Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 146

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

Episode 3
“Congratulations, you’re pregnant!”
As I watched the physician offer his felicitations, I contemplated the news with remarkable composure.
Well, that’s unexpected.
Of course, not me—Elysion.
That was my first impression upon hearing the pregnancy announcement.
Struck by how oddly unmoved I seemed, I wondered if something was wrong with me, so I turned to regard my companion who had entered the clinic with me.
His face had drained of all color, turning ashen white.

✦ ✦ ✦
I climbed into the carriage with an unsettled feeling, heading toward Duke Papiope’s Mansion.
Though the Household had its own physician, I had deliberately sought out a different clinic—not for any ulterior motive.
I had simply been away on business and, feeling unwell, stopped by the nearest physician’s office.
There, I received news I never anticipated.
“I’ve been taking the contraceptive tea religiously… So there truly is no perfect contraception in this world.”
Then again, with Elysion visiting me every night, it was hardly surprising that new life had found its way through despite the precautions.
He had acted as though he intended to make me pay the price for those decades of celibacy—and now this.
The physician had warned me that I must exercise restraint during early pregnancy.
Indeed, the risk of miscarriage was highest in the initial stages, so utmost care was necessary.
As these thoughts occupied me, Raspi asked in a voice laden with concern.
“Are you well?”
When the physician informed me of the pregnancy, it was not the father—Elysion—who stood beside me, but my escort, Raspi.
Since the situation was unforeseen, I harbored no resentment toward Elysion.
Yet I could not help but feel a peculiar sense of guilt.
And for good reason…
‘Does he still harbor feelings for me?’
I was somewhat concerned for Raspi, who had just learned that the object of his unrequited affection was carrying another man’s child.
As I gazed at Raspi, he seemed to realize what I was thinking and hastily spoke up in explanation, his voice tinged with alarm.
“My congratulations on your pregnancy. I should have rejoiced at the blessing of new life first, but it seems the order of things has become muddled…”
“No, it’s fine. I’m feeling unsettled myself, so you were probably just worried.”
I was grateful that I had left Rosemary, who had been rehired as my maid, and Ron, my aide, behind.
Had those two talkative souls been present together, I would have been too flustered to think clearly.
“Does the child burden you?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t fully understand my own feelings.”
It’s not that I dislike it.
It’s not dislike so much as… my heart feels complicated.
I had vaguely imagined that someday I would marry Elysion, bear his child, and live contentedly together.
But I never expected a child to arrive this quickly, before we were even married.
I found myself envying Earth’s contraceptive systems.
While perfect contraception may not exist anywhere, at least there the methods were more varied and the efficacy rates considerably higher.
“We’ve only been dating for a short while, haven’t even gotten married yet, and I haven’t even experienced a honeymoon….”
Having rushed forward relentlessly to save Father, it was inevitable that I felt regret about what I’d missed.
I’d intended to prepare the wedding slowly after the proposal, but it seemed I’d need to either accelerate the timeline or push it back several years entirely.
“Well, I’m more worried about Elysion than myself, honestly.”
“You think that shameless bastard would reject the child?”
“Raspi, aren’t you being a bit too harsh in your judgment of Elysion?”
Seeing my bewildered expression at his clearly biased personal opinion, Raspi met my gaze without the slightest embarrassment, as if questioning what the problem was.
I eventually gave a light shrug and responded.
“Elysion would be overjoyed about it.”
He’d always said from the beginning that he wanted to live with one daughter, one son, and even a pet dog.
“The problem is….”
I rolled my eyes around before blurting it out.
“My father.”
“Ah.”
After a brief exclamation, a rare, radiant smile appeared on Raspi’s face.
“Lord Aiden seemed quite satisfied with him as a son-in-law. Still, I doubt he’d be pleased with the current situation.”
“I…suppose not?”
Not pleased was putting it mildly.
Elysion might very well be cleaved in two by Father’s blade.
There were several reasons for this….
First, Father had warned me that every man in the world except Elysion was a wolf, and to hold onto him tightly.
That was how much he trusted Elysion.
But what had come of that trust now? There had never been a betrayal quite like this.
There was another aspect to Father’s sense of betrayal.
Currently, Elysion lived in the Magic Tower, while I lived in Duke Papiope’s Mansion.
Since we weren’t yet married, we each lived in our own homes.
Since becoming involved with Elysion, I had never once stayed out overnight.
That was right.
Elysion would teleport to my room every single night, cast a soundproofing spell, and conduct his business.
And in the morning, he’d clean up without leaving a speck of evidence using purification magic.
It was the perfect crime, made possible by his exceptional magical prowess.
The funny part was that he’d then teleport to the Main Gate of the Duke’s Residence and visit formally all over again.
From Father’s perspective, it must have seemed like we were enjoying a pure, innocent courtship.
Without knowing we’d already progressed far beyond that!
Second, I hadn’t even been a year past my coming-of-age ceremony.
In other words, from my parents’ viewpoint, their daughter—who’d only just begun to mature—was now pregnant.
A child bearing a child, quite literally!
Of course, Elysion and I both remembered the repeated time regressions, so if we counted mental age, we should add at least twelve more years.
That would put us well into our thirties, so we weren’t young by any means.
But looking back at the past, my current physical age was certainly young—or rather, quite young indeed.
“I came of age this year.”
Raspi furrowed his brow as if remembering something.
“If I’m not mistaken, he is three years your senior, Miss Tania.”
“Right, that’s true.”
“What a scoundrel.”
I had been about to defend Elysion, but seeing his ominous expression, I quietly closed my mouth.
It felt like a preview of how Father would react.
…In truth, if I counted my memories from my past life, I was the older one.
Only by excluding my memories of living on Earth could Elysion be considered my senior.
Of course, my preference was for someone older in both body and mental age, so I was rationalizing that he was the senior.
In reality, Elysion’s thoughts ran far deeper than mine, and his heart was far more expansive.
Just the fact that he waited over a decade for my happiness said everything.
Come to think of it, if he spent over a decade waiting, looking only at me, wasn’t he more of a sage than a scoundrel?
“Anyway, Raspi, keep this to yourself for now.”
“If that is your wish, Miss Tania, but may I ask the reason?”
“I heard the risk of miscarriage is higher than expected in early pregnancy. So I thought it best not to spread the word and make a bigger issue of it.”
“Indeed, I understand your concern, Miss Tania. I shall not speak of it even if a blade were at my throat.”
“Well…. I appreciate it, but if it comes to a blade at your throat, you can go ahead and tell.”
After offering my light thanks, I gazed blankly out of the carriage.
It still didn’t feel real.

✦ ✦ ✦
Returning to the Duke’s Residence, I deliberated whether I should tell Elysion now.
The decision came quickly.
I would tell him after a little more time had passed.
Though we’d been thrust into childcare without even properly enjoying our newlywed phase, Elysion desperately wanted a child.
So I wanted to surprise him with the joyful news once the baby had settled securely in my womb.
By then, my own anxious heart would be settled, and I would have steeled myself to raise the child well.
That would surely be the case.
…Probably.
“Tania, are you awake?”
At the familiar voice, I rubbed my eyes and woke.
I had been lying in bed, lost in various thoughts about the pregnancy, and had apparently drifted off without realizing it.
“Just woke up.”
“Sorry. Do you want to sleep more?”
“No. I just dozed off, so it’s fine. By the way, Sion, what time is it?”
“Eleven.”
At the hour well past evening, I let out a small gasp.
When work was busy, I often skipped meals, but now that I thought about it—that I was no longer alone—I felt somewhat guilty.
If I went hungry, how could the child receive proper nutrition?
I was just wondering whether I should eat something now.
Elysion naturally settled onto the bed and began removing his shirt.
The atmosphere suggested he was about to proceed as though it were the obvious thing to do.
I grabbed his hand at the jaw and stopped him.
“Sion, I’m not really in the mood today…. Actually, I won’t be for a while.”
“Huh?”
Elysion, who had seemed excited, looked at me as though the world had crumbled at my refusal.
Then he quickly composed himself and gently stroked my belly.
As his hand moved toward my abdomen without hesitation, I flinched for a moment.
“Are you alright? I’m sorry for not noticing sooner. Your cycle is so irregular that I didn’t think about it—I thought you’d suddenly grown tired of me.”
…That’s not it.

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