"How are Klee and Farmas?"
That was the very first thing Jean asked after waking up in the bed.
She raised both arms, stretching lazily as the sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows of Mondstadt Cathedral, scattering colorful patterns across the floor.
"They're both in the newly repaired confinement room, reflecting on their mistakes."
Barbara answered gently, standing at Jean's bedside.
Kaeya stood nearby as well, watching the now-awake Acting Grand Master with visible relief.
"So quickly? How long was I asleep?" Jean asked, skeptical.
"Two days. Mondstadt's Chief Alchemist, Albedo, was the one who handled the repairs…"
Kaeya stepped forward, holding a thick bundle of documents—several stacks worth.
"These are the cases and paperwork that piled up over the two days you were asleep. Lisa and I processed what we could, but many things require your judgment."
He handed the stack to Jean, who accepted it with a helpless smile.
"Ah, Albedo… then I suppose it makes sense."
"And—here's the bill. The wages for Albedo and all the craftsmen who helped rebuild the Knights' headquarters."
Kaeya kept pulling sheets of paper from his pockets—receipts, accounting slips, authorizations.
Barbara's brows knitted tighter with each one.
"Captain Kaeya, Acting Grand Master Jean is still a patient. She needs to rest!"
Barbara nearly shoved him away.
Inwardly, she scolded him—How can he be so completely insensitive to a girl's feelings?
"It's fine. Captain Kaeya took on a lot while I was resting, didn't he?"
Jean accepted the pile gently.
She knew better than anyone how demanding the Knights' workload was.
During the two days she was unconscious, Kaeya must've handled a mountain of clearances, travel permits, trade files, and financial reports.
"You worked hard."
She thanked him sincerely.
Barbara puffed her cheeks and looked down, pouting.
Jean reached out and touched her little sister's head, soothing her.
After the handoff, Kaeya tactfully excused himself and closed the door behind him.
Left alone, Jean turned her gaze toward the small figure standing beside her.
Dressed in a pristine white church gown, her golden hair tied into energetic twin ponytails, with a tiny church-crest hat perched on her head—Barbara looked like a porcelain doll come to life.
Just her presence was enough to soften any heaviness in the heart.
"Be good, Barbara."
Jean squeezed her small hand gently.
Barbara Pegg — Priestess of the Mondstadt Cathedral.
Her father was the famed adventurer Simon Page, now known throughout the Church as the "Cardinal of Dawn" and a high-ranking overseer of the Church of Favonius.
He had accompanied the Grand Master Varka on the expedition to the snowy mountains.
But Barbara had another, far more personal identity.
She was—
Jean's younger sister.
Barbara Gunnhildr and Jean Gunnhildr.
The Gunnhildr clan was an ancient knightly family dating back to the founding of Mondstadt.
As direct descendants, neither Jean nor Barbara inherited their lineage from their father—
but from their mother.
Due to certain events in their childhood, their parents separated.
Jean followed their mother, while Barbara stayed with Simon.
By the time Simon rose through the Church ranks and returned to Mondstadt, the two sisters had already spent years apart.
Even after reuniting, the emotional distance remained.
Jean clearly wished she could speak more affectionately to her little sister…
but the moment she saw Barbara avert her eyes, the words died in her throat.
"Acting Grand Master Jean still has work, right?"
Barbara and Jean never addressed each other as sisters—only by name or title.
"Yes."
Jean answered softly.
She didn't know what else to say—she, who practically carried the entire Knights headquarters alone.
Their conversation was awkward.
Both sisters were terrible at expressing their true feelings.
"That man… Farmas… he's the one who set the Knights' hall on fire… and made you faint…"
"I know."
Barbara's small hands clenched tightly.
"Then why…?"
"He's a guest of Mondstadt. He only recently arrived. Everything in this era—this peaceful yet quietly turbulent era—is unfamiliar to him."
That was typical Barbara—always choosing forgiveness, always bringing warmth.
Meanwhile—
In the confinement room, where Klee and Farmas had spent the last two days of "reflection"…
(or more accurately: two days of vacation)
Farmas had decided it was time.
"Well, Klee, want to go outside and play?"
He knew Jean had only pretended to faint in order to get some rest.
Two days should've been enough time for her to recover.
Klee's eyes sparkled instantly at the words go outside and play.
But then she hesitated.
"But Kaeya said… Klee has to stay in the confinement room…
Klee made Acting Grand Master Jean faint… Klee needs to behave…"
"It's fine, Klee."
Farmas coaxed gently.
"Look— I can turn into pure elemental fire and take you out. No doors, no locks.
If you don't tell and I don't tell—there won't be a single trace."
He glanced at the newly rebuilt door—crafted entirely from Cryo Regisvine roots by Albedo.
[Ancient Wisdom]:Nothing can imprison the God of Fire.
Farmas scoffed at the door.
"R–really?" Klee swallowed nervously, casting little glances toward the exit—
just like how Paimon looked at food.
Sensing her wavering will, Farmas leaned close to her ear and whispered:
"Come on… come on…
listen to the darkness deep inside your heart…
enter the kingdom of shadow with me…
and let's go blow up some fish!"
He almost said something else.
His voice, like a devil's temptation, wrapped itself around Klee's mind.
By the time the two of them slipped out of the confinement room—leaving zero physical trace—
and walked out of Mondstadt's front gate…
Klee finally snapped back to awareness.
But it was too late.
They were already free.
~~---------------------------
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