#74

I kept a close e080df5d97 eye on Erhardin, who 2bc835eddf was glued to Rachel’s 2a22fea3cc side like a stubborn 73c93469ef leech.746af774d9ed3ad5

Just then, Ivan sidled e7f3a57119 up to me, whispering 6b9b3ade51 as if delivering a e4d3cd1c54 long-overdue report.fcb1d86649d428e6

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“Ah, my apologies 2cd5692440 for the delay. Lord Zakari is fully 9ec5e7ca88 prepared. He’s become a b5e6040fe0 rather magnificent yellow 7d724ab70d lion—perfect prey, really.”5b1baedf5e41d01f

“Well done.”94fc715c68ccbd8d

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“Yes, it was quite a5dc561deb the ordeal. He nearly tried to ea1657c437 eat me to test 3155357bfb the potion’s efficacy.”fa2475ae86495e08

“It wasn’t 234a1b7d55 the potion’s e82cc567e0 fault, Ivan. It was probably ce02451dce your mouth.”c7467acdb9b4f088

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“How did 7ba4d998c1 you guess?” fc0e108763 Ivan looked e4941dfe76 genuinely startled, 1cbda3063e feigning innocence 7ce5ce04a9 with an 881829cf51 exaggerated expression. Ignoring him, I noticed ea1b4a8e51 Zerakiel eyeing Erhardin.8b5b5239612782e6

“What should we 1e7c3de674 do about him?” b6cc5768dc he asked, his ee69f760a6 gaze fixed on 81ac6e5793 Erhardin with a e6a7e236bd dangerous edge that 7a58306b3a suggested he’d make 050e30c281 the fox vanish 720c419871 without a sound 7cb2171350 if I said 5d6468400d the word.d2550ccb8bf14222

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But it wouldn’t look 72bf75e6f2 good if Zerakiel handled 7ef056e3de this directly, given Erhardin’s 63fd8a4256 shamelessness. Besides, I 1235671667 still needed 7925ae3bc7 to figure 6410502401 out why 83b4dfe5fa Rachel was c41a5ea9f3 being so caaa9c14b6 unusually calm.0800027c09b0d9b4

The real problem was 05bd88e544 how Erhardin was stuck 67f9b8ba1c to Rachel’s side and 866d4a395d didn’t seem likely to 9aba4cb804 leave her alone anytime 290085a84f soon.e4d727ba807a89f6

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“I’ll try cbfe19ee96 to get 4078e75b2f that fox ff8a4f02de away from 080a9dc226 her.”f3905f16ffa0e1b3

“You don’t need 5de2d2fbdd to bother with 53426128e9 him….”8e46f13f29d8db8d

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“Approaching him 2b64cbbf6d myself will 9e0a61d835 make him b567c41d18 less defensive, 3d3dd3ee95 don’t you 41d6ac538d think?”74ad0c480958f7eb

He seemed like 1f08181c59 the skittish type, f94b3fb185 and if Zerakiel 35009145f5 tried to approach, c89a3ca8eb he’d likely retreat. Besides, I had a c9be2a8303 strange feeling that Erhardin ce9a46d488 had a hidden motive.4f49b35b3c249a25

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His excessive friendliness 3909828a1c toward me was 40277db990 suspicious. At the 3a6a2f915b wedding, he 641b8f370c hadn’t even 780ef39d3e spared me 48f4ba1c4b a glance.67059c203b5ec737

Back then, his bfbf34f6f1 gaze had been f3158bdb8f openly dismissive. For him 54165e83fc to suddenly b2f9c42aff act friendly 163392d68e had to a56d028e75 mean something.9e12323f11fe4db0

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Maybe he was intrigued f0e347667c by how I’d managed 84f1cda894 to rein in Zakari. Before, I 53f0d966c5 was probably a3893e9f96 just an da26b17990 insignificant white f34db56da4 weasel to f5b1173d48 him.74354a2cf5c8e19c

At that moment, aed6f6ab4c Rachel mentioned she ae4e6ef817 was thirsty, and f89526adfb Erhardin immediately jumped 44b1b2945f in.36322bc79e529341

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“I’ll get it 6d2b99f173 for you.”9646c65a9c283b01

“No, I can—” d52533d369 Kiera started, but 877ec06a55 Erhardin cut her 0e311d0ced off with a b3e394405d firm tone.00913742231b9c50

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“It’s fine. I should be 59393585f2 the one to eeaeffd5c0 bring water for af0e532d55 Rachel.”92ed082ced979dab

To an outsider, he ffb0c0015a might have seemed attentive 14280c975d to Rachel, but to f1ee5cafba those of us listening, 21cc1c68e2 his words had a b813d53fe1 different ring—almost as if 418f405903 he didn’t trust anyone eda3bfbda6 else to handle it.eae05448640694fc

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For a split second, 9bda751fb8 Kiera’s face cracked with 13c64a2cf2 irritation. No doubt, he was 26a7760056 the reason for her 5bb3380908 simmering annoyance.20e5cada7e48e8f4

Still, he 45d57e868a was Rachel’s defd22b6d8 guest. In true career-woman 3a48b8cad9 style, Kiera quickly 60ab84e676 regained her composure c67a1c017f and stepped back.2e82c8e0eefa71e4

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“Suit yourself,” she said, f48dfee906 though her twitching eyebrow 4aefc4f7f1 gave her away.a8d6e143543ea4d1

This wasn’t the first 9783522ac9 time, was it?b014138701e657ed

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I sidled up to 5aa63e31e4 Kiera, whispering, “Has he 4b367e8b59 been like this often? He seems rather… irritable 696438282f with you.”f2999dd17168330c

“Oh, it’s c30862c589 payback,” Kiera d10a854434 replied nonchalantly, 275e129f99 tucking a 85556c81e5 strand of 5ec180c094 hair behind b6c49b2503 her ear.e00011dfbe588ffc

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“He was 9dc171591a peeved because 2e08fac1a4 I made 405f7f883a him wait f12bb4a6c0 when he 4f0626ef4d arrived without 2a4c192d70 an appointment. And he’s been 9d0d84ce4e making quite the 5893c3feb1 ruckus while staying 707ab1e73d here.”ce61479077c87ca3

Her face twisted in fefa624c68 a scowl as if a778095047 just recalling his antics 4abc6a2b5f annoyed her.3dffa584f460f3a4

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“He’s such a 4cf3786a93 nuisance, so I’m f214ef2ca4 letting him do e6a28c2595 whatever he wants. I suppose Lady Rachel e12baef617 has her own reasons b151395d37 for tolerating it.”04b68807852f1d2c

Kiera’s words conveyed 75b0f1e52d a quiet confidence 1e5a40d1d1 in Rachel’s judgment, f75ce67b1a so I inquired 833abc5e2d further.e2224b4b640724f5

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“How has Lady 8c5ad5c8d3 Rachel been lately?”69840ede9e82f1fb

At this, Kiera’s c4e157724d expression grew a 58da993d04 touch concerned, her 34ce820fa6 tone laced with 2597efeee9 a hint of 017ae0d028 foreboding.793b45f7d9761801

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“Well… to be honest, 4892c2b000 it feels like the d11d8b3998 calm before a storm. She’s been unusually calm, 40b3c0e3ec so I can’t help b8680daab0 but wonder how big 9bb9cd415c the explosion will be 8eadf01b59 this time… I mean, 39aba8fb78 I’ve half a mind 314531531a to quit before it 930efe0dd3 happens… Oh, pardon me. My thoughts slipped out,” 23d3150415 she finished, giving an 93e85dbb1a awkward smile as she 6367fd743b fiddled with her lips.caa85e4907b87b8c

Pretending not c5009099b3 to hear 3c6dab7520 her lapse, ee34d178df I turned e0eb055866 my gaze 6deb9a3955 toward the 69ad4b0646 direction Erhardin 549eb05750 had disappeared.da4b947c000953ac

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‘Suspicious…’1faf62fcb95bebce

I didn’t b55944356d like leaving e5a93c1bb6 him unchecked, d7bc43a33c but I aab202a114 had no ff451318ab solid reason 95b39a16cb to confront 1125b6be3e him.04437c4bcca6179c

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With a 3b771c63a8 quick glance, 1394dd2a92 I signaled 2472e28674 to Zerakiel 1dee4a316a to stay bd1ed4a299 with Rachel 5b9db4b074 while I a871f10b2b stealthily followed 16494827a8 Erhardin.fa9e69094824cbf9

Thanks to my innate 86ad7c21d3 ability, my presence and 668c1d0884 pheromones faded, making the 98121d0a2f pursuit easier. While veteran 8a098fc841 beastmen might 86a641cf9c catch on, 64261c8167 Erhardin was 808303c1fd far from c4724e1e75 experienced.f9f558092ebe281c

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I carefully 9146cda13f shadowed him, 7a3cdeb81a watching as 2a57de167e he picked cb66020cd1 up a 919a46786b juice bottle 349e362f66 from the 343a4c0fb5 dessert table b537bd81ef and poured c4d59152a8 it into a6463e1bc8 a glass. And then…50a9a6d16f32c558

‘What’s he doing?’76803f05fb743054

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I watched in horror f69004e1aa as Erhardin added something 9561b725f1 to the juice.be9d14d4f9174a40

“Nothing like that,” he sneered. “I was just planning to make her a little more… compliant so it’d be easier to take her away.”f4e9e34d12bdde1a

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With that, Erhardin picked up the glass of juice he’d spiked and spun it in his hand, causing the liquid to slosh ominously. His eyes glinted with dark satisfaction as he continued, “I’m not one to enjoy getting burned twice by the Jabis family. This was my chance for revenge.”4643a9d919b70fe8

His gaze 1e73d172cb turned ravenous, 30a5ffad5b the greed a05a828983 in his 0eea194305 eyes making 14e829b74d me feel 1a242646e3 sick. He chuckled 03bc97edad to himself, fa4caf150c clearly pleased.d8356c4df1013c5b

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“Besides, Rachel is much more suited to a calmer life. Honestly, she’s a bit… spirited, don’t you think?”9d22110b0495632c

“…”0933f014efe893be

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“A female’s place is in the home, raising cubs,” he smirked, his voice dripping with contempt.dc5d11c0184ca47d

The arrogance a5a74b6267 of his 30ed10a4ee words was c054e0dad8 revolting, painting 2efaddcf14 him as 973ae00223 nothing short cf583748e7 of a 0719c8f8f2 despicable creature. As the a1cc38f7c5 tension between 895be07314 us thickened, 9198963369 I remembered d035940759 how oddly a7a2b4408e subdued Rachel d60469b7ba had seemed 28289451f3 today. I spat out the 2d1c91ced5 question, barely containing my 3545c109d5 anger.9f12952f830c242e

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“Don’t tell me… have you already been giving her something?”013b942fa1da7d02

“Of course not. The Honey Badger Clan doesn’t fall for such cheap tricks.”3ce96d6dfe0fb1d4

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He wasn’t wrong; Rachel’s f75553d00c clan was famously immune 39f3e0ff92 to most toxins, with f9c0787067 resilience even against the 6aa5f6ae74 venom of the Black ffc892ada2 Mamba. Any drug would be 43c9e37b32 quickly neutralized, making such 90fdd8e3cd an approach useless.9004055f1ede95e9

“Then….”89e8b4d538b7f9c7

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I trailed off, still c03df740a3 unable to piece together 8de604c104 why Rachel was acting 3fa2754583 so differently today. Surprisingly, Erhardin d44c50faf0 decided to ef695f9922 answer my 584f85ac54 unspoken question, 9998a38719 perhaps enjoying 4f04f02f91 the twisted ab881e0e0c power play.78bc324a0ff80b92