"And so... that was how I ended up with your future self that day."
As I watched Bianca offer a faint, serene smile while she spoke, I couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh in my mind.
Was this really what lay beyond my wildest imagination?
I took a moment to mentally organize Bianca's explanation.
Essentially, the future version of myself had traveled back in time to embrace Bianca, ensuring that Selene would be born.
The reason? In that future, Selene was already my precious daughter. But there was more to it than simple fatherly duty.
It appeared that although I didn't feel it quite yet in the present, my future self had fallen deeply in love with Bianca.
It was for her that the future me had utilized a time machine—a device I dreaded using—to traverse the Imaginary Tree and plunge into the past.
Thanks to her story, I finally understood why two hours of activity had only cost me two minutes of real-world time. It was the discrepancy in the temporal ratio between the past and the present.
When traveling from the present to the past, the future version of me had systematically swapped 'present-me' and 'past-me' to prevent a collision between two versions of the same soul.
There was a peculiar anomaly, though: time in the present didn't flow at the same rate while I was in the past. After pushing my body to the limit and measuring the synchronization, I realized that every hour spent in the past translated to only one minute in the present.
Furthermore, I discovered that I could remain in the past for a maximum of five hours—costing me a mere five minutes of present time.
For the record, my experiments took place in the early hours of the morning, so I hadn't been caught by anyone in the past. But the logistics weren't the issue. It was what the future me had done.
Traveling through time feels like having your entire molecular structure wrung out like a wet towel. Honestly, if given the choice, I'd rather fight the Will of Honkai one more time than endure the agony of a temporal jump.
And yet, the future me had braved that pain to return to the past.
This meant that my future was already written. I was destined to go back, share a life with Bianca, and conceive a child. It meant that I would definitively enter a polygamous marriage, loving not just my wife, but other women as well.
I wasn't the only one who realized this. Though Bronya's face remained an unreadable mask, I could see her hands trembling at her sides.
"If that's the case, I have a question."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Back when we spoke on the phone, you said you had a husband. Selene said she had a father, too. Does that man... know about all of this?"
"Yes."
"I figured he didn't—wait, what?"
"I said he is fully aware," Bianca repeated firmly.
At those words, my jaw dropped. Beside me, Bronya, the Class Monitor, and even Sushang—who had been watching us with the excitement of someone binge-watching a soap opera while mid-snack—all stared in stunned silence.
A piece of Sushang's snack fell right out of her mouth.
Wait, what did she just say?
"He knows?!"
"Yes. He knew everything from the very beginning."
I clutched my head instinctively. "Wait... wait a second. According to the records, you got married eight months before Selene was born, right?"
"It makes me happy to see you remember that date," Bianca said, her voice carrying a hint of genuine warmth.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly. "Well, it's a major event for a close friend—no, that's not the point. He knew the truth even then?"
"Yes. After all, that was one of the conditions of our contract."
"A contract?"
What kind of contract could possibly involve this?
"This was an arrangement made based on what I learned from the future you," Bianca explained.
"From the future me?"
"The future version of you told me that until the truth of Selene's parentage was revealed, the world believed I had a husband. However, I had never intended to marry anyone but you. This created a paradox—a future that had 'already happened' and fooled everyone, yet had no biological basis. Rita was the one who found the solution."
'In that case, let us proceed with a contract marriage,' Rita had suggested to Bianca.
To ensure the future the Captain described became reality, Bianca needed to technically be married. With Rita's assistance, they found a suitable candidate for a paper husband—someone who would be legally registered in exchange for Schicksal sponsorship, but with whom no actual relationship existed.
"...Then what about what Selene said?"
"Selene."
"Yes, Mama!"
"What did I tell you to say if Papa asked about your father?"
Hearing her name, Selene, who had been resting in my arms, raised her hand high.
"Mama told me that if Papa asked questions about 'Daddy,' I should answer like that! Did I do good?"
"You did very well," Bianca praised her.
"Hehe~"
Watching Selene beam at her mother's praise, my mind felt like it was short-circuiting. Should I be impressed by a child this young being such a talented actress, or should I lecture her that lying is wrong, even under orders? On second thought, she hadn't technically lied—she just followed her mother's script to the letter.
"Sigh... Let's talk, just the two of us—actually, the three of us."
"The three of us?"
"Me, my wife, and you."
This conversation had reached a point where it was no longer appropriate for children's ears. Cecilia seemed to understand, nodding as she patted the shoulder of Siegfried, who was currently clutching his head and sighing in a state of utter mental collapse.
Senior Mei, meanwhile, was gently cradling Kiana—who looked like she had been bleached white and turned to ash, muttering, 'I've been overtaken again...' over and over. Mei gave us a soft, encouraging smile, signaling that it was okay to go.
Come to think of it, after talking to Bianca, I'd have to have a very long talk with Kiana, too.
"Leave the children to us," the Class Monitor offered.
"I'm counting on you, Fu Hua, Sushang."
Leaving the kids with Fu Hua and Sushang, I led the two women outside. Since the headquarters were at such a high altitude, the night air was biting. I grabbed two warm cans from a nearby vending machine and handed them to Bronya and Bianca.
"Thank you," Bianca said.
"The Bronya appreciates it," my wife whispered.
I popped my own can and sipped slowly as the warmth spread through my chest. I looked up at the sky. Away from the city lights, the stars burned brilliantly, dominated by a crescent moon that exerted its silent presence over the world.
"...Honestly, I'm surprised," Bianca began.
"About what?"
"That you accepted Selene as your daughter so easily, even without physical proof."
I met her gaze—those transparent blue eyes reflecting my image—and gave her a bitter smile.
"I didn't sense a single lie in anything you told me."
Besides, proof or no proof, we were in front of a child. A child should only see beauty and kindness; I wasn't about to act like a monster in front of her. That applied to my daughter Bronie, and it applied to Selene, too.
Wait, I suppose Selene is 'my daughter' now, as well.
"And if I had been determined to deceive you?"
"Then I'd just be a fool who got played. That's all."
I shrugged. For the first time, Bianca's stiff, stoic expression softened. Seeing her relax, I realized she had been just as nervous as anyone else.
"The main thing I wanted to say is... if you want to marry me, you need to get my wife's permission first."
"Dear...?" Bronya looked up, surprised.
"If Bronya says no, then I'll refuse, even if the whole world calls me a piece of trash. To me, my wife is the absolute first priority. Always."
"...Dear."
Bronya's eyes widened, and she called out to me with a voice full of yearning. I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes. Despite the confidence in my voice, I felt like a failure of a husband inside. I didn't have the courage to look at the woman I was hurting.
"Yes, I am well aware," Bianca said softly. "I know she is the most precious person in the world to you."
"...The Bronya accepts," my wife said suddenly.
"...Are you sure, Miss Bronya?" Bianca asked cautiously.
Bronya gave a wistful smile. "The Bronya has known this was coming since the day Senior Mei arrived with her own marriage contract. As long as the concept of polygamy exists in this timeline, it seems Bronya cannot keep you all to herself. I am satisfied that I had you exclusively for these past few years. But please, remember one thing."
"What is it?"
"That just as you said now, you must always keep Bronya as your first priority."
"Of course. Always."
At my solemn vow, her expression warmed, but a single tear traced a path down her cheek.
"Oh... excuse me."
She seemed surprised by her own reaction, quickly dabbing the tear away with a handkerchief. My heart twisted with guilt. I was a pathetic husband for making the person I loved cry.
"By the way," Bronya said, shifting the mood, "considering what the Class Monitor and Bianca said... Rita was also involved in this. But about Rita..."
"Ah, actually... that was the other reason I wanted to talk to Bianca out here."
"What is it?" Bianca asked.
It was the one thing that had been gnawing at me throughout the entire explanation.
"Why is it that in every story you've told tonight, Rita's personal involvement is almost entirely omitted?"
Bianca's only response was a mysterious smile.
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