In the bathroom, Jean was so flustered she didn't know what to do.
Even reading romance novels made her blush— she could hardly imagine the "grand scene" awaiting her next.
During the day, Lisa had kept whispering in her ear about last night's escapades,
teasing her now and then.
Just lie down, close your eyes.
Mondstadt's problems solved, the weight on her heart would lift—not only the mental pressure gone, but the physical tension released in a flood.
"Hm?"
The glow of the diary copy snapped Jean out of her thoughts.
"Huh? Even now, Su Xuan still has the mood to update his diary?"
[Jean Gunnhildr, Dandelion Knight, inheritor of Vennessa's Lionfang Knight.]
[Compared to the freedom-loving Barbatos, Vennessa is the one Jean truly idolizes and reveres.]
[That's why Jean Gunnhildr's actions show no trace of freedom.]
[From childhood, her education and training ingrained the chivalric spirit deep into her soul. The Gunnhildr family motto: eternally protect Mondstadt, never allow harm to befall it.]
[She is Mondstadt's sword and shield.]
[Beyond clearing wilderness monsters and safeguarding the city and roads, her most vital duty is maintaining Mondstadt's order.]
[Though Mondstadt is the City of Freedom, Jean knows unchecked laxity breeds chaos and aimlessness.]
[Thus, she upholds a rigorous, diligent style, holding herself to the strictest standards.]
[Hm... Sounds like Jean's pretty great...]
[Of course, she really is.]
Lisa in the next room sat up.
He'd just gone in—shouldn't it be over this quick?
Not a sound...
[Unfortunately, in today's freedom-pursuing Mondstadt, Jean's self-imposed rigor is utterly misguided.]
[She can never sustain an entire nation single-handedly.]
[The more she demands perfection of herself under the creed of eternal protection, the deeper she sinks into an endless vortex of exploitation.]
[Even when ill, people seek her out, and she'll bear the sickness to aid Mondstadt's people.]
[They call it trust and reliance; in truth, it's the citizens' laziness.]
[They wave the flag of Mondstadt as Teyvat's freest nation.]
[Yet Jean Gunnhildr is the least free, secretly relieving stress with romance novels in the dead of night.]
Jean's eyes widened.
No doubt, Su Xuan had exposed her last secrets.
Few knew this—publicly, she was always impeccable, upright, and stern.
If the other girls of Mondstadt learned their Grand Master secretly read romance novels, how could she face them?
[That said, Mondstadt's abandoned Four Winds Guardians reveal the citizens' disdain for heritage.]
[I'd love to ask Jean Gunnhildr: What is Mondstadt's freedom? What freedom does Barbatos champion?]
[But recalling how she torments herself in the name of Mondstadt's freedom, I see no need.]
[The freedom Jean understands is literal: indolence.]
[That's the freedom Mondstadt's citizens accept today.]
[Yet Barbatos's freedom is different.]
[Perhaps no one knows why Barbatos wanders as the bard Venti.]
[This Venti was the first friend the wind spirit Barbatos made upon his birth.]
[Back then, there was no Mondstadt—only the tyrant tower under wind's oppression.]
[The people, bowed by wind pressure, lived crushed.]
[The king misunderstood their bows as reverence.]
[The people mistook the protective wind walls for a prison curbing their freedom.]
[In this mutual misunderstanding, the wind spirit Barbatos met the bard Venti, who yearned beyond the walls.]
[Thus, the people's rebellion against the tyrant ignited.]
[They fought for freedom.]
[Only at the end did the tyrant realize the truth of their bows.]
[He willingly perished by their hands, his godly remnant absorbed by the wind spirit.]
[The rebellion triumphed, but freedom-seeking Venti died in the fray.]
[Since then, Barbatos lives on as his friend, beholding the world beyond the walls in his stead.]
[Time passed, ushering in the old Mondstadt under Lawrence rule.]
Eula: "?"
[The era Mondstadters call the 'Dark Ages.']
[Corrupted by privilege and wealth, the noble houses decayed.]
[Led by the Lawrences, they toppled Barbatos's statue, erecting a tower in its place to flaunt authority.]
[The people suffered under noble oppression.]
[Feeling their plight, Anemo Archon Barbatos awoke from slumber.]
[He met another pivotal figure in his life.]
[The Lionfang Knight Jean reveres most: Vennessa.]
"It's Lady Vennessa."
Seeing Su Xuan mention Vennessa, Jean's mood instantly surged with excitement.
[Vennessa began as a captured slave, fighting beasts for noble amusement.]
[Her thirst for freedom and future caught Barbatos's eye.]
[With his aid, she raised the banner against noble tyranny.]
[Her victory ended the old Mondstadt aristocracy, birthing the new era enduring to this day.]
[So, what is the freedom Barbatos truly champions?]
[Today's Mondstadters don't understand freedom at all.]
[Yet they chant it daily: Freedom, freedom...]
[I want freedom, so I can slack off, avoid busyness.]
[Utterly shameless.]
[So I say, Little Jean, if it comes to it, just give up.]
[Maybe if you slack off, Mondstadt's future will be brighter.]
The diary ended here.
Jean's fair face burned crimson.
As Su Xuan said, her understanding of freedom was indolence.
Because Mondstadt championed freedom, she saw no wrong in citizens pursuing it—even slacking.
Thus, she had to demand more of herself to aid the slackers.
But reading of Barbatos's and Vennessa's pasts together, enlightenment dawned.
The freedom Mondstadt upheld was rebellion against oppression, striving for a new future.
What citizens chased now ran counter to Barbatos's and Vennessa's vision.
"Feels like I got thoroughly roasted,"
"But I can't find a single reason to refute it. Su Xuan's right." Jean murmured to herself.
Her smooth body shivered—she suddenly remembered Su Xuan was still waiting in the room.
Jean hurriedly dried off, wrapped a bath towel around herself, and stepped out.