Chapter Text
Jean paced back and forth in the living room anxiously, while Kaeya sat at his table. Kazuha was sitting on the armrest of Kaeya's couch, while Aether had fallen asleep on it.
Beidou was with Barbara in Kaeya's bedroom, checking Diluc. They couldn't bring him to the Dawn Winery, it was too far and too much of a risk if his condition worsened. The rooms at the cathedral were also a no-go. Knowing Diluc, he'd try and get right back to work the moment he woke up, and it's not like the Sisters would be able to stop him.
So Kaeya's was really the only place left on the list.
"He'll be fine, Jean, this is Diluc we're talking about," He had to be fine. It was probably just some simple illness, nothing more to it. Diluc would be back up and at it in a day or two.
The sinking feeling in Kaeya's gut said otherwise.
Something nagged at the back of Kaeya's head. Something about this was familiar, and he didn't like the fact he couldn't remember what.
Jean had shown up after Aether fetched Barbara, and apparently, Adelinde had already sent a letter to Jean. The head maid had written a list of symptoms and asked if Jean could send Barbara to Dawn Winery soon, as Adelinde worried about Diluc. Right after Jean had finished reading that, she heard about Diluc collapsing.
At the very least, they had a list of symptoms. A list that felt all too familiar to Kaeya and yet completely foreign at the same time. He hated that feeling. Hated the fact he didn't know what was wrong with his br- with Diluc.
Beidou walked down the stairs, a frown on her face. Barbara was right behind her, looking worried. That... That's not a good sign. Jean's pacing stopped but her feet kept shifting. The fact Barbara looked so worried was bad. Horrible, really. The last time she looked so worried was when Bennett got struck by lightning three times in a row.
Beidou stopped at the base of the stairs and sighed.
"On a scale of one to ten, how bad would Mondstadt's reaction be if their wine tycoon died?"
"What?!" Kaeya quickly hopped up from his chair, moving to stand right by Jean as her own expression morphed to shock. Beidou sighed, again, running a hand over her head before speaking.
"It's poison, not sure what kind and not sure how long. We'll have to ask him when he wakes up. You can go take a look at him. Maybe someone'll recognise it," Beidou suggests, and Kaeya follows Jean up the stairs of his own home. Kaeya watches Jean almost pull his bedroom door off its hinges when she tries to open it the wrong way at first, and maybe he would have found it funny any other day.
When he sees Diluc looking a hairs breath away from death in his bed, Kaeya can't find it in himself to even fake a laugh.
"Oh, Diluc..." Jean's frown deepens, but Kaeya's eyes can only narrow.
Varicose veins- Black veins. On Diluc's face and neck. They stand out against his deathly pale skin, and something clicks in Kaeya's head.
"Lamina Tristia," Except there's no way.
"You mean Grieving Edge? If that's the case..." Beidou mutters, leaving Jean the only one of the three who's confused.
"Grieving Edge?"
"A common nickname for Lamina Tristia. It's a Khaenri'an water flower. The petals are sharp enough to cut through skin with ease. It's covered in a poisonous powder and oil. I've had a few of my crew go out of commission for a time because they thought its bulb was a large pearl. It ain't too bad as long as you don't come into contact with it again," Beidou explains, and Kaeya turns to her.
"You've been to Khaenri'ah?" The Crux Captain shook her head.
"No, we've found the flowers near shipwrecks and graves that seem to be of Khaenri'an origin. Had a scholar and doctor identify the plant to ensure my crew wasn't in any danger," That...
If Diluc was being poisoned, then suspects could have been easily narrowed if the poison was only being imported from Khaenri'ah. But it wasn't. There were apparently multiple sites in Teyvat where someone could have gotten the poison.
A sudden groan came from Diluc, the man clearly beginning to return to the waking world as Kaeya's head raced.
What were the culprit's motives? What could they possibly stand to gain from killing Diluc?
They couldn't be from Mondstadt, killing Diluc would put a stop to Dawn Winery's work for a time, and it would probably crash Mondstadt's economy.
Out of everyone, the Fatui stood with the most to gain from this. They could secure a tighter grip on Mondstadt, and they would take out their "Persona Non-Grata".
But Kaeya wasn't about to delude himself into thinking the culprit would need any kind of gain. It could be a jealous citizen, a love-sick psychopath, or just someone who thought it would be interesting.
There were too many possibilities, they need more information.
"...Where am I?" Diluc groaned, having moved to a sitting position, Beidou standing beside him in an instant. Kazuha was likely still downstairs with Aether, and Kaeya was grateful that they weren't all swamping the redhead.
"My place, you passed out at Angel's Share," Kaeya stated, no hint of amusement, no wordplay, no spark to incite Diluc's anger. It was a plain, straight statement, one that Diluc was no longer used to from the bluenette.
"Right... Thank you for your hospitality, Sir Kaeya, but I'll be headed back to Dawn Winery now,"
"You're being poisoned Master Diluc. As the Acting Grand Master, I cannot allow you to return to your residence until we've done a thorough investigation into this," Jean spoke before Kaeya could even open his mouth. Her worry was clear, but her voice did not waver. Kaeya would have to thank her later, because even Diluc wouldn't attempt to resist the current Acting Grand Master. He wouldn't be stubborn enough to do so-
"I appreciate the concern, however, I will be fine to return,"
'Oh for fucks sake'
Diluc went to get up, only for Beidou to shove him back into a laying position with one hand and smack his head with the other.
"You're going to get some more rest and when you're not being stubborn as Haishan, we'll talk about who might be poisoning you and how we're going to stop them. Is that understood?" Beidou's tone was scolding and fierce, not unlike when Jean tells Klee off for fish blasting.
Kaeya found himself surprised as Diluc frowned and sighed.
"Of course, Captain," He grumbled. Beidou hummed in satisfaction, turning to grab Jean and Kaeya before leaving the room and shutting the door. She crossed her arms, making eye contact with Jean.
"We need more information on Grieving Edge, do the knights have anything on foreign poisons?"
"We should have something in the restricted section of the library,"
"Good. I'll stay here and keep an eye on him," Jean nodded in response to Beidou, quickly going to move down the steps with haste. Kaeya stayed for a moment, sighing.
"Thank you,"
'I'm going to kill whoever's done this'