"My offer still stands. I believe that one day, Lady Cocolia will change her mind." Shi Hen spoke lightly as he tossed Seele directly toward Cocolia. "Only when someone truly wishes to change the world will they realize just how insignificant an individual's strength is.
When that time comes, you will need me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Hen vanished in an instant, leaving behind only a thin white metal card.
"Welt... what a monster!"
Catching Seele and looking at the white card left in the snow, Cocolia could not help but sigh softly.
This world was far more terrifying than she had imagined.
Even after joining Anti-Entropy, there were still far too many things in this world that she could not understand.
Seele, Peggy, Raven, and a Gift
Ah, the familiar ceiling.
Opening her eyes and looking at the sight she saw every day upon waking, Seele felt an unprecedented sense of relief and joy.
Right, there was also the other me!
The memories from before she lost consciousness surged through her mind. Seele hurriedly pulled down her collar and looked, only to see that a white ring had inexplicably appeared around the original red pattern, and...
"The other me, the other me, what happened to you...?"
Seele called out anxiously, yet she could not hear even the faintest response. It was as though the personality that had suddenly appeared more than half a year ago had merely been her imagination and had never existed in this world at all.
What was going on? What had that masked man done?
Panic rose in her heart. As if she had lost something immensely important, the girl did not even notice that she could no longer use the power of her stigmata.
Creak—
The door opened, and a curvaceous blonde woman strode in.
"Seele, you're awake. Does anything hurt?"
Walking to the bedside and stroking the girl's head, Cocolia asked with concern.
"I... no, it's nothing, Mom."
She had just wanted to mention the other self, but the moment she opened her mouth, Seele immediately changed her words.
Throughout the not-so-long life she had lived, this stigmata had brought her disaster again and again. Seele did not want everyone at the orphanage to be hurt because of it as well.
So it was enough for her to bear all of this alone.
"All right. If anything is wrong, you can tell Mom. Everyone at the orphanage would be willing to help you too."
Looking at the girl's utterly pale face, Cocolia said as she rubbed Seele's short blue hair.
This child really could not hide anything.
As an Iron-Blooded Iron-Fisted Warlord who had traveled through countless battlefields and was well versed in political struggles, Cocolia could naturally tell that the girl was hiding something.
But as a mother, she would only guide her children into opening up on their own. She would not force them to explain everything.
They were only children, not prisoners or enemies.
"Mm, okay, Mom."
Rubbing against the woman's palm, Seele nodded obediently.
"By the way, Seele, do you remember the white-masked man from last night?"
Cocolia asked softly.
"That person... what happened to him?"
Seele's heart immediately leaped into her throat.
Had the matter of her stigmata and the other self been discovered?
Once Mom learned that she was nothing but trouble, she definitely would not want her anymore...
A trace of despair crept into the girl's heart.
"That man who called himself Welt said that he was the one who rescued you from those bad people. Is that true?"
Cocolia asked, staring intently into the eyes of the girl on the bed.
Sister Bronya had yet to wake up, so she could only get the answer from Seele.
"Ah?"
Seele could not help but cry out in surprise at Shi Hen's shamelessness.
Clearly, he was the one who had sent people to kill them. How could Shi Hen still have the nerve to say that he had saved them?
But then the girl realized that this was a good opportunity, so she nodded almost imperceptibly and said quietly, "Y-yes, that's right, Mom."
Otherwise, was she supposed to brag that she had killed those special forces soldiers herself?
And then when Cocolia kept asking, would she say that she had been too powerful, so Shi Hen had banned her account with a backhand?
Ugh... how had that bastard even managed to say something like that!?
"Is that so..."
Though Cocolia did not quite believe the girl's answer, she could only accept it for now.
There had only been a few people at the scene. Sister Bronya had already been injured and collapsed on the ground, so it could not possibly have been Seele who did it, could it?
The only thing that unsettled her was just how long that Welt had been watching her.
She did not believe that his appearance there last night had been a coincidence.
"By the way, how is Sister Bronya? Is she okay?"
Forcing herself out of the guilt of lying, Seele asked cautiously.
Although Shi Hen had said that Bronya would not die, she could not help worrying.
While she was still conscious, Sister Bronya had been covered in blood and had not looked even remotely out of danger.
"Bronya is fine. Although she hasn't woken up yet, she's out of danger. She only needs to rest for a few more days."
Seeing the girl's concern, Cocolia gently said as she stroked her head.
"Is that so? That's good."
Seele immediately let out a long breath of relief.
This whole incident had happened because of her. If Sister Bronya suffered any irreversible injuries because of it, she truly would not know what to do.
"Seele, is there anything else you want to ask? If not, get some proper rest. This time, Mom failed to protect you all. I promise I won't let something like this happen again."
Gently rubbing the girl's head, Cocolia said tenderly.
"...Mom, um... Welt, he seems like a very dangerous person..."
After thinking for a moment, Seele spoke hesitantly.
After all, Shi Hen was still their lifesaver in name, so the girl could not exactly turn on him and deny it.
But asking Seele to say anything good about Shi Hen made her feel conflicted inside.
Compromising, she could only remind Cocolia in this way.
"I know. I'll be careful around him."
Cocolia said with a smile.
Whether that Welt was dangerous or not, I know far better than you little ones do.
Remembering the art she had witnessed last night, Cocolia still could not help shuddering.
If he fired a round of art at the orphanage, how could she possibly stop it?
"If there's nothing else, get some rest. Consider today a day off."
Carefully tucking Seele's blanket around her, Cocolia spoke gently.
Although Seele had no obvious injuries, being frightened for an entire night was more than enough for a little girl.
"Mm..."
Letting out a soft murmur, Seele looked at Cocolia's gentle, beautiful face and closed her eyes in peace.
Her body carried an enormous amount of Honkai Energy that did not belong to her. For a long time to come, she would tire more easily.
Seeing the girl's breathing grow steady, Cocolia smiled faintly. She then carefully left the room and headed to another bedroom.
"Yo, awake?"
Greeting her, Cocolia looked at the blonde girl curled up on the bed with her knees drawn to her chest, her expression becoming somewhat complicated.
From the standpoint of her position, she should have hated the girl, since the other party had nearly caused her to lose two daughters.
But emotionally, she could not bring herself to blame her for anything.
Because she knew very well that the true culprit behind all of this was the person who had planned the kidnapping from the shadows. This girl was merely a disposable pawn.
In a sense, she was also a victim.
"Can you tell me your name?"
Sitting beside the bed, Cocolia asked in the gentlest tone she could manage.
Perhaps affected by Cocolia, the girl huddled in the corner raised her head, and the wariness in her eyes gradually faded. "Peggy. My name is Peggy."
"Peggy? What a lovely name."
Cocolia smiled gently.
Looking at the smile on the blonde woman's face, Peggy's thoughts drifted, and she could not help recalling something from a few days ago.
"You should know that Natasha and I aren't good people, right?"
Looking at the blonde girl before him, Shi Hen asked in an offhand tone.
"No, you are good people."
Shaking her head, Peggy answered firmly.
They had saved a stranger like her and taught her all kinds of skills... If people like them were not good people, then everyone in this world would be evil.
"What if I told you to kill someone?"
Shi Hen asked with a smile.
"..." Her lips parted slightly. As though shocked by how casually Shi Hen had uttered the words "kill someone," the girl did not recover for a long time. Only after a while did she answer quietly, "Then that person must be a bad person."
"No. In a sense, the person I want to kill is the good person."
Shi Hen shook his head.
At this point in time, Cocolia was unquestionably a saint and a good person.
Although she had also conducted human experiments on quite a few children, she had allowed even more children to survive, had she not?
As long as one understood that, who could call Cocolia a bad person?
Good and evil, kindness and wickedness—this world had never been something that could be divided so simply.
"..."
Hearing Shi Hen's words, Peggy fell silent.
She did not understand why Shi Hen said that he was a bad person, nor why he wanted to kill another good person.
"Setting aside good and bad, you only need to answer one thing. If I told you to kill someone, would you do it?"
Shi Hen spoke lightly, as though this were something as simple as catching a rabbit.
"I..."
Her mouth opened, but facing the youth's calm, ordinary gaze, Peggy simply could not say, "I'm willing."
After a long while, the girl's lips moved as she said, "I'll try my best..."
"Very good." As though he had not heard the hesitation in the girl's voice, Shi Hen praised her, then asked, "If you failed and were captured, what do you think you should do?"
Peggy: "..."
Before you continue