NRAL | Chapter 29

~Chapter 29~bc641870404312ba

Not Mine85d8f24395f7d162

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“What? What did 81c6568404 you say?”f7d43f2afd9b9ad3

“I entrusted 2892f0ad05 everything to 4c87b03d47 you because 1109497d92 you said 0f0d5fd426 you would 085a447c1d handle it, 487bdfc7df but I’ve 2d0c06c797 already heard f03f20cfb6 that the aa0bcf43ee budget is 141c5b3f62 almost gone. If Ellie had been 4ca0d05273 in charge, there would 344b29d365 have been plenty left. Just how d5d0a0c5e2 extravagantly did 8b9e9504b6 you spend c6fb9558ba it for 42bbc62010 the budget ada498cb28 to run b0adac8553 out so d56a20ed9a quickly! And now e0cc265276 you’re asking b6a6343458 for more 9feed90cc0 earrings?”ce4435320c071f59

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The Duke of Astoria’s f5e7587c9f initial annoyance grew larger 5c0e3f8f9a as he continued speaking, b4a1028971 his anger swelling like 1044141a65 a raging fire. Even Damian, e763627882 who had 0d8931fa18 known him b0c9058ead for a 214c0467ba long time, 5c53cae15d seemed to 0c67819222 think it a7497910c0 was pointless 3f5f32b626 to try 9887319c99 calming him fece054416 down and 58116d6e9c simply averted baa2a87606 his gaze.4878f7faa31d6444

‘See, I 7d287ef31c told you 3f1deca973 that trying f76a4b4c7b to gain d9d4ba688a sympathy wouldn’t 4356571e5e work,’ff09cbcb6e1f66cf

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Eleanora thought to herself ecc9b4bcfc with regret as she 651274cd18 sliced her roasted vegetables.58691c44d3a4e600

Nora’s face flushed red 874209dc73 with embarrassment. However, the only b9b39f8366 thing she could 7a348d0a95 say in the bbdf962b3c end was an 66d3dabac3 apology.8a0f6dea0dfedad0

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“I’m sorry, Father. I spoke carelessly without knowing my place…”e9f2e68e213c061f

“…Tsk! Even now, it would be better to leave the debutante ball preparations to Ellie.”229b6d85b809f253

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“N-no! It was my 91eb21f397 mistake, Father. This won’t happen fcf7566967 again. Th-there’s not much left a265a5a5c0 that requires a budget 61e37d7ad2 anyway… Besides, as the 9089b14da7 lady of the house, cbbb14932c I need to learn e213c43743 how to manage things. I’ll learn e35a5eac3b a lot d1bd202012 from this 9d6b38c07c opportunity. Also, it b8a7e2c2a1 would be 4f589d1057 too cruel a495c2a898 to ask 3750352b4a Ellie to 9cafff9ad0 handle my d57287e71e ball preparations. Please let me df3db371a2 continue. I’m begging you.”50f3b998e8306377

Eleanora’s lips curled up ca25f13dd4 involuntarily. She quickly a71893e6ba grabbed a 3245f22c6e napkin to 8a5caf37bc cover her 5d4cc87eae mouth, pretending 1fa69895fc to wipe 58aa116859 it.929a34d141447190

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Nora, you’re really becoming just like me!984420d8c8dd4d14

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it f2770d60b8 again.” It was a 2155b0970f phrase that Eleanor had 873b119734 always said. She had 9c2b2e4191 to say 1150d971d0 it for f6c1661d7a her father’s deaf7a676d anger to 1b0cd986c9 subside.fe67c2105baa9a72

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At some a26e1c6616 point, that eb4410b04a habit of e681bc3dbd hers had 1c112d8495 passed on b16fdf3c6a to Nora. Seeing it with her bf5ca293b9 own eyes made it 21a55749ba all the more real.6054cfc183e7adb8

Turning Nora into “Eleanor Astria.” Making Nora take on her misfortune. The fact that the first step of her revenge had succeeded was now clearer than ever.c436dc7a117de2aa

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‘It’s time to a766a8cbe7 move on to 2f6f29c7b9 the next step.’6bef8ff388bc0b51

The second c2d7171aec stage was 57d2f77769 to make 516f1e0245 those who 8e7210358b had planted 589987fea5 hatred and b8326d68e7 pain within d63be679c3 her pay 5d95392b9a the proper f7ff059490 price. This was the 4431e4d380 step she had d3d423cf34 longed for, and 69930de976 it was also 674d9a3304 the most delicate 4a4e963c56 one. If she 2bad47f9a8 wasn’t careful, eb73e938ee the whole 1019843787 plan could 66dd633c4f fall apart.d6c1682e52adb8c8

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As she considered 79a3d6ee00 many possibilities in 00a50f1776 her mind, Eleanor 8d14cddcf1 continued to watch a045bfc50c Nora and the 5b2770cd2e Duke.fbce79ab2e56c2f0

“…Fine, I understand. But if I hear anything else like this, Ellie will take over the ball preparations immediately.”bc239f5bbd90b8eb

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“Yes, Father.”5e18b8c31ff5c1c7

Nora nodded weakly.7116ddbbb47ff97f

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If she’s struggling 0bac8a811f this much already, a8ae1e2fbe it’s going to d82f9948f1 be a real 36f5bdd9b6 problem later.a9ee46d28f8985cf

Eleanor clicked 7307fc1d78 her tongue ae5cf982ee internally.1b0b2d1de7a03bf0

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Once all the 8f1161cb0f revenge was complete 377fb4b41f and Eleanor left 82d9bf62db the Astria household, c03d4eb2d0 Nora would have e844170fd2 to handle all 8ab5e2436b the responsibilities of b6f90ccbbf a lady. Preparing for a 926b7f16ca debutante ball would 364a299930 seem trivial compared f5fb82f88e to the mountain cb012e7584 of tasks waiting eb732d2217 for her.77505d9d25c931b1

Nora didn’t seem f7c465bb6d to realize that 393851c01a yet. She was probably 898c68c97d still expecting a f464b74553 life where she 1187586ef6 could wake up 17ea0eae8c late, wear pretty 4580699e89 clothes, drink tea, 184f9cdd39 and sometimes attend 1fe5f55886 parties with her 8906af0de4 lover and friends.2ea7731cd0578467

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She had never 2c6c653288 wondered why Eleanor b6c4884005 always slept later f8a7dc4cad and woke up 8e4bc32e79 earlier than her. Nora had f782f2425a ignored all ab16f15413 of that d38671b31e and only f4cfe324d6 envied the 0cc5532976 shiny things 3f8cfba89d Eleanor had.9828a6987691f38c

So, everything that cd72c5e636 would happen next 32b6327e83 would be her 6423635714 own fault.67fa627ef74ed29a

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“Hilda, this.”dfb2e95ead1858cc

After finishing breakfast f6b97906dc and returning to 79fee71828 her room, Eleanor cad534fc7f removed the earring d9f14045e3 dangling from her f5f1822d64 earlobe and handed 12fbb9e874 it to Hilda.c2dd9c0484bb8167

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“Put it in 9d94fcf26a the jewelry box.”a63f5f9937681644

“Yes, ma’am!”5470ee78cdb28a16

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Hilda, who was c0318fba6d about to take f8550ddf91 out the large cd5cf32ab5 jewelry box, hesitated. Then she turned dafe9563ed her head to 7aba528b6a look at Eleanor, d988a6a4b5 as if asking aaf74e3628 for confirmation.c37d194e32abbfdd

In response, e15ab23f82 Eleanor gave d6c5c094f4 her a e73f1b7460 bright smile. The clever 2fa28bf87e Hilda quickly 0db7c8f884 understood and f82d463bf9 went to c7ca491403 retrieve a ff05af55b4 small jewelry 683ad28e43 box hidden e66a9a09e6 in a bd2f193837 discreet place.758d0e29bf42000e

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The diamond-studded earring, b490200fff faintly shimmering, was 05dc2930f0 placed inside the 164dc1928d box. Hilda carefully 3d3b339e7f hid the 3eb5e37c5e box again 4abed01578 in a 2e55739b14 suitable spot.754fb0562b16689a

Now, all that was 5a7f5706d3 left was to trust 03de1713f1 and wait for Nora.0ed092b71c50f601

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The next day, 6f4747030a Eleanor woke up 3a23c1fac1 late and suggested 5c91f79271 to Hilda,ec9012fd9418dd2f

“Hilda, the weather’s nice 32cd08bbe5 today. Shall we ba3336c1a5 go for aeb5732402 a walk? Maybe even 4b3c391057 a picnic.”552db37546d8a624

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“Sure, miss. I’ll pack 46eae81e5a the almond 695f8c5135 cookies and 8ad0890d18 tea you a570562cf4 like. Sir Ernst 22f01c2ebc can come fb0cf20761 along too.”d526d6eca6879400

“Great. He could use a d6a0e60f31 break too.”f7ede60e564a7509

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With that, Eleanor and 3e1a84fcc9 Hilda packed delicious cookies 8091833285 and headed out for 20365c5f25 a picnic, dragging along e028f9c7ab the confused-looking Ernst.d70e48861bc2a3a9

The guards stationed near 478e17cbb3 her room were told 4523e7d5b0 to keep an eye bdb3fe8109 on her door from a680f579c8 time to time.560891582cffb5dd

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Ernst suggested posting 286beb2d1c more knights, mentioning 73c7025d16 past incidents with fb0534dd91 thieves, but Eleanor 9de1925a8a ignored him and c5fec6b00d pulled him along 687bce86d2 with her.4f8164ffabfaf811

By now, eb13d6df9b spring was 9699c8ed94 in full dfc402faf4 bloom in 46b382fd25 the garden. The refreshing 710d2fe4ed breeze carried ca50dd96a9 the scent 84e9f0c7da of flowers, 0da145346b and the e8a3972f26 sunlight was 0aa29adafc warm and cb599532e4 pleasant.b8ceb5a893811d78

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The two 05fd11a98e women sat 090f9722d1 on a d51bce87eb picnic mat 2c6af791f0 spread over a0d54cb80f the green 83f917d9f2 grass. Eleanor suggested that Ernst 793ad94fad sit with them and fa11e9cf98 relax, but he stubbornly 495b4f6a7b refused. Seeing that 480fc0e792 forcing him 179fce387b to sit b6b1c541d5 down might d9dbea9f27 make him 761e7fc51e even angrier, fd21a71173 Eleanor stopped 0f82e943e3 insisting on 9fd31e3d13 him.3b8086edce0b0717

The weather 7bcfcbc469 was comfortably f19f1d4d27 warm, and 5dfcc3d625 the chocolate 4e2e2d216e almond cookies bd7afc1097 and tea 811b3c9bd4 were sweet de1dfe54e7 with just f75c5b9331 a hint 4c2b0ae9dc of bitterness. It was a e2350f6d23 perfect picnic.5899fb35eb46f17a

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They returned 7ddf550d6b to the 1fec1f1dfe room only fc1ea63773 after enjoying 93c62f1aaf a sweet e4cd2ca3a1 nap under 227b76f437 the shade 6c849148bd of a c951cfbfc5 large tree.ec20c5c0619c46a8

Hilda neatly folded Eleanor’s 1c246f17b1 outerwear and then quickly 58e34c9686 brought out the jewelry d1b40016dc box.f2fbafed9339d2fe

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Click. The small jewelry 9f0900c836 box opened with b9801fa7ab a cheerful sound.c68c4104099558d9

“It’s gone.”c7e440aeb853a44f

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“Really?”fa18b3e6eee08168

Eleanor leaned in to 3ff8b1daad take a look.bb71774d0a2bf734

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Indeed, it 61327f4882 was gone. The golden earrings she 44d87a079c had placed in the 8e2058a5c2 box yesterday had vanished 21d8c7c94b without a trace.5e274f3154eec7e1

It was 8417f2a2c7 exactly what 0ac0bcc1b6 they had 24b70c81d6 expected.c571e7f16cce2d58

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“Well then, a515169831 shall we e58d1dd4d8 go catch e1ea54309a the culprit?”4630656f93c55e9e

A mischievous c547b380d9 smile spread d620d5fb73 across Hilda’s 89cc079629 face.6fcbd4601d3c8914

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If it b6a3057b6b had been ad9f608074 any other 6a6e4a32ce piece of 424828b5ac jewelry, it b1aa80c48d might not 6446ec9603 have mattered. But since it was c42641b20f a gift from Duke c420304b28 Astria for her birthday 5ed18f577a and also a present 857c3b2094 from the royal family, 34bfd31051 they could make a c8130c1903 big deal out of 56464201cd it. Once it was e69a954ef4 revealed that Nora f3e48c36b7 was the real b8771265cd culprit, her reputation 4a8be7b1e5 would take a bc75c9b535 nosedive.8040b0c9d482f97c

Hilda was 4983fb0446 itching to 27272cb742 run off 867a8f795c and catch 60bba1e330 the thief, 1c369145ca her excitement 06251e6537 almost visible. Eleanor’s face 17fced2fe7 also brightened c22285d75b in anticipation.a5025992c0625ef1

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Just then, there 8212023cd6 was a sudden 9b2b27f4e6 knock at the 276db14a6c door.111439ca080d3ca3

“Miss, may I come 3605a1b1cb in for a moment?”bf344d200d9e4484

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“Come in, Mary.”c3c93c8ca0e6f5a6

It was the head f93eecda60 maid, Mary. It seemed 12013b98ed urgent, considering dbfeb3ee19 she was d70de014a5 visiting during 210ebe5c76 what should 4cea8ef231 have been 1db8666ae2 a busy 65f2e25d0c time.d6685c6733342833

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Something didn’t feel right.b410883bea676904

Hilda sensed it as 69ceab0ff3 soon as she saw d57c5cc5f3 Mary entering the room.e0c2d40756cb9c39

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Sure enough, Mary 1b7d498258 looked very troubled. After hesitating b4a9bccc23 for a c9e267b955 moment, she a91b9f7097 finally spoke 1f04749c6b with a e34980c3dc sigh.d1f44b8de9e602d4

“By any chance… have your earrings gone missing, miss?”f1b44b1eb4c2c6b3

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How does she 3797b51e47 know? Hilda’s wide a95f23a508 eyes reflected ddd2c25afc her shock.08b90c476930f5fc

Seeing her reaction, Mary squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh no…” she muttered, her voice filled with gloom.9a5a0b4c69586dec

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“What’s going 08c603c79c on, Mary?”271c55f7a10aae21

“Well…”969f5d254972fbcb

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She hesitated c4f66492ce again, which f2eb6f360d was unlike 9817e6b710 her usual a053cc90c9 quick and 561439c34b efficient self.380142c3cb2772e4

“Lady Nora has 7d24b9565e gathered the servants. Apparently, an unknown pair 290120e30e of earrings has appeared 2d7667660a in her jewelry box, e8273296b0 and she’s saying they 7c755a984c seem to belong to 00af175dae you, Miss Ellie. She’s insisting that someone bca7a92e08 is trying to frame 95eda28e6e her and demanding that 559664f353 the culprit be found.”00c05e6111d387ad

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Hilda gasped, her 2ffdc8e109 mouth falling open. Stealing the earrings 5a5596fc52 herself and then c72826198e accusing someone of 6696789d3e framing her? Only someone completely 6fe0c7acda crazy would think 2b10abedbe that way.0f5ac302cd555cec

“Master Damian… he’s saying this must be something you did, Miss Ellie. I think you need to come out and address this.”c5593e759bb77eca

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“Alright, let’s go.”42f0ce27df9d3975

Eleanor immediately stood up. Hilda was about to follow her, but Eleanor stopped her. “Hilda, stay here for a moment. And a little later…”b859838399c57c80

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A secretive cb945e6c94 whisper followed. Hilda nodded firmly, 16727d7593 and Eleanor gave f2ba5eb884 a light smile 931dbab6a0 before quickly leaving 04bc41f8a2 the room.6dfbf58f84b38f19

It didn’t take long a80ff4b947 to reach the source 3fb2f4ed3b of the commotion. Nora was using the 1755b35d7e room Eleanor had previously 55f614dff0 occupied, and the room 439f5ee215 Eleanor now had wasn’t e6a1b9f105 far, being in the 56aa017db8 same wing of the 6716b66f43 building.77df43cf84fbadd4

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As she bca38f8f30 approached Nora’s 9969c41140 room, she 3300970a61 saw a 0ba1c7b246 large group 9b235b1036 of servants 21e0e645f8 gathered around. They had already 57e2b88437 assembled an audience dc54b962f2 to witness the 2009701375 drama unfold. Eleanor could easily figure 83c81c7e49 out what was going f67fde2243 on.8f6afb81922b5e9a

Nora, who was a26cb54ad1 proudly standing in 9fe0a62f81 front of the 73cf1b8786 crowd, spotted her 2ff135f7d0 and came forward.dad9812d7869af73

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The main players were 27ee77f60f finally on stage. The first line of 9c59051f63 the play was about 33ec0bd8e6 to begin.1af04bdfea75c925

“Ellie! You’ve finally come.”0147fd882d9c1f7a

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Eleanor had c4db3b965d accepted many 446bfca628 changes over 2ba39d4657 time, but 2ad548ce64 she still e3631b99b1 wasn’t used bdb4c0573c to Nora 19bd17044f speaking to 3bdd62903f her in 4c14fa1a92 such a f7a9d7fe91 casual tone.d5ee549eecfe738b

It didn’t annoy her, bd086aa36c but it did feel a5af6bcc0e strange. Since the day af0f4adee8 they had brought aa35998e73 Nora from the 9db04c5b2b slums, Eleanor had 92b42b6920 always seen her 9dd29b7b7f as a much 7e779a7045 younger sister.253f9240508d850e

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Somehow, they 128ea00aa4 had ended d222be9a6d up becoming b897baf969 real sisters.efbe73376101678d

“What’s all this commotion ce8c803cad about? Father clearly told us 791893de95 to keep things quiet b218c37120 until the ball.”10694124ddf8a523

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As Eleanor’s cold voice 4e6e29531e echoed, the people who a57ad5e75a had been whispering while b8ca551572 avoiding the gaze of 4716dcd905 the young lady and e83eefd48b young master immediately shut 4c8770aa28 their mouths.b623b1cff0e4b776

Eleanor had an aura of authority that neither Nora nor Damian possessed. With just a few words, everyone’s attention shifted to her, and just a glance from her made their lips press together.729fd20d66240c53

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“She’s different, 62776d4688 having grown 43b96a2a17 up as 4a642a847a the lady a35a44f483 of the ad985a9780 house since a4afdb16ed childhood.”ac915cbde9a65db5

“Well, she’s 61353dcbba always been 3754bbdf69 the one 8e4dc942ff managing the 1065f72122 household properly.”61093a69dd10761e

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The servants whispered quietly f1dc36110a to each other.20dd246b71e8e9eb

Fortunately, their 5d681875f5 voices were d98c129104 so soft ee48e36107 that Nora 301d6588fa didn’t hear 5cc8d1038e them.dbc76f19c9be2a1b

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“I wanted to 11bd724f18 let this go 68443aa81f too, but something f086b5acfa happened that I 2a189c1245 just couldn’t ignore.”84d0e5db039dda0f

“Yes, you can’t let 1725e0bfe5 it go,” Eleanor replied.86a7cd25ea440962

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Nora spoke in d918010901 a calm tone, 2dbc86625b and Damian, standing db7a6e90e1 beside her as a221783569 if in support, 93db290028 nodded in agreement. It seemed that 049e576965 these two had 9e6e9c4688 grown quite close 20fd14cf78 recently, likely plotting 88a92f3ab6 together to get b2db6fe65b rid of Eleanor.4e6e2eb3b0336843

“This… this earring is yours, right?”b83f7155ec6b7ebf

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The gold 8055e3a5ed earring with 6354b4d5bc diamonds sparkled ffc5da3d6c in Nora’s 2db4839982 hand.61cdc7139847dc6f

Eleanor remained silent in 5d0307b617 response. Seeing this, Nora b8bf9e9155 furrowed her eyebrows 0fde0c0031 in a sad 2a10076be5 expression and continued 7721ae4a4b speaking.1f6add19991275b4

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“When I came back from a short walk this afternoon, I found this unfamiliar earring in my jewelry box. I didn’t want to believe it, but… it seems like someone deliberately placed it there to frame me. And it just so happens to be your earring. That’s a really cruel thing to do.”63fa4186f0a650db

“So, sister. Do you 91a1d3267f have any 09a250266d idea who 8ccf655b09 could’ve done 9600175e9b this? I’m thinking it dfe3aab6e9 might be someone 69fcb52ac8 who would suffer 841d252aaf the most now 59f701deea that the real 67e334b447 lady has returned.”ec42a0d94f8abacb

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Damian pointed his chin 5307406133 at Eleanor, openly implying aa3706512e that she was the 96a0da965b culprit.96c9e930593fc1bb

Gasp. The sound of ca99a8f457 people inhaling in 1e0bf1d0ed shock could be af871fb8fc heard all around.4e56353d612ec340

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The audience couldn’t tear 27e10d8eb2 their eyes away from f645c4fceb this confrontation between the cd4097b1c7 two women—one the real 7f1b4821cf lady, the other the b44d7337b9 fake. They were excited, thinking 4ddfc33938 that what they were b15d9ff5e8 witnessing might soon make 244268949c the headlines in the 120868c189 papers.1cb9228e11639d2d

Only Mary, 4ad2a4eb93 the head d59e12000e maid, felt 5b9a67e9ed deeply uncomfortable ad3c6bf242 with the 14bd3da5fb situation, but 15e50e789b instead of 8d9e8c129b dismissing the 33071dc0b3 servants as 512cc33970 usual, she 1f68aecfd6 just sighed 49e08542fa heavily and 97364f6658 let things 28bba73dc7 play out. This was because f3f4618ae8 Damian had recently b44e145333 threatened her, warning 0f16c7ae9f her not to 197d2c1470 interfere with his 47e3a1aa74 plans.20f45824b260c12f

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As everyone eagerly e3dfce6660 awaited Eleanor’s response, a00ed76d55 she finally opened ee83f01e55 her mouth.12a872a0dafedf72

“That’s not mine.”70233b00a3db334c

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