In the silence, Yu Xie and Peruere heard the sound of light footsteps, and both looked over at the same time.
Clervie was holding a cake, a bit of cream on the corner of her mouth. When she saw Yu Xie and Peruere looking at her, she hurriedly swallowed the cake in her mouth.
"I brought a cake. Do you want some?"
"...Okay," Peruere replied.
Instead of eating the cake herself, Peruere placed it carefully on a leaf and set it in front of Bambi's grave.
"You know, spiders don't eat cake, right?" Peruere said after finishing her task.
"Ah... I-I know!" Clervie replied, seeming a bit embarrassed and flustered as she smiled awkwardly.
Watching the two of them, Yu Xie remained silent.
In an environment like the Hearth Manor, it was rare for these two to become heartfelt friends.
A gentle breeze brushed by, and it seemed as if a light yet sorrowful melody echoed in the air, telling tales of fate and endings.
...
It was night again.
Clervie slowly walked down the hallway, her adorable face showing signs of tension and worry, but her eyes seemed to convey a certain determination.
Finally, she arrived in front of Crucabena's office door.
After hesitating for a moment, she extended her small hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in," came Crucabena's flat voice from inside.
Clervie took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and walked in.
"Mother."
"Clervie, what's wrong? Do you need something?" Crucabena asked, putting down the documents in her hands and looking up at Clervie.
Her eyes showed no excess emotion, despite the fact that she and Clervie were mother and daughter.
For Crucabena, familial ties were not important.
She had brought Clervie to the Hearth Manor merely to demonstrate her sense of "fairness."
"Mother, um, I..." Clervie stammered. Although she had made up her mind earlier, she still felt a bit scared in this moment.
"How have I taught you? If you have something to say, just say it directly, don't beat around the bush," Crucabena said with a smile.
"..." Clervie fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Mother, another family member was sent away today, right?"
At these words, Crucabena's expression changed slightly. She picked up the documents on the desk again, her gaze shifting away from Clervie.
"Yes, those children made mistakes. I sent them away to help them atone for their sins. You should understand my good intentions."
"But... but..." Clervie hesitated.
"But what?" Crucabena's tone was calm.
"But the family members who were sent away before never came back!" Clervie gathered her courage. "Mother, can you tell me how they atone? What kind of atonement takes this long?"
"You shouldn't concern yourself with things that don't involve you. Have you forgotten the rules of the Hearth Manor?" Crucabena's tone suddenly changed, becoming stern and laced with reprimand.
"I... I haven't forgotten, but..."
Crucabena fell silent, simply staring at Clervie, her gaze as cold as iron—nothing like the look a mother would give her own daughter.
Clervie was stunned. Crucabena's eyes made it very clear: don't ask what you shouldn't, don't say what you shouldn't.
But Clervie spoke anyway.
"Mother, those family members can't come back, can they? They were eliminated, and the cost of being eliminated..."
Clervie herself didn't know where her courage came from, but she said it out loud.
The moment she spoke, she felt a wave of fear, but she had no regrets.
Upon hearing her words, Crucabena stood up from her chair, walked around the desk, and approached Clervie.
She looked into Clervie's eyes, those eyes similar to hers, trembling uncontrollably, filled with fear.
Without a moment's hesitation, with a loud slap, her palm struck Clervie's face.
The force of the slap made it hard for Clervie to stay upright. As she was about to fall, she instinctively reached out with her elbow for support, accidentally scraping it and causing blood to flow.
Crucabena coldly watched as Clervie collapsed to the ground, showing not an ounce of concern.
"Someone, Clervie has fallen. Take her to get treated."
...
Late at night.
There were no figures in the hallway; everyone had already gone to sleep, and the entire Hearth Manor was shrouded in silence.
By the open window, the bright moonlight fell like snow. Yu Xie, Peruere, and Clervie sat together on the windowsill, gazing at the full moon in the sky.
"Do mothers and daughters argue, too?" Peruere said softly, already aware of Clervie's visit to Crucabena.
It wasn't hard to guess that the bandage on Clervie's face and the wrap on her elbow were the results of a "fight" between mother and daughter.
Clervie did not respond to Peruere's question; she simply gazed at the bright night sky.
The night sky was beautiful, with the Milky Way stretching across it, dazzling and bright, while countless stars twinkled like lights from beyond the world.
"I heard that on the longest winter nights, colorful auroras hang in the sky... When we grow up, let's go see them together."
The night breeze stirred Clervie's hair, causing it to dance in the wind.
Moonlight illuminated her face, highlighting her smile. In her eyes, there was no trace of sadness, only a yearning for this world and the future.
"Besides the aurora, is there anything else you want to see, Clervie?" Yu Xie asked slowly.
"I...," Clervie hesitated for a moment, "I want to see the snowy mountains of Mondstadt, the fields of Liyue, the islands of Inazuma, and the forests and deserts of Sumeru. In short..."
"Before we go see them, how about I tell you about them first?" Yu Xie said.
"Have you been to all of them?" Clervie looked at Yu Xie, her eyes filled with a hint of admiration.
"No, I've read about them in books," Yu Xie smiled.
Then, Yu Xie slowly began to describe the Teyvat from his memories.
On the snowy mountains of Mondstadt, there is a Frostbite Nail. Legend has it that before the Frostbite Nail appeared, the snowy mountains were not mountains at all but a vibrant and lively place.
Liyue is vast and rich, with a profound cultural heritage; "Mora" also originated from Liyue.
When the cherry blossoms bloom on the Sacred Sakura tree in Inazuma, the entire Narukami Island seems to carry a faint scent of cherry blossoms.
In the forests of Sumeru, there lives a cute creature that is said to be visible only to innocent children.
Clervie listened quietly to everything Yu Xie was saying, paying close attention, her eyes filled with longing as if she had completely forgotten the sad events that had happened earlier.
Peruere also remained silent, glancing between Yu Xie and Clervie.
For some reason, she felt a strange sensation in her heart.
It was as if years of accumulated cold were meeting a blazing source of warmth.
Once again, she felt that Yu Xie was a strange person.
He wasn't foolish; he must have realized that this so-called home wasn't a good place. Yet he was still willing to take the risk of violating the "taboos of home" to say these things to Clervie.
Initially, he said he joined the Hearth Manor out of a little selfish desire. What exactly was that selfish desire?
End of chapter
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