The night was deep and quiet.
The infirmary wing of the Mondstadt Cathedral was especially silent, broken only by the occasional soft footsteps and the faint sound of distant prayers.
The door to Yichen's hospital room was gently pushed open.
Eula walked in and looked toward Barbara, who was standing guard beside the bed.
"Is he… okay?"
Her voice was very low, as if afraid of disturbing the person who seemed to be sleeping on the bed.
Barbara looked up. Seeing that it was Eula, she gave a gentle smile and softly shook her head.
"Don't worry, Miss Eula. Mr. Yichen isn't seriously injured. He simply exhausted himself too much—flying back to Mondstadt at full speed from Mt. Aocang—and his emotions were running high. The sudden surge of stress caused him to faint. After resting for the night, he should wake up tomorrow."
Hearing this, the tension in Eula's heart eased a little, and she nodded.
She had only gone out for a routine day of patrol. When she returned, she was suddenly bombarded with shocking news—Stormterror attacking Mondstadt, Yichen returning, his house being destroyed, and him fainting from anger. The whole chain of events had startled her badly.
Seeing Eula arrive, Barbara thoughtfully stood up.
"Miss Eula, since you're here, I'll leave things to you for now. I still need to check on the other injured patients."
"Mm. Thank you for your hard work, Barbara."
Eula replied softly.
After Barbara quietly closed the door and left, the room fell completely silent.
Eula walked to the bedside and slowly sat down in the chair beside it. Her gaze lingered on Yichen's sleeping face, her expression complicated.
Usually he was full of energy and constantly lively. But now that he was quiet, he looked unusually obedient—and strangely fragile.
His long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath his eyes. His breathing was steady, yet even in sleep his brows were slightly furrowed, as though he was still unconsciously distressed about his house being reduced to ruins.
After hearing everything that had happened, the small bit of irritation and jealousy Eula once felt—caused by Kaeya's letters describing how Yichen had been "flirting around" in Liyue—had mostly faded away.
What replaced it instead was deep concern… and shared anger.
She slowly raised her hand. Her fingertips hesitated for a moment before finally landing very gently on his soft black hair.
"What an… idiot."
She murmured quietly, though there wasn't much blame in her tone.
After carefully checking the exposed parts of Yichen's arms and neck and confirming there were no external injuries, and that his breathing and body temperature were normal, Eula finally relaxed.
She withdrew her hand and looked at his sleeping face. As if thinking of something, she spoke again in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Maybe… this is Lord Barbatos punishing you a little for being too much of a flirt in Liyue. Teaching you, you blockhead, a small lesson."
Her voice was soft and slightly teasing, as though saying this might help drive away some of the misfortune surrounding him.
After a moment of silence, Eula's eyes gradually sharpened. She straightened her back slightly and looked at Yichen.
"Honestly… I'm writing this grudge down."
Of course, the grudge she meant wasn't against the poor guy lying pitifully on the hospital bed after losing his house.
No—this debt would be clearly recorded by Eula Lawrence against those hiding in the shadows—the Abyss Order that manipulated Dvalin and indirectly caused Yichen's home to be destroyed.
The quiet environment made it easy for thoughts to wander.
A few minutes later, looking at Yichen's defenseless sleeping face, the little emotions she usually suppressed—or disguised under the excuse of "holding grudges"—began to surface unconsciously.
With nothing better to do, she stretched out a slender finger and lightly poked his slightly pale cheek with a hint of petty revenge.
The warm, soft sensation against her fingertip made her heartbeat speed up slightly, but her mouth refused to go easy on him. Lowering her voice, she muttered as if interrogating him—or talking to herself.
"Hey, idiot…"
"Speaking of which, why did you choose the city gate every single time for those hundred confessions? Hm? Blockhead!"
She poked him again, as if punishing his stupidity.
"And another thing…"
Her tone grew more frustrated, a trace of unwillingness flashing in her eyes.
"Why was it that on the very night I decided… the night I decided I'd go find you the next day… to tell you something…"
"…you ran off and confessed to the Gunnhildr girl instead? Were you really that impatient? Couldn't you wait even one day?"
The more she spoke, the more annoyed she felt. The force of her finger unconsciously increased slightly, as if trying to poke out all the regret and jealousy she had missed.
"Clearly… you said before you liked girls with short blue hair…"
"And then you turn around and—"
At that point, Eula paused. She seemed to realize arguing with someone who was unconscious was a little silly, but she still couldn't help threatening him.
"Hey, answer me! Stop pretending to sleep! If you don't say anything… I'll really remember this grudge! For life!"
As she spoke, she unconsciously continued playing with his face. Sometimes she poked him lightly; other times she carefully smoothed out the slight crease between his brows.
Completely immersed in her own little world, she didn't notice the movement behind her.
"Cough… ahem."
A very faint cough—clearly filled with awkwardness—came from the direction of the door behind her.
Eula's body froze instantly.
She whipped around, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest.
The door to the room had somehow been pushed open slightly. Jean was standing there, wearing an expression of awkward surprise and hesitation, as if debating whether she should quietly leave.
Clearly… she had already seen Eula's childish behavior and heard some things she probably wasn't meant to hear.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze.
Eula's face turned bright red in an instant, the blush spreading all the way to her ears. As if burned, she jumped up from the chair. Her usual cool composure vanished completely as she stood there flustered and helpless.
"J-Jean… Acting Grand Master?!"
Even her voice cracked.
Jean clearly hadn't expected to walk into such a scene either—especially after hearing something that involved herself. She quickly explained awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, Eula. I… I just wanted to check on Yichen. I thought Barbara was here—or that no one was inside… I'll leave now."
She began stepping back to close the door.
"N-No, it's fine!"
Eula hurriedly said, her voice rushed with panic.
"I… I've already finished checking on him! I was just about to leave! You… you can go in!"
Her words were almost incoherent. She didn't dare look Jean in the eyes anymore. With her head lowered like a startled rabbit, she hurriedly slipped past Jean and rushed out of the room.
She even forgot to say goodbye.
Her retreating figure was the very embodiment of social death.
Jean watched Eula flee in embarrassment. Then she looked at Yichen, who was still peacefully asleep on the bed, completely unaware of everything that had just happened.
With a helpless sigh, she rubbed her forehead.
"What… even is this situation…"
She gently closed the door and walked to the bedside.
Looking at Yichen's cheek—now slightly red from all of Eula's poking—her expression turned complicated.