Ye Xi had just stepped down from the carriage and was surveying the surroundings of the winery.
Meanwhile, not far away, a tempestuous storm was raging in Kaeya's heart.
He had absolutely no idea who the man before him was!
Yet he knew one thing—this person carried within him the very same bloodline as his own!
He was not a true descendant of the Ragnvindr family; he was merely an adopted son.
Still, he knew it perfectly well.
The blood flowing through his veins came from a fallen ancient kingdom—Khaenri'ah!
He was the descendant of a Khaenri'ahn named Alberich!
All these years, he had been searching for any news of Khaenri'ah, hoping to find someone like himself.
And yet, after so many years of searching, he had nothing to show for it.
After its destruction, Khaenri'ah truly seemed to have vanished without a trace!
Just as he was about to give up on the very idea of finding others of his kind.
What he never expected was that, by such a coincidence, he would stumble upon one right then and there!
The eyes of the people of Khaenri'ah all carried stars within them.
He, of course, had them too!
And upon seeing Ye Xi's eyes—those familiar, intimate, starlit eyes—his heart was filled with shock, followed swiftly by a rush of delighted surprise.
He hurried over to Ye Xi and greeted him eagerly: "Hello, my friend, welcome as a guest to the Dawn Winery. I'm Kaeya."
"Master Diluc, this gentleman is..."
Though he didn't know Ye Xi's identity, anyone who could ride in Diluc's private carriage and be invited to the estate was naturally no ordinary person.
With his usual icy demeanor, Diluc explained: "This is the Master Ye Xi you mentioned to me before. He's come to our winery today to buy wine."
"Uh!?"
Kaeya's heart gave a violent jolt.
Naturally, he had heard of Ye Xi's great name!
Originally, the trip to Liyue had been undertaken by him and Lisa, for the very purpose of meeting Ye Xi and discussing important matters.
It was just that, at the time, he'd suddenly had urgent business and couldn't get away.
He never imagined that today, of all places, he'd run into him here at home!
And most crucially, he never would have guessed that the renowned Master Ye Xi was actually a Khaenri'ahn!
And so young, at that!
Pressing down the astonishment in his heart, he hastily said: "Master Ye Xi, welcome to Mondstadt."
"As for business matters, could we speak privately?"
He said it was about business, but in truth he could hardly wait to question Ye Xi about Khaenri'ah!
He would never forget the words his father had spoken back when he'd left him at the winery!
His father had said that he was their last hope.
Back then he was still very young and didn't understand what his father meant, so a whole host of doubts remained unresolved in his heart!
This was the perfect opportunity to ask everything properly!
He believed that Ye Xi must know something.
Ye Xi was a little puzzled himself. He recalled that Kaeya and Diluc didn't get along all that well—so how was it that Kaeya had returned home?
But puzzlement aside, in the face of Kaeya's request, he replied: "If there's still time after I've finished picking out the wine, we can have a chat."
Having secured Ye Xi's consent, Kaeya was overflowing with excitement, and so he eagerly volunteered to lead the way ahead.
The maids and butlers were at a loss.
"What's going on here? The eldest young master and the second young master are both welcoming the same guest at once?"
"Am I seeing this right? Young Master Kaeya, who normally couldn't care less about business, actually cares about something like this now?"
"Where on earth does this guest come from? How strange."
Ye Xi and Venti followed along to the wine cellar. Before the door had even opened, Venti couldn't help but sigh in admiration again and again.
"As expected of Master Diluc's treasured wine cellar—it smells so wonderful~"
"To be fortunate enough to broaden my horizons today, it's all thanks to Master Ye Xi's good graces~"
Venti cast him a grateful look.
On the surface this fellow was flattering him, but the little scheme he was hatching inside—Ye Xi saw right through it.
That expression was unmistakably one of craving Diluc's treasured fine wine, and wanting Ye Xi to foot the bill!
The cellar door opened, and the aroma of wine instantly wafted out to greet them.
Inside was a space built of red brick, with wooden wine racks placed everywhere.
On the racks sat one round, plump wooden barrel after another.
These were the casks for storing the wine.
"This entire row is Dandelion Wine. Master Ye Xi, please feel free to make your selection."
"As per our agreement, once the barrels are emptied, please store them carefully and bring them back to the winery."
The wine here was different from the wine sold to other customers—these were fine vintages that could only be enjoyed at the taverns in Mondstadt City.
For a winery, the casks used to hold the wine were also a matter of great particularity.
Some of the aged casks that had been used for years had the scent of wine soaked into the very wood.
Wine brewed using these casks would have an even richer, mellower flavor!
The older the cask, the better the quality of the fine wine brewed in it!
Wine sold abroad couldn't have its casks recovered, so only new barrels were used—and naturally the flavor couldn't compare to the fine wine of the old barrels.
Wine purchased locally in Mondstadt allowed the casks to be conveniently recovered, so the wine used was of very fine quality.
Ye Xi nodded and began making his selection.
He hefted up a cask and placed it directly into his portable space.
This scene gave Kaeya, who had tagged along, and the butler quite a fright!
"This... where did my great big barrel of Dandelion Wine just go!?"
"How—how did it disappear!"
Diluc, on the other hand, had long anticipated this, and inwardly thought: just as he'd guessed.
He reckoned that Ye Xi must be using some kind of spatial ability, storing these wines directly into another space!
When it came to picking out fine wine, Venti was quite the expert. He leaned in and took a single sniff, and could tell which wines had an excellent taste and high quality.
Ye Xi was very curious—amid such a rich, dense wine aroma, how on earth could Venti tell them apart?
With Venti's help, he soon gathered up all the Dandelion Wine along with the complimentary beverages.
And by this time, they had arrived at the area holding Diluc's treasured fine wines.
Venti's eyes went as wide as brass bells, a picture of pure greedy longing.
Ye Xi couldn't stand him, so he waved a hand and said: "Go buy whatever you want to drink from Master Diluc—I can pay for you. Just remember to pick out a few good ones for me too."
Venti was instantly moved to tears of gratitude: "Master Ye Xi truly is generous~ Then I won't stand on ceremony~"
Ye Xi, meanwhile, left the cellar with Kaeya and came out into the courtyard.
0.9
Kaeya got straight to the point and asked: "Master Ye Xi, are you a Khaenri'ahn as well?"
Ye Xi nodded and said bluntly: "I know the vast majority of what you want to know."
"Master Ye Xi, could you tell me about it? I can start by explaining my own situation..."
Before Kaeya could finish, Ye Xi cut in: "Kaeya, I understand your circumstances."
"Your ancestor was once the Regent of Khaenri'ah, and during the cataclysm, he did a great many things."
"But before that, there's something I must tell you."
"You could carry on living exactly as you do now, the life of an ordinary person—there's no need for you to get caught up in this affair."
"I'd advise you to honestly remain a cavalry captain in Mondstadt, and the wealthy young master of the Ragnvindr family."
Kaeya, however, replied very gravely: "I've finally found the organization—I absolutely must know these secrets!"
........
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉