Second Lead Syndrome || Diluc R. x Reader

Belongings

Disaster. That's the only way Y/N could describe the last twelve hours of her life. Somehow, she started the evening chatting with her lawyer and ended up here, inside a Fatui carriage with her mother smiling at her from the seat in front of her.

At first, everything seemed to go smoothly; Y/N and Diluc met with Yanfei at the Xinyue Kiosk, and Yanfei seemed genuine in her determination to help Y/N win her case. Her petal pink hair and friendly smile on her lips gave her a soft demeanour, but the way her sea green eyes darkened as Y/N explained the tumultuous relationship between herself and her family almost made her seem a bit scary. Her tone was grave as she conveyed how serious she was about bringing Y/N's family's injustices to light. Diluc and Y/N safely arrived at an Inn and went to bed without a problem.

Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. Y/N couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was the nerves of being so close to victory yet still so far from freedom, but she tossed and turned restlessly in the sheets for hours before deciding to step outside for some fresh air.

As soon as she stepped out of the Inn, a carriage stopped a few feet before her. It was black with deep purple accents and a sigil painted on the door that she knew all too well—the Fatui.

I should've stayed in bed. Y/N moved to turn around and walk back inside the Inn when a voice that sent shivers down her spine stopped her.

"Wait." Y/N saw the carriage door swing open and her mother step out. Y/N's eyes widened a bit in surprise. In all of Y/N's two decades of life, her mother had never left Fontaine.

Noemie's gray-streaked hair was tied in a small bun and she wore a simple, black, draped dress with flared sleeves. Her vibe was giving 'widow on vacation.'

"You're a long way from the Manor." Y/N managed to say in a cool tone, although the sight of her mother all the way here in Liyue made her nauseous. She should be in Fontaine, far from this place or—Archons forbid—Mondstadt. "How did you even find me?"

"I'm Fatui. We have eyes all over." Noemie states simply. "And what are you wearing?" Her piercing gaze flickered up and down Y/N's form.

"They're called pyjamas." Y/N glared at her, crossing her arms over her chest, now feeling a little self-conscious about her loose white blouse and black cotton pants with the Ordo Favonious logo embroidered at the hip.

"Nevermind," Noemie sighed. "I didn't come all this way to lecture you about your wardrobe choices. We need to have a chat."

"Which we have been doing," Y/N responded, trying to end the conversation and escape. "So, if that's all, goodnight."

"Y/N." Noemie said in a warning tone as Y/N turned her back to her mother to leave.

Y/N clenched her jaw, trying to resist the urge to turn around before her mother got even angrier. I have no obligation to talk to her at all. So why is it so hard to just leave?

"Y/N, please, talk to me." Although her words were desperate and pleading, she said it like a demand. Y/N felt her chest squeezing tighter and tighter as she sensed her mother getting more and more irritated. She really wished she could summon the confidence she had when she first announced she would be taking the contract to court during that family dinner, which feels like it was so long ago now. But that was before she realized the magnitude of her situation, before she lost in court, before she knew how far her family could go to keep her caged by the L/N legacy.

Her mother's hand landed on her shoulder and Y/N flinched, whipping her head around to glare at the woman, eyes wide with anxiety.

"Don't touch me!" Y/N knew she was older, stronger, bigger now than before. She could easily shake her mother's hand away—hell, she could probably snap her arm like a twig if she wanted to—but standing before her mother like this, with her hand on her shoulder and eyes glaring into her own, she suddenly felt like a child again; A weak, measly teenager who talked back during dinner or caused a scene at a banquet and was now going to be punished.