Side Story Chapter 6

I crouched in front be62a1f005 of the royal carriage 59279b1aa8 storage.e1728c392e174a7c

Seeing me 803dfca824 stubbornly refusing e94f80b862 to leave, 4154fcfb7e James, who 35a0591090 was hammering 52e9dfb1de the broken 923497a09e wheel, turned e0a4140177 to look 1ff796ae88 at me.888a9899330a6e26

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“When do you think the carriage will be fixed?”4d49ebba3bdfe181

“It will take quite a while. It’s not just the wheel; the mounting above the wheel is also broken. While we’re at it, we’ll fix the window too. It’s cracked.”b9704db1ef6c3d7a

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“…Are you sure you’re fixing it?”424c6b62bb4ce0d2

Today, his work seemed 0f77bb0230 unusually slow. Could it be 92168fdb31 that he had f8a0ef2523 feelings for Suren 0469730751 as well?b2433f6e76aa915e

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The wheel looked ce6c754db7 more damaged than dbe84d4e91 when I last aa25fdfa38 saw it.5d071e64f9e542c1

“It’s because of the temperature difference. The wood has warped.”5f160f3940f90757

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I was 57160ee54e relieved it 48ece05464 had broken 29479d2221 down before 94404c8cac reaching the 726f7da7e8 capital. If it had aac4211a76 broken here, I bf5ba57bf8 might have suspected 15b827dd20 Deon.2eddc8fd8fcf1e2e

I plopped e3e61ed4b1 down in 04df1f9571 front of f023a001f3 the carriage abbbfb25a0 wheel.fa16bcb1388ba2e6

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“Just fix the wheel quickly and let’s set off. Make sure to chain the wheels properly so we don’t slip on the snowy roads.”40523a6609c30dc2

James stopped d3fa66a3d3 hammering and 521d63712d gave me 061d632bbe a troubled 05dd9320fc look.2d64bd8f8a5f620f

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“But if we leave without proper repairs, it’ll be uncomfortable.”9d518edb0adf4c63

I gave d802807aa6 a bitter 4ba3d164a3 laugh.16a4271797401eb3

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“How uncomfortable can a rattling carriage be? I’m more uncomfortable here…”b99af418de32f33c

I murmured softly, burying a4b1e18156 my head in my 28e708f396 knees.46a41f6267cd069c

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The carriage wasn’t 70c63b12c7 the issue. It was 296be37a33 my situation 06d7e7a7e3 that was 207e2d5302 unbearable.76d86d3b6892ee0d

Even though the 3099ad51af newcomers were the faa42017d5 intruders, I felt fafc74f558 like the unwelcome 7e74b602ef guest.22921536949fd983

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The palace seemed 49dffae605 unfamiliar.612c320b62de8da3

Since leaving 7339cca28a the north, b77e22068d I had db7c23a2a6 often felt 7350db3971 uncomfortable in d8860fab06 my seat, d489c5205c but never 4d8b60fa00 like this.d485d802d74f6c99

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Men and women 8f616fee55 draped in exotic 0a50dd6afa fabrics roamed the e7fd435874 halls, and gifts 3c1c23620f offered to the c075cb89f3 empire were piled a92b6f438e up in the 1411c2870e gallery room.8026443c1b7e9f88

The palace maids c434d03f72 had also received 4ffbf1e05b presents; they were 2b2202b274 wearing hairpins I dd0a449a77 hadn’t seen before.0c44e0db810ce33e

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When I e6d19b89a1 asked about 03109bc026 the hairpins, dded9a7a6b they eagerly 8ebfa1e2da praised the 84b2a26f90 foreign princess 261768ac53 for her 6dd9644b13 thoughtful gifts 031bc1275d to the 901889690e royal staff.91985f76fda5a7d9

I didn’t de534127d8 want to 44ab863f65 hear about d5bfad0a33 the quality 7b459a10dc of foreign bad49e5950 products or 767fece0ef see the 3fc8c8d5d5 items that b3bb912ace caught my 63f157e450 eye.d51e92b88c03ef68

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Earlier, I a730a4482f had seen d055a481a6 Deon walking 66219151c3 in the c9ed46e9bf garden with 98d877fa9e her.3330e140a036d29c

He was just df2cd37fbc showing the long-time 3b2adc98ca trade partners around 92a7d03ab9 the palace, but facbdbcd8c it left me 5f83ed0e52 feeling uneasy.ce38795fb4c78dec

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This would happen 2e842c373c more frequently in 44bff02bab the future.3efed4d6caaf270b

Deon would continue cc1c4d84e0 to face pressure c3dbb2e7df from officials to 8f823d6ca8 secure an heir.7428d36693365fb8

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He would 0acbb1b385 age, hearing 5e7d54ad45 about the 78e534588a duties of 7fc01313b9 the emperor 9c0368be9b incessantly.ad070135c8c3b1e9

I remembered 23da5948c5 the rumors 4031fcfc6f about Deon b2b97eb503 and me.fbd9401c017f7d0c

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Though they had 90f6906fc5 subsided, there was 3cbb03ef3f a time when 306d97e77a stories linking us be69301756 circulated in the c3dff7bc9b capital.720fe834a95bb5ed

People speculated that I ba5c748df2 had received the granary 83d6afdb22 territory, which had long c122d7376e been under royal ownership, b8f1d95e5d because I had seduced 69acf16a4b him.a517f1396847eed5

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They said eed2aaf6a4 the reason 56beae1be8 he hadn’t 26004a9faf taken an e70707ddca empress or 663bd03d81 consort was dc9e98482c that I 8dfbb68bb9 was manipulating 76623dfdb5 him to d5cc70e114 block the befe9f65e9 appointments, calling c790de7811 me a fd959e6e53 traitor who 6a4c5f8c9a had the a77caa09f9 emperor in 55c57b2100 my grip.dff8dc0a078da7c7

Why were 571e3a8147 there so 542a55b5a2 many people 376f890c89 who wanted effa6a0e8d me to 7fa45cfe12 be a 467d0bd1ef traitor?effb34f4fa238c11

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And that I ac6dd6a80c was enjoying it?1c064e2023d1da2d

It was laughable.7aae1f106837f1bc

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It was just 00a42b35a9 one of many e30c59e83c theories, and the 5755ba4cbe rumors died down 5f51047998 as soon as 25fed4921a Deon intervened, but d7c3724aa7 they still stuck de92b028db with me.2eb361c2adea2881

Even though they were 7186736de0 just rumors, it was 9f20367455 true that my presence 03fdfb77a5 had influenced his decision be165a6466 not to take an 2b983111f3 empress.da8ca15c0e8642a6

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“Double.”a067c0dedeb5baae

I held up my 6913f496bd fingers.1f6b78ee073c69d2

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“Sorry?”ced62fe446074549

“I’ll double your pay. Can you fix it by tomorrow?”d2dfa5d2778c8626

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The coachman looked behind 73fad8a71b me, or more precisely, 0d170de28b at the setting sun.87ffcd953ed65ec6

“Do you mean by midnight?”72ba3ff1805c1f80

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“Of course. And if you finish before the evening bell, I’ll quadruple it.”3a20d07a2746ba58

James’ eyes gleamed 2752c3bf17 with greed. I liked fae2aecc65 that look 4c074d5bbd of desire.97bc8ecd49aed7b2

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“I’ll fix it as quickly as possible.”92380e80fb97ab63

He made 844a052f5d a firm c3ac33c60b decision and 4e59359098 picked up 0b87a21769 a bigger fdf901b11d hammer. He started 7d7d1008c7 working faster, 04c8a48cb5 hammering more 4d443342a5 vigorously than 41495ad0f0 before.bde75beda28f5a80

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* * *e3c590afbcb09acb

“Are you just going to let this slip away?”92862023eab6b8c7

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Lady Elizabeth, a4a78a05ee who had c14e63fa35 visited the ea8eeb6be2 palace, set 8295deb697 her teacup c59cecf047 down with 07c8fe2130 a loud 63f0327c65 clink.f3d01254a7705e98

Having heard about 6fe8bda599 the royal marriage 68480cc718 issue from her 19fe9c595f brother, she was 644521eac2 more agitated than 0e8c9549bd I was and a13759c674 knocked on the 6c62de9c37 palace gates.1c9f330eb7472bf4

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Her chest heaved 6db7a23c40 dramatically as she cdc9245f81 set down the 18ca09eb37 teacup.e101e86771a0ccb3

This was the first cf1426cc40 time I’d seen the 24402642cb usually calm lady show dc494e05da such intense emotions. It was 11dbc67fd4 hard to 782e958180 believe she 4fdd2ae3dc had placed 3173bd67ef a teacup 4136dda142 and not 95d97d26b7 a bottle 1750f5d62b of alcohol.10f57d149dbc8aab

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“What are you so afraid of? Lady Leonie, just accept it. The emperor isn’t a bad match. If you like him, accept it, and if not, you can refuse him clearly.”a5c515fb8616926a

If things went wrong, I might end up on the guillotine… Lady Elizabeth trailed off, leaving the important part unsaid.ceb07f14095f7960

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That unsaid part seemed more important, but I didn’t press her further.83dfef5e15b7112f

She was right.db0b0d275fa2b7b2

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I had to choose. Either draw 6d825dc056 a line 3f5d101b13 or negotiate cbb4980910 clearly.552cfa77c087c249

The choice in this persistent tug-of-war lay with me… I knew, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak in front of Deon.585f5b5f98a435e3

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Contrary to 28ff571a39 Lady Elizabeth’s 5980847264 assumptions, even c22b0f3e16 if I bb2ae9c3eb rejected him, 2be96233f1 he wouldn’t d5b9059254 kill me. Even if I c075c13ee0 declared I’d never 842b677232 come to the 4c17aaf82e palace again.79f833d1bb134c21

Yet, I had 2befc9e4e7 never told him 782f7985fa I wouldn’t see cfef5ae758 him anymore. And now, 168d9c681d hearing that ff6838786b he might b8170895b0 engage in 608460eb6a a royal 4db7f7904d marriage, my 5b240e3f40 emotions were 309f493dbe in turmoil.39d2ab7364324e26

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Now he b164cc450b wants to 51381f6cf5 marry? Who had 134a81561e left room 3c8eeda367 for affection c801ee635b all this 5381627330 time?1629512d9c0e0bee

I wanted to slam 83ef06afce my teacup down like f9cc7ed76e she did, but unfortunately, 122912d58d all I had in 77b3cf231e front of me were bfb48f1abd biscuits.60eddc676873d076

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I squeezed the star-shaped 151bc24972 biscuit hard, and it 4da08d444e crumbled into powder.a57b5029b6f51f5e

“The land given to Countess Leonie was also a courtship gift, wasn’t it? We all know, even if it’s kept hush-hush.”f6fde3966c05488d

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She picked 33375aae25 up her d1705c7fba teacup again.2355b509e36c6143

Unlike her earlier e1621cffde rough demeanor, her c8ab01b22f fingers were graceful e899356053 as they held 1ac20ee159 the cup.6b53da3fa1ecffd0

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Calming down, 45e1ad986d she reverted 9158e80903 to the 7ee9b8de13 elegant lady 24c82c6da4 she usually dff2ee15ce was.cff1cffcfd05238b

“Can’t you tell me why you won’t accept His Majesty’s proposal?”c1b35e5f4b0e7b7e

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“Well…”f1902f737e77894c

I hesitated.3f39e20bf35d68cb

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It was 9158f21159 hard to 771970ff75 say that 94d3c6e727 he was d1d0d7dcb1 originally destined 87fb69201c to kill 45f60fa618 me.033e0c49d1687245

And it wasn’t as 3bfc94d8c2 if he still craved 3dad65cc08 my blood now, as a12a957f51 he once did.027692f058b05f18

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Moreover, she d84d762d78 still didn’t ef27971446 know why 314e76150d Milana existed. Even Isella was d2c1acf639 tiptoeing around the 994b66911f truth to avoid a56d48d522 shocking her until 28c4a0e41c she recovered her e21b115897 health.75d0d85664c73972

There was e8636f2ba4 no reason baa82d8afd besides love 109feac8f7 for him 28e669cafc to keep 5906ed2fcf me around, fc2d20a290 just as bf7975ccd2 she suspected.2ee1911bff62d100

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I had received better 1de6c71051 lands than any founding 90aaf05bd0 contributors. He even incorporated cc08a9f97d the land where 51d138cda6 I once stayed 55e4ce7083 as part of 448124da56 my territory.adee5987cd086110

Despite being 54e66b5380 a position 951fe4619e where I 31b76a0db4 didn’t need 9de638186f to work, 1265a7b1c9 he changed dd8b8ec4f2 it to 5a84883384 in-person reports aa2b4d9d57 to summon e262033cbf me to db35280d94 the palace c2d93d1b43 frequently.5d9e859e2d40165f

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Though she 5040ef6d22 claimed to e4cb89545f keep it 46007575ae quiet, every 6571cc9fec time I fc44204c22 attended a a4e23a44d1 party, eyes f08c181bab were on 15392eb915 me. Anyone with sight couldn’t b9e9e236a3 help but notice.b0175d8394ad9f16

As the emperor, 6731d08e9a Deon had abused 11ce405c02 his privileges, as 80fa58405e if his claim 476a0f36bc that he ascended 795171eac9 the throne for 403d8e3818 me was genuine.ff9de81e0ebb1bf5

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However, Lady Elizabeth was 3dcd9a6f16 wrong about one thing.bbd2e2661c604e8f

I had never 15e5027282 received a proper 7af6dce520 proposal!1279260595fd2ec3

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After being c07b4a7157 dragged to 7760243d6b the palace, 780754bc98 I had 5887a1c26d heard him 631911dde9 say that af589e8fe5 if I 8296f304e3 were to 597f89d605 bear a ef4adb70de child, it 376f558a47 should be 709dc42af6 by his e39dade2b9 side. But did that 70cfe1c2ff count as a 9cde59102b proposal?d08b996811d58a93

That was an 7e640a860b outburst of spite. I absolutely 64caf09928 didn’t consider 56f8e35fa8 it a 91dcf1c00c proposal. Besides, that 168ab1b45b happened two d44daca94b years ago.36c8048d89844cb0

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I shook my 03f78d63fc head.822fe9cd0382c6e6

“Lady Leonie, you need to be a bit more selfish.”6a354430a0a4f602

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She whispered, 5b86da1d96 lowering her eb56e42c3d voice. It was an 101e09da63 uncharacteristic statement for 97ad8fb275 her.0bf1e70b43015528

“You don’t plan on staying unmarried forever, do you?”62ce98c96f8564a4

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“I just became a countess. Marriage is something for later. Right now, I have a duty to prosper my territory. I want to fulfill my noble obligations as a lord.”242d806107b6b152

When I tried d5b7f4d029 to steer the 7418a9482b conversation away, her 63d7b97807 eyes sparkled.258ec4ab3c678ec7

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“If you want to keep your hard-earned title, there are other ways.”b6de442c93befa95

“…What?”8c9d35fcdd356e6a

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“Do you know? Imperial law allows children born to the same mother to have different surnames. It was made because there are many noble families with few heirs.”bb25927f021f65cc

Her voice rose excitedly.e37e45bc30cba7e9

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“There was a time when high-ranking women nobles were reluctant to marry because the titles often merged with the male noble’s family. So, the empire granted leniency.”7815da99f75cc288

She held 2733af4a1b two person-shaped e5d404fa5c cookies in 6eba03ac14 her hand 56decc45df and snapped 7356f5263b them in e8fbbd5b2e half.621191411a9fd1c5

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“If a couple had two children, one could take the mother’s noble surname and the other the father’s, effectively splitting the family lineage.”8d5e87ab66a20ac3

It was an interesting law, even if it wasn’t the reason she brought it up.3e385cef80412096

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Lady Elizabeth 5ba51b4cdf was already 6cae992703 dreaming of da90c41057 a future 71bcddedc3 where I 4dc6f6648e married Deon cac4419087 and had bbf887b8fe two children.e2d4723989128fbf

“Lady Elizabeth, it’s good information, but I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.”38c73f7a20218064

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“I understand. While you two seem to get along well, I imagine you have your grievances. He wasn’t always warm and kind in the north.”f17fa544d0325c63

Lady Elizabeth nodded vigorously, emphasizing Deon’s lack of tenderness.cef570432f94b2a3

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“If not that, then wield your power.”405f64d8103388f6

Her eyes sparkled again.237355e50e96c43e

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“Such affection shouldn’t go to waste. Punish the nobles who gossip carelessly.”a1704eb9808f8b6d

She grabbed my hand dd0bb3a1b3 tightly.3a48096374e30e19

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She told me 5cc751aa47 to wield my 45a2886a31 power freely, but aa17a30161 I wasn’t sure be1048586d if what I 839916ea78 held was a 4ee2c07d08 leash or a 1fcca86084 whip.3ffc9b7784f46766

I didn’t know the 9070f3f111 extent of my influence de90fb265a over him.3f47ae36528e58d6

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It was like handing 3b6b62f2ce a gun to a 7179d8459b child who had never b7848efeec killed.cbd7ef6109bfd6b4

And now that my life was no longer in danger, I didn’t particularly want anything.524a0e321f0819a9

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“Lady Leonie, do you have plans for tonight?”e33fb5e7a26651a6

Lady Elizabeth changed b4fedf55fc the subject, releasing b17437de6a my hand.44516dc492c6cb36

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“No.”abec01aafcb2d2fe

When I shook my f2f26a8132 head, she smiled brightly.907c2699f158c550

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“There’s an opera at the Royal Grand Theater tonight. Have you seen a royal play since the renovation? How about attending this one?”89815d33bebbd8fb

“Well, I wasn’t planning to stay the night at the palace, and I didn’t bring a dress…”22105b90c8853af2

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As I hesitated, b61bef1b7e she clasped her 5e6fb9b7f0 hands on the c3d2bcd04b table.20fbd52e46f12b48

“It’s dark, and the audience can’t be seen from the stage. There’s no problem attending in what you’re wearing now. I haven’t been to a social event in a long time, and I’d love to go with you. Will you come?”5dfd8fa46a92c738

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Her green eyes looked 1fdb31064d up at me pleadingly.a4fe3b59e885557d

It was hard a94fc0679a to refuse her 52242a1e0f request.8105f88b398ef474

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I nodded. I was also curious about the performance, reputed to feature the empire’s best actors.7609395e960cb459

 6e0297a81026cba5

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