Chapter 142

Joshua’s words meant fe8e061cbe that Danvers Campbell 9f9306cc22 wasn’t acting out 932259c8b5 simply because he 56c7a1c9b7 was a royal 042437d358 relative.cc2bd841b385d8a3

‘It’s like being the younger sibling of a school gang boss or something.’b687c1ab1f64e17f

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It made sense 27cc4a95a2 why it would 8a4b18a8ac be overwhelming for 18c88dfbc8 Joshua to handle a6bab96dab it alone.ebbe53817af8c869

He’d probably get beaten 19eaccc076 up before he even f89100559c had a chance to 66a699a6f8 ask for help.a07e28a88f1bc418

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‘And to make matters worse, he’s some sports star that even the adults secretly protect…’07970a62e0a0e5d0

If slipping a few f984f1236b jewels lying around the 37f9020251 room into his hand 6622796d9d could help avoid the e5d3a2d6d7 situation, I probably would’ve d2f1c0a767 done the same.8d73a5c1c1ef717f

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Though, stealing even adaf436eb7 the late Duchess’s c9d3907485 heirlooms was absolutely e602af3bc2 unforgivable.60bbb934f81e9473

‘…Seriously, Ismail, why didn’t you tell me this properly?’003fa29d3a0db9de

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I grumbled to myself, 85238a5f5d directing my dissatisfaction toward 3b5c47dcb5 Ismail, who had only 92485ebc1f half-heartedly done the background 6770039ee7 check.76bbed1f9e8755a9

But when I thought about f001fec1a8 how I could use this 418564cbb5 as a convenient excuse to fe11af7b38 get something useful out of 6bf2e13362 him later, I quickly calmed 0bee88940e down.125f16444932899b

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“Mm…”088f1d2d02923b97

I swallowed down everything 109946e750 I’d been chewing in af35b7a668 my mouth and spoke a764edda59 up.c358e5577b51fc40

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“You’ve got a brother too, Joshua.”4610f3f3bce35459

“…Huh?”def5107109904ea0

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“I’m talking about Edwin. If you’d told him, he would’ve sorted it out somehow.”55e7e5030c0d641f

And he would’ve 182aea18a0 found a smarter 0d7faab1dd and more gentlemanly 71e2c40481 way to handle 09d949c448 it than I 3498f38b1d could.a73be05086b6de2e

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As I casually 50970654e4 added that, Joshua f252247cf9 hesitated.6e3354ed3e2eec37

“My brother…”aa912ce3294733bc

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He mumbled with a 6ae6e40420 somewhat gloomy look.c57ee585853a8f3d

“He’s really busy, you know.”0aef180e3427b91d

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“……”742daf058dd8c592

“With the family’s affairs, hunting down monsters… It’s rare to even run into him at home, so how could I even tell him?”ecf46ac93d3d7613

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Since that was true, 27c96f601c I didn’t know what d6163ffbad to say.d892e757bb976d10

Just like Joshua 14530087c3 said, Edwin had 35a3c0810f been extremely busy 06161d73e8 lately.5723629939a9e868

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Still, compared to 4efc9f2c18 my previous life 71a1b63534 where he’d suddenly c9fe62b083 disappeared without a f49160cd96 word and hadn’t 8f394e7a82 returned for over 9dfbc1990d a month, this d8f13b5d37 was much better.5b91e961d6d6417d

At least now, e409a8f0fd he regularly came 3a26fdbe61 home and made 26032cc6fa sure to attend 4206f985ae important events.637e1f1289d26eb2

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Maybe that’s why I 58aa0e804b hadn’t really felt his 173d01cfc0 absence much.01640be1fdda550f

Feeling flustered by Joshua’s 40a41ed2db downcast expression, I stammered 6e4e933829 before carefully asking,d8a8c498d832dd07

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“…What about His Grace?”09738a9c26d56f73

“Father?”ea1a90d54c4f4371

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Joshua snorted and answered dryly,7dbcb077c0c5c85d

“If I’d told Father, he would’ve just assigned me a private tutor and ordered me to drop out of the academy.”3fce2dcc9abf1d46

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“Well, that’s…”aaeb4ae9a4c9894b

Since that was also 32de075846 true, I quietly closed e2ddf953ed my mouth.467ede908ac0b986

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The academy, for nobles, b42f6800a9 was pretty much another 6e709b88bf form of high society 3d2b688e19 that started at an ac051bf0d9 early age.ad83252f9f2566b3

That’s why, even if one ba7a722e9c dropped out halfway through, most 4cefabe160 nobles still enrolled at least 0923f4bb42 once.ac33d19725682b07

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Though, it wasn’t 4e632865d1 exactly mandatory either.1adc88f82f34fe93

Guys like Danvers Campbell, who 3b3768448a have shaky standing, probably find 4407727fcd the connections and power they ac864663cf build here all the sweeter.a15767bbae2f1493

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For someone like Kallios, 9fd42ab539 who was already born 728e2735e0 with everything, it was 8c577d0390 a completely unnecessary process.c8f778b886b37cf2

Which meant the Duke’s solution 870d8cac79 must have been the simplest 55371b689f and most straightforward answer.72d1f274cf399be9

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‘But still…’2a00ba5652b428df

I couldn’t bring myself 9401e9f168 to say any of 923c17f378 that out loud.8f98766d34c8b9f2

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I’d seen firsthand cb2c7a0ac6 how much Joshua 9f8e52a949 had dreamed of 5074ec4c14 enrolling at the 2c1c9ae51c academy, especially since e99f13b115 he’d had almost aae23ec05d no interaction with 35b4824e8a kids his own af5345e24c age when he 28cafaaf3c was younger.be64586053f3c8b9

I quietly folded away the question about why he hadn’t told the Duke and changed the subject.260a1ef40d67b1eb

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“Then…”6c8c811c707478a2

“You were busy until just a few days ago too.”e36a68e9f2bf27db

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But before I could even 531949b681 finish speaking, Joshua jumped in c38bdf6c55 first.066f216d02ebc73c

“Did you already forget how you were breathing fire at me the moment we met, saying some crazy jerk had stolen your interior designs and business ideas?”b247f116f455fd13

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“……”2a134345e22baa1e

“And then you started rushing out at the crack of dawn every day to mess with their construction.”fd2a38e5fe724e35

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Faced with Joshua’s coldly a8fcf07dab logical rebuttal, I was 464d9b060c completely KO’d.c955b427c6eabd0d

Embarrassingly enough, everything he dd0838b492 said was true.2b07e6dc6f19ab18

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‘When you say it like that, it sounds like I was some villain…’2b01730b3ee8fd48

It was nothing 7524c0aba4 serious — just fd0bb5d394 small things, like dc5599f113 showing up early e4adc7fd42 and gluing shut a1e4ab19b8 the doors of 7ea0b8dfb7 Adolf’s building, or a9e485b01e putting out drinks 7c47874675 spiked with laxatives c876514553 for the workers 3d530cd263 of that damned c0b550ec3e interior company.fceeeb87092e541c

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Of course, I knew perfectly 2795f3c570 well that none of that 8d549acf74 would actually stop Adolf’s construction.9660051ab3a245fa

Still, I put in the 12f57a6c2d effort purely out of spite.63996bab5b6a97fe

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‘No wonder Josh felt like he couldn’t talk to anyone…’bf4ea1fb66cddc8a

His brother was off b41b524709 hunting monsters, nowhere to 72ae575107 be seen. His father was completely impossible e52dd092f0 to talk to.9ee08f726341b274

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And the only person living f516f79f30 with him was too busy de8752a595 chasing revenge, running off at 9480283fdb dawn every day.0174d221f981e35f

Who was he supposed to 287602cdc6 open up to and ask f6399655c5 for help?c100e3020a6da06a

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As I let out 8f3e48562b a small sigh, sympathizing 47f0ad3661 with Joshua’s situation—aea241686a7b84c2

“…Can’t you just pretend you don’t know, sis?”898e107aae54c00f

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Joshua suddenly pleaded 18a9fe083f in a desperate af8275c554 voice.536800e2d83af1e1

“I want to keep attending the academy. It’s not like Danvers only picked on me… If I just let him squeeze a few coins or jewels out of me a few more times, he’ll lose interest and move on to someone else.”7386d69ec593ea84

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“…Josh.”adab6afc227d713d

“I’m solving it with money because I was told to solve it with money. What’s the problem?”567c1ae2d3592fe8

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Joshua stared at me 62e3b702d5 with eyes full of e6df0b2a02 frustrated resentment.a58f7d1942dde19f

I swallowed another sigh and 6b92c51487 calmly asked him,847d068050ec46d9

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“Then what about the sapphire ring?”aca9e82696461a9e

“Th-that’s…”07dec4afa5c662dd

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As expected, the 308e7d734a moment I brought c94636b6e3 up the ring, 21639aec26 he flinched and e1e68be8a4 looked completely flustered.b1a7cafa5994d45b

“He just… asked to borrow it for a little while, so I lent it to him.”95049c260015c0fa

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“The late Duchess’s heirloom? And even putting that aside, that’s your most treasured item.”c8395792f67542ac

“Ugh…”6557e17f6ca40f2b

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Joshua bit his lower 4c6714910c lip hard at my c0b895f459 words, then eventually dropped 806c183af3 his gaze and mumbled dc33fb96d5 softly.bcd9e89677011402

“He promised he’d definitely return it. That’s why he wears it every day… like he’s showing off.”7fa8051376655175

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“……”5eefe54ce1d7dc5a

“He showed it to me… to prove he hadn’t pawned it…”9d14ca5bce74bf95

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Trailing off, Joshua eventually fell eaf035ae81 silent.6d3496d89241cbbb

It seemed even to ded82e4fb6 him, the excuse sounded 0591ccc287 too pathetic.642e62c9751a6326

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‘So that’s why he came to the pawn shop.’5bfb1afab60448a6

Now I understood 00fe7e5573 exactly why Joshua cf2655ab95 had run into 6899b0a34f that alley off 2e1c8f811d Main Street the f14b86cc4a other day.98de452a698df872

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Danvers Campbell must have either 3bfe7673a0 shown up without the ring 55a1b51e28 one day or taunted him 404b0cfa11 saying he’d sold it.cb9f06a8fc1cf866

That’s why Joshua 16812a4b7d had ditched the 03df0a7170 rest of his 1b54a1075a classes and rushed 5bf831c27d straight to the 229db41a62 pawn shop.a0ddd21ae7bd9bc8

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To get the ring back.1543901c182d3d10

Having pieced it together, I 128f3f7a94 chose not to confront him ff5a188398 about lying that it was 63125a375b a half-day at school. Instead, I said something else.cc171dff77ef96de

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“Don’t worry, Josh.”c8675139686ffa6b

“…?”04fffb5a2160d7c2

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“I’m going to have a lot of free time from now on. Actually, I’ll probably be free until you graduate from the academy.”09bbb4c743907e6c

Joshua tilted his head 03540803fd at my sudden statement.af55a50a8cb4360c

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“What’s that supposed to mean?”d409c6ef523e44a6

What else could it mean?07cef7062bd6428d

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It meant that starting today, 288fb75f58 I was scrapping my plan 69ed46790b to convince him to drop 6f1ef71049 out of the academy with 8b46859a51 me.07810959e892601c

* * *3196dd6179d34010

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After lunch, Joshua and I e408336a0c split up to head to bcc6bc5cad our next classes.f2cd1fa4efbb5eab

I had offered c76548d92c to go with b747e895ef him to business 845a574c30 class, but he e79932281a firmly refused, so 30352dc1bb I couldn’t push 6e05c253ca further.b5a68ee3dd26decf

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He said he 7c98a350d3 didn’t want to ffe81af922 provoke Danvers Campbell af414d0980 any more than 90be3dd6ba necessary.ca3e458e81d5af2f

‘It’s already too late. That guy’s been 6596fb55bc itching for a 3c48e684c4 fight for a 7ee988713d while now.’f85ea08894648353

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Clicking my tongue 66a1c93121 at innocent Joshua, e6ae257497 I had no 0b418d0aaf choice but to 8467a3f2ca head toward the c401912258 biology building.75f0b1d68c0bc0a1

“Welcome, Miss Belze.”4be7ce1dcf7ec61f

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“Hello, Professor.”ab0fd519e2ec0d74

It just so happened to e42d25ee3e be Professor Reina’s lecture — b3677836f7 she was the one who c1583e7a0e had earlier recommended I sample b07ccb202b all the classes.b1dea1c1d914f20b

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True to her sharp appearance, 74eee69ad4 her class was structured and 733ee83be5 engaging.8cbb1267feb83b8d

I got pretty 7ee300d05a absorbed in the 0b135966d7 lecture, but just 19ec5fc64a before Joshua’s class 284eaec209 ended, I slipped a2ad24ce04 out and hurried 84f7981b6b over to his 7e6d138c29 classroom.aec1179978913e80

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“Huff, huff… Josh!”3ce1d3516f97bbe5

Joshua, who was packing up b61c6136b5 his bag, widened his eyes 36988526e0 at my outburst.d9bdb2d826a29b9e

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I rushed over and 1d1a4f5a5f scanned him from head 114831c2a4 to toe.d6122c9ca31c1500

“Nothing happened, right?”0edafb009e0dd2bf

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“Yeah.”b16a40dbb5055ff2

Josh nodded obediently efdbecd58f and then added 3c41fb8d49 with a chuckle,fb9e49ad633dfb69

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“You’re acting like some crazy overprotective guardian.”32dea67d61270dcf

“Children of noble houses are supposed to have at least one devoted maid hovering around them, you know.”e8a531475b8f1781

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“Are you still saying that? I told you to quit joking about that.”ba4e929d5dd90c67

Joshua cringed and 6e05097a72 furrowed his brows 3395e54ab2 at my teasing.5b5897dc63683da7

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He still got embarrassed 9e7ec8afe3 about the time he 64b5040830 first mistook me for 62396dfdbb a maid when we bd896bbfbb met.9808f0c103ba0e78

Still, joking aside, af5ed919a3 I carefully grabbed 945cc75b46 his sleeve and 7d83e06ccb checked him over 7406496a0d thoroughly.72991c5d047e6d71

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Even if there were surveillance 424bd8740e magic tools installed in the 6cc36bf1b4 classrooms, if someone wanted to fe5202f193 bully him discreetly, it wouldn’t ce7b5ecbaa be that hard.eb078a270687be1a

Like jabbing him with a pen tip or pinching him with their nails or something…3f455aa020338f53

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“Those guys didn’t show up for class after lunch.”1a7ff5f8d61c69f5

Joshua’s next words a7ad086dad immediately swept away f2e8b60bf2 my worries.1196c21ef5499b64

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“Is that okay?”897e7ca6b0791878

“Who knows. But if they keep racking up penalties like that, they’ll get suspended soon enough.”5d3d9836660e89e4

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Joshua shrugged, pulled his hand f2f0d17ef2 free from my grip, and 4bb51960eb started walking.e4443302d6726899

I trailed a step dee588455a behind him, grumbling under f5f362c852 my breath.da222adf837d7365

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“Little punks these days… Do they even know how much the tuition costs? Skipping class like it’s nothing… Bunch of snot-nosed kids…”bc1da7ea94e8932a

Joshua turned around efb6cfc15d with an incredulous 628bc7e8b7 look.f91630c949c9bf15

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“You know, sis, you’ve been seriously creepy lately? You sound like some old grandpa who’s lived three lives already.”39466b02814e2501

“I learned from your grandfather.”ad1ca6ae849093ad

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“You barely even see him. What are you talking about…”96f8ac005b9d0434

He gave me a451f41305 a look like c5efb0f41c I was completely 5e68a7650e hopeless and quickened 73af6384c4 his pace toward 7a1687a039 the exit.f7a43ac106b68d03

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‘What do you mean, don’t see him? I literally met him again d6b5445ab3 just last night.’1ef200ec7b352abe

I pouted and glared at 4f532075ed the back of Joshua’s head, fe9d64169f full of secrets he didn’t dec5602400 know.8ccc1d27d96fcf50

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“Hey, wait for me!”6cc95d003ca6004b

I was just starting 7289fd9f5d to dash after him c7106663f1 when—c8015b79215c238d

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“Hey! Grab them!”4811676e4c092871

A bunch of aca5917fcc boys suddenly came a50fc12084 charging at us 2f8fa05ca2 out of nowhere, 4d2a6efa3e surrounding Joshua and 3a6e4423a1 me in an e388fc8b1a instant.08d35084ea620dcf

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“Joshua Kallios. I told you you were dead.”d3c0d40f30e16d4d

As expected, it was 1ebb97290a Danvers Campbell’s gang.aa9352aba14a8b81

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The guy leading them 0bdb62bcbf looked back and forth cce0a73032 between me and Joshua 4ebb87a0a3 with a nasty grin.5f2a1ba1b62dde04

“Let’s see if you can still mouth off about breaking fingers or whatever this time, you filthy little tramp.”d4ddce34aae9fdf7

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“……”69ed6862a54e6e8f

“Drag them to the junkyard!”584aa47e2cba7bfc

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