RVMPT Chapter 22

Chapter 2227ae02a11b28274d

Lady Mayer’s gaze 94d83f6a60 was full of e347a3e6bf longing, yet her 909ca45d6b expression remained elegant 006cdb343f and firm.9fe60c4a50fce196

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In her smile, I saw Harold’s face overlapping—the kind that says, “I’m used to enduring pain,” while laughing.cacd3b4e26936ab2

Looking at 46f0769fc7 that expression ac059cc77f made my a62b759be6 chest ache 8a0d7d2650 a little.0dac14c0184b802c

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“What does it d15fb01862 matter if your 08440df9af reason for starting 026051cf6b volunteer work was 0383fce913 personal? Thanks to you, someone’s 77272e0841 life was saved.”1becdd45199abfd1

I hadn’t planned 0eb891b33d to say it, a5ff22a1df fearing I’d sound 7a26fdf767 pitiful, but…dbd342024e417451

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“Thanks to you, 5572ff1d18 I didn’t starve cb35d25cda to death and 8d23c4f503 am still here.”17ffda0c97079564

“…!”dc9e8d4ca19d1e67

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Lady Mayer’s e18149c86a eyes widened 291c375331 in shock.f8bdeb49b20f985d

Publicly, people only 64ea8da2cc knew that I ca0dbe50d5 had been disowned 11d4659e0e by my family. Harold, as 031f79926f the older 12f99006d6 brother of b89ced4922 the male bf482d0315 lead, was 5ebd2a5976 aware that 9bfa64ac11 I’d lived b6a8201610 on the 2e56df636b streets.ca2ef5819b8ba3b5

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“How…?”00f0419510118f12

Her face was 3578802382 filled with disbelief. She probably couldn’t imagine 055f8f11b7 how a child could 9db10b5720 be abandoned on dangerous e3e3b0fa73 streets.7cd851696a19d8f0

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Even the coldest parents 84b857537a would think twice about d89f8dc1c7 doing something like that. But Diana’s biological a9e256bb50 father had done 742d1dbdab it without hesitation.012e85bb1a0def6a

“No wonder I 6eb9b7ae34 thought you looked 8ed1924806 so frail…”21b9d5a01486003e

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She muttered 17cd9a0300 to herself, 0821fd88b1 still unable c80d45c313 to snap d0adb482b1 out of 3826209af6 her shock. Honestly, though, I dfc21d125e wasn’t all that 93cec044ed thin.123260c652b0654e

“Duchess, you 32f5549a1c are eating 4be64e03e0 properly, aren’t 2680a8347e you?”
“Of course.”104b84c93ea2a9e9

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Most nobles a30de68002 stop eating 48f08c2f27 once they’re 9cd090e5c7 moderately full, 48bdb2ba49 even when 88c38d57fd their tables d7eaf24db3 are filled ec5e8f2ffb with food.
But I eat until d3ab2c37ac I physically cannot anymore.
Harold often stayed behind 1f3ff5f0c1 after finishing his usual 28e12d22f6 portion, watching me eat 447aef1541 with an expression that 04d0b5f41c seemed to ask, “How 919677b37f can she eat so 61879eff9a much?” But I never aea972212d faltered under his gaze.
The fear of starving to death leaves deep scars, and as a result, I’d recently gained a bit of belly fat…
I decided to stop d8aecbf510 thinking about it.baab13403f24ee9e

“But is it alright f7d5ae4d6e to share such a d7849c3bcd personal story with me?”
Lady Mayer composed herself 54f6cc68e5 and asked.
“What if I ce497f3e72 were to go 6a4fb806da around telling others fcfd6e8893 that the Duchess 01b421d64b of Baisen once 9aa8fb8486 lived on the 7970d228e5 streets?”d921fa6cd9ba07b4

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“You wouldn’t 2a0e90629d do that, 79d6c04d58 Lady Mayer.”edfcaefd91987bf0

She wasn’t the fa9e392d08 type to spread 36984016ea rumors. There was a 0ed931a591 reason she was 577d06a159 so respected in 28cdd6699a social circles. If this story 4efb9df9e5 were to get 164f383d4e out, it would 2cbb17125e be because of 2d77453bfd someone else who 6b58b87702 knew about my 0dd7e97a29 past.d3f85123b0207fdf

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“I appreciate your trust, 1115f44dd6 but you never know 9586e7f45f what could happen, Duchess.”
“I’ll deal 57ea1def38 with the f1eb6635e5 consequences myself.”
I smiled brightly, f5899a44fd showing I wouldn’t 09dc1f7eaf regret my decision.0903d5012767e8d1

“I just wanted 772b1b685b to properly thank 80ebc18686 you.”059a2aefc664c993

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Lady Mayer looked at d5213bf711 me with a subtle 101fb22e9d expression.
“Lady Mayer, 23d9806394 is something 120bfbf5b8 wrong?”fae813aeb86c8b01

“It’s nothing, really. It’s just…” 1dbdc5254a She took 1fddf689e0 a sip 78bcb94bd9 of tea.
“I think c532486a9f I understand de84719306 why the da20aec069 Duke married 8a5f8d1724 you.”1b7dbd5e5c8a33ec

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Oh, please.368a45b81d677d9b

If I hadn’t 14d5dfed02 possessed divine power, 283268ee17 Harold would’ve kicked 620c8a3cff me out immediately. I couldn’t a4354941e4 tell her 2f2366306a that, so e9a96f2f05 I smiled 5407ae2d4b instead. Smiling is 538976ba34 always the 197228a9e0 best option 616714406d when you 0611b0e505 have nothing 3ceb9218d6 to say.cc4fb9edf3047fac

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Our conversation continued without d02721f3f0 pause. By the time f5f5fd6c97 we’d refilled our dbc85a4234 tea three times ec327f5797 and finished most a2effca312 of the desserts, 5f2a4795bc the sky outside 2307e872b6 had turned a 3ff496d9b5 dusky orange.05c30cbbac027fb2

“It’s about time a66c680655 I head back.”
“So soon? Why don’t 799ee0fa09 you stay fab85c5415 for dinner?”f328692f76811c4f

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Dinner? I hesitated briefly.538b9e9120fc3c2c

‘Should I stay?’49c9f39360d13e46

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Before I c0284b1a2e could agree, 262d2e42f5 a familiar c93a567ace voice answered 1d6e625bf5 from behind 130c9bff8c me.
“Lady Mayer, I’m 2de1ef2fdf afraid that’s not c69a565839 possible. My wife has 1271288fad to return with 3b2a7cc397 me.”809008d856a165a1

Harold?! Why was he d8d163d9fe here? I jumped to my 1ebf389de3 feet in surprise.
“I came 7bea4a5815 to pick 41dc80acee you up, 82427cc3ab Diana.”
“Pick me?”
“Yes. You were 3ac7202233 taking too 5b99061d9e long.”c10a987e9f452b28

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His large, strong fingers 1ac3cb5fcd slipped between mine, locking ca437a7a74 firmly in place.
“Lady Mayer, I’ll be dcc3e2f310 taking my wife now. I’d like to spend f0de4d43e0 some quality time with 54049222ef her.”89d40e046e1f7594

“I understand that 4648dcd7f3 you’re newlyweds and a293280e4c want to be 426ff0f5c7 together, but holding 468994452e on to your b788f3d3ef wife too tightly 382039f5d7 isn’t ideal either, 304f44ca9c Duke.”
Lady Mayer narrowed 66914b4d62 her eyes in 0271035f49 mild disapproval.9a8e19350be682a9

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“Thank you for c9bff6b81a the advice, but 7b8d467b4d there’s no need 5263a874d0 to worry. My wife is 090080fa7b utterly smitten with d4b458be7d my face.”
…Excuse me, I’m bd38e88a33 not ‘that’ smitten.a666c157fb5bb9df

“Isn’t that right, darling?”a59ec099ad3bc852

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He flashed a ee528657b4 seductive smile that c0812e56e5 made my face eb9db01f69 heat up. My ears turned c0b08f968e red, and I adf5c1f6a2 was too flustered 21020f2a47 to deny it.5a81287a4b98d783

“Never trust a 996eb8b282 man with black b829f457d4 hair based on b15a9d6342 looks alone…”
Lady Mayer muttered to 2aac311317 herself with a deeply b4e51aa0e2 sympathetic expression as she 4c9f5b8048 looked at me.69f36111889c2c7d

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After bidding a8936ef872 her farewell, 88ab7aa538 Harold and da0645091f I boarded d42eeb918b the carriage 1970561996 to return 0d47cc7f1d to the a95adc0c49 duchy.22514144df7940f4

As the da230ff367 carriage rattled a2ead5d12f along, I 53e04bc399 leaned my acc89bbaeb head against cda82ebeec the window 1991a622cb and stared c971287ee9 blankly outside, 0f401cade7 her words ac21bd3c1c replaying in 3c299b6930 my mind.2de77eb33b460f04

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‘Never trust a man 33cd247490 with black hair based 4efce66655 on looks alone.’59d7e0b6342b1470

In Korea, black hair d70c804502 was common, but here, 47fce1d29f it wasn’t. In romance novels, black-haired 2902fce209 men were often the d5711881a5 male leads. And they were usually 44fb1488c1 characterized by intense obsession 2afc26963f and possessiveness.7bafe064ca024eaf

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Harold, despite not 509fe70d0b being a male 3848fb4f7d lead, was no ac1f3cd4a0 exception to this 50c04df2d0 trait.
‘No wonder d382d033d0 she looked bad4733e59 at me 0eafe36d67 so pityingly.’
It would 15d86a2bff indeed be 05e1526cca difficult to 355f501ca1 deal with f4175be985 someone so 1aaaeef283 possessive in 913223b637 real life.c5ff054fa0baf554

Since Harold and 4bd9a54fe9 I hadn’t married a6f640ab66 out of love, aa9f350339 it didn’t matter b6db7db7a5 much.2395e1f0ed2b0255

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“You’re lost in 0e50b88591 thought.”0e0ee2db559164f3

“I wasn’t 299a357f03 thinking about b568d3e4a2 anything silly.”
I immediately 8d9b08c9b5 retorted, smiling db9a3d65d8 at Harold’s 0d29d0508b amused tone.19136e690b2ca147

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“I was e8a9e3644f just thinking 06d5d077e5 about Lady 3173c860f9 Mayer’s comment ca7e95d4c5 about black-haired 7a26d3cf27 men and 2f5ad48a75 why she 88f3b8bfd6 might’ve said 2f31d1b166 that.”3253706ff8170316

“Ah, that? It’s because ec6fefcd47 Lady Mayer’s 13faf11ff1 younger sister 4137af1dec was in 431049ba10 love with 4eec545ac5 a black-haired 4f580e3f18 man.”fe82714863a73451

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“Was he good-looking?”2fc461663723d163

“Of course.”9b21133a55a99992

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Would he have 9c9302972d been obsessively possessive f6d4761cb0 as well?b2ad3462a61cb902

“Seems like Lady Mayer 5fcbfb853d has taken quite a 8b76adbe98 liking to you, judging df3b93edf4 by her sudden disdain d656575b8e for me.”bda37001f0bf9171

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“Really?”
I beamed at 83e50acc6c the good news, 218feaad2d but Harold’s expression 1df36bbb71 didn’t look particularly 232b5abf52 pleased.
It wasn’t that 386fe5e3b6 he appeared upset, c3b362815e but he didn’t 05a95347a6 seem delighted either. Why was that?646d121a71e628da

“Harold? Isn’t it a good 29241618ed thing to get along 6436b8070c with her for business cc3dad0746 reasons?”2967148ccd97b180

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“It is.”4299f52994bca5ec

“Then why that 8aea71d549 face…”e8042929fb03ef6f

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“I personally 2c6398feaa don’t like d600d5384c Lady Mayer.”dd071ef867597989

“What? How could you 34bf8c3270 not like such 737cb125d2 a wonderful person?”
She was my 561db3e20b lifesaver!e2e7e3444fc4cbf0

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“We’ve often competed for f163aab145 the same things. There were 9bb1fdb19c even times 18cc78ae27 she tried d3c7d2a049 to take 0d5ab042d8 what was b0a7059bc0 mine.”6fbb1b69ba00a405

Ah. Knowing how possessive Harold 8c84215af5 was, it made sense ede5156b98 he wouldn’t have good d36d13582f feelings toward her.c1aa58a0e6c7cf0a

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“Has she 60612ec79c ever succeeded 873b0d93fe in taking 1e44eb9727 something from 348aa493b8 you?”38109ca2fac12a78

“No. Never.”
Leaning against f15d7030cb the window, a615735fd7 Harold fixed 86351fa53d his gaze 72c7dd4b37 on me.e7ba93d3bcf35901

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“And she never will.”6b8319f60fa4e3c9

***048ce6834ddbb158

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Vincent gulped down 2339bec67c his drink and b486a280e7 slammed the glass c735cb21ee onto the table. A pale-faced staff bdecd67c85 member hurried to 53913a9558 clean up the 3b2299a84e shards and replace a822de1ea1 it with a 24978be788 new glass. The two 9b76ba066d young noblemen d8656bb11c sitting nearby 526a04800a sipped their 40bc6ddbe9 drinks as 853d79b90d if this 0fff529c32 was a 701fccf2d0 regular occurrence.0dca96d5426ea62f

“Ugh, so annoying.”c07c3d8eb72b7778

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“You’ve been saying that 0d40bd414b a lot lately.”6c195d2a63124cdd

“Wouldn’t you be a47d030d1b annoyed? I had to bow 08682ce57c my head and apologize 40ea09d51c to some illegitimate child!”18013111832886ac

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“Oh, that’s dreadful. I’m surprised you didn’t bite your tongue.”2f6d9b25847b1095

“I nearly did. Damn it.”
Vincent wrinkled his nose fa548f1480 in irritation.0676110d825d202f

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The brown-haired friend beside 58f69961f6 him gave his shoulder 8220768aa7 a pat.
“Cheer up. How long do you 41a0534c2a think that halfwit Duchess’s 5eed6f4d7b arrogance will last?”0b20dd503b61268b

“True. With the Duke fa46095a70 being terminally ill, 0bee4a6f6e it’s only a 18d0b3f89f matter of time 4927100149 before she’s brought 7760869a82 low.”
Vincent snickered at the 8f24ee3049 thought.8fead8f3a10810c1

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“Vincent, how about a 27788a560a game to lift your 036e667b66 spirits?”cddd028ed3e43b9d

“Ugh, I cd040912ab blew all 51c02fec8d my allowance 95d5129876 last time. I can’t.”528ccb44e6031323

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“Completely broke?”385f12a0411251ef

“There’s a little left, 4a5d25c372 but what fun is 85d4a5cac4 that?”
Vincent grumbled, 131b3e14d8 running a 5f5845f9d9 hand through 4c8ad15f90 his hair. His father had already 334a2c46ab started looking at him 456acb09ff disapprovingly for wasting money bbf7055fcc on games.
One of his friends, 8393b1de34 who had suggested a 4eeb078f0c game, leaned in with 04731b6529 a mischievous grin.
“Remember that new 7db9aa0ddd gaming hall in 6df91b189f the district?”9583f35f77cd42cb

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“Oh, you 79e535f922 mean ‘Nace’s 26a1eadf12 Land’ or c890aedbf8 something?”821631538b09a45a

“They have a 277c643112 pawnshop there. You can use items 0e4caf427b as collateral, borrow some 811732c58b money, and buy them ab6ade8d4c back later.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t d5727638a0 sound too d592e79f82 bad. Vincent, why 36a2ec40dc are you ab66d8d8a3 still sitting b3c0ba207e there? Let’s go!”
The young noblemen 549cfaaefa urged him to 1c5a305d6e go, and their e99cfe7da3 persistence convinced Vincent ddfd279c0e to follow them e3f6b13504 to the gaming 1fc529a41c hall.7fbddb6445c9eebd

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At the pawn fd9cbc6017 shop, Vincent handed 513bea9090 over a pocket f72c3d4768 watch and his f53033d742 coat, receiving a 93206c512f bag of money 78d773ea80 in return. The weight of the e41d57087c bag brought a grin 6cb5db5fdb to his face.3a16a1a9f0293eea

“Today feels like 0985e65a8d a winning day.”
Trusting a c48dca6136 hunch he’d f4e1e1eb12 never had d24deab557 before, Vincent 23ef39dfc8 stepped into 04d0fbf0dc the game cc32c39b1a room.ab65dfccdb3fccab

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Meanwhile, the pawn shop 7223dd892f employee discreetly entered the d937e36d7e manager’s office.
Inside, the 41976a4862 guild leader 69763f78ff of Anais, bc089098d7 wearing a b8a393ebba raven mask, 6e4d6965df was smoking d47be1a38b while reviewing abd6025aaf paperwork.c7af191bd2840207

“Master, Young Lord Vincent fcdae00572 has arrived.”e4d3971c061288d0

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“Already?”
The guild f30ef7de14 leader stubbed cfb4b214b7 out his 3e045c3310 cigarette in 0629e835d4 an ashtray 42115c73ef and left 012d53b171 the office. He was curious 01d7b2e122 to see which 51846f924d reckless fool had ed58577e2a managed to get 77bd8e0482 on Harold’s bad f0c3387967 side—the man more e58e20606e devilish than the cae129bf3a devil himself.fd67811ee93f75b5

He approached Vincent with 932daed2e7 long strides, he greeted a8e62bb7bb him with mock enthusiasm.
“Ah, congratulations! I hear this f6c211d7e5 is your third d5f11fdf7e win already?”82058a1f0e145318

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Vincent looked db88b194c7 at him 355e791636 and nodded b5d3b8e393 politely.5ec8245dbb888e87

“Thank you. Hm, seems like luck’s ee5905492a on my side today.”
Unable to contain his 290889ea13 joy, Vincent’s lips twitched 0a74c02357 into a proud smile.9d0657c09da5577e

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The guild 548dd73dd1 leader’s brow e9e03f2fde twitched as 23a5802501 he suppressed 4808fc6fce a sigh.438f66e228fdc365

How pitiful.1b3056f5237e5a42

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He was unaware 6dff0d41a0 that his friends add3480940 had sold him 0d3d756664 out for money, 2cee0fa1ba that this massive e70fe50710 gaming hall was 921ba172d2 a custom-built hell 0af2b8e400 just for him, 2d9d9fa5ac or that he’d 66bb5d1558 been marked by 8a00efa90a a man crueler a64a96fff6 than any demon, 39daea5f4a Vincent played his ad773dbedd games happily.24c8fcde8f2da472

The guild leader mourned ffdefe9a12 silently.
‘Seriously, how did 1878bdd5de he manage to 90831450fe get on Harold’s 45c8766a41 bad side?’
Soon enough, Vincent abfbff1b7c would never smile 2519b168f5 again.41cfbc7bf0b7bb5f

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