Chapter 405: Scumbag Deadbeat
That night, Bronya took leave to look after Sin Mal.
As a result, the heavy burden of the daily "nightly wife duties" once again fell squarely on Kiana's shoulders alone.
So thrilling—and yet unbearably stressful.
Unbearably stressful—and yet so thrilling.
Splash—!
With a whirl of tangled, intense emotions in her chest, Kiana turned off the shower, patted the water from her cheeks—and then covered her face with both hands. The heat flooding her cheeks felt hot enough to evaporate every last drop of moisture.
"No—can't keep Sig waiting!"
She clenched her fists to cheer herself on, then wrapped herself in a bath towel that barely reached her thighs. With a heart full of nervous excitement, she stepped out of the bathroom.
What? Sin Mal?
Nothing to worry about. That little heartless gremlin was tough as nails—she'd definitely bounce back soon and come running over to cause trouble again!
Thinking so with confidence, Kiana cautiously peeked out from the bedroom doorway.
"Sig~~"
Her ahoge swayed cheerfully from side to side as she called his name in a soft, syrupy voice, trying her best to put on a shy, seductive gaze—
Unfortunately, she was performing for empty air.
Sigurd wasn't in the bedroom.
"╮(๑•́₃•̀๑)╭!"
Kiana spread her hands, utterly unconcerned, and continued toward the study.
Come to think of it, the study was a pretty great place too!
"Sig~~"
She peeked in from the doorway again, repeating the same routine—half-inviting, half-shy—
And once again, came up empty.
"⚆_⚆???"
Now this is getting strange.
Logically speaking, shouldn't Sigurd have already charged over and mercilessly ravaged her with Herrscherr-level power? Why was he nowhere to be seen?
Wrapped in her towel and barefoot, Kiana wandered around the house in confusion. In the end, she finally spotted Sigurd on the outdoor balcony.
"Sig~~"
She pounced, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind.
Sigurd had naturally sensed her approach. Breathing in the faint fragrance she carried after her bath, he lifted his hand from the book on his knees and gently grasped one of the soft little hands around his neck, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
"Finished your bath?"
"Finished! I'm ready, Sig!"
Kiana giggled as she rubbed her cheek against his, her voice brimming with excitement.
Sigurd didn't respond. He simply lifted his head to look at the moon in the sky, seeming a little lost in thought.
Kiana's smile gradually faded. After a moment, she asked softly,
"Are you worried about Sin Mal?"
"…Yeah."
Sigurd replied quietly.
Kiana smiled again.
"Sig, you've become more honest."
"Hm?"
"In the past, you'd never admit it outright. You clearly cared so much, but all you did was complain—such a classic tsundere!"
"Have I… changed?"
Sigurd hesitated, asking himself softly.
Well… he probably had.
Before, even though Kiana and the others were always in his heart, he still clung to a man's pride—refusing to admit anything out loud.
Now, though, caring meant caring. Love meant love. He really had become more straightforward.
Who was it that brought about those changes?
Thinking carefully, ever since the first day he arrived in this world—when a certain little white-haired dumpling barged into his life without warning—things had slowly, unknowingly begun to change.
Fragments of memory surfaced in his mind. Sigurd squeezed Kiana's hand and let out a long, reflective sigh.
"Sigh~"
"What are you sighing for? Sin Mal doesn't have any real problems. I can feel it—her life aura is totally stable, like she just took some super tonic. She'll wake up soon, and she'll definitely be strong and healthy!"
"..."
"Oh! So you're not worrying about Sin Mal? Then what are you thinking about? Honkai? Dr. Mobius? Me? Or are you thinking about how to deal with Seele and Wendy?"
"...You really know how to bring up the worst possible topic."
Sigurd pressed a hand to his forehead with a headache and sighed once more.
Kiana, meanwhile, let out a mischievous giggle. She wrapped her arms around Sigurd's neck, her soft chest pressing firmly against his back, and said,
"Hehe~! A problem this hard can only be solved by Sig anyway. I'm counting on you, you know—do your best!"
"Believe it or not, I could really just open a harem and take everyone in."
"..."
Sigurd's dead-serious threat was met with silence from Kiana.
Logically speaking, shouldn't this girl be throwing a fit and rolling around making a scene right about now?
Puzzled, Sigurd turned his head—only to see Kiana right next to him, cheeks puffed out, her expression complicated, her eyes shimmering with watery light.
"Did I hurt you again? Sorry. I won't joke about that anymore. I really am bad at this."
"I'm not…"
"Hm?"
"I'm not that sad. I just suddenly thought… if I'd kidnapped you on the very first day, Sig, and we hid somewhere no one could ever find us, living quietly together… would we have been happier?"
Kiana said resentfully, though deep down she found herself longing for such a life. No Honkai. No messy backstories. Just her and Sigurd, living an ordinary life together, forever. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Sigurd shook his head and crooked a finger at her.
Kiana blinked, instantly understanding. She moved around to the front and sat down on his lap, facing him.
"Mm—!!"
The sudden attack made Kiana's eyes widen.
Then her gaze softened, as if riding a gentle breeze, and she surrendered herself fully to the kiss.
After a long while, they finally parted. Kiana looked at Sigurd with glistening eyes, then blushed and buried her face against his chest.
With a pleased curve at the corner of his lips, Sigurd gently rubbed the girl's hair and said,
"Silly girl. No matter how far you ran, Otto would still come looking for you."
"Then we'd just beat him up! If it's me and Sig together, who cares about Otto or Schicksal—we'll knock them all down!"
"All right, let's say Otto can be dealt with. But if you hid away, you wouldn't meet the friends you have now. Bronya, Sin Mal, Mei, Seele, Wendy, Fu Hua… and Theresa too. You wouldn't meet any of them."
"Ugh… fine. Then I guess things are better the way they are now."
Kiana muttered unwillingly, drawing little circles on Sigurd's chest.
"So… have you figured out how to deal with Seele and Wendy yet?"
Suddenly changing the subject, Kiana asked resentfully.
Sigurd pressed a hand to his forehead again—this one issue was beyond even lofty rational wisdom.
Then his gaze went unfocused for a moment.
'It's not just them… there's also… Fu Hua…'
A sharp pain throbbed at Sigurd's temples.
"Pfft!"
Sensing how utterly overwhelmed Sigurd was, Kiana couldn't help but giggle.
It wasn't until Sigurd retaliated by giving her butt a firm squeeze that Kiana let out a startled "Ah!" and finally stopped laughing, her face instantly flushing red.
A moment later, Kiana shot Sigurd a shy yet annoyed glare, then puffed out her cheeks and said,
"Alright, alright. I'm not forcing you to solve it right away. Take your time and think it through. Let's just… leave everything to time."
She gave Sigurd's chest a light punch.
She actually understood that the crux of the problem wasn't really Sigurd—it was Wendy and Seele. Or perhaps, it was herself.
So all she could do was leave it to time: until Seele and Wendy figured things out and could calmly let go of those feelings… or until she herself could calmly accept a new reality.
As for Sigurd… he was just a wishy-washy, hopelessly dense, trash-tier straight man and a scumbag. What the hell did he know about feelings anyway?!
Thump!
Kiana punched Sigurd's chest again. Carrying both grievance and helplessness, she then hugged him tightly—
What else could she do? No matter how much of a scumbag he was, she wouldn't leave him.
She complained bitterly in her heart, while at the same time despising herself. She was clearly cursing him as a scumbag in her mind—so why was it that, nestled in Sigurd's arms, she still felt happiness and fulfillment welling up uncontrollably?
Wasn't that just… pathetic?
...
"Disgusting! Revolting!"
"You cheating bastards!!!"
"I'll @%?**!!!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Inside Kiana's consciousness, Sirin was slamming her head into the ground over and over, spewing curses nonstop.
On one hand, she scoffed at all this so-called tenderness—Kiana's wholehearted devotion and love, Sigurd's restrained warmth and gentleness—insisting it was nothing but a fake, nauseating performance.
On the other hand, Kiana's emotions were so pure and blazing hot that they repeatedly battered Sirin's soul. And as someone who's sharing the same origin, she had absolutely no defense against it.
Sirin's hatred was finite. The Babylon Labs had long been buried in the past, and no matter how deep the resentment once was, its source had drifted too far away. It could only fade—it could no longer deepen.
But Kiana's love…
At least for now, Sirin couldn't see any limit to it. On the contrary, it only grew stronger by the day. As if, so long as Sigurd was here, that momentum would never stop.
As one waned and the other surged, Sirin was on the verge of collapse.
BAM!!!
Another ferocious headbutt shattered the floor. Sirin raised her head, her face smeared with blood.
"Impossible! I will never feel anything toward humans except hatred and contempt! Never!"
She clawed at her hair in madness, then continued smashing her head against the ground, futilely trying to overpower—or at least escape—the emotional contagion leaking from Kiana.
Yet amid the frenzy and bloodshed, at one fleeting instant, the proud and stubborn Herrscher of the Void couldn't help but curl her lips upward.
And then—
"AHHH!!!"
<+>
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