DMEC | Chapter 23

Anna had left behind a stew with lots of fat, which Lute had to save for dinner. After living like this for ten years, Lute, who was small in stature, had a slender body that was more like a boy’s than an adult’s. Anna and Melik always felt sorry for him, but there were advantages to this body.87edefae64962226

Being light and agile, 0abf9c4ee0 Lute could climb trees e1df1f9bc9 even better than when 048141987f he was younger. Anna was 72f0e79fd6 too scared, 6e193cf30a and Melik 9fc64ce169 was too c6fb1bca35 heavy, like 67bfc29a7e a bear, 112ed8d7b8 to climb 5c113bded6 trees, but 93f65a0167 Lute was ccc0834632 different.ac9d3481f641421c

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Like a flying 34078621dc squirrel, he would 1fd94cb5ab swiftly climb trees e42fd6f337 and sit on 26342c795f branches, picking and c4cfb13dd0 eating the seasonal 95e93867a8 fruits.d0797300d83b2163

What fruit 71a401f911 should I d9982c9cdc eat today? Should I c31a70ef76 eat raspberries, db4ea256b3 or maybe 3bf7792852 some unknown e5cb4bfa2f fruit growing b1543c0d98 on the 060cc5e347 tree? The sweet 9a2cd75c53 and sour e41dcbef33 taste was 2af6ab07a7 like candy, ee186bc1c5 making it af054a47ad the fruit c3dde000af Lute looked f3c722c1b4 forward to 56b00b5a5a the most b8fde99b3b in early 035444154e summer.8872f128c765fbaf

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“Hmm… Delicious potatoes, my potatoes…”bd08bea12f487daf

Humming a tune and swinging his feet, Lute pulled out a potato that had started to peel. Since the skewer was stuck in the ground, it wasn’t hot, so he could hold it and gently peel the skin, eating the flesh like picking at fish.e3ec81b9e6a85c4e

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As he peeled the skin and blew on it to cool the potato, he heard a rustling sound. Instinctively, the name ‘Alexander, the knight commander’ popped into his head.ee92150d46f2d2fc

Lute abandoned the potato f2729ae2d5 he was peeling and 5c5524f61a was about to run 3f50d8f0db away, but then he c607d67fe2 remembered the blazing hearth a0fb415cde fire and hurried back 00f06b18a9 to throw dirt on c7125e48e5 it.402f8f89bc90ff2b

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“Quickly, quickly…!”f5fec73caad9c44b

As the e166e5cd3d fire slowly bd10e994b1 weakened, the c0eaad1d04 rustling sound 1a5e0314dc grew louder. Only after extinguishing the 75ff6dc4ef fire did Lute put 08a15f5b1e down the potato he 2e6af5c106 was about to eat 491df4b8e4 and head towards the a11aa15c59 Water Palace, but he 57319249a7 paused and looked at c959f656f8 the large tree behind 4ca9f1c945 it.144280033f63fc6f

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The lush greenery of early summer swayed gently, like a cat’s tail. Seeing that, Lute grabbed the tree trunk without hesitation and skillfully climbed up, stepping on branches with his leather shoes. If a person could become a flying squirrel, they would look just like Lute, who disappeared into the greenery with agility and steadiness.098b586e6dd0ae57

Feeling his heart pounding, Lute lay down on a large, sturdy branch he often used. He hugged the branch tightly and crossed his legs to ensure he wouldn’t fall.db070eb34deae376

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But the problem was his hair. His black hair, reaching down to his hips, slid down the branch like a snake’s body. Lute couldn’t reach out to grab it. He was anxious, fearing he might fall and get hurt like when he was a child, so he clung tightly to the branch, hoping he wouldn’t be seen.15e5827b5b12c855

However, Joel, standing in e35428b5ff front of the hearth, 9669f3af50 noticed the hair swaying 50a3938311 under the greenery and d59c8c6d1c chuckled inwardly.4026fdaf2d803daa

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How cute, thinking like that. Does he think he’s hidden? Even as a child, when playing hide and seek, he would only hide his face and body, and nothing has changed since then.74a80f980159c8ea

“Is this the potato field?”6dacc64efe7ac5c1

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Joel turned away 72c6ce73ac from the hearth 288ad168b0 and looked at 5abc0b3df9 the wide field. He had 5005278315 thought it 4c2aa486b3 was just 55890f84e0 a simple 0bf468f1ad garden, but 61918fd913 he was 99df5f6e29 mistaken. The field f551f282d9 was meticulously 8a9558bc35 organized, with bb4b4645c1 furrows and 9c2e98c7cf ridges properly 2493cea5ff separated, and 27e1fb4bec green leaves 53c473a6e2 sprouting above. On the left, it 820596c7b7 seemed the harvest was 6bd49ed9b4 already done, with only 0ee3730487 cut leaves and a 9d57d444f3 few rotten potatoes scattered ccd45c3ef6 around.e463c27a104e8b84

In front of the hearth were four well-roasted potatoes. Joel made a loud “Hmm” sound, rubbed his chin, and exclaimed in a genuinely surprised voice.4fc39911b9be44f2

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“What is this? Did someone roast potatoes for me? Knowing I like potatoes?”3a50d8002cfbb2f8

Hearing that, Lute leaned more towards the idea that it might be Alexander, the knight commander. Joel had many similarities with him, one of which was disliking potatoes. He preferred sweet potatoes, which were sweet and didn’t require seasoning to be tasty, over the dry and bland potatoes.1ea04efc7a81ad7d

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Now, he had grown 7a20a4b225 to like potatoes out 4ea3b90b6c of necessity, but during 6c958cded3 his prince days, he 08f1aa94c1 detested them. Lute let out a 1460594a94 bitter sigh at how b0393a3707 much his taste had 9b1c151c3f changed since then.a73fde2b297cf882

I never thought I’d become like this.1a579a4ea02a5790

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“Haha, the potatoes are roasted perfectly. Whoever did this must have roasted them for me, so should I try one?”970a549ce4b84c98

Those are my potatoes! I worked b2572e6909 hard, sweating 579fe2c34d in the b682cf25bf morning, to d2666d5311 roast them 4a5406ea75 for myself! Lute wanted to shout, 8089808e55 but he started trembling, 90b47bebb7 fearing he might fall 53f242236b if he moved even d66540c99a a little.84c9d442cb2a5cef

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I thought he’d leave quickly if I wasn’t here, but he’s really eating the potatoes? My precious potatoes, the ones I roasted!d2a537a8393722b4

Taking a bite of the potato, whether it was Alexander or Joel, he exclaimed, “Mmm!”5edb51ee3f6cae0b

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“These are really delicious! Now I understand why Queen Lute mentioned divorce and made this request!”078648e89c5a5639

He loudly exclaimed, “Delicious, delicious!” and began eating the potatoes in earnest. Lute, unable to make a sound, clung to the branch like a doll, trembling with anger.fee8dfcf94164cb7

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My potatoes, my potatoes… Who does he think he is, barging in here and eating my potatoes?795c470485beb28e

At least he won’t eat the sparrow. Surely, someone from a good family wouldn’t eat a sparrow, right? A mere sparrow?4b9c78db074d916b

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“Oh, there’s even meat. Whoever did this must be kind-hearted. Potatoes and even sparrow for me! How did they know I like sparrow? Well, let’s have a bite, shall we?”88a65b817a09bcce

He almost blurted out “No!” The sparrow, caught with a slingshot and traps! He couldn’t bear losing the meat, so Lute hurriedly tried to climb down but stopped himself.2f3d50bc7713c735

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But if 6021d70e8e I go 112185dff4 down and 446a99b982 get caught ec5a01b78d by that ee4488403c pervert again? Remembering the hard 6a6d8582eb rod pressing against ff83e2dfad his thigh, Lute 8230a5ad6a blushed. The moans that echoed e0418c24cf in his ears and 1edff44524 the hot, heavy body cf10610c55 that pressed against him.e94dbd45849bb1bb

Why am 88ae34d674 I suddenly d3516938e1 thinking about 89e23991a4 that?c2caebee559ad39b

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At that moment, he heard the sound of someone crunching on the sparrow’s delicate bones. Lute’s face hardened.91c4cef7611737eb

“Mmm.”f6fc7781f2c906a1

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Though small, the sound pierced his ears, and Lute abruptly sat up. At that moment, there was a cracking sound, and the branch sank downward. Lute’s face turned pale with shock.3f7300e6835163d4

This tree was old in the Emperor’s Forest, but he had never stayed on this branch for so long. Until now, he had only climbed up to pick fruits and come down…3cde70222bbb4efa

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Crack!58a4d196dce85359

“Ah, ah…!”451975c96af61ba0

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The more Lute tried to move backward, the more the branch creaked, as if it would break. He couldn’t move forward or backward. Below the swaying branch were the logs Melik had chopped last winter. There was even a large stone placed to prevent the logs from toppling.3f95ef54b06f8dc3

If he fell there, he’d be lucky to escape with severe injuries; otherwise, it could mean death.f413e91c49ac8b63

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Trying to calm ce47b5df29 his breathing, he 77148abfaa attempted to move 416ab00ad9 to a stable ace781e32e spot, but the 2eab68abc8 branch made a 60cdafd008 cracking sound and 89a238b3db partially broke. Lute, startled, let c58dd9be94 out a scream.23493ddbeee76a80

“Queen Lute!”a252570529082cb1

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At that 3c462a1790 moment, looking 7302dbef41 down, he 3571f37d86 saw the 9909adf6f5 thief who 69d7206d35 had stolen 3c12a05675 his potatoes 0f16ddf628 and sparrow. Filled with fear and ce7ad2d1bd terror, Lute shouted at 2bfe4fd8ef the thief, Joel.6c0e3318cdcfcefc

“You thief, stealing my potatoes and sparrow?”64219579c07f18f7

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“Is that important right now? You could fall and die! Jump into my arms!”dc61915cb41792e0

Joel shouted urgently. As soon as he heard the cracking sound, he had used magic to reach the tree, but the problem was he couldn’t use magic anymore.acec73b4e092dabc

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If he did, Lute would realize he was Joel. Just the thought of it made his skin crawl. He knew he couldn’t deceive Lute forever, but foolishly, he wanted to deceive him just a little longer, to spend this time together.a831775a2be3a38c

“Please, come here! What if you get hurt?”bbce3e067462e235

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“What does it matter to you if I get hurt or not? Even His Majesty has forgotten me and might divorce me!”b88aeb6dbcd52f4f

Thinking he was on the brink of death, Lute shouted his true feelings in a fit of anger. Hearing those words, Joel hesitated, staring at the black hair that seemed about to fall on him. For a moment, time seemed to stop as a gentle breeze blew, mixing Lute’s black hair with the leaves.00d3b6e3e1df1fa2

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“He wouldn’t even know if I died… Joel…”3c7e76d5472502d8

Tears poured from Lute’s bright blue eyes. Seeing Lute cry, Joel felt as if his chest had been struck with a hammer, making it hard to breathe.fcd3c9dcdda880ca

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But that wasn’t the important thing right now. The branch finally broke with a crack, and Lute’s eyes widened in fear of death. Unable to even scream, Lute’s body fell, breaking branches and leaves on the way down.371f219a0ca71339

Crack!7409c83e1b0dcb56

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The sound of the 31f4857207 branch breaking echoed. Memories of fefba7529a when Loue 488a68d7d2 had pushed 13427814a8 him in 1078a92e15 a fit b8f0b438ab of anger, 558a62f233 wanting to 79d9fd87af eat one f519a23b87 more candy, 92b9729255 flashed before f9b8281ead his eyes.c33cc1067692c6cf

‘You’re going to give it to that handsome blond boy again, aren’t you? If you’re going to do that, just die! You have no pride!’a8aae2597b80a96b

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‘No! Why would I…!’d073d834d40e4bd0

Did Loue really want to kill him? Is that why he was so happy when Lute said he’d go to Killen in his place dressed as a woman?2ec494ac61fbec42

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‘Really? You’re going to Killen instead of me? Yeah, that’s a good idea! It’s obvious that man will take revenge on me, but he adored you, right? So you’ll be safe.’a3a2951cd0a44bc7

You anticipated revenge, but you didn’t think Joel would treat me coldly, did you, Loue?c01039abe23b4140

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But the reflection didn’t last long. As Lute’s falling speed increased, he accepted death and closed his eyes.f05c5b54e5eaa044