Tʜᴇ Dᴜᴋᴇs ғɪᴀɴᴄᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴄᴏɴᴍᴀɴ!?『ᴡʳⁱᵒᵗʰᵉˢˡᵉʸ ˣ ᴍʀ』

XIV

Fᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ Cᴀᴛ

M/n hums lightly as he bathes in the morning sunlight in the beautiful garden of his home.
The staff finally let up on him after two days of watching him take his medicine and drink the tea he was supposed to. Aether and Lumine watched from a reasonable distance unless M/n called for them to come closer to him, of course, Lumine was reluctant for two reasons but Aether didn't mind the cat-kin at all.
"Hey Lumine, I don't hate you or anything like that, ya know?"

".... Honestly why not? I said something awful, you got incredibly sick for a time, and now everyone is breathing down your neck until you get better...You should be at least a bit mad at me."M/n chuckled at this and said it was water under a bridge, he explained that his struggles weren't something that everyone could understand and that staying angry over it wouldn't help anyone.
"I get it, Fatui is bad or whatever but not the house of Hearth. Not since she took over...Arlecchino may be crazy but she cares a lot. Though I don't get to see her much she never forgets to find a way to contact me."M/n sits up just as a beautiful raven lands nearby.

Something was attached to its leg as it hopped over and plopped into M/n's lap, cawing and fluttering its wings.
"Like now, hello Vivi~ I hope that you didn't struggle too much to find me."M/n coo's while taking the letter that was meant for his eyes.

With a smile, he looks over at the twins and flags them to come closer. He opens the letter when they do and reads it out.
"Dear M/n, I hope Vivi found you in time but I'm sure this letter will reach you late. Regardless of that fact, how have you been since getting sick? I'm sorry I couldn't visit the duke's mansion to be there with you like you managed to do for me. I always feel horrible when I can't hold your hand in this time of need but knowing you, many held your hand in my place. One day I'll be able to pay you back for everything you've done for me.
The children ask about you all the time, mainly the siblings, you know how Freminet is, he'll shyly ask before running off to tell his older brother and sister about how you've been. He looks up to you so much, I still remember when he called you 'Mother' by accident before realizing you were a man. Still makes me laugh to this day. I read that you now have a fiancé and the Duke of the fortress at that, who would have thought a heartbreaker like yourself would finally settle down? I'm sure Pantalone will be the first to send wedding gifts. Ah, I won't hold you any longer, write back when you can. Yours truly, A."M/n chuckles at the shocked expression of the twins, they assumed that there would be some hidden messages but no, nothing like that at all.

It was even more evident when the Raven Vivi didn't rush away when new people approached.
"Arlecchino may work for the Tsaritsa but Fontaine is her home too. She cares about us here and I'm happy she took over when it called for."

"You should write her back as soon as you can, M/n."Lumine voices much to his surprise, it was clear that she felt bad for how she treated the cat-kin when they met for the first time but she was very willing to make up for her cruel words towards him. With a smile, she holds her hand out to help M/n from the grass after Vivi hops onto Aether's head.
"I'm sorry for everything I said."

"Pft, it's fine, little miss~ everyone has their ways and sometimes things go wrong."

🐱🐱🐱

M/n sends his response back to his darling friend and attends lunch with everyone soon after. Now everything in the mansion felt more like home for M/n, even though he now had a home he could live in with his father he was already very happy here with Wriothesley and the staff but that didn't mean he wouldn't head to his real home to visit when he could. He sent Vivi off with a smile and started to wonder how Wriothesley was holding up after his little stunt.
"Can't wait till he returns~"