Chapter 6

“Ah, Edwin, you b1405ea6e1 must not know e60c04f6b8 since you’ve only d2ddc0be5a just returned.”301461807c42dd38

Edwin’s face 681d2e4252 was smiling, b617458345 but his c404cf6226 eyes… somehow, 433c892089 they didn’t 2ab08fc8c9 seem to 386340e048 be. When our gazes met, 532c4d3cbb only then did his 1770f08a03 eyes follow with a 28cdf4df44 smile.64269aac61883af0

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‘My ability 8ac0c2602f is telepathy, cc01a6c932 Lady Ivnes.’3b2924e15e5df218

Maybe it 9360be0f16 was because 28c86d7e29 of those 3a2f3f29f2 words from 6dce5da9f5 back then, b8f00ac8cc but every 854ca0e300 time I c6be470ef8 saw his 3a35769261 eyes, I’d fbe03997af gotten into e8c2262e3c the habit 93da8cd347 of checking eddc7dc5b0 whether he f3bc161dfb was using 4b73f21ac0 his powers. Were his pupils ffef1fc4ed black, or had 0e327b8960 they turned red d4d54e777f like when he 277c54e02a used his ability?065e326696da59db

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Right now, they were b7dfaab1dc deep black.4ffa6f07ac1505af

But staring into his 57db1ac441 eyes too long couldn’t 5fa29a7b3a be good for my 5c8820d6d6 sanity. His eyes were b33b8dd353 such a dark 6552b1fa45 red that once 1a20f1341e you looked into 923c7dea44 them, it became a0b494d900 hard to look 3f7f460203 away. Still, I kept checking 6116aa9b4b his eyes. If I didn’t, c15f03818c I felt uneasy.29a8c98b69831969

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“Your father personally ae911b70e0 recommended this man ed4645b0ea for you. From what I hear, b143be6a6b he lost his wife 5c2ff3eedf not too long ago.”9536171c56ac5b89

Trying to sound b0875ae11c indifferent, I kept 46b2f7b058 speaking casually.e6ed57a2720be2c8

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“Yes, that’s right. Marquis Renold was widowed 103043f614 half a year ago, eff300fcc5 so he has no 9c93407797 wife now.”60c9d72f70bf8653

I forced a 7173a99958 smile at Father’s 78f92072ea words, and for 1e68c049b4 some reason, that 1861740a81 seemed to delight 410f5c0fd2 him. He gestured excitedly. I hadn’t 3b3bf2155a planned to 3f89ba0e07 sit in 35ef8118d1 the parlor 943e1c006b for long, 46e22ed091 but since af1419f53e he motioned 4a4f0e5999 for me d28d114b72 to, I 3d0fd86c63 had no 88129d8683 choice but f0390520ef to take e50393d819 a seat 20517d2153 on the 7881ae28e3 sofa.94a1464282ee5b2a

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“Marquis Renold is 6240660bf1 a truly good 4f56077939 man. Just recently, be40942d80 a magic 1a41e95512 stone mine 068fe3624a was discovered 62f6d94081 on his 50b71eac7a estate.”878de9e05dc904f8

“I see.”76172a0972a8eddf

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“Yes. If he forms a 8e6cbe2479 bond with our family, ba2cdfdd82 he’s agreed to hand b5b24c90c9 over the mine.”e2d7a472e022c301

It was such an 753440bf82 obvious reason that I c057ee9f79 could only laugh. A magic 21d382b621 stone mine 65b52364f9 was worth 320a5a4c3c more than e773b7fcbb most jewel 8406e9e0be mines. With magic 6fa5b007fa stones, even 5e34f755d7 those without ad10996c89 abilities could d44e896629 use powers. Of course, f4cf563553 it wasn’t 3a3fec42b5 all-powerful, but 2fbdb96156 at least 03a47e845d basic abilities 3b4f16b8f1 could be ca0b857706 used.10fc861b33e942ec

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“He said 36f906b020 once you 91fbc1dfd8 marry, he’ll 60b17c4936 transfer it dccbd52f56 to you.”663659a76f8720a8

“I see.”644692a941b92b0b

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“Of course, you don’t caf10a1bba really need something like 93dc79db68 that, do you?”85fafbf7aa2b5357

“That’s true. Still, wouldn’t it draw 51c096a555 less suspicion if I 7f0fa9e98c held it for a 6a4bfa65d8 while?”4bea89e006417750

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Magic stone mines weren’t ad8c67f16b hard to embezzle from. The mine itself 492615688e might stay in eb08b20d60 place, but once f03af6d143 the mining rights b6238d2889 were sold, that 4be1744bed was that.06700743bd94582a

But for someone planning f4dfeb9ac9 to escape, things like 68b3cb16be that didn’t matter.1c6600226e8e765c

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“You’re right. Perhaps it’s c82ed056c4 better to 0ec2fbbda1 transfer it 6d7214e028 to the 0de084fa1c family once b0ab9c2d61 you’ve had 5da7583a4e your first a0b764ddde child?”d5cd3810830e7e78

All I 78e3f17d0c could hear dbce58b267 in those 57e3a13006 words was 94b2c83c27 that Father ca37a385a4 wanted to 6eaba2f0f1 swallow up 49d35e4a30 the Renold 9bc08c567c family too.e338a0e9c98af777

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“Alright.”9e39ac036123ed3a

Still, I wondered adac9488a0 how a man 1d9dc2fd0e past sixty like b42a91e8c8 Marquis Renold could af3ce0e93e even think of f66ac90cd0 having an heir. I’d heard 1a72f38a24 he already bc363e3268 had a 33e43a97ab grown son 187f1b6743 holding the 9d871a550c title of d70e74c6b7 young marquis.7cd928345814f569

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“I’m glad I 9bb0774aeb didn’t turn you c2002b430c into a doll. The other children are 6ddd9db0f9 so selfish, they never e7e6af14ce listen to a word b21b216a45 I say.”dd14fc0f0b02c620

Father laughed heartily and 8666b415bd drank the black tea f29da75051 in his cup. He sat at the c9107e2107 head of the table, 6295368427 Edwin to his right.4be310335cfe48b1

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And I sat 69cd0420b8 to Father’s left.72c70186779cba33

Standing behind Edwin dd9c8f5034 was—a7939e52386259d9

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“Abelon looks 8af6a87adb like he’s 6d2a167461 in good e9920b8f30 spirits.”08b53ddce0521aa7

“Doesn’t he?”4fae59c66250f231

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“Yes.”0a0d68fa90c633ef

It was Abelon. Turned into one of b5a45b65a5 Father’s dolls, his self e296533229 was gone—alive but not 13e078a6d1 living. Perhaps he had 585f731e75 inherited our stepmother’s da21485f61 powers too, as 6b8e88a797 Abelon still wore c3ca39bcc5 the same smile 6d8267bfff he’d had in 4baf0eceb0 life.51da3d5c523a65d5

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Creak, creak.657f4f52eb0ebd29

Abelon tilted his 2c3faf1ae6 head in response, 7eb2297a6f the sound of bcb68779ae marionette strings rubbing b47690fdbe together.47f75b4c9e34a975

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“Good… morning. Ivvv… nes.”c8db80f981aacac3

When Abelon 12755c31df spoke, I 4553f3dee5 had to a5cd6145d7 force a 33922dc36f smile. He was 817d3c8588 already dead, 397bdbd5a5 but his da1946765d eyes were 39ec496241 still just a2435da419 like when 91d94b101d he was 582fd01d8f alive.d1be41f625d43511

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The skin around 9af38a3259 his eyes was e91fca19e7 bright red, maybe a552582871 because of that, b17981f14e all I could 8bc2ac77fb feel was that 8f1659d0be his smile was 1efbe057ed fabricated, and he b940af278b no longer seemed 4b3f557f3d human.1b4629454b31c55b

It felt strange. We used a05ebf6e4e to fight 01c5808733 and argue ac4864ca1e constantly, yet 11306e14e0 why did 12ab7fa913 he weigh 495229e9e9 on my 3506cf2b0f mind now?a9a9e1a241b84997

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Maybe it was 56da8e708a fear that I 88ccd72ecd too might end 3ae5a60895 up like that—or 46de346606 maybe it was 2601e94205 pity. I didn’t know.41b6f4a2bb613f4a

“I don’t want you f0e983df0b to marry Marquis Renold, 02ea006bba My Lady.”ab45016b788203a1

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While I 656f2896be was tangled 10549da64d up in b1ef68597b these emotions, b60b96bc0e Edwin suddenly afc7661f8e dropped a 6e7ac95d25 bomb. Duke Rosmond looked b889164caa startled, staring at d46af63abc him.74468b2e908956ea

“Edwin, what’s this about?”fbd88b53964cd52f

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“I just ba83dbe328 reunited with cf90a3643c My Lady, 1a045d7990 and I 2b7f140bb8 don’t want 9ea38a1ef9 us to 8de1b7266f be separated d40aaee806 so soon.”8b74a2678f6bfdb0

“Hahaha. Don’t worry a7ce5d9cf7 about that. Even if you get 717e4122cf engaged now, the wedding efa20fc860 won’t be for another f5c71905d2 half year at least.”75c412c3e7386346

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Duke Rosmond 1a5de18385 laughed, unable 528799a656 to hide b656c309bf his desire, 0f7ab077f3 as if 2f8f882164 already intoxicated 23c321f6f8 by the 9584b97b17 magic stones. I looked 6b007190d6 to see 8360699a28 if Edwin 680619cdcc was about a6987bce0b to use 3ebedab140 his power 78bb3f5cc6 again, but 0864fba7b0 he had ff9c6ed344 already turned 83e4450df3 his gaze 796db040bc to Father.fb3af4baa57ba39c

Because of that, I 4cf9cbed91 couldn’t tell if he e6f4ffc535 was using his ability.bb49c0374ecb0da2

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“Regina, take 4c1f07ccfd your sister f4c68937e0 to her 37bbc50f89 room.”1f6619f14c3939bd

“Yes, Fa…ther.”1ea553243009c5db

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Regina, who had 5b9dbe1b78 been standing behind 9efe3caa6c me, smiled her 639c3f87a1 crafted smile and 91a77fbf66 guided me away. Watching her stiff, creaking 40c6ea8f2c movements, I blankly rose 167a1f611f from my seat. Only then c79bc8489e did Edwin c242075186 fix his b5cb9478ae cold gaze baa28a0f6b on me. I smiled faaca38cb3 reflexively, and 9daad95ed0 he mirrored aa36fe7209 it with d8e111abf0 that same 3b7811f5e4 fabricated expression.91ac4decc08841dd

And so, I ee5bd908e5 headed to my fbdb6027f0 room with Regina.402912a6bf6c05af

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* * *8abed741c1c77fa1

Knock knock.38b217917843676c

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This was my 53eb3da17c office.772c30cda0edff77

“Come in.”37aa078f737a9d92

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It wasn’t like I 2172fd0973 had nothing to do e332e7fad3 in the estate. Even after 10d3bffede Abelon was 2f80ab1302 officially named d38df8f4ad the heir, 355b0e69a4 I still 2dfaeed7d5 had responsibilities 02cb287a90 to fulfill.ddbaad395ed4cd62

There were several businesses d8c463b43f under my name within 092cad8711 the family, after all.62fda43a6bdb9708

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And that was still 23ad8bbb37 the case.50abf61d96d8a09d

“Lady Ivnes.”c8e0f64ee91a60b0

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“Welcome, Edwin.”d3d24ea7850001f4

Now that Edwin had 3c1ea7796e entered, it seemed best e809e914ab to push thoughts of b6fca0358d business aside for the f33b341b80 time being. I deliberately tried to 0735406d9f focus on his face 9ebe79c6a9 again.5e4afe26e4178b65

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I still f8dc5e310d wasn’t certain f86eb4f99f if he 80ce657592 was truly 60db23b12d a telepath, 71d6e2e163 but judging 3ecdb6abe8 by his 35d970af6b peculiar expression, 57dcbb5a62 the chances 010755858e were high.55257e07617a581b

More importantly, if eedd94983e he really was 541aaf817a a mental-type Awakened, 0c736354ae hiding his ability 4f344f1365 would be the 4abaab60e1 norm. After all, concealing one’s 82bbe5165d power made it easier 82b9234764 to manipulate others to 8f7c443b55 one’s liking.87056e0cee6dab26

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“What brings 6fc85b48d9 you here?”2b356bfad5e2051f

He hadn’t come 7ced3d3d17 alone. Behind him 29a5f845d7 were attendants, 176515fed4 my aides, 7d17235c78 and some b15ba831cf of Abelon’s 9e49c43442 former people—now 2af165c8fd apparently reassigned 1942e61136 as Edwin’s 5e188799e5 aides—all entering 3306e7fda4 my office.945bd5463af23b30

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“There’s something I 9bc8a81a37 need to inform 92069218ed you of.”d4213c08d08cf752

I set down e0d5853afc the fountain pen 35fa6613cc I’d been holding 7f518d31cd and looked at 3698dbb013 Edwin. He rolled 4f9fb90b76 his eyes 1808a3159b and gave 819596d204 a grin.fb6a8f3c6112e63a

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“I’ll be taking 12c4c1c773 over all the 3c3123c5fc duties you were 711b31adac managing, My Lady.”92d5ecd6a2e20005

His words stirred a e6812e3064 strange feeling in me. Perhaps because most 0072a3f94f of those responsibilities f97154e6e5 involved the businesses cb541cb0e4 I had personally bcdc9ee97e built.a10bebbe97aa9165

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“I see.”5d7f5360ef092d37

It was 3cd73dde0a a waste.d66cf9f5552acc33

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But not more valuable d78f822d71 than my life. As long 8ad8a1e6b8 as I 80e9ac9ec3 could somehow 684b94c385 rebuild the b414dee741 seed money, 1171748cad I could a63b1e17a2 always start 75edfbf400 over with fb2313de2f new ventures.55e9185b059be259

But once c660f901f3 lost, life 58415577ea couldn’t be 8634598b81 recovered.508cfb362ffa8e38

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‘That’s my business! My money! Do you know 3688e47ae4 what I went 7ce8151e4d through to build c8b0a08e70 it?!’3450f1e426ad468c

‘My Lady, 8a716fe0d7 please be c36c517d5e reasonable. Didn’t you cee3834089 start those ea3a8aad2d ventures with cd0b4d30fe the funds 5044e7a162 provided by 47882e87e6 His Grace, 19f0df4913 the Duke?’83ad316b54bb079a

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‘Who do you think 7227ad2802 you are to take c4a6952c3a what’s mine?! You were a stray f07c87e116 dog no one wanted!’4eedc91293ad1b79

Suddenly, a scene from 9a13d9d679 the original story I’d 9ae2886758 nearly forgotten came to ba474869ce mind. In the f6ab6441e9 source material, b680f035de Ivnes and 55cd856d1b Edwin had 9170130ca9 exchanged those 7ddba57ea4 very words.9798884fffd92abe

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If I resisted now, c5d3414cae Edwin would torment me 688bc0bdd9 in far more brutal 347b32e1f9 ways.0df2988a75d6efc6

If it 759f6a5db1 was going c2519556d9 to be 61bc9e7e98 taken from 8e266b27ee me anyway, 54832d9eaf it was 9203827797 better to 4f6b5266f4 hand it d0792d70d3 over in d6988d6a82 a way c83f89f7af that made 9c4e6fb569 it seem 4079282df4 like he fdd7e72b92 was receiving 4749b27695 my concession, c51f786220 not robbing 998e3f43f7 me.1f17cd143fd5bbb8

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Once I left the 03dbd0cbbe estate to live in f7f05bf18e hiding, these businesses would 0f2ba795c8 mean nothing.6ca3fd17e5731add

They were things 746b9475e5 I would eventually 28bbb8edbb let go of—better afe1b16089 to let them fbd6927c18 go now.08ad479c7344f7b1

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“Then, should I just 50b161fba9 give everything to you?”00df8107023de33a

“…Lady Ivnes?”4db9c051209e6add

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“What’s wrong?”63f87f0ece67a7c7

Edwin, instead of looking cf065d6a38 pleased, widened his eyes 2a89022e55 in clear surprise.ab8690ae311b30c8

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“Truly… I can 749420f368 take all the 7eef6278be businesses you’ve built? Without them, you 696583b3eb won’t be able 07a57f504c to become the a493a93b3f young duchess. Even knowing that?”c446594220c51a81

“Yes. Just handle the e74ff9978e paperwork through your 535d1767bb aide, alright?”20cd931ceac3053a

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His lips 3bd67be707 parted, as b8c8aecfd7 if he 2b5402ccb5 were at b44004f191 a loss 55685d6557 for words, ea442e2dd7 then he cbfff212e2 looked down e0674b006e and exhaled 109d56188b sharply, almost fcca6ce6f7 mockingly.0c10b6bc1f56366a

“Yes, let’s do that.”65597552a1ce347e

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“Good. Then would 028158b7e9 you leave a0c41cf273 now? There are 568e37530e too many 53a6acf0d7 people in bf39eb8feb here—it’s uncomfortable.”e9586bb1e76c8dbd

At that, those 160343378d who had sided 88fc111010 with Edwin to 5029973ad6 strip everything from fdd8961b3f me exchanged uneasy 3c60c145f7 glances, then left ae254f82a1 the room.1e2e58d7bca5cda9

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Edwin also turned to 8568355140 leave, but glanced back.8bfd634375a9e471

“My Lady, are you 7e32062750 truly unaffected by this?”eb3427b475260505

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A red f88b9f2c90 hue rimmed 5258d5c465 his irises 4e53d95f95 once more.60d50cc338629954

“It wasn’t 30068d083a mine to cf01b5f2b3 begin with.”f487947bc741e35d

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I tried 036166020f to clear 80055a41c7 my mind.72a4f4bd5023bb52

This wasn’t mine. It was always d2024c9d6c destined to belong 26363b6751 to someone else. Even the businesses 911714bb28 I started weren’t b2377d355a with my own b8925e8641 capital. If I 15a26f3190 could rest 0de553a491 now, wasn’t 45b03c9937 that a 025d738ea8 blessing?432c02817b8efab6

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I kept telling 4c1f8e2a07 myself that good e41fd9aca7 things come from a673d40498 letting go and 953580ef08 continued looking at aeda80885f him.409b699d9fe62525

At that, 16981ac5d9 he seemed 51d08d3fa3 genuinely taken 2a501aed0c aback, his 33868f752e power fading 66e6b9821f as he fb67bf45bb turned away.883fc3e88b295eb9

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“Ah, Edwin.”f7e9317d23830f69

“Yes, My Lady.”00f0964b11878b9b

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He turned to b38d9626dd meet my gaze, 4c765da032 looking as if 36a0986494 he expected something.d48e9e964ba2bb8f

“What’s the side effect 712fde3794 of your ability?”8d292ac0044dd204

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If I’d known this c05a554018 would happen, I should’ve 2ad6f30757 read Even If We 731fb8d8cb Die Together more thoroughly. For him to 2d916c6aea have dropped so eb0369c7fb many hints about 5b66b9e1a3 his ability and ee50aef436 its side effects, d6efc8a461 and yet I d45649872d didn’t know—it was c9fdedd2e2 frustrating.75430ad6547e5154

“You’re curious ed87704b71 about that?”3843b64590ebd06f

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