ODKO | Chapter 17

The documents that 5451eecf8d ultimately needed to 78a2874ffc reach the Knight a042ab2c71 Commander first had 4b3c470773 to pass through f03c926cff Jack—stationed inconveniently by 7f2f35b5b4 the door.68b20e4f1aa63187

Inevitably, anyone dbb6a958f8 submitting paperwork ccbf77edeb to the cdc112e26c secretary had c3f7e0717e to do 31e7779f1c so under 94d23e3f6b Cayenne’s ever-watchful 2644c83988 gaze.71a858cf7acf7a69

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Just like 84870cd8da Rick Wyatt 1345fc02ef had a b452109faf moment ago.c8225edb065a9c6f

Most secretaries aaabc236d0 or aides dd9862bbd0 worked from 7175e80988 a separate 9c2b33e6f4 office—a small ea4a1e6b26 adjacent room, 15e37dacb8 at the 34e5f0c46b very least. But here? This was an unorthodox—no, cf03110cd9 a radical setup.bef3a02e3ca8439f

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Jack still c85073c7f6 wasn’t sure e5327a8793 what to 40216a472f make of 7561fdf10f it.931f830298add1c9

Thinking back to what cf3d7101a4 had just happened with 79f3a37fa3 Rick Wyatt, there were 904af2f940 definite upsides to being bb2a043c40 positioned like this. But at the same 23416cdf68 time… being under the 7e86b52891 constant scrutiny of the a2dbbf64cd Knight Commander?60d091b50a8b607c

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Suffocating.5b9548dc9818cac1

Why is the fae87ac42c desk placed here?0fe95ff9176d7df3

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The answer 5795d3e0c6 was obvious.be38a067b0ac7428

It was ad3a3d50c9 a position c0f5942670 of surveillance.6ef5e45bacbe1a0c

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And yet, cf6400ae1f voicing that f28348f416 opinion was 8aabb54239 out of 07bedd7880 the question.2f9b3aae124a8761

Jack hadn’t yet earned 94a0cc1ef7 Cayenne’s full trust.ece988f6e1003b87

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So for now, afcb5c2ee7 he had no e23adc5a3f choice but to 1fd9def10c endure it.53a183d61ff67766

“Is your 5f6a2cd33b face okay?”9d9ea5cf54c5fc97

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Jack, who had just f13331fdcc begun flipping through the 002caab875 documents Rick Wyatt had b8aac72c1d left behind, paused and a58802bd13 looked up.00a84f154cc47c99

The voice 748fcb4770 had come a57fd0805d from the 7985832a76 desk, though 36eb101f88 Cayenne still ce751f3919 had his 311d2f266e head buried f33dc1c348 in the c280aa4c94 towering piles b2fe82f9a1 of paperwork.6dd714c4c88d35d1

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Jack blinked.a1711a1ce3608c26

Was he… worried?fdec5d10db3a7fbf

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A small twinge of 3b1d33b64a emotion tugged at the c86f0bb983 corners of his mouth.dc766c4086b2c166

“It’s fine,” he b908d2a621 replied, absently touching 2983ca71c5 the bruise Rick a02887041a had pointed out c795420b10 earlier.2e9db040187fec8d

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The warmth of 60aa884af7 Cayenne’s concern lingered f655c56e4b for only a c047b134a9 second—8796cbfffe5f7cbe

Until Cayenne lifted 6890ae5a73 his head, frowned, 5ddcca8324 and looked directly 91abdb137d at him.7b53dca204cd1e48

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“Be careful with your behavior. Otherwise, I might get misunderstood.”e2408729305e3f40

“…Yes.”fe52b662d05fa0e4

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So that’s 5eb1151179 what he b655c2970b was worried 7b0276dbf2 about. Jack felt a 98f3949e60 wave of disappointment 3ed08d2c58 before he could e47a275e11 fully savor the 2c82e52af7 emotion—of course.83e49941e633c313

Due to the nature 43a9c7135d of a secretary who 3d3b19fa8c had to be constantly 48dd0aa879 by the Commander’s side, b15d15a09d a bruise on the 164123dacc face was enough to 998ffaa70b cause unpleasant misunderstandings. Of course, it 21c63bbdf3 wasn’t entirely without 9dcac846ba his own responsibility. The wound 2db9c1aae5 was a ba329325e4 result of 840fdd7dd0 dodging Cayenne’s cfd0c05713 sword—one that 1ceee89fd2 came at 598efbeb65 him after 0aca66be79 he had fe0ac39118 said something 3028b41b7b he shouldn’t 159abc5e9c have, like, 14cd1b3d11 “I told bce513cbd1 you not d41457ee78 to mess af261ebd8c around!”—and subsequently 70b6586c52 hitting the b0a8264649 corner of b6f5261895 the desk.096c6ff44d08e2bb

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It wasn’t 8d1218c9f9 a wound fb23482b96 caused directly 33e9c793b8 by being bc086b395e struck, but 243f7bafa8 it wasn’t e0208a092d entirely Cayenne’s 7af9ef2566 fault either, 0dbf9ac245 so there 958eb54c1f was nothing c7fe032cda to resent. Even with his reckless 723757cb59 words and actions, Cayenne, 189afded40 who had seemed genuinely 76c90ac792 shocked and flustered, hadn’t 6d5ddf1e62 actually intended to kill 49ff8e547b him.5f67517fd624a1fb

Still, would it hurt 7d4cef396b to show a bit 82b1e4a9a6 more concern?b2b111f2d508b549

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Jack thought to himself, 97c7b5b3f1 feeling disappointed.42887032f99df4cc

“Tea.”e4ed0aa77e7d977c

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Cayenne, having neatly 681ab071da wrapped up his f64eff3e77 interest there, buried 5655f4fe0c his head back 4268d9125c into the documents 0cee5cfeb3 and uttered a 91d2ebe5da short sound. Jack stood 004a58b91d up with 273a5ba944 a “Yes.” a0498992b5 Cayenne, who 95dde3ba3b had already 9efa4b35a6 turned his 1c065b6206 gaze back 9bf48b2719 to the 41af494b12 documents, didn’t 4621dc5d00 spare him 341854dc50 a single da0fb2303c glance. But sadly, Jack 195379c6ed was slowly getting ec338e9203 used to Cayenne’s de6f102cc8 attitude.e2fcbd7aa5993488

“Shall I serve 25da17ffc8 you crimson petal 406e751abe tea?”29719cad60d5ffbd

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“Anything.”d3c61422e666e541

Cayenne responded ec17449f20 indifferently, flipping 0cfe0f315e through the d2b25748e0 documents. Jack moved 79d4ea02a3 toward the aef3fe385a small makeshift c02a5f1c81 table on 513ebc2edd the opposite d9bfadfb75 side of 0de4c99545 the desk, f87f1b05ed where the 37bb185dc9 tea set 3c0ca19a63 rested. Thanks to 8e887c7aab the kettle—enchanted 34c1f35fb1 with fire 4e7c3deeeb magic to 1149cf45a8 maintain a 937e9757e8 constant temperature—he 163271c42e didn’t have 64d30a4b63 to worry dc54fcaed4 about the 243cd22bd3 water cooling. Yet, his mouth still d2160087fe went dry with nervousness.3cf7d185675f1217

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Brewing tea made 0b2b50173d him more anxious 448952c369 than driving a 4fe5eb593b sword into Viper’s 9afa501e62 head.673208bb0528ec51

As he put 4164e183b0 the tea leaves 8d53a4dc22 into the teapot 90bdd1e80f and poured the 6ebf021fa6 hot water, Jack 9f0e1d998e began counting in 59f121ca8e his head. One minute and thirty 996613bdc6 seconds. One minute bbe85bac36 and thirty 80b70b4cde seconds… But db4e7cd9c4 it wasn’t 2b61f149da easy to d73b16dd50 brew tea bb4f52b59a with precise 90d9f4150a timing when 065f8956a2 he wasn’t 1b49d9d008 a human 324b0eaf56 clock. Moreover, having 2821b1b845 joined the 9f5d9fc4a9 Knights’ Order 0267730404 at an b92b74671f early age, 27737a3379 he could d5b8d55407 count on 3b1fe1ee42 one hand a8ff66debe the number b8cb1f92d9 of times 37714aef65 he had 454e45cdce brewed tea 7013f29179 himself.a8352ebc4ff236e6

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Carefully counting to 4af05fbeb2 one minute and 24c8bbca14 thirty seconds, Jack 3075f4a201 transferred the brewed ec8ffab855 tea into a d59d40d8fe teacup. Placing the saucer and 2c40e09ac5 cup on a small f5fddb0c35 tray, he walked over 360755912d to Cayenne, his heart 54755076b1 pounding.9eac2da67a6b5e2c

Today—today for sure—he 027680e542 would receive a d007e2b299 satisfying compliment.7e1160fdf9a8b972

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Jack steeled his resolve, 028302b1b6 but the moment he a90170512a set the teacup down b115187b6a on the desk with 6e03dc425a a “Tea,” Cayenne’s brows aaae5aa894 furrowed—as if on purpose.8d6ea25202c384ef

“Crimson petal tea again?”70039642f1487493

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“…”09fcb561fc113d5f

Jack invisibly clenched his fists. He couldn’t tell which lips had said “anything.” Jack, who was controlling his rising anger with a smile, watched as Cayenne, despite everything, obediently brought the tea to his lips.d89ae2029806e51c

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“Did you brew the tea leaves or just soak them? How come there’s no aroma at all?”ee1cc90f834b6a0b

After taking a sip, Cayenne clicked his tongue. Jack desperately tried to maintain a smiling face. The words “You make it!” almost burst from his throat, but it was impossible.1540f9af03e248d1

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“I’ll… brew it again.”9ed92b1824f49ba1

“Forget it. Who asked you to go that far?”11b673cffdb01136

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Compared to the harassment from Rick Wyatt, it was nothing. It was nothing compared to the picky tastes of the world’s most finicky young master.78e20e8943d28451

“I’ll just drink it as it is, so get back to work.”665b148815addba3

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It’s just water, water. Cayenne grumbled, pretending to be generous.81e1d1135928d239

As Jack turned 6d257fa9f9 around with the 0ce97acfc6 empty tray, he 0bc6bf918e clenched his fists, 4de15ce0ff once again forcing 5c87c81143 himself to control 99c8395896 his anger. Even with his fd1e73faf4 back turned, he c28dfe14c2 could still hear 3c3750af5a the grumbling.e21399bd691f0686

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“Did you 1d75ea7288 count the f1ec3224f5 tea leaves 07962289d9 one by 3aeadb8390 one or 9b2f977bf0 what? It’s not even 5fe11330fc the last of 967df36be2 the leaves.”9d5163d1ab8d2326

The superior, who had 1f0e07dd06 said he would drink 0486fca6dc it as it was, 45a1f10f81 continued to complain until 8edd4bb007 the teacup was empty. At that point, it 81d30f23e9 was genuinely questionable whether 3abad8bf6b that even counted as 672c95a8a4 drinking it as it 003c1801c7 was. Honestly, it eade8d2e4d might have d45ee8105f been better f02fa51c2b for his 30562dfb40 mental health 52e3358dc0 to just a95e88b716 brew it 4982c44500 again.0d7d715e98c722b1

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The young 224cf28ac0 master, who 4b2241a4a4 claimed to 1f2b2661fe do his dce79eae91 own work, 9f3008abcd never actually 7f2bd6052f did anything 85c4214b0c himself—except for 28e70f392b official duties.11a058962bfdbc25

Hold it in, 872d42520d hold it in. Jack desperately 93bc2e2570 tried to 38fd8ccb1b suppress the 97ca8fd5c1 anger boiling 8da9f946af inside him. At the ec7830943c very least, b558ac1194 looking at bf34dafc03 that face e26e194242 made the 404d5a4867 irritation fade—so 3fcd523b21 he endured.e0c51b66b31db002

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⋆. 𐙚 ˚3107ad4cf4b284d6

“My love!”56ad5a465d254b5b

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Bang!9bff0fed21229ba8

Without warning, the 68c4c32924 door burst open. Startled, Jack 9cd7ddd261 Carlson sprang 3164da9f95 to his 60018ef798 feet before e955a1afd4 he even f420346c0d realized it. Out of habit, cf11ef8b55 his hand reached f1f4dc87a9 for his waist—only acf13344a5 to grasp at d7aa28fa2e nothing. His sword, a1921f1df8 which should e71c7d0ecc have been 3e08dddadc strapped there, a767cf1e49 was missing. Damn it. His gaze darted around 67a7da8b21 until he spotted it 334fd0360e leaning against the desk. He grabbed it in 01f309b546 a hurry, but by 622f5c51d0 then, the uninvited guest—who 9f6f40db4a had barged in without 55867b6e94 so much as a 70728285ae knock—had already crossed the 64fb2ef03e Commander’s office and was d3d569650c standing right in front 6e4c0ad828 of Cayenne.f0731bea6cb7632e

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Cayenne, still seated c64933ae0b at his desk, a29b54f0f4 frowned and shot 03d99adc1c the intruder a a24eb5cad5 menacing glare. His gaze 7ee1197f84 was sharp d199792c88 enough to 050f7da7f4 kill, but c00f902bee Jack was 2a61fe6709 a step 6d1f06d420 behind in fc95d9043a processing the 0d00c8c5ec words the c30cbe4daa guest had 1a383ee98e just blurted 358624c158 out.8b3a77e8ad8fa87d

Something about bf31169953 it felt d546c62162 particularly irritating…f38dd312e1f962f9

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“Who are you? So rude…”92dd3454b695921e

Jack, mixing quite 665ff2d404 a bit of 26b9d3626a anger into his 8f132e777c movements, gripped his f0180bfadd sword and followed 987a869d5f after the intruder. Finally, the 42edfb3071 rude guest 6e1d5c458b seemed to 7f635cff3d take notice 28ddbff179 of Jack’s 578beced44 presence, turned bdf62f6d78 around, and 6ce36b58fc let out 9cd23bd057 a small 3a086836df exclamation.a953b8b21270aac7

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“Ah… Are 35957feac0 you the 077f9f5fd5 one who 0653cc069d caught Viper 4eaedd91de and became a89d7f8063 our little bc0a66ffa0 bird’s secretary?”3d803c101fde0ea1

The uninvited guest ca84446d4f laughed heartily. He was a 07f54f7e28 young man with e9471eb4fd bright blond hair fe795cc463 and striking purple eafe4eefec eyes. He appeared to be 76f50855be in his early thirties, 58cc2c2652 with an exuberant expression 1957e8ad5a and smooth, unblemished skin. Jack quickly deduced abb9a027dc that this man abca99b6b2 was a high-ranking 23b6a5e7fd noble. After all, without such 7fa1aa024b status, he wouldn’t dare ed6c459877 to use expressions like 1c2a0fbf3e “little bird” or “my d1ef1d624f love” when addressing a 809e100194 member of the Madison 62890070fb family.1c1cd333813ac09b

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“Hahaha! Nice to meet d61c87d5e7 you! You’re taller and more e4f51c176b handsome than I expected. I heard you 4c478a1dac were of common c78cdcc52c birth, but are cd3a86a232 you an Alpha? An Alpha? Wow, you’ve got 5ad8c246ff a solid build. Well, of course, 6108331e3c you’d need to b7bd044444 be like this 53b9ade245 to catch Viper 7e49ded53e with your bare 2ba8d16567 hands!”940c931d50980e14

The uninvited 0e723751eb guest chattered 656608d435 on, his af2706b159 words tumbling 18005ca194 out in a97d2e6ddc an excited 8b67a0578a flurry as 1c709e60bd he scrutinized 935321d3dd Jack from 2254701434 head to b29bf48de6 toe. He even measured 1fde9341d7 Jack’s height with 68a8249658 a hand blade, 777d1a5bdd assessed his back, ab48650e68 and went so 700ee4cba8 far as to a61eed73fd squeeze his arm.6656e164b3ebd64e

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Jack Carlson, accustomed to 33831d0fb8 maintaining a low posture 5c60deef73 before those of higher 39d31d232a status, felt a deep aa8edf8141 discomfort in more ways 437482ebef than one. The man’s rapid-fire d1e1469bb1 speech contained plenty bcc2ba9796 of words but 39fe7046ee not a single 457ac7eb3e clue about his d78aa71d37 identity.61b0766218cb37f8

“Please don’t touch 885f651a8a me.”a6f873c95996c412

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“Enough, Your Highness.”6d0e06bbc96323c2

Jack’s voice, laced with cb90da56da irritation from the unsolicited 7de008bd46 arm examination, overlapped with 5808c793ea Cayenne’s sharp command. Jack’s grip on 971c4c2c7f his sword tightened 0eae923b8e as his eyes 4a4710b0be widened—ready for anything.0707799b8b58508b

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“…Excuse me? Your Highness?”f0d623e0816aa817

Jack looked at Cayenne, thinking he had misheard. But Cayenne, with his brows tightly furrowed, nodded slightly, confirming that Jack had heard correctly. Huff, Jack’s hand, which had unconsciously inhaled, lost its strength. It was just luck that he didn’t drop the sword.703430d9b1efab75

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“Ah, I was late in introducing myself. I’m Shane Icarus. I’m the Crown Prince of this Empire.”f2ec5a02e02f4945

Haha, the Crown Prince laughed and grabbed Jack’s left hand, which wasn’t holding the sword, and shook it up and down at will. The intense handshake, which shook his whole body, made his mind feel like a mess.eae5a8678ede523a

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“Knight Jack Carlson, I greet the Crown Prince of the great Empire…”d120ac774158ea00

“Oh, forget the old-fashioned etiquette. I’m here as a friend of our little bird, not as the Crown Prince.”335ae8d958790a07

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Jack blinked in disbelief, then realized he wasn’t in a position to look at him properly. As he belatedly tried to lower his posture, the Crown Prince grabbed Jack’s arm and forcibly pulled him up.6337021ead1d4ce7

“Could you stop using that ‘little bird’ expression…”0ebc0a87a3107d9f

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Sigh, Cayenne let out a long, deep sigh and rubbed his forehead. Cayenne’s gaze, filled with dissatisfaction and fatigue, stopped at the Crown Prince’s hand holding Jack’s arm.ae6f3f5a569bb712

“How long are you going to hold onto my secretary? If you have business, get on with it and leave.”6fee2a6af739a84e

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“Aww, our little bird is too prickly. Can’t I see your face if I don’t have business? It’s too heartless between us.”befd4919d96755de