Ryou didn't take Keqing through Feiyun Slope. Instead, he led her along the road by the docks.
The night wind felt great on the way—cool enough to raise a little chill.
"Cold?" Keqing asked softly.
Ryou shook his head. "With you next to me, I wouldn't feel cold even in a blizzard."
"You're all talk." Keqing laughed. She'd been outplayed by him in so many areas lately that she couldn't resist taking a shot back. "I know you're freezing. You've got a delicate constitution—you should train more."
Ryou pulled her closer and leaned in. "Delicate? Then why am I the one going to the Ministry every day while you rest at home?"
He lowered his voice. "Keqing… be honest. Or you'll get punished."
"Mm…" Keqing clung to his arm and looked up at him. "O-okay, you're amazing. But can we not… tonight?"
"That evening gown is so pretty. The colors, the stitching—I love it. But you keep wanting to… add things to it. That's not good."
Ryou cleared his throat and pinched her cheek. "Keqing, in my heart you're pure as snow. How can you say something that outrageous?"
He smiled. "So tonight, I'm going to give you a proper lesson."
"No!" Keqing bumped him with her shoulder. "Ryou, can I get a break? Just let me rest."
"Tomorrow I'll go ask Ganyu to 'treat' me—tomorrow night, okay?"
"Nope." Ryou had already walked her to the gate by the bridge. "I'm helping you, you know."
"Didn't you notice? After I 'bully' you, you recover way faster."
Keqing glared. "My recovery does seem a bit better…"
"But I can't tell if my physique is improving or not, and you never give me a chance to actually test it. You jerk—this is just an excuse. You're only saying that because you've been holding back!"
She refused to fall for it. If she admitted he was right, he'd only ramp it up even harder.
Ryou stroked her cheek, amused. "Keqing. I'm telling the truth."
He grinned. "We're married. Why would I lie to you?"
"Hmph. All you do is bully me." Keqing huffed. "And… I haven't even gone to the Ministry in days."
"That's not true." Ryou raised a brow. "Weren't you there yesterday?"
"That doesn't count!"
"Oh? So you're playing games with me now?" Ryou tightened his arm around her waist and bent down to kiss her.
Not far away on the bridge, a man and a woman froze in place, staring at them.
They'd already seen Ryou and Keqing flirting, but Keqing's marriage had only recently become common knowledge in Liyue Harbor. They'd just returned from Inazuma, so seeing this in person still hit like a shock.
Especially for the woman.
She knew how noble families operated. With Keqing's personality, she shouldn't have married easily. She'd assumed it had to be some political match between houses.
But watching them now… she'd clearly guessed wrong.
She'd even considered going over to greet Keqing—Keqing had helped her plenty in the past when she didn't want to deal with Ningguang directly. But then, in the next breath, the two of them just started making out in public.
"Boss…" the man muttered under his breath. "Maybe we should take another route?"
"Why would we?" the woman said flatly. "Keqing's married. Of course I'm going to congratulate her."
She waved a hand. "They're newlyweds. Being stuck to each other is normal. They'll be done in a second."
They were not done in a second.
A few minutes passed. Even she started losing confidence. What was there to kiss for that long?
"Boss, maybe—" the man tried again.
"Wait," she snapped.
Ten full minutes later, the moment they finally separated, she didn't give them the chance to start again. She strode over at once.
"Keqing-san!"
Keqing looked up and nearly combusted on the spot. "C-Captain Beidou…?! What are you doing here?"
No, no, no—
She definitely saw that. This was all Ryou's fault. He just had to kiss her right then.
She was never going to be able to look Beidou in the eye again.
Beidou laughed it off and turned to Ryou. "And you must be Ryou-san."
"Congratulations on your marriage. Keqing's helped me a lot over the years."
Her tone turned apologetic. "I was on my way back to Liyue Harbor when you two held the wedding, so I missed it. I didn't even have a gift on me."
"I'll come by tomorrow with something proper."
"Nice to meet you, Captain Beidou. I've heard a lot about you," Ryou replied with an easy smile.
Up close, Beidou was tall, with a curvy figure that felt strong rather than excessive—everything sitting exactly where it should. She was attractive, though not the kind of beauty that stunned you on sight.
Still, that mature charm—very much like Ningguang's—had a ripe, confident sweetness to it.
"Then we'll see you tomorrow," Ryou said. "It's getting late—we should head home."
"Oh—sure." Beidou nodded.
After Ryou and Keqing walked off, Beidou didn't leave. Instead, she turned to the man beside her.
"Kazuha," she asked, "what do you think of him?"
Kaedehara Kazuha frowned slightly. "He's… strange."
"Strange how?" Beidou asked.
"He doesn't carry any obvious presence. On the surface, he feels like an ordinary man."
Kazuha rested a hand under his chin. "But at the same time, he's like a lion. There's power hiding under the skin—deep, unreadable."
He continued, "From what I know, he's managing the Ministry. Even as Keqing-san' husband, taking control of a place like that in a short time shouldn't be easy."
"So that tells me he's got real ability—and a steady hand."
Beidou hummed. "That's a high evaluation."
She smiled. "I was thinking of paying Keqing a visit anyway. Now? I'm definitely going."
"Kazuha, come with me tomorrow."
"Boss, I'll pass," Kazuha said, shaking his head. "I don't know them. If you want to visit, go ahead."
He looked out over the city lights. "As for me… I want to walk around Liyue Harbor for a while."
"Fine." Beidou withdrew her gaze, her expression turning thoughtful. "Liyue Harbor looks calm right now…"
She paused.
"But it won't stay that way."
…
Back home, Ryou guided Keqing straight to their room.
He could feel her trembling in his arms—tense, like she was bracing for what came next—but he didn't push. Once they were inside, he took his time "treating" her, then had the steward brew a bowl of medicine.
When a servant brought the bowl over, Ryou took it.
As he turned to go inside, something occurred to him. His [Hand] had that special appraisal effect—so he switched it on and tapped the bowl.
[Kidney Tonic!]
[Effect: Restores 35% of kidney stamina.]
Ryou sighed. If only it could restore her instantly.
Honestly, if he could get a Horse Talisman, that would be perfect. Last time, he'd used [Hand] and somehow produced a Monkey Talisman—but it only lasted an hour.
"Keqing, drink your medicine." Ryou sat beside her on the bed, blew on the bowl to cool it, then started feeding her spoon by spoon.
"Mm… it's so bitter." Keqing's eyes watered.
"You." Ryou chuckled and pulled out a piece of candy. "Here."
"But you have to drink it. It'll replenish what you've been losing."
He said it like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Lately you've been getting kidney deficiency. If this keeps going, even with a Vision, you won't hold up."
Keqing's face went scarlet. "That's your fault! I'm already like this and you still bully me!"
Kidney deficiency was supposed to be something men suffered from.
And she—a girl—was being told she had it.
It was humiliating beyond words.
"What are you panicking for?" Ryou continued feeding her with calm confidence. "I'll nurse you back."
"Kidney deficiency isn't a problem."
For other people, it would mean resting and slowly recuperating. For him, it was manageable.
Because every time he "bullied" her, she got stronger afterward—enough to make up for a lot. And he'd already started working out prescriptions to build her back up over time.
He also planned to give [Hand] more time off—send it out to "study" medicine properly. Once his medical skill leveled up, treating Keqing would get even easier.
After she finished the medicine, warmth spread through Keqing's body, soothing her. She blinked in surprise.
"…It really does feel better. Since when are you this good at medicine?"
"Since I decided you were worth it." Ryou wrapped an arm around her and spoke softly. "I'll keep conditioning you, and you'll keep improving."
"So stop worrying. And as for me 'bullying' you…" he sighed, as if burdened by fate, "…I'm doing what I have to do."
Keqing glared. "What do you mean 'have to'? You just want to bully me!"
"Lies." Ryou put on an absolutely serious face. "Look at how many pretty girls there are in Liyue Harbor—Ganyu, Ningguang, Yanfei…"
He spread his hands. "I can't possibly have thoughts about them."
"You're my wife. I can't betray you. So you have to suffer a little."
Keqing's expression darkened.
And yet… when he named them, she couldn't deny it. They really were all stunning in their own ways.
But Ryou hadn't done anything—so in the end, all that "pressure" just landed on her.
She remembered what her mother-in-law had said. After hesitating, she tried to steer him gently.
"Ryou… I know those girls are pretty. If you had thoughts about anyone else, I wouldn't allow it."
"But Ganyu and I are like sisters. We're close, we see each other all the time, so you…"
"You can relax," Ryou cut in immediately, all sincerity. "I definitely won't have thoughts about her."
Keqing: …
That's not what I meant.
What I meant was: you can't have thoughts about anyone else—but you can have thoughts about Ganyu.
How did you twist it into "stay away from her"?!
"Ryou, I mean… if you like Ganyu, you—"
"Keqing." Ryou hugged her tighter. "Ganyu is beautiful, sure, but I've never had those kinds of thoughts."
He patted her back. "Don't test me."
"You know what kind of person I am."
Keqing was furious.
She was trying to hand him the solution, gift-wrapped, and he still managed to misunderstand her into "be more careful."
Was his moral character seriously that ridiculous?
Fine.
If gentle hints didn't work, then she'd do it herself.
Tomorrow, she was taking Ganyu down no matter what.
She refused to believe that once it was already done, he'd still say no.
[End of chapter]
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