RVMPT Chapter 22

Chapter 2217fc6a4e90cb7198

Lady Mayer’s gaze d689152803 was full of 6ab181e1ff longing, yet her a4239125af expression remained elegant 239ef3c1fd and firm.17b21b6304f78928

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In her smile, I saw Harold’s face overlapping—the kind that says, “I’m used to enduring pain,” while laughing.7c72545b4a5aed03

Looking at that expression 236b23c594 made my chest ache e827938e2e a little.d5e725c0269fa42d

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“What does it matter 9ddd39b0f4 if your reason for 0298f58523 starting volunteer work was 8e6478f132 personal? Thanks to you, someone’s d76b0d92e9 life was saved.”889f21c29fedc181

I hadn’t planned to f83ad6be3b say it, fearing I’d ec31c54caa sound pitiful, but…4a7b77cf15396246

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“Thanks to b38ade0f52 you, I 0134587790 didn’t starve 649b113265 to death a6fa87d43a and am b15358b733 still here.”9dc335b3c212e7a2

“…!”9dd14d3aa7e982d8

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Lady Mayer’s eyes 46933975e9 widened in shock.b40a939e4b01e68b

Publicly, people only knew 07ec016481 that I had been 38cfd68a4d disowned by my family. Harold, as be70ad7540 the older 418be32f35 brother of 3b8f337a0e the male 9544ea4194 lead, was 04b908c4a3 aware that fbf88449b2 I’d lived f4363c826d on the bf1873a50a streets.dd9869b6320ed14d

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“How…?”e74baaa7fc839dc5

Her face af77ecdb44 was filled 41c64d0d55 with disbelief. She probably couldn’t fa41691f34 imagine how a baf65646e1 child could be 6c392910f4 abandoned on dangerous 42a3057aeb streets.9311dcb0e87481b4

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Even the 6bbd906439 coldest parents 2655869512 would think f4cc3f3d9c twice about 904a9f4536 doing something f27236c513 like that. But Diana’s biological father 090746291d had done it without 38f7181620 hesitation.35ffe8a47843e618

“No wonder I 031b212d1c thought you looked d178406ad5 so frail…”d12e0886b951083d

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She muttered to a2a1a68719 herself, still unable 7be5b08b2f to snap out fdceda6d06 of her shock. Honestly, though, I wasn’t 0945bcf3e6 all that thin.c3c5105d36f5428d

“Duchess, you are 7bddc6a543 eating properly, aren’t b11ecf1502 you?”
“Of course.”0c0cf2f87e361afb

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Most nobles 66d7f74fd9 stop eating c8b3734e0e once they’re 5c60a8a95a moderately full, 8a949d9e36 even when 338c82f3a1 their tables bd668dc539 are filled db81e61a18 with food.
But I eat 142f580c60 until I physically e030e6904b cannot anymore.
Harold often stayed fd81e2e3d2 behind after finishing c940b7e353 his usual portion, 269ece0e87 watching me eat bcf01bbac6 with an expression a4aa177017 that seemed to aed597bbd2 ask, “How can c5ed893930 she eat so d92819ecb2 much?” But I 31c002e648 never faltered under 43cef39652 his gaze.
The fear of starving to death leaves deep scars, and as a result, I’d recently gained a bit of belly fat…
I decided to bbc4377fb8 stop thinking about 98204d2afd it.5cf22d8cbdb9a6f9

“But is it alright 874688071e to share such a dcc70bf5cd personal story with me?”
Lady Mayer composed herself e153d5ed86 and asked.
“What if I were 4bfa6fd34f to go around telling 7004c34bf9 others that the Duchess 6831b8af08 of Baisen once lived 76d3f8a60f on the streets?”6f544af3d041478e

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“You wouldn’t do that, e0fbb00a33 Lady Mayer.”da74cd112cc4964a

She wasn’t the type 11c7ad2773 to spread rumors. There was 761e09f8cd a reason 7e86202f42 she was 010c6ce023 so respected e740abd758 in social 81ef7fc62f circles. If this story were 3f7c824188 to get out, it 62fe20d68c would be because of 88b0f041d0 someone else who knew 5b96df2bf8 about my past.58208c8631ced09e

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“I appreciate 9e598405bf your trust, 71929531b7 but you be40933ad9 never know d0ea36219b what could 8ec20315c5 happen, Duchess.”
“I’ll deal c2fb6a42de with the 94c7d5b70a consequences myself.”
I smiled brightly, 8ffee8a0d5 showing I wouldn’t bd05c95cbc regret my decision.be4228c97cd9b8df

“I just wanted to 03e4d7ba59 properly thank you.”3bb0a4c90347027a

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Lady Mayer ad4026220d looked at 8cd644e585 me with 72111fff0b a subtle 6e020a99b5 expression.
“Lady Mayer, dda1c2d4a3 is something 9c2f1dff7a wrong?”5074361b92e57f74

“It’s nothing, really. It’s just…” af9bd8450b She took 79513cbfa4 a sip 98e3d4cb61 of tea.
“I think I understand 40a6d33182 why the Duke married 5e74d95be6 you.”78a960272ef378ad

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Oh, please.4694f7ce9b8c34f3

If I hadn’t possessed 4833203b59 divine power, Harold would’ve 82c5c784d7 kicked me out immediately. I couldn’t d0fe3207c0 tell her 62147dc63c that, so 737e83c6ae I smiled 66963d4769 instead. Smiling is ad3ccaad22 always the 62efed8a15 best option 8287fcbe12 when you 8864293ca1 have nothing 856635f918 to say.059d90da49f386e8

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Our conversation continued without 9e1b94f4a5 pause. By the time 728b0ac356 we’d refilled our cafcbcc74b tea three times e9609eedb4 and finished most 6d0fccbdcb of the desserts, 5514f793fb the sky outside 74672e04d6 had turned a a13374c2ab dusky orange.482261b1df82c372

“It’s about time f89034df33 I head back.”
“So soon? Why don’t 6e4bea25cc you stay 1e84849392 for dinner?”a50ae56d705e6648

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Dinner? I hesitated briefly.df9b1c63d7e7359e

‘Should I stay?’34fd4256c9f30e44

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Before I could agree, d4d1eb51f2 a familiar voice answered c62e58b192 from behind me.
“Lady Mayer, I’m aad335a98d afraid that’s not 35e305ecbc possible. My wife 0bb67cafc6 has to 0e5edb1a65 return with 54a5e1f1f7 me.”305d4a3ca30fa9a4

Harold?! Why was he here? I jumped to 051af6bb19 my feet in 50e85bf984 surprise.
“I came to e3ba9d39d1 pick you up, 98b5b77a02 Diana.”
“Pick me?”
“Yes. You were taking too dd063b0aae long.”dbfb2a8bfbaf8081

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His large, strong f6855a9ef5 fingers slipped between cf5fe54076 mine, locking firmly 19dab17ae5 in place.
“Lady Mayer, I’ll 61350bf098 be taking my 0572e94064 wife now. I’d like to spend 5a4f15c956 some quality time with 558573203e her.”c233dd63625aecb2

“I understand that you’re 5ceb664bd4 newlyweds and want to 114742eb04 be together, but holding fc53bdc815 on to your wife ef395719ee too tightly isn’t ideal bc031b7663 either, Duke.”
Lady Mayer 7c32fc1508 narrowed her 064b15be68 eyes in 75cfe17a18 mild disapproval.bbdc42605245350d

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“Thank you for the 74eea402ca advice, but there’s no d292273b01 need to worry. My wife is utterly 0c55378cb2 smitten with my face.”
…Excuse me, I’m 5e1354158a not ‘that’ smitten.5b78374d1e36b933

“Isn’t that 734ee007b6 right, darling?”7341f23ac37fd225

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He flashed a seductive bfbe865bc3 smile that made my b8cda8650a face heat up. My ears turned red, 6f28cc4cd9 and I was too 8056f069de flustered to deny it.6b0675af5247bdc4

“Never trust 2cd429ab67 a man a87dc46762 with black 2eb6a3594d hair based 705d704ada on looks b891d02a7b alone…”
Lady Mayer muttered to f1f1e8a441 herself with a deeply f7b2310f08 sympathetic expression as she 06aa0c6ebb looked at me.eea8d14defbd1d45

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After bidding 51331e2d17 her farewell, 9aa3bd70f2 Harold and dc777e1b90 I boarded 687b2d1b11 the carriage 187e16e88e to return db329951d2 to the 275d230d55 duchy.3491ed392271cf22

As the fee2c96515 carriage rattled ce1ad33d68 along, I 6bde7ff934 leaned my 7054fc2c21 head against 8ed19e65a7 the window d5e125d90a and stared 44998d5295 blankly outside, ad3b1ade19 her words fcbf6b3c43 replaying in 02a9d9a13f my mind.1e0f531533037280

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‘Never trust 027f1f7f29 a man 818670feb6 with black e088b67ac8 hair based a96a731008 on looks 8eb5fcac4f alone.’632e6b4719e60abc

In Korea, black 428c5b55b8 hair was common, f63339657f but here, it 9102e65735 wasn’t. In romance novels, 21136a7b7c black-haired men were 56afe9f008 often the male 326d169a4b leads. And they 127c7831d6 were usually 42b3d42999 characterized by 2eb4c1e182 intense obsession 45623c7a80 and possessiveness.4b1698054b854351

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Harold, despite not 8cfeef3d8e being a male 93008eb8bd lead, was no ec093b2753 exception to this e769a3bb87 trait.
‘No wonder 84ca762091 she looked 991ffc9e6d at me 79dfe008e9 so pityingly.’
It would indeed be ccfd4db8e1 difficult to deal with f5da8f99c9 someone so possessive in 78b9d826ea real life.96f62c61f2e0168a

Since Harold and d7fed4e161 I hadn’t married 98e07d52f1 out of love, b91f9c881b it didn’t matter 293dc7c1a5 much.a9f1426abb6fd0e5

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“You’re lost in thought.”39ef70f1d9bdf143

“I wasn’t thinking a731b859c8 about anything silly.”
I immediately retorted, smiling 43ca2752be at Harold’s amused tone.3d0983fc252ad620

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“I was 29fd756073 just thinking 504a7a2ea6 about Lady 0b1aac23e1 Mayer’s comment 84adeff41e about black-haired 80ce79e16f men and aed34c881e why she 304265a7b2 might’ve said f27e95ecb0 that.”ab307e35af2eb806

“Ah, that? It’s because cdacef301b Lady Mayer’s d68ddbce1d younger sister e597ff5177 was in ffdfa99036 love with f544cfc6ea a black-haired 29b15c1c76 man.”708e2eb5d6c43eb3

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“Was he good-looking?”0ba9103f531cc595

“Of course.”21a1f73a7db5d74a

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Would he c460b32665 have been d28592d80b obsessively possessive 337950fd5f as well?9b7160cbe442ef5e

“Seems like Lady 57e750a57a Mayer has taken 1cc50af4c6 quite a liking ecd3f0c1f4 to you, judging 039eb4b485 by her sudden 51835fc797 disdain for me.”00c077ad17ee9f34

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“Really?”
I beamed at 3ce14bb1f4 the good news, 1d98cc25a2 but Harold’s expression 746de682e1 didn’t look particularly 58076b2974 pleased.
It wasn’t that he 4ac0fdb652 appeared upset, but he ca2e19dd16 didn’t seem delighted either. Why was that?59793165516baa1d

“Harold? Isn’t it a good 3dc7950036 thing to get along 6d009daf22 with her for business 8259bbfdaa reasons?”5316262ee7ece830

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“It is.”57ada4b95f2f0de6

“Then why that face…”121cb0c0b5ed07c9

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“I personally don’t like e7530168c7 Lady Mayer.”dabf5a9622adb342

“What? How could you not f62bf04096 like such a wonderful ade3117d8a person?”
She was my 9cb31d2362 lifesaver!67be1d56c97865c0

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“We’ve often competed for 5c57baaba1 the same things. There were even 52afe63a57 times she tried 0a876b8435 to take what 268c71cdd7 was mine.”ce9a103fda2fbf49

Ah. Knowing how possessive cb9febf233 Harold was, it ef128d3d88 made sense he 85debb16cc wouldn’t have good 7b099f7784 feelings toward her.b1b86e4fa15d91da

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“Has she 447f8bdd72 ever succeeded 0f40e4bdef in taking 22d2355c46 something from ce14d86286 you?”aaff1d36b5236c2c

“No. Never.”
Leaning against the ce92edd199 window, Harold fixed 1518b94acf his gaze on 83ff9fb5ab me.c308dffdb85e6b36

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“And she 65541c78f3 never will.”b47db6d3301ceff2

***56ddc520e03cffba

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Vincent gulped down his 8a9dd69dc9 drink and slammed the 418f287afa glass onto the table. A pale-faced 95e1d2db7a staff member 6492904708 hurried to fd243e9834 clean up e2d60e4884 the shards 773b536890 and replace 0168d867f4 it with 522c5a2ebb a new aed5f9dfd2 glass. The two young ddb9afc46e noblemen sitting nearby e1a6352dc8 sipped their drinks 7e81503f0f as if this 9b2f4836a6 was a regular 78247e008b occurrence.cacb29aa67288c28

“Ugh, so annoying.”5a52f07ea29fbe95

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“You’ve been saying 5aa89d4094 that a lot cd751a71f5 lately.”a41a873646780b1c

“Wouldn’t you be dea0d25d5b annoyed? I had 02a9211f9a to bow f8eef81a2b my head abcfd4d882 and apologize 76389e5376 to some c2c48368ce illegitimate child!”d715e30b24034bef

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“Oh, that’s dreadful. I’m surprised you didn’t bite your tongue.”5723f391984f0b6e

“I nearly did. Damn it.”
Vincent wrinkled b36877a005 his nose 1557a848f6 in irritation.1777d5d5358d8c85

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The brown-haired friend a984f3878f beside him gave ef1b9860f7 his shoulder a d4c8f3fddc pat.
“Cheer up. How long do you 18f5cf5274 think that halfwit Duchess’s 4a4533e055 arrogance will last?”3e54778ae16d3930

“True. With the Duke 9def3391de being terminally ill, d975ad4aa0 it’s only a 54ad39fc91 matter of time 02e6b76225 before she’s brought 52a882194c low.”
Vincent snickered at 6a74e64c2d the thought.1adb1b283a4b028a

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“Vincent, how 2fa3c171b6 about a 58bc225151 game to ed9b2dbbf4 lift your 9efb277003 spirits?”873c7726956788ae

“Ugh, I blew d7483683a1 all my allowance 8f033c3eec last time. I can’t.”bc64bad0434b325a

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“Completely broke?”c3f854bc702be72b

“There’s a little 72fbd0f071 left, but what 435449e3b3 fun is that?”
Vincent grumbled, running a e1c7f582cf hand through his hair. His father 964adaca27 had already f27fecd95f started looking 5f51f1ac41 at him 090d5754bc disapprovingly for d9e7b2624f wasting money 596763609f on games.
One of his 590d0fcd34 friends, who had fa64d39b3c suggested a game, 0b166db888 leaned in with 0bd3c23b98 a mischievous grin.
“Remember that new fc71b31a8f gaming hall in db6b2db809 the district?”939cebbcd2145578

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“Oh, you mean ‘Nace’s d3b1940aad Land’ or something?”7bc117e1a8d8c128

“They have 41ba044d8f a pawnshop 8638686b35 there. You can use f3975b4f40 items as collateral, 2ada4d62eb borrow some money, 1289ea60c9 and buy them 85baf6e4c0 back later.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound too 30db3c5e50 bad. Vincent, why 5128fcbda8 are you 55b284f3d9 still sitting 4966e324e3 there? Let’s go!”
The young 66c0ed3214 noblemen urged 0277b94495 him to 3fe8cb2d48 go, and a868a0242c their persistence 7bed05f208 convinced Vincent c4b4a3074d to follow a9f6d6d4f2 them to 1228b56f8d the gaming b180b25284 hall.2ed4247cb0c4170c

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At the f4bbfc7ff2 pawn shop, 0d31b8a3d1 Vincent handed debaf72bdd over a 8a5f0b731b pocket watch 5c8abafb0c and his 202c5cec6f coat, receiving f2324aa5b8 a bag b3dd8a26f5 of money 67136eb5f2 in return. The weight 2985d73a10 of the dd1276b095 bag brought d0e41813e3 a grin c4d562ae0d to his a8ac91757d face.08da08620a53d5a9

“Today feels like a 40ae308a33 winning day.”
Trusting a a1250dd4b4 hunch he’d 7535086ea3 never had e3401e3c17 before, Vincent ee65beb135 stepped into 730c201a21 the game 28cbb681db room.34768119461ff707

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Meanwhile, the 2c91ecae90 pawn shop 60049d2a42 employee discreetly 724520fd19 entered the 066e0cde82 manager’s office.
Inside, the guild af3fa08e8d leader of Anais, 6e3923e36a wearing a raven 362e591a62 mask, was smoking 21214d9da2 while reviewing paperwork.792de03caeba7690

“Master, Young Lord Vincent cc08e4c0cb has arrived.”3ab01cd705408723

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“Already?”
The guild 53c05c867c leader stubbed ccfbafb8dc out his 4140d1c1e1 cigarette in 8ca562faac an ashtray f73c239b52 and left 5cb7cf7870 the office. He was curious 8088b555eb to see which 1d2bf62b19 reckless fool had 3f0fa8a938 managed to get 289676ce99 on Harold’s bad 82117f7af1 side—the man more 95f712694e devilish than the ca245cbd60 devil himself.26cb9f5c9817ff1c

He approached Vincent 5a498d2a1c with long strides, ff7dda641c he greeted him b205a47151 with mock enthusiasm.
“Ah, congratulations! I hear 389bff5288 this is ce2c5fd95a your third 2040bc80e8 win already?”1024090acd38696d

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Vincent looked 897a84cde7 at him 66b51674ed and nodded 5f8fe00ca9 politely.a697358bf1296530

“Thank you. Hm, seems like luck’s bdb77be9d4 on my side today.”
Unable to ad2e46f465 contain his f3722c7782 joy, Vincent’s c091ac2026 lips twitched 8556103267 into a b843a09f92 proud smile.8e700544d4690216

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The guild baba71a0f3 leader’s brow 78af26c3ef twitched as b6eb944e10 he suppressed 0c3cac2126 a sigh.9abdd845611c25aa

How pitiful.4bf6be24883febb4

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He was unaware that 2b22474012 his friends had sold 3a0f9664d2 him out for money, 5a861ab532 that this massive gaming 544aea42e1 hall was a custom-built 5438f573fe hell just for him, 6ace715af9 or that he’d been cd91d4f065 marked by a man 7f1f0245c3 crueler than any demon, 33ecc369fe Vincent played his games 483a94bd50 happily.c0e6b18747aed60d

The guild 158157dffe leader mourned f1687f72d5 silently.
‘Seriously, how did 419e5bc462 he manage to 12f6dc7c71 get on Harold’s 27f5c85875 bad side?’
Soon enough, Vincent would 63f2b83c22 never smile again.04f3c6ef736a3bb1

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