I have a child?

“Su Mo, identity unknown, origin unknown, even his name can’t be guaranteed to be real.

He suddenly collapsed on the street and was picked up by that princess.”

Looking at Su Mo’s “corpse,” lying motionless on the ground, the archbishop muttered to himself inside the hall.

“A person of such unclear background should’ve been killed immediately to prevent trouble.

But I didn’t expect your relationship with that princess to grow closer and closer—so close, in fact, that you became the most important person to her on this planet.

That forced me to abandon the idea of killing you right away, and instead leave you with the princess until the time was right, so that when the plan began, I could kill you and shatter her.

So, I really should thank you for your help, hahahahaha!!”

He laughed as he walked toward Su Mo, finally standing before him and raising an eyebrow at the clean cut on Su Mo’s neck.

“Hm? My attack should’ve sliced him in half at the waist. Why is it severed at the neck?

No matter. Just a small human. Not worth thinking too much about.”

To him, every creature on this planet was nothing more than a bug to crush in his hand.

No matter how they resisted, it was meaningless. So he didn’t bother.

He picked up Su Mo’s head with one hand, then a pitch-black void opened before him.

The archbishop tossed the head inside and left the chapel with a chilling laugh.

But he never noticed—after his figure vanished, Su Mo’s body, which had been lying motionless as if lifeless, suddenly began to stir.

…

When she opened her eyes, what she saw was a familiar ceiling.

Having stayed at the orphanage before, Firefly knew the layout well, and immediately realized she was back there.

But she didn’t understand why.

Just moments ago, she had been running through the forest, fleeing.

Then she had encountered the pink-haired girl of legend, almost like a goddess.

And most importantly, she had seen the mask on the girl’s waist—exactly the same as the one Su Mo had worn on his face.

“You’re awake?”

As Firefly’s thoughts spun in confusion, a calm voice came from her side.

The sound helped clear her dazed mind a little.

She turned her head toward it and was surprised by what she saw.

“You are…?”

A girl who looked strikingly similar to her sat quietly by her bedside, gazing at her with calm eyes.

“My name is Key, Princess.”

Key’s tone was still flat.

Hearing this, Firefly asked in confusion,

“Key? And… Princess, are you referring to me?”

The name sounded strange to her, but even more puzzling was the title Key had used.

Key nodded. Firefly then asked,

“I’m not a princess. You must have mistaken me… Can you tell me why I’m here?

Also, why do you look so much like me? Are you my sister… or maybe my younger sibling?”

Firefly had lost her memories.

The archbishop had told her this before.

But whenever she asked about what kind of person she had been before, the archbishop would always brush it aside with excuses, saying it wasn’t the right time yet.

So Firefly had no memory of her life before the orphanage—not even of her parents.

She only knew of them because the archbishop mentioned them.

“In a certain sense, rather than calling me your sister, it would be more accurate to say I’m your child.”

Key spoke such a misleading statement with a perfectly calm face.

The room fell into silence.

Firefly’s mind went blank.

A few seconds later, her brain finally processed the words.

Her eyes widened, and she shouted in disbelief,

“Wha—!!”

She shot up from the bed, ignoring the pain in her body.

Staring at Key with shock, she pointed at her, then at herself, and asked in a trembling voice,

“Y-you… you’re saying I gave birth to you?!”

Suddenly, Firefly felt that losing her memories was actually a blessing.

No wonder the archbishop always dodged her questions before—her life before amnesia must have been total chaos!

She… had a daughter?!

And one who looked about the same age as her?!

Then how old was she when she supposedly gave birth?!

Most importantly—how was she supposed to explain this to Su Mo?!

She had already resolved to give her precious first time to him… and now she would have to tell him she already had a daughter?!

Just thinking about it made Firefly’s head spin, almost fainting.

But she still wanted to hear the answer directly from Key’s mouth—maybe it wasn’t what she thought.

“I am not the princess’s biological child.

But I do exist because of the princess.”

Seeing Firefly’s reaction, Key immediately guessed what she was thinking.

So, to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings, she explained calmly.

The weak and fragile air she had shown when with Edinia was now gone.

Key had returned to her original machine-like demeanor.

“I see… Phew, you scared me.”

Hearing Key’s explanation, Firefly let out a huge sigh of relief.

Patting her chest, she looked back at Key with curious eyes.

“Um… Key…”

“If you’re not used to that name, you can call me Kei, Princess.”

Noticing Firefly’s odd pronunciation, Key offered the alternative.

“Ah… then, Miss Kei, can you tell me why I’m here?

I remember being in the forest with that pink-haired lady.

But then I blacked out, and when I woke up, I was here at the orphanage.

And now I’ve met you, who looks so much like me.

Honestly, my head’s spinning—I don’t understand what’s going on at all.”

Firefly scratched her head and frowned.

As for Key, she didn’t know why either.

When she awoke, Firefly had already been lying beside her, while the warm girl from earlier was gone.

Key had felt a faint disappointment, but she suppressed it, waiting for Firefly to wake up so she could explain the truth.

Just as Key was about to reveal their true identities, the door suddenly burst open.

One of the orphanage children shouted into the room,

“Bad news! Monsters are attacking the town!”