Eula had always been unafraid of the cold—no, she liked it.
So her tent didn't bother with insulation, and the interior space felt unexpectedly large and open.
After returning, she didn't speak much.
She simply and carefully prepared food for Su Xuan.
When the meal ended, silence settled between them.
Not a gentle silence, but the kind that grows from shock.
It was because of the Skyfrost Nail.
Eula's mind was full of the same image over and over—
Su Xuan getting annoyed at someone…
then a divine pillar falling from the sky,
and everything—everything—except him being erased.
The more she thought, the more terrified she became.
To the point she didn't even dare start conversation.
"No need to be so tense."
Su Xuan's voice broke the silence.
"Since you hold the diary, I won't take your life."
Eula's eyes went wide.
"So… just because I'm a diary holder, I get this… privilege?"
Su Xuan nodded.
Eula fell into thought.
"…I don't know if I can believe that."
She took a slow breath.
"When people have privilege, they tend to go beyond limits."
Su Xuan didn't deny it—only added calmly:
"I said I won't kill you.
I never said I won't make an example if someone crosses my bottom line."
Eula froze.
"If someone refuses to learn…
I can bury her alive into a wall and visit every few days.
More satisfying than killing her outright."
Even with Dragonspine winds, Eula felt cold run down her spine.
She hurried to change the topic.
"S-So… about you and Lisa… and Jean. I mean, they're diary holders too, right? How did… that happen so fast?"
Su Xuan answered openly.
"Lisa figured out the diary's secret on her own.
She came to me first, seeking eternity.
"As for Jean—she wanted Mondstadt saved from Dvalin's plague.
With Lisa's advice, she came too."
Then he added, tone unchanged:
"Even if they hadn't come to me, I would have come to them eventually.
Diary holders are all people who belong to me sooner or later."
Eula stared, stunned.
So he had been waiting—fishing, even.
"And if someone doesn't come to you?" she asked carefully.
"Then I go to her myself," Su Xuan replied, as if discussing the weather.
"And by then, it's not gentle. Even suicide wouldn't work—Qiankun Mirror prevents that."
Eula: "…This is fate rigged from the start."
So from the moment the diary appeared, the ending was already sealed.
Su Xuan glanced at her.
"But your situation," he continued, "is troublesome."
"You want recognition.
You want Mondstadt to stop looking at you through the stain of the Lawrence name."
He paused.
"But the Lawrence clan really did monstrous things.
And your uncle—Schubert—will soon sell Mondstadt's defenses to the Fatui in the name of 'reviving your clan'."
Eula froze.
"…So that's the future?"
"Most likely. But now that you know, you can stop it before it happens."
He tapped her shoulder lightly.
"Your desire to protect Mondstadt is your choice.
But if they refuse to respect that—force isn't wrong."
"If you want Mondstadt to bleed, I will let you.
If you want them to kneel, I will make them kneel."
Eula's breath caught.
The warmth in her chest was sudden and overwhelming.
Someone… was on her side.
Firmly. Clearly. Without hesitation.
She had never tasted this feeling.
Su Xuan smiled.
"Or… I could pretend to invade Mondstadt.
You step forward and 'defeat' me.
Public opinion flips instantly. Reputation restored."
Eula nearly choked.
"No—absolutely not—your identity can't be used to act out some cheap hero play."
She waved both hands rapidly.
Her mind was no longer on Mondstadt.
Her mind was on him.
If everyone with the diary eventually ends up by his side…
Then waiting too long only leaves fewer places at his pillow.
She had always been bold.
"...I remember you mentioned forming an idol group," she said softly. "And I… know a little about dance."
Her eyes met his.
"I could… dance for you. Now."
Su Xuan raised his thumb in approval.
"I have long heard the 'Dance of the Waves' is elegant beyond compare. I would like to see it."
Then—
His voice lowered.
"But…"
Eula blinked.
She had the sudden feeling of being hunted.
"I'd like you to keep only your long boots and shoulder cape.
Everything else would only distract from your beauty."
Eula: "?!!!"
Her face went scarlet to the ears.
Advance Chapters available on P@treon
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