𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 ↷ scaramouche x reader

CHAPTER ELEVEN . あなたのために燃える

You squeezed your eyes shut, failing to trap the tears of which you felt spill over to trail down your face. Loneliness encapsulates you in a husk of your own misery. An ugly, quiet sob left your mouth as you pulled your knees close— wailing in isolation. All without the sympathy of your heartless future husband. Twilight conquered the remainder of the night, casting a spell of lethargy over you. You fell asleep once again, the recollection of the argument repeated in your mind before the lullaby of repose sung you to sleep.

WHEN DAWN FINALLY broke, you woke without Scaramouche's presence in your shared bedroom. Not that you wanted to see him first thing in the morning after that argument that occurred in the middle of the night. But waking to the retrospect of last night greatly soured your early morning mood.

Without Wenling, you felt a discernment of your own loneliness as you dressed yourself without her. After freshening yourself up in the bathroom, you chose a simplistic yet comfortable outfit. A light blue zipper sweater with a silver zip running down the center over top dark trousers tied off with a leather buckle belt. You chose matching blue ballet flats to finish off the outside before stepping out of the bedroom for the first time since early yesterday night. As always, the corridors of Zapolyarny Palace were empty and quiet. It was dreadfully silent as each step you took made the loudest of noise— the soft pitter pattering of your ballet flats against the carpeted floors.

Twisting and turning, you attempted to navigate the labyrinthine paths of the palace to no avail. You couldn't locate the dining room nor could you find your fiancé anywhere thus you assumed that he had gone to his office. Your shared bedroom is on the second floor, a floor unfamiliar to you. Though you had the first floor of the palace and the location of your fiancé's office memorized, going to see Scaramouche wasn't very high on your list of priorities— especially what transpired last night; thus you opted to just go about and explore the palace a bit. After all, this was to be your second home after Liyue once this hasty engagement finally goes through.

"Good morning, Master (y/n)." The cleaning servants of the house greeted you with unfeeling smiles, bowing lowly in respect of you as you passed them on your stroll. Most were cleaning out their own servant quarters, occupied with tidying up the place.

You nodded to them, bidding them a 'good morning' as well before moving on with your  walk alone.

As you were wandering the halls, the impressions of the past engulfed you in a montage of everything that had transpired in the past month. The receiving of Scaramouche's letter discerning a potential marriage. Your hasty engagement to him through a flimsily signed document that provides no comfort to this relationship. Your adoptive father's assassination and your attempted assassination. Meeting Childe the Eleventh Harbinger and learning your fiancé's jealousy towards him. Somewhere between all of that, there was still this underlying current of your elimination that has yet to be explained.

What you had previously believed to be your fiancé could still very well be true. There was also the possibility of your adoptive father's first choice and your childhood friend, Yi-Eun, being the culprit as he certainly had a motivation to harm you. Then finally, there could just be a plot to exterminate you formulated by some third party for the sake of money or reputation.

You didn't dwell on the thought for too long— allowing those thoughts to simmer in the back of your mind before suddenly running into someone. The sudden harsh collision caused you to stumble back and fall onto the ground, a hiss escaping your lips as you collided with the floor.

"My apologies, are you alright—"

Your eyes fluttered open to meet brilliant sapphire eyes. Hues of blue that resembled the joint sky and ocean reflective; the pools of abyssal deep seas. You stared, practically ogling him before realizing that you were blatantly gawking at your fiancé's rival. Childe extended a hand to you, smiling as you graciously took his hand into yours. He pulled you up with ease, releasing you once you've found your footing.