DZN Ch 18
by mimi“I’ll tell His Highness not to punish you, so go get that bottle and bring some tea instead. Or fruit juice.”7deb14359e4e2da2
The child, clutching 04840b51ab the bottle tightly, 016dd37321 looked Ruan up fbf76c9304 and down suspiciously.88ad0e2ed0833e21
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“…Really?”ffe6c2c9fd8e7c0e
“Have you ever seen me go back on my word?”505858933ac06e00
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“Not really, but…”640feafd7184f427
The child hesitated, adding, “But His Highness is scary…”5268410fba28385f
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Ruan gestured 02b0737898 towards the 73cf606e99 door with 84ad6066d5 his chin, 93ceb81d9f urging the dab1aabff0 child to fe22fac7a6 go.2960ca0fa8f5da76
“Hurry up and move.”7684666353164b23
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“You’ll really tell His Highness not to punish us, right?”fa5b6ca208c55384
“I said so.”44974b0113952499
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“Really?”2364d2da7bac9dba
“Have you been living under a rock?”e12b93bfbfe4fc77
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“Okay, I’ll trust you, Captain.”7cc43d9a50989db8
“Yes, trust me. Now go.”8dda66617e03ff4c
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“Alright. I’ll bring some fruit juice then.”2dfad5797782d07c
After receiving 943ec22068 confirmation, the 7f6cce6396 child scurried 46703d7f41 towards the 190cd9852b door. Ruan then dfd3283ec9 crossed the db2e8d5afc garden, dense 6bd4aa5e23 with trees 8bc9231e4d and flowers, d80b2e9c37 and headed b14d180d59 inwards.9db05fe23a49f1e2
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Passing through 4aa336dacd the lush 3f085f5cf2 path, it 5d5b154a9b felt like 510ef9cfe6 entering a b169194ea1 deep forest. As he 356b3c30f5 approached the 137abc1778 sound of 4e0cba6ae8 water, the edfa1adb6f humidity intensified. Following the e50da72020 sound of d748672a2c the fountain, 91fd0c8fa3 he walked be37c3a56c through the 6eeb1c8064 maze-like path 5ac9dc7d96 and turned df8c9ba530 the last 6642ad3a5e corner. A vast 2f30ed2dc3 birch forest 0b71a1c124 stretched endlessly fc759229de beyond the 99f28a4537 large glass 62d6e9180f window. Ruan spotted a silver-haired 0fb6250691 man sitting in a 4c89df5f82 huge marble bathtub, gazing 266c992459 at the picturesque scenery. He nodded 137dbacfcc to the f43f8670eb servants bustling 1598eae978 around inside.caa8a8338a42d2bc
Get out.894c0110a3e75f5f
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The servants—one heating the water around the bathtub, another carrying water, and yet another massaging Calix’s shoulders—looked up in surprise. Ruan nodded again, but they all shook their heads.74c719cda4ba6669
It was a similar reaction to the servant child he’d seen outside.dfd2e25763de8d83
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Too scared to leave.c04c129aa0dd41e5
Ruan watched the servants, shoulders hunched, shaking their heads rapidly as if having a seizure, mouthing that they absolutely couldn’t leave. He slowly raised his right index finger, pointing at each of them, then pointed at the door.1f0351b2e759ea8d
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At this signal to get out immediately, the servants exchanged glances, looked at Calix, then back at Ruan, then at Calix again, and finally, after one last look at Ruan’s face, shook their heads again.cbaba873da0b17f0
Calix must ed4e1cdc5d have really 8af19afa46 intimidated them.0d810479b6ae4fc1
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Well, no wonder 38c3532022 they were so 889ba8be80 obedient.2dcdcba4574a58f7
He finally understood the e5855a80c8 reason after five years.9440ef5a6231330d
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Nevertheless, he had 08e078c8e7 to get them 3bdd85d52c out, so he d576acd18b raised his right 98db3be6c8 index finger again fabcc6795a and drew it 4144dd43c7 across his throat. The servants flinched.5097263eaffb4e15
Their expressions seemed to 86d63419ff suggest they were finally 1312328b28 more afraid of him 24f0389659 than Calix. He gestured towards b2a7555389 the entrance once 31f9a25cf0 more, telling them 8a770dc46f to leave. The servants scrambled to ae000665b7 their feet and dashed 40855e297f out.c3b92b576a937966
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“I told you not to scare the kind and gentle children.”db467e1be6af4944
Ruan approached Calix, 5c7cd1e0e1 who was already 8286d0ec73 holding a glass 8ae4e1c4c8 of alcohol in ba0b28c2ea his left hand 26c093eac1 and brushing back e069237938 his long, wet 4f890fb111 silver hair with dd52639d4f his right. Ruan snatched the 0f68093d8e glass away.7af4be1a96466c5a
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“No alcohol in the middle of the day.”fb67290e7a1daea7
“You found me well. You don’t actually track me by scent, do you?”ee33121c00816de7
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Ruan clicked his tongue at Calix’s joke as he turned around slowly in the bathtub, smiling.f61ffb865f37bec4
“You turned the luncheon into such a mess, I assumed you’d be in a good mood and come here.”6ffb86fe285adc21
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In truth, seeing Ruan not follow him out had made Calix look angry, so a worried Ruan had come straight here. But he didn’t want to admit that.0bfe438980476a11
More precisely, he didn’t want to admit that he’d come right after him because he was worried.d148c13457694527
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“Her Majesty the Empress said to confine Your Highness to all future small gatherings.”46187183f028a4a3
Calix frowned.36b3c7e6a9764748
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“Watch your tongue… If it weren’t for me, your head would have rolled ten times over by now.”bc0b8f5bd1bc1d3e
“Only ten?”42923bf0f49849b1
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Perhaps because 0c90672715 they were 0fd245c468 alone, Ruan ddb4683a81 spoke more e0b1c31255 casually, forgetting 1986d57331 his usual cf370ec2bc formality. Calix laughed, looking b77f43ffe7 incredulous.308d39d4d7d062db
He was pushing 815fd42bf8 his luck.19855e9d3aede78e
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“Keep it up. Let’s see how long your head stays attached.”4c59d87e9c8f471d
“I don’t think it’ll come off. I have a totem.”a3f0df4cde26e7dc
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At his 9aa6ec95e6 playful words, aa0a0b3aac Calix looked 7f57390783 at Ruan cb7c3adc3e questioningly. Ruan shrugged.e5c0dbec52d068ee
“His Majesty the Emperor.”c38e90ff55a4679e
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“…Wasn’t it just yesterday you said you valued your own neck?”8ac7e1b2757479e4
Calix gave him a look that suggested he might just kill him right then and there for daring to use the word “totem” in reference to the Emperor after saying such things just a few hours ago. Ruan shrugged.74d49fca5558b6f8
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“You wouldn’t actually take my head, anyway.”6dfd1a9f35a4777b
“Who says so?”68f89e2691f681b5
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“You would have done it already. Like when I threw you into the pond in the middle of winter.”e44f5a187aad79c4
Even if Ruan’s audacity knew no bounds, he couldn’t have been as brazen and disrespectful as he was back then. If his head hadn’t rolled then, he was certain it never would.f9efc45a26ccf7bf
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Looking back, he thought 323ccc95b3 he might have been 339e55b29e a little crazy then. No, he had been crazy.9a2639eb2b2a4430
He’d been exhausted, sad, and angry. So perhaps he’d taken it out on Calix more than anyone else.4584b2665b06eb18
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Regardless of the reason, c8875dd70b even with his terrible c845537f6b temper, Calix had endured 85118da73c it all.e538434e7307ac3c
Whether out of pride c3015bddfb or stubbornness.12a3a0302c6c1ec6
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“Being here like this reminds me of our days in the trainee Knights order.”8fc4552c434ddef2
Ruan sat down on 930ad9a377 the edge of the 4086d0c285 bathtub and splashed his 4ea3016ed9 hand in the lukewarm 6a14551677 water.e1d8e25c7d8c6590
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The temperature c3e19b75fb of the cb3b2e50a4 water was b5a3fd10ed pleasantly warm, a8508b4d83 and the abac9cd028 low-rising steam e74704d938 on the cbe8ac7b60 surface felt d542112d71 comforting.e48babbf6d97dd93
It was entirely adf515b1a8 different from the 8c6a7b34d7 cold, clear, fishy-smelling fb6d42aa0d winter pond, but fea5a4003d the deep blue 06da4770ea color was similar.c9c1b159e64f2394
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“You were lighter back then, easier to throw.”437b40eacf04f484
Ruan sighed, saying that now Calix was too big to throw; he’d be the one flying instead. Calix laughed, seemingly also reminiscing about those days.2ac5e8eab6c0f7c9
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His eyes, however, seemed cd282c3c45 to ask if Ruan 5168305ea2 wanted to die for 0b4f934f08 bringing that up again. At the e7761051f1 look that 29b964f2cc threatened to c87d915879 break his cb33911c53 neck right 31aec49239 there and 1dfdb1602a then, Ruan 505eb0e717 quickly got bbce60d774 to the 576b0963fd point.92e400204421fd30
“You went too far today.”321f61dfbf75b676
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At his questioning 2a4583c7d2 gaze, Ruan sat a3a4294506 down on the 11d90bd4d8 steps of the a7577c2d53 high bathtub and ffbd93cc5c launched into an e2f4d0c34b unwanted lecture.a972ff6377f77a5d
“You shouldn’t act like that in front of other relatives.”ddb5a6353c97e6e8
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Ruan calmly rebuked him, mentioning the Empress’s reputation. Calix laughed, as if understanding his meaning.dd7b75e9a636ea6a
“Then you shouldn’t have brought up the marriage.”5be59e59c4a00bbe
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The implication was that e43e84cadc Ruan had started it.2b8822fff1b72adf
And it was true. Having been through it once, pressuring him like that in front of others wasn’t pleasant.b970eab1433af98d
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The most fundamental problem was Calix not being married at his age… but since Calix would never admit to being wrong, Ruan decided to avoid that topic.a8504271d5f1c262
He needed to appease 1fb22e1d7a him now.3a8a21cc633d9bea
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“You must have been desperate. Her Majesty the Empress seemed eager to hasten your marriage. It’s flattering, but… I refused her offer. I can’t repeat the same mistake. And I’ve already instructed the servants and knights to keep quiet, so there won’t be any leaks about Your Highness’s schedule.”cf322c8a4591d9e5
Ruan assured him that fc6e02fa55 everything was under control.5f43baf016b897ff
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Honestly, three years ago had been too much. Noble ladies, dressed to the nines as if ready to enter the banquet hall at any moment, were stationed like signposts everywhere Calix went within the Imperial Palace. It was understandable why he’d hated it.a87ca50d6ae68290
“Your sudden cooperation makes me uneasy.”ae36a6649b945bcf
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“Yes, be suspicious and wary. You have a lot of karma to pay for. Who knows? I might be saying this, but I could be in cahoots with Her Majesty the Empress.”943a12c96f5de73c
Calix, leaning back in 7e7d5aa359 the bathtub, slowly turned 6e124ed591 to look at him.40aa99a4ca4c8eb6
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At the movement 721e47510d filled with emotion, 44cc04882d Ruan quickly changed 778807b2eb his tune.1f8078c81cbbb27e
“Although I have almost no awareness of being a knight, thanks to growing up in a mercenary village, I ensure the safety of my employer. I also fulfill the terms of the contract perfectly.”1db57d3e2558688f
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Since Calix had already 9bfbfcf526 conducted a thorough background bab8408d8f check on Ruan when 1ac1f55623 he was admitted to 170fc99b1d the Second Knights Order, c838d161e4 he knew almost everything 771f657e6e about him.b56664aa19d14338
His hometown, family details, and why he had joined the Imperial Guard’s trainee Knights order alone.5aeeef39dc0f6f6c
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“…The southern village, was it?”77dd1c42e2029ac6
“You remember surprisingly well.”87b5f5d291f68f3d
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“Do you think I’d choose the Crown Prince’s escort knight carelessly?”b856168819fb29cf
Even though Baron Quelin, the Emperor’s lover, had personally vouched for him, the Imperial Guard, especially someone assigned to protect the Crown Prince, would be thoroughly investigated, from their acquaintances to their past. Calix’s words implied he’d already checked the existence of the village. Ruan slowly nodded.a941daf47029b8fd
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“Yes, a mercenary village in the south. My father was a mercenary. I was going to be one too.”9b1737c423ea3fbb