Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 104

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 104
When Aiden mentioned having a hidden child, Duchess Papiope simply stared at him without any particular reaction, her gaze piercing and unwavering.
And then she said something that….
“So it was true after all.”
It wasn’t the response Aiden had braced himself for. His eyes trembled with visible panic.
“So it was true? What do you mean by that…?”
“Aiden.”
Duchess Papiope slowly traced her fingers across Aiden’s cheek.
“Did you truly believe no one would suspect you while you displayed such obvious signs?”
“Have I been acting like a father to the child?”
“No. More precisely, it was peculiar how you reacted with such heightened sensitivity whenever anything concerned Tania.”
The moment Duchess Papiope spoke Tania’s name, Aiden’s body stiffened.
“I heard you were merely entrusted with her protection for a brief time…. Yet the bond between you two was remarkably extraordinary.”
As Duchess Papiope’s fingers lingered on Aiden’s cheek, she slid her hand down to grip his jaw.
“Is Tania your biological daughter?”
“…Yes, she is.”
As Aiden admitted that he was Tania’s biological father, he hastily added that Tania bore no fault in this matter.
“But Tania has no knowledge that I am her biological father. I had no intention of deceiving or misleading you, Your Grace.”
“I didn’t need you to tell me that much.”
Duchess Papiope’s deep, crystalline amber eyes fixed upon Aiden.
Facing that gaze, Aiden felt as though everything about him had been laid bare.
He opened his mouth as if to make excuses.
“In truth, I believed Tania and I shared no resemblance whatsoever, so I thought no one would ever discover the truth.”
“You do resemble her.”
…
Aiden quietly recalled the image of the small, adorable Tania in his mind.
That I could resemble this creature.
I found it absurd—I would have believed it even if someone told me we were of different species.
At least, that was how it appeared to me.
Then Duchess Papiope, as if she knew exactly what Aiden was thinking, let out a soft laugh and brushed her fingers across his eyes.
“You both have the same amber eyes.”
“Just because our eye color is similar doesn’t mean….”
“No. That’s not all I meant. Do you realize your gaze changes when you look at Tania?”
“My gaze…?”
“Tender, poignant…. As if you’ve gathered all the compassion in the world and poured it into one person’s eyes.”
“Ah….”
“The eyes of a parent gazing upon their beloved child. I could not help but recognize it instinctively. I grew up watching such eyes.”
Only after hearing Duchess Papiope’s words did Aiden vaguely recall the gaze with which he had been observing Tania all this time.
The guilt of not being able to raise the child confidently as his own.
Yet the boundless joy that filled him each time she called him Father.
Watching my child grow, I felt both the bittersweet ache of time passing and a quiet pride.
Her eyes held a mixture of conflicting emotions all at once.
It was then that Aiden found himself seized by a profound question.
“Then, why have you never pressed me about why Tania’s true parentage has been hidden all this time?”
“Because a man as steadfast and devoted to his daughter as you are must have had compelling reasons for it.”
The Duchess gazed at Aiden with a smile that trembled on the edge of tears.
“What parent would ever want to raise their child as an orphan? Hmm?”
Tears streamed down Aiden’s cheeks.
Those words alone—
They seemed to acknowledge all the hardship I had carried in my heart until now….
It brought me immeasurable comfort.
“But if we are to marry, I would like to hear, at least in broad strokes, how this situation came to be.”
I would prefer that husband and wife keep no secrets from one another.
At the Duchess’s brief wink and added words, Aiden blinked in disbelief.
“You wish to marry me, even knowing that I am Tania’s biological father?”
“Aiden, I think you’re misunderstanding something. I may not have given birth to them, but I am the mother of both children.”
Aiden understood this was a comparison that made little sense, but he said nothing in response.
He could feel the Duchess’s consideration in trying to ease his burden.
“So having a child is not a flaw in the slightest. If anything, it makes me happier that my daughter is also your daughter.”
Aiden bit his lower lip.
Compared to her, bearing the title of Duchess, he felt infinitely inadequate.
What could possibly be appealing about someone like him—a commoner with a daughter in tow?
In truth, Aiden had sworn never to love another woman after his first love ended in failure.
But if there existed someone who could embrace all of his flaws and love him anyway, perhaps that would be enough.
Yet his deliberation was brief.
Aiden resolved to spend his life with her and decided to confess everything from his past.
“I will tell you everything that happened in the past. However, the story of Tania’s biological mother will inevitably come up—is that acceptable to you?”
“Of course. You have no feelings for her anymore, do you?”
“No. Truly, I harbor no emotions for her whatsoever.”
Aiden quietly lowered his gaze, and his long lashes veiled his amber eyes.
“In fact, we parted on very poor terms.”
“It must have been a wound for you then, but I find it reassuring. I have no objections, so tell me now.”
“It will be a long story.”
“Perfect. I was just thinking I needed an excuse to stay nestled in your arms a while longer.”
At those words, Aiden finally could not help but let out a small laugh.
“Thanks to you, my tension has eased somewhat.”
Aiden held the Duchess close and at last began to reveal the past he had never shared with anyone.
“…It was about fifteen years ago.”

✦ ✦ ✦
Rivera, the eldest daughter of the Tempus Duchy.
She received a marriage proposal from Marquis Primula when she came of age.
A young nobleman who had shown interest in her since before she reached adulthood.
The Tempus Family Head viewed the proposal positively, and Rivera realized she would soon be entering into a political marriage with the Marquis.
Rivera wept bitterly and poured out her grievances to her maid.
“Sob, what am I going to do? It seems I’m being sold off into a political marriage after all.”
“Miss, please don’t be so sad. Marquis Primula has no significant flaws in appearance or character.”
With only a few years’ age difference between them, he was hardly a poor match for a political marriage.
But Rivera, who had lived confined within her family’s walls due to her conservative father, found even a political marriage to feel like shackles, and she despised it deeply.
The fact that she would be forced to undergo the Evanesco Ceremony for such a marriage was equally horrifying.
“I thought I would eventually awaken my ability and become an Ability User someday….”
Even among nobility, ability awakening was not guaranteed.
However, nobles controlled the distribution of the ability pool, which was why their awakening probability remained high.
Rivera was one of the nobles who had failed to awaken an ability.
Children of noble families who failed to awaken typically underwent the Evanesco Ceremony before entering into political marriages with members of other families.
It was how they fulfilled their purpose, even so.
Of course, even those who did awaken were forced to undergo the ceremony if their ability proved weak or ambiguous.
“If this is how it’s going to be, I’d rather live the free life of a commoner.”
She buried her face in her pillow and wept for a long time.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to her.
If she fled to another country to escape her father, couldn’t she marry someone she loved and live freely?
…A childishly naive thought.
That way, she wouldn’t even have to undergo the Evanesco Ceremony.
Her father had been a source of terror since childhood, and even living within the same Duke’s Mansion, she rarely encountered him.
Her younger brother Hugo she saw more often, but he resembled their father so closely that she couldn’t bring herself to feel affection for him.
So she harbored no particular regrets.
Once her mind was made up, preparation came swiftly.
Thus, she gathered all her accumulated jewels and money, packed only simple clothing, and ran away from home.
But she wasn’t entirely thoughtless—she first sought out the Golden Silver Mercenary Company.
The job request was for an escort to Edelern, a neighboring kingdom.
However, since she couldn’t be seen by others, only one escort would be assigned.
Upon hearing the details of Rivera’s request, Arthur, the vice-captain of the Golden Silver Mercenary Company, refused without hesitation.
“We cannot accept this request.”
A long-term assignment requiring travel to another country, and escorting a noblewoman alone at that?
No matter how much money was offered, no one would willingly take on such a task.
The members of the Golden Silver Mercenary Company were a group assembled around Aiden alone, which made it all the more so.
Hearing her request refused, Rivera’s face went deathly pale.
This was the only place where she could find a trustworthy mercenary…!
“Please, please help me. I’ll pay any amount you ask! Think of it as saving someone’s life….”
It was precisely when she clung desperately to Arthur.
“I’ll take that commission myself.”
A man appeared from nowhere, volunteering to accept Rivera’s commission.
It was Aiden, the commander of the Golden Silver Mercenary Company.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————