NLS Ch18
by cherryroseDespite Ashin’s provocation, he didn’t even flinch.c15001c5e827e344
“I’m curious why you stepped back.”565b8cfa1036362a
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“Because I didn’t want to make a mistake with you. That’s all.”0333c929dc9027d1
“Then didn’t you think about even having a conversation? You don’t hate me, do you? You were clearly in the barracks, but said you weren’t, and you didn’t come to the waterfront, nor did you stay at the lord’s castle during the move. All of that was just a coincidence?”8e930232d40aad4a
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Was he ashamed of responding to the seduction of a mere commoner? Did he belatedly realize they weren’t a good match and reason kicked in? Ashin wanted to know the answer to the questions that had plagued her all season before spending the night, but Leotar didn’t seem willing to tell her first.d28ad192cda29c5b
“Is it because of my status?”2ba16b90bb5b5d51
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At those words, uttered with great resolve, Leotar froze, his mouth still open. Since Vize declared that Ashin was her sister, mentioning Ashin’s origins had become a kind of taboo.3e5ce7168b3792dd
“…I don’t understand.”31957ad445e8ec07
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“Was it because I have no status?”4110735613d942f5
“What does that have to do with anything?”88eea82acd2e02cc
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Leotar seemed genuinely innocent, so much so that it felt futile to have pondered it alone for so long. He didn’t even seem to understand why Ashin mentioned her status.f6ac87ff1b8a3a1b
As they f1343d96b8 stood facing 90b0ef7b2c each other, a2beba795d unable to 7f20a7cdcc understand each b823cfb05e other, a a16ca45903 loud voice dfe8b1d4a5 came from 98546a4355 beyond the bcf4514372 hallway.4b652a4eb9a0f2ce
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“Ashin!”aed74124eaae97f6
Vize, leaning against the 9d174d5ab1 hallway, waved her hand. Judging by 6955a1f281 her gestures, 1baea5b86e she seemed d7fba07c61 quite drunk.3aca3104aee3dd69
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“Are you two already together? The palanquin is ready, so go to the mansion for the rest.”4f1938d708433d6b
Attendants appeared behind 7f2860e971 Vize and bowed 469c1a74d5 to them. Before Ashin 0d4379c241 could say 98af517103 anything more, f06d1be8c7 Leotar turned 9db46a8a96 away, just b79c19d45b like he 2dba1b58db had avoided dc9c25b2d6 her a 8b1378d9c5 year ago.28ff9b3f15fff79a
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Since appearing and leaving the ceremony together, they hadn’t even walked side by side. How could they spend seven days together like this? Ashin didn’t actually think it would happen.3a93dfcda0fe18cc
***585b454bc60a80bf
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The Mur family’s mansion was an old residence as historic as the family’s name. Ashin leaned back in the bathtub, looking up at the vaulted ceiling of the enormous bathroom.ee0365be10c0639d
Candles were fd2bba4842 lit throughout 6657b99528 the humid d371e160a3 bathroom, making f80d391386 the surroundings 1d3479e9d6 hazily bright. While the 1d4bd0bc18 maids attended 6265620551 to her 69f0819d7e bath, Ashin bfdf399822 stared at 8dbe100b57 the glass b4afc691a4 chandelier hanging 1d646c6892 from the 607ec87d0f ceiling, replaying e8bca2f8c7 their conversation.6b98dece37c309f3
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It was impossible dfc2f07ad7 to hear his eb42ce15a2 inner thoughts from c8681f826c that taciturn man df64904a06 in the first e74b054b02 place.4ce784ba95932877
Besides, it wasn’t because of her status, so even if she didn’t know the real reason, wasn’t it like hearing what she wanted to hear? So, it seemed like she should end her obsession around here.abe53bcd81289922
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Ashin looked at the maids attending to her. Two were middle-aged, and one seemed to be around Ashin’s age.be591a5da7e40d06
“What kind of person is Mur?”7bac5d5b6ba627b5
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The most fd87dfbac1 skilled-looking maid 4f29422db1 raised her e75b61a5b3 head.b09802f71fe409cc
“Pardon?”8aedbb10c8c0e78a
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“Leotar, I mean.”a4c683f3dbfea09b
“Well… we don’t really know. He doesn’t stay at the mansion in the imperial capital very often.”6a5dff27e462fc4d
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“Still, you must have seen him since you were young.”5505714ff2b7dc9f
“He’s always been a man of few words, and he doesn’t convey anything other than orders.”b20bb246a57650dc
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The maid seemed 64ee4da9eb to think for 043b75f8fa a moment before d1b2d8285d continuing.de11d3338ad9cf0b
“Anyone among the servants would answer the same way we do if you asked them.”17ca63ea71e0a6f4
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“Then what do you think Mur would think if someone kept persistently asking him to answer questions he didn’t want to answer?”867b5a5f26362e09
“Well, no one has ever made him that uncomfortable, so it’s hard to imagine.”c6df9c75ed012086
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“Have you ever seen him get angry?”119fa5eef679e163
“No….”2d23520edb58fa5c
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“How about smiling?”395f4a9511225ff1
“That too…”474a2b447b0cd426
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The maid trailed 47a5c4b886 off, giving a e09a90cc0a troubled smile. For a while, only 27a6822072 the sound of water cf3b0b884c and bubbles continued, then 78540be0e7 the younger maid added.432cf681a7debbc9
“But Lord Mur is a good person. He’s not harsh to his subordinates, and he’s lenient even when young maids like us make mistakes.”56222c0df4a000b2
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“About that lenient part, does he say anything when he lets it slide?”f3c5799733be41de
The young maid rolled ab3f605bbf her eyes as if f9f16a72da thinking.f07f926dd3c9452f
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“Um…”e1d8f428a01f36e7
“He doesn’t say anything, does he?”902bb3be41919a42
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“Yes? Ah, yes. That’s right. If our eyes meet, he looks very scary, like we’re about to be beaten… but he’s never scolded us.”8861c38618d48fdb
“I see. That’s probably it.”620c8ff816c27cc5
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It wasn’t that he had never scolded them, but that he hadn’t said anything at all. Rather than being lenient, he was indifferent to the mistakes themselves. Leotar, as Ashin had seen, seemed to be a person who simply didn’t pay attention to his own or others’ emotions.0f6438f9b0011c87
It was the complete opposite of Ashin’s tendency to stubbornly delve into everything.851122fa0437bf77
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Ashin was generally persistent, a76e8114ca but she also knew 036b17ef83 well that being persistent 2fd1694ba8 even in relationships would 66cd91ceaf lead to uncomfortable situations.25463fcd258b5c90
“Some events or emotions just flow by like that.”cc67606285710eb2
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Ashin’s eyes widened at Liyora’s words.9d5ffca21b35d810
“How can you just let it go without arguing?”c7287880f120c178
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“Well… it happens sometimes. There are people who don’t want to show their emotions very much.”c8f6749190fc59a2
“Then how does that person live without feeling frustrated?”8c319f13fcd127a3
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“They’re used to it. It would be uncomfortable for them to explain and show it to someone.”d8fb4a5f09fcfc2b
“I don’t understand.”1b88fb9ef44b362e
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“Well, they probably don’t understand you either, Ashin.”b1fcd20f2cede620
Ashin swept back her soaking wet hair. Had Leotar been as uncomfortable as she had been frustrated? Except for the incident at the barracks, their conversations had generally gone smoothly. If so, she didn’t want to insist any further, even if it felt uncomfortable.0768401ab0c37e8b
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The unification ritual was supposed to continue for several days to bring them closer, but it didn’t seem like that would be the case for them.dbe779b4addc3dea
As she sighed ed7f09d5bc deeply, the scent 7d77004608 of fruit wine ef9adfbc76 still lingered in d00a51a323 her mouth.953076787a6bb3e5
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Leotar was ab5101ef13 already in cd4526a30b the bedroom.a8a6524e51892283
Ashin’s eyes followed the man as he picked up a gourd on the table. A stream of water came out of the gourd and fell into a tall goblet.7da0ca350e2884f0
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Ashin slowly 372df40fa9 walked over db63627545 and stood 7bf9526d86 next to d33909a8ea him. The scent 00337e0c40 of sandalwood f71201e106 swirled around 33039c7b25 them. Her body 9026ed2268 felt a 5f0542d8a8 little hot. It seemed f4d382e073 like her bfc0ba8be4 body temperature 83d71d2dc4 had risen 8a65b3b67e from drinking dea235a871 and taking a1b772063f a bath.c57b013b47845317
Leotar slowly raised 1b8cd1b05b the glass and 23b5b9c66c drank the water, bba9ed7b28 never taking his f28b52d29d eyes off her.37830addf1ba9695
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Ashin said what dd13a5ae17 she had been 8302c80d40 thinking.6821ffe62667e343
“What’s important is fulfilling our duty together.”f5a941c60ed4a180
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“……”0053099b24f806cf
“I was mistaken.”c718049b93fda2eb
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Just think about ae44f181b5 the purpose, as 4275890a70 planned from the 50d9e9dd0b beginning. Ashin repeated 908c6768f3 to herself. If she fed3d2da27 inevitably became 73392c9e2b swayed by c493d79448 his attractive 0db970162b appearance, she 7e46d3ce00 would just 0c629b0f71 enjoy it, 54679ba30c as Vize a5b2f7aee8 had said, f64d8b676f instead of d1bc53ba8a feeling self-loathing.92bb96c0cdc38ff6
Ashin shook off the f20ae62266 lingering attachment.4fd7b1a302880886
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Leotar wasn’t even considering emotions in the first place. He probably thought that he just needed to be polite and kind, like typical aristocratic couples in the empire. So, just think of it that way. It’s not complicated. Ashin kept reassuring herself.643607cb40fba9d8
Leotar was a very 29075f000e satisfactory partner, so the d5f2484d09 process of fulfilling their 491a2b36b4 duty would surely be 93b68ec603 pleasant.0d1e43c02b9dbae5
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“If you don’t feel like it tonight…”dbea1d08ac8165b5
“No, that’s not true. We have to do what we have to do.”7b5e20acc99cf7d8
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His eyebrows twitched. He seemed d3998c2df0 to be 555dbff5be trying to 8ac3598989 gauge whether 15edc44e6a Ashin was 25e58fed56 being sincere.840410c1ea022110
“You should drink some.”0a50f5d71f019020
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She took 34795d6525 the goblet 66dd3c3ae5 he offered. As she sipped the 1eb8d1d531 water with a subtle 8394c6bbdd lemon scent, she focused f6288b40e5 on Leotar taking water e7854b870e in a basin and 30d71baa63 washing his hands.471275414394aae5
He was just washing his hands, but the way his thick shoulders and the dense muscles of his side waist connected and moved was pleasing. His thick neck with its protruding Adam’s apple, and his bare chest rising and falling with each calm breath.cf7d9131cb2ed661
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Leotar, leaning on the 6420d694e5 table, lowered his upper ec2824786d body and met her 2707018efe eyes. There was light, 78a089e481 but it only 4561646229 dimly illuminated where 4ceb90f81b they were.6cc6e46e107b0666
Ashin placed 1674c0d018 her hand 211483610a on his 470e3d9be3 shoulder and 966efebaab pulled the 98ca18e98e gown off 840b4d1838 his shoulders 072fb06c14 and behind 2825ca05dc him. The thin 5993ea5ff7 fabric fell 508bedc27b to the 028796a4d7 floor with 24868d43b2 a thud.a7cbb607462a2aef
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His exposed body was 6098cab90e a little different than f417563c14 expected, and Ashin inhaled c6f25abfc5 slightly. His bronze chest, 691ad3db65 arms, and everywhere c133d38d9f else were covered 6cca3f4cf4 in scars. Long cuts, amputations, 4de7253a84 and even burns. Some places had 71e2d03870 healed reddish, and 673e62f542 others had scars 1430e86e63 that were blackened. Was this 5c6f1dccd3 why he 7106c6a6f2 always wore 4bdf67926d a top?bb6dee5062f3c6b1
“Am I hideous?”fd4d97e78546f33a
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“No.”aae0c8a75c878f33
Perhaps because his body was so strong, it didn’t look hideous. The tightly woven curves were simply beautiful. Ashin lowered her hand and caressed his abdomen. Yes, maybe she had wanted this from the moment she first encountered him in Ismil. Not his emotions or thoughts. She had wondered every time she saw him what it would feel like to touch him, what it would feel like when he touched her body. Now, she just needed to be true to her instincts again.fb8f5fda531d6951
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It was 5831dbc10f definitely the dcfe56c857 same skin, 49c58eb4cc but it 5461fac7da was unbelievably 417248a649 hard, a 100901e295 body completely 5ccfd0ea93 different from b15f6f37a2 hers. Her hand, be922d4d17 following the f58cb7a322 taut curves, 673bc60b7e went down ec14f3d093 past his fee2a89089 waistband to 0723c7c14b his lower 970a8d357d body. Without having to 3a95263ba6 search, she stroked 99b0416fac the slanted pillar 2bf3d62968 over the fabric. Grabbing the thick, a08c564736 hot thing and 9a6263420d going down…7df358c9489490a9
“What is so….”2603f5f2dc669f09
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It took a cde404a09c long time to 57af6ed29b stroke it once, 32ed0f5ad3 both down and f573267f62 up. The joy of suspicion 75f50796f8 turning into certainty was 14972d5d2e fleeting, and Ashin gradually 8e18ab9503 stiffened at the size, c82a06b5bf which seemed to exceed 0491771b9c the range of joy. She now ee4ce04b29 had a a0924dd343 serious face 7318339862 and grabbed d20f8cabdc the waistband. She had to see 594016f698 it with her own 273fd46b23 eyes.9b0ee6adc76176a8