Late at night, in the Angel's Share tavern.
Since today was the day the Inazuma Delegation entered the city, coupled with the welcome banquet, the Mondstadters who didn't receive an invitation didn't mind. If they couldn't drink at Windrise, then drinking freely at Master Diluc's tavern was also good.
Anyway, most of the fine wines at the welcome banquet were purchased from Dawn Winery, and Angel's Share was also an establishment of Dawn Winery. The wines from both places were essentially the same, so where did it matter where one drank?
However, among the many patrons in the tavern, there was an unexpected guest today: Eula, who had left the welcome banquet.
She alone occupied a four-person table. It wasn't that Eula refused other patrons from sharing a table; rather, no one even asked her to share one.
Even though the tavern was packed, those patrons without seats preferred to stand and drink, or even drink outside, rather than share a table with Eula, who came from the Lawrence Family, because they felt it would make them outcasts in Mondstadt.
Moreover, Eula's habit of constantly bringing up grudges could easily be misunderstood by those who didn't know her.
At this moment, the vexed Eula had been drinking alone in the tavern for nearly three hours. Three large bottles of Dandelion Wine were already down, and a tipsy flush had risen to her face, displaying a charming rosy hue.
As the night deepened, many patrons had left, their enjoyment complete. Charles, the bartender, had already begun preparing for closing.
As the tavern gradually quieted down, Charles started tidying up the messy tables and urging the passed-out patrons to pay and leave. However, even Charles, who worked for Dawn Winery, turned a blind eye to the mess at Eula's table.
Her table could wait until she left before being tidied up.
Without the clamor of other patrons, Eula, now about five-tenths drunk, finally began to murmur to herself, using the alcohol to vent her dissatisfaction.
"Honestly, that annoying uncle, he's so irritating!"
"He's a big fool, the most idiotic old fossil in the world!"
"Not doing his proper work is one thing, but to be so stubborn and opinionated? A person like this still dreams of restoring the Lawrence Family?"
"The Sinner's bloodline... it's been a thousand years, why has the sin still not been cleansed?"
"Those patrons are all avoiding me. Honestly, do they care that much about my bloodline? Even if I seek revenge, it wouldn't be on them, hmph! I'll remember this grudge."
"Tomorrow, the city will probably be spreading more bad rumors about me, right? Sigh! I'll remember this grudge."
"I also need to find an opportunity to apologize to the Gunnhildr family's daughter. I'll remember this grudge too."
...Drunk, Eula talked to herself for a long time, expressing resentment towards her own Lawrence Family, feeling disheartened by the Mondstadt residents' misunderstanding of her, and questioning her own choices.
In the eyes of outsiders, the proud, elegant, and powerful Spindrift Knight Eula, after shedding all her disguises, was just a pitiful little girl who was misunderstood.
Just as Eula was feeling down and drinking in silence with her head lowered, she heard the sound of a chair being pulled out next to her.
Eula thought it was the bartender finally coming to clear her table and didn't pay much attention, but then she heard a voice that was both unfamiliar and familiar.
"I didn't expect that Eula, Captain of the Reconnaissance Company of the Knights of Favonius, would also have such helpless moments. This is truly surprising."
Hearing this, Eula suddenly looked up, forcing herself to regain her composure, her eyes fixed on the person in front of her. Black hair, black eyes, dressed in Inazuman attire—it was Yuto, the Inazuma Regent. How could he be here?
Miyashiro: "How about it? Do you mind if I join your table?"
Eula glanced around the tavern. There were plenty of empty seats. In such a situation, to want to share a table with her, this person must have ulterior motives.
Eula: "Regent, your invitation is my honor. However, why would the Regent not socialize with the various dignitaries at the banquet, but instead come to this secluded tavern to converse with a Sinner's descendant like me? Aren't you afraid of causing controversy?"
Miyashiro slowly sat down, and in response to Eula's question, he merely smiled faintly and said, "Once you possess strength like mine, you will understand one thing: the criticisms of others are not worth mentioning in the face of absolute power."
Miyashiro's understated yet domineering words made Eula's expression freeze for a moment, then she gave a bitter smile and said, "You're right. Now you are a dignified Regent of a nation, holding great power; the life and death of others are but a word from you. I am just a small Reconnaissance Company Captain; compared to you, there is indeed a world of difference."
Miyashiro: "Hey, hey, hey, don't make me sound like a tyrant from your Lawrence Family. Although what you said is indeed true, I wouldn't dare to misuse the power Inazuma has bestowed upon me.
If the Lawrence Family had understood the principle of cautious use of public power, perhaps they wouldn't have met their end today, would they?"
Eula froze for a moment, then murmured, "Cautious use of public power?"
Miyashiro: "As you said, I do have the power of life and death, but I cannot arbitrarily sentence someone to death, unless they have truly committed an act deserving of death.
Although Mondstadt, under Barbatos's divine decree, established a city-state with no one crowned king, power does not disappear simply because there is no king.
In fact, whether it's Grand Master Varka of the Knights of Favonius or Acting Grand Master Jean, they are like uncrowned kings of Mondstadt, wielding supreme power. But have you seen Varka or Jean arbitrarily misuse their power?
Of course, if you wanted to implement tyranny like your Lawrence Family, you could, as long as you possessed strength comparable to King Deshret, enough to suppress all rebellious forces.
But the result is, the Lawrence Family had neither the strength of King Deshret nor did they arbitrarily implement tyranny. For such a noble power to maintain rule for hundreds of years before its demise, I must say, your Lawrence Family truly had a knack for raising pigs."
Eula's face turned exceptionally grim as she heard Miyashiro's mockery and sarcasm towards her family, but she couldn't find a reason to refute him. She could only cross her arms, huffing with a small pout, "Although you are an honored guest of Mondstadt, speaking ill of my family in front of me—I'll remember this grudge.
Let's get back to the point. Regent, what brings you to this tavern to seek out a Sinner's descendant like me in Mondstadt City?"
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