"You! Get out of the hospital!"
"Brilliant!"
"I strongly suggest the young lady take a look at all the unmarried women currently in the world—let her pick a wife first!"
Jokes aside, laughs aside.
How many people actually genuinely felt that way?
Who knew~
But!
When the next day, Elysia, barely containing her laughter, showed these things to a drowsy, just-awake Kiana—
Kiana's face was the literal spitting image of that classic meme: subway, old man, phone.jpg~
What in the world?
Global forums, Twitter—everywhere was buzzing about it. They'd been discussing it all night long.
At least, from her perspective, that's how it seemed. While she was sleeping, everyone had been chattering away heatedly.
It was almost like they were this close to setting up millions of matchmaking events for her.
Are you all seriously not just here to mess with my head?
"My dear Kiana, what do you think?"
"I think exactly this."
Kiana shot Elysia an annoyed look.
Elysia simply giggled.
"But they kind of have a point, you know? It feels like ever since more girls started gathering around you—especially people like Mobius, Vill-V, my dear Eden, and me…"
"With girls like us keeping you company, your emotions do seem a lot more stable lately…"
"..."
Kiana rolled her eyes.
"I think the biggest reason for my emotional stability is you."
She pointed out that Elysia was so excessively lively that it almost made her too embarrassed to be energetic herself.
Every time Elysia turned on the charm, softening her voice into that sweet, coaxing tone, Kiana ended up having to play the calming, sisterly role.
Wasn't Elysia supposed to be the older one here?
What was this supposed to mean?
Stealing her vibe so she had nowhere to go?
"No need to worry! If~ Kiana ever wants to act cute herself, your wonderful big sister Elysia~ will gladly shoulder all your troubles, everything…"
"Mmm… want to give it a try?"
"..."
Elysia spread her arms wide as if to embrace Kiana.
Kiana just gazed at her quietly.
Really.
This kinda killed the mood.
"Pass."
At least for now.
She lazily let out a yawn.
And went back to eating her breakfast.
No matter how much the public shouted and demanded, it was useless.
The state wasn't necessarily going to listen to them.
First of all, the state had its dignity. They wouldn't just put on some nationwide pageant for women just to please someone.
Secondly, if women were willing themselves, the government wouldn't go against their wishes either.
And finally!
Compared to all that other noise…
Wasn't Aponia, that one last pearl left out in the ocean, the perfect target?
Soon enough, someone tracked down Aponia's location.
The local government immediately sent people over.
"Miss Aponia, please forgive our unannounced visit."
"It's alright… I will go with you."
Aponia remained calm and unruffled, as if she had already known this would happen.
She only hoped that her orphanage, and the children in it, could come along—or at the very least, that they would be provided a better environment to grow up in and receive an education.
In reality, during this period, Aponia's orphanage was already taking in some patients suffering from Honkai Sickness.
Under normal circumstances, if the authorities didn't quietly… dispose of them, that would already be considerate. They certainly wouldn't agree to these conditions.
More likely, they would pretend to agree, then take care of these so-called "liabilities" after moving Aponia away.
That was pretty standard.
But!
Let's not forget…
Aponia was the young lady's future wife.
And walls have ears.
What if Aponia found out later and whispered a few words in the young lady's ear? If the young lady got angry, who would take responsibility?
Interestingly, precisely because some people feared others might do something stupid and turn a well-intentioned gesture into a disaster…
Almost every country and organization sent monitoring teams to observe how Aponia's transfer was handled.
It was like going on a business trip and filing an expense report for a measly hundred or two bucks—only to have city, provincial, and even national-level auditors come and comb through your records.
Maybe even auditors from other provinces would show up, too.
You'd just see off one group, and another would arrive.
For a lousy hundred or two bucks, it really wasn't that serious. But you'd end up spending half a year just dealing with inspections.
You can imagine how frustrating that feels.
The main reason authorities often dealt with Honkai patients on-site was because those patients were already beyond saving. Delaying the inevitable only meant more suffering for them and a waste of resources.
But if they really wanted to provide treatment, it was possible.
At the very least, extending their lifespans was completely achievable.
So, if those children still eventually passed away, well—at least we tried our best.
The young lady wasn't an unreasonable girl.
Naturally, she wouldn't have much to say about it.
The whole approach was about doing everything one morally could.
But then again…
During this period.
Fire Moth became leakier than a sieve—new faces kept popping up everywhere.
And.
Those new faces were all girls.
One after another, all young, beautiful, pretty maidens.
And every single one of them made a point, whether intentional or not, to wander somewhere within Kiana's line of sight.
Unfortunately, Kiana still didn't show much interest.
Heck, her attitude toward Dr. Mei was on a whole other level compared to how she treated these other girls.
Who she liked and who she didn't—
She didn't bother hiding it.
It was plain to see!
It got to the point where Kevin had been eyeing Kiana lately like she was some kind of thief—terrified that Kiana might actually set her sights on his girlfriend.
If he had to compete with the young lady for love…
He felt like he might as well kiss his life goodbye.
Ato, on the other hand, was pretty relaxed.
He figured no matter what, Kiana wouldn't be eyeing his Blanca.
After all, Blanca was her distant younger cousin. They were relatives!
But then it hit him—his little Griseo? In the future, married off to the young lady.
What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
He still felt pretty bitter and unwilling.
So much so that the higher-ups in Fire Moth—especially Kiana's aunts, uncles, and all the senior figures—came to have a talk with Ato, one after another.
They all said pretty much the same thing.
Kids have their own paths to follow.
It's your little Griseo's future choice.
How about…
Letting Kiana take care of your little Griseo from now on?
We've seen how well she helps Blanca with childcare. Little Griseo seems really happy around her too.
Doesn't that sound good?
"Piss off!" Ato snapped.
So you're telling me you want to strip away the last bit of enjoyment this old father has left?
For God's sake, could you people act like decent human beings?!
So during this period, Kiana rarely got to hold Griseo—Ato was always the one carrying her, treating her like absolute treasure. He wouldn't even let Blanca have a turn.
It pissed Blanca off so much she felt like hitting someone.
But, honestly!
As Kiana spent her days observing the worldlines, her emotions really did become as steady as a capybara's—remarkably stable.
In the eyes of many, this was a good thing.
Though, to exaggerate a little, it was like she'd mastered the art of concealing her feelings—the composure of a true monarch!
But even so.
She still had her moments of acting cute.
She could be playful, mischievous.
Occasionally pulling pranks.
All depending on her mood.
She leaned more toward being sly, occasionally mischievous, but never crossing the line into being genuinely bothersome. If anything, it made her feel more relatable, more down-to-earth.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
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