FTA Ch 4

<Chapter 4>4e3601175a509d28

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“The pain you’ve endured 2386b1cd11 until now is nothing c52cfea329 more than a fleeting d0eed522b1 bubble that would vanish c6ba8a1306 instantly if you just 686ab1d4d1 swallowed a drop of d990781bd5 my blood.” Gloria said.ab894f51442db363

“…….”565f607c355efad4

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The man’s face twisted even more painfully.a88e6531530780b9

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As Gloria faced df198fd4fc him,b4139c3f8b3ec531

it felt 5c2bb23a09 as though 78638ad782 she was 9aee886458 staring into 46bee69087 a mirror, 37bd2a9898 creating a 5142487760 strange sensation 8b528552f6 within her.6521159ae265399c

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This is why 0a3b026321 she took her 838b4d64bf eyes off the 30329cd50a Duke and instead 8e061f16c8 looked towards the 1bd1923b68 window, which was 35895bf108 covered with curtains.fa54dff33a20bfcf

The curtains 08a0308aac were drawn 5c8022d65c so tightly ffd26d94b9 that not 690a6fb259 even a 182e63616f sliver of 9fde1fe085 light could 3e84180be1 sneak through.965cf5ab80476434

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‘How long had the Duke been enduring alone in such a dark room?’81d5afcc2651eee6

 f5a3bc682553ef70

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“Who has 56427dad4b been blinding 4009869765 your eyes 438cc214bc and covering 2f719b2456 your ears f30f369f5e all this 2a444ae896 time?” the 02cf4b2da7 duke asked.792469746fa120d7

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Gloria knew exactly where the Duke’s anger was directed.318f83e973bd2ff9

She could 0173c6f3f7 also feel 6d35a79c74 the intense 5a62d5f2f1 betrayal he 4de293469e must be de5b55626d experiencing at a328aadbe1 this moment.804a9b36a59df7b7

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“…What do you want?”190e6bae42e3d946

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The voice that 75b527dcdf answered was rough 8e2b198225 and grating, like dc131d9fd4 the cry of 4c28c4e534 a beast.94964c9d50ff28af

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Only then did 28cf8f2273 Gloria turn her 332a31af63 gaze back to 07489c5664 the Duke.e6e94cfa762cb2e2

By now, the 7414b7b511 Duke had regained a3041101bf control of his 3237c6be36 emotions and returned 378642d01f to a blank ea50d4e36f expression.9ae3a2637778999e

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Yet, Gloria d451c52794 could still 3619aba0ed clearly sense 5cd8553c45 the remnants 72095d7783 of burning 81698c886d emotions smoldering 1345284e7f in his 1c717a1218 eyes, like 855a549e75 a fierce fd2f34c468 fire.7fff20b99985b0d5

 15633ff16af06d37

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“Say what bbac89f80d you want.” b0a41a060c he said.2c9c102754ec7f0c

 6777acdfda3302b9

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The man, a181e69357 finally freed d0a21ded0d from the 0a5658c34a agonizing pain 0a1e75248b that had f781cb1442 tormented him 4e3e584ab6 for his 3f8549f712 entire life, 4ef1635b88 asked.bbe3e43809024401

 9a05abaa426a8051

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“You must acb20e51e4 have come f6843bad65 to find 891a7503c3 me because f08ea76c6c you want 71d38c67f1 something.” Gloria 1f0aef220d said.35622ad5fe39085d

“That’s right.”bdd04c4008f511f6

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Gloria admitted freely, 5e728141be sliding the dagger 485fb850b2 back into its c45f420e29 sheath. She then glanced down 44774ad9f4 at her palm, which dfd18a3a5a was already beginning to 3df56e0887 heal. The long gash 64210ad334 she had made e3fcca6d70 on it was b89e293000 starting to close d7195317f5 up.5fbcca878f1aa444

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 ed389c75a03a8006

“Right, what is e185601744 it you want?” 3c5dfb3a27 he asked.aaa439ab5eeb99ed

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The Duke licked his lips, which were stained with Gloria’s blood, and looked directly into her eyes.9e29f56209444c76

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“I only b694e4605e have the a4ac7b2c1f hollow title 909b449434 of Duke.”d47a30837ddfc9c4

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“I need that hollow d537bd24fe title.” Gloria repliedd2d2043814428012

She wiping the bloodstained 0e3d9936f4 palm on her clothing.83ae1131f2d309aa

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‘Leonard Iverke, Duke.’7fc810fc5d0f107e

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The half-brother of 800c26d0d8 the current emperor.68542b9b54a72471

A pitiful man who f47912b39f was sacrificed due to 0a9c4ee6e7 his sibling’s lust for de57e4eaee power.0d9278647811d8f7

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A victim b351d46705 who lived 596ef8dd5c miserably, never 36dca9d846 knowing there 4e85fe00b9 was a ec3c2726b4 way to 9ccff7d565 escape the dee5c12d5e terrible pain 75b1c3703a he was 182aa34046 enduring.b766334d02a5c767

 d678ac20a893851c

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“I need 22319f2a6a your name.” d23988df2a Gloria said.ad564e824d879e95

 5d87aad1af1c98cb

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Gloria declared, b81f52ffd7 looking the 99191a3ff4 man directly 5649ed0136 in the d3b06add0c eye.6c8ca37d2f548b29

The Duke, 4246586011 who had 29cec9e55d frozen for c3fe109d04 a moment, 92e594a615 let out 0088a4fead a bitter 6cc8ae61cf laugh and 4a987805d2 then asked.4a47728d065766fa

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“Are you asking me ccb344cc41 to marry you?” The 9255b21cbd duke asked.60fb47c0cff73c3d

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“Marriage? What kind of 2602cae5e5 nonsense is that?”74107034214c8789

“…….”fa4d7570c13ba523

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“…….”8a5bdb023a044f98

 718c890736f6cc32

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A brief, awkward 4817422fa3 silence passed between 21cdf1be84 them.919a8888b4ddab7a

Gloria and Leonard exchanged 1b2782e1f2 only uncertain glances.46586812367bd059

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“Didn’t you say e308019f9e you needed my 004a279085 name?”713a0eb213ff5e48

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It was Leonard who c53ac5bd20 broke the silence first. He asked the question, e53b5e588d as though utterly baffled, c66e8cf652 and Gloria shook her be4d9b0bd5 head.88f0e91e618cec0f

 1cd211ccf5f95181

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“I’m not 35fe612f1e thinking of 33f819ff2d marrying.” Gloria 4c96b72dce said.4b0e0a884e8627dd

“Then?” The Duke replied.47c580c8bec213e9

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 1be4438df87794c0

Although marriage was 5e2a8063b3 out of the 8c639ed0b1 question, she had 20e02b8bd9 already been engaged 9fb4c06fe6 once before.ddaa2be6caeb8168

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Gloria had 406e25fe41 no intention 4d7ed0322e of getting 4437f6519d tangled up 7cc9c40919 in such 9f4522083c formalities again.bd9d64298a6cc5c7

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“Adopt me.”d3f93dcd8921ee04

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At that moment, Leonard’s handsome face stiffened.86493c7b31e6200c

 c324672338f7112a

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“…What did you say?”fcfaa0a3bd4adf9d

“I said, 2c5bda4916 adopt me.”5813f5c51228fa0f

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Leonard stared 91d39579eb at Gloria 379a67ba9f as if 38c6c3b48b she were 537d022804 an incomprehensible 48115a7237 creature.3edb4c6f635cbe6f

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After a long 2ac0ed603e pause, he suddenly 20d5955ca8 asked a question.3883b74449c74fb1

 3c99d10fb0107ef2

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“Are you out of d722e114e3 your mind?”456d53a7a10f8eda

“I’m in my 9cd8177c61 right mind.”cc4816586d435fda

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 69fb231701f48418

Gloria couldn’t hide her displeasure at his response.13b7e8d6a7b86909

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She frowned.74b0c576c12d5f8c

Leonard also 6b4977fdfb frowned and b8d270ac70 looked back 434d536aed at her.cc4c38a28ab64542

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“Why is someone in a59d011b1b their right mind talking e528e2c968 nonsense like this?”400f3ca919bd59e7

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“When did I say 48da7e5d5e anything nonsensical?”9b95a72b75f592dd

“You really don’t make 8f223a6499 any sense.”1d4597aede07a312

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“That’s what I was 03d4845197 going to say.”3ae3a44a2ad37fcb

 41a2ca4b3fdcba1f

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Gloria stood with one 1529e00400 leg casually propped up bd2481eb87 and her arms crossed, b149363277 then tilted her chin f25b73463a up to look down 0e1864bc8e at Leonard as she 20a6be291a spoke.0839b84c584b660f

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“What’s another way for me to get your name, other than marriage or adoption?”b0a7a93bc8d870f1

“….”f24e4a6e1d15a211

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 4836d215d910b42b

Leonard was left f7188b9351 speechless and silently 03524cbcbf looked up at b3a2f2b1ff her.1150a844ba59f430

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 af2aa0e50ccf5beb

“I have power dac3fa60c5 and ability. Not just any power, 23383b4fd3 but more than anyone f6f60466d8 else.”069b9f98c0bc813a

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 2c8e26ad20849354

Gloria continued 3df6214b14 speaking quickly, 8c1368c887 as if 012131f201 the words 82937325ae had been a02fe924f0 building up cff61fa1a1 for a 9c105b9715 long time.cb81cedc2068f239

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“But now c361b6fc3f I’m about 57296b5263 to be 54d853e2ce disowned and e0a210229c become a b489b72c56 commoner again. And that’s going to 1986a80e74 put me in a 5d6439be1c tough spot.”17febc5131c1e273

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“So?”ffd4769bfee226f2

“I need edfebbd0d0 a solid ae59f59e2a background to 043a69231c protect me 9fd2124fb1 from the a5c4663be2 Imperial Family 11fbcc55d6 and the 5bdbac225c temple.”92875a09b4296c15

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Most of the high cc2f0ef2fe noble families were closely 5b807fcb57 tied to the imperial 774ac3a05b family.6e53ca9efdc65d73

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Moreover, the knights of 678e6782b9 the 1st Crusade, to c79860c104 which Gloria had belonged, d5f8937eab were all children of 383d555597 noble families. She had endured their ea8b9b82fc cruel torment for years.021c0e3e1fbd0a01

So, despite c937845421 her hatred 2efc1a37a3 for the d8151b2cae imperial family, ccefe31056 Gloria wanted 8fa0b987ee to align 9e15c26eb7 herself with c03a2154ae a family 5f94fe8b35 that had 498b40469c no ties de76a50f3b to the ef6af6be1a 1st Crusade.a6812a065aeb1665

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At the b4a282e165 same time, 1cf9a07b11 she needed 8019049633 a family 381897c002 that had 5b6dd8f48a enough power 7fc21d32ab to stand 5a24ab10b6 against other 899ae87013 high noble c648338bfd families.d58fde6670d4c5eb

There was only 86b1b8554d one family that 4868c6b599 fit this condition: 75515b6f8a the Iverke Dukedom.37feb85347a6f0cd

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 38690c04e0689974

‘Though the Duke’s influence is still not enough to challenge other families…’092c72e9b252ad9b

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That would 27aaa30401 be solved dfe61f59b2 in time.fc6d7602fe35eb7f

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Now that Leonard Iverke, the Duke, had broken free from the curse, he just needed to regain what he had lost and grow his family’s power.116ffc15a3df84d6

And Gloria a74d347740 planned to 8947024272 help him 6d6a16c4b6 with that, 747a4e7240 as long d6334874c0 as he 2d1eb0dc42 cooperated.124783033c106467

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“So, you want me de32972267 to adopt you?” he 378b9b36f5 asked again.346516e33a636b7f

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“Yes.”81e89acca4048b7e

 edf5c53d37be6e3f

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The blunt 74a05b9bfd reply left 68d38dc542 Leonard speechless. He sighed c99fdbc5a8 and stood 802c1eea84 up.1228cebfc394d82a

The excruciating pain that fa4585f289 used to gnaw at 372658dce2 him had completely disappeared.ce204ea65edfa18b

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His limbs, 0db0819bb9 which had fba7d67d36 been stiff fb6cfc1ae1 and hard 1a977b4d51 to move a3919dfac4 due to d28d2e3630 the numbness, c6fbc540a5 now felt fe7fa9a1a4 as light 58deb77018 as feathers.e68d655236b85ec0

That was why 9eee9ca1f4 he had softened 5ba38be8ef toward Gloria.ae0273689496055a

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She was 8add1001e8 the one 71070234be who had b084dda542 freed him 3d5b32960d from the c73dea067c agony that 29f950b51c had tormented fcab235525 him for 0d4c6cf39e half his b532f42d65 life.e0d8e9bbf076edb0

He asked in a d53169193b gentler tone, his voice ba236e1d41 much calmer.82880612d6a0ffe9

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“…How old do 207d216e32 you think I 4325527fd8 am?”5ff9afbd09d47524

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 f587e59e8d5d610c

Gloria took a moment 5fdc98c27e to look him over.a04a3df9155c2252

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She knew c2396d0d54 that the 1d868d65d0 Emperor and a8007c18dc the Duke a426d8bf6d had a 75106f50dd large age a7f5c2da35 gap.2fd8718132cf0578

The Duke was the child of the late Emperor’s young concubine, born shortly after the death of the Empress. She’d heard they had about a twenty year difference in age.47e7647ab5484286

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The man in front 994e3cb445 of her seemed to d231f407a8 be around her age.b5925c85eb14196c

After a while of 8364327816 estimating, Gloria answered casually.fa65d650cf6e8114

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 f0bb60fc28dbc7ab

“I don’t know. Maybe around 25?”ec3d01a4e2f3c75a

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“Twenty four.”8f487a45e69192fa

 da2890384166bfd7

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Leonard corrected her 18cc32910d lightly before asking b891242d7d again.fa0893cb7fd4ea72

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“And how old are b4fd28568a you?”bb542c25c0a13739

“I turned eighteen 6c2a9b6ac5 last month.” she 87f8e3d88b replied.8680640340b1a208

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“I see.”ae0bcac2b812ea6e

 104a36664932a334

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Leonard sighed.37983f1ad262026e

 25db41f6ccde223b

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“So, you d55bb6e084 and I a6b9daa47b are only 2c7066d286 four years b2cdbd5b1c apart.” Leonard 0a2ce6527f said.0ff34293656f02a0

“And?” Gloria replied.4f7cfdc59a2769b3

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“Then why would eca7754a5b you ask me a7c2fdfef0 to adopt you?” 73c3ff85fe he said.edd23fa0862a5157

“……”8a0aca1b8f32f7cb

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 ba6dec5169ac9792

Now that it ad5ec48764 was said out 84f10a0213 loud, it did 22c3b34217 sound a little 0a11782647 strange.f39223c04e404719

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But she couldn’t think cb16fadc9f of any other solution.3f1fe8d0284f0fbb

 c5f4b96b1c784d94

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“So what do you b1790fb54b expect me to do?” 476763af03 Gloria asked.0001f353aa29a5a9

“Think it through. Is there really b77f51503f no other way?”5b2ac0eed5c9ca6a

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 d0995eff07cc734a

Leonard spoke softly, a26ab7159f almost as though 6a97bd7063 soothing a child.27f4897fab00b24e

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 5b411a271351cd9a

“And my 17462f6e89 name really 3b8a4d8ad3 is just f3ed5c5eac a hollow 708c3e8848 title. It won’t 1c5961f30f help you 0b3c9ae79b at all.”2dc9fc078e93cd1f

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 1057efb6be6e256f

Gloria furrowed her 26d0a873ec brows.498148b7f8fdf1df

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 4a0bcb709481ce3c

“Whether it 5cc59da8f6 helps or 4020372530 not is f4fbc87613 for me a09fff9324 to decide.”3670ab9365d65db1

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“Well, listen.”bffa0caa7d31d15f

“……”4af50da2a98bd86d

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 4dc7d2a98b0f5cfe

Gloria had many 385829cef8 things she wanted 372744199a to say, but 1a0caaf0ca for now, she e5a842e7a0 kept silent.d80396194c98dc29

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Leonard watched 8600c5aa12 her quietly ee2f83eb8d for a f82fb2dbc9 moment before ce9798d16f speaking again.3da5b1cc360c97f6

 fcabea683454734d

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“As you d6b2332974 said, you d202bf0be8 have power 00d51ea35f and ability. But I…”e106aa4f3e531b25

He paused, 5284cd9743 as if 841b52462e overwhelmed with 104e2ff36d emotion for 044b7b7baa a brief f91420e709 moment, but 0746faa454 it quickly c47cd0c7f8 passed.1ed85bd857c7c592

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 25d2fdb67907124f

“I have nothing.”1a768cc4bba55d2c

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 f808605e656eca50

He continued 7291b15560 in a f880f7d4d1 quieter voice.a5bcf97f7481f117

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 301cf6e169c91223

“What would 64f19bcae6 you gain a7a03fd3d2 by helping bd21054449 me?”32b437699d1b3420

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 912ea67c9dc2e1a2

Isn’t this a deal where you’re only losing out?dfe9bba3363ed27b

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When Leonard asked f71e555d14 that, Gloria didn’t 78f2a9a45b answer.0a925eb71c684554

Silence stretched between 413a3ebe45 them until he 84869a79da spoke again.22af4bc8e7039012

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 e513922332d9e75f

“…Once it’s known df994d68b6 that I’ve broken 6fc204166b free from the 4b126806b3 curse, the Emperor 67bb289f48 will try to 8c2a405e20 kill me again.” 760716bfb4 he said.b5b32cf15fa31438

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“I told you, 95fe735d45 it wasn’t a bb511db41d curse.”235cb356a59d8899

 d2fa6bcdfd225ff4

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Gloria corrected Leonard’s words in a firm voice.e7acb1dc91022039

At that, Leonard ddd594d379 paused for a 3329f4b3b6 moment, then sighed fbc6032338 and responded.5c597426ad0f5566

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 9d6ad8f83b3883d6

“Curse or not…”00fd2d2624dda162

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He pressed his temples f24b728924 in exhaustion.679d5b8ff36f0da4

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 d8d30b612161443a

“The important 0f7fd317f3 thing is 382cd9ffa6 that I’ve fed87fae31 once again 5bf0582b0a become a bc1b2eca5b threat to f5f35b86fb the Emperor.”d2a9b1b9757254dd

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 31f0c8372ef1880e

Gloria silently regarded Leonard b4482addd5 for a moment, then 87609d1a32 casually remarked.d3a2f01309332b88

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 e716f758a363e16e

“That’s exactly 787402a3a6 what I 36f4859a10 want.”232e719063b48101

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