"Oh, by the way," Cecilia seemed to have remembered something. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you here the past couple of days..."
Why is she bringing this up again?!
Bianka felt a headache coming on. If this continued, she felt like she was going to grow something!
But seeing Cecilia's "thinking face" for the third time, Bianka could only reluctantly brace herself for another one of her "difficult questions."
"Hmm..." If Siegfried or Shigure Kira, or anyone who knew Cecilia well, were here, they would have recognized this as the prelude to her teasing.
Or rather, the act of "thinking" itself was Cecilia's little habit before she started to tease someone.
From the moment Bianka had said her name was "Kiana," Cecilia had known she wasn't using her real name.
It wasn't impossible for someone to be named "Kiana," after all, there were plenty of people named after the "Goddess of the Moon."
But a Kaslana... Cecilia had to try really hard not to laugh out loud.
Watching Bianka either darting her eyes around or shutting them completely, unable to look her in the eye while lying, Cecilia found it amusing, and a spark of curiosity ignited within her.
She was curious as to why this girl was lying to her, and looking so conflicted about it. On the other hand, she was curious as to why the girl had chosen that name for her "disguise."
First of all, she could tell... this little girl probably really didn't know who she was.
How did she get here? Why was she sleeping in my room? And what kind of nightmare did she have to scare her so badly?
That's right, this room was actually Cecilia's.
When Siegfried went on his mission yesterday, Cecilia was on another, very important supply escort mission.
Unlike Siegfried's eventful journey, Cecilia's mission went smoothly. She did encounter two Honkai Beasts blocking the road, but they were of a low threat level and she dealt with them herself.
Actually, Siegfried could have done the same, but the fact that Bianka could activate the "Judgment" of the Star of Judgment was a complete surprise to him.
Even he had to brace himself to withstand the recoil of "Judgment" without taking damage. A normal person would have at least dislocated a bone, let alone a seemingly fragile little girl.
A fracture would have been a good outcome!
So Siegfried had no choice but to snatch the already-triggered Star of Judgment from Bianka's hands. And since he couldn't just drop her, he had to hold her with one arm and fire "Judgment" with the other.
The result was obvious: Siegfried, who should not have been injured, was injured, and quite seriously at that.
He just didn't think it was a big deal...
Of course, Cecilia didn't know any of this yet. All she knew was that she had returned this morning, and the only other person in the villa was Shigure Kira, whom she hadn't seen upon her return.
So she took the opportunity to tidy up her room, iron the sheets, fluff up the comforter... and spray some air freshener.
In the City of Sighs, doing laundry was a luxury.
Whether it was with water, chemical dry cleaning, or other physical methods like ultrasonic cleaning, it was all expensive. So, it was better to do it yourself if you could.
Another day of being a diligent homemaker!
With that in mind, Cecilia, returning from hanging clothes on the balcony, saw two cats had spawned on her bed. One small, white cat, and one large, golden...
...person?
Cecilia raised an eyebrow. Cecilia pondered. Cecilia had an epiphany.
Kira must have just come back, right? Was this what she was busy with all day?
How nice, Kira is helping children now...
Cecilia thought with a sense of satisfaction. She took two steps forward, gently helped Bianka up from the bed, took off her ill-fitting shoes, and was about to cover her with the blanket.
These clothes don't fit at all. They're clean, but they look like they've been worn for a long time. I might as well wash them while I'm at it!
But after I wash them, what will this child wear?
Cecilia was still thinking when her hand felt Bianka's body tremble.
Her thoughts returned to the present. Cecilia looked down and saw Bianka, whose ankle she was holding, curl up in fear, muttering something.
Seeing the fine beads of cold sweat on Bianka's forehead, Cecilia hesitated for a moment, then sat on the bed and placed Bianka's head on her lap.
When Kiana had nightmares as a child, she had comforted her in the same way. Later, Shigure Kira had also claimed to have nightmares and said this was the best way to alleviate them, asking her for help...
Hmm, Siegfried seemed to agree with this method, but he seemed reluctant to ask... Was it because Shigure Kira had ambushed him right after he said it?
It was then that Cecilia heard Bianka's sleep-talking change, and at the same time, Cecilia's expression changed as well.
It was the "Heart-Clearing Mantra" in Sanskrit...
Cecilia's knowledge of Buddhist Sanskrit wasn't very deep, but someone had once mentioned this mantra to her, saying it had a calming and purifying effect, and a very good one at that.
That person's name was Ma Feima, one of the Seven Swords of Taixu from Shenzhou, and he had just gotten the scar on his face at the time.
Although Cecilia didn't know the true purpose of the mantra, hearing Bianka reciting it in her sleep, she knew something was wrong.
And then, Bianka's sleep-talking changed again.
"We have no choice..."
This phrase... if there was one text that was most memorable since the Great Honkai Eruption, it was these few short sentences.
Simply because they were the core tenets that the Fire MOTHs had been promoting since their inception.
Cecilia already had a guess.
But for now... Cecilia wouldn't ask directly. On the contrary, she wanted to tease this cute child and help her patch up her clumsy lies.
"You're the... daughter of someone in this villa, right?" Cecilia asked with a smile.
Bianka was still in the "just agree with whatever" state.
But after nodding, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
What... daughter?!
"Because in this villa, there's also someone with the last name [Kaslana]," Cecilia explained with a smile to the wide-eyed Bianka.
Bianka's mouth hung open, two words echoing in her mind.
I'm screwed!