The originally sword-rattling atmosphere of the confrontation suddenly became incredibly bizarre after Theresa mentioned the name Kiana.
Something Theresa could sense, Himeko naturally sensed as well.
At this moment, after approaching Theresa, she immediately readied herself for battle, and then...
—Simultaneously, she also readied herself to hear some gossip.
Theresa and Himeko were old friends, so she had some understanding of Kiana Kaslana's situation.
However, right now, the Kiana that Theresa mentioned seemed to be a different person from the Kiana who had been active recently... oh ho, something fishy is going on.
And now, everyone's expressions had turned peculiar because of this name...
*I feel like I'm about to hear some news I shouldn't hear.*
*Is it too late for me to leave now?*
"Why are you all... looking at me with those eyes?"
Realizing something was wrong, Theresa immediately spoke to Siegfried.
"It's one thing for you to look at me like that, but why is that Herrscher of Reason over there also looking at me with those eyes?"
"And Rita and Durandal, why do you two also look like you know something?!"
"Um, Senior Theresa..."
Coughing dryly twice, Durandal spoke cautiously to Theresa.
"Actually..."
"I am Kiana Kaslana."
Huh?
"And Father, he also knows my true identity."
"Last time I specifically sought out the Overseer to confirm it, and he confirmed this intelligence in front of me and Rita."
Huh??????
"You you you you you are Kiana?!"
Looking at the tall girl before her, Theresa pointed at Durandal's golden hair and spoke in disbelief.
"Siegfried and Cecilia don't have golden hair!"
"Ah, this? ...This is a side effect caused after Overseer Otto used Soulium to wrap my body and heal my injuries."
"Th-th-th-this..."
*Thinking about it carefully, this child does have the power to control and resist Honkai energy.*
*And she can use Abyss Flower... aside from people of the Schariac clan, there are very few who can use Abyss Flower well.*
*And Grandpa has no need to play tricks on something like this, which means...*
*This little girl who I always thought was stubborn is actually the Kiana I've been searching for???*
*Wait, isn't that super awesome?!*
Recalling the events that happened back then, Theresa's eyes suddenly became incredibly drifting.
Back when Siegfried took that experimental subject away, Theresa had wanted to leave Schicksal and go to Anti-Entropy with Siegfried.
But at that time, due to Siegfried's mistake, Kiana fell from the sky heavily injured. To make Otto save Kiana's life, Theresa forced herself to stay in Schicksal and went to the distant Far East to establish St. Freya Academy.
She had tolerated her own grandfather for so many years, bluntly put, because she was worried her grandniece would suffer in Schicksal. But now...
—*This grandniece of mine is probably stronger than me. Why would I worry about her being mistreated?*
*There's absolutely no need to worry about that!*
*Then why am I still staying in Schicksal?*
*How about... I find a chance to slip away?*
At this moment, the thought truly popped up in Theresa's heart.
However, she soon helplessly chose to seal this thought away in her mind.
For no other reason than that she was no longer that brat from back then.
Theresa had her own subordinates and friends. If she, the Branch Head of the Far East Branch, defected from Schicksal without a word at a time like this, everyone in the Far East Branch would have a very hard time in the future.
As Otto's granddaughter, Theresa knew very well that Otto's doting was limited to Theresa alone.
If she chose to leave Schicksal, it was hard to say what state her subordinates in the Far East Branch would end up in.
*Ah, Kiana being safe is a great thing.*
*But why do I still feel... so stifled?*
*And right now, Kiana's attitude toward Grandpa...*
*She has a normal moral compass.*
*But aside from that, she is practically obedient to Grandpa.*
*In other words, she has become Grandpa's most loyal subordinate. In this situation, if I say 'Hey, Kiana, come hang out with us at Anti-Entropy'—she'll only think I'm crazy, not that Grandpa is in the wrong.*
"However, although I confirmed the relationship between Father and me, I also confirmed another matter."
Recalling what Otto had said to her, Durandal suddenly raised the Black Abyss White Flower in her hand coldly, pointing it at the heavily injured and unhealed Welt.
"According to Overseer Otto, it was you—the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, the First Herrscher, [Herrscher of Reason], who used your authority to mimic the [Key of Consciousness] and hypnotized my father."
Ah?
Wait?
*I hypnotized Siegfried?*
*Welt hypnotized me?*
Hearing Durandal's accusation, Siegfried and Welt stared at each other for a moment, then instantly understood.
*Got it.*
*Otto is spouting bullshit again.*
"Father—it is precisely because Anti-Entropy used the Key of Consciousness to hypnotize you that you chose to join Anti-Entropy. Otherwise, you had no reason to abandon your Schicksal colleagues and kin to join the enemy's camp!"
"No, dear daughter, wait a moment..."
Siegfried spoke with an incredible headache.
"Those are all lies Otto made up, don't believe them! Back then, it was that bastard who, after I defeated the Second Herrscher, suddenly had a brain spasm and fired Honkai Fission Bombs directly at me and your mother. That's why I wanted to grab a bucket and run."
"He was the one who stopped being human first—claiming Anti-Entropy used the Key of Consciousness to hypnotize me... I can't believe he had the nerve to say such a reason."
"I don't even know what that thing looks like, and you say I was hypnotized..."
*Motherf_cker, so that's it.*
*Otto's move is truly venomous.*
Reaching this point, Siegfried discovered something incredibly awkward.
He had no way to prove whether he had been hypnotized or not.
And Welt had no way to prove he hadn't hypnotized Siegfried.
Anyway, as long as the two of them refuted his eldest daughter's statement, his eldest daughter would definitely not believe an 'unlucky guy who was hypnotized' and a 'scumbag who hypnotized her dad'.
*This is absolutely ridiculous. It's a lie that basically cannot be debunked.*
"Dad... the fact that you're speaking up for Anti-Entropy is within my expectations."
"I also know Overseer Otto isn't a good person—he himself never hides the fact that he isn't a good person."
"But the problem is, could Lord Otto have gained any benefit from bombing you with Honkai Fission Bombs back then?"
"At that time, you and Mom were among the strongest in Schicksal; you were practically the pillars of Schicksal. Overseer Otto couldn't kiss up to you enough to get you to work for him, so why would he suddenly try to kill you?"
"Well said. If I hadn't almost been blown to death, I would have believed it too."
Siegfried covered his face in despair.
"The problem is that guy is a lunatic! I was heavily injured at the time, and your mother had almost bled dry, yet she used the last trace of Holy Blood remaining in her body and the Abyss Flower to protect me. Otherwise, I would have been blown to death on the spot 100% by Otto's Honkai Fission Bombs."
"You say he gained no benefit from this matter, which is true, but the problem is that IS the fact!"
"...Dad, Overseer Otto isn't a good person, but he is a person who calculates interests precisely. Regarding blowing up two strong individuals under his command, I really can't think of any reason for him to do so."
"...With that petty old schemer, it wouldn't be strange for him to do anything."
Recalling the scene when he first met Cecilia, Siegfried said grumpily.
"Back then, Cecilia ranked one place higher than Otto in Kallen Fantasy, and he banned her account—with such a petty guy, it wouldn't be strange at all if I offended him sometime and he tried to finish me off."
"Is-is there such a thing????"
At this moment, Durandal looked at Theresa with immense suspicion, trying to get some information of denial from her eyes.
Then—she was disappointed.
"Kiana, don't look at me like that—Grandpa really did something like that back then."
Theresa turned her head aside with shifting eyes.
"Cecilia told me about this when she was recovering after childbirth... Grandpa is indeed quite childish sometimes."
Awkward.
Incredibly awkward.
At this moment, Durandal felt like she had a retort stuck in her throat that she couldn't spit out.
*Lord Overseer... you've lived for five hundred years...*
*Shouldn't living for five hundred years make you full of wisdom?!*
*How could you do something like a child throwing a tantrum (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻.*
"Anyway, I feel like today... how about you guys just go back first."
Seeing that expression on Durandal's face that couldn't be described, Siegfried immediately stood grinning between everyone and said.
"I really wasn't hypnotized by Anti-Entropy. As for the reason for defecting, I've said it too."
"It's truly regrettable. In my eyes, Otto has long been a person absolutely unworthy of trust. I won't ask you to believe my words wholeheartedly right now, but regarding what kind of person he is, I think at least you shouldn't listen to just his side of the story."
*What to do.*
Looking at her father before her, Durandal actually really wanted to forcibly take him back to Schicksal.
After all—she still felt that 'Otto blew up her dad and mom because he didn't like the look of Siegfried' was too absurd.
*Would a person who prioritizes interest above all else kill his two strongest subordinates because of a petty mood?*
*That's too unreasonable.*
*Also, that Herrscher named Welt... who can guarantee he really didn't hypnotize Dad.*
"Dad, it's better if you return to Schicksal with me."
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Durandal spoke incredibly calmly to Siegfried.
"After returning to Schicksal, I will confront the Overseer immediately. If he reveals any flaws, then if you and I join forces, the Grand Overseer won't be able to do anything to us either."
"If you were hypnotized, the Grand Overseer also has ways to free you from the hypnotized state."
"No... sigh, silly daughter, why do you trust Otto so much?"
Siegfried truly felt an incredible headache.
"When it comes down to it, the reason he brought up 'the Key of Consciousness can hypnotize others' is essentially because he likes to do that himself, you know!"
"Only people who frequently do bad things like that will immediately think of such reasons when framing others!"
"But, the Overseer specifically cultivated my resistance to illusions—he said that after suspecting you were controlled by the Key of Consciousness, in order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, he has been working hard to cultivate my resistance in this area."
*I am truly defeated.*
*Otto actually cares so much about Kiana.*
*Damn, this result makes my argument even less tenable.*
*If I weren't the party involved, I would think Siegfried Kaslana was lying.*
*Otto's actions: the bad ones don't fit his persona, while the good actions make Kiana trust him even more.*
*Coincidence... this is definitely not a coincidence.*
*From the very beginning, that guy was laying out a plan.*
*My meeting with Cecilia wasn't in his plan, but me tying the knot with Cecilia... to put it bluntly, it was Otto wanting the two young geniuses, the [Knight] and the [Saint], to unite and give birth to the strongest warrior.*
*And after that, he saved Kiana... heh, Kiana 'happened' to lose her memory, giving Otto an opportunity.*
*If Kiana had her memories, having seen the Siren Project plan, she would absolutely never approve of Otto.*
*In other words, in order to make Kiana his strongest pawn, Otto seized the opportunity to wipe Kiana's memories, making her [Bianka].*
*And in the process of raising Kiana, he treated Kiana like a student, so when Kiana grew up, she naturally had an incredibly strong sense of identification with him.*
*Even if Kiana knows Otto isn't a good person, she will subconsciously speak up for Otto due to emotional reasons.*
*At a time like this, no matter how much I say, it's useless.*
*So annoying.*
*To think I was pushed to this point by Otto in just a few short sentences.*
Watching Siegfried's demeanor, Durandal didn't want to harbor any more fantasies.
*My father... was most likely hypnotized by Anti-Entropy.*
*Otherwise, many things can't be explained.*
*And precisely because he was hypnotized by Anti-Entropy, he would stop talking abruptly more than once halfway through the conversation.*
*Is it because I revealed the truth, so even he, who is hypnotized, realized his memories might be wrong?*
"Siegfried, stand down."
Realizing that Siegfried didn't want to fight his daughter and old friend at all, Welt stepped forward and blocked the space between everyone.
"Leave this to me."
"No, you alone aren't enough to withstand them."
Drawing the Judgment of Shamash from his waist, Siegfried connected the dual pistols.
"Kiana, Theresa, you two stand down."
"Trust me, Otto really isn't as good as you think. After all..."
"Do we really need to fight to the death here, swords drawn, because of the words of a liar?"
..............................