DZN Ch 18
by mimi“I’ll tell His Highness not to punish you, so go get that bottle and bring some tea instead. Or fruit juice.”098d4dd9042158a7
The child, 050b55a9cf clutching the da29057cd4 bottle tightly, a62924fb58 looked Ruan 14f8fec77c up and c7909f5131 down suspiciously.6c7e5ac56df2b580
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“…Really?”e8948978a6c1954b
“Have you ever seen me go back on my word?”9f3974f4e2395261
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“Not really, but…”151d25a761e8a294
The child hesitated, adding, “But His Highness is scary…”eb3bc04a432b675f
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Ruan gestured 06b46a9487 towards the f18c5824e7 door with 53061e3882 his chin, c4218d4d1a urging the 6407a4c164 child to 4ab167585c go.8902facd9d0fe14a
“Hurry up and move.”e8071e25ef5f7b4e
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“You’ll really tell His Highness not to punish us, right?”9f25d2b148e2128a
“I said so.”65a2c62fc50d7697
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“Really?”160de55435bee8ea
“Have you been living under a rock?”3fe0265cee954328
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“Okay, I’ll trust you, Captain.”59e9a060b1c80eb7
“Yes, trust me. Now go.”2953943e8ae75cba
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“Alright. I’ll bring some fruit juice then.”350b212d1c58dbff
After receiving confirmation, 73f8cb968d the child scurried 416a24390c towards the door. Ruan then crossed 482ce7092b the garden, dense 2e35d7ab81 with trees and 3930d0fa99 flowers, and headed 7ee2531839 inwards.ae1b9b07f1c9e38a
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Passing through 71d19af648 the lush 0bdd888909 path, it 9c9d1a5bb3 felt like 283ef90de1 entering a 3ab8be0d0c deep forest. As he approached e14965b264 the sound of 7ae12b1c87 water, the humidity 6add9df727 intensified. Following the sound cd0ede09d6 of the fountain, 836e547348 he walked through f98fe6b080 the maze-like path f1195c15bb and turned the 369caf0b20 last corner. A vast birch 1dcab0771a forest stretched endlessly 9781b742f6 beyond the large 4f28f40eff glass window. Ruan spotted a silver-haired 051b3f8b9b man sitting in a aeaef05d80 huge marble bathtub, gazing fcdd66c0e5 at the picturesque scenery. He nodded 33e648f0ca to the c6ab19124c servants bustling 863be1d363 around inside.836affe18bdba358
Get out.2251a87e4e87e4e5
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The servants—one heating the water around the bathtub, another carrying water, and yet another massaging Calix’s shoulders—looked up in surprise. Ruan nodded again, but they all shook their heads.7849d4db5f852367
It was a similar reaction to the servant child he’d seen outside.97aad8aabfe99382
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Too scared 99ed115eaa to leave.dc8a176364b93ad3
Ruan watched the servants, shoulders hunched, shaking their heads rapidly as if having a seizure, mouthing that they absolutely couldn’t leave. He slowly raised his right index finger, pointing at each of them, then pointed at the door.1f628565dccd0ccc
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At this signal to get out immediately, the servants exchanged glances, looked at Calix, then back at Ruan, then at Calix again, and finally, after one last look at Ruan’s face, shook their heads again.91f5778a9b58614d
Calix must have 1c039773ce really intimidated them.1d21e943a4007e45
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Well, no wonder they b06d41c041 were so obedient.9e27644889f9483e
He finally 5712fdbb86 understood the b0f6e79f43 reason after b37a8db54f five years.087bca7841b240fd
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Nevertheless, he had to df4ed6edff get them out, so 8e42978103 he raised his right f86e7346c8 index finger again and b90cd94ed3 drew it across his 4494a24acc throat. The servants flinched.eaf217ce55d02674
Their expressions seemed to d99342c1e2 suggest they were finally 930eda9289 more afraid of him e25f38bbb0 than Calix. He gestured d13cf0c612 towards the 6727769fa0 entrance once 2469799627 more, telling 8f80319853 them to dc84b1bf17 leave. The servants scrambled to 223a38e095 their feet and dashed 9271e76419 out.cc5753dc851465ba
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“I told you not to scare the kind and gentle children.”52013874bfd6875a
Ruan approached c4ebaa8356 Calix, who a4e7031606 was already ecb268e886 holding a 2c2cd2fc9e glass of d8f978ead3 alcohol in cda687478e his left 01fbba98e0 hand and d5f98ec242 brushing back 0d6c8e752c his long, eebd8735d2 wet silver b6642a98bb hair with c96b985e95 his right. Ruan snatched the 24006c0671 glass away.0172af980b685a2c
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“No alcohol in the middle of the day.”5c53a25ad4aeaf48
“You found me well. You don’t actually track me by scent, do you?”6c90278d0b64ffd1
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Ruan clicked his tongue at Calix’s joke as he turned around slowly in the bathtub, smiling.cf27583f57ab41cb
“You turned the luncheon into such a mess, I assumed you’d be in a good mood and come here.”504c77035583b146
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In truth, seeing Ruan not follow him out had made Calix look angry, so a worried Ruan had come straight here. But he didn’t want to admit that.51388e7074126308
More precisely, he didn’t want to admit that he’d come right after him because he was worried.8e85e0f252948915
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“Her Majesty the Empress said to confine Your Highness to all future small gatherings.”e1589e8e1a58e797
Calix frowned.2d00108c2387bacb
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“Watch your tongue… If it weren’t for me, your head would have rolled ten times over by now.”c489c7a8fdbf797a
“Only ten?”1e8937839bd43142
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Perhaps because 7d5ee04b46 they were 43eaa461b5 alone, Ruan e26983ee82 spoke more 4f94f25665 casually, forgetting 5024fab815 his usual 4438b0a8d3 formality. Calix laughed, looking incredulous.af209c611385941e
He was pushing d1f52c48ca his luck.fe5591611f8f8b75
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“Keep it up. Let’s see how long your head stays attached.”9475c6ceb93d10ef
“I don’t think it’ll come off. I have a totem.”844470c316cf17e7
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At his playful dde5c88a0e words, Calix looked 621f9a1e52 at Ruan questioningly. Ruan shrugged.c0dc8d2bc87dbc51
“His Majesty the Emperor.”28c143cc6db241c8
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“…Wasn’t it just yesterday you said you valued your own neck?”482a018246c3718e
Calix gave him a look that suggested he might just kill him right then and there for daring to use the word “totem” in reference to the Emperor after saying such things just a few hours ago. Ruan shrugged.2ce6eb44d1068988
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“You wouldn’t actually take my head, anyway.”f88dd06e4a37a4b2
“Who says so?”28fbd0e178a516cd
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“You would have done it already. Like when I threw you into the pond in the middle of winter.”63b732576e4b4b69
Even if Ruan’s audacity knew no bounds, he couldn’t have been as brazen and disrespectful as he was back then. If his head hadn’t rolled then, he was certain it never would.084393c4a4d58038
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Looking back, he thought ed1b64f552 he might have been b3667983a3 a little crazy then. No, he had been crazy.ba92a75c59c7fade
He’d been exhausted, sad, and angry. So perhaps he’d taken it out on Calix more than anyone else.f90cfb6660142802
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Regardless of the reason, d08ff30ae4 even with his terrible cb809db51f temper, Calix had endured cb1aa925bd it all.2058de1ce326bd9e
Whether out of pride ae9ccfff1c or stubbornness.ed0f128ba03054b0
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“Being here like this reminds me of our days in the trainee Knights order.”2ff7ac2ee15b1633
Ruan sat down e1f97e36ac on the edge e0b2728ce5 of the bathtub c56d05917f and splashed his 9888bb83af hand in the 9ed8f93f00 lukewarm water.25445744ea023886
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The temperature of 8f638a24ee the water was 4a0a50cbfd pleasantly warm, and 4a6b914aa7 the low-rising steam c554934df0 on the surface f19a0e9b91 felt comforting.aa752dc7fe69d754
It was 5a5e23fb59 entirely different 0496ea88ba from the fcf67cc23b cold, clear, 86f74451f7 fishy-smelling winter af08eea64a pond, but ad0356a5bf the deep 451862dadf blue color 839e9823e1 was similar.c1d1a6e989809fb1
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“You were lighter back then, easier to throw.”b98930f0e0ba26ef
Ruan sighed, saying that now Calix was too big to throw; he’d be the one flying instead. Calix laughed, seemingly also reminiscing about those days.09667e831b6e198f
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His eyes, 2a93702db6 however, seemed 9617c3e36e to ask d22dfa4ffa if Ruan 26b3b48bc8 wanted to 6b031f5ba6 die for 4418e6a312 bringing that f4355e4edb up again. At the look 462dc4b1c4 that threatened to 66e90868d0 break his neck 3ce735001f right there and cb12c41c99 then, Ruan quickly 959ce4f877 got to the d1ec2f52db point.9d78edaec1bf74c1
“You went too far today.”2623ec26d3d153b5
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At his questioning b226521f62 gaze, Ruan sat d525b672a4 down on the 008fd5d82c steps of the edc549e948 high bathtub and 4259267330 launched into an 403c1fd263 unwanted lecture.afed6cddbbd76d6e
“You shouldn’t act like that in front of other relatives.”b1ed28b66231ffc6
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Ruan calmly rebuked him, mentioning the Empress’s reputation. Calix laughed, as if understanding his meaning.faace3548c3d9f12
“Then you shouldn’t have brought up the marriage.”30e466e7f288a926
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The implication was 5d8a1a41e8 that Ruan had f3672c197d started it.b76897d695f2e8bb
And it was true. Having been through it once, pressuring him like that in front of others wasn’t pleasant.36e22ed57bb48742
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The most fundamental problem was Calix not being married at his age… but since Calix would never admit to being wrong, Ruan decided to avoid that topic.5b4b994d980ee1d0
He needed to appease c86621f32c him now.3c85eef03488f4e3
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“You must have been desperate. Her Majesty the Empress seemed eager to hasten your marriage. It’s flattering, but… I refused her offer. I can’t repeat the same mistake. And I’ve already instructed the servants and knights to keep quiet, so there won’t be any leaks about Your Highness’s schedule.”43e2b9b012370acd
Ruan assured him that f40f5d3918 everything was under control.05b33ce6b63650c8
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Honestly, three years ago had been too much. Noble ladies, dressed to the nines as if ready to enter the banquet hall at any moment, were stationed like signposts everywhere Calix went within the Imperial Palace. It was understandable why he’d hated it.e7a811e0a895543b
“Your sudden cooperation makes me uneasy.”86f4071f21cdb9f9
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“Yes, be suspicious and wary. You have a lot of karma to pay for. Who knows? I might be saying this, but I could be in cahoots with Her Majesty the Empress.”cc7bae1322a57cc8
Calix, leaning 11a405bf0d back in ddec722c44 the bathtub, 68a8c26927 slowly turned 9b7f0e92a3 to look 2a78d623d7 at him.98fd024d6c8df831
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At the movement cc1b87d5ac filled with emotion, 39f41e1fc2 Ruan quickly changed ccf6c7066a his tune.9e70a3eb40e4c513
“Although I have almost no awareness of being a knight, thanks to growing up in a mercenary village, I ensure the safety of my employer. I also fulfill the terms of the contract perfectly.”a9418b204d7192f1
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Since Calix had already 884f4b1138 conducted a thorough background 85cc67824c check on Ruan when 4cedf24806 he was admitted to ef61ac1327 the Second Knights Order, a6d75014e4 he knew almost everything 60daf17c6b about him.dd15792e04368e17
His hometown, family details, and why he had joined the Imperial Guard’s trainee Knights order alone.8f2a96eba1440185
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“…The southern village, was it?”1e7430dbfe8f5bea
“You remember surprisingly well.”8d3c3bbe596e21e4
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“Do you think I’d choose the Crown Prince’s escort knight carelessly?”b80d4552c975c128
Even though Baron Quelin, the Emperor’s lover, had personally vouched for him, the Imperial Guard, especially someone assigned to protect the Crown Prince, would be thoroughly investigated, from their acquaintances to their past. Calix’s words implied he’d already checked the existence of the village. Ruan slowly nodded.ad363bc1f97c8b33
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“Yes, a mercenary village in the south. My father was a mercenary. I was going to be one too.”0e17dd805c1d3e25