Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 46

Seeing that Sirin had accepted the “memory construct” of Cecilia, Enoxia finally let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she hadn’t created a new being like the Herrscher of Sentience—someone who merely carried Cecilia’s memories but was fundamentally not her. Instead, she had truly revived Cecilia, who hadn’t been completely dead to begin with.

It was similar to Elysia in the Elysian Realm—a memory construct, but was she Elysia? Undoubtedly, yes. Everyone recognized her as such, and that was precisely Cecilia’s current state.

“If this works, I’ll create a memory construct of Alexandra once they’re done talking. Raising kids should be left to these two, who actually have experience as mothers.”

Ivan was only five years old, Bella blindly obeyed Sirin’s every command, and Sirin herself was a problem child. If these three were left to Enoxia—who had zero childcare experience—who knew what kind of chaos would ensue?

And so, their new life began. Enoxia handled almost all external affairs, while at home, it was the daily routine of two mothers raising three kids.

October 5, 2000, Night

As usual, Sirin lounged in her room, munching on fried chicken while watching TV.

“Your Majesty, are you going to bed early tonight?” Bella glanced at the half-empty bucket of fried chicken beside Sirin and tentatively asked.

“No, same as yesterday,” Sirin replied, her eyes never leaving the screen.

Bella didn’t disturb her further. Silently, she withdrew from the room and headed straight to the kitchen.

“Given Her Majesty’s habits, she’ll finish that bucket before her show ends… and that amount won’t be enough to satisfy her.” She opened the fridge.

“As expected… all the frozen snacks are gone. Even if we airlift more, it won’t arrive before Her Majesty goes to sleep.” She stared at the near-empty refrigerator, deep in thought.

As for Sirin using the Authority of the Void to just take food from elsewhere? Unless she was on the verge of starvation, she’d never resort to that.

And letting someone else serve Sirin? Unthinkable. For Bella, attending to Sirin was an honor. Unless she had urgent matters or direct orders, she would never delegate Sirin’s care to anyone else.

“There are still three potatoes… I’ll just make fries as a stopgap.”

Bella took out the cutting board, washed and peeled the potatoes. Gripping the kitchen knife in her right hand, she extended her left index finger, carefully observing it.

Slice, slice. The potatoes were soon cut into thick slices, then into strips as thick as her fingers.

She placed the strips into a large bowl, filled it with water until they were fully submerged, then stirred them to rinse off the surface starch.

After draining the water, she opened the fridge again.

“Her Majesty doesn’t need ketchup… no need to overthink it.” She grabbed a bottle of chilled soda.

“It’s hot, but straight from the fridge is too cold. Better let it sit for a bit.” She set the soda aside and left the kitchen.

“Bella, still in the kitchen this late?” A holographic projection of Cecilia flickered to life in the living room.

“Ah, Lady Cecilia! Her Majesty’s snacks were running low, so I thought I’d make more. Did you need something?”

“You… With you around, she’ll never slim down.” Cecilia sighed. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask, but you’re always so busy…”

“I have time now. Please, go ahead.”

“How… do you see me?”

Bella tilted her head, thinking seriously before answering:

“You know I exist solely for Her Majesty. Serving her is my unquestionable purpose. So to me, you are… someone worthy of respect.”

“Because I’m now Sirin’s mother?”

Bella shook her head. “‘Mother’ is just a title to me. But when Her Majesty is with you, I can clearly see her happiness. That joy is everything to me. Anyone who brings her happiness deserves respect.”

“I see… Thank you, Bella.”

Bella shook her head again. “No need for thanks. I know you have your own beliefs and convictions. But if you ever stand against Her Majesty again… Her enemies will always be mine.”

Unlike Enoxia, Bella wasn’t fully trusting of Cecilia—after all, she had once been Sirin’s adversary.

“Sirin is lucky to have you.” With that, Cecilia’s hologram vanished like a ended call.

“Time’s up.” Bella returned to the kitchen, rinsed the potato strips once more, and drained them.

She boiled water, added a spoon of salt, blanched the potatoes for two minutes, then plunged them into cold water. This way, even if Sirin took her time eating, the fries wouldn’t turn soggy as they cooled.

Once completely chilled, Bella drained them thoroughly, tossed them in a larger bowl with cornstarch (she remembered her disastrous first attempt using potato starch—the fries had clumped together horribly), then heated oil in a pan.

When bubbles formed around a chopstick, she fried the strips until golden and crisp—less than ten minutes. After draining them on a plate, she cleaned up the kitchen.

By the time she carried the fries and now-room-temperature soda to Sirin’s room, the fried chicken bucket had already been tossed into the trash.

“I misjudged today. Her Majesty finished it faster than usual… I failed to replenish it in time.”

Regretful, Bella set the soda and fries beside Sirin and quietly cleaned up the crumbs on the floor.

“Bella, wait.” Sirin suddenly called out just as she was about to leave.

“Your Majesty?”

Sirin rummaged through a drawer, pulled out a paper-wrapped piece of fried chicken, and handed it to her.

She had saved the last piece for Bella but, afraid she might eat it without thinking, had hidden it away.

Clutching the still-warm chicken, Bella was speechless with emotion.

“Eat it before it gets cold. Also, I’m not that hungry—half these fries are yours. Sit down and watch with me. You’re not leaving until you finish.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Though the chicken had cooled and lost its crispness, Bella thought it was the most delicious fried chicken she’d ever tasted.

After disposing of the bones, she returned to Sirin’s side—only for Sirin to press her own soda to Bella’s lips.

After a brief hesitation, Bella took a sip. The thought that Sirin had just drunk from it sent a blush spreading across her cheeks.

Enoxia, who had just returned home and witnessed the scene, suddenly found herself no longer hungry. Clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, she quietly slipped away from Sirin’s door.