Because of Herta's extremely aggressive opening line, the atmosphere inside the Seat of Divine Foresight instantly became awkward.
As outsiders, Jing Yuan and Yaoguang tacitly retreated to the side and wisely kept their mouths shut.
Cecilia, meanwhile, had gone completely rigid. Rarely did she show such obvious shock.
Irresponsible. Abandoned her child. Never cared for her.
Why was this woman's tongue so sharp?!
To be fair, Herta had spoken rudely to Cecilia before, back at Herta Space Station.
But Cecilia had never expected her to go on the attack again even after meeting face-to-face.
Left with no choice, Kiana hurriedly stepped in to explain.
"Wait, Miss Herta, actually my mom—"
"And what about her?" Herta lifted her chin, looking utterly unrepentant. "When you woke up on my space station, was she there? When you were in danger inside the Simulated Universe, did she come save you?"
"She left you sleeping alone on Jarilo for a thousand years. A woman like that has the nerve to call herself your mother?"
All right. Herta had dropped all pretense now. She was determined to blow up Cecilia on the spot.
But the worst part was, Cecilia genuinely didn't know how to answer.
Because every word Herta said was true.
Still… could she really be blamed for that?
Honestly, no, right?
No. She had conducted herself openly and honestly. She could not just let herself be slandered like this.
Kiana quickly stepped forward again.
"Miss Herta, my mom really did have her reasons before—"
"What reasons?" Herta refused to back down. "What possible earth-shattering excuse could justify leaving your daughter alone on Jarilo for a thousand years without a word?"
"Was she being hunted? Trapped somewhere? Busy with something more important?"
As she spoke, Herta stepped even closer to Cecilia.
She was slightly shorter, but her presence was overwhelming.
"When Kiana woke up, she was still wearing clothes from a thousand years ago. Do you understand what that means? It means no one changed her clothes for all those centuries, no one took care of her, no one even knew she was still alive!"
"As far as I'm concerned, Kiana will only end up in trouble again if she stays with a parent as irresponsible as you."
"Herta…" Kiana tried to interject again.
"Don't speak." Herta did not even glance at her. "I'm helping you get justice."
Kiana: ???
Did she even need this "justice"?
Before either Kiana or Cecilia could respond, Xingxiao stepped forward as well.
Her expression was icy as she looked at Herta.
"Herta, watch your language. Do not try to drive a wedge between Miss and Madam."
Herta turned her head and gave Xingxiao a once-over.
"Oh? So you're here too, Xingxiao. I didn't notice at first."
"What, you think I said something wrong?"
Xingxiao's eyes darkened.
"Madam's care for Miss is not for outsiders to judge."
"Outsiders?" Herta seemed to find that hilarious, her lips curling with ridicule. "I may not have taken care of Kiana for long, but at least after she woke up, I gave her a place to stay and provided treatment."
"And you? I've already heard what happened. You, the ever-so-loyal servant, couldn't even keep an eye on her and let her get abducted by those lunatics from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, didn't you?"
Xingxiao's face turned instantly ugly.
That strike had landed exactly where it hurt most.
As expected, she really did loathe Herta.
Back on the station, Xingxiao had only tolerated her because of Kiana.
Now that they were no longer on Herta's turf, there was no way she would simply endure it.
More importantly, her respect for Cecilia was genuine. She could not stand by while Herta belittled her.
Seeing Xingxiao silent, Herta pressed on relentlessly.
"What? Hit a sore spot, did I?"
She shook her head, her tone dripping with mockery.
"A Lord Ravager? Really? That's all?"
Xingxiao clenched her fists.
The air in the hall seemed to drop several degrees.
This time it was not Path power at work. The murderous aura pouring off this Lord Ravager alone was enough to chill the room.
Fortunately, as one who bore the remnants of Harmony, Xingxiao could still forcibly calm herself even when furious.
Like now.
If she struck here, she would truly lose all sense of proportion.
So she chose to counterattack with words instead.
"Herta, do you think I can't see through that petty little scheme of yours?"
Herta's expression froze for the briefest instant.
"You smear Madam like this because you're jealous of her position as Miss's mother."
"Jealous? Me, jealous of her?" Herta looked as though she'd heard the most absurd joke in the universe. "You think I'd envy someone who abandoned her own daughter?"
"Wouldn't you?" Xingxiao looked at her steadily, her tone even sharper now. "Your concern for Miss may be partly sincere. But you're so desperate to tear Madam down in front of her because you want to prove that you're more fit than Madam to be family to Miss."
"Unfortunately for you, blood ties aren't something that a few poisonous remarks can erase."
Silence fell over the hall.
Jing Yuan and Yaoguang exchanged a look, both of them visibly stunned.
Why was this kind of family drama happening inside the Alliance's general's seat of power?
At last, Herta's expression shifted several times—but unexpectedly, she did not explode.
Instead, she laughed.
"Interesting. Xingxiao, I thought you were only good for trailing after Kiana like an obedient little echo. Turns out you've got quite a tongue on you."
"But—" She shifted her gaze back to Cecilia. "I still stand by what I said."
"This Lady Cecilia—what explanation do you have? Why did you leave Kiana alone on Jarilo?"
That was a killing blow, and one Cecilia could not evade.
Because no matter how beautifully she dressed it up, it would not change the truth.
At that point, Jing Yuan felt he really had to step in.
He was the General of the Luofu, an Emanator of the Hunt, a veteran of centuries of war across the stars. What kind of storms had he not weathered?
But this scene…
A Lord Ravager, a Genius of Erudition, and a suspected Emanator of Abundance.
They were literally fighting over affection.
That was not something he had ever seen before.
Worse, any one of the three could shake the entire Luofu if she felt like it.
Now they were all gathered here arguing, and he, the host, was stuck in the middle like a man sitting on needles.
With no other option, he forced himself to mediate.
"Ladies, please… hear me out—"
The moment he spoke, three pairs of eyes turned toward him at once.
A terrible foreboding flooded his chest.
In an instant, the words caught in his throat.
For the first time in eight hundred years, Jing Yuan felt his face burning with embarrassment.
"Well…" he coughed awkwardly. "Since you are all honored guests from afar, perhaps we could sit down with some tea and discuss this slowly?"
In the end, no one paid his suggestion the slightest attention. It did not even make a ripple.
And then, after a long silence, Cecilia finally prepared to answer.
"Miss Herta, everything you just said is true. I can't deny any of it."
Her tone was gentle and composed, her face calm and intelligent.
For a moment, even Herta began to feel she may have gone too hard.
But now that she had said it, there was no taking it back.
"At least you have some self-awareness. If you can give a halfway decent explanation, I may be willing to let the matter rest."
And that was exactly what Cecilia had been waiting for.
"Because… I couldn't find Kiana either."
Herta froze.
"You couldn't find Kiana? Weren't you the one who hid her on Jarilo, sealed away inside a Stellaron? How could you possibly not find her?"
But Cecilia shook her head.
"I only hid Kiana away in our homeland."
"After the Enigmata incident, even Kiana's whereabouts disappeared with everything else."
"I searched for her for a very long time. In the end, it was only shortly before now that I finally received a message from her."
Herta was stunned.
"You mean the Enigmata affected Kiana too?"
But Kiana still remembered everything from before the Enigmata, didn't she?
Herta had assumed Kiana was another exception.
Cecilia nodded.
"Because what the Enigmata altered wasn't just memory."
"It changed this era itself to the point that even I find it disorienting."
"Disorienting?"
"Did some major event change as well?"
The earlier confrontation shifted subtly at the arrival of this new information.
At once, Herta forgot she had come here to demand answers.
Cecilia's eyes flickered as if weighing how best to phrase it.
She looked toward Jing Yuan and Yaoguang, then finally spoke.
"In the past I remember, the Xianzhou Alliance was destroyed by Nihility."
Jing Yuan and Yaoguang: ???
What did that have to do with the Xianzhou Alliance?
Now even Jing Yuan could no longer spare a thought for family drama.
He had never imagined Cecilia was still sitting on information like this after everything she had already told them.
The top priority now was confirming whether it was true.
Jing Yuan immediately stepped forward.
But before he could even ask, Cecilia continued on her own.
"In my memory, that truly was the Alliance's fate."
"In Star Calendar 7268, the Xianzhou Alliance was consumed by Nihility."
"And of the original seven surviving Xianzhou ships, only Yuanqiao endured to the very end… before it too vanished mysteriously a little over a hundred years later."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 139)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter171)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter100)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter184)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 168
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 156
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 105
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 185
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 160
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 150
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 76
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 97
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 116
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 75
Uma Musume: I Want All 93
I Can Copy Unique Skills 79
Summoning an Evil God, but the 55
Supernatural Multiverse 75
My Harem Is Indescribable 68
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 70
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 69
Still playing traditional Honk 49
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 53
What Should I Do After Switchi 42
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 50
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 38
Transmigrated as Sukuna 35
Checking In in Demon Slayer 40
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 55
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