Chapter 161

"You...You know where my brother is!?" Lumine asked incredulously, eyes wide and lips parted, obviously stunned by the unexpected information. The look on her face was all sorts of emotional-mixed with hope, excitement, and even a bit of fear in how to deal with this information. A very unbalanced combination that had Childe just about holding back a snort.

"Yes, we were deeply moved by your conviction to find your dearest brother by the use of posters and other things, that we expended all of our resources, just to locate him for you. If you join the Fatui, we will tell you where to find him."

But for her, that was enough. It was enough. It was time to take action.

Before anyone else could react, Lumine lunged forward, grabbing onto his wrist in midair. With one swift motion, she pulled a sword from her inventory and brought it towards his neck. "Speak! Where is he!?" She demanded, an angry whine slipping through her voice.

A hush fell over everyone in the room, which didn't last long.

"Woah, Girlie, relax!"

For someone so pretty, Childe had to admit her expression looked extremely terrifying.

The way the girl's face contorted, from anger to trying to hold back her tears, it looked like she couldn't help herself and started crying out of rage instead. Just the single thought of her brother made her explode like this.

Her brother was on her mind from morning to midnight. The only family that remained in her life. And now she knew he was still alive, which prompted her to act out immediately.

She always hoped he was alive, somewhere out there. Although she knew in reality that chances were slim, she needed to hope anyway. No matter how hard the life in Teyvat was before meeting Yomite, she swore to herself she wouldn't die and won't let go until she met her brother again.

Looking up at the girl, Childe shook his head, a slight hint of unexpected pity appeared in his eyes. He thought that this girl was bound to have some serious inner turmoil if she would lash out at the first person that talked about her missing brother.

Noticing her desperate gaze to find her sibling, it somehow made him feel guilty as he remembered his own siblings back home.

"...I am not allowed to talk about him. I can only tell you he is alive and well. Her Royal Highness, the Tsaritsa, who controls the Fatui is a gentle soul, I am sure once you agree to join the Fatui, she would gladly help you out and let you meet him."

"Don't lie to me!" Lumine yelled, eyes ablaze and bloodshot from crying. "Do you have any idea how much heartache I have already gone through? You can't possibly understand the desperation that still dwells within me from the moment we separated! Why do there have to be any sort of discussion for some stupid deal! Just tell me his location! I want my brother back!" She cried bitterly, and with those words, the blade came closer, getting a bit too close for his comfort.

Helplessness and hopelessness were spreading inside of Lumine's chest. She wanted him to answer her right away, or rather, speak about her brother without hesitating.

"Lumine..." Paimon put her tiny hands-on Lumine's shoulder as if to prevent her from taking further action she might regret later, yet she pushed the little fairy away with her elbow and held onto the sword even tighter.

Childe knew from experience, someone like Lumine wouldn't kill him either way. She needed information and as long as he had that, he was completely safe. Besides, she was a hero. Heroes wouldn't act like this.

"Lumine...you need to stop. I know very well how it feels to part with family, calm down. Childe already told you your brother was alive and well, let that give you a momentary peace of mind." Another familiar voice of her friend said quietly behind her.

It was Hu Tao, seemingly trying to be more careful than Paimon, but also somewhat concerned and fearful for her friend's state of mind.

Childe noted that Hu Tao was making the effort to resolve the situation, which seemed absurd to him. She acted like a completely different person than the one he was familiar with.

(That loner from the Funeral Parlor is acting compassionate? That girl? Since when?) He mused internally, although he couldn't see anything in her facial expressions and behaviour that indicated he was wrong.

This sudden change in mood, this empathy, this kindness for people, it must've been caused by something drastic. But what was it?

Of course, Hu Tao used to be a loner and didn't really talk with anyone for a prolonged amount of time before meeting Yomite and other than a few exceptions, no one even stumbled upon her willingly.

That was precisely why, the connections she shared with her current party members were much deeper than anything she experienced before this point, and she wanted to protect them.

"All that matters is that he is alive and well, if Childe doesn't want to tell us anything, then we will simply have to find him ourselves!" Hu Tao smiled brightly, still clearly being sincere and caring about her friend's state of mind.

Only after Hu Tao said that, did Lumine realize that all of her friends were looking at her in worry. Even Iris who was usually just disregarding everything around her, seemed eager to do something when someone they cared about went through a rough situation.

Childe watched Lumine study him for a second before finally lowering her gaze and sighing.

Worried stares floated across her gaze, "...I'm...sorry." She whispered, clasping her hand over her heart.

She removed the sword from Childe's neck and sat back down on her seat, putting the sword away back to her inventory.