A question I got from Twitter: What would Gallerian do about Nemesis if Ma hadn't kept the pregnancy secret and stayed instead of leaving?
Sadly, in this scenario, I do think he would want to keep himself as Nemesis's father a secret. In the scenario where she has been abandoned, I think he would adopt her. Someone needs to take responsibility, and if Ma is nowhere to be found, I don't think he could deny himself the need to take action. He would feel like it is his fault she exists. I can't see him as the person to put blame onto a child who has no control over having been born.
With this scenario, it's different however. He's already expressed his paranoia about having his reputation torn, which is a main reason he doesn't get a divorce. If Nemesis became public knowledge, it would cause a scandal and he would be labeled as a cheater. I don't think anyone would see him as a victim (aside Bruno). I don't think he sees himself as a victim either.
Firstly, his relationship with Ma is already extremely abusive. She has, in my opinion, groomed him, and could easily shift the blame onto him as he's the man. With making him believe the abuse is an "affair", that he's a cheater, and that Nemesis being conceived is his fault, she would have a lot of blackmail to use against him. She could essentially make him do whatever she wants. If he tried to make any demands on what to do about Nemesis that Ma doesn't agree with, she could easily threaten him.
She did say however that she did not have any intention of ruining Gallerians life in a chapter. Therefore, I do think she would agree on keeping it a secret. However, I still think she would take any opportunity to use it against him if it would benefit her plans. Maybe not to the point of making him resent her however, she would still want to be labeled as a friend for him. That's how her manipulation works against him: she's someone he trusts. Furthermore, the pregnancy being public knowledge would cause hinders for her as well. I mean, she wanted the child just to use it for Levias soul. I'm not sure how she would go about it in this scenario, leaving the child to die would be more difficult. As for Gallerian, despite wanting to keep it a secret, he would not agree on leaving Nemesis for dead.
There is also Mira, who already suspects Gallerian of cheating. She would notice something is off, even if he kept it a secret. Gallerian with this knowledge might act differently as he's plagued with shame. His marriage would become rockier with Mira knowing he keeps something from her, and him refusing to say what it is.
Luckily, Bruno is still in the picture. I don't think Bruno would stand aside and just watch Gallerian walk into a trap. He'd do his best to keep Ma away from ruining Gallerian, like what he did in canon. So it would be like: Gallerian is in danger to Ma and Ma is in danger to Bruno. But I think Ma would find a way to blackmail Bruno too, I don't think she would let herself stay in a position of disadvantage.
If the word were to slip however, Gallerian would be ruined. Because unlike the other adoption scenario, he would also be blamed for keeping it a secret: labeled a scum and a coward. It would cause a massive scandal that might even risk him losing his job, as at this time he's not the director of DSB.
Speaking of DSB, I wonder if Hanma would still be the director in this scenario? Because Ma had to leave (other than being threatened by Bruno) due to the world police finding out about her and Hanma working for "Elluka". So I guess in this scenario the world police never tried to arrest them, which means Hanma is still the head judge. And that means that Ma also has power over what could happen to Gallerian in his job. Would Hanma keep Gallerian even though the scandal or would he fire him? I'm not too sure about that.
This is such an interesting what if. If everyone has more to add onto it feel free to I would love to hear what other people think could happen. There's a lot of characters to consider into this other than simply Gallerian. Example, how would Gandalf feel about Gallerian having become a "cheating man"? How would Mira's family react to Gallerian ruining Mira's image alongside it all?
As well, if Gallerian managed to keep it all a secret, how would Nemesis feel when growing up and being a "bastard child"? How would Ma treat Nemesis in this? I feel like this question sparked a rabbit hole for me lol.
