Kiana fell into confusion because of her identity crisis; she wasn't Kiana... she was the one who stole the real Kiana's identity.
She was an experimental subject... if it weren't for her... if it weren't for her...
Kiana clutched her head in pain, and seeing Kiana caught in a logical fallacy, Verna grabbed her by the leg and delivered a powerful slap.
"Kiana! Snap out of it!"
Verna pulled Kiana, who was looking at her blankly, and spoke with a tone of disappointment.
"Yes, you are indeed not the real Kiana, just someone who inherited her name, but so what? Are your life this entire time is fake then? Would Mei and Bronya abandon you just because you're not the real Kiana?!"
Shaking Kiana by the collar forcefully, Verna roared at her...
"It was Mei who fled with you, and it was Bronya who argued with you! It you who doing all of these! Did all of that become meaningless just because you're not the real Kiana?
Kiana stared blankly at Verna; in her impression, Verna had always been elegant powerful and maybe arrogant...
"I... but I..."
iana's pink lips moved, wanting to say more, but Verna already guessed from Kiana's expression.
"You don't owe the real Kiana anything. It was you, not someone else, who forged friendships with Mei and Bronya... Besides, even if you lose everything, you still have me. I'm the least likely person to abandon you."
Verna released her grip and pulled Kiana into a hug.
Kiana had merely been overthinking things and just needed someone to snap her out of it.
Now, Kiana buried her head in Verna's neck, her body trembling as she let out soft sobs.
"But Theresa... and Mr. Siegfried..."
"Siegfried has already accepted you, hasn't he? Otherwise, why would he give you his daughter's name?" Verna gently stroked Kiana's back, soothing Kiana's emotions.
"What about Theresa?" Kiana was unwilling to look up. She craved the warmth given by Verna, just as Sirin craved the warmth given by Cecilia.
"She..." Verna fell silent. She wasn't sure of Theresa's thoughts, even in the story, she only learned the truth after spending some time with Kiana.
"Don't worry." Verna wiped Kiana's tears, revealing a faint smile, and promised Kiana: "If she's unwilling to accept... then I'll take you, Mei, and Bronya with me."
...
In the consciousness space, Kiana and Verna completed their exchange again. Verna returned to the consciousness space, while Kiana confessed to Theresa.
"Theresa..." Azure replaced gold, and her temperament was not as cold as Verna's. Theresa knew at a glance that this was Kiana.
"Kiana, she's not..."
"I'm not Kiana." Kiana interrupted Theresa's concern. She took a deep breath, and after hearing Verna's support in the consciousness space, she looked at Theresa and told her about Verna and herself.
"I'm K423... a clone of the real Kiana, not your niece..."
Theresa was stunned by Kiana's words. Her first reaction was whether Verna had misled Kiana, but then she suddenly remembered that when she covered for Siegfried and the real Kiana's escape, it seemed there was indeed one more person, and Theresa froze.
"You..." Theresa looked at Kiana. If this person in front of her wasn't her niece, then... where was Kiana?
Theresa really wanted to have a talk with Siegfried right now.
She sat on the chair, waved Kiana out, and said she needed to contact Siegfried about what was going on.
After leaving Theresa's office, Kiana returned to Himeko's dormitory. Mei stood anxiously at the door, and when she saw Kiana return, her expression lit up with surprise as she rushed over.
"Kiana, it's great, you're finally back... Are you okay?" Mei's eyes were filled with worry for Kiana.
"I'm fine, Mei..." Kiana suddenly hugged Mei. Mei was slightly startled but didn't resist, merely blushing as she hugged Kiana back.
Mei could feel that Kiana now seemed to be afraid of something. As a friend, she needed to give Kiana a sense of security.
Bronya didn't argue with Kiana either; she just watched from the side. She can sense that something definitely happened to Kiana in this short hour.
A day passed like this.
Theresa did tried to contact Siegfried, but it was no use.
"That bastard..."
Theresa gritted her teeth. He disappeared precisely when she needed him most, leaving her mind in a complete mess!
"Forget it..."
Theresa leaned back in her chair, feeling a bit powerless. Her brain was overloaded. As for how to face Kiana... she decided to let her stay at St. Freya Academy for now, especially since Void was still a threat.
"..."
Thinking of what she said in the heat of the moment, Theresa felt a little uneasy. After all, Void, Sirin, turned dark precisely because of Schicksal...
And what about herself? She avoided discussing that point...
"I'm... not a good person either."
Theresa lowered her head. She felt apologetic about Sirin's situation, but... just now, she had scolded her again...
"Theresa, you're truly a bastard."
Theresa slapped herself. She claimed to dislike Schicksal's ways and left headquarters, but what she just did...
Schicksal harmed Sirin first. If it weren't for Babylon Lab, perhaps Void wouldn't have been Sirin, it would have been someone else, or perhaps still Sirin, but not so extreme.
"Indeed... I should apologize."
Theresa clenched her fists, even though she knew this apology wouldn't do much, it was just to comfort herself...
...
The next day, Theresa arrived early at Kiana's door and gently knocked. Kiana hadn't slept well because of conflict yesterday, so she had gotten up early and came to open the door when she heard the knock.
The big and small figures just stared at each other at the door until, after a long while, Kiana stepped aside.
"Kiana... First, I need to apologize to her regarding everything... I'm very sorry. I know, you might think I'm very hypocritical, and I won't refute that."
Theresa entered the room and sat on Kiana's bed, bowing slightly to Kiana, and then looked at Kiana.
"I... my mind is very confused, Kiana, but, I hope you stay... At least, until you are capable of finding Siegfried alone without putting your life in danger..."
Although Theresa's words didn't explicitly acknowledge Kiana, it actually made Kiana feel relieved. If Theresa had directly acknowledged her, she would have felt even more uneasy. This way was better.