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Diluc didn’t know when but there was a strange person who had appeared in the mansion suddenly, like a cold breeze on a hot summer day. He had been introduced to be an old friend of his father and had fit in so naturally.
He thought Venti was interesting. He had so many stories, each packaged as a song, played so vividly that he could imagine them.
He sounded as though he was really there, peppering details that he had never seen or heard. The song about Vennessa was amazing…
He had to get Jean to listen to him!
Every time Jean read or heard of the First Dandelion Knight, her face would flush and her eyes breaming with interest. If Diluc didn’t know better, he would assume Jean had a crush.
Venti had really weird braids too. They glowed in the dark and sometimes his eyes did as well… The way the braids framed his face reminded him of the huge Barbatos statue in front of the cathedral. With how similar the braids and the face shape were, he would think Venti would be related to Lord Barbatos in some way. Even his beautiful eyes, a mix of blue and green with a bright pupil, he thought would be something Lord Barbatos might possess.
Of course, he knew better.
Venti was just his father’s friend and was helping around a bit. Lord Barbatos had disappeared from Mondstadt a long time ago after all.
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The older he got, the more responsibilities he had in the Knights of Favonius, especially after he took up the role of Calvary Captain.
So this was very much understandable. Kaeya and he were busy with the Knights and Father was not getting any younger.
However…
“Father… Are you sure Venti is suitable to take over the winery?” Diluc could recall the numerous occasions where the bard had drunk himself to a… well… not to a stupor… The bard had a massive alcohol tolerance and could drink much more than Diluc thought possible.
But that was precisely the point. Wouldn’t someone who drank so much end up driving the business to the ground?
“I believe he is,” his father said and Diluc trusted him. If he believed Venti could do this, he’s sure Venti could.
After all, Father had believed he could get a vision and join the Knight of Favonius. But he would also not have been able to do so without him.
Later, when he came across the bard playing on the lyre, he stopped and listened.
Oh. That’s right…
Venti’s playing was as beautiful and magnificent as it was years ago, maybe even more so. Diluc found himself relaxing, the responsibilities falling away from his shoulders as he breathed slowly for the first time in weeks.
Venti’s playing could move and soothe people. And if music were a more physical force, Diluc believed Venti’s music would be able to move mountains and make the impossible possible.
Perhaps, that was what his father saw. Music like his would definitely draw people in and the tavern would become much more popular than it already was.
Nodding, he bade the song farewell reluctantly as he walked towards more work.
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It was a free day and Diluc decided that he wanted to spend it at the winery with Venti and his father.
It was interesting to see the work they did even if he didn’t completely understand it. The wine making to filling the bottles and sealing them, inventory checks from the ingredients to the final products.
The both of them worked smoothly and Diluc could see why his father said Venti could be trusted to take over from the way he worked.
The wine tasting session was enlightening.
“Master Crepus, is that all for today?” Venti gestured to everything.
Father nodded, “You can go.”
Diluc frowned, watching the bard leave quickly as though he didn’t want to be here anymore. “Where is he going?”
Father did say he trusted Venti to take over the winery, so he would continue to do so as well even if he had just seen something strange.
“He’s going to Old Mondstadt. He has something important there,” was all Father said.
But… What could be so important?
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And then everything crashed down.
Similar to the way the rain was crashing against the ground as he stared down at his hands in horror.
Warm tears dripping down his face and making small drops on his palms.
How…? How could he?
Why did he raise a weapon against Kaeya?
It… It wasn’t his fault he was a spy, right? He remembered the way Kaeya had hid behind his father so many years ago, so shy, as he became his younger brother.
Yet he still felt the sharp jab of betrayal as he realised that he didn’t know Kaeya as well as he thought he did. Was everything they had been through a lie then? Was the Kaeya he knew all this time just a façade, a means to an end?
It couldn’t be right?
Yet… He still drove one of the last few people he had left away… with his own hands.
He clenched his fists. And he would not be able to see his father again either.
Unexpectedly, he felt his chest heaving with sobs as his vision became blurry with tears.
With the two most important people in his life gone, he cried, the storm drowning out the sound of his lament.
“Diluc? Diluc, you’re going to get a cold like this,” a voice said worriedly before the feeling of the cold rain pressing down on him stopped.
His clothes, his hair were still soaked and he shivered, feeling the cold much more clearly now without the rain distracting him.
He rubbed his tears away with his cold hands as he looked up to see Venti with an umbrella, protecting them from the rain.
Venti bent down and peered at him, “Do you want a hug?”
Diluc nodded and launched forward, hugging Venti. If he felt something dripping onto his head despite the umbrella, he ignored it. He buried his face in his neck, which felt warm, and he sniffed, the tears continued to run down.
They stayed there throughout the night.
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If he was to remember what he had thought of his future before… everything, he would have imagined a future where he, Kaeya and Jean worked together in the Knights.
But he couldn’t bear to work for them anymore, especially after his father died for him. How dare they use that to boost their own reputation.
If only they were faster, perhaps his father would still be alive. And yet, they were not fully to blame. It was that strange contraption his father used that backfired on him.
And he wanted to know exactly what it was.
“I want to avenge Father,” Diluc told Venti.
And it was strange because before this, they weren’t really close at all. Sure, Venti lived in the same place as him but Venti had been busy with winery business and he himself was busy with Knight duties.
But he felt that his father’s friend should know.
Venti glanced at him, eyes shining with some emotion he couldn’t identity, “Is that what you want to do?”
Diluc nodded determinedly. He wanted to find out the truth of the contraption that had killed his father. He wanted to know how it got into his father’s hands, whether it was intentional.
“I see…” Venti smiled, “You are free to choose your path, Diluc. I won’t stop you if that is what you truly want to do.”
Diluc blinked, unsure of how to feel. Venti left the choice in his hands, not giving him advice on how he should act as a Ragnvindr when he was one of the only few who really could.
He wondered if Venti prayed to Lord Barbatos, to practise freedom in the way he didn’t really see the others in Mondstadt do. But he didn’t think he had seen Venti leave for the cathedral in Mondstadt nor did Venti address Lord Barbatos properly with his full title.
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Diluc admitted. The faster he did this, the faster he could get the answers he wanted.
“So soon?” Venti asked before shaking his head, smiling softly, “May the winds bless your travels.”
And strangely enough, Diluc felt as though that wasn’t as empty as it usually sounded.
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It had been three years since he had last been in Mondstadt, going to different regions and searching for clues, slowly finding out about delusions.
Being declared persona non grata by the Fatui was one of the best things he had done.
Stepping into the manor, the silence and darkness of it gave it an oppressive feeling. With Kaeya and his father gone, the manor felt even more empty.
He trudged across the main hall before taking the stairs to his room.
“Master Diluc, I wasn’t expecting you here today,” a light voice said, causing Diluc to swerve quickly. He scolded himself for letting his guard down when he didn’t even know what had happened in the past few years in the manor.
He felt his shoulder slack as he saw the familiar glowing eyes and braids, “I didn’t think I would be back now either.”
Venti hummed and skipped to him, observing him and seeming as though he was looking into his soul, “Did you get the answers you want?”
Diluc peered down at the short bard. Was he always so perspective? “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
The moonlight streaming in from the window highlighted his smile as he nodded, “Good night. Please rest, Master Diluc. We can catch up in the morning.”
And with soundless steps, the bard disappeared into the shadows of the manor.
Diluc continued to his original destination, opening the door to his room to reveal everything had remained the same.
But despite that… Master Crepus. Master Diluc. Right, he was the Master of the Ragnvindr house now.
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The next day, the manor was still unnervingly empty. Even with the sun flooding the place, there was still so much space.
Walking to the dining room and remembering the way his father would sip at his coffee or the way Kaeya would wave at him…
Huh… I didn’t think of this.
He didn’t think much about how his home life would change, focused on getting answers and revenge.
Now, with most of the answers spread before him, he didn’t know what he wanted to do next. When he thought of the future now, he saw nothing.
And he couldn’t help the way it felt like his heart was in his throat. Going from knowing exactly what he wanted to well… knowing nothing at all…
Of course, he wanted to apologise to Kaeya eventually but after he almost… and there was no way he was returning to the Knights of Favonius with the way they dishonoured his father. He’s not touching the Adventurer’s Guild, tainted as it was with traces of Snezhnaya and the Fatui.
He still wanted to protect Mondstadt. That was something he was grasping in his hands tightly. He would protect Mondstadt, Knight or not.
But he’s not sure how to go about it. The Knights of Favonius would probably not be happy with some anonymous being swooping in and handling issues. It would seem like they were being undermined and their image was apparently very important to them. He seethed, remembering how they wanted to contribute what his father had done to themselves cause…
“Master Diluc, good morning.”
Diluc looked up, seeing Venti seemingly gliding down the stairs and stop in front of him, “Good morning.”
“The maids are at the winery. So the manor is empty for a while,” Venti informed, turning into the kitchen, “Anything you want to eat?”
Diluc shook his head, “Anything is fine.”
“Alright.”
The room turned silent. Disappearing for three years after a small conversation didn’t exactly make them any closer. Though… If he were to think about it, Venti hadn’t changed since he was brought in by Father to help with the wine business.
He still looked the same, no wrinkles from all the smiling or age.
How strange…
Though the wine business… Should he take over it? He figured the reason why his father brought someone in was because both he and Kaeya would not be able to take over it, busy with being a Knight.
But now that he wasn’t…
“Here…” A plate was put on the table, “You should sit… You seem to be thinking hard.”
Diluc swiftly took a seat, as though he was not standing in the middle of the room, “Do you like being in charge of a winery?”
Venti blinked, confusion clear in his eyes, “I like it… Why?”
Diluc glanced down at the plate, taking a bite. Oh, this isn’t too bad… “I was thinking about the winery.”
Venti nodded, “I see… Do you want to take over?”
“Would you be fine with that?” Diluc asked. The wine business in Mondstadt was lucrative, especially the one that had been ran by the Ragnvindrs for so many years.
Venti shrugged, “Sure. If that’s what you want, I can pass it over… It’s just…” Venti furrowed his brows, “Don’t you dislike alcohol?”
Diluc frowned. He’s sure he could run a wine business without tasting it. There were many others working on it too like Elzer, Ernest and Connor.
Yet, at the same time, he wasn’t exactly… an enthusiast of wine like Venti.
Venti smiled, “Master Diluc, the winery and I aren’t going anywhere. Take your time deciding, alright? You’re in the City of Mondstadt. You’re free to pick whatever you want to do.”
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Figuring what he wanted to do was tough but he was going to take his time. The more important thing was…
“How’s Kaeya?” Diluc asked softly.
“Kaeya…?” Venti hummed, “He’s doing alright. I meet up with him in the taverns. He’s now the Cavalry Captain.”
The role he had… It felt strange… It was him who wanted to become a Knight and get a vision, taking his father’s dream and making his own, and now Kaeya’s doing it…
He wondered if Kaeya was happy doing that.
“Jean is now the Acting Grand Master, having gotten her vision from her work there.”
A vision? Diluc knew that him receiving a vision so young was very rare. But Jean would put it to good use. It’s a little strange that Venti attributed the vision to her work at the Knights since not many really knew why exactly one was given a vision.
But it made sense.
“Do you know where he will be?” Diluc asked again.
Venti looked at him, eyes seeming older than he looked, before he smiled, “At this point of time, he would be busy with Knights duties but he might be at the tavern at night.”
Diluc stood up and nodded, “Thank you.”
Diluc had an apology to make and he understood if Kaeya would not accept it.
In the end, they reconciled their mistakes, especially the one he didn’t believe Kaeya should have forgiven. However, the both of them had changed too much and they weren’t sure how to proceed with their relationship.
Only time could tell when it came to this. This was already much better than what Diluc expected.
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After much consideration, he decided that if there was something he wanted to pursue, it was protecting Mondstadt.
With Jean near the helm of the Knights, he was sure that protecting Mondstadt from close-by threats was something they could handle though he had a bit of scepticism from his last interaction with them.
So perhaps he could look into other places. The Fatui had their hands in many regions and he had to go to those regions to get his answers. Perhaps he could stop threats even before they reached the land of Mondstadt.
To travel to investigate and protect Mondstadt didn’t sound too bad…
But there were definitely some things he had to handle in Mondstadt first. Seeing Adelinde, Elzer and the others again after three years brought a smile to his face, his heart warming as he greeted them.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much protest against selling the manor. Maybe they felt the emptiness as much as he did or maybe it was because it was his decision as the Master of the Ragnvindr house.
Everyone moved to the Dawn Winery. And though it still felt a bit empty, it was much better, especially with Venti taking up space with his presence and bright smiles and being able to see the maids at every room cleaning, the others at the vineyard or working on the wine.
Eventually, he left again after hearing of a threat in Liyue. He didn’t intend to leave for years again and told the others that he would return often.
The winery was starting to feel like a home.
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After the Grand Master Varka left on his expedition, there was a drop in the available knights to protect Mondstadt and Diluc decided to stay around to… supplement where they were lacking in the protection of Mondstadt.
The awakening of Dvalin as Stormterror wasn’t expected and realising the truth of the strange person who had appeared in the mansion suddenly made many things make so much sense.
“You’re the Anemo Archon Barbatos,” Diluc asked after the disastrous meeting at Starsnatch Cliff.
“I am…” Venti replied, tone soft and somber.
Diluc blinked, unsure where to even start. The familiar feeling of betrayal at being lied to for so long was smouldered immediately, no one was required to tell him any of his secrets after all. “Did you wake up due to Dvalin?”
Venti shook his head, “No… I’ve been trying to help Dvalin though it seems that the solution has always been in the hands of an outlander,” Venti gave a helpless shrug at this. “But I woke up cause Crepus woke me up.”
“Father?”
Venti nodded, “Many years ago, I became friends with a Ragnvindr. He proceeded to start a winery and their wines, especially dandelion wine, became incredibly important to Mondstadt.”
Diluc wondered if he went into his libraries, would he be able to read about this?
“Of course. Not every Ragnvindr heir wanted to take charge of the winery, so I fill that gap for a while,” Venti shrugged before turning to smile brightly at Diluc, “I don’t mind so here I am!”
Diluc blinked, “You’re here to own the winery until a Ragnvindr can?” With a nod from Venti, he continued, “Is there something wrong with letting someone else do so?”
“I don’t know what he was thinking but I’m not going to pass up wine,” Venti grinned.
Diluc crossed his arms and sighed, the whole day was just an influx of new surprising information and he needed to rest, “Come on. Let’s go home.”
Venti smiled, “Let’s go.”