-Chapter 52.5-

Happy New Year!

Aelius’ eyes flinched at the sunlight hitting his pupils.

“Mmm…” with a quiet groan, he slowly began to sit up, pulling aside the curtain to his window.

Filling his ears were the sounds of birds chirping, the laughter of children, and distant shouts of shopping stalls and bustling market places.

He threw on a shirt over his chiseled chest, reaching up to scratch his head, his long brown hair hanging down as he opened the door from his room.

Immediately, the brightly lit living room blinded him, and when his sight returned a mere second later, he blinked in surprise at the several figures that looked back at him.

For a short moment, there was silence, until Aelius saw smiles spread on their faces.

“Happy new year!!!” the girls called and Aelius returned a grin.

“Good morning, son,” his mother called from the kitchen, peeking her head out with a warm smile. Penelope, who was clutching tightly onto her mother’s dress, also poked her head out with a shy expression.

“Happy new year, brother.”

Aelius returned a beaming smile. “Happy new year, everyone!”

He heard a thump, and turned to the front door, spotting his father entering and hanging up his coat.

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“Aelius,” the man nodded.

He returned the nod with a small smile.

“Mother, go take a seat. Aria and I can take care of the rest,” a familiar voice called from the kitchen, and Aelius saw Saki appear, wearing a pink apron around her waist as she gently guided Leislette and Penelope to the dining table.

“Oh, alright,” Leis sighed with a helpless smile, taking a seat at the table beside Violet, who was already waiting there, snacking on dried jerky.

“Good morning, mother.”

“Good morning, Violet,” Leis answered with a bright, beaming smile.

Asura stood in the corner with her arms crossed, when Aria sprung up in front of her with a mischievous smile.

“Here, test our batch of bread!” she cheerfully remarked, presenting a plate of bread.

Aelius saw Asura’s brow twitching, before the red haired woman clicked her tongue.

“Hmph.” She stuffed her mouth with the bread, not saying anything further, as Aria gave a chuckle and returned to the kitchen together with Saki.

“Need any extra hands?” Lia asked from the couch, leaning onto the backrest as she watched on.

“No thank you,” Saki answered sheepishly, disappearing around the corner.

Aelius felt a soft pair of hands wrap around his arm, and looked down to find a familiar face smiling brightly at him.

“Come on, Ael. How long are you going to stand there?” Alea remarked with a wink, pulling him forward to the couch.

As he landed onto one of the couch cushions, he was swarmed by the girls that all jumped into a large group hug.

Overwhelmed, Aelius went down with wide eyes.

“G-guys-” he weakly reached his arm out, trying to claw his way out, but instead, they all towered over him with warm smiles.

“Aelius! Happy New Year!”