"The school sent a reprimand again! If you study like that, you will become a Knight of Favonius!"
Because was now the heat, the windows in many of Mondstadt's houses were open, andRazor, with his keen werewolf hearing, and musician Barbara heard details of other people's lives in abundance.
There was nothing interesting in them, but the last phrase was amusing, and Razor laughed. But then he looked guiltily at the angry Barbara.
She took him under his arm.
"You are right. It's very funny. This event will rapture the bards, and they will put a lot of funny songs together. I'd myself have laughed if my sister hadn't suffered in the process. Why does she even stay in the Order?"
"Everyone wants to be a Knight of Favonius," Razor said comfortingly. "Much more than an adventurer. Cyrus told me about it. And who knows better than the head of the Adventurer's Guild?"
"Cyrus collects information at the bottom of a bottle," Barbara replied squeamishly. "But even he accepts only those Knights of Favonius into his Guild who have attained the rank of Honorary. Ordinary Knights are valued lower than Brainless Jack, who was so successful at secretly tracking monsters that he lost his Adventurer's License, his map, and a bunch of other camping necessities while fleeing from them. After that, he went into debt to hire someone to return his missing items."
"They say Cyrus paid off his debts," Razor chuckled. "It was in exchange for intimate favors. Cyrus' daughter yelled at him so much for taking money from the cash register of their shop that she scared away all the pigeons and cats in the Market District."
Barbara laughed.
"Cyrus has picked up trash instead of treasure, so the store is not doing well. Marjorie needs a lot of time to save up for an overseas purchase of goods that will sell well in Mondstadt."
"And she has to hide the money, too, so her father doesn't drink it away," added Razor.
"Oh yes," Barbara laughed even harder.
"And so he didn't squander it on the guys. On what income do you think Bruce, a simple Knight, could drink at the "Angel's Share"?" Razor pointed to the tavern and led Barbara there.
"No," she stopped. "I hate that vile tavern!"
"Why is it vile?" Razor wondered. "It smells the best."
"If some other girl was running after a guy who give a damn about her and humiliatedly sought his attention, I'd be the first to laugh at her. But that's my sister. She's ready to lie under Diluc in front of all the people, wherever she sees him, and she's the only one who doesn't know... or doesn't want to know what all Mondstadt from Musk Reef to the Brightcrown Mountains knows: Diluc fucks only with men and will never sleep with a woman!"
Razor uncomprehendingly climbed with his eyes.
"No, he must pay equal attention to both males and females if traders are forcing their daughters on him as soon as they see him. Though," Razor pondered, remembering, "I've never heard Diluc smell of contact with a woman. Then why do the merchants call him to marry their daughters?"
"It's money," Barbara explained. "The daughters of merchants are well aware that on their first wedding night they will make an heir for themselves and their husband with a syringe, and that they will spend their afterward lives with secret lovers. But the fruit plantations and the famous Teyvat distillery will be too good an addition to the business they will inherit, so syringe and secret comforters look like minor costs to them."
"Yuck!" Razor grimaced. His wolf nature neither understood nor accepted lies.
"Yes," Barbara said. "It's disgusting but understandable. And natural to human nature, for that matter. These girls live their business in the same way that Diluc can't think of himself without a distillery and plantations. Either they are gutless, brainless hens who live with the idea that a woman was born to suffer and sacrifice herself for her family. But when the Acting Grand Master calls a mere captain, much less a former captain, who is nothing and no one to the Order… Jean calls Diluc "sir", and looks at him with the obedience of a sheep! It's so insignificant and stupid and disgusting! But I cannot hate and despise my sister. That is why I hate Diluc. If it weren't for him…"
"...Jean would cling to another, unavailable to her and not her equal," Razor finished for Barbara. "She herself doesn't want the pleasure of happy love. Jean is the leader of the pack. And if the pack is led by a female, she always has a harem of obedient and faithful males."
"The Order is not a pack," Barbara said sadly. "And Jean is not a werewolf. It's unfortunate. There are enough people in town who could fall in love with Jean. And they're not scum from the street, but famous bards and big merchants. They are worthy couples and decent people. But you're right, she doesn't want happiness and pleasure herself. That's why, for the whole town's amusement, she grovels before Diluc while he gropes Six-Fingered José!"
"Six-Fingered José? The one who lures tourists during the day on the Cathedral Square and sings in the "Angel's Share" in the evenings?"
"Yes," Barbara nodded. "They call him Wrwavur in Wolvendom. He's not bad as a bard, but there are better ones in the city. Nantuck wanted to perform in the "Angel's Share", and his voice is more beautiful and his songs are more melodic. Besides, Nantuck not only sings but also tells very fascinating stories. However, Diluc turned him down. Wrwavur would never have gotten such a lucrative stage as "Angel's Share" if Diluc hadn't chosen him to be his lover."
"No," Razor shook his head. "Wrwavur smells of all kinds of men and women, but never of Diluc. And Diluc only smells like Captain Kaeya. And Captain Kaeya only smells like Diluc. Sometimes they both smell at once of some third man, each time new and unfamiliar to me. But neither Kaeya nor Diluc ever smelled like Wrwavur."
"You're kidding!" Barbara didn't believe him. "You're tricking me so that out of curiosity I'll forget my hatred of Diluk and go to the "Angel's Share" so you can buy your favorite raw beef salad!"
"There's a good raw beef salad at "Cat's Tail", too. I don't have to lie to you to get the booty."
Barbara looked at him questioningly. And she breathed heavily, intermittently, her face pale. Razor picked up his female in his arms and carried her to a bench in the shade of the trees. He did not understand what had happened. Brave Barbara had pulled the wounded out of the thickest of battles and had never been afraid of the forest's most dangerous beasts and monsters of the Abyss. What is happening to her now? And Razor licked Barbara's cheek reassuringly, whimpering softly, not knowing what to do.
Barbara said quietly:
"So. Are Kaeya and Diluc not enemies?"
"Not in bed," Razor said confidently. "Their scent is deep in each other. They have been united in love for a long time, a very long time. Longer than you and I. Doesn't anyone know that?" The werewolf wondered. "Oh, yeah, well, humans can't hear smells. You're half blind and deaf."
"Oh, Barbatos..." whispered Barbara. "So it's all a lie... It's a disguise... Diluc turned down the good bard for the sake of the mediocre one so that everyone would see it as a love affair and not dig any deeper. So Kaeya is against the Order, too. And if so, the two of them get a chance to avenge Ordo Favonius for the death of Crepus. He is the father of Diluc and the stepfather of Kaeya. No one in Mondstadt remembers this, but these two guys grew up together and have always been very friendly. The expulsion of the Grand Master of Varca would not have been so successful without someone in the Order facilitating it. And there has been no word from the expedition for a long time."
It turned out that Diluc and Kaeya had killed Barbara's parents. And Jean's parents too — not only did the father of the two sisters go on the expedition, but so did their mothers.
Does Jean know about Diluс and Kaeya's roles? And what should Barbara herself do — take revenge or rejoice to be completely free from the traces of a very shitty childhood and from the parents who only by misunderstanding didn't break her fate?