"I thought you would take me somewhere, but you just brought me outside the city walls. Does this place have any special meaning to you?"
Durandal, who had accepted Eula's invitation, was led by her to the area outside the city walls. Before them was Wine Lake, which surrounded Mondstadt. The lake surface reflected beautiful light under the moonlight.
Durandal looked at Eula, puzzled. She had accepted invitations a few times before, but they had always taken her to bustling streets or to their homes. What did Eula intend to do by bringing her to such a quiet place?
"Is it because you're worried that me walking with you on the street would affect my reputation in Mondstadt?"
"No..."
"Are you trying to deceive me, Eula? Look at me, do you really want to deceive me?"
As one of her few friends in Mondstadt, did Eula really want to deceive her? Or rather, did Eula think she could deceive Durandal?
Looking at Durandal's face, Eula opened her mouth, then finally let out a long sigh.
She truly had no way to deal with her. She always felt that Durandal was even more difficult to handle than Amber. At least Amber wouldn't expose her so directly. Of course, she didn't think Amber could understand this point like Durandal did.
Eula gave up and sat by the shore, hugging her knees, looking at the surface of Wine Lake.
"You... you're right. I did bring you here for that reason. This... is where I usually practice Favonius Swordplay and dance, and it's the quietest place I could find."
This was clearly not a good topic. Seeing Eula's dejected mood, Durandal thought for a moment and sat down beside her.
Eula had originally wanted to remind Durandal that sitting here would easily stain her dress, but seeing her completely unconcerned expression, she said nothing.
"You said... you usually practice Favonius Swordplay and dance here? What do you mean by 'dance'?"
She could understand practicing Favonius Swordplay. As the captain of the reconnaissance team, Eula certainly couldn't do without some combat strength.
What did she mean by 'dance'? As a Knight, did she also need to master dancing? For what? To be able to use it when attending a ball in the future?
"Because my Favonius Swordplay is different from other Favonius Swordplay. My Favonius Swordplay originates from the Lawrence Clan's Requiem of the Accursed. So I'm not just practicing dance; I'm also practicing Favonius Swordplay."
"The Requiem of the Accursed?"
"Yes, not all of the Lawrence Clan's traditions are bad. This dance is pure and noble, making me feel peaceful and giving me much comfort. I've been practicing this dance for years, and every step has been etched into my body."
"So... you incorporated dance into Favonius Swordplay, which is why you say you're not just practicing dance, but also practicing Favonius Swordplay?"
Incorporating dance movements into swordsmanship was indeed a bold idea, but her ability to grow to her current level also meant that her idea was not wrong.
This made Durandal very curious about what kind of Requiem of the Accursed Eula's was, that she cared about it so much.
"Can I see this Requiem of the Accursed?"
"You want to see me dance? Hehe~ That's quite a bold invitation, especially when said to a noble lady. If it were in a formal setting, I would definitely give you a big 'fail.'"
Eula couldn't help but laugh. She stood up and came before Durandal, facing her.
"However, this isn't a formal occasion, and I invited you out. Since that's the case, I'll specially show you the Lawrence Clan's Requiem of the Accursed. You must enjoy it thoroughly and not look around, okay?"
With that, with Wine Lake as the backdrop and moonlight as the lighting, Eula began her dance.
Even Durandal, who knew nothing about dance, could see that Eula's dance was beautiful. Not only was the dance graceful, but the person dancing was also very beautiful.
With such a captivating dance before them, no one would look elsewhere at this moment.
Soon, the Requiem of the Accursed ended. Eula came before Durandal: "How was it? What do you think of this dance?"
"...Very good. I somewhat understand why you care so much about this dance."
It wasn't just because this dance was a tradition of the Lawrence Clan, but also because of the feeling it conveyed. No wonder this dance could give Eula comfort.
Eula was very satisfied with Durandal's evaluation. Although it was a matter of course, being personally acknowledged felt really good.
"In that case, would you like to dance with me?"
"Eh? Me too? But... I don't know how to dance at all."
"Oh? That's quite surprising. I thought you were from some prominent family and would know some dancing."
Although she hadn't investigated any of Durandal's background information, the clothes Durandal wore were not something ordinary people would wear.
But this was good too. Only beginners had a point in being taught. This also counted as finding something to do, so as not to sit idly here.
Eula was somewhat nervous. She didn't know if Durandal would accept her invitation. What if she refused?
Fortunately, Durandal did not disappoint Eula. Eula's dance successfully piqued her interest. She took Eula's outstretched hand and moved her body under her guidance.
During the dance, Durandal noticed the smile on Eula's face. Recalling what she had said earlier, an idea formed in her mind.
The next day, Eula left home as usual, preparing to go outside Mondstadt to perform a task.
As she arrived at the plaza, a figure emerged from the side.
"Out so early to perform a task, Eula?"
"Eh? Ah, mm. Yes, I'm going out to perform a task now."
Eula hadn't expected Durandal to suddenly appear before her. She ignored the gazes of others and greeted her kindly.
What... what was she doing? Last night, to avoid affecting her reputation, she had specifically taken her to meet outside the city walls, so why was she actively greeting her the next day?
Eula thought Durandal had just happened to see her and didn't pay much attention, but for the next period, whenever she appeared in Mondstadt, Durandal would emerge from some corner and greet her.
After several days of this, Eula, once again successfully ambushed by Durandal, quickly fled the scene.
Watching Eula leave, Durandal nodded. As she turned to do other things, a resident of Mondstadt approached her.
"Um... Miss Durandal, have you been in frequent contact with that Lawrence Clan member these past few days?"
"You mean Eula, right? Is there a problem?"
Durandal looked at the person with a calm expression: "Do I need your permission to interact with someone?"
"No, no! I absolutely didn't mean that. I just wanted to remind you that she's from the Lawrence Clan. It's best if you stay away from them."
When mentioning the Lawrence Clan, the person clearly showed an expression of disgust.
From this, one could see how much they disliked members of the Lawrence Clan.
Durandal had long known that such a situation would occur. She showed no reaction to this person's statement.
"Now I'll ask you a few questions, and you'll answer me. No problem, right?"
She said 'no problem,' but Durandal's eyes conveyed, "Dare to refuse me."
Without giving the other party a chance to refuse, Durandal continued: "Has she done anything annoying?"
"Eh? Well... no, compared to other members of the Lawrence Clan, she hasn't done anything annoying. But... she's from the Lawrence Clan, who knows what she might be secretly plotting."
"Then that means she hasn't done anything annoying. If that's the case, why should I stay away from her?"
"Of course, it's because she..."
"She's from the Lawrence Clan? Can't you come up with another reason? I'm tired of hearing that one. Aren't you?"
Durandal interrupted him, looking at him with slight impatience.
"I'm not a Mondstadter, and I don't understand what kind of disaster the Lawrence Clan brought to Mondstadt. But I only know one thing: I want to get to know the girl named Eula. She is the captain of the Knights of Favonius's Reconnaissance Company, and she works hard every day for the safety of Mondstadt. She has never done anything that makes me dislike her. I want to be her friend. This has nothing to do with her identity in the Lawrence Clan; it's just because I want to be her friend. Do you understand?"
Speechless, Durandal had already said so much; what else could he say?
Actually, he still wanted to speak, but Durandal had already blocked his words. The things he had prepared earlier were now useless.
"Actually... I've also learned about what the Lawrence Clan did from books and understand the darkness they brought to Mondstadt."
"If that's the case, then you..."
Durandal reached out again, interrupting the resident who wanted to speak, and asked, "Do you have any Children?"
"Eh? I have a daughter. What about it?"
"Hmm. If you make a mistake one day, and as a result, your daughter is implicated, mocked, or even maliciously treated, what would you think?"
"I... I..."
What thoughts? All sorts of thoughts. As a father, how could he allow his daughter to be maliciously treated?
If he really made a mistake, then he was the one who was wrong. It had nothing to do with his Children. She did nothing wrong!
"Exactly, she did nothing wrong. Think about it for a moment, and you can figure that out too."
Durandal nodded in satisfaction, ignoring the stunned resident, and walked towards the inn.
She didn't know how much impact her words would have, but this resident would at least, for her sake, ponder the reasoning behind it.
As long as he could understand, her words would be useful. If they had no effect at all, then so be it.
Regardless of the people from the Lawrence Clan, Eula is fine. You can reject those from the Lawrence Clan because they are indeed annoying.
But Eula has done nothing wrong. Why should she receive such treatment?
Don't think she's bad just because she's from the Lawrence Clan. Calm down and think about it; she's different from the other members of the Lawrence Clan.
Durandal wanted to achieve this effect, and Lumine, after knowing Durandal's thoughts, also joined in.
Gradually... a different voice emerged in Mondstadt City.
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