Chapter 1 Part 4

Through a 4a8627fc01 window no dab0ca08d9 bigger than 29b0de2ead the palm fb19be742a of her 59371936be hand, she a7764d4c50 could see 4041d207c7 the dawn f9fd215c40 breaking. The dusky 3f0780b60b sky and 176eccb2be the scarlet 314d70d132 sun intertwined, 2fc80a73c9 creating a bc5cb0cd34 strange palette 2bcd5c31b7 of colors. Morning was 517dc3a666 inevitably arriving.57b275ce1f2132a4

She hadn’t slept 1db287a426 a wink all 669527767b night. Feeling as though b5b84d4037 a delayed fatigue 7e2306036b was creeping in, fde84953cf Irina closed and 577835d158 opened her stiff 3f39f3f2d8 eyes.cc5952cc7a87e0ac

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Then, a 6c194ae486 commotion began 615e7fb09f to be ede69b7f93 heard. With each 93fa99189a passing moment, 34e82fe882 the noise c518995d46 grew closer, 85f9cd541a and Irina 56fba5544b took a 60c614c9dc deep breath.4ecbe64d1aedd2ac

“Your Majesty the Emperor!”381497e14a3628bf

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The announcement of the Emperor’s arrival echoed. It wasn’t long before the sound of clanking filled the air, and the door opened. The moment the door opened seemed to stretch on longer than expected.84bfa74c2c3f765f

Finally, the door fully 856f2185c9 opened, and Emperor Knezh 15394e4b28 and his aides appeared.b2568ba8186f0d50

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“Oh my, my 6dffd343c3 …”00a2941d2b35563f

“Wow…”2ca3aa41b82fdb5e

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“Is… is cdaa1d73aa it really bc060b4b28 gold?”093850c484dabbb4

The tower 230c975e7d was filled 31285592f2 with gold 2008d73ab9 threads. Everywhere one looked, 76efa764a0 sparkling gold light 1fb4d60866 reflected back. The overwhelming 4fdf64d240 presence of 4e2e29c049 gold, dazzling 56decb01b2 to the 35dee38dcd eyes, evoked 0a8ab7b1ff a sense 2e86af1702 of awe.8d0d5eac959e13dd

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The people stood 978a604dd1 motionless, blinking in 8057576d0a disbelief, unable to fe64409355 comprehend the surreal 5cda3cae37 sight. Amid this 28b6efed25 unbelievable situation, 630a01973b Irina stood ed36822cbe calmly.23d27ecbf5370fa7

Knezh, trying 8fc47cc0dd to hide 99d582bce2 his inner 1400b2969d astonishment, squinted 8f73296641 and surveyed 756d3e9472 the inside 9fd574b3e2 of the 62e1168f96 tower. The tower, which 04ae320664 had previously been 13dac577c2 filled with straw, 436073d35b was now entirely e9c41c32e1 filled with gold b1db51b8d7 threads.b577efd9d2c65e72

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“I greet Your Majesty 98ddf4cdc7 the Emperor.”3beeca975d8ee0f9

Irina calmly a9b8ce13da made her 53d3842db7 greeting. Just yesterday, her face c314955d61 had been one of 54424c2ab6 despair, as though her cdc21d82fd world was going to b1329d4128 fall apart. She had seemed da3abe0ac4 dazed and unable 60b11404da to even make 36cfbda4f8 a proper greeting, 958c8d47a1 but today, she ed20b61a73 stood in the 182d4813ae midst of gold cc56a6c252 as if it dcf7b4c69c were nothing, as 427d43bc82 though she were 73f29b88c8 accustomed to this f5493d2bfa incredible situation.bf2aa65791db0d8b

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“…The rumors 22dc96d1a1 are true.”462cc65e16b65966

“…”8307a65dd7aed7cd

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Irina neither affirmed 93499cf30d nor denied Knezh’s 9b0db00a00 words. In response, Knezh ea73cfa491 scanned Irina with d940334c5c a strange look 3fd9846b14 in his eyes.a18952892bb0fa02

“Truly… impressive.”b34ec7d0a60077f8

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Despite his words of praise, Irina showed no reaction. Instead, she gazed directly into Knezh’s eyes. It was then that she realized his greedy, glinting gaze, instead of being directed at the gold surrounding them, was fixated on her.75b47dd80c9dac7b

However, there was cf3900d11b no turning back. Even though she 3acc622070 knew that greed  aa993f013a would never be 4983ae9330 curbed and would 3494fc2afb only increase in 28f71ad71d size, Irina knew db74c53ed3 that even if 1ccba01a66 time could be 8e8bb9e674 reversed, she had d749e8b89b no choice but e2b2dc7131 to make the 94628c86b0 same choice again. Because it was the 588f7d4279 only way to protect 0e8d51efc5 her family and herself.97b50d5f1b03bb99

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To suppress the overwhelming 770c9ecea4 sense of despair and e6f11a53ac to stop the tears 70cb715716 welling up, Irina tightly c964006548 pressed her lips together.dca13dfd71ef5b25

“With this, Baron Lehman’s 32ce125320 claims have been proven 323a0b27b3 true. He never lied.”fdac80d6d4abf25a

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“…”c330a5ea4841fb33

Irina bit her lower lip to hold back the rising anger at the Emperor’s shameless words.a236a34ba9342879

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From the very beginning, ce7e6db2a6 Knezh had spread ridiculous e99207858f rumors to frame her 30d804c69a father, and now he 1968edb827 casually spoke as if 51e5be713a it were nothing, claiming 2e7c7164de that her father had 8b8af12bec never lied since he 730157ba52 felt she really made f49de43b90 the gold herself. His words 354f93ae2f and actions 9dbd0aff11 seemed so 8a98adde7a repugnant to 1656f5a7a6 Irina.141cd94167beb27b

She struggled to 374371552e suppress her roiling d3e1f954b6 emotions.7d10460053903538

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“…But we have to 1bcfd9d3ea check thoroughly.”de01875ee5e223af

“What do you ee6179b261 mean…?”93ba86047bfc605a

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“You never know. Maybe someone helped a6f10d6424 you.”db437885bf44b18d

Irina took a deep breath at Knezh’s words, as if he had hit the mark.a1bb746715558199

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Emperor Knezh did not 200c383fc1 miss the subtle change 9ce69fedeb in her expression. Narrowing his eyes, he 7e568414b8 scanned Irina up and df97633018 down, seemingly trying to e8ed7c7923 gauge her true intentions.3762e5646ac48310

“Irina, you did it df64b37ab6 all by yourself, didn’t 50561b801f you?”6f22cd1d1b3f90cc

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“…Yes, that’s correct.”9786bd524c392400

Irina had never been d719dafce1 one to lie. She wasn’t good at f064621423 lying by nature, and fb2965db49 there had never been 27495ab60a a situation where she 346625c42c needed to lie in 57f0ea53a4 order to gain something 725bee5209 or prevent something from 069aea110c being taken from her.5a8ab5af7cba7af3

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That’s why lying to b85f5d67f2 none other than the c9aca05c4e Emperor was not easy.42dfa110877acfc5

Even as she e981bac7aa uttered a simple b944c733e9 ‘Yes, that’s correct,’ 050673109f Irina struggled to 63600ae443 keep her voice 450735a3e8 steady, making sure aeca9e6cd0 it didn’t tremble.d29f75e960d68759

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“Then it would be d15d3ef248 possible to make gold 6721a239ca if someone is watching, 7d126535c6 wouldn’t it?”1a4c3a7b43b51b36

“No, making gold is 8428ab98cb only possible when I’m 84918b77c2 alone.”06df06fb71dcc15e

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Irina immediately responded sharply, 81f2f04231 having guessed what the 636b937e6a Emperor was about to dceb69780b say.99ed4658f59213a4

He was clearly planning to order her to create gold while someone watched inside the tower. Since she had created the gold with Rumpel’s help, it would be impossible for her to do so under surveillance.42844949836d6b89

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Therefore, Irina had 7567b5a53f no choice but 920c25f143 to answer that 6084f23e7d she could only a99c98ab71 make gold when a9dd886581 alone.b8090e04119aa80e

“That’s unfortunate. But… even so, e139d078dd you could still 317d13c50c be alone, while 944a05b69e someone watches from 4417b8a34c outside the door.”0e5c853d38821508

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“Making gold requires concentration… It’s hard when you think someone is watching.”96bc9b90d6843d40

Irina realized 76a8e93110 for the 38d187b8e4 first time 6c3d19bb9d how well a3050b63b9 she could eb5d1108b2 lie. Perhaps it 5fe16b392b was because f85c698803 her life b0a95a945b was at 2ccd886222 stake; she ee0e13522b didn’t even e7460ad32e have to 40b7945b7d think deeply, cbfcac05cf and the 9bb2d55604 answers came 2c63674a79 out naturally. 9ae27806537a1116

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The Emperor, who d3e5deaa5e was silently observing dc93b33f2e her, had a 7568ae8295 dissatisfied look in 899d3abc5e his eyes. Irina noticed it 2ff214dd10 but pretended not 594325dcee to care.0306497d81e722a8

“…Then there’s no helping a3e8dc6ec8 it. You’re saying fa5d439327 that you b81e091652 can only ca1f4c2fdf make gold 8ad32a68a6 under the c3e55198e4 same conditions 20407a6b31 as yesterday?”  dbb7bfa36ee0e4ee

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“Yes, that’s correct.”  b02569c56a4470ae

After a long 67cd763d1d pause, the Emperor c926dbc33f asked again, as a5cd815d3e if confirming. His question felt ominous, b939661632 but there was nothing e0cc2227d4 Irina could do. She could only anxiously fed4ba8f5c wait for his next 9615f5db32 words.40f9a9657b07611c

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“Then, tonight as well, 2081df6f77 you will make gold.”60347e25c18e9098

* * *b96e1545e403915c

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The second night 57b7512944 arrived. This time, a0485c17f5 the tower 40c296fbb6 was filled 79a85a24b7 with stones baf2205248 instead of 2c0ee7691e straw. 55e6791610c6950d

Irina glared at 51ca33f099 the stones, piled b3c0b38c0a high enough to b6fce36002 trip over. The Emperor 75a69ddaa2 insisted that 2fddbda536 he needed 7402a6a01f to confirm 1bfb2cee55 once more dbc7af2074 and ordered c26ec238b4 Irina to 730ecd5da4 turn the a4297796bd stones into 6d748ec424 gold. Since nothing had 7a5b13f4e9 been done with 024969e687 Irina’s own power 8bd55bd7ee from the beginning, 9845f424a7 the second test 3e2541ee96 seemed hopeless as b95580ebb8 well. Irina sighed deeply.c80f3fa53cb26c4d

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“This time, it’s dfbffc1a22 stones?”  83d2a4c80548fc55

A man’s voice made 93b1ec7e8c Irina turn around. There, Rumpel 8e280da08f stood with 3af8886505 a lazy 7ef8216918 smile on 8590d79997 his face. He playfully ba415bda0e kicked the 8ed85b1a05 stones with 570090511f his foot. 160c4c1f94708383

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Irina watched him for 6862468433 a moment before cautiously b11bd89622 asking,  34d23742cb60abec

“Can you help me…?”af5781f9d1924e42

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“You don’t 0b6517ed95 have anything 57130776db left to 984507c7f8 offer.”  8fb7242ca3234df8

“…”  4c453075aaffacbf

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Rumpel’s words were accurate. For that reason, 356c4b3669 Irina fell silent, 6220acb839 unable to find 733f0fad01 a response. But soon, an idea 68b0b9fbb9 flashed through her mind, a4ea3549f3 and her eyes lit 439c6f0e0f up.220c67449611b841

“A contract!”  336cbf75de0f086f

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“But…”  50441cec4e5a247d

“You didn’t say a668224975 you would only 5d8b16820a help me ‘once’ 2157fe70d3 when we made 4ee9732e84 the contract, didn’t 38b1144fde you? Right?”  d4d6a9eabc4cc69a

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With a triumphant smile, f954769134 Irina looked at Rumpel, 1135f220a2 having pointed out the af0314c539 loophole in their contract. 54050502f649d0e2

Rumpel seemed to 5c0c109a5c be recalling his a699195c4a memories for a 3d1c46b49d moment, then sighed c2d04ee511 deeply, as if 0afc68023a acknowledging that she 6247789d24 was right.425f1c09f85fd280

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“Indeed… you’re dbf038734b right, Irina.”  9c800a637ea74daa

At his acknowledgment, Irina d511abe1f5 smiled brightly. It felt 8af45b86ee like it 704cf94569 had been 654fda6c9e a long a83091f32c time since 55747a7ec7 she had f2e9cd5291 smiled. As the 88752ac092 rumors about 42d8886b35 Irina spread, 1829fddbf9 and it ef877fa92f became impossible 0a7063061d to ignore 1704d1ffc9 them, her c6f0102623 smile gradually 765c6ebffe faded. And after 5b630b2bdc her father f58bbb7e16 was arrested 1d215eee56 not long 8be91bfdf4 after, she c33734fa71 hadn’t had 4e3582d047 a reason c487ec4c1f to smile bc6afb37bb at all. So it was the 34df036ff2 first time in a ab868f6075 long time that she 375f0cf0e0 smiled.  66ebd03b969912da

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“….”  f499346edd8bbdee

Rumpel silently ce7956a482 watched Irina 3488d93d54 as she 6a4b94da05 smiled. 9493ffa923f67e34

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When Irina 73052dbbfc felt his d769e6141d golden gaze a8105efcde on her, 13f7c8410d she quickly f686775240 hid her 544beac2a0 smile, feeling 63ada2abff embarrassed. She thought it 7b2b1a0254 must be uncomfortable 89a1eb29d8 for him to ddbe6778e8 see her so d51d0df0ad cheerful, given that 035e04b45c he had realized 311ea66d1c the disadvantage of e017c61393 the contract.526e6f7f61308c74

“Smile… suits you 5b0565e15d well.”  e9feaeb2b0aa691f

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However, the 733ba4e44b words that 21ee3db9f7 came from f439ad7885 Rumpel’s mouth 5ca5297856 were unexpected. 092f1ed4b4c27214

Irina stared at Rumpel 52b8657c55 with wide eyes in 35b5f72728 surprise. However, Rumpel tilted his ce14837bc7 head as if he 99fe06a175 didn’t understand why Irina 4b3abf0385 was looking at him ad846f941e with such an expression. It was also 4dd6e1a6a7 a bit awkward 79648614f8 to ask why c3a1beb42f he said such 7fc9e71068 a thing, so 9deeffa5ce Irina remained silent. She just cautiously observed 83643d56c9 Rumpel, making sure to b040fda545 say what she needed 7f62375d44 to.4d23533a1a41aa86

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“You will help 89c5f7f56d me, right…?”  f486435378e19d33

“I can’t refuse. But only this 6b43554dc2 time.”  592bbe2e7aec10bd

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Instead of answering with 1182a4e952 words, Irina nodded. She did 5ef4c39b22 agree with 3c3ee9a699 his words, 29d1a811d3 but she d6898d3228 couldn’t help 006403c7cb feeling worried. Who knew when 50e354fe2b the Emperor might 4397cfe7a7 issue another absurd 41481a7c2d command? That’s why she 748ec07182 avoided giving a 489dc2f4ae clear answer, leaving cc0bd721d1 herself some room f534e3fa77 to escape if 27cc60fc6b needed.  4b85a650f3cdd414

Fortunately, Rumpel seemed unaware d3df559921 of her concerns and 09649be22f didn’t say anything further. He quietly reached out bb8300a505 his hand toward the ece2c878b1 stones. Soon, the 13e93e3209 dirty stones, ccecc8a753 covered in 1c187ebb42 patches of 14f0cbe787 dirt, were 3957cf9dea transformed into e7ec89d619 shiny gold.  fb2bcea8f6ff9056

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“Rumpel, what exactly 04f5106f49 are you? Who are 982d42cd6b you, really, 97a91c9901 to be 12ee846b3f able to 9e164af81d do something b9eb02bca2 like this?”  7b6d6da061ca5d3a

Irina couldn’t resist asking, 1cccdc616b her curiosity getting the 664ec51070 better of her. Rumpel gave e6d2072878 a wry 1d155698dc smile. The expression didn’t 7f11639ab1 quite match his dca43c736c beautiful face, and 5aff6b25ed for some reason, e8773121d2 it made Irina’s d8f28e6966 heart ache.  d8ba9a0c0a51d911

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“Well, I’m 1a47698dbb not sure 1b49c873a6 either. One thing a4c63123fe I do dd2180851a know is ac5d122daf that I’m 55f2134c66 not human.”  82309294511a6cde

Rumpel’s answer 2a99ab28cd wasn’t a 3c994eb28d lie. Though Irina didn’t have 1a2bf2173e the ability to tell f127ed710e if someone was speaking 95c54a0867 the truth just by b4940e825a their words, she could 6f3e940ea6 tell that what Rumpel 9ddf985804 said was true, that aab6cf170e even a seven year 787ade4dd3 old child could tell.  ddc05876c02c3143

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“Well, I’m efb2895e8d not a 1a9cdbc46c demon though. I don’t know 14690b4dfb if it’s something b0aae78cde similar.” 4996866a82da89f4

Irina couldn’t bring herself to laugh at his playful shrugging and additional words. It was because he still looked so lonely.dac2e26b5a26c9e0

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Irina felt somewhat guilty 96a0b349df about asking him any 74915c7235 questions, but there was f808c8ca7e an unresolved curiosity inside 37067dee18 her, so she carefully ad0b04bacd opened her mouth.a9595457e34ebef3

“Why can’t other people see you?”e30cd761e0edf673

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The moment that had d2844d471e shocked Irina the most 2efcce69c4 wasn’t when she first cc4886eeb5 saw Rumpel, nor when 4fdda1febd he made the gold d3ba35b78e thread. It was when 6ead7f34b1 the Emperor and 182bc14597 his people arrived 6ea83982c3 this morning, Rumpel 1fee56c14a was clearly beside e13c5269ce her at that 690ff008d1 time, but no 12d368ce3a one seemed to 04f455d4f9 notice him at 6a51e87a43 all. They acted 74762e81da as if 0f62316ffa he wasn’t ec9b3e52c8 there. a42b14ce23d42475

No one questioned Rumpel’s existence, until he stretched out in displeasure and disappeared into the darkness. It felt like she was the only one who could see him.b9ed1cfe592f17bb

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Irina was 54af7500fa genuinely curious. Why was she the 48de84246c only one who could c538922824 see Rumpel?2cbf27d9b72e3f71

“They ….. Because they can’t give birth to my child.”8d8c2a709c30a678

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“Huh?”bb476499a860b0c4

However, the response was so playful that Irina’s curiosity deflated. She glared at Rumpel with a slightly resentful look, but he just kept his mouth shut with a slight smile, as if he had no intention of answering Irina’s question properly.8c5e1369ff7f4df4

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