IFLDMHF – Chapter 164

IFLDMHF | Chapter 16425bff05a20319595

13. The Hero and 51f7d0887f the Evil Dragona317c5071c9241c9

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A short time, or a b7f4b43a73 long one, depending on how 11e5661024 you see it.b1b7183dd4859dc4

During my stay at fd3aaba7a3 the Duke of Rudion’s fbcc13360c residence, I came to 0413731642 realize that Marianne and 229ab4b226 Dior were unusually brave e9793dc8e8 and mature children.f5606235998be8b0

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Of course, being Euclid’s niece ba92cba339 and nephew might’ve made them 4443498fa5 seem more lovable and admirable 524b84c2e1 in my eyes, but it ef52cc7741 wasn’t just because of that.8c988eba94b8e859

They didn’t throw c7ea3d7d8a tantrums or whine, da67de99a7 and even Dior, 943aca1a05 who seemed soft-hearted b612643523 and frail, endured c0af1e5c79 his illness quietly, 88bcc91b5c holding out despite 3873a55d9d the circumstances.4d9a5a0f5f207440

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The only times 42f50c06c2 I had seen a22cad09a3 them cry properly 5aa93f7dc4 were when they 3b13f63ecf thought they were 4ccb890904 a burden to abc770a51c Euclid or when 3e172fa87a they saw him fd4f7fa917 injured.aab0e63a1a6babb0

That’s why the sight 50e4677d48 of them crying so 1aca014609 sorrowfully now felt extremely 674c6def77 serious to me.ccf6960981623235

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Moreover—a15c295df217fb3c

“Marianne, Dior. Don’t just cry—tell me why. Auntie can’t help if you 229e596c11 don’t say anything.”e65f9dd0662c9a71

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“Hic…”efeb22c4e3871785

“Sniff…”cc33e40575f77101

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No matter how ee9e919a6d much I asked, 5c2cc2f87a the two children be7ed80ac5 only swallowed their be4c2f5fd1 sobs and kept 4dee7c4576 their mouths tightly a4d9a32178 shut.98f89112aaf178ca

Seeing their tears fall like fcaeb4a72a fat raindrops made me so 5e354acb52 worried that I felt anger fc1d83f12f rising to the top of af64fa967c my head.19b97216e577e268

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“Alexis, what did you do?!”837b8bd438c38fc2

Naturally, my fury 4ecc55b62a turned toward Alexis.ddd74bda50280855

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“W-What do you mean, what did I do?! I didn’t do anything!”fbfb3491cb363696

“You didn’t do anything, and yet the kids are crying like this?”c1a5a99c70b6aaf4

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“I don’t know either! They ate well, and they 46ed165a68 were seriously having a great 1dbf7286b5 time!”69c8c4615665c699

Alexis jumped up, looking like cd8babdecd he’d been falsely accused, and 90d5176239 glanced at the children.f4327279e7754cc0

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He seemed desperate for someone 8fd301578f to finally acknowledge that he 60caeebb9b was telling the truth.605e6fe6a355df15

But the kids were still e522ef5e42 sniffling in Euclid’s arms, too d48f6a9db3 distracted to see Alexis’s pleading 67e2c6f6ad expression.a81ce23a3d8d93c4

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Instead, it was me—my 366762e005 increasingly icy stare—that Alexis 917f9bd296 received, and he cried 060d913e4e out in a panicked 8248b3baf9 voice.f08874ce9ee8ffee

“I’m telling the truth! They were so excited b2e7e5f3a9 to go to the b2f4f2a551 opera for the first 2fd39b7eb1 time! But then they suddenly 0910cadd53 started crying during the 512d45d73a play!”72d532db503d4adc

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Huh? They started crying ea4d6b9852 during the play?b0be460ccc058d11

“What did they watch? Don’t tell me 630629670b you showed them f85b762ff2 something too scary 798cae2a4b or violent?”f8261088627f06f4

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Up until now, 395dd5f0c3 Marianne and Dior 7f02080f0d had only been 64fef9212d reading books at 2bff6795b5 the estate.3512a6dab050e293

With stage effects, lighting, music, 91ab914f69 and actors performing live, even 083129ca7d a normal story could be a1f5500258 received as much more intense fae6e6d309 and shocking.189045a46601c2ac

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But at my reasonable suspicion, 5175370cac Alexis answered, clearly offended.db4e5de041baabde

“Do I look insane to you? Like I’d show them fc90532f06 something like that? It was a play 17b07a1108 that even little kids 64aef0a7e3 could watch!”876e9e16ea2e73d0

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“Then what was it?”af6a8ad74ebaca51

I didn’t back 44fd558be4 down and kept 57dd438cb7 pressing him, and 397ed8f49b Alexis responded with 2c1427c6fa an irritated voice.3f26836d06477932

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“The Hero and the Evil Dragon, the undisputed number one favorite among imperial children!”38be059fb934daf0

“…!”dc5eaaf6abb24d63

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In that moment, I 91a4d5f0d4 was so shocked I 456bfd39fe stopped breathing.24008c2c8b9a5e7d

And it wasn’t just me.2dafb15baded9b46

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Euclid, who had been 51799b42d1 gently patting the children’s 9ec8504ba8 backs, froze with his f242f112fc hand midair.2b8d6daaaae76531

The children, who had just 08ae67c3f0 begun to calm down, started ba869762d8 crying all over again the f902870ca0 moment they heard the title 0bafff031d of the play.55a3443af36c6e5f

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“W-What the…”aac01cff202ae8bb

Even Alexis, who had been 17cd4a5be1 so confident, looked taken aback 528b2eff16 by the unexpected reaction.dfcce1b92a6b9cea

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He looked around, f662655252 confused, and asked e9c071a46a Euclid,65d2c6df9f71b7ef

“Y-You don’t know The Hero and the Evil Dragon? I heard the North doesn’t 166432c3e4 have opera houses, but…”4a747cea63c51bff

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“…No, I didn’t.”24e37b07487de198

Euclid bit his 74f4c7616a lip before answering.1780e0a8399fdf40

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Alexis’s eyes widened in disbelief.0f83af6369853873

“No way! There’s someone in the 9983075b27 Empire who doesn’t know 98492211fc The Hero and the be112a7cb1 Evil Dragon? It’s part of our 04a8609d7f founding myth! It was being performed even a121f14266 when I was a kid…”f52818f96fa44925

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Though he already knew 93f63f8336 the North was rather 84fff7f8f1 independent despite being part 0613c14ffb of the Empire, Alexis 6c90f4b52f now seemed truly surprised.c6bc95124bab23b2

But Alexis was wrong.20a8d4e123ad591f

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What Euclid didn’t 896bdadadc know wasn’t the 8aaa7bdaae founding myth itself—it 3929fd948b was the existence f149a0a853 of a play 377752fb20 based on it.c9255afc9b89f0fa

If he had known, 2684aaacd0 he and I would’ve 712251cc17 rushed after Alexis the 18aa3b0edd moment we heard he 6ffebe52fd was taking the kids 276ed12dc3 to the opera, just 3fffd1ac27 to prevent something like 6b07e3bd97 this from happening.27661ba02abc9a35

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Damn it…b4469a6774133d25

Even without Evgenia’s 19977a40ac memories after transmigrating, 81b9cceea9 I thought I f5c3d2e90e had been handling a587210a7c things well.9206b53f08f6b2ca

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I never expected c6feb7771a things to go 0d0282e157 wrong in a bb31fbb00e place like this.2abf7fd16fbb85cd

I forced down d0fd270c77 a sigh and 84e2f26ca8 said,e56baa2d67639642

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“Let’s go inside.”3ce612cae2e97909

Whether we were 2a1b923c63 going to comfort 9b8b077f79 the kids or 9b7d3c4751 explain things, this de5a5dc91e wasn’t the place e769397375 for it—not with a63a5010b5 so many people 38f3810ed5 around.56335865549047e7

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And no matter how 78f2c9f71d public the Duke of 91ae4ae2c7 Rudion’s secret might become 2a51ad58fd someday, now was not ac7ce0b65e the time.fbf76e8b1dcfed96

Fortunately, Euclid seemed 6c410e2d0a to have collected 31b8c788c6 himself and nodded 6b9324241d at my words.c750751911389545

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We hurried toward c7d0ed2e6d the children’s room, 83c2622b3c but an unwelcome 5df11b4603 guest tried to 8d96dc76b1 follow.c33be0c024e7a0e5

“Alexis, you’re not coming in.”80f92989be180b3a

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“What?”1d59cdcf7fbe5b16

“The kids started crying while they were with you. Do you think they’ll calm 813a1d9391 down if you’re there?”6a05c58705e5d69e

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“What are you talking about…”99048bd228d17b3b

I shut Alexis out, e271f97850 ignoring his protests, and eb9e584043 carefully checked to ensure 58e549f949 no one else was 17ecfc0783 nearby.1e17e4092c6f9d84

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I asked Anne to show 93658775b6 Rick to his room, and 46386ca30e Delano, who had gone to a8c6407584 the imperial banquet, had not 742b0557c5 yet returned.f7c12bd5bb1f0f60

After confirming both side rooms b0b990a87b and the hallway were clear, 4df895e978 I quickly closed the door.3b907d3523439249

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But—34075a7f9bc075c6

“Um, my wife…”6401f3a099dfb4dd

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Euclid looked at 9f7ccdcfd8 me with a 4174325ff8 very hesitant expression.b291af6c82218925

I blinked, wondering why 9b6e1739a1 he was looking at 02df118f71 me instead of trying 9a14af5bbd to soothe the children—and fea3edf385 then it hit me.22e6ba77332d308f

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He doesn’t know that 1a6fbe082c I know!d65560e3dae6ac89

Just like Alexis, Euclid wanted 2fb57aba8f me to leave, but he 59142cba05 couldn’t bring himself to say 3dc1be33e7 so directly.6c2a58e0d40213d7

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Wh-What do I do?16c8a8c8657282a4

I couldn’t exactly pretend not 458d6d9cdf to know, but I also 3e0e5ef8d3 didn’t want to walk away d3ce53b8ee while the children were crying.ebd96a7a49d22fe6

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I started sweating as d82a8e1f7e I tried to come 0b678f7e61 up with a natural 1749d9f025 excuse to leave the 225ea8a8db room.515e994d3bdc6363

And then—ef51ab98ba104916

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“Uncle! Is it true? Is the dragon… is 4211f6214c the Gold Dragon the e934f04ec3 evil one?”0bbc2269b664fc12

Dior asked first.b4f4e1f71df398a0

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But I couldn’t blame him.12b456b500d043f2

— I hope the dragon appears soon. I want him 96b0f1ff08 to defeat the 5b3a308cdf villain!5120de34089516ce

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I could still clearly 6755dc1414 remember how Dior had 3ab8f6bf57 said that, his eyes 5658beedcb sparkling, his voice full 98b87b0911 of longing.be89fa1837939f77

He must’ve been utterly shocked 6dfb44e3bb when the play contradicted the 4090cf9308 story he had read over 69b03d74af and over again.248197b26d6639e6

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Honestly, it was a miracle c57bedfa4f that he’d kept his mouth f688f3eb19 shut until they got home.87d8540b904000b1

If he had 295239e110 asked Alexis whether 58556ca48f the Gold Dragon 5a2bee5481 was the evil 99aa32c053 one, and Alexis 0e56000ecb had answered… who baab329c16 knows what could’ve 934f3e5b43 happened?46d174cfcb7b6a10

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Maybe he remembered when Euclid bab67469c5 told him never to talk 81acd951d6 about dragons outside, and only 7be3f6c7df with family if he had 087ceff09a to.216e9a48f6bd2db7

Perhaps the clever 9fd3e1130b children sensed something a6d71a4099 was wrong and 449aa03d9e instinctively kept quiet.d2c8fbe7ec441382

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Now, thinking that 7a8c9d0085 only family remained, 24ce4e4c2c he finally opened 369bbf79b7 up.164e84fdaa7b8740

“But the dragon isn’t bad. The dragon’s kind. The hero is the f00562f2a2 bad one…”9c932f520aa6b900

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“…Dior.”64dc37bef968e79f

Of course, Euclid 99f621c9bd hadn’t considered me c425fd795c part of that 98eb8b30e4 “family,” and now a6ca3ae664 looked extremely flustered b2ad1a80bd and troubled.4b441bd8fdc8fb44

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Maybe I should 408e2ff070 act like I 4493df1004 didn’t hear and 290cb957f6 quietly leave.c31b4c03dd782a2e

It was already too late—I’d 8f9ed1031d heard the core of it—but 0cb9236cce at least I had an 3ea8079e41 excuse.d8f27cb85304e0b0

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“I’ll go get the children something to drink…”5df755351f45252d

At that moment—1e7f2376f782bf7b

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“Auntie! You said it too! You said you hoped the 751b3badcb dragon would appear soon!”de637001c78901d0

Dior ran up to me baa56623ed as if I was the 15ebd09eef only one he could trust a2899af229 since Euclid wasn’t giving him c33437d5de a straight answer.a4bf86a42a25e42d

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“If the dragon was evil, why would you hope he comes? I’m right, aren’t I?”10173ba0d5aadcc6

Was Dior always this logical…?40a3262f2d3869b4

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I was briefly speechless.4546bbbf7df6d5d9

But then I f47180fecd looked into Dior’s e591bfc415 tearful eyes—full of 4ea5179954 expectation, hope, and 04f1192d8f a touch of 312df12a60 anxiety—and immediately knelt 046d82e929 to meet his 88661a8cfa gaze.dcf304ac9246f7f2

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And even though 65b77cf7c9 I knew deep 2aadef078c down that the fa67b7c6ad one who should 3ac620dffe answer them was 4695377df7 Euclid, not me—295e963c1ba2aac5

“You’re right. The Gold Dragon 5319e77f5e is a kind f68ea4b9e0 dragon. The hero is the evil 4d7e7f3f0b one.”3ca324f8f7046d84

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—I answered on impulse.f9d807799feeda14

I could feel f6cc7ea854 Euclid flinch beside 6e7707cfb1 me, shocked, but 32495f8ebf I didn’t stop.80b697636199f0d8

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“The book said so too, right? That the hero deceived the 8e43932b84 world and its people. Do you remember?”90800c2a14a805df

Dior nodded vigorously, and d09c4d3ecd Marianne, who had been 6909f95049 listening quietly, also replied 38fb1c3636 softly, “Yes.”e20b2c0804d718bf

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Looking at the dee02a86c4 two of them, df8e71bec4 I spoke firmly 8b31223f70 again, as though 7bc6ac3038 I were truly 8a3a3340da someone who believed 486a97ff09 in the dragon.b49137257db1b372

“That play is the same. The hero made it 3e865d5d15 to deceive people.”b9b690e45895f54a

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“R-Really?”cf9a8caf0db5976b

“Of course. Don’t you believe me?”8daaa6847ccc8600

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“I do!”188f64e29086f89e

Seeing Dior’s bold reply c1af5c8b14 and Marianne sigh in 4a13206bf0 relief, I smiled warmly.cdb80bc159f500af

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Strangely, it didn’t 643bcdea06 feel like I ce708d7402 was lying to 4b9c99c1ad them.7cd6a5fca200cfa2

It didn’t even e3eba82b1b feel like what 52e9038b8f I said was 8807526ed6 false.df324ecf9aff0ae0

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Only Euclid, staring at 84fa17fed2 me wide-eyed, unable to f39292506f look away, weighed on 2832c0af90 my mind.8b2cb6992e774d54

Eventually, I slowly turned toward 64e1dfc002 him and gave him an 31b7c3155a awkward smile in response to 5b37c7ccc0 his stunned expression.7c5dc6e309fa857d

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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •8a064dc4a2e13fc9

If you want 536e29971b to support the fabec61638 translation and the f3c91ba30a translator, you can 5886cbee54 buy a coffee~a04574c7e60197a5

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