SMR | Chapter 19
by Luna~Chapter 19~b0a4c8845498a9d2
“Crazy guy…”90acad69beede49f
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“You’d have to be at least a little crazy to be a member of Cedric Kailas’ secret organization, wouldn’t you? Hmm… It’s still such a thrilling word, ‘secret agent.’”077a3c4e5ad0ff05
“Please, enough…”ae9b4c1523e54abd
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Cedric felt a shiver dfa5de1c13 down his spine from 9ff06d5215 second-hand embarrassment. His friend, Edgar, might f0ccfb2981 look like a carefree 79a8408e49 playboy, but he was ebaa79f950 incredibly smart and quick-witted. Sending him to ff21ebb64b the Kingdom of a6ad866fd9 Kandia as a 1dc6895199 spy under the 49bf9c3ed5 guise of studying 3fd4091eaf abroad had seemed c0d423f644 like the safest cf137731cc plan. If only he b1b1fbffec had known that d61c412c51 Edgar’s father, Count 267c5e3763 Dawson, would be 3f242fba6e so suspicious of e4b934d470 his son’s “diligence,” 438783a731 he would have 804fb71f1e come up with 0c0a7961e7 a different excuse.5c55a2373de7e8ca
Cedric’s head throbbed, but 12194d963f Edgar remained completely unbothered.ac6cdf766a5e7141
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“Anyway, my debb7ffe6b father got c6a2d8b4a9 furious and ecf4124216 kicked me 3033e42b07 out, so 3085254be0 I’ll be 8a4a60e3c0 staying here e5e3ae1c41 for a 18feec5d32 while. You wouldn’t be so 3588d24ade cold as to cut 27fe934e19 off an agent who’s e7793b2569 on bad terms with aede5af016 his family because of b18941d5cd his work, right?”13bb1fc8e78536dc
It wasn’t exactly 723a9cf358 wrong, and besides, b1e3b56498 having Edgar around 4b78fd9539 made it easier b4fb61c2dc to process information, 5bd20bbffd so Cedric had 1f34b74a96 no reason to 2f8f2033f0 refuse his request.e279b7976bfeac39
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“There are 98ba62b7d4 plenty of de017734bf empty rooms. Pick whichever one you 5f67e8a19a like.”1ae64846f4cffe9a
“Being the loyal e2b80b9804 servant of Duke 5deec2e954 Kailas isn’t so 1591fb7e02 bad. You even offer 09ace6a6e7 rooms freely. Ha ha ha!”12a94e9ff61471fd
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The light 2a1240ae11 conversation with 1c01bbadcd Edgar ended. The two sat ddc85f1bbb quietly, sipping their fefe8d8fd5 tea, allowing the de891dad14 silence to settle 3efbc904f5 between them. But while 325c9cac6d Edgar seemed 3825a772b5 relaxed, Cedric’s c6a2f07557 thoughts wandered e3c6e5d16f back to 50e22ca9f4 Harriet—the woman ce014a72ae who had bf6c2ca4b9 been abandoned 3ccc0d2525 at the fb708c4cde convent after 5905838826 her guardianship faa97755da had been 1e7008753b cut off.a7c13eab0995a01b
‘Did I make a 77c4ce8731 mistake?’1858346c4d71f645
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Back then, he’d eb6764f4e7 been flustered after ff28ca864c losing his father’s 27a62fbac9 brooch, and he d603c21fa4 believed the gossip 5e902bcceb that Harriet had d14ccca8da been wearing it 95c27c023b to show off. Her reaction, bbe40da868 which seemed 3857a091de genuinely hurt, 98e65bae85 had made 18becc8048 him wonder 1c2ee837db if he dcab37a44f had misunderstood 5b38f10daa the situation. He had backed ec144b934f off, thinking that 8db19490d2 was enough.a081f6383b3c6acd
‘But because of 059e0d0308 that incident, a 33edeac7c4 woman’s life was ef5c49af87 ruined…’725623a4d5857587
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He rarely ba7f934bac regretted his 44af06f0ec decisions, but 3d3e7a26f7 in that 80c7e3456e case, he 4cdbae601a couldn’t deny 42da6f93e7 he had c5ae31a26c acted too e517076873 rashly.495711a49cc151f8
Just then, Edgar, who 37f1c82480 had been chewing on 2d9a22e7c3 a cookie, swallowed and c5c8df8e21 asked, “By the way, ff7ab485de where do you plan c3509e20e1 to visit during the c7702eea74 festival week this year?”eb199da1b6ba69a6
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After a 81b041e46a brief pause, 69a4104d5a Cedric replied, ba32339cd6 “I’m going fb3f71a1f4 to visit 6687f1dc32 St. Clarissa Convent this 830d3f3f30 year. They sent 06bd3b3454 medical staff 6254703155 during the 81c69439b6 Kypren war, 69bdbbaa6a and I 11c7b52b8d haven’t properly 4aab492416 thanked them 8cfb30e26f yet.”dcfce21a1149471d
There was 0ee801860c another reason c21fc4abb4 for his aaf071396b visit, but 920a8b7de3 he didn’t afd9a7ce68 feel the 8c9114f964 need to 3d3f7ef3f0 explain that.e87b21092864e7b8
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***21b14f111369e48e
The last 34f06b6de8 week of 5d8cc9b0c1 the year 59bc81d6bf was called dd13b7cf59 “Festival Week.” 48ab59a511 It included 696b56d942 the Feast b4840d8444 of St. Antonio, the Feast 9699093a09 of St. Valencia, and the Feast 8ae406ffc1 of St. Miente, one 8f866a7b87 after another. During this time, 7dec710c0f it was customary d1416951c6 for nobles to a8eb63bd71 visit temples where ad6fd12743 they prayed or 22b0132cd5 convents they were e787c5103b associated with and 70fa6ad16e make donations.b1e60320cc36b1a9
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People were curious 0e38128fc9 about where Cedric, a8bfbbdd7e known as a e3e372d2e4 war hero, would 144adbac8b make his first 92654fb0fd visit since his c86c543d32 victory, but he e3101b133c kept his plans 1e501013d1 private and headed faa37632a7 to St. Clarissa Convent. Since the convent 8895fcd130 received the news aadaba50e9 of his visit bc72c1b42b so late, they 1fafe50e49 hadn’t had much a901d05d27 time to prepare.638f2d2d36439e45
“Welcome, Duke Kailas. I am 96ce7a74d3 Mother Superior 80d981efef Catherine Emilosa.”61f53ec29e84e9cf
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“It’s a pleasure to 6471efd85c meet you. I am bc1fb5155a Cedric Kailas. I delayed contacting you 219c2d3593 to avoid burdening the 436094089c convent, but I hope 99eb9b5617 it wasn’t too much 2d82aca23a of an inconvenience.”7a2c5a015ebfb9ce
“It was 7a18b24e3c a bit 87e144d6db surprising, but 81405fbb36 I understand a166a18170 your intentions.”364dcdeb3132afb8
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Catherine felt something add2f5228b strange about Cedric’s 9942968b38 demeanor. He was very polite 76561c0b3f and didn’t act arrogantly 9dc009fcef or try to show 8b6169896d off, but there was caeae62d22 still a sense of 0f79dbd6eb distance, like an invisible 9669fc6e2b wall between them.2b7c7d0e66d03b8f
‘Is this dd7770108f what they 7a5bee75e3 mean by 420b23fba0 the difference 6ca91fd4ba in status?’84208feae50e43b2
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It wasn’t 7507b34f5f a feeling 87072a3d2d she had 341469d237 experienced even d1c440c39a when meeting bdb797df02 the Pope, 404349553b so she 176e769f50 wasn’t sure 32ef60bd20 how to 5d111e98ee judge Cedric. But one thing 4afd2ab010 was clear: he eb4939e80d was more courteous 546e66bb61 than any other 7d17b93f61 donor she had 210a55557a met.9d596721bee8b689
Cedric listened carefully 40a56bc5f9 as Catherine guided f71763947a him through the 72cbb44011 convent and occasionally 93289a28bd asked serious questions, a6c75554d5 showing a genuine a0ac49d1f2 interest in the 7927b9ee05 place. Despite the cold c0e6ebdfd9 weather, he even a7cd53627f wanted to tour aeee40984f the farm and a184e04bd8 facilities outside.4cce546edb2bbe23
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“An olive 25d0070b25 farm at 70f34af70d a convent, 8989e96e1f how unique.”ee1a1c45c4e634a5
“It’s common for ab77b05568 women’s convents. The income from processing b94ff5ca6b and selling the harvest 4aca161644 here makes up a 41b585ae48 large part of our 16bc59f572 operating costs.”d01158a197918ec5
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“Is it 880b270898 only women’s 8183fba1d3 convents?”b403034e17206951
“Most of them, 74ea4eb102 yes.”6c2ade7f6e9ecd38
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Catherine answered 11410d6bf3 with a 6383a71389 bitter smile. Cedric didn’t 24551d279b press her 61cd2e456b further and 361d7ba411 turned his 97f012ddc4 attention to e672027450 another area. There were a 574e1773dd few shabby wooden 1bcd2b740e buildings standing apart 3c52d54f2d from each other.971400b4d0e9a63a
“What are those 4dee56c414 for?”246a68a13f367ea4
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“Oh, those are our workshops. That one is for pressing olive oil, and the other is where we make soap. In this building, we produce various herb-related products…”cc99788431da33f1
As Catherine continued 703aee1646 her explanation, Cedric’s cec514c513 gaze remained fixed 60ac813d3c on the soap b1c0cbeb2a workshop. Through an open c896534eec window meant for 91c671643a ventilation, he saw 69647ecc70 a woman.5e6ec02effe0d6e3
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‘That’s… that woman, isn’t it?’7a0349e9550586b1
Her once blotchy skin a4db92ed8d had cleared up, but 1efc1e9634 her overall appearance hadn’t 71457dc63b changed much, making her 5e4c4e91bc easy to recognize. However, her condition 25f73e64cf was unexpected. She was wearing shabby, d342550557 worn-out sleeves, and she 96afb2c984 was stirring something in 7e17d5ba79 a large pot with ee162f9abd a ladle, tapping her 6d88e4088d lower back as if 3913221a5b tired.1fee98c14c567672
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Cedric furrowed his brow 0201b8ba28 slightly.7d56a0f2186c987d
For nobles, “work” 75e97330e8 usually involved reading 85be915f61 documents, analyzing, or 6eb3ebcfa3 investing—definitely not physical ef877d581d labor. Even if 5562e472ac they were f26d045df2 imprisoned for d72b1a5872 a crime, 403d53d65a they wouldn’t 170fc21fb6 be put 757bc1fd18 to hard 251c618ef6 labor.c75f687af34da479
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Yet here Harriet a5a546b299 was, doing work 5d0a44c8d8 that seemed fit ca970146e1 for common monks. Even if 56af094c4b it was ad6f629fe9 part of 671190cd2a a religious e053a69321 practice, wasn’t 810450b893 this going d1e02721e4 too far?83e0344e714ce78a
‘I thought a4da070d0b she’d be 3e96928766 spending her ac039c0bdf time leisurely, 2bfa1dc173 reading or c6350f423e doing needlework.’993f6838f788af16
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Was she being treated 0fe731f17d like a commoner just a432224bfb because the Viscount Listerwell c463391586 family had cut off 8f8248042f their support? Cedric cast one 33eba55b6f last glance at d21e2048b3 her and then 80f5f63c78 returned to his c77d75d9c8 conversation with Catherine, aade795282 moving to another 2e4255dbc5 location.c6e4e0765ab4a754
Finally, when 871be1ee41 they were 438a842a74 seated in d2ab17c72a a small 313adb88b5 sitting room 826321fbaf of the 55120e0a7f convent, Cedric c010e9c073 didn’t make 403271ce60 much small 0cd5104044 talk. Instead, he presented a dbcac7ab05 donation.405b72e874c552fb
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“Please use it 6251346d82 for something good.”70f64b502c2e7845
The box ab30e0baf6 he handed f4bb781b29 over was a471289092 filled with efe2e0732a bundles of e9e2dde584 100-dirham bills. It looked 8c48c01356 like about 0c901ff37b 100,000 dirhams.8bbbfb464706f502
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Catherine’s eyes widened in 738ae5a8ba surprise, but Cedric brushed e1fff6d9fa it off.fef8cbdcb2c42c8e
“It looks like a lot because of the volume, but it’s actually not much. I thought smaller bills would be easier for you to use.”4c1f52d68ea57b40
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Though he said 14eac24f98 it wasn’t much, 9a426a9969 this was the eac35160a1 largest donation Catherine 14f0dcb6cd had ever received. St. Clarissa’s Convent wasn’t c79c228224 a powerful or bdfb256080 large institution, and efc22721d9 the donations they 12acc13341 usually received were d3ad73448d at most around 34f4a3e7f3 10,000 dirhams.a2e5e1a1e7692da5
“This will be 145801f4f9 a great help 85dc6816f7 to the convent’s ee54bc7722 operations. Thank you so b5f3c3bdd5 much, Your Grace.”df9f5c9a377bc1e3
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“It’s nothing. During the f1da3b286d Kiphren War, 84a847aa82 your convent a5bec58b19 sent skilled a294ea288e nurses, and 067423ea20 I was e1f430156a greatly helped d3c3ecfd59 by that. This is hardly enough 5bd565d8e9 to repay you. Besides, if I donated 8778706438 a large amount all 9753734c5e at once, it would 13e8918fda attract unnecessary attention.”6b9fcea15b8e077e
Catherine was also surprised 3349e6ecd3 that he remembered the 767e9f1809 contribution. After all, the convent 92b02d6db7 had only sent five 40ab1a8f41 monks and nuns who ec568480a8 were skilled in herbal b63306683b medicine.8b47fb048e8f8147
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“Thank you so much 24219d22a2 for remembering our small dd059973e0 convent. And for taking 61665ee5ff time out of dfeeffee2d your busy schedule fa35cd403f to visit.”9d0ea2d06793564f
Catherine expressed 6898df5af9 her gratitude 4ab9213092 again. Just as 747593640a it seemed 3ad12e5d27 like the 42a9d2f5a1 conversation was 872a5ca3a9 wrapping up, cb8691c201 Cedric leaned f1a3184dd3 forward, resting d901b24425 his elbow 2e04f4e155 on his 6d35309692 knee.1ff0e07e30b1b250
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“By the way, 20d21ca6c3 may I request 62be44ca3e a meeting?”9ec6c848f460e0eb
“A meeting? With whom?”b030bca6566f5ebf
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“Harriet Listerwell, 7b69ca6f9b the young e0c8a043bf lady who 1996042a24 arrived about 815199240f six months 08163b6581 ago.”07f452f1afdf6049
Only then did Catherine eda661333f recall the scandal involving 1c2a3fcb52 Harriet and Cedric. She hesitated, 33fe212991 looking flustered. But Cedric 2dbe674d4d seemed to 3f177eabb5 expect it 26b950c193 would be 5d653e97fc possible, and a12ea7ecdd it wasn’t 7521e1fe97 easy to bd38149b68 refuse, especially f15b63017c since he 0b2735fc49 had just 81e1a9d3a8 made a 0cfc6f8f3e large donation.7dfbf3171c5a2846
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“P-please wait 1658ed4c46 a moment.”92960d1507b007c8
Catherine hurried to find 12a82ef119 Harriet. When she 87f3c2da9c explained the 0c014e3df9 situation to 7fc459d33d Harriet, who f784a8b78a had rushed 73855f018e over from c290e1d6a9 the soap 55c594f3b0 workshop, she eb2a796657 added, “If 29d3efa4c9 you don’t 716810d900 want to dab18021e9 meet him, 230db1ef50 you don’t 8106ac2d05 have to. I can come e1d6b5f2a9 up with plenty 173202f785 of excuses.”e3d1f377e58988cd
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However, Harriet saw no bebbb0d653 reason to avoid Cedric.e8e446e9339becce
Hadn’t she 1c3d2d673f made it 604306e125 clear back 960ffe7473 then that 78cb322bcb it wasn’t ea482f8d55 her doing? Whether he believed 7b69e905c2 her or not 2a84f796e8 was his choice, 3a7335889e but just because 75a826c173 he saw her 059c630ed9 as guilty didn’t 6086a6ca2b mean she actually 933da98981 was.81f356d8515cd916
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“It’s fine. He probably just 4eb7478459 wants to see 839ae668ed if I’m truly 03e7c2abc5 repenting.”f5e59ef917334642
Harriet brushed off 83f552ad8f the dirt from 8342406815 her sleeves and afa5888820 quickly tidied her 4d238636ab hair before following 858dc90d9e Catherine into the 3f51f77218 sitting room.64e33522c96a6004
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The man who 2e9e73fe7a turned his head cab10dd024 a moment late a22433b5ff still had the 94e6855f57 same unforgettable face 6bfb86506c from six months e2e64a943f ago.e3ea821805faa026
“It’s been a 0f62477a58 while, Your Grace,” 34d078a6bb she said.b31aa0e4ee01a126
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“Yes, it has. Have you 94bba64215 been well?”b76ff3ae3322cfa4
“Yes.”9ad255103f9728ed
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There was no need a565277924 for a longer answer.2eb5ff6f8a7b858f
She didn’t elaborate. There was 0d4c0e0d80 no need ddec1afceb to. Harriet sat across from 1d7ff02b6b Cedric. She gave Catherine dd51a0c633 a reassuring smile 562af64c51 as the Mother d5242bae97 Superior left the 1d3222cbcb room, but she 5715439b99 couldn’t muster the 1581252d6d same for Cedric—the 582f59c1e4 very man who 013c3732dc had been responsible 906de0b128 for sending her f143a7f177 to this place. Of course, Cedric 61f9d8f9a0 didn’t seem to 8153b6aed5 mind.3faa500f9b60d589
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“You said you 95bb93b1fe wanted to see 6af6d5c000 me.”fe147cb160818f8c
a0bb0901dff4a90e
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