber and Eula right as they passed through the city gates. One thing led to another, and the four of us toured the countryside—eventually finding ourselves at Starsnatch Cliff. The gliding had been fun, but the company was even better.

Everything about the island looked the same as when I had left, and it wasn't long before my feet were planted on solid ground and walking to the town square's teleport waypoint. I easily teleported back to campus, which was just as empty as I expected. Some people walked about—most of them faculty and staff.

Though a few days remained before classes resumed, I still had an agenda to fulfill. After opening my suitcase and unpacking everything inside, I pulled out the last item—a small box neatly wrapped in blue—and set off to find my target. The first objective to clear: Kaeya.

He had to be around here somewhere. Knowing his habits, it would be wise to check the tavern, but I decided to potentially save time and visit Cryo House first. I kept the box secure in both hands while trekking up the stairs until I reached Kaeya's door. With one hand, I hid the gift behind my back. With the other, I knocked and said, "Special delivery."

Silence greeted me. I rocked back onto my heels and waited. Maybe he was at the tavern, after all. It was too early to drink with the sun still shining, but since he's been all alone in these weeks…

A lock clicked. The door opened.

"So, my ears didn't deceive me after all." Kaeya looked me over with a lazy grin. "Special delivery indeed."

Ah, I forgot to strengthen my heart and mind against his easy flirts. Two sentences in, and I was already blushing.

"Not me, you womanizer. Can I come in?"

Kaeya opened the door wider, stepping aside to let me pass through. "Womanizer? Why Lumine, the only woman for my eyes is you."

"It's good to see you, too." I smiled briefly before putting on a frown. "Why didn't you tell me you'd be staying here all winter break? I could've come back earlier and done something fun with you. Aren't you bored of this place?"

His eye didn't meet mine, wandering around his room as though he'd never been here before. "I had plenty to busy myself with. Between retrieving a legendary sword from pirates and uncovering a secret plot that threatened the very existence of the equestrian club, it's a miracle that free time has found its way to me."

"We have an equestrian club?"

"Not anymore," he sighed. "I had to send the horses away. It was for their own good—never mind that. I assume the delivery must be whatever you've got hidden behind your back."

I revealed the small box, holding it out to him. "You're always so attentive to detail. It's yours. I picked it out when I went to Mondstadt."

Kaeya's eyebrows rose, and for once he didn't have anything to immediately quip back. I watched with a smile as he sat on his bed to carefully unwrap the gift. My smile widened the second he revealed another layer of wrapping paper.

"Really?" Kaeya tutted with a chuckle. "Paper is a finite resource."

"I thought you loved suspense."

"Only when it's the other way around. You get a pass."

I snorted in response.

After tearing through the second layer of wrapping paper, Kaeya pulled out a clear, glass orb from the box. It was a snow globe from With Wind Comes Glory—Mondstadt's souvenir shop. The shopkeeper, Marjorie, instantly had me hooked. Once she'd pointed out the delicate details of Mondstadt's city inside the ornament, I knew this was something I had to buy for Kaeya.

He shook it lightly, not saying a word as the tiny bits of snow and cuttings of glitter flurried around the miniature city.

"Since you didn't go back to Mondstadt, I thought I'd bring a little bit of it to you," I said. "Though, next time, I think you should see it in person."

Kaeya's face softened as he brought the snow globe closer to his face and studied the details.

He cleared his throat. "Thank you, Lumine. It's a beautiful gift. So beautiful, even, that it's enough for me to have this. There's no reason for me to go back."

"I'm not so sure about that." I shrugged nonchalantly. "The snow globe isn't big enough to hold all of Mondstadt. You're missing a few key locations. For example, Dawn Winery."

"You know I can't," he said quietly and twirled the snow globe around. "Diluc made up his mind a long time ago."

I sat next to Kaeya, plucking the snow globe from his hand. We watched the particles slow and float back to the bottom. "See? The storm settles eventually. I realized a few things when I visited the winery. Did you know Diluc kept that vase you gave him?"

His eye widened. "You're lying."

"How could I be lying when I've seen it for myself? You have interesting tastes."

"I'm sure it's collecting dust in the cellar."

"Nope." I shook my head definitively. "It was on a pedestal for all to see, and I think that vase has served its purpose, Kaeya. If you still have any hope left, please don't lose it. We're starting a new year, so new beginnings should be expected."

"How can you be so sure?" Kaeya looked at me then, and I was delighted to see his face brighten. "What did you do?"

My involvement didn't matter. It had only taken a few words—vague ones, at that—for Diluc to get the message. Considering how ready he was to accept Kaeya as family once more, my push was more of a nudge. Though it was impossible to tell whether they would reconcile without my request, this was bigger than me. I wanted Kaeya to focus on reuniting with the one family member he had left.

Hopefully, one day, so could I.

As a distraction, I shook the snow globe aggressively and pointed at the tumultuous blizzard inside. "Mondstadt looked nothing like this, by the way. Does it even snow there? This could be classified as fake advertising."

Kaeya sighed, probably realizing he wouldn't get a direct answer out of me.

I glanced out the window and said, "Shouldn't it be snowing here, though? I even bought a new coat to prepare for freezing temperatures."

"Usually, there are a few inches on the ground once the second semester starts. We can expect that shift to happen any day now," he said. "You're back early enough to witness the first snowfall, and I don't think that's a coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

I came back early because Thoma and I planned our hot pot date for tomorrow. There were still some preparations for me to do, but Kaeya's comment confused me. The weather played no part in my schedule.

Kaeya smirked, heightening my curiosity. "There's an old superstition. Witnessing the first snowfall of the season with the person you like is fate's way of determining true love. A perfect pair destined to last."

True love?

It was only a superstition, but the possibility of it being real…

Kaeya hummed. "On an unrelated note, how difficult do you think it'd be for me to create snow? A Cryo Vision should certainly do the trick. Would you mind stepping outside with me? This will only take a moment."

"Ha," I shoved him. "You can't trick fate, Kaeya. Nice try."

"Maybe I won't have to."

I looked out the window once more. The odds were certainly high, but only time would tell. And with time in mind, I was ready to move on to my next objective. I gently returned the snow globe to Kaeya and rose from his bed.

"Leaving already?"

"I've got another errand to run."

"Is that all I am to you?" He gasped softly and fell onto his back, holding the snow globe to his chest. "An errand?"

"You're much more than that, and you know it."

Though I was tempted to show Kaeya exactly what I meant, that would mean falling for his scheme and likely derailing my plans for the day. Before he could lure me any further, I quickly blew a kiss and left before I changed my mind.

While my original destination was the greenhouse, I saw the person I meant to find moving across campus in a different direction. The laboratory building wasn't far off—that must be where he was headed. I quickly caught up to Professor Kreideprinz—it helped that he walked at a leisurely pace.

"Hello, professor," I said to get his attention. "I was just about to stop by the greenhouse."

Professor Kreideprinz paused his steps and turned to face me. "Miss Lumine, it's good to see you again. I take it you've had a relaxing vacation?"

I nodded before getting straight to the point. "Do you remember what we talked about earlier? Now might not be a good time since you're going to the labs, but I'd like to pick them up when you're free."

"Of course. I'm only taking a trip to my personal laboratory because I require a few apparatuses in the greenhouse. This will only take a moment, so you are welcome to come along. I wouldn't want you to wait around in the cold, after all."

A look into the alchemy professor's office? Sign me up. I followed him into the laboratory building, and we bypassed the usual rooms meant for class sessions. Eventually, we reached a closed door which Professor Kreideprinz swiftly unlocked and led me inside.

I had no idea what to expect since I haven't taken any alchemy courses yet, but I wasn't surprised. A corner station was set up with connected tables neatly containing rows of test tubes and a glass case that glowed purple. Two shelves lined one wall, completely filled with books. More books were piled on a chair, and a crafting table sat in the center of the room. Another table had a number of odd objects and tools laid out.

Professor Kreideprinz picked through the tools, and the action drew my attention to a surprisingly familiar object on the table. I blinked twice in case my eyes were fooling me, but it really was there. After confirming, I took a step closer and pointed to the jade necklace.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

It's possible that multiple copies existed in the world, but I had a feeling this was the same one that Thoma had taken off my hands.

Professor Kreideprinz's head snapped up, and then he was suddenly pushing me away from the table. I stumbled back, surprised.

"I must apologize. It had slipped my mind that someone like you would be in such close proximity to that object when I brought you here," he said. "It would be wise that you keep a suitable distance away from that necklace, Miss Lumine. Smaragdus Jadeite can cause harm if someone without a Vision were to be in prolonged contact with it."

"Smaragdus Jadeite?"

"Yes. To answer your question, just before winter break began, a concerned student of mine asked if I could look into this necklace. They had suspicions that this was no ordinary necklace, and after running a few tests, I confirmed that it is made of an extremely rare jade. According to Liyue legend, Smaragdus Jadeite is imbued with strong adeptal power. Scientifically speaking, it contains an abundance of elemental energy not sustainable for typical fashion."

With Professor Kreideprinz's explanation, everything suddenly made sense. The reason why I felt so sluggish during finals was because I had been carrying that necklace around for so long. Apparently, being able to wield elemental power didn't make me immune to the effects of Smaragdus Jadeite.

Regardless of how the necklace affected me, it had to have been a heavy burden on Huffman, too. It's no wonder why he was so eager to entrust it to me. Did he know that his gift for Amber was made from such a dangerous material? Sure, it would have no effect on her since she had protection with her Pyro Vision, but something still didn't add up. If Smaragdus Jadeite was so rare, how did someone like Huffman get his hands on it?

"I sense that you're worried, and rightfully so." Professor Kreideprinz gestured to the door with a hand holding a bundle of items. "We won't linger here any longer. I have what's needed for the greenhouse."

As we quickly exited and followed the path to the greenhouse, my mind still buzzed with this revelation. Thoma was smart to hand it off to Professor Kreideprinz. I almost felt stupid for not catching the oddity myself, but my mental and physical state had been a mess because of that necklace back then. Who knew what could have happened if I kept it any longer than I already had?

I froze.

The weasel.

"Is something the matter?"

Professor Kreideprinz noticed I had fallen behind.

I plastered on a fake smile and continued on until the warm air inside the greenhouse brought some comfort. Though I wanted to believe that Huffman meant no harm, it was impossible to ignore the facts. For now, I tried to focus on what I'd come here for.

"You're in luck," he said. "The windwheel asters are in full bloom."

With a pair of shears much like the ones Diluc and I had used to prune the vineyard, Professor Kreideprinz skillfully snipped the stems of a dozen windwheel asters before carefully binding them in twine and wrapping the bouquet in brown paper. He handled them so well, I nearly suggested that he start a new career as a florist.

"Thanks, again. I honestly didn't expect you to agree to give me these flowers—not after what you said about Professor Baizhu stealing your plants."

He sighed and handed me the bouquet. "That is a different matter entirely. Believing the greenhouse to be a shared resource, not once has Baizhu ever offered anything of equal value in return for helping himself. You, at least, have offered to lend me your aid."

"I haven't forgotten."

I looked around the greenhouse, noting each of the plants I volunteered to help care for in return for these windwheel asters. Though it was part of our deal, becoming one of Professor Kreideprinz's aides was something I looked forward to. Besides, I couldn't take a pass on the calming effects that nature provided.

"This is beneficial for my usual assistant, as well. Sucrose often gets lost in her work and fails to take necessary breaks. Hopefully, with you around, the workload won't be so heavy on either of us. Once classes are back in session, I'm sure you two will have the chance to become familiar and create a schedule to rotate off of."

I was slightly familiar with Sucrose. Thoma had mentioned her top performance as an alchemy TA before. Professor Kreideprinz seemed to believe in her a lot, so I trusted she could help teach me everything I needed to know about botany.

"Before you go, please follow the proper caring procedures to keep them fresh and healthy," he said. "How long do you plan to keep them?"

"They're not for me. They're a gift for a…for tomorrow."

Professor Kreideprinz smiled slightly. "Then I will write down the instructions for you to pass on. Just one moment."

Once he finished, I tucked the instruction card in the bouquet and said goodbye. My tasks for today were now complete. I held the windwheel asters close to me as I carried them to my dorm—the angled petals twirling in the wind.

A fluff of white appeared in my peripheral vision, and my stomach dropped slightly. Was it snowing already? Looking up at the sky, there weren't any clouds that could have released snow. I scanned the area and found another white speck floating in the air—a dandelion seed. I sighed in relief only to wonder why the possibility of seeing snow had me worried in the first place.

That old superstition.

I shook my head with a budding smile. Though a mere first snowfall had no authority over my fate, it was impossible not to entertain the idea. Mother Nature—what did she have in store for me?