Leaving the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ryou headed toward Yujing Terrace with Lumine, walking her toward the escort point.
As they went, Ryou could clearly tell Lumine was acting… timid.
It threw him off.
In his mind, Lumine wasn't the shy-girl type at all. She carried herself with confidence and never backed down from anyone. That fit everything she'd been through—the Stormterror incident, fighting Stormterror high above the clouds.
Even when she met the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, met Ningguang of the Liyue Qixing, even met gods—she didn't act afraid. To her, they were just people. And like her title, "Tabibito," she was a passerby.
So seeing her act like some sheltered young lady, all bashful and hesitant… the whiplash was unreal.
Ryou slowed to a stop, about to say something—when Lumine, for some reason, bumped right into him. Warmth pressed in for a split second.
"Ah—I… sorry. I was thinking about something," Lumine blurted.
She hadn't even realized she'd drifted into him. She kept her head down, not daring to look up at Ryou.
She didn't know why, but every time she saw him, her heart started racing. She kept trying to figure it out.
Back in Mondstadt, she'd met all kinds of people—Kaeya, Jean, Diluc, Amber. Men and women alike. She'd never felt anything like this.
But with Ryou… it kept happening.
Lumine stayed quiet, worried she'd embarrass herself again. Even she didn't like this. Since leaving Mondstadt, she hadn't felt this stifled once.
"It's fine," Ryou said. "But you know… this is only our second time meeting. Still, I've heard plenty about you."
He looked at her, patient.
"You're Mondstadt's Honorary Knight. A hero. You fought Stormterror in the sky—and you did it without a Vision. That's not something normal people can do."
His tone stayed mild, but the question landed cleanly.
"So why won't you lift your head and look at me? Are you scared of me? Honestly, if people found out a hero like you was afraid to meet me, they'd think it was impossible."
Ryou wasn't mocking her. He was genuinely curious.
"I…"
Lumine reflexively raised her head.
The moment her eyes met his, her heartbeat kicked up again—though it wasn't as overwhelming as before. She let out a quiet breath and forced a smile.
"Maybe I'm just not acclimated. I'm a foreigner, after all."
"Not acclimated…"
Ryou's expression tightened.
Mondstadt wasn't even that far from Liyue. What was she talking about?
But she looked more like herself again, so he didn't press it. He simply led her over to the guide at the escort point.
"You two—" the guide started to speak, then paused as a middle-aged man walked down the steps.
He had a square-jawed face and wore a blue robe. Just standing there, he carried an easy authority, the kind that didn't need to shout. When he saw Ryou and Lumine, his brows drew together and he spoke bluntly.
"Hmph. What are you doing here?"
"We…" Lumine started, thinking he was talking to her, and stepped forward to explain.
Ryou gave a dry laugh and cut in first. "Father—yesterday I had something come up, so I got delayed. I've just finished handling everything at the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I was about to head back and bring Keqing home to meet you."
"Hmph." His father's gaze sharpened. "I thought you married Keqing and forgot about your family."
Then his eyes flicked to Lumine.
"Explain. What's with this girl? I'm not against… certain things, but you know what Keqing's temperament is like. And you've only been married a few days, and you're already bringing another woman around? You—"
His voice hardened into a scolding.
Ryou had no choice but to explain, start to finish.
"Father, you've misunderstood. She's Tabibito. Ningguang-san invited her to the Jade Chamber yesterday, but nobody told her how to get up there."
He gestured lightly toward Lumine.
"Today she went to the Ministry looking for Keqing's help. I know where the escort point is, so I brought her over."
Ryou's father listened, then gave Lumine a long look.
He snorted. "Nonsense. I've lived long enough to know what I'm seeing. My eyes have never misread people."
His tone turned even sharper.
"That girl's eyes are full of feelings when she looks at you. She's fallen for you, no question. I'm your father—and you're still trying to hide it from me?"
Lumine's face went bright red.
She turned away, heat flooding up to her ears.
[End of chapter]
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