previous chapter: after a curious run-in with huffman in the infirmary, lumine's meeting with headmaster dainsleif results in two things: he's aware of her dealings with the abyss, and the revelation that he has a son—the champion of last year's grand tournament.

Not even five seconds after Dain revealed that he had a son, the door to his office suddenly opened. I jolted at the intrusion and stiffly turned to see who had interrupted our meeting at the most inconvenient time. My eyebrows lifted in surprise as I watched none other than Venti stroll right in.

Upon seeing the two of us, Venti gave a cheery wave with one hand while carrying a woven basket full of goods in his other. It contained a few bottles of wine and nearly spilled over with apples.

"Lumine! I wasn't expecting to find you here. Have I interrupted your meeting with Dain?"

"Yeah, we were—"

"Just finished with our conversation," Dain interrupted. "Your timing is impeccable, Venti. What is it that you've brought?"

I whirled back to face Dain, appalled. We most definitely were not done with the conversation. The news of Dain's son being the Champion left my mind swirling with thoughts. My theory of Aether being the Champion wasn't completely invalidated—Dain could have been the one who had adopted him all those years ago. If that was the case, Dain had to know we were twins. Our looks alone were proof enough.

"Only the best dandelion wine from Mondstadt along with some apples that I picked on the way. I'm feeling very generous today, so I thought I'd go around and share my loot. How about it? Care for a refresher with an old friend?"

Dain sighed. "Considering me your friend is pushing it. May I remind you that it's polite to knock before entering an office? Nevertheless, I do find myself craving a drink."

"Are you serious?" I couldn't hold back from scoffing. "I have so many questions."

"A curious mind is to be expected of any student. I'm sure you'll find your answers in due time, Lumine. Whether or not they're the correct answers will be revealed soon enough. Now then, I must attend to my…guest."

"You're so cold." Venti sighed and stuck a hand in the basket, grabbing an apple. "Lumine, have an apple on your way out! Only the best fruit for my best student."

I opened my mouth to protest before snapping it shut, thinking twice. Dain wasn't going to offer any more information with Venti here, and his unreadable expression remained. With great reluctance, I stood and grabbed my coat off the armchair.

"Thanks for the talk," I said briskly.

Venti was already holding out the red fruit to me when I approached, and I couldn't deny that it looked particularly delicious. Not thinking much of it, I accepted the apple only to realize my mistake when I felt Venti's slight resistance in letting go. The apple was released soon enough, but I'd caught how his bright eyes were drawn to a certain spot on my wrist.

I drew my hand back quickly, tucking the exposed skin underneath my coat bundle.

Though Venti didn't comment on it, I knew he'd also seen the abyssal runes. Nothing about his joyful smile changed, but his attention lingered on where my wrist was now hidden. Elemental sight was my enemy at the moment, and I needed to figure out a way to hide Enjou's mark as soon as possible.

I tossed out a polite goodbye before hastily exiting Dain's office. It was only after the door shut firmly behind me that the air lightened and breathing came easier. Still, just because I had left the situation, that didn't change what happened or what I learned. For now, I tugged on my coat and slipped the apple into one of the deep pockets. After making sure the coat sleeve reached past my wrist, I continued down the hall and left the building.

Time was ticking, and I needed to make my next step.

Now outside, the first thing I noticed was that it was snowing. A thin layer of snow already covered the grounds, surrounding everything in a soothing blanket of white. Then, I saw Kaeya waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. He was tossing a coin and caught it in mid-air once I began to descend.

"How was it?" he asked, a cloud of air puffing from his mouth.

I shoved my hands in the pockets of the coat before finding the right words. "Not what I was expecting. We have a lot to talk about. Where's Diluc and Childe?"

A quick scan of the area was enough to confirm that they weren't here.

Kaeya rolled the coin between his fingers and held the same hand out to me. Instead of dropping the coin in my palm like I initially thought, his fingers clasped between mine before he stuck our intertwined hands in his own pocket. Like magic, the coin had completely vanished.

"They're taking care of matters regarding Huffman," Kaeya said. "Let's just say they're a little curious about what he said in the infirmary."

"Aren't you also curious?"

"Naturally. This was the first I'd heard about the likes of him posing any sort of threat, so you can bet my interest was extremely piqued. Though, I would much rather see how you're doing after meeting with the headmaster. Diluc and Childe can settle revenge well enough on their own."

"Huffman had it coming," I sighed. "I don't know the whole truth about him, but if those two are on the case, then we'll know what's really going on. As for what Dain had to say, I'm feeling a lot of things. He surprised me."

Kaeya chuckled lightly. "I see he still insists on going by that nickname. I've only had a personal audience with Dain a handful of times, and it's still difficult to pinpoint his direction. As long as you're okay, we can get into the details later."

I leaned into his arm and we began to walk away from the administration building. The beauty of the moment—a quiet stroll around the campus winterscape—sharply contrasted with what was to come. Enjoying moments like these would have to wait.

"We should go to the library," I said.

"Researching already? Classes don't start 'til tomorrow, you know."

"Not for that. I need to look up anything and everything on corrosion. Just waiting on a cure for Thoma isn't enough."

"Are you sure you don't want to eat first? They should be serving dinner right about now."

I shook my head. "Later."

Kaeya paused, and I also stopped walking. The path ahead of us split into two, one direction leading to the dining hall and the other to the library. Looking up at Kaeya, I caught some concern from him. It didn't seem like he was worried about eating on time, though. His attention fell on me.

"Don't push yourself, Lumine. You've only just made it out of the infirmary."

So, that's what it was. From his perspective, I could understand why Kaeya was concerned. I'd gone from a vicious attack, three days of bed rest, an intimidating meeting with the headmaster, and was now throwing myself straight into more work. More than anyone, I knew that a small break was needed.

"I am a bit hungry," I said at last, giving in. "But we go to the library right after."

Kaeya smiled and squeezed my hand. "Let's go find something to eat."

"Lumine, you're okay!" Amber's fork clattered loudly on her plate as she gasped and forgot about her meal.

It was warm in here, so I slipped my hand from Kaeya's pocket. Removing my coat wasn't an option, though. I didn't expect anyone here to be alert with their elemental sight, but I didn't want to risk being discovered.

Beside Amber, Xiangling looked relieved. "We heard that two students had been injured in a monster attack a few days ago. There have been all kinds of rumors about who the victims were, and Amber and I were really starting to worry after not seeing you all this time."

"Yeah, didn't you come back early to go on a date with Thoma?" Amber asked. "I hope word of the attack didn't ruin the romantic mood."

"I'll grab a plate for you," Kaeya said. "You can catch up with your friends."

With him gone, I was left to reveal that it had, in fact, been Thoma and I who were attacked by monsters and that the mood was more than ruined. Though I would have preferred a nice, monster-free conversation at dinner, I couldn't dismiss their concerns. Amber and Xiangling would have found out eventually—even someone like Huffman had been sharp enough to figure out I was in the infirmary. Then again, he was probably overly invested in my well-being since he'd been directly involved with it at one point.

Holding myself together, I sat across from them and gave an abridged version of what had happened. From the amazing start of the day to the unfortunate end, my friends listened in silence with wildly changing reactions. I ended the story with me waking up not long ago.

"I'm so sorry," Amber said with a sad frown. "I'll have to stop by the infirmary after dinner to see Thoma. Even if he's asleep, I'd like to wish him well."

"There's a remedy soup I can try making," Xiangling murmured. "When he wakes up, I'll have it ready on standby! I just need to make sure all of the ingredients I have are of premium quality."

I smiled at their kind words and tried to ignore how empty the table felt without Thoma. Childe was gone as well—probably still off chasing down Huffman. Bennett's seat was also empty, and I could only hope it wasn't because he'd missed every ship on its way to Celestia Island.

Amber suddenly leaned forward, determination burning in her eyes. "It's going to be okay. It has to be."

Her passion nearly brought tears to my eyes. I desperately wanted her to be right, and all I could do in return was nod.

"You don't have to put up a brave face for too long, Lumine," Amber said. "I'm going to find a way to cheer you up, just wait."

I smiled for real, then. Kaeya was right to suggest going to dinner first. More than the meal itself, what I needed was to surround myself with the positivity that my friends never failed to give. Right then, Kaeya returned with two plates in his hands. The satisfaction on his face was hard to miss, and I realized that this had been his plan all along.

Though I hadn't expected to be at ease so soon, I welcomed the feeling and spent the rest of dinner focused on the present.

Just as I expected, the library was almost entirely empty. Besides the librarian and a few students gossiping in the corner, there was no one pouring over books like me.

The books in question were related to ailments and treatments. It was difficult finding anything related to otherworldly afflictions, so I immersed myself in reading up on conditions similar to Thoma's while Kaeya retrieved more material in the stacks.

More than once, I've had to still my leg from bouncing and refrain from biting at my nails. It was impossible to keep anxiety at bay, and though this research was meant to be helpful, it only worried me more. Teyvat had its fair share of illnesses—many of which were incurable. Without Vision-wielding healers, more lives than I could ever imagine would have been lost.

I turned to a page that should explain more about venomous animals, but what I found was something else entirely.

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

The entire page was filled with the same word, over and over, and it continued on the page beside it. Dead. A chill settled in my body, and I could hear faint whispers of the word as if they were floating up from the pages and into my mind. The whispers overlapped, growing louder and quieter until I couldn't take it anymore.

I slammed the book shut and pushed it away.

"Something controversial?" Kaeya suddenly appeared with three new texts in hand.

"There's a weird misprint," I said. "In the section about venomous animals, there was only one word repeating for pages."

With a curious look, Kaeya dropped the new books on the table and opened the one I rejected. After flipping around for a bit, he stopped midway, and I watched him scan the pages.

"I don't see any misprint."

"Are you sure you're in the right spot?" I frowned and took the book from him.

Sure enough, the page number he was on matched where I had left off. Instead of the ominous repetition from before, I only saw legitimate information and even a few photos of the topic matter. I then checked other pages, but none of them were strange.

"What was the word?" Kaeya asked.

I pressed my lips together, not sure what was worse—the words disappearing or the possibility that they never existed at all. Was I losing my mind?

"Dead."

A heavy silence followed.

"It's getting late," he said. "There's only so much information you can absorb before feeling a little overwhelmed. Why don't we call it a night? Tomorrow will be a new day, and the library will still be here after class."

Kaeya was right, but leaving the research to tomorrow would mean losing what's left of today. Every hour mattered, yet despite my desire to race against time, I dreaded continuing on. Just thinking about what I had read in that book—imagination or not—was enough to convince me.

I closed the book more gently this time. "Okay, we'll stop for now."

Kaeya almost seemed surprised by how quickly I gave in, but he returned the books without commenting on it. Thinking about it now, Kaeya complied with a lot of my whims today. Instead of countering with a cheeky remark or flustering me with his flirts, he'd gone along with what I asked and only intervened when the stress got to me—like now.

"Thanks for being here and helping me readjust," I said once we walked to the library's exit. "I know you must have a lot of questions, and the library is probably the last place you'd want to spend the end of winter break."

Kaeya shrugged as though it was no big deal. "I shouldn't have to say this, but I don't mind at all where I spend my time as long as it's with you. Regarding my questions—"

Before he could continue, the library's door opened on its own, introducing us to a string of complaints coming from the other side.

One of the voices undeniably belonged to Diluc. "This should have been the first place we checked."

Childe's head poked through the door, and his face lit up after seeing me. "There you are. I knew we'd find you here."

"If that's the case, then why did you insist on revisiting the infirmary?" Diluc walked in, upset. "I should have known better than to agree to partner up with the likes of Childe. His reputation only made it difficult to get ahold of Huffman."

Kaeya hummed. "You couldn't catch him?"

"I never said that."

Childe crossed his arms. "And where are you two going? If we hadn't caught you leaving the library now, the only other location I could think of would be the dorms."

"She needs rest," Kaeya said. "We've been looking through material for anything that would help Thoma, but enough of that for now."

"Wait," I jumped in. "Now that Childe and Diluc are here, sleep can wait a bit. I need to talk about everything that's happened—from the beach, Dain, and even Huffman. The library might not be the best place for all of that, so we should go to the student council room."

The three of them exchanged glances. Since when had they gotten comfortable enough to silently communicate with each other?

"Kaeya's right," Diluc said. "The student council room is hardly a comfortable place, and it's been quite the day for you. Try to prioritize your well-being while it's still in your control to do so. That doesn't mean we won't be having a discussion."

"Then, where are we going?" I asked.

My room.

Apparently, the only other option was to pile into my room. Though there was plenty of space, it was just me sitting on the bed. Diluc and Kaeya leaned on walls opposite of each other, and Childe took the desk chair. There weren't many of us, just four total, but their presence grew larger the more I recounted everything. Like Amber and Xiangling, the guys listened intently. Unlike Amber and Xiangling, they didn't hesitate to interject when the opportunity arose.

"No wonder you were asleep for so long," Diluc grumbled after I explained Enjou's control over corrosion.

None of them were happy upon hearing about the deal I struck with Enjou. After revealing that detail, all eyes went to the runes on my wrist.

"I need a better way of hiding it," I said. "Wearing my coat works outside, but I don't want people to start asking questions if I keep it on all the time. My blazer has long enough sleeves, but a single movement could easily expose my wrist. Does anyone have ideas?"

"Enjou has some nerve—leaving a mark on you." Childe's eyes narrowed. "Would killing him get rid of it?"

I shook my head. "I like your enthusiasm, but if we knew how to kill Enjou, we would have tried it already. Plus, we need him alive to remove the corrosion from Thoma's body."

"Alchemy might work," Kaeya said. "A topical potion designed to mask blemishes exists, though I'm not sure how it would react with abyssal energy. It's best we don't experiment on you."

"You're forgetting an obvious solution. I will find a bracelet for you, Lumine," Diluc stated. "I'll have it ready for you tomorrow morning before anyone takes notice of the mark."

A bracelet. Diluc was right—the answer really was obvious. Wearing a bracelet was much easier than concocting some alchemical potion or outright killing Enjou. His assurance of preparing one so soon brought comfort, but now I had to deliver bad news.

"Actually, it's a little too late to keep the mark entirely a secret. Dain noticed in our meeting, and so did Venti."

I then took the time to explain what had happened with Dain—the odd questions and seemingly irrelevant side conversations. Knowing that Dain was aware of my connection with the Abyss put a sour look on everyone's face. As for Venti, it was obvious that he was familiar with secrets, but his lack of reaction didn't concern me nearly as much as Dain's big reveal.

Kaeya whistled. "The headmaster sent away his own son. The Champion's existence was completely erased from the very same academy that his father maintained. Isn't that something? And you still believe him to be Aether?"

"There's no reason not to." I still hung on to the hope. "It doesn't matter who raised him. He's still my brother."

Childe had picked up one of my pens and began spinning it in his hand. "Chances are that the Champion will be coming back for the second semester. As exciting as that sounds, it's best to stay on your guard. I don't like what Dain said about being locked in an oath. In other words, the Champion is keeping secrets of his own."

"A lack of information is our biggest problem," Diluc said. "There's too much that we still don't know, but at least it seems you're in the clear, Lumine. Are you certain that the headmaster isn't issuing punishment for your involvement with the Abyss?"

"He said it was inevitable," I recalled. "Suspension or expulsion was never brought up."

Diluc nodded. "It helps that you held back from mentioning your elemental powers. We'll have to keep an eye on them just as closely as they'll be watching you, from now on."

That was easier said than done, but we'd find a way. It was humanity against the Abyss, yet Celestia Academy's tendency to keep secrets didn't do any favors.

Part of me desperately hoped that the Champion would be cooperative. Aether—raised by Dain. Compared to Madame Ping, that man was far too peculiar and puzzling to have lovingly brought up a child. Would that have affected Aether's personality? In my dream, he seemed normal enough, but those circumstances were different. As twins, what if we were now more different than similar?

"As for Huffman," Childe said and clicked the pen. "He's a wily one."

Diluc scoffed. "You scared him off."

"My reputation was hardly the problem. You're the one who couldn't keep murder off your face, Diluc."

"We got to him eventually. After sniveling for five minutes and expressing immense guilt, all Huffman could tell us was that you need to give a certain necklace back. It's made of something that drains your energy, though he was unable to specify." Diluc looked irritated at that. "He won't be bothering you anymore."

"Smaragdus jadeite," I informed. "I figured that out from Professor Kreideprinz. Thoma was two steps ahead and suspicious of the necklace, so he took it to Professor Kreideprinz for an analysis. I have a good idea of why Huffman did what he did—Signora addressed a letter to him. This was all her doing."

Childe drew a hand down his face. "Of course. I should have paid her a proper visit when I went back to Snezhnaya—one that would give her a reason to cover her entire face with another gaudy mask."

"This doesn't exempt Huffman from his actions," Kaeya said. "He has to answer for putting you in danger, even if the threat was eliminated early on. Huffman's guilty conscience is about as useful as Childe with a bow."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I want to talk to Huffman about why he chose to align with Signora," I said. "Alone. We have class together, so it'll be possible. If either of you is with me, he'll clam up for sure."

None of them looked too delighted with the idea, but there were no protests. On his own, Huffman wasn't someone to worry about. I knew part of his class schedule, I knew where he sat at lunch, and I could easily find which dorm room was his. Huffman wouldn't be able to avoid me if he tried.

"I believe we've covered everything, yes?" Kaeya looked around the room. "Then that just leaves a healthy eight hours of sleep for everyone."

He said that, but no one moved a muscle.

"Surely, you can't all be hoping to stay here for the night," I said. "I'll be fine on my own."

Diluc pushed away from the wall. "You'll have to forgive us for being so reluctant to leave. It's not even been a day since we got you back. Who's to say you'll wake up again after going to bed tonight?"

Diluc had a point, but there wasn't anything they could do about that. I doubted Enjou would restrict me even further—he seemed confident that my return to Teyvat would be temporary. Even if I did agree to have company tonight, how would that even work out with the three of them?

"Lumine's bed has space for two, but any more than that would be pushing it," Kaeya said with a smirk and looked at me. "I lent you my bed last time, so I think it's only fair that you return the favor."

Diluc took a menacing step toward Kaeya. "What?"

They wanted me to rest, but here I was, mentally preparing for a dramatic showdown between brothers. Childe already knew I had spent a night with Kaeya, and I hadn't forgotten the bruises left on Kaeya's face from that time. What would Diluc do?

I grabbed a pillow to toss at their heads, but then a knock at the door interrupted the effort.

"Lumine?" Amber's voice softly came through the door. "Are you awake?"

Surprised, I dropped the pillow and climbed out of bed. My first instinct was to immediately open the door and let her in, but I froze right before turning the doorknob. I had three men with me in my room. It was the dead of night. How was I supposed to explain this to Amber?

First, I should figure out why she stopped by.

Before opening the door, I turned around halfway and pointed to each of them before holding a finger to my lips. The silent demand for them to keep quiet was enough. For extra insurance, I opened the door just enough for me to poke through—hiding the rest of my room.

"Oh, good. I worried I got here too late, and you'd already be asleep."

She was dressed in pajamas and carried a small bag in one hand and Barron Bunny tucked under her arm.

"I came up with a way to cheer you up! At first, I thought this could wait until tomorrow, but then I remembered there's no time like the present. I have a friendship bracelet kit and Xiangling is going to join us with snacks. We can have a girls' night to talk and unwind…if that's okay with you. It'll be fun!"

She looked so excited, and the idea was perfect. Except, my accepting her proposal would one-hundred percent mean revealing that I wasn't exactly alone in my room right now. As I was gathering the courage to say so, Amber continued.

"I also brought Barron Bunny with me because I remembered how much it helped cheer you up last time! I know the situation is different from when Kaeya broke your heart by rejecting you and making you cry the whole night, but I'm hoping the effect is the same."

All the words I had prepared to say died on my lips. The guys definitely heard everything she just said. There's no way Kaeya would make it through the night in one piece.

"Amber, first of all, thank you." I smiled warmly at her before taking a breath to prepare myself. "Second of all, I have something to confess."

Instead of outright confessing anything, I decided that showing her would be easier. Amber's smile morphed to confusion, and as soon as I widened the door, her jaw fully dropped. Barron Bunny's blank smile perfectly matched the shock of its owner.

Somehow, I found it in me to laugh it off—this would be a fun girls' night, indeed.