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The wind brushes against my skin.
I close my eyes and let it flow through me.
My veil—sheer and lavender like a fading bruise—dances, caught in its gentle grasp. It slips across my cheek.
Mondstadt is known for its lush green landscapes—fields of tall grass, cool, refreshing breezes, and farm animals roaming freely.
But today, none of that brings me peace.
I sit beneath the shade of a tree, my heart heavy.
My robes—white and violet, layered and loose—rustle faintly with each sigh of wind. They feel too elegant for someone hollow, too delicate for a soul unraveling at the seams.
A small doll hangs from my waist, a wedding gift from him, its stitched smile painfully unchanged while mine falters.
On any other day, this scenery would bring me comfort…
happiness, even.
But not today.
A tear slips down my cheek—
then another,
and soon, they stream freely, blurring my vision.
I glance down at the crumpled note I found tucked inside the pocket of Kazuha’s robe.
“Thank you for the ride these past few days.
At this point, I have my own driver, no? >.<
I appreciate you so much. Love you!
—Mona”
A bitter smile tugs at my lips.
Beside it: a motel receipt.
A motel receipt.
I press my palms to my face.
The sobs escape me before I can stop them—
silent,
shaking,
and sharp like the wind.
How did we get here, Kazuha?
Eyes puffy and red,
I close the door to our little house.
It sits just outside the city of Mondstadt, surrounded by forest—
quiet, isolated, and cheap.
We couldn’t afford to live within the city walls.
Mondstadt City is the only developed, protected area in the country.
The Knights of Favonius patrol often, but their priority has always been the city.
Still, it’s where we buy our necessities—
and where Kazuha works.
I’m what you’d call a house husband.
We’re legally married here in Mondstadt.
Surprisingly, it’s more accepting than my homeland—Inazuma,
a place that sees men loving men as sin.
I shake my head.
That place…
It’s no longer part of our lives.
We buried it in silence years ago.
The sun dips behind the trees.
Dinner is ready.
Kazuha should be home by now.
Hours pass.
Darkness settles in.
Still, no sign of him.
I take my veil and open the door, stepping into the cold.
I wait.
We need to talk about the note.
One hour…
Two…
The breeze grows colder.
It cuts through my skin like glass.
I sneeze,
but still—no Kazuha.
Just a little longer…
Somewhere in the stillness, a voice snaps me back.
“What are you doing outside?”
His voice is distant, even as he stands close.
I realize I’m sitting on the ground, my head buried between my knees, arms wrapped tight around myself.
He crouches slightly, tone softer this time.
“It’s cold. Let’s go inside.”
I look up.
Kazuha is standing there, frowning.
He takes off his coat like he’s about to offer it,
but he stops.
Clicks his tongue.
“Tsk.”
He holds the coat tighter.
Turns his back to me.
And suddenly, I remember—
A night in Inazuma. The rain falls heavily.
The city was in chaos—the nobility of Inazuma already heard the news that the son of the declining Kaedehara Clan asked for the hand of Shogun’s son for a marriage.
Scandalous.
Aside from the fact that they are two men, how dare that declining clan’s son ask for the young migi-shogun for marriage?
Gossips all over Inazuma.
The calm Shogun was enraged that her only son was getting blinded by love– Looking at the Kaedehara Clan, she believed that their son was manipulating her naive son into marriage.
We were hiding behind the Kamisato estate, as the Kaedehara estate was facing unwanted visitors, and facing criticisms.
I was soaked and shaking.
I can’t believe that the once dignified Kaedehera clan, is being looked down upon… because of me
I was terrified.
I look at Kazuha, as tears fall down my eyes.
Shivering from fear more than the cold.
I remember clutching his sleeve and whispering,
“What if Kaedehara continues to decline? What will happen to your family? ”
He cupped my cheek with his hands, eyes fierce through the rain.
“Even if I lost everything, the Kaedehara will continue to stand firm. Everyone in the family supports my decision to follow my heart. When we get married in the future, you will be my family.” he said as he pecked a small, gentle kiss on my lips , “I love you.”
I believed him.
I believed that no matter what happened, he would love me.
No matter how hard life could be, I will always be his family
That he’d come for me.
But tonight—
he won’t even hand me a coat, to soothe me from the same cold.
I force myself to stand.
My legs feel numb,
like the cold reached my bones.
I follow him inside, quietly.
He sits on the wooden chair like nothing happened.
Like he didn’t come home late.
Like I wasn’t outside waiting, freezing, wondering.
I sit on the other side.
Careful not to let my voice shake,
I place the note on the table.
“Explain this.”
He stares at the note for a long time.
“I just gave her rides,” he finally says, voice low.
“She doesn’t have money. You know that. She asked for help.”
I stare at him.
He’s not lying,
but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
“And the motel receipt?”
A pause.
“She left something. I helped her carry it. That’s all.”
Silence.
I feel the breath in my lungs sting.
“Did you two go in together?”
He presses his fingers to his temple.
Frustrated. Tired.
“I didn’t cheat on you, Scara.”
He never calls me that.
Not unless he’s trying to calm me down.
Not unless he knows I’m breaking.
“I just wanted to help. That’s all I ever try to do.”
I look away.
My voice is small.
“Then why are you kind to her, but not to me? Am I not your husband?”
He stills.
I feel it—the shift.
Like something in him just cracked.
“Kazuha,” I whisper , “I waited for you. I wait every night.”
Tears start to fill my eyes.
“I’m working—” he starts, but I cut him off.
“I didn’t marry you for the money. I didn’t run away from Inazuma just so I could sit in a house you don’t come home to.”
His eyes flicker.
Pain, guilt… something else.
“I wanted a life with you. Not luxury. Not comfort. Just... you.”
He closes his eyes.
“But I promised you more than this,” he says, barely audible.
“This house, these nights, the cheap wine and secondhand curtains—
you’re the son of a Shogun. You shouldn’t be here.”
“I want to be here.”
“That’s the problem!”
His voice finally cracks.
“I let you throw away everything for a life that’s nothing. For a man who can’t even buy you a new coat.”
I look down at my lap.
At my hands.
They’re shaking.
“I never asked for a new coat,” I whisper.
“I asked for Kazuha, who was brave enough to tell me—the son of the Shogun—that he loves me.
I asked for Kazuha, who fought the Shogun for my hand in marriage.
I asked for Kazuha that held my hand tightly as we ran to the ship leaving Inazuma.
I asked for Kazuha, who was smiling brightly as he gave me a doll that looks like me for a wedding gift.
I asked for a Kazuha that laughs as he cuts down trees just to build a wall for our house.
I asked for my Kazuha—the man that I married.”
The words hang in the air, trembling.
Kazuha doesn’t say anything.
He just looks at me.
And suddenly, the silence is louder than anything he could’ve said.
Then—
rain.
Not here. Not now.
But in the memory that crashes through my chest like a wave.
It was raining the night we left Inazuma.
The storm was cruel.
The wind howled like it wanted to drag us back.
But we ran.
Through the docks, soaked to the bone.
My white robe clung to my skin.
Kazuha’s hand was firm in mine.
He didn’t let go. Not once.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked, breathless, as we hid behind crates waiting for the guards to pass.
“I don’t have much to offer you. My clan is ruined.”
“I can’t promise comfort. Or safety. Or gold.”
His voice cracked then.
“I only have me.”
I remember smiling.
I remember the way I reached for his face, brushing wet hair from his eyes.
“Then I’ll take you,” I said.
“Only you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Now, in this little wooden house,
with the stew on the table gone cold,
and the night stretching too long—
I look at the man who once promised me the world,
and I wonder if I asked for too little.
In this love that has an expiration date, in this love that already wilted.