[Genshin Impact] A world where only travelers are alone.

Chapter 51 Romance

Cecilia tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

She had lost count of how many times she had sat up in bed and looked at the clock in the corner of the room. Eventually, she even changed into her travel clothes, put on a cloak that was big enough to cover Lawrence's bright hair, and waited quietly by the bedside.

There was still a little bit left until the agreed time, but the closer it got, the more nervous I became.

Cecilia clutched her chest, listening to the increasingly rapid heartbeat.

Just after the clock struck twelve, someone knocked on her window.

Cecilia took a deep breath and drew back the curtains.

The first thing that catches the eye is the bright eyes of the young poet.

The weather outside seemed quite cold; his nose and fingertips were slightly red, but the smile on his face when he saw her again was as warm and gentle as ever.

"..."

His lips moved as if he were saying something, but Cecilia couldn't hear him clearly through the glass.

Those outside seemed to have noticed this as well, scratching their heads in embarrassment.

He got closer, and his warm breath fell on the glass, immediately creating a hazy white mist.

Cecilia watched, somewhat bewildered, as he ran his hand across the white mist, his fingertips leaving a clear trail that eventually formed a simple sentence—

【Good evening.】

He said.

"Good evening." Even though she knew the people outside couldn't hear her, Cecilia still replied softly, drawing a small smiley face after his words.

Wendy smiled and tapped on the window, indicating that she should open it for her.

Cecilia was startled and hurriedly opened the window for him, but Wendy did not come in. Instead, he reached out his hand to her from the outside.

"The wind is picking up—"

The poet's hair flew in the wind, and blue feathers fell from around him, swirling around him.

Cecilia could not see the feathers.

Only those who possess the Eye of God can perceive the existence of elemental power, but that did not prevent her from being awestruck by the scene before her.

If freedom has an agent, then it must resemble the person before her.

"Snap out of it, Cecilia, it's getting late, we should get going~" Wendy winked at her.

Cecilia's gaze then fell on his face, then his hands...

Perhaps because of years of practicing musical instruments, his fingertips have calluses, and they don't feel very comfortable to the touch, but they are reassuring.

Cecilia gripped his hand, closed her eyes, and mustered her courage to step out.

"Be careful." Wendy supported her waist, but only lightly, just to help her before she stepped firmly.

Once Cecilia had adjusted to the feeling, and even the hand that was clenching her clothes loosened, he chuckled softly, "Don't be afraid, the wind will protect you. The wind god will bless every citizen of Mondstadt."

He was right. Cecilia could feel the force she touched when her toes reached forward, as if she were being lifted up. Even when she put her feet down, she felt that force still there.

"Open your eyes and take a look."

Cecilia opened her eyes as instructed and saw a strange scene where there was nothing beneath her feet, yet there were shallow ripples.

With Wendy's support, she slowly walked forward, one step at a time, the ground beneath her feet feeling soft and yielding, like slime, swaying slightly.

As she walked, the cloak revealed the hem of her skirt, which swayed in the wind, as if the floral patterns on it were being caressed by the breeze.

"Do you like it?" the young poet asked softly.

Cecilia looked down.

Under the hazy moonlight, the usually majestic and solemn Lawrence mansion seemed to be shrouded in a thin mist, so ethereal that she even had the illusion that it wasn't so cold there, but rather revealed the loving kindness of her father.

She was mesmerized.

"It's beautiful, everything feels different." Cecilia lowered her eyes, then smiled at Wendy and shook her head. "Thank you, Ms. Wendy."

She really liked the moon and the wind today; they were both so gentle.

He is also very gentle.

*

The landing point was the rooftop of one of Mondstadt's lucky ones.

Cecilia wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and, with Wendy's help, jumped down from it.

Despite it being the eve of the badminton festival, the atmosphere tonight was strange. It was nothing like the lively scene Cecilia had witnessed as a child, nor did it resemble the situation Wendy described with tourists from various countries.

On the contrary, it was very quiet.

Cecilia looked around in confusion. The street was quiet, and she could even clearly hear their footsteps.

"Ms. Wendy, what's going on?" she couldn't help but ask.

In her memory, the badminton festival was a grand celebration that lasted for fifteen days, a festival for the people of Mondstadt, and everyone would be busy preparing for the festival for a long time.

Although it is indeed very late, I should still be able to run into some people, so why is it so completely silent?

Wendy lowered her head and murmured, repeating her words, but her tone didn't sound as clueless as hers: "Yeah, what happened?"

He didn't seem to intend to answer her, and changed the subject, "I'm sorry, Cecilia, I couldn't let you see the international travelers you wanted to meet, but if you don't mind, I can accompany you to other places you want to go."

So Cecilia's words were cut off, and she had no chance to speak anymore. She could only give up thinking and start pondering where she most wanted to go.

Then she had her answer: "...The tower, I want to see the tower."

The tower is located in Thousand Winds Square in Mondstadt, where the statue of Anemo was once located. However, six hundred years ago, the Church of Anemo split into two parts, and the nobles toppled the statue of the god and chose to build a tower instead.

Her family, the Lawrence family, was the one that spearheaded the effort.

Wendy led her to the foot of the tower.

Looking at the towering building before him, he remarked, "Speaking of which, according to tradition, the climax of the festival will be here soon, and there will probably be girls standing on the tower throwing shuttlecocks down, right? In that case, this tower is quite nice, at least it can protect the girls a bit better than the previous wind god statue..."

He stroked his chin in thought, while Cecilia looked up at the entire tower.

[Cold and noble, unafraid of raging flames; resilient and composed, unshakable.]

She saw the small inscription on the tower, and she also saw the familiar furnishings inside the tower—just like in her dream.

So it really wasn't just a dream?

Cecilia lowered her eyes in thought.

Before she could figure it out, Wendy had already sidled up to her with a grin: "What are you looking at? You seem so engrossed."

"【Cold and noble, unafraid of wrath; resilient and composed, unshakable.】..." He read the line of small print. "If I remember correctly, this should be the Lawrence family motto, right? Do you want to go back?"

Cecilia remained silent for a while, then nodded.

Rather than lingering outside, having confirmed the reality of the dream, she was actually more interested in figuring out the reason behind it.

Perhaps the only person who could answer her question was her knowledgeable father.

After all, she already had a vague guess in her mind that this might be related to the Lawrence family's family trial.

(End of this chapter)

The author says: Friends and family say that nine out of ten Wendy fanfics set during the old aristocratic era feature a noblewoman and her music teacher.

Sorry, I'm just a country bumpkin, I like it this way (Ｔ▽Ｔ)