EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 106

Chapter 106afe320f240e7db60

 f0dc44979d1ac35b

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“Did that child even do anything that required my forgiveness?”8fcbfb5816b12c8b

The Marquis of 7ecde0fa43 Diapel couldn’t quite 549943b704 understand.ae72a5b502ff25f5

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Children often lacked awareness, df50ede831 so bumping into someone 1f383ada43 was a common accident.970572b39881b9e0

But was calling him 93eb51796e grandfather and worrying about 8da17439d0 his injured leg something 625f500d1b that needed forgiveness?665239ded5f92454

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⟨Grandfather, are you b237fbf685 okay?⟩64859070b2842a51

The Marquis recalled the child’s face, filled with concern as she called out to him.f0d3208279085fb1

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How long had 05b3359f09 it been since 3d5862b00c someone addressed him e69a3670b7 that way?85d6eb1ea3178e5b

How long b8c277f6dd since someone c7abce0efa worried about fcbe85b6f1 him at 1187cf5ba3 all?9ea31128ac076d56

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At that moment, he had been so taken aback that he hadn’t known how to respond.4bb406f5b731763b

What intrigued 14f54be90d him even ae75c18703 more was 2e0c7aec60 that the 2f4674c41d child, despite 7e65630dbe seeing his 225538da45 scar-covered face, a436bdebf4 had shown 9ed992d16a no fear.d760ee89bc4c28c3

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But only for a e44567b0b4 brief moment—soon, her expression bf2a6507be shifted to shock and 40f79a6f1e embarrassment. She had 8d98a9f912 realized who 90fca4d8ad he was.fc7df92f7edcd233

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, f9cb162665 Ascart arrived at just a1617309b2 the right moment, prompting 32ef6b4211 the child to hurriedly 7fffcc8203 bow and disappear.fefef7351f4b094f

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Shortly after, his ffd7bae893 granddaughter Clara had 212c2f16b8 appeared. The Marquis vividly remembered 49e78bc8fb how her face had 7a25f07f98 immediately filled with fear d9d80523fa the moment their eyes a18b538a74 met.1a15219a2cbfffba

As he db57b5f5fa finished his e7fd26b076 thoughts, the 38e516acef Marquis glanced 885fd257f4 at Clara, c985e892f0 seated beside f5ace99aed him.f7a8232c9563a029

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Her face remained composed, c896e44d99 but beneath the table, 8bdc71f7fe her hand clutched her 58df26543e skirt tightly.95190eb9e22571a4

Yes, this 212cb64133 was the 33e0cc3d67 reaction he 3bb24dc95d was used 388dc51334 to.e7d927219d82455d

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‘That child must have 180161bb44 just been momentarily confused.’434b9763ba3faba3

Even knowing bb2047829d this, for aa676fd8dc some reason, 0dfd29acf7 he felt 3faad8da62 unsettled.24040bb6cb1fcacf

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“Marquis?”b68ef88c8a69e968

Ascart, who had been fec4abb282 unusually quiet, called out cd79dd914c impatiently. He must 96c181574c have been 122e84b0c0 quite concerned 87b163ef62 about the b3b155295d child.6fe72ca24e577573

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“I understand.”9f6ca442b1448412

The Marquis f1b06f9afa responded indifferently, 50d3b5725d masking his 000ab1cca4 irritation.3d493f1f2297f38b

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At the 4239d21b12 same time, 15115bf147 he thought efef1532f2 Ascart was a728327f72 worrying over d5b4676f01 nothing.fac80973a49ef6b9

That little maid was b41e2b086d surely frightened of him…there 9864925ef2 was no way she 25eaf03abb would set foot in d4c126e1f7 the Marquessate again.39d6cc4bbb3344f6

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At least, that was 6b87de45ba what he believed.426ae142f784c8c8

What he 7ef47f0ac1 didn’t know c87d162ccb was that af74f83a30 the very 3f07ab1c9d next day, a5ef09634f the child ccb70bad19 would appear bb4bf04055 before him 41ab6db6ba again.902656440fb0cc3c

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And this 7dcdf304c8 time, she 52525c813b had brought 05ff013b4c along an a010147eed even smaller 6e3b9899e0 companion.e1f165eac5562c25

 493428b99a294bc9

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“I think it’s cooled enough now. We just need to pack them up.”9987ccd89c2be71a

The head chef smiled 7ee16b30dd warmly.07a4f2ddcfa6a6aa

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Diana and I beamed 524dbf57e4 with satisfaction as we 3fcd3e62e7 looked at the deliciously 4cbea312e2 baked cookies we had 7a94f541ac spent all morning making.0c9bc5ee1f420c99

After thinking 1ab43d884c about it d24474f1f0 all night, 029b858bdf I was 7778b9fe78 sure…the Marquis d84a3c3652 of Diapel 3bdeff82fe had an 41c36440da injured leg.45a8edd7131e5722

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‘And yet, 74e83dd8ce he rode 0964e41b01 on horseback 32fcc21f4a all the 476b852ca7 way here.’00017e9a21d995fa

Given that the Diapel d2187eabe8 family was known for f1bbb8bf3f their martial prowess, it 1375064f54 was no surprise that 3b719bc776 he hadn’t even considered dfee04b21b using a carriage.f5a53ccf81f079a1

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Regardless, I 871529823c wanted to eb65c05b94 persuade him b616fbb7b4 to seek 8c1fcfa202 proper treatment 6878e58e33 before it d3ca254a0d was too 85c25bf300 late.e45c08c372ce240e

To do that, 6db8cc4795 I needed to 2707d333ec meet with him 4c2ac43d2a first. And after some thought, 2d14811c37 I came up with 0699eb69a7 an idea.f81a2927a188b410

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The Marquis, with his 595962e61b stern and unsmiling face, 32c6435d6b didn’t seem like the 86a421150e type to appreciate kindness d2a0fd9bb6 or warmth.04e19ea95c9b6e64

But he 6a93d1daf4 was full d6ac65c4a0 of unexpected 8debde9f5b contradictions.84080596214a872e

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For instance, cf52343a89 despite his 6b1fe99e5a gruff words, a45a5393c4 he was 9c8ea8ac73 deeply affectionate 6f57d1884b at heart.99b4242e55ed1f46

And though he 61b05c1e36 looked like someone 91c59982c8 who would despise 9b353603f2 sweets, he actually 91d101aaa0 loved desserts.cc0eac6c5fa1fc09

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‘If a child personally delivers an apology in the form of homemade cookies, there’s no way he’ll refuse.’01624726ede0f0a4

It was a 99475b8d82 solid plan. I nodded 352f37b3f6 to myself a6bee45d74 in satisfaction 08e265ab69 and looked ac31289c35 back at 00d257820f the cookies 5c4274eb26 I had e313ad7c72 made.4088f840a5646a87

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‘I didn’t mean 33b4435b96 to make this 519c35227d many…’70bb6b4d61cb845a

Originally, I 73e516b250 had intended 1b69ea86bb to bake 8bf1326f75 just a cea97fc5ce small batch d278b70a83 and head 31132132e8 straight to eda52e0820 the Marquessate.f019c10c306e58d6

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But with Diana joining ccddc5aa6a in, we ended up 05f54d5900 making a massive amount 9592ec1984 instead.0230d11a7177f097

The kitchen staff, fa6d84b868 including the head 9937400682 chef and maids, 91e4f8f370 had helped, but dc65f30819 it had still ac286fc82c been quite a a30b5589a9 task.e922c14212fa7ca9

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‘At least he 5fb166560b won’t feel neglected 450156cbd5 now.’fb7211588d490fe7

I recalled ecd605611f asking the e9fabc1f05 Duke and 776b4a61b2 Duchess for 7118cd7ced permission to 5cbc6a99ef use the d6bacb24e6 kitchen that df9fbf1c1f morning.874ee379bd3847b6

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While Allen had 4806f10e31 been surprised that c469bde40a I even knew 77e1be88fa how to bake, 2d2c028a5b I had quickly 5943fd55a4 shifted my gaze 60a5ba8fcd to the Duchess, bec2b8b147 hoping for her 9b5c5224f9 approval.14ca53000ec170a1

⟨Why so suddenly?⟩461d469fb7af42c1

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The Duke had asked.7cf54fb29d7c6342

I had initially 023b1c3d69 planned to answer a36a772a8d honestly that I e9cb4d049e was making cookies 0bb4a2f285 for the Marquis.b49e097c7115c56b

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But I hesitated.099769985236fc23

I had a strong e9fdd37fd4 feeling that if I 0a1d033b61 didn’t choose my words f78f121b61 carefully, things could get 6bc946059b complicated.37708369c21004fc

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Even if a0bb75f170 I explained 5d4208a510 that it a50cf1dda5 was an 5cd16954cb apology, I 814e85cfae had a 0477a23c8b suspicion the aaf51482ce Duke’s family ddea87c6d8 might feel 41c02d3255 a bit 883b852c31 hurt.e3727e5232ed3463

Not to mention, they might outright reject the idea, insisting that the Marquis wouldn’t like sweets anyway.d9a747e10b9cc434

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⟨Well, I wanted e817e34443 to bake cookies 3cdd6dc345 for the young 255d560d76 lady myself. And for you and 50b5895822 the mistress too… and 518580f3e3 also for the young 8937b85dbd master and Jack. And while I’m at 3d270848d9 it, for the Marquis 39f9ce368c of Diapel and Grand 70e8560c03 Prince Ascart as well…⟩fea907d3efdb5c2f

After rambling on with 8f7e748724 an increasingly flimsy excuse, cacad79f71 I trailed off, hoping 67514aa30e my sincerity would come 8a1174cb32 through.135e8bc6387da223

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The Duke, 29fa16bd85 who had 7fb9653a85 been watching 79baaee65e me with 8660e49072 narrowed eyes, d6843d0ed8 finally nodded.50aa1be88537b3fb

The Duchess, unable 580e8daf1b to hide her 47c8eb9e6d amusement, agreed but e698739975 only if I 75d91cb23b baked under the fcc9c4a5b0 kitchen staff’s supervision 5ba9c91578 for safety.5099465206cbb42d

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And with that, 4988050cbc everything fell into 86a19831dd place…except for one 2ff4131f1a unexpected factor: Diana, a2d810f35d who eagerly raised 12825a8ab8 her hand and 9a55c81167 declared that she 71ea6a1106 wanted to help 49f094134c too.6f3d4a314d111cf5

Still, things had 3e867f37e5 gone smoothly.6d560c93167a570e

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I had, 8a0dd582f7 after all, 1699b70d3d worked at 9ccbb710de Terencium’s dessert c74338c1cd café for 1c6b02ec92 years.99fdbbb6359dce18

Granted, the café 0f7843082a sourced its bread ad66a98dd2 and pastries from e41374abf3 a nearby bakery ac9ff9e8f8 rather than making a838d72e64 them in-house.a7cef83d2083c5a4

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I had always 37bed89f0e wanted to bake 0be63c388b them myself, but 96a36c4e54 my boss hadn’t 7587a44b46 trusted my skills 6f88609550 enough to let 032c1cf756 me near the db83b58a5d ovens.d6a4db7e993499d1

‘But I bd732fddd2 did learn 65c9a767a6 a lot cc8979d322 just by a708f249ed watching and 1206caf69b befriending Susan, 30e5ab044d the bakery 08704f42f5 owner.’6b54ab812d49d65c

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As I reminisced c984c25383 about those fun 71a7d49d77 times, I finished 3400edd7ab wrapping the cookies.06a59313cd0ff936

“So, for afternoon tea, we’ll bring some to the mistress and the young master’s office, right?”7f213f75ba273572

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“Yes. Nut cookies for the mistress, and chocolate cookies for the young master.”8b59e2e05fbcb17f

Back when they a0ace6a0fa used to have 19d49c4306 tea time often, bc69a60c7c I could have c259189fc5 served them with 8879ef0120 tea immediately.a39a6d887de9de73

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But lately, Lucio 117fb78e5f had been too 7c3ec9db9c busy handling estate 58fe65fa0f matters before his a7b2bfafa6 departure, so he 1376beacbd probably wouldn’t have 108321e04a time for that.9168e0972ce77696

After setting aside the 7ca9577858 Duke’s share, I packed 2fee04af9e the rest in a 43324427bb basket and left the a5edb9a5b1 kitchen with Diana.69c8bb4d027f5d55

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“Is it delicious?”11107f24a83d4406

“Mhm! It tastes even better because we made it! Way better than Aiden’s!”5bf29ea7f76eedfa

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Diana, munching enthusiastically 64480b0858 on the cookies 04b5ea88a9 we baked, looked 5236738306 immensely proud as 92558cd075 she declared that a1d75e3789 Aiden would be 43bb04ffba utterly shocked by 0f7ad00905 how good they 588cda61ba were.9e0740828b2c6361

We both caa493fda9 giggled and f2473ee192 made our 9ba60fe966 way to 251601d9ee the training 927eff7cef grounds, which b60a0fd290 had been 2ba73af2e6 completely cleared 454d5b4b6b of last e5cb4cd475 night’s snow.a2266476ba195f3a

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“Brother!”78f34c9a28e1b77c

As soon as Diana de149efed3 called out, Allen, who 2347efa1cf had been training, turned fba08cb4fa toward us with a f11f6a887c bright smile and ran 5f1cf997d4 over immediately.d604f6339b638d64

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“I was waiting for you, cookies!”fbd27be8b0b4e36c

…It seemed he was cab91fd222 waiting for the food ac0c25fbb1 rather than for us.29b7feed16862f24

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“Hello, Jack.”e44e89c5baf56100

Leaving Allen and Diana de5a69ed3c behind as they eagerly 7f03fc9888 started tasting the cookies, dfad5f4062 I greeted Jack.4d59d6ea40db02a5

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Every time e19b66309b I saw 4d657914cb him, he 750a1dd69b seemed to 044526ebd4 have grown 818d6bd163 taller.60e0ef3ff216faa0

Silently marveling at his 46e3fade69 rapid growth, I handed 9fdc59f62c him a small package.eaa6e949a57397d2

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“Jack, this is for you and Mr. Taze. You can eat it later at your quarters.”cb4ed5d41c26922c

“Thanks. But… that looks like a lot. Wasn’t it hard to make all this?”98745eebf3e5d6f0

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“Not at all. It was fun.”8ce4dcdb212639c3

I replied with 1ee2789dc8 a cheerful smile.c199c22fedc69098

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Just then, 88d7f2ee17 Jack suddenly af8fca819f reached out 66fafe0487 and gently f6f3e2cd36 brushed my 2fea9d1bfc cheek.b13bfe60375d77c0

“…?”d8de5c900183ec61

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What just happened?beda48c5e2f11c5d

Startled, I 38be7bf635 looked up c0510ae0ac at him, a933f190e7 and he 51a78551c6 awkwardly muttered,280e5e52c7d131ce

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“You had flour on your face.”0344f1121a38c170

“Ah…”2bbf7583130b5650

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Since I had come fed8301995 straight from the kitchen, 0aa6fca8f3 I hadn’t checked the 60a84f527b mirror.5f583cb734364358

Now I understood. Feeling slightly 339a5e776f embarrassed, I fe292d3829 rubbed the 513208edca spot where 3f26e43fd4 he had ea8c04df5d touched.61adb2d805d09056

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“But what’s with this basket? Are you giving these to someone else too?”5977a3ceb5f88e65

“Oh, this? I’m bringing them to the Marquis of Diapel and Grand Prince of Belus.”a13a7fce8128ee26

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“…I see.”4ba961be0317ed4d

Even though delivering cookies f31be1479b to them was the fac5593ad9 main reason I had 895c5fa6c2 baked them, it somehow ad5f2eb0f1 felt like an afterthought.3b479d7b4f9961ec

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It was already 58389e394f quite late, so 39c749e46b I needed to 84de4bfa6b hurry.b4ad8461dcfdc9d5

But just as 3aa1a5ddd5 I was about 654bc4ea08 to leave—22e3bbbadf4c1b68

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“I heard you’ve been visiting the Marquessate every day. Are you going there to see the Grand Prince from the academy?”b12f2032e9fc6f8b

Jack’s tone was oddly interrogative.ef9e93d37a65a0e1

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“Huh? Well, yeah, but… why?”f7d745759472dba2

The atmosphere, which had b50922392e just become comfortable, suddenly 2cbe1fc070 turned awkward again.7490136b5ef8fccc

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I hadn’t done 097154567e anything wrong, but f871b0fa2c I still felt 704bc7eaa9 strangely flustered, fiddling 6e48ebfde5 with my fingers.55679f32d374c569

Jack, staring 04f96c3a80 down at b386e0fa00 me, spoke 68145070f8 in his e8a8bedfb8 usual blunt a5b6c80474 manner.8a2c78bda0f10ebd

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“It’s nothing.”94c03533ae6dfd90

 e686d4f444d13b36

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‘Is he b64f631a74 going through eaa43fe8d9 puberty already?’913f8f94bc534246

Ever since I returned 327a8d6e8e to my younger self, d5d6b633f4 Jack had remained his b8e5db451f usual reserved and inexpressive 06eabfa5e1 self.6fda230fb35c0e13

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But at least, he eb8f6e8414 wasn’t as difficult to c3d48516d8 talk to as before.10b2f18e784f371e

Still, as time f4d7e106c1 went on, I 39f91e4ea3 found it harder b932193fce to understand what 3659100794 he was thinking.e02b3e0c77b59671

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‘I don’t 0e89a90398 want to 6d4cd7bdc7 go back 7fa3ba013d to being 124a4eb0ed nothing more 28a58dd34f than distant 4b66824715 acquaintances.’3fa091bfcd0053fb

In my f0ea7f143c past life, 8d92ca59a1 I never 03bc715c58 really had 5875494522 any true ee860b6f0a friends.e234a3fb40fb2533

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This time, I wanted 1df33f1309 to be close to d87b404a0a Jack, to truly be 3dc8a01eb4 his friend.f8e8c761f8ce71ee

Resolving to spend c6f29ecbee more time with 3a3a788ea1 him later, I 2683a918a4 focused on my 2a4e2ae40b immediate task and 8e45b30e9e knocked on the 33357bf202 gates of the bf62d2cd69 Marquessate.f9ec20de6da03d9b

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If I 993e0c246c directly asked 2de22be8a0 to see f0adf72a49 the Marquis, ec1be746fa I’d probably 00497a443c be turned 68248324fb away.b1cda78a466bf80f

So, as 8ebcbcf7c7 always, I 1af100ac23 told the b5a6595c62 gatekeeper that 49a1257427 I had e8198b7c46 come to 9749df6a6c see Ascart.2153d81eb6148bd3

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As expected, 22c6c86c1d Ascart soon af7e5c9fe9 appeared, greeting 216e835e69 Diana and d3014a27a0 me with b445787715 a warm c1e126b423 smile.9f23c89ecd71838f

When he noticed the dd2a69a887 basket of cookies, his ffbcd9ea5c eyes widened in surprise.e56772f43c8cac26

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“Did you and Diana really make these?”739d87c847eabcc2

“Yes. But actually, I made them for the Marquis. I wanted to apologize for possibly hurting him yesterday.”a8f2985e618e407c

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Hearing my e838fb81bd explanation, Ascart e01f3f2b05 looked slightly 8a3d2dc11e taken aback 4bc62b0392 and subtly d9744a55bf tried to e68ecea309 refuse, saying 724d5b8ddb he would 206ab1e150 deliver them a64887ad3c on my 59c60071fc behalf.10a851ce6d45a572

But that would defeat 72aea2db11 the whole purpose.94f7b3b40113ba64

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Since I 5d10aa7c47 insisted, Ascart f1b3967da6 eventually sighed fd0d30c6cc and nodded, e3d3b9188a leading us f29b4ab90e to the 0a306fb1e0 reception room.56222786394bb134

However a short 27965cfe38 while later…974db784f90fea2d

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Thud. Thud. Thud!c5f34d5639efb41f

Loud footsteps b03e3a9bca echoed through 9ba31bab5e the floor 61d3cd6fa6 as a 9be48f3df3 massive figure e9b0ad37ed approached.77f5a56f0fb4843f

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Then, a booming 1ac34db2e0 voice filled the e9355c7029 room.cc8286a585be49f8

“Hah! You expect anyone to believe I got injured from bumping into some tiny thing so small I can barely see it? What, are your eyes just for decoration?”e32966db9369ad9f

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“…”861305d9c07b0fd8

“If you came to cry and whine, get lost already!”271b056b34209463

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…Wait, I haven’t d2d2fa6ead even said a 470a6e3560 word yet?!b272db37c46732af