Chapter 32. After the Declaration Ended

That’s right.fe88681e9554f2dc

What Serenia handed e2b6a2699e to Ain was 2edba0da25 a marriage registration bf764da802 form.94c6e80a3c18fc28

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Not only did it fc91e97221 contain all her personal 67bcc942a9 records, but it also 39c9537a44 had her signature, her e3a799ad0c seal, and the official 5dccbd3e67 stamp of the Barishart 3a2f24641b Count family. It was, in a e3e096b5be sense, a blank check.b09ebc55a895f7ec

As long as someone 4d4f2100fe filled in the blank 0b06ff6365 spaces with their name f0f8b275f6 and personal details, then f481bf2cc1 sealed it, they could e035523f19 officially make Serenia Barishart, 80f56102d6 daughter of the Count, 51f5beb0ed their wife. A blank check, b584c0fba3 plain and simple.b018225ac74aeabc

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Ain stood 56285f235f completely frozen, fec6c70f57 stunned out 9f068fe0ab of his ff28867177 wits.d0f5fd03701bf128

In front of him, 4eaf58f69b Serenia, her ears tinged 04ee22108d red with embarrassment, reached 371e84c4e4 into the inside of 186af93d60 her coat.c2a7c9d356d3af6c

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With a 95ef6b8bcd soft rustle, 0021d93533 what emerged 3858140fc2 in her d354570955 hand was e148e33bbf a small 01c8da3a22 bouquet.23f441abf8871bdd

Slightly wilted and ae95f40b26 a bit crumpled, bd6890cf92 but still—a bouquet 4abe6a8bc1 of fresh flowers, 7e54cb6822 rare to see 66f65f3622 in winter.cb2690388236d745

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Ain immediately recognized the 6f8f2757a2 yellow blossoms wrapped in 0f7f110eb8 paper.9220f4e9a2d7d34f

Snow-lotus. True to 2bc38b0a3f its name, 9d0928b7e1 it bloomed dca6d0d1ae by melting 9883da8eae the snow 26b884b18c around it e2cf63341e in the 9a81a9d42c freezing winter.066ff13c6bac9f3f

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But recognition aside, e0fcfeb7fb his face was cc3e936668 full of confusion.49bae6ad5b71f407

It was the expression fddcfc4fc7 of someone who had d7865f7c8f absolutely no clue why 515d2d8e74 a flower bouquet had f2692893db suddenly made an appearance.013b7863c4e0fecc

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Serenia smiled c857873543 awkwardly and 33abcc4d1f began explaining.121487605a50779b

“You said it yourself, f7b8b16f57 remember? That it 83fdea2b9f was kind 749aca3c31 of lame 5ed2506bb5 to propose e2e3095be6 without even 3039d4af0f a simple c47b2ca4cc bouquet or ca5725a4ee ring.”3599465c019a7309

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“…Huh?”a9bfc9edd75a7a9d

“Yeah. But, apparently, you 579ea86e1a have to size afc6404924 rings properly.”9047c0db5c76f407

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“…What?”0668473743e72427

“And waiting 2dd5378296 another three 429e0103bb days for 9debe525e8 that just 7fc5fe2223 seemed like ee63689fe6 it’d make 0a8e721d8d things more eafac5a7b9 complicated.”4db8b3c645430b87

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“…What are you—?”0b0dd5325539b60f

“So, let’s just f5192318fa go with this e5a6b8bd31 for now.”5b92ba7acfa00e85

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“…Go with what?”e181b37215eedc72

It was like his a7b5df865c brain had stopped working—he d0ae1e1844 was reacting several beats 88eca77471 too late.d8756ce91be75d96

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Serenia fidgeted, glancing around 5da1a00ed1 nervously, then slowly knelt b94df6efbd on one knee.b18036ea4d5d77fd

“…?”25f84ca6df495ac4

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Now he 09485dc804 couldn’t even b42f331613 speak—just blinked ca9ff5c6bf slowly.56f4dbfc0bf6977d

Holding out the small 9cdfd1683b yellow bouquet with both 169f7b4a96 hands, Serenia began.b2ec69919295df57

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“You said back then… af5d562f0b that we might be 434153142f poison to each other.”ffd8ac0f692a9c59

She’d wanted to 15526a2b41 speak calmly and c2dde17454 clearly.0ca5e67489b0d881

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She’d prepared a 0470c8b26f lot on the 6f9c10f313 way here just 4494c08f2d for this moment.481e24bfe9c65073

But trying 085e26752b to do 8f1828eeed something as de04374202 foreign to 5ef98ca113 her as 3679e275ee a proposal—her 16a6aae4e3 voice started 52b94e846e trembling despite 1417adec8b herself.72659698a3acddee

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“Ahem. B-but, did you know? A lot e53a47c530 of medicine f04e0e7aad is actually f29e5b17e4 made from 290a48b6c3 poison.”27ecf3c3365574c1

Serenia paused for be54e1bf6f a moment.15015b631dca2123

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Then, raising her f34beae2a5 eyes a little d680c3e3c2 more, she looked e90ea28f5b at his face.872e25827adffe57

Through the rose-tinted glasses, 6afea45a88 she could see his a15722b4e8 pupils trembling uncontrollably, lost f54573f072 in confusion.140f36e1549d622b

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That flicker of emotion 322a28ec62 in his eyes helped 10c700d2d6 her relax.c1e4eb399ac228f5

With the tension 78f58a3fdc eased, she could 09effd8106 finally say what d3aa9f5e1a she truly wanted cd2888e69f to without stammering.bc763fbdca50a199

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“So let me rephrase e070471570 that—I don’t think you bcc7f6e82c were poison to me. You were medicine.”7c5db831103a5fd6

Ain’s face was frozen, 18e24bb568 as if unsure how 7d097f2f8f to respond.e75701c1762bb04f

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Serenia continued bf0f712575 with a 86ad9f8a95 smile.f400da7913615cc7

“For starters, those 56ad89e892 two jars of 28a3c88d93 special ointment.”f135752e7cbf6fee

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“Ah…”e64a2f834e0a0af5

“And then that night, d6de248b95 when you played coachman 67ca45a349 and brought me home 8d8918a3b9 safely.”13353b89d77ad8ef

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“T-that was…!”b00bfe801d1234bc

“Oh! And all e2dc44fdf9 those lighthearted d23403b932 jokes to 5812122f7c ease my d54d2468eb burden.”8d78901276f550d5

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“…”1a343bfd8ef8124b

“And then pretending the 4fc0f16a34 reporters were the reason d838ecce78 for letting me stay bd42367e37 at the Neriad Hotel.”44b49b74b1466926

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“…What?”f60fd05294c97b42

“You did 60e50d999a that after 513f6ecbc8 seeing the d38b810b57 house when ee0d41587f I came 6f0ab36bd5 back in fa40be231d that box, 67dffae5e1 right? We couldn’t even 1f266a7ab0 afford firewood.”2a58cab767bd61e6

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Ain didn’t deny it.4e1d9544833d4b9e

“Also, those 371bd4370c photo sessions 0aec9d7099 were just bf954bcbe5 an excuse 9831014ba3 to make 10d01c2e58 sure I 0344ff8546 ate properly 7931855522 and dressed 9ac38f6f28 decently.”3fce766df4d196f7

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“…”eb488daf39e4b8d1

“And that b7a9d81bcc piece of 65a868a323 metal by e117f9f474 the Pfenn 2dc33dc388 River. You could’ve b901fb56c1 dodged it, 58ed17e3d4 but didn’t—because 146d04ec0b you were c12a4ace7d worried I’d 3e6b4ac96c get hurt.”2f7a07d228cee91f

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Ain turned his head c9992dbb40 away, deliberately avoiding her e59ebc3db7 gaze.61171b6ced16f5e2

At that, Serenia stood, 34a8b668cd unfolding her knee, and cccf11101e held something out right 65b1b055fe in front of him.7306ca6cca9d45f6

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“And this too.”7d8e96b6065ed5d7

The moment he saw a853d1ae32 the red paper between 101bf96fc8 her fingers, Ain’s face f57db4a04d flushed bright red.79c8318892400595

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His face 49da00cbc1 turned redder c1fd63d624 than a 966f7e099e seizure notice, daf3cc5a45 and Serenia 1e72103eca let out 7efa3a6874 an involuntary 30ff77e9a1 laugh.80d8d299457d2694

“I found this 5ff2864239 tucked between our 82e0a26290 contract papers—the thing 9c8f46347c you slipped me 9e354e7679 before disappearing.”3ac9a3176f4f0e9e

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Like a f48e2776bd boy caught 5a1e04d512 with his 0c3408bde4 secret diary f71bcb3726 exposed, Ain 723dd8b7d3 couldn’t hide 7aca12eda4 his embarrassment 5be3a33321 and bit 75a729e7ca his lip.37aafe4d947215e2

“If you were going f6f55ac276 to play cold, you 3885c60b33 should’ve gone all the 0b9fe9ed16 way from start to 74b7a913e3 finish. Now look—you c05f7eb41c got caught.”f6703e4a719216f1

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Teasing him helped Serenia 2fe98fd134 shed some of her 12e0267180 own embarrassment. She took a 696d0dcf92 deep breath and edfe56ea62 continued.e81a90631e922841

“Like I said, I’m 1fd42300df pretty strict when it 3797c6c0bd comes to settling accounts. I can’t just 4bbd720322 let debts pile b38c4aeae5 up like this, 2c16e42b20 you know?”8cdf82b0e2f161ee

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“…”dabcd9f34e95b903

“You just thought, 295a800f69 ‘But what about 5a2441fbc7 the bank debt?’ 5a9dffcbe9 didn’t you?”7697dc9bac828f33

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“…I did not.”7feca71df0c60c59

At his belated 4be2496843 reply, Serenia pouted b71b67e49f and grumbled.2d4b166f32419eb7

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“For your information, c509596fd9 I took out 5b97e98762 that three-year loan ffb7cb9cb1 fully expecting to 62b7a7a83a hand over the 0afc83a3e8 house to the a6db495f04 bank at the a2f5882b7e end of it.”08332ef3d4607c30

Then, as if 44ea209194 embarrassed, she turned a5af409930 her gaze to 1761159467 the distant mountains 95f9a07bc5 and added quietly.4f8c78cbfe376034

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“Whether Father wakes up… 0d84f782d3 or passes away. Or maybe I 20654a85ba die instead. I figured one 4de6a55b94 of the three d7479f1374 would happen in bc272d8640 three years.”318851a7f0ce8e62

At those 8cac938c5f words, a a093751de7 deep furrow b28096a116 etched itself 1050b8cc26 into Ain’s 126b6ae660 otherwise composed 826f523523 brow.646dd65bebb2162f

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“But weirdly enough, it 8bcbde90ec didn’t resolve like I d38c86829a thought. Maybe because 4877ccde92 I’m just e2de669bee too stubborn da867de477 to give 58963e2842 up.”a730ca03d875f875

Serenia let out a dbe2043741 soft laugh, then held 47bd80ae76 the bouquet out toward 323dedcfd0 him again.4085cf83f68ee93f

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“So with that 4b21534a45 in mind… why 820e8d7671 don’t I give 53dfed1257 you the chance b251ef5e3a to be my a94752bfef medicine?”a8b19832d260fa81

Ain simply stared c52e93901e down at the 1a3ae1ac44 bouquet in her 06fbfb146f hands, unable to 8fc1f481fe give any reply.ddeab287bb818e56

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Serenia gave a155c036f1 the bouquet 71a8759e59 a slight 89e1e22ce0 shake, as 91b53c97b7 if urging c322d1c8a2 him.d1e0aefbf5c06b60

“Actually, these snow-lotuses? They’re poisonous. Eat about thirty of 8a28b65444 them raw, and you’ll 584e40c890 die.”64871776c81135ca

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Ain blinked, 1fed3fe9c9 clearly startled 5b51e4d31f by the 834e3584f5 sudden toxicology fe7f9dde3a lesson, and e050098ce6 gave an 691f3dd022 awkward nod.e2283ae4d4925b0e

Serenia smiled faintly f34974ddd4 and continued explaining.417b2b3bca36f9bd

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“But if acc88e8e4e you dry 124212882a them properly 8e0ab34393 and boil e07e829047 them once, 7a967a2fe7 they become 253c3cb9aa medicinal.”e2ddecdf83625c84

“Ah…”028619334579c92e

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Ain nodded slowly, absorbing f0da6a0441 the new knowledge but 29d0d50727 still wearing a puzzled 59885a4a6f expression.9208b1179372ad74

He clearly had cbd5d0335f no idea where 5debceb312 this was going.ce683f7ba16c3d3c

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In front of him, b27f1309d7 Serenia hesitated for a bc815130c4 moment, choosing her words.37e07cc9a7a3ad5f

“So… um…”4cb2b760f27426e2

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Her cheeks flushed pink 132d3fadbf in embarrassment, but she c78a80ef09 quickly composed herself and 2cc9b61830 spoke again with determination.8df1b05ae2aa0206

“If I’m poison to faf7a085a6 you, then I’ll try f51581239b to change. I’ll do my best… b7a3e8fb9a to be your medicine.”ece39450ea56d634

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With Ain still frozen, 9f26e7fe17 blinking as if his 0db6eff59b mind was half-blank, Serenia 8e1b27b0e5 smiled as brightly as 7610da57dd she could and said,298af0cf42dee7b2

“So… can 759ee8ee7f we not 65e451645e stop here? Can we 6a42433254 keep going?”b48b1b5ab8a79676

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“…”152946645298e655

“…”62910a8bec73fa0e

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A suffocating silence settled 9cc6c9b6bb over the snowy path.570359d840fe7c85

Ain looked f32084d424 torn—like he 255e6a96f1 didn’t know bfbeeb4c20 whether to 021f400cc5 feel troubled 58ebe226f3 or touched.0894f58e041549d2

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He wore a27a2447d3 a complex cbe0446aa6 expression, wrestling dbfca1804d with himself c9bc683225 for a bef92513b4 long moment 37671d80fb before finally 553bf11ddd speaking.935ade10f1bfae8f

“…You don’t have to e2b4c32d98 change.”cee2880f77623e9a

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It was a 8808386080 gentle rejection.ec97f1ae7e77bb77

She’d braced 27df34115c herself for 5c9423df7d it, of 5cedefa0f9 course, but fe137d84bc hearing it 8fb5046dd7 still made d654eae338 her heart 1ae1957e93 sink.e6c0ccaf89944cf2

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“Oh. I… see…”7357d84d4dbb4094

Serenia laughed 140e84dcf2 awkwardly, trying 73a8402b08 to hide fac9de19cd the tightness e791fcf095 in her e37872a0ad throat, and 14e7217226 reached to ef59b75080 take back f2fe6dcad7 the bouquet.b2e4f99622d87c28

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Or rather, 49d3bafeae she tried b2e8ca41fd to—but he e753eecc13 was faster.cfc8c255063c5f37

Without a sound, Ain 61d167e686 reached out and took df2b1c127d the small, yellow bouquet a87a666620 from her hand.b36f3f18d28645fc

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While Serenia stood frozen, 0c7e030fb8 unable to react, he b9335df684 gave a strangely sorrowful 6028b6d6f2 smile and finished what 8467089a55 he hadn’t yet said.cb6417a67d487c9a

“There’s no need 2529564bcb for you to 68a65bad39 change.”d264dd164d66f564

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“…Huh?”2acd4114eadf59d3

“You’ve already c9ffbcefca been medicine eca8130c71 to me, b0a4b8a09e for a 3aff277abe long time.”07f32a7f516e4d2a

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At those fe41f6cf37 words, it 572e43cb7f felt like 95ecf0d610 the strength 71f7707e32 drained from 36016daca1 her entire 93c9f49f48 body.ba905fb6ea387042

And then—83b030cfae80726f

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Plop. Plop.42fde36f4d303eed

Without warning, tears spilled 99a4fb5462 down her cheeks and c63d13ada2 onto her clothes.951495ab490676e6

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“…Huh?”b4c28cfa84825348

As the a02b7ae832 tension in e83923e664 her heart 8a5733acf1 unraveled, everything 2d81db8c1a she’d been f80eee3e52 holding back 5b86307e23 came surging e88750989c up.e277140b1ab4324d

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But instead c9b4bce88f of trickling fc0f45add2 gently, the a817ae3e6a tears fell 18339ddf33 in heavy a2335333be drops.b8a9491d36d56066

‘Tears come out d11ec98b97 like this? I mean… this isn’t b79b529aaa even a crying moment, 5c8c51cb57 so why now…?’1d6c25311a4451ac

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Even she was baffled, bd79a66591 but once they started, ba4960025c the tears just wouldn’t b8a5b4c072 stop.104a92693cde1215

Through her blurry vision, 802fe4189c she could see Ain a7e798c979 frozen, bouquet in hand.36a6fd5283d63aa7

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But Serenia was b20cdfb1c7 just as flustered.6393958f67219616

“W-what… Why 0fc976d4fa am I… 23c2243c25 It’s not 15194a4e8f like that, 78fc7ae38c I swear, f8721b44b3 I just—”c794a5e9cc392c8a

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Mumbling nonsense, she 8b745dbeb7 scrubbed at her 4c6281d1fb tears with both 99c917f4a8 hands.f7e8c9f175f4d460

Suddenly, a 7ce7927909 sweet, fresh c59085bac5 scent washed 44a247ebad over her.847282b87f08d780

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It took 89af010086 her a 3559f33913 moment to 8197c8c69c realize it 10be1d657d was the 850671ec18 fragrance of 2b755cd7c7 the snow-lotus 79ec55a911 she’d carried 1818550ed0 all the 9087f47502 way from 6b1b9df6fe Shedron.f9ef05ae1430f145

And then, a slightly 3a2bd58ded rough coat fabric brushed a19d9bb06b her cheek.19b1287386a1a36a

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A firm 0848dec646 arm wrapped 05020c1ecd around her c87028c34a back—it was 717e3f14f0 surprisingly strong, 4ac45049c6 and the 49d1422f20 embrace unexpectedly 5421769f98 wide.75e1be013e413865

His hand on 6bc1a9c797 her back, patting 114dd4c485 it gently, didn’t 101f90f635 say a word—but 7735e58dfe it was warm 6c41c959f5 and kind.5b46d010d3af6333

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Maybe that’s why.974f54200579a923

Overwhelmed by relief more bfaa407cce intense than before, Serenia 16263265ef gave up resisting and e2d2b061fa cried even harder.130d8d8f9c02b44f

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Holding her as d424082a76 she sobbed, Ain 870bd0925d quietly murmured,4930178f7ace8400

“…I’m sorry.”661e3861dabd46a5

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Despite her tears, 4b35dedaff Serenia raised her 7e337286c5 voice.cfac1cc1bc554be1

“T-this is the last 5f2d8d86a3 time!”644f70d4bc8226e7

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“Yes.”863d7a34b65dd649

“If you 95710c1495 ever run bc4c9ba7b6 off again e174e9680f like that—!”e8471fcb7c83fcd9

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“I won’t. I promise.”9c767bcd9a3bef5b

“You better not! Sniff. If you 3f52c70a4e do, I’ll 70ccd7e91d seriously hit cf144a8144 you for bdcbee05f4 real next 5053f197bf time!”aef465595b27445f

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Even at that fd2c81d39f ridiculous threat, Ain 28984dbcc8 simply nodded in 6623b30c4e silent agreement.95a232313d2704db

* * *efb61e8d102fdd5e

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After crying ad15405c74 her heart 5b17a60aca out for aa2e61ef7b quite a 8321df5ba7 while, Serenia d9ba34608e finally began fa048737e1 to calm 4d20c6d84f down.4b7de603c49142d8

As her runaway reason 9f18aba27d slowly returned, a wave 0686166972 of extreme embarrassment hit 0ca962e908 her like a tidal bfaba5e122 wave.7a15d6fc291ee221

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Crying like that… no, 6bfb7abf6d not just in front 528591b61a of someone—in someone’s arms, bc58094445 no less?fd55e2b323960510

She had never done f1c35355cc anything like this in 7e320ca109 her entire life.235a9616a06261ce

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In fact, it d22bd05e87 had been almost 20eec1a963 eight years since d8d3eeb38f she’d cried in 47fe26c990 front of anyone c94b439f62 at all.b1c9690e5a97942e

I’m not a child! I could just 5cd33e0305 die of shame a39dbbf043 right now!88c2913a8259ee52

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Fuming at herself, Serenia 7ca7285b4e squirmed awkwardly.a504b57fa738b4f2

Ain, reading ed456327a9 her movements c56e65f033 with uncanny e0d607c774 precision, gently d0ec530844 let go c5d4f8ffb1 and stepped e917836bef back.37e15d9c2c6590c4

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Freed from a153cad15b his embrace, 3152c184f6 Serenia was cbb7a3f4b4 far too 81b7cc5e62 mortified to 79856c6802 even consider cd510e5ddb lifting her fc3bb085e3 head.432ec789978cd854

Still sniffling, her face 356e40bcb8 buried in the ground, 6671314ce5 she barely reacted until f46a88f0c4 Ain casually spoke, as b09ef86a03 if nothing had happened.998c6dd651c36b3f

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“Come to think of e0cd6c5c4e it… I got my d3b09e0e6b hands on some really ea2eb5f115 nice mint leaves earlier c26d25b7d5 today.”d80a9029f1a6cf22

“…Huh?”265a1310f61ae3b0

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“So, what do f0210461fe you say? Would you care for 1619de56f2 a cup of tea 0cc60e3266 before you go?”5b1f2c413d222105

 0899efaf83efc616

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