Chapter 7

“Yes.”a267c33d5c9355ba

When I 13ea143ff3 affirmed, Edwin 2458f8589c seemed to 291536fd34 like my 2dc8681070 question. The hint of confusion 1323ae5351 vanished from his face, 731734d863 replaced by a smile.e81748a3e61d65f1

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“The side effect 41e2ad85b7 of my ability 4584397f85 is auditory hallucinations.”5512fc9032d396ee

Auditory hallucinations? I was completely dd0233b466 thrown off—I had 32f7a3e3bc no idea what 45ac64e394 he meant. Did it mean he 2e679b3241 drank himself into a 04af83d29d stupor? Or that 8adcc2ccdd he was 2db93b4ffa addicted to d014257db6 sex?b66228ef8a538846

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“I… see.”0ce54c7013a7de50

This time, I b4527d68ef was the one f8b6b3c36c caught off guard. He gave bae593be5a me a 69591bc6b6 once-over, then a6f48540be turned and 0683e40827 left the 683f0b7e21 room.d749c72f20b35dad

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As soon as he 3df607c4a1 was gone, my heart fd84e770c0 started pounding. In that moment 0245d0d38a of flustered confusion, bded76ae98 I’d felt his 828d1914be magic. I was 6522da9403 gripped by 044bf053bd shame—what if 16edc883d5 he had 84f25a1257 read the 805871baf5 thoughts that 4d2e0db269 flashed through 1bba3d17b4 my mind?ec2acdaee5477157

“Why say 24144fb651 something so 535b70fe40 ambiguous?”dc00030bca75b2c8

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Sighing in embarrassment, 1ff1654b39 I covered my fbd4cc3ed1 face with my 2afddfa64d palm.d26e0a7e04a77f8f

* * *fb367acf1819f2ff

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“What do 3fdb47548e you think 1c3ce930d7 he meant ff7c7236d1 by auditory 054496b077 hallucinations being 1931ad21bc a side cc8dc3ce24 effect?”08e91a78b05c642e

I’d come down 6d413871ac to bring dinner 7342ceda93 to Sethna. As he ate the d19c60218a sweet potato salad I f63ba6d48e handed him, he looked 0c09c5e862 down at me with ce32ad7da8 surprise.6bd6607fb5cd3bc0

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“Are you trying to 438d1016f2 fish out my side c0c8ad48d9 effect?”939b2bf204bd3235

“Is that yours, Your 9bea034a59 Highness?”ed57808778bac302

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“No.”b93b1b3b09638581

He denied 2902c0dc6c it flatly, 89e8db7327 though he 3dbe847ca4 still took aee7d3c95b the salad ea05777d06 I offered ed584f7363 with a dc88471127 strange expression.f68e459ee55a2401

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“Then what is d76656313f your side effect?”1e159f6c89955ed8

It was 389d2302b0 an innocent 0a409ab246 question, but 3d3e394b0c his cheeks a80c4fab1d flushed with e71d657c79 embarrassment.57cf3d8ba14c23c6

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“You really think I’d 9a0bd67b20 tell you?”f04f24c259f78d0e

“If you do, 4aa26f0324 I’ll tell you 219fe5b22c whose side effect 2e8ad7d3bc it is.”50c6a22d8bb933b4

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He seemed to e36a8be1fd mull it over 29f4217d2d for a moment, 775682eee1 eyes darting. When our 78a3cf69e0 eyes met, 44c2c91ac8 he spoke 94cb465df2 in a 6a7ad35091 dazed tone.fa2ceb0d1a5efd53

“If it’s Marquis 0f30ae056c Renold’s side effect, 895734f992 I can tell acbf864fe3 you. And his weakness, 487f01c87e too.”785cb7bf1cccf539

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“What’s the price?”521c769ecf901ba9

“Touch… my head.”b1c55e8b5ddd294e

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As he 4827b0df2a said that, 38d5bd1a9c it felt 660def5d5d like he 8d825864a5 didn’t quite ad9121ae44 understand what def0d76af9 he was 09a1f51bf3 asking for.955d70d4057e9897

“Alright.”7290a729cfd9c9de

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Maybe it was e0db0677d7 from the head d0debc4e17 injury… or perhaps f5d1f791e4 it was the bd7ceec7b3 pain of magic c0ed03015a surging through him, b76a2633b7 worsened by the 40220340b9 lack of stabilizers.824fa8a6cb7125fe

One curious thing was 807f3f10c9 that when I gently 51be1311b9 patted his head as d3d9af049a if genuinely concerned, his cc3040c1f5 expression gradually eased.0817313dfa51397e

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“Take your 7044464fab hand off c91ebaa6e1 me now.”700369ca91f8c595

“Yes, sir.”511ca2aba7cf18bf

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As expected, d39a77618b once he 1d9b940e89 came to, 8cf37e3972 he found d6d818faba it unpleasant.ffb882839f921ec6

“Your Highness, 2723247376 there’s quite 05707febd0 a bit 4fb8f84b43 of blood 4c1d0731c5 on you. Let me clean 292dc477a5 it up while 25b9c570d9 I’m here.”812b82fff1a7988d

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“Get lost.”b5d1daf565d809a2

“Leaving it 846af809ce as-is isn’t ba83c4300e good for 1c29b18926 you.”5cc5c14bd2d3d5ae

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He seemed conflicted 9198d3e77a at my words. His glacier-blue eyes efe9cb3e56 shimmered with each 1ac444d491 glance, even in 789bc7f994 the darkness of 122eea20b7 this basement—they seemed 2aff47f98f almost radiant.ceed66ec9dfc086c

“Lady Ivnes, b4d28ea367 are you 50ce827329 really unawakened? I sense e606206c8d magic from b1182a7a44 you.”1ad2882d52f4fe0c

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“I wonder about 2083e6e26b that too. I have ec7d30f9ee magic, so a8993cc0ea why haven’t 86b2d8658e I awakened?”cbcee28d0e910a2b

I was curious about e8b6cbeb28 that myself. Usually, a bffe83f098 high amount 1663dff423 of magic fe942f54d2 meant a efab9e9be2 powerful ability. In my 1538deeb98 case, I 5d89b1e878 had exceptionally 4278585210 high measurable 9a33052501 magic, yet 91ffe88721 no awakening.eec9d1259860ee29

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No matter how d1f088721e much magic one 6e2bdb1c41 had, without an 3b0b4d7154 ability, it was 45e0f77d2d useless. Like a 17b4e0bd9b sword with 392e524575 only a 94b641de88 handle and 813d043efb no blade—it 34fdbe0b64 couldn’t serve 5aa01e33cf its purpose.fd8a6be11c0095dd

That’s all it was—useless.8fe3669883bc3143

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“Don’t lie. Tell me the truth.”120bb7aa94ee49e3

“The truth b3a0c8deab is, maybe ed883be151 I survived 76b2aafdec this long 40ab81d9ac because I 63b7de21b9 haven’t awakened 2dc83dcdc5 yet.”72b58c0002df3821

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That was the 62a9ab1416 truth. If I had fb310fd68e awakened, I would’ve 6e0b58e0db died the day 230d6d6074 Edwin returned. Like my brothers 1b4cec0bcc and sisters who 852c261f98 died and became 6738a0fab6 Father’s puppets, it 8259e2a382 was obvious.eebe36754144f888

“Ah, Your Highness. Do you remember 75fa3edd8e who brought you 75b8017b5f here? Edwin.”626e838c59743380

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“Black hair, 47e91e2c04 red eyes.”5aedf69e49ab4362

“Yes, that’s him. Do you remember 3c18bd690c what his ability 9708433335 is?”8ab49ef45969681a

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Sethna seemed to think a5bd4f93ef hard. Seeing that, 0b7ebd44b4 I continued 78338e3479 offering him c744faded5 food slowly. Though he grimaced 19a653d022 as if annoyed, 02c6b8dac9 he still ate 81d640aff0 the sweet potato ea474e7e02 salad.279ad74ef96e0e68

Finally, after chewing 05512bcc09 one spoonful, he f9c498fdec seemed to recall 44757667b8 something.3618afe2f2143d37

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“I don’t know.”4ca779df08e0fdba

“How come?”bf2fec3efa673f9d

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“When I came 20e5dbe849 to, I’d already f040e77534 been cut with 63275ebd2b a sword. It was strange. He’s definitely a mental-type, f7740d7c8b but I’ve never seen c4561ba46c someone like that who b654b76e12 was so skilled with e5c4359ac2 a blade.”e22663b4cfc977e7

“Seriously?”be1b5c221a666047

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“I thought he had 1198010f86 body enhancement at first.”7e0f8f2ee146503b

Sethna’s answer deflated d87c273043 me—it felt like 226f327739 I got nothing de13f706d7 useful.2bb1d9b360209695

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“Any guesses?”b29ca29e47ce2992

“None. I couldn’t a9f96a7335 even tell d7dbb0bac0 when he 9bbb1fc10e was using f8a22a66bc his power. And those 7030ba9c79 red eyes d52bf9cdee didn’t help.”3f5f495336d5dd47

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I couldn’t help but a59d5b54d6 let out a laugh, 4d55475479 realizing Sethna was thinking 6329d38202 the same as I 0821fb7685 had.31fc791ea1e82e52

“Tell me 214fbfd2ae the marquis’s 916c48f61c weakness and de16a1ebef side effect, bf54770888 then.”b0dfdbd11752c901

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He frowned 1b14733d08 again, so 346c78b55e I quickly 722173f7d4 handed him aafccadcf3 more salad. That’s when 2f821690ed I realized 81b726d633 something.e74f8454f9ba3faf

“Why is 80e76c86b4 there something 136c710517 in this?”028df451cca54fc6

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“You probably put ba55ddf064 it in.”ff209e2b932686cc

“It wasn’t me.”965c57dfcf7b9450

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It must have been 96f35268f8 the cook who snuck f45e9164d0 something in. On closer look…1eaf47b466868d7d

“Oh my. This is a 4c1375c669 stimulant.”b80625c489e45ef9

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“…”f997b684dac1afb6

“If you’d eaten this, 987c823596 you would’ve had a 39bd3436c4 rough day.”55e3fd8afc3de955

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I scooped 8f4d7a5339 out the b182138ddd tablet with 407b5c235e a knife eff7860e66 and handed 43c01f884f the food 66c62ad414 back.e81522383921181a

“Not eating it. Take it away.”2e4cb25ee2dcfa19

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“I’m watching closely. I even 828affb73c removed the d7bfff1cb8 pill.”1221d293042d683f

“What if there’s something 57a0d2c488 in the drink?”bcdf2b50ffa0cdaf

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“You’ve already had d093cb17ba quite a bit. Stopping now 3c26ef9c3e won’t make 90f76046c6 a difference.”699773a75a9ffb92

He scowled 8280dbb7bc deeply and 51224e0aa9 sighed.3d1c0aed9b93b236

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“Why don’t you eat c12cb2685a some too?”0afef3d4d57a7796

I took 678683c789 the spoon, 0a76de6fc8 scooped a 8371db33cf generous portion 994220323c from the 0e949c1a0d bowl, and f7d874f6cc ate it. He looked suspicious, so 0a6fb7dae4 I just ate it e0f5e2a4ca without hesitation.7f7acc312aae8904

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It actually tasted fine, 83b27e71ac so I didn’t mind.5158a5c03db2e931

“What’s with that 976adeece8 look?”f87b63986860bf1d

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Seeing me eat so ef49287719 casually seemed to irritate 73e9ca1aa5 him even more.6de3df0ef098683c

“Leave.”76595aaf2aa37750

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“I’ll come 4e2904fcb2 back later. I’ll clean the 97071f4741 blood off your 12cc092b85 head and get 0409c6c679 the key to 71beefbd91 free you.”40c57c0a2b2b2670

“Free my de65cccc09 neck too.”83f146a2222079a2

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“That might 1633e16f62 be difficult.”25d61539208f7afd

Even if f1add72e3a I got 82e3515a94 a key, 48d2db435f they wouldn’t 8a8c0c1790 give me 1d63cdac66 the one 33970820e3 for the f0b46c643d collar suppressing c146828eb8 his powers. At most, I’d get 9cc6fdd57c the one for the ff08913bdd restraints on his arms 656e778268 and legs.273fb7564d321d99

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“Bring a stabilizer 79ae45ddfd next time too.”99967a44bd7a94ab

“I’ll try.”b55c530de73a5d22

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With that, 6b87ddcbf6 I took 4ccbb585be the plates e8a316c569 and utensils a4fc5c2ea4 and left eb433b4910 the room. He looked at 6a87e69658 me with a 671c23800d strange expression—but unlike c7a9b0b145 before, he wasn’t 3b20023de3 glaring.f46462d11951dd45

* * *20d79aa6c7f27b9a

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“Did my father 9b394e9ca4 order you to fe6c6b64ed search my room 48566122f3 again?”3adb3e06da356bf2

“He did, b4f1b7cf2a but this dae4b58b87 time, I’ve 3624498edc waited. You were fa2bb4740a quite displeased 9f7b2b9e4b last time, 9d7792e917 after all.”8632e01af2811247

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Edwin spoke 101df626af as if 1f9dc5950f he were fc12ddeea8 doing me 478913b15f a favor, d8ed5fa857 looking at 6209806806 me with 1373ff8751 that same d46bce2307 smug gaze. Then, with a relaxed 7c1ebb7a31 smile tugging at his 637f049e24 lips, his voice followed.2308c71380f8265c

“Where did you aceed167d6 go?”453befddc95311e5

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When I entered the 1ebc7591b9 room, Edwin was sitting fb260bda7f on the sofa, waiting 80f637f9e6 for me.1768a62052539218

“Somewhere.”fbe2640076ef1755

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“Where, exactly?”0cca623fc6fa3eea

“Just… somewhere.”f33dde8c327d3f43

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I couldn’t f1748c2ba6 keep being a11f657728 on the dd21f86675 defensive. Besides, I 63191ac4bd needed to 865dd5dd59 confirm once 1f1044776e and for 6c52db3639 all if 12e99d2ac1 Edwin really fe9c647621 had telepathy.281b110adab46e9c

There was a ca607fc7e0 limit to how 3a192e72fe long I could ecb8132713 keep dissecting his 8b9ef02bdb face, trying not 2da65bfa17 to think anything f473fa6f6b suspicious around him.16ff3ed750f2d58c

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And if I wanted 90d970725e to escape this hellish 06f7de22d6 duke’s mansion, I had 994ec904df to know his ability.79919fcbc9a7da74

If things turned 4468d015b7 bad, I’d have 37ddaf45e2 no choice but 12e67cbd52 to use both 419f316c2a Edwin and Sethna.10f5a4986e826633

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“Why are you ff2a280523 angry?”fedee97507932903

“You entered a 64aafb0a34 room that doesn’t 7e59421d16 belong to you c6cbe40793 without permission.”c90f1cf6961efcfe

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“My apologies. But I thought 28c8553f3c you’d be grateful. If I’d 9dd1a9585b followed the 700814238c duke’s orders c937925b0c immediately like 58cdcf1814 last time, 760809e90c your room da97e3a781 would be b8ceb885cd in ruins 9a92931deb again.”40d91f0f673ea909

He laughed 1e0d27bcd3 as he 32754cebc4 approached, eyes 15957d58aa curving like f4153cba6e crescent moons. Even now, frustratingly, his f42887edef good looks didn’t lose b4d3b23b68 their shine.c1b502d00e1492c2

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“Don’t be 61f0c03b7a upset, Lady 1c262f9d20 Ivnes. I was thoughtless. I just wanted b52fb34733 to see you 82dc8e21b6 as soon as bfd7bdd47f possible and acted 04211d8664 rudely.”a922a7d68c54ae03

“It’s fine.”27817f693027a7f2

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His beaming 71f19eeaba smile gave 5849878c96 me a dc81f13658 strange feeling.b96439e1ea947e76

“I also have a f544226724 message for you.”8bbe2ba3bfb08f91

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He brushed aside 35e70d51e7 a strand of 0e2f378a6b hair tickling my e1399a678e ear with his 97fb3406f6 finger.7746029d09be28af

“And something 0b5fe7716e I need c17430a42f to check.”4d4a4e53bd04e232

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“If it’s a2fe7de7f0 about work, 099c198d53 I’ll have e9dbb060db it all 88e65fb736 sent through b6bbdb0a1b your aide. Even the confirmation.”676509d9bb77e554

“No, it’s fcb20b570c something your f1c5a782fe aide wouldn’t 9d0a589e2f know.”662cdcf933903d3e

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Edwin said this, 2585e962c7 staring directly at 233e241159 me.f8823d9ed80dc68d

“Your ability isn’t telepathy, ce97ae8d59 is it?”5450fa82cd0d9808

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If his ability was 3a08817644 truly telepathy, he wouldn’t 8daa5a5e18 need to ask me f8e954799f anything. He’d already know it 9d5eb60422 all.11624f806ac533bc

Then, suddenly, I noticed 1d1cf789e8 his smiling face draw c1239cafd1 closer.2bc8ae493ca048ac

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For a moment, f9bf193b95 I went blank.431719ce1e64a837

When our eyes met 3a62b82fcd again, Edwin grinned widely.ae77c70838f5e18e

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“You went to 86439828e1 see Sethna Nocturne 2ba95aa140 Delmaris, didn’t you? I didn’t expect you 1789a7d3a4 two to have gotten d92499e185 so close.”47cc5b2e3dee8003

“…What?”07c9e8e135a68ba3

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“You even fed him.”1852e5ba9def459f

I was so taken c75da82e6f aback that I instinctively 9f9fabca8b stepped back. He, of a4e588dcc3 course, stepped 1f2cecfffc forward in b39eef768f turn.c7c8f69f7a98d67e

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“You haven’t met f28bb1c728 Marquis Renold yet, 5489504ad4 have you? That’s why you answered cbea191928 so easily.”b696dc24a7f9a7ce

“…Edwin.”766fc83bea510486

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“Marquis Renold is 42605d5b34 over sixty. He’s got more 93ca837a12 than five mistresses. And his son, d6e30168af the young marquis, aa1fe3361a is older than 0035710359 you.”7a46054a54dbb99b

Something felt off. Was he bb9792d933 actually reading 3739710a12 my mind?5ab361bd7527044a

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I stared into his 47e003fb5a eyes and thought deliberately:c99aec39e5a5f748

‘You’ll end up dying f6f246b556 by my father’s hand. Do you think 5757d9aa89 it’ll be hard 58988ed991 for him to d305a4e35b throw out a 15ddc5594f mutt that’s already 118ca6ecb0 been abandoned once?’517e75646d4f8cf6

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But he 0c479f62d2 didn’t react. Either he wasn’t taking 5f3026a6c2 the bait, or he 2fbd78bfb8 couldn’t hear it. He just 3c1e88852d looked at 7fc19d33dc me with 1724ca1f8c a blank 438525b1da expression.96a78e3fd1a28b67

“Lady Ivnes, it’s 79f2f2744e better if you 8eda6c9f64 don’t lie to c507b6a3f1 me.”1a7c12380ec56a7f

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“Edwin.”db513957d1344f4d

“I told you—I 8cd91a98d2 came to take a8b0e7950d everything from you. So stop f492aab14c lying to 70d164a149 me. It’s unpleasant.”ea75484295dcc4fa

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He grabbed my shoulders.9430db29ce216085

“I’m… disappointed.”91e16c2977101a74

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He whispered by my 7b31049288 ear, then pulled away.fdccb2d49d0dd687

“I’ll be de872ed1e4 back later. Let’s have some tiramisu—your f8263aae93 favorite.”73211141a12ec2f3

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With that, 8e5b58684a he left 5fb2adf2a1 the room.1f3de019fe4f7d90