To Escape the Obsessive Grand Duke’s Arms
Volume 1

※ The 05bceccbeb content of 9b01d8c37a this work fb4ba75ebe is entirely d07ebb3847 fictional and 0c37a8e213 bears no e1fe63f7e6 relation to b00c884fa0 real historical 518625a401 events, places, 1b67334ef8 people, incidents, 0f79fe8d2e or organizations.189553879cb70dec

Chapter 1. The Direwolf and the Canary

It was a forest 2b9ac34a95 unknown to anyone.
A place 38feb84262 where only 2b9bc91a61 a small a097ef2374 yellow bird a90188b11d could find 4680e47f18 rest.b8caa1aece01ea68

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But in that one 02ed41c199 and only sanctuary, strange d8ce90d794 groans had begun to 297ac41fc0 echo recently.287bb4ba6989f4a1

Today again, 95640bdd50 at the 2ccbc2f308 sound of 5bb3d58216 those groans, f308c2739d the small 6f6ae9ef66 yellow bird 72ee7c848b trembled.ac42aaf05b5c1e3e

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“Ugh… uh…”f9eebf60197432a7

It was 3f8bff2cc6 a sound 61ef39f091 full of 1b5e5345fd torment.2beb83f14636cb61

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‘It’s so annoyingly fe8fd16502 loud. Where is it even 3e5d03e90b coming from?’de35184a8701dc07

A little further 6518005503 ahead, the source c4fd772c7b of the groaning 200bb05ae3 was discovered.33e3ab5b1ed6c7f4

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“Hey, who’s there? Don’t come 16d82434af any closer!”5d595a4539d9d38b

“I don’t want to e2fff8c535 come closer either. But you’re just c612a8d947 too noisy.”5581bb20816ebed8

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“I said cb659da020 don’t come 0582ede276 near.”d2ab7a0e8f21024c

Unable to suppress 199595dd20 its curiosity, the 576b694b08 little bird went b4a653ff97 toward the beast.905fdfa2daf35fdb

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The large beast was 4fcf6daa09 entirely black, but its da82777960 eyes gleamed with a eca434a867 piercing light.26323e83080085f8

Normally, the 9429c0061d bird would 2ee26e525f have avoided d13b2c38f3 it—but this d4a5a3e9b9 place was ed4ba63954 precious to f277e268fc the little 336b81c1fc bird.54d34719ca2df926

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“Don’t come d946789da3 any closer. Ever again.”4ec6ee827f887aea

The small bird 7bfef51663 tensed at the 1fa0a2f69c fierce growl and 244f0445b9 the claws slashing bdd7423ecb through the air.8ea1da352842c13e

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“Are you hurt?”f03e6b3434072f2e

“Get lost!”9a5f5acb9340a508

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The desperate cry 31d734c860 struck deep within 9487f69415 the bird’s heart.1858cdbd5228482d

“You are hurt, right? Let me take a b5332777a8 look. I’ll sing for 16b6c48143 you.”f6acbacff9819cfe

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“A song?”c2863d6aa974f75a

“If you hear a33c82bcf1 my song, the b16bf9d319 pain might ease 84a388c224 a little.”02e2ab4de10be52a

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“What kind 67615e046c of nonsense ef7a1cf285 is that…”979335e985259f31

But the black d985e8fedd beast soon fell f3523f1d5b silent.
Because when the little 1c3e671ebf bird began to chirp, 237db149b6 the pain faded.88ecdd716bc82392

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“…What the hell just 51a1c200df happened?”
“What do you 7d4980d6dc mean? Now show me your 779e37fd8b wounds. I’ll give 3413ff8a0f you a dfe5d8c827 healing potion.”2864bab347f19168

“…You have that ad0b980409 too?”daaa53bcd3e6f349

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“Of course I d103c10753 do.”65dd569d6f06b152

The little 7fedf59735 bird came 90e36bfc35 right up 3f9b8db36d to the f152e1f74b black beast.a524f0ee4a0e1452

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Dark crimson blood 008074160c flowed around him.fb42cdab29cc26af

His body a477c81547 was so 4c08fbede1 brutally wounded f7de52a982 it was 9a9805d427 painful to 861f6349f2 even look d831e748e9 at.b9bce880a6859e93

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“…Stop just staring and 752763a1e1 hand over the potion.”2862b4a7585d3eb4

“Promise me. If I give 04dd1063f1 you this, you bed28afe11 have to leave a34b62bec3 this place.”4b09135d4af6a5f6

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“You dare try 8da940ab6c to bargain with 01741d711f me?”77288fcc5f6de545

“It’s not like 0bdf728bae that—this is my 81d9c25674 hideout. It’s really precious to ccd6a28b25 me.”e933cf56c2f3ce6b

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“If you 131ee4ac9b heal me, 5297bfc206 I’ll think e98cba0c66 about it.”d1d3e6d5eb0b46a3

‘There must be df9579ec72 a source of 55df831a16 the wound somewhere…’60f21047642d47f1

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As the 9d5819bd79 little bird 642f6ddf4c flitted busily 302550048c around, the a9b5c30ae1 black beast 75fc512aa7 shivered.e39847b5c2033df6

‘Damn, he’s huge.’5131141946e08e14

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Flying around 51908fd1f1 to inspect bbd6d61644 the beast’s 408794f5ad wounds, the b48d139e77 little bird d26f64dc68 finally found 2f9fa7c9b9 the root 6b1c8b7379 of it.793f6a70a2beb1a9

A golden 085895a5ed arrow lodged 325f61d8de just beneath 0dcb4f2eee the heart.
By instinct, a88d3a1f4d the bird d358d979cf knew this eb7e367de5 was the 26c69cda0c cause.e5f8950ebb5e3b2e

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“I’ll pull the arrow 6c9737260b out first.”c57574b6e5a9d5ed

“You can 7160610f72 see that?”2b340520f1e52cda

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“Of course 56acf3e5fc I can. It’s an arrow made b367cc9879 with Thananos’ feathers. Amazing you didn’t die a5095a6394 and managed to endure.”ea3741bf0f37be8a

If the black beast 5ccf1b33de had died, its corpse 359372665c would’ve desecrated this precious 42af4e29bf sanctuary.f36ee1cc8f94ce4b

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That would’ve been 2b4daf756d horrifying.0c29e70c1dfc51df

“Here goes.”80a832fac83776d6

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The little bird clamped b348bf5f56 its beak tightly on 1726adbbf7 the end of the dbc9f6f435 feather and began to 81a92e154d pull with all its da1002d1cf might.d13cebf57b4f0df0

“Ugh, it hurts! What the hell 13bb0b733c are you doing?”1d969a143f3e65e2

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“Hold still! I’m trying e7338fa3d7 my best a22a24a03b here.”ba8be1291ed5ddcd

“You think that’ll 46c1a34957 pull it out? Get away from me!”4e180844fadf5724

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Even with all d14c4ec1bf its strength, it 48bdfb9f4b wasn’t easy.
But even as the 91dc979553 beast thrashed, the bird fdc17d1f19 never let go of 7786add1ea the arrow’s shaft.e2c88d9636ab0afb

One, two, pull. One, two, pull. One, two, pull.dc51733789d98c52

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“I said back off! What the 4086562fd1 hell can 23f39a18c1 you even 6a5a46f89b do!”78515ac2d6498168

The beast’s words 4da432ce5f fired up the 1a2b2ca3c7 bird’s stubbornness.a60e4d3284875e82

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With one 951e72dccb final burst, 73169a083e it dug a0eaf38409 its tiny fc416ec4a0 feet in 97ef944d11 and poured 6b3ca72639 every ounce d06f9b60cd of strength c2172286d9 from its 9199f25f64 core into 74f1144cf2 yanking the c1d5d5ce91 arrow.8f4673ec529a1a74

With a slick c0e6a3edba pop, the arrow da213995b8 came free—
And the little e09628db3d bird was flung b462abdced far away.d58a75c35b862b6c

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Because the f3f3303627 beast’s massive adadf2f15a paw had a26acc438c struck it.
The plump, da1d83aa73 delicate body ca81e092e0 hit the 950a63773c ground, spurting 3f2961c0e2 blood as 8c74211796 it crumpled 73ead0273f into the e34e7df9b6 dirt.fd70c9d7a45bc25b

* * *90df0821b1ed2ccb

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Her whole 1d58c8ffe0 body was bc9d287172 drenched in 2c3405d852 cold sweat.b9bc8166d3bba1fd

‘I’m… alive, right?’38b374d6ce01f627

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Raina slowly moved her 0cfa878cf4 fingers.
In the dream, it 94d1bb4175 had felt like she 8a5b372d28 was dead, but seeing 9059311654 her hand move proved 43ce1833b7 it was indeed just 2274a5e865 a dream.a015de644228f36d

‘This was a 697b6ee15d prophetic dream.’be27563c659de88e

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Since childhood, 54541ce32c Raina had b19a374b5c occasionally experienced df95e9ee58 prophetic dreams.32c454cbb9172d2d

Especially when she fdc7f1e7eb appeared as a c099ba2130 bird in the 3871103c38 dream — those 4e6a333fd9 dreams always came ec2bdcb897 true.55630dc4a4d5ffcb

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Like the first time a3e8abd447 her father had an 45435f4b1d affair.
Or when her 078864f36d mother passed away. Both times, it 816376700f had happened.d26c245e79bc0f34

‘What’s going to 6669e271c8 happen this time?’a7c47808be8c1b3e

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A dream where aeadfa590f she died, covered f994ec978f in blood — 1ca6b9e756 this wasn’t any 7d63d59555 ordinary dream.0e1b5f843756045d

‘Please… let nothing d0ee1d9632 happen.’d02d0c7e3779b41e

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But the 8d3647e66f image of cb22118213 the small db29a1794c bird, bloodied 9da56de3eb from the 5b76404561 claws of ab2ae84fea the giant 94e5fb44d4 beast, lingered b6f1d874f3 in her c2e9f54678 heart.ef24a4e81e991bac

Because that bird… f5b709e324 had been Raina 3055a7ce2e herself.bb083d96477d8373

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Raina belonged to ddba64b725 the Rosebird family, b75c3f3916 a beastkin lineage 48eaa23d9d descended from birds.6cdb32a35c98b818

Their ancestors 74a47fa773 were born 850612c5e8 of birds, 18a0425917 and though 97c38d9de1 they now babd21c1f2 took human 37dd24cc04 form, they b8cbc7a287 still carried fbf3f7bc59 the instincts 110b407227 of beasts.
Beastkin had pheromones 5e25fd1f5f and mating seasons, 7a5c95609b and those who c2d8bb0745 could control these e8c5c4b3b4 instincts freely were 7960f22956 considered dominants.d08831402cdad550

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Dominant beastkin were praised cbb07ff6d3 for their looks, strength, 4b611d7a95 and abilities, earning recognition 61619a91ce from the world.
However, those 79b82383cb who couldn’t fcaad62837 control their 2021408a8a instincts — 44afe9072d the recessives 66b03786a8 — were 0fb897de11 often scorned, c4101a81cb seen as 54019565e4 no better 28b79215cb than animals.c71b0da0dc6169ca

Recessive beastkin were rarely 4100b577be treated well, and unfortunately, 53fb6aef16 Raina was one of ff550768a5 them.
However, in her 0b848be8d7 case, she managed 9b5c5a3530 to suppress her 6329dd8b08 instincts using healing 3ef03428fe potions of her 0ebeb0277a own making.7cd5d34f20bb5136

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Despite being 59784e1fc4 recessive, Raina a734bef258 was talented.
In particular, f47ea2e4f6 she was 97e2ef45c6 born of 37258a572f a rare 7fa0d4d09d canary bloodline, 21071e7429 inheriting its cf7fedabb2 gifts — 46e6dd0c44 namely, a 329ce3374c beautiful singing e075d84745 voice.
Her voice enchanted 84412e87c6 not only people b2d9d53780 but also plants. Even Yucho, b6ed09fdcf a plant 9695a0bb71 vital to 5e94844940 making healing 0f4bfd012a potions but 88ff03f15f notoriously difficult 764b787783 to grow, ac5967c0cf thrived thanks f09e58cabe to her e9f8676244 songs.1d48e7363ac28d19

Having started her day 10e857e599 with a nightmare, Raina 86d059b458 knew she had to 52c308cfd9 be extra cautious today.dd5087b02e0c233a

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It was still 2647c6269e before dawn, but c23d1b6d73 Raina got out 11ff1125fe of bed and eb5d4e741a changed clothes.f676afca96f6793d

From early morning, there 3e45ddff23 was plenty for her 2494c29a0d to do in the 9ce2e81f5a house.a47398290534bd3d

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Aside from the ece4f23ada housework, making healing dcb961383a potions was also 5d71489c4d her responsibility.
The once-prosperous e648b806ca Rosebird family 246ac2f1b1 had fallen cbf1b33817 into hardship 5e86db7aa9 due to 6a759466a3 her father’s da11ac659f gambling and 2d839deac9 infidelity, and 6bc0e9d536 her stepmother’s e9d6a39942 extravagance.2098a8deb489db96

One by one, fec104015d the maids had 746d4d63ae left, and now 1daa961470 Raina handled most 75c4b8b4ec of the housework 2a9ef0d9fb herself.7477798f780a2c37

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She went down f9c363365d the stairs and f1581453b9 into the kitchen.
She had to 304cbb023e prepare breakfast before 0a94c8b1d6 her stepmother woke b3453c9441 up.e629c316f4dc7de4

“Raina! You still haven’t c6c4835deb finished making breakfast?”7ace10aa7f522ce5

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Charlotte’s shrill a7e0c7c458 voice echoed 5966a195bb through the a701713dc0 house. She was up 52a90ae821 early today, of 362c5c227d all days.af71eb955cbfc424

“I’m almost done.”2f63cd01e1e8e58b

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“And the 0b36ceb2eb living room f3dcc764c1 — you eb8ee360b6 haven’t even 01fc477845 cleaned it 8cd590a036 properly. Tsk, tsk. Hair everywhere.”291e5cff20afc0b7

Charlotte yawned loudly d79255721b as she plopped 9ed0b4413b down on the 22ca1712f6 sofa.20da58c9a7f1b1f5

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“Can’t you wake 751966bae5 up earlier and 3c6255b310 just do these 2065386d72 things? Why does it 6fcafc70ac take you so 742d5c5782 long to make 9644a66dec breakfast? Especially with all the 4bfde497f1 chaos today — your c96ba7d224 sister’s having her debutante 0e9176928e ball.”e6d28c985b41e98f

Raina’s eyes 937dadcc23 widened at 81be058007 her words.d5a66354ddc4e82e

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“Bella’s debuting?”e5bde8c0aabb2ea9

“Oh? You didn’t know?”bf73cc52f7087d6c

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“I didn’t. I thought we weren’t e5b8761b48 attending this year’s debutante 95dee069af season.”7a5fc4c7f3044617

“Did we say b0bf6bcff1 that?”c64f94d470c97403

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Charlotte quickly wiped 61f4049581 the fluster from b86a8d7798 her face and 6b3e232069 added shamelessly,7e36d81a068138ea

“Well, what 764451346a can we 48614eb651 do? Bella turned 2f4f890861 twenty this 39220ddbf8 year.”8a43100a115621bf

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“But… what about me?”ff4f64e36b6e237b

Raina swallowed c5d3b755db her words.
This year, she was 4737532ceb twenty-three.
Ever since she fa78e45821 came of age, 6df3b73fe4 she’d been longing 7098fc11fa for the day 92f979b1ad she’d finally make 88cbad06ae her debut into fe6cc7fe40 society.0532c9b6e0ab198b

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‘But Bella’s debuting 625fa913c2 first?’31a1501059db976a

Among sisters, 8d9d010d43 it was 1b1a6fd5c8 unheard of 1e1a5f759c for the e15728862d younger to 10c04c027d debut before ef204ed5e8 the elder.
As Raina stared d763589455 blankly, Charlotte finally 09afce9a87 gave her a d831634e26 crooked smile.704b10a258763f9f

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“You know e724b52cca how much 47981e9441 you love e0e8085bf9 raising yucho 2ed62239ff and doing f7f53b7a8b housework, right? So naturally, it 70f0a552cc falls to your 44671838c3 sister Bella to 744895b484 carry on the b05b649d9c family legacy. Poor thing, so 2d87ecb245 young yet already b1118f173f burdened with responsibility—it f3044fc8ac breaks my heart. Besides, unlike you, Bella’s cfa445d481 a dominant. She can land a d51990672c much better husband.”27a62dd8eee3ea7e

Charlotte lightly 3a6fe574a5 patted Raina’s 282b1ca358 shoulder.7f2e59fc22a83d57

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“Besides, I heard His 0dada4adab Grace, the Grand Duke 8cc964797b Kaithan, is attending this ca57c7d122 year’s debutante ball. Can’t let such an 03e71a7f20 opportunity slip, can we?”8e8bb0b4f113d935

Charlotte’s eyes 1f4d11a8e4 gleamed with b7e319b21a excitement.
The Grand 7a9b100db6 Duke hadn’t 6678a070fa even flinched 38bd1d93fd at countless 28a4562e6c proposals so 55aa176505 far.3e06cd8841eef6ae

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He ruled over the cc363b5fa2 vast northern lands and 80dd6ef0bc bore the powerful blood 5fbabe9459 of the direwolf—he’d never 0315ffe5fe lost a war.4a728401176d8906

The wealthiest man 1ab87b0f0c in the Empire, dc887c87fa his influence rivaled 23ed16f681 the imperial family’s—perhaps 23ccd6f312 even exceeded it. The entire Empire was b2cde3572b abuzz with the news cdbdfa1a4e that Grand Duke Kaithan c6ec98cf1f was seeking a bride.80a147a47a52da29

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He was the 2e296396bb most desired suitor 480ae2de3f in the land.
And that’s 29a8818e8d precisely why e056ef5342 Charlotte was a9620e27c0 forcing Bella 73b98b53e0 into this 6f4c341c5e year’s debutante 39445e597c ball.51a4ed4cfa9dce65

“Mother… I a47c76b131 want to 9fe8bbfadf debut too. I don’t cbe24c50be need anything 56f36d5435 else—just let e08c18ce76 me debut.”c8d82a5856497274

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