Blanca's Family Matters

Blanca's bedroom—

"Honey, I was wrong. I'll punish myself with twenty planks."

On the other end of the phone call, after punishing himself with twenty slaps, the blue-haired man, whose face was somewhat bruised, clutched his aching cheeks and said, "Little Griseo just ran over and asked me why I was slapping myself... Ugh, I can't explain that. Anyway, Blanca, just look at how sincere I am... or just do it for Little Griseo's sake. Forgive me for the foolishness last time. I really won't dare to do it again..."

"Hmph..."

It was clear that even though her man had punished himself with twenty slaps, Blanca was still very angry. After all, she knew her man could take a beating. He was just playing the victim now. If he were actually put to the test, twenty slaps wouldn't be a big deal, let alone two hundred.

Thinking this, Blanca was about to say something to make Hen swear an oath when her eyes suddenly changed.

Because on the other end of the phone call, a little one with blue hair was running towards Hen, holding something in both hands.

And while running, the little one seemed to trip over something and fell forward uncontrollably, about to crash headfirst.

Blanca's eyes widened instantly, and she exclaimed:

"Griseo!!!"

"Hey!"

At the critical moment, Hen on the other end of the phone made a sudden flat-on-his-back maneuver and stepped back, catching the little one with his body before disaster struck.

"Mmm...?"

Little Griseo was caught by Hen. When she lifted her head from his embrace, her purplish-red pupils were still a bit dazed, seemingly not understanding what had just happened.

"Ha... Jeez..."

Hen looked at the unharmed Griseo, already drenched in cold sweat. He chuckled as if he had narrowly escaped death, then grabbed Griseo by the back of her collar and picked her up, saying, "Hey, I tell you, kid, why do you always cause so much trouble for me..."

Before little Griseo could even answer her "Daddy," an angry female voice came from the other end of the phone—

"Hen!!! How many times have I told you not to hold Little Griseo like that!! Her cervical spine will be a problem!!!"

"Ah?? Oh, oh!"

Hen was startled and quickly held Griseo properly again, placing her on the sofa in the room.

"...Huh?"

Little Griseo, who was only about three or four years old, only then reacted instinctively. She looked at her flustered "Daddy" and asked confusedly, "Daddy... was that... Mommy's voice just now?"

"Uh... Eh, eh, eh! Yes, it's your mom... no, it's your mother... no, it's your mother."

Hen nodded repeatedly, then took the phone with the video call to Blanca and showed Griseo the video call screen.

Blanca, on her end of the call, didn't waste any words and spoke angrily, "Griseo, didn't Mommy tell you not to run around in the room? What if you fall? You'll get hurt!! Do you understand?"

"Mmm..."

Hearing "Mommy's" scolding, Griseo lowered her head. Blanca thought Griseo was trying to evade the scolding and became even angrier. But Griseo's next action immediately silenced her.

Little Griseo weakly held up a tube of ointment from her embrace. She had been holding this ointment when she ran towards Hen.

"Mmm... Mommy said that when people get hurt, it hurts a lot... so after getting hurt, you need to apply ointment. If you apply ointment, the hurt won't hurt anymore."

Little Griseo, only three or four years old this year, still spoke with a slight lisp, but as she held up the ointment, she said with a serious expression, "Daddy was... hitting himself just now. I was scared... but... Daddy got hurt just now, so... mmm... he needs to apply ointment to get better quickly..."

"Uh..."

Hen on the side looked embarrassed. Could he say that if Griseo's ointment had come any later, the injuries he had on his face, which were basically used to garner sympathy from Blanca, would have already healed?

"Cough!"

But no matter what, Hen felt this was a good opportunity to change the subject. So he sat down on the sofa in the room, picked up Griseo, and placed her on his lap. Holding the communication phone in his right hand, he said, "Blanca, Little Griseo means... she misses you very much. I've taken leave from the army for our wedding, but look at me... I'm a rough man. It's inevitable that there will be mistakes if I'm left alone at home to take care of Griseo. And this leave was only possible after I pulled a lot of strings... Sigh. In short, Griseo really misses you. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Mmm..."

Little Griseo was too young to understand what her "Daddy" had just said, but she vaguely understood the words "miss you very much." So she looked at Blanca on the other end of the phone and said, "Yes. 'Daddy' is right. Griseo hasn't seen... 'Mommy' for a long... long time. I want... 'Mommy' to hold me!"

Looking at Little Griseo, who kept calling her "Mommy," Blanca felt her heart melt. Her previous anger vanished. Her own purple pupils revealed genuine tenderness and affection, and she quickly said:

"Okay... okay. Griseo, Mommy promises you, Mommy will put down her work here immediately and come home to you. Until then, you must listen to Daddy, be careful, and don't do any more dangerous things, okay?"

"Mmm..."

Little Griseo nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"...Sigh."

Hen, holding Little Griseo, pondered for a moment and then sighed theatrically. He said to Blanca on the other end of the phone, "Blanca, I think I should remind you again... my leave is limited, and Little Griseo is also almost of school age. Don't you want to take her on a nice trip while she's still young?"

"And that place you work… sigh! It's not that I think your job is bad, but the Doctor you follow is just too…"

"Enough."

Blanca directly cut off Hen's next words, saying with a serious expression, "Doctor Mobius isn't evil like the rumors say. The Doctor doesn't care what others think. But I've personally witnessed the Doctor's hard work and dedication. And you, as my man, I won't allow you to speak of Doctor Mobius like that."

"Blanca, you… sigh."

It was clear Hen wanted to say more, but under his wife's imposing presence, he could only turn all his thoughts into a silent sigh.

"...Huh?"

At that moment, little Griseo in Hen's arms seemed to notice something. She raised her little finger, pointing at Blanca on the phone, and said, "Mama… you have white hair…"

"Ah… ah?"

Blanca froze for a moment, then smiled helplessly and said to little Griseo, "Yes, Mama isn't young anymore. When people get old, they get white hair… Griseo, when you grow up, you must keep your eyes open and find a good man for yourself. But remember, never find someone like your dad who's always buried in the military and barely calls even once a year, okay?"

"Ugh…"

Hen's face was filled with embarrassment. It couldn't be helped; he was now the captain of the Fifth Squad of Fire Moth's combat division. This position even allowed him to serve as a general in any country under Fire Moth's influence. And a general… ultimately had to prioritize the nation. It was already incredibly difficult to find even a moment to visit family during the year.

Not to mention, his current leave was only granted after pulling countless strings and paving the way for over two years.

"Hmph, I don't care."

Blanca naturally saw Hen's mood. She crossed her arms and said, "In short, when little Griseo grows up, I'll support her freedom in love, but absolutely no soldiers from Fire Moth!"

"Ugh…"

Hen scratched his head and looked at little Griseo in his arms, asking, "Griseo, what do you think of what your mom said?"

"Mmm…"

Little Griseo scratched her face, not quite understanding, and then said, "I… I'll listen to 'Mama'. As long as… 'Mama' comes home soon… mmm…"

"See, Blanca?"

Hen spread his hands and said, "Little Griseo knows our topic has strayed. So… let's get back to the original question. When are you coming home? I hope to get an accurate answer this time."

"I…"

The topic was brought back to this question. Blanca opened her mouth and hesitated again.

"Mmm…"

Little Griseo seemed to sense "Mama's" difficulty and her mood immediately became dejected. She weakly said, "'Mama'… it's inconvenient to come home, isn't it? It's okay, Griseo… is already a big kid. I'll learn to take care of myself…"

"Ah… ah? No, no, Mom was just spacing out for a moment."

Blanca was a little flustered. In her haste, she took out a crumpled resignation letter from her pocket and said to little Griseo, "Look, Griseo, Mom has even written a resignation letter! Mom really just needs a little more time… Seven days, seven days at most. After seven days, I'll definitely finish handing over all my work and come home on time to see you. Little Griseo, you must wait patiently for Mama, okay?"

"Eh… really?"

When little Griseo heard that Mama was coming home, her large, purplish-red eyes were filled with hope.

Looking at little Griseo like this, Blanca rubbed her nose, which inexplicably felt a little sore, and forced a smile, saying, "Of course it's true! When has Mama ever lied to little Griseo? Right? Will you wait for Mama at home these few days? Mama will really be back very soon."

"Mm-hmm, okay~"

From the other end of the phone came Griseo's childishly sweet agreement.

Amidst the happy laughter of family, Blanca hung up the phone.

Blanca then looked at the crumpled resignation letter in her hand, which was creased from being folded and unfolded repeatedly. After taking a deep breath, she still put it back into her pocket and murmured to herself, "I'll wait a little longer… At least I need to teach Xu Ziling some basic experimental data organization methods…"

Thinking this, Blanca looked up again at the ceiling of the room and said with a smile, "Griseo, wait for Mama…"

Completely absorbed in her family, Blanca naturally didn't notice that at that moment, a pair of Azure Rainbow eyes were watching her through the crack in the bedroom door.

Outside the bedroom door, Mobius looked at the crumpled resignation letter in Blanca's hand and fell into a long silence.