Chapter 93
Zhidong, the headquarters of Hearth House.
A young woman wearing a cloak and with white hair on the outside and black on the inside walked in with a cold face.
And inside, a group of children adopted by Zhidong had already gathered.
These children had pale faces, and their round eyes revealed fear and curiosity, as well as a hint of expectation for the future.
They were brought here by Zhidong officials in recent days because of Zhidong's reforms in social welfare.
They heard that Zhidong had a big man who wanted to adopt them.
They heard that there would be warm fireplaces for heating in Hearth House, big and fat turkeys, comfortable cold-proof clothes, and experienced teachers to teach them...
In Hearth House, they will grow up healthily and become useful people to Zhidong.
So, these children came to Hearth House with their vision of the future, as well as confusion and fear.
Not long after these children entered Hearth House, they saw a young woman with gorgeous clothes and white hair on the outside and black on the inside walking in.
The man looked indifferent, and when he just entered the door, he was full of a murderous aura, which frightened the children.
However, when the young woman looked at the children, the indifference in her eyes and the murderous intent in her body instantly disappeared.
Although she still looked very cold and scary, the children were surprisingly no longer afraid.
The young woman walked in front of the children, and she slowly spoke in the midst of many curious eyes.
"From today on, you are a family. No matter what you have experienced in the past or what your identity is, forget it."
"Because in the future, you have only one identity, that is, the children of the Hearth House. And your original surname is no longer important."
"You will be unified into one surname, the boy is Xuenetsevich, and the girl is Xuenetsevna."
Then, the woman said the words of her predecessor who inherited her.
"You are children born from loneliness. Hearth House will ensure that you grow up strong."
"Your goal is to learn, compete, defeat all your brothers and sisters, and become the [king] here."
"And I will raise you, like a strict and cold... [father]."
After the woman finished speaking, she told the life director of Hearth House to take the children to visit the place where they would live in the future.
The woman did not stay in Hearth House for too long.
She had just succeeded the executive officer not long ago, and there was a lot of work on hand that she needed to deal with, and she had a meeting with the executive officer's general officer.
Otherwise, the woman would be happy to accompany these children.
Although she could not guarantee that everyone would die of natural causes, after all, another responsibility of Hearth House was to train available talents for the queen she was now loyal to.
However, the woman could guarantee that the tragedy that had happened in [Hearth House] would not happen again. Although she inherited the will of [Mother], she was different from [Mother].
As she said, she will be a strict and cold father, not a gentle mother.
She is not herself, and never has been.
Outside the Hearth House headquarters, the woman exhaled lightly. In this extremely cold northern country, the woman's breath will all turn into white mist.
"Krevy, Sophia... I won't let your story happen again..."
The woman said so, her strange black and red eyes full of determination.
This is her promise to her best friend, and also to herself.
Then, the woman walked towards the palace where the Fatui executives gathered.
She wore warm boots and stepped on the snow step by step.
The climate in the Far North is very bad. The woman can imagine that if Sophia, who is always afraid of the cold, comes here, she will definitely be shivering with cold and huddled in her cotton clothes like a dumpling.
That scene must be interesting.
Will Krevy laugh happily?
"Heh..."
Suddenly, the woman laughed.
This surprised her. Could she still laugh happily?
Then, a trace of bitterness flashed across the woman's face.
So what if she was happy? Now she was the only one left. Her best friend had passed away, and she could only fulfill their promise.
The woman walked hurriedly, and she met many Solstice civilians and Fatui soldiers along the way.
Those people looked at her with fear, curiosity, and disgust...
The woman didn't care about this, because she knew that she was not welcome in Solstice.
After all, she was once a member of the [House of Hearth], and [Mother] had a very good reputation in Solstice. People here praised her as a good person because she adopted homeless orphans for free and also funded the construction of public facilities.
And what about the woman?But she killed such a good [mother].
As a child of [House of Hearth], the woman killed her mother to seize the throne. In the eyes of those who did not know, she was an absolute lunatic.
However, the woman did not care. She never explained anything. She let the rumors run rampant and even fanned the flames behind the scenes.
Not long after, the woman came to the palace.
There was only the general officer [clown] here, his expression hidden behind half a mask.
"I know you still have dissatisfaction and doubts in your heart. For this reason, I am willing to answer five questions for you, about the world... or about yourself."
"You don't have to ask me for a guarantee or ask about the program of the Fools or the ideals of Her Majesty the Queen. I will answer those questions without reservation."
However, facing the open attitude of [clown], the woman did not fully trust him.
"Then I should also declare that I refuse to be mysterious, ambiguous answers, and any word games or lies."
The woman replied coldly.
"Hehe...very cautious, then I will answer your first question. Why choose you, and why do you accept our choice - 'Immature people will die for their ideals, and mature people are willing to live in order to achieve something.'"
The old man answered the woman's first question.
Then came the second, and then the third.
"The third question. What is the red moon that I have been dreaming about, and what exactly is my power?"
"...I once served the last dynasty of the ancient underground country, its name was 'Black Sun', and the dynasty before it was called 'Red Moon'. About you and the secret before you were born...go buy a copy of "Hereberg in Love"."
"When I was still interested in academics, I didn't read this kind of story much, but I happened to read this one. Although the plot is specious, the important details are correct."
The old man's answer was inexplicable, and he actually asked her to buy a book to read.
...Soon, the last question.
"Fifth question. After everything is over, what will happen to me and the others in the Hearth House?"
The woman asked what she cares about now.
"...Frankly speaking, none of you are in my ideal. I am only prepared to practice the 'morality of the fool'. But I can guarantee that the queen will become a god who loves everyone after that. Within her ideal, everyone will get what they want."
Although the old man was still being mysterious, she accepted this answer.
Now that the five questions between her and the Fool have ended, the fog that obscured her eyes gradually dissipated.
"Alechino."
She was stopped by the [clown] behind her as she left, and she turned her head.
"Rather than what the world looks like, you should think about where it should go."
The woman named Alechino did not stop, she already had her own ideas.
The sound of footsteps in the distance was her best answer.
Seeing this, the Fool smiled slightly.
"The Red Moon Royal Family actually has a legacy..."
"Hehe, isn't it the same for Black Sun?"