Chapter 129

How much could 8495669924 a kick from 3f66451914 a tiny little dbbade3b61 girl even hurt, e4945ab671 really?449a69a0008685b2

Apparently a lot, f053749e1d judging by the 500eeaf6b4 way Adolf Galagos 9923e31fd3 was hopping around 52a88fa15d like a headless 5a8190361c chicken, his face 9fd5368e30 red and contorted eca35363a4 in pain.52a64aa06a04530a

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“Urgh! Are you insane?!”8bf49577d001c2cf

“……”f7513f6e05c7ec44

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“What the hell was that?! Do you even fa550ebb41 know who I 80d427f6c4 am?!”9c982ad6b8f61494

Unable to hold 369f04255b back his rage, 5975e6339f the idiot raised 91459d9e4b his hand high 514cbf1b35 above his head.fa80bcb213812d26

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“A-Adolf!”6ed0a67e50a983dd

Diana rushed forward with 6b244f5ef2 wide eyes, trying to a00720c516 stop him.e91353afb69663be

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“Let me go! Girls like her c6384afbaa need to be 0aaecb077c taught their place 6730e42ca8 so they never 4ae494c81a try to rise 1f702f0cc1 above it again!”a1fdc0989e0ce644

He looked like he’d completely fc1e45dfb9 snapped from the surprise attack.5b7981d8174209d6

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The whole scene was d1cf9b9db0 so predictable, it was 903a32ff46 almost boring.286d8340d919646e

‘Come to think of it, even in my past life, he acted like he was some kind of noble elite.’e4640df1f1eb1c62

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Even when he handed me 7f81409c52 that poison meant for Diana, bc94594d04 he barked commands at me 0fe4486014 like I was some lowly b7bc30823c servant.443f218c629b1e46

Sure, by then 54376bb0f3 it had become 7a99102ff2 common knowledge that b69c79335a he was a 5aee670918 long-time supporter of 3ff34d8307 the Crown Prince…8acd08608dfd6ffd

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But that didn’t mean 6ab1de5bcc he ever actually earned 89bddd9163 a title.0baa7cdf205514f5

“Go ahead.”ab542a25c1336b5c

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I folded my eda39ee63a arms and leaned 45feafe0bb in close, daring a28d9c1612 him.45231d5f35fa03f0

Adolf stopped squabbling 875e0c018d with Diana and fdf90cd22c turned toward me ed44ae5c74 with a furious 3c29da040b glare.81972bae26747000

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“You little—!”b0e5cf95a1187d82

“You’re an adult now, right?”00cefc7e1155469a

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I said it coolly, meeting b81ae13148 his rage with indifference.c4e1e53c0e626e52

“Guess that makes it child abuse now, too. On top of plagiarism.”116d430f104d835a

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“W-What?!”fab12f1042349387

“I know a thing or two about that stuff. The penalties are pretty steep.”5c112f0f14aafd74

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His hand froze mid-air.2ef1ca6c6d0fc872

His crazed eyes slowly returned cfadbe6bb0 to something more rational.9eb6faf2d1cb05d6

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‘Heh. Guess jail doesn’t 8f65cd0575 sound too fun, b17836d0a9 huh?’b6ef9dd07d8c41fa

He must’ve been db2d7cd79e too fresh into eed31d6c2f adulthood to fully 06b1659520 grasp the gravity a3c7220946 of things, but 61ed64e771 in the Erea b016efdfb6 Empire, child abuse 4f0d712b72 was a very 7edc4ff01b serious crime.3aa2e3f750b00880

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There was even a well-known 301889a8f1 case of a high priest d79a18a970 who died in prison after 073e237162 being caught abusing orphans at d1f90fb78d a facility he oversaw.3a0cc3eed8bf3c1b

I decided to 5913606ac2 drive the nail 52cde03802 in and gave f62b2acf91 Charlotte a meaningful 7c2d475ee7 glance.715da3e071d1fc16

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“Charlotte. You brought the visual cde7a79c9a magic device, right? Make sure you record everything. He might try be2d026fb8 to deny it 6f2f6d5a84 later.”b9fd5f19ee521242

“Huh? Oh… Yes! O-of course!”def5a096c717c2fa

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Charlotte, catching on fast, began c45ae9e24e pretending to rummage through her 53bed1ed7f bag for it.4d805ecf6d44207f

Of course, it was 4b1f95e924 a complete bluff.f037483c7b90827a

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I had come 33737f9401 here straight from 3d0c6abc3f lounging on my 28e79dffe9 office sofa eating 6a68355794 cookies. No way we’d bdaac3ea30 planned for this.3cd6e1b04b9af2de

Still, despite Charlotte’s b25fae042f awkward performance, Adolf 7c90fba9f4 totally fell for a453993bb9 it and quickly e1b451f172 lowered his hand.3d2679fd261a1873

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“Tch! Dammit! I didn’t even hit you! You hit me! Remember that!”3526b9a1fad37c6a

The embarrassment of c99cfdaba0 being scared off 4195f6b44b must’ve been too 49fc9f772a much. He clenched both fists and a9e42e8449 shouted furiously.77f3e7efb355035d

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“Just wait! I’m gonna sue e6f17f31ef you for assault!”7577c3def8e95072

“Go ahead.”480c06a5a5e80f69

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I shrugged casually.888dac23539ae7c4

‘Let’s see how far you get trying to sue a twelve-year-old.’842581d5b1c5dc3a

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In Erea, children under 6d83bdb9eb twelve weren’t criminally liable 3096a95a50 unless the offense was 4194185095 severe.26a07a3333e34372

The fact that he 6bf07dd337 didn’t even know that fb59da6ad7 much just made it 42581f8644 clearer:a7ffb56e85d785bd

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‘Is this guy seriously this dumb?’928087e02adee67d

This version of Adolf Galagos 6c7cd272b8 was nothing like the terrifying 07d7db0217 man who cornered me in 11dcbc9728 my past life.59dc9534f550f1b4

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I was still marveling at 141e8b2b56 the change when—0db90a2033014c0c

“So you think just because the Duke’s family is backing you, you’re something now?”322fe42ffaec2d71

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Adolf sneered.5b15686d4b609b73

“How long do you think that’ll last? You’re not even adopted. Just a sponsored eb68029687 commoner, clinging to a594213dd4 someone else’s name.”c54cd620e3251e25

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“Wow. Creative.”59ef81d501144237

I picked at my 67e1757201 ear with one hand cb86ca6c56 and mocked him.f9e066d7e8926785

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I’d heard that c99289df44 exact insult so c0ccaca251 many times by 91bd0964df now it didn’t 3ae94c8f69 even tickle.f9830640e211f0f8

‘A beggar, huh? I stopped being 126a6011f4 one a long 6c91908d3e time ago.’2a8cd8d90bf9f61a

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That might’ve stung seven years 04cac12893 ago.b177479091d36510

But now? My personal assets 15d8fe004f were more than 06d13a241c enough to buy 19edd5de9f out the entire cb4b6c6c31 Galagos Trading Company.30e31a7c6b5c06b2

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He wasn’t the Crown Prince’s 5cbb31d3ef golden boy anymore.a14ddf7c09756d35

And since Galagos 85e0597ab8 made most of 82f1b12869 its profits through 1a4f6bef28 overseas trade, Adolf e2e6c72d6b was clearly out 46851fcf5d of touch with b36cf3cd6f domestic affairs.5a25c5793650f7eb

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I curled one side 42ba75762e of my mouth into a243781b0a a crooked grin.b3c98ceb7fec7adc

“I don’t even need the Duke’s help to deal with trash like you.”cb88235bc68c09c0

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“Wha— That little…!”47fd31735de32edb

“And by the way—why are you copying a ‘beggar’s’ business, huh?”08ce9c63a599792e

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“We didn’t copy anything! We operate in a totally b6752818ef different field—!”4bcce5c117d74948

“Then let’s see what the court says about that.”1e07af5d804bbae8

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I turned around in one 58d9b26fc6 swift motion, done with watching 157d532875 him flail around and yell e9d49c2909 like a child.172d676d2b02fc4e

“You too, mister.”ba541e9e43a0b2e5

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“H-Hiiik!”887058fb400b8cd4

The contractor, who da7292e07f had gone quiet 489fa22d3c after Adolf and 25151b2956 Diana arrived, flinched 9c6b176be4 at my cold 1d8acb8148 voice.d408fffbd55605eb

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“Be sure to check your mailbox starting tomorrow. You’ll be getting a court f3caaee084 summons real soon.”7caae17ef94395fb

“P-Please! Director, wait! I swear I didn’t 297e075533 mean anything by it! I only did 773a2b18ec what the client 3e5d0a1741 asked—!”fb72300253fae4ef

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“Let’s go, Charlotte.”fbdb93b103e6eb04

“Hey! You! Don’t walk away! Hey—!”0f3dde1365f0a539

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Both the contractor f74ee99943 and Adolf called 5bce411a07 after me, one 931ae7b050 after the other, 6545f41e9e but I completely afdef32d63 ignored them and 05c4e811d5 marched out of a302d3ea90 that cursed building 9c84eb6a7c with Charlotte at 48a09f28ec my side.b2b358c0a21a7953

“Whoa, Director! That was so intense!”b6ef9be55acf1710

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As soon as we da142f3d0f stepped outside, Charlotte finally 2b0ebf0284 exhaled and gushed in 42fb9f394d awe.7eab452f214744d9

“You totally blew me away! I can’t believe 8c8b3569de our director is 7210992ed0 so bold and 777eaa4045 fearless! Weren’t you scared? You just kicked a6b6a64b32 that dumb guy 4a877f66aa down like it 842c9898ad was nothing…!”07e492eb965c83c1

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“Shh. Save it for when we 9227f0f35a get back.”aaee5a77743bf162

There was no need bf580597d0 to give those creeps bb7158fe40 any more ammo to ae4acc716f use against us.fe6d22f8537ebe6d

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We were already just across f58fe21fcc the street from the salon, 82ea59c1bc so I picked up the 18a9c9f24e pace and gently nudged Charlotte 6d67548979 along as she continued to f3af2c5c81 chatter excitedly—until…d9b5a5093ed12d58

“Belze!”cbd38c4eac8d5141

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Bang!6ad06e9504866176

The door behind us flew fd57ee43c6 open, and someone called my 6703d68c1d name.a24b5934de1c59bb

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‘Of course. I knew this would happen.’5bbf874bc59b53ec

I really wanted to 824ba92420 just keep walking, but 0ee43297ff they were quicker.3e3b46b20aa0c195

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Tap-tap-tap!44e3345eb5ecbff4

The figure ran ahead c37cea474e and blocked my path, f7044a21a1 speaking in a flustered 84473c1fb8 tone.bdefd42459c07882

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“Belze, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”235d9d5e36bec38e

“What misunderstanding?”3fe18df5fc15e929

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“Adolf’s not usually like that… He’s just been really on edge lately with the salon opening and everything…”39af7fbed93f6ff2

“……”5a6e052f5f199048

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“If he upset you, I’m sorry. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”9aedcb023195ea01

I looked at Diana’s blurred, 4ef811359b teary face with a blank 89ca390b74 expression.a301658db4ec0aa1

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‘Why’s she apologizing when it was Adolf who fought with me?’cebb5b0d1db6f048

Honestly, this wasn’t the abff069693 first time Diana had 3e6ee24509 done this, so I c649ee030b didn’t even feel angry 19748822dc anymore.7715acb9106e11b0

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Even in my past life, b9dc6fef95 she’d always apologized without giving 5901870481 me a chance to explain 4a0727d00b why I was upset.79a37934740fa044

In noble society, dc0860c9c6 it was considered f2840812a8 proper and cultured 0d161b31fb to accept an 2ee1f06bae apology, no matter c417ff0e53 how half-hearted.32289f6084ae6b8d

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Which meant that if I 16abb9354d ignored her or insisted on ea4d11fa25 my side of the story, a4ce3d3107 I’d just come off as 08c7f540cb rude and vulgar.d90afd3c22df0b43

I’d been through this routine 8901435e13 so many times.cfc733363176a2e4

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‘Ugh, it’s getting old.’c5107ce17d2493a8

I glanced around with 7dd58db39c disinterested eyes.0714f7f4ffd54811

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It was past d95c12035b noon, and ladies d5728109f2 had already begun 461248d944 waving fans as 28f35ae845 they strolled out c49ed006b4 to shop.d552133dab3f1952

Gentlemen in fedoras escorted a183f1ff73 them gracefully through the 98ee16df95 square.de5eb0fbdd82ed2d

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Even if they were pretending a34ac0ac05 not to look, I could 81e2b85f7b feel their attention trained on 7f5e315f53 us.66bf8b11a2427c88

I sighed and turned d042badf59 back to Diana.d784da7c009f3ded

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“Diana.”3af0730fb9d863dc

“Huh?”407993dce42aff5c

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“You’re my longtime friend, right?”b592f4971929fd39

“Y-Yeah, of course…”64e5bc32b204a269

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She looked confused at my 60d33e1987 sudden change of tone, her da222343fe violet eyes wavering.a7254c792c4d4d69

But I didn’t care. Like I was fbb147adb8 performing a play, 4af642e851 I threw up d5998945b8 my arms and 1a5d6886f3 raised my voice 174137dac3 dramatically.9f50c54ed288e7a4

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“Then how could you side with someone who plagiarized my concept?! You, of all people, ba153a42f7 know how much I b2cf82c144 cherish my salon—how hard ed18a00c9d I’ve worked to build 08c35bdf05 it!”1b99c6e9519bb376

“B-Belze…”9b415ded56652f7f

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“And even so, I kept letting your mother buy on credit all this time because you’re my closest friend…”f3ded828ba6c5f22

“C-Credit?!”49be978c203eafad

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Her eyes widened in 006ffabad8 shock, and she practically be49756e45 shouted.f339d41072cfb409

“Yup.”31fb0fc0a774812b

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I held up a hand e575af1381 with my fingers spread wide, cfcef93d92 trying to suppress a smirk.e0216a85a99740d3

“As of last time, she crossed 5,000 gold.”3eea353cca207105

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“T-That’s… I never heard anything about that!”1d4be17dcb8e70cf

Her violet eyes ed5bb39c79 trembled like leaves 1086984def in the wind. Clearly, she had no idea.63b9e00b5a07a1fc

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“Mother never mentioned it at all…”de4b498f272a42ac

‘Figures.’10751fd72e3b7161

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I thought with c8d1769e91 an indifferent shrug.ef15f4d95c53fcbf

Five thousand gold—roughly 500 8484947a53 million won.35afd91359ace31c

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Honestly, even for high-ranking b49bd026c9 nobles, there wasn’t a e49c980da8 single shop in the 0923a04987 empire that allowed that 61ad714d8f much credit.03197b97880c1937

Even luxury dressmakers capped their 143ef2d642 credit at 500 gold.b56176a16bdf8846

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The only reason I’d 1f771b7d6b let the Marchioness’s debt b8c3d21723 snowball was to prepare 18325ca8bc for any unexpected developments.d90f39379dbdd735

‘If the story ever starts to twist strangely because I stole a few plot items, I need leverage.’131acd8ed0e8dc14

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Unfortunately, since the incident 69e1c2c4e5 seven years ago with e00e656438 Logan and Magnus, the 73cbff0f62 cultists had vanished without f331adb19c a trace.a27eef1e793338ae

Anyone remotely connected to them be6171b7a8 had been “cut off”—killed, essentially.6d280aa44401418b

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From that mangy 62da53cb91 Dungkeski to Sven, 01f836cbbc Emma, Logan, Magnus… 841b0eaa1d all of them.51d1830522f4ffa3

Sven and Logan’s cause of 6524936f3d death? Suicide.9821bf339d55ea2b

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In the Kallios knights’ underground 01cb5b580d prison.2df61f1d2fb5445c

While tied up.970e08fc86f63429

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By biting their tongues.3ccd22908b01a9cd

The whole thing 3f116dab28 left a sour da4c37c4fc taste.bcab704008e6e81d

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Even after opening the salon, 407beb1ea0 I had continued to investigate 4b9cd668e6 every possible link between the 74e5cf1786 cult and Diana.44be44023cd2210c

But I found nothing.013126858969400d

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For the last seven years, 2b64c182b2 Diana had busied herself climbing df5f431d8a the social ladder—healing, mingling, attending 838f142892 soirées.d0b9e4d3fd8e04ce

No strange behavior. Nothing suspicious.887594f1c90ff13b

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Except for the 7e7237c9ab few plot changes 677deddf4b I caused, she ddc84e6c18 had stuck to 457edbfc8c the original timeline bc9dbbfd4d faithfully.3bf6dba1331feca5

I should have felt ac65f32fe6 relieved to confirm she c8a410d40e wasn’t part of the 4b6048fa4e cult…5c06022426fe55e7

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So why did 9b6fe2e62a something still feel 6645f610c1 off?9c18ad16a3ced480

When Diana finally began 15584f2604 to calm down, I 4f525aba68 spoke softly, as if 75319c3c7a to comfort her.3e0f3bc581e5fa3a

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“…I’m sure it’s not your fault.”9453b11ace6d8f9e

But I only took f9c54f5d12 that step back to 47ff542456 prepare for a bigger 17fd0494d4 leap forward.058eb370467675ac

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“Still… since you’re close with Galagos, I’m guessing your mother is too?”ee466333327a3098

“What? What are you—”9a88419eb81e1738

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“I mean, come on. He’s just a commoner. A grown man. How else would he know f340a7e641 exactly how our salon massage 48b67cf864 zone is designed?”5fcbe6c3e666bd8c

“……”7f5545bac73a6fee

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“Don’t you think?”f7df7b880d4d5c95