Damage on the consciousness level typically doesn't manifest physically.
However, Kiana pushed herself too far this time, and the injuries she sustained in her mental space translated almost entirely to her physical body.
Sigurd brought Kiana to the moon base. After removing her black armor, blood poured out, pooling on the floor.
Bronya and Sin Mal were visibly shocked.
While Bronya's reaction was more controlled, Sin Mal's distorted personality still couldn't hide the genuine concern she had for Kiana.
Despite all their bickering and mutual hurt, the bond between them had grown deep.
"Who did this?" Sin Mal asked, following closely behind Sigurd, her eyes filled with a dangerous glint, her expression twisted with rage.
Sigurd placed Kiana in the medical pod.
After wiping the blood from his hands with a clean white cloth handed to him by Bronya, he turned to Sin Mal, patting her head. "She did this to herself. It's over now. She just needs to rest and recover."
Bronya and Sin Mal exchanged a glance, their expressions softening.
Sin Mal then crossed her arms, snorting disdainfully.
"Hmph! That idiot always acts recklessly. She should stay asleep for a few years... It'd be perfect if she wakes up after I've already married Sigurd, don't you think, Sigurd? ❤～～" Sin Mal, now free from her earlier murderous intent, quickly returned to her usual self. Clinging to Sigurd's arm, she coyly swayed her body, her heterochromatic eyes twinkling with trademark hearts.
Normally, Sigurd dismissed Sin Mal's sweet, coquettish tone as mere teasing. However, after Kiana's heartfelt confession, he couldn't help but take Sin Mal's countless declarations of love and marriage more seriously.
He compared their heights.
At around 149 cm tall, with a still-developing body and at the age of 14, Sin Mal exuded a sweet, innocent vibe—an age some might consider a golden stage, but Sigurd was not one of those people.
"You're still underage. Stop talking about things that are illegal," Sigurd said, his tone firm.
"What's the big deal? As long as Sigurd likes me, Sin Mal is ready anytime..." Sin Mal clung to Sigurd's arm, her eyes brimming with hearts.
She squeezed her legs together and twisted her body, her mind seemingly drifting off into inappropriate thoughts as a blush spread across her cheeks.
Then, under the synchronized deadpan stares of Sigurd, Sin Mal added nonchalantly, "Laws don't matter at all. If anyone objects, I'll skewer them into kebabs!"
To be fair, Sin Mal did have the capability to back up her words.
Thwack!
"Ouch!"
Before Sigurd could respond, Bronya delivered a powerful chop to Sin Mal's head, sending her yelping and dragging her by the collar, tossing her aside.
Bronya then looked up at the dusty Sigurd and the subtly smiling Fu Hua, her face stern. "You two have been through a lot outside. I've prepared rooms for you—go rest."
"Sigh, you're always the one who gives me the least trouble." Sigurd patted Bronya's head, sighing with both exasperation and gratitude.
"Being low-maintenance" was Sigurd's primary criterion for a lifelong partner—something he had always said.
Bronya was pleased with this compliment and allowed a smile to grace her lips.
Meanwhile, Sin Mal, still nursing her head where it had hit the wall, puffed out her cheeks.
If anyone else had treated her like this, she'd already be ripping them apart or skewering them, but this was Bronya—what else could she do but look at her with sad, pitiful eyes?
…
"Sip～"
In a beautifully decorated room with simulated sunlight streaming through the windows, Sigurd sat in the guest room, sipping the tea Bronya had brought him, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Kiana's heartache had finally been resolved.
But a new problem arose: she was actually craving her own body—cough, cough, although that wasn't the exact phrasing, it was pretty much the same thing.
Scenes from the past flashed in his mind, but no matter how he looked at it, Sigurd couldn't connect that immature girl with a lifelong partner.
If he were to consider a partner, a few candidates came to mind: the caring and capable Bronya, the wise and intuitive Dr. Einstein, the elegant and serene Fu Hua... even Hera's face appeared.
To be honest, if Hera weren't Otto in female form, given her intelligence and appearance, she would really be a great lifelong partner.
In any case, Kiana had nothing to do with it.
However, he had also heard that a woman truly matures at the moment she becomes a mother.
If Kiana had a child, might she become better?
Sigurd envisioned a scenario: if he and Kiana were together, years later, a big white fluffball would bounce towards him, and a little white fluffball would also run towards him.
"Sig, Sig, I want cake~~"
"Daddy, Daddy, I want cake too~~"
Then the silly mother and daughter, with snot still hanging on their faces, would both trip over each other and fall at Sigurd's feet, with their snot sticking to his shoes and pants.
"Ugh——"
Sigurd recoiled, his trigeminal nerve aching faintly.
No way, this future is absolutely unacceptable!
Thinking it over calmly, Kiana's issue was that she was overly dependent on him, afraid of being abandoned.
As long as he could find a way to stabilize their relationship, she should feel secure.
It didn't necessarily mean they had to be together.
After all, there were other types of stable relationships beyond being romantic partners… Providing her with enough security should have other ways.
Knock! Knock!
As Sigurd pondered, a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened automatically, revealing a disheveled young man with dark circles under his eyes.
"What's up?"
"Is it so wrong to come and see Lord Sigurd after being a student and teacher together?"
Chen Tianwu, with eyes similar to Sigurd's deadpan look, scratched his head and spoke lazily.
Sigurd nodded.
"I've seen you. You can leave now."
"... I want to take a leave and visit my family."
"Your sister is studying at Anti-Entropy 17 High School, doing well and continuing her education. Your parents are in good health; their recent medical check-up showed excellent results. They seem to be considering having another child. Work hard and don't disturb them."
"..."
Chen Tianwu was left speechless.
Sigurd lived up to his reputation, as cold and unfeeling as ever.
Chen Tianwu sighed and pondered with his chin in hand.
"If possible, I'd prefer a sister. A brother would be less desirable."
"Prefer daughters over sons?"
"No, mainly because imagine a lazy, slack-off brother like me—he would be completely unappealing! A sister, on the other hand, would be all sweet and adorable, and would say things like 'Brother is the best,' 'I love brother the most,' 'I want to be brother's bride when I grow up'... I can't handle it, I need to video call Little Wen."
Chen Tianwu turned to leave, but Sigurd tossed a small badge to him.
"What's this?"
"Deputy Executive Officer badge."
"I'm too young for this, isn't it inappropriate?"
"As long as your abilities and achievements are sufficient, age doesn't matter."
Sigurd said matter-of-factly, opening a virtual screen and pulling up an appointment document, signing his name, and then transmitting it to Chen Tianwu.
Of course, this wasn't some token gesture of giving a stick to a radish.
For someone as smart as Chen Tianwu, it was purely a matter of accumulated merit.
<+>
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 274: Infighting? A Hundredfold Payback![2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-274-Infighting-A-Hundredfold-Payback-E1E31DBJY8[3]
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/hildegard[4]
[1] https://ko-fi.com/hildegard
[2] https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-274-Infighting-A-Hundredfold-Payback-E1E31DBJY8
[3] https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-274-Infighting-A-Hundredfold-Payback-E1E31DBJY8
[4] https://ko-fi.com/hildegard