Siegfried stood there with his jaw practically unhinged, unable to process the bombshell Bianca had just dropped.
...Well, considering he has a daughter of his own, it's not exactly a concept he should find impossible to grasp.
Your precious, darling daughter suddenly shows up and introduces you to your grandchild... only for you to realize the father isn't the punk you suspected, but someone else entirely. Actually, the moment the grandchild appeared, his peaceful world was already doomed.
From Siegfried's perspective, this was a tactical double-cross of the highest order.
However, putting him aside, my wife, the Class Monitor, and Kiana all looked visibly relieved. I was about to let out a sigh of relief myself when—I locked eyes with Senior Mei.
There was a strange, almost pitying look in her gaze that made me tilt my head in confusion.
Now that I think about it, given Senior Mei's usual displays of affection and her behavior so far, there were parts of this that didn't add up.
I could understand Cecilia being so calm, since she apparently already knew.
But why was Senior Mei so composed?
It was as if she were already privy to the details of this situation—
"...Wait?"
She already knew?
The moment that realization struck me, Siegfried asked Bianca in a trembling voice.
"Th-then... whose daughter is Selene?"
"She's this man's daughter."
"...What?"
Wait a minute, Bianca. What kind of logic is that?
Now you're saying she *is my daughter?
You literally just said she wasn't! Why are you changing your story within a single second?!
It seemed I wasn't the only one experiencing mental whiplash; visible question marks practically manifested above everyone's heads.
"Bianca."
"Yes, Mei?"
"If you put it like that, you're only going to confuse everyone."
"...Ah, I see your point."
As everyone nodded in agreement with Senior Mei, Bianca paused for a moment to organize her thoughts before speaking again.
"What I mean is... Selene is his daughter, yet at the same time, she is not."
"...No, I mean, what exactly does that mean?"
A daughter is either a daughter or she isn't. Binary logic, please.
What kind of Schrödinger's paternity test is this?
"To be more precise, if you were to perform a DNA test, Selene would indeed be identified as your biological child."
"...But I've never even slept with you?"
"That is correct. We have never engaged in any... intimate activities."
Bianca confirmed this with a nod, giving me a look that seemed to ask why I was stating the obvious. I could only massage my temples in frustration.
Listen, I'm stating the obvious because the 'obvious' is currently shredding my sense of reality!
Beating around the bush wasn't going to work with someone as literal as Bianca. I decided to be direct.
"Then how is it genetically possible for Selene to be my daughter?"
Everyone—with the exception of Cecilia and Senior Mei—nodded frantically at my question.
How are children created? This is a question with many answers depending on the audience.
When children ask, adults often tell them that a stork brought them, or perhaps they were 'found under a bridge.'
Once kids grow up a bit, they laugh it off, telling the adults to stop with the fairy tales. But honestly, those metaphors aren't entirely off the mark if you think about it.
The legend of the stork originates from Europe, rooted in Northern European cultural sentiments. It's tied to the very word we use for arrival: 'birth.'
The word 'birth' essentially implies being 'carried from somewhere.' Its roots lie in the Old English word 'beran,' meaning 'to carry.'
In Europe, the stork is an auspicious bird signaling the arrival of spring and symbolizing the rebirth of life, hence the legend.
Then there's the Midsummer festival—the longest day of the year. For the Baltic people, this is a night of immense significance. On this night, at the stroke of midnight, young men and women venture into the forest to find the 'fern flower.'
The strange thing? Ferns are non-flowering plants. They literally don't have flowers.
I remember Rita once asking me with a finger to her lips and a mischievous smile, 'Then I wonder why those young men and women went into the forest to look for a flower that doesn't exist?' I couldn't bring myself to give her the real answer in front of the wide-eyed, curious children.
Anyway, what does the stork have to do with this? Storks usually migrate from Africa around the Spring Equinox. The time between the Spring Equinox and Midsummer is exactly nine months.
Yes, nine months. The math checks out.
Then there's the Korean version—being 'picked up from under a bridge.' People say this is a wise, metaphorical expression, but in some ways, it's brutally literal.
While children imagine a literal bridge over a river, the 'bridge' in this context refers to the mother's legs. To be picked up from 'under the bridge' is to be born from between those legs.
...I'm honestly amazed that passed for 'educational' for so long without anyone pointing it out.
Regardless of how I fell into this train of thought, the conclusion is simple: barring divine intervention, a child cannot be born alone.
You need a father, and you need a mother. 1+1=3 is only possible through that synergy.
Every living creature made of flesh and blood follows this rule. Even a hen can't produce a chick from an egg without a chemical reaction from a rooster!
So, dear children, please stop harboring the illusion that a grocery store egg will hatch if you cuddle it. You'll just end up with a rotten egg or a sticky mess.
If it breaks, it's a pain to clean. If it rots, it becomes a biological hazard. Just... don't do it.
But back to the point—Bianca's claim was currently transcending these laws of physics.
Of course, there was one* logical loophole. If I had been a sperm donor, this would be entirely plausible.
However, that premise didn't exist. I have never donated genetic material for research or otherwise, nor has it ever been... stolen.
Before Kiana and Senior Mei moved in, my wife was fiercely protective. She kept a hawk-like watch on any woman who approached me, and any attempt at 'illicit genetic harvesting' would have been met with summary execution.
I still remember the time some insane group thought, 'If we can't use a woman, maybe a man can?' and hired a specialized team to ambush me. I was genuinely terrified.
It remains one of the most frightening incidents in my personal history. Though, seeing my wife catch them in the act and proceed to... 'neutralize' their lower halves so they could never think such thoughts again... well, looking back, I suppose they got what they deserved.
Anyway, the point is, I am very careful.
"To be precise, Selene is not your child in the 'present' tense," Bianca added.
"...Not my child 'now'?"
What kind of riddle was this? As I voiced my doubt, Bianca nodded firmly, confirming her logic.
"Yes. It is impossible for Selene to be your child right now. We have had zero sexual history in the past, so I can state that with absolute certainty."
"And yet, Selene is my daughter? Just like Bronie?"
"Yes. Just like Bronie, Selene is undoubtedly your daughter. Because Selene is—"
"—your child from the future."