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Diluc Ragnvindr is not one to interfere in the business of anyone outside of his own personal affairs. Sure, the Traveler is a dear friend of his, however, he understands their more private nature, and though they’ve trusted each other with secrets and personal affairs before, he’s sure she won't be particularly grateful to have him in the loop on this sort of…intimate matter.
To say he was in the loop was still an understatement. He had first got word of the letter through an “anonymous” lead from his brother that cited a message circling the world from one of the Eleven to their dear friend. Kaeya himself had tried to get ahold of it to no avail (as expected from a knight, even more so from Kaeya) and thus left the inquiry between the door of Angel’s Share for Diluc to find first thing in the morning. In his defense, he thought the letter was a threat. He was more than aware of the Traveler’s relationship with the Fatui (or so he thought) and thus had no intentions beyond ensuring her safety when he intercepted the letter at the port of Liyue, prepared to hand it in to the Knights per Jean’s request. It is only when his curiosity gets the better of him that he realizes his error in judgement.
The first paragraph of beautifully inked calligraphy, (much too well done to have been of any ill intention, he had noted, as no one, even Fatui would have put this much effort into making something ill-willed this neat and proper), followed by the pressed Windwheel Aster that fell from between the pages was enough to get an idea of the letter’s intention. It was by his own shameful curiosity that the whole letter was read, and then read over again as he processed its contents. He couldn’t deny it was sweet, eloquently written in a way that put the messenger's whole heart at its vulnerable front for the privacy of the intended reader's eyes. Diluc can’t help but feel his face flush in shame as he reads it again, its contents clearly intimate in a way that makes his reading feel like a rude intrusion of both the writer’s and Lumine’s privacy. He only has to read the sign off at the end once to know this was the message that he was seeking, delicately folding the Aster back between the pages as it was before as he returned it to the envelope. He stops at the Wanwen Book house on his way out which thankfully re-presses the wax seal of the envelope for free, the woman at the desk shooting him a wink with her own joke about the intimate contents within the paper.
It’s only as he’s returning the letter on the path of it’s intended recipient that he notes the look of it being the most dead giveaway of its intention. The Eleventh surely had no desire in keeping his message under the guise of anything else. The envelope itself is of the finest quality, the paper inside having been handmade silk (not that anyone besides Diluc would know that) and the lettering on the address that reads “To my Dearest Lumine” being done in what is obviously the writer's finest handwriting. What sets it all in place is the pink wax pushed in with a heart shaped press, unfortunately removed with his original interference. Diluc had managed to preserve the original seal and slip it back into the envelope himself. Diluc respects the Eleventh’s effort to detail and the care of his words. He couldn’t imagine himself ever making this strong of an effort to convey such emotions and put forth such vulnerability to someone he wasn’t even sure reciprocated, and though he hated the Fatui with his whole being, he respected Lumine enough to return what is rightfully hers. Another part of him is curious of what her response would be, though he hoped the one to possess the heart of his cherished friend would be anyone but Fatui scum, he himself had found himself moved by the contents of his letter. Had someone sent such a thing to him, he’s sure he would take their feelings into consideration.
He makes the final decision then and there to deliver the letter to her himself, respecting the privacy he’d invaded more than enough to ensure it isn’t violated again before it can meet the intended recipient. Besides, the trip to Sumeru is only another two days of his trip, and it’s the least he owes her.
When he makes it there, he informs Katheryne of his urgency, to which she ensures someone retrieves the Traveler right away. When she finally arrives, he finds himself more embarrassed than expected to place the message into her hands, doing so at first without any further warning or explanation.
“I apologize for my sudden visit,” He says. “However, it was by my error in judgement that this message did not reach you in its intended time, nor in privacy as I took it upon myself to read it before realizing what it was.” That’s only half a lie, however he’d rather not admit his own rudeness upfront. “My sincerest apologies.”
The look on her face is unreadable, the pixie at her shoulder squealing in curiosity as she presses the Traveler to open the letter right then and there. Lumine glances between him and the letter, no doubt realizing who it was from and having an idea of its contents, before slowly opening it.
Diluc can’t help but feel shame as he observes her face with an almost invasive attentiveness, seeing the way her eyes scan the words and flip through the pages, her jaw dropping slightly as a hand comes to cover her mouth, the tips of her ears growing pink as she scans over sections of it multiple times. Finally, about halfway through it, he sees her eyes reread the same line again and again and again before they well up with tears. Paimon looks at her with pure concern written on her face as Lumine continues to read, her tears staining the paper as her hands tremble. When she reaches the final page, the Aster and wax seal fall into her hand, which only makes her tear up more as she finishes the letter, wiping her eyes with one hand as the other holds it gently as if it were made of porcelain.
“Are you alright?” He finally asks, unsure what to make of the tears she lets out.
“Yeah,” She half chokes out, wiping her tears again as he sees a smile spread on her face. “Don’t mind me, I’m just feeling a lot right now.”
“I figured you would.”
“You did, huh? That’s fair, you did read it.”
“I did.”
“What did you think?”
He pauses, his thoughts from the past voyage coming full circle and halting at one thought that never left his head, one thing he had no choice but to accept from the moment he finished the letter.
“I think those are the spewing's of someone who is utterly enamored by you.”
Lumine’s smile grows, wiping the last of her tears before she speaks.
“I think so too.”