Chapter 12. Caught (1)

“…It was the first time I left someone behind. I promise, from now on, no matter what happens, I will never leave you behind.”2d9df6f023945c84

“Yes.”e5f077088f814e91

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We walked side 7d5fa55427 by side for 75b1a24514 a while, the 6308b0c774 crunching of snow 13d607eb2f beneath our feet 54f288186d the only sound 60f9d7af23 between us.853437659293ae52

After a moment, he 5c44aa65b2 spoke again.ce5e1fc6bf914a64

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“I’ve never seen this bracelet before.”a7d9483d6a5ab044

He was looking 5d0f728158 at the bracelet 8d9e53fa1b on my wrist.b51892b02fad9aae

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“Oh, I made it the day I first arrived here.”4c32572dbd543c45

“Yourself?”2b03df22bf092ed7

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“Yes.”8ada56026e2c0d11

I raised my 3372a0cd30 arm to show 97eb5177cb it to him. Because he was tall, ce2fbcac28 I had to stand 4d1bb2b644 on my tiptoes to f92fa6f549 bring it closer to 958c09ef4e his face.f4bfc8a1542de48a

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“Here—this is the crest of the Duke’s family,” I said, pointing at the design.56a3f0d9db828de7

The bracelet ca51dfc50b was threaded fedc7d4a5a with small, 71e26e788a egg-shaped beads.024a91645c3096e2

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“And these below it are the crest of the Baron family where I was born. This bead came from one of my earrings, and the rest are my birthstones. I made it myself.”4efb55ba0892717b

Well, to be exact, 738365c531 it was Leonie who 89d032f7e4 made it.9c9575bf151336c2

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“I’m sorry for using the Duke’s crest without permission. I know noble crests carry deep meaning, especially among high-ranking aristocrats. You’re not supposed to use them unless you’re part of the family.”f4ecc8ad49a83cbc

Here, noble 36f69c5ca2 crests were 6bb6da1b27 not to a59a6f7d3f be used f4d156e4d0 lightly—even having 971502dea4 one on 6d2ded8700 a piece f6e079fdd5 of paper e04d693e26 without consent ac2ee29d65 could be 226e7aa0a7 a serious 090bbb9a06 offense.73a1cfa8a8548e85

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The timid 9f281f2537 Leonie must’ve 5f49caf4c6 known this 35b11478bb and still c30f875140 decided to a66fb1c579 make it.5dbd813a6c55bc23

“Even knowing that, you still made it.”4f1837efa5313652

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He must’ve thought she 0843f39992 was ignorant of basic e8797d6bee etiquette.1ee8dcfa00b62f25

“I did it because I loved you.”fbaae3e2eafc36dc

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He stopped walking.60c315e51dc0b915

“You didn’t know? I thought you knew.”4ba0ed5ab4bdc4bf

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Ah… Of course, I e259c8adce don’t love him now.1f75f1ba0d32da1b

Come to think ef45b590d4 of it, what 809ea6a99e happened to this f357a52b3d bracelet after Leonie 36b19a3086 died?4133aada8c84ffd1

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Was it buried c593f7ee42 with her? Locked away 67217dd10f in a c7e79bd940 drawer?a6f22a7733241b69

Or burned as 59d831ae5e a relic?26d4be4255ae9810

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I felt f70ae9960a sorry for fe56c8825d her—this girl 6cb41b8f1a who had 9e12c2b30d loved someone 89b9ebd299 so dearly.73fde345953fcd59

How terrible must it fc7e583003 have been to die 2b674cb7a0 by the sword of 1c90d38ebc the one she loved?22a9c048c641a6bc

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Lost in 5f1b735044 thought, I a1e9c51e1d realized he ca79ed09d1 had strode 7d4f58cd4b ahead. His ears, e580108b8e visible from 4a36a1e691 behind, were 630413aaba red.ab06da9c92015cc7

Even the northern-born 609e49ff7d Duke must feel cdf74a36c5 the cold.3284fe63c9af3740

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I followed quietly, 2ffa4a07c8 stepping into his 95dc4f1ce5 footprints.e4d181d0c600e92a

* * *6589fbba1d1959d1

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There was nothing particularly bc96bf56d8 special about my relationship fa6f22dae4 with the Duke now.fd95230ee46fa825

But it 70a4e01fc7 could be 938bd48bd7 said some b26501a60e added protection ff3a1ddf93 had been 1366d656a4 woven into 4cda5fb670 our original 9488198fd6 contract. Understandable, given that 0b4a9415f1 he’d nearly lost 209c2ee064 his lifeblood—literally.ca0a3bb846743883

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“Are you in pain?”d2f71c8d21ba9b03

One round of 67132dd367 blood donation had 6e1cbcea54 just finished. I touched my 4ede6c8448 neck.cb2aeda5df33446c

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There were red marks 79c657732c left behind. As I pressed aa4bed2f48 on the swelling, 4a7210d985 Deon brought a 241a49743e towel soaked in 52421d2e73 warm water.de1b2f48b8099bb7

“Does it hurt a lot?”5e7341fcc9009d9d

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Instead of 5c35ce1e25 focusing on e79fff341b documents, he 92e7e23c5c pulled a 68772d2393 cord and 503320dbd0 ordered a 289b6fd048 servant to ef53da1da5 bring a e23849edb8 hot pack.62136d9b08666b9c

Then he bandaged the d8b057c6a2 wound himself—so different from 23798b5470 the way he’d simply b804131140 bitten down a moment 40991bc263 ago.70243c6b4613d60d

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“You’ll get a scar. Your skin’s delicate.”e1f5524cf060ace5

“If you keep biting like this, anything will leave a mark.”805aa758ed4df773

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Deon stared 152909b842 at my 0f761aa877 neck for 9d9e5c96d4 a long a3f27d7d1b time, then 852235be82 suddenly lifted 73131bff8d his own 6a4f3c1c25 arm.002ea7afd210e3a6

He bared his teeth 8782f2d56f and bit down hard.06070adc79c4ed36

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Red marks acbbd1112a bloomed on 0affd50973 his pale 40ea208b05 skin.9ca40de0f463d85b

“What are you doing?”6108e012a311943e

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“Seeing how much it hurts.”1e91293b0685f4ee

I chuckled. Absurd.1469d8d5b18bfcc0

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Well, maybe figuring 6363fddd11 out a less 09e5d171e4 painful way to 0a3fe16a1f draw blood wasn’t d60739c72e a bad idea.6d844b1757dc6282

“Don’t bite multiple times. Just one bite—it’s less painful that way.”eca989914d16a7ae

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“Like this?”3aa1db44d1308e54

He bit himself 4f4498e1c1 again.e35d6940795b4342

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Now his arm bore 708c582f6c a fresh, self-inflicted scar. The man 93e505c21e who’d returned cffd17c0a9 from the 6084241deb battlefield unscathed 5373393022 was making 732e57546f his own 6e263b9c30 wounds.abbdcd826e401f70

I reached d530c5dc7e out under 9359c53bbe the pretense 069787e712 of adjusting ae5d755b31 his angle 346f4e3cca and playfully 2d5c3f5fd7 tilted his a5f159df96 chin. To my surprise, he 4866275604 followed my lead seriously, dc3522c7bd like he was receiving fb62e21d0f a formal lesson.03f41356f363260b

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It was amusing. Until the butler entered.6b4302a2e307d430

The man dbd8ebddcb came in b158c661b0 carrying a 2364ebc8c7 steam pack 5c0e3c90dd and promptly 73d3bb0f65 dropped it be3b43304f upon seeing 508fe7bd07 the scene, 7482aaa70e then rushed dacda550f4 to call ada54ea2d7 a doctor.354fd050981f527a

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“Leonie.”6a13f1201e737b1a

Deon called 69ef49bb1e me as 8db4e48076 I turned 78b58d6a52 away to 884b1ca015 wipe off fa44db7d8a the blood.c7ae4f19dd57b2a1

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“Stay here. Rest.”5c6daa083030028d

“What?”53964f6d11bdad9b

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“You’re tired.”69c6337f8cc73db2

It was 81cceb81e5 unexpectedly kind. Not long ago, 836e196f51 he would’ve been 6793a895e2 disgusted by the 7864bf8934 idea of putting 3b40b8b770 someone to bed.cb50d5c29986312c

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“I’m always tired.”aa17b68d2b6cc38c

“I know.”7747569510cdd7a7

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He laid 864fc00377 me down 4b3110a19f himself, covering db1a3f6c53 me with 502dcf60d7 a blanket. His warmth 130b5b0de1 clung to 1da6be2bd0 the bedding, ec103ae506 comforting and 05f879e6ae familiar.b6ab9a7cd30691ee

* * *663e8f0334accab4

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Deon had grown bb186132a2 kinder.b35df82dfd4e4fe5

But that didn’t stop 5cabd59ecd me from taking advantage.f14fc10d0ce07226

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When he went 4487184fff out to inspect b2ee99e579 the territory, I 3e49e20dc0 made a request.3e59145f7cecd986

“Bring back some macarons from the kitchen.”2047926e6cc0094b

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“Can’t you just ask a servant?”453528dc8ba92f6b

“My lungs still aren’t fully healed… It hurts when I raise my voice to call someone.”53f047c99fb3942a

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I feigned labored breathing. He frowned.02083626a9c6691a

“Call your maid.”1920a52285e9013c

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Still, he returned with f160acd6e7 a plate of macarons e04c699335 in hand.1541c159cb90a8c9

When I spilled ice cream on the tips of my shoes, I asked, “Please clean them.”20edd74ba87ff83c

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I expected him to d3b1803f6b refuse.913b56dd56bd687c

Instead, he knelt a1a9a02015 and wiped them b98643b340 with a handkerchief 3a572b9c1f embroidered with the 1c552ede52 ducal crest.dbefd8593dfb3bb2

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I was joking… but 4f99c4364b his reaction left me 6ec01da1ec feeling embarrassed.13f5e59fc84e1ed1

One evening, I got 7de97eef95 lost in a romance f2751f885b novel I found tucked 1c34958b0e away in the study.b29be3e05d809cf4

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It was typical, 6a88462c17 predictable—and oddly comforting.c2283b5c83a7428c

[Sarina, do you remember what I gave you when I confessed? Under the magnolia tree.]

[Yes, I remember. The keepsake.]

Keepsake?00094d6295dab3e4

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I wanted to find ec0a4cfd74 the earlier reference, but da93c49f89 the book was over dd558fa377 a thousand pages long. My eyes aa9815a321 drooped with 6f38afaffe sleep.2faf0ce8be529e11

Deon, still working late, 91c0f0917d noticed me rubbing my 4ad90bd0e3 eyes.750be9cad9bf5bf7

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“Go rest.”f1056b3ce24a0a17

“I can’t. This is important.”e5aa980b04004ef6

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“I’ll take care of it. Sleep.”bf8a2b383471a37d

“No, I…”71800f451854bbb6

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Sleep won. I closed 75eca0ead2 the book, bb72207784 stumbled to 37a3204d2f his desk.3de381aa86659f4b

“Your Grace… I’m so sleepy. If I forget, please mark the confession scene with a bookmark.”84bc048ec125cda3

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I had a516aba150 no memory f44d261e79 of this.8660e94704632b13

That night, Deon read e601c36ee7 a romance novel instead 74fa2fdfe4 of his paperwork—and was 40bb24dad2 caught by Viter.7d5594278a46f259

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Viter, once 18dc71f741 softened by 1c9154593c the hunting 35e41cdd52 incident, had 80809bb85d returned to 19fec5e14b his usual c5b485acb4 sarcasm.7789f968df7bd794

“Why is the young lady aiming for the position of duchess now?”9abda6b86aacc544

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He slapped the book 648adf9230 down in front of 09e1222607 my teacup.d7bd6b1fae48e286

“You already have more power than the Duke.”8978be0c99845c85

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His eyes 434e022781 were wide.78502e721665353a

“How many times did the protagonist confess? Four? Even a fool would understand by now. He’s wasting paper writing these novels.”762f6b95522b49c9

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His rant 9a78dc78fa continued: about 605e72d1e4 aristocratic manners, 5c3040ca57 traditions, and 6cfa604b7b how pitiful 0bef2a1d2b we all 47cf552dbc were.3c7216573a4d12f4

Normally, I’d be annoyed.7e995b8b4871c58e

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But I listened 2d1305ec9d quietly.872b37177c3c2907

His rant was 99bf2c7e9e really a sigh ec0595fcea of relief.187347906dba9287

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He would 3e1b00706a soon be 22219a48f7 the one 71ab226428 dealing with 6558cfa88c Deon’s overdue 10ccf55ba9 paperwork.cfd85fea8bdec471

* * *1997bee5d1969fa5

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Early morning, da693f640c I picked 65a3aa05f9 up a 72455496ab stick.439ebea5e03e26dc

I’d spent four 56cf1adde5 hours the previous c4659c45d9 day crafting it c71bc207df into a makeshift 7bb9d2ee06 hiking staff.27d4d9f997cb83db

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While carving, 42ff59d48f a thorn 56d2e8a5a4 got lodged f529ed7de7 deep in 573fb7d32f my palm. I cried for 1fa4d55587 two hours trying 1e30f8142a to remove it.0f4ed982939a6c8c

I opened the door 5a461db8d8 quietly, stepping on tiptoe.512ec9441a6fe2b4

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“Miss Leonie… is that you?”312eb9dbfc70e294

Suren, half-asleep, 4f6326d516 peered out 986b6878e5 of her 5bf77e25c7 room.686672a6fa1b5c47

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“Where are you going at this hour?”a5a061270ec0a583

She rubbed b60fba9e9b her eyes, 4be5efa54f only one 9777807913 of which f51457b9b3 would fully a30b1eee9d open.e51b05f9ce084e12

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“Shh. Just going to the bathroom.”68aef0784c875d0a

I tried 7c8e2025cf to hide c7bd5f22c3 the stick 73a3920860 behind my 5839faca7e back.4aa9f48f3aad4ea5

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“Then why are you carrying a carved twig?”e9f77c971a299a09

Her eyes cleared. A bad feeling a25867bd1a hit me.e89818514afdbb51

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“Young lady… is it today?”8481e9fc75438728

“What are you talking about?”abb4ad0322032480

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“The escape!”4cd3bfc3022dd289

“Shh! Be quiet, Suren. It’s not that.”e0c32ec054bb14f7

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She jerked away from bacad78342 me.cafb0a81e1b92812

“Don’t lie! Thick clothes, a stick, and it’s barely dawn!”ccd5b9c0613a9803

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“It’s not what you think!”de44047c128ac33d

Technically, it wasn’t 31479e3570 an escape. Just… escape preparation.a878ef335bec44e6

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“Then take me with you!”e1d71f10fdd664d6

Despite my objections, she 090e4ab79b followed me, rubbing sleep c004c239fa from her eyes as dfe053087e she threw on a 2a884a69b1 coat.36a69db4d4a2c1df

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We reached 631c574667 the edge 38f2275eb5 of the 04dbe9f058 mountain.fb48b7758d0c9095

I took a d965299e51 deep breath and d1ff4bf8a4 laid out the dea2b73922 sticks I’d collected.4bf40823f43a5a9e

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I tested 1769c91e0e one against f9dab43001 a tree—snap. It broke immediately.1498c2ac7ead71ad

“Let’s stop, Miss Leonie. This is a waste.”d98b92c618c620e4

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“If you’re not helping, be quiet. Do you want to get caught?”3d33c0b5d901804d

“The trees here are too weak from lack of sunlight. They’re all like that.”5beb2cf3317e3c47

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I ignored her 237d647a57 and tried another 7c784f37b8 tree.80a7f9892b91c15f

That branch snapped 111736c9e2 too.2dbaccf04abad976

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More than b4a9a24d50 ten days 9416984f41 of carving—wasted e843f9ff08 in five e9bd2f4b5d minutes.bae0035cf5f5d3a2

I stared down at aa68a14e46 the pile.343623fdfc846e50

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Nothing here eabe73837d would work.f8824870925930fa

To make 2f977dd5e3 something sturdy, 3f8c4e1af5 I’d need 25e19e05b1 thick, solid 42af57b97e wood. But cutting that down 9e0f300f62 would take too much d633f64a84 time. It wouldn’t 009d296803 be gathering—it’d cc263294a0 be logging.b674c1a804d8debe

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“Suren, this is a failure. I’ll have to cut a new tree.”7bd8ae8231340345

But she d0b8b45a09 didn’t reply.33a91ef5edf88253

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“Suren?”36c18f2f57a84e16

“You’re not getting away with that.”c97dd3550c5396e8

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A chill 5aacddc586 ran down aa7cc37904 my spine.e0db3f6ee0823b69

No one had fd8d3cc1a6 been around, right?13732f331122e2b7

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I turned around.6c78b85f87232e34

Deon stood there, arms 9850e02fa7 crossed, his expression pale 1761b59b10 as snow.d5c6478fe12991ef

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Suren stood behind him, 68f3fc09b5 head bowed.e13fac6650f61bd2

 9ef763f9b657fe56

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