Late Night - Luo Qing's Dormitory
Calling it a dormitory was a bit of a stretch. It was more like a series of segmented pipe-like areas, repurposed into individual rooms.
The most basic dorms required no special permits and were free to move into, but the conditions were predictably abysmal. If you were willing to spend some special permit tokens, however, you could upgrade to a better room—one where you didn't have to worry about leaky ceilings or unwanted midnight intrusions.
Luo Qing's room, naturally, was among the finest in Meropide, on par with the one allocated to Wriothesley.
He glanced at the clock. It was nearing midnight.
Peering briefly at the door, Luo Qing turned his back. A soft breeze brushed past him. When he looked again, Lynette was already standing before him.
"Milord…"
Lynette gave a small nod, her gaze flickering nervously over Luo Qing. Her thoughts were racing.
Alone, in his room, in the middle of the night.
She could hardly avoid letting her imagination wander. Luo Qing's rumored escapades in Liyue and Inazuma were legendary.
Could it be… tonight… with her?
"Did you come alone?" Luo Qing asked.
"…Yes," she murmured.
"Do Lyney and the others know you're here?"
"…No."
"Good."
Luo Qing nodded in satisfaction and casually sat on the bed.
"Make yourself comfortable."
"…"
Lynette remained rooted in place, trembling slightly.
Her mind spiraled. Would he command her to start removing her stockings? She'd heard rumors about certain people preferring them left on…
Unbidden memories surged—dark and unwelcome.
Noticing her hesitation, Luo Qing frowned.
"Why aren't you sitting down?" he asked.
"…Uhm…"
Lynette kept her head down, her nose twitching as her eyes began to glisten.
Moments later, Luo Qing's vision filled with an unexpected sight: two tears slid silently down Lynette's cheeks.
Pitifully, she collapsed onto the bed beside him.
Then, without warning, she reached beneath her skirt and started pulling off her stockings.
"…?"
Luo Qing stared, dumbfounded.
What on earth was this girl doing?
"What are you doing?" he blurted.
"Huh…?"
Lynette froze, her hands pausing mid-motion. Tearfully, she stammered, "Milord… do you prefer it if I leave the stockings on…?"
"…?"
Luo Qing blinked again, his confusion only deepening.
Was she seriously misunderstanding this situation?!
"Why would I care if you're wearing stockings?" he asked, exasperated.
"For… for the act…"
"…"
Luo Qing sucked in a sharp breath.
Wasn't Lynette supposed to be the smartest of the three siblings? Why was she acting as scatterbrained as Theresa?!
Or was this his fault? Did he somehow emit some kind of aura that made every woman around him jump to the same conclusions?!
"Put your stockings back on!" Luo Qing barked, folding his arms. "I never said anything about that sort of thing!"
Despite himself, he couldn't help but find her adorably clueless. If only her Vision weren't an Anemo one. If she had a Cryo Vision, then—well… after tonight, he might be calling Lyney his brother-in-law.
But alas, it wasn't meant to be.
On the other hand, Lynette—having been scolded—wiped her tears and hesitantly pulled her stockings back into place, looking thoroughly chastised.
"Now," Luo Qing said, standing up and taking a deliberate step back to maintain some distance. "What did your 'Father' send you here to do?"
"Father sent us to locate Lord Childe…" Lynette replied softly.
"And?"
"To gather as much intel about Meropide as possible. Preferably anything related to the prophecy."
"That's it? Nothing else?"
"…Nothing else."
"…"
Luo Qing fell silent, piecing things together.
So, Arlecchino had sent her people here purely on instinct, unaware that the source of the Primordial Water was already within Meropide.
It seems my progress is miles ahead of theirs.
After all, Wriothesley had already divulged every detail about the city to him, including plans to construct a ship to counter the looming prophecy.
For Arlecchino to only now send her spies… wasn't it far too late?
"Very well," Luo Qing said at last, nodding. "From now on, as long as I'm here, you are to report to me at this time every week. Understood?"
"Yes, sir…" Lynette replied, her voice barely audible.
Perhaps I misjudged him… she thought. Could he actually be a man of integrity?
"One more thing," Luo Qing added, "if you encounter Lumine and her companion, report any developments to me immediately through the Void Terminal. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Lord Brighella…"
Still too shy to meet his gaze, Lynette nodded meekly.
"That's all. You can leave now."
"Huh…?"
Lynette blinked, surprised.
That's it? He's really letting me go? I must've been mistaken about him!
"Unless…" Luo Qing teased, "you'd prefer to spend the night here with me?"
"N-No!" Lynette hurriedly shook her head, standing up at once.
But before she could leave, a rush of hurried footsteps sounded from the hallway.
Both of them turned to the door.
It flew open, and Lyney stormed in, panic written all over his face.
His gaze immediately fell on Lynette, sitting tearfully on the bed with her stockings askew, looking like she'd suffered some grave injustice.
Instantly, his temper flared.
"Lord Luo Qing, what did you do to my sister?!"
It was fortunate that he'd woken in the middle of the night to find Lynette missing from her dorm. If he hadn't noticed, she might've kept this secret from him until morning.
The thought of his sister sneaking out at night to spend hours doing unspeakable things with another man…
His heart ached.
"Speak! What did you do to her?!"
"…" Luo Qing sighed.
Though he appreciated Lyney's protective instincts, why was everyone jumping to the same ridiculous conclusions?
Do they all think I'm some kind of degenerate?!
Sure, Theresa was infatuated with him—but that was her problem!
He decided it was time to teach the siblings a lesson.
Luo Qing approached Lyney slowly, his voice calm. "Oh? And what makes you think you have the right to question me?"
"You—!" Lyney's eyes burned with fury, but before he could act, Luo Qing snapped his fingers.
Lyney's body locked up, and he dropped to one knee, completely immobilized.
Luo Qing loomed over him, gesturing at Lynette.
"Think for a moment," he said coldly. "If I really had my sights set on your sister, do you think either of you could stop me?"
"…"