Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 37

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

Chapter 37
Aiden’s happiness seemed destined to last forever.
Yet when Tania had barely reached fourteen months old, cracks began to form in that happiness.
Aiden left the child in the care of the kind Neighbor Grandmother and set out to the Nearby Town to gather supplies.
The Village where he lived with the child was so remote it didn’t even appear on maps, so he had to visit other settlements to procure food.
Upon returning from his usual shopping, Aiden noticed something unsettling—the Village was eerily quiet.
Though sparsely populated and naturally serene, smoke always rose from chimneys as evening approached.
Yet now, no smoke curled from any home.
It was an ominous sign.
Aiden’s heart turned to ice.
The thought that the child might be in danger seized him with overwhelming dread.
His hand moved to the sword hilt he always wore at his waist as his eyes swept the surroundings urgently.
Without hesitation, he hurried toward the Neighbor Grandmother’s house.
Peering through the window, he saw Tania alone in the living room, playing with her hands on the rug.
It was far too peaceful.
Upon confirming the child’s presence, Aiden burst through the door without bothering to knock.
As if waiting for this moment, countless attacks descended upon him.
Clang—! Clang, clang!
Sharp metallic sounds rang out in rapid succession.
He parried the attacks with composure, then immediately turned his body toward the child.
Securing her safety was his first priority.
But the moment one of the Assassins caught sight of Aiden’s face, he swung his blade at the child.
“My baby!”
Desperation seized Aiden, and he threw himself forward without hesitation.
As he gathered the child into his arms, the blade fell toward him.
He tried to create distance, but complete evasion was impossible.
Slash.
A long vertical wound opened across Aiden’s left eye.
Blood streamed down, soaking his shirt.
Fortunately, the cut wasn’t deep enough to damage his eye.
The young daughter, raised without shadows, didn’t understand the situation at all—she simply laughed with delight because her father was holding her.
Aiden rose to his feet with the child cradled in his arms.
From his embrace, Tania reached out toward the Assassins visible over his shoulder.
“Doggy, doggy!”
She apparently mistook the people in dark clothes for a large dog.
At the sight of the child’s adorable face and innocent voice, even the Assassins flinched for a moment.
Aiden didn’t miss that opening and swung his blade.
He kept the child’s face buried against his chest so she wouldn’t witness the gruesome scene.
Once her safety was secured, the rest became simple.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he cut down the Assassins who rushed toward him.
When the assassins fell without landing a single blow, scattered like autumn leaves in the wind, it became clear that even they recognized Aiden would be beyond their capacity to handle.
One of the assassins cried out urgently.
“We’re retreating now to preserve our lives! Confirming his appearance and the child’s existence is sufficient!”
Those who had held their blades toward me threw something as if they’d been waiting for this moment.
Smoke bombs.
“Where do you think you’re running to?”
Aiden drew upon his aura and unleashed a simultaneous barrage of sword strikes at the fleeing assassins.
The attacks were precise, calculated from the positions he’d memorized.
“Kgh!”
“Kaaaagh!”
As the smoke cleared entirely, my vision filled with the sight of corpses scattered carelessly throughout the house.
The only sound that filled this place was the child’s ragged, labored breathing.
“Ugh….”
Apparently restless, the child squirmed in my arms.
Aiden gently patted the child’s back while regarding the corpses with cold, lifeless eyes.
The fact that they’d discovered his location meant one thing: ‘that person’ had learned his true identity.
Fortunately, he’d killed all those who had seen the child’s face.
This meant ‘that person’ still didn’t know the color of the child’s hair or eyes.
Urgency seized his heart.
After arranging a simple funeral for the villagers, Aiden set fire to everything, burning the entire Village to ash.
As Aiden left the Village, he fell into deep contemplation.
“Tania….”
“Papa!”
The innocent child laughed brightly, her small hands grasping at the air.
Aiden smiled as if he might weep, pressing his lips to the child’s forehead.
Tania was now in danger simply by being with him.
Living together was itself proof that she was the child born between them.
He had to entrust the child to someone else.
Even as Aiden despaired at the reality of having to part with his daughter, he walked forward silently and resolutely.
Because he had to keep Tania alive.

✦ ✦ ✦
(Seven years later, present day)
The next morning.
As soon as I returned to Duke Papiope’s Mansion, I went to the office to greet the Duke.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome home, Tania. Did you have a proper farewell with your guardian?”
“Hehe, thanks to you, I got to say goodbye to my guardian one last time and brought back my belongings.”
“Though I called it a final farewell, do visit her often. One must forget vengeance, but gratitude should be remembered eternally.”
The Duke was speaking to me as if teaching life lessons to her own child.
I was grateful to have someone with such a righteous heart as family.
I nodded brightly with a radiant smile.
“Yes!”
“What a good girl you are.”
“By the way, what should I do now at the Mansion?”
Noticing my enthusiasm, the Duke chuckled softly and crossed her legs leisurely.
“So much has changed in an instant. I’ll give you a month to adapt to the Mansion as a young lady of the house.”
“…Does that mean?”
“Your various educational lessons as a young lady will begin after a month. The teachers need time to be selected and invited.”
It was an unexpected benefit.
I already had quite a bit of work piling up since entering Duke Papiope’s Mansion.
Noticing that the corners of my mouth had lifted slightly, she quickly added:
“Of course, I’m not telling you to just play around.”
“Ah.”
For a moment, I lost control of my emotions and made a slip of the tongue, quickly covering my mouth with a gasp.
Fortunately, the Duke found me adorable and simply laughed more warmly.
“During this month, wander through the Mansion, observe the people, and recruit your own retinue.”
“…My own people?”
“Yes. They’ll be the ones closest to you, so it’s only right that you choose them yourself. You’ll personally select both your dedicated guard knight and your lady’s maid.”
A system of human intelligence, indeed.
It was a considerate gesture from the Duke.
Since I was adopted three years later than Lucian, my eldest brother, my position in the Mansion was bound to be precarious…
“However, you must also obtain the consent of those who will become your guard knight and maid. It’s a glorious position to be a young lady’s attendant, but surely some will be unwilling.”
“Yes, I understand!”
I answered with a salute, pressing the edge of my hand sharply to my forehead.
My guard knight was already decided, and I would carefully observe candidates for my dedicated maid over the coming month.
“Then may I take my leave?”
“Ah, Tania. Come closer to me for a moment.”
Without understanding why, I approached her. The Duke suddenly lifted me up and placed me on her lap.
Bewildered, I gazed up at her with my mouth slightly open.
Then she poked my cheek with her index finger and made a request in a tender voice.
“Can you show Mother your Ability?”
“My ‘Foresight’ power, you mean?”
“Yes. I’ve heard that seeing the distant future costs your lifespan, but just enough that it won’t harm yours. I’m curious about your Ability too.”
Ah.
So that’s why she suddenly initiated physical contact—now I understood her true motive.
Duke Papiope intended to replicate my Ability.
The fact that the Papiope Ducal Family’s hereditary Ability was replication remained a closely guarded secret.
The public believed the Papiope Ability to be illusion.
That way, regardless of what power she wielded, any manifestation could be dismissed as mere hallucination.
I knew this truth because she had revealed her Ability directly to me in my previous timeline.
Duke Papiope had openly disclosed her power, stating that the line of Ability Users with replication would end with her generation.

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