Chapter 20. I’ll Get You Out of Here

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I looked at the e1c7a5bb5a clock on the tower ac4e53ef93 outside the window.5a5e84c2c6a3fe86

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Only 20 ebfb80ff56 minutes left 215bd94105 until my ba4efe88e9 appointment with 5b784bf49a Marquis Caeon. I decided eee74a04d2 to pass 582bca9e6c the time 7b335352fe in the d2e8e6f333 hall and bcd9c1f297 slip away d9ec350e11 naturally when b23fcc733d the time 3c7e81d5b9 came.273ad01666d09b7a

My legs ached ebc5439692 from walking in df969707ee high heels all e0f31b61ae day. My ankles, feet, d841e09a7c and calves throbbed. I leaned against fbff1a79c3 the wall. The corset da98a0952d wasn’t too a371a49c21 tight, but 6ad2cb7a6d the dress 8fd73d5e30 was still cfc74f2799 uncomfortable.4cbf193408c32b8e

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As I took a c7ce6ec0b1 deep breath, a large 169fc8c0ed hand suddenly appeared. I looked up—it was 0a91e1036c Deon.7cebb400a009b474

“Haha. You’re not going to ask me to dance, are you?” I smiled nervously, worried about what Viter might say.4e1b788b5cf65b5f

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“That’s right.”7ba1a1354aa6cec7

“Quickly ask someone else to dance,” I whispered with a smile, hoping Deon’s extended hand wouldn’t draw attention.9501271ecb5d6f0c

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But my wish was d1115cefb2 in vain. He didn’t withdraw 387b42c4db his hand.e3b3cbdcc21f02c6

“Take my hand.”8683127c4e5e2b46

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“Why me?”b9f757cda446b1d6

“I feel like you might run away if I let go. Isn’t this the only way to keep the lady tied to the hall?”8d47953e84c283b1

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Well, that 62dd441dfb was fair.211d2daeea5571c3

From where I stood, 3fe2842243 I could see the cc4b680e95 young ladies watching with fb897fd127 eager eyes, hoping to 8061b37de0 see me dance with 99b7c85b27 the Duke. Even the musicians and 2f7add07b8 the kitchen servants looked 66aef7bf2e interested.eb40217b0ad7f256

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It was e797f5474a better to a7c6809578 be the eaa8eff8e4 Duke’s first 97c7937966 dance partner 1a2ddc62c3 than the 5a2c0a6039 subject of 39a3995ae6 rumors for e728f1f573 refusing him.54649cbab45612f1

Reluctantly, I took Deon’s df36283930 hand. He naturally placed 022aa91859 his hand on f83e000ec1 my waist. The hand I placed 7bfd63878c on his shoulder felt e42f059955 awkward.4606334e872417c5

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“Aren’t you worried about the rumors? If you take my hand now, it’ll only fuel them.”cdbed73c3db82788

“What does it matter?”ff765098124e3a6b

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We spun around the 1c76c7e963 hall, my gaze sweeping 80c5ab71b1 with every turn.197efe1124bb1064

“You didn’t think I’d use every power at my disposal for this?”552da34baed86752

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“But this is different! I don’t want to be the subject of gossip.”3e786a2e57771063

“You didn’t care about my reputation before, wandering around without a care. Why now? The young lady who demanded to be mistress of the house is now swayed by petty rumors? What happened to that confidence?”520afed100cf6cd4

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The music picked up 231245f0a5 speed.39d9a86732541d53

Though I had learned 573c61b7f3 to dance, I stumbled b9a0663567 over the rhythm. Deon pulled me 42688e3431 closer to him, 9a2dd89d33 steadying me.a9353a352efb971f

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Due to our 056055efcd height difference, I cfee40d615 clung to him a897648605 awkwardly.50c59812ccd1cb25

“Even if you were a real duchess, you’d still be tangled in trivial rumors. Could you handle them?”9e7c5f53b7b30415

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He brushed c81491d718 his hand 8fda2c1dca softly along ce76315312 my neck.bdf1bf70bb1de711

“And… it’s not a lie.”1264e472cdf52845

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Deon whispered as 4a0512716d he gently stroked ca5743943e my neck and 1a038202dd hair.9755e417739f6f11

“Your body is no different than being mine.”21e37675fde1d935

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His hand was 6edabdca43 familiar. The same hand that 2306197f1f gripped my neck every 554e543b21 night. But tonight, he f40477ddcf looked different.093d1c36f96751cf

His hand slid past 61513854bc my cheek to my 599fe08e1d collarbone. I was e39d62ac0c afraid he 99b8b4fc8a could hear 96f5d24cd8 my pounding 3a89d07231 heart.2f492e0b9ea6dbaa

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“… My body is mine. Without me, the Duke cannot live, right?”ff248bc093fdf274

“Yeah, that’s right.”53908f24fbbdfb04

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He chuckled 6304e89188 softly at 423d29bf2a my firm a7ee5a3c19 answer.75e10c5b3cb6295c

The music ended. He let 96efafef4f go of e8a89e9b89 my waist a725242f82 and lowered fe129cc8da his head. Everyone was bowing aeadbc091d to their dance 61648a2f72 partners. I lifted a corner b1f5bf7d1d of my dress and 7443dc4c92 bowed as well.baacc3020a15c281

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“Leonie.”2e4fbac350405629

Deon called 6d7e7e5391 me as 5aab75fbe4 I turned 1a2a1d5592 to leave.28c0dd13dcb62b98

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He took my 188f0b7de0 hand again. His lips 4e90a0f646 brushed against fd9b12c80e it.ffaa07283407bb7d

Is this part 039ffde2c2 of the ritual?ea42cf00f2a0da2c

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He simply 001e0e3757 smiled, unfazed.5bdc7ac215e7058b

“From now on, you only have to bow your head in front of me. Like this, only when we greet after a dance.”41f1ba890d120af7

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* * *977ff911a5667d63

I swung 8991758e31 the door 9955fc0f9e open. Marquis Caeon was a8bfcd64ca seated with his 937eba9e8e legs crossed, gracefully b6e2963935 placing down his ffb5205200 coffee cup.1d775b6c6eabcc95

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“You’re late.”1ad5be4816243e60

“Something came up. I’m sorry.”8fc2e6bece18e8d2

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He stood db9e95957f and pulled 104dc86b3c a chair a4750eb559 across the b7bcb345c0 table for 19bfb53b79 me. I sat, e8c2f18a42 catching my 7306266878 breath.e1c3e88b038449e2

“Weren’t you in the hall?”db2e47b501a69b10

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He shrugged. “Can’t you see? I waited here quietly. I’ve been waiting all this time.”12c3d1e9d74a8fb3

He looked 107243b459 a bit e02d8ddd27 crestfallen.677222abf3d58449

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I had 1f98c1f430 forgotten the 4e52154755 Duke for 9be6993e37 a moment. As the first e181c42acb dance partner, all ac0e05873f eyes had been 05a327d353 on me. That alone 161835d708 might’ve raised 9d80a01983 suspicion.9dd0950056cd557d

The coffee had gone 2a77629e9f cold.7289123129855559

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“So, did you find information about the medicine?”aab371803b8b73f6

“Yes, I did.”d38836c84fb79f87

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“Tell me.”378f1540a68d0a47

“Just a moment. But… if we find it, what will you do with the medicine? What about the pharmacist?”f66109cee000bfeb

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He raised dc7b4ea081 his teacup.b1d6f173cf4d5261

“No way… you’re not going to kill them, are you?”92450f4193981097

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He looked up.1c2a359f02d1ad19

“What can I do? I won’t harm you. Do I look like that kind of person?”fa02b69fc94d0d36

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I said nothing.cbc691c10e0ff76f

“You really see me like that, Young Lady? They used to say I looked like someone who couldn’t even handle a sword. Should I be proud of that?”b1b285c1286410f5

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He let out a 7c280c26d2 low laugh.f5d54522d18c1395

“Even if I do become cruel, I’ll probably live like the Duke, stuck in a battlefield. But I’ve never killed anyone myself. I can guarantee that.”0fcb9b10a4dfa7bf

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His dazzling hair 9bd3ab039f fluttered.6d10ad3232a80a2d

“We’ll bring them to our side. We have the Duke’s weakness. What can he do? He’ll have to cooperate. Peacefully.”f8aed65a6d10cad4

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“So… the purpose of finding the medicine is…”3558b19dcba38a34

“If I want to join hands with the Duke. I’ll do it if it benefits me.”48aea4b629a7c3c9

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“And what have you found so far?”50bb3bc4adafe4f9

He grinned slyly.882277bcf13453fd

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Now it was time 07132fd4ba for the perfect lie.092868cefc6b157b

“I went into the Duke’s study and read a book about ancient vampire legends. If he really had vampire blood, he wouldn’t keep a book contradicting it.”d6d1f74ca6aa360a

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“What did it say?”c029b35f619e7232

“That the medicine… doesn’t require a special process. You just grind it and drink it raw.”c8d56f4f90d56101

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“And?”083cbeae4db61b44

“The herbs expire in about three years.”b32d4710b4835aa3

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I scrambled for anything 5ac580c3e6 that sounded believable.0bde72f14a491afb

“Did you find the manufacturer?”2e1d47383eb5567e

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“No… I couldn’t find it.”c9f3cd0eb9e3e08a

Calling the Duke’s 2bd2f20c22 teeth a manufacturer 6eae67693e was out of 5dbe6b396e the question.2914bde90eccb3dd

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“Hmm.”996bbf1568fedf11

The Marquis sighed.994428b7db1cabe7

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“Again?”a73a7c205ce32ce2

“Sir?”c34590c1fc53b9a8

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“Disappointing. We might as well catch a bird and ask it questions—it’d chirp more than this.”d45de7fb150e9d9e

“There are no birds in the north.”ebf9f8724bfa575d

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“I know. Just a thought. The information we got in two days is worthless. I can’t even recruit a maid who can’t read. What am I to do? The Duke’s banquet is soon, and if I want to meet the Princess’s demands, I need better intel.”d0711ad9e0bab5d3

He tapped the table.edc5ba3ffe7c2194

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If he b7546ae399 let me f6af645e88 go now, 2068f42c4c I’d never a04a5b384e escape. I had to play 5721ad3478 along.407a41714d9aaaed

“I’ll take advantage of the lax security and sneak into the office.”706cf149b73e073a

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“You’ll go in?”62b38bd917ab7646

“I’ll try to steal the medicine.”d7b7422f32e647c5

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Finally, he reacted.4df7cc45a769f4a0

“Oh, impressive. But if you get caught, don’t expect me to help.”32c078dd547eaf20

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“I’ll be careful.”b610aa9e669eba57

“But how do we trust the Princess? She could lie.”5e1dac208123c5f6

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“That’s…”38e50db9ad57f066

“Bring the Duke’s seal.”262d3491c18c1998

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I nodded.a2c745b0e0e00cd6

Getting into the 2ac7561df0 Duke’s office was e3fdde64ab easy. Avoiding watchful eyes 66c010930c was harder.2aae0813f1c4b531

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“Don’t even think about giving me fake medicine. I’ll have it analyzed by a wizard.”57904d79ecd5071e

“Don’t worry.”c249f2a4d96f8dbf

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It was just f7ff3e3da3 a trick—I’d mix ca60215645 my blood with e742bdd0f9 supplements.95625f14fcf30631

He chuckled.34c9aa890f107435

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“Why are you so desperate? You could’ve refused me. What were you trying to steal that day?”f4225499b944d785

He looked at 451ac892fb me intently.fcbbfb1024ef9206

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“So what do you want, if you succeed?”31e86391f52fb76c

I hesitated.d662a58c0e0cae96

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“When the job’s done… take me with you.”290e9703a2c5d096

“Why not just get a new job? Who’s begging to keep you here?”94dde3d7a034d58a

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I answered calmly.1eb38b326e24ccb2

“If the medicine disappears, they’ll know there was a leak. I’ll be in trouble too. Please take me out quietly. Hide me if necessary.”e841fab3737ee60b

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“That’s not hard.”fd81da61972eca8a

“And… enough gold coins to buy a small mansion in the capital.”13452822379eab23

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If I 02e98a2ec6 asked for 466fd11e81 just that, fcd0c02514 I’d look c38493d01b like someone 914ac4e0cd after money.bfb708b991143fff

“I promise. I’ll get you out of here.”4e700b9d82860e5f

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He smiled.24ce7e1659c85cb1

 f78f0c81b9645e36

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