Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

"When you wake up, what you will find is the whole world burned to ashes."

Kiana clutched her forehead, the pain throbbing as inappropriate memories resurfaced. She couldn't remember when this had happened. Would that grumpy, stupid woman, Sirin, have said something like that? "Leave it to my sister," "I'll take care of everything"? That arrogant young lady was still wary of her trying to steal the family fortune!

But if it's just a jumbled dream, it feels too real. In these fleeting memories, she's always with Sirin; there's no mention of the Shaniat family, Cecilia, or anyone else she knows. Could it be that deep down she's a sister-complex? Impossible. Although she admires almost every beautiful girl, who would have those kinds of thoughts about their own family member? Besides, Sirin looks exactly like her, okay? Would anyone get aroused by someone they like?

Besides, in the dream, Sirin was already six years old, and she was four. During this period, the two of them were clearly on the sand...

Eh?

Kiana suddenly felt confused. Where was she when she was four years old? Was she at the Shaniat family's house?

No, does she have memories from before she was four years old?

It's said that people can't remember things that happened in their childhood. Kiana thought for a while but couldn't recall anything before she was four years old, but it's true that she had always lived in the Schariac family. From private childcare at Neuschwanstein Castle to attending the prestigious Magdalena Catholic Girls' School, and then repeating a grade at St. Freya Academy after running away halfway through her studies at St. ...

Each stage was clear and distinct; her life trajectory followed the typical path of a traditional young lady from a prominent family. There was nothing special about her; the dream was just a dream.

But at that moment, Kiana suddenly received a phone call.

She was taken aback. This was Munich. To prevent ordinary people from discovering information about the supernatural, the Shaniat family controlled the flow of information. It was impossible for a phone call to come in except via radio. But the next second she understood, because the incoming call was on a satellite phone, and the displayed number was 0044-44-000000001.

The number comes from London, England, and this imposing number is not even used by the Queen of England. Only those who truly hold power in that country are entitled to use such a prominent number.

"The headquarters of Destiny?" Kiana asked coldly.

"To be precise, not Schicksal Headquarters." The voice on the other end of the line was a soft yet resolute female voice. "Are you Kiana? The last descendant of the Kaslana family?"

Kiana was slightly taken aback. "Who are you?"

"Karen." The voice on the other end of the phone held a slight hint of joy. "Karen Kaslana, your ancestor, you could perhaps call me your great-grandmother."

"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up," Kiana said coldly.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Cecilia's Past

"I'm really your ancestor." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded a little aggrieved.

Just as Kiana was about to die, she suddenly remembered hearing the name "Kalen Kaslana" somewhere before. Long ago, when Cecilia recounted the Kaslana family's glorious past, this name had been repeatedly mentioned. It was the lifelong sorrow of Bishop Otto of Schicksal, the most famous saint in history.

Although that person was already dead.

“To be precise, I am the mental model of Kallen Kaslana, the AI ​​personality currently in Schicksal's database,” Kallen continued. “It took me a lot of effort to contact you; Otto has no idea that I am now acting against his will.”

"Contact me?" Kiana asked warily. "What for?"

Kallen's voice seemed to express sadness at her junior's indifference, but she understood Kiana's coldness and was therefore very patient.

“I need to contact Pandora through you. All of Pandora’s communication methods are blocked by Schicksal. If I contact him directly via satellite, Otto will detect it, but if I go through you, he won’t,” Karen said. “Besides, he won’t answer any other communications now; he will only listen to you.”

"Since you know he's been blocked, then we can't contact him either."

“No, what’s being blocked are satellite signals, but all of Schicksal and Schariac’s satellites are under my control.” Karen spoke quickly. “It’s wartime now. I have the highest access to Schicksal’s headquarters database. I can control all devices that can access the internet. Even Otto himself has to rely on my power.”

Kiana was taken aback. "An AI secretary has more authority than a bishop?"

“Because what he wanted was a true copy of Karen’s personality. The real Karen has her own will and thoughts, and she won’t completely obey him. She might even oppose him on many things. So from the beginning, my design was independent,” Karen said quietly. “It was his obsession, and he understood that, but he still chose to design it this way because it would make him feel like I was still alive.”

In the empty media room, a projection of a young priestess, emitting a soft blue light, watched footage of Munich's streets. Every camera on every street in Munich had been requisitioned by Destiny; Karen was simultaneously observing this war between mother and daughter from countless locations, and also observing everyone on the battlefield.

She is AI, not human, so she can view all the images simultaneously and process them far faster than the human brain. Otto had already left, and he could never have imagined that his trusted AI secretary had begun to implement "Kallen's will." If he knew this, he didn't know whether he would be furious or overjoyed.

The real Karen would not stand idly by and watch Otto treat his children and grandchildren this way.

The real Karen is precisely the one who would oppose him.

“I’m sorry, my great inventor.” Karen pulled up the highway surveillance footage, watching the sports car carrying Shen Liang speeding through the mountains, his face filled with anger and anxiety. “When you gave me this name, you should have remembered that Kaslana is the shield of suffering people.”

She thought for a moment, then finally said, "I need your help, Kiana. Aren't you curious about that girl named Durandal?"

Kiana's heart skipped a beat.

“She is Cecilia’s daughter, her real daughter,” Karen whispered.

"What does 'real daughter' mean?"

“This all started with the Siberian War,” Karen said quietly. “Actually, she was right about one thing: she was an abandoned child. Shaniat was fair to everyone else, but he was unfair to her.”

----------

Inside the Lamborghini, which was traveling at 400 mph, a young man with long, straight black hair sat in the driver's seat, while a girl in a white cheongsam and black stockings sat in the passenger seat.

Xilin sat on the back of Shen Liang's chair, placing her bare, white feet on Shen Liang's shoulders.

She didn't want to hold Gan Yu. Although the seemingly delicate girl was soft and comfortable to hold and had a pleasant fragrance, Xilin felt superior and believed that it was her place to be held, not the other way around.

But Shen Liang had to drive and couldn't carry her, so she had to squeeze in with him. This old car was a convertible, and at high speeds, the wind howled. Luckily, Xilin had created a wormhole in front of her to reduce wind resistance, otherwise she would have been thrown off by the speed.

"It's about 230 kilometers away." Xilin glanced at the map.

Although the signal was blocked, the satellite map was still usable, perhaps because the tablet was built into the car, and the car belonged to Raiden Mei, and Schicksal headquarters hadn't had time to deal with it together yet.

"What exactly is the relationship between you two?" Xilin propped Shen Liang's head up with her elbow, her gaze sweeping over Gan Yu scrutinizingly as she asked lazily.

"The relationship between pets and their owners," Gan Yu said gently before Shen Liang could speak.

"You're really going all out. A girl of your caliber, willing to be Pandora's pet?" Sirin shrugged. "I don't quite understand the level of power on Teyvat, but you're at least an S-rank Valkyrie. Okay, even if S-ranks are everywhere in that world, the most important thing is that the aura of superiority you exude is undeniable. You hold a high position, live a life of luxury, yet you're willing to be Pandora's pet mount?"

"It is already a blessing to see Youjun again, Ganyu... Ganyu does not want to hope for too much. As long as Youjun is still alive, can still be touched and seen, Ganyu is already very satisfied." Ganyu smiled and said, "Miss Xilin, you don't need to think that the relationship between Ganyu and Youjun is too threatening. Ganyu is not a greedy person, and will not have any jealousy or improper thoughts about the girl Youjun loves."

"Do I look like the kind of third-rate female supporting character who would compete with you for your affections?" Sirin sneered.

Gan Yu blinked, then smiled: "It seems Gan Yu misunderstood. So, Miss Xilin is just Youjun's sister? Not someone worth paying attention to?"

Xilin thought she was right, but for some reason she felt that Gan Yu's words were a bit unpleasant.

Shen Liang glanced at Gan Yu. He didn't really understand what Gan Yu was thinking, just like he didn't quite understand the meaning of the title "Young Lord." Gan Yu had easily accepted him as her master, willingly letting him do as he pleased, which even made him feel a little guilty.

If it's really as he thinks, then Gan Yu and he could become master and pet... How exactly did he treat this little Qilin back then?

At that moment, a video call suddenly lit up on the tablet in Sirin's hand. She was about to close it when she saw that the call was from Kiana. This computer belonged to Raiden Mei; she hadn't even uninstalled the communication software yet, and it was labeled "Bug."

Insects?

Is it a nickname?

A nickname used only by the two of them? A nickname that even Shen Liang doesn't know?

Xilin shook her head, suddenly feeling a little sorry for Shen Liang. But it's probably normal for girls to call each other by nicknames, even though Kiana is a girl who likes girls.

"Someone actually managed to call in? Theoretically, we shouldn't receive any messages." Shen Liang frowned slightly. "Should we try answering?"

When the video call connected, instead of Kiana's face, a virtual white-haired girl appeared. She was somewhat similar to Kiana but completely different. The girl wore a priest's robe and her eyes were much more mature than Kiana's.

“Karen?” Sirin recognized her immediately.

She remembers her ancestors' portraits very clearly. Unlike the ignorant Kiana, Sirin is perfect in terms of the history of her extraordinary clans. Moreover, she knows very well that this image represents the Destiny Database. Every Valkyrie who frequently goes on missions knows that the Destiny Secretary in charge of their terminal has such an AI.

Kiana didn't know the main reason was that she had never left the Schicksal headquarters for a mission.

"I'm glad I don't need to explain my identity again. I've betrayed Otto and will now provide support to three people from the Destiny Database." Kallen said swiftly. "It's already taken me a lot of time to contact you all, so I hope you can directly enter the trust program."

"I trust you?"

“I’m just an AI, I don’t have the ability to interfere with you in any substantial way. But to show my sincerity, I’ve completely hacked into your sports car. Now the vehicle is under my control and has higher priority than manual driving.” Karen said the words that made Shen Liang and Xilin’s expressions change simultaneously. “If you don’t believe me, little Pandora, you can let go of the steering wheel. The moment you connected to me with the in-car tablet, I had already completed the hacking. If I really wanted to be your enemy, this car would already be in the ditch below the highway.”

Shen Liang tried releasing the steering wheel and accelerator on a straight road, and sure enough, the car continued to move steadily, even making slight adjustments to avoid crossing the line.

If the Lamborghini traveling at 400 kilometers per hour were to overturn, whether Shen Liang and the other two would be injured would be secondary; without the car, they simply wouldn't be able to reach Munich quickly. Karen was right; if she hadn't betrayed Otto, there would have been no need for such roundabout methods.

"How can we help?" Shen Liang didn't need to operate the vehicle, which freed him up to ask, "What can Sister Karen do to help us?"

Celine turned and glanced at him. So he's already jumping on the bandwagon and calling her "Sister Karen"? This is just an AI!

But in the video, Kallen indeed squinted her eyes happily, as if she was quite pleased to be called that. Sirin was somewhat at a loss for words. Truly worthy of being the ancestor of the Kaslana family, she inherited the Kaslana family's mindset written all over her face—just as easy to understand as Kiana!

“Durandal has arrived, faster than you all.” Kallen got straight to the point.

"Who is Durandal?" Sirin knew who Durandal was, of course. She asked casually, but her expression was already serious. After all, she was the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal. Once she arrived in Munich, the Schariac family would definitely be in a dilemma.

“Have you really forgotten who Durandal is?” Kallen stared at her. “Sirin, anyone can forget, but could you?”

"Why should I remember this person? She is indeed very strong, but I am not weak either. If I hadn't deliberately suppressed my strength, it's hard to say who would be the number one among the younger generation." Xilin said, puzzled.

"I see, so she erased your memories." Karen looked at her blank expression, and, confirming that she wasn't faking it, finally sighed softly.

"What do you mean? Erase...whose memories?" Xilin suddenly became a little nervous. She subconsciously grabbed Shen Liang's long hair, pulling it so hard that Shen Liang felt a sharp pain.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have let you know these things, but Sirin, do you really know your mother?” Karen said. “Have you really forgotten everything? I don’t think so. If you had forgotten, you wouldn’t be so nervous. You’re afraid… afraid to know that the child named Durandal is your own sister, Cecilia’s real daughter.”

Xilin was stunned.

She sent me a file.

“This file is encrypted by Schicksal. There are some scandals that Schicksal cannot expose, but all the information in Schicksal’s database cannot be hidden from me. This may be the drawback of information technology.” Kallen said quietly, “Look, or you will never know who Cecilia and Durandal are fighting for.”

Xilin's slender fingers turned white as she pressed the tablet. She hesitated for a long time before opening the document.

"Let Youjun watch with you," Gan Yu said gently, showing her understanding.

Xilin cast a pleading look at Shen Liang, who was seeing this aloof little queen so vulnerable for the first time. Shen Liang felt a pang of heartache and reached out to take Xilin's hand. "Let's watch together."

Actually, whether you look at it together or not has no impact on the content of this document. But that's just how people are. You only have the courage to touch the things deep in your heart when someone is holding your hand.

Shen Liang flipped through the file, which contained Cecilia's life story.

The woman was much older than her youthful appearance suggested, and it seemed that she hadn't changed at all since she turned eighteen. So much so that Shen Liang sometimes wondered if Siegfried had broken the law when she gave birth to Kiana and Sirin.