Chapter Text
“Master Diluc, they have arrived, sir.”
The tall man averted his gaze from the letter in his hand to look at the lady that stood by the door. He had received the letter he held from the winery’s latest business partner about four days ago, and though he was skeptic at first about their offer of bringing something new to his business, Diluc eventually saw this as an opportunity for the industry, so he complied. Seeing as he was essentially in charge of the wine industry, and that Mondstadt is the city of ballads and wine, it was inevitable for the people to indulge in new wine once word has been spread.
Fire-Water. A Snezhnayan specialty alcohol that was recently famed for its notorious effect on drinkers, even surpassing the famed Mondstadt beverage Death After Noon, which used to be the only highly sought-after wine in the city. The existence of the notorious drink all began as mere gossip from travelers that came and went into the city, but then eventually, few who have tasted the liquor have mentioned it in the tavern, sparking up curiosity from the half-conscious, wine-loving folks.
“Master Diluc, you should really consider selling some of those for the tavern!” One of the travelers exclaimed with joy from across the tavern, raising the drink in his hand and paid no mind to the drops of liquor that fell to the wooden floor. The cry from the middle-aged traveler was soon followed by yells of drunken encouragement, verbal expressions of wanting to taste the newly crowned, “strongest wine” in Teyvat drowning the faint, melodious tune that played inside Angel’s Share.
Venti, who was sitting by the stool of the counter, also perked up at the sudden episode of uprising, his eyes wide and glowing in pure excitement as he stared at Diluc. The young wine master almost couldn’t believe he was faced with the beloved archon of Mondstadt at that moment—especially not when the young-looking man before him hiccups, “It would be good for business!” after chugging the drink in his hand.
Diluc merely sighed and crossed his arms, biting back a response about the bard’s unpaid tabs (and that he is the one that’s truly affecting his business if anything), and just kept the name of the mysterious, exotic liquor in mind.
Surprisingly, just two days after that encounter, Diluc received a letter asking for a partnership— “for the sake of delightful indulgence, and for the city of wine,” the letter stated. Diluc had read the letter carefully and finally recognized that it was from Snezhnaya, which as much as Diluc hates to admit, sparked a bit of skepticism in him. Not because of an aversion to the nation itself, but because of the intricacy of his past that involved… certain people who hailed from that nation.
Another letter came after Diluc had responded to agree to their offer, stating that they were to arrive in three days to officially seal the deal. Today was the day, hence why the fine master was rereading the letter by his desk, hoping that it wasn’t a decision he wouldn’t soon regret.
Diluc has never been one to regret, anyway. He had always thought that mistakes are an opportunity to learn and improve any deficiency or weaknesses present in a person, and if he were to truly be a good winery master to the people of Mondstadt, he should forget the differences of his own perspective for the sake of the citizens… right?
Diluc said nothing but gave a sigh in response to the lady’s statement, finally standing from his seat after putting the letter down, and making Adelinde, the head housemaid, smile a little. Master Diluc had truly grown so much.
When the carriage arrived at Dawn Winery, he greeted the guests with a professional welcome, shaking their gloved hands and praising them for traveling all the way to Mondstadt for the sake of business.
The first to step out of the carriage was the Snezhnayan man in charge who was in his early thirties named Leonid, sporting a pair of thin glasses and a thick coat draped around his arm, which he so verbally expressed his delight in removing ever since he left the harsh cold of his nation. The rest of the men were then introduced one by one, each shaking the young master’s hand with a pleased grin, and Diluc returns the greeting with a small, polite smile.
The night to celebrate the new business contract will be tomorrow, but for now, the sun was setting and the guests needed to rest, and so Diluc offers the rooms upstairs for the Snezhnayan men to stay in, just for the time being.
━━━━━
The next day, the young master Diluc had escorted Leonid and his people down to the wine cellar, showcasing the different specialty drinks of Mondstadt before taking them to the city’s tavern. He introduced them to Charles and the rest of his men and helped them settle at the Goth Grand Hotel afterwards, doing the honors of settling their tabs for them as their host.
Of course, he still bore ill feelings toward the Fatui and wished to burn the hotel down the moment he stepped into the building, but he was a professional, and business will always come first before his personal feelings. That is after the safety of Mondstadt, of course.
After Leonid and his men thanked him for the day, Diluc returned to the Winery just before sunset, climbs to his office and removes his coat with an exasperated sigh to prepare for the promised toast later on this evening.
So far, he hasn’t had any regrets about the new business alliance. Charles had also mentioned that it would be good for the tavern anyway, and truthfully, Diluc does not see any flaws in the partnership other than having a slight, extremely minor alliance with the Fatui.
But if anything were to suddenly stir from the Fatui’s hands, he would not hesitate to take action against them. His business may be no joke to him despite his feelings about wine, but his duties for the safety of Mondstadt will always overpower his role as a mere wine master. And if trouble were to truly come up, the young master will be ready to drop the alliance and protect the city, disregarding whatever image it may place on—
Is that a child?
Diluc’s thoughts were suddenly cut off by the sight of a kid by the lake, completely oblivious to the danger of his surroundings. He squints a little to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, and after confirmation, he didn’t think twice before immediately rushing back downstairs, swiftly slipping past a confused Adelinde.
“Master Diluc, is everything—?”
“Just a moment,” He cut her off before she could continue, keeping his tone polite, and Adelinde knew him too well to even bother replying. From his appearance alone, without his coat and rushing outside, it seemed urgent, so the housemaid just bowed her head.
He really ought to remind his staff members to keep watch of their kids if they were going to bring them along. The lake near the Winery has been dealing with slime problems for a while now, and although the traveler has been the one fixing the issue recently, he couldn’t just completely rely on them everyday—especially not when Diluc knew how much they already have in their hands.
Diluc tried to be swift and secretive once he reached the lake, seeing as he’d hate to bring the kid’s attention to him. Sure enough, the small usual group of cryo slimes were present just a few feet away from the kid. He made quick work of them, breaking off their shields and eliminating them in one swift motion, but when one of them tried to hop towards the oblivious kid, Diluc had no choice but to stand between them.
His heavy sword came into contact with the ground as he infused it with pyro, eliminating the slime with a loud bang. The ground beneath him rumbled, and Diluc winced at the loud noise, already bracing himself to expect the sound of crying.
Ah, well, there’s not much he can do about it now. He’ll just try his best to console the kid after… even though most kids tend to dislike him.
Except, instead of crying, the sound of an excited gasp was heard.
”That is the coolest toy I’ve ever seen!”
…Toy?
Diluc turned around and was faced with the kid himself, wearing an expression of complete awe, his eyes practically glowing as he stared at his claymore. The man said nothing but frowned in confusion, tilting the heavy sword to the side a little to inspect it with the kid.
”That looks so heavy! May I borrow it, please?”
His gaze returns to the kid in front of him. Come to think of it, he was dressed differently, and the very warm-looking hat on his head seemed a bit too out of place for Mondstadt weather. After seeing how Leonid and his men were dressed yesterday, Diluc recognizes the Snezhnayan outfit right away, and briefly considers the thought of his staff members dressing up their child that way for self indulgence. But, no, that would be a bit too much… or at least that’s what Diluc thinks.
Perhaps one of his guests forgot their child at the Winery?
...No, that seemed unlikely. They would have said something as soon as they checked in at the hotel earlier.
Diluc decides to put a halt to his thoughts after realizing he’s been leaving the awestruck kid on edge, finally shaking his head before saying, “No. This is not a toy.”
Before the tall man could stash his weapon away, a loud, panicked laughter was heard behind him.
”Archons above! That is a pretty cool toy!”
The young man turned to look at the source of the new voice and immediately stiffened in alertness, keeping the little boy hidden behind him. The man that emerged from behind him was tall, with rowdy orange hair and immodestly worn clothes. Diluc immediately recognized the man upon seeing the mask that sat at the side of his head.
A harbinger in Mondstadt?
The approaching man was clapping his hands as he stepped closer, rushing a little to decrease the distance between himself and the two figures by the lake. The red head immediately extends his hand to the side and kept his weight on his toes, s hielding the kid away from the approaching threat as he prepared for possible combat.
“Careful, kid. He’s Fat–”
A gloved hand immediately came to cover his mouth before he could finish the word, impressively quick enough to surprise Diluc. His brows furrowed in surprise and disbelief as he eyed the Fatui who was now standing next to him, sporting a ridiculously sheepish smile.
“Woah there, good sir. You aren’t calling me fat, are you? Although there is nothing wrong with that, of course, but I like to take pride in my physique!” The man laughed, flustered, waving his free hand in the air in an exaggerated manner.
Diluc’s eyes narrow as he pushed the hand away from his face, earning an embarrassed chuckle from the other man in return.
This was Tartaglia, one of the most feared Harbinger? Although Diluc was smart enough to keep his guard up around him, the man next to him almost seemed too loony to be considered as deadly. He’s had enough of the bantering, though, so the young master turned back around to face the now confused kid.
”He’s Fatui. Let’s go—”
”Well that’s a weird way to pronounce the word toy. Don’t you think so, Teucer?”
Annoyed, Diluc snaps his head to the harbinger and was ready to retaliate against his stupid nonsense, but the other man’s expression quickly changed to a dark one, as if irritated at how oblivious Diluc was being to the hints he threw his way.
He could only blink in surprise at the sudden shift while the kid beside him laughed, finally confirming Diluc’s speculation about the kid being from Snezhnaya.
”It’s pronounced as toy, mister, not too-ey!” The kid gave a bubbly laugh, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe a grown man like him didn’t know the correct pronunciation of one of the easiest words in the dictionary.
The response from the boy seemed to be good enough to persuade the harbinger to blink back to his fake, cheerful state, and all Diluc could do was stand there dumbfounded from the interaction that was going on before him.
What the hell is happening? And did he really just make Diluc seem illiterate in front of a kid?
“Anyways, Teucer, you’re in real trouble for running off like that again. Go back to Katya and wait for me there. I’ll stay here and teach the man how to pronounce words properly.”
The kid complied after a few seconds of whining in protest, hugging the harbinger goodbye and waving at the dumbfounded Diluc before running off to the Winery’s direction, finally leaving the two men alone.
Not only is a harbinger disrupting the peace in his Winery, but he also managed to make Diluc seem stupid.
Without hesitation, Diluc’s claymore was pointed at the other man's throat the moment the boy was out of sight, and his eyes narrowed to watch the threat before him.
"Care to explain what someone like you is doing in Mondstadt?"
The other man merely whistled, unaffected by the threat of the blade near his throat. Rather, Childe was impressed by the way the young man carried it with one arm so effortlessly.
Annoyed at the nonchalant response he earned from the ginger, Diluc pushes the claymore further, the tip of the blade now somewhat grazing at the man's neck.
"Ah, so you know who I am? I am most honored, young master," Childe finally replied with a wide grin, blue eyes shifting his gaze from Diluc's arm to meet his face.
Of course Diluc knew who he was. He was Tartaglia, the 11th Fatui Harbinger. Diluc had a rough history with the harbingers years ago after he had abandoned his vision at the knights' headquarters. They were constantly after his tail due to his past mistake of wielding a delusion, but the man before him was one of the harbingers he never actually came across with in person. And due to his experience with the other members of the Eleven, Diluc is a firm believer that nothing but harm will come in one’s way as long as they are involved.
Diluc further narrowed his eyes into slits as he gazed back at Childe, his intimidating silence coaxing a sigh out of the man.
"Alright, alright. I was sent here as punishment for my... failed assignment." Childe finally answers his question, slightly wincing at the words. It hurt for him to finally admit it out loud.
"What, failed to kill someone innocent?" Diluc replied with bitterness, and Childe merely laughs, pushing the claymore down from his neck with the tip of his finger.
"Something like that," He replied with a shrug, and although he complied and lowered his weapon, Diluc still wants to wipe the grin off of his face, especially when he's talking about taking innocent lives so casually.
What Diluc doesn't know is that Childe was referring to his "failed" mission of finding the Geo Archon and obtaining the gnosis himself, or the complications of how he had to serve as a pawn for everyone to point their fingers to, but he doesn't explain it to the irked young master. The behavior amused him, if anything, and he'd like for it to stay that way.
He's heard of the nobleman of high esteem and his hatred for the Fatui a long time ago before he even got to Mondstadt, and as much as he hated the extremely tedious and useless punishment he received from his Tsaritsa, he is fine with it as long as he could be a bother to someone – just to let out his rage from being played by both his colleague and the consultant from Liyue.
And besides, if he were to be sent away for a boring assignment as punishment, he might as well work on making it interesting, right?
Childe waits for an answer, thrilled with anticipation to hear a response from the other man… only to find him stashing his weapon away and moving to head back to the Winery.
In Diluc’s mind, he thinks that it’s best to ignore the presence of the other man instead of further igniting a flame that will only take time to extinguish, so without uttering another word, he walks past the smiling harbinger.
Well, that won't do, Childe thinks in disappointment to himself, and immediately followed suit after the wine master.
"You know, you should really learn how to take hints. I was struggling back there." The harbinger attempts to kindle a conversation from the young nobleman, and all he received was an annoyed grunt of, "ugh" and a roll of his eyes.
Childe pursed his lips to contain a smile, satisfied with the annoyed response, and continued, "He's my brother, Teucer. I keep all of the Fatui stuff from him, so he doesn't know any of that."
"So you hide the truth of the world from him?" Diluc paused in his tracks in disbelief to turn back at Childe, and when he was met with a satisfied grin of finally having him respond to his rambling, Diluc's brows furrowed in annoyance and continued to walk forward.
"He's far too young to be acquainted with such violent topics," Childe responds to his words with another shrug. Maybe it wasn't wise to open up about his family to a stranger, but Childe is smart enough to know that no harm will come from the minor information he was sharing.
"That's foolish. You may think that you're protecting him, but you're only carving out a painful path for him to walk on," Diluc replied, a bit too serious than what Childe was expecting, "Trust me, he will be disappointed in you once he learns the truth."
And Diluc knew that feeling all too well.
With the pace that Diluc was walking in, they were nearing the Winery by now, and Diluc's shoulders relaxed the moment the comforting sight of grapevines came into view.
"I'll make it up to him. Brother's bond, y'know? He'll understand." The annoying voice from behind him replied.
Childe's response stung a little, since he was reminded of the fallout with his own brother. Diluc tried not to let it show, tried to keep his expression still as he opened the door of his mansion, stepping inside and quickly working on shutting it before the harbinger could follow him inside. But before Diluc could successfully slam it shut, a voice from behind him was heard.
"Master Diluc, Lord Tartaglia," Adelinde greeted courteously, making the red head snap his head at her with a confused look.
"Good evening, Adelinde," Childe smiled at her, looking a bit too pleased with the growing look of surprise plastered on the young master's face.
Has Adelinde finally betray him? Had she grown tired of Diluc's stubbornness and plead her loyalty to the Fatui? Was Adelinde a spy? Diluc's head was filled with nonsensical questions, and all he could do was gape at his trusted housemaid.
Adelinde gave her confused master a polite smile, bowing her head a little to suppress a chuckle.
"Master Diluc, Lord Tartaglia here will be handling the Winery's business alliance with Snezhnaya along with Sir Leonid."
Diluc knows he should not regret anything. No, he isn't one to regret. But why is it that, the moment those words left her mouth, Diluc felt his stomach twist with regret? The moment the ginger, unruly hair came into view, Diluc wished he had never agreed to the business offer in the first place?
A gloved hand was extended to Diluc's direction, and Diluc gazes at it momentarily before looking up at the smirking harbinger.
"Very pleased to be under your care, Master Diluc."