So-called death isn't terrifying; what's terrifying is the agonizing wait for death.
Jean understood this deeply. After she briefly handed over some of the Knights of Favonius's affairs, asking Kaeya to temporarily handle her work for a period, she embarked on the path to the "execution ground."
Her distracted demeanor made everyone worried. Kaeya even asked her if she wanted to go back and rest first.
She naturally shook her head and refused.
Leaving aside the urgency of Dvalin's matter, she had to personally confirm Stelle's situation there.
The Knights of Favonius headquarters to Hunter's Deer restaurant was actually quite a distance. Of course, it would be faster with a Wind Glider, but generally, no one did that except for Amber.
Walking this path would be somewhat long.
But now, Jean wished this path could be even longer.
However, no matter how long the road, there would always be a day when it reached its end.
"Ah, it's Acting Grand Master Jean!" Paimon, flying in the air, spotted Jean first and waved her small hand at her.
"Good, good morning, everyone." Acting Grand Master Jean forced a smile.
She secretly glanced at Stelle, finding no obvious signs of disgust on her face.
It seemed she hadn't noticed.
"Good morning, Acting Grand Master Jean… You look a bit tired. Did you not sleep well last night?" Lumine keenly noticed Jean's unusual state and quickly asked.
"Ah, yes, I did. I slept for a bit yesterday, but then couldn't sleep much at night."
When the events of last night were mentioned, Jean's heart leaped to her throat, but fortunately, she managed to control her emotions in time, preventing Lumine from noticing anything amiss.
"I was the same, actually. I didn't fall asleep until the latter half of the night yesterday," Stelle echoed, nodding empathetically.
"But Stelle looks pretty energetic," Paimon turned to look at Stelle, remarking.
"Yes, I slept really soundly in the latter half of last night. Acting Grand Master Jean's bed is very comfortable."
"Is that so? It's good that you could rest well." Jean smiled slightly.
She hadn't slept all night, and then she'd been on edge all morning, so naturally, she had no energy.
But Stelle had indeed slept very soundly in the latter half of the night, which gave her an opportunity…
"Let's go. Diluc's Dawn Winery isn't very far from Mondstadt; we can walk there in a morning," Jean said, taking the initiative.
She suppressed yesterday's events in her heart, trying to act as natural as possible.
Although this matter tormented her, even apologizing to Stelle shouldn't be done at a time like this.
Besides, the Honorary Knight was watching, and she had to consider Stelle as well; she probably wouldn't want this matter to become public knowledge.
"Okay, let's go! I've never been to Master Diluc's Dawn Winery before. It must be very big, right?" Paimon flew beside Jean, asking curiously.
"Yes, it's the largest Dawn Winery in Mondstadt," Jean said with a kind smile, looking like her usual self again.
"Lumine, it's time to go. Don't just stand there," Stelle turned to look at Lumine, who was still standing in place, lost in thought, and reminded her.
"Ah, okay." Lumine collected her thoughts and quickly followed.
Her gaze had been fixed on Acting Grand Master Jean, and she only shifted it when Jean came to Stelle's side.
She just felt that Acting Grand Master Jean seemed to be hiding something; it felt strange.
Was she simply affected by not sleeping well and the Knights of Favonius's matters this morning?
Or, had she really done something to Stelle…
Dawn Winery.
Stelle looked at the building in the distance, feeling a surge of emotion.
This was Diona's ultimate goal, her final boss.
Just looking at the scale of Dawn Winery, even though Stelle and Diona were good friends, she felt it would be hard to tell Diona that she would definitely succeed.
Compared to Diona, it felt more likely that a natural disaster would destroy this place.
"Master Diluc isn't the richest person in Mondstadt, is he?" Paimon couldn't help but ask.
Such a large estate must have very high daily maintenance costs.
"Perhaps. I haven't seen a report on Mondstadters' assets, but as the City of Poetry and Wine, and with Dawn Winery controlling half of Mondstadt's wine industry, it's not an exaggeration to call him an uncrowned king," Jean replied seriously.
"Wow, Lumine, you have to get along well with Diluc!" Paimon quickly told Lumine beside her.
"I think our relationship is already fine," Lumine said, looking at Paimon, speechless.
The little one was both gluttonous and greedy; she really didn't know how she developed such a personality.
The group arrived at the entrance of Dawn Winery. The most prominent feature was probably the wooden plaque.
Besides the words "Dawn Winery," there were also a few smaller characters below: [Never Forget the Beginning].
Presumably, it was the motto of Dawn Winery or Diluc himself.
"Oh, you're finally here!" Venti's voice came from a distance. The green-clad bard had appeared beside them at some point.
"Hello, Venti, long time no see," Lumine greeted, though they hadn't truly been apart for very long.
"The Dvalin rescue team is finally reunited!" Paimon clapped her hands and said.
"I don't recall us forming any team," Diluc walked over, still with his usual indifferent expression.
However, for those familiar with him, this was already something they were used to.
"I was originally thinking of letting you rest a bit more," Jean looked at Diluc, saying helplessly.
"No need. Collecting these few Dragon Tears isn't a difficult task."
"Then, quickly bring out the Dragon Tears you've collected." Venti held the skylyre in his hand; he was already a bit impatient.
Dvalin's matter had always weighed on his mind, so much so that even though he was at Diluc's Dawn Winery, he still wasn't in the mood to drink… Well, it was simply because Diluc watched him strictly, and he didn't have much money anyway.
The group handed the recently collected Dragon Tears to Lumine. The purification was but an instant as the Dragon Tears touched Lumine.
When those few drops of Dragon Tears were dripped onto the skylyre, the lyre instantly transformed.
"The lyre seems to have… a feeling of rejuvenation."
"Acting Grand Master Jean is praising herself!" Paimon's eyes widened.
"I, I was talking about the skylyre," Jean said, blushing slightly, and quickly clarified.
"Alright, the skylyre has finally returned to its former state. Now we just need to find a suitable place and summon Dvalin."
Venti looked at the skylyre in his hand with satisfaction. He and this item had been separated for a long time, and he hadn't expected to see it shine brightly again.
"Dvalin is such a huge dragon; we'll need to find a spacious place," Paimon said, stroking her chin.
"I already have an idea. The sea breeze and high-altitude winds can carry a bard's poems further," Venti lightly stroked the strings, and the skylyre emitted a clear, melodious sound.
"Within Mondstadt, there should be no place more suitable than Starfell Valley."
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