98

The next day.81a4e87d3bb73787

As usual, I visited b901e0ea8e Joshua for his healing e38a852af1 session.33c815e7099231b7

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Whoosh―!3d2180bcbac6dfeb

The healing light I summoned c826cc4385 pierced the orange energy in 31d4eb943f Joshua’s chest like an arrow. Gradually, the light thinned and bea4e9ccd3 faded away.05904679fa999840

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By the time it disappeared a10dadf8d3 completely, both of us were 88036025ac covered in sweat, breathing heavily.9773d6d34cca6ae1

“Phew… Is it all done?”6e1665c75a173640

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“Yeah. Are you okay, Josh?”ffb5244720408ef2

“Yup! I don’t even need naps e3b498b7b6 anymore!”31f63ab2d1247bfd

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Despite his tired 5cd6984371 face, Joshua smiled 3d817bca7a brightly.bb178560c2b1bddd

Just as he e49452b927 said, the naps a538bd45b0 he used to f75705e16a fall into immediately d57ee1bcb1 after healing were f3ab590ad0 becoming less frequent, 291b727cf6 and he could 3331472890 stay awake much 159a0d3f63 longer now.a5f7db9ef834e470

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It seemed his c74ede4052 stamina had improved 9cc142567a significantly.58c76af257d3d3ce

‘His condition has improved so much compared to the beginning.’92c78cf81ad6a183

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I observed the orange flame 136b49bdc1 flickering in his chest.eb9d4a037b9aa1b1

When I first saw it, d04d027eab the energy had spread so 0bbe63470e widely across his chest that 31316507ab pinpointing its origin felt impossible. But now, it had 3109e19bde visibly shrunk.a595e29db6addd49

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Joshua’s illness was a 521d4da71c rare genetic disease, one 38b478bcb0 that couldn’t be guaranteed 0c29d5c9da a complete cure.aaa9098d76372c57

But at this 360eb8c078 rate, the energy 418505d9a9 would eventually dwindle 41a1776019 down to a f3ec6dcec8 tiny speck, just 7edafeaf6d like Edwin’s, allowing 831652ca79 him to live fcbec1c2c8 without any hindrance.75410c7ab26b1c26

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‘I can save Joshua.’bfb2c9840ca99f83

The hopeful thought 41e1195c85 brought a wave 564607d4f0 of joy and ea6c4b7f62 relief.9258f2f65b9a87b6

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“His heartbeat grows stronger by the day,” said Grandpa Gordon with a satisfied look as he finished listening with his stethoscope.097b624b1a5db69a

“Now, take the rest of your medicine, young master.”b116fd69520854f5

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“Ugh! This medicine is so bitter! How much longer do I 0d082bcb24 have to take it?”2b5f880ac08128ff

Joshua grimaced but 3db6fdc214 still drank the dc7aa5e3ed dark concoction Gordon 8b1f78820e handed him.755a6ba2a296dfd6

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A few days ago, some d6e31a4a76 rare medicinal herbs unique to a75676dfed the Tebron Marquisate, his maternal 8c4ddfbb2e family, had arrived.7fcf90c2974d159d

Since Joshua started taking medicine e46d7ca4e3 made from those herbs, his 5df179f520 stamina had shown noticeable improvement.6ae436d3aed2f416

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Of course, Gordon’s meticulous 3259c7fd4f care played a major 2f3a67ed60 role in Joshua’s swift 0efaa1fb0c recovery.6bc4ff208c7601ff

“It’s all thanks to Grandpa’s medicine!”4df1bd76d9f7f99f

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“You’re too kind, Madam President. It’s a mere trifle compared 07306fec81 to your extraordinary abilities.”59bf4d8fd062d089

“Ugh! D-don’t call me that…!”3e8a81cb5bb30716

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Gordon’s proud response 47fb5ae558 to my praise d93d08dd1b made me grit d391268231 my teeth and 172368880c glare at him.a53c70e0ea418a0b

“President? What’s that?”ecf5c34755ded879

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Meanwhile, Joshua, who 762e0fd893 had finished his 237ecb51a8 medicine and was 434d8507ef now enjoying a 0b34da28d4 candy provided by 8fc104b02a the butler, asked e65ec2fcf2 curiously.b5e858beec5aadc5

“Oh, well…”be2d75afb1da47e5

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“Indeed, young master. Our Madam Belze here 5d6209e50a won first place in e06bf867ba the national children’s business 12c560c950 competition held by the 118122f3e6 palace!” Gordon cut in, da46b54494 stealing the chance to b255bf4e74 explain myself.a104c96b24460f9a

“Wow! First place? That’s amazing!”b88a27c01cf6a22f

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“Of course! And the prize 322689fe4d money was a 71df486eca whopping 500 gold! In honor of this achievement, c3746b2e2a everyone, stand up!”cfbf20bfc72ae0b1

“……?”51a0bf8f6ba63d82

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“Let’s give Madam President a round of applause!”8fe09095ddf3194b

Clap, clap, clap, clap!363c441b745b75fb

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Gordon abruptly stood a16e3b4d73 up and started 3fd8b57d20 clapping enthusiastically.a243962e217b9b5f

Becky, one of the f8fae4f152 five maids newly assigned 8d547cae1a to Joshua, followed suit a6bbdcea09 with an impeccably straight 971cf47eae posture.f7f1ad3688e5f3d9

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“You’re so cool, Madam President!”4044de021d479e7d

“Way to go, Madam President!”125a90986278db8a

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“Wow, Belze! Hooray!”50d6d7e1cda69d7e

Joshua, likely not 4470da8dc7 understanding what it db5fd4d676 meant, joined in 1609a1a3b4 the applause excitedly.a88a2ccfc897d9e1

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“P-please, stop…”7a9444d157333f1b

I buried my 74ea4fe019 reddened face in 9e51891352 my hands, unable 87d299ed70 to handle the 012b3e27de embarrassment.442f08fc90981803

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Gordon’s dramatic behavior wasn’t 7524cf6ad3 without reason, though.22adafec0e41f715

Last evening, when I 669ea93702 returned to the duke’s 86b41541d2 estate…d10ed85095bb452a

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As I was carrying the 423a0ce4d3 heavy box containing the prize 93f443e787 money, I bumped into Gordon, 0f5754a7ee who had just finished Joshua’s ab08831aa8 afternoon checkup.4dcf6fe68dadd0de

“Oh! Grandpa!”3249f3574aa46805

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Feeling exhilarated, I had 700dee650e turned to the butler 93ff256a43 helping me carry the cb8f0ec497 box and said…817f0870fc5fdd5d

“Hey, Grandpa Gordon! Look at this!”ea21d06980db30b1

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I couldn’t hide 3d7f68ae18 my excitement as 5318c7649e I gestured toward d6a4992c69 the heavy box 1f84801a83 of prize money. The butler carefully b772773e2c set it down fecc6dcb00 while I rushed e153334ac6 to Gordon’s side.cf18fdbc61513a97

“What is it, Madam Belze?” he asked, peering curiously at the box.8c3d51a2a6bae72c

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“I won first place in the national children’s business competition! Look at the prize money!”bc737cc3a5437db3

Gordon’s eyes widened as 9cb6066aa1 he opened the box 4d8ec06b1b and caught sight of d9dde050b9 the neatly stacked gold 5fecec7470 coins inside.24a788908c375587

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“By the heavens… 500 gold?”4b13a543e28afbd7

“Yes! Isn’t it amazing?” I af0aeb2b2c grinned, puffing out my 0af4624ac0 chest proudly.33e23ad94eea1ec4

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“Indeed, Madam President. You never fail 302c03b426 to amaze me.”8be1dd991ad8a101

That nickname again. I had immediately grimaced, but 11862b60b4 Gordon had only chuckled, clearly 54093bac6a amused by my reaction.2c722da6314a5939

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“And you carried this heavy box all the way here yourself?”6f8be605b5493af6

“Of course! I may look df2028d5c6 small, but I’m acbd3cfc0a strong!”cfe930e037d45e99

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“Still, you should have asked someone for help. Young ladies should be careful e9e5899020 not to strain themselves.”58a2fd75fbd57ed5

“Ugh, Grandpa, stop worrying so much! I’m fine!”f49c2a61f9ce051e

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That conversation had set e017f2e515 the tone for the 4a226e1847 day, and now Gordon 5a24585795 was making it his 07aad7bb40 personal mission to turn 44a8cba405 every mention of my e38f4b6dec win into an over-the-top 84ae365d74 celebration.901ee08afbe7180f

Back in the present, I 3083a9d2ea sighed as I remembered his 3ded6024a0 antics.764954a4defdb685

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“Please, just stop calling me ‘Madam President’ already…”8f5be1e0167d0b43

Gordon, completely ignoring my plea, aee2737e34 grinned mischievously.fc6067404e2dfa6f

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“Come now, Madam President. You’ve earned the title fair and square.”f12bbac7ce492460

Joshua, who had been watching the exchange, tilted his head. “Belze, does that mean you’re super rich now?”39a2ece43a49610d

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I laughed nervously. “Well, not really. It’s more like I’m saving up for something important.”e2cdb5f8f444b916

Joshua nodded solemnly, 4dcfe37c19 as if he e86fe8ec12 completely understood.9833048512508363

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The maids giggled at his f1c5e1cb15 earnest expression, and even Gordon 8c05869faf smiled fondly.955f92b7aff5b53b

Despite the embarrassment, I 12ca29a672 couldn’t help but feel 020d0b4a0c a little proud. It was moments f53972ffba like these that 01e7320801 made all the e4069df59c hard work worth 9549f962ea it.01ae001f1a57f1b1

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“Butler! Please move this to Grandpa Gordon’s room!”6d4a1fbb3051af81

“Huh? What is this?”9067d6898c360e1e

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“This is… Grandpa’s bonus payment!”8bc8ed100d9eafcf

The ever-perceptive butler 93b5c981d1 quickly opened the cb28f1d158 box, revealing its 12e936e332 contents. The pile of gold coins 419a27ada9 inside made Gordon’s eyes nearly e0e380bfe7 pop out of his head.f20b6705501155e7

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“Whoa! B-bonus payment? Are you serious? All this gold…”310935fd73afea45

“500 gold!”38ec2901bc4f3cbd

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“W-what?! 500… 500 gold?!”3dae01d5ca0f16b5

“Yes! Grandpa and your assistants worked so hard to help me, so this is a reward!”530b13183f0645d7

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“Well…”d09354d016459f57

“Please keep taking good care of us!”07d364666093312e

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By the time I 493cb97951 returned to the duke’s 8b53aac562 estate yesterday evening, I 95ac245327 had decided to accept 52a4fb9c59 the building the Crown 97e853d209 Prince offered.8916aed2519727e3

So, I handed ec1240df39 over the 500 526ce7bf8a gold prize money dd80d1545b to Gordon without 8ceb555a40 hesitation. After all, I still had 6d636fd8ec 952 gold left and couldn’t c6155103e6 deny his exceptional abilities had 64a0e58c93 helped me become the person cd754040db I was.d41c2f503ba7295d

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‘A good company should never skimp on bonuses for exceptional employees.’3a4f857088520ce2

This was my 42d5d5c628 way of entrusting a3fc584381 the first slave—no, 0dc72dcece partner—with a long-term 31064bfc48 collaboration.8bfa1fa55ed3c6d3

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But then,f026e73a17539c43

“Long live Madam Belze, our President! Long live!”ee950d7b1701623e

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From that point on, Grandpa 9751104e73 Gordon started treating me with 7a1f3ec21b an embarrassing level of deference.eb31776c9dfe5e9d

‘Well, I guess even with the duke’s generous salary, receiving what amounts to 50 million won all at once would make anyone ecstatic.’98bddff8fa4e148c

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Watching the capitalism-driven bc5bfbe0a1 joy on his 47c2d06f45 face, I couldn’t b8d1c019d4 help but chuckle.d22ba9a288b1aff4

Then—d45d16d75b3a333b

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“…I’m jealous. You even got to visit the palace.”56e251b1cb5c705f

A faint, wistful voice 06420e007f caught my attention.30f27f2645dd41cd

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Looking down, I saw Joshua 2d2e6499cf with his head drooped, wearing edcff1a291 a dejected expression.4aff47ff5de6f9d0

“…Josh, have you never been to the palace?”43d80db8d951deae

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“I have. When I was little and not sick yet… but I don’t remember any of it.”549a4d220a42bf36

Perhaps it was 7aac919652 because he had dd6f45e1cf been confined to 2be707897e the house for 453900585f so long due b7b5ddffdd to his illness. Lately, with my frequent f3c8c5b28f outings, Joshua had started 17ba40bc61 to show hints of 9421d7dc25 envy mixed with sadness.dc9733d1ef9b5b46

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I couldn’t stand the thought 9c685641ed of him feeling discouraged or c65912c3c7 upset because of me, especially dca45bad0b now that he was regaining f0d523b0e7 his vitality.973532850ae34f4c

“The palace isn’t fun at all!”fec1ace636a2b5ac

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“You’re just saying that to make me feel better, aren’t you?”b2b61e5e944b6e32

Joshua pouted, his sharp intuition 2755336fe3 catching on to my attempt cc3660d7fc at comfort.66383ff4bf69cbac

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I shook my head earnestly.d2721ca63a63d2a9

“No, it’s true! Ask Edwin if you don’t believe me. There are weird people who only pick fights… I don’t ever want to go back!”6dd99f64600e2353

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That was the honest truth.a598fc1b29460a9a

Seeing my dramatic shudder, adba12d52a Joshua finally lifted his ebff941bdf head, his curiosity piqued.29f403af52d37a26

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“Weird people? What did they say to you?”107f726b56e2cc94

“They called me a fake Saintess and said they didn’t want to talk to a commoner!”cb28b5e4f4f50667

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“Ugh. That’s so stupid. The palace sounds awful!”9639d8b68c3ff2b5

“Right?”fa0cbbc09fd8b839

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Once Joshua’s mood seemed to 16238b3dcb brighten, I grinned and added,6ca67c716f0ab4a3

“Get better quickly, and let’s skip the palace. Let’s visit Main Street instead!”7c09c3d3981472f2

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“Main Street?”bd25262291cb2060

“Yup! We’re going to open our store there soon!”c500fa036a6110d2

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“Wow! You really are the President, huh?”363c83773416757c

“Of course! So, you have to heal up and get healthy by then!”4cb17e83d6e439db

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“Okay! Starting today, Sir Joshua will begin sword training! Hiya!”3fd489ce44ed5bb5

Joshua suddenly jumped out of 5b01524088 bed and swung his pillow e4366169ed like a sword.3565f86c6bc57a94

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‘That might be a bit much…’f747b07ee6c8e987

After calming his overly enthusiastic 4308ea9ce7 spirit, I left the room bc39f820ff and headed out.17f34d40538b9ba7

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“Shall we, Miss?”72e015fffda937b7

Following the butler, I made cdb93f661c my way to the duke’s 9312abca5c office. The duke, who c2b264d7df had returned late e9d544afcc last night, had 122128c04b requested a meeting 5ea8d94c14 with me in 6068668fcb the morning.e0ebd9df0a1305a8

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Before long, we 3c89ed6d01 reached the office.4bad44cdafbc9146

Knock, knock.0a5d5a2c510b812e

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“Your Grace, it’s Anderson. I’ve brought the young lady.”b0d7cc547889cc35

“Come in.”13513397720f2c70

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At the low response, the a5f0d82b70 door opened.d048d4ef0852e871

I walked briskly 76b7915e19 into the now-familiar de168aaa02 study and greeted 7b1d1e0c31 him politely.9a7bcf04a9442528

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“Hello, Your Grace! Good morning!”ba12a350c8062d8c

“Yes, good morning to you as well.”3cbecabd8bcf3f67

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The Duke, seated e1ee8d9df0 at his desk, a4a0ec50f0 stood up and 216326f720 approached. He seemed to a1025d0e58 have been working 2a3437c4f4 early, as papers 7264a1fea7 were scattered across df9209d294 the desk.c1ddf4f8975aa4c8

“Anderson, fetch some cookies and a drink for the child.”9d7071e9622f7049

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“Yes, Your Grace.”952179766c747250

“Come, take a seat.”327342681d8b4177

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At his gesture, cdc80e3ff8 I settled onto 24e2d3bb02 the sofa. The Duke followed and b9c42f0732 sat in the seat 28a7595f04 of honor across from c15c3cc9c4 me, immediately starting the 2221f8ad1e conversation.0633dbf172cc1fde

“I’m truly sorry I couldn’t stay with you yesterday, Belze. At this rate, I can hardly call myself a proper guardian.”0dfdaa719d2059cf

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“Oh, no! It’s fine, Your Grace! Edwin came to pick me up, after all.”c2d77040992773b3

“There was an emergency report about a pack of fiends attacking a village out of nowhere…”588143a3d36eb7f5

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He sighed, his face clearly 47717a993a weary.86e8947ec0ce1aea

It seemed the incident 59ad78d0e3 had kept him at 893cb67588 the palace late into a8799345a2 the night for meetings.060a27ecfe25aa06

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I tilted my head, c073eaf90d a sense of déjà b34f269d93 vu creeping in.353a917e954847e2

‘Didn’t Adolf Galagos also say his entry to the palace was delayed due to fiends?’62391876d41713af

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Fiends were abominable creatures 9e56595aff created by heretics who cede172130 worshipped demons and evil 06cf694a66 spirits instead of the 5cbe82e75c goddess.0662e7fa73e04460

Like monsters in a game, 6051aae59a they were dangerous and destructive.3ed893e9c759c5b5

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Although most had f56126ebe8 been eradicated in df8fffc659 the Holy War b385c9fc4c centuries ago, a 677b69a1ee few persistent species 043e11a37a still caused trouble a2cbc5ce0e today.7c99d83358572bce

“…I heard from Edwin that you handled things well at the competition. But you gave the entire prize money to Dr. Gordon?”e7301a385e9704b1

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“Yes! It’s his payment!”c910ef4798565bf2

“Payment?”f7ce1beeaad9049d

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“Grandpa helped a lot on volunteer day, so I wanted to thank him! Hehe.”08cf0998655a5778

“Well, it’s only right to reward those who work hard under you. You did well.”a4182a65e3eaad30

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The Duke nodded approvingly, 602d82b950 seemingly convinced I had 2aa25d4a31 hired Gordon as my cf1d115e96 employee.4f40644106ecfd50

I decided not 378b08342c to correct him.eb8da0d32d5c55ff

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“But then, what about the rent for the building on Main Street?”aadc26bab19076dc

“Oh, that… well…”04c51138b20967b7

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“Of course, you’re short on budget.”b0ebc1ede827a0d9

I was about 66075b49d4 to explain what 725e35c58e happened at the 00d60a361f palace, but the 549a775477 Duke was one fc63b48866 step ahead.fc5ed7836234a611

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“That’s why I’ve prepared this in advance.”fa52f040cf7c02f9

“Huh? What…”73337957b275e528

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“Here.”8fe207e748cc639b

He suddenly pulled something from eed6703ec6 his coat and slid it 53939d10e8 across the table toward me.726bbc368a4ed5ac

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It was a bundle of f65625a5d9 white papers bound with luxurious 8497cc4319 gold thread, stamped with Kallios’s 010bdae7ab seal.c7c2e10b53d588dc

I stared at bda424184b it, utterly bewildered.5d88ffc1cddfd08b

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“Wh-what’s this?”e6503bd6c6dbe283

“A checkbook.”d67990406240a1b1

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“A c-checkbook…?”7998a5cd748b02c0

“That’s right.”2da6df881ccd83ad

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The Duke nodded with 2eb876e2da a smug expression.5fc1910bb7eacc5d

“As your guardian, it’s only natural to make this level of investment.”101cea9ecaa312eb

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“…….”4ca8894f1a33ef05

“Consider it pocket change.”171b0f20619cba6b

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