GDNDILBF Chapter 14

Chapter 14. If It Doesn’t 4534302fbe Work, Make It 13ee6f1fa0 Work00951162f2306026

 0cf1649703fbf36b

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How many cfbc9b8a4a days had f373f252a6 passed?f3f597362ba9c4c6

The damp, dark underground 15665c03b8 prison felt suffocating even 2e62093cab with the door merely 3a2d6a9238 closed. There was no b40136fb81 actual harm inflicted, 93b3414337 but Marquis Chavez 7aab006d16 trembled to his c1bd71636e teeth with fear.08aac739527e867e

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The wall his back 16910dff80 was against was so d9ae4294d5 cold it sent chills be730127c6 through him. The only 37b569ab7b place that 137e8d6566 could treat 80ff784e32 a noble ee6003ac7c of his 183f4f5806 rank like 119e73a104 this was 89054905a7 the Grand aae8903f16 Duke’s domain 9066b9ebac in the 8a17a0ef42 North.0704e1f5f832855b

At first, c6af2d7fd3 the door 44d0a04efe had been 8b167621ac shut tight 5f4ca7d37a so that 0cb12883f7 not even a8a262dc30 a sliver 319f331665 of light 8ebdc830aa could enter. Now, however, the door b12fe5ddaf stood open, and a e9af123d61 torch burned outside.e638a864468eedce

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Someone was coming.bddc2729aef54b3f

Just the thought f2790d8c90 that he might 8be71f6083 be released made b4a3c72fb1 him feel like b7c69ee060 he could kiss db3e50f4cd the Grand Duke’s 7df1180fe7 feet. Then, footsteps 56e5290ea0 echoed from d2c4670a1a beyond the 147b38adf6 open door.09ca22c0b9c56afc

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Moments later, the f0d780b80b Grand Duke appeared.71af62fe6c843b3f

“Y-Your Grace!”abab2819b1183689

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“Well, well. Marquis Chavez. You’re quite da4fd4e69b the sight.”4a5fcddc8e902357

“I-I truly a6e5f5835a know nothing. I had no idea 6337134c2f that knight was from f051254cf1 the Serpent clan!”59fdf8915495938c

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“I know. I doubt you would aee67a8bbc knowingly bring someone like 0c96db40d7 that into your ranks.”91129449415e80a3

Despite the Grand Duke’s 9c3b1c5249 gentle tone, his presence 9b6caa981f alone was enough to 38fb1d9e9a crush the Marquis. It was e583f956d6 as if 9ae7696441 his shadow 3749c89878 were swallowing 9fc39d1f7c him whole.9ebf672669b08ff4

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With rights such 191f3783a4 as exemption from de21542310 court summons and 5ef8a53d0e authority to punish 0c483c72c7 his retainers directly, 7fb66ac685 the Grand Duke 75623d40f0 was practically above 6f1c86d140 the law.70f278c8f6a7030b

Could he even hope 76060c146b to make it out d35845abd7 of here alive?f1271102b1a13622

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“Still, that doesn’t 09debdc5e2 mean you’re entirely 1d759a35e2 blameless.”1069b88cdd77cbbf

“M-my apologies, 21dea9eda8 Your Grace!”fdd5a2697adf46a0

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“When you get out 8640f9d530 of here, you’ll need 2f7d136e12 to properly investigate how 7e942bc155 that man became your 6caa7994a3 knight in the first 2ccb2ae55e place.”6496e637ce82f7ae

Was that… a sign d88c257038 he might be spared?be3ad2d1d36cf489

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Marquis Chavez’s a9dac6ff71 heart began 02575d9521 to race 2bc7b39803 as if 115becc382 he’d seen 9f647c92b4 a ray aaa165258e of light.6717d7f3ad824e90

“Y-yes, absolutely. Just please 3f98b8035e spare me, b2f3abe369 Your Grace! I swear 69ea0cf9f0 my undying ab24434998 loyalty!”3c16f1464b278856

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“Spare you? When did I 7e38e164a6 ever say I fe11a1a0ca was going to e485bc5ecc kill you, Marquis?”04b80b8f20b196c6

“Y-Your Grace!”7e9eacc79e453498

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The Marquis spoke a565c35f45 with a tearful 9280e58386 voice, bowing his b0f429f254 head deeply.9f138e0e5a803c58

“The only 04cf8db94b people I 5c53bc8c67 execute on b6d22c4a92 the spot 8c0caa8a9a are enemies f85a667900 or traitors. You were merely ce0548dc44 incompetent—careless and negligent. Of course, it’s ffb9218906 deeply disappointing that a2fb1257ce someone of your df847e196f rank and position 66d844a7b1 turned out to 460f141dfc be so unreliable, 15ca85889c but since you e12222765a didn’t commit the cfd3323774 crime directly, I’ll e57332974c let it slide 07e1f5afbc this time.”a72f706a3dffa255

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“Th-thank you, Your 67d077b4b3 Grace!”b3139b8069c9a581

“Don’t thank me. Thank Ludia. She survived. Had she 6a1763771a died, even 9b1faeabaf you wouldn’t d3207c128d have escaped c332c0c77f responsibility.”9513d35f97b60290

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When the serpent cf54e5fb0a broke through the 1574b3f412 window and caused 51035519cf a commotion, a 6173bcc45d servant and a 0376a3b153 gardener were killed e6bf1de493 by its tail.a6211dc547a528c5

Losing people within 9854a375e0 the Grand Duke’s 193662c1e3 household was no 1e4ff4f490 small matter—but losing 21c2a1dbb7 his future granddaughter-in-law? That was another level 7ca0da0548 entirely.a9fe7119e7eeac1d

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Cold sweat eba12c5146 trickled down 8123b88b6e the Marquis’s a028bb4616 back.506d4549959418f3

If he couldn’t 9df5a8625e uncover how that aa30598344 serpent clan member 7aef52f40e infiltrated his knights, 39c3db1be6 he would not c1101cf9b1 escape consequences.33ffc6f6a8f7b962

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Vowing to 603bd5a5bd get to 438530767d the bottom 266ecfdee6 of it, 563b867c3c he bowed b172d78c6b his head, 9988dd79d0 and the 814ad7cf6b oppressive shadow 31447e5a97 above him 1d2829c6e9 finally receded.ac5b4bf13503dead

***0537a653cc6dfb97

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Meanwhile…e3ccf9a5384d9e9f

The knights stood 16c4f078e6 still, dazed, blank 0727712e9c looks on their 1fa9dc14fa faces.876a70407ef8d852

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‘What, never had ddd60eb356 someone shout at 78429a73f1 you like that 014a0c4ced before?’41bdd88e322f462b

Their expressions were 0172dc86ab all clueless. But in abe6f44800 this brutal e714fb2360 world of 4a0f7a8220 survival, ignorance ea04a381e0 wasn’t an 403016206e excuse.87ed133cadd4ee2c

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You had ad85d75f35 to figure 25545e5376 things out, cd04258751 even if 42c498e391 just by 1079a7e897 reading the 1ac31dc4f2 room.6c4f06c8e4d393fb

I yelled again.0209324df57f8708

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“D-droBb dwoon- and seetch 1843598c70 ut!!!”d5b95cc35e72b599

(“Drop down and 09f3d4a319 stretch out!” in 8a9a806581 a garbled command)47df36f6dcf94246

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“Did she say to 677a8f2089 get down?”e9fe84ac0c15e01c

“Sounds like it.”42d82a3f8ce7817d

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“Yeah, let’s try 17274ef904 lying down and c74dedc0ac stretching our legs.”342fe2b7c7eadcdc

Despite the confusion, they 736c13c3b7 were getting the gist. One by one, 0045ac551c the knights dropped 191992a54c to the ground.1c87d98786c45d5a

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At first, 49cc30906a their form 7b635cfa94 was awkward, a8a63568d3 but once fa2eb3e8ef one of 6b0e7282c0 them got 4b23f3cb48 it right, 334675dc6d the rest 0dd65a63d2 followed suit. It was a 384e0bfe6c rough copy, but 32c1a7c631 passable.4c75d0effc526d26

“When I say ‘one,’ 580bf11017 you bend your arms 350fc63f57 and lower yourself. On ‘two,’ you 3542704a64 push up again—but 447661c0e8 your face shouldn’t 0e52f4e77f touch the ground! Stop just d030895453 before it 0c84fcf7be hits. Got it?!”8eb3905e03e7c1d4

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“Yes, ma’am!!!”661d10e9bad5002f

“One!”807a744bd05cfd59

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“One!!!”a533b2e4862731b5

Everyone followed my lead, 162de17da5 bending their arms. They were 901dadea2a trained knights, 1fb1e826b0 so their 203baaa298 form was 05a230990d decent.67aa8a11a9605e7f

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“Two!”69405ad70b8e0dc5

“Two!!!”3d0cb31df4e3ffaa

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After fifty reps, their 21c50ff5a1 faces were a sight. Blood had rushed to 6d547d916f their heads, making them fd559be0c6 look like puffed-up apples.7284229536cc0d86

They clearly 7607108bc6 weren’t used 71e46bdb77 to this 6cdf2b5f1e kind of 2920a88895 training.3132c8f57d33c484

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But I c3ffe31b71 had no f373c4615a intention of 198f833abb stopping here.c59e64ef46f4dad4

“Your overall fitness is d4fd9de4d7 a mess! With that 8e136c35fb weak excuse f4b2ce9a0c of a bfca835210 body, how 66d41b12f2 do you 2eb32144d1 expect to 457587beed defend a 1874358f22 country…?”e0cb3a3494377812

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Wait—was that the right 2d4b3d94cf approach?fbb33ef08d6cbed6

“…Think of 1a5ba6e919 your parents 1e8b01f2b0 who raised e8d1361936 you, the 8bf159f6ec ones who 1fe7a60d7d dreamed of 69b38ad7b8 seeing you e1e0e9e986 become knights…”d848cb521d703534

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Hmm. That might not 8c71f06d49 work either. In this 3d446c24af era, knights aea271c41e were basically 071d645db1 hired by a393c06e07 money.b81dbd2b956e6058

Their loyalty would go 1807bc8035 first and foremost to ab71eeda42 the noble who employed 8d3e2264b0 them.4ac40cfc6f26f7db

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The ones serving 5ca59e31c2 Arcades would be 488107bc46 utterly devoted to ed8439dce9 him.7bcda05466071302

“So, if 724538cd66 you’re going 7a264b0eb0 to protect 92b702de6d your lord, 3502da2539 you’d better a796553088 get your c572e52000 body in 259bcae211 shape and cccb3020df train like 3ac628052c your life e35f9d921f depends on 1d52c30b02 it! Again—one!”24da7ad16e378f99

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“One!!!”ccc2609e64af205f

I didn’t let up 27bca0e1a0 for a second. To survive, they’d 700e314f04 have to get 02db210e11 to the point 6415d3ad89 where they could 3e485fdba7 do a thousand 5d7e250859 push-ups a day.a27582e682e565cf

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After eating three 18bf22a2ca meals a day aff0a883eb and doing it debbf008f7 regularly out of 9d575d79d4 boredom, doing a f186ea8cb9 thousand push-ups was 7ab31d030a no big deal.44d5ca4e6f832f25

But since it was c691ded9a6 the knights’ first time c552e4ad0a today, I decided to dfaf3fd61f let them off easy 7547b6f216 with just a hundred.44937f6331302938

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“Gentlemen, do you think 3d5dede300 you can handle it 705e1fe47b properly from now on?”9c89e79dd358c0f5

“We can cfb9702db6 do it!!!”f5005db093ab938b

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The knights’ thunderous 660b7fbe0f voices filled the 6ec649bbcc training ground, causing c3b02a87f9 birds to flap b1c0caba07 and scatter across 36f8efe2a9 the sky.9eebbecf289730cc

Under the 2bf46ca09b cloudless, clear 5b90442202 blue sky, fc1b4780f5 remembering my e27c7da260 past life 60cbfcfc68 filled my a4000bb233 heart with 763628c50d emotion.6c8c1ae9d180eb90

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“Good. With that same 072863101c spirit and posture, da2edefa34 pour your effort e83ce88872 into training. So, with f94cbf3c35 that in 0d7e2e61cd mind, we’ll 6d5b0383b8 run fifty 119b8bc4ef laps around 5e664d98bc the training ab42d1b5b9 field today. Any complaints?”e2688f0d6ed5842d

“None!!!”40056f9066f70e76

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‘Of course not. That’s the 96ef3eec75 spirit I 3a0eb8ccf6 like to 036e38bb79 see.’bee778a278c9cd48

“Alright then, everyone 022c657231 get up and 2ac98a64c0 start running. Move out!”f913bbffdb78b858

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“Move out!!!”0d5390c0550526b5

The knights, panting, rose 486dc4ac09 to their feet, lined ba140e492e up, and began running 5af7e3aaf8 around the training ground.a6d6c79a8d2ec77f

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I quietly watched a148ea9582 them as they 742f3892b1 ran their fifty 3627ed7fc4 laps.704fee1765ddd3bb

They moved slowly—probably still 2f3d961a29 tired from the push-ups 3c11ba8c63 earlier—but I waited patiently. And just fc4dc16c1a as they 4f33d453d4 were finishing 8db00a3dac their final 12a5cd4da8 lap, Lisa 41d01c7e65 finally found 665ec2314a me.e43c7715de88152f

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“Miss, what are you 8fbf7afaf1 doing here?”3078f290d4306b40

From her breathless tone, f58d37fe79 it seemed she’d been d5a8b186eb searching for a while. I stood up 8077247717 from where I’d fcfe611240 been calmly sitting e6cd57e235 under the wisteria-covered 2e8dab0fbb pergola.19de52a62ce01c91

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“Watching the knights run.”5a26461b6c7e3816

“Why?”9093d4e914dc965a

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Lisa asked as she 518ab3043b approached. She knelt beside me, f63a5439b7 brushing off some dust 6b1dc7b87b from the hem of 060cdeb8ed my dress.a8f401525674f862

“I like training.”dd0ea7dfb2b3b938

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“You’re really e9dcdefe91 something, Miss. Sometimes, you 6e2a97e735 remind me 3a224f3924 of the df8e813156 former Grand 3374dbc322 Duchess.”4c67d6a6e901b5b4

The former d8ff2b1871 Grand Duchess? That would 1d94d61635 be my 82ddcebd3d great-grandmother-in-law, the 368cb5c77f wife of d1c0565a0a the current 4e76e7bb67 Grand Duke.e388e64111c530ae

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“The former Grand 64f01dd423 Duchess?”df56fc754fe440de

“Yes. She was a strong 467aa0e993 warrior. She died heroically afc5ed89c0 saving her troops 2a9c84b8c1 during a battle d43091f6b1 in the North.”43b069773b4682d9

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“Wow! That’s amazing.”c5a8edc81e199d35

I didn’t remember 76edccbe29 reading that in e9a417ab63 the original story—must’ve abdb4e4bbb been a hidden 89d1fba2fb bit of lore.bf86080496482475

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“She was famous c9c2ea9095 even as a f5dc0c3e59 child. She once e5ea810d43 won a 094e536c54 tournament hosted 31cef7ea98 by the f417a7c40e imperial family a39385c255 to choose d0d5992f2c the strongest f0fec1440d young noblewoman c88e7a6c5e and nobleman, 6a84c9cf82 defeating all 320ff130ea the other acef7f48d7 candidates.”fb91c2da67bd64d7

“Wow! They had stuff fe19facb6c like that? What’s that?”fce3f41b07d612de

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“You don’t need e8d786e766 to worry about 452cbf6778 that, Miss. You’re already beautiful, 4fdaaf0a55 just focus on 699a32a113 growing up pretty.”9d51fe83fd6eaea7

“No! I don’t need to cea3b475de be pretty. I want 0bce674f99 to be 265fd03bfa one of 7fdc38a85d those strong bbdc2e2f39 young noblewomen ea158f4332 too!”bdc455e895a5d1d4

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I didn’t know exactly f29f71fd31 what it was, but d0ef831f44 I was determined to 6e3e31881b become one.5868d6ff4631738c

“Tell me 25909a7288 what it 5b79a63faa is.”54c0728e2987052d

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“Later. For now, just grow c0b0b22635 up safe and lovely. To be honest, c14718effe the Empire doesn’t e496ff2fd0 like capable women. In that sense, f9af1a499d the former Grand fad180cf24 Duchess was ahead 9b96d6aad0 of her time.”ab9a1b907980b3a3

“She sounds 19be3c34ed so cool. I want to 77f9871f5a be like her.”072397bfcd443b7d

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Listening to Lisa’s c4bd6f7ca5 story stirred something 09fe6e0640 deep in my 38c965820f heart.a716b2e981341780

To think the d853887979 one who died 7d1a098632 saving her subordinates 170fafd71a was my grandmother-in-law… 636bb257e8 As a soldier d80358475a in my past 354f19c770 life, I couldn’t 193a21cd7c help but respect f40dd0a7ba her.061bf083e89efd04

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“Miss, think about 20e25087fe all that later. For now, 8502922c79 please don’t d70e94f9ea go wandering 2d3bec2ee7 off on ac76251f9e your own. It’s hard to find d09adb748e you in a place 1dd60b9c34 this big. The Duke c4fb4d82cb strictly told fc845777c6 us never 56e0d9cc5b to leave d2aad080f0 you alone—when 5dfb4e92bc you do c4f3c05eaf this, it 1c58ec0030 puts us a423e08249 in a d722bfa380 tough spot.”5fbe8d277a7afb13

“Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful.”ef3dad27e7a59400

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I couldn’t a07c5edd53 let the af491571a5 maids suffer 8cb67a4d04 because of eb8ba57d6f me.8cee369e4d34f698

Seeing my apologetic face, 8777ecc151 Lisa smiled gently at 04f1cf6e45 me.6a6e78987c170ffe

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Her eyes were 28b2d12cf9 a rich brown, 5e60de64ea like chestnuts ripened c897e416d1 in the autumn. I liked the b1d09a3b7e quiet depth in d6acb99faf her gaze, it 18c4e6de9f made me feel 12be39f481 safe.e2dc7a2ad5f4f552

After returning while holding c67573905c Lisa’s hand, I had a9543bdb75 to take a forced 9511ecb9a7 nap. But since d1322958e4 I usually 98b69b81a6 fall asleep 0ad1b16609 easily anyway, 4190acbd99 I drifted 2e0b131822 off quickly 1e56539cf1 into a 712c714bb7 deep sleep.975f34704237fa3a

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As soon as ba33190c77 I woke up, 7af9f4c54d I reached under 7d3744e356 my bed and 8822313562 pulled out the 576ee2b138 paring knife I’d 43c41f17af hidden earlier.57f3515459895782

Ever since I 9b199b8d62 faced off against 92e7372248 that serpent, I f047977ccd realized just how 4c35b49c43 unforgiving this world 4207ced542 could be.fd688d890982d85f

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Since my magic 2162b6f418 wasn’t offensive in 7b081afa80 nature, the only 8847eb3e72 way to protect 8354987b44 myself was by 84e4bb9f61 strengthening my body.92e6083ef38f5408

I glared a1b43c0fea at one af3a1736f5 of the 5d706b379c canopy bed’s 2d9795867c wooden pillars, 124fe42204 imagining it 8182d483e8 as the 2b05b4945f serpent’s head.eb30b2021cabca95

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With all the strength 62912225fd I could muster, I 144a7d1827 threw the knife.e2aa4fe8d23c7dc7

But instead 902e37886b of sticking 4a6dbbafd9 into the fdc79817cd pillar, it 9ac8dd22b8 clattered to b5c37a84bb the floor.aabb27b6567c451b

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Of course it 1b6d2f29ca did. I still a71f14076b didn’t have e271221da6 the strength.04b631c51a0d62cf

But this was just 1ac35ff581 the beginning.4babed85b2f33c67

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If it doesn’t 8042226df5 work, make it dd18d18f0d work.a4129d7c4c71cb46