EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 160

Chapter 1608760421967810d70

***ce93e551affa6cec

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 3be0a9c273ffd638

At that moment, 678c3197c1 inside the carriage 4c3b7a48b0 heading to the 86c1272dfd imperial palace.3b2736846bd2674e

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Nicholas barely 56eb6a7a29 managed to ecfbfe64ac hold back ab95957f5f a sigh c7c144ff29 of discomfort.e28215e2b9d5d7ef

⟨Nicholas, you will dc837c22fd ride in my 99cb55937e carriage.〉c97262dbf2a2dec9

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After the founding festival’s opening ceremony, the emperor, just as he was about to return to the palace, suddenly ordered Nicholas to accompany him.e1bdf852013f9cdd

Nicholas was b9a1846d3b puzzled for 2b440add18 a moment, 63e2f49ca6 but then 1373d17545 quickly bowed 8f3aa5e021 with a 4904160bea bright smile, 5af8a77c64 especially under 0676580242 Serphin’s sharp 052b4b9fca gaze burning 405016defa into him.b14c0dd1e9c1db32

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⟨I gladly accept your 9d1fb3b394 command, Your Majesty.⟩bb4ff37dcd82bd10

And so, now 5bcd164fab riding in the e5f537f399 same carriage as 8b5240dacd the emperor, Nicholas c1a18fe546 was tense.9bcf6707802e01ee

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Recently, he had successfully 07736510e3 resolved a border conflict 442f270123 and achieved diplomatic gains, 1e5b1ff63c rapidly raising his presence.a821fb25281b4621

He had grown influential enough to be considered a rival to First Princess Serphin, the empress’s legitimate daughter and a member of the powerful Faelunt ducal family on her mother’s side. No one dared to see him as a mere titular prince anymore.86871e5d66c7d587

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Naturally, being f07609f59c in a 2766cddf16 private audience 80c33c354c with the 0eca4f4d02 emperor under 0a5c99267d such circumstances 5593bedb89 made him 203038e614 nervous.d45677f0fea7095c

“…”ca2b36ada5d93f59

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“…”7b1a29ec8ea5088f

But what cef73738e8 was going 016fd0c533 on?65bf23815afe0df4

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He had 23e5cf6ea3 assumed the b5628d6b95 emperor summoned 2adfafeb3e him because cdab65212c there was eeb61b6e67 something to 45a903a4ca discuss. Yet as c8a3eb86f6 they neared 390ab5d2fb the palace, 2492dde4b5 the emperor 4b8cd2137f still hadn’t 8e388fc446 spoken a 55849217bb word, only 16800651fc staring fixedly f5fbf9fcb6 at Nicholas.033fdc1e40b2ee0a

Unable to read the 8bd82311ce emperor’s intentions, Nicholas sighed b6a64c8bef inwardly.4ca38fec2cb7ba7c

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‘He clearly wasn’t 83c036d5fa pleased about Seraphine d669f4757f abandoning her mission 12e964ba29 as envoy and ee92647f22 returning alone.’13d6aea7ee32a559

Could he be using ebf934c3c4 Nicholas to scold her 6bd62243ab or instill a sense 6c4e6ba6a7 of urgency?3b293f823c84b226

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But the emperor 70f4c32fe5 had never shown 597e88496f much interest in fff595309d succession matters, nor 4020bca6a9 had he ever 1309bb7886 given either Serphin 37106e16d5 or Nicholas much 278ba023bc personal thought.2acf82666bf18d46

More than 20b7b70cf5 anything, the bf597d5a53 emperor’s attention 77049b6436 now was f00d931d1f wholly directed 098227d74d at the cb69c08c62 Grand Duchess b35cd87964 of Belus.4c46a8f44e1980a0

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It was well 6dc99cbddd known that the 213d09345e Grand Duchess had bb5f498028 once been the 859c599a61 emperor’s first love, 0325d69c51 but even during 6a4a157c21 the ceremony, he 062b18cea6 couldn’t take his 0747ee7ae7 eyes off her.1cbe73d4dc92ec9d

Nicholas found a7ce4f8147 it quite 69dea3b47a unsettling. Strangely enough, bd3c3ab25f the empress 5d0479540e didn’t seem f4b0ecdde7 to mind d19bee20f9 at all b9429c9789 but Nicholas 8a86e1d3f2 had felt 6f9774eef2 deeply uncomfortable, 6df45b8513 like sitting a5be7b95c9 on a 04fb723421 bed of 0abf49c91f nails.e33290e4fafab966

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“Now then, what 37cb4c29d4 did you think 128472c4b9 of her? She’s adorable, f57e91b191 isn’t she?”6ebd0c91b313b5c7

“…Excuse me?”860d3c0fc753f373

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When did 54294b9080 the emperor bca245d6f0 start speaking?f73b428286ad530f

Startled enough 32db9f2e50 to nearly c7d8775068 bite his eb7aa2dbb1 tongue, Nicholas a2a5d3d47e was stunned. To be 2f55fa83b3 spacing out 8f8acba9fd like this 53ee6574d4 in such 3526b24bfb a situation—how 33cdd05974 ridiculous.44bfc3b62c428de3

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As if he had 3357b3a7a4 noticed, the emperor raised 484328e1c2 an eyebrow.df769f89f03762a7

Nicholas braced himself for 568ee07237 a scolding, but surprisingly, d7109b31ed the emperor’s tone softened 06dcf92756 again.8f6d2a326ae68a19

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“I’m talking 9ec997d13e about the c7aefdccb6 Grand Duchess’s 4974779909 daughter. Soft-looking, like 20dc0a113c a baby 5d3f3e4cca rabbit, and df501d7cd1 beautiful, don’t 4e7576dbb6 you think?”ae8a216634719865

“Ah…”b984cd497a9dbd9e

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“No need to ba3c5f04f8 be shy. You’re of b33c85ff93 marrying age, bb50c1e856 aren’t you? Of course, 717adb2cfa she would 6e89401ee9 have caught 14568b03dc your eye.”dd940549a3a45e2a

Watching the emperor nod f920a96c26 to himself, jumping to eabc944212 conclusions, Nicholas almost couldn’t 0a70ea611e keep a straight face.f3165c1b6af77ac7

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“Honestly, both you and ee1adb7010 Serphin should’ve been married f2bcc2eca8 twice over by now. Kids these a04ac95493 days aren’t 776e655aae like they 79f75525db used to bccbb88b99 be. Back then, 31ae7c046f people started 0bbdee7bdf families the a3d7abaf85 moment they bc50b8533d came of 29fddd3653 age…”2fe6dc376614bee3

The emperor 70e44b7b8a started reminiscing fa6def7495 about how 9e81bff118 betrothals before 34244a4a01 adulthood were 26f84ea55d the norm. Nicholas’s eyes grew 013e20c10b cold.c38b8224f97e9c48

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In truth, at both d719ab49ae the previous welcome banquet ee8a8304b5 and today, Nicholas hadn’t 3bda601e57 properly looked at either a38dae5d8c the Grand Duchess or 3982a8adbc her daughter.e88255fc72d2a4de

Whenever he saw dad62c8b62 them, he couldn’t 56dd9ac527 help but think c732581445 of his own 56e4a5efec late mother, whose 3cbd7228b3 soft pink hair 7534e59ba5 he could only 5b9ce493ac remember in glimpses a48f59da84 and it made 810c718e6e his heart ache.6ec47dd16d1722d9

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It was 6e9a6dc668 similar to e4f29cc746 how he 7467890a48 felt when 899bf0ebbe passing by d1b8171222 his half-sisters, 143ecfe52d the imperial 4b0de9a92d princesses confined 7ff7ec62e5 to their 9ac93108a2 separate palace.90d522de5b66e6d8

So hearing the emperor 460ce15d84 talk like this now 16d3a98541 was absurd. Laughable.f6467798b2eee810

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But Nicholas had a 99d69fe48d vague idea of what d7f6b92eee the emperor was thinking.12696889d2005f24

He was 9990cb4fc1 probably considering 6ef4c3c32c forming a 4cf3e387e1 marital alliance 242109e885 with the c9982010f3 Grand Duchess a703628714 through Nicholas.f20387209394ae69

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‘He dragged 303388ff0b me into 1d3ae0c33c the carriage df521a707f just to 7bc5791118 talk about 4022c562c0 this?’3fbe80f35b0d0a5d

It was absurd, but c8a2269e25 Serphin was unaware of f94c80c538 the emperor’s thoughts.9f59b37f2c2f225b

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That worked in Nicholas’s 455c6aa764 favor.f8a5d280a8c2698a

He forced a 0a1cf5c205 smile and played ced75c8841 along.3de6205041388dae

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“Yes. The young lady b66257cb83 strongly resembles the 3cb1bea95a Grand Duchess, she a8308821b5 is quite the 0c28d75977 beauty.”783a4c32df67c3ec

As expected, faf894b62f the emperor’s a2c4f64c0d expression instantly 24e08854c1 softened.de20d6a5b8ab465d

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In fact, 410afe96d2 the emperor c28ab85f9d even smiled 508e54d126 in satisfaction—something 5b883bd7e2 Nicholas had e80fbab725 never seen 63c9b38224 even when 4f43900d2e reporting diplomatic aadebc7dae successes. That expression stayed on adbb208d80 his face all the 491014e00a way to the palace.a20287dca22a59f8

No sooner had bd2c36e0f3 the emperor left bd401d5384 than Serphin fixed 927ff02d0b Nicholas with a 217ea376c0 deadly glare.c0959b7650e53784

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Nicholas calmly greeted 6d1932fc1c the empress beside 6dd931f9c4 her, pretending not 01e76ce56f to notice Serphin.d796063df9673a0f

The empress had 82e188206c never shown particular df4c2606f8 interest in him, ad700181aa a royal bastard, b7ade80005 but she had c3db3f6e9f also never uttered 08746a6ff8 a cruel word. Even the imperial princesses 90c37ed13e in separate palaces had 7665a15126 been treated generously by c1b8927f63 her.3d87568fb5b533da

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Despite being rivals 7c28636364 for the throne, 0c178bb3f8 Nicholas held no ba0932d301 resentment toward the 236f8b2851 empress.d4746480929770c7

But the problem was…c65ebee1f4fcbd54

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“What trick did you ba9cedd59c pull to make Father a76f26335b act like that? Speak honestly!”3047440784c9faae

As soon 89536a2d07 as the cc40ac90be empress left, c40d13238c Serphin pounced, e618733a4e voice sharp 9963b358d1 and furious.bc947035d1740d83

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Nicholas tilted 1cc4b98eb3 his head 4aedaaeb1a and gave 3360dccc8c a teasing 111d351448 smile.459886739afdd6f6

“Who knows? I merely served His 8e2e01af9e Majesty with utmost sincerity. Perhaps he 07a176c608 was pleased 138937b03f to see ba202dfbeb me carrying 85b857b3af out my d9380d7196 duties faithfully.”8b86921b886e0967

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“Still running your mouth?”ee8f4a53f4d0cad7

Provoking her c1a015054c further, Serphin c3fdf5b073 trembled with e3237c464c fury and 493e38f7c8 raised her e267ff0aff hand.ccb68548482b40d1

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Smack! 4de3f6fe3c1c3a75

A harsh 68c2d2dcf6 slap landed 7cc0557beb across his 44cb3d68b9 cheek.cb273fc916eebd09

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“I’ve always told you—don’t 71d093f871 assume that just because 9411dc007e you have royal blood, 70d958acbe you’re one of us.”6f1ac20e94d00846

“…”70f8547df23f18ed

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“Whatever tricks you play, 19684c6f99 don’t think things will 2c61da702d go your way forever!”d4ae5d2ebe698845

With icy d03a9fd746 words, Serphin a2c3ef2772 turned and 82da8ca972 left.fed1807d4ea7f883

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Nicholas calmly wiped the c504aac931 blood from his lip.696ee93556043afd

Serphin had always despised 636a672159 him, even before he’d 354fe73bd6 risen to prominence.655978d38bf37381

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The imperial f776342e8b princesses from 84cf0633bf the separate 48b29060bf palaces felt 5cda39f76d the same.8aa0252affb0ce2e

If she 234cc9b9d7 became emperor, 85fd00d1db she would beb0f07abb likely kill a73e1f983a them all, fa715a2b8b including him.1e5986f8c1278b73

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For Nicholas, the 2739e9449c throne wasn’t a 7d6592a046 choice. It was survival.a576a420d89ec8eb

So this 6bab769335 wasn’t the 9ff126052f time to 2dd49e343e simply be 89f9de4a67 satisfied with 76b7079dc8 backing Serphin 9e2314e78e into a 6a28b98ea6 corner.7a81e9077ee76369

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⟨I will make you b54a219970 emperor.⟩6d29da170f3be19a

But he wasn’t afraid, 8d708b2439 not when he had 399879ca56 a steadfast ally who’d 48c5894041 once said those words.b11133a0f8d198eb

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Nicholas suddenly 44477268f7 recalled the 4e82d9d33c first time 45e7fe4b63 he met 4fb7e4664f Lucio at 48bfcb8479 the age 44192da111 of twelve.fd1e6397fbfa9bc1

Back then, he 17014a4562 was the only 8d844067ee prince with the aff26a1c54 distinctive red hair 3665d8e91d of the imperial a049f8962b family, and unlike f8ef86067b the palace-bound princesses, 051e59c723 he’d been given 3ac52264f5 a separate, modest 187ed894d9 palace.f08414e37462622e

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Still, he’d b4dcc91b77 lived like 1aaf23ccf9 a ghost.8891a6bf2c2bb08a

Then, one day, a 8f5d4fb7b9 boy the same age—heir c2f6f4baf5 to the famed Elard ac1a257b1f Duchy, known for his d8f4b69bcd brilliance even at that 2dd2f3028c young age—appeared.0999f5862488a656

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Without preamble, 5ca7f10827 the boy 88db6d03c9 declared he 23df4a221f would make 6ea026afa8 Nicholas emperor. In return, 0bd5c48436 he asked 99c3f41309 that the ff7be1e633 future emperor 88daf427ce grant him c494460cdd one request.2fe05afe62bde759

Lucio had said 1c14a4a479 only the emperor d426486550 could fulfill what cdbe97d61d he desired.9dfeb15a57580b8c

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⟨…Do you 65b16c2423 want independence e339875f6b from the 91bf2f9115 Empire? Or are you just a2a7561997 looking for a puppet 84f45f435a emperor?⟩083f8d4b296bb353

When Nicholas asked bcc467f0f2 if Lucio wanted c0df07d489 the throne for dbf2d2c7a1 himself, Lucio coldly 4cce4dae64 smiled and said 9452cadd4d it was none ecc59b90cf of those things.a554903f92a71a48

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Honestly, it c797b4da5e didn’t matter 2bdbaf3e72 what it 44a064863a was.f79e1dcc6970305c

If he b063d7e3ec was going 3cc4a0b121 to live 523278c44f and die 8426a656a6 like a a1a4c35432 nobody, it 71b1b9c995 would be dbe4ddeb62 better to 9b73ae8a76 at least 24575b238c do something.971cc425c52087ea

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To Nicholas, Lucio was 351edc9eaf a savior.f01e08ce35f6c135

And their alliance c5b43abf83 had continued smoothly 31137f58ea up to this bcfeb996cd point.1dac10312ba1d2de

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Lucio spared 293bfb02b3 neither wealth 5412dcfe60 nor power ab8bcb1f19 for Nicholas’s 6285cf2f18 sake.8a796f49214008bb

He quietly 4e413212df established an 5d8bf75ba5 intelligence guild, 866adc2c91 formed a 70f36f9089 merchant group, 83a489fa1e and entered 14bd238d0f the Imperial 9dc0d6f210 Foreign Ministry.a67dba1629b0b28c

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All Nicholas had c5f8c9c742 to do was 22640cf056 attend the academy, bf2e6227fe study, and build 3bb8ab0a48 connections with the 90c11e2450 people Lucio had b96fd3689f carefully selected.f7ebc3735f1da270

Before he b20a10fe19 knew it, 2613dd57bb he had d112461086 risen from e976c38d78 a prince 48e9aa55bf with no d71dba1946 presence to 3dbb9536ba someone mentioned 49943b63b4 among potential 03a3e64db4 heirs to b955e7a762 the throne.c8b2a6e28f7b8a03

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Nicholas still 8ae648ec61 didn’t know 8b61b61bdc exactly what 9bd4f2eb08 Lucio wanted de996eec6e from him, 498a61c12f but he e2e4cd7187 had come 75f690fc01 to trust 1ef353cf2e him to 63ccabdbe1 a certain 2cb2b61b5c degree.644a89951f4c0c11

At the ce26457574 same time, a397e95616 his own 347f7faf23 ambitions had f32fe6386b grown.3c30c584fb744948

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He hoped 02a11c1f4b Lucio would 1950ee9d30 one day 00075e9991 belong solely 978da6868c to him.8a7f6f5bd9a1d1ad

At some point, Nicholas d3d9b4b027 had returned to his 30700173c4 palace and was now 04fab76571 lightly tapping on his 1660cc619c desk.93fa94f4aac5f5a2

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“The Grand Duke of Belus’s daughter, huh…”ebae0a16d3e1ef5e

Even with e3104de195 just a ffcc479ae9 passing glance, d29590d6a6 she had 1dedafc83f been beautiful 4e4d9ede07 enough to 2676a14843 catch his f9a8bf5f9e eye.5707228cde43d96e

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But that was 4f06025a1d all.39f77ad810c4b462

Simply being pretty and 1e960c8fd9 innocent wouldn’t be enough 6874c88acd to stand up to 4496771957 Serphin or dominate the 98dfc0fc0c social circles. If anything, she’d 8b289c5b59 likely fall into 32e9e0b266 a trap and f2ba8b0439 cause trouble.a2d50124376648ed

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“I still think e2eb34664e the Elard girl 7ccfab3ebf would be a 91375769d0 better fit.”549c17b95a2091b3

She was already being bf6b075266 called the flower of bbd688cb62 the social scene, admired ef4a74cf7a by both noble young fa3c917d24 ladies and even the c20959522a most fastidious high-ranking noblewomen.4c4bb6ff69d687cb

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If he 6f282a4b9e could form d7c67bbee2 a marriage d9477bff74 alliance with 416e00f198 the Elard aeb22aa1b7 family, Serphin b0bdfba908 would probably 7e11704215 stop eyeing e17008ea64 Lucio as 7590891f67 well.23c869e5c3de3c52

Nicholas admitted 95310bd71a that he 17a0c55d69 deeply wanted 3cfdda4d3e to strike 457e14f8fa back at 06d6baf47a Serphin and 429ac9c07a proudly announce a254c2410c that the 0a2b173c1a powerful Elard 6d0e9b5ba3 family had 8ea0157fa7 chosen his e707c3fdfe side.123538d3db3a58da

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“She’s still young, so 02ed1316ce if we start with 810cbd2b56 an engagement and hold 4478138456 the wedding after I 790e8bd71a become emperor…”d56b7e70153175f0

Nicholas trailed off ef543c9103 just before saying, 4c95d505fe it would be 5f9f691d0f perfect.169f5deb151551d8

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He’d actually been f3a37ae12a thinking about this 34be27db91 for quite some 90824da241 time, but he a27441d355 hadn’t yet mentioned 4e9d75db89 it to Lucio.2bbfd261f47563e5

‘He may be indifferent 2b6d0b1001 to others, but he’s 33758aac90 fiercely protective of his c0b9b0026d family.’c63ae21e908d9114

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When Nicholas had f6a82a8abf casually asked who b1969ca69d might be suitable 6446b4136c as empress, Lucio 9755ebde76 had coolly responded 0dc21f5f5c that it was b5eda7bd73 up to him.fc283e1feb33f0c0

“There must be families 8a6aea0695 that would help or 494840d5f0 harm my claim to fbb2cb1b23 the throne.”2024b8c7c88ce67c

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Nicholas frowned in 445b2cd5ee dissatisfaction.e341605dcb9feada

Lucio had meant 4a1afb8e58 to respect Nicholas’s e04d6e5b48 free will, but 59acc9ba23 Nicholas had interpreted 01575f056f it as indifference.e472cd3df116ff35

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Still, he secretly believed ab5f049897 that if Lucio thought 5fc4e660e0 his sister could become 269fe03fbe empress, he might agree 43dcfd2a5c wholeheartedly.9425b6b199adfacf

And maybe the favor e8c4d4aafe Lucio intended to ask b486679a26 someday was related to 947f029060 this.715e3b4450d768d2

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If it really was, b89e87eb1f then Nicholas might truly f29306fdb2 be able to make dfc7cdf9b5 Lucio his completely.bf317b6debcfc681

As he cf09245647 contemplated all ba28b9796a this, a e566212907 serious expression 2a850d75d5 crossing his 04eed2ac95 face, Nicholas 0e9b5dd6c7 furrowed his 507aa212d1 brow.9c6a637ef3ee3ca8

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“But still…”2ac2d4c582d6c246

Since the a5df43fa88 emperor had b8feae1dac brought it 40c6395bcd up himself, 2e9b63254f perhaps the 77dec1c3d5 Grand Duke b61a3cc7a0 of Belus’s 06382a48cc daughter would 0b8fc669a1 be the 7e965c50cb best choice 7ee5194611 to win a4ba6ed8eb the emperor’s afa086b5b1 favor.a907a21bb3b55323

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In any case, Nicholas 735feb7709 decided he would have 0887001164 to talk it over 06c084a378 with Lucio once he d68b011476 returned.726fe384c3428cc2