Children around six or seven didn't really understand the adult world. They merely copied the half-understood words they heard grown-ups use.
Futaba Tsumugi did not fully understand just what earth-shattering thing she had said. Instead, she nodded smugly.
"Illegitimate child?"
Nagi seemed to have heard the term before.
"That doesn't sound like a very nice status, does it?"
Makoto Ito knew what it meant, but he was too embarrassed to say it aloud.
"It's, you know... Miyuki..."
Tsumugi cupped her hands around her mouth, leaned close to little Miyuki's ear, and whispered, "Your father cheated, and that's how he had an illegitimate child."
"What does cheating mean?"
Although little Miyuki was bright and clever, she did not know much about such matters.
"It means your father fell for another woman behind your mother's back, then secretly had another child."
"Ah..."
Even Miyuki, who was always composed, could not help crying out. She immediately realized that she had been caught peeking at someone and drawing attention, so she hurriedly pulled Futaba Tsumugi aside and asked anxiously, "Is what you said true?"
"If Haruki really looks that much like your father, then it's probably true... But if your mother finds out, that would be bad."
"But isn't Haruki an orphan? He has no parents, so how could he be an illegitimate child?"
"Precisely because he's an orphan, he could be an illegitimate child. He couldn't let anyone know, so he was abandoned at the orphanage."
"I see... That can't be possible, right...?"
Miyuki once again secretly observed Haruki through the crack in the door. The more she looked, the more she felt that Futaba Tsumugi's words made sense.
"What should I do?"
Futaba Tsumugi replied, "Miyuki, you need to handle this carefully. It's best not to let your mother find out."
"Keep