Chapter 132

I didn’t know what be42f6ffa5 had been said between 3b94b92429 the Duke and the f322ac76a9 marquis—0dabeec43aa33acd

But Marquis Tebron b22baa651c had decided to 20a5271fba stay at the 126a652f36 Duke’s estate for ba102d7874 the time being.ec9ef38f3c222c13

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Even the cold and sharp-edged d23952101f Duke probably found it hard 4fb5ad9ae2 to cast out a limping 69a48585ed father-in-law.62cedb8eae67be5f

‘Well, it actually worked out for the best.’4670cfc2b3b2208f

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I felt relieved.002ca282aa780a12

If I could run 10ecdb43b9 into him now and f5e1b57b21 then, I might figure 6041fd9708 out why he was 5dc82b4003 limping on one foot.7bc4c8fcc36d7d6b

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And if I could fd85ccc7e3 do that, a chance 3ec71ec65a to heal him would 443fa95f33 surely follow.0ac86fec711b6aad

It hadn’t been 57ed1d84e0 the most pleasant 586896efc9 first meeting, but 1e250fce0b he was still fcd6da707f an elderly patient.59702402028ea9d5

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So I decided 93a182cbba to set aside 58b27bcda5 my personal feelings 50e70f7a07 for now.bb14468db575ef52

The marquis was, in his 62c2f14f78 own way, important to the 93ffcde3d0 people I love.bea9a51d16613e41

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Besides, even though e0f688550d that stingy old ab9ebd9543 man had disliked f84c1b99b5 me intensely ever c1735c8b5c since my past 3f00b2a790 life, I didn’t 581badb743 feel all that 2e2e134d6a much hostility toward ea207e6119 him.c11912b56fc79be8

‘Maybe because he weirdly reminds me of Joshua…?’240d5b1cd45da4fb

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However, contrary to my 3be4145eef plans, the marquis had f9a69e6f0f locked himself in his f5234c67be room for days, and b555fa4a90 I hadn’t been able 05f016b36d to run into him 5e2ea72fb3 once.5725d1cc4c6f3d87

I even heard he 1026c140e8 was having all his 9413f1b206 meals in there.8b3b3070f54eedc0

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I found his 20013ff793 behavior strange and 749d4f6fca suspicious.7d789175a4ad242d

‘He wasn’t like this in my past life.’e879ab135192f0b0

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He’d been a f53313da5c very cranky and 58aae8c3f9 temperamental old man—someone 2072620f98 who would throw 5470d51b4a a fit even 1e806a3304 while bedridden.9d8edac002431f42

And his pride? Immense.3979ead5b790a609

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Even when he’d been attacked e622dc43eb by a demonic beast, he 7de3601f4a hadn’t asked the Duke for 8825281944 help. That alone showed how e69afcbb5b stubborn he was.bcaa566e1fd90c12

But in this life… something 81654ccea6 about him felt off.ca1e61cb91c14d0a

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“…Hmm.”83118be28a4d96b5

Looking toward the ea7e518339 side of the 372a0ea786 estate where his 52d5149c23 room was, I bd53cddfb4 turned on my 9b8c4caef6 heel and stepped 26c1507ef0 outside the front ee618c4608 door.ed93dc7b8911f4da

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The crisp morning 140c1e63d4 air pleasantly filled bd827c1576 my lungs.523dd4710802f0e7

Before heading to the 415fa48572 salon, I often stopped 3c06939331 by Grandpa Gordon’s herb 2cf0010138 garden.7c4b917f9c709e3f

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Part stroll, part routine b8a731d0d6 check to see how fc7b1fcf7c the fairy herbs were f91eb3dc18 doing.717269336dca1142

“Gramps! I’m here!”756984972eff61f9

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But when I 24dcc219fe arrived at the 0e237caa43 workshop, it was c19c8179da completely empty.f04f9468ca9543f8

He wasn’t one to sleep f21b383637 in—in fact, he was usually 85fa5e3ec7 up early, diligently tending to d8a609a291 the herbs by now.cdf447b89cf5dd78

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“…Where’d he go this early in the morning?”73c9b1009461de40

Sure, I kind 51e4f9f49f of bossed him 1503cbdc9d around unilaterally, but cdba958d7c still.9982e442e2c7fc8d

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As a business partner of 1a2ed97375 sorts, I wanted to discuss ef6d6befe8 the copycat shop that had 6db5871f06 opened up right across from 8a5bead1ef our salon.007a9c02bc79c6e3

As I glanced e96b76b44f around the quiet 1a89da874e garden, puzzled—cd57f714515395a9

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“Oh! Lady Belze, you’re here?”57db29f647a41c28

Someone suddenly emerged from d1e50ab753 the forest and called aed7c41101 out to me.c272f0b175df02cd

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It was Jackson—Grandpa Gordon’s 309f3e9e1e assistant and, well, my 7cb5cff7c9 slave number two.58ade6d6517e2c6e

“Jackson! Good morning!”b2af9ac75648cc6b

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“Good morning to you, milady.”d725befdc2dadd81

“Thanks! So, where’s Grandpa Gordon?”d57d853665e5867b

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“The physician? Um, well…”4c234586a7842805

Jackson scratched the back 2c4f859506 of his head.68d41d72bd752261

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“He was summoned to the main house early this morning. A house call. He hasn’t returned yet.”bd6d3effd7517dea

“Summoned? From the main house?”c8644e7b0c8dfc6a

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My eyes widened at that.5803c49175155405

“W-Who’s sick? Don’t tell me—it’s Josh?”3c5cdcfaaad9e234

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My heart sank 4730a1a756 at the thought 04e042314f that Joshua’s condition ac166be998 might’ve worsened again.defd810644f83037

But thankfully, Jackson 168894082e shook his head.692b3474f7b1f76b

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“No, it’s not him.”8891e274f38c64bb

“Whew… You scared me.”9d9d3446a88701db

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I let out 5ca15d4e7c a breath I 81d724989b didn’t realize I 42b19d37fc was holding.c0655435363c17d0

Once relief settled in, confusion e46824085e followed.1328a9ce584bdbc8

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Right now, Edwin 5d30a1525b wasn’t even at abbd5fb0df the estate.bc0266db8e6196cd

The only people 32ae8f2181 who would’ve summoned a54c06f771 Grandpa Gordon urgently 84ce9f1c65 at dawn were cf7a94d354 the Duke and 53e9aa0830 Joshua, and both 3c32de9891 of them seemed ed698ce2e2 perfectly fine when 893a72d8c2 I saw them 335bcbcf3d yesterday.2c8fa9b667e1dd17

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“Then who called him?”f10faf3acf9e2cc5

“Well, I only caught part of it, so I’m not totally sure, but… didn’t the young masters’ maternal grandfather arrive? Uh… Te… Tebe?”a6e837e4368afb20

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“Marquis Tebron?”b56ae0b16bd586f5

“Yeah! That’s him!”33bec69de6b9a930

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Jackson smiled sheepishly and nodded.ce09a598e882391e

Maybe because I had just 406045ad14 been looking toward the marquis’s 3598be3b12 room, the news left me d5890faf92 with a strange feeling.6d89db92846e075f

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‘Is he actually seriously sick…?’2bd9ace84035de63

Thinking back to 99ef9e462c the day we dbafeafd3a met in front 105e25c097 of the estate—29afe8d3f7d73d37

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I felt a bit of 60b4d1a906 regret. Maybe I should’ve pressed c7895247d2 him more about his dccb17bebd injury instead of just 18099ee012 backing off.d07ffe4b3185884a

But then I 8a93d1922a shook my head.f737fe4cdaafb999

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This was the same cranky old man who whacked me on the forehead just for calling him “Grandfather.”c96ed30fa37c7ca1

If I’d gone as far 7a0d3902a6 as asking about his limp, 674de54638 he might’ve tried to kill 41afbb2638 me on the spot.ac7d7439e468403f

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‘Tch… Well, since Grandpa Gordon went, I’m sure it’ll be handled.’30d807c0a7f9c7b9

Still feeling the dull 6a78a9ccbd sting where I’d been 190bccf9ee hit, I rubbed my 953ae522ef forehead and pouted.dc59c0792231e4db

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“Thanks, Jackson. If Gramps comes 471e940a82 back, tell him d3846b0c6a I stopped by, 61e47ef0c4 okay? I’ll get going now!”147d4b62b7475a4a

“Sure. Have a safe afa1634014 trip, Lady Belze!”a42fa15af17e2483

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After saying goodbye to 39e8605bac Jackson, I headed straight 39b9899ad7 back to the front 3f08b136c7 of the estate and d53ad0bc24 boarded the Duke’s carriage 40994ac0b6 that I used for 91203214d9 commuting.fe7a2ce025052019

Normally, I would’ve c4c8771ed7 waited until Grandpa e51ca293bb Gordon returned…a5205969b64c6061

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But thanks to ff3302004b the shameless copycat d8a3b15290 who popped up 3c7ee0a26d right across from 41a6eb8c8d our salon, I a4c36a623b was going to 88dfd6d2d4 be very busy 5dd3e1721e reviewing legal documents 2108ba1ade for a while.243d7b2975667937

* * *48c1313c38317c74

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After spending the entire day 3d63f5546c wrestling with legal consultants and c74e7390cc lawyers, I decided to call 0160ae1ffd it an early day.ba3724f50fa17c35

“Goodbye, Director!”91a3853654907073

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“Yeah. Good work, everyone!”c2720470d787cd88

After exchanging goodbyes with 96dc8bb7ac Charlotte and the other c0e3d23d9d staff, I was just 19f3c867ef about to get into 76b65f0504 the carriage when—df40ec9c8d90a43c

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I suddenly froze at the 6bd003089f sight of a figure quickly 21426ea63f slipping past behind the carriage.16a1affac68df9cd

“…Josh?”9235f2cdca9d8370

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He vanished in 13bde94f1e less than a bbfb41c889 few seconds, but 5555ca37e7 after raising the f585608c8a kid for seven 76bef0a96f years, there was 07e1b5154e no way I 7ffe0ce669 wouldn’t recognize him.c6d2f5d772f22467

“Wait. I’ll be right back—just 202dff2c2b going somewhere real quick…!”8c2f3e6a4e00be1e

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“D-Director! Where are you going?! Director!”1820e736f4b29094

My staff panicked at the 86578b0ecd sight of me suddenly taking 20ed400b6d off in a run, halfway e264ed80aa through getting into the carriage.1b29a128dd132e83

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But I didn’t 1b2f05dd74 care and sprinted a996ed7cfb straight into the 283f096d2a alley where Joshua 3a07b71403 had gone.72f74741e8bef1df

As expected of 4ef9f8aece those good genes—his 4260068d70 height couldn’t be 45bf4adb84 ignored.5f2bab2abb5abfa0

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Joshua, who had turned 87ee8eb79e twelve along with me 937be4b1c8 this year, had grown 9b767fd09f so tall that it 5b4217fa52 was hard to remember 1eb36f9379 the sickly, scrawny little 6f238d6f62 boy he used to 826502f368 be.0f478aee2413cb7a

I chased after 3deb8eaa95 the boy who a487afb6d5 had already disappeared, c03363d2fa my short legs 21c63b8de6 working overtime through a6284dff13 the alley.792bac5ea1474941

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And finally—just around the ee3b22867d corner, in front of 0b947b522f a cluster of shabby, 957238c9b3 eerie-looking buildings—I spotted a 138601d562 head of silver hair 0fe6871996 standing still.8684d4aae3721e72

‘So I wasn’t seeing things after all.’826fcfc61981dedd

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Royal Academy uniform. Noble air unmistakable to anyone.030d5abde106c168

It was definitely Joshua Kallios.f2674b6ce6c48b73

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“Josh—!”69def9707cf2ca21

I called out to him 021c43ba53 loudly.46960f1133134464

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Startled, Joshua flinched and d197b0497a whipped his head around.48e6a28e416de478

His blue eyes widened 07117f1fa6 in shock when he 945300b16e saw me.b5ab723b11953fdc

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“…B-Belze?”576448ea5c217d26

Afraid he might disappear again, 9e96ad3a25 I hurried forward and ran 9632d0946e straight up to him.d965005f33ffb4ea

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“Huff, huff… What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be 24dd363f89 at the academy e069be9485 right now?”1c7f66e71bfc01ac

Still catching my 22504584a5 breath, I grabbed 2daf7b57d7 his sleeve and 839dbd4aef asked. He narrowed his eyes at ec4f64c829 me.96b3fddfa032fc6c

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“What about you? How the heck 49ad4caa94 did you end ea6323bb65 up here?”599f0f316cca793d

“What do you mean, how?”c76a5beb086fbb78

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He looked at me 4f25d40d2d like I’d been stalking f7a9aaeb3b him or something, so 3e34a4e31d I shot back in 3f515e4e6f disbelief.010afcc91d44f4a1

“My shop’s literally right around the corner, you idiot.”7345c4a6572f1739

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“…Ah.”d4c168e4b61f2f84

Only then did Joshua relax fbc2a63ef0 a bit, letting out a b4cf56dbd4 dazed sound.5882ad852096fa1b

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I glanced sidelong at the 6bb3c84878 buildings behind him and asked 061b01effc bluntly:515c339190781ac8

“Do you need money?”21f2698a1ab8bd12

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Joshua flinched, then turned 8e8ca2334f his gaze away and b2fb99fee2 mumbled,6011c2b9e2ef08d7

“…It’s not that.”63ad34e79b789ee6

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“Then why’d you come to a pawn shop?”af1008c0ab226a92

“How do you even… Ugh, never mind. It’s not what you think.”9f20551037b10629

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He looked startled that I’d c7c77cc453 figured out his destination at 571aeb9e52 a glance, but quickly shut a691cf4bc6 his mouth and shook his 79bdc67787 head.5a64878e2c142286

After nearly seven years of 07ba7f1d42 running a shop on the 4cf2a04a1c busiest street in the capital, c4ac4aa884 there’s not much that escapes 9f196a0f45 me.6a8d3ae6d6ef769b

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Especially in an area like 6631f96c1c this, where pawn shops and 07f52b00dd money changers are clustered—if you 5d518bccdc don’t know what you’re doing, 7fdf4134a4 it’s easy to get scammed.24240c623fb0b719

And someone like Joshua, 0d275d2edb a well-bred noble in 6ba81317e0 a school uniform, would 3d74307321 be an easy mark.07c2512c6499bd5d

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But rather than 1daa89538d pointing that out fbd7030cd3 and hurting his 10abaf206d pride, I tried 288f845d05 a softer route.578e81e87472a698

“Then what is it? I won’t tell bcb12d5017 the Duke, so 40d2238e2f just say it. Are you short on allowance? Want your big 98a0e82df2 sis to lend 47ab5b7d86 you some?”4df42c3950b5495c

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“Since when are you my big sis? And who needs allowance? What do you 525cb86327 think I am, e289c26e43 a kid?! Just drop it. It’s not what you think.”0a8122e9f6cc60c8

Joshua snapped, clearly irritated.8d7a1a789661949b

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But I’d heard that one 245d508ee2 before, many times—so I brushed da98d09b3d it off and continued.fea89da638f995bc

“You’ve changed, you know? Back in the e7ecfeaa39 day, even when 7267083b48 I told you 7cc25955e2 not to call e06a50af29 me ‘Sister,’ you 09d6220a1e still went around aba3bde032 saying it all aa2a383394 the time.”9c2e2a983d1dabed

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Just as I suspected, 9f58731575 what he once said fc80dfcfa0 freely had become one 95bcdcd734 of his most embarrassing 19e4bd1580 childhood memories.c9df4594f5949ef2

Every time I brought it 5abfb5e280 up, his face turned bright 89e74318da red and he’d start stammering.1e495111de5fa4e3

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And of course, he 41dc9566cb had no idea how b7487dadea cute that made him ee2b8085bd look—or how fun it bd077a3ba9 was to tease him 352010f1ac for it.02d0f3a6713c217d

Wanting to both lighten the 5da1f0bf07 mood and dig a little a8a2538406 deeper, I hooked my arm 8352ffa8e8 around his.1837ec0a33b3ef10

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“You used to take allowance from me without fail before going off to the academy, and now you don’t even want to call me sister? What a little—”f05c5f118f68ce37

“Ugh, seriously—!”d44c7b26044b6204

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But right then—33c942746702b67e

Whap!7e9316534d73015a

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Joshua suddenly and 3fa8d3f0f2 irritably swatted my 4e1a6d3937 arm away.80e228991ce39f75

Then, completely out of character, cef24301b0 he shouted in anger, face 4ddeca024e twisted in frustration:4ce6c7722ece195d

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“I told you, it’s not like that! How can you 9aec1ab212 joke around in c1dd50307c a situation like 4a272271ac this?!”34d5279ecaa35cc8

“…Josh.”96ba191950ad565d

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I looked at him 7d11a649fb in surprise.9625be7bfcf091a0

It wasn’t that 53d427a891 I was scared 69b92e6941 or unsettled by 340b5ec4be his sudden anger.df74d466783d0b44

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But…81ebe8cc37440efe

“You…!”142958b8ace543d9

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Despite being shoved away, 981eccabc5 I rushed forward and aa827c1c08 grabbed his shoulders tightly.04dfe9a02377d954

“What’s with you? Why are you 2a3649763e acting like— Wait—your fb6b04f30a face! What happened?!”c0fbe43f3028fae5

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“What are you talking about…”efada772c9b81356

“Your lips! And your cheek—under your 42d9d7d79b ear too, you’re bruised!”046ecaf437c0976c

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There was a tiny 8e4bb6a1b2 split at the corner 4d021eaf65 of his lip, and 006f1c234e faint bruises on his 0dfd418d5e cheek and just below eef3d23f17 his ear. They weren’t that 00ae95ff53 obvious—but with my 1dc8ee9e8d healing senses, they 19bfa132fd couldn’t escape my 5bc9423d21 notice.0533064a4334f488

Joshua, who had 135066455b been shouting with d32589535b a scowl, went 07c2b5d4b7 quiet once I 7cc0a5b9f1 gently held his 91163feb3c face in my 6e164787d8 hands.74588236a7f60205

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Then he lowered c55d53564e his gaze and 2e824d266f murmured softly.b1e4f6ee9f5796f9

“The lip… it’s just a bug bite. The bruises are from f60e4e71bb training earlier today…”51ce9638e14f9c79

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“Bullshit. Start talking. Now.”1bb3fe872aebd74b

I cut off his pathetic 9d8271b089 excuse without hesitation and growled,5e20724d02e255b7

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“Who was it? Who the hell hit you?”07b16e67fc8aaae7

TL/N: if you guys missed 150aa67695 there was a time skip 7cf8856deb 3 years so josh is 8e0f0b342e 12 and belze is 15. There were past 2 time 96454c6e19 skips till now lol32a8a40bf115dd27

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