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yae cannot comprehand what was happening right now
they're loosing market share. again.
a certain book published by an outlander was a hit, it even chucked off novels from the yae publishing house out of the charts
it didn't impress the staffs, most especially it didn't impress yae miko herself, who was working hard to get new ideas for their novels, only for it to last in the spotlight for a few days
she needed to come up with a new counter strategy, she didn't sign up to be chief editor for this
but see, the problem was that she has officially ran out of ideas
the yae miko, who has been into writing astonishing tales in her hundred years of living, didn't have any ideas of what she would formulate in her new novel
it's just ridiculous, and her newest novel that became a hit for a few days was just published last week, for gods' sake!
she was even proud of it, too..
after a hot minute of contemplating life, yae thought she needed to take a stroll, as she stood up from her seat and left the grand narukami shrine
while on inazuma city, the novel of the outlander seems to be everywhere, yae could see people reading it while walking, eating, and talking
it made yae's eyes sore, and her stroll didn't definitely help her get new ideas as she was busy cursing under her breath
"a penny for your thoughts?" a sudden voice asked yae, almost making her flinch
"ah, lumine... you ought to be more careful into approaching people next time, hm?"
lumine hums softly, before continuing to follow yae's footsteps, "you seem tense"
"yes i do, and what's the problem with that?" she asked sharply
however, this did not affect lumine
in fact, she was baffled by this, "is this about the new novel that's spreading around the city?"
"indeed, seems like a certain outlander humbled my novel" yae said sarcastically before sighing, "one's rival book seems to be outstanding than mine, hence why it knocked off our novels out of the chart"
lumine snorted, "you seem pretty confident in your books"
"oh please, i know i have good writing skills, i have worked hard to gain what i want, i earned my reward. watching someone take it away from me is such an eyesore, seriously" yae says, her arms crossed over her chest
"well, that's just life. you just don't get what you want sometimes" lumine says in return, shrugging
yae rolls her eyes, "remind me not to voice my feelings in front of you ever again"
"what?" the other laughs, "it's true, though"
"doesn't mean it will make me feel better, you should try again" yae says while glaring at ogura mio, who was reading the outlander's novel
then she heard lumine sigh, "do you wanna come with me to the kamisato estate? i need to finish something for madarame"
yae scoffs, "what am i, your child? bodyguard?"
"well, i'm also eating lunch there, and i know you haven't ate lunch yet, so.."
this piqued an interest from yae
"alright, then. but only because i get to visit the yashiro girl"
...
as the two walked peacefully at chinju forest, lumine suddenly spoke
"i'm quite surprised you didn't ask for help this time, though.."
"help? why would i need help?" yae asked, turning to look at the blonde
"well, you kinda asked for my help when you were loosing market share the first time"
"that was because you're there, it was a perfect opportunity, and i didn't want to leave you abandoned there now, wouldn't i?" yae grinned, "but as for what's happening right now, self assured that i can take care of this on my own"
"alright, but just a reminder that i was the reason why the publishing house got back into the spotlight last time" lumine says, smiling innocently at yae
"and? what do i have to do with that piece of information?" yae looked at lumine, puzzled, "don't get cocky, i have faced this situation countless of times. so don't worry, i won't come crying to you"
she saw lumine's cheeks turn pink a little, "you speak too much, i was just simply reminding you"
"well, my dear traveler, i don't think you know about this but... i frankly don't care" yae said harshly
though it was just an act to scare the other, a little flush on the cheeks would make her day better
"of course i'm thankful that you provided the publishing house with your novel, but if it weren't for me, no one would've known how your story went" she says while the two walked up until they reached the estate
"traveler! quick! there's a new commission!" madarame bursted the moment they walked inside the entrance
while lumine was busy talking to madarame about running an errand, she walked inside the residence, trying to look for ayaka
while on the progress, she heard whispers coming from a certain room, and she did not hesitate to investigate where the sound was coming from
it felt like it was at the room of that yashiro rascal
"hm, so he's here right now, huh?" yae says to herself, leaning in the fusuma
yae didn't really care about ayato, but she knew he was always on business trips, taking on duties while exploring teyvat, it was quite rare and odd to see him in the estate right now
"my lord, i still have tasks to do.." a kind voice echoed through the fusuma
"those can rest, i have waited long enough to see your presence, don't you think i deserve a little reward for that?"
those two familiar voices caught yae off guard, then she had a sudden idea
an evil one, to be precise
how had she not known about the two of them? that retainer and that rascal.. she heard rumors upon whispers from a few people that the chief retainer was a little too close to that yashiro rascal, but she did not expect them to be this close
"alright, just a peck" was the last thing yae heard before sneaking out of the residence, smiling in bliss
that seemed to lifted up her mood now that she finally has an idea of what to write on her new novel
"where have you been?" lumine asked as yae walked towards her, obviously clueless that she entered the estate
"oh, nothing" yae says, chuckling innocently
after a short minute, ayaka finally arrived back at the estate, immediately guiding yae and the traveler on the tatami
"traveler, guuji yae, how do you do?" ayaka asks sweetly, her cheeks squeezing her eyes as she beamed at the two
"we're doing fine" lumine says in return, smiling softly
"hi, dear. do you mind making us something? anything? my stomach has been empty while taking a stroll up until here" yae frowned, dramatically placing her hands on her chest
"oh, guuji yae. i deeply apologize, but we have finished the last bit and pieces of our meal earlier" says ayaka, sympathetically apologizing
that was until she had a sudden idea, "oh, wait here, i'll get thoma to whip you some lunch" ayaka smiled once again before standing up and rushing inside the estate
while ayaka was inside the estate, lumine exchanged frowns with yae, "what a great way to make them serve us food"
"i know, you're most welcome" yae says, a smug visible on her face
after a short minute, ayaka had come out with two men on her side, and yae smiles mischievously at the two
"oh, i see that you brought two young ladies to cook for me and traveler, how kind" yae beams, ignoring ayato's huff and thoma's stutter
"l-lady miko.." thoma said, looking at ayaka before looking back at yae and.. doing a curtsy..?
yae heard lumine snort, "did you just do curtsy?" she asked while trying to stifle her laugh, her shoulders vibrating
"traveler, with all due respect, please forget i did that"
"what a princess you are! i didn't know you had that on you" yae teased, earning another intense flush from thoma's face
while yae was busy bullying thoma, she glanced at his side and spotted ayato in an unimpressed expression
yae then began to think if he was scheming again
"a-anyhow, um... do you want me to cook you something? maybe a-"
"dear me, don't be so nervous, now" yae said, attempting to assure the blonde haired boy, "this is no restaurant, for goodness sake, try to amuse me" is what she simply says, yet thoma understood her word and took off, going back inside the estate to cook a dish
"what a puppy" yae chuckled, "oh how i managed to release such reactions from him, i even got him to do curtsy without thinking, hah.."
"that was just too funny" lumine said, giggling
"he does that when he's nervous, it's a funny sight to look at, yes" ayaka said softly
"i don't think it's funny, i think it's cute, rather" a voice rang like a bell, yae turned her head and saw ayato seating beside lumine, a small smile evident on his face
"of course you'd think it's cute" said yae, and immediately, like a speed of light, all three pairs of eyes are on her
however, yae seems pretty unbothered by it, as she took a sip on her tea
she observed each of them, lumine suspiciously eyeing ayato, ayato probably scheming once again, and ayaka rubbing the back of her neck in awkwardness
"did i cause such discomfort?" yae asks, trying to lift up the mood
"not at all, guuji yae" ayaka says, smiling again before turning her head to the view of inazuma city
"...i'm gonna help thoma" lumine says suddenly, standing up from her seat before yae, ayato and ayaka began to open their mouth
"hm.. that's unfortunate, you must've scared her" yae says, turning to look at ayato
"me? scaring traveler?" ayato asked, scandalized, "how preposterous.. we've been on good terms"
"you have a point" yae says "maybe i was looking into her for too much.. but.. i think she suspects something between you and him"
"him?" ayato asks, confused
"you know.. the cute one"
"thoma?"
ayaka immediately turned her heads to ayato, her eyes blown wide like it was about to pop off its sockets
"oh?" yae asks, the smile on her face turning into a sinister grin, "so you think he's cute?"
"well, i did recall calling him cute earlier, is it bad that i find such a man endearing?" ayato asks, his gaze towards yae darkening
"no, of course not, but it is quite suspicious that you have never acted like this before" yae said, the air becoming thick
"acting like what, exactly?" ayato asks
"like a fool" yae finally blurted out, "i have called you insulting names, yes, but never have i underestimated you for your skills and talents. hearing you lie right now is an absolute disappointment to me" yae calmly said, her grin not wearing off her face
"what game are you playing on?" ayato asks in return, his deep voice betraying the calm, but dark expression of his face
"i don't know, but as far as i know, you're playing dull. so it might be nice if you drop the act"
"you do not have the rights to stick your finger in my business, what's mine stays mine and what's yours stays yours"
the informal battle between the two kept going until lumine and thoma arrived, with thoma handing out the dish to yae and lumine to herself
while the two was eating and praising thoma's cooking, the kamisato siblings could do nothing but whisper at each other, ayaka wearing a worried expression while ayato was wearing a calm expression
this became suspicious to yae, lumine, and thoma, though. but they let them be
...
shortly after lumine and yae left the estate, yae spoke
"you've outdone yourself again, little one" yae says
"huh?" lumine asks, stopping her tracks to look at yae with a quizzical look on her face
"you helped me, yet again. because of you, i already have an idea of what to write for my upcoming novel"
"....i think i know this one" lumine says, side eyeing yae as the two continued on walking
"are you thinking what i'm thinking?" asked yae, smiling
"it's about thoma and ayato, isn't it?"
"very well" yae says, impressed, "you're pretty good, aren't you?"
"well, it was quite obvious, with thoma having love bites on the back of his neck and ayato calling him cute"
"the retainer? covered in love bites? oh, gods. i'm gonna have a field day writing this tomorrow" yae says, laughing
"you're not gonna put that on your novel, are you?"
"watch me."
...
"ah, finally..." yae miko said, smiling in satisfaction while rereading her novel
it took about three days for yae to write down her novel, three days where she occupied herself and wrote until she decides to eat a meal, eating was the only way for her to stop writing. and because of her ever-so-kind maidens, inagi hotomi and kano nana, she was able to write in a healthy mood
oh, and of course, how could she forget about junkichi, shigeru, and satomi. very talented people, one might say, they did fully accept yae's own personalized novel. but the thing is, they didn't know that thoma and ayato were the main characters. so she simply told them that they could just label them as a master and his servant.
you know what they say, not all tales need names, and that's mystery, majority of the people love the thrill of mystery novels
the title was a bit of a hassle, though. yae hasn't come up with a name of her novel
until junkichi suggested the name should be "the moon and his star" considering that the master in said novel was blue haired and the servant was bright and yellow
yae had been a little hesitant to agree, but who was she to talk when she hadn't come up with a title herself?
so, of course, she agreed
"really interesting story you got there, guuji yae" nakano shino said as she read the whole papers that yae formulated
"aw, you flatter me too much" yae says in return, chuckling fondly
"you'll have to wait for 2-3 days before this gets published" said nakano
"i am willing to wait, but don't keep me waiting for too long" yae teased, making the other smile with a faint blush on her cheeks
this week is gonna be a good week, yae thought.
...
"my lord! this is-how are you not alarmed?" thoma shrieks, covering his mouth with both of his hands
"you're too dazed, my dear.. and it isn't even stated that it's us"
"b-but the master was described having blue hair while his servant is blonde! this is too accurate.. i can't believe this is on sight right now"
ayato exhales, then put his right hand on thoma's shoulders, the other one rubbing circles on his back, "thoma, just breathe. there's nothing wrong with the chief editor writing an indirect novel about us, not even one person from both the estate and the city asked if that certain tale was about us"
"but still, my lord. if lady miko does know something about us, she'll tell this to everyone in the city. and i would never want to ruin your reputation like that"
ayato was baffled, "reputation?"
thoma sighs, "you know the guards here dislikes me, if they find out that someone in a high position like you is with me, who's just-"
"don't say that" ayato says softly, "there's a reason why i'm with you, thoma. and i don't regret being with you until now. you ought to ignore them"
"but, my lord-"
"i thought we already talked about formalities when it's just the two of us?"
thoma let out a shaky breath, "ayato, people will hate you for being with a mondstadt-"
"i do not care about those, thoma. when will you understand that?" ayato looked at him, "i am and i will always be the head of this clan. the guards outside the estate? they live under my mercy, if they find out about us, i do not care. but if i ever hear them harassing you about it, i will send them off"
"even if you tell me that your desires don't matter, and you don't deserve the amount of affection i give to you, i will still continue to do so. that is my job as your lover"
there was silence when ayato ended his sentence, until thoma spoke again
"...perhaps you're right. i'm sorry, i shouldn't have freaked out about this"
ayato sighed and smiled, kissing the crown of thoma's head "people will know soon that i'm dating my handsome chief retainer, and no person is allowed to come here and ask if you can teach them basic skills of housekeeping when that day comes"
thoma, laughed at this, before leaning in and captured ayato in a gentle kiss