Genshin Impact Simulation: Starting with Melsin's Friend

Chapter 365 Yura Lawrence

The palace was magnificent and resplendent, with elegant and grand music playing. A long, rustic wooden table was set in the center of the marble-paved hall, laden with delicacies from all corners of Teyvat.

The white lingzhi fruit that travels from the northern lands of Nordkalai in winter, the sea lingzhi that arrives from Inazuma after crossing numerous thunderstorms, and the fresh dates from the Sumeru Desert, which are very expensive.

However, the incredibly expensive ingredients are merely the tip of the iceberg in this grand feast.

Family portraits framed in mahogany are displayed on both sides of the corridor, gleaming armor is lined up in order, swords and shields clash, and a red carpet with gold trim extends all the way to the towering dome.

In the center of the hall, the Lawrence family crest hangs high above the auditorium, its pure gold frame brighter than the sunlight.

Family members coming and going in the hall were dressed in their most expensive formal attire, with even the edges of their dresses meticulously ironed.

Everyone's expression was pious and solemn. The lower-ranking servants who were not allowed to participate in the ceremony were dismissed early after the hall was set up. At this moment, solemnity dominated the entire hall.

Today is the Lawrence family's annual anniversary.

Although the "glory" of the nobility had long been tarnished with the end of the old era, the annual festival remained Lawrence's last wisp of lingering illusion of the past glory.

He got drunk on aged spirits, fantasizing that one day Lawrence would once again ascend to the highest position of power.

"Celebrations are a hypocritical game for the nobility."

"For ordinary people, this is nothing but empty talk."

Without the holy name of a clergyman, they walked through cellars and alleys and outside high walls, drinking cheap liquor, and composing forbidden poems and songs based on the holy books circulating among the people.

The ragged priests of a thousand years ago sang this sagaciously.

However, today's festival is different from those of the past.

Compared to the superficiality of previous years, it was far more magnificent and grand, almost exhausting Lawrence's half-year's budget.

Only because of Lawrence's elusive hope for revival, under the mercy of his ancestors, did it finally show its dawn.

Lawrence's descendants passed the family's trials.

Before the winds of war arose, the founders of the Lawrence family followed the newly born wind god to overthrow the tyranny of the Lonely King of the Tower.

The icy arrows of the Flowing Wind pierced through the fallen wreckage, leaving behind a trial unique to Lawrence and unique to "Ice".

Over the millennia, only a handful of people have been able to pass through.

Without exception, they all inherited the family's hopes and propelled Lawrence's glory to a whole new peak.

Clan rules and precepts state: Only those who successfully pass the trials are qualified to receive the "Seal of Solid Ice".

The Lawrence family crest is the supreme symbol of the family's military power.

The unyielding ice also represents the uncorrupted will of the Lawrence family in the early days of Mondstadt's development.

"Cold and noble, unafraid of raging flames"

"Resilient, composed, and unshakeable"

Today, Lawrence will formally confer a medal upon Yura Lawrence, the future heir of the family, a gifted individual who has undergone the family's trials before the age of ten, at the sacrificial ceremony.

The spacious hall was filled with family members, hymns echoed, and toasts were made. Whether genuine or not, at least at this moment, everyone's face was beaming with smiles.

Yura's father frequently raised his glass, responding to the blessings and smiles coming from all directions, his eyes filled with excitement.

"My daughter is unruly, but it was only by chance that she got away with it. Thanks to the blessings of our ancestors and the kindness of everyone, I will definitely discipline her more strictly from now on..."

Even so, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

Only one person stood out from the bustling banquet atmosphere, and that person was none other than the protagonist of this grand event: Yura.

The blue-haired girl sat quietly in a corner of the auditorium, wiping a delicate bone whistle in her hand.

It was as if the hustle and bustle of the banquet had nothing to do with her.

When passing tribespeople offered her wine, she would merely raise her amber eyes in a perfunctory gesture and lightly raise her glass in acknowledgment.

She was like the solid ice in the family crest, noble and awe-inspiring, perched atop a high platform, transcending everyone else.

This attitude earned her respect, but it also inevitably attracted malicious speculation from jealous people.

"Ha, look at her, what's so great about her?"

A discordant voice broke out among the group of Lawrences of the same age, and the source was Lawrence herself.

A hint of resentment flashed in his eyes as he deliberately raised his voice, just loud enough for Yura to hear.

Although he lost to Mufeng Gunnhildr, Yura didn't really defeat Diluc Legnfender, did she?

He already harbored resentment towards Yura for surpassing him in swordsmanship, and now that she had passed the family trial and was about to obtain the Seal of Solid Ice, he couldn't swallow this insult if he didn't take the opportunity to provoke her.

However, Yura seemed completely oblivious to Lauser's provocation and calmly continued wiping the bone whistle in her hand.

Silence is the greatest contempt.

This was evident from Lauther's suddenly grim expression.

He snorted coldly, downed his drink, and left dejectedly.

The banquet was not affected in the slightest by the departure of one person. From the start of the awarding ceremony to the end, and after all the formalities were completed, nearly six hours had passed.

Throughout the entire process, Yura's expression remained unchanged, without even a hint of excitement.

It was as if this enviable honor had nothing to do with her at all.

She didn't look at her father, who was already dead drunk. Instead, she shouldered her heavy sword and walked out of the Lawrence house alone.

It was completely dark outside, the streetlights cast a hazy glow in the distance, insects chirped faintly among the grass, and the evening breeze carried the sweet scent of dandelions.

In the distance, wisps of smoke rose from the direction of the deer hunters.

Yura then felt a pang of hunger; in fact, she hadn't eaten much at the banquet.

It wasn't that the food wasn't plentiful enough, but rather that in that kind of environment, she really couldn't muster any appetite.

She hated insincere rhetoric, but having lived in the family for so long, she had long since learned to maintain basic courtesy to those repulsive hypocrites.

Now, all she wants to do is buy some sunset fruit and go to the fruit wine lake to blow a bone whistle.

Yura followed the path toward the fountain in front of the city gate; she remembered there was a Mond Department Store there.

Perhaps because it was only a short time before lunchtime, the small fruit and vegetable shop was packed with people, and it seemed that queuing was inevitable.

The girl casually found a spot to stand, and people around her scattered as if avoiding a plague upon seeing her attire, followed by an unpleasant murmur.

Yura's expression remained unchanged; the Lawrence family's reputation had always been like this, and she was already used to it.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone condemns them.

Ironically, the girl received no protection from her family, yet she had to pay the price for the sins of her ancestors.

She remembered this grudge.

However, just as it was about time for Yura to get to the front of the line, a figure suddenly pushed his way in front of her.

……