Truthfully, I wish I was able to tell you the truth myself as well. Having it be told on my behalf was... quite unexpected.

[And he does look rather upset by the revelation. Zhongli was always a careful planner, not rushing into anything and taking slow and painstaking steps to every undertaking he takes part in. So having the rug pulled from under him in such a way is definitely throwing him off his game.]

[Even the idea that Trahearne still claims to be fond of him does little to reassure him right now. He knows his lie of omission was technically not false, and that he broke no agreements by withholding the information... but it still doesn't fee good, knowing that hurt in Trahearne's gaze was caused by him.]

I did wish to tell you, sometime. I wanted to do so in a way that would not cause you alarm. I just... had not known the right way to go about it.

[He was even considering if he should ask Barbatos for help, but... Well, the cat was out of the bag now.]

I... would understand if you require some time to process this information.