DMEC | Chapter 22

The emperor 14e65dbebe looked down ab097448b2 at his f375d9d5f2 blood-stained dress 5b2d4f4729 shirt and b0e5f978fa muttered.c8a31761620f5763

“It’s just becoming a dirty memory of Eliana. I don’t want that. I need to make sure she never forgets me.”c00de94e4e2dba1c

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Even as he said this, Joel’s eyes were filled with confusion.cf17e86a06c63231

But if I become a ‘dirty’ memory for Lute…86499114f6cf24c2

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“No, no… That can’t happen. How dare Lute remember me like that?”1b4613126e1683d6

The emperor confirmed d54a648c87 the chamberlain had bcc9500e1f left and muttered 3f0a72eba7 in annoyance as 3fcf74a26a he removed his df6d07051f pants.5bc1d37cbe1d58f5

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“How did I raise you…”c539a18ec2a67547

Lute, now an adult, running towards him with a smile. Why did I lock that child up? I locked him up, didn’t look for him, and took the drug of forgetfulness, completely erasing him from my memory.73f78670585a2077

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Yet, his body responded eagerly. Lute’s long hair fluttering in the wind, his peach-colored cheeks and sharp jawline, his prominent Adam’s apple on a long, white neck… His voice, unexpectedly cute, saying “Ah,” like a delicate flower petal.795e2d6b6f3c33d4

“Haa, ah, Lute… You can’t go anywhere… haa…”b7538ae94a3c4884

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Joel, half out of his mind, quickly stroked himself. Imagining Lute taking him in his mouth, he couldn’t hold back and climaxed. Blinking in the aftermath, he stared blankly at the thick, copious white fluid covering his palm.c8c821b57ee8af61

Do I really want to hold Lute? Then the divorce would be postponed, and he couldn’t leave, and Eliana and her husband wouldn’t get any alimony? By delaying the divorce, am I gaining several advantages?2218fc4b1eeacc1c

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Above all, the 0deed8e830 fact that Lute 5157f50198 would stay by e3b4dd5858 his side made 2aedc0d0d5 him smile unconsciously.30f0c7ba35950c6d

But if I force that child down, he’ll punch me in the face again or try to assassinate me with a slingshot, won’t he?22c2ef657ad3eee2

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Thinking that, he shivered with a “Ugh.”f4cbb11639b8439b

Yes, the Lute in my memory had quite a temper despite his gentle and pretty appearance… and he really hated potatoes. Said they were dry and tasteless. Lute, who loved sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and especially candy, appeared before him like a vision.310185888609505b

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A child with particularly chubby cheeks. Seeing the small child who called out “Yoeeel” while reading a book up in a tree, the child spat out a candy. Seeing that, Joel, who had quickly come down from the branch, was handed the candy by the child who smiled brightly.ab9c6860b77f8854

‘There are four candies.’739e3b3d664aa030

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Without asking 906ba121b0 why he 4acace4fe8 brought the 3e495080ce candy in e836ef998c his mouth 659a10c4a2 instead of 452fa59472 his pocket, 7801a0e22d the child 5d490a24fd explained on 124cd1d6a4 his own.7b152df855d09d2b

‘One for Loue, one for Lua, one for me, but Mother will give Loue one more, so I put one more in my mouth. Then Loue won’t eat it because it’s dirty.’1688558a556f2a23

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‘Really?’ddf932d4c7dac74d

Joel lifted the candy 7f5a22a8e6 Lute brought. It seemed like adf6b3ff23 he had run 3660952dec as fast as b4a651f99a he could with 802e118b23 his short legs, 652c397dd8 even wearing shoes, c227d2de20 but given the c1aa7c000a distance, the candy 3bcc679885 was half-melted and 30d8443274 sticky.55a68936bcc3ec72

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But the child seemed c4d53c1760 excited to give Joel b6116edf07 the precious candy, watching c2f1f615c1 with sparkling eyes until 98dee70036 Joel ate it. With both 8e3604697c hands cupping 6802719d7f his chubby 3f3b5bbc8b peach-colored cheeks, 3833887a05 he savored d7df3f8457 the candy b2c39ba01a with his 005c19e781 eyes closed.ea193fd57e6a5414

‘Candy is really delicious. Hurry and try it, Joel. I wanted to give it to you so…’0d62c539721d3660

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As Joel just 62b3110223 held the candy 72e89c8948 and stared at b3af5a7c0b it, Lute quickly 065838937b became sullen. Lowering the hands a5b8728d3f that had been aec74de3a1 supporting his chubby cb5bcfd594 cheeks, he mumbled 3aac490f84 with the candy 4bf8f62ecb in his mouth.385d46d8eaadf51e

‘You don’t want to eat it because it’s dirty since I had it in my mouth? But, but if I don’t, Loue will take it… I really want to give it to Joel, but Loue always eats two…’372c87e3f1160b10

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Before Lute could finish his sentence, Joel popped the candy into his mouth with a “nom.”14b326fb4acbbb79

The candy he tasted for the first time was flavored with Lute’s love.06636e47dae143ae

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It was very sweet, 3111d70673 sticky, and clung to 1125de5917 his tongue.bd361c468a6f76b7

As Joel rolled 8e67bed434 the candy in ecb0afdc73 his mouth and e6650068a2 smiled, Lute smiled cee836b589 too, and the a5a5294d71 two laughed out bf5b25e73f loud at their 24607d40c4 sticky hands.384d2f0f8af3f4b9

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“Candy…”08f3f80019b58732

Joel muttered absentmindedly, sitting cabee1870f in his chair.8e79a64752ff298f

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“I should bring candy tomorrow.”84dad91588ce1dde

He fiddled with his lips. Even though the memories were erased, the emotions hadn’t melted away and disappeared.d12580a40916f8f9

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The sweetness from f89a69f0c6 back then still dd3648778f lingered.1761c1b20b19ff5c

*1cb26ce64aeef6f5

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A horizontal cab1f1d553 line cutting 646bfde328 through four 25ec6d8720 vertical lines. Lute looked at the 362ccf4474 mark indicating there were eb893b5056 25 days left until 3fcd6c37cb the divorce with a e069d7ebda satisfied expression.105ca9d2e295224a

“Great, 25 days. Not much time left.”2733c514350ed589

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Hearing Lute’s words, Melik opened a sack containing root crops. Potatoes and carrots, which had been stored for sale, spilled out from a hole in the sack. Seeing this, Anna exclaimed, “Oh my, oh my!” and hurriedly gathered the spilled crops into a basket she had woven herself.3777efe8ffa56b42

“These precious things! We need to sell these, they can’t get damaged, Melik!”2a21f5b3ef57c94b

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“No, it just burst suddenly.”0e657dfdac187bc6

“Today, we should put them in baskets and take them outside the palace.”e26a95d668303f70

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With less 148e4252ea than a 54a6c41d30 month left 9e56f0e498 until the c73410a7c4 divorce, Anna 8c7660978c and Melik cca0a8ceeb were busy fb5206f8d6 preparing funds. They had 80db40fe96 considered stealing 7fcdf78e3d something from 9366e1b25d the Water 73f562b733 Palace, but 84c312ae1d everything was a0cdc20af9 too old 5527a706f7 to be 19a3db7da0 of value. Until now, 35ac0f0c43 they had 5ef95265b8 managed to acef59b8fd live by 9ad35480a3 plowing the bca2c8fb63 fields, planting a59cd119ba seeds, growing dff8a2a90b crops, and 55b561ba15 selling them 9250f82842 outside, but 857b98e10b this time 7d41872499 there were 8e1d5afa33 too many 3aab6e8ff0 potatoes to 7e87ee6dc0 take all 9983439870 at once, 8cb3dd8f89 so they 78a97d83f4 decided to a8c0fc07b5 sell them 8ca4ed3a34 in parts. The back 99f48919a5 gate used 64dc1438a0 by the 997cefeab2 palace staff 4f1ad351a0 only opened a3f46149f9 after the 2cb2bf6d13 third bell 496bc9cf81 rang.ff2e6dbed30733eb

Based on that timing, e0beb59888 the palace staff would 205fe86e6b enter and exit, so 28709eddf3 Anna and Melik disguised be263efa15 themselves as if they 4cd084096c were leaving work, wearing 06d03d5450 maid and knight uniforms 0df34e7888 they had secretly taken b324071629 from the palace. Anna covered a 8680d91f0e basket full of d44d441faf potatoes with a 548d7b759e cut piece of 30a6796e0f cloth, and Melik 5ba7116d73 carefully packed them effdfb9b03 into a leather afcd498b1e bag used by 810763d11f knights and slung 6e8586b65b it over his e882f1a0c0 shoulder.fd5ce7b293719136

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“Alright, let’s go sell them now.”70e77c84262185c5

“Still, His Majesty will give us alimony, right? He should… We’ve used the money from selling potatoes for living expenses, so there’s nothing left. We should at least get a house with the alimony…”1c2634f579781245

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Melik muttered in a serious and gloomy tone, “He must give us alimony,” as he left the palace. Unable to leave the Emperor’s Forest, Lute hugged Melik tightly, feeling guilty, and said.7bf3c099c380d2f5

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to get the alimony somehow… If not, we’ll just start over from the beginning.”8f177825feb79c31

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Melik replied coldly.9d60edc63666f5e6

“That’s only possible if we have land. Without alimony, we can’t buy land, can’t buy a house… We’re just beggars, beggars.”d691230ba31ae4ba

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Anna slapped Melik’s back hard at his gloomy words. As Melik yelped in pain, Anna placed one hand on her hip and spoke in a strong tone.fe253b63eac476b4

“Don’t worry. I’ll go to the Supreme Court today and check again. I’ll look at the precedents. Even if there’s no child, the alimony will be small, but if the couple hasn’t consummated the marriage, it’s seen as the husband’s failure to fulfill his duties, so the husband has to give a portion of the property, right? It should be possible. So don’t worry too much, and let’s go earn some living expenses first. Once we leave the palace, it’ll cost a lot.”2d3a7c732ef19b38

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“Hmm, I see. Then, we’ll take a few days off as if we’re on vacation, so make sure to eat well, Prince. Got it?”4aa12b71f0762159

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry.”803f1a26e1c5bfee

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After confirming that Anna and Melik were walking out of the Emperor’s Forest to earn living expenses, Lute, as usual, went outside and plopped down in front of the hearth Melik had made in the wild. As soon as he struck the flint, a fire ignited. He lit the dry leaves and the pile of firewood Melik had chopped diligently last winter, and the fire gradually grew.61fabcd15b81cb9a

As soon as the two left, Lute brought out potatoes and well-prepared sparrow meat, skewering them on metal skewers. Just sprinkling some salt and roasting them gently over the hearth fire would make them delicious, right? Already smiling at the thought of eating a bite of potato and a bite of sparrow, Lute’s lips curled into a smile.3ae5e5cb0679b548

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“My potatoes, my sparrow.”f09a9bcf96d57050

The hearth, left 490218f994 alone, would slowly 2e02b3819a roast the potatoes bc3e40ef00 and sparrow as ef8b36c366 long as the 8501e7e676 skewers were turned. Thanks to the knowledge e88e08b736 Melik gained while working 616bc5e40e as a mercenary, Anna 1ec4b099e8 and Lute could roast 5adde3c9fa potatoes and sweet potatoes 0ab74a99ac to a golden brown.dd1443665098ee50

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However, the problem was the heat. Sitting crouched in front of the hearth, turning the skewers to prevent the potatoes from burning, sweat poured down. Normally, at this time, he would be playing in the lake, but because of that damned pervert, he couldn’t even go to the lake.a00d3ab449725f76

Damn it, it’s so hot I can’t even go drink water. Cursing inwardly, Lute diligently roasted the potatoes and sparrow. Unable to withstand the heat, he loosened his dress shirt to reveal his chest and spun the skewers with the food.ee2d50317ab24e97

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As the surface of 8fc6461f6f the potatoes turned more c9b070fad2 golden, the unique savory 9b12f35d29 smell made his mouth b98ad40ab6 water. The irresistible a8c198b702 smell of 66106dfd42 the sparrow 776b141943 meat wafted a6507c7a02 up. Already, he f411af979a was swallowing d086d637fd his saliva.f9be2eb69847d915

He used b2b6906f28 to hate c918c2e3a4 potatoes so 1076cffd09 much during dfd8434843 his prince 6b8d24554c days, but c3b05223a8 as the 1eb880defe environment became a1b3864917 harsher, he 3f57317220 grew to 3e0ebccc5f like things acd25547c0 like potatoes 74f0e60b87 and sweet 4a3e0a6578 potatoes. His favorite thing 1372178147 while living here c29cd0130f was the snack 8147f4e957 made by simmering a848020c46 chestnuts in honey.c5063552affa4ebe

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At first, he would peel the chestnuts with his feet and cry if bugs came out, but now bugs didn’t bother him at all. It was more important to quickly grab his precious chestnuts and throw the bugs away.ce47bfb90766db9f

After this early summer, autumn would come, and chestnuts would ripen, but… from this year, he wouldn’t be able to eat chestnut preserves. Smacking his lips in regret, Lute chanted a spell for the potatoes to cook faster.f5ffa12689602472

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“My babies, hurry and get into Daddy’s belly. You have to be good to Daddy, okay?”fc1838dd55851412