"Mondstadt... long time no see."
La Signora whispered.
The transparent cabin glass reflected the city at the edge of the sea. The lights of Mondstadt City were already faintly visible. Accompanied by that heady sea breeze, it seemed spring was coming soon.
The lady hadn't returned to Mondstadt for a long time, so long that she forgot this was originally her hometown.
Many things had been buried by her, but burial did not equal forgetting. Those things took root deep in the soil of memory, growing and sprouting slowly along with her thoughts at moments she was unaware of.
The lady still remembered the first time she met him, right in Mondstadt City.
Spring had already arrived then.
The breeze in Mondstadt square was light and comfortable, carrying dandelion puffs. This city had always been serene and pleasant. The ancient ruins of the divine pillars stood around the square, overgrown with lush green Boston ivy.
Back then, she was not yet La Signora. She was just a scholar.
The garden behind the square was very quiet, rarely visited by ordinary people, so it became the girl's secret base. She loved coming here to sing, or rather, to hum some tunes.
La Signora still remembered how that guy looked at that time. It was an afternoon, or dusk to be exact. The setting sun tore apart the rosy glow, spreading it across the sky.
The boy had probably been practicing the sword for a long time.
Panting heavily, steam rising from him.
He had golden long hair that hung down to his waist. His eyes were beautiful and clear, like a golden lake that had melted the setting sun. When he gazed at someone, he could clearly reflect their image.
"You sing very well. Is it Rainy Night at Cider Lake?"
He asked earnestly.
The girl loved singing, but she never sang in front of others. This was the first time she heard such praise.
She was a bit shy then.
So she covered her face with her hood.
This guy was very annoying because he liked to stare into people's eyes when he spoke.
He spoke very seriously. Those eyes were very sincere, as if... he was genuinely praising her.
That was the most embarrassing part.
He said if she had any troubles, she could confide in him. Alleviating a lady's worries was a knight's duty.
But he wasn't very old. He spoke in an outdated manner, calling her "lady" with every sentence, putting on an act of being mature and gentlemanly when he was just a little stinky boy.
And eavesdropping on others...
The lady's first impression of the boy was not very good.
But at that time, she was also young and playful, so she got the idea to tease him a bit.
"What's your name?"
"Rostam, my lady. And yours?"
"Not telling you."
Anyway, with nothing else to do, she would tease him to pass a short time.
That's what she said to the boy back then. "Alright, little knight. Can you come here tomorrow to listen to my troubles?"
"Of course," the boy said seriously. "But I need a reward."
"What reward?"
"I want to hear you sing Rainy Night at Cider Lake again, because it really sounded great." His gaze was sincere and flawless.
"Okay then. You must come, okay?"
"That's a knight's promise."
But she didn't show up at all the next day. The girl, harboring mischief, deliberately fooled the boy like this to get revenge for his eavesdropping.
She sat in the attic across the square, watching as if enjoying a show, carefree and at ease.
She would never go there again.
The boy waited from dawn until dusk. As night fell, the lights went out one by one. People all went home. The streets were empty, leaving only him leaning alone against the stone pillar, like an abandoned puppy.
Seeing his pitiful and ridiculous appearance, the girl secretly thought he deserved it.
For some time after that, the boy would come here every day, waiting from dawn to dusk. She would sit leisurely in the attic, bored anyway, just watching him as a diversion from her studies.
This guy was both stupid and stubborn, not realizing he was being deceived.
That was what the lady thought at that time.
Very dumb.
He came to the square at sunrise every day. When the girl didn't show up, the boy would start practicing the sword.
He looked very serious when practicing. His golden hair scattered in the wind, the morning sunlight flowing between the strands. His swordsmanship was very nimble, with faint sounds of wind stirring.
As he practiced, reaching the most exquisite parts, he would laugh out loud like an idiot...
Sometimes he wore armor similar to a knight's. Sometimes he wore plain shirts. He didn't like wearing hats. His favorite fish was sardines, often having one in his lunchbox.
He also liked to sing, humming the second half of Rainy Night at Cider Lake.
That set of sword techniques he practiced... the girl had never seen it before. Could it be his own creation?
The girl didn't believe he was that smart, but he was indeed very focused when practicing, as if not knowing fatigue, practicing from morning until dusk.
Until the moon rose above the branches, only then would he sheathe his sword and go home. Then the next day, he would appear at the same place at the same time, as precise as an hourglass.
After observing for a long time, the girl became familiar with the boy, or rather, curious.
Didn't he get tired practicing the sword every day? Wasn't he bored?
A few days, or a few dozen days?
They were both familiar and unfamiliar, having only met once, or perhaps a few dozen times. The boy didn't even know the girl's name, but the girl knew more about him.
Gradually, going to the attic became something the girl looked forward to every day...
Although, she didn't admit it at that time.
"Esteemed La Signora."
A respectful voice of a subordinate came from outside the cabin, interrupting her thoughts.
"The origin of the rescued boy is very suspicious... There were clearly no shipwrecks nearby, yet he suddenly appeared on the water."
"Do you need to... personally interrogate him?"
La Signora shook her head lightly, blinking her charming yet cold eyes, snapping out of her reminiscence.
In recent days, she kept thinking about these inexplicable things.
"Or should we just get rid of him directly?"