Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 87

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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 87
The Marchioness listened intently to my past, her eyes twisted with despair.
Her breathing grew increasingly ragged, and tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
It was more than simple crying.
She was sobbing as though she had just heard that her own child had been abandoned and forced to live a life of hardship.
The way she clutched her chest and wailed sounded almost like a scream.
It seemed true that she had projected me onto the child she had miscarried.
Didn’t she find it strange that I had died and been resurrected dozens of times?
It appeared she simply interpreted it as a metaphorical expression of psychological suffering.
I hesitated between comforting her or accepting comfort from her, and ultimately handed her my handkerchief.
Her own handkerchief seemed insufficient for the tears she was shedding.
“So please don’t project me onto the child you lost. You wouldn’t want your precious child to live such a life, would you?”
The Marchioness gripped my handkerchief and wept even more sorrowfully.
I had given it to her to dry her tears, but she wasn’t using it for that purpose at all.
After watching her cry for several minutes, I decided to shift perspectives.
I thought there was no need for her to suffer any further.
[Calling Perspective 1.]
I paused briefly at the gap between this perspective and the last, then decided to assess the situation first.
“…Wait. How far did we get in our conversation?”
“Since I’ve been asking all the questions, this time Tania will ask the questions.”
Ah, so that’s where we left off.
What question could I possibly ask?
To buy time, I sipped the tea that had been set on the table and moistened my throat.
But I couldn’t think of any particular question.
I certainly couldn’t suddenly ask what my first meeting with Duchess Papiope was like.
In the end, I simply blurted out whatever came to mind without thinking.
“When did you become so beautiful, Marchioness?”
“Oh my.”
The Marchioness’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth.
Then she broke into a smile, her expression pure and delighted like a child’s.
“It’s wonderful to hear such words from someone so much younger and lovelier than I am, Tania.”
After watching her sob just moments before, seeing her joy now felt strangely bittersweet.
Unexpectedly, my thoughtless remark seemed to have worked, and from that point on, the atmosphere relaxed considerably, and our conversation flowed smoothly.
“I suppose the dress I carefully chose for your visit held some meaning after all.”
“It truly is a beautiful dress.”
“Would you like me to introduce you to the designer of the dress I’m wearing?”
“That would be wonderful, thank you.”
After we finished our conversation, she walked me to where the carriage was waiting.
“Today was so enjoyable, Tania.”
“For me as well. If I had known you were such a warm person, I would have visited much sooner.”
“Will we be able to see each other again next time?”
“Of course. Next time, I’ll invite the Marchioness to visit.”
At that, the Marchioness fidgeted with her hands and asked carefully.
“That… the title ‘Marchioness’ feels a bit stiff. Would it be possible for you to call me by my name instead?”
“Hmm, would it be alright if I called you Rivera?”
“Yes. That’s much better. Thank you for accepting so readily.”
“It’s nothing. Well then, I should be going. Rivera, the weather is getting chilly, so please head inside soon.”
After exchanging final greetings with her, I took Aiden’s outstretched hand and climbed into the carriage.
As I waited for the carriage to depart, I heard the voices of the Marchioness and Aiden outside.
“Are you the escort knight for Miss Tania?”
“…Yes.”
“Please… take good care of Miss Tania and keep her safe.”
“I will protect the young lady well and ensure her safety.”
I let out a small yawn and gazed at the two of them without much thought.
After the brief exchange with the Marchioness, Aiden climbed into the carriage.
Typically, escort knights ride on horseback on either side of the carriage to protect nobility, but I had insisted that he always ride with me instead.
This was especially the case since I rarely took Lena, my maid with the rather large head, out with me.
Lena had wanted to follow me, but…
Wherever I went, she would simply wait endlessly while I attended to my business, and I couldn’t bear to subject her to that repetition.
And I couldn’t very well leave her without protection either.
As the carriage departed and I gazed out the window to pass the time, Aiden broke the silence.
“Tania, what did you discuss with the Marchioness?”
He was someone who normally didn’t pry into what I was doing, so I found it surprising.
Even as I thought this unusual, I opened my mouth to answer.
“Just ordinary conversation. How I’m doing at the Duke’s Residence, the fashionable dresses these days, that sort of thing.”
“…I see.”
“Oh, and at the end, I also mentioned the catalog subscription service I’m preparing. She said she’d be happy to subscribe?”
Of course, when I brought up the catalog, I felt a bit like I was peddling insurance, but…
Well, in the end, I’d secured a big-spending customer, so it worked out.
“I met the Marchioness today, but from next time on, I’m planning to visit young ladies around my age.”
“That’s a good idea, Tania. You should make friends with people your own age.”
“…”
At this point, I couldn’t help but reconsider my image.
Did staying cooped up at home without friends really look that pitiful?
I felt somewhat wronged.
I simply didn’t attend balls or gatherings, but I did visit the Ageratum Merchant Company and the Magic Tower fairly often…
Though I don’t go now, when the twin siblings and Ron were at the Talent Cultivation Institute, I occasionally visited to see them.
Laying it all out like this, I was beginning to understand why my image had become so fixed…
“Tch, and you don’t have anyone you’re close to either, Father.”
As I pouted and pushed out my lips, a small smile played at the corners of Aiden’s mouth.
“I only need you, Tania.”
“Wow! You’re trying to escape that easily?”
There was no foul play quite like this one.
But if he came at me like this, I had something to say too.
“Setting me aside, what about Mother and Lucian? And Grandfather too….”
At that, Aiden’s face clouded with embarrassment.
“Then let’s include the Papiope household.”
“Hmm. I’ll keep it a secret from Mother that you said you only needed me.”
“I’m moved to tears by your kindness.”
“Your words carry no credibility when you say them with eyes so parched and cracked they look ready to weep.”
“Oh, I’ve been caught.”
The Duchess and Aiden maintained an ambiguous relationship still.
It wasn’t quite lovers—there was no physical affection—yet calling them anything less seemed wrong when they so clearly held each other in regard.
At first, I’d tried various methods to create time alone for them, even attempted to help their romance along.
But faced with their continued lukewarm state, I’d long since thrown in the towel.
Still, I was grateful I could call the Duchess Mother and Aiden Father.
What should I call it—a common-law marriage, perhaps?
Even the servants seemed to think of him as the Duchess’s husband.
“By the way, does Mother have no thoughts of a third child?”
“…Cough!”
Aiden looked at me with a rarely flustered expression, then asked in a trembling voice.
“…Do you want a younger sibling?”
“No, I don’t want one. I was just curious. But why do you look like that, Father?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, his face flushed crimson and he shook his head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Wait… Did you think I meant a sibling born between Mother and Father?”
Instead of answering, Aiden buried his face in his hands.
Though it hardly mattered—his ears had turned bright red for all to see.
I didn’t bother hiding my laughter and let it spill out.
“Pfahahaha, I do find a sibling born between Mother and Father rather appealing, you know?”
“…That won’t happen.”
The words came out tightly compressed, and I could feel just how embarrassed he was, which only delighted me further.
The hit landed perfectly.

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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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