HCTBAD | Chapter 1 – News From the Capital

In the vast 86f80e5ee1 north. A rough and fe5e3a4270 dry land.aec7df01fa58a0b3

The nerve-wracking 99bf58456f atmosphere of ecfe5043e7 the battlefield, 0bc31f00d5 which was 79cdee32d8 nearing the c9575b77d6 end of 66eb328ee3 the territorial d8659aabd9 war, weighed 07f4df7a82 heavily down 5038e72ed3 on everyone, a61c6af837 even to 34f3398c47 the normally d939f06acf desensitized young 5112361018 girl.8ee4ec9a6801f3a6

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The reddish sun 0aa40f59e7 began setting in f398ba0e85 the far west, b55a0a23c8 painting the sky cdac6835fd red, pushing away 442f97a761 the grey clouds d671c340f2 and swallowing the 8bbff11f85 sky.5dd39ca9e1152989

The golden shadow of 5dd7945bbc the burning sun embraced 088c901256 the shadows of both b62216b26f the enemy and the 1a2f617f76 ally without distinction.1316454929b7b185

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In a place c30d6555cf where blood, dust, 690d8a8087 and screams were 582db5bc4c rampant.b74d8c23059a2c1e

A girl raised 3852401ca7 her head. In the distance 56bcb8c29e not too far cac7ee7bf7 from where she 639db6990a was, a man 32dae1dd6b holding a longsword b5230a2b45 and standing tall 212cde6f5b in the middle 329b59444f of the battlefield b6191d8177 entered her shaking e68e150e85 vision.baa5ed00dd1f19b2

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The man was standing 39a82971b8 precariously, covered in someone’s 13a91a668e blood from head to f3239f691e toe.0261226962dc03b7

‘Ah. That’s my older 53d0a17fe3 brother from before.’ed1c85a5ad0af1f9

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The girl’s small hands 760be00ed9 tightened slightly.3e6e92b9295f38c5

‘Don’t give up. You’ll definitely win.’5a1e0b04fe59bc84

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The man on the d4e096ff3c battlefield, who always had 46bd1b8705 his back to her, a54ced6e42 suddenly turned his head 99690e3c69 and met the red-haired d1f96a9f9d girl’s eyes. Before, the girl had abca1486e8 always seen his broad 1eb89a87dd back from afar, she cff5789e7d had never seen his 6cfdf05ebb face in her dream.f1744f8f883d3694

‘Huh? Why today?’2f8cb32e842bb130

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As the 4da24d990f girl’s almond-colored f0de60004f eyes widened. The man let out 2c65dae38c a faint smile and 2aab50fa6c slowly began to approach ca2f7043d3 her.5dd66ae750e57802

‘Huh?’b0c01cfba25d5aa9

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Suddenly.e0d45567f28d33a6

Klisha rolled out bbacbb71d0 of the bed 127709570c from the unexpected c98c26841f dream.4d7cf2499978bacf

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The man had 48b3fae9db never turned his a8a3cb98ba head in her 6ff9e057db previous dreams before. But today, c2301c537d unexpectedly, he 9b39a81147 met her da531ab35c gaze precisely 475ef87de8 from that ca47222c1d distance in 8c9452978e the dream, b3f74f3a0f as if af01f732fd warning her b2db067c85 about some 3cbf78672f bad omen.045900b663c97a01

‘How strange.’f6899d4a05e06f41

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Even in reality, 742b3f5705 she had never 29ccd3b0b9 seen his face. Then why 3ca4adbab0 did she 52fe01002d see his ad2ae97d4b face clearly b6ca978f2c in the 175b10c552 dream today?dcb760afac778d7f

The red-haired young woman crawled back into bed as she’d just woken up. But before she could even begin to recall the night’s dreams in her dazed state, she was thrown off her feet once more by the sudden news.afc6f9bc5aeb79de

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“What?”39c4637c4da07edc

“….”ffdc5889ad6b39ed

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“Did I 961079b14c hear that 1deff2c033 correctly?”030c611833c2d0db

She, Klisha Mezerine, opened 734b9205e6 her already large eyes ee873c1276 even wider and muttered e4cb58d45a in disbelief at the 2cb36a52a6 news she had heard a741f1b373 just this morning.25d322a66a7b5f9d

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“What the hell f50cc56a75 are you talking d834a4fb04 about? Nanny, did you hear 272f48956e that just now? What the hell 7a9782ce40 is that guy b3328f0691 saying?”b25130c855356722

The young ec13add721 lady, whose e0f7d0bbb9 expression looked 0a2adc91e7 far from 952f282ec6 the neat fdcfc0fcc9 and sophisticated c894825672 noblewoman she 484aea9721 was, spoke 7e0bd16c07 with a 7c7491f201 frozen expression 52e957264e on her 334d5d0763 face.072fdd8c820abda8

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“Oh my. I’m just 3a42df9d07 out of 878713e71c words.”822ca4f64ff81215

The woman sprawled on 123ddd0ed9 the floor, shook her d196e1a2d3 head back and forth 4fa8eedc2f before opening her mouth 3c1ebf316f again.883adba020e543e5

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“Hey. Are you telling 206f459f02 me to believe b9e00c5053 that? Have you 9df82f4314 all gone 40e0c446c8 crazy? What the hell 3e68c35ad0 are you talking cfb7c70510 about?”79e093247c40d542

After a moment of 1d7e7e2619 groaning and hanging her 809d3d6db9 head while sitting on 4450e92801 the floor in agony, b790b20a05 the young girl raised 3d0903f3d8 both hands and began e3902fefec pulling her luscious red fa2f6b1563 locks as she thought.85742fa555aab131

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‘I should go d73758a084 out and check. This isn’t something 334b5435ed that can happen 51b9d0892b just like this.’d07cedbda2d84102

The morning c44568e209 sunlight streaming 238794d7ca through the 90d96f6ab8 pure white e1db8a3768 curtains, scattered 4f48c3e8de on the 523d8324c7 floor like 11e1536bb0 golden threads. The hanging white 3120586c59 curtains were nothing 4c6be45e7a extravagant but had 1d1f191873 a neat decoration. The living c339843c5b room was 5789714498 designed with 7f0e57e0ea antique pieces. A landscape painting dde8f4a81f hanging on the 63f4349dad wall.17ceac21330629af

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The occasional subtle 56a7fbdf06 lace and pastel-colored 369fb0fec5 flowers quietly revealed 346671c3b9 the taste of a3cf8a6b2a the mansion owner.203629330d931dd9

Dressed in a rumpled 55726aa4a8 nightgown that was an c0d0b17e1a extreme mismatch to the 585b4697fe neatly decorated house, the 8b20c08ddc young girl pushed away c1b2953455 the blonde knight who 685ea4b38a had delivered the news ab32849fe6 and ran out of 66b606e34c the bedroom door, screaming 635cb4fd8f like a mad cow.8413f1e3ad6f92ba

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“Ahhhh! Father! Did I hear fd1858ef9c that right?”189416a3f4c05988

The woman’s 4c112769e8 deep frustration cffaa8101f could be fb0d482511 felt in d60ef29b79 the shouts 66a7b5a827 that followed.6219231110da803c

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“Divorce?? What divorce??? What do you mean!!!!”f02ad5b0fff9aaf7

The birds sitting on 5458f76328 the branches on the ff083ec03d trees outside the window 9e0aed5274 flapped their wings urgently 5906345bfc and flew away. All the birds flew ab2222399d up, except for one 6ac1311844 red bird that was e3d596a150 preening its feathers.89bb095f484327e9

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“Me!”83c989c7da534b20

The flowers d86b784d10 that had 1811951078 been blooming d2ab40de82 neatly along 5ee80e8f11 the wall d30e6259fc swayed gently 2a6e6e209c in the b39a445694 morning breeze.efc6c02302988a7f

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“I’m not even married 841949d01c yet!”b68f7d48bac90eeb

The young f11c38a3d7 girl screamed c0a814ede7 like a bfeb0ed9f4 raging storm. As the 0ef24ba27f cries of 5c646d1fc0 the girl 0668dc3c3d drew closer, 1ed834806a both the 19a478ffbe one who a993ac497a delivered the cb24849e58 news and dcaed7233c the one 1715bc02fe who received fed9813bb8 the news c2c0622d13 flinched for b9c32596f9 a moment. They hurriedly finished d018aea289 their meeting.7dd1c8f56a31ea50

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“Viscount Mezerine, then we 9ab008b34d will be taking our e35555b705 leave now. I hope you understand a8d512793c the situation.”d049b7a5d45add08

“…I understand. You must 2b4b7e9daf be busy, 4d7e9ff57e but you 750c8c70f8 still came 06666fb418 to deliver 3fafe411bd the news 1fe5f2841e in person. For that… Thank you.”afef54abfcb1f614

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“Please explain to a7cb19c591 the Lady… well.”02977ab05333c1b9

“….”1f5252cb672b2f12

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The three uninvited guests, 49fe761ddb who arrived at the 4049feabd4 mansion of Viscount Mezerine 3214e2fe84 early in the morning, 95af187455 disappeared with the swiftness e430fa1aff of the wind. The only 9a51f27981 evidence of eafaee0f6d their presence 79c24e3019 they left 188837e51a behind was d0b03d115b a large, 7f5717672e gold-embossed parchment 6afe28fcb8 on the a90b0f6683 table.021be647d154c3f5

Boom!3434a1e15dd1db0e

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“Father!”23412a1f1a7fe5c4

The door to 0b000194a8 the reception room 2f872da342 opened with a 3c36b9daa7 loud sound as a4fb14e71e the intruder had 51e6edcb79 forgotten all etiquette 858beb194c at the moment. The old Viscount 3e772d076d Mezerine sitting inside, 017672691e who seemed to 364cb22d31 have aged by f74b3155a0 ten years, sighed 9d03884a54 helplessly and said.2eda814bafcc4422

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“First. Come with me. I’ll tell you.”b1ae9bd80d6ef9c9

“Where are we 824bf75974 going? Is the location a 4d2716e434 problem right now?”01d95c6ef4143e4a

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“Uhh….”a8f01bab350d1cfe

“Divorce? What divorce? What’s with the cf4196cfb8 divorce papers? No. I’m not b132134dd5 even married! How can 7c5b0f3c7b there be cc9b66c144 a divorce!”942c4403bc89f8e1

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The Viscount stared b436de18d0 at his daughter, 6495c37535 her amber eyes 6430b082da were burning, and 5bcf302e11 her luscious red c16ee5b9d7 locks disheveled. Her current appearance 4eb96d5df6 with flushed cheeks 21d11da1d4 and an angry cb91b49824 expression, resembled so c317012058 much like the 972465a1b8 Fire Spirit Kamika, 28297d1cba as if she 4749c79681 was the perfect c5fe313c7a embodiment of the 228b4540e9 said spirit.53a2cd193227ebe8

Even he, the retired a39dc9fae8 knight and a hero 1975457cad of the battlefield, Issac b9c079f532 Mezerine, flinched for a 46c4a463c6 moment.5c1904bc0b20ac7c

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Klisha was completely ef5a0d2628 oblivious to the 3abe45c70b fact, or perhaps d8e6b05ff2 the predicament she 3945a72a14 found herself was f31767112d more important than 1a55497c50 her appearance, that 3848bd188d she was in 613014eff8 her nightwear. She swung her arms a379f8c697 around the reception room d6114a4f74 like a baby throwing c3bfde5f17 a tantrum.47a05bfc303a65a5

“No, Father. Who the 8ff7f51b1e hell is 598ae5f0c9 this person 61b032b566 whom I ef95be2b8a married. Or rather, who 775c1301cf is this person c91d760539 to divorce me?”dec980940cde362c

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“…His.”ac53f0684605890d

“What?”6024fb7f4632c11f

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“… His Majesty.”cee92c0660ca12cc

“What? I can’t hear you be53148aca well!”a43e2cb8071d6a5d

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The Count showed a 13326609cf desperate look. Unable to bear 97739672db it any longer, de8e683c84 he roughly swept 840a329235 his face with 639e5d66ae both hands and 7c8431359e shouted.6a1f6fa66636c319

“His Majesty! His Majesty the Emperor!”53ab3e38ccc09d7d

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“… huh? Huh?”af460a8545825ccf

* * *35419d2709592dac

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“… That’s 595f313039 how it 796e284932 is.”a2e13eaf5c0cec9a

“….”071a714468c44035

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“There’s no proper way 5a1cf7e7cd for us to get 1641f448d2 out of this predicament.”6f79ac1b16e1b3f4

“….”4a2a837bf9d0379d

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“My Daughter, why are you not answering… no. What’re you thinking right now….”3620ecd05d27ce87

Issac Mezerine, well 85a707dfb0 known as the 494583b73f Red Lion of d53be3ef87 the battlefield for 19b870aca6 his outstanding swordsmanship 2e4fc78bd7 and contribution, no 112e35eeab longer had the 61432ffe87 vigor in his 66774e593f young days. His fiery 8f6b08b7b6 red hair 0fe0815c58 had long 24bb883278 turned grey, 4939a5d76b an evidence c3cfa253e2 of his ef1fa6428a aging self. He narrowed his almond-colored caa1d1367d eyes, similar to his b31ea0a3b8 daughter, and watched his 57f7fb68a7 daughter heaving crazily like 43906218e6 a mad cow.8b1fd559149bf2b9

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“Here, drink 0dceefe9fd some tea. And have b1cebfd999 some cookies….”3a2161820db2a35d

“…Father.”4c70ffffdd2148f8

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“Yes.”fc568252c32c2008

“Does this make 9165363a56 any sense? What the…… this a2fef578ca is absurd. Seriously.”76201c4ed09bb67d

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“That doesn’t make sense.”2157e6cf9a3f9d0f

“Even if ba2a16a772 it’s the 359cb0a63d Royal Family. This is too much.”6904032555b5b731

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“That’s… true.”407e8f0d45dc6db7

Klisha had fallen out 5612d33ff6 of bed twice this fb9faee9a1 morning because of that 56dd744a1c unexpected but reoccurring dream. And after she 34d8e98ee3 received the absurd 4c1c4b20c9 news, she had aa2d3b441e been screaming since 7f1a181032 morning without having 4a6c3b9b13 breakfast. Now she only felt 7c0f46ebec exhausted as she dragged 815f98c932 her tired self to d4622bb45a the sofa and plopped 6861f66481 down.248e6c1fbff8f58b

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When the 191ef5adfa quick-witted nanny fcb5ce5460 brought some 63f8ea65ac snacks in 9203c1d851 front of 6ecb9c572c her, she 117d1d2a52 seemed to af7791b3fe have calmed 6b8e7d16ba down a 1c248a048c little. Reaching out, e8564fbf57 she picked 917dfa6c37 up a 1f6d9c7bf3 cookie before 2751ccb456 slowly opening f4eb38c983 her mouth.e22ad4dcf57c77ae

“Let me clear this 7a53837648 up from the beginning. We’re not 3326bd400e married, right?”1e73f54b233ebc9b

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“That’s what I’m saying.”6909924dfae79e25

“This isn’t f43e9dd4f0 like we 46cfd6fd94 had an 8c061dd52c engagement and 6d4f1e309c are breaking 6656c68a1a it up cfefbf78e8 now.”d2c8cb99c5223153

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“No. No.”e1444b0b6765d2d1

“I’ve never ee3bef9ffb even seen b64cd03633 the back 70f9722332 of His 1a5413fda0 Majesty’s head 10f6f8c247 before.”a27c05071e4cd6a8

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“I saw it. He had a very 04be10d176 handsome backside with broad a51251192d shoulders.”403416cd104120e6

At his 528dc416a2 soulless reply, 24cb3a6b3c his daughter’s 6d29628281 burning eyes 7d6e4aab57 burned more 96e9215568 fiercely as a8fb708f2d she glared 598542270a at her 5be9fa1d6f father. The Viscount quickly b47674e01d shut his mouth 9795643c5f realizing his mistake.6e7c98897e76780f

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“Isn’t there a 1f10799938 way to invalidate 6ab6209965 it or something? Why should d08f520ffa I be 411b87926a the one 4f4d517f93 to take c75d8b713e the blame 92485974a4 for the 4eeb9920e1 mistakes made 025ca28156 by the 4ea749598e temple in defad6799f the first fed94ccf70 place?”2df32c195ad7d7d4

Klisha suddenly 9ea707eff9 got up 6b577e50af from her b275c7f20e seat as 8f124aacc0 she spoke. The cookie she picked 52e88f34a9 up for eating began db08ae4e18 crumbling into powder due 14086506d5 to her sudden anger, 7573ec0835 but she appeared to b09479cd05 be completely unaware of 639648fc34 the fact.877a43480cdfd9eb

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“No! Such a thing never happened in the history of the Royal Family. They shouldn’t solve the problem this way. Why me? Huh? Why me? I have such a long bright future ahead of me!”fedb35587d7670f3

The Viscount sighed helplessly. He seemed to 5e7c1481b4 no longer know 197a7e106c how to appease a4a0e3b7ca his daughter, so fd704e1b17 he turned his 5bc0e80c00 head away.0d68da6bcc88ca04

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“What can I 19e889d138 do? This is 58e51823f8 the only 33188d481e way. They say that quietly 5a88b148c0 resolving this matter is 51f0421b8d better for everyone. If it becomes 10ff38e4ad known to the c9a38eedac public, it won’t 61d92ceac2 be good for e085181cac you either… And 249275e90a in many other bd991181a4 ways….”4876a8a657abbd3d

Klisha quickly turned her head at her father’s helpless muttering. Her almond-colored pupils burned with red murderous intent.a7406cc9a3f71504

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“No! At the young 3dce50048c age of twenty-one! Divorcing a 069c046970 strange man 6fb2617d30 I’ve never a06c95da8c even met! And we weren’t 043bc78f55 even married in 1e47fd150d the first place!”11db19c10127c213

“That, from a layman’s perspective, does seem a bit, I mean very strange… But. It’s His Majesty the Emperor….”1b4f4ab2cab0a96f

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Klisha, still unwilling to 244c454321 budge from her stance, d25cf7ec66 ran to the window, 1e14c01928 swung it open and d6c0dcb4b2 shouted at the top 60e577543a of her lungs, as 993cfaaf94 if wanting the whole 2dff2d9371 world to know.764529acf5182d38

“Worst of all, 5109a507d2 how can being a9df554617 exiled for ten 25adf1cf9f years be good 3ba74ee758 for me aaaahhh!”f4af762bd745754a

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The Viscount a2c348e2ea continued, rubbing a81513129f the space 5c3bf5a146 between his 91a713a0a1 eyebrows as d6e6ad48df he felt ffb00ff83f like he f45a1a672a had aged ea9f777ba8 twenty years 11ebd94e3d from the 38ac04515f short conversation c320a8828a with his 3fa706f77e daughter.b13247c106733521

“It’s not 37e357996d exile… It’s ac1566ca84 called ‘removal 92634ea709 from position’… ca5a8e3c9f I heard 121e7d73bc that apparently, e06c52290a there is 3ef7261e26 something called 4df9c8144d the Imperial bab7910a15 Regulation, which 49f9cea981 is for 5b75243143 the divorced 7394bed355 Empress to d43fdef8d0 quietly disappear, a30dffff7b leaving her d848583472 political power.”b2e2133ac08bf9cb

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Klisha’s expression 4a188816a9 distorted further. The Viscount hurriedly took bc3d04c057 a cookie from the 137ee76a3f plate and waved it 21cfa9d070 in front of his 25e43b4b7d excited daughter’s nose, continuing 98213f8c45 his words.c7d9e649cf7eeb83

“So, Father will take you to a beautiful but quiet island, a little bit away from the capital. It’ll have good air and beautiful scenery, where you can rest for a few years….”46eaab1674c18777

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However, contrary to his 1cf39b20e7 expectations, his daughter’s sharp 49a579cbe1 shouts continued.a2f44ece685146c4

“What! What kind of exile 7e0e62015d is that! A royal decree is 379f132fcc a royal decree. But I’m not cee64fe9a2 the Empress in f04e4c592e the first place. So what kind of c8ef86d193 political power are you 532b3a7a4f talking about!”2424722b729e5aab

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Klisha had 1b2557ad95 forgotten all 81f14a1424 about the 43b92acb72 dream and 1b0b839446 the man 04858d2e45 whose face f7fac9afb4 she had 182f7f7927 seen clearly fe22cf4747 for the 8d4cf09d59 first time d78b84c96d last night. She shouted afb13a57e9 in despair ff7f434160 at the f86afb8cc0 absurd and 26d716e332 unexpected news.b170ef72b4697a55

“Everyone’s out of f7b527587d their minds!”66103d56611012b8

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The gardener, who f7d717749e had been out 9671397401 in the garden 8184b9354c trimming flowers since b9a5108fab morning and ignoring 7a47d98577 the ongoing commotion, 5e4bf371ed dropped his scissors 363f764850 in surprise at bb650484cd the scream of 6d4e8f3d3c the young lady.96dac1ae3c087210

It wasn’t 78efb7082c just the 9e62804f2e gardener who 45e5c7304d was surprised. The squirrels 6a07de93e3 playing in 27a18a7128 the grass 7c70c9582e ran up b79d45de2b the tree 7c12c9274d in surprise. Even the rabbit drinking 5da2d64c9d from the small pond c01594e938 was startled and hid a8b623980b itself in the bushes.85d555dd3458be36

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The Household of Viscount 05e0afc02f Mezerine.5f86d700e55bf9a4

The small, ordinary mansion 253a85c2e3 located in the outskirts 22f6b29ad9 of the city was b02468b156 gripped by a tense 7a12f0b6d7 sense of urgency. With the atmosphere b6bfb4b05f like the calm d345586152 before a storm, 5aa870956e due to the 8ae81e94cd sudden devastating news 40903665d2 that arrived from d3ba4bacc9 the capital in 7a19592b6b the morning looming a4337900df above.d4f8cea9c50fc69d

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None of dbf948ccce the people 05f5c4102d could even fdcdb9058d eat.1eafe4c6bc8e802a