Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 58
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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 58
That was when it happened.
As the saying goes, speak of the tiger and it appears—Lucian’s Attendant finally arrived, fashionably late.
Having placed his bets with practiced confidence, his expression was flushed with excitement.
“Hmm….”
As I observed him, the race time drew near.
Horses began mounting the starting line one or two at a time.
How much time had passed like this?
The moment the atmosphere at the Horse Racing Track reached its crescendo, the whistle signaling the start of the race pierced the air.
The horses at the starting line kicked off the ground and bolted forward in an instant.
The jockeys steadied their postures, moving as one with their mounts.
Each time the horses surged forward with their massive muscles, clouds of dust erupted wildly.
The spectators cheered desperately for the horses they had wagered on.
“If I lose today, I can’t go home!”
“Come on, just do what you always do!”
A thunderous roar unlike anything I had heard before engulfed the arena.
“The energy is incredible….”
“Well, money is on the line, after all.”
I watched the race while taking a decisive bite of the sandwich Lena had handed me.
Some horses surged into the lead early on, while others that had fallen behind in the middle accelerated, creating an intense competition throughout.
The horses numbered 1, 2, and 3 that I had selected in order had poor starts.
While everyone else focused on the horses on the track, I casually surveyed my surroundings and fixed my attention on one person.
Whether I looked elsewhere or not, the race proceeded rapidly.
As the horses rounded the corner and approached the finish line, the race reached its climax.
Clatter, clatter—!
The moment they crossed the finish line, the crowd’s fortunes diverged sharply.
“Kahahaha! I won, I won!”
“Aaah! This can’t be right, why did that one cross first?”
“Ugh, I had a good feeling about today.”
Loud voices of those who had lost erupted from my vicinity. When I turned my gaze toward the sound, Lucian’s Attendant came into view.
“Nooooooooo!!”
He clutched his head and wailed, then locked eyes with me, his expression twisted with fury as he began venting his anger in my direction.
“Didn’t I tell you it was ridiculous?”
“Yeah. You were right.”
Indeed.
The horses numbered 1, 2, and 3 that I had selected remained in the lower ranks, just as Lucian’s Attendant had boasted.
Even horse number 1, which he had claimed would win first place, came in dead last.
When I indifferently acknowledged that his words had been correct, he grew even more heated and shouted.
“What am I supposed to do with my money now? I borrowed every penny I could and put it all in! I even touched high-interest loans I would never normally dare approach!”
“What? When did I ever tell you to follow my lead and bet money? This is ridiculous.”
When Lucian’s Attendant rose threateningly and glared at me with sinister intent, Aiden placed his hand on his sword hilt.
“How dare you show such disrespect to the young lady? If you threaten her even once more, I will not stand idle.”
“Ugh…!”
I watched Lucian’s Attendant stumble backward and retreat, then laughed mockingly at his cowardice.
“So you didn’t trust me in front of me, doubted me—and then went behind my back to place bets exactly as I said?”
Besides, I had only said that I confirmed which horses would finish in what positions.
I had never said that horses number 1, 2, and 3 that I chose would finish in that exact order.
I had only instructed Lena to place the bets that way.
The Horse Racing Track records all results from each day’s races.
Therefore, when I traveled to a future point in time before, I memorized the race results.
And I had already passed that information to Lena in advance.
Why had I deliberately pretended to bet on different horses in front of Lucian’s Attendant?
Simple.
I suspected this bastard was also an accomplice with Lucian’s biological father.
After hearing the entire situation from Lucian that night, I fell into deep contemplation.
No matter how much I thought about it, something nagged at me.
I knew that the allowance granted to Lucian always went to his biological father.
Here was the problem.
‘Who delivered that money to Lucian’s biological father?’
Young Lucian couldn’t have carried the money himself and secretly handed it to his father.
Someone around him must have helped.
Even nominally, the allowance required records documenting how the money was used.
‘Then did Lucian forge those ledger records himself?’
The answer was no.
Someone close to Lucian must have forged those ledger entries.
Someone who knew Lucian was being extorted by his father and remained silent about it.
Someone who went so far as to manipulate the ledgers while diligently transferring the money.
Who could that person be?
And what benefit did that person gain from going to such lengths?
Lucian’s trust?
No, that bastard was definitely splitting a certain amount of money with Lucian’s biological father.
[Insane! Could his Guard Knight or Attendant be blackmailing my brother?]
The reason I had first asked Lucian whether his Guard Knight or Attendant were blackmailing him was because of this suspicion.
I had assumed from the start that his father was the culprit and was certain that his servants were involved.
But Lucian had defended his servants, insisting they were innocent.
[No, no! They’re all good people, I swear!]
Lucian must have answered no because he believed his servants were truly protecting him out of loyalty….
But no. He had been deceived.
An eleven-year-old child with trauma from his parents—how easily manipulated would he have been?
It made no sense that Lucian, whose range of movement was severely restricted within Duke Papiope’s Mansion, would ever meet a con artist.
There must have been someone behind the scenes who connected Lucian with the scammer at a moment when he desperately needed money so badly that his judgment had become clouded.
Of course, at this point in time, it hadn’t happened yet.
If I hadn’t intervened, the same tragedy would have unfolded.
It was while I was staring at Lucian’s Attendant with cold eyes devoid of warmth.
He insisted with his neck straining, as if he felt wronged.
“Miss! Didn’t you know in advance through your ability that I would place a bet?”
“How dare you raise your voice to the Young Lady?”
Shing—!
Aiden and Lucian’s Guard Knight finally drew their swords and pressed them against his neck.
But once his words had burst forth, they wouldn’t stop.
“No, from the very beginning, didn’t you make me place my hands on that absurd bet?!”
Listening to this, I was at a loss for words.
“What are you talking about? You placed the money with your own hands. You said there was no possibility for lanes 1, 2, or 3, right? If you knew that so well, why did you make such an absurd bet?”
“Don’t play dumb! Surely you guided me to place that bet, didn’t you? What exactly… what grudge do you have against me? Tell me!”
“What grudge do I have?”
I rolled my tongue in my mouth, building suspense before answering.
“I do have one deep grudge.”
“What could I possibly have…!”
“You laid your hands on my brother.”
I tilted my head with a smile as if asking if he still didn’t understand.
“You’re really carefree. Even in this situation, you’re worried about money? What you should be worried about isn’t that paltry sum.”
The ledgers you arbitrarily falsified.
At my quietly added words, the Attendant’s face turned pale in an instant.
Only then did he realize that everything had been exposed.
“The maintenance allowance—how much did you embezzle? Did your living situation improve that way?”
The Attendant immediately dropped to his knees and began clasping his hands together, begging desperately.
Thump.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me just this once.”
But my eyes gazing down at him only grew colder.
“Why are you apologizing to me? You should apologize to my brother.”
Lucian, who had been watching our exchange the entire time, asked with a trembling voice.
“Jack. Ah, no, that’s not right? I kept quiet because you asked me to hide it from the Duchess. There’s no way you could have embezzled money…”
The face of someone confronting the cold reality of betrayal by someone they had trusted.
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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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