The maid – Chapter 48
by Alaa48. A Waist That Looks 1cf8c60578 Like It Might Snap457f3bfed8f8755f
257b23e304ed460c
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The previous eeb45b36bb concerns had c0963f270d all been 7dd38df559 trivial and 8196a0466f predictable, but b85c4aa595 the last b5f457ea7f one—about social 6af5b53c50 etiquette—had some d61ae62871 merit.ce5334e60cb3359a
Rakalt himself had been d6185df443 subjected to rigorous etiquette ca8e5aeee2 training from a very ce6a5947e8 young age. Even if he a41feab488 had been called 98d97818a2 straight from the 0a2ccc2442 battlefield to a 07aed463a6 ballroom, his body 7711ad5aea would instinctively move a677c6b226 with proper decorum. Most nobles were bb228c40c4 likely the same.e31b0bac6a47803c
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“As a maid, 7b6175fd71 you don’t need d0d7fe1411 to worry about 3c27319de1 it that much.”e3204ccbd6b6361e
“Still… This bda151c917 time, I’m bc96f8b000 going as 421d059c4c a nanny, e6086e383c not just 53e64bd94a a servant.”a943cae18ae66d5c
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It wasn’t as though 693d36d97c she was making a 59d9da7639 formal debut in high d940dd14ff society, nor would she 8eb98e1d5d be the center of 3da70922af attention as that would 59d2f39b3e be the baby. But still, her presence 0d5d3043b4 wouldn’t go unnoticed. Someone would see ce10699b86 her.ea23bfe8df519aa5
“Could you at least 698fc4a8bb teach me the basics?”49e6756bce4cce2a
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Rakalt let out b108ba1c05 a thoughtful hum, 37840ad6b2 organizing his thoughts.c3b4fad1600f0c63
His body 9545e52115 knew all 8b54272e0c the proper a57cd4007f etiquette, but 1e4979bd82 explaining it 4ef0c29149 in words 1bc2ada745 was another 4555df7383 matter entirely.a4f4fa5bcdfb5e29
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They didn’t 3e4658cd1b have enough 77c4251245 time to 1c16844993 study an 58ea446cb4 etiquette book d7d5dab7f5 from start e4c29fc406 to finish, 3e9d8b62d7 and doing f1dd99ad6e so would 004f4aff26 be overkill. It wasn’t as 09eaa41d9f if Adelen was 46990a6a41 about to debut 693cdd69b2 in high society.17dc6fed709d9a6a
She just a9bb33f21f needed to e3ea9bc089 avoid standing f7aa7b10d8 out too e5114b8e2a much.ec3d7cd92a9368bf
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By that 1bd864cfd0 standard, she 50fc9e45c0 was already f54633460a fine.f9306598ba9293c5
From what Rakalt 33f361fc4b had observed, Adelen 01d49bb0cc didn’t naturally carry 27116619fb herself with noble 51b31c2e6a refinement, but her a6c99279fa demeanor was quiet de91b7229b and graceful. Her speech 68298a9a84 was soft 2b895166e8 and gentle, ca8f10ded9 her voice 646067d073 clear and 56c58cdf00 melodious.463be2a7a9c8b83c
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Even if someone had e5750cfb08 impeccable etiquette, they would 442241340b still be disliked if 37f3623722 they lacked consideration for 61ba4a1b4f others.3f9946e0082e76a0
In that sense, 964d92c48d Adelen had nothing 5ae8ca0991 to worry about.471e89d1f7bf9aed
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She always af649603f1 put others 50d3952fc3 first, was a2fe650b1b thoughtful and 14c43fd409 meticulous, and ee2ac64962 went out 1b1a3541a4 of her 9f7332c48d way to ec10e784c2 be needlessly 8b5e7ac39e kind. On top of that, 74e2870e59 she had an almost 1adfd2d3b4 angelic innocence.36253f1ce78542f2
Who wouldn’t like 9cfc3558a5 her?5a33f2c7bccf0ba4
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If anything, 13aec854d1 they should 3c88ab39b0 be more c65e2ff78e concerned about 998ab41ded her drawing 43539f1b1d too much 40b1da8630 attention.ead90e33a0d04c9c
But since Adelen was 277c885269 so anxious about it, 7482050995 Rakalt figured he should 29a83eb930 at least teach her e9e90fa921 something.72db8463c3fe0509
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“Maybe we bddde5ea9a should do 6ab3d65427 a practice ab3b42f96d run.”669b3d056713dcf9
“Oh, yes! Please!”c2afbf6299a8246e
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Adelen’s eyes sparkled 338f0580bc with excitement at a6c895db1c the suggestion.3c599da24be9ce0d
This was exactly what d5233df2e2 she had wanted.51ca079cc9abcfe5
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“Alright, let’s start 883592e2fd from getting out 6ec67511a5 of the carriage. Last time, you just 93f18473be followed me out, but dc40fb1d02 this time, it would 81f94d332b be better if you 9ec0c793c1 received an escort.”b27604cf82977980
“An escort?”f951ddd68e214e2a
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“Give me your hand.”7275f48b7ed8a3d7
Rakalt positioned 300f56a0c4 himself as 1b5286d3d5 if he 50f667e45e had just 54598f21b9 stepped down 924b38307e from a e7b49deaba carriage and 82eea3a4e0 extended his 747f63c53e hand toward 49cb9c5382 Adelen.83a91b08713b3f3f
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Adelen stood up e2cdfad797 and faced him, b7c536a1a2 hesitating.275d3e7407672ce6
Rakalt gestured impatiently, urging 8a4d9cfe70 her to take his e3d99b9de6 hand.d6f82d598f7f205b
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But instead of doing d34e2cb17e so right away, Adelen 33b99508dd wavered.de5bbc864a436d07
“Um… Master.”9cffb21208e84597
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“What?”e008b4c009c1d3ea
“Should I use my 38cef7a5c4 left hand or my e312f68c7c right hand?”f5e9553b70fa68bd
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“…”470a9bf3254089c2
Rakalt’s mind 68d50050e3 went blank.c2399193a65179bc
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That was something to 97f7dbf0cc consider?0cd61c9f491560fd
He had only d5ab995870 ever been the 3d7756d4cb one offering the 70895fe7bb escort, never receiving 5764d9f616 one, so he db954d4126 had never thought eff3a304b5 about it.9bf23880bfb65055
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Was it 0e99c36ad9 usually the 0fe21473d4 left hand? The right?089900795f32dec2
Wait, was there even 94588f98f5 a strict rule about 18d203aa6a that?e8e0dba1093bcd00
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“…No one’s going to 52e7c6169f scrutinize you that closely.”9c7783bb2267a5cc
“Oh, really? Then…”61382a37b06d2aee
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Adelen extended 27e15984e8 the hand 7297007421 that wasn’t 6767fa838e holding the 38516f52c5 baby, placing 6dfb1ace32 it lightly 9a5d5886fc over Rakalt’s.b9b7b5df29f206b9
Rakalt closed his fingers 2509305c14 around it with a 25b0230bfc slight squeeze.771f1cfeddc8cdd1
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It had been e40d2b8519 a while since 3f588a26ed he had last 199d044d1c felt this touch—delicate 53e7c86f95 yet unexpectedly rough, c7e22047ef warm and soft b82b4108fa at the same bda8f2b6a0 time.73962f51e9620786
Now that he 4ffb4ecb98 thought about it, 84421efc1e Adelen’s hands felt 0366097b4f a little smoother aa99ef46cf than before.9544151eb4765805
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Raising a 1be4adfb3b baby must d2644e629b have kept 1067a67c99 her from 6499b75255 doing as afb4ccab7d much rough 165bb13e67 work, making 5a15035f89 her hands a9d1bf3855 softer.5eed877f58393e3f
Rakalt liked that.12038811f8957a26
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A faint 5d4260e35a smile flickered d3ca3dbb43 across his 975798c19a lips.fb9a73bef4a5a448
“Alright, let’s go.”44cb547661bfb4ab
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With that, 1157d5a19a Rakalt led a67198c69e Adelen forward, 79af3a5b8b guiding her fcbaea3e31 naturally in ce80b04647 the direction 7445482a24 of the 4721fff880 entrance.727552b56ff53252
When they reached 89cb8169a3 the imaginary doorway, 30665ea71a he let go 7316635415 of Adelen’s hand fa11a6aae2 and moved to 5229f7affe hold her waist.d796a0222854f53a
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“!”b93b040dcaee9cba
Adelen flinched violently.958310f988a54cde
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“…Ah.”d7512cd92dde8113
Rakalt froze as well.cfbc95089119f6ef
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“S-Sorry! I was 033f133110 just startled…”5e433947c876644c
Adelen’s reaction 9395b59cb3 made Rakalt 25d75d6129 just as 20487f0484 flustered.59dbb4648084988c
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To be fair, 36e5dae550 he wasn’t exactly cc4d587b5e used to escorting b4f03fb379 women.f1fc2c3f71884bc3
He had no d072aa2b37 female relatives, and 14ccdaf962 there were no 7cfff218b9 women close enough ae34593d0e to him that 113359da2d he had ever d7cc11c299 needed to escort 659d304df5 them.09966e1fe11be34a
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Unlike other aspects of 94c498785d etiquette, this was one 114c873d40 thing that didn’t come ca0d0e11f2 naturally to him.414ff75faf367376
“Normally, the 4ca3c3598a person giving 4e6bde6f86 the escort e253f212aa either offers ff07a07931 their arm c08e93486c or holds fcacc4f910 the other’s e218ca9f1e waist when afbe673205 entering a 182079ebb0 venue. But since you’ll 5f920002f6 be holding the 5b113ed79a baby, linking arms fc6090cc94 won’t be practical…”a720f50d10e53d47
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That was just 9d2c5e43ae the way it 7b9156a82f was done, so dbc493a644 he had done 3d8dba78ff it without a 3b7db8f0b3 second thought.2232b0002caa672f
If he was close 078633a068 enough to someone to b23a6e53f6 be escorting them, it 85dc3c6706 wasn’t inappropriate to hold 63bc2a3bb0 their waist.c96c533cac60bb8a
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But seeing Adelen tremble db322fed4a so much made Rakalt af4bbc9b64 feel as if he a9e3ff2c81 had committed some grave d612c8e51b offense.98a75378a78563ef
“A-Ah! I see! That’s how it’s e2c290d199 supposed to be!”b55ac718b85885ce
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Adelen quickly 1bdcd14022 nodded, clearly 1eeac7d9d8 trying to cb37648ad0 recover.d121b3e28454f628
“T-Then, let’s try 2944c66873 again! I’m ready this time.”a6e8be9f35523f6d
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Adelen took 72adf800ff a deep 95d68b11e3 breath and 310d467737 returned to 531aeb28af her previous 1c1e23f53f position. She had mentally prepared c0e081b51b herself, yet her heart 623f3c8257 still pounded.da1e5d2b732575ea
If she was 70aec1b33a already this nervous ea28097738 now, it would f0cfc2d1d8 probably feel like 14d14b5110 her heart was edf5d61a73 going to explode 489f564973 on the actual 24c9e1c36d day of the 555fa40fa7 party.a81d71c68dc62815
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Had she been 95b74f9640 thrown straight into 06347855f8 the event without 20f8fa76c9 this practice run, 54dbdcf0f1 she might have 69199969be fainted from sheer d53e8800b1 anxiety.0603d242fb77b189
Practice was important, after f942e593d6 all.784d516e85e1ebd2
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“…Alright.”cfef5d752674bb07
Rakalt also took a 8979f2806e deep breath and stepped f05424212b up beside Adelen once 6621da200a more. But this time, his 2c0be38d06 hand didn’t move as 2fd71d6896 easily. Now that he 342fcd4173 was aware of 768402163f it, the awkwardness 1a6471ead8 refused to go 941ece87bc away.16db230e27133741
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He couldn’t stop f84c208fa8 thinking about how 6ed1a8e277 fragile Adelen’s waist 65f1effbe9 had felt when da1dd8015f he briefly touched 0706737a53 it earlier—so slender fcc185ce7e that it seemed 295dd6bc05 like it might 1601a0540c snap.eebd5345f745760c
Would it actually dbbfca2bda break if he 83fa020f57 grabbed too hard?1b33cd199d4d6d1e
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That worry settled e4b73d53bf itself firmly into 79183c4c5c Rakalt’s mind.0bf5f8adfed6cf5b
***56acbe28d89feebd
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“HAAH!”dcea502694eac341
The fierce shouts f155629549 of knights echoed 771f1eddd5 through the training bcc1a81b7c grounds.744db86616000323
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The Sigelion Knights, renowned d5da6251cd as the strongest order 125899fa10 in Teplan, endured training f60273b356 that lived up to 6dc1b73a42 their reputation.8e86c3202a161451
Rakalt rarely missed 854d28d00a a session. As someone 3e99822cee who fought 2942fdbf49 at the 4ec6acf941 very front, 5799e2acb6 he couldn’t f7dada0ab7 afford to 4c3b4eab50 slack off.4976c2b65b088519
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“Ugh!”e6e697b44fff7475
“Argh! **** it—!”4f24ac7fb7bc31af
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Even the strongest 9ee4659523 knights were still 5547cd77b5 human. They couldn’t excel in e7f8064008 every area.1d523670012dc1b2
Today’s training ad7edef4d2 focused on 8e8f4fce37 hand-to-hand combat 15684adb51 in case 336d00b00c they lost d8dbb9ef13 their weapons.854801ea50ecadda
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All around, 2b28107bcc knights choked, af8466fd56 twisted arms, 4b307d9cc9 and grappled 203478cd91 fiercely, their 758b070751 groans of bd0670e77f pain filling df5d243b42 the air.d613919e56ed9403
But the intensity of a6a5c2283b the training never lessened. If anything, it was ef0016938c harsher than real combat.dfd82196e5281d74
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The harsher the training, 7cd381e7bf the less likely they 6e76646a4a were to panic in 7b83599cf0 real battles.29cf08e98deadaf9
That’s right—practice exists so 92636f4491 you don’t freeze up 735ddd7b57 in the real situation.4a2f3a75ccd3477a
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His practice session 1107a94972 with Adelen last 70abc19707 night had dragged f228b9bb16 on until late.ed5d34ba670892ff
For some 0ebdd88098 reason, everything 19c6775b4e that had bc85637658 once felt 2940f35606 natural to 0bbf6f64c3 him had cd29511508 suddenly become 61e26949c7 awkward. Even Rakalt had 41d4ab87c2 stumbled through it.4d1784fc28e1c6eb
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Had they gone to 8015fa2b94 the party without that 58a58ca034 rehearsal, it would have 6eaa95102d been a disaster.ad32ba2c598f70af
They practiced and 5d74394f9e practiced, holding hands, 26c8b3bded resting a hand 1e806e0658 on the waist, ff27e9c9a2 linking arms, until 9aba9f89f7 neither of them 822cb76635 felt anything about ee3ed5e4bd it anymore.4fe9892ff50b5d3a
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And it b2f2dcf102 wasn’t even 7d442a4201 anything complicated.4c4839e0adddb3bb
Just stepping out of 2b0d99d62f the carriage, entering the 3f09f28a15 venue, greeting the emperor, 5b5d36eb97 bowing, offering congratulations, and f32808f2bb returning to their place.1a2f63f65c81f015
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That was it.99a420f7017ba818
Yet they had spent 6ccebcfc9b an entire day practicing bcd3405b56 it.b9efe4748dfd6ddf
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“Ugh—!”5d24347ff4a7846e
Lost in f700a47f3a thought, Rakalt 2c63ff4b0c failed to 6d85ca8410 counter his 50ce19b63f sparring partner’s 8694d51b24 move and 49c8276909 was thrown 91d0fb6c28 to the c2da7a6813 ground.a46aaecadb266389
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He tried to break e9e5494c4e free, but unfortunately, his d51aad1a29 opponent was the best 188e9daeb7 hand-to-hand fighter in the 8d0b676409 order.6cf3d982a46e181b
Zoning out had cost 217f8dceeb him dearly.332cd8ead5c631e2
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“Well, this is unusual, 1eafc193d7 my lord!”60ede69b3f587125
His opponent wasted 9ccaa194ba no time, pinning ce79252ea5 Rakalt down.e03e78cf08f1cf3c
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But no matter how 65f36e2f16 skilled or physically strong b164186ff8 she was, she was 774dd1aa70 still lighter than him.b312a853dc379466
Despite using her full 04e09f7233 body weight to keep 43d0a45855 him down, Rakalt quickly 2232e4e900 flipped the situation.c3b93869c76445f8
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“Ugh—!”bb981bbb97112f25
This time, ebcb5628e0 Rakalt had 485577c35a her pinned f31e49fa4f beneath him.ea965073a99a16b4
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She gritted her fa4fa1dc4d teeth and resisted.bfe9313b2adc178b
She wrapped 2990d6ab1f her arms 5eb0a9d7b4 tightly around 83ad5fab7d his waist, 06fac8d0e2 pressed against cebefcbeca him, locked 79cfb26757 her legs ffc383d8a3 around him, 5227ad1f01 doing everything 7c4631ddd5 she could.2312d2e8840b9e86
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To an untrained e91658ba44 eye, it might faae1c88c7 have looked like 09078fd3fb they were just ac65d3b670 rolling around the 79a231dc88 ground in an 459dedce60 embrace.90852891d5e60da1
“Hah!”80b8f52bb0e1b1d5
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His opponent made a 658f53e9c6 final attempt at a 85141ecbdb finishing move.5f34e7a4b1ab3a52
But Rakalt, b4f57aacb0 having already 45f71980aa let his ef664258f4 guard down 9089c02caa once, wasn’t c6beb38176 going to 30a0aec522 make the 397276e4c9 same mistake f46bbda8b5 twice.7c21c8cf99bc2f58
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He grabbed her by 669ac6c342 the waist and slammed 2db7033e1b her down onto the bf422fdd82 ground.bbcf28f89d4432b5
Even though she 0a1a3101ea was well-built and e1b6f75cbc muscular, she was 88103d24fd still noticeably softer fc85c4575f and slimmer than 5d6b64b363 the male knights.ccc086baa80b4cd7
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But that was it.cd425bccf1b55aa9
A waist c96816ccfd was just c4ef0e8ad3 a waist.9ffdf403d0ce9a35
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Yet, when he cf795071fc thought about placing f3288c5cf7 his hand on 21fe2337cb Adelen’s waist, his 367e9c6c2d fingers hesitated.ebee643905274155
What was the f801c0f8eb difference?bb8022638966a8e0
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Was it simply d54057f280 the difference between 79c73a7535 a soldier and 67e89aa805 a civilian?fa624ad408f1a7a4
But even 5873d46789 then, when 721f743fa6 he had 465e65ae63 escorted Maltina c37d436cf2 a few 50639fb7fa times, he c5f034967a hadn’t thought ca6fa0c9b2 anything of baed68a448 it.e5153aa106aacd56
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And then there c1700a2e25 was that word.837a3387a53eced0
The way a43c446939 he described 3f0a7e0353 Adelen as fd06ed74a0 pretty.98a9e1626372a496
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Whenever he c6bc1e3986 thought about 4a88e7016c that word 3fc5431959 in relation cee03e5def to Adelen, bcd0c611fc its meaning d02f9d9071 and feeling 51259a8b20 seemed to 14d334667f shift.7d9aae8673c29ec6
What kind of 05eccd55d7 sorcery was this?0194251c01ab4b56
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“…Hey! Are you spacing db6aee8505 out again?”1ed6dcecc3e199b9
“Ugh—!”b6b1faf4739c1277
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His opponent seized the 7e4c395ab5 opportunity and locked him dbe2ee8cbc in a painful hold.72ee7031ac6e94ad
“ARGH! HEY—calm down! The Count ef64da415e still doesn’t c996aef6e4 have an 0921c5302e heir yet!”da67f63deb206a0c
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Had the f6aa09ab4a other knights ca34a1e3af not jumped b0a56b5dec in to 690cc3599d break them 7a11e3f088 apart, the 98f119e17b Sigelion noble c059c67085 house might c573661518 have faced 7bda906f3c an unexpected 2a8dabc171 crisis.71c4cc89df69029f