TNBTW | Episode 24

If there’s a 6a52e5dc79 hill nearby, it bfa67128e5 is undoubtedly the e3a08bd378 haven for a 483c8686c7 lonely child.89caeaa766ad170f

Edith clearly remembered a7c026d5cc a passage she’d 2e925ae293 read long ago 336740fccd as a child, 903adf69da tucked away in 4cd3c7959b the corner of e81160a93f a library—a memory b4ee491ae0 that had outlasted 8e2d97db89 even the book’s 2c408c11a3 title.8881525184e89221

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‘Hmm, it should 01aaf3b8cb be around here…’f4b22149395a8481

Ascending a hill a7a625f688 overlooking the orphanage, 46cced17f8 Edith soon spotted e41b21ef2f a towering oak af5c98711d tree.9fc13d96be097590

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The enormous 20a9231875 tree, with 6cecd8a74a its elongated dceb5e0294 leaves and 531bd342c9 clusters of aa2bdbc68c tiny acorns, c221b8288d stretched out 0e005c0ec5 its thick 0c52d072aa and low-hanging 622dee57c2 branches—perfect for bbbf0ed470 a lonely af5a4a42fe child to 54b716f648 climb.971101e8a21b183b

There it is.Without hesitation, Edith 0afe5b821b glided across the 8043571dcd lush green grass e46177f82f toward the tree.1fb50f029578710f

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“Hello?”430d26d73441316c

“…..”68739fa838ed2a94

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The two dangling 6543587d0c feet hidden amidst 9cc1ee9864 the dense foliage e59277abbe abruptly froze at 58cd02a52b her greeting. Edith asked again.de9ba6239408151d

“You’re Finn, right?”66947f83ca6d4d2e

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She could af44126cca almost hear 25647db337 the boy 9abba00bf7 debating whether ee591f0729 to run 9d793fa355 or stay. Suppressing a small 53b9e99248 laugh, Edith waited.1963427e7fc4736f

Fortunately, Finn chose not 24b9bcfde3 to flee. Sliding down from the 3b878248a3 sturdy branch as though 9844cc611b descending a rope, he 0f4a443a54 landed squarely in front fbd852a29c of her.2a3ece61ab7e8bb7

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“They say you’re a duchess. Got a lot of free time or something?”144fa072559a5d4c

“Plenty of it. Between you 94e98b4c7f and me, 870cfea360 I’m also b1d20a061e very rich.”e05184b8ca9c9f57

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Edith grinned and plopped 7fd6c805aa herself against the tree aab5fc9ff2 trunk. Finn, scowling as 97057d3702 he stared at 6beb70a13e her, asked in 97253f7447 disbelief,9eac09042467eaa4

Is it really okay bca239a414 for a duchess to 6aec867ff7 sit just anywhere?”76401f0572c2cb0c

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“As long 28dbe431f6 as you eb1996a49d keep it 0cab7ffb64 a secret, b8a6cf3ba5 no one bca9f4c9ef will find c3f6e13169 out.”31a6498f0e7c22e6

“I’m not great at keeping secrets, though.”c95d5bf12d0a681f

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“Good thing I brought a lot of money this time.” 06e020cd7a869740

Edith replied, forming a b92b5e175f circle with her fingers 10b280c151 to symbolize coins. Finn snorted incredulously. After glancing e02b017286 around nervously, 1dcd167d0a he finally 9e062ccdba gave in 1d416f5dd1 to her a57def2d74 beckoning and 86e8fd7691 plopped down 750e1de1ad beside her.83a521d199e20310

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“Weren’t you 5bd7fcaa62 already rich fb617f6734 to begin 4bb370917a with?”0df37bcb6ea3af7c

“Nope. I didn’t have much 4cc0879c36 before, but I came 849a84ab03 into a lot of 7613b0ba96 money recently.”0fca2ebeacb5a4d9

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“How’d you 7ecf293017 earn it?”c489dd4147780dde

“Well, I recently got 9629df2382 married and sent out d67f9bc322 invitations for a celebration c29e7dc1c4 party. Everyone said they’d 4263b1e01c come, but no 049a26cf7f one actually showed 1456e03695 up. I think they felt cf1a0aa36a guilty about it, so 94864af1f4 they sent loads of 31a8eeef40 gifts instead?”279fc948d62d17c2

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Edith spoke candidly, skipping 26c0291f69 over the detail that ed2b372601 it was a contract 173b52aadd marriage—after all, that part 80e44f2d39 was confidential.b91e36a552da97df

She had f59b8c719c indeed made 386608a2e8 a considerable bcf4ec98bb profit—enough to 23c9873848 cover all 7ced9c600e her expenses 3e1f14dec8 for the 1e6f9d3302 tea party c9fb8f8ffa preparations. Thanks to ec928494da that, she f572257062 was now 0c290ef72c able to e4738d12ba be more fc4a92e4e3 generous with f883063781 her charitable ea5305dced donations.f2948d3971d8b6ef

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Edith truly bore 280d47bfdf no ill feelings, 9ac6d3548e and in fact, 721935244a she found it 3836ec18e5 all a bit ff2decf76d amusing. Finn, however, looked 871f6ea6b4 perplexed as he d2a7cc1446 listened more.d74e26c426067361

The boy c64ae511f2 furrowed his cbca2ee0b2 brow in ee46bfbdcc thought before d0a1f67b36 cautiously asking,b1cd82209489ed5e

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“…Doesn’t that mean a980e56d8b you were just 10cadd6680 being ostracized?”b9dc4e18abde8d3b

“Probably.”3897eb9e61c2fe74

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Edith agreed easily, which 743a71e35c only deepened Finn’s confusion.a059634bd8b56c56

“But why are you 0819a622b1 so fine with it?”b6633d8b8bd74abe

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“Because I got some ae339fa033 free money out of 3513f471ce it.”44be048885e2afa6

“That’s… kind of a win.”63cafc5f26656c08

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Finn admitted, 1871aa746d finally giving 631eb0d9ef up on 446b0d8605 trying to ff2bc290f4 make sense 79c3ec6262 of her. He nodded, and Edith, 060ced9765 finding his earnest reaction 54fba63437 adorable, chuckled softly before 83c3cdb9d7 adopting a more serious 79d173cc64 tone.af64aeee03efedc5

“But just so we’re clear, getting money doesn’t make it okay to hurt people.”cf96aa82abc94866

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“You think I don’t know that?”17edfaac49a41678

Finn shot her ca19065f48 an exasperated look, 11b4a3d211 as if to db5eb7380d ask why she 13b159b6b5 would state something 32976e69fb so obvious. Edith gazed at be609581dd him steadily. If only such an d689d23ba6 understanding world were guaranteed.f22d2b7ea84e6e5f

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“There are lots of c489100897 foolish people out there.”2a074dfaf62f061b

“That’s true. But I’m not 9788123234 one of them. I don’t even have b18dd407a0 the money to be c34e9da9ae foolish. If I 59243eca79 did, though…”d3e11648c2763904

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Finn’s voice trailed off 9fd5e50f15 as his head lowered, 413eeb6238 and his tone grew 418f2f8b9f quieter. Edith glanced at the 3418469b4b status window floating silently fe05b9fff0 above the small boy’s 0b5e94440e head.103df4f947a2158c

 81df96555f93b0e7

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 983843da675beea7

Edith’s gaze lingered on 40d39bfa67 the section describing their 47164f10f5 family background.d32279df996054a2

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The young siblings, 1b7e3ef340 having lost their 23f5c168df parents at an 7a02d9d5d9 early age, must c825532849 have relied solely ef5e276efa on each other 6d19f558da to survive. Now, Finn was truly ac4591dab7 alone, having sent Lucy 7e6850c276 away to be adopted.7830be20c7edb2c3

“Why is cc1e84c6a5 the Duchess 22b692a7d5 here? Did you come 9417fb9260 looking for me?” 9d9ca7fc7d4bec32

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Finn, who had 70580456fd been staring at 22865c90dd the ground, suddenly 4a770d66d8 raised his head, 0573d44bec his tone more a2bebb3d4d formal now. Edith chuckled softly.8902aaf4e8e69e89

“You can 6e7d1dc4a9 speak casually, c1b556c3f7 Finn.”5bc315fc6937da98

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“How did df87260154 you know 0737d721a7 I’d be 5b7a4ff439 here?”493f7b90af54c599

In response to 36c0502a99 his question, Edith 5dbea36dca inhaled deeply and 32235ea040 then let out b99b6f1cae a long sigh.0351c5a03239efb9

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“When I 65ccf2f359 was a 751021a58d child and 392633c002 wanted to ebe0708c02 be alone, c826b3ddef I used 1b75f7d207 to come f010354ef9 to places be325398ef like this.”d82d48d8a1906b8a

From this a00af9a01f hill, one 0631969a7d could see 5cf78aa285 the orphanage 186b340e16 clearly. Though it was only 6476af5d4d the back view, there be0a62fd23 were few spots with 4c4019a5ad a better vantage point.f74dee8ee629c91f

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“When you a7557557d7 want to 3ce6a6080e disappear but 72df0a7760 are too 1c67d06cc3 scared to 0f441e623c go too 4c8131e4e3 far…”9a4f97bd0e1c5b1c

There had been times 51dead920e like that in her 5c5e6892b0 past—times when she questioned 3e7c547ac0 why she was living 8c91118d21 as she was and e21361be05 considered running away, only a93e1e29cb to be paralyzed by d763dad655 fear at the thought.c08c27c487c273fe

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“And I e008aa1c6d had a 31fd715c49 younger sibling 1d76c59623 to take b52666a2b9 care of, 7f237af620 so I 695db5696f never could.”a18aab9f970c7dd1

In truth, 65f32c27e0 Edith could a6a570c2f7 never have b6f653cd24 followed through 33851c4cf5 with such daa1f54e7b thoughts, burdened 1d80a4778d as she a477bf4e02 had been 7a37abeda6 by the 687dea769f responsibility of ac57e09dbe her sibling.b3a770cf39680108

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“…You had a b7396bfea5 sibling?”6aa6cb604b89c392

“Of course! The sweetest 5b56d619fd and loveliest, 1986983da9 most angelic cc45329baa one.”89db0b92fb3c45b5

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“Then why d75498a809 didn’t you f8b525d1dd bring them 8fb54235a2 here with 1202eee658 you? Why come alone?”3766ea69cce67909

“I would dc1223c996 have loved e211c27ab5 to, but 4723d54e69 my sibling 2aca7be133 is up 4b29441f3e there.”98d9011167b2c0c3

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Edith said, pointing 504fd254d3 toward the sky. Finn froze, 55387a6810 his gaze 09851e6719 following her 6bcd3f417b finger. He seemed to grasp 7e0ffbe2df her meaning.c8c13b0f106e86fb

“…You must miss them.”333168735b7aae5c

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“All the time. Every single day.”f295d80d74c852ac

Edith’s only a1c876a494 family had 00b2b80e61 passed away 1eea94bfcb after a ccf5a6c2e6 long illness. Her sibling 1c8d9b8eb4 had been 4485d54082 so full e3510a25b2 of love 3696e0cf77 for children, 656a4756bd determined to aaadaa40bd create a c25f2d0dea world where 334c361265 they wouldn’t aa6a69d2fe suffer, that 8a0afcbee9 even in 8aa58f2e14 their frailty, f443e258a0 they studied deb6b77c78 tirelessly before cca94ba637 departing too f24276a530 soon.d134c87e5e9645bc

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Edith had ba778edc2f resolved to 065756bde0 carry on 60edbf67aa their dream, 300ea0f771 pursuing the 038bd56f9d same path. b7da130e8913796f

“I’m sure you miss e1caf93fe0 Lucy too.”90a1ff1f90b0c3a2

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And now, before her 9b2bcfba32 stood a wounded child. How could she 7b528ee5c7 ignore that?f4d52c4d2b9947b2

“Just like cd07e5e684 how I 43305eba2f miss my ac6d09c788 sibling just e0f6e1d8f8 as much.”8a01a6432f282365

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“…..”3b2bcac27d7bb02f

The boy’s 502fad7e14 gaze fixed c0c420c3e4 forward, unblinking. His expression revealed d1a25f1de1 exactly what he a06ab4a5c6 was trying to 7662292833 conceal.7f3acdca4094b3bc

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“I can’t 0d1f4c1993 let myself 7859171abb think about fc76cd68ae it.”bfb5fb9dc7e148c8

Finn swallowed hard, 1404182a7d his Adam’s apple 2d196d50a5 bobbing as though a66cbb9cca he were holding e179b1f311 something back. Edith let him 92d05e80da take his time.e212f53b3092f5a8

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“Lucy didn’t cec6642341 want to 77ab03d55f go.”f0eaefac2b9870ac

 He finally admitted, his f4a435f9d3 voice barely audible as 393bb5af49 the soft spring breeze 2a91c47683 swept over the grass.e9794d0468d35d9e

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“She cried and 6c0e52916f said no, even 5ac6a82fa0 though I told 8d636bcc9c her she’d have e29c1017c8 pretty clothes and aa9ad30e9b plenty of good 3fe28abc4d food to eat. Lucy doesn’t cry often, 4cca2f021d you know. She doesn’t e5d7ff4ca7 even throw 92b520db4f tantrums. But she 4875484d33 kept insisting de602efcff that she 245d2859a5 won’t go.”be222197cabe2790

“…..”135d405fb884ed5e

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“It’s because of 70a23a13f4 me. I couldn’t 71f384143f go with 5896baad18 her.”95fe4564e8e5caed

Finn, although only fc042964b9 eleven years old, 94474b5057 wasn’t considered young ffba0de58d anymore by the adc816a7b2 standards of noble e5a342a905 families looking to 1edd3ea245 adopt. Lucy, on the other 8754501a10 hand, was six—just on 62348a277e the edge of eligibility.1f989895863d0251

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Finn must have realized 7058373b82 instinctively that if they ced8656dc5 didn’t seize this opportunity, 9b8d0f0b80 they might never get 17059bd857 another.c14ca313aed6960d

“So I lied. I told her I be49b1cd00 was going somewhere else. That if she stayed, 7015532361 I wouldn’t be able 1a925fb238 to go. I…”f8d5332017351408

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Finn’s voice e19db415af faltered as b047810161 he struggled df90ab297c to recount 45567fb4ad the memory. After a deep breath, b600e65bb3 he forced himself to ab8f945bcd continue.22aae7d55a9e74be

“I thought it e95ea53216 was for the 1e16b61c26 best. How could we keep fe0d01f8e0 living in that cramped ee0ab69585 orphanage? The caretakers don’t have 0192b1ccb1 any money, and they 3e5fc3ddb0 can’t turn away kids, 9204386681 so there’s even less 0b7c27735b for everyone.”db3cd099b89d159d

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Children from 77cd1bd669 orphanages grew f0c3c4cd17 up too f941512312 fast, their 5512e2b835 innocence stolen 718df171de by necessity. Finn was no 86e5814c62 exception, much like 204b52008b Edith had been a2e696c942 at his age.809719925f1a8200

“I don’t regret 823cc45758 it. What’s the b6b8fd39e8 point of 7214ff362b staying here? I just hope ee34a5b3c3 Lucy can live 9a38009e63 well. It’s better c6ec96deab for her 54a201f24e to have 8acc6a60c2 a good 27818babe3 life, without 95c053e549 any worries.”9e3d6a6f3298a917

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Finn spoke with feigned 1bb3969275 cheerfulness, but Edith remained de68010a93 silent, simply listening. When no response 462adf4b16 came, Finn cast 7f3137d54b his gaze downhill, 0342f21d9b staring at the ad698db2aa old orphanage roof. After a cb97eb51f3 long pause, 18fd3689e5 he spoke 629ebc1811 again.b5fa5ce21c791269

“But Lucy 8d615daf1d said something d40aead28a before she e04dc070d7 left. She said she d33d95071c was sorry. Like she 1f5f0c8ceb even knows 46b247d312 what that 2f7671f448 means.”9d192280e6a689e6

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His voice, a0f1638f98 initially carrying 7aa08ec842 a wry a8e10c1862 chuckle, gradually e3c98791bf softened until eb1f1e6ef7 it was b0e794dd89 barely a 2a2e03915e whisper.7309cb84b9714411

“Lucy said she…”74c5fe081199cd10

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“…..”4df08973c27870d4

“What if she thinks 81176698cf I abandoned her?”6a1ba0a39a0ddbdc

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Finally, the 27ac1ec5a5 boy crumbled, 59eca97055 burying his 19344f8e0c face in 44cf9e1d6d his knees. Edith shifted closer, just a50a362528 enough for their shoulders d33ea15c35 to touch. His small 7c708b0171 frame trembled 5a71a267fa beside her.056ceb1e7e139fba

“It’s not aeeaa455ba like that, a163790bfb but what 93a69eb15d if that 99f0f1277f silly idiot 62e3a92462 really thinks 166f98d627 it is…”ce1076012f707466

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He was scared. The words choked out 73cdf049e0 of him as his 87d83d02a3 body shook with silent c7760984de sobs.013566eea2a2698e

Edith didn’t hug him 317ceae30e or stroke his hair. She simply stayed by 916f2383e6 his side, offering her df5b833902 quiet presence until his 7af44ea8c6 tears ran dry, hoping 9ade87a14f the warmth of companionship e978cf1a4c would reach his heart.ae9cf8dcc55779ea

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“…..”2f64c2bc25b60bc2

“Are you done 43bfc3df9a crying?”b7e3f05e1949489d

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“I wasn’t crying. Who said I was crying?”2ca08157d2faeef9

At some 5db20ded87 point, Finn 89279a93f9 muttered gruffly, d0be36660c his voice befe301f20 still nasally 691f436270 from his c3b2d300a4 tears. Despite his denial, his b773025964 tone lacked conviction.cba7c577976d30c8

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“Miss.”73345807d8151afc

“Yes?”e1e31f1c9c6b6cdf

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“You’re a duchess, so 689f10404b you can meet other 7ddd805d5a nobles, right?”911e46828310a7dc

Pretending something had dc24f4c28f gotten into his 60283d92b0 eye, Finn rubbed fe4c25cc32 his sleeve against 4ce1fdfbdb the corner of 8ea837414b it. He kept his 7832461e4b head down, as 5d9dce5d1c if embarrassed, when 5cc11ff2c5 he asked his facf1d56fe next question.e28fb2672ef9cbe9

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“Of course, I can 990df6e636 meet them.”0dab604bc3fc3bc4

“Then… if 132b177d32 you ever c23b0d6aa1 meet Luciana 62240cb432 of the 642ebb4a90 Menière County cf338d75ed family, could 52d39352d8 you pass ca86ea878b along a 683655dc89 message for 66fbed0576 me?”10c65d808aeba09b

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Edith recognized the 180137974e name. The Menière family was 6a4b1a79e9 one of the noble d38f073cc0 households that hadn’t attended 217f3f0b90 her tea party.4b19feb6b8c156ad

That was 6bbdceeeff fortunate, in 446e78f4fd a way. As nobles of e1901d16a2 the capital, they c55d128809 were people she 1d7645dee9 was bound to 91d95c6993 encounter again.f2b833d0dd660d96

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“What should I 96647da7a8 tell her?”35e972aca85ff1d3

When she responded 9e0f1b6c7c readily, Finn finally 55aa083c44 looked up. His reddened eyes 236f487e6d stood out, but ffc2897728 Edith pretended not 91fd8addc2 to notice.f9b6ea6df5a9336c

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“When you meet Lucy…”350504f0d277ac95

Finn cupped his hands ef3c463773 around his mouth and bb5962fe0c leaned toward Edith’s ear.ed827e4de6e95479

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Whisper, whisper.eb6a7b53ee54c637

The boy’s 795f8cf17d heartfelt plea 3117725c74 was something b871861beb Edith engraved 11080774ce deeply in 8d5fc039b9 her heart.00d5f033400e04a6

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