──── ─ [𝗔𝗟𝗟] 𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗠𝗘. ✦

dandelion buds┊⁰⁰⁵

꒰❝chapter five; dandelion buds❞꒱

as sunlight trickled through the open curtains, adelinde stirred, her eyes scrunching against the gentle intrusion. it took her some time to fully open her eyes, but when she did, she found herself faced with her young master, his expression filled with concern. his eyes were glossy, reflecting his worry. kaeya noticed her awakening instantly and bombarded her with questions, his tone laced with worry. "are you alright? elzer mentioned finding you unconscious on your bedroom floor! what happened?" adelinde froze as she tried to process everything, the events from yesterday hitting her all at once. she sighed and looked at her young master, forcing a fake smile onto her face. "i can assure you, master kaeya, it's nothing for you to worry about. i simply overworked myself and must have collapsed. i apologize for causing you concern." it was a flimsy excuse, but she knew he would believe it in a heartbeat.

and indeed, he believed her. the blue haired male looked at her with even greater concern. "you should rest! i'll inform father about this—i'll ask him to grant you the entire week off!" upon hearing the mentioning of her beloved, adelinde's eyes widened in shock. she hastily reached out and grabbed kaeya's hand before he could leave, surprising him with her firm grip. "you really shouldn't! as i mentioned, i'm perfectly fine!" kaeya flinched at her loud voice, while adelinde bit her lip anxiously, she didn't want crepus to think she was negligent. despite her dedication, she had never taken a break while working here, and she had no intention of doing so now.

still in shock at the blonde's unexpected outburst, kaeya nervously nodded, attempting to free his hand from her grasp, which caused adelinde to flinch slightly before finally letting go, murmuring a small apology while doing so.

still slightly shaken up from what happened, kaeya offered the maid a nervous smile as he observed her trembling form, puzzled by her behavior. However, he chose not to broach the subject. "alright, just make sure not to overwork yourself, okay?" he spoke gently, his sincerity evident in both his words and tone. this genuine concern caused a twinge of guilt to stir within the blonde maid as she lied to his face. despite kaeya being her favored son, adelinde found herself biting her tongue—not out of choice, but due to the searing pain that accompanied any attempt to recall recent events. you did something to her, she knows you did.

with a brief goodbye, kaeya took his leave, leaving adelinde to rot on her bed, accompanied by nothing but her thoughts,

with yesterday's lingering questions still impaled into her mind, one in particular stood out; what are you?