[Genshin Impact] A world where only travelers are alone

The owner of the apple pie shop was quite kind and didn't detain them for too long. He let them go after Wendy sang two songs.

When he left, the bard was still feeling smug about how much money he had received today: "Hehe, it seems that my charm is still as strong as before. I can go to the tavern and have a drink tonight!"

Cecilia had never seen him like this before, so she couldn't help but be curious: "Does Teacher Wendy like to drink?"

"Of course!" Wendy replied firmly, "Wine is a good thing. Drinking it will make you feel light and dizzy. I like this feeling, just like feeling like a feather."

As if to prove her love for this feeling, Wendy raised her hand to summon a breeze and molded it into the shape of a feather.

The transparent feather with a fluorescent green color floated quietly in the palm of his hand. Unfortunately, Cecilia couldn't see it and could only judge what he was doing by his movements.

Before she could ask, Wendy moved closer and gently touched her earlobe, as if she was putting some earrings on her.

The distance was so close that Cecilia could almost clearly see the poet's long eyelashes.

She knew her ears must be red now, but she couldn't say no, so she could only whisper the poet's name: "Teacher Wendy..."

After a long while, she finally heard Wendy chuckle, "Okay."

The poet distanced himself, and the first thing Cecilia did when she was finally able to move freely was to touch her earlobe.

This was a completely subconscious action, but she still didn't touch anything real. She could only feel the soft touch intimately wrapped around her fingertips.

"It's a gift." Wendy held her hand and smiled, "I think you will like it. Besides, it can be used as more than just a simple earring~"

"What?" Cecilia asked.

"You'll know later." Wendy put her index finger to her lips and smiled mysteriously, "Now, just enjoy this Badminton Festival with me!"

Cecilia always felt that there was something else behind his words, but before she had time to think about it, her attention was attracted by a group of people walking towards her not far away.

She was very familiar with the attire of those people; it was the Lawrence family's guard uniforms. The one standing in the middle was Buck, with whom she had parted ways unpleasantly some time ago.

Cecilia really couldn't understand why Buck brought so many guards with him on the Badminton Festival, a day that should have been a time for everyone to enjoy together.

It was the first time for her to sneak into the crowd to watch the badminton festival. In the past, she was ordered to stay with her father and could only watch everything from afar. Later on, she became completely uninterested and no longer paid attention to this side.

So it was the first time she knew Buck would come here, but she didn't know why he came back.

It's impossible that her arrogant and dissolute brother would be interested in badminton, which symbolizes the blessing of the God of Wind?
Cecilia felt something was wrong, especially when she noticed that the Lawrence guards rudely pushed aside innocent bystanders just to make way for Buck, her expression turned uncontrollably cold.

But she knew very well that if she chose to show up at this time when she should have stayed at home, things would never develop in a good direction, and she would only hand the handle to Buck.

What's worse, Wendy might be implicated...

She bit her lip and pulled the hood of her cloak lower, covering herself more tightly.

"Don't worry." Wendy held her hand tighter and turned back to whisper, "I won't let them find you."

"Hmm..." Cecilia responded softly.

But only she herself knew that what she was worried about was not this, but what Buck was going to do next. She was not sure if she would impulsively rush out to stop him if he really wanted to do something excessive.

Fortunately, Buck didn't seem to be planning to do anything.

After occupying the best view of Qianfeng Square, he stayed there quietly. Although passers-by were uneasy because of his presence, at least it didn't seem like any conflict would break out.

Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief.

Wendy was obviously a little more relaxed because of Buck's obedience. She hooked her palm and said, "Okay, now we can enjoy the final ceremony of the badminton festival in peace. I wonder who will win the badminton this time?"

"Cecilia, do you want this badminton?"

His sudden question startled Cecilia, and she couldn't help but look up at him.

The boy's green eyes were bright as he stared at her intently, as if all she had to do was say "yes" and he would really help her bring the badminton back.

Cecilia stared at him blankly and did not answer.

But Wendy knew that she wanted to do so, but she couldn't do it in such a high-profile manner now. After all, which Mondstadt person doesn't want a whole year's blessing from their beloved wind god Barbatos?
Even without badminton, the God of Wind would still bless her, but it was hard to say this out loud.

He thought with some distress, so he decided to take the badminton so that his blessing could be presented to her along with the small ball and the Cecilia flowers on the mountain.

"Do you want it?" he asked again.

But before Cecilia made her choice, the guy next to her who had been listening to their conversation for who knows how long suddenly said coldly: "Don't dream, everyone in Mondstadt knows that the badminton belongs to Young Master Lawrence. I advise you not to try to steal it without knowing your own limitations. If you mess with him, you'll be in trouble."

"Belong to Master Lawrence? What's going on?" Cecilia asked.

The man glanced at her, but because he couldn't see clearly what she looked like under the cloak, he just asked curiously: "Are you outsiders? No wonder you don't know. In the past, the girls who threw badminton were selected through competitions, but since the Lawrence family took over the celebration, they cancelled the competitions and directly designated the girls." "Master Buck from the Lawrence family - see, the one over there, he would take the girls home directly after the banquet. Alas, he is really a beast. It's okay to extort money at ordinary times, but now he actually does this kind of thing..."

By the time he finished speaking, Cecilia's face was almost bleeding from biting her lower lip.

She never knew that the Lawrence family was like this.

She subconsciously looked up at the poor girl standing on the top of the tower, and finally realized that the expression on her face was not the worry of being at a high place, but the fear of what would happen in the future.

"Buck..." she murmured, "Didn't father ever stop him from doing such ridiculous things?"

Cecilia looked towards where she used to be. Master Lawrence's guard of honor was still standing there quietly, which meant that Master Lawrence was also watching this farce.

Is my father tacitly approving...

"Cecilia, are you okay?"

Wendy's concerned cry finally brought Cecilia back to her senses. She looked very confused: "Teacher Wendy, what should I do?"

She thought Wendy could give her an answer, but at this time the poet shook her head and took a step back.

"That's your choice, Cecilia," he said.

Your own choice?

Cecilia only felt that a woman's voice seemed to ring in her ears again -

[Cold and noble, not afraid of rage, strong and calm, not shaken. 】

If the Lawrence family was corrupt from within, was the family honor that she upheld and bore real?
Cecilia couldn't think clearly, and time didn't allow her any time to think.

The bell rang, and the final ceremony of the badminton festival began——

No matter how scared the girl on the tower was, she could only drop the badminton in her hand and watch it fall into the crowd. The crowd automatically moved away, leaving a path for Master Buck to travel with.

Almost there, he was about to get the badminton...

The girl didn't want to watch anymore, so she closed her eyes in vain, letting the tears flow out of her sockets and down her cheeks.

Now, apart from clasping her hands together and praying to God, hoping that someone could save her from danger, what else could she do?

Cecilia saw her despair, and her heart, filled with anger, almost jumped out of her chest.

She finally couldn't help it, and after saying to Wendy, "Please wait for me here," she clenched her fists and rushed into the crowd.

She appeared so suddenly and aggressively that the Lawrence guards subconsciously tried to grab her, but Cecilia predicted and dodged every move.

Even though the guards surrounded her by taking advantage of their numbers, Cecilia was able to dodge them with the help of her years of sword training, and her dodging movements were as light as dancing.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that this was a trick from the Lawrence family, because only this family that prides itself on being aristocratic could come up with such fancy things.

Buck was so frightened by the sudden change that he froze in mid-air, unable to pick up the badminton. But when he came to his senses, he immediately recognized Cecilia's identity.

He was no longer in a hurry. Although he didn't understand why Cecilia appeared here, he knew that this guy would not be stupid enough to attack him.

Buck was just a bad person, but he was not stupid. After realizing that the "assassin" did not want to hurt him, he almost immediately figured out why she came.

He glanced at the badminton on the ground and sneered, "Why are you still the same as when you were a kid, so unbelievably kind?"

Even though he didn't mention anyone by name, both Cecilia and he knew what he was talking about.

She didn't argue.

"I told father a long time ago that I should have let you out earlier and let you see the tremendous power of the Lawrence family now, instead of letting you live in a cocoon and put on a face that is so noble that people want to tear it apart. You are just a poor creature living in fantasy! Just a fairy-tale fool!"

Buck became more and more excited as he spoke, and it was obvious that he had been dissatisfied with her for a long time.

But he soon calmed down, looked coldly at Cecilia who was surrounded by more and more guards, and said sarcastically: "Well, now I don't plan to play with you anymore, I want to take my beauty away."

He stretched out his hand to pick up the badminton, but before his fingertips touched it, an arrow wrapped in wind elemental power pierced into his palm.

"Who!?" Buck's eyes were bloodshot and he covered his hands and let out a wail.

Then, the badminton was picked up by a third person, and the clear voice of the young man was heard -

"Hmm~ Looks like I'm the first one to get the badminton."

(End of this chapter)