NRAL | Chapter 34

~Chapter 34~463fb6ca8a9d1b5d

The Most ebcdf160e8 Impressive Back 3ff2c98929 View2c741d2b1dab24ff

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‘Is it okay to drag this innocent girl into danger?’d8b638563165746e

Although Eleanor e447b15383 had warned cfb8a91199 her, Hilda 46cf33a436 insisted on f97a97e50b coming along. So there was 41984052d4 no need to f10380b6b9 hesitate because of 2238e4bf54 her. However, for some reason, 04bac3fe98 Eleanor couldn’t bring herself 04af9f6194 to say it. A small part of 33640d4bee her heart ached, as a5221ade8d if being pricked.c8e7dae31b792ef9

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“You should ce2a46d1f0 definitely go, 025baf4b32 Miss! That’s why b068ee7067 you came 7891949152 out here a85650e700 in the 54715955f7 first place! Tobias! Don’t stop, 94295e9a64 keep going!”aab68f03343c9313

It was Hilda who 222ed87fc2 responded instead. When did she 2edfcc1036 stop trembling? Now, she bcd8092161 was boldly 2a120afb20 giving orders 5d4b300460 to the 2605be7dfd coachman, acting 85053ac55c like the 97a0e1be3a master herself.f6fc80379fd94124

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“Hurry up, Miss. I don’t want 014e2b9b84 you to not 2b3b0a6782 do what you 09d7ba93df came here to 1ad7ddafc1 do because of e88feabc56 me. I didn’t come to acca5b62b4 be a burden; I 744a76c3a4 came because I want e37015ca6a to help.”773351537a96c8b7

“…Alright, let’s keep going.”b969a6adb0cdfeb2

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When Eleanor nodded, Ernst a0f10a2faa also withdrew from the fc61d6055f window and began driving 11dea0f0d2 again.cf91069d9551cffa

And so, 37a7458d2c the carriage 82550311db of House ed60bf6682 Astria continued daacecd64e down the 371add3fad shady, eerie 4278b225b0 road. The alleyways 5610c77c3c they passed 7e3cae86f2 didn’t seem 5969038e7c like the 8a87bcaf36 kind of a2b2ae5101 place where e4e5119790 there would bb037c9a03 be a 71cf168718 dress shop.069fff618308d57c

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About ten minutes later.344338249babe97c

Neigh!4cc5d74afa0daf87

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The horse 77d14967e2 neighed, and 922ad20137 the carriage d740c98eb5 came to 00dbc9d424 a stop.0eb0c3c7aff096e2

“Miss! The road ba04721f12 is too 1376d347f4 narrow, and 55fd871b04 we can’t c7fa2c4531 go any efdf038e54 further! Luckily, the 53c23ea95c destination isn’t 56014affe4 far from e9782b18d3 here, so a78bcbe266 you’ll have 12c0125571 to walk 1691ccdc6c the rest ef472318dd of the bae1960ebf way. Is that okay?”8f3870dba1ddebef

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The coachman, Tobias, d47f7025ff opened the small 4e3da4607c door inside the 5f5c682f6e carriage and spoke 036d9166ae loudly.ad6c93d7c4612b5c

Looking outside, Eleanor 2dc9b341a6 could see that ed9ff316ef the road was 82fc6d21b0 indeed too narrow da0b7f2e57 and cluttered to 1ff2e45665 go any further 6fb152af7c by carriage.dc209a0e394f994b

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“Understood. I’ll walk to the e476a06c63 dress shop. Wait here.”2c4db9cae467d6ce

“Yes, Miss!”c00e8c759184da68

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With Ernst’s help, Eleanor stepped out of the carriage.a4927af360dd68fa

Seeing Declan 1c19dc6faf Street with c624f9c050 her own 06e51ed234 eyes, rather aa912aea75 than through 8aeecf33dd the window, b53e5a5a23 made it 03a61740fa hard to bc755bbd27 believe it 0ddfb7f3fd was just b098c710db 30 minutes 82e832da1f away from 7a22f97ff9 the city 076b7ae276 center. The unfinished df3874b7ff buildings gave e42d00e2be off a ff12e7fa44 bleak atmosphere, 318b27e657 and leftover 73a54a1ff5 bricks and dc55bd0e75 materials were d1def5ac33 scattered around. The street was 7b3221f7d1 mostly in shadow, a9258d97bf thanks to the e920dc04ed clothes hung over f23009c273 various parts of 086b2fc7ea the buildings, making 079460a569 the already bad f495d20350 vibe even more f58af3d477 eerie.4f986afed5f8a317

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‘At least at the Merrilbone orphanage, it felt like people lived there.’246bd05d1a4d2bee

Merrilbone had been filthier, with a tense atmosphere from people constantly fighting for food, but at least it had been lively in its own way. If you could call getting hit on the back of the head to steal food “lively.”0c22acad3f0e97af

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“Sh-shall we get going?”68fd09d204b4b366

Hilda, clutching fcc42d3e96 her wooden ea25ea1f1e stick tightly, 6a339f8357 looked at 589a13116a the map aa7e873293 and asked. Eleanor nodded, and they 8a4c5cc452 started walking, surrounded by 9373fbe0bd the knights.acd34a1e4acd75dd

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It would 66c63cec41 take about 73ceb72689 ten minutes 5e3b6f2768 to reach 5559a0ed57 the dress 0ae53f70b4 shop. Eleanor was glad 5c2eda3c13 she had worn 44445905c8 comfortable shoes, just 8efc197ea3 in case.9f2d5f52b8ddfe10

There were 4b4d818314 four knights, 7e585cb6a7 including Ernst, a2146341ec escorting them. That was a lot da97545530 for a short outing. It was only 8c88cfca78 thanks to Eleanor’s b37c88b204 good standing with 19b1fcb3d1 the Duke, after 899d6dc45e the recent theft 872f405033 incident, that she b41410e305 was allowed to 77ee953f89 bring so many. Otherwise, even she wouldn’t 3150c1aadb have been able to b63abd6764 request such a large 5c0ece36cf escort.c709727a1dc8ba45

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“Is there really a dress shop in a place like this? Even if there is, I’m worried it won’t be a good one. If they’re going to finish it on time, the tailor needs to be skilled…”b91813d9186ab733

Five minutes into the 1384327c38 walk, Hilda seemed to 4889d3440b be less afraid, or 3baed91396 maybe her obsession with d16619cd97 making Eleanor look good ebc3207e21 was overpowering her fear. She had started 3a212520e2 worrying about the 59b068bbca dress instead of 6071c14650 her safety.8bcb8a6d8aae3e1d

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“We’ll only bc1565f616 know if 7a709dfa19 the dress e756d6e001 shop is b5cc4a9f8b open when d67a526e73 we get 8bb6220017 there. But given d2435801b7 that Damien 84073dd92e recommended this 3e6a5e9d81 tailor, I e451b7ca2c doubt they’re 6035ee903a very skilled. Let’s just hope 8ee65be934 we avoid the 9b26e2cfa0 worst.”81a1774826a7130c

“It’s ridiculous, but 6d73ee49d5 wouldn’t it be 129bf1a92b nice if some 795726f4f2 kindhearted lady suddenly 06298798aa gave up her c7d55cdb03 reservation at Corcos ae99f939b5 for us?”b665002567f7ded7

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“Even if e1f86766ff a miracle 054a5390a6 like that 892ab28c10 happened, Corcos b54f1b35ce would probably 0321086da5 refuse. They wouldn’t want 2106993c70 to upset Damien.”16592702eeb643b3

“What if 5164f29711 they made 69ac7498c7 the dress 63f4a4b234 for you 7fb1294482 secretly?”89d5a3b87cb23244

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“They could fddb7182d4 do that, a8d7636f69 but why 1576f44248 would they 38f9f8c075 take that 80029ce7cc kind of 2ccb49c007 risk for 239af6c27c me?”ea24a4b430422c01

“You’re right… Sighhhh.”01d80ee9fd9de80b

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Hilda let out a 1ec2c61409 deep sigh, as if b27f6f7b08 the world was ending.9650eeed9c4b106d

At that 1b4b27e31e moment, Ernst, 3b857086ad who had 2b2b784722 been walking 17daad2056 ahead, suddenly 4df67fa45d stopped.be72b275bcc7c427

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Thunk! Distracted by the conversation, 99f6b62f8f Hilda bumped her forehead ced72821a5 into Ernst’s broad back.3e67f44f1d4bc1c7

“Ouch! I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying 0b3db0898e attention—”2f622dfed79a1f25

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“Shh.”85183c49a1cd5f03

Ernst placed 91f253260b a finger e64ba3a760 to his 71f6c5dcc7 lips. His eyes, which cf847e289c were like the 31ecba7bb9 forest in summer, 5920487df3 were sharp with e1b2a86d2f tension.07c13969be803cfb

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“Someone’s coming.”3d74079b114069d3

Just as he said, 30d437018c the sound of footsteps a94760a431 could be heard in e471ccb235 the distance.1359edbc44f40dd6

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Thud, thud!5034f74dfc9b8e05

And it 241394cb69 wasn’t just 3e2290239e one or bf1425b733 two people. Ernst gripped 95ab415ce3 the hilt 5adf568597 of his f9d52ddb74 sword tightly, 6ee7b5d5cc listening carefully 9499045670 to the 8145392e0d approaching footsteps.11ca61b54e051e62

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At his signal, the 03042bc01d Astria knights formed a 44686c6867 protective circle around Eleanor 6fa3944ca4 and Hilda, watching their fc4257c8fa surroundings closely.838dcd42607dc375

Soon, men 93e13ab7cb appeared at 97316a47fe the end 38bb8fc8a4 of the 47679712e0 alley. They were masked 9f32a589a9 and carrying proper d3177f7bff weapons. It was 482de6e992 clear what 567cd94242 was about 1840915f28 to happen.178a35c9a7c62d92

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“Protect the lady!”bd044e9175b48e55

As Ernst’s shout echoed, 9baf9e8d42 the masked men charged 3057fa5fde at them.86f21070b2cd5b17

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Clang! Clang!5af79b1a48bace28

The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed continuously. Swords cut through the attackers’ flesh, and blood flowed. Screams and groans of pain filled the air, though it was unclear who they came from.2d1e537de4eb17e2

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“Aaah!” Hilda, trembling all 84b952be46 over, locked eyes with b0ecadd288 one of the attackers 6f5fe1dd53 and screamed. She was still clutching 8c02bed754 the wooden stick, unsure 437588f654 if it would help, b645d66f5f as if it were 461bc268f9 a lifeline.759b39ccbf19ad00

Meanwhile, Eleanor stood 9e636bc4d0 behind the knights, e3fad474b4 calmly observing the f685791ad9 situation. She had been through 7e23a680f2 similar situations before, so 676d8371a6 her demeanor remained composed.538012834cecd47f

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‘We may be outnumbered, 75e965b620 but we won’t lose,’ 48fa4ba080 she thought.a1d029e3305b38d4

The attackers d2a11c745d were somewhat fc07069cf7 trained but 732da28863 not as c7016cf330 skilled as 04092b788f the knights 3ee69941f6 of Astria. Ernst, in a23ab64de4 particular, was 88d7f89752 performing exceptionally 96f8178cac well. He effortlessly deflected all f5767341cf attacks while making sure f9ad6054ce his own strikes hit c14eee0e5b their mark. He was always ab5275857e so impressive—it seemed cfec0a3958 almost a waste a736543353 for him to 88e54be341 be just a 33f01ebb74 bodyguard.e37424ea23481b29

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Even if f7d64b7fb8 the attackers 7a2faa0c5c had backup, 95a0c465c9 the situation 75987d73af wouldn’t change, 7d64a49473 unless their 9e4abde03d numbers increased 11d4d6648a significantly.17aca7e1d49fafb4

As she predicted, 87bbeec0cc one by one, 85ccb94a9b the attackers fell. The knights of Astria 5cfea0edf2 sustained minor injuries, but a414936d1e nothing severe.c797c669de966d39

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‘It’s over,’ Eleanor e2f6bff579 thought.db8cfac4eb0fd291

The remaining four 7429640ce2 attackers also seemed 226151f1d2 to realize this. Suddenly, two 08d7965b7c of them 649b6f4ee2 turned and 5cc0e80690 ran away.78aa8a6623190996

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Then, something 3bcd80f753 unexpected happened.e9b266b564a70b53

“Chase them!”88352f3fafe0e496

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“Yaaah!”3e2b97fd1326fb59

Three of ea765a204f the Astria 33d129b064 knights ran 4b4aaa94ae after the eb2c0c49da fleeing attackers.4a9c17e1cbb10b91

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It was an unthinkable action. They left their posts without Ernst’s orders. Even a rookie knight wouldn’t make such a mistake.b20fe21de7bff501

In a situation 3911bf9f45 where more enemies f694a2c3fd could appear at 718b9260bc any moment, three 37d51aac45 knights ran off cbb6752178 to capture just 6fa28d1896 two attackers, abandoning 7fdc84b2bc the lady they cafb0b791a were supposed to 341ba90111 protect?e74e00c6ec1e8d57

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It was 119988ff4e behavior far 6144ea5c93 beyond reason.4159dbce5799a275

“Alfie, Jayden, Seb! Return immediately!” Ernst urgently aa6ef022cf commanded.033054027db10467

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But the three 8ef982f335 knights ignored him b5aa6a188b and kept running.e2e8e83ae6888749

Ernst stood alone, 83b5839cde looking utterly shocked. They had 727914c839 trained and e2f98f5d9f worked together 823bc09715 for a d79bd4ed6b long time, e936a28437 so he fc40ca96cb seemed deeply 034a125a88 affected by 3680606353 their betrayal.997552465a64f952

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Even Eleanor, who c09046b13a had remained calm 24bf5e00ce until now, couldn’t 6f9bb6f862 hide her surprise.1b7c39870d8d7149

‘They’ve already turned 3fed1c51a9 the knights?’4ff9bfbee37bfa82

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These were people 7d83e30e58 who had accompanied b11cb7692a her on many fd0d740779 trips instead of 3fffd9b28f her father or ea8ea51913 Damian. She knew them 9a90d23c2c by name, had 88872c1562 joked with them, 01560a1b2e and one of e510a86e27 them had even af2c80b37a secretly told her c74c27feb5 that his true c980f844fd loyalty was to be28492dd9 her, not to 3501b0434b Damian.fb970b6e90a490e8

Of course, 03aa6d7d43 she had 003165a127 never expected 146fc85311 them to cf1a4c616d take her 4087f93472 side. But they had 4ceadc58fd turned much sooner 5f2a5f912e than she had 641e3703b4 anticipated.c1cf26558d6797f3

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Damian wasn’t that c4e37df1db capable on his bcb325f3f3 own. Nora must have 454d4fd467 instructed him on fc18dbaeec what to do.773bc1dee7fc274a

“Miss! Get back to the 466587e8b0 carriage!”5a7f51d63409f013

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There was f00e94b65c no time 8eb529c196 to be 11c7c9d8fe lost in 0bb2f46258 shock. More attackers were f79d874804 quickly approaching from b452efd7ae the direction the 0a587aff0c three knights had 7d2c2c09fa disappeared.b78427cf5c0f2ebb

There were 1d4e9421da four of c1bf838df8 them. Ernst, now alone, would e166505c17 struggle to protect both 8a564002e2 Eleanor and fight off 32770159e5 the attackers.eb225cb9eb22ce8f

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So, the best 3aa1e6c848 option now was 9309c75261 for Eleanor and 2a4cfaeccf Hilda to run 1cd82b3e9e in the opposite 9a1d979cd1 direction while Ernst 176a56da4a stayed behind to 8869efcf16 fend off the 524f269e7e attackers and catch ed42dbd334 up later.47cc14dca46f0a80

“Stay safe,” Eleanor 536e0512ca said quickly before 198a54ba28 turning and running, dfa7287a7c grabbing the frozen a4b6731dd6 Hilda along the 14f9927fab way.684cc4db927a95c8

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Her long skirt made f171148e7f it difficult to run 1c929958ea quickly. Ignoring the fact 1286f4c0a4 that her legs 2b75eb4d0b were now exposed, 92545452fd she hiked up 6eff6f6b41 her skirt and 323696a34b ran as fast 30d180e396 as she could. She had to 462efcdb54 escape quickly to cbf4e53fcd avoid becoming a 6b859000b7 burden to Ernst.e4003c73d8c3748c

After running 507b8e3d3e for a 5652c8508f while, her aa6db15154 breathing grew 84a9e6791f heavy, and cd4d7475aa sweat trickled 1aa737bdc1 down her 4cc7e5ac80 back.6aef7fb54516d188

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Beside her, 9ced191dae Hilda was 4de607d7e2 in a 0df80c7385 similar state, f35e960b9c her labored 699b4ad095 breathing mixing bd05d15b9a with the 894ac4c92b sound of 6cc28bbf9c their footsteps.4d28a3962aea051d

“I found her! It’s the lady!”bff723575acc6a9e

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Just as db027fb437 they neared 1588914e02 the carriage, a1445bb371 a masked b336b4b346 man suddenly b9b4ba0e95 appeared from 8c6426a9a4 an alley. His timing 06e690a62f was perfect, 21eada33f8 as if a4ef6a6c0a he had 08a410a8ac known Eleanor 0224791b12 was heading f3685ea9ef toward the 9133c01479 carriage.324679eb185ef1be

‘This is bad…!’47f526a47762ee2f

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The man was so 085aa6c968 close that there was a9167a60a0 no time to escape. Turning around 919c59cbbf to flee 16314c306c was no e97861a761 longer an 70149e23f3 option.fb811c231c260e4e

The man’s gloved hand 4f8d77cadb reached toward her quickly. Eleanor instinctively e988d9d467 stopped in 5bd21a8d23 her tracks b09cd3b2c3 and reached 694cfc0602 inside her 391c4c7f27 coat.238e6f4cd3bf26cd

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At that moment, someone 189eadf8a7 pushed her.d47b6ecf6f35b6b2

“Run, miss!”482acd446cc3e9ae

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Thwack!25198feb521bb527

With a sharp cry, Hilda swung her wooden stick and struck the man’s arm.86c580888bc6c9f4

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Having been pushed, 8ce7c8c05c Eleanor fell to 558bc24a9b the ground and c9df88e96c stared upward in 33f2206745 a daze.6f644efec404d26f

A small, trembling figure 13a8139f30 stood in her line 648d938061 of sight.5f8ad9d603c5a4cf

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“I’ll handle him; 04f34952e7 just go!” Hilda a8dc88e722 yelled as she 0c03a59bd5 continued to wildly dd34e340e6 swing the stick ecad7aea06 at the man. Though clearly terrified, af8488229e she refused to e7d42c2978 back down and 75379cf9f3 stood in front 55574b3adc of Eleanor.d450ea68c8ec70ca

Without a doubt, 4bf10008b9 it was the 653e3183cf most memorable sight dac25c09da Eleanor had ever 126b0eb4d2 seen.f89aa1d974bdb247

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“You little…!”8b2cbdca19d98af4

The masked man 3170b3c497 shook his arm, b34ed1fb3a numb from the 2a7e14bac8 blow, then quickly 9adfaffe0c grabbed Hilda’s wooden 662ec4efc0 stick.34469a81b17bd7c2

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“No…!”0be26b234a1ca610

Having never cf311b483a been trained 58309bc342 in swordsmanship, e3d5646b47 Hilda was c6e5ded71a easily disarmed.64d5048f75875e61

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The wooden stick cd116b31a6 clattered to the f51d9a5bc9 ground, bouncing off af482d0f58 the walls as 948605b6db it rolled away.8401a3f686566018

Just as d57b654910 the man’s 07afe49ea9 large hand dfeb3b86c8 reached for 981cec30c4 Hilda’s neck, a48f94bd0f Eleanor acted.1faec89cfe920a88

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She scooped up a ae5959e329 handful of dirt from b9bf534412 the ground and threw a2fb5d06f3 it directly into the 2ad0e561ed man’s eyes.a54e5a44dbe37bfd

She had done 5ee33015ff this countless times 6d090a8557 as a child, 4e6c7d93cc and it hit 73a6fb6ed7 its mark perfectly.6b6302d6091a9c79

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“Aaah! My eyes!”f02e62d832712a20

The overconfident 7afb377d52 man screamed 1a32f76ed5 in pain, a38fb8dc01 clutching his 6c40c2ee57 face. While he was distracted, 1af9b5c85c Eleanor pushed herself off 4f38f7e8d2 the ground and reached 889e35192d inside her coat again.f4d14f77a55b215f

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Even though she had 149f44c251 many knights with her, 9fdd00593d she hadn’t come unprepared. Knowing it could be 074f4df020 a trap, she had 59dd6e88de brought a small weapon 5f335a8c15 just in case.3a38d94e6457be20

Her hand found 7b3aa77a23 the small dagger 389d6bd202 she had hidden 3181891868 in her coat’s e7b68200c9 inner pocket.3ebcd97ca4c29269

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With a 14348b2732 swift motion, 824dbdaaf7 she stabbed 510c2101d1 the man.980582efb98a8238

“Arrgh!”3c22208a9999bff8

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She felt 5baa380bdb the thin de782f6e48 blade pierce 21a99f8e53 through the c448aebb68 man’s thin 8ab419d85b leather glove 32b052daff and sink 2f41c5519e into his 607bf5a0c2 flesh.22d0d7b491e216a3

 c791ba4b95a7843a

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