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It happened just because Crepus had just lost his wife and had a small son to take care of alone.
That was what Crepus told himself, at least.
There was the staff, sure, but it was not the same as the happy little family he previously had, one that he thought was only going to grow bigger with time. Crepus and his wife had always wanted many children - a house full of laughter and the sound of little feet running around everywhere.
That dream died with his wife, or so he believed. Master Crepus was by no means a man in the habit of sleeping around, even before his marriage - and he had taken his vows very seriously.
But right after the death of Míriel Ragnvindr Crepus needed company. He craved someone to hold him, even if just for one night.
So when Crepus saw the beautiful blue haired blue eyed woman at Angel’s Share, clearly from another country, he decided to take the chance and introduce himself to her. Ananya was a traveller from Sumeru - she claimed to be a Vahumana scholar who had taken off some time from a project to visit an old friend from the Spantamad who lived on the northern coast. And perhaps she truly was one of the Vahumana, though Crepus’ knowledge of history was not quite extensive enough to determine whether she had actually graduated from the Akademiya. He knew more of history than the ordinary Mondstadtian citizen, being a nobleman who had received an expensive education, but he had never held any particular interest in history. But Crepus still doubted the veracity of her claims, at least regarding the purpose of her travels. There were some contradictions when she recounted the events of her journey thus far; and she seemed woefully unprepared for the rest of her way up north. Ananya lacked any knowledge about the inns between Mondstadt City and the Port, so Crepus marked the locations on a map for her. He also had a servant order some warm clothes and potions for her. It might not be Dragonspine in winter, but it could still get cold up North.
Such a long journey was not taken without a good reason and was normally planned thoroughly.
Nonetheless, Crepus resolved to not pry into whatever it was that she was so clearly running from and instead offered her a place to stay for the night. This was the land of freedom, after all, and so she was free to keep her past to herself.
She was a young woman who needed a place to stay, and Crepus wanted a woman to keep him company. Ananya clearly was no fool either; she knew what he was offering.
Still, she agreed and accompanied him to Ragnvindr manor after the end of his shift. It was quite late, so Diluc had already gone to bed. There had been a time where he would wait up for Crepus to return home, but since Míriel’s passing Crepus had taken longer shifts and Diluc had grown tired of waiting for him.
Now, only silence greeted him and his guest, not the pitter patter of small feet. It served as a painful reminder of how much Crepus had withdrawn from everything these last few months. Crepus knew that Diluc deserved better. Hopefully, having some company for a while could help him pull himself together enough to be there for his son again.
They ended up having quite a delightful night together, and Crepus was almost a little sad to see Ananya leave in the morning.
Diluc came up behind him just as he kissed her goodbye and then closed the door behind her.
“Father? What were you doing with that lady?”, Diluc demanded, his little arms crossed as he clearly attempted to look intimidating.
“…”
Crepus remained silent, not quite sure how to explain the concept of a one night stand to a six year old.
“Why were you kissing her? You only kiss Mama! Those are her kisses!”, Diluc screamed, bursting out into tears.
Crepus massaged his temples frustratedly. Not only had the last few months put some distance between the two of them, as Crepus did not know how to deal with his son’s grief on top of his own, now Diluc was mad at him and Crepus had no idea what to do about it. Míriel would have known what to say. She always managed to calm Diluc down quickly whenever the boy’s temper surfaced. Crepus kneeled down in front of the red faced, tearful little boy and pulled him into a hug.
“I know, my little sunshine. I know.”
“Then why?”, Diluc sobbed.
“Sometimes it helps us grownups. You know, I miss your mother so much. So very much. And I miss her kisses. It’s easier to pretend she’s still there if there is someone there with me.”
“But I’m here!”, the little boy cried even harder.
“Am I not enough? Is there something wrong with me? Is that why you don’t spend any time with me anymore?”
Crepus cursed internally and tightened his hold on Diluc.
“No! No, you’re perfect! You’re my perfect little boy!”
Diluc finally looked into his eyes.
“I-I am?”, he hiccuped.
“Yes. Yes, you’re the most precious person I know. I love you so much, so so much. I’m so sorry, Diluc, I should have been there.”
“It’s fine”, Diluc mumbled and wiped across his face with tiny hands.
“You know what? Why don’t I take today off and we spent the day together? Just the two of us, the best father-son duo in all of Mondstadt?”
Diluc nodded excitedly, his face brightening considerably, before he frowned.
“Won’t the wine need you?”
Crepus laughed - perhaps his first real laugh in months.
“Mondstadt’s wine industry can function without me for a day, I’m sure”, he got up, lifting Diluc up into his arms.
“Now what do you want for breakfast, Sir Knight?”
However, actions had their consequences, and this would not be the last time Crepus ever heard from Ananya.
About ten months after the encounter with the traveller, there was a knock on the door of the manor. It was the staff’s day off, so Crepus got up to answer it himself.
But when he opened the door and squinted out into the darkness of the early winter morning, there was no one there.
Crepus was about to close the door again, ready to write it off as an immature prank, when he heard a rustle coming from somewhere around his feet. As he looked down, he found a basket filled with soft, warm blankets and inside them a baby, not more than a few weeks old at most. It was wide awake and blinking innocently up at him. Crepus hastily lifted the basket up and carried it inside, not wanting to subject an infant to the outside temperatures. Mondstadt was known for relatively mild winters, but it still couldn’t be good for the child.
Once Crepus had placed the basket on a table and closed the door, he took a closer look at the unexpected visitor. The baby had very familiar blue eyes and the olive skin of a Sumerian, but what really overwhelmed Crepus was the red hair. The exact same shade of red that all Ragnvindrs shared. And, though as an infant the child didn’t have particularly defined facial features yet, Crepus could swear that this baby had his nose and chin. A sinking feeling started to spread in his stomach.
He noticed a letter tucked in between two of the blankets. Crepus quickly grabbed a letter opener from a nearby cupboard and starting reading the small note.
Crepus,
You were so kind to an exhausted and weary traveller that day. I truly did not mind keeping you company - you clearly needed it as much as I did. In light of this, I hate to ask more kindness of you, but I have no way to take care of a child. Moreover, a life on the roads, a life of constant travel, is not what I want for our child. As unintentional as the circumstances of his creation were, I love him dearly and I wish only the best for him.
I have decided to name him Kaeya - a name from my own native language, though if you wish to give him a Mondstadtian name as well, I understand. I only ask of you this: Please watch over our son. Make sure he grows up safe and happy. Tell him that I love him very much, and that I am so sorry I had to leave him. Let him know that he is beloved and precious. I know it is a horrible thing to do, to just leave him at your doorstep, but I hope that you can be the parent he deserves. Please, if you are upset, be only upset at me, not him. Just be there for him the way I can’t be.
Once again, I am grateful for the kindness you have shown me that day, and for any kindness you might show our son.
Thank you and farewell,
Ananya
Crepus sat down on one of the chairs and rubbed his face.
He was well aware of the potential consequences of a one night stand - the long lecture his own father had delivered on the topic when Crepus had been a teenager was still irrevocably etched into his mind - but somehow, he had not been thinking of any of this that night. Crepus had been lonely and so had she been, and that had been all. He had desperately needed that companionship, after all that had happened. Granted, it was no excuse, it was just - out of nowhere, almost.
Through the ringing in his ears he heard Diluc jump down the stairs, always taking two steps at a time. He constantly did that, no matter how many times Crepus had told him off.
Archons, how was he going to do all of this again? And this time around, he would have to do it without the support and sound advice of his wife. He wondered if Míriel considered this a betrayal.
Diluc entered the room. The little boy briefly stopped in confusion at the sight of his father’s sunken form, face in his hands, next to the basket, before running up to the table. His little face beamed with joy as he saw the baby inside of the basket.
“Are they a present? How did you know I wanted a sibling? Oh, they’re so tiny…”, Diluc cooed at the baby, who stared at him with huge, fascinated eyes. Crepus managed to pull himself out of his stupor.
“Yes, that is your little brother now. His name is Kaeya.”
Diluc carefully lifted the baby out of the basket and held him in his arms. The baby blinked at him and then giggled. Diluc looked at him in awe.
“Hello, Kaeya. I’m your big brother Diluc. I’ll protect you from anything and anyone in the world, I promise! You will never have to be afraid of anything while I’m around!”
Unbeknownst to anyone but Frederica Gunnhildr and Seamus Pegg, Kaeya was not the only child found outside by a noble in their generation.
As far as Mondstadt was concerned, their eldest daughter, Jean, had been kept a secret for the first nine years of her life due to some health concerns. It was never mentioned just what had been wrong with the girl that would necessitate such drastic measures, but in light of the immense efforts the Gunnhildr clan had put into Mondstadt’s protection over the course of history, nobody had dared question it.
Either way, the girl certainly seemed fine when she was introduced to Mondstadt’s citizens on her ninth birthday. She was a lovely little child, with the same blond curls as Frederica. Jean also had beautiful blue starry eyes that came as quite a surprise to everyone - the blue eyes were rather common for a Gunnhildr but the star shaped pupil was somewhat strange. Or rather, she had one eye that everyone could see, the other one was covered by an eyepatch that had the Gunnhildr crest embroidered onto it.
Again, nobody really questioned it, simply figuring the loss of an eye was perhaps a consequence of whatever health issues there had been. Frederica and Seamus were honest, upstanding members of Mondstadtian nobility, with impeccable manners and an immeasurable sense of duty.
This was known to all of Mondstadt.
What was not known to all of Mondstadt was that they had struggled with conceiving children for quite a long time now, and had all but given up on the matter. Neither of them particularly desired children, but it was their duty to continue the clan’s main bloodline. Frederica’s parents were getting rather impatient and she could not fault them for it. She was raised as a dutiful and loyal Gunnhildr and understood the need for their clan to produce future generations who would show the same loyalty to Mondstadt.
However, there appeared to be no solution to their issue. No matter what they tried or who they consulted, they had no child to show for it.
Until one day, as the couple left a domain they had cleared together, a strong wind started tearing at their clothes. Frederica and Seamus were both very religious and immensely involved in matters of the Church of Barbatos. They knew to follow the wind if it attempted to guide them. Thus, the two of them followed the strong winds to the woods near the Dawn Winery.
They both came to a halt in surprise.
Sitting on the side of the path leading up to the Winery was a lovely little girl, looking lost and forelorn as she looked around anxiously and tugged on her blond ponytail. Frederica and Seamus looked at each other briefly, confused and worried, before Frederica approached the little girl.
“Excuse me, little one, are you lost? Where are your parents?”
The girl looked up at her and flinched a little, presumably at Frederica’s stern face - she knew the effect she had on children, unfortunately. Frederica noticed that one of her eyes was covered by bandages, and the other had a strange pupil in the shape of a star.
“I’m just waiting for my father. He said he was going to get us grape juice, but that was a while ago and he hasn’t returned yet”, the girl said.
The strong wind from earlier was now whirling around the girl, blowing her hair into her face. Frederica did pray to Lord Barbatos earlier today, once again asking for his guidance on their matter of the clan’s future.
Could this be his answer? What were the odds of the winds guiding them here, to a lonely little girl without a parent in sight, right after she asked Lord Barbatos for assistance with their struggle to have children?
The girl had blond hair, too, similar to her own hair - she’d be easy to pass off as their own. It would not fix the issue with the bloodline, of course, but who would ever know? Especially if it was Lord Barbatos’ will? They could not possibly reject a child chosen by their archon himself to lead their clan one day.
Frederica meaningfully glanced at Seamus, who nodded solemnly, before she kneeled down in front of the girl and held out a hand.
“We could have some people look for your father. In the meantime, how about you come with us instead of staying out here in the cold? It looks like it might rain soon.”
The little girl hesitated, before taking the hand offered to her. Frederica pulled her up and guided her over to Seamus.
“This is my husband Seamus, and I’m Frederica. What’s your name?”
“Aðallaug”, Aðallaug answered, making sure to look up at the two adults with an innocent look.
“My father and I travelled here from outside of Mondstadt”, from Khaenri’ah, she did not add.
Frederica and Seamus once exchanged a meaningful glance.
“What a…nice name. It surely sounds exotic”, Frederica said politely.
The name would need to be changed, she thought. If the girl was to pass as a Gunnhildr, as good noble Mondstadtian stock, she would require a Mondstadtian name to match her new family.
Aðallaug did not miss the glances or the odd tone in Frederica’s voice. She did not want to give up her name. She was a stranger in a foreign country, sent here with the weight of her whole nation on her shoulders. Her name was a reminder of that nation. But in order to fulfill her mission, she would need to stay with whomever was willing to take her in. If she had to live under a fake name to complete the mission and make her father proud, then she would do so.
Diluc was not surprised when Inspector Eroch demanded that the exact circumstances surrounding the death of his father had to be covered up. He and Kaeya had already been suspecting the man to be the traitor they had all known was within their ranks. People were flawed, fallible, they made mistakes and trusted the wrong person. It was no different with the Knights of Favonius, no matter how much their father had revered them. Diluc and Kaeya had, after all, always known the man to be a flawed individual himself, too.
While Diluc had over the years come to understand his father’s reaction to his mother’s death, and where Kaeya had come from, part of him had never quite looked at his father the same way after he had completely ignored Diluc for months when he needed him, and slept with someone else so soon after her death.
It had not kept either of them from loving their father, but it ensured that they were a lot more cautious about the Knights. The events of that day only cemented their suspicions.
Though Diluc was glad that Kaeya was not present during this meeting with Eroch. Father had always absolutely doted on Kaeya in attempt to make up for the fact that his mother had been a random one night stand that had left him behind. As a result, Kaeya adored their father, even more so than Diluc did.
If hearing the way Eroch talked about Father made Diluc’s blood boil, he did not want to imagine what his little brother would feel right now. The poor kid had already cried in Diluc’s arms the entire night. Diluc would hate to expose his precious baby brother to that sort of cruel response.
Fortunately, Kaeya was only a trainee - being only eleven, twelve later this year - so he would not be allowed at this sort of meeting despite his personal involvement. Diluc and Crepus had had to practically barricade the door to the carriage to keep Kaeya from attempting to help them.
When Diluc had briefly managed to get some sleep last night after Kaeya had cried himself to sleep, the redhead had woken up covered in sweat from a nightmare in which Kaeya had gotten out of the carriage with Father and died alongside him.
Diluc would have to get rid of Eroch quietly and without a fuss. Kaeya already blamed himself for not joining the fight when clearly there was nothing his baby brother could have done and it was so obviously Diluc’s fault that Father had died. He could not risk Kaeya’s well-being further by making him worry about Eroch and the knights. Diluc could fix all this on his own. He just couldn’t do anything drastic that would arouse Kaeya’s suspicions. So he forced himself to nod politely, pretending to accept Eroch’s explanation. He knew who the mole was. Now he would just have to collect evidence and wait for an opportunity.
“And that is the last document for now, Master Kaeya. I do apologise for having to bother you with this right now, but these signatures couldn’t wait.”
Elzer smiled apologetically at the young boy. Kaeya knew what Elzer must be thinking. An eleven year old was now in charge of Mondstadt’s largest company. No matter how well Elzer knew him, he still pitied him.
Kaeya had been doing his best to not get upset at him - even with Elzer taking over a large amount of the required work until Kaeya comes of age, it was still an immense burden to place on a child. And Elzer, for all his shrewdness and sharp mind, had always had a soft spot for Kaeya, just like Luc had always been Addie’s favourite.
But Kaeya had known he would one day take over the family business almost his entire life - Luc had decided he preferred the knights over the alcohol industry early on and Father had ensured that Kaeya got to observe all the different sides of the business over the course of his childhood. In fact, in the next few years Kaeya would have started to get more personally involved in business decisions and meetings, even without the tragedy that had occurred on Luc’s 18th birthday.
But it had happened and now the winery belonged to him. His father had trusted Kaeya with this and he couldn’t disappoint him.
Kaeya felt himself tearing up at the thought of their father, but quickly did his best to blink the tears away. Luc was counting on Kaeya to manage the winery with Elzer’s help while he was busy doing important things for the knights, so Kaeya couldn’t afford to cry. At least this was much better than being a trainee within the Knights.
Becoming a brave and chivalrous knight had always been his big brother’s wish. Kaeya adored him and he didn’t mind the Knights, but he did not have Big Brother Luc’s talent or passion for it. He liked experimenting with the different ingredients their father would lay out for them, and sneakily sipping just the tiniest bit of the alcoholic drinks whenever their father’s back was turned.
If Kaeya had to sign some boring documents every now and then to be able to make drinks and make Father and Luc proud, then he would manage without crying like a baby. Kaeya would make the best drinks and be the best son and brother so that Father, watching from Celestia, would never be disappointed that he gave the winery to Kaeya, and so that Luc would never have to worry about both the Knights and the winery and could instead be the best knight in all of Mondstadt.
The little boy nodded decisively to himself, shrieking when suddenly his desk was drenched in water.
Elzer almost hit his head on the door frame as he burst into the room.
“Master Kaeya! Is everything…alright…?”
He trailed off, looking at the wet desk and the little boy staring at the desk’s surface, where a large, dark blue gem sat. The hydro symbol on Kaeya’s newly acquired vision glittered with drops of water, mirroring the drops of tears in Kaeya’s big blue eyes.
This was not how Jean had wanted to get a vision. She could barely look at the Anemo Vision laying on her desk. Her mother, of course, would be proud - first Jean’s recent promotion to Captain of the Reconnaissance Company, now a vision.
And it was an Anemo Vision, too!
Her own personal acknowledgment from the Archon of their nation himself. She’d have to make up a story as to how she received it. Something alluding to the duty of the Gunnhildr Clan to their nation, perhaps. Mother would like that. And then Jean could pretend she actually was happy about receiving a vision, and forget the true circumstances surrounding the turquoise gem.
She had been so overjoyed to see her little sister again, six years after the divorce - six years with almost no contact. Six years in which her parents tried to forget their shared past, in which her mother threw herself into her work and in training Jean, her little foreigner project, so that she wouldn’t have to think about her husband taking away the daughter that was truly hers by birth.
The irony of Jean being the daughter to keep the Gunnhildr name had not been lost on Barbara when Jean had finally told her everything.
She shouldn’t have told her sister then, not when they were meeting for the first time in years, basically strangers to each other. Yet, Jean had looked at this teenager who seemed nothing like the little girl her father had dragged away, away from her…
She had needed to tell her then, to tell this stranger in front of her the whole truth so that they might become true sisters once more, sisters who could tell each other everything. She had reached out, and Barbara, of course, had been horrified. She hadn’t gotten angry over Jean’s mission - Barbara would never condemn a child for the actions of her birth parents.
Instead it had shattered her. Barbara had looked up to her only to find that the older sister she had admired so had been built on lies. An illusion, smoke and magic tricks. Barbara had cried and cried and told Jean not to speak to her again.
And how could Jean have convinced Barbara that she had put her faith into the right person, that Jean was still her sister? How could she ever choose one family, one country, over the other? She did not want to have to choose between two homes, between one half of the people she loved and the other. She had never asked for that burden, and she just wanted to be free to have all those she loved, Mondstadt and Khaenri’ah, the false lights of the surface and the sharp blinding lights of the true stars beneath Teyvat.
It had been that thought, born of her conflict between two irreconcilable sides she was part of, that had heralded the gentle wind blowing through the door Barbara had left slightly ajar.
How could she tell her mother that Lord Barbatos had chosen to acknowledge her wish to achieve an impossible balance, an ambition so delusional that not even someone as pure and kindhearted as her little sister could put her faith in Jean?
Frederica would be proud indeed, and for all her adoptive mother’s faults Jean still greatly valued her opinion, but this vision would forever be a reminder of Jean’s inability to belong to both of her homes, and both of her families.
Kaeya breathed in the scent from one of the glasses on the table before him, considering the aroma. Technically he was not quite old enough to consume his own products yet, being only sixteen years old, but in truth he had been sneaking sips since he was around eight. At this point, nobody at the Winery cared how much Kaeya tested his drinks. He tilted his head in curiosity as the door behind him flew open with a banging noise. There was only one person he knew who would dare storm in without bothering to knock first.
“Hello brother”, he said calmly, turning around with the glass still in his hand.
“You’re home early today. Did something happen?”
Diluc, Acting Grandmaster of the Knights of Favonius, threw himself onto a nearby couch in a way that would have scandalised anyone who was familiar with his work persona only. Master Diluc was known as a kind and gentle man, always willing to help and always graceful and courteous. This was owed to some extent to his success in weeding out any traitors among the Knights and convincing Varka to ban the Fatui from Mondstadt after the extent of their involvement in the death of their father came to light. The young man flopping dramatically onto the sofa right now resembled neither the dutiful Grandmaster - technically only temporary, though no citizen of Mondstadt bothered with the specifics of the full title - nor was he the ruthless thorn in the side of the Snezhnayan diplomatic (terrorist) organisation.
“Another Stormterror attack.”
“And?”, Kaeya prompted his brother, recognising his tone of voice.
“There was this Outlander, Aether. Amber had been showing him how to use a glider when the dragon attacked and apparently he attacked the dragon mid-air, forcing him to retreat for now.”
“Huh”, Kaeya raised an eyebrow.
“Given the amount of Anemo energy swirling around during his attacks, it shouldn’t have been possible for his glider to even function correctly.”
“Indeed”, Diluc waved one of his hands around dismissively.
“Some already believe him to be an envoy or champion of some sort, sent to us by Lord Barbatos to watch over us. I highly doubt it. Though the kid seems nice enough.”
“You already met with him, then?”, Kaeya took a sip from the glass and frowned.
“Perhaps some more dandelion seeds…”, he said to himself, noting the observation down on a piece of parchment.
“He appears to be nothing more than a friendly Outlander who is searching for his sister. I named him an honorary knight for his troubles.”
“And to keep an eye on him”, Kaeya added knowingly.
“True enough”, Diluc conceded.
“I believe him when he says that he is just trying to find his sister. But as for his assistance…”, Diluc hummed in consideration before continuing, “I have the suspicion that there is more to him and his travel companion than meets the eye, and I want to find out what it is. Captain Jean doesn’t quite trust them yet, either.”
Kaeya snorted.
“Does she ever?”, he tried out another glass, nodding in approval.
“This batch developed nicely…This outlander has a companion, you said?”
“Some sort of fairy creature. He called her Paimon. You cannot overlook her - she appears to accompany him every way and she’s louder than Connor being chased by a slime.”
The two redheads briefly smiled at the shared memory.
“You two might get along very well, now that I think about it. You’re both equally annoying.”
Kaeya gasped in mock offense.
Before he could respond, however, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in!”, he called.
Elzer entered the room, nodding politely at his Master's older brother before turning to Kaeya.
“My apologies for the interruption, Master Kaeya. Charles asked if you might be able to meet him at Angel’s Share tomorrow, to go over the financial situation of the tavern in light of the recent attacks.”
“I can go meet him after his shift is finished”, Kaeya nodded, rolling up the parchment and handing it to Elzer.
“Could you please give this to Connor?”
“Of course, Master Kaeya.”
Elzer bowed and left the room.
“Well, I do hope that outlander can truly stop the attacks”, Kaeya sighed.
“If he does, he’s definitely getting a free drink from me.”
“We'll see. Though I am interested to hear your first impression of them, once you meet them.”
Diluc smirked.
“If you don’t run into them at the tavern, I’m sure you will encounter them during your nightly activities.”
Kaeya stared at him with big, innocent eyes.
“I”, he announced solemnly, “have no idea what you are talking about, brother dearest.”
“You know we don’t actually need the help?”, Diluc said with an exasperated huff.
“Of course you don’t, but it doesn’t hurt for a concerned civilian to assist every now and then, does it?”
Diluc stood up and joined his little brother by the table, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Just be careful, promise me Kae?”
“Of course I’m careful. I only take care of a few small monsters here and there, really”, Kaeya lied.
Diluc smiled warmly at him and pressed a kiss into his red hair.
“That’s all I’m asking for, little brother.”