Oh, I couldn't believe what was happening!!

Dad, suddenly bringing in two children and announcing that they would be our new family members?!

Dad—the one who seemed to be head over heels with Mom... was actually having an affair outside that resulted in the pair of children he brought in?!

At that moment, my view of the world instantly crumbled. I didn't want to believe it, but the evidence all pointed to this conclusion.

The pair of boy and girl had a peculiarity that was the trademark of the Hartmann—heterochromatic eyes. Not that there won't be any other heterochromatic people outside the Hartmann, but... in this situation, I couldn't believe that this pair of children had no Hartmann blood at all.

Crap, crap, what should I do?

It wouldn't be long before Mom and Alt-nii noticed that Dad was home.

Mom is such a prideful woman, she definitely won't stand still in silence even after Dad wronged her like this...

Wait, I still couldn't believe that Dad could do this, okay?

But what could possibly explain all this?

...Now I got what my dream meant.

It was a premonition of this day.

For you see—Dad brought home a pair of twin children. A boy and a girl. Just like the pair of twins portrayed in the Hartmann clan's origin—only their description differed, though.

My heart ached in an instant I imagined my perfectly harmonious family would be brought to rift due to it.

Between Mom and Dad... If they were to divorce, who would I choose? I loved them both... but Dad was being unfair to Mom...

What should I do?

I hate this...

As I started to feel the atmosphere around me grow heavier...

"Eh? Lyra?"

Dad seemed to notice that something was off with me—perhaps my expression changed several times, but his voice still sounded full of concern of me...

That, I was happy, but...

"Cyan, is that you? Are you finally home? How is it? Any news?"

My mind blanked the moment I heard Mom's voice closing in.

...What will Mom say when she saw the pair of children Dad brought in...?

"Is it true or—"

My mind was in a complete disarray when I noticed Mom was beside me. She abruptly stopped her sentence there...

...Mom!!

"Eh?"

See? Her voice showed her surprise.

"Cass, I'm back. And these children here are..."

What's Dad doing with this normal tone of voice? Is he not feeling the slightest bit of remorse?

"Cyan."

Mom's voice turned stern as she didn't even wait for Dad to finish his sentence. I closed my eyes in fear of what was going to happen.

"Hm?" Dad's voice could be heard.

I opened my eyes in an instant, and what I saw was how Mom quickly ran towards Dad in her agitation and—

...And snatched the two children from him. The two children shook in surprise. They blinked their eyes simultaneously, but aside from that, they didn't have any other reaction... I wasn't sure if I was surprised due to Mom's sudden action or the kids' lack of reactions. Maybe both.

"Why didn't you tell us anything in advance? I could have prepared better! And you, what did you have in your mind, going through the thick rain of snow with these two small children?!"

She scolded Dad before she looked pitifully at the two small children who only stared at her back without blinking and said, "Ah, sorry for surprising you two, but it must have been cold, right? Don't just stand there, let's warm yourselves first."

"...Eh?"

My voice reflexively leaked out.

I couldn't understand what was going on.

At that time, another member of the family turned up.

"Mom, is Dad home? Lyra, are you also there? Why am I not hearing your voice?"

Then, Alt-nii arrived at the spot and saw the two children and Dad's conditions and...

"DAD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

--Then I saw Mom and Dad's very surprised faces. As if they just figured out what was going on in their children's minds.

***

"So... in other words...?"

I asked for a clarification again, after all of us gathered near to the room heater. I stared at my parents (especially Dad) with my hands crossed in front of my chest and a slightly sullen face. Correction, a very sullen face.

It seemed that apart from Mom and Dad, Alt-nii and I had no clue whatsoever on what was going on.

The two children seemed to be unaware of what was happening—or rather, they seemed to be so passive of their lives that they dozed off when they felt the warmth of the heater. They must have been so tired...

Then...

"Wait, what were the two of you thinking?" Dad suddenly questioned me and Alt-nii as we were staring daggers at him.

"Dad, I thought you brought in illegitimate children," Alt-nii sternly said.

"I was thinking that I should just go with Mom since you've wronged her," I added.

"That's what I thought too, Lyra!" Alt-nii added.

Then, Dad showed his dejected expression.

"Alt, Lyra... Can you trust your father more?" He pitifully asked.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," I said.

"But Mom, you didn't look all that surprised?" Alt-nii asked.

Then, I turned my questioning gaze towards Mom.

"...Well, I guess it's time to explain everything. It's also Cyan's fault for not giving a prior explanation or warning, so I think you deserved it," Mom said, adding salt to Dad's wound.

"Eh? But I already sent a message back in a hurry... Don't tell me it didn't reach you?" Dad asked.

"What message?" I asked using the same stern voice Mom usually used to scold Dad.

"...Lyra, you're growing more and more like Cassie," Dad showed a complicated smile—I felt like he didn't know whether he should laugh or cry.

"No, we sure didn't hear anything and that was how Lyra and Altaire were so shocked," Mom answered Dad's inquiry.

"......I'll need to send my complaint to that [Express Messenger Service] company...," Dad's eyes turned cold in an instant. The air around him went down several degrees.

I felt sorry for the company, for they made a blunder and offended my dad, of all people...

(Inside Cyan's mind)

[Express Messenger Service~ send any message instantly, anywhere, anywhen~ Confidentiality and express service are our main points, yepyep!]—the company's current slogan would be deleted by tomorrow. The company would be sued for false advertising.

"Could it be delayed due to the snow storm?" Alt-nii tried to be the peace maker in the family!

"Maybe," Mom smiled at Alt-nii.

[Express Messenger Service company's leader: "The snow storm hit our headquarters so hard, yep! It caused our system to failure... THIS IS AN ACCIDENT, YEP! FORGIVE US T__T"]

It was as if the goddess of misfortune gave the company her utmost blessing...

Dad sighed before he scratched his head, saying, "No wonder Lyra and Alt seemed clueless. I sent an urgent message before telling Cass the whole situation and to brief Lyra and Alt before I return with the kids... I was expecting Lyra and Alt's excitement... Alright, let me explain it, then."

"I'll help," Mom earnestly wanted to help Dad explain the situation.

"No, it's okay—" Dad realized that Mom wasn't good at explaining things to children, so he tried to stop Mom, but Mom's earnest eyes won Dad over.

While Mom and Dad were trying to explain what was going on, I took a few glances at the pair of heterochromatic children. They dozed off as they felt the warmth of the room heater. Suddenly, their heads bumped into each other's, causing the two to be awake in an instant.

Then, they continued to stare absentmindedly at the heater. Sometimes, they stole glances at all of us, yet whenever their eyes locked with mine, they quickly shifted their gazes elsewhere.

.........Cute, like small animals!

*AHEM!*

So... Apparently, when Dad asked my opinion about whether I would welcome a new sibling or not... Around that time, Dad heard the rumor of children who were related to Hartmann house.

Of course, Dad also consulted about it with Mom. Of the possibilities.

Yet, since there was no clarification or solid evidence yet, he hadn't really informed us. He wanted to inform us when he could make sure of the intel's credibility, in fear that it might be a false rumor and our excitement of getting new addition to the family would be shattered.

He was also afraid this might be a trap to lure our family out. As expected, there were people who knew of our abilities and targeted us. Not for a good cause, I heard.

In other words... The pair of children weren't Dad's illegitimate children!