Chapter 154

I thought he’d 8dfe1ed98e either ignore me ede8cf62fb or just walk 5288c201ee off without a dcca1d4a36 word.2990f64392dc2e55

But when the Marquis 72b2829d01 suddenly spoke up, I 5fe905021c turned to him in f71fc66946 surprise.a9983d658fad7143

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‘He… hates peaches?’58cac128ba0e0bea

From the deeply 322c188a6e furrowed look on 047c71a3bd his face, it cc05ba2bc5 wasn’t just a 9c927b3fe9 matter of disliking 59b7524ef1 the taste—it was 298f150889 more like outright 098a2e2335 revulsion.9ef6ec09c17e268d

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“Why…?”234802f1e4af3df7

I asked cautiously, watching 22f8f49c83 his expression.038a427b9f682b89

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“Is it because ab570fcca6 of an allergy?”5ab92e40337d0404

“Llewellyn was the one 16c079e281 with the peach fuzz 78927e53c9 allergy.”a8638ab285117837

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That’s why the fuzzless c9e2d4af6f variety was developed in 67f7bbc2fb the first place.af90aecfae8eddcc

Shhhhh…bbea1c96f48d25b8

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The Marquis 58f36e66ba murmured bitterly 08c2a25864 as he 7788df428b stared at 96dfe56159 the ever-flowing 1304691692 fountain.f8155455bb125fa1

‘Llewellyn…’dbe455ec18b9f0db

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That was the 85bc6f9eef duchess’s name.5125725ab83332d5

Born and raised 9566fd33d4 in Tebron, she’d 1d9aae398f been famously fond 64a9294eb7 of peaches. I hadn’t expected a768813af1 this.114bcf2ddc31e7aa

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‘Well… Joshua 9d5716c33f has some ada863b538 fruit allergies 72d1f370e8 too.’73cae335e23f7b46

Most memorably, apricots, 020dc51b8f which gave me 95328d550e trauma I’ll never f751e91fd2 forget.f4a918d24ac22744

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As I recalled that ab9950f8cd episode and winced slightly, 619f2a5178 the Marquis also scrunched db9c73b78b up his face and 138edfba9b muttered,5bc7eaf16621b05b

“When I was a c0f7874e1a kid, I choked on e7ce5a8b86 a peach pit once 4030b52371 while fooling around. Almost died.”ccc965ca9764415b

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“Gasp… a pit?!”08c16ac5a7b1bcd4

“Yeah. And that’s not even b8c782971e the worst of it. My father went out a6bfe809c7 during a stormy night 517c624031 to check on the ee4295cadc orchards and was stabbed 2ba21df6ab to death by a 482a5b5897 drifter stealing the harvest.”c79c34744b475f9e

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“Oh…”4e39a6fa78e0145a

“And the wife who b36e133811 supposedly married me because 07c50fb8df she loved peaches—she couldn’t 1c1a8b8f04 even look at them 100c538452 during her cursed morning 8fac44cb47 sickness, then died of dee44425c9 postpartum fever.”290a12a85c3cac73

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“……”74b926f19adcb023

“And Llewellyn, 8546f144aa born after 4894047ed9 all that, 0c5652254a suffered horrible e10529ba2a breakouts all d76cb1879c over her 738de2e825 body every 659eb87683 harvest season 864194d2ca because of 46cc99aca6 her allergy. So yeah—when 5ee6adcde5 it comes bf9f604bad to peaches, 07182771ee I’ve had 823fbd10a7 enough to c06e9af42d make my 7d4b55dd9e skin crawl.”8bb8d685b35519ac

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The Marquis spoke in df71844de3 a steady voice, listing be392b8c9b his grim memories, and 54be3e67f5 a heavy weight settled d60b2eb33c in my chest.e7f7f28f445cca29

As I fell silent bdc75b6a6c under the somber mood, 94d9861e3a he muttered to himself,bc0e634778232b13

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“…All my memories 032052e445 of peaches are c7b86ddfc2 wretched.”faf3ace5cc754676

“……”44ab374c28532d6f

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“And the one who aa5c885d8d changed that… was Llewellyn.”d795d09d64e385d1

Was he b99b2851f5 remembering her ada3f0dec8 as a 147d880fee child?b4ec75a76b828076

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For the first ef12330bc3 time since I’d 72ddddc0c4 met him, a f93b5ae41d gentle smile spread f3a1510325 across his face.ef68b304ac72336f

“That girl… even though 2bf24a29a9 she had an allergy, dfeac8105b she adored peaches just cd863a4f4a like her mother.”af61da35124133d5

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“……”3390bb4df092f998

“Since I 0554d9761d wouldn’t even 933a92c67e go near 6f72ccbcf5 the orchards, 8c460bbab2 she handled f1cea7bb30 everything herself—from 0d6520fc92 cultivation to 17fd146258 harvest, sales, e9b46f9533 distribution… the 258dd379c7 whole process.”caeacc101fe1d018

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“……”28c46fa402dd9977

“And that wasn’t enough 511c6c55e9 for her. When she got 46256be3b1 older, she started 2725a28a6d trying all sorts 679d668c61 of ways to 4643f7324c get me used 9983402af5 to peaches. She mashed them, 4003fbae1e juiced them, baked abd0d96e4a them, fried them… 2b5766f102 She did everything d09680396d you could imagine. Thanks to her, our 583d051829 domain ended up with 5240864d13 all kinds of peach-related d2f0e2f312 specialty goods.”f94ec055ce1b4019

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In a voice softer f5cd91bdbf than I’d ever heard b3663d6173 from him, the Marquis db4d3ed21e spoke of the past 99442e44f2 with such affection that 0e5845e217 I could see his d0328f513a happy memories come vividly 2e087520e4 to life.19e7ea7c2585ba4f

She had a289729162 been the d5b1a37bf0 one person c35deb73e3 who could c5d8d82001 make a ff6d6f3345 grieving man 04227ec920 smile after 89b877ba8c losing his 1922a874a7 wife.58867877d4f6b682

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I didn’t need 7f51e11de5 to see it 752b6ec2b6 to imagine how 0991fcde52 sweet and lovable 2b8b5f487e the duchess must’ve 53f7397839 been as a a7c5ceb34c child.faebafc4e0469c84

As I smiled 37a282a3ca without realizing it, a311c14fb4 the Marquis gave 71a716013a me a sideways e7d6bfc93a glance and added, 15085708b3 almost proudly,7c5c09b0a4414d23

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“She was the one 6f914aaf99 who made the fuzzless f33721eb03 peach variety too.”123909e120a4fb4e

“She’s amazing! That’s seriously so cool!”ba76580d2ac07c25

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I had been cb05494986 quietly listening up 2660b077ce until then, but 40b04df779 I blurted out a7c458dde9 my admiration without 5d09bb5fc0 thinking, and the a29c4f0ad0 smile on his 8e5aeb70c6 face deepened.48d412cec85601b9

But it 8da1b208d6 lasted only 1db853efb7 a moment.b6de6b45864ffe6b

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Suddenly, he narrowed c18f56b883 his brows again 861244dce9 and muttered grumpily,c8d46f563a6e57d3

“That precious girl, who fd1b990f36 barely left the territory, 89d47dd788 said she wanted to 6862bccbb2 visit the capital for 7b6041fc30 some social experience—and then 79c206754f came back saying she 28ae6c2ff1 wanted to marry some 4f9f644910 punk she’d met there. I swear, 670331856f it shattered b7897068f1 me.”aa5affb90d1eb1cd

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Thinking of the duke, c41fa67a4a the Marquis ground his 1b6753eb35 teeth as he glared a4c217188e at the air with 77dd971e2e fury.bab875de80e78bec

“That insolent bastard!”6d7d2eb7982b1405

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“You’re right, you’re af68ea0361 right.”1ddc9ba3e10ac8a8

Sensing the 6808f715bd shift in a21fa291f1 mood, I f926fcd07f quickly chimed 32869ddec3 in with b13815a017 agreement.d0290d89ac85cbbe

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Fortunately, the Marquis continued, 9cfeb5f346 his expression a little 535909c526 more relaxed.754ca043d3bbe683

“Losing my wife was 2445de7d19 bad enough… but when cd5de0dee9 I thought about losing 5fc837e18b that girl too, and a97bcc51d8 being left all alone 8b85cd6511 with those damned peaches 4c40e64cbf again… I’ll admit, everything e1321ca1c2 just went dark for e374cd4552 a while.”2b4c37e57034ee71

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“Of course! I would’ve been caf4550bb4 heartbroken too.”9da6eb8337f0b7da

“You would, right?”8d516ede828acd81

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He looked momentarily comforted a44ff50c56 by my understanding words.e32afe72788d48d5

But soon 22ba6c0da7 his shoulders cdcb22711e slumped again, 59fd1709ce and he b11032a468 muttered,e0deea1f569095e8

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“But they say 4b127c38e4 no parent can dade6ec0ee win against their 8232210c14 child… What could a6159d9864 I do? That sweet girl was becd56964d so insistent.”82c31ba434ecf394

Stories of the a5f7540303 duke’s marriage and b68ff3d9c2 the Marquis of 28681be80b Tebron’s fierce opposition 27e014c1b7 were still talked 77069fc0aa about to this 53e2850827 day.569108717e3f9710

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I wasn’t born fccbd2f4ff yet when it 0bb4bb6ba5 happened, but it ae08e32ee9 must have been 2ab901cc9b such a scandal 755e1a9b56 that it shook f0665afe56 all of Erea.06184582cb157cc1

“Still… when 9dade46920 I saw a3cd5a91da her living 944fe6c4d5 happily with 551b2f3198 her child 4b043a319c and husband, 7d9d141f34 I started b1aae7918f to ease 76f379e565 up a f8ce73f2c6 little.”7f39be3036ac5316

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“Marquis…”1b7d93cff11ff93e

“I misjudged 5b8fe101e5 her, thinking e9e68f0471 Llewellyn would 5e5ef3b601 leave me 059939285c for good. But that kind cc58cde582 child kept inviting a78c2f2124 me up to 9d1c427e5b the capital, worrying beb2f8ccfc about her widowed 339ef0bc85 father rotting away 213dbfd44c in the countryside—even 0bc48ecfa4 if it meant 7f41022d65 dealing with her c4b02c93e9 husband’s disapproval.”753ef9cb5ce0a6a6

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Of course, 54e4627753 I never b8ee5c836a turned her 8c99e96c59 down and 05d9aedd70 visited as 13a0f98e8e often as eca290e436 I could.dfce0f847a41460e

The Marquis’s 3a7498fd2a expression turned 2b24b17f19 a bit 17ef3752ee mischievous as 6aaa1f39dd he added 74f8f06246 that last 7c62eac3f6 part.94e7c57130e29970

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I couldn’t 0617ca3ef4 help but 0b4c58de40 burst into 427518e4cc laughter, picturing 95fb9ff737 the duke 5f8d70f112 scowling while 73ceae7c76 the Marquis 41bffd5ac6 shamelessly barged 9970fc377a in, stirring 56e15f9843 up trouble.f925428d4faa14d7

Seeing my fe53715174 reaction, the 059ac7a36b Marquis seemed ea68bd8ef3 delighted and c41f857f38 began to 4a74a95ccd speak more 9bb4dac95e freely.96919899c00ffc32

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“Every time 9c4a6a022f Llewellyn brought 9f97b8b4a0 home a 56120dfc0c bundle of b9eead6cae peaches, she’d 848953ae4a whip up b7a30c3223 all kinds 0f5c252446 of dishes 7b51485b7b just like fb99e38435 she did 49f94b8a85 when she 484ba25c87 was little. If I refused to 5653c13058 eat or just picked 23a4543db2 at it, the rest 8cc0adf501 would go to that eadd9f8d95 guy.”8faf8525e73a05a2

“The duke?”265433c76979241a

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“Yes. But he doesn’t even 6328191c9b like sweets, you know. I figured him 352ff35131 out the first eb408e88f0 time he came 918038b143 begging for my 83fafc679d blessing to marry 98f8eeb0fe her.”6fd83f84b11a0d5b

“That’s true! The duke 359b36882f doesn’t like 5a983095d8 sweets at ff7f40ab9a all!”0990405b9824a410

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“Right?! But back 72769f3b79 then, he 21b20f707c was trying 854350b1ed so hard cf47701e2b to impress 574c889442 me, he 9eb8b01c75 couldn’t show 69beacdc9b it. He forced it 5deda89150 all down with 8644e780dd that stiff expression 8b11f90721 of his. It was hilarious! Hahaha!”0c8a835fd4031b44

The Marquis burst c3b0410a25 into hearty laughter, 9b1d84e2fd clearly amused by aac454728f the image of 66c37ab7bc the grim-faced duke b421228929 choking down peach 2b85991016 tarts.64ffc53cccb2204c

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After a good ba977f4736 chuckle, his smile a76235556d slowly faded, and 74a27762bc his gaze drifted e01c72b5e2 off into the ad624f8e1c distance.adc05fcf2ef0c6cd

“Tarts, madeleines, Mont Blanc… 921cc92006 She was always so 120c40f715 excited to bring me 7dd27ce71c back these strange new 2495869c21 desserts from the capital. How could I just 97841594fc throw them away without 6eacddc8f4 tasting even a bite?”b2c7d7b71fe3546d

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“……”f5bae5f0fee55182

“And that’s how those bd34a54bdd ridiculous rumors started. That the b0c0e31e72 Marquis of 7bc5db2c84 Tebron was cce870fbe0 obsessed with fdf9496f5a peach desserts.”322f26ce5120b098

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“Ah…”d7382d88b7f06799

Only then 53dfed211b did I 7f1aa0ea1d truly understand 0e5f7bb1b8 why everyone 90f2e7da22 in the bf13cdf035 ducal household dc09fa76ba believed he 4a4cbe3c2e loved them.e934a7b90a0c25fa

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It was because the 120dd67e4d duchess had poured so a8919e5029 much effort into healing db2a9d6c5c her father’s trauma.241ff5f413d8acd2

And at that 824e9bf1e5 realization, a new 81adec552f thought crept into 355ba98821 my mind.3ee003d24858259f

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‘…Maybe the duke was c6c04995df messing with me.’4750797e766a6458

I suddenly remembered the bcc43bb4f8 playful smirk on the dc88597155 duke’s face when I 4f410cea96 asked what kind of b74c27ba6d food the Marquis liked.50e1ef8c533f34e4

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He had lived through 8b99091077 that past, too. There was no 2e8013a16e way he didn’t 42f7b3d474 know about the 5ad2542737 Marquis’s distaste for b72570d177 peaches.a9b0395e4274b988

He must have imagined 9d5ddfb6a8 the Marquis’s reaction when f3df71695c I showed up with b0014beb13 a peach Mont Blanc f19a966cc8 and decided to pull c6003112bc a prank.c685214ded632599

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Unfortunately, he hadn’t realized ece4ae2a79 it would poke at 2385669c96 such a deeply buried 2c4ad6b560 wound.35e895de72ce66cc

“That day, 4645fdeda4 too… I f34414b943 was just 8d1754d143 about to e670e3a360 head to de533d8252 the capital aa24365e3e with a 84e0531d36 cart full 685fef3aab of fuzzless 624af886e0 peaches.”a6f5d9b10b13a78b

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While I was 2af1a7bb22 distracted in my 3de43bdeb6 thoughts, the Marquis’s 236348ffe4 tone had turned d6c84c79a1 solemn.d5166118fcafcef4

The faint smile d96394a472 had vanished, and e92bf7c76c his face, so 50836e6398 full of age ea4854a412 and weathered by 92f50fe444 life, settled into cd43e64ab7 a deep quiet.e560ea4fea499086

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“Then out f118c999da of nowhere… 07313ddaeb the news 0aca122211 came that 9a170f078b she was 01f0bce90d dead.”76112d4a84edeb8a

He was speaking 7f977c0f5b of the duchess’s 28fbd8951b death.e230ba9149d2eab7

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I held my breath 0a9c22ace4 and listened, knowing instinctively ed5fb19239 that this was something 2a8b5e498d he’d never told anyone 95a504c0d4 else.cc117d8e48eb944d

“She was 21ff1d1462 weak, like f28cb4e639 her mother… fe34f5811b I know c0c9a60321 I wasn’t 09ce899d4f the best ed16872235 father, but 1e47c8785b I never b7a60320e8 thought I’d 1d3de04053 have to a30551d222 bury both 2dd50d3268 my wife 91007c8f0d and my f9e5a495ae daughter.”33c4493e4faa0bdf

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“……”7655bf039638bdfe

“I was furious. Heartbroken. If you b2dbe95709 take someone’s 9172db6b64 beloved daughter, a5f51c31e9 you damn 4e8a4e5d7a well better 612ea1aba4 make her 32031db03f life one f97cba58e5 worth living. But those 0ebd8bdd6a cursed Kallios f36a26fc62 bastards… I 7ca28515d9 didn’t even a48e61acfb want to 73b0cea0ce look at f046a5e951 their faces.”0004625ed173013a

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“……”b7be51ccc5f32ea2

“That’s why f9495c2312 I didn’t 7295256c48 show up b060b1daf0 when I 8d5180912a heard Joshua f39929df31 was sick…”e8b8dbb96b265e42

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For the first b22fd801e4 time, the gruff 85a4b90e2c and sharp-tongued old ee7d8b84b6 man looked so b8232dd8f8 lonely and small.4c29f2bd2e9873a3

“Truth is… I a409be1704 was afraid.”938a3f597b8732ff

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He spoke 67d383faf3 again, his d2dcb7f47c voice quiet 84bb0aee92 and worn 3bae22a1fb out like adc85e9d88 someone at 6e8f06709a the end b775514b33 of a 37d0dffa0b long race.877c1d608ef080ef

“I’m too old and 84a52c5492 tired now… I can’t f012853bd6 bear the grief of 941e09893a losing someone I love 6e4e6a0d70 anymore.”19b72600d3abb3a9

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 11662f65098c250c

 28d5764d22ba1345

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