Honkai: Strijder
Chapter 435: Probing Indirectly
"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do? I—I—I don't have any experience being a grandfather!"
"Sit down, you idiot! Do you think I've ever been a great-aunt— wait, no—this is just a guess! It might not even be that kind of situation yet. Why are you panicking like an idiot!?"
Theresa smacked Siegfried on the head with a cross, knocking the big oaf flat to the ground. Then she bit her thumb and began pacing back and forth, frowning in deep thought.
Over the years, Siegfried had once drifted through life in a daze, and Theresa had only recently gotten Kiana to resolve her emotional knots and call her "Aunt Theresa" again. The two of them were still feeling their way through the role of being guardians.
And now, the possibility that Kiana might be pregnant had undoubtedly thrown an earth-shaking new problem at the already clumsy "parent squad."
"No way!"
While pacing, Theresa kicked Siegfried—who was still lying on the floor in a daze—and said with a serious expression:
"Get up already! Is this really the time for you to be spacing out, you idiot?"
"Theresa, just tell me what to do and I'll listen to you!"
"First, we need to subtly probe Kiana and confirm the situation. If it's true, then we must quickly talk with Sigurd about how to take care of the pregnancy! Kiana is a Herrscher, and Sigurd is an even bigger monster among monsters, who knows what kind of consequences this pregnancy could have? Also, since Kiana still wants to keep it secret for a while, we need to protect her dignity and mood. Don't go blurting things out recklessly… anyway, just watch what I do. An idiot like you better not do anything extra, or I'll smash you with Judah!"
"Okay, okay! You're right! I'll listen to you!"
With his mind completely blank, Siegfried hurriedly climbed to his feet and nodded repeatedly. Right now, the only person capable of making decisions—Theresa—looked like a little angel sent to save the world in his eyes.
And so the little angel brought along her beastly follower and headed into the living room.
…
"Kiana, try this pancake! I fermented the starter for several days!"
"Mmm mmm… so tasty!"
"Kiana-nee, have some chicken soup. Eat slowly—you mustn't choke."
"Okay okay! Mm… this soup is really delicious too~~"
In the living room, under the enthusiastic feeding of her friends, Kiana's round cheeks puffed up like a little hamster as she ate nonstop, her big watery eyes curved into happy crescents.
Her friends all looked at her with gentle, affectionate smiles.
It had nothing to do with appearance or age—Kiana's carefree, wholehearted enjoyment of food simply made people instinctively want to spoil her.
Watching this scene, Theresa and Siegfried both nodded with satisfaction.
Seeing Kiana so happy meant many things didn't matter anymore. Wasn't this exactly what guardians hoped for?
Right now, the only thing still weighing on their minds was the missing "young lady"—the real Kiana in their eyes.
No matter what, Kiana's joyful way of eating was deeply comforting.
Then Theresa quietly kicked Siegfried and shot him a meaningful look.
Theresa: "Ahem!"
Siegfried: "Uh… got it!"
Siegfried made an "OK" gesture, then stood stiffly in place like a statue, completely motionless, watching Theresa walk toward the dining table.
"Oh… Kiana, are you eating?"
"What else would I be doing? Aunt Theresa, do you want some? I'm telling you, the food Mei and the others make is the best in the world, second only to Sig's cooking!"
…
In a bright, futuristic office, Sigurd—standing in front of a cluster of floating screens—suddenly frowned.
"Hm?"
Then he heard the additional clause Kiana added after the coma, and his brows relaxed again. He nodded in satisfaction.
"At least she knows what's good for her."
A faint smile curled at the corner of Sigurd's lips before he returned to work.
Of course, this wasn't surveillance.
It was just that whenever Kiana encountered something unusual or mentioned certain keywords, Icarus would report it truthfully to Sigurd—nothing more.
Let's just pretend it's not a surveillance play.
…
Back at the dining table, hearing Kiana's praise, the cooks of the meal—Seele and Raiden Mei—both showed delighted smiles.
Theresa looked at the chicken leg being offered to her and decisively shook her head.
"No, I'm not hungry. By the way… have you been eating more than usual lately?"
"Huh? Really? I guess… maybe a little? Maybe it's because my burden suddenly got heavier recently?"
"Gasp!" ×2
Theresa and the eavesdropping Siegfried both sucked in a sharp breath.
Recently… the burden suddenly got heavier!?
Theresa suppressed her emotions, coughed lightly, and asked another question:
"Ahem! Speaking of which, I've noticed you've been looking very tired and sleepy lately. Is your body feeling uncomfortable?"
"Not really uncomfortable. It's mainly just that the burden is a bit heavy, and the sleepiness can't be helped… it's all Sig's fault, hmph!"
Kiana swallowed her food, a blush appearing on her face. Thinking about what happened every night, she couldn't help feeling shy.
"GASP!!" ×2
The emotions surging in the two listeners made them inhale sharply again.
Theresa suppressed herself once more and forced a calm tone.
"By the way, if you eat that much, don't you feel nauseous? Should we get you something sour to help?"
"Huh? That's fine—I can always eat. But speaking of sour things… slurp… I suddenly do feel like having something sour!"
Ever since Kiana's physical defect had been fixed, Sigurd had relaxed many of her dietary restrictions. As a result, she had been stuffing herself with foods with a lot of meat recently. So when Theresa mentioned it, Kiana suddenly felt that some sour food would be perfect to cut through the greasiness.
…
"Make a note of it—sour foods."
"Yes, my lord!"
Icarus recorded the instruction and began adjusting tomorrow's ingredients. Sigurd, meanwhile, kept working through piles of documents without even looking up.
…
"GASP!!!"
Theresa and Siegfried both inhaled sharply again, unconsciously leaning their bodies backward.
This time Theresa fell silent for quite a while. Then she asked a few more probing questions. Kiana answered casually, half paying attention.
Afterward, Theresa and Siegfried secretly met in a deserted corner outside the balcony.
"Fatigue, sleepiness, craving sour foods… it's almost exactly the same as the information I looked up when Cecilia was pregnant back then. And there's also that subtle reaction when she mentioned Sigurd—half complaining, half happy. It seems… it might really be true!?"
Gulp
After finishing her analysis with a somewhat dazed expression, Theresa couldn't help swallowing nervously.
Siegfried pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled smoke.
"It's nothing serious. So what if Kiana is pregnant? Hmm… why does this cigarette taste strange?"
"That's because you're holding it backwards, idiot!"
"…."
The cigarette Siegfried was holding upside down fell to the ground. His calm expression instantly collapsed into panic and despair.
"Theresa! Help me! I'm going crazy!!"
"Calm down! Don't forget that Kiana still doesn't want this to be public!"
Theresa pulled out Judah and slammed it heavily onto Siegfried's head, stopping his hysterics.
Siegfried lay face-down on the ground. Theresa stepped on his head with one foot, stared up at the sky, and fell into deep thought.
'I do have experience with pregnancy care, but Kiana's situation is special. It's very different from Cecilia's case. The first thing we need to do is talk with Sigurd. Before that… I'll just keep this idiot under control so he doesn't ruin Kiana's mood!'
At this moment, in Theresa's heart, Kiana's already exalted status rose another level, while Siegfried's already pitiful position shrank even further by comparison.
And so Theresa grabbed one of Siegfried's legs, dragged him away, and hauled him far from the living room.
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