In the end, Kiana didn't sign that agreement.
She might appear simple-minded on the surface, but the fact that she was able to grasp the truth about her origins early on, even without clear information or Sigurd telling her, shows that she isn't actually foolish.
It was easy for her to understand what Sigurd intended by presenting the agreement: once she signed it, it would mean she was implicitly giving up on the possibility of being his wife.
The future she hoped for between them would become impossible.
Kiana truly believed that being by Sigurd's side was more than enough, but unless there was absolutely no possibility, who wouldn't be greedy or crave more in the face of love?
Kiana certainly couldn't.
Moreover, the fact that Sigurd hurriedly brought out such a strange measure like an adoption agreement...didn't it also prove that the usually calm, composed, and overwhelmingly powerful Sigurd was flustered by her confession?
"Heh!"
Kiana smiled sweetly, rubbed the fragments of the torn agreement between her hands, and then blew on them, letting the pieces flutter in the air.
Smack!
Then, she received a slap on the head.
"Don't litter."
Sigurd said without looking up, one hand operating the virtual screen, the other pressing down on Kiana's head.
Kiana stuck out her tongue, then rolled her eyes, twisted her body, and with a coquettish tone, said:
"Sig, I haven't been sleeping well lately. Can I go to your room to catch up on some sleep? I'll be very well-behaved!"
Smack!
Sigurd responded with another slap on her head, slightly harder this time—if he could believe that, then all those years of looking after Kiana would have been in vain.
"Shameless!"
A shout filled with anger came from beside them.
Kiana glared at Sin Mal, then belatedly realized—besides Sigurd, she had many formidable rivals to deal with.
Sin Mal was an unavoidable obstacle.
In terms of clinging to Sigurd, she was no less than Kiana.
"You little vixen have no right to call me that! Get lost! Bleh~"
Kiana made a face, counterattacking.
She had only been a bit more straightforward these past few days, but that little seductress Sin Mal was offering herself to Sigurd almost every day.
Just as the two were about to start their usual argument, Bronya walked in with tea and snacks.
"Did you receive the project materials I sent?"
"I'm processing them... They have some interesting ideas, I didn't pick the wrong people."
"After all, the leaders were mostly trained by the three of you, the great scientists. They won't be bad. It's just that the scale is too large, which inevitably affects the conversion rate of results."
"That's why I'm eliminating the useless items and prioritizing them based on value and difficulty."
Sigurd carefully reviewed, calculated, and assessed a project.
This wasn't an easy task; it wasn't about looking down from a position of knowledge.
No one could judge the feasibility of an experimental project just from its plan—unless the person designing the experiment was incompetent and made obvious mistakes, but there were no such people in the lunar base's research team.
Bronya glanced at the two girls, then calmly approached, placing the tea and snacks on the table, and tugged on Sigurd's sleeve.
"What's wrong?"
Sigurd asked casually.
Bronya replied in her usual cold voice:
"Take a break, you've been working for a long time. The ecological park on the lunar base is already quite complete, with many daily needs being self-sufficient. These snacks were made from grains produced in the ecological park, so they should taste different from what we have at home."
Bronya's expression was as subtle as ever, but there was a hint of softness.
Sigurd finally looked up, raising his eyebrows with some interest as he picked up a cookie.
"Mm... The taste is indeed different."
After all, it was grown in a low-gravity environment, with artificial light and air, different seeds, and microbial environments.
As Bronya said, it had a unique flavor.
"How about the nutritional content? Compared to what's produced on Earth, can it meet the human body's needs?"
"Still a bit lacking, but the research department is continuously improving it. It'll get better. Most of the base's staff have undergone varying degrees of body modification, so it's not a big issue. With continued efforts, lunar colonization won't take long."
"Mm, that's good news. Let's arrange for more vacations this year, and increase the supply of various resources. Now that the space station can be put to preliminary use, the cost can be covered."
"Understood, I'll make the arrangements."
Bronya said, pulling up a chair and sitting beside Sigurd.
They continued discussing—matters that Kiana and Sin Mal found difficult to involve themselves in.
Kiana watched in a daze, her ahoge standing up.
She almost forgot that Bronya, who seemed unassuming, was actually her most formidable opponent.
When it came to being thoughtful and capable, none of their small group could match Bronya, and this was precisely one of the qualities Sigurd had explicitly mentioned as essential for a life partner.
How insidious...
It turned out that long before Kiana even understood her feelings, this turbocharged chibi had already trained herself into the kind of woman Sigurd loved the most!
Crunch!
Kiana bit down on her cookie, narrowing her eyes as she warily watched Bronya.
Bronya seemed to notice this gaze and glanced sideways at Kiana, then smiled smugly.
Kiana: "(▼ヘ▼＃)!"
No, she had to think of a way to seize the initiative!
Kiana chomped on her cookie aggressively, and the gears in her usually idle brain began to turn rapidly.
...
After a while, Bronya took Sin Mal to continue inspecting the base, while Sigurd focused on his work.
Kiana, having just recovered physically and mentally, was allowed to rest in the room.
Then, she started causing trouble.
"Sig, ah~~"
Kiana held a cookie and brought it to Sigurd's mouth, using a tone usually reserved for coach children.
Sigurd glanced at her sideways, unsure of what she was up to, but he still opened his mouth and ate the cookie.
Then, Kiana brought over some tea and held it up to Sigurd's lips.
"Here, drink some tea."
"???"
Sigurd couldn't help but wonder if she was planning to make some outrageous request again.
But then, as Kiana, who had never served anyone before, poured the tea, she misjudged the tilt of the cup and spilled it on Sigurd's face.
Smack!
A minute later, Kiana obediently knelt nearby, a big bump on her head, punished to kneel for thirty minutes.
...
"Sig, what's this?"
"The Earth-Moon Gravity Ladder Orbit Project, aimed at significantly reducing the speed and cost of material exchange between Earth and the Moon."
"And what about this?"
"The Lunar Atmosphere Project, an attempt to create a habitable gaseous environment on the lunar surface."
"Oh, they both sound impressive. How about we approve them?"
"No, I rejected both."
"Why?"
"Given your level of knowledge, it would take too long to explain it to you."
"Don't be like that! Tell me, please tell me, I want to know..."
Kiana shook Sigurd's arm, not realizing that because of her constant interruptions, Sigurd's work efficiency had dropped by about 40%. So...
Smack!
With two bumps on her head, Kiana knelt nearby, looking obedient, and was punished to kneel for another half hour.
...
After half an hour, Kiana brought over a plate of cake and placed it on the table, sitting quietly beside it.
She stared at the cake, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then remained perfectly still.
This posture continued for a full half hour until Sigurd finally looked up, confused as he observed her.
"What are you doing?"
"Meditating!"
"And what are you meditating on?"
"I'm resisting the temptation of the cake!"
Kiana raised her index finger, her large blue eyes blinking, with an extremely serious expression.
Sigurd rubbed his chin, looking at her with a mixture of pity and affection, and after a moment, he slowly said:
"...Well, good luck."
Kiana then held out for several hours until she fell asleep in the chair.
Sigurd heard the familiar sound of her snoring but didn't pay much attention.
He just kept working until he finished reviewing the last project proposal, leaned back in his chair, and took a deep breath, finally noticing the sleeping girl.
"Asleep...?"
Sigurd rubbed his temples, smiling wryly yet fondly.
<+>
Tn: If you want to see more chapter of this story, please go to my Ko-Fi[1], just for $5 each month, you can read till the latest chapter.
Latest Chapter in Ko-Fi: Chapter 274: Infighting? A Hundredfold Payback![2]
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[1] https://ko-fi.com/hildegard
[2] https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-274-Infighting-A-Hundredfold-Payback-E1E31DBJY8
[3] https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-274-Infighting-A-Hundredfold-Payback-E1E31DBJY8
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