Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 110

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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 110
Caught up in the whirlwind of preparing the Department Store’s grand opening, I suddenly realized my birthday had arrived.
The moment I woke that morning, Lena whisked me away to bathe, apply makeup, and select a dress before I found myself standing at my birthday banquet.
As I mechanically received congratulations from countless guests, I finally managed to steal a moment of respite.
My parents, spotting me resting in a corner, approached me.
“You look exhausted, Tania.”
“Yes. It’s been quite some time since I’ve met with so many people.”
Truthfully, I would have preferred to spend the day quietly with my family.
But since this was my coming-of-age birthday, I couldn’t simply let it pass.
At least Father and Lena had taken care of the banquet preparations on my behalf, for which I was grateful.
I gazed at the sheer number of guests filling the Banquet Hall with weary eyes.
It seemed every noble in the Empire had been invited.
“Mother and Father had a modest wedding with just the people of Papiope, didn’t you? Isn’t this scale a bit excessive?”
“We were already in a common-law marriage, so there was no need to make a grand affair of it. Isn’t that right, Aiden?”
Mother narrowed her eyes into crescents and wrapped her arm around Father’s waist, and he naturally embraced her in return.
“That’s right, Tania. It’s your coming-of-age birthday banquet—isn’t it wonderful to be celebrated by so many people?”
A few years ago, after the monster subjugation ended, my parents held a modest wedding ceremony.
They had been in a common-law marriage for some time, and the simplicity was also out of consideration for Father, who was not of noble birth.
But that damned Emperor and Princess attended their wedding simultaneously, turning it into a spectacle.
A wedding with two members of the Imperial Family in attendance was exceedingly rare.
As a result, the Golden Silver Mercenary Company subsequently joined Papiope’s Black Knights.
When Aiden’s true identity as the Mercenary King was revealed, society erupted in what they called the romance of the century.
The Duke of Papiope, who had remained unmarried for so long, had fallen for a commoner-born Mercenary King.
Everyone was absolutely captivated.
Of course, the Emperor seemed to have quite a deep friendship with Mother.
And since I had also built a rapport with the Princess through ventures like the catalog business, their attendance at the wedding wasn’t particularly unusual, but…
In any case, they should have at least attended discreetly.
I watched the Princess dancing affectionately with Lucian in the center of the Banquet Hall.
“It seems some people are more focused on romance than congratulating me on my birthday.”
What was amusing was that the Princess and Lucian had locked eyes at that very wedding.
Since neither the Princess nor Lucian particularly enjoyed banquets, it was apparently their first time truly facing each other.
Everyone else seemed to date and marry so effortlessly, while I remained unable to do the same—how sorrowful that felt.
At my words, Mother glanced at the two of them and giggled, covering her mouth.
“Let them be. They’re at such a wonderful age.”
“I’m envious.”
As I sighed softly and gazed at them, Mother tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“Speaking of which, what about Elysion? Haven’t you two progressed yet?”
I could easily predict what Mother was getting at, but I feigned ignorance and asked back.
“…What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about dating.”
“….”
“It’s strange. You two have been acting like lovers since way back, so I thought you’d start dating any day now. Yet neither of you has confessed.”
“Tania, if you keep dragging your feet like this, you might lose Elysion to another young lady.”
Father, who had been listening to the conversation the whole time, added his own remark.
That was odd.
Mother aside, Father had always seemed somewhat concerned about how close I was getting with Elysion.
“Don’t most fathers feel sad when their daughters start dating?”
“Because I can trust Elysion.”
“Really?”
I blinked my eyes rapidly.
It was quite unexpected that Father approved of him.
“Why do you think that way?”
“That boy was mature in his thinking from a young age. Moreover… I like how he prioritizes you in every aspect of his life.”
“Ah….”
That was true. Though Elysion often grumbled in words, he always put me first in his actions.
Thanks to that, despite being mentally younger than me, he felt remarkably mature—like someone older.
Honestly, I had already concluded that I would never meet anyone better than Elysion in my lifetime.
Father suddenly placed his hand on my shoulder and lowered his voice as if imparting wisdom.
“Tania, after observing for a long time, I’ve determined that every man except Elysion is a wolf. Make sure you hold onto him.”
Listen, Father. Isn’t that usually what people say about all men except their own father?
Without realizing it, Elysion had failed the beast test and passed the human one.
“Hmm, then is Father a wolf too?”
Mother answered my teasing question instead.
“Your mother vouches for it. Your father is definitely a wolf. Especially at night—mmph…!”
“Viviana!”
At Mother’s cheeky remark, Father hastily covered her mouth. His ears had flushed slightly in embarrassment.
At his reaction, Mother’s face filled with mischief instead.
She brushed his hand away with a crackling sound and insisted in a suggestive tone.
“Why not? Tania’s all grown up now, so I can say at least this much.”
“Tania, excuse us for a moment.”
Father quickly fled the room with Mother, as if making an escape.
“You two are so affectionate. I wonder if a younger sibling might be born.”
Though remembering the Duchess’s firm declaration that she would never have children made that possibility unlikely.
I sighed softly, watching the two of them disappear into the distance.
In truth, I had plenty to say about why Elysion and I hadn’t started dating yet.
Rather, it was I who found it hard to believe that I still wasn’t his lover.
It’s certain that Elysion likes me. But….
“Why won’t he confess?”
Of course, if I confessed first, the matter would be resolved.
But doing so would weigh on my conscience.
The age difference between Elysion and me was quite substantial, after all.
Even calculating just the major time I’d turned back, it was twelve years.
Even excluding the three-year age gap between us, when I factored in all the smaller increments of time I’d rewound, the difference would be at least ten years or more.
In any case, that meant if the younger one didn’t confess first, I would become a scoundrel.
In other words, I had no choice but to wait for Elysion to confess.
“Could it be that he was waiting until I became an adult?”
It was a reasonably logical deduction.
If that were true, I actually found it rather gentlemanly and endearing.
But now that I’d come of age, I wanted to accelerate things with Elysion like a runaway locomotive.
I hoped he would confess as soon as possible.
I was lost in thought, staring at the floor and contemplating how to push him along, when—
A massive shadow fell across me.
I lifted my head eagerly, thinking it might be Elysion, and—
“Miss Tania, would you grant me the honor of the first dance?”
Meeting those silver-gray eyes, I instinctively flinched and took a step back.
“Ah… Duke Hugo.”
I never imagined that he, who rarely left his residence, would attend my birthday celebration.
My mind seemed to stall, and I couldn’t think of a proper excuse to refuse, which left me flustered.
Just as I was deliberating whether to take his offered hand—
Elysion appeared from nowhere, grasped my wandering hand, and stepped in front of Hugo.
“My apologies. The first dance is already promised to me. Isn’t that right, Tania?”
He turned to me and winked with one eye. The tension drained from me, and my stiffened lips finally moved.
“…Yes, that’s right. We promised long ago that my first dance as an adult would be with Elysion. I’m sorry, Duke.”
Hugo’s head tilted slowly.
“I see. Then, once your dance is finished, I shall—”
“Let’s go, Tania.”
Elysion deliberately cut off Hugo’s words and led me toward the center of the Banquet Hall.
Duke Tempus…
It seemed clear he was about to ask for the second dance.
Elysion had quickly noticed and blocked him.
Once Elysion brought me to the center of the Banquet Hall, he began to position himself for the dance but paused briefly.
“Can I hold your waist?”
“Why are you asking the obvious? You have to hold it to dance.”
I casually placed his hand on my waist without hesitation.
“Y-you! You’re just letting an unrelated man’s hand rest on your waist like that—!”
“You’re not an unrelated man.”
Aren’t you?
I closed my eyes into crescents and smiled broadly.
Elysion’s face flushed red like a ripe apple.
At this rate, he should catch on and confess soon.
I subtly signaled my understanding and naturally fell into step with him, matching the rhythm of the music.
“By the way, I’m in a bind. After we finish dancing, Duke Tempus will probably ask me for a dance next.”
“After we finish dancing…”
“Hmm?”
“Would you like to go to the Terrace and get some fresh air?”
It was nothing but an utterly ordinary remark.
Yet I felt an instinctive sense that something was different.
His attire seemed far more carefully chosen than at other banquets.
His eyes, which usually held such ease, now betrayed a subtle tension, and even his voice carried a guarded quality.
Moreover, the Terrace was a place lovers often used to whisper sweet confessions to one another.
By this point, I couldn’t help but understand.
Today was the day Elysion would confess his feelings to me.

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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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