Chapter 21: Part 11: Eisenburg

Holding the box, Mili felt somewhat at a loss.

She looked up and met the children’s eager yet hesitant gazes.

Their eyes were big and bright…

Like stars shining over the wasteland.

Mili hesitated for a moment, then timidly walked over to the nearest bed.

Lying on the bed was a little girl about five or six years old, pale-faced, with her right arm and leg tightly wrapped in bandages…

The girl shyly glanced at Seraphina, then at Mili, her little dark hands clutching the bedsheet, not daring to reach out.

“Try… try it…” Mili’s voice was mumbling as she took out a red candy, unwrapped it, and brought it to the girl’s lips.

She forced a smile: “It’s… for you all.”

The girl blinked, looked at Mili, and nodded with difficulty, then gently took the candy in her mouth.

“Sweet… isn’t it?”

“Mm…” The little girl’s voice was soft, but a long-lost smile appeared on her face.

The candy melted in her mouth; the cloying sweetness made her squint her eyes, as if forgetting the pain in her body.

Hearing the noise, other children quickly gathered around.

“Sister, I want candy too…”

“Me too! Me too!”

In no time, Mili was surrounded by the children.

She had never been very good at socializing, especially with kids.

Facing so many expectant eyes, her hands trembled slightly.

Mili hurriedly handed out candies, her face unconsciously softening into a gentle smile.

“Sister, you’re so pretty…” a little girl with braided hair looked up at her.

“Sister, your eyes are blue!” another round-faced boy reached out his finger, as if wanting to touch her eyes.

“Sister, are you an angel?”

The youngest child, who looked only three or four years old, hugged a small teddy bear made of patched cloth.

The children chattered around Mili, and she felt overwhelmed by their warmth and curiosity, her cheeks flushed red. She could only sit by the bed holding the candy box, letting them examine her.

“No… I…” she didn’t know how to explain who she was.

“Sister is the saint brought by Her Majesty the Queen,” a nurse changing bandages nearby whispered, sneaking a glance at Seraphina by the door.

“Saint?” The children’s eyes widened.

“A very powerful sister!” the round-faced boy clapped his hands.

Mili: “Ah?”

She felt even more embarrassed.

She had never been surrounded by so many people before, let alone being looked at with such reverence.

“Sister, what’s your name?” A slightly older girl tugged her sleeve.

“I… Mili…”

“Sister Mili!” The children shouted in unison.

“Sister, are you from outside?”

“Um…” Mili hesitated, “Sort of…?”

“What’s it like outside?” The children chirped curiously.

She recalled her experiences in the wasteland and couldn’t bear to tell these innocent kids the harsh reality outside.

“There are many… pretty places outside,” she dodged with stories from the central area, “Coffee shops, and lots of kittens…”

“Kittens!” The children exclaimed excitedly.

“Are they like this?” The girl holding the cloth bear raised her toy.

Mili looked closely.

Though worn, the teddy bear was carefully sewn, even with a pair of triangular ears…

“Almost, but real kittens move and act spoiled,” she said, thinking of the stuffed cat that rubbed against her leg.

“What does ‘acting spoiled’ mean?”

“It means they rub against you and go ‘meow meow’.” Mili imitated how guests would scratch a cat’s itch, gently stroking the little girl’s chin with the back of her hand.

The children immediately burst into laughter.

In the distance, Seraphina leaned against the shadowed doorway, quietly watching everything.

Seeing Mili surrounded by children, smiling, a dark, ambiguous emotion flickered in her eyes, and an indescribable irritation welled up from deep inside.

On one hand, she was annoyed by the warmth others showed…

Why could these strangers easily win her smile?

—That tenderness should belong only to her…

But on the other hand, she was deeply drawn to this scene…

Such pure and beautiful people were exactly what she wanted, and should be firmly under her control…

“It’s about time.” The woman approached and interrupted the warm moment. “We have to go.”

The children looked at Mili unwillingly.

“Will sister come again?”

“Yes… yes.” Mili answered instinctively.

But immediately, she realized she couldn’t make such a promise.

She turned to Seraphina, her eyes questioning.

“Let’s go.” The woman said coldly, pulling Mili’s hand without argument.

She hurriedly handed the remaining candies to the clinic nurse and was whisked away by Seraphina from this small haven in the blink of an eye.

“Goodbye, Sister Mili!” The children’s voices came from behind.

Mili looked back; the small figures gathered at the door, waving their hands vigorously.

…

Back in the armored vehicle, the atmosphere inside was somewhat heavy.

“Are you… angry?” she asked cautiously.

“No.”

“…”

Silence fell inside the vehicle.

Seraphina said nothing, just staring out the window at the rapidly receding ruined scenery, fingers tapping her knee, her face dark and gloomy.

“Those children… are very cute…”

Mili tried to ease the mood.

“Hm.”

The woman’s reply was brief.

She shrank her neck timidly.

It felt like she had stepped on a landmine, but she didn’t know where she went wrong…

Mili quietly asked again:

“Why… do you set up these clinics and schools?”

“Investment.”

Seraphina’s answer surprised her.

“W-what…?” Mili doubted her hearing.

“Healthy people can work longer, educated people create more value.” Her tone remained cold. “I’m not doing charity; I’m investing in the future.”

Mili opened her mouth, then closed it.

“Are you disappointed?” The woman’s heterochromatic eyes turned from the window to her.

“N-no…” she shook her head slightly, afraid.

“What did you think I was?”

“A savior?”

“Or a benevolent king from a fairy tale, saving the world for love and justice?”

“…”

The girl didn’t lean back against the seat, her chest strapped tightly, hands curled on her lap.

“Wrong!”

“I—am a ruler!”

Seraphina stopped tapping and clenched her fist.

“You know?” She continued with displeasure in her voice, “Even though I’ve arranged all the contingency plans and solutions, these fools still act stupidly…”

“I provide them shelter, set rules, even plan every step for them!”

“As long as they obey and work hard, they won’t die — they can even live better…”

“But they always…”

“Act ignorantly.”

“Short-sighted.”

“Rely on luck!”

“They always think they’re special! The exception—!”

“There’s a channel for special supplies application, but they choose to steal instead!”

“Why? Because they’re afraid of rejection? Because of their own delusions?”

“This kind of stupidity will kill them!”

She was referring to the man who stole nutritional paste earlier…

Mili glanced at her cautiously.

“Maybe… he really didn’t know…”

“Didn’t? Know?”

Seraphina sneered:

“The bulletin board in the refugee district clearly states all the rules!”

“But they refuse to read! Refuse to learn!”

“They’d rather gamble on luck than go through proper channels!”

“Do you know why so many children appear in the clinic?”

“Because their parents are hopelessly stupid!”

Her tone grew increasingly agitated, anger thick in her voice:

“I set safety standards for them! Provided protective gear! Established a complete gray mist warning system!”

“Not wearing protective equipment at work…”

“Not hiding promptly when the gray mist thickens…”

“Not seeking medical help in time when sick…”

“Dragging it until they’re nearly dead before asking for help!”

“So what happens?”

“They hurt and get sick themselves, dragging their children into suffering!”

“I spend huge resources providing them shelter, and they repay me with this!”

“I want to line them all up and shoot them!”

Mili shrank in her seat, not daring to speak a word.

“Even so, I still have to keep protecting them…” The woman’s chest heaved violently as she struggled to suppress her fury.

“Because this is the ruler’s responsibility…”

“No matter how stupid or disappointing they are…”

“I must be responsible for their survival.”

“Then… what about Oasis?” Mili clenched her skirt nervously and whispered, “Why don’t you… cooperate with Oasis? Isn’t that… a win-win…?”

“Cooperate?”

Seraphina turned sharply as if hearing the biggest joke.

“Do you think I should cooperate with that Lin Lan?”

“If the two factions unite… Lin Jie’s agriculture, plus your army… wouldn’t that save more people…” Mili’s voice grew softer and softer.

“Then tell me!” Seraphina retorted harshly, “Why should I cooperate with an idiot who can’t even protect herself!”

“—Why! Shouldn’t she surrender to me!”