The next day
Fischl seemed to have slept fairly well this time. Although he still wasn't very energetic, at least he wasn't like yesterday.
This was, of course, because Oz watched Fischl the entire time, only returning to his Vision after he had fallen asleep.
Of course, Oz was unaware that Fischl had woken up again in the latter half of the night due to strange dreams, and had barely slept since then.
Early in the morning, Fischl came to the living room and slowly sat down on the sofa.
Oz hadn't even woken up yet, because he had also stayed out very late last night before returning to his Vision.
Fischl seemed unsure what to do, just sitting on the sofa in a daze.
He had another dream last night, a very strange one.
This time, the content was even more stimulating than the last, so stimulating that the first thing Fischl did after waking up today was to lift his blanket and check the bedsheets.
Fortunately, nothing embarrassing had happened, otherwise, it would have been difficult to explain to the landlord.
What was wrong with him? Why did he always dream of such things, and with Stelle...
Fischl was somewhat troubled. He even suspected if he was also affected by the dizziness, otherwise, how to explain the strange dreams of the past two days...
"Fischl, good morning." Stelle's voice suddenly came.
"Ah?!" Fischl was startled by Stelle's sudden voice, quickly stood up, and turned to look.
Stelle had appeared behind him at some point.
"Th-that, last night, did you… sleep well?" Stelle looked at Fischl with a bit of a guilty conscience.
His dazed appearance made Stelle feel a little bad.
"F-fine," Fischl said slowly, staring blankly at Stelle.
Perhaps because he had just woken up, Stelle wasn't wearing the outer jacket he usually wore, only the white inner garment.
This garment was ridiculously loose, even revealing most of Stelle's fragrant shoulder.
If it were someone else, this might not be a big deal. In Mondstadt, although everyone's attire was somewhat similar, there were also many who were unconventional, even dressing very boldly.
Like himself, for instance.
Compared to him and some of the young people in Mondstadt, Stelle's clothes were truly nothing.
But the problem was, she was Stelle.
Fischl's gaze was somewhat unable to leave Stelle.
"Are you really fine? But you don't look very energetic," Stelle didn't quite believe what Fischl said.
After all, anyone could see that Fischl currently lacked the spirit and vitality he had when they first met.
But Fischl gave him no response at the moment, just staring blankly at him.
"Fischl? Prinzessin?" Stelle waved his hand in front of Fischl's eyes, confused.
"You, why are you alone? Where is that traveler from another world?" Fischl reacted, quickly took a few steps back, and turned to speak.
"Lumine is still sleeping, after all, it's still too early…" Stelle said, scratching his head.
He and Lumine had played very late last night, but since there was still something to do today, he had sent the already sleeping Lumine back in the latter half of the night.
And helped him put on his nightgown.
It was still early, so letting Lumine sleep a bit longer was fine, as there was no rush to return to Mondstadt City anyway.
It was just Fischl's current state that made him quite worried.
He felt it would be best to explain things clearly to Fischl, and talk to him, lest he continue like this and develop health problems.
"Speaking of which, where's Oz?" Stelle came back to his senses, looked at Fischl's side, and asked in confusion.
"My familiar is still in slumber."
"Uh, he's also sleeping, right? I understand…" Stelle nodded and also walked over to the sofa and sat down.
The atmosphere between the two suddenly became a bit awkward. Although Stelle wanted to talk, he didn't know how to start the first sentence.
Fischl also sat there in silence, wondering what he was thinking.
This silent atmosphere was truly suffocating.
Especially since Fischl's gaze would occasionally fall on Stelle, but then quickly move away when Stelle looked over, making Stelle feel a little headache.
"Um, Fischl…" Stelle finally couldn't stand this strange feeling, and he spoke first.
"Wh-what is it?" Fischl was clearly very nervous, but still tried his best to maintain his dignity as a Prinzessin.
"It's just, well, how do I put it…" Stelle hesitated, conflicted.
He didn't know how to talk to Fischl about that night, after all, Fischl didn't seem very old, and such a thing would definitely be too stimulating for him.
"Ahem, oh, you who are intertwined with my destiny, speak whatever you wish. The Prinzessin shall resolve all your worries and hardships," Fischl raised his head slightly, and said to Stelle with a feigned air of profundity.
"Yesterday… no, the night before yesterday, you saw it, right?" Stelle was silent for a moment, then finally decided to clarify the matter first.
After all, Fischl's current state was truly too worrying.
"The night before yesterday?" Fischl looked at Stelle in confusion, but he quickly understood what Stelle was talking about.
Fischl's cheeks visibly turned crimson, and his expression began to panic.
"Y-yes, I'm sorry, I, I didn't know…"
Fischl's newly regained Prinzessin der Verurteilung dignity was thrown aside, and she was stammering as she spoke.
She might have misunderstood, thinking Aether had come to question her because she had secretly watched Aether and Lumine.
But how could Fischl be blamed for this? If anything, Lumine seemed to be the one most at fault.
It was she who had not closed the door properly when she entered the room.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, I don't mean to blame you," Aether quickly said to Fischl.
He just wanted to talk to Fischl and tell her not to worry too much about that incident.
Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that Fischl's current lack of sleep wasn't entirely related to that incident.
"I just wanted to say, I hope you don't mind, that incident… and if possible, it's best not to tell anyone else," Aether said slowly. Talking about this matter was both embarrassing and made him feel a bit strange.
Aether also didn't know what to do about this unexpected situation.
"I, I understand," Listening to Aether's words, Fischl gradually calmed down, but she still kept her small head bowed, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.
"I'm sorry, I caused you to not sleep well these past few days," Aether sighed helplessly.
"Mmm…" Fischl remained silent.
Not sleeping well was true, but there was no good way to solve it.
Now, as soon as she closed her eyes, she would definitely dream of things related to Aether, and Aether in her dreams was too strange.
Sometimes gentle, sometimes domineering…
Fischl slowly raised her head and looked opposite.
The Aether in front of her was, of course, different from the one in her dreams, but even in his current state, he still made her heart pound erratically.
Staring at Aether's lips, Fischl recalled the scene in her dream.
She was inexplicably curious, what… what kind of feeling was that?
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