PROMISE • VENTI X READER

〘 約束 〙four



t.w.
mentions of violence and abuse.

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Years have passed, the walls of the residence that held the most powerful family falls into ruin. The maids and butlers who no longer worked for them all thread a different path from one another, but still longingly glanced at the manor, reminding them of what could've been if it's still present to this day.

With the patriarch nowhere to be found, travelers from the city's guild have been venturing to find secrets within the manor. It has always been a mystery why the family closed communication from the ‘commoners’ and it's the guild's objective to unravel the mysteries of the world.

As for the family's heir..

The former staff never knew what happened to them.

It was rumored that the family fell into bankruptcy after their competitor falsely claimed that their raw products contained poison that takes its effects after prolonged usage. This caused a wave of angry citizens, to boycott both the (L/n) and Ragnvindr families. This went on until the latter found a new supplier to save their business from further plummeting and as for the (L/n)’s, the patriarch found another source of money: through gambling.

He gambled the rest of his family's funds, even after selling the manor, hoping that even if it's just a sliver of hope, he could get just a quarter of the treasure they used to have. It started well, they got money from every gamble, but loss after loss, he gambled and gambled until there was none left for everyone. His wife left him in the midst of his gambles, having none of his husband's antics.

The patriarch went crazy, even selling his child to his competitor. His madness drove him to disappear from Mondstadt, towards the snowy, barren land called Dragonspine. No one heard from the family ever since, even the innocent Barbatos who kept on praying to fate itself to let his and (Y/n)’s paths cross once again.

After his father's passing due to old age and right after serving the (L/n) family for so long, Barbatos searched high and low for jobs he could do to survive. He tried being a waiter of different taverns in town, serving different families as their butler, but none of them felt the same way as he was with the lost family.

With only a small pouch-full of coins, he was desperate to find a stable income. Though, his part-time job, if you could call it that, does pay rather well. Every morning he would go to the middle of town to sing towards his audience, of the adventures he wished to embark with (Y/n). But alas, with such a cruel fate written for the latter, Barbatos could only dream and sing for it to come true.

“Barbatos, me and my brother was looking for someone to fill the position of a part-time butler for a family event”

Diluc Ragnvindr, who took over the family business of selling wine to the people, decided to hear the latter's prayers of having a somewhat stable income. The person who was supposed to do the job suddenly backed out at the last minute, the morning before the event. Although it was only a part time job, he doesn't know anyone else who could fill that position other than Barbatos.

Barbatos perked up, “Really? What's the occasion? Are you suddenly betrothed to someone?”

“Diluc? Out of all the people you know, he'll be the first to become married out of all of us?” Amber was shocked to hear that coming from her friend's mouth, in return, she received a cold glare from Diluc.

“You say my name like it's a slur, and no, of course not! I told you all the story of my brother, right? Well, it seemed like he was the one who got betrothed a few years ago and wanted to come back to Mondstadt”