One Day, I Picked Up a Mom - Chapter 80

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One Day I Picked Up a Mother – Episode 80

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The dining table where we sat facing each other after a month was very quiet.

Only the restrained sounds of cutting with knives and lifting glasses could be heard.

Occasionally, the presence of servants bringing and clearing dishes was all that disturbed the heavy silence that had settled.

Only after the meal was finished and Northbrant lightly wiped his mouth did Adelaide slowly open hers.

“Ludrio’s wedding is in a few days.”

Northbrant finally slowly raised his head and looked at Adelaide.

“I came down to ask you to join us that day.”

Northbrant put down the napkin he was holding. The sound of the neatly folded cloth dropping onto the table sounded particularly cold.

“You’ve made a pointless trip.”

“Darling.”

“Tsk, I had my suspicions.”

Northbrant suddenly frowned deeply. Thick veins bulged on the back of his hand.

“One month. For a whole month, you left me in this silent castle without a single word of contact while openly protecting that woman and Ludrio Rharhart.”

Northbrant’s voice simmered low. He took a deep breath as if trying to suppress his anger and exhaled very slowly.

“You made me a laughingstock with your ridiculous whims, and now you come down here to say what?”

“…”

“You’re planning to make me a complete spectacle. It seems I’m invisible to you now.”

Northbrant turned his head away as if swallowing a bitter laugh.

“As you said, educating and bringing in the lady of the house is your domain. But.”

“Northbrant.”

“Deciding whether or not to set foot in that wedding venue is entirely my prerogative.”

When he turned his head again, his eyes held a terribly businesslike look, wiped clean of emotional turmoil.

“My mind hasn’t changed, so go back upstairs.”

Then he stood up from his seat.

The sharp scraping sound against the floor rang out like drawing a line between the two of them.

“Unlike you, I have no talent for whims.”

Step by step.

Adelaide closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh as Northbrant left the dining room without looking back.

* * *

“Yes, yes, yes, yes.”

A laugh naturally escaped at Iban circling around me while making short exclamations.

“Yes, yes, yes-!”

Iban, who looked particularly round thanks to his fur coat and wrapped scarf, kept bouncing around like a rubber ball.

Until his face turned bright red.

“Iban, are you that happy?”

Iban looked up at me and tilted his head sideways. Then he lifted one foot.

The child balanced himself as if about to fall and grinned broadly.

“Yes, I’m happy!”

It was a firm and energetic answer.

“When I go there-.”

“Yes.”

I answered while bending my knees slightly to the servant putting on my hat.

“I want to see the tiger cub first.”

“Tiger cub?”

“Yes, yes, Prince Gaien and Prince Osric said they only heard about it but haven’t seen it.”

The servant who had firmly tied the velvet bonnet with strings to block the cold wind stepped back as if finished.

After putting on a cloak over the thick burgundy dress and even fluffy fur gloves, the preparations were finally complete.

“Alright, let’s go see it first.”

“Hehe, yes!”

The child eagerly grasped the hand I extended.

Even while leaving the room, going down the stairs, and passing through the entrance, Iban kept swinging our joined hands back and forth.

Getting greatly excited over small things and being particularly cheerful.

That pure vitality unique to young children who act as if they’ve gained the whole world over trivial matters spread a smile similar to Iban’s across my face.

“…”

Then, without knowing I’d run into Ludrio.

Our eyes met directly and I hesitated briefly before nodding in greeting.

Wearing a thick Inverness coat with a cape added to the shoulders, he stood blankly in front of the carriage holding an intricately crafted silver cane.

“It’s cold, why aren’t you getting in first?”

He answered briefly to my words meant to break the awkward silence.

“…Right.”

White breath scattered between Ludrio’s lips.

He quietly observed Iban and me, then gave a short nod.

“Let’s get in.”

At his signal, a servant opened the carriage door.

Ludrio stepped aside and helped Iban and me board the carriage.

Finally, when he got into the carriage and closed the door, silence immediately rushed in.

His cool scent and the silence seemed to creep up from my toes.

I fidgeted with the edge of my cloak before speaking first.

“Iban wants to see the tiger cub first.”

Iban, who had become much quieter, just nodded silently beside me.

Even so, he kept swinging his short legs back and forth.

“I see.”

Ludrio’s gaze slowly turned toward Iban.

“I remember hearing about it before. The first tiger born in the Empire.”

When his low voice echoed in the narrow carriage, Iban’s eyes sparkled even more with anticipation.

“That was already… about two months ago, I think.”

Iban clearly seemed to have a lot he wanted to say, but couldn’t manage to say much and just leaned against my arm. Almost as if hiding his face from Ludrio.

‘He’s being particularly shy today.’

I stroked Iban’s head once and changed the subject.

“Even though it’s cold, there will still be many people there, right?”

It seemed like the tiger’s birth was quite a big event.

Surely today would also be crowded with visitors who came to see the tiger cub and other animals.

“No…”

Ludrio slowly blinked.

“It’ll just be us.”

“What?”

Iban seemed as surprised as I was by Ludrio’s words.

The child’s feet that had been kicking the air stopped completely.

“Just us?”

“…I thought that would be better for looking around.”

Ludrio slowly answered while checking on the child and me as the surprised child asked.

‘…My goodness, is this like a private viewing?’

Who would have thought I’d personally experience the display of wealth that male leads in novels often showed.

Somehow I felt very strange.

Just as I was once again realizing that he was the duke of the Empire’s greatest House of Rharhart.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Ludrio silently readjusted his grip on the silver handle of his cane, then slowly opened his mouth.

“The outing you wanted, this kind of thing… wasn’t it?”

Unlike usual, he spoke in sparse, intermittent words.

“No. I hadn’t thought of it, so it’s sudden, but…”

I turned my head toward Iban.

The child seemed even more excited instead.

“Iban likes it too, right?”

“Yes.”

Iban nodded vigorously.

“…That’s a relief.”

A relief.

At those words, I turned my head again to look at him.

Of course, I had also thought it would be a zoo outing amidst bustling crowds.

My thorough warnings to Iban about not letting go of my hand and holding it tight throughout became useless in an instant.

But if we could go around comfortably, there was no reason not to be happy about it.

As I pondered over his relief, Ludrio turned his gaze toward the window.

“…Have you been to a zoo before?”

When he turned his head back to us, it was after Iban’s question had been thrown out.

“No, it’s my first time too.”

“Really?”

Iban thought for a moment, then began telling Ludrio the same things he had been telling me since returning from the banquet.

What animals would be there.

What they looked like.

What their personalities were like.

The child continued speaking softly.

Ludrio nodded at the child’s chatter and quietly listened with attention.

His occasional low responses made Iban increasingly enthusiastic.

Perhaps excited that Ludrio was focusing on his words.

The child now moved his hands this way and that, imitating animals in front of Father just as he had done for me that night.

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