Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 80

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 80
Lucian ultimately couldn’t contain his excitement and sought out Aiden.
It seemed Tania was currently receiving instruction from her etiquette tutor.
He stood guard outside Tania’s Room with evident boredom.
Upon spotting Lucian, Aiden politely turned him away.
“Young Master, I’m afraid entry is not permitted at the moment. The Young Mistress is currently in her lessons.”
“No, that’s not it. I came to see you, Aiden.”
“…You came to see me?”
“Yes.”
Aiden noticed that Lucian was speaking to him with formal politeness.
What could this be about that warranted such careful speech?
Concern washed over him in waves.
Lucian had already suffered at the hands of his biological father once before…
So it was possible he might be hiding something else.
“I’m currently tasked with protecting the Young Mistress, so it’s difficult for me to leave my post. Would it be acceptable to speak here?”
No evasion. Just the straightforward manner of a knight-protector fulfilling his duty to guard Tania.
Lucian found himself appreciating Aiden all the more for his earnestness.
He was a man of responsibility, unlike certain others.
Lucian felt an inexplicable embarrassment and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I had no idea you and my mother were in such a relationship. When I first heard the rumors, I thought it was ridiculous.”
Realizing that nothing bad had happened to Lucian, Aiden felt relief wash through his chest.
“Ah… So you’ve heard the news.”
“Yes.”
“Young Master, you needn’t maintain such formality with me.”
At that, Lucian startled and waved his hands frantically.
“No! I couldn’t possibly be so casual with someone courting my mother…!”
“…”
Aiden looked down at Lucian with conflicted eyes.
Accepting the Duchess’s proposal to play the role of her lover had seemed fine enough.
But he hadn’t anticipated such complications arising from it.
Seeing how much Lucian had come to rely on the idea that he and the Duchess were lovers, guilt crept into Aiden’s heart.
“Um, well… Aiden.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“We might become family, wouldn’t we?”
At this point, even Aiden—whose emotional responses were more subdued than most—felt beads of sweat forming on his brow.
He barely managed to suppress the urge to evade the question, and forced his reluctant lips to part.
“If the Duchess and I were to marry, then yes, that would be the case.”
“Then… would it be alright if I called you Father?”
It was a question that put Aiden to the test.

✦ ✦ ✦
Evening meals with the Papiope Family were always a cherished ritual.
I noticed that Lucian hadn’t arrived at the Dining Room even though it was well past the usual dining hour.
“Lucian is unusually late today.”
“Hmm. He’s always the first to take his seat. I wonder what’s keeping him.”
We were all expressing our puzzlement at Lucian’s absence when I made a sudden realization.
The place settings were arranged for five people, not four as they should have been.
“Wait, do we have a guest today? There’s an extra place setting here.”
“Oh, that’s because I told the Butler to prepare one more!”
At the sound of that familiar voice, I turned my head to see Lucian dragging Aiden into view by the arm.
My eyes widened in surprise.
Aiden should have been eating in the Servants’ Dining Hall by now, so why had Lucian brought him here?
Looking more closely, Aiden appeared to have been dragged here against his will, his expression deeply uncomfortable.
I couldn’t fathom why Lucian had brought Aiden to the family table.
The mystery was quickly resolved.
Lucian personally seated Aiden at the table.
Then came his explanation, which was utterly absurd.
“Since he’ll soon be joining our family, I thought Father should dine with us in the evenings.”
Pfft—!
Grandfather, who had been drinking water, spat it out across the table.
The Duchess covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling with barely suppressed laughter.
And I, suddenly robbed of my father figure, stared at Lucian with my mouth agape in utter disbelief.
That shameless fool!
I haven’t even been able to call Aiden Father yet, and he’s already doing it!
I felt as though I’d been completely blindsided.
They say the more ignorant one is, the braver one becomes.
I couldn’t help but admire Lucian’s audacity.
“Brother, what do you mean Father? Why would Aiden be your father?”
“Tania, don’t say such unkind things. Aiden will soon be part of our family.”
“What? No, that’s not—!”
My bewilderment was beyond words.
I never expected to be scolded over this.
I’m the one who wants to call Aiden Father more than anyone else!
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Lucian continued his rambling.
“Think about it, Tania. Once Mother marries him, Aiden will become our father anyway.”
“But they’re still just dating. Won’t Aiden feel burdened if you call him Father?”
Yet Lucian responded with complete confidence.
“What do you take me for? Of course I got his permission first!”
“What? Aiden actually gave you permission to call him that…?”
“What? Aiden agreed to that form of address…?”
I stared at Aiden with a face full of betrayal.
He deliberately avoided my gaze and opened his mouth.
“It’s not… wrong, is it?”
“Hah.”
I felt foolish—all this time I’d harbored resentment for not being allowed to call Aiden “Father,” yet he granted it so easily.
If he would permit such a title so readily, why had he been so harsh with me?
He didn’t seem like the Aiden I knew.
Perhaps it was something I could have overlooked lightly. But I couldn’t bring myself to do so.
Emotions swirled within me like a tempest.
Then memories of my childhood surfaced, and suddenly my feelings overwhelmed me.
[Overlaying the current perspective onto Perspective 1.]
The moment I instinctively saved the perspective, unwanted tears began streaming down my face uncontrollably.
“How could you do this?”
My voice trembled pathetically.
“You scolded me so severely, saying I couldn’t call you that, yet you granted Lucian permission immediately?”
“Tania…?”
“Even though you knew how desperately I wanted this!”
I knew that the current Aiden didn’t possess that memory.
I knew he hadn’t done those things in this timeline.
But there was no one else I could ask but Aiden.
Why were you so strict only with me?
Of course, in this perspective, he had intended to adopt me as his daughter.
He had even permitted me to call him “Father.”
Yet the memory burned far more vividly in my mind—of Aiden sternly forbidding me from calling him that.
I pushed myself up from my seat and left the Dining Room.
I knew my family would be bewildered by my reaction, but I could always reset the perspective later.
Right now, my emotions mattered more.
Regardless of whether the servants stared, I moved wherever my feet took me.
When I spotted a suitable corner to hide myself, I ducked into it, crouched down, and wept bitterly.
How long had I been crying?
A shadow fell over my head, and a low voice reached my ears.
“Tania, I’m sorry.”

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