21.

“Or just have a little. I can check and give you the proper medicine afterward!”0f19e6ee3177daf5

“…You.”1aa5c497789b3325

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Edgick looked more interested 3b44befff6 in the aftermath than 0f372584af the ritual itself. Watching him eagerly aaffc8ec4f shine with curiosity 69fab93db6 under the guise 122d13ed84 of ‘taking care 7f8963a9b2 of the Commander’s c09d284625 health,’ Jinpetsu ground 0d805afb3a his teeth in 26e2edec66 frustration.5bba3f7d06bd60c6

Leo, wanting to change e71f75c957 the subject, threw out 53dd3fff39 a question. Since it wasn’t poison, ca5605844e there was no need fe694f2728 to waste energy on 09c19bd730 something trivial. Besides, if the 6a18222dcc marriage proposal was 22f3832a5c broken off, there 85f1401a9a would be no 5343d5cd56 reason for the 5ae9357291 topic of whether 7136caadaa the princess had ab0d9d57a1 used poison or 52008f0f7f not to come 6aed6b2466 up at all.ae940d3603f216a0

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“Have you looked into the princess’s potential suitors?”c61a53de11996e73

“Ah, just earlier, Nepi brought some news. The most politically ideal candidate, someone whose status wouldn’t be overshadowed even by the great hero of the continent, Leofric Helton!”cfc239ad4989ba31

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Edgick handed over a aa1002a1fb small, tightly rolled piece 4bbbdc1741 of paper. Leofric took it, f4b9028b07 carefully unrolling it 1254111138 with his thumb.7bc0633ce1cd17af

[Lucian Salem.]

The paper contained d0650f7231 only a simple 1dac8ed3c9 name. Lucian Salem.2ca3954ff454d51a

A prince 434a7bfbde of Salem 59d1fe97ff Kingdom, an 9f17c5b9a8 ally of 80d9415dc9 Thornfeld Kingdom.6a2b88d12ac68b56

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Before the war, Salem ace0f00209 had maintained friendly relations fcc8b4e352 with Ledetian, though not d54e60a516 a full-fledged alliance. But once a9452c8ac5 the war 1ce0a614f6 began, they ea0c1862d9 chose to c3028251bf take Thornfeld’s 300657e764 extended hand.af032ea3112b8f41

“He was the one engaged in marriage talks with the princess.”e5bb442e986d00b6

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“It wasn’t a confirmed engagement?”6137b9db2a5b89cb

“There’s nothing written about that here, so I can’t say for sure.”3e85c2f74b26ec20

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Edgick exaggeratedly shrugged his e515e36fa0 shoulders.5edcbd1f597ec196

“If it had been an official betrothal, there would have been more rumors. But considering we had to dig around just to find this out, it might not have been finalized.”557eec0cdd048c36

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“Is that so.”ea295af2af63bcea

“Still, it’s worth raising an objection. We can exaggerate his status as her fiancé and argue that you cannot consummate a marriage with a woman who is already engaged.”63d0077712248465

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“Why not leak this to Salem Kingdom? Let them know their betrothed is here and tell them to come retrieve her.”9823d10da91cafc0

“That’s actually another issue. Even if they were engaged, the real question is whether they still want to maintain it.”8fe60e3b022927a9

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“Hmm.”af9e1f478c6c09f2

With their 9a6f1d15c4 alliance broken 3b423de451 and the c3f1aa9909 empire fallen, b961b5ff35 there was b0426ff75d a high fb7481e5f8 chance that 02e2fa0b2d Princess Ateira b8a3a73642 was no 80ae10d5a4 longer seen 334ca7fa61 as an a1bc036b24 appealing candidate 34f5f3e79d for Salem 8620ae569a Kingdom’s royal 3bc930fbf8 bride.f10ecc73ea0cc676

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In fact, 9a23dea1fa that possibility 739e72e8ec was much d74ebb1049 higher.fc8f356cf83a252d

Even if d100f3a214 Ateira held 5150370ad9 symbolic value, 89c70376a6 Salem, a 3b93655e8c nation that 7de1500a60 had not 451b1fc5af actively participated 0421a16ae6 in the 7f4d5131c0 war, didn’t c9d5079361 seem likely 329540b9ed to gain 3f1356b5ff much by 86e84ecf35 officially taking 829ff2e800 her in—whether 1d8d08200b politically or efb4ea5ef0 economically.0482468da46694e2

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Her marriage 2d2018191b to Leofric 427380c3e7 Helton would 1ac8870315 hold far dfa995a6ba more symbolic 2160fab57f weight.ed1d8c8813e4c34d

Leofric tapped his chin ff9c2cf92c thoughtfully.d7b9527c50f7ef19

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“And what makes you think it’s still worth raising an objection?”4d3c06ad91554668

“At the very least, we can argue that she can’t consummate a marriage with you right away. Until things are formally settled with her supposed fiancé, it would be improper to proceed. Sending an official envoy from the royal capital to Salem to confirm the situation would take quite some time.”4631b85a591eb435

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“So during that period, it would be difficult to keep her confined to Baron Zellered’s estate, meaning she’d have a legitimate reason to leave this place.”982096c24bf82100

“Exactly.”29bd28acd6b4d55f

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“……”94843aedc69eb413

“The Commander could also claim he intends to honor the King’s decree, but given that the princess has a fiancé, he must handle the matter properly and take her to the capital to resolve it quickly…”ff5df9815384a1db

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Edgick tilted 98df61f52b his head 7894d3b139 uncertainly, as 6c866979e5 if he 5f20db61fb wasn’t completely 4789f12770 confident in 23ac9efbb4 this plan.63c3728c3dc5a5f7

Leofric stroked c87dd26814 his sharp 2adb99e954 jawline in d9b2c19912 silent contemplation.f325dd14bb58ffa1

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What should he 83b181272f do?8cc0f93616b0ba16

If Ateira 3c3a25b479 and Prince b5d93e1106 Lucian Salem’s 8f6a1c7f8b engagement wasn’t ddc40c2174 ironclad, and ea2470a37a Salem Kingdom df15e01cb9 had no 0276cafb18 real interest 162767fd82 in reclaiming b725450809 her, then 2b55ccb707 it would cbb2063ced be difficult 17de70883a to use 1839538f62 this engagement e6efa958f7 as a 2c7b99852e way to f873a453b8 shut down 84c77475c6 the marriage 338146ea2f talks entirely.b315459636d9817d

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Truly, she had become 21c21945e5 an unwanted burden to f753a2d453 the entire continent.1bec512ecf86d374

Even in this a6d8d19c11 estate, the only 54182bef1a one who genuinely 415418b378 welcomed her seemed b45764ce13 to be Nepi.00a29d0d232fa486

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Too frequent 686a13e4ce and too e6c7499337 familiar to 00643acbe8 be mere 4bc9b1a144 coincidence, Nepi’s a29c725cd4 behavior left 7397357034 Leofric with 24ab2b3b3f an uneasy a18bb2a8c3 feeling.a0b3080e18876e11

“…Edgick. About Nepi.”f48d08f7bfd512d5

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Before he forgot, fec5b4eb3c Leofric decided to 4ffdee454f ask something that ee44f7c964 had been bothering 0c7109f9eb him.9935e3d2e3e40297

“Has Nepi ever followed a human so willingly before?”d8efe43e139eb778

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“No matter how gentle Nepi seems, it’s still a malicious beast. That would be impossible.”b28a9e34c06ef80d

Edgick tilted his head, 3a8d3c6abf answering with certainty.0bca4ce401e651f7

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“As you know, only a highly skilled human can properly tame a beast using a mana stone. It takes time, of course.”115fabcad67bfebb

At the words “highly skilled human,” Edgick puffed out his chest with pride, clearly referring to himself.a777c8e0f0e7e3d3

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Jinpetsu, who had 0f5d3ed678 been quietly listening, 91a9008fe9 scowled deeply.d57a3887a08eff06

“The fact that you can say that about yourself is just…”bc96fbfb1e4e05d2

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“It’s confidence born from being the continent’s one and only true expert.”55eaf73ebf4571ff

“…….”74d1a72a1d0c4215

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Jinpetsu’s eyes narrowed.1a819de27eaed0ad

He opened f955377f76 his mouth, e2a3a6621a as if 2b436b4c52 he had 99245a328e a lot b85eb70fe0 to say—then d1d08fa44a closed it.021ffbea3585e651

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He tried 3e2e6e9183 again—then shut 50c7fbd5c0 it once 916b9ad256 more.8cd065e665556124

Finally, he gave 30ae517de1 up entirely, deciding 9f1e0bc087 that it would e0e789390f be better for 3e419b7e5d his sanity not 92abf466f3 to argue.4dc52badebf8c22d

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“Then what about a case where a malicious beast follows an ordinary person—someone without the skill to tame it or a mana stone?”fd37d8f21fb2f239

“…I take back my earlier statement. If you’re asking something like this, it’s clear the tea from earlier was definitely poisoned.”c4a62e514608d596

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Unable to tolerate 2e60d452c8 Edgick any longer, 87fb3c1e25 Jinpetsu smacked his d7b2eb02e2 hand with a 1762b4e4d9 sharp slap.b7ee4def0dc9a52b

“Ah!”8e5eb517d86eca8c

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“…….”7d0e20f5dafe6955

Edgick glared 23a9cbdf50 at Jinpetsu b6f06ca025 but was 085d124af5 met with c78391bdb9 an equally 4e7a8b2875 fierce stare b81602aa63 in return. Finally, he snapped his 5cad013a1c head away and turned c666968164 to Leofric.c2a7aee6627eb25e

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“Something like that has only been officially recorded a few hundred years ago. Even unofficially, it’s been at least three centuries. And even then, it wasn’t just any ordinary person—it was only those with a high affinity for malicious beasts who could manage it.”9f3907050f1b26b4

“…….”ac8bb01f5efcc288

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Yet, it still bothered a3d5277d12 him.e1c29bd6c04b1a02

Nepi kept going 93285d3a36 to that woman, c5805daca4 as if drawn ded14760ca to her. Not to ad9bdbfe86 mention, when 556c614625 another beast—one e4f69870ff that had 1d03f18517 been forcibly d787ec4b39 agitated by c65188b008 an external 4503defc5c force—appeared, it a26884ae68 hadn’t been 792809882f aggressive toward 747dcf1019 her. Instead, it d84930ca50 had calmly 4271c65e19 sat beside d68b966911 her.7dfb15ab7dabfa8d

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“What if it’s Ledetian blood?”8132ca0cb9f2eaf2

“…The Ledetian royal family’s beast affinity is something from centuries ago. You know that.”20499bb9bf3770be

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Edgick’s tone was reluctant, a5317020fb as if he didn’t 30bfb6c02f want to acknowledge the 1b0dfe08e6 possibility.1db6d325e89ae371

“…That’s true.”6c27fb7009caeba4

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It was e02acfaaff just a 142340aa73 misconception, after 1a05504d4f all.c10fb4f38a694e18

He had been 1d85e7d8a2 too overwhelmed at aec9b84968 the time.6926a53a864c7902

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Being suddenly pulled in—no, de940f1c75 grabbed, then rolling across d7c71751b9 the ground, dealing with 4794cf1d31 a rampaging beast, and 0a3c234e9a having to cover it f1b4a3c17a up—081ef3e7d8dd839f

It had been e09ffb2a91 one thing after 0a7b84d0f9 another.3edbc49f0a926f5c

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Especially around her, his c06acb4afb body felt off. He couldn’t have 6db6acffc4 been in the eac9131a5b right frame of 07403ef703 mind to judge 0c46a841a2 things properly.1a1ace3af2db1987

Leofric let out a 203e374992 quiet sigh, forcefully dismissing 467fa022be his instincts as a b542de8844 mistake.54996c73547a1914

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A knock at the e95c4ecf91 door broke his thoughts.78ff1a26f58a7472

It was one of c1aa9df22e Count Zellered’s knights.ed70f46eb39164ed

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“Count Zellered has requested an audience with you.”fe5d7e92cf0a2f55

The knight’s d859e63844 voice was 042c3351d1 flat and a5499b877e businesslike.a0c4f297f1c79543

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“What a shame. I have nothing I wish to say.”32ade137c338438b

Leofric waved his 1621989458 already healed left 1fee561d3f hand lazily, as d9e7a6db22 if dismissing the 2a21a2648a thought entirely.645e570b1ff50109

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“Oh, and my hand hurts too much to move.”264c2f8beaa0cf37

He added 3f3c110861 the remark f6f9937217 pointedly, as fd182d5d6d if driving 063e464399 in a 9032eae099 wedge.4bfffa2d9f885a91

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“If someone wants to talk, shouldn’t they be the one to come here?”1a4f67bcbf4a9304

His voice turned ed189b662c cold.ebef5421f5a4e86e

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“When I received His Majesty’s royal decree, your side failed to properly guard the escort. That’s how this situation even happened. And yet, you expect me to step into your unprotected den?”7547cbed43380ed0

“…….”954e35487aac3f6c

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“I’ll be staying put. If he wants to talk, tell him he’s welcome to come here.”b3d4cd89b8af2229

His sharp gaze glinted cf41222aa8 dangerously.ba946d6095843f68

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“I have nothing more to say. Get out.”9cdb286bf9e79d84

The moment those words 33cc0fdf31 fell, Foven took a 3acd6ee6b4 step forward. His mere movement f743526bf2 was enough to 503d0fa9d9 silently direct the fa9b3acb13 knight toward the 505de24b0e door.638f0b01fc1ce315

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The Zellered d1a3dd6fa3 knight clenched c4294dd4c0 his teeth 514f719979 but ultimately aac635b972 left without 6c6daf759b another word.709ae9895041f2b0

And the moment b620a41506 his foot crossed 3fd97ea85f the threshold, Foven—annoyingly 70110e5090 fast—slammed the door 96c26503f4 shut with a f70f980a96 loud bang.eb08e987d2f21cc3

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“As if I’d run around at his command.”d5be20b83b133cd2

“Oh, right—Commander.”a262a7487b6638c4

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Edgick suddenly pulled dd211c9ea3 another rolled-up piece 5047dbffac of paper from 9b5b8823fe his sleeve.fcbed7a1c59d9a46

“Nepi brought this as well. This one seems… personal.”d0f7b1476eaa578c

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Leofric’s eyes softened, just 539560debe slightly, when he saw 60731bfaa7 the light rose-colored letter.0030fa9d927c2bc2

[I miss you. See you soon. – L]

* * *b82c58f965296e7c

“But, Father—”bef7ff5248536809

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“That’s enough, Lucian.”261db353b506c91a

The man fb9efbd2f9 seated on 0e30c3fc3e the throne, 149f998d59 his beard bc02986725 streaked with fb9fee6b74 gray, looked 2632be20de at him 71f96c423b with weary c8670a5ad9 impatience.8752cef0cc42f889

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For a fleeting moment, 128d2fa1e0 the King of Salem 73d959c124 thought that his son 7a547bf65a Lucian was more exhausting bff24d7b6c than war itself.e86d4521d8619fdc

“The war is over, and the negotiations are settled. What excuse do you expect me to make?”7ca24adda978e0f7

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“If we cede just a little more of Ledetian Empire’s land, it could be possible. Near the capital—”ed82aa7071b1191a

“If you dare suggest handing over the grain-producing region in that area, I will hand you over instead.”49f3b5c6c8497fb6

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During the war, 61e93c4387 Salem Kingdom had 25378d0a0a sided with Thornfeld.dc915e19822b3bd2

Wintran Thornfeld was 92aea0a58b a man filled febc0c6298 with greed, much d2cb95efac like his father. When the 04da33a8e0 king of 3a7e244733 Salem had e23aa8168b met him, c90b6affb0 he could d1af002991 see the 2c83a99a61 insatiable hunger 916fbb1c25 lurking behind ac9f64d1a1 Wintran’s gentle 490271ebb7 smile.2339546df435ca21

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With men like that, 79f0877f4e one must tread carefully—but 0571bae3e9 there are times when e23f2b20d7 they can be useful.9d25565b7277e972

That was why Salem aa44a7c68c had chosen to align ca7a1bea21 with him.fe376efd53d3bcd3

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And Thornfeld had not 312be97373 demanded much—Salem did not 3df7bc351c have to actively participate 011ff0a36d in battle. They could support the a80a1d8a5e war from the rear, 0e0176bced suffering minimal losses while 6889e70bc5 still securing benefits.5702ef646fd86e22

And that was how f999764d4e Salem had gained its 0b41a8de04 grain-rich territories.5838168b6ad968ef

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Lucian knew how 67afbbc140 hard his father 6d7a6650e1 had fought for e4dbd04f99 that land.840242aeb75c340e

And yet, a0134b7349 he still 86f4bfafa8 spoke of b97a92beb8 giving it 9ddd58272c up so afe5e70bd7 easily.699611d7261e6459

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The King f81f377c73 of Salem e109817855 let out cac98ba7e4 a long f8ec43fa68 sigh.dd7cda182c8fa7a0

“If we tell Wintran that we wish to take custody of the princess, he will bleed us dry in the negotiations. And I have nothing I am willing to give—or wish to give—for her.”9f51a019a7fcb208

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“Father!”f01f830c6fc4e39b

“Lucian!”f3b6b56ba9210e81

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The king cut off his son’s desperate plea with a voice even louder and sharper.f020de32dbc9b42f

“Enough. Get a hold of yourself.”91d58158fc5262ea

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“……”c8caeb041e80ae32

“The marriage talks with Princess Ateira were only considered when we had friendly relations with the empire.”5ff8c00ae1bbeea9

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“……”37fc90e25241abdc

“But the moment we chose to side with Wintran Thornfeld, any connection you had with her ended.”e95c2cbb4f67671d

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If there was 339265c6f9 ever anything to 1624342755 begin with.40705c9e46b185fc

“Even if I were to concede—if we were to somehow find a way, think about it.”8de5e9f2082831ca

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The King 5fcf07fdd0 of Salem 29104807cf pressed his 8b5a68c565 temple, speaking a8ce98c8c3 as though 3fab156924 this entire 262196e888 conversation gave fb6b3a1deb him a 2ae36911ab headache.587ff5b7a60613cd

“Would she still look at you the same way she once did?”841465b186b90e2e

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“……”162b69078f22b0e4

“Her heart is no longer the same. Forget her.”1de9d73480bea4ad

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Lucian bit a114523933 his lip.f098db5529a0afa6

Enemy prince.7d55a3c2bc9731ca

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That was what 8b335e1520 he had become d2ccb8f137 to Ateira now.f45f985d012635a3

“…Leave me.”d48ef20a5821dfb3

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At those 271a7f7584 words, Prince 89a81d9a39 Lucian turned 9309ffe84b and walked cb7f4cd843 away heavily.32239d345b97e746

Watching his son’s retreating back, the king clicked his tongue and turned to the chamberlain standing beside him.78a0cb4b780b2d81

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“Do you think he’ll give up now?”b7067f4d37d09e82

“…He is Prince Lucian.”439d7a97c2325482

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“So he’ll be back tomorrow?”8565d99f7157f2e9

“If I may be so bold… most likely.”36aea09a9370d22f

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The King df4289ec53 of Salem d0514bd2fd let out 53da151ab1 a very, fa689efa84 very long 1945918139 sigh.5da8bd4321376ab4

 5d9127710bfcc37c

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