Chapter 5: Kaeya
Kaeya's mischievous plan was actually working out better than expected.
A few weeks prior, he had commissioned Albedo to create an alchemical device that could transfer sound.
"Its usage is simple enough," the alchemist had explained, holding up two small discs that were purposely made to look like mora. "This one is the input, and the other, the output." Only a small marking distinguished the two, otherwise, they looked almost identical to the actual currency.
"By hiding the input coin near your target, you will be able to hear anything that is said within its vicinity by using the output coin."
"Ingenious," Kaeya said with a warm smile. He's be lying if he said that he didn't relish this opportunity to spend time with the alchemist.
Albedo returned the compliment with a nod and brief smile of his own, before turning his attention back to his experiment. "You say you plan to use these on Treasure Hoarders?" he asked while making some final adjustments.
"With any luck, the Knights will be able to use these devices for far more than just hunting down Treasure Hoarders," Kaeya replied slyly.
The alchemist seemed to sense that Kaeya purposely avoided answering his question, but luckily didn't press the issue any further.
The Cavalry Captain had long been hatching this complicated plan. It took months of discreet surveillance, carefully noting even the slightest change in Dawn Winery's activities.
Kaeya had essentially given up on trying to reconcile with his brother. Whatever had happened during those three years that Diluc was away, the former knight returned as someone Kaeya could barely recognize.
There were times when the younger brother was concerned about Diluc's drastic change in personality, but that feeling was quickly chased away by his own anger towards the wine tycoon.
The old Diluc had always been passionate and emotional, never afraid to express his thoughts. As much as Kaeya hated to admit it, his outburst on that horrible night was not entirely uncharacteristic. He simply never imagined that Diluc could have been pushed to a point where he would actually try to kill his younger brother.
Which is what made this new Diluc's apathy and coldness so much more infuriating. No matter how much Kaeya tried to coax a reaction out of the red haired man, the most he ever got in return was an annoyed scowl.
He had thought for certain that bringing up Diluc's unceremonious selling of their father's manor would have pushed the elder brother over the edge, especially with Kaeya's own anger that he had never been consulted on the matter. But no, all he got in return was a slight frown.
This is what hurt Kaeya the most. He expected Diluc to hate him, to express his anger at any given opportunity, to remind Kaeya of every way that he had failed as a brother. But Diluc seemed entirely indifferent to the matter. He treated Kaeya as if their history together simply didn't exist.
The only time that Kaeya got even the slightest reaction out of the red haired man was during their trip to the Golden Apple Archipelago. When the younger brother invited Diluc to collect seashells like they did when they were young, he could have sworn that the apathetic man's expression softened.
It pained Kaeya to hear that Diluc thought he would have forgotten about those times, as if they weren't actually some of the Khaenri'ahn's favourite memories.
But it gave Kaeya a glimmer of hope. Perhaps they could actually be brothers again. Perhaps Diluc missed their past relationship just as much as Kaeya.
And then the moment passed, and Diluc went back to being entirely indifferent to his former brother.
At times Kaeya felt almost guilty for always giving the red head such a hard time, but he also couldn't forgive Diluc's disposition towards him.
Which is what made the success of Kaeya's current plan all the more crucial. He was fully aware that as a wealthy wine tycoon, Diluc had access to all sorts of information. But there were times when even he could not discern the logic behind the Darknight Hero's actions.
This meant that there was an entirely new layer to the vigilante's motives. Master Diluc was receiving intel from a source that even the secretive Kaeya Alberich didn't know about.
There were rumours of strange happenings at the Dawn Winery. Guests who disappear, or even guests who seemed to not exist at all. It took a fair bit of work, but Kaeya eventually found a pattern in the Winery's activities that hinted towards one of these occurrences approaching.
While the Cavalry Captain's laid-back attitude often made him appear to be lazy, he always fulfilled all of his Knightly duties on time so that there were no questions about his devious activities outside the scope of his official career.
He had originally planned to drop off the bag of mora personally, along with one of his usual snarky remarks. Kaeya carefully worked out exactly when this mysterious informant would likely arrive, and purposely "ran out" of mora a few nights before at Angel's Share so that he would have an excuse to drop it off to Diluc himself.
What he hadn't anticipated was the Traveller's appearance just as he was preparing to put his plan into motion. Thinking quick on his feet, he realized that the Honorary Knight could actually be the key to his plan working to perfection.
As much as it pained him to admit it, Kaeya knew that Diluc trusted the young Traveller more than himself. But he knew he could use that fact to his advantage.
After having received the alchemical devices from Albedo, Kaeya made the quick decision to ask the Traveller to deliver the pouch to Diluc instead. He knew that this would arouse suspicion in Albedo since this wasn't the intended use he had imparted to the alchemist, but a quick glance towards the blonde man seemed to quell his uncertainty. It certainly pleased Kaeya to know that Albedo trusted him that much.
And so his plan was finally put into motion.
After turning in his reports and excusing himself from Favonius Headquarters for the evening, Kaeya set off towards Springvale. He planned on listening in on whatever conversation he could, but he also wanted to be close enough to the Winery that he could also pursue some old-fashioned surveillance if needed.
Kaeya opted to settle in near the Statue of the Seven closest to Dawn Winery. It provided a secluded view for him while also being near impossible for anyone at the Winery to detect his presence.
The Cavalry Captain sat down in the grass, taking a deep breath of the fresh evening air before pulling the small coin out of his pocket. Following Albedo's instructions, he pressed his thumb into the groove, and a slight pulse of light told him that the device was now active.
Kaeya could now hear Paimon's idle chatter being amplified through the coin, and couldn't help but smile as his plan was finally coming together. It wouldn't be too long now until the Traveller would arrive at the Winery.
Pulling out his flask, Kaeya took a celebratory sip of Dandelion Wine. While he seriously doubted that the Darknight Hero's actions would put Mond in any danger, he still felt compelled to learn of the source of Diluc's intel.
Kaeya leaned forward, chin in his hand when he heard Adelinde answer the door. He held his breath, anxiously waiting to see if she would take the bait. Suddenly a fourth voice entered the mix.
Diluc.
Shocked but certainly not disappointed, Kaeya was not expecting the Traveller to actually get invited in to meet this so-called "guest". He smiled dubiously. His plan seemed to just keep getting better and better.
There was some rustling as the coin pouch was assumedly accepted by Adelinde and placed somewhere nearby in the Winery. Luckily, it was still close enough that Kaeya could hear the whole conversation.
He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as introductions were made. This informant was certainly secretive, but didn't offer many hints as to anything Kaeya didn't already know.
There was talk about the Abyss Order, although Kaeya was quite certain that there had been little to no Abyss activity within the area for quite sometime. He frowned. Was he missing something?
This so-called 'Quinn' offered to join the Traveller and Diluc on their investigation, and there was suddenly an uncomfortable silence. The Honorary Knight seemed concerned, and after a few more moments of silence Diluc asked, "What happened to you trying to stay out of Teyvat's business?"
Kaeya froze. Now things were starting to get interesting. Something seemed off about this informant, and Diluc's comment seemed to suggest that she has some ulterior motives that had yet to be discovered.
The group seemed to agree to head out, and soon they were out of the range of Albedo's device. Kaeya swore under his breath, quickly crawling forward to get a better look at Dawn Winery.
Pulling out a pair of binoculars, Kaeya made some mental notes as he waited for the group to exit the Winery. There was no sign of movement anywhere in his field of vision. Doing a quick scan of the area, he could see the dark outlines of three individuals and something that looked like Paimon skirting around the edges of the Winery's land.
Kaeya couldn't help but let out an impressed laugh. Of course Diluc would have a secret exit. That explained the stories of disappearing guests, at least.
The group made their way into the tree line, out of Kaeya's eyesight. He stood up quickly, taking one last sip from his flask, before setting off after them.
