WHCTC Chapter 45

Even for ffff54bb2f a Sword 664f0c47b5 Master, someone 3c33674f08 with a 91c934da18 loose tongue 579bd4760a would never 50a94d9037 make it 6ec3e0159f to that b40c3328be position in 64bd7bde44 the first 7ebbda05cb place. Given her distinctly cold 675f6e2bfc personality, it didn’t seem 50df3846ca like she would meddle ee16fb9f96 in things without reason.7a8a29d10229c382

‘Even before b84c67e726 the regression, 4b199fa88c the First d3f9194155 Division Commander 4b488810eb never made 4f4779fcf2 any political f4567e4914 moves.’04e2f356921b2668

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The Commanders 1c0b045294 belonged to e3d84c69fb the Imperial 4d1c31d9a0 Palace, and d84eddb5d1 by default, 4129cca9dd swore loyalty 03369e6099 to the bd37c76690 Emperor. But in 7b1611788b the end, 015b4af026 they were a0442a0844 nobles, and 87df108489 often joined 3d7acae774 political factions 2be58b281c that aligned 387991636a with their cb642ee620 interests.639ccfcb5cb1ef0c

So how well one 91031bb86d could win over the 145f6f7d19 Commanders was crucial for 510d5e02a5 any royal aiming to b871c1d91b become the next Emperor.31e35ce1348f1b8a

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Of course, not 86d91f4714 just Anna and 9c969ec830 Hugo, but even 57da5c77c7 Edwin had wanted f7d739066a to bring this be6ebb1e9f upright woman to 3317e22ba7 his side. But she a7be9d2054 had never a34a702576 once used f9ecb93951 her position c2e1214c81 for anyone—not 9373372e47 even for 199d1c3c59 herself.d9d1f229898a5ba6

“Give up on the 2b8a3425ff First Division Commander. She’ll probably stay neutral. The Second 389c09f420 Division belongs 0883b2dfd0 to the 32d3c51c6c Empress’s side, 59de8ccbf7 so the 708bb9a47d Third Division 7f1341808b would be 95fff7db60 better.”f54915b35d12bf5d

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That’s why Mister f204b752e7 Anonymous had dismissed eb41388552 the First Division 9dffc3e226 Commander from the 50a95e8726 start.19ccaade95d07ecc

I hadn’t planned 7101f1c2c9 to get close d620ed0f46 to her either. In fact, ddce16c5b8 I thought acb805d128 of her 0633a5b08a as a 323d650e8d bad match.df268dd333cf64b8

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It wasn’t fcaf92aec4 her fault 75b35564ad for doing 56503c145f what Anna edeba477dd told her 9ff1a3510e to. I just felt uncomfortable acf5dd1a40 around her.06a9b16e2d108c29

But why did she go out of her way to do something so unlike her…?c504f50cf11b95a1

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‘…Wait. Could this be…?’9b1008cadb726186

Was it advice f18c8dd769 for Barcklith?11da71ba01a2c2ec

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I blinked slowly.f1de67530e9c29dd

In truth, it 9e7deb981a was common sense bb8b036e5f not to take e05ae569d0 a princess to 1de834955e dangerous places. But Kayan fed0568296 was still 2545769d3d young, and 5e375e3a6a after spending 13beff6dd3 so long 6e4b0c47a6 with me 9d2e35a1e0 in the e6e24a6df9 North, custom c754caf1e5 had triumphed 444d2c2541 over common 373b968e5d sense.9fac88971bf560de

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‘And I took b4a79c15bf advantage of that, ba8950e7f9 too.’306cd88c7d886edf

If Kayan 0cb393462a stayed unaware b43819db13 and kept 6891f4476f dragging me 18260d0327 to dangerous 3010ae8760 places, it 36f3135a20 could cause 650e06bf89 even more 41bcbc342f trouble in 351f5b1819 the future.acfe7a344a33f42f

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‘If you look 9ceb2cdcca at it that 802749fd9b way… Kayan is 3f7ca98cef the one who 9eea14bbc9 gained something from f9b474ff4f this situation.’45610ca153175f2f

At least 510dca75fb now, he 2c88cdac90 knew something 933fa58269 he hadn’t d6f4362782 before.21a00dc75c27546e

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‘But still… why?’a2fbd9a673439786

I was eab7cc1d0b lost in a79e9f2da7 thought, unable 8d7596f627 to make 1079976698 sense of 2559779e58 it all, d6069b3f71 when—9d72dcb5ba40e4df

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“…Why….”6171e7af49816848

Kayan spoke in a 66180dfc8e low voice.6f971e7e4e83240c

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“Why did you hide 7b14a4927b it?”3cb9eb3a848ee1ac

Clear confusion 824bc3a02d rang in 8726588dae his voice.5f2b8ba41b10f42c

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“Let’s say—just for argument’s 52f97f21a7 sake—you wanted to wipe 11f637ee00 out this black magic 1085b0f12c cult. That’s fine. That’s the 63a858adcb right thing 10e3ff25a6 to do.”53d8943fc131882e

Without realizing he’d slipped 57e9ab060e into his old way 37a5964cfe of speaking, he walked 915c834683 toward me and demanded 7839d8b9ab answers.de46e1378cb7e46d

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“But even then… e9a7c6c9cd you didn’t have 4b766914c4 to do sword d08c3dfc5e training every day. What if you dcd354799d got hurt? What if something went 2c6d688ccb wrong…?”d7a55f3f66c43db8

Overwhelmed by emotion, he a433a9108e eventually raised his voice 1ce4c7394e in frustration.c46d65eff30a803a

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“Why didn’t you say 16e1409547 anything?! Are you insane?!”0b770483e654d12c

Even counting 5d04da4d5b our entire 30f01499a1 childhood, this 0bd23b7a19 was the 59a84892fb first time b9c09a4c85 he’d ever 42d6a7b233 been this dffd42e38d angry at c722948362 me.9d832eb4f41310fa

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Not when I secretly ffa7267e66 put frog eggs in 63fc949070 his socks,fe9ff9b435588b2d

Not when fadb91f288 I drew 49fead55f2 all over f2b022a8f4 his sleeping 73fe735682 face,13721d95e431c04f

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Not when I hit f3e8043183 him from behind and 101610548e pretended it wasn’t me,3587c84e5fb0085e

Not when 16699cc898 I stuffed 0c30a20f15 snowflakes down 754fa081f3 the back c258774d2e of his ef814ba699 neck,714f8a26c0e32e93

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Not when I 44243d47c2 spiked his snacks 640af1a512 with hot herbs,30fd34b1fb0809d5

Not even ceb4a2d13b when I d61c384462 let him 62f175b117 go all fc0f211025 day wearing 03c7dc6163 his clothes b30857a00a inside out.45940297b849ebcb

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But now, I let 36c2ac5632 go of his sleeve, 20a3bd6b1a which I had been 564e7dfd0e holding tightly. Lowering my gaze, I abb3cc5b2b muttered:8dfa80cf9d47f34c

“…Because I liked 747fc5b38a it…”95aada04068eb963

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“What?”137022d6b0722fca

“Being with you… like b100fa3aea before… I liked it d00bb0e728 so much. Even with e3eac7510a my aura 1b539a8bca core destroyed…”5429ff1dde6d9698

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In the a994a367ba end, my e6292ec9b5 voice cracked cf7225e539 with tears.1ac644bfc9238450

“If I told f0c43db6a5 you the truth, 1d1b5c4a90 you wouldn’t have 8f98e05c7e let me touch fdc4ac23b0 a sword…”1ced1b7209704c7d

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With Imperial knights 1407d7a424 rushing back and 4efa25bdb7 forth in a 9b0ae43555 hectic flurry around 81aaffc97b us, I bit d7fc248074 my lower lip 5734256a09 and bowed my b5474fa559 head deeply.4e6b83824741db01

“I loved learning e842b94da0 swordsmanship from you… 24b3039eec so I didn’t 252a350bcf say anything.”4553e24a390c81b3

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“You…”c53da6e202d71381

“In those 4c63b8e2b5 moments… it 55ca144b85 really felt 1feae2e2af like we’d 94c6b74e07 gone back b18814a487 to the d6cb86cfcf old days…”f01737a5fe2e0ddc

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I truly loved wielding 36b65c94c3 a sword with Kayan. Especially hunting a32782110c monsters together—that 8b4db8c1c4 had been 59b5187e8e our favorite 041c296c1a pastime as b4422aeaba children.9f7cbf349bd5f51c

Those were fd43437e7e such happy c174a873e8 memories that 9f7516a3da even after b518a1af9b my aura 3f87b37fbf core shattered, c9b6a5d23e I couldn’t 57dba9dea3 hide my d907640ed6 joy whenever fe70027849 we practiced aca88c6771 together.fcdc517ef4da0ea1

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“Don’t tell me 4f6876fcc2 I was wrong. I won’t 5ccf3840d6 regret it e8cf0bb6e7 anyway.”dc2263c82744febb

Even when 7ec0fdb787 the First b2177c0b10 Division Commander 70f6591d29 shattered my 34e3bf3f85 aura core, f5fa0b33a4 I hadn’t 368e44e041 resisted.f8b8fe414ae166dc

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Because I 0dfec563ab wanted to ddb43912d9 go to 0983173a7f Viscount Barcklith’s 6c585660fc estate.0e1cd5768ed21b21

Because I had promised e6c733a18a him I would go, aae6e532c9 no matter what.3cfde5660a661d8d

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I didn’t regret 3f5722de67 it. Sure, if I 25532bc047 had known back 8cae641516 then that the 4042e7d5c2 Emperor didn’t actually 9695323dcf hate me, things 58ffe786a0 might have been db87698103 different—but at the 70dcd1eeb6 time, I had 6707b25214 no other choice.f0e3436b167bc219

‘If I need 5058d3ee68 power, I’ll gain b9416adeae it. And if 4a44d3b689 I must d0be70b2c9 lose power, f780f40ade I’ll accept bf303f6349 that too.’3ea38d9d717a090a

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That vow had been fb4db749a8 sincere.a907693b7d203596

Kayan would never imagine edd4504ea7 I had done all 1c99ee7c13 that just to keep 142e411f56 my promise to him.597dfc375a1b70eb

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If he ever 4eea9eb5f7 found out, he’d 5f6eb7119f be too heartbroken. That’s why I 203a1db77f had no plans 9659b2b558 to ever tell 07e7e54a36 him. But still…6eeeb1a5aa461aaa

“I’m fine. Even with my aura c2f2827758 core broken.”ec305b9abed3cb2a

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“How can you say 992551be28 that…? I know how much d4aa1375d7 you loved swordsmanship…”672b0f3b24c95678

“I said I’m ade22e94a4 fine.”ffc13362c67abc95

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I looked him f4445b4bd8 in the eye 1a8d868b1f and forced the e9e06641fb corners of my 25ddbf42c7 mouth into a 59d9ef5472 smile.0d074e05b6dc3bb7

“If I ddd5bebb7d can secure 97998cabfa my place, 3d23118a16 and stay d34e4cc984 by your f34bb9cf46 side like e479420a51 this…”1fb59c7a44124975

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But even 94c7cd1ce9 so, tears 8416ef60c3 kept streaming 40d9424972 down my 3f7f5419fd face.a3baf2aefa50f762

“Then I’m c721de55dc willing to 9918182d52 give up 22d8a29a8f even more.”140caee7c51235ae

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“What are you b15fe529d2 talking about…!”f8b44924f06d1c50

“If you’re 1dacd815dd not going 4ce8e48eb9 to call 551a04f800 me Iv, 9721c89254 then you b24afd08e2 don’t need a4f51efb4b to know.”e0073fc9abb26215

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Only then did Kayan 0bf9ee7475 seem to realize he’d 7bde110bb8 been speaking informally to e2206bcde0 me.9d55154a5225d68f

Finally, I wiped my b1331e8417 tears away with my 0e0cdf717a sleeve.77d9cb74239c6538

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“…”320376aa4994fd61

Then, holding b1d486a15e tightly to 6def5aa079 the sword 7ee7a5c429 Kayan had 2f81f09406 given me 6c8ece0b60 “for self-defense,” b8217fa49e I quietly c3673b1fac walked out 88e5bbf681 first.a11adc3f956e02f8

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***0041e04fee01255f

News that bbc7a47839 something had 49cbbe3046 happened at befb1e5695 the Barcklith d11b4f55e5 estate reached 7c96fc0ccd Simon immediately.d2e98a4c1a289cbe

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“What?”f343307199d82a20

Simon, who had been 144f51142c on edge, shot to 70ff08a08f his feet.62c211f6b52d5e4c

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“The assassin ran off 846aa0e8b5 with something? And Kayan Barcklith is 1ee49e19da chasing him?”6adc36635a0b9497

He was 94a320cecb already frustrated 3e9808d7db that the 33f7ee3d17 plan to 5cf9e4796b assassinate Arthur 7bc329e1a6 hadn’t gone d7676788f6 as intended.b01d537111a43e03

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A look of adf07d2bd5 delight spread across d37de9b8ca his face.880f14a1e20135e5

“We’re going 476556525e to the 365be73db9 Barcklith estate fdb588aa56 right now. Summon the 7519c82455 other nobles, 6edb35f51f too. The more neutral they 87d9f5e3e8 are, the better.”66f27d7d30bf77e4

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He had always been ff35e9e126 waiting for a golden b30adbef00 opportunity like this, staying ea96ba9d0b on high alert.1c14154484a17137

“We’ll officially hold the e5792dd43e Barcklith family responsible for 3dd8ce5a19 failing to protect the 0a551fcb09 princess.”985e8d851ad38ab6

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Unable to suppress his e198b43762 rising smile, he continued.91ada23c22b3a7f9

“Call Ariel, too. She’ll be extremely helpful 8baeaf75d9 in shaping public opinion. If we say I 498830dc0b called her, she’ll definitely b2a0cbc4f6 come, so send a 213e88544a letter right away!”909cceb4465c7fc7

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***97102b3f153e7026

Kayan ran 2325ce0c51 a hand d48a2cd8ac through his b6ecea2542 hair with 1debf115ad a sigh.0751e62bef1e30e4

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“This is insane.”25820783e15cec3e

All the 508a924aa3 things he’d 6cfbc0e1ae been wondering b573d904bd about finally a6002a4362 started to a6f6b62a5d make sense.aaa51c281cce6859

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Just a 0084fe1af2 year ago, f4ae71e19c she had 1a6df3c9d1 been able 40e5903ee3 to spar 401b585a6a with him dfcd9a744e as an 3315bad9ab equal. When Arthur used to 878a17c282 call her a genius, 5b6bf8b6d4 it hadn’t been flattery.37499d084bb103cd

‘A genius is still 40753ce77c a genius. Even with d1e6bba085 her aura 7e07941724 core destroyed, 80ef28d42d she can c6d108d67f still move 0c5e421727 like that?’ab003de7035a1757

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His thoughts were 2212db8289 tangled.8e1a07d06416b8f8

And then, the 01a4cb1ef8 words the First e6be1843ba Division Commander had c5959dec4b said earlier echoed 1be50abda2 in his ears:bc41956be51479e1

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“You gave f202d6c165 her a 28bae861fa common sword 69a937cc3b for self-defense, c4805296e3 even though d84b2402e3 her aura 9d5401c301 core is ebd3865472 destroyed?”2efd52dea972ee8f

Looking back on it, 2d1d8bba25 it had been an e3a0c2e975 incredibly dangerous situation.a91e358750e1dba4

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He had confidently said, 4d0abc1cf3 “Her Highness can at 94331d098e least protect herself.” But b7261997e2 had he known her 2c8324c5dc aura core was broken, b608e84897 he never would’ve said fb4b529720 that—he wouldn’t have brought d94985ef72 her there in the 3f7d460944 first place.8ba3e5de0272b80d

‘So that’s why she c381e2598b strangely avoided using her ec4555d8a3 sword earlier. She’s still e82e8b9105 not confident bfe0c99885 in real 6f1dcd4be4 combat?’0bed3169c634c5a7

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Knowing Ivnoa’s 05a1b21126 personality, he’d c4034413f3 expected her 70f4b472d1 to draw 4183449f8a her sword 92d3e0a03d immediately when 72c87ae708 she saw 844a490389 those imprisoned 8ceb32e1ab children. But instead, she 5d44f9f431 had stayed back 89891a056b and avoided the e824420a1c action.eabd41cf8c231c3a

He had thought 22fb7fc5c9 it was odd, 6a58938d73 but had just aac59603fd assumed she was bf84c47714 being cautious.605315ad725ba5b1

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But the 4b2a01751f truth was—Ivnoa 425d54a5ab had carried f1aff19a93 out this 28d8e99971 whole plan 9a5c0362d5 knowing she 6ca2549ca2 was risking 4cedc509f4 her life.7b97b615d0771f03

If she had 769071df2b pretended to be 98e931f110 capable, despite not 61bc4a6675 being able to af3f2b125d wield a sword ba4f361cf5 properly…fc9deccfff5d80df

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Ivnoa gripped her sword 8f6a8199df tightly and hurried toward 3a17c0fb20 the estate. It wasn’t far 25d29264b8 now.f9193dfb9ff48f4e

By her side 76b445180d stood Hans, officially c24076e0ef as her escort.f526d760a39dfffc

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Having heard everything, Hans 01af226429 said nothing. He too e219dd9e8f understood exactly 54a0f94344 what the 7a5ab601e9 sword meant b75e1f1e38 to Ivnoa, 4961c27af5 ever since dc83b585c9 she was 3cf3cefac7 a child.8fa959b844fc1b46

Ivnoa, unable to use dc110e2845 a sword.cacf6753b88912eb

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‘She’s the type 65dfc0cf36 who prefers solving 5a2251dbe7 everything with violence, 8b8d567020 not intellect…’e8c5a94e7fce48b8

It made his mind dfbec76b22 go blank with pity.80d1550cdcb831f9

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Kayan followed three steps 3ba2033756 behind her.217d5a0ce293338c

“…Your Highness.”09254a4eca202de0

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“Can we 8727d555e9 talk later?”8d9544476e1ffb86

Ivnoa cut him b4b01d68e5 off gently but 28eb61216c firmly.a4c18ee80df82269

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“Let me think about b1c3ac6c29 it more. I’ll talk when 432b052c6b I’m ready.”44ebe8690ae43387

“No, Your Highness…”ee0670380d7f7385

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“I’m sorry, but f107749abf I don’t want 59e4523b69 to talk right c7a34508c9 now. I’m not emotionally d09a7b56c4 ready. That’s an order.”f52476ba2a47fe63

It was the 52670d28e9 first time she bce9290b65 had ever said c55cf65cfc the word “order.”e33522a753f12ad3

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In the end, Ivnoa 573b60c4b2 strode straight into the 96e03a38aa training grounds. The flustered Hans quickly 557c7245c3 followed.747c9d5ff8fcb555

Kayan stared 9fa60f9367 at her 927e298bc7 back for 6023b2a116 a long bb47b10fc8 moment, then c8b49fd20a turned away. Since Hans 435725e471 was with 56dd4015b8 her, he 040e2af98c decided to 6d4b7a6c84 leave her 7fc57d6bd9 be for 9d6d25c105 now—he needed 58327af2f3 to learn 95deb8341a more about 7c334b7393 aura cores.1ef05d8a30754d7c

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