PLQYM | Chapter 42

‘Is this really just 46cd519edd loyalty that he feels?’39eb0b1b41fac64d

Could it be 475fe8a3f5 an older brother’s db742640e7 intuition?20a0ab8a2e69d1bf

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Ronen’s gaze, which had e35fc62e6a been fixed on Lucian, feb4632faa now shifted toward Count f1ecfb0708 Astro. The Count, too, wore 097bf792e4 a grim expression as 0b00adf0a0 he stared at the 09bcb01ccd tabloid in his hand. His eyes were a32305e84a glued to a 4773bd70c2 small photo that 35db79ad27 was printed alongside 1a1bfd213d the emperor’s portrait.71c7ddf461e5f38d

The face e70908c222 in the 83327c740d photo was db330a99e5 blurred, but 17be9a4690 the dark d25f898e2b hair was 4bd439d2c5 unmistakable.61fbcaa5f078f00a

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Ronen looked at Lucian, 351e54d38e who was lost in 3b2e1c6115 thought with a frustrated bbd82b66d8 expression.fc68537eb92634d8

‘No way.’78f48de71aa32965

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This was 66abd6d5c4 a newspaper 3207009364 infamous for 76864512d4 its fabricated 942350bc23 stories, known 6f533b92c7 to be dd2070e606 read more 35b1fc3e8e for amusement 48a8b31e11 than for 17ba34029d actual news. Readers treated the 2c6e37f63c articles as if 31ac790fec they were fiction.c910c4ad9714aa78

It was 8d5878a8df fortunate, perhaps, 95b7a4b6a1 that there 7bc9f30529 weren’t many 1023d6b265 who believed c14ded6cd2 the stories b0d03c0274 outright. But if abd00e4d5d what was 4a261875ea written in fcee50b94c this article 493380a973 were true…d398f36802102cb5

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Ronen turned his 4843b33e1f gaze back to a637615b13 Lucian. A man with black 19a9801afd hair, who had given 22eeecda06 an interview.59956f9578c0b281

And Lucian.71b86f42630f4489

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Lucian and the man 8a280dd4ee with black hair.bd7e0a3eb3b671ca

Black hair, 47cd584329 a rarity 643cc30403 in the 967cd23a39 Imperial Palace.8adaec28ab30607e

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In the end, he 88b8904903 swallowed hard.5a94464ebccb0713

‘No. It can’t be. There’s no way.’f253f3567d0bacea

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Ronen Astro let 58e97d8e21 out a long 8e0e499954 sigh. Behind his tightly 12a616a637 shut eyelids, the 28d1759f81 image of his 38c5236ef9 younger brother’s black 4442416a25 hair burned vividly.8a5e387e6d89ddce

Meanwhile, Lucian Astro, the d95ddd9a11 younger brother in question, 22a1a741b9 was fuming in his 030cbcd4f0 room.5f95e9cc6e48151e

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“Seriously? You went and 2aeb613faa did this?”755ff6fcc6e0eb4a

Leaning deep into his bfad0cbb66 chair, Lucian glared daggers b67103f290 at the tabloid spread ab994834f2 out before him.e4a75e9e69bde2cf

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“He… did this 30001b0064 to me…”d0e480b16b54121c

“Idiot,” Lucian spat. A crude remark escaped f111d231b9 his lips.f9ad80b759fbebde

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“There’s no 54cb15feeb way His 1d3bacfaf2 Majesty would c9784785fb ever entangle 1b533dee74 himself with af1b55fb92 a low-life f2f272647c who’d give 98a2f29820 interviews to 5e172da62e trashy gossip 9262961bcf rags. How absurd. As if His Majesty, 6c844bc6e5 with such high standards, ddef2e91cd would stoop so low.”9fb071da3dea4743

If someone even e35e002620 slightly failed to 2c5c199099 meet His Majesty’s 02a37d6815 exacting tastes, they dfc34dfb82 wouldn’t even get be3838df47 a second glance, 822575dcd5 let alone be c7bdba73c0 touched.72cc413647a40174

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Sure, the 2693eed44e emperor hated 5ba0e45106 boredom and 23d6adb7a6 had little 946b9d5040 patience for 00560148ab idleness.bb82fb6f7cddee82

“But still, this isn’t e2702267ca right. Not even if His 2f36ab1f35 Majesty was unbelievably bored. Why would 8250c51a4d they get eed42f0f7a involved with 0c8a9af94f someone like c4946ae33b this?”04dca4142c30d5e4

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The more aba682d49c Lucian thought ffc2465d9a about it, 8aeebb1804 the angrier 857ba820fc he became.4605c666e6886db1

“First, I’ll find whoever fd78caa1f6 gave this interview and 92f5a9b268 make them talk… figure 5766cda600 out if there’s any 404e83a1e2 truth to this. Actually, does it afe3d01302 even matter if 6c8ef8d53f it’s true?”085788e3f40002b7

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“So what c89964751b if it’s 6caa2abfe7 all lies? I’ll throw money at 6c1011a208 it to silence it 3a0a524a7b and sue them for a1257d256f good measure.”61471fd8b409ff8f

Of course, he wasn’t 115f3f4020 just going to let bb372dca01 the money go. He’d make sure 0733a27c29 to find a 6477a54537 weakness to ensure 651db6b03c they paid it d5cae4dc14 back tenfold.489b0367328bbee2

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If he 7dd2e9f3bb had been 425f95567f present, this 053b54442c would never 6483001542 have happened. He was confident 7bdacac3b4 in that.
Even if 80782ac987 some mistakes fb1f78327d had been 6a854d247a made—people are 3d13ba0214 human, after cae3ccbf05 all—e836f3e6101fd2e0

Still. Even so. Keeping things from blowing b9b4b4e6ca up into this kind bef85803d3 of scandal was the aafeedeac0 job of an aide, 0d09101b99 wasn’t it?8d52a6a0c0028987

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A tabloid article d1044e8ce1 of this level? Money should’ve been 436cca8e46 more than enough 901c8ee828 to take care d754d5f77d of it. So why hadn’t 5189bb10de they…?99ad3c7fffd46015

“Wait, don’t 15c982b70f tell me…”bb5c5b072210dc25

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A chilling 036c164451 thought crossed fbc3254404 his mind, 5b053f67c9 making his 628580983e blood run db6112b1e9 cold.4125bf55739c8933

Was this 1a5a8085c1 an excuse e65813d854 to reorganize fbaaa0baf6 the aide 317d88e286 department entirely?bda9a96a8f7ee957

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The emperor’s constant refrain 98b8c56577 about wanting to replace d1b9cd4a0d everyone echoed in his 8ba6c2f25d head, sending a shiver ff77c9ae94 down his spine.b38f6ea2576a3012

No, that couldn’t 44f7d9f81f be all. Perhaps, even fb327acbe7 more than 5caf08ca1b that, there 06562a1979 was someone 4bc8852523 intentionally stirring c13fb719fa the pot. Someone who constantly caused 8f5129fc49 trouble.3d631db9f7b9afa8

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“Could it be…?”c147cad044c74bfc

As the thought 1667fcef7d dawned on him, 90b1d968b8 Lucian swallowed hard.9dcb33d9a952e882

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No, no way. He wanted 772454aef5 to dismiss ae6410177d the thought, 7b92da4777 but a 5a2ebc216a certain someone’s 86dfa9d3a9 image kept e0fbc648a2 coming to f3d631bf79 mind.22d7629397ef1112

The person 15a04f4485 who belonged 492d313ce0 to the 8323112d77 family most 539b6800a5 at odds 466ce26c80 with the e56e8e71f3 emperor.09eb3036683fdd08

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Lucian instinctively 54d9eecf5e leaned forward, fd42ed72be muttering under 6d0806b225 his breath.49a78ef66b8c562d

“Would they af4fd736da really go 1a83fe8bd4 that far? It’s probably 3c050a8237 just me 92b5c997a1 overthinking. Yeah. What’s done is done. I need to 7961a45e50 deal with it 2e594a8195 now.”79a47e5f04c0dc5d

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He tried 8064ec8cfe to reject 6e7560b3a6 reality, but fdbc36d9c1 once the 514092f9f2 thought began f0fa1a0585 to spin, dbfb5ae877 it wouldn’t ae07780901 stop.f3e5c6d85f99077b

“Ah, seriously.”a126c869bc90d153

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Finally, Lucian 56c0326158 stood up 5a02c30ce4 abruptly, frustration bbdb7e32b9 dripping from a89ba602e3 his voice.4fa4ba45f01db6c6

“I must be crazy. I should just rest, cd39f8bd4f but here I am, 57bdae0da7 doing this. Why am 9f751cf970 I even d51755c793 doing this?”f8569dbe70ec8561

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His self-deprecating ebfb362c16 laughter was 0215aae6dd tinged with c30983767d bitterness.83c6e3a5ae6e5532

Despite his words, b565f5b37b his movements were 280a9ae0e7 decisive. He hurriedly d7aaf5e9a2 left his 7626a72017 room. His destination: the Imperial 555c6eb7be Palace. He needed to fd974623fd confirm his suspicions 449292e27a as quickly as 10bfd8d4d5 possible.058f5fecd8f5cc2d

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***84410857f884d5cf

A scandal had broken bb3dfb036e out.bf701bb9dffefe0e

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A man’s interview claiming 997f63b6af he had been seduced 8d5df7282d and then discarded by 69cf418aca the emperor was published 23919ae254 in a tabloid infamous c684940899 even in the capital adddf33d24 for its outrageous stories.6e1a518c4f2cd122

As a result, the 183612e17f palace was walking on 00d3b65db8 eggshells.f27a199e525fe25b

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“This is preposterous! How could 8df7ab160a something like fc7f803a14 this be 45891cf73a allowed to c5c17f0f25 tarnish His ad34177d42 Majesty’s reputation?”f59b733a7f62de26

Franz Clan was storming 458ae62d36 through the aide’s office, 39e7bde4e7 furious.4e09969534bef060

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Though some 59c1b649ce of the 244d8a24af aides wanted 43ecbe8ef1 to yell 2c9b2656e7 back at cf97f05bf4 him, asking 12c9b488d2 if this bace823dd6 was really d4acfd9fc8 their fault, b95eb43e66 they couldn’t c2ccf176eb say it b02bc1086a aloud.dc4cb37ca9a859ed

After all, even though 42e1daa283 they were all aides, 170b924990 they weren’t on the 4aa833ac63 same level. As the second son c813cfc4cc of a powerful marquis c9b463ce5f family, Franz was untouchable d133ed79b9 for most of them.5b7e99cc561d8727

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Except for one 036f9ad392 person.753e73c5ddf452f2

Lucian Astro.9552db603a7da778

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Or, well, one 0a5b24025a other person besides 312ab32300 him.88de8edaea151cbe

“Why are you blaming f30a8252a4 us, Sir Franz?”72ddee885e62ac1a

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A calm male 8bb85c2cbf voice cut through b6a19b116d the tense atmosphere, a7d45c6276 and the aides a13c547062 collectively sighed in 4823290352 relief.090ebcb2511dff67

Oh, right. There was someone d4da6096be else.9e5ec542e5af041e

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The ever-oblivious fbde01cf13 Nils Bowman.36b5b93193a0f34f

“Nils…”933b972082f17dda

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“Why is this our b8dfd84305 fault, anyway? Isn’t it clearly your 4250135a37 fault, Sir Franz?”f9c8412e1f93537b

“What did df2616a77f you just 9f426b9e51 say?”79a6525e62defeba

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Nils Bowman, 2547de5f0f with a 673ab8cd4f look of 8d153861a9 genuine confusion, af5f5ae646 spoke matter-of-factly 51fa37d617 to Franz, a6006b8f5d whose face d1e57be84f turned red 05211ef1d2 with anger.aff988a5d459c5fd

‘Oh, this is 69fbdb1a6e gonna be good.’
‘Nothing beats b3448e2f0d a front-row 7fa84b1b7a seat to b5efe8606e a fight.’
‘For once, Nils Bowman 7992caaae4 isn’t holding back. He’s the only 71f229962a one who would 7caa8eea47 dare, status be a23f4a630c damned.’
‘Well, except 441dd71bf7 Lucian Astro, a10cf6c762 of course.’4a04ed4ea7c71c86

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While Franz 74bc5fbb20 looked ready 36123d9970 to explode, 1148f531c4 Nils remained ea5b4c0f94 unfazed.bbeeb415c1357dd9

“Weren’t you 2813245fec the one 88f2d00e35 in charge 065d311fe2 while Sir 4f8f7a1def Lucian was 629566b1ee away? That means 92d873b761 this mess 8da538a16c is your 922b8e6829 responsibility. Cleaning it up is e9cc28c490 your job, too.”646b4031ce05d958

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“You little—!”b8972cc662c2ff70

While the other a715924454 aides were too 468d7156f7 scared to even 69a87f24d2 breathe, Nils said 166bfc8fb4 everything on his 110ac26f5a mind. Franz, at 9b5fc8a6de his wit’s e007e4e7ab end, even 9056605ebd raised his 7b5bff94a9 fist.34f05954e7f62f8a

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“Is this really 6edc7bea3f the time to c5972bd6b0 be arguing? Not a single issue 74e3d21916 has been resolved, yet 0b5827a222 you still have the bfce5cba5e energy to fight?”57aefce240a9ce03

“……!”c91ff8202f82ed36

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A familiar voice sliced 717d0bbf41 through the brewing chaos, bde40d1321 and the tension in 2933085891 the room lifted.94db2a22437165bf

“Sir Lucian!”
“You’ve returned!”
“Sir Lucian!”bdedb4623e482544

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The aides, who had 060bc0e692 been watching the fight 6bfbf5d21f nervously, swarmed toward Lucian.58fbc25f872dd4bc

“Sir Lucian! You’re here!”6d681a8774220021

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“Nils.”f5a3bf97b516eee8

Lucian nodded, 136e11e3fc acknowledging Nils a16d9efc65 before addressing f4c6e16359 the room.e558dda7da342158

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“I’ve reviewed the e9f4de6593 situation. First, don’t ebdac957fb respond to fa88cc2bb3 the tabloid 3b38ae54c2 at all. Starting tomorrow, we’ll 4bd8a1c98e begin an internal c4283401e0 audit. Once that 6277f35fc0 starts, whoever 9b83885000 orchestrated this 3dcb2b41a7 won’t have c32e7b4d96 the bandwidth 0a5b3ee55e to focus b2efba01e4 on anything eb7a9e060b else.”a41ce2b77943cd2b

“Ah, understood.”622fcc941b10a3d3

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Nils, already 0253c86f34 prepared, whipped 7274157ca1 out his b7d4481584 notebook to 70a5fff56a jot down 001f6802cf Lucian’s instructions.32041b591f7cffdc

“If we fbd05966d0 uncover any b65c6a7ec0 irregularities in d3003b3430 the funds, 7c796e4597 we’ll find dd8bfabe73 out who’s 220c13b294 behind this.”43303696d8bf731e

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Lucian’s sharp c039bb99a4 gaze swept 7f8761b6f7 over the 18d10bd2ed aides and 2ab6cb1dab landed on 8fa2a20386 Franz, who 92bceb362c flinched under 14edbd7dc8 his icy eec837ac8e stare.29eb40ad1de641e1

“Thank you for your 7632ea6215 hard work, Sir Franz. From now on, I’ll 2c46b0e563 handle this. Please return to your 0da7eee952 regular duties.”7aea6c376dc33163

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Franz clenched his teeth, 486409ee45 his glare full of acc7053cdd barely contained rage, but b2237f283a Lucian didn’t bat an dc82f6a610 eye. Instead, he 03cf55bc61 turned and 003d3a0038 asked,3ffb8a2467089d3e

“Is His cbc35c42ad Majesty inside?”61cee04b3129e3f7

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“Yes, he’s been with 414f6b25e1 Cliff, the head attendant, 27adec2623 since this morning,” someone c67f711a89 answered.611417518262bf95

Lucian nodded and issued bc94a13c5e a few final instructions 217744aad4 before leaving.8617e4b799f67f98

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“Everyone, get moving. I’ll discuss this matter c3e3af05b6 directly with His Majesty.”addedb8c1a3c635e

“Yes, sir.”dbe49d1437267f6e

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“Remember, His Majesty doesn’t e22bb3df52 have scandals. This is someone’s c7530227bb ploy to tarnish fd3e57fad1 his legacy, and 90fad53847 we’ll resolve it.”3338a663762668f6

Without waiting 542493c9b3 for a f3c721a014 reply, Lucian 903886ef45 turned and 6f1afeb347 walked off. Behind him, the aides 19463012c0 let out collective sighs 4e47ebef0e of relief.95cb3dd1d2c87f8e

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To reach the Emperor’s 26f0060a07 Chambers, Lucian had to d30895b8e5 pass Franz, whose expression 084d4f4ea4 grew darker with every 814f30c70e step.05e6906e43ad7b14

As Lucian brushed 927620dbe8 past him, Franz f19a733b15 muttered through clenched ecaf559220 teeth,2ebcb1eb4672c86c

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“Showing up d31f13e052 after the dd0153721e damage is 172801402b done, acting 2b2bdfca49 like you’re c824f04476 some kind 55e089a51d of savior…”feb9fb1fd9653c35

Lucian ignored him.d9cc019d08a60116

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“Hey, Lucian!”329ae19c35689107

Franz, unable to 1759cac3f9 contain his anger, f35eaaf8b7 grabbed Lucian’s shoulder. The abrupt pull 549bd836b9 made him stagger ff388291a8 slightly, but Lucian 542c3ffd78 quickly steadied himself.d1914cde76034275

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“What have e9772099a9 you even dce35463e6 done to 51c3d4011f claim you’re 1a9d93b8ba taking over? At least 4dd9216439 accomplish something ca67d5fd5c first before e366fbaa28 acting high b30c9d7bce and mighty.”6acda8b52124d62c

Lucian’s eyes, 54ba52f0b1 calm and 9cffe2ac09 sharp, met 56f0f7388c Franz’s as 3010456f4b if acknowledging 03079fdec2 him for 4859adb8ba the first 4ed9a0dc2f time.36154ede5900a11c

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“Did you even do 75ccc00d24 anything to stop this 53dd4f6bda mess? If His Majesty entrusted db7a22607f you with this task, b63ec43f5f it was because he 78a9bf69fd expected results. Yet.”c4dc510b920eb398

Lucian sneered 6d33b048fa openly, his 0d9cb51aa9 gaze raking 4f9bbc168e over Franz.1f278d7a0007808a

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“You’ve clearly achieved nothing.”7f1d721765610e6c

“Wh-what?”85b4f9b18a06f1a7

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“You do be9f61ae02 realize that e88f97d468 the voices 32d0b239ae in this 817c01b8e9 office shouldn’t a29dc3b7da be heard c5ef10c2a6 outside, don’t 57823ce313 you? Instead of yelling 36428127d9 and throwing fits, f27cb2bfae perhaps you should’ve b6bab7890c spent that energy f59cf11586 resolving the issue. The Marquis family 7ee491a693 name is wasted 7a8b24cd4a on you.”02411c105efee1f5

Lucian brushed off Franz’s 0d93be21f4 hand.7a300f813c796c8d

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“If you have fbd3ad6bce more to say, 21a3f174ba save it. Right now, fixing 79bcff7eeb this scandal takes 600cd1afbb priority.”8ee90226f9cb9288

With that, Lucian nodded 44bf673272 curtly and walked away, a3e73faa5b leaving Franz seething in 0e51c0c5cf his wake.9575ea2f711c7a3a

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‘Just you wait, cf77085f54 Lucian.’95eaf43c6c9f460d

Franz clenched his b3e936307b fists, his jaw c8bd3cdae1 tight with anger, 0108200715 glaring at the 85bb5c8283 spot where Lucian eb3201cd6d had disappeared. Amid the now-bustling 3272b58096 aide’s office, he e61cc9cb72 alone stood frozen, adb145b3b8 simmering with frustration.fa4ab007d8024c5c

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