"Siegfried!" At this moment, Shigure Kira had become the voice of righteous fury. She stared at the guilty-looking Siegfried, her voice practically dripping with rage. "Tell me... just what do you think of Cecilia?!"
Siegfried flinched at her roar, a shiver running down his spine.
Has it really gotten this serious?! She's already asking such a solemn question?!
Siegfried became even more cautious. His mind was in a muddle, which made him even more afraid to speak. He could only tentatively offer a reply. "She's... my beloved?"
"You—!" Shigure Kira almost fainted. She turned away, unsure of where to look, then quickly remembered she was supposed to be glaring at Siegfried.
Watching her turn back with an even more furious expression, Siegfried's first reaction was that he had answered wrong.
No one knew what was going through Siegfried's mind at that moment, but Shigure Kira's next words were already out.
"You did that, and you still have the nerve to call Cecilia your beloved?" Shigure Kira's fingers were trembling. "Have you no shame?!"
Suddenly, the expression on Siegfried's face changed. His initial look of fear and submission vanished, replaced by a sternness.
"Wait, Kira, what happened?" Siegfried frowned, the pained expression of someone whose weakness had been struck disappearing, replaced by a seriousness that was completely out of character. "It seems we're not talking about the same thing..."
At these words, Shigure Kira's body stiffened, and even her anger faltered for a moment.
In that brief second, she looked the now-standing Siegfried up and down, and the raging fire within her suddenly died down considerably.
Siegfried was serious, all because she had asked, "Have you no shame?"
She had known Siegfried for a long time, at least as long as Cecilia had, almost twenty years. She knew his character well.
Normally, Siegfried was extremely unreliable, a grown man who was always causing trouble.
But once things got serious, Siegfried would become a different person. Not that he became much smarter, but in that state, his judgment and decisiveness were admired even by the people of Future City.
Unfortunately, this ability didn't mesh well with their scientific research. To Siegfried, being cooped up in a lab was more terrifying than being strapped to an operating table.
A Kaslana family secret—Kaslanas have a disease where they fall asleep when faced with complex matters.
Perhaps it was muscle memory from past experiences, but upon seeing Siegfried enter this state, Shigure Kira instinctively calmed down, and most of her anger dissipated.
Thus, reason took over, and Shigure Kira began to reflect on her own words.
It was all nonsense—!!
"What exactly happened?" Siegfried looked up, his gaze passing over Shigure Kira's head to Cecilia, who was sitting dazedly on the bed, and Bianka, who was hiding beside her.
?
Siegfried looked at the small head peeking out from behind the bed, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Who's this again? I think... the kid I saved from the Honkai Beast? Why did I bring her back? I can't quite remember... What's her name? I don't think... I ever asked?
"Siegfried," Cecilia finally stood up slowly, like the final boss in an anime making their grand entrance. But instead of walking towards Siegfried, she went around the bed to Bianka's side.
Bianka shifted slightly, not daring to get too close to Cecilia, but she couldn't escape her hand. After a symbolic struggle, she was picked up by Cecilia with a look of resignation.
"Is this your child?" Cecilia stared at Bianka and smiled, a warm smile. Her beautiful blue eyes danced around Bianka, filled with affection.
But Siegfried didn't like it. He bristled, just like Bianka had when she was startled.
"Who started this rumor?! Slander! This is blatant slander!" His "about-to-do-something-big" posture instantly shattered. He started jumping up and down like an enraged monkey.
Shigure Kira took a disgusted step back, and then another after hearing Siegfried's indignant words.
"Ahem..." Perhaps seeing the look of resistance on Bianka's face, Cecilia thought for a moment and decided that the probability of Bianka resisting her was lower than the probability of her resisting Siegfried in his current state. So, she cleared her throat.
Siegfried instantly calmed down for the most part, but his face was still anxious.
He went around Shigure Kira and stood in front of Cecilia. "Honey, you have to believe me! This kid has nothing to do with me... well, I can't say nothing, but we only just met today! No, that's not right either..."
Cecilia turned her head and looked at the frantic Siegfried, suddenly feeling an urge to pat his head.
She could pat Siegfried's head anytime. But she couldn't hold such a cute child whenever she wanted.
Cecilia quickly made her decision, but didn't forget to comfort Siegfried. "Alright~ Of course, I know what kind of person you are."
She smiled at Siegfried and said, "The only thing you did to wrong me twelve or thirteen years ago was taking Kiana around the world to play while I was away, right?"
Siegfried shut his mouth, unsure whether to be moved or to break out in a cold sweat.
"Don't underestimate me," Cecilia winked playfully at Siegfried. Shigure Kira, watching from the side, made a disgusted face.
They've been married for almost twenty years and they're still doing this... Damn you, Siegfried...
Cecilia turned her gaze back to Bianka's eyes. "What I want to say is... Siegfried, would you mind if we had another daughter?"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
"What?!"
Siegfried and Bianka let out identical sounds of confusion at the same time. In contrast, Shigure Kira, who had been listening in, suddenly let out a cry of disbelief.
Seeing Bianka's shocked little expression, which was a mirror image of Siegfried's, Cecilia only felt even more fond of her.