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[So, there are countless choices~ You can always stick to your original plan.]
'Then why did you bring up Lilia? Are you saying I can actually help her?'
[Can't you?]
'You're pushing me into a pit of fire...'
[The flapping of a butterfly's wings never stops. Your very existence is helping her, isn't it?]
[Look up.]
[Allen.]
Allen froze, sensing something. He slowly raised his head.
At the dining table, Zenith and Rudeus had already turned their gazes toward him. Paul, sitting beside them, wore a complex expression of shock, disbelief, and even a hint of discomfort, his eyes firmly locked on Allen.
The palpable sense of accusation surrounded the "outsider."
Allen opened his mouth, helplessly meeting their gazes.
Clearly, his attempt to sneak away from the table after the incident, combined with his conflicted facial expressions and seemingly prepared demeanor, had immediately drawn suspicion onto him—a character who didn't belong in the original storyline.
This extra male figure—Allen, who didn't look like a child, was nearly ten years old in this precocious world. His physique, fully developed under the swordsman template, even his aura when using combat energy was as unyielding as steel. And then...
There was also Rudeus's memory of Allen's somewhat unusual interactions with Mrs. Somaire.
[See? The current situation is...]
Allen, staring at their expressions, answered the system's question in a daze. But due to his overwhelming shock, he accidentally spoke aloud.
"So... I'm a father again?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the room fell into dead silence.
At this moment, Lilia, who had been keeping her head down, finally noticed the strange atmosphere. She looked up in confusion, following everyone's gaze to Allen, who was now hurriedly covering his mouth by the wall.
Their eyes met.
Only the sound of the candle flickering in the air remained.
[Turning the tide at the critical moment!]
[At this very moment, among countless choices, the host has used his undeniable charisma to immediately curb the conflict in the original storyline, saving Paul from being slapped, cowering on the ground, and losing face as the head of the household.]
[You are Paul's savior!]
'Get lost!!!!!'
Allen, looking at Lilia's confused and bewildered expression, felt his mind go blank.
'What the hell is all this?!'
Just then, under Allen's stunned gaze, Zenith slowly stood up. She looked at Allen in a daze, then let out a bitter laugh.
"Allen... I never expected you to be the first to step forward..."
Allen felt his hair stand on end. He glanced at Paul, who was staring at him with a mix of horror and confusion, completely at a loss.
Then Zenith moved. She sighed softly and stood up.
The sound of the chair scraping against the floor was especially piercing in the silence.
And then.
"Slap!"
A loud slap echoed through the room. Zenith didn't even look at Paul as she backhanded him across the face.
Paul, clutching his cheek, turned to Zenith in shock.
Zenith coldly met his gaze.
"Paul, how long are you going to hide behind a child? Do you even have the courage to take responsibility? Allen's completely nonsensical statement—how long are you going to take to react?"
Paul was stunned for a moment before regaining his composure.
'There's no way Allen could be involved with Lilia. What's wrong with me? Have I lost all sense of responsibility as a man in my panic?'
His face fell, and he clutched his head, ready to admit his mistake.
But then he heard Zenith's soft, almost ethereal voice, like a balloon floating in the air, devoid of any grounding.
"...Forget it. In your eyes, the promises you once made to me were just empty words..."
With that, Zenith turned and walked upstairs to her bedroom. The door slammed shut behind her. Only then did Rudeus snap out of his daze.
Because of Allen's interference, Rudeus's attention had been diverted, and he hadn't had a chance to act before Zenith left.
Lilia, who had lowered her head again, realized that Allen's outburst had been a clumsy attempt to salvage the situation. But Zenith's departure left her visibly unsettled.
She had prepared herself to be scolded, beaten, or even thrown out of the house by Zenith. But she never expected this outcome.
Zenith had just left. Why?
Paul, clutching his head, was now banging it against the table, looking as if the sky had fallen.
Seeing this, Allen, who had failed to become a father, was struck with disbelief.
The current situation was completely different from the original storyline!
In the original story, why did Rudeus have a chance to intervene?
Because after Zenith got angry, seeing Paul's spineless behavior, she immediately took charge and called a family meeting. That gave Rudeus the opportunity to defend Lilia.
But now, instead of calling a family meeting, Zenith had simply gone back to her room?
What was going on?
After some reflection, Allen began to piece together what had happened.
His attempt to take the blame had caused a chain reaction. Paul, who should have immediately admitted his wrongdoing, was too confused to react in time. Instead, Allen had spoken up first, but his hasty claim of fatherhood made no logical sense. And because Allen had been staring directly at Paul, Zenith had instantly concluded that her husband was the culprit.
By this point, Paul hadn't even tried to admit his actions.
Zenith was deeply disappointed in him.
In the original story, Zenith had confessed that she had been pushed to her limit, filled with rage. If things had escalated even slightly, she might have screamed at Lilia to get out, or...
Announced her own departure.
And from the looks of it, that was exactly what had just happened—Zenith was probably upstairs packing her things right now!
The storyline had completely deviated from the original!
Realizing this, Allen quickly turned to Rudeus and spoke urgently.
"Rudeus, do something! Lady Zenith is in a bad state right now!"
Rudeus snapped out of his daze, hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Lilia, who looked as pale as a ghost.
"...The only way now is to pin all the blame on Father... That way, we might still be able to keep Lilia..."
Hearing this, Allen was furious. He kicked Rudeus off his chair, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him up, speaking through gritted teeth.
"Are you out of your mind?! If you do that, she'll feel like she's the one who doesn't belong here! Do you still think this is some kind of family game where everyone gets along? Making Lady Zenith bear the burden alone? How is she supposed to handle that? By leaving the house herself?!"
This was the first time Rudeus had seen Allen so intimidating. He shrank back.
"Then... should we kick Lilia out? But if we just throw her out... she'll die out there in the freezing cold. Wait... Allen, you're good at sweet talk, right? Think of a way to make Mother stay!"
Hearing this, Lilia glanced at Paul, who was still clutching his hair in despair, and her eyes dimmed for a moment. But her words spilled out almost immediately.
"I should be the one to leave... This is the punishment I deserve. Please, make sure..."
"Lilia, I think we should all calm down..."
"Enough!!"
Allen's low, angry shout cut off both Rudeus and Lilia.
He took a deep breath, glanced at the stairs, and quickly ran through his thoughts.
'In the original story, Zenith accepted Lilia because she realized how much Rudeus valued the family. So, does Rudeus need to show his commitment to the family again here?'
'No! That's not the root cause... The root cause is the "family's attitude"! She couldn't bear to see Rudeus, who cared so much about the family, suffer. Ultimately, she's someone who deeply values family. Like father, like son.'
He glanced at Paul, who was still slumped over the table, looking as if the world had ended.
'Paul only panicked because he sensed the family might fall apart. He's completely lost his ability to think rationally because he's so scared.'
'If family is what matters most... then the best way to turn this around is...'
Allen's eyes narrowed as a realization flashed through his mind. He quickly spoke up.
"Rudeus, do you think your mother really has the will to walk away from this life? Or do you think she doesn't understand her husband at all?"
Paul suddenly lifted his head from the table, staring at the two in confusion.
Rudeus, meanwhile, quietly watched Allen. He sensed that Allen already had a solution, and it was better to listen than to interrupt.
Sure enough, Allen didn't wait for Rudeus to answer. He quickly continued.
"You know she can't bear to leave, and I understand your thoughts. You don't want Lilia, a pregnant woman, to be thrown out and die in the cold. So you're trying to shift the blame—whether it's Uncle, who made the mistake, or me, who has the means to do so. As long as there's someone to draw Lady Zenith's anger, you think the issue can be brushed aside, right?"
Rudeus blinked. That was exactly what he had been thinking.
Allen looked him in the eye, his expression sincere.
"Your approach might work, but you're completely ignoring Lady Zenith's feelings. You're forcing your will onto her, making decisions for her. Rudeus, ask yourself, is that right?"
Rudeus's eyes widened.
"I'll tell you, it's not. Uncle is the one who made the mistake, not Lady Zenith! She, Zenith, is the victim here. Why do you think you have the right to make choices for her?!"
Paul, sitting nearby, opened his mouth to say something, but Allen slammed his hand on the table, startling him. Lilia, drawn by the noise, looked at Allen with a lifeless expression.
Allen, however, turned to address all three of them.
"Uncle is worried about how to keep the family from falling apart. Rudeus is worried about not wanting to face the possibility of Lilia being thrown out. And Lilia is worried about how to quickly rid herself of guilt and accept her punishment."
"All three of you are only thinking about your own selfish concerns, trying to solve your own personal dilemmas, without considering Zenith's feelings. Is that really okay?"
The three of them were stunned.
Allen spread his hand in front of them, counting off on his fingers.
"Right now, Uncle and Lilia need to do five things:"
"First: Set aside your selfishness and consider the situation from Lady Zenith's perspective. Don't immediately think about how to steer the situation toward the outcome you want."
"Second: Go upstairs and apologize to Lady Zenith. Beg her for a chance to speak."
"Third: Express your feelings about this family. Do you like the current family atmosphere? What kind of family do you want in the future?"
"Fourth: Ask for Lady Zenith's forgiveness and make promises about how you'll behave in the future."
Allen, seeing the dawning realization in Paul and Lilia's eyes, lowered his last finger and turned to Rudeus.
"Finally: Give the choice back to the victim! Let Lady Zenith decide what happens next. Don't force her to accept a decision made by someone else. That's the greatest respect you can show her."
"Do you understand? Make Zenith feel valued and cherished by her family. Rekindle her hope in 'family.' That's the only way to save this situation. Don't keep ignoring the victim's feelings while trying to achieve your own selfish goals. Forcing her to swallow the bitter pill and deal with it on her own—who the hell made the mistake in the first place?!"
Allen's words, delivered in a rapid-fire manner, hit Paul and Lilia like a barrage. His expression then turned cold, and he ignored their varied reactions, turning to Rudeus with a deep look.
'With this, the setup is complete... Make Zenith feel valued by her family, steering the situation back to the original storyline where she accepted Lilia because of the family's attitude.'
'This is the best solution to the current crisis.'
Allen pointed to the stairs.
"Go. If you wait any longer, she might finish packing."
Rudeus, who had exchanged a glance with Allen, suddenly smiled faintly.
'Allen's still the same... always with the sweet talk...'
'Then, to follow his plan, what I need to do is...'
Rudeus straightened up, his expression turning serious as he looked at Paul, who was still trying to calm himself, and Lilia, who was nervously clutching her clothes, on the verge of tears.
"I think Allen's right. So, Father, Lilia."
He spoke in a deliberately innocent, childlike voice, as if stating the obvious.
"Shall we go?"
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 115 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 40 power stones I will publish the next chapter.