"Wh..." Bianka's lowered eyelids lifted slightly. When she saw Cecilia's apologetic smile, the heart that had long been silent suddenly became restless again.
It wasn't her fault... it wasn't their fault.
It was clearly all because of me that Mr. Siegfried became like that!
The Herrscher was after her. If she hadn't been there at that time, the Herrscher wouldn't have attacked Mr. Siegfried...
The opportunity to escape had been presented to her countless times. If she had just left, none of this would have happened. But what did she do?
Not only did she not take the opportunity to leave, she even brought Aizahár into the Herrscher's attack range...
The amusement park was such a beautiful place... Bianka couldn't forget that brightly lit night, couldn't forget the brilliant lights she had seen from the Ferris wheel. It was a beautiful, dreamlike place that held Aizahár's dreams...
And she had destroyed it...
The land of dreams had become a ruin, and the people around her had all suffered calamities...
How could someone else bear the blame for such a mistake?
But when she opened her mouth, the first thing she did was stick out her tongue and lick off the bit of porridge on her lips.
The plain white porridge should have had sugar in it. Even a drop of the porridge was sweet. It was different from the feeling in the candy store. At this moment, the sweetness only made Bianka's eyes sting.
A moistness filled her eyes, and all the words Bianka wanted to say were blocked in her throat by this drop of porridge.
Her body was protesting, her thoughts were also protesting... protesting her saying such words, protesting her idea of "speaking her mind."
Because her subconscious was telling her... Cecilia didn't want to hear such words. Every word she said would only disappoint her more.
And she didn't want to disappoint her... she shouldn't be sadder.
The moistness in her eyes was tears, and the sourness in her heart grew stronger, faintly threatening to break through.
"Are you hungry?" Cecilia saw Bianka's pink tongue flash by, and a gentle smile appeared on her face. Then she pushed the spoon in her hand forward a little more.
"If you have something to say, eat something first," Cecilia said with a smile, her eyes full of encouragement. "If you say it without being full, I won't believe you."
"Come on, ah~"
As if coaxing a child, Cecilia gently drew out the sound and sent the spoon forward, into Bianka's subconsciously opened mouth.
With a spoonful of white porridge in her mouth, Bianka swallowed it without a word. The words she wanted to say still couldn't come out. She could only open her mouth again, accept the next spoonful, and swallow it.
The body's craving for food finally broke out at this moment. The only feedback after eating the white porridge was an even stronger hunger. Bianka and Cecilia cooperated tacitly, finishing the bowl of white porridge one mouthful at a time.
Seeing that Cecilia was about to pick up the second dish, Bianka suddenly came to her senses and quickly shook her head.
"I... I'm full!"
"Really?" Cecilia showed a disappointed expression, but she immediately put it away and obediently put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hand. Then she looked up and met Bianka's gaze.
"So, can I ask you a few questions?"
Bianka lowered her head, then slowly nodded.
"Why did you suddenly grow up?" Cecilia's curious voice made Bianka, who had just lowered her head, suddenly raise it again.
"Huh?"
What kind of question was that?
Bianka was stunned for a few seconds before she realized what Cecilia was asking. But even after she understood the question, Bianka didn't know how to answer.
She could indeed suddenly become bigger or smaller, but it was more like an instinct. She just did it when she wanted to. As for how to do it specifically... she didn't know either.
"This..." Bianka stammered, and finally could only say: "I'm sorry... I..."
"You don't know why you became like this either?" Cecilia helped Bianka think of a corresponding explanation.
Did I really not know? Bianka could guess that her changes were mostly due to the unknown core in her body, and she had voluntarily fused with that core.
Didn't that mean it was on purpose?
And just as Bianka was about to answer like that, Cecilia had already sighed with some disappointment. "Sigh, I thought I could also become young again~"
Bianka: "?"
Before she could be confused, Bianka watched as Cecilia seemed to have convinced herself. "Forget it, it wouldn't change anything even if I went back to being a child. I'm better as I am now."
She held her face in her hands and smiled at Bianka like a close friend: "I know you didn't do it on purpose, right?"
Bianka was stunned again. She didn't understand why the gap between Cecilia's two questions was so big.
"You don't know why you became like this, you haven't even mastered your own power yet, and in such a situation, you were still able to protect Siegfried."
Cecilia's smile was always so gentle. Her eyes seemed to be able to see through all of a person's disguises and see the most fragile part of their heart.
In a daze, Bianka seemed to have returned to that pagoda. Only the person sitting opposite her was no longer that old monk, but Cecilia.
"Thank you, for protecting Siegfried," Cecilia said in a low voice. Even though her expression didn't change, Bianka could feel the sincerity in her words.
"Siegfried's clothes do have the effect of protecting himself, but that one piece of clothing was already struggling to withstand the power of the Star of Judgment. If it weren't for the ice, Siegfried might have already..."
Cecilia didn't finish, but the meaning had been expressed.
"So, no one thinks that anyone harmed Siegfried. On the contrary, everyone is very grateful to you."
"So, please don't blame yourself, and don't worry about anything. We will all support you. And please believe that we can find the Herrscher and prove to everyone that you are not the murderer."
"Really..." Bianka stammered, the sourness in her nose starting to well up again. "I..."
"Now, eat up," Cecilia said, taking out two alcohol lamps in front of Bianka. "Heat up the food before you eat. At most, in a few days, we'll find the Herrscher."
"At that time, we'll need your help."
Bianka was silent for a long time. In the end, her answer was to pick up the chopsticks.