The Dragon Maid of the Sirin Family

Seeing that Cecilia's memory body had gained Sirin's approval, Enoshia's suspended heart finally settled. At least she hadn't created a new life like the Herrscher of Reason—one with Cecilia's memories but a completely different way of being—but had genuinely revived Cecilia before she was truly dead.

Just like Elysia in the Sea of Quanta, she was a memory body, but was she Elysia? Obviously yes—this was something everyone acknowledged, and that was exactly Cecilia's current state.

"Since it works, once they're done talking, I'll make Alexandra's memory body too. After that, raising the kids should be left to the two who've actually given birth."

Ivan was only five years old, Bella would blindly obey any order from Sirin, and Sirin herself was a problem child. If these three were left to someone as inexperienced as herself, who knew what chaos would ensue.

And so, a new life began. Almost all external communication was handled by Enoshia, while at home, it was a daily routine of two mothers raising three children.

October 5, 2000, night.

Sirin, as usual, was in her room watching TV while eating fried chicken.

"Queen, will you be resting early tonight?" Bella glanced at the fried chicken beside Sirin and asked tentatively.

"No, same as yesterday." Sirin's gaze never shifted to Bella, fully absorbed in the TV.

Bella didn't intend to disturb her further. She silently withdrew from Sirin's room and went straight to the kitchen.

"Given the Queen's habits, the bucket of fried chicken will probably be finished before her entertainment ends. And that amount is nowhere near enough to satisfy the Queen's needs..." Bella thought as she opened the refrigerator.

"Just as I thought... the frozen food is all gone. By the time a new shipment arrives by air, the Queen will already be resting." Bella stared at the nearly empty fridge, lost in thought.

As for Sirin using the Herrscher of Void's authority to grab food from elsewhere... unless she was on the verge of starving to death, she would never do that.

And letting someone else serve Sirin? Bella wouldn't even entertain the thought. Serving Sirin was her supreme honor. Unless she had something more urgent or Sirin gave an order, she would never let anyone else handle Sirin's daily needs.

"Three potatoes left... I'll make do with frying some fries."

Bella took out a cutting board, washed and peeled the three potatoes. Then she picked up a kitchen knife with her right hand, extended her left index finger, and carefully examined it.

With a swift chop, the potato was quickly cut into thick slices. Another chop, and she cut those slices into strips as thick as her finger.

She took out a large bowl, placed the cut potato strips inside, and added water until it covered them all.

Setting the bowl down, she plunged both hands in and stirred the strips evenly, washing off the surface starch.

After a quick rinse, Bella set the potato strips aside and opened the fridge again.

"The Queen doesn't need ketchup... so I won't overthink it." Bella said, pulling out a bottle of chilled soda.

"Even though it's hot... taking it straight from the fridge is still too cold. I'll let it sit at room temperature for a bit." Bella set the soda aside and left the kitchen.

"Bella, still in the kitchen this late?" The projector in the living room flickered, and Cecilia's holographic image appeared.

"Ah, Lady Cecilia. The Queen's snacks are almost gone, so I thought I'd make some more. Is there something you need?"

"You... with you by her side, she'll never lose weight. There's something I've wanted to ask, but you're always busy from morning till night, so I never had the chance."

"I have time now. Please, go ahead."

"How... do you really see me?"

Bella scratched her head, thought seriously for a moment, then said:

"As you know, I exist as a Judgment-class Honkai Beast because of the Queen. Everything for the Queen is only natural in my eyes... so to me, you are someone worthy of respect."

"Because I am currently Sirin's mother?"

Bella shook her head. "Mother is just a title to me. But when the Queen is with you, I can clearly feel her happiness and joy. The Queen's happiness is the most wonderful thing for me. Anyone who can give her happiness is naturally worthy of respect."

"Is that so... Bella, thank you."

Bella shook her head again. "You don't need to thank me. I know you have your own pursuits and beliefs. But no matter the reason, if you ever stand against the Queen again... the Queen's enemy will always be my enemy."

Unlike Enoshia, because Cecilia had once stood against Sirin, Bella didn't fully trust her.

"Having you by Sirin's side is truly wonderful." Cecilia said, and her holographic image vanished, like hanging up a phone.

"About time." Bella returned to the kitchen, gave the soaked potato strips another quick rinse, and placed them in a colander.

She heated a pot of water, added a spoonful of salt, brought it to a boil, then dropped the potato strips in for two minutes. After that, she transferred them to cold water to cool. This way, even if Sirin ate while watching TV, the fries wouldn't go soft easily.

Once completely cooled, Bella drained the water, put the strips into a larger bowl, and added cornstarch.

She recalled the disastrous lesson from her first attempt at frying fries—without cornstarch, she'd used potato starch instead, and the fries all clumped together.

After coating the strips evenly with starch, Bella poured oil into the pot and heated it. When a chopstick placed in the oil bubbled, she dropped the potato strips in.

In less than ten minutes, the fries turned golden and crispy. Bella scooped them out and placed them on a plate.

After cleaning up the kitchen, once the fries had cooled a bit and the chilled soda wasn't so cold anymore, Bella carried them into Sirin's bedroom with satisfaction.

Sirin was still completely absorbed in the TV. What surprised Bella was that the fried chicken bucket had already been tossed into the trash—clearly finished not long ago.

"Damn, I misjudged today. The Queen ate faster than usual. I couldn't replenish the chicken in time."

With a hint of regret, Bella set the soda and fries beside Sirin, then cleaned up the food crumbs on the floor without disturbing her.

"Bella, wait." Just as she was about to leave, Sirin called out.

"Queen, what are your orders?"

Sirin opened a drawer, rummaged for a moment, then pulled out a paper packet. Inside was a piece of fried chicken.

Sirin had thought to save the last piece for her. But afraid she might accidentally eat it herself, she'd tucked it away in the drawer.

Taking the paper packet Sirin handed her, Bella looked at the still-warm fried chicken and was too moved to speak.

"Eat up, or it'll get cold. Also, I'm not that hungry today, so half these fries are yours. Sit down and watch with me—you're not leaving until you finish."

"Yes." The fried chicken had already gone a bit cold and tasted mediocre, but Bella felt it was the best fried chicken she'd ever eaten.

After finishing the chicken, Bella had just thrown away the bones and sat back down beside Sirin when Sirin brought the soda she'd been drinking to Bella's lips.

Hesitating for a moment, Bella took the soda and took a sip. The moment she thought about how Sirin had just drunk from it, two blushes crept onto her cheeks.

Back home and catching sight of this scene, Enoshia felt she wasn't hungry for a midnight snack anymore. She immediately covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, then quietly slipped away from outside Sirin's room.