Genshin Impact: Mondstadt Alter

Act 1 Chapter 4.6:

Her Broken Trust

"Well, after what happened, I can understand you most likely resent me. It's okay if you don't want to."

Mrs. Frederica stares at me without saying anything. She pressed her lips into a tight line, and a subtle frown etched deep lines on her forehead. Tension radiated from her furrowed brows, and a fiery glare fixed on the source of her displeasure.

She sighs exasperatedly, "Give me a moment."

Mrs. Frederica steps outside, shutting the door behind her. Though I didn't intend to intrude, my sonar makes it challenging to resist. She seeks approval from the Inspector to converse with me, and they talk about a few other things.

Quietly, I anticipate her return while perched on the bed's edge. This predicament proves more challenging than I initially thought. I failed to consider that my enemies may be not only a singular group and they might collab with each other, maybe even have spies in the city if I have to be pessimistic. I suspect this won't be the final instance of them attempting to target me.

I shake my head to clear my mind as I feel Mrs. Frederica will be coming any time soon.

The door makes a creaking sound as it opens, and she enters without uttering a word. Mrs. Frederica positions herself against the closet, arms crossed, trying to meet my gaze. Her lack of words encouraged me to initiate the conversation.

"Um…"

Her negative feelings somehow overwhelm me that I even feel nervous to say anything, but I decide to keep going, "First of all, I should address my mistakes to you, so I apologize-"

"What for?" Her voice was stony.

I gulp, "For everything."

I'm at a loss for words as her cold gaze pierces through me. I know she means nothing antagonistic, but once in a while, I feel my chest is heavy.

"We've been over this. Why did you not say anything?!"

"I know, I know. You must have many questions right now, so please let me tell you everything from the start."

"... And what makes you think I'll listen to you after you manipulated me and the others?"

I shake my head, "Like I said, I'll let you decide. It's not too late for you to turn back now."

She blinks several times, "I won't make the same error. Whatever you said here, I'll write them on my report."

"If that is what you wish, I see no problem," I noted.

Mrs- No, I shouldn't call her that.

The Alder Knight remains quiet, allowing me to spill what I've been hiding. Before that, I ease myself by taking a deep breath. There is no turning back now.

"This might take a while, so why don't you take a seat?" I offered her the only vacant chair in the room, trying to unwind the unnerving atmosphere.

However, she gives the cold shoulder treatment.

"Well, I guess I will start with why I started exercising. I did tell you that my cause for doing it was that I wanted to be stronger and get the hang of using my vision, right? There's another reason, actually. I wish to fulfill the dream that I had with my parents and prevent the mishap from befalling anyone else in the future."

I see her eyebrows arc. However, her early facial quickly returns, and what she voices next isn't what I expected,

"Is that another lie from you?"

"..." I'm speechless.

I appear to have underestimated the extent of her emotions. I moisten my parched lips and swallow my saliva, attempting to ease the dryness in my throat before proceeding,

"No. I assure you, everything I said here is the truth." Or at least what I believed.

Again, she doesn't answer.

"That wasn't really necessary for me to tell you that, but I wanted to give you a better context of why I did all of this, so please, bear with me." I paused.

"The next one is why I chose to train outside the Mondstadt instead. This one is what I wish you to hear and know. At first, you asked me about it, and I brushed it off by saying something about good scenery, remember?"

Her eyes suddenly wide open, recalling our first encounter at Starnatch Cliff.

"Are you telling me they already targeted you since then?" She interrogated.

"It all started prior to your vigilant watch over me. Fortunately, they didn't attack me right away when I took the initiative; otherwise, I wouldn't have been lucky enough to have someone come to my rescue. It's important to note that the assassin refrained from immediately ending my life due to his caution towards me, although that's not the main focus here." I was about to move to the point I wanted to mention, but she stopped me.

"Hang on. That doesn't make sense. Why would they be wary of you?"

I preferred not to be confronted with that question, but she went ahead and asked anyway. However, I can't fault her for it. Someone of her observant nature is likely to pick up on such things. Responding without bringing them into the conversation poses a challenge for me.

It's just a theory of mine, but I doubt the fact that the person wary of me has no relation to my resurrection. I could tell her that if there was no condition to me not saying anything about them. I wished not to hide another thing from her after I said I'd reveal anything. Not now, at least.

Until now, I'm still wondering what he meant about me being special.

"I'm not sure why either, but he tried to bargain with me to give up if I wanted unnecessary confrontation, which I refused because you know how it ended."

She hums, "Did he mention anything that would happen if you take his offer?"

"Not much, only if I did, he would take me with him. Although, there was no hint of where."

"Is that so?" She commented apathetically, "You could've just given up instead of fighting back and risking your life like that. Why?"

From the start, it was a gamble. I know I wouldn't die regardless of what happened, but that fight ended up resulting in less than I anticipated and I do not want to experience death again. I was lucky it didn't escalate any worse than that.

"The other option was not any better."

She simply wags her head. That was bad, but at least I survived the thin ice.

"Moving on." I was about to continue, but, "Wait, where was I again?"

I feel so agitated that I forgot what I was talking about.

"You were on the verge of explaining why you chose to exercise outdoors."

"Ah, right, right. The reason behind it was simple, but I think you're going to find it hard to believe. In my first few days after I started, I sensed that nearly every action I took in the city was under scrutiny."

"... what?"

"I'm not talking only about them, but also some other parties like some tourists, Mondstadt folks, and-" I paused,

"Knight of Favonius."

She instantly straightens herself and charges in my direction, grabbing me by my collar.

"Do you really mean what you said?" Her words sent a chill to my back.

I wanted to respond, but the sentence got stuck in my throat. I push harder to utter at least a word,

"Yes."

None of us say anything. The air feels like choking my neck as we stare into each other eyes, or to be exact, hers, stab through me. The silence allows me to hear nothing but heartbeats and the gentle gust from the window. I don't even dare to do anything more than voice those words.

"Nonsense. You could've just said you don't trust me." She let go of me and walked away to the door.

"Foolish of me to give you another chance."

As she taps on the door handle, I say, "If this is the last time we talk to each other, then let me say one last thing for you."

I bow deeply, "Thank you for everything you've done for me and for saving my life. You might not find me anywhere as useful, but I'll try my best to help you if you ever need my assistance. You have my word on that."

What I said could only halt her for a moment before she opened the door and left as she replied,

"Don't bother."

She closed the door with a bang. Apparently, no more people are coming, so I walk to the door and lock it. I lean my back against the door and slowly drop myself before sighing heavily,

"Well, that went well."

It was. Mrs. Frederica has more patience, and Inspector Eroch possesses more integrity than I initially expected. It would have almost gone haywire had she not let me finish explaining myself, although it was a shame I could only tell as much.

I groan, "Good job for doing more harm than good, Morgan." I murmured to myself.

Resting my head on the door, I close my eyelids tightly as I grit my teeth. After some time, I gradually opened my eyes again,

"I guess this is it. The time has come for me to move out."

A/N: A shame I had to end Morgan's dynamic with her, particularly because she hasn't shown up yet. Although, I could say that to most Mondstadt notable NPCs I've included in my story. I can't wait for the expansion to drop ASAP.

Thank you for reading, and carry on!