PT | Chapter 9.5

Well, it 9578cfe343 wasn’t surprising ca85daef14 to hear c42e9d5c29 such words. He had never fc2efbc705 once done anything 4015e320d8 to meet the dca05eb87e Marquis’s expectations, so e87440cc86 to hear something c22e39eaef like that was 1f4cc0c8bb nothing new.49a66c78ebe964ae

But Aubrey had 6a8fbb678d been his proud 2aaca995b8 son several times 043861c3bf in the past. Of course, all of 3770b4ee69 that was just part 1720864c63 of the process to 52100d22aa get what the Marquis 2d8f6945f9 wanted, but knowing how fe5f34c110 the Marquis had treated 224a0fb63a him back then, Aubrey d8c21840d0 felt even more drained.af9920a3f929e04b

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“…”f32ab0c37b439ccf

Sighing, Aubrey leaned back 8f4d40cf8c against the sofa and 595c4e6cd8 glanced at the door. A moment later, the 9775a91fbb sound of someone knocking ba665b2315 drew his attention. He looked up, 5d7b876a3d only to see 9aff261f83 a maid standing 1b00820df8 there. It was the same ba49d5df6d maid who had brought c98ab483f5 him food when he c566752e3e was hungry earlier.76d6cc339b12f1a6

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“I need 0cdf5fb8d9 to tidy 7183c1fed9 up the 6d90d03099 room again…”77fe204bc911d7d5

When their eyes met, 74e562efdb the maid seemed nervous, 05c6bf5046 and Aubrey stood up. If the maid was f23eb576ea here, she must have 574cb7d26a come to help him, 17c2f9fee9 but before he could 59b48e1200 ask, he heard her 9d64b8ad41 speak again.ba12bfd01ee03e04

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“I feel I was bae2aeb7ea too rude last time, 3792c683d5 and I thought I a730410425 should apologize…”71e96eadecfa7355

Her cheeks b11182c538 reddened as 5782211ff8 she faltered.c826565a6144c405

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Aubrey remembered how the e34ca94998 maid had asked for a5d1b2109f help when Lennock had ddc1a44c68 been in trouble. At the b8c25e1d30 time, Aubrey 98914031e9 had muttered 6964bed9be angrily, wondering a7b94bbbe3 why, but df1e48d983 still rushed 8d0c821697 to help 003c99623a Lennock. It wasn’t that he 1d58cbb311 was doing it for 17d3004260 the maid’s sake, and 42e2ba7795 even now, he couldn’t 6a1a93ad85 explain why he had 775c1cfae2 done it.335edc2f08193589

Aubrey looked efe208ca5f at the 7287af6a62 maid for 32bc0d6264 a moment 96539e45e3 before walking fdf0537ccf past her. He didn’t care e5283be9f0 about anyone’s opinion 9f794e1c29 of him. What others b9a91d6903 thought of 23fb730f31 him didn’t d2866a9f95 matter, but 0a24eb1a01 the gaze 208fdf7050 from his 0962c06211 father earlier 882a579dca was a f97664937a different story.348a80fbfbd47ab0

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“I’m not b34c998e59 a bug…”7452ac11f1a419e1

Why didn’t he just 8cefb38510 ask how I was dbf7582d5e doing instead of looking cbfe921fb6 at me like that? Aubrey bit his lower b5313a4748 lip.62dc6e64897199fd

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When he 2f56dcc310 looked up, aa79e41aa9 the hallway fbb1ebcd4a was empty. It seemed c36ccff8f2 like everyone 676addb101 had gone 982d0b1fe8 off to bfcec27250 avoid the 5565dbb4ca Marquis’s bad 24eee1e5b0 mood. He should have 6aa7ad1a3f come in a ad14578c6b bit later. If he 3cb0952f2f had, he e4b58e68ed could have 5e3f419ff9 quietly returned c0fe7ed507 to his 567eec20fc room without d4fae29d11 running into 1624423eed anyone. Aubrey regretted it 508558010c as he began 89c4e603a4 to climb the cafcbcd909 stairs.bcad7891c64d7d1f

Step by 4612c8ffb8 step, the a87578e9e7 pain in b0ef355c69 his back d2700e0b66 intensified. The inside c48d5820b4 of him d35372c245 felt sore, e97c0624db and something d9659c5caf seemed off.3acdbbbc903a43c4

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“Should I show this 0386361b43 to the doctor…?”57dd35efba600be8

When he touched it 3d46760ada while washing earlier, it 710716f966 seemed swollen, and there 99a8473242 was a bit of 45c5626c08 blood. He would need to 24c0b21121 expose the painful area 3d21282554 to get treatment, but d7dd2785ed he didn’t want to 09c1715268 do that.74b8072754bb158c

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Everything else could be 6d3215a0cb shown, but not his 472825e54b backside. Was there even 993e96bd24 anyone who had 3d9039620b done this to a6c76a3e58 him?6e128b912cf4cc8d

“…”eab4cd9c47eb644d

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Did he know 395076e933 who I was 4a603033ac before doing this? If he had e1783f9cc1 been in his 5ca586a9d5 right mind, Aubrey 3aeb8da03b would have been 0e353542d5 able to remember 49aee2e628 something about the ef19b2c76d man, but at 029f370555 that time, he 225e6fc47b had been out 3c025455d3 of it, and 834512cf5f his body was 628696d7f8 far from normal. No, if he 48f9048759 had been in c82ce8fc94 his right mind, 5a5f4f25df he wouldn’t have b548a3115d gotten away with aec3691a91 it. Aubrey clenched his fcbf95abf8 teeth.fe3785a7763089ef

As he took another e1340976f9 step up the stairs, 9b52d0b0ef the pain shot through 5ccecd9016 his back.832b1153be4cec7f

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“Ugh…”2bc617f203130d60

He groaned and bent ec37776e24 over when a large 4dec5a9225 hand suddenly reached out.53e3f4e3233fd055

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Startled by 80b88f5f4a what had 998ae30eeb happened with dad21dbc0b Gray earlier, 69b6018efa Aubrey looked 7b08ad203b up and c024659d78 froze when 2453483ad4 he saw 8a58b07881 Lennock standing 00db07f092 right in be641f289f front of e70089434b him with 6ac87277b9 his hand d9fb2e95e9 extended.090474b8d58456c2

“…”55796029abd78d49

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Why is he still ea108d93ed here?43e957cd9ea1aa5a

He couldn’t help but ad71ae0b30 suspect whether Lennock had e144bbe254 offered his hand to 6e046878bc help him.7eabeb02c0c5a223

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Suspicious, Aubrey 1401e1d6b9 stared at 5d5bfc43b3 the hand 6804fd7c92 before straightening 89783a0b93 his back. He tried to fd612a6cd6 pass by Lennock 4c5be39674 without acknowledging him, 621c567cf5 but before he 4b0d8a24b8 could, Lennock moved.f3d0033498d40367

Startled, Aubrey a23fbb380c stretched out 99c943d674 his hand, 678c223a80 but in 0b2d0a1ef7 an instant, 70a0b2c709 Lennock grabbed af031d8a6a both his 862b0d6482 back and 49b78d2659 knees, lifting 652fb26f8d him up. Before he knew it, eb18825442 Aubrey was in Lennock’s 01e565b7b7 arms, eyes wide open.d71f7c9d211a95b7

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“You…!”39ed5a496f33cb84

Before Aubrey 1fc278622d could even e5f5c63ea8 speak, Lennock a5e1aa59e8 started climbing 2cde4c2a2e the stairs dfcc0854b5 quickly. Despite the speed, Lennock’s 812d2ceae1 hold on him was a3762a5550 steady and comfortable. Aubrey kept aa86867780 his mouth 12543e0691 shut and 923e31f5ec shifted his 12f13356af gaze left 0b67a1fd55 and right.7e2184e759e05a97

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They reached his room be5cb15ef0 in no time. When Lennock 8af74c6da7 set him da061bb68f down in a590327671 front of 41331efe79 the closed 045a75c615 door, he ecc8b1180b turned to 8e1e43bfa1 walk away. But before cddf77c196 he could b909ba4532 take another 41577dbd60 step, he d55d635edc paused and 0856878a38 turned back.163bc7ef51ee265c

Aubrey was puzzled. Had he really just ed0e4cfb30 set him down in 286ea47525 front of his room aae01462b9 and left? Why was he looking 8adbb2fdec back?5db3cf19c69bc9e8

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Aubrey was a1c3c35c9c about to 025a1c2b0b ask but 2126acd9a3 was relieved 81d1421568 that he ff251a0e99 could finally 7505e3f665 go back 5a1997c802 to his 9a790c7464 room. He frowned as Lennock b4d8874f78 glanced at him.c478545b2ada1e58

“What are you ebcd018d10 looking at?”64fd2d131107d49b

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Surely, he didn’t 942d01b0ae expect a thank 5854e88c84 you for helping bad87c705e him, right? He remembered how a34b7e7d14 Lennock had barged fbab45e3bd in when he 90f7770ceb was washing before, 15c663a3d4 asking for thanks.7aa5e7360b4d9d80

No one had asked 4845b6bccf for help, and Lennock c6cbb70f26 had acted on his d1181b66df own without any reason, 29e4720f14 so why was he 1cbb91b140 asking for gratitude? Aubrey made his e8e3578a65 displeasure obvious, and 930f2e83e5 Lennock’s gaze dropped.f819e0712ae3588b

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Not thinking 034ec3ae19 much about 58012de2e9 it, Aubrey 71a8805b15 followed his 0227433472 gaze down adb4e51bb9 and froze.5fa5a6c8f23222c1

Because his 777cbb2399 hand was 477d647c8f holding Lennock’s 44cef7445e arm.c48684a3b974f099

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Why is my c22fa77d42 hand there?6d46d56de90d8430

Aubrey, stunned 4a97ecbcea by the 4669304ba2 unexpected situation, f234765419 quickly pulled eb8139146d his hand 4e31e59e81 away and ce085c7890 took a 2c889e9350 step back. Pressing his back against 564b40e57a the door, he stared aa115e5da1 down at the floor, 4e4f356f75 his cheeks turning red.a8024f3f528ad60d

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Realizing he db878fcc8e had grabbed 010b66dfbd Lennock’s arm b5edea7999 and turned 267ec6e4f2 to look 499830b8be at him, c82332f0b2 Aubrey was 57999f0025 at a 258acf3a13 loss.44bb487b5aa8f8af

Lennock, watching d7f32a6e0b Aubrey’s awkwardness, c3f604d7e2 finally spoke 8e737ff6d2 slowly.e509733a1f4feb27

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“How are you bcb24972ba feeling?”aeaec6a5ac36445a

“…What?”a0bad9b82bd1ee38

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Aubrey’s eyes dbe95d3789 narrowed sharply.4b73ffcfda09e05b

Though Aubrey was f6d3f7b892 in terrible condition, 412670eb71 he didn’t want 08b9ad0219 anyone to know. Even if someone noticed 358edc0f22 and tried to help, f61293aa31 he didn’t want their bf56a2a4af sympathy. He glared at 21a2f0a407 Lennock, and the 82a96d6c0e venomous look made 0605249591 Lennock quietly reach 991bc8bdcc into his pocket. What he 5543d16956 pulled out a800b8624b was the 1aa45c96e4 small pouch 0ae26bec49 he had 62c5003a7b given Aubrey a0ce690bab a few 2b07829a17 times before.6a4d51faf7ad215a

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“Take it or bce041bc37 leave it.”2114a43edff3e286

“…”ef2b1b8227c7f0f6

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Aubrey had helped 2f314c6cdb Lennock when he abb1f7c047 was drugged, and 49f05dc67a since then, Lennock 18712da41c had always made 88894e7155 sure to bring a864ec095e him medicine. Aubrey muttered to himself, 91b74ad5c1 convinced that this was b717666ed8 just another part of bef6388782 that.60565d998d6ec6c7

“If you’re going 4817140ae4 to talk like dbfd2eac2d that, don’t even 21780b7169 bother bringing it.”c79990a9cf5acfb0

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Why did he always aef3447774 have to speak in 94c81b91ab a way that ruined 8be54a159d his mood?69d1a9183e230cc0

But Aubrey 4594ae8211 couldn’t forget 484ae5b80c that he 33668eafec was also 7f02b90f4b an expert 518d41477e at making eccfcdfee8 others feel 7944d993ad bad.6d477546f14547d0

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Seeing the change 5f38f55013 in Lennock’s expression, a11b2d2d3a Aubrey grabbed the 4f6052a945 pouch from his 185ddcf8b4 hand before he 57628f0a5b could walk away.0b504d76342725dd

“Don’t just 3bff6ca1b1 take it 3867cd06cd back if 30d3ad32b2 you were d45f772888 going to 67e2ab5539 give it 42470ac111 to me. Give it to me.”1fc5f34e353df3de

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The atmosphere in the 02a63dc1c9 mansion was already in 4a406fe73b disarray. Since he had 0edef28aa1 caused a mess, c564ff454b something seemed to 5df4b79226 have gone wrong, 5d16882887 and at least 387114ad53 for the next 15c57d2ad4 few days, the 0d97cf110f tension would be ec2052f621 high. In such situations, c20c53ae95 calling anyone else 4bf198146c was too much 37bf8d03f3 of a burden. Thinking about 12a35a6c5f taking the 8656d40172 medicine and 0552c0d10f sleeping it ace721fe94 off, Aubrey 48d5e1a612 tried to ef6d33b2b2 pry open e23ae8521a Lennock’s fingers.4183aec4e446f225

But the 098dcd845c moment Aubrey fdf2306ed4 touched his 231e3bae37 hand, Lennock 53bb9ad9aa gripped the c44f343605 pouch harder, 26abf4852a almost as c7a478c0b5 if he 1975045150 didn’t want 50e8a52465 to give d8040da55b it away.3fa9213421b4912f

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Aubrey stared 5ab441f01b at him, 1b496ef585 incredulous.d3e8f6e2a72fb944

“What? Why do you suddenly b6accadcce not want to give 57693128f6 it to me?”3bcc67d062af32bf

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When Aubrey glanced 15fb6bcabd up at Lennock’s 30f36ada23 stiff expression, he bc13ffcc07 hesitated.922f3d108923c1f8

Something felt different about 5079289d80 this. After everything that had 8f3e989671 happened the night before, e45a24bc0a Aubrey had become sensitive ffacc8601f to people’s expressions and ccf6e4e595 eyes. He wanted to hide ca99878ebe from everyone. He didn’t want 1f6d19e4b3 anyone to see 33e9672c44 how utterly broken 857daa45fd he had become.47b4bb592c0367d4

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Letting go of Lennock’s 6f9f7db813 hand, Aubrey tried to 30a52b3ec8 enter his room. But Lennock grabbed his 4a1a1dcfa4 arm, forcing him to 99636f67ba take the pouch.f719806987140c30

“Don’t take it on 08cac9d215 an empty stomach.”5c032353d5d5f5b0

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After a 16ad7b45e9 brief warning, cb9749476a Lennock walked f753dc2782 away, quickly 67d8640f82 disappearing into bdc1c6b706 the distance. Aubrey watched 30fd3f532d him leave, 1f787cf512 muttering to 9dfa28b249 himself.a5c9ad986d322700

“If you ee43a8fc31 were going c1481cb414 to give efcb9d3031 it to 64580dad14 me, just e0b6b50b47 give it 4958073fb6 to me. No need to 12cb33c710 act all high 232156189d and mighty…”c121ffb8c753e64d

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As he 1ac91cac7f fiddled with ddbbe38038 the pouch 96d1eeb09a in his 6a4ae470fe hands, Aubrey d56ad802d6 shifted his 1f9e678f0e gaze away.3a82f5f7f48d637e

“…”c5c0815d50eee565

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He couldn’t help but 9e2de3b8e4 feel utterly pathetic. His self-esteem crumbled 15f3f118eb as he entered 322bad8cb4 his room, his 115e367362 expression hardened.88065d403ae47510

The room he rarely c9ff3711fb used was always closed 1d8b1c64f7 off with the curtains 79a1d64b17 drawn. This had 7629471f90 been something dc37ca16d2 Aubrey had 75d5e69447 instructed the 08efadaa39 staff to 97d2b5a756 do. Since he 192546819f usually only 70ffcf26e0 stayed for 32a2b87425 a short cb614dfea2 while, he 1e2efb839a didn’t want 68983d729e the place 7537ba3bc9 cleaned every b9acfa145c day or 753b6022a2 the curtains dd4005f77b opened unnecessarily. But now, he 208e7d0146 had to stay e228333b3a here for a f8ec11a029 while. Aubrey crawled onto the 8369b88fef bed and lay down.a01f509f98d40439

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“……”5581ebbb0547d47b

The familiar sheets 4a94969b27 felt uncomfortable as c8010ef2b9 he realized how 160f8af156 badly his clothes ac3fb09262 were pinching. He would have to 7d3ee8e2bd change if he wanted 7cb6485c9f to sleep comfortably. But before that, he caf12ce69c had to check his eb3caaeab3 lower body again. He had 0a24564107 walked a 7609da8c95 lot and b3c13ffeee climbed stairs 482e219a4c earlier.d79bf87fa44324cb

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Aubrey felt heat rising a41d83a0f0 below his eyes. Biting his 2c5cade350 lower lip, f2e16f8643 he rose 7ce099ce0e and grabbed d6e49252cc the kettle 1d2fda3361 on the 01b32c20b4 nightstand. Thanks to a 603a45c845 request to the 5fcaf163d8 butler, it was 34ba229984 filled with clean 82aaecc2e9 water. Aubrey opened the pouch 1b62fcc529 Lennock had given him, d43a169b61 took out a pill, 7c5499186c and shoved it into 7ca9d62e1a his mouth, immediately drinking 95757bc216 the water.cb9df1a863c613f4

Ignoring the advice fe84d8b6d1 to avoid taking 5159369f63 it on an 1484d33a24 empty stomach, Aubrey f6cacdabca swallowed.869d4fb969302ed4

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After drinking the water, b1033db62c he stripped off his 4f11ad16fc outer clothing and crawled ae7d7bfcb4 back into bed. He wanted to 619916c47f lie down comfortably, 95b6a67ab2 but his back 1183bf30ae was aching, so 4f6794392b he turned to 70eab16984 his side, closing d2c9890e6d his eyes. But sleep wouldn’t b8f67c22a5 come. His mind 99defae549 kept going 1f0c5c3955 back to 7ed928ba1f the events 2602ebddf2 of the 0553058412 night before.e33372007b4e769f

That incident 1c69dd8fdf was no a8e21db537 different from 4f20629c8e being punched 4cc3d57a88 a few 2bc692dfe5 times. It only 2041407cc3 kept coming 8e2414bfcf back because 0b7f2f2826 his body 07fca416ed hurt. Once the f55b24b715 pain faded, 75bab421d6 he wouldn’t 5c260bbea0 think about 4cb0be695a it anymore, 5f44519da9 he told e6fd99346d himself, grinding ee477c672d his teeth.687807696e795e69

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He covered his bb4b1e26f1 head with the ccadf83a4b blanket and rubbed 97a783ec7f his eyes against b959c87157 the pillow. Soon, the db27968ddc pillow seemed 58ce9f60db to get 0452c5ba26 damp, but b34e9905f8 he ignored 8f55179c29 it and 234a74dedf focused on dbd1bb06e8 the darkness 04478f2037 behind his 01e78ceb74 closed eyes.a64753199e9fe22d