Chapter 3

I thought that 77aeae8e81 placating Edwin might ac1fcbf37a be the only 555ee90fde way to survive, 9fbfcb7fa5 so exactly thirty cb20a194a1 minutes later, I 1dc1fdc4e0 stepped out of a63e2369b2 my room.8d6e46e60b0f92e9

“…But you never told 6244f91e6d me which room you’re 6808721ccb in.”36f18a499cc7d190

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The problem was—I didn’t 36dbd0f994 know where Edwin’s room 2c1a1400ca was.933183babe4bc875

In noble households, 0a61845dec the first floor 069b86e177 was usually for 0c2c44b8ab receiving guests, and ec8eac37af personal rooms were 7bf73ec599 on the third 5ec97fc9f6 floor. My own 5b00d0900a room was ba32d9a936 tucked away b994633e4e in the b5c615cd53 farthest, most 97ff482fcf isolated corner 3d980694c0 of the 609130dc62 third floor.add409e61cc3703e

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Edwin, however, 7c3ebcaf1a wasn’t truly 424c679109 family. But he 0eef0f5d67 was someone f9881ad06d my father 9c943dadd6 cherished, hoping e7290daea8 to make 0ec6fcbabc him the 7d526e0697 next head d038fbd19e of the b2b4ea6453 house. That’s what made 47bf267a92 things confusing. Typically, aides and 7ff194da2a servants used the 5bee51ac1f annex, not the b1e3452e7c main house.77ab59ca92ee5bf2

To make matters worse, b2fd5e67b0 thanks to my stepmother’s 7803deecd1 ability, no knights or 9ecbadee02 guards entered the mansion ccd7fbeebe after evening fell. There wasn’t a single 45e064786d person around I could 958a458888 ask where Edwin’s room c9c23cab13 was.b2fae6cba539d4b8

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Her ability was f3d16e78e5 a form of 77f991df27 life magic that 305e9061e5 let inanimate objects c9fea83de4 react like living 2b9eaa1696 things. That’s why her power d274ddf417 paired so well with 10ccc96ee7 my father’s puppetry.5a4695b84cf4cb3b

By infusing life bca6ba48f5 energy into near-death 928cb0054c puppets, they could e26d397b87 fool anyone—completely indistinguishable 065f317293 from the living.a8a73078ab59517f

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As I 69b0ed644d was lost 09acf4429e in these d87c800e83 thoughts, walking ab464e9343 down the 77a83d5b56 third-floor corridor, ea2dc60a86 a door c97c4f972f suddenly opened.0d22831939b592a7

“Oh, my lady. You’re early.”e61d5b0b20ccf44a

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“Ah…”39a36b5cd41f84e7

I nearly 8edb68ed62 screamed, but e9b0b7769f when my 8b42c12e82 eyes met c6a0ab6f6a his, the 4bd8547c3b sound stuck bb3862e9d2 in my e1dd365a38 throat and 70c4434548 sank back 1499fc20c2 down.7c82fb0718c69339

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“My apologies. I was bbef23e69d just about e51abc7f24 to finish 89f63dbae7 washing up.”05b6c46f144e20d0

Water dripped from 3eb2c5628d his hair—he looked bc8ec4a5ee like he had f262ed7461 just stepped out 157e526422 of the shower. He was f4cdc77c85 wearing only fd8f3478b1 a thin 5b65a0550d robe.8c135e935600b300

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“Then… I 2f0806d91f suppose we’ll 3c0798dd70 have tea 6d9671bba5 tomorrow instead. Finish your bath.”8b1d07d49e51c73e

I forced 5125467274 myself to 61c77bdece stay calm e2948ffe41 and speak bf26c92c78 naturally. But then, his f63b8f5e5e damp hand caught fb2ef54abf my wrist. The touch was 07474e0bff lukewarm—neither hot nor 996386f644 cold—and strangely disorienting.d1d1aa5d1a0bcdb7

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When I looked at 7efcda1360 him, silently asking him 3bd48020cf to release me, his d825d416ed state became even clearer.10477abc88272a57

Water trailed from b308da3532 his wet hair, fe492f7415 down his temple e1848df645 and along his 28e6396751 neck. Droplets slid 091c07f9e8 along his 23d166b0d1 thick neck, 3c5144bbc4 down his 381e1b86d4 prominent collarbone.3bffd6f54e65d4de

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The water 98beb41a0a ran over 2118250314 his defined 8b8c437f7e shoulders and 795d709ef5 muscular frame, 01134d2826 trickling lower. His robe 825471364c was so 35ec8344ef loosely tied 9e3aa0729c that as 83a8f094e2 he turned, f67479621a his entire 95fdf246ac upper body 356ecffc17 came into cc42e7cff2 view.fa9ce392bc6a25c3

Perfectly sculpted ff386a521f chest muscles, 3fce605d6a glistening with 63d4c6dcb8 water, and 3ae92fd651 the drops 738688024e ran down, bf5c0250a3 down along c2ed172957 his abs—ridges 980803982b like carved 7bea127295 stone—before being 1e99061bbd absorbed into 9b139c3f69 the towel 15b5b4d450 wrapped around 01ca954166 his waist.98953806057e4707

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Every breath he 7cb6bc9e56 took sent a 6e8eb3a736 humid heat washing d0f07df545 over me. His body radiated ecff485687 magical energy, thick 31ab2efadd and oppressive. His eyes had c7c8024714 turned a deep 433a405c26 red, as though 354012dcff activating his power.4e1ea02872b252f0

Those red 3cbac0d1f8 eyes—polished like 7840a25497 rubies—glowed, their 7ea6c99517 depths almost 503a18215e translucent.5001e08ecef650c0

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Awakened ones always 4d4cccf345 had red eyes 6e027ccc5b when using their 158125a13e abilities. But since Edwin’s b13555298e eyes were naturally e98e6b9a20 red, I couldn’t 1aca80ca00 tell if he aa49603b0d was using his 35652204d1 power—or if that c099d8ba4b was just how 56d49f4e3e he looked.1988efa23e33d3fb

I stared at ea8a8781ec his eyes as bb4b83add5 if hypnotized… until 5d92394786 I realized he 92e30f8886 was looking straight 0463f35e45 back at me.d9095be836ff7644

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“My lady.”dd37c982bf8a5ff1

“Let go.”bb49214c581e6fa2

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A strange 2d74cbf7d4 smile curved 0616287cb4 his lips 89351372dc as he a2f45c8346 locked eyes c463499f5f with me.bff6d2102d2e9bbd

Then, I d331a6257b noticed it—a 07382db6bb long scar 655b75d635 across his 326501d705 chest, visible ed26179e9c through the 903761757e gap in fed64c8d84 his robe.6a720534d84cf429

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“Aren’t you 94d0da7fbd curious… who 6e7c4b1cc5 gave me a195d7d994 this scar?”e07c8fbddee66d11

Before I could react, 9afaddce3a he took my hand 6ca26cf14d and pressed it against 8a6398e8fa his chest, right over 99d7856406 the wound. His skin was a2c3b7e9d2 warm and damp—undeniably 80bc1343e8 the flesh of 0c486d60a4 a living being.f66f26a62bfc1d8e

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“Edwin.”c20e639b5f105d63

“When I got this f899c92045 scar… it really hurt.”b59d45b1d7e8ce43

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He guided my 121c0f179c hand along the b54893012b long scar trailing f6a85ec97e over his heart. Strangely, his 12594d91bb heat felt f1a3f351bb like it 6f8bb2d65b was seeping a4abbfb7d7 into me, 8b7327ea4c making me 872ad05799 light-headed, almost 20d47462dc feverish.9d465023055244cf

His gaze grew cold a6bce84a7a and distant, so I 254a8c4029 asked softly.fc717510e36e9714

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“Who did c50fbd1767 this to 61a9b1c0f9 you?”b170ea4a2a9d0a88

Then he 508b563be0 smiled—radiantly—and replied.335b0cbf975138c9

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“You did, 9e5643e45e my lady.”9cf8be54836b1885

I hesitated, then 65085336ba asked.229fea18453eef96

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“Which lady?”f31c222a5748bc79

In House Rosmond, 3951551231 I was the 8baaedecc7 youngest daughter.708706ce0319ced3

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“Haha.”eb950e25ebf92ecf

Edwin laughed, 754f624cd6 as though 69d29edadd amused by abcc75decc my question.9595cfac0119201b

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“Was it Regina? Or Robellia? Maybe… Jerian?”7bd24a4eb2a15454

Regina seemed the 231f313fb7 most likely. She was three years b948b375f4 older than me, and 82af660278 her ambition was tenfold 1102164395 mine. But her ability ac5e70d22b didn’t match her 0a7f0489f1 ambition, and she f5820713e7 often lost to bc0b5d1fc3 Abelon.dadda440ab936b31

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“Who knows?”b85abe07b86d69e4

He was b03f7519d8 still smiling. When I tried to 5759c5ae60 pull my hand away, 2b7c8bceb8 he pressed down even f511bbedf2 harder and stared at 6dbe26242d me intently.b93ef42faddd07b0

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His eyes remained cf8e0b14db red, and I 3ad2c3e6ac didn’t know whether 299e29ee38 he was using df8b0c3475 his ability or 23d4e214d5 if it was 075535500f just their natural 46f8020e75 color—it was all 9316624331 so confusing.e35a3ce500fba7de

“Why did you e3f9a605cf get that scar?”b14ccdf34dd525da

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“I’m glad you asked.”a3de43169a84b153

Every time he 4d06591ca8 smiled, my heart cf64dcd60f felt like it d9b92278a6 would burst. I couldn’t ba451ff699 predict when 0a94f9484b he might 9fb6e954f7 suddenly draw 5def0b3af0 a sword 85bc5be54c and try 2fcd1153b5 to kill 002e2c4197 me.df6bb90f8e39fb1b

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“This scar came 918f8a8876 from betrayal.”c9d06bc16aeb2521

“I see…”e8b9d8deee1edb2f

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Now will a4f24e0cd8 you let 40c323f07c go?f6839dd4f1d02efc

I looked at 991ef9415c him with that 1ae78080ad meaning in my 068cf2e3a7 eyes, but instead, e5b613f951 he intertwined his 70621ddcfc fingers with mine ea89a764f9 and pressed even 08a19babdd harder. The pressure beneath my 9dbea36493 palm felt intense.c3f96af8d8152390

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Maybe it dce8d1873c was the 807bdbf57e force against 5ae6f5ca67 the back 434dd11d04 of my c2c6e87a27 hand, or 89124d0851 the pulse ad874af736 throbbing under 283873a0c0 my palm—but 8791e0f9e1 though he 6ac06f91e4 was smiling, 01ab5530ac it felt f11d7fc6e2 like a c9f2ab454d clear warning: eba7e3eb3c You won’t c86e4a9854 escape me.2b1110611a05e855

“It hurt 195393a366 more than fc126dc681 you could 699c37c42a imagine.”0eb9f9a1fee8cc8a

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“…I see.”20ad927bf4bd6992

“I really wanted 67068e2099 to die then.”748fca80f8f14afc

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“I see…”539757cd3290ab83

The more he spoke, a4fa674adb the more forced his afac824aaa smile looked. I had nothing to 652d42391c say, nothing to offer 39b2e7c489 in return. I just 6a6e12c45a wanted to 5c05831d0c get my 8cc78664c9 hand back db826b04db as soon 189c1b1f8a as possible.b2f33b06ee152caf

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“So that’s why? It was 0b4cfbc5c3 Regina, wasn’t 8550c00504 it?”7fde0764de9e59ea

Instead of answering, he 485f239f20 just smiled again. His eyes curved into 55e6792a01 crescent moons, but this c957b28a81 time, there wasn’t a 88d7b43070 trace of amusement.6fe96273853793b4

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“Please, have a 73dddfbb8e seat.”9954d4ffa2c53314

At last, he 656685e263 let go. I walked 8797ebd293 to the 5bc6fe13d4 sofa he’d 4d74df97d9 glanced at 046b1fc52c and sat a748fa3f31 on its cada4fa5f1 edge, ready be6c7335c5 to flee d0b195936f at any e30301d722 moment. My long, voluminous a1e4858b38 skirt helped conceal 2e002ba6e1 my tense posture.2cb2c932f1e7b66e

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“Did it hurt 2d08376043 a lot?”8289c27abfa0e57d

His eyes were fixed 9840356862 on me again, so b739f997fa I shifted the topic. He smiled genuinely 24b35af1c5 this time and, 7869e3fb59 instead of sitting 844958554a in front of bbe56d40eb me, he came c9c6411eda to my side. My heart pounded so c2722176c8 hard I felt like 9598ea526e I’d get indigestion from d70a0bbf90 just drinking tea.f7c1b4b871f6b96e

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“I’m fine now.”3f8f7b734aadf7a7

His robe 0c46b87ede was still c733842e4c loose, his 823cb22108 abs still f8da9dcbea fully visible.b5d618ee6b3563d8

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“Because I’ll pay it 8fc657e684 back.”260a72bdb036021e

With that, 9a56c435c4 he flipped f80baa0ae4 the lid 2f57a7dff8 of the b58e1db08b teapot and c2ff14b86f poured tea. The teapot warmed with 8966490e2d magic, so the black c8d6a9f628 tea in my cup 47250c07fd was piping hot.220b98e92ea28184

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“Ah, didn’t d2ea48cf9c you say bfaf3e810a you’d have 92348f0431 milk, my 29e674faaf lady?”ffe62dfff70c8928

“No, black tea’s fine.”ba9022d8fcf75b51

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I didn’t want to 0f00012bb5 prolong this any further, 8917c5d54a so I said that. He smiled again—that chilling bde4e03a8d smile—and poured tea into 8159d3ec3f his own cup.4387dfaaa78dfd6e

“How about fc5e3f958e milk tea, 0db57bb6fc then?”37ae625726dd0ce2

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“I’ll stick with f8aca2d742 black tea.”ff0253b44d076aa2

I took b5ac29558a the cup 413bf6284d and asked bead4082e6 a question b52dd99073 without thinking.8c00763361f4d615

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“By the a804a7a8bd way, Edwin, 2efaa1b841 what ability f8dbf4029d did you 4f0f97c668 awaken?”1ff634caa86df5fe

I didn’t know 2822126962 Edwin’s power. Even in the 0f57a97483 original story, his aed0d949a2 ability was only 5e011a9ea8 vaguely described as ccfb24739b a ‘mental-type ability.’3fe2c23ff4fe0e29

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Maybe it a88f5b226d was Edwin’s 8d1201a9f1 power that 33a1039536 influenced my 0a6aa39ed0 father. No matter how f2265248c4 little Duke Rosmond a565186ebf cared for his 58b1b31c41 children, how could f130c011bc he have so d7502c239a easily decided to 340f22257e turn them into b1161d38a9 dolls?b1f655ef8d14c839

Especially since this 2fc798a521 part never appeared cd96a4f799 in the original 7fcc47b898 story.31fd2e0c69e09ab1

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I used to a04af85efc think Edwin had beb66c9daa died when Father 8ffdffb474 announced he would cc64dc6379 dispose of him. Since Edwin’s death a339ef5f43 deviated from the 75b157e10b original, I thought f6571f56f6 the story’s flow b2895a252c had changed, and c4dcd3bd65 my complacency might e14c7303c7 have led to 5fa5cddae7 today’s nightmare.53e47b4cb15ea9f5

“I’m just 6787fed8d9 a bit 84e91bfc5a exceptional, my 3b334d950f lady.”ae832fa8d2eb7c0d

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“That’s not what I e02babac34 asked.”d77b201f8bf3a9d2

“When the Master 2c229bc3b3 found me, he 1e34a0bc02 said the Rosmond 8698df3da0 children were utterly 3a2e816d02 useless.”7eb4ce922b92a30e

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“Tell me more.”be60f85e7dc4bec4

I couldn’t fb61f79515 bring myself 8d3316b511 to drink 6122548073 the tea, 482713925e so I 9555aa26c4 raised the 53017c7f5d cup and 68cb116193 only pretended 9e77794bb4 to sip. I didn’t ea733d69c6 want anything 89c83e0619 touching my b84a618f60 lips—not knowing ff228f109f what might 86b364fe7f be in f40f652570 it.02e3c55b67c4230c

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“Do you still d3503e5f37 want to be a6493f3d70 the head of c94150f7d4 the family, my 6291aea1ab lady?”f09bddef89cc07b4

His sudden 4238209b8c question caught fcc50b2f9e me off 1c1886128d guard. I kept my expression bf32a3a5d6 neutral and shook my ff004b59a8 head.798f40a87071e049

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“No.”c88d293b21cf5678

“That’s a lie. You always c8a3052417 look people 705975e4a3 straight in be13413df7 the eyes 30bc4fc1b7 when you aed5ebad1a lie. And you 3f747b730d lick your 165d56e5e6 lips.”43160f0b02a477a7

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As he 44ef88884d said that, 5f45171fd5 I realized 16872a81c5 I had, de2d703071 unknowingly, wet 88f464fc41 my lips. I froze, c03bed3d8f smiling to ec72d0e388 hide it.5fb92c72c6b5d410

“Young Master a00c03e61c Abelon told 87d58995cd me. You often caused trouble 8f3385fb07 by coveting the position 2d9ff0deef of heir.”c86c4bed0c7252d4

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He was studying 3aba3d3fa1 me, watching for 9af420729e a reaction.4c1886a1183d5055

It was true. I once 64fbce7eb6 dreamed of fcff5c580c becoming the eeb9b4dad9 head of 68d196d94b the Rosmond 6175e4bac7 House. A noble title, 1289958573 especially as a 55558f873c duke, meant power, ca140a9f56 wealth, and freedom 32a7fa713b from a political 6cada7e811 marriage.b8f59d3b15358e19

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But now… 499f0c600e those things 4e46da3954 weren’t worth 0b17b0704d more than 9a9ac93af1 my life.93a7784cb33174d4

“If you don’t want 2dab60e99d to answer, that’s fine. I’ve finished my tea. May I go 5612292d54 now?”3388ee9e581e113e

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“You were curious about 9ab65fabfc my ability, weren’t you?”ce4096c85ef90fcb

Before I could b6764de398 rise, I looked 109604ae84 at him. He smiled faintly f51646afce and replied—37c0a8a4b2f7c18f

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“My ability is 80f59ef3d1 telepathy, my lady.”f92b5d9185bc1058

For a 67c360b571 moment, my aedb360a1f heart dropped—like d8886c6582 it had f91c81762f fallen straight 748ff4e828 from the 8f055d8124 sky.721de91ecc00d5fb

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