Hilda Valentine Goneril (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
indolentaxe) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
digitizedsouls2021-09-17 08:35 pm
indolentaxe) wrote in digitizedsouls2021-09-17 08:35 pm
Entry tags:
(psl) we all got secrets, so are you gonna keep it
Everybody’s got something they're hiding
And the best secrets are the ones you don’t keep
brotherly interlude (no beta, we die like glenn) | 1/3
She reminds him too much of Kaeya, full of charm and careless insincerity. With a put-upon sigh of feigned helplessness and a few targeted platitudes, he's watched her pass her burdens onto others without a second thought--and sometimes receiving their gratitude for the privilege. It's all an act, and a frustrating one to witness. She's far from stupid or fragile, a high-ranking noble from her homeland of Fódlan who is both a veteran of war and a very astute diplomat. And yet it seems that most people conveniently forget those details the moment she bats her eyelashes.
As if they specifically conspired to give Diluc further headaches, Hilda and Kaeya joined forces practically as soon as she settled in the city. Their relationship has become the talk of the city, especially with the recent annoucement of their engagement. Publicly, the story is that a politically-motivated union to better unite Mondstadt (and Teyvat as a whole) with her homeland, building stronger relationships. That they care for each other as much as they do is a wonderful bonus, and one that they've certainly leaned into.
The happy couple will have to forgive him for doubting the sincerity of their romance.
What Diluc doesn't know is their game. Or rather, he doesn't know Hilda's game--with Kaeya, he knows far more about than he'd care to. There's no shortage of information available about her through the underground information network, but nothing comes up as especially troubling or nefarious. Most of what there is to know is directly tied to Fódlan's recent history: that she was a high-ranking officer in their recent conflict with direct ties to war commanders Claude von Riegan (now King Khalid of Almyra) and subsequently-ascended ruler Byleth Eisner. That she's the youngest child and only daughter to House Goneril in the easternmost part of the country, a noble family with a lot of power but few expectations of her specifically. That she arrived in Mondstadt due a combination of a free-spirited need to see the world and a diplomatic mission related to the defrosting of Fódlan's long-standing isolationism.
Shy of infiltrating and invading Teyvat from within, Diluc cannot think of a motive for her alliance with his erstwhile brother. But even that theory falls apart under scrutiny; none of the information he's been able to secure suggests any kind of conspiracy to that effect from Fódlan, and the two nations are too distant for that sort of move to make any sense besides. Although it's possible that she's been recruited to another's cause...
No, he'd rather not consider that.
2/3
Chin resting on her hands, Hilda furrows her brow and pouts over the counter at him. He pays it no mind. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to be a bit warmer. We're going to be family soon."
Diluc's response is flat. "No, we won't. And I treat you just fine." This is in response to him merely serving her the dandelion wine she ordered and not taking her bait to engage in gossip. Judging from the eyeroll he receives from her, she's not at all impressed.
"Seriously, Diluc, it wouldn't kill you to lighten up a little. It has to be exhausting, being a paragon of virtue and nobility all the time. Do you even sleep?" The last sentence is far from the flippant dismissal of his work ethic that she makes it sound like. This isn't the first time she's hinted to him that she's aware of what he gets up to at night. He's certain he can thank Kaeya for that, although to her credit she seems content to merely be in the know and not interested in spreading the word. "I'd hate to be in your position. Isn't it difficult, having so many people look up to you?"
Why is she even even bringing this up? Is she hoping to goad something out of him, or is she just speaking to hear her own voice? "I don't mind it. And luckily, you have few responsibilities or people looking up to you to worry about, Miss Goneril."
The barbs in the comment hit their mark, although Hilda herself is only momentarily fazed by them. "Harsh, but fair." With a shrug, she finishes her glass. "Hey, would it be possible to just pay for the bottle?" The answer is typically 'no,' but Diluc is happy to allow it just this once if it will shut her up. Wordlessly, he sets the open bottle down in front of her and accepts the mora she hands him in exchange. "Thanks. You're the best."
"Don't get into trouble with it. I have business to attend to in the back."
"Business business, or--"
"Inventory."
"Oh." She has the audacity to look disappointed. "Well, I'll be here."
He hopes she won't be, but he doubts he'll be that lucky. Without another word, he disappears into the back.
3/3
"Can I ask you something?" She doesn't wait for him to answer, slurring onward. "Where did you come up with the name for the Dawn Winery?"
The question takes him aback--it's common knowledge and has been for longer than he's been alive, and it takes a few moments for him to realize that her question is sincere. She's still learning the nation's history and lore, and therefore doesn't have the frame of reference. "It's named after an ancestor, the Dawn Knight. The name has been in use for generations now."
The title seems to jog something in Hilda's memory, recognition lighting in her eyes. "Oh right, Vennessa and all that." And then, just as quickly, the light seems to go out as her gaze falls back to the label. "I know Mondstadt's history has its dark part, but that all seems so... distant, you know?"
"How do you mean?" Diluc knows the probing question is unkind. That he should cut her off and see her home. But her façade is slipping in her inebriation, and this may be the only opportunity he gets to get into that head of hers and see what is going on. He refuses to squander it.
If Hilda realizes what he's doing, she doesn't show it. "We called what we fought for 'Fódlan's New Dawn.'" That doesn't answer his question, exactly, but he lets her keep talking rather than interrupt her line of thought to point that much out. "A better world, without all of the..." She pauses, twirling a hand in circles as she searches for the world. Ultimately, she gives up. "Everything bad in it. And I get letters from Claude, and the Professor, and Marianne." That last name in that list isn't any more of a surprise to hear as the first two. She's Margavine Edmund, a longtime friend of Hilda's and by all accounts a just and compassionate leader. "They say things in Fódlan are great and that they wish I had stayed to see it. But..." She sighs heavily, her expression grim. "There's too much darkness in the memory of it all for my taste. Like, I go to a place and all I can think about is what happened there during the war. No thanks."
With that admission, the missing pieces fall into place. Hilda's agenda is personal, and one he has no right to judge her for: she's running. Using the auspices of wanderlust and politics, she's fleeing the trauma of the war that tore her world apart. And in her retreat, she's run right to Kaeya Alberich--the one man in Mondstadt who has the potential to tear her new home to shreds.
Diluc is pulled from his thoughts from a huff from Hilda, and she waves a hand dismissively and laughs. Her mask is back on, which is just as well. "Listen to me, getting all depressing at you like this. Forget I said anything." She has to know that he won't. "I should get going. Thanks for the wine, Diluc." She gives him a wink as she gets to her feet, more steady than he would have expected her to be given all she's had to drink.
"Are you going to be all right getting home?"
"Oh, yeah. Don't you worry about sweet little me. I'll be fine."
For once, Diluc isn't tempted to roll his eyes at her. He considers for a few moments, and decides there's one last thing he has to say. Knowing what he knows now, he can't in good conscious leave her in the dark--assuming that she doesn't know already. "One last thing: what do you know of Khaenri'ah?"
Hilda blinks at him a few times, clearly confused. He trusts that her reaction is genuine, given that none of her usual tells are apparent. "Kha-what now?"
She doesn't know. That's both dreadful and a relief.
For a moment, Diluc considers telling her everything then and there. But instead he hesitates, and instead shifts the burden to the person who should bear it. "Khaenri'ah. You should ask Kaeya about it, when you get the chance." It's not fair to use Hilda against Kaeya like this. But that doesn't stop him from doing it.
"... yeah, okay." Hilda doesn't sound especially convinced or even interested, but it doesn't matter what she thinks in the moment. She's drunk, feeling a bit maudlin, and caught off-guard. The seed's been planted, and Diluc knows her well enough that it will take root in good time. She, like her fiancé, doesn't like not knowing things.
"Goodnight, Hilda."
"Goodnight, Diluc. Say hi to Charles for me." And with that, Hilda leave Diluc behind the bar to wonder if he's done enough to give her a fighting chance.