NABC Chapter 54 Badminton
Chapter 54 Badminton
The apple pie vendor was kind enough not to hold them for too long; he let them go after Wendy finished singing two songs.
As he left, the bard was still smugly pleased with the large sum of money he had received that day: "Heh heh, it seems my charm is still as strong as ever. Tonight I can go to the tavern and have a good drink!"
Cecilia had never seen him like this before, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Does Professor Wendy like to drink?"
"Of course!" Wendy replied decisively. "Alcohol is a wonderful thing. It makes you feel lightheaded and dizzy. I like that feeling, like a feather."
As if to prove her fondness for this feeling, Wendy raised her hand and summoned a wisp of breeze, shaping it into the form of a feather.
A transparent feather, glowing with a bluish-green light, floated quietly in his palm. Unfortunately, Cecilia couldn't see it and could only judge what he was doing by his movements.
Before she could even ask, Wendy leaned closer and gently touched her earlobe, as if she were putting some kind of earring on her.
The distance was so close that Cecilia could almost clearly see the poet's long eyelashes.
She knew her ears must be bright red, but she couldn't bring herself to refuse, so she could only whisper the poet's name: "Teacher Wendy..."
After a long pause, she finally heard Wendy chuckle softly, "Alright."
The poet created some distance, and Cecilia, finally free to move around, immediately touched her earlobe.
This was a completely subconscious action, but she still didn't touch anything real; she could only feel a soft, intimate touch wrapped around her fingertips.
"It's a gift," Wendy said with a smile, taking her hand. "I think you'll love it, and it's not just a simple earring!"
"What?" Cecilia asked.
"You'll find out later." Wendy put her index finger to her lips and smiled mysteriously. "For now, just enjoy this badminton festival with me!"
Cecilia felt there was something more to his words, but before she could think about it, her attention was drawn to a large group of people walking towards them from a distance.
She recognized their attire; they were the uniforms of the Lawrence family's guards. The one standing in the middle was Buck, with whom she had recently had a falling out.
Cecilia couldn't understand why Buck had brought so many guards on the badminton festival, a day that should have been a time for everyone to enjoy together.
This was the first time she had ever sneaked into the crowd at the badminton festival to watch the event on her own. In the past, she would be ordered to stay by her father's side and could only watch from afar. Later on, she became completely uninterested and stopped paying attention to this event.
Therefore, this was the first time she had known that Buck would come here, but she didn't know why he had come back.
It's impossible that her extravagant and dissolute brother would be interested in badminton, which symbolizes the blessing of the wind god, right?
Cecilia sensed something was wrong, especially when she noticed the Lawrence family's guards ruthlessly pushing aside innocent bystanders just to make way for Buck. Her expression turned cold uncontrollably.
However, she knew very well that if she, who should have stayed at home, chose to step forward at this time, it would not make things go in a good direction; it would only hand over leverage to Buck.
Even worse, it might implicate Wendy...
She bit her lip, pulled down the hood of her cloak, and covered herself up even more.
"Don't worry," Wendy said, squeezing her hand tighter and whispering reassuringly, "I won't let them find out about you."
"Hmm..." Cecilia responded softly.
But only she knew that what she was worried about wasn't that, but rather what Buck was going to do next. She wasn't sure if she would impulsively rush out to stop him if he really did something outrageous.
Fortunately, Buck doesn't seem to be planning to do anything.
After securing the best view of Qianfeng Square, he stayed there quietly. Although his presence made passersby uneasy, at least for now, it seemed that no conflict would break out.
Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief.
Wendy was clearly more relaxed because Buck had behaved himself, and she hooked her hand around Buck's palm: "Alright, now we can relax and enjoy the final ceremony of the badminton festival. I wonder who will win the badminton title this time?"
"Cecilia, do you want this shuttlecock?"
His sudden question startled Cecilia, who couldn't help but look up at him.
The boy's bright green eyes shone brightly as he stared intently at her, as if all she needed to do was say "yes," and he would really bring the badminton shuttlecock back for her.
Cecilia stared at him blankly, without answering.
But Wendy knew that she wanted to, but she couldn't do it so openly right now. After all, which Mondstadt person wouldn't want a whole year's worth of blessings from their beloved wind god Barbatos?
Even without badminton, the wind god will still bless her, but this is something that can't be said out loud.
He thought with some distress, "I'd better get the shuttlecock, so that my blessing can be offered to her along with the shuttlecock and the Cecilia flower on the mountain."
"Do you want it?" he asked again.
Just before Cecilia made her choice, the guy next to her, who had been listening to their conversation for who knows how long, suddenly spoke up coldly: "Don't dream about it. Everyone in Mondstadt knows that the badminton shuttlecock belongs to young master Lawrence. I advise you not to overestimate yourselves and try to take it. If you mess with him, you'll be in trouble."
"Young Master Lawrence? What's going on?" Cecilia pressed.
The man glanced at her, but unable to see what was under her cloak, he simply asked curiously, "Are you outsiders? No wonder you don't know. In the past, the girls who threw the shuttlecock were selected through competitions, but since the Lawrence family took over the festival, they've abolished the competitions and directly designated the girls."
"That young master Buck from the Lawrence family—you know, the one over there—he takes girls straight home after the banquet. Ugh, what a beast! It's one thing to swindle money, but now he's doing this kind of thing..."
By the time he finished speaking, Cecilia had almost bitten her lower lip until it bled.
She had no idea that the Lawrence family was like this.
She subconsciously looked up at the poor girl standing at the top of the tower and finally realized that the expression on her face was not the worry of being at such a high place, but the fear of what was to come.
"Buck..." she murmured, "Didn't Father ever stop him from doing such a ridiculous thing?"
Cecilia looked towards the place where she used to be, where Lord Lawrence's guard of honor still stood quietly, indicating that Lord Lawrence was also watching this farce.
Was his father tacitly approving...?
"Cecilia, are you alright?"
Wendy's concerned call finally brought Cecilia back to her senses. She looked utterly bewildered: "Ms. Wendy, what should we do?"
She had thought Wendy could give her an answer, but at this point the poet shook his head and backed down.
"It's up to you, Cecilia," he said.
Your own choice?
Cecilia felt as if she could hear a woman's voice again—
[Cold and noble, unafraid of raging flames; resilient and composed, unshakable.]
If the Lawrence family was corrupt from within, was the family honor she upheld and took on truly real?
Cecilia couldn't figure it out, and time wasn't going to give her any time to think.
As the bells rang, the final ceremony of the badminton festival began—
Even if the girl on the tower was terrified, she could only drop the shuttlecock in her hand, watch it fall into the crowd, and watch the crowd automatically part to make way for young Master Buck.
He's almost there, he'll get that shuttlecock soon...
The girl didn't want to look anymore, so she closed her eyes in vain, letting the tears overflow from her eyes and stream down her cheeks.
Now, besides clasping her hands together and praying to the gods for someone to save her from danger, what other options does she have?
Cecilia saw her despair and felt her heart pounding with rage.
She finally couldn't hold back any longer. After telling Wendy, "Please wait for me here," she clenched her fists and rushed into the crowd.
Her sudden and aggressive appearance caused the Lawrence family guards to instinctively reach out to grab her, but Cecilia anticipated their every move and dodged them.
Even though the guards surrounded her with their numbers, Cecilia still managed to evade them thanks to her years of swordsmanship training. Her dodging movements were as light as a dance.
Anyone with a discerning eye could almost immediately tell that this was a technique from the Lawrence family, because only a family that prides itself on its aristocratic status would come up with such fancy things.
Buck was stunned by the sudden turn of events, and his action of picking up the shuttlecock stopped in mid-air, neither going up nor down. However, when he came to his senses, he immediately recognized Cecilia's identity.
He wasn't in a hurry anymore. Although he didn't understand why Cecilia was here, he knew that she wouldn't be stupid enough to attack him.
Buck was simply malicious, but not stupid. After realizing that the "assassin" didn't want to hurt him, he almost immediately understood why she had come.
He glanced at the badminton shuttlecock on the ground and sneered, "How come you're still the same as when you were a kid, unbelievably kind?"
Even though he didn't name names, Cecilia and he both knew what he was talking about.
She did not argue.
"I told Father long ago that we should have released you sooner so you could witness the immense power the Lawrence family now, instead of letting you live in your cocoon, wearing that arrogant face that makes everyone want to tear you apart. You're just a pathetic wretch living in a fantasy! A fairytale-obsessed fool!"
Buck became increasingly agitated as he spoke, clearly indicating that he had long harbored resentment towards her.
However, he quickly calmed down, coldly eyeing Cecilia who was surrounded by more and more guards, and said sarcastically, "Alright, I'm not going to play with you anymore. I'm taking my beauty away."
He reached out to pick up the shuttlecock, but before his fingertips could touch it, an arrow imbued with wind elemental power pierced his palm.
"Who!?" Buck's eyes turned bloodshot, and he clutched his hand, letting out a wail.
Then, the shuttlecock was picked up by a third person, and a boy's clear voice rang out—
"Hmm~ It looks like I'll be the first one to get the badminton shuttlecock."
(End of this chapter)
The author says: Hehe, I heard yesterday that paragraph comments were introduced, and I originally wanted to update early to test the waters, but my parents suddenly came back, and I was busy with everything, plus I was too sleepy later, so I didn't write anything. That's why I'm updating at this time today _(:з」∠)_