Wriothesley intercepted the message from Freya to Sigewinne via a guard- a letter containing the name of the prisoner who stole and kept the melusine's Hydro Vision. Now he stood before the melusine with arms crossed. "You lied to me, Sigewinne."

Sigewinne looked up to find a hard look on Wriothesley's expression. His jaw was set. "I'm sorry, Your Grace," she replied meekly, eyes big as she looked up at him, "Are you... angry at me?"

"...No. I am disappointed."

"I'm sorry," the gentle melusine whimpered as she apologized again, expression sad and wilted, "Your Grace has been looking more stressed lately. I don't tell you because I don't want you to worry for me."

Seeing the wilted expression on his sweet melusine, Wriothesley couldn't help but felt bad for reprimanding her. He sighed in defeat, quiet for a moment before kneeling on one knee and gently flicked one of Sigewinne's flopped ears with his index finger. That gained the melusine's attention, and the Duke couldn't help the small amused chuckle that escaped him when he saw how confused his Head Nurse was with that gesture.

"Promise to never conceal anything from me ever again," he said, softer this time.

Melusines had no single bad bones in them. Sigewinne shook her head like a child refusing to believe that mushroom tastes just like meat. "I can't promise you that, Your Grace. I don't know what the future holds, but sometimes, I want to spare you any information that might become a source of your stress. Wriothesley, you have been working so hard."

Wriothesley's silver eyes, though icy, held a deep warmth and fondness for the gentle creature. "You're being far too kind for me, Sigewinne," he gently patted the top of her head, making her beam, having learned that it was a gesture of affection from the Duke. She walked towards him and threw herself to the Duke's arms, catching him off guard and making him chuckle.

"Haha, I was about to send you to max containment for lying to me about your Vision, but never mind. You are forgiven," he sighed with a chuckle, "I can't stay mad at my favorite melusine for long now, can I?" his voice was warm.

Sigewinne hopped back to the floor and looked up at him, a hand on her chin as she smiled cheerfully, "Thank you, Your Grace. Though I don't know why you would send me to max containment room, since I pose no safety risk to anyone, but that's fine by me. But then, no one would be left to be in charge of the Infirmary," she said with a shrug, a solemn seriousness on her adorable face.

The Duke let out a fond laugh, "I was joking, my dear Sigewinne. Besides, if you are indeed to be sent to max containment room, I'm sure Freya could hold the fort. At least for minor injuries."

Sigewinne shook her head. "Nope. She was asking for a week off yesterday, so it's back to being just me again," she pointed out with a good natured smile.

This information was new to the Duke. "Sigewinne... You wouldn't happen to know what Freya did last night, didn't you?"

There was a questioning look on the melusine's gentle face. The Duke told her everything that had happened at the Pankration Ring (the savory version), and handed her the letter containing information on which prisoner stole her Vision- an information that was sort of old news to the resourceful Duke.

There was a look of shock and panic on Sigewinne's expression. "Uhh! No! I thought she was buying information with coupons," Sigewinne moved her small feet with agitation. Tap tap tap. "She told me she had lots of it so that I shouldn't worry, but she didn't tell me that she had to fight! She doesn't know how to fight! She would be hurt...She...She..."

The melusine looked like she was about to cry, which tugged at the Duke's heartstrings, but then all of a sudden, the small creature ran as fast as her little feet could carry her out of the Infirmary. The Duke stood up and followed after her.

***

The sound of metallic door creaking eachoed. Metal scratching against metal as the door of Freya's room was opened, yet she was far too deep in sleep to have noticed.

Wriothesley stood against the door frame with his muscular arms crossed against his broad chest while Sigewinne hurried up to her bed where Freya was seemingly sleeping under her blanket. The melusine hopped on to her bed before gently pulled her blanket to examine her. A soft gasp left her when her keen melusine eyes caught a sight of something disturbing.

"...Cold."

Freya's weak mumbling got Wriothesley's attention. His feet moved in their own accord and he found himself standing by Sigewinne's side. Alarm was written on his expression when he saw Freya's pale complexion as she slept.

"This... She looked fine yesterday," he murmured to himself.

"She is severely dehydrated and weak. Her immune system is compromised. She is feverish. We need to bring her to the Infirmary immediately!" Sigewinne exclaimed to Wriothesley. "Let's call the guards-!"

"-Wait."

Sigewinne looked at Wriothesley with worried look, "Your Grace?"

"Are you able to treat her if we move her to my chamber instead?" he asked as he touched Freya's damp forehead. Her skin burned the tips of his fingers. "I would like to keep her condition a secret. I have my reasons."

Sigewinne nodded. "Yes, Your Grace."

He made way to the door and instructed the guards to clear out the way towards his office so no one would see them transporting Freya to his private space. He then returned to her bed, his strong arms gentle as they slid underneath her back and knees.

The first thing that came to his mind was how light the woman was. Too light for his liking, even for an inmate. This didn't sit well with him.

With Freya asleep in his arms, he gestured at Sigewinne. "Let's go."

***

Freya opened her eyes feverishly and found herself in the arms of a man. Her heart suddenly raced, her breathing fast and uneven as panic and dread struck her. "No...No... Please don't... Don't do this... Not again," she struggled feebly, hitting that man's chest blindly as her eyes began to gather moisture.

"Again-? Freya. Freya," Wriothesley caught her fragile wrists in one hand to subdue her, his tone strained. Then she saw his stern silver eyes that resembled a moon at night, "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help."

There was warmth in his deep voice that was enough to still her. With his free arm, he took the vial from Sigewinne who was watching at their side with concern on her face.

A cool glass was pressed gently against her lower lip. She looked up at the Duke's face, her heart still pounding against her chest. His expression gave away nothing, but his tone was commanding. "Open."

She did as she was told, and a bitter liquid snaked its way to her tongue and into her throat. He made her drink some water to wash the potion down before gently laying her back down to a pillow that smelled like bergamot and musk. His scent.

"Rest," he finally said with a gentleness that she had never heard before, putting a hand on her shoulder.

As soon as he said that, Freya closed her eyes again, unable to fight off sleep.

***

Within three days, fever had finally left the redhead. She was alert now instead of sleeping all the time, though still looked weak and pale. By now she had gotten used to waking up in the Duke's chamber that was adjoined to his office, with Sigewinne and the Duke coming back and forth once in a while. She noted how the Duke almost always had a cup of tea in his hand, his usual black furcoat was nowhere to be found on him, leaving him only in his gray dress shirt and vest, with a few top of his buttons undone and his marron tie hung loose around his neck, making his form looked even larger with his muscles peeking behind the expensive looking shirt he had on.

Sigewinne came and went like she too, owned the place, with the same cheerful attitude she had always have back in the Infirmary. By this time, Freya even had Sigewinne's la la la la la tune transfered to her dream.

The door of the chamber where she rested was mostly kept open, letting her a view of the Duke's office. She often watched the Duke sitting there working on papers, with tea by his side, or he would sit there with Sigewinne across from him, her short feet dangling like a child while the Duke poured her some of the tea he was having. They would chat between themselves, and the Duke would smile and occasionally chuckled at what she said. The private setting with Sigewinne in his office seemed to bring out more warmth and genuine smiles that reached the edge of his eyes, especially when Sigewinne was telling him something about her day, or when she was lecturing him about the importance of consistently eating meals at the same time every day.

The relationship between the two resembled one of a father and daughter.

"...No way. Clorinde said that? Ahaha, I'm in danger," chuckled The Duke in amusement, before taking a sip from his teacup (he really likes his tea), and hold up an index finger, "...Hold that thought." His icy silver eyes were turned to her all the way from the office, "Hey, eavesdropper. Care for some tea?"

Sigewinne's ears and eyes comically appeared behind the door frame, then she bounced to the Duke's bedroom and hopped on to the bed where Freya currently sat. "You look much better, Freya. Come, have some tea with us. It will warm you," she tugged at her sleeping clothes. Freya slid her feet off the bed and stood up while the melusine gently hold up her side to steady her, as if she could catch the human woman if she were to fall. Freya humored her and let her lead the way to a seat next to her across the Duke's table.

Freya was initially feeling self conscious being only in her baggy old t-shirt and yoga pants in front of the Duke's watchful eyes, but he didn't seem to mind.

"We are having lavender tea at the moment, but I can brew you something else that might cater to your taste. Let's see. We have oolong, jasmine, mint, lemon & ginger, zaytun peach, earl grey," he listed.

"I'll... have what you're having. Thank you, Your Grace," she answered with her usual slow tone.

"Don't mention it. It is not often I get to have people sharing tea down here with me," he said casually as he poured a fragrant, steaming cup of tea for her.

Wriothesley watched as the woman brought her delicate hands to the tea cup, her hands slightly trembling with weakness as she took a small sip of the tea. Then, after a pause, she provided a commentary on the tea he brewed for her. "It's... a beautiful tea."

Sigewinne beamed at that while Wriothesley chuckled, pleased. "It is an unusual praise for a cup of tea, but I take it as a compliment."

"Lavender is my favorite tea flavor as well," grinned Sigewinne, "Wriothesley is the most excellent tea brewer in all of Teyvat!" she exclaimed.

"Ahaha, you flatter me, Sigewinne."

Freya smiled at the light banter between the two and took another sip at the tea.

"However," The Duke sat back at his red seat that screamed authority in the whole office room that felt both impersonal and personal at the same time, what with a dim light at the center of the room, prison documents and a rack of handcuffs at the corner, along with a gramophone and a tea table at the side, "You probably know that I don't just invite anybody for a tea party."

Freya nod slowly, "You want explanations."

"Your Delusion."

"I carry no Delusion with me. I wasn't lying to you when I said that I am the Delusion," Freya said in her signature slow tone, her voice meek as she decided that both Sigewinne and Duke Wriothesley were the ones she could trust.

At least to some extent.

"If I tell you, would you try to keep an open mind?" she asked softly, mostly to the Duke.

"This is not a court, Freya," he replied, and gestured to the steaming tea cups on the table, "This is friends, talking it out over some tea."

Friends.

Freya looked up to the Duke, her eyes searching him. Wriothesley let out a graceful laugh, "Like I said, I don't just invite anybody for some tea. Consider it my appreciation for you. You have my thanks, for the trouble you went through on behalf of Sigewinne," he smiled charmingly, and beside her, Sigewinne was nodding along with a smile. He reassured her further, "While in this room, just the three of us, we are friends. Though outside these walls, I am still your Duke and your warden."

Freya had not felt such warmth in her chest for a long time. Despite her still detached expression, her now normal green eyes softened with tangible gratefulness in them. "Understood."

She looked at Sigewinne, who looked at her with an encouraging beam while her little legs dangling adorably at the chair that was too high for her height.

"Alright," Freya began with a soft sigh. "I...wasn't always like this. Back then," the redhead put a hand on her chest, "...I was a dancer. I went to perform all across Teyvat with a troupe that I called family, until said troupe eventually disbanded due to financial strains. All of us were scattered across Teyvat. I for one, ended up in Fontaine despite originally hailing from Liyue, the land of contract, due to my love for the Opera and the music."

The room was silent as both Sigewinne and Duke Wriothesley listened to her story for the first time since four years living under the same roof.

"I became a street performer, with a borrowed gramophone, dancing near the Fontaine of Lucine during peak hours to make my living. One day, a famous middle aged man approached me. Dr. Gauss."

Freya paused to watch her audiences responses to the name, but none of them stopped her or accused her for slandering a good man's name.

She continued. "He was kind to me and had a charitable reputation. He told me that... I enchant him."

A look of shame passed on her expression at the last part, her eyes glancing away, not meeting Wriothesley or Sigewinne's eyes. "He would come everyday to watch me and clapped for me from the crowd. He would leave generous tips on every performance I made. One day, he came to me with a proposal. He asked for my permission to be adopted by him. He showed me pictures of the other orphans he raised, most of them little children, a few were teenagers like I was. I still remember the picture, how their smiling faces were bright as they opened up boxes of Christmas gifts," she shook her head, and exhaled in regret, "I had never felt such glimmer of hope in a long time. A promise of a home and a family, and who was I to refuse?"

Under the table, the Duke had his hands in a fist. He knew of this ruse all too well.

"Later on I found out that the children under his care, both small and adult, were subjected to an illegal human experiment. He mostly kept us at an underground base, except for when we were needed to show up to the surface for publicity."

"How come no one spoke up?"

Freya shook her head. "None of us dared. Dr. Gauss found a way to extract a substance from an ancient god matter, called Aqua Doloris into an injection, to force children into submission."

Wriothesley's silver icy eyes snapped to Freya's green ones. Their gaze met, and seeing the recognition in the Duke's eyes, her lips parted slightly. "You... are familiar with the substance."

He grunted. "Correct. It was once used by a convict named Dougier to control a rehabilitation society down here at the fortress. I have since resolved the matter and handed the case up to the surface."

"..."

"Freya?" Sigewinne called softly in comcern with her child-like voice.

Freya cleared her throat, "Okay. Uh... Where... was I?" she asked, looking soemwhat unfocused for a moment.

"Aqua Doloris. The children," Wriothesley briefly reminded her. She nodded.

"Yes. The children." If Freya was upset, she hid it behind her detached expression. She took a while to gather her thoughts and her audiences patiently let her. She continued, "The experiment initially conducted to replicate immortality such as those of the Archons, gods of old, by injecting a large amount of modified Aqua Doloris directly into the bloodstream. Many of these children couldn't survive the experiment and died on the table. Some that survived were all showing signs of hysteria or great depression along with various enchanced abilities. They all turned delusional- hence the name Delusion- and Dr. Gauss was barely able to control the enhanced children, so they were discharged."

"Discharged?" Sigewinne asked, "He set them free?"

Freya exhaled and only shook her head, refusing to spell it out for the kind melusine. Wriothesley's nails dug under the flesh of his calloused palm.

"Dr. Gauss had almost given up on his dream to achieve immortality, until a Fatui Harbinger, The Doctor, took interest in his work and and agreed to fund his research. All experiments failed, until one day, I made a terrible mistake and angered Dr. Gauss. He sent me away to be experimented. I was surprised to find myself being the first to came out of the experiment with my mind intact. I am then what you would call...an initial prototype. Following the success of my creation, the Fatui Harbinger bought all the experimental work of Dr. Gauss and took over all of it. I guess, from then on, The Fatui have done many modification experiments continuing Dr. Gauss' work, which results in what we know these days as the Vision-like trinkets that all Fatui Harbingers carry with them... The Delusions. These trinkets are far more stable and safer for humans, since it was not being directly injected to human beings, so... I guess it made the effects less potent and less lethal."

"And you? You were turned over to the Fatui as well?" asked Wriothesley.

Freya shook her head. "I was not of any use to them, because I couldn't fight and was too scared of my own newfound abilities. Besides, the Aqua Doloris always drain my livelihood after everytime I tap into its power, and the Fatui just didn't want to deal with such liability. So The Doctor... labeled me as a weak prototype, and asked for Dr. Gauss to discharge me."

The Duke exhaled in contempt.

Freya looked away. "I... killed him... before he could discharge me. You and Fontaine know the rest of the story of how I got here."

Wriothesley's jaw clenched at the story. Freya wasn't mad like what was depicted by the report from the overworld. "So murdering him was an act of self-defense."

She nodded, her expression detached. "You could say that."

Wriothesley's gaze was ice piercing into her soul, "Didn't you say that all children were controlled by Aqua Doloris, so that none was able to stand up to Dr. Gauss?"

How were you able to kill him in the first place? read Freya between the lines.

Freya's heart lurched down to her stomach at the unexpected question. The Duke apparently found a hole in her story.

"I... uh... I'm not sure..." Freya stammered, and for the first time he watched her calm and detached expression began to crumble.

A hand on her arm made her look to her side. Sigewinne looked to the Duke, "Your Grace, I think it's time for Freya to rest. She still has a long way to recovery."

The muscular man crossed his arms and nodded, deciding to let the matter go for the moment. "Of course. Sleep warm, Freya," he said as he kept his watchful eyes on her while Sigewinne escorted her back to the adjoining bedroom in his office.

***