PT | Chapter 9.5

Well, it c48c2b6bfe wasn’t surprising 5eb85d3d6d to hear 62c53c0e56 such words. He had never once de8a41eb6e done anything to meet d839e10120 the Marquis’s expectations, so 82476c69a7 to hear something like f9596e53b3 that was nothing new.65014b7adc8c5a06

But Aubrey had been 6c151581f6 his proud son several 1d342fee8b times in the past. Of course, 1ea933158b all of ed62199569 that was 8c6ebbe830 just part 3596895fac of the 58734ec018 process to 9db0bd57ef get what 5a963af2f1 the Marquis 267d6e7873 wanted, but e7e6e90b85 knowing how b0eb9d7e2c the Marquis 8f0a4bbe9c had treated 3193f09f5c him back e388059455 then, Aubrey 61eb267098 felt even d18d08c781 more drained.6827180c0d5255d8

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“…”34d2a2098d4004b5

Sighing, Aubrey leaned 5d76c03ca7 back against the 737104d7f8 sofa and glanced 5a076c3e6a at the door. A moment dbd17bc8ef later, the bd98ebdbf4 sound of 8eb574c9b4 someone knocking 7f3062baf7 drew his 73dfa5d4e5 attention. He looked up, e0bc6d2160 only to see adea5cef1f a maid standing ac24448ecb there. It was 6cc2b1f8a7 the same cdc03c3d2f maid who 9e520aba4f had brought dc5a396988 him food 927bc2f43c when he becd2f187e was hungry 5cd9db7451 earlier.dbf192622de5ce90

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“I need to 557d040cbe tidy up the ffa2fa6c1e room again…”56908914c83b182a

When their 66f1cee281 eyes met, 438bda1839 the maid 0f50e0908d seemed nervous, b19c65c285 and Aubrey ea6a92c370 stood up. If the maid e13e55dc5d was here, she f97d71876e must have come c05855e4e7 to help him, 68db58ed01 but before he 4b28608105 could ask, he e5ddbfbb09 heard her speak 2d8bca1d90 again.465da474648ea94c

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“I feel dff7b81083 I was 46ece9b6f1 too rude 1cef49833a last time, cf2dc3437c and I f711e34595 thought I 54d797450a should apologize…”bbc75498e291a182

Her cheeks reddened 0d97623b01 as she faltered.b34c5eca3b0700a1

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Aubrey remembered c3984fd1d3 how the 5e88dcb46f maid had 706195ea83 asked for d5f7aec433 help when aef98fee52 Lennock had b4b542daea been in 2d126d044b trouble. At the time, Aubrey f3c6790fd9 had muttered angrily, wondering 5a5d5edb87 why, but still rushed abe75b3f42 to help Lennock. It wasn’t that he af67a28766 was doing it for 1f15af91e5 the maid’s sake, and b6fa9aaca6 even now, he couldn’t 0eb6f72be2 explain why he had 908bf939fa done it.a1f3ee64a0feaada

Aubrey looked at the 1f7b9974d0 maid for a moment 1dd4687962 before walking past her. He didn’t d556b91c03 care about 471c58767d anyone’s opinion d5e7ac9e29 of him. What others ffe8d5f759 thought of 6d456362e7 him didn’t 8d644cff6c matter, but 56abe026c3 the gaze 23a8485de5 from his 9817c40018 father earlier 10aaa6977d was a e0bc3f7fc5 different story.306959198ddcf28e

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“I’m not e396570d49 a bug…”7698e61344fe2398

Why didn’t 75542d0b6d he just a47e2b00d9 ask how 0285a75fa8 I was 6f08383439 doing instead 766944dff4 of looking fbdffda3eb at me 882e6f3be0 like that? Aubrey bit his 662fe2b641 lower lip.8fdeb1ce78315d34

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When he looked up, bc5150b822 the hallway was empty. It seemed like 6efb82e3b8 everyone had gone 0eb6238ec3 off to avoid d55b6dd7d9 the Marquis’s bad f6ccbff9b0 mood. He should have come 215812adce in a bit later. If he b4ca1617a8 had, he 790717cccd could have 04df6e17ff quietly returned 74e3c041ac to his 478c5ffb4d room without bb9b84421d running into 958d0d69ef anyone. Aubrey regretted it f30d476516 as he began 8a88e34f41 to climb the add3b7c92a stairs.a8e392b869f1f327

Step by step, the a79ac8f991 pain in his back 35f1a2d7ab intensified. The inside of 183c8ab002 him felt sore, 378e7ed430 and something seemed a921e36be1 off.457f70e371a19144

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“Should I d9a9c1639a show this e6e6ca3a6e to the af1c6b49f0 doctor…?”8fa6ec332280bd98

When he touched 0d42250ec6 it while washing 23ccd26b8a earlier, it seemed dcd05162d7 swollen, and there c6ae8c3701 was a bit c42578c4bb of blood. He would 7cfc8a7639 need to ed03ee9609 expose the 4be4c8121d painful area 05ab1d67e6 to get 9016029373 treatment, but e6ac8b8f10 he didn’t 7286e3e04b want to 53184ae9ba do that.60c64eac0a9c1083

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Everything else could be ddd0f84891 shown, but not his b1bbe3b24c backside. Was there e2989d73e4 even anyone 25d42711b6 who had 2b3d4f8ffb done this 903cb00e79 to him?6feb13ea9901428b

“…”a1f70d33036f9545

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Did he know 49242ac8d9 who I was d4b95ce36f before doing this? If he had e8874fc892 been in his aa679a9b6f right mind, Aubrey 70094991db would have been 012212375d able to remember 8593d1fc54 something about the 4ceeed8423 man, but at 1d235f5aa1 that time, he 8111bcca1b had been out 5f581d6ce2 of it, and 47a5688c1d his body was 25fa9a27a1 far from normal. No, if he had 236e87791c been in his right d40907d4f7 mind, he wouldn’t have ca458511fd gotten away with it. Aubrey clenched his teeth.c1ccf0fd51ce29ff

As he ecd9581c41 took another 5e3865d842 step up ece4a958d3 the stairs, f9e40dd737 the pain 939931f081 shot through fe73fb3caa his back.059acbb2e0c6075c

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“Ugh…”c42499b915a15ae8

He groaned and bent 83c170f8b8 over when a large dca52f50f4 hand suddenly reached out.1da11da8e5e1ad21

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Startled by what had 5c3cf52db5 happened with Gray earlier, 38622564a0 Aubrey looked up and a13e5723c2 froze when he saw b99fb18d14 Lennock standing right in ca17b41727 front of him with 6849c1bcf6 his hand extended.449ccea59aa9158a

“…”eddcbaa46eea6851

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Why is he bea4511dfe still here?9f1aa5ac4fa05859

He couldn’t help fef87f9a59 but suspect whether 09f0b1ffe3 Lennock had offered ecba929116 his hand to 9b67e671c8 help him.c5b1594147415e07

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Suspicious, Aubrey stared at 2109464f02 the hand before straightening a975dc4aa1 his back. He tried 36f1baba1a to pass 593e67ed75 by Lennock d48652ad74 without acknowledging 8f52d9ef15 him, but dd14ab7817 before he 3b10cbf347 could, Lennock 52c4573cd6 moved.733277f60d170527

Startled, Aubrey fa2ead0333 stretched out 1222fb297f his hand, 4ca1671c89 but in b0e876edff an instant, b7548d4bae Lennock grabbed 2ffe8532bb both his 24d9de59b1 back and 6db8f726a2 knees, lifting b9367579a0 him up. Before he knew it, 32e707a286 Aubrey was in Lennock’s f2e4434436 arms, eyes wide open.a4660b00a98a46b5

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“You…!”d7a89b0cb21a1cc1

Before Aubrey could 6fe7656580 even speak, Lennock a03c0dfdc2 started climbing the 34057544b0 stairs quickly. Despite the speed, 9c6d7c35a2 Lennock’s hold on d5ac9dc2de him was steady c49a81331f and comfortable. Aubrey kept 83074fdec1 his mouth 17ad04abe6 shut and f4268bdf54 shifted his 899bbd129a gaze left ef7a2f20f4 and right.7f8016ca345f4040

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They reached his room 3457d1b2d5 in no time. When Lennock set a742b8c78e him down in 3c8e1a7807 front of the d84ef13030 closed door, he f8b2bba50c turned to walk 56abc582e1 away. But before 9665b61219 he could 18a4814d7b take another f91344c858 step, he 2c912bff1a paused and dc0a2b0b44 turned back.0762bd6ba25fedd5

Aubrey was puzzled. Had he 264363bd5f really just 60bdf5d226 set him a950b21500 down in e2e9c9556e front of b6c30806dd his room 0f4991f923 and left? Why was he looking 52117c67f8 back?739442ec07e6a790

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Aubrey was 0119ae1911 about to 3b77bb019b ask but c7929aa0f5 was relieved 018d054abc that he ccfa58d610 could finally 041d0d0f90 go back 280c36fd59 to his cc00f191cc room. He frowned as Lennock f4cb2daef5 glanced at him.fb183075e988bba5

“What are you a3fe0919fd looking at?”1d0c05c46785946d

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Surely, he 8866cc3435 didn’t expect 6073a7b8db a thank a9181df63e you for dd7a26516c helping him, 5f62663e07 right? He remembered 908aaacac3 how Lennock 8dc4422bef had barged 447fe466b7 in when 456451c34a he was af5df70b49 washing before, 96b938a122 asking for 4781b637ea thanks.6273cda0d7165e06

No one bab5c4cd3a had asked 1a67e964a3 for help, 73b12b1e44 and Lennock 9c59a5de5c had acted af9fd02bb0 on his 3fb997b207 own without 75ba4b5b4d any reason, 7adb91c80f so why fcdfdcbaf4 was he 9e553550f9 asking for ca2335431f gratitude? Aubrey made his 48b5881ea5 displeasure obvious, and 01df0461c3 Lennock’s gaze dropped.2563b6759888304d

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Not thinking much about 7f74f84e96 it, Aubrey followed his 4243576658 gaze down and froze.e205e91d7cc5ac37

Because his hand was c41ec3b91a holding Lennock’s arm.0c7100d91987426b

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Why is my bb0e6e66e1 hand there?e0d527c340d8f2e0

Aubrey, stunned by a297d95314 the unexpected situation, d23cee2ea7 quickly pulled his dc37d3bfd6 hand away and 7218794dfa took a step 6c782c1035 back. Pressing his back against 2809f6a911 the door, he stared c935ab5ab1 down at the floor, 8d126521c7 his cheeks turning red.f590e8a68b26af76

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Realizing he had grabbed 0cac6ccc3e Lennock’s arm and turned 02e3afa6b0 to look at him, 5499fb54f6 Aubrey was at a 773ab069db loss.4c203e82c383c150

Lennock, watching 7144b37622 Aubrey’s awkwardness, 2b89a05d86 finally spoke 2717ea2ea5 slowly.2b9455cc62e5aa1e

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“How are d33248a42d you feeling?”af31c96d4b0894f7

“…What?”be21068139e3224c

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Aubrey’s eyes cd8b600dad narrowed sharply.a86521632bb40012

Though Aubrey was in 2d8eda74ac terrible condition, he didn’t 02b1e65496 want anyone to know. Even if someone 1cf6dd1f31 noticed and tried c57e1d11d3 to help, he 74e88bd4c6 didn’t want their 38894fa945 sympathy. He glared at 9dddb376af Lennock, and the df9e1f26e0 venomous look made 5e1d3dba50 Lennock quietly reach aed5d63111 into his pocket. What he f368dcddee pulled out 39c2dfead4 was the 815aef5030 small pouch d024e4efea he had 987b6238e7 given Aubrey 2cade5e461 a few 8d60d07b08 times before.40002c4e0920e187

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“Take it ef0680a2de or leave dbec0f21cd it.”25419cd6e68b6d84

“…”bc8d3d3ce5e199a8

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Aubrey had helped Lennock 979858d05f when he was drugged, 2ff1621ce0 and since then, Lennock 6e38ce9160 had always made sure 3d8fa80e2c to bring him medicine. Aubrey muttered to 1370915aa5 himself, convinced that 23c9ab739b this was just cd393281d7 another part of 33fdde43ae that.25fa64163c686637

“If you’re going to a961e93eef talk like that, don’t 96fa7dac87 even bother bringing it.”b7c998006832aaec

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Why did he always 1be41931b0 have to speak in 499a1063cf a way that ruined 94a239570d his mood?bf6281f9a292f7f3

But Aubrey couldn’t forget d710c3fefd that he was also 2a8fd08027 an expert at making 0ab49cddba others feel bad.562037352956dc39

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Seeing the 1992604ac8 change in b72b079fff Lennock’s expression, 28de25a338 Aubrey grabbed 58828fcfaa the pouch 677832d1cc from his 949c0ac57f hand before 3246647a7a he could ff160c5114 walk away.dec92b3da1a48cf6

“Don’t just take it 444ac4a409 back if you were aa8dc1def8 going to give it a8c83c8550 to me. Give it 01e15b0d8c to me.”3eaf9d00f75e2683

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The atmosphere 8dbdf12220 in the 61a2bcb5d4 mansion was bce39acb18 already in 705ed3d121 disarray. Since he had caused 86fb04bc44 a mess, something seemed f2173b8475 to have gone wrong, 5de753960b and at least for 8aa72ff4b4 the next few days, 380cb23c4c the tension would be 0fd52c9e29 high. In such 8278edc52b situations, calling 9e953b9f9d anyone else 6439524953 was too 11398a32ed much of bb3ed5619e a burden. Thinking about taking 60df9d8d7f the medicine and f3703b9a88 sleeping it off, 754652c90d Aubrey tried to f01f2d5606 pry open Lennock’s 99c1ea171b fingers.559a347c1aef3821

But the 1c0c1cac8b moment Aubrey 612cbcab53 touched his df73812fde hand, Lennock 8874dcdb37 gripped the 5d6e0d78a9 pouch harder, 593a2bc0c2 almost as 58b67707ba if he 716c58490d didn’t want 61de192cff to give 618cf3f195 it away.e9cc7cc18d496433

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Aubrey stared at 1e2ea43883 him, incredulous.61afd8fc6705f316

“What? Why do a8579ac755 you suddenly 41435a00f0 not want 6676aa33cd to give dfc4c705db it to a223127da2 me?”4ba8aa085e7fb353

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When Aubrey glanced up 2b2a16098a at Lennock’s stiff expression, 430384feef he hesitated.ee0439b23c8e0f07

Something felt different about 99b0668a1b this. After everything that 2e1c08a41e had happened the c086696ed0 night before, Aubrey cf7a290d20 had become sensitive 0430b5a20b to people’s expressions 07397e062a and eyes. He wanted to hide 4a9e4ff295 from everyone. He didn’t want d7c8f5edb7 anyone to see 3a8a6dbe4b how utterly broken a3e06041a5 he had become.826c9b346f1f0e22

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Letting go 3041bf3f9a of Lennock’s d40548bea7 hand, Aubrey 1bd092d38e tried to 05f860174c enter his 19fbf588c9 room. But Lennock grabbed his db4e43ca03 arm, forcing him to 1a4fcbedf5 take the pouch.9fa91673b32700de

“Don’t take it 7351821578 on an empty 1073ee56f8 stomach.”afbf8947db5bbfdf

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After a brief warning, a79dfee2a2 Lennock walked away, quickly 2fd2b78bd3 disappearing into the distance. Aubrey watched him leave, d07c198b3c muttering to himself.4699eac30cdd8131

“If you were going 8da49babf6 to give it to e7ca17d72d me, just give it 897a97d1bd to me. No need to 032b80c3c5 act all high c3da446563 and mighty…”bac343c1f8e01f72

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As he fiddled with 95da07314e the pouch in his 759eb2a1db hands, Aubrey shifted his 1f926ec183 gaze away.8ea158cb3aa12e74

“…”4283dc9ec521585c

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He couldn’t b89de10cd7 help but b02ede2b11 feel utterly e943e10ca3 pathetic. His self-esteem crumbled 277e06ea41 as he entered 57f6161b2e his room, his 3259068375 expression hardened.caf1d33588a89042

The room 312e177727 he rarely 7633c9a6d8 used was 17f9338f62 always closed 156c234c77 off with 72c2b08c18 the curtains 589685629d drawn. This had 1686a98792 been something ad0841e93f Aubrey had 18fe1b0625 instructed the 8f769c0b12 staff to 01dc035941 do. Since he usually only e407f8be10 stayed for a short 6c6377aac1 while, he didn’t want 3e560de661 the place cleaned every 6037217660 day or the curtains 8a6fa9da3b opened unnecessarily. But now, he had d3a86e0b2d to stay here for de9bcdb600 a while. Aubrey crawled 97c8860cc8 onto the 180647dcf2 bed and bb388d8bbf lay down.18e6d302c41ce5ae

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“……”c29e30691dc523fa

The familiar b641c5f62e sheets felt 68bafa724d uncomfortable as 43132d1a81 he realized 7c7c06ecf5 how badly 3583ce8bf6 his clothes 042c108da2 were pinching. He would have 268336c320 to change if d6c7c0a08f he wanted to 81818e33f7 sleep comfortably. But before that, he 82622f68b8 had to check his ab7e0e00e5 lower body again. He had walked 07a5304803 a lot and 86f3e8dfc7 climbed stairs earlier.e746301d4202deb3

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Aubrey felt heat rising e1a5a60687 below his eyes. Biting his lower lip, c9cd8a08cf he rose and grabbed c72e6f6912 the kettle on the 2509023fce nightstand. Thanks to a request f7931d05c6 to the butler, it c7d3726a76 was filled with clean aafd649bda water. Aubrey opened d65ff1e125 the pouch 45bd3231cb Lennock had 0308c2c5f7 given him, 0b2461345d took out d02878bf70 a pill, ed312f9bd2 and shoved 914041d38d it into e37212db7d his mouth, 324f5f426f immediately drinking 4009a98063 the water.0ce9eb7a5e9fe4e3

Ignoring the advice baa875932d to avoid taking 0e55c74012 it on an 72b6967702 empty stomach, Aubrey 522e6b0144 swallowed.ba834ad06961a008

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After drinking faf1673c78 the water, 88a670d1cf he stripped 9c1d94e743 off his 6021480f99 outer clothing 88b2948969 and crawled 559aedcae7 back into 25d9fb533d bed. He wanted b040999fd3 to lie 29aadf9611 down comfortably, 08cc639e61 but his 4a9dff21d0 back was 4a034f76af aching, so 7ff2b47ecc he turned d24af6ce26 to his 6b973f7a45 side, closing ad086540e8 his eyes. But sleep c62e13f5ee wouldn’t come. His mind kept 9b413d6d44 going back to e8f24b2bbb the events of e094fb6617 the night before.09b8aea3cccf2c0a

That incident b99a1e083c was no f8a8c36a44 different from ac4bad3bce being punched 3cd4aada81 a few 49b8d83d19 times. It only kept 583fe0cd75 coming back because f849ae83c8 his body hurt. Once the 2aec8041b6 pain faded, 6c514c7e48 he wouldn’t 87e47630ee think about 3faf34045f it anymore, b62cca71de he told 1b80558e96 himself, grinding 22e8840085 his teeth.0e592565d8c8c955

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He covered his head 15fdfaf9fe with the blanket and 30a6014f65 rubbed his eyes against eb44846169 the pillow. Soon, the pillow seemed e58f76c17b to get damp, but 3de94c132f he ignored it and 795d78a9a5 focused on the darkness 2a4dce884a behind his closed eyes.bc5c2c1c28be6ecc