After dinner, it was time to relax.
As usual, Sigurd was sitting in his room, writing and organizing his thoughts on the projection screen, completing his theories or handling some tasks he missed during the day.
Bronya, wearing a VR headset, was rapidly manipulating something in the air.
She probably found a game she liked and was working hard to rank up.
Kiana, with her head on the table, had a cup of chilled fruit parfait in front of her, spooning it into her mouth with each bite showing a look of bliss.
She was always creative in strange ways, like eating while lying down.
Sin Mal was resting her chin in her hands, glancing at Sigurd deep in thought, then at Bronya, who was waving her hands, looking even more adorable than usual, with little flowers of joy and happiness blooming behind her.
This was their daily routine—dull yet everyone enjoyed it.
"My lord, Principal Theresa and Ms. Himeko are here to visit. Shall I let them in?"
"Let them in."
Responding to Icarus' request, Sigurd looked up, seeming a bit puzzled.
Soon, a certain little white-haired loli kicked open the door, waving her small fists in a flurry, shouting as she charged at Sigurd.
"I watched the livestream. How dare you bully my adorable niece! I'm going to beat you up!"
"Ora! Ora! Ora!"
Her stance was formidable, but Sigurd merely extended a finger to her forehead, and all her punches landed in the air, achieving nothing.
"Ora! Ora! Ora!"
Theresa tried hard to push forward, but she couldn't budge Sigurd's finger. After a while, she bent over, supporting her knees, panting heavily.
"Principal Theresa, why the late-night visit?"
"I'm here... huff... to stand up for my niece! How could you use a drone swarm and laser cannon on Kiana? She lost two hairs!"
Before Sigurd could respond, Kiana raised her hand and said, "I've already told you, I'm not your niece. I'm just a clone."
"It doesn't matter! You're my niece. When I rescue the other Kiana, I'll have two nieces!"
Theresa stood with hands on her hips, looking triumphant as if she had struck a great deal. Sigurd finally looked away from his virtual screens and at Theresa.
"So, do you have any leads?"
"None at all! Argh! Where on earth did my wretched grandpa hide the other Kiana? I even tried bribing that useless maid with my charms, but found nothing!"
Theresa screamed in frustration, clutching her head.
"Keep trying then."
Sigurd lost interest and returned his focus to his work. If the other Kiana's whereabouts were easy to find, he'd have met her by now.
Years ago, he could deduce she was in the headquarters of Schicksal. But over the years, as Sigurd grew stronger, Otto's defenses became increasingly impenetrable.
Finding that Kiana might only be possible by capturing Otto and extracting the information from his brain.
The more difficult the search, the more Sigurd prioritized finding the other Kiana.
Otto's extreme secrecy indicated that this Kiana held unimaginable value, possibly even more than the artificial Herrscher Kiana on Sigurd's side.
Kiana on this side was already a major headache. The other Kiana seemed equally troublesome.
Perhaps the name "Kiana" was his insurmountable hurdle.
Sigurd paused, glancing at Kiana who was resisting Theresa's embrace, and sighed silently.
"Don't be shy, Kiana. Let your auntie hug you. Auntie hasn't seen you in months."
"No! I've told you I'm not that Kiana!"
"It's okay, Auntie's love for you is genuine! Hehe!"
Theresa admitted she had a moment of disgust when she first met Kiana and learned her true identity. But Kiana was truly a good kid, inheriting Cecilia's kindness and bravery, and eventually, Theresa was won over.
After all, only her grandpa was at fault. What did it have to do with this Kiana?
Once she figured it out, Theresa couldn't suppress her auntly love for this Kiana—after all, she carried Cecilia's blood.
"I really... I'm not..."
Kiana pushed away, looking helpless.
She already felt guilty enough for taking the name "Kiana." She was used to it and used to hearing it from Sigurd and others.
She could do without "Kaslana," but not "Kiana."
If she continued to enjoy Theresa's affection, the guilt would crush her.
Suddenly, Theresa's short legs floated off the ground. Himeko arrived late, holding Theresa like a naughty child.
She smiled apologetically at Kiana, then turned to Sigurd.
"Sorry for the disturbance. I couldn't keep an eye on her. Hope she didn't trouble you."
Sigurd said nothing. Kiana, however, patted her chest, relieved and said, "Auntie Himeko-"
"Hm?"
In an instant, Kiana felt like she fell into an icy abyss.
Under Sigurd's terrifying high-pressure training, her survival skills were maxed out, and she quickly corrected herself.
"Sis Himeko, good evening!"
"Good evening, Kiana."
Himeko nodded, smiling. Her mature and enchanting demeanor momentarily overwhelmed all the girls in the room.
Only Sigurd, unfazed, asked, "So, what's the business?"
"Mainly about St. Freya's exchange students and updating the Honkai energy monitoring technology at the Far East branch. We need detailed discussions."
"Fine. Stay a few days, we'll talk."
"Gladly. We'll head down now."
Sigurd nodded and cut off Bronya's game signal. Completely absorbed in the game, Bronya jumped up, removed her VR headset, and glared.
"Sigurd!"
"Go with Sin Mal and arrange rooms for Ms. Himeko and Principal Theresa."
"You cut off my ranking streak!"
"A rare metal mine opened in the north. It's yours."
"Understood. Please follow me."
Bronya, though visibly annoyed, politely escorted the two out.
Soon, the room was empty again. Kiana finished her parfait, even licking the cup clean.
"Sig, a refill... Of course, if you want to drink from this cup, I wouldn't mind either."
Bang!
With a light tap on Kiana's head, Sigurd said, "It's time to sleep. Don't eat so much cold and sweet stuff."
"Oh…"
"We'll be heading to the moon in a few days. This trip will take at least half a month. Now that it's just the two of us, is there anything you want to tell me?"
Sigurd emphasized the "just the two of us" part slightly.
Kiana looked up at the ceiling, scratched her chin in deep thought, then raised her finger and said, "Eat well, sleep well, and remember to miss me!"
"…Anything else?"
"Hmm… drink more hot water and remember to miss me!"
"You can roundly roll back to sleep now."
"Oh, then good night!"
Kiana turned around, humming a tune as she walked out of the room.
Once everyone else had left, Sigurd closed his work windows, crossed his fingers on his lap, and looked up at the moon outside the window, sighing softly.
"Bringing Theresa over to remind you of your identity still elicited no reaction from you."
"I've tried similar indirect hints several times over the past three months. Are you really unaware of the probes from Sirin and me, or are you just… unwilling to speak?"
In the dim room, Sigurd rubbed his temples, feeling a long-awaited headache.
He suspected that Kiana might know more about her deeper nature, with an 80% certainty.
However, Kiana's choice to hide and evade was also understandable.
Sigurd's original self, his parents, most of the children from the original orphanage, and Cecilia… all were tragedies created by the Second Eruption.
With Kiana's personality, she couldn't possibly accept it.
Even for Sigurd, untying this emotional knot seemed overwhelming.
"The moon… you want to go there so badly, even playing small tricks in front of me. What exactly are you planning? Hopefully, it's the right place…"
Sigurd calculated some things, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.
<+>
Tn: If you want to see more chapter of this story, please go to my Ko-Fi[1], just for $5 each month, you can read till the latest chapter.
Latest Chapter in Ko-Fi: Chapter 251: Transformation[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-251-Transformation-Z8Z41B2VD4[3]
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/hildegard[4]
[1] https://ko-fi.com/hildegard
[2] https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-251-Transformation-Z8Z41B2VD4
[3] https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-251-Transformation-Z8Z41B2VD4
[4] https://ko-fi.com/hildegard