narrows eyes Still sneaking around, I see. Mondstadt doesn't need more of your trouble.
Did they have milk? Or wine? They most certainly need either milk or wine right now..
"Milk? Wine? What does this have to do with anything?" confused look on face
If y’all would stop drinking alcohol, perhaps the world would not be so messed up than it already is… I could’ve also said water. Instead of wine… and you probably drink wine too, right? Huh? You do, don’t ya? Huh?!?!!
stands up abruptly, knocking over chair Are you insinuating that I, Diluc Ragnvindr, am like those corrupt officials?!
Nah, you’re worse. At least officials don’t cause accidents and destruction without remorse.
picks up chair, places it back in original position, sits back down, sighs heavily "Worse? And how exactly am I worse, pray tell?"
leans forward, staring intensely Explain.
Your father married a Liyerdetective, and she was part of your personal protection detail, and one of your workers killed her. And your father refused to allow any investigation or seek punishment for the worker. That’s worse than a corrupt official.
stands up quickly, knocking chair over again How dare you!! You have no idea about the situation! My father did what he thought was best for the family, and that detective knew the risks of being part of my family's personal detail. You cannot bring accusations without evidence!
she’s dead because the guards couldn’t get themselves to shoot a guard who was working with some of those … things that you fight. And if they did, there were more of those “things” than there were guards. you can call it whatever you want, but there wasn’t much of a choice for that poor lass…
voice quivering with rage Don't you dare try to shift the blame onto my family! My father did everything he could to keep us safe! If you had any shred of decency, you would apologize right now!
She’s dead. I think she had a decent life till she met you, and got married to someone whose father would kill her… I’m sorry… She stands up, walking to the edge of the roof her hair fluttering out her back. Looking out over Mondstadt.
voice trembling with anger, clenches fists tightly You... breathing heavily... You cannot just walk away from this! You insulted me and my family, and now you're going to apologize!
I-I-i-insulted you and your f-f-f-family??? S-s-sorry. And sorry for insulting your Father as well, It wasn’t a good way to go about telling you how bad he was. S-sorry… She still looks out over the city.
takes deep breath, calms down slightly Look, PearlMelancholy... I don't know why you are so adamant on starting a fight with me. You seem to misunderstand the situation, and the choices that were made at the time. I understand that you have your views on things, and I respect that. But please understand that I love my family deeply, and I will always defend them. Is this understood?
Yeah. Totally… You realize all this has probably ruined any chances of Mondstadt joining Alberia right? With the opening of the Steppes, it seems Alberonia is acting as a major threat to Mondstadt… they’re already at war with Fatui. Y’all should join Alberonia, they could really use your weapons expertise… you still haven’t created any guns yet, huh?
"Why are you so focused on Alberonia? Are you trying to start a war?" confused look
Not at all… but have you heard that people over there are mostly asking for knifes and spears? Swords are only requested by the higher ups…
eyes narrow, leaning in Are you suggesting that Mondstadt should trade with Alberonia? After what they did to your family?!
Please don’t start with the whole “what they did to my family” argument again.. We are basically at peace with each other now, and apparently they were doing some shady stuff with Fatui, so I’d say it’s good that they are under trade embargos with Mondstadt… though Inghvar countries are also embargoe with each other, so that might change once they sort out their embargoes…
leans back in chair, sighs heavily Fine, I'll accept your reasoning for now. However, I must make one thing clear - no matter what happens, I will never forgive Alberonia for what they did to my family. That can never be changed.
You already kinda did… sort of… more forgiving?… The Melancholy Foothills Traveler met an interesting person and gave him biscuits and a coat… I guess you kinda forgave them. You definitely didn’t forgive them fully, though…
raises an eyebrow Oh? And how do you know about that? sighs I suppose it's useless to keep secrets from you, is it?
Aiglow hasn’t shut up about them since he’s been here… And once that thing came, he ran off to deal with Alberonia, even though it was Yae Miko’s bother that killed his family.
puts hand to forehead, sighs I swear, that boy is more stubborn than I am.
Probably cause he’s younger than you… also, why do you consider yourself stubborn? You weren’t the one who got invited to help prove that maybe Mondstadt and Alberonia can be friends, despite past problems, after a few scientists from both sides looked at the past problems and deemed them to be in the past and easily fixable… oh wait. You probably weren’t told, were you?
voice dripping with frustration I can't believe I missed out on something important. Just great. What did they decide, hm?
There was a problem on the border, and soldiers from Alberonia and Mondstadt were fighting each other, so a few officials from both sides gathered, and in the end, it was decided that after the peace talks between the ambassadors of both sides… they decided it would be better if travel restrictions were lifted, some cultural exchange programs were set up, and the universities of Alberonia and Mondstadt went ahead and created multiple scholarships for students from both sides to go and learn about the other country…
narrowing his eyes Travel restrictions lifted? Cultural exchange programs? snorts Do you really think that's enough to make up for everything they did? They murdered my family, and they expect me to be okay with that just because they offer a few scholarships?
You kind of already were, since Aiglow has been asking to go to Alberonia and study in order to prove they can be friends again… unless I’m mistaken and he has another goal he’s aiming for.
pauses for a moment, thinking Maybe you're right. I shouldn't let my hatred control my actions. Maybe it's time to give Alberonia a chance.
Like I said, Yae Miko’s brother isn’t one of the ones you should be mad at, you should save the majority of your rage for that thing over in Watatsumi Shrine. Unless that thing is gone now…
furrows brow, thinking I seem to recall that Aiglow mentioned something about defeating that monster before he left. I hope that he managed to do so. It would be a shame if he didn't, considering how much progress we've made so far.
We’ll he did, otherwise he wouldn’t have been allowed to leave. He took care of things… as much as anyone could handle taking care of a demon… he’s probably gonna need some time to recover after fighting a small demon, if any of what I’ve heard is true…
looking concerned Small demon? I find that hard to believe. How powerful was this demon?
Just a little above a regular knight. He’s a bit fat, bit old, has long white hair, and has greenish eyes… but his irises are dark like yours. So many similarities between the two of you… I’m sure he’ll be allowed to rest soon.
tilts head in interest A knight-class demon, you say? That's surprisingly strong for a demon. Do you know how it ended up in Watatsumi Shrine?