Hydrophobic ¦ Xingqiu x Reader [Genshin Impact]

A Toast To Her Real Friends [47]

"Keep your head down," Your voice was laced with authority as you pin the mastermind of this operation back to the ground using the handle of your handgun. "Unless you want me to shoot you too."

Men who belonged to the group of bandits who aided your kidnapper, plus the traitor of a maid who served you for months, were found scattered all over the place, either dead or gravely injured, you weren't sure.

Delia's warmth beside you was not enough to thaw out your fingers; you resisted letting them tremble freely from the early stage of frostbite, too concentrated on gripping your pyro gun pointed at the friend you once adored.

"It's a bit regretful that things turned out this way, don't you think?" Delia says, looking at you, with both of her arms tied to the back. You could subtly feel her hands squirming with little hope for release, only for you to give it a light smack to stop her from trying anything funny.

"You're only saying that because I'm here," You point to yourself before continuing and then pointing at her hands, "And you're there."

A lot can happen in a few years: from private letters towards you and a new lady in town who claimed to have the blood of a Raginvindr, to merry tea parties with your favorite friend who kept you warm in chilly winters and cold in humid summers, for example.

And unfortunately, a lot can happen in under an hour: from an explosion of concentrated cryo energy freezing the metal bars of the cage you were in, making them brittle enough to break, to the smoke of your pyro revolver after consecutively pulling the trigger thrice, for example.

"You're not mad at me?" She cocks her head in curiosity, surprised that she hasn't seen you weeping in front of her and asking where she went wrong.

"I used to be. Now I'm just annoyed." You roll your eyes, and Delia thinks that maybe this was for the best; seeing you annoyed towards her instead of those salty, involuntary, drops of fluid you almost always let out whenever anger stirred you on the inside.

"You know, all you ever heard from me was how Lea ended up here. You never asked me why I did this to you," She says, smiling as if she found this whole situation laughable. "Aren't you at least a bit curious?"

Ah, Lea.

Before everything went wrong on Delia's part, she went out of her way to lay out the scheme to you as a villain would.

There, she revealed her key associate who turned out to be the person who quickly rose in the ranks of your abode, starting from a simple chambermaid to being Cara's second hand—and it was all because you made her keep a secret after sneaking in your bedroom window when you were still supposed to be in Liyue for "business transactions".

Lea was already a part of whatever organization Delia belonged to, and she was tasked to keep a close eye on you as a maid from the start.

"It's not that hard to think of possible reasons." You mutter out, trying not to make this a big deal.

"It seems like you already know the answer. What a smart girl you are." Delia hums her words softly like a caring mother, but her calling you smart felt more of an insult than a compliment to you. "And what conclusion have you thought of, if I may ask?"

You sigh, realizing that you have to answer her just so you can zip her mouth after this, "Well, you obviously don't want mora, since I know you could acquire it through other means. I would guess this is a personal grudge and you want despair over me and the people involved. Do you really hate us that much?"

"Us" could mean a lot of things, but in this context, Delia could sense that you were talking about you and your friends who she also once tried ruining their lives.