Naming your son after your ancestor? That's basically treating your ancestor as your son.
If Otto ever showed up with a bruised face one day, Chang Yuan wouldn't be surprised.
Otto didn't care much about surnames.
After all, it was his and Kallen's child. The surname didn't matter.
"You're really bold with that name. Do you even know Kallen's ancestor is named Kevin? Aren't you afraid your father-in-law will beat you up?"
Thanks to Otto's efforts, all the warriors who supported him had undergone MANTIS surgery.
With Prometheus obscuring part of the Honkai's vision, the Honkai's strength had increased but remained within controllable limits.
Otherwise, pseudo-Herrschers might have already appeared.
It had to be said, Prometheus was quite reliable.
"Ah? I didn't know that. Good thing Kallen didn't hear."
Patting his chest, Otto was genuinely afraid of what would happen if they found out.
If they did, he could already imagine the consequences—being beaten to a pulp might be the least of it.
The group chatted idly, and soon the day of the wedding arrived.
"Teacher, I'm still a bit nervous."
Taking a few deep breaths, even before stepping into the wedding hall, Otto was already trembling with excitement.
"What's there to be nervous about? Back in my day—calm down."
Kicking Otto in the rear, Chang Yuan blamed him for bringing up painful memories.
"Teacher, I'm the groom today. Can't you give me some face?"
Rubbing his backside, Otto shot Chang Yuan a reproachful look.
"Face is earned, not given. Is the ring ready? Is your tie properly tied? Is your collar straight?"
"Ring's ready, the flower girl will bring it up later. Tie's perfect, collar's straight."
Answering Chang Yuan's questions, Otto checked everything meticulously.
Once everything was ready, Chang Yuan placed his hands heavily on Otto's shoulders. "Good, very spirited. Don't mess this up."
Time ticked by, and Otto handed the ring to the flower girl.
Then, taking a deep breath, he stepped into the wedding hall.
Seeing Kallen waiting for him at the altar, Otto couldn't hide his excitement.
Dressed in a pure white wedding gown, her head covered with a veil, she stood there like a saint awaiting her destined partner.
As Otto approached, Francis descended from the stage.
"You're the first groom to keep the bride waiting. Since it's your wedding day, I'll let it slide. But if Kallen suffers after this, you'll regret it."
Hearing his father-in-law's whispered threat, Otto shuddered.
Then, he walked up to Kallen, and the officiant began the ceremony.
After the vows, the flower girl—a white-haired member of the Kaslana family—brought up the ring box.
Exchanging rings, the couple sealed their union with a kiss, cheered on by the crowd.
"Tsk tsk, I'd love a dream wedding like this too. What do you think~?."
Elysia glanced playfully at Chang Yuan.
But Chang Yuan didn't respond directly.
Instead, he glanced at the stage and quietly sipped his wine.
Elysia didn't mind his silence.
Years later...
"Let me hold little Theresa!"
In the hospital room, Elysia couldn't resist reaching for the baby in Otto's arms.
It was worth noting that Otto had delivered the baby himself.
It seemed there was nothing Otto couldn't do—except, perhaps, give birth himself. Or maybe even that wasn't beyond him.
"This is little Theresa? She's so... ugly."
"...Teacher, all babies look like this when they're born. They'll get cuter after a few months."
Rubbing his forehead, Otto looked at his teacher helplessly.
Didn't his teachers have children of their own? This was common knowledge.
Otto refused to believe his teachers had no descendants.
After thousands of years, the MANTIS genes wouldn't affect fertility.
Plus, with how close his teachers were, they must have had children.
"Ah, then I'll let you hold her~?."
Unlike the artificially created Theresa of the original timeline, this Theresa had no grandparents but did have parents.
How would her relationship with Cecilia play out now?
"Waaah—!"
After being held for a while, Theresa began to cry.
Having studied childcare, Otto knew she was probably hungry.
He quickly handed her to Kallen.
Seeing this, Chang Yuan and Elysia tactfully left the room.
"Newborn babies are so ugly, all wrinkly and not cute at all~?."
"But that's how all babies are. Who's ever seen a baby born with a full head of hair and teeth? That would be even creepier."
Rolling her eyes at Elysia, Chang Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.
"True, but still~?."
"I hope history progresses as it should, without any unexpected twists."
...
"Teacher, it seems history hasn't changed much, has it?"
By now, centuries had passed, and the world had entered a technological era similar to the original timeline.
The Schariac family had produced Cecilia, who possessed the blood of a saint, while the Kaslana family had a man named Siegfried.
It seemed the wheels of history were turning as they should.
The only difference was that Theresa wasn't as naive as in the original timeline. Under Otto's guidance, she had become a sharp and calculating young woman.
With the genes of two geniuses, Theresa couldn't possibly be dull.
Moreover, Theresa successfully grew up, though she ended up more like a Chinese-version "Moonlight Stargazer" Theresa.
Indeed, not all Theresas were created equal—some were just born flat.
"No changes are for the best. Today's the day Siegfried and Cecilia meet. Back then, you faked evidence of your human experiments to make Einstein and the others leave and form Anti-Entropy. That was quite the scheme."
"What could I do? You said we couldn't change history too much but also didn't want to hurt more people. I had to find a way to keep history on track without altering it too much."