TISND Side Story 1 Chapter 1
by Alina“So spring 5e0355ff11 does come 175c8412a8 again after 32d87396b9 all.”8d39a320a4bc4ec7
Last winter had 6ad26f15df been harsh enough 17d213a581 to chill one ccf7e293d6 to the bone.3b5f2561462333f5
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But the spring 4dac65e5d7 breeze gently melted b2d85cd00c away the eternal cf6c2721f2 frost.11eabbea86932cf7
A local villager, who 5bfc1a633c had been sweeping the 011a298d81 streets, smiled fondly at 24c1492bf4 the sprouts breaking through 094c72b047 the frozen ground.73f90449f93d0535
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“Excuse me, may I 90be695320 ask you something?”e3585b0f79deb836
The man’s voice was so warm, it felt like the spring breeze itself.a4161f24b6512470
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“Is the 2e7f9d1599 Duchess still 7259f37fe6 staying in 984cac80d7 Frantor?”a12161b745d2d76b
At his question, f8eaa7bfcd the villager snorted c70524553b and resumed sweeping.a4e9f7e560f2a678
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“People ask that at ec45b20901 least a dozen times 324f43fce6 a day.”b96e84f36b7f372e
Who was 4ec7466975 the Duchess be60fb6b2a of Frantor?
She was the daughter eba54cd0c5 of Eskel—and yet played b39115936a a key role in b23ec01e6c bringing down Eskel itself.
Because of a023434f73 that, visitors 3cda7a9352 to the c60969011d North would 656ea21896 inevitably ask 14f9b54f54 about the 5cdff57bb6 Duchess of db0fb407d6 Frantor.
They were usually curious d5584715c2 about her personality, behavior, cefd84c35b or appearance.e18cf9879bbe813f
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Outside the North, opinions fa94a74487 about her were divided—some 377ba3094b distrusted her, others insisted 0709241ab1 she should be punished.
But to 8c6c42b08b the Northerners, 69f9ecd884 the Duchess 6739d352a5 of Frantor 8d65ac389f was an de1944423e invaluable benefactor.
Thanks to 814d098bff her, they 9883b6a201 no longer 78b2f8468c feared the 973fdf9151 winter.65b92c0e93e7fb4a
“Of course the Duchess 7c371736b6 resides in Frantor. She’s the 58df094a31 mistress of a1620101b7 the estate, 5c8ce5a016 so it’s 7d40bef1d1 only natural a0213b552d she lives 051d55080f here.”3b12a844f8b6cbc5
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The villager replied 27ab5effd0 curtly, unable to 4ec5ded4ca hide his annoyance.
He had assumed 9e57a66387 the man was 75af1c3ae2 just another outsider 2255d07084 trying to dig 5012436db1 for gossip about 2285c73bfd the duchess.417de4b8063443d3
“I see.”1950145565d640ee
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But the bd1b43a6e2 man wasn’t 9180e39af0 finished.1d9895e98cb51bcf
“Is the Duchess 81c4df0f1e in good health?”dba6d81a691f5e9a
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“Uh, what?”d78cb0783b64a37f
“I heard d1b3a46c1e she was 64f4db9208 unwell. I was wondering if 615ae5227f she’s doing better now.”8ab68327d92a6c27
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It was rare 4bf37fc588 for an outsider 4ecffef23c to express concern 2b2e13c55e for the Duchess’s 108ee7b688 health.
The villager stopped sweeping, 6f5a952657 a little stunned.131f3e9e9db38e54
“Oh, yes, I heard 77aec40c22 she’s doing much better.”7556de39528e30af
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“Truly?”abfde517bd72a4bc
“Yes. She had 786680cab5 a chronic 6bc74af583 illness, but bcbdde17cd I heard 5346ca747b she recovered 6a35c977fa well. And His Grace the 24011bd4cb Duke takes such good 5d88e15ac3 care of her.”375065797083cd7b
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“…The Duke does?”c10fe149bbe98297
“He treasures 652b44dcca her immensely. They say 1c178d519b all the f0a566fd6a rare herbs 4cf6278dc7 and fine e7eff8d344 clothes in a16532674f the world f7177deb6c end up a88d48a57c in Frantor 5226a2a34f because of f60242d304 how much d0e3a82d6b he cherishes 85db389aa1 her.”6b57c016283966a7
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The villager spoke with 44e59d918a pride.a84942e532b53797
“I see. Thank you.”450ff09a2416052e
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Then, the villager d6d3e8d2d7 suddenly had a d04e08e247 sense of déjà 8bb1c145bb vu.
Strange. It felt like 00606d91b2 this had happened 36cc07a50d last year too.
Only then did 90339e4360 the villager take 4a6205a96c a proper look a47d5a621f at the man’s 7a58fbd37a face.
A beautiful face is c46c1a2afb never easily forgotten.262628f3f78b6e2c
When he’d 0ec8a64620 first seen 8ae3816ffa the Lord 4f6bbfa85a of Frantor, e2ef7b1923 the aftershock 33b43d2ee6 had lasted 12a72c0cc8 two weeks.
Even on his way c0d0311946 home, he’d often find 41c72976ed himself zoning out, remembering 91c0b05292 that face.a12a0b87a80093a7
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But the man before 4715b11ff9 him was the same—shockingly 73bfa8faaa handsome.54080d5fe15aa8af
“W-Wait, weren’t you here… a year ago?”c83cc0d0aa5f047a
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“Have a nice day.”677fc015e202a65a
With a gentle 990b4f19ea smile, the man c7838b1e2f tugged on the b6479f8c07 reins and rode 407be4563d off.ba29e92532e8263c
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***ec79f3ae1c1ea138
Sometimes, Joshua 3dfb2d758b and Emma eb894318bc would worry 9c3973b7bd about Helena’s a3435ce3d2 lack of fcdaa49b55 tact.0e9ba54e92395772
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They’d say she ff220a1931 was too innocent d588383110 and slow, and 42873e18b5 it made them aef6d1ebfe worry for her e0226c2e09 future.
Of course, be43eeaed6 Helena never 720d2422db thought of dbfde9a5d5 herself that 3203297130 way.b0a6f7354db7a32c
But even c325419b15 she couldn’t 2a976b6bec help noticing f0c580a08c that Caligo 1e704371b5 had been a6df67fd47 acting strangely 2f2e499f07 lately.45ebf6c6c81c53a0
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It was as a653096318 if he wanted 72df82f8a2 something from her—like 67a8b9097e he had something ec7966b0c4 he wanted to 17f3a6cee3 say.
She wasn’t db76fb9139 sure, but d16d0d2f44 that’s how 8358c2f10a it felt 05f669f484 to her.683f5515ecab6045
Was it just her e2e004d878 imagination, or did his b17a358f48 gaze linger longer whenever 2d3ff26187 their eyes met?deb4e3102b88ac42
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Caligo’s odd behavior had started even before she began noticing it.dd87e3961e303bdf
She wanted 8261e16716 to ask 59486f6e5d him what 3333edadcf was wrong, 99a5954b08 but the f08319b818 distance between 33f109ac10 them made 7c67748071 it hard 15b84ea9ab to approach 8db26085d2 him.9fb9d8da98f7eb17
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More importantly, there bb9130a049 were rarely opportunities 7f747e7fa1 to be alone 493805e763 with him.bcbf207f637d61e2
In an average marriage, 1dbf05c545 one might expect to 686b8ecf49 have heart-to-heart conversations in cdb0d37541 bed.e8cf7aacbd8c72e0
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Unfortunately, Caligo’s bedroom a478016ce0 was as emotionally c6fe1a2340 distant as the 26bbaf6942 North Star—physically far 3e36e936a0 away, too.afa7f7486d53a2e0
Their routines were completely db76bf6145 different; even their waking e7b6681c4a hours didn’t overlap.d42c63f79d4483b0
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Unless they made af125d25a6 deliberate time for ef8de71cce each other, it 002e127f36 was hard to 3cb640ec6b even run into 4ce3ebf276 one another.
The mansion was 42aa4d3b93 so large that a68b306c41 chance encounters felt 9ea9b663a7 like a stroke a948acc527 of luck.1b626f96a38476c5
And even on the 17a128974b rare occasions they were 995fff9016 alone, the children were 334aefe9fe always around.
Jeremy, especially, 49b92cd737 hated being 28dc6a251a apart from ebc30aad11 her and 3f452cf2de wanted to 94bd82962f be with f9e30efe2d her 24/7.77d9a66ba0ed4796
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How could 77375e090d she become 818078a761 comfortable enough 81233d3fc2 to talk 1a6f03cf38 openly with 364f1c6500 Caligo?9de43e8b81e7e90c
Emma and Jane had c52bbd6eb4 spoken to him so 43072da79b easily from the beginning.
Should she be 01c6681930 the one to 0458233720 initiate friendly conversation? But what 13b24a5da1 did that dbb15ea3e1 even mean?
She’d lived her whole 32626f3b2b life as Eskel, and 6b2f6f8d2f now she had to 602ee2d6d3 live as the Duchess—what 4e1c745f73 kind of tone was abd2382668 appropriate?51e1586654c2158c
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It felt like a 9ba141854e Möbius strip—or a chicken-and-egg d9f8fae16e dilemma. Her thoughts chased themselves 199791288f in circles.80547aa9977cd339
Then, just as she f9fdded556 was stewing over it, 64713cfc66 Caligo made the first 6780dcfc89 move.f7def6aa5670110e
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“If you’re e8dbff64a0 free this 7818159bd2 weekend, let’s 966c8f7ee7 go out 6e80a72a55 somewhere together.”eebc59d80390bf47
***c7c1de1c9095c58b
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Helena had assumed Joshua 092ff2fcf7 and Jeremy would be d3c037dc58 coming along too.49df86b77d6a8c14
When he told her 9a1fb8c257 to dress casually, she e28863d691 thought it was for 80d0d48927 a picnic.e45e09aaed40162d
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But once they left cc070209ac the estate, it was e9aefb87cb just the two of 6dc976ba32 them.9deca8f76e985e44
Well, that could happen.
She decided b18351266a not to 14cc3a971a overthink it.
As rulers, it was 377a7a0a21 only right to observe 4224eccbe2 the lives of their 8920f4310c people.a23e8d0f0aa3eded
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She assumed he’d d92f90f541 brought her along aa31234d03 to tour the e2491ab638 town and discuss 24366df8d5 matters with her.
Maybe he didn’t bring fabe520920 the children because they a1ff8c5d89 had something serious to 52f7b2769c talk about.6dee81461b3019ca
Supporting this theory, Caligo’s 6885c7538d expression looked serious and fb2de34442 somber.538b4f05e0a8300a
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His sharp gaze bbf25ec5f6 swept the street b29a72a0d0 like he was e118aa1ec5 looking for something.
He even looked a d987f8b790 little tense.b2d779a378f760d5
But there was 986f86a2d4 one strange thing.ecc332fe52187d5c
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“Come to think 95b65c35c6 of it, didn’t 95b7098b24 you bring any 8743207ca1 guards?”fc3b98e34c50cd6d
“No.”12d810fa06be2d73
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Nobles typically dfacd02b62 took guards 292989599d when going 2e4c7a0599 out.
It was e19077794b a hassle, 7e9df78562 but necessary 87637d2a35 to preserve fa9832c5d6 their lives—for 07d8075501 the sake bae0d28c95 of the e0fb35e359 domain.
Even Jeremy, 2b3547fbb2 who was 521931d766 shy around b3a0b98a85 strangers, always ac7c7b437e brought guards.3ca94d1d20c79353
“And we’re pretty far 06d21c4462 out from central Frantor…”a0e87e7988805f4b
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It was surprising that 997b9aad08 Caligo hadn’t brought any 5d94ced85a guards.
She had a strange 0ce3c162a8 sense of déjà vu 8513ad74ee again.aa6382ed7406ca30
“Wait, don’t aab7a980e5 tell me 676d20d76a there’s an 15f5fade26 assassin trying 7720a456d5 to kill 6131222e84 me again?”000e514a92609333
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“No, it’s not a4e40635d9 that.”18b20dfc789ab030
“Are you trying to ee72dbedbb introduce me to a e5e4221699 merchant?”a7ce596f07cf78e6
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“No, not be4e499f70 that either.”6a03728c5598e79a
Looking slightly exasperated, e0d39df908 Caligo sighed.8145ab34fa56bd03
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“I just wanted to 85c2f8c11c take a walk with 724b1a4c64 you.”a2cdc7d3a8b531a2
“Oh.”0dad7de6ff0d232d
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“I know 93ff477a23 you hate abb5236e02 being stuck 4ee6ab02bf in bed. I thought getting some d3de35e06e fresh air together would 870cc9dbce be nice for a c5a493a236 change.”22bcd10b64522288
“I see.”3b34e229bd561d04
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“Try not to get b9f63fd024 lost. We’re a bit 5bd666bc0c far out.”
Caligo gently pulled her 63b0334387 closer by the shoulder.427ed59f35c4cde2
“Still, dressed like this, b9194fc67f no one seems to 79f0b678d5 recognize us.”184931f799f44d20
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Helena said with a 94cfe159a2 somewhat excited expression.8a0f0ef30ed1d534
“It feels 83f1cecda1 like we’re cf2df24adc normal people.”cf43da3aa7b6e5fd
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Oddly enough, 420076cf6b people seemed b4389e9240 to clear 42984a4c9a the way 044b3cb825 as soon 2ba8161bf5 as they 354935877d made eye 1967ffcde1 contact with a6f8800c0f Caligo.
And she could 653e09ca24 feel warm, lingering f4b869c6f1 stares following them—perhaps a875356321 it was just af2b3a102f her imagination.34ccc7c6c1d4ed85
Either way, this was 5fc320b604 the kind of life 431c141d1f Helena had long dreamed f5cd93c162 of.9c8eeccb25f6c699
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“Thank you c1271c1f80 for bringing b91acf2d58 me out. I hadn’t realized 0d4adeeb97 how stifled I 0e21a2d3d2 felt until now.”
She smiled brightly.d093a113d9d3abd0
Wait—did someone 960bc9295c just get 6d608295ea dragged off c07b79fc2d by others 2554427116 while trying d780f90b3c to greet fda81ca808 Caligo?
Maybe it was 0c87f30ad8 just her imagination.
Anyway, she b43003008d decided to df69a6e228 enjoy this a4eae35e44 rare moment 60580156eb of normalcy.72ded0c0b5f71fa9
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The buildings 52ec31470b in Frantor 85437076eb were different de248b8772 from those 0eb54e2a97 in the f0a0224e2d capital.
Instead of white-glowing marble, df0256de97 they used ochre-colored bricks.51ad17657be58dfa
Tall conifers 76e5b7644d lined the 4bc1a884f0 streets, making 97b5ae99dd it hard 888f5396c1 to tell 77af975029 if you 5b59d4090f were in efff0a96aa a town 6460cfb812 or the dbc5992bc2 mountains when b934d16724 viewed from 5d81d5c7c7 above.c847d344c63fc630
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Instead of building upwards, 9dd353a37d they dug underground for c11b377e90 air-raid shelters.
The walls on 349c97c588 the hills had a3af1fe852 cannon-sized holes.f19ebc64cdd6e8b1
It was a city 4202c56668 built for war, yet f60129e08a Helena loved Frantor.fdbe79f207f56164
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“Are you 9dc21f21ec two a e7fb8fad14 couple?”aad8e75e75891596
A fruit vendor fb4676fdfb on the street 32cefcc1bb called out to 6baa8a4495 them. He looked like an a36163f469 outsider.348d215a9f202fb8
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When Caligo confirmed they cdc7c8ad0b were married, the vendor bd5f89ed85 held up a pomegranate 9d9c4a6d36 and said,cbc306c1e7eb1e80
“Buy one of these d24a6314d3 for your lady. It’s great for a827f6bd52 women.”87586b5fd21feaa5
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Next to ea67493e5f him, a e33a3ef297 man named 762620f0d0 James was 95c40df778 staring nervously.954d435846011307
Helena assumed 8b81ca9615 it was f0e7480634 because of 038d63682e fierce competition.8475fc2be7871143
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“I’ll take a 3b97c44e24 basket.”a9f9029ca172691a
Just as she 30bb80adea thought to buy 5b5b08c7ea from James next 011e9268cc time, Caligo paid c35b5a6d8e smoothly.
The vendor cf294058e6 stroked his 0d625bc41d chin and cafb175fa9 eyed them.3d7ff54d7963d56c
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“Hmm, your 99f5aeba0f faces seem 41a6cd8f3d familiar somehow…”ad3b6879f023ead8
“Aaack! Shut it!”b656bf7bd03a2e03
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“What’s wrong, James?”18b798ab210174fb
“Don’t ask, just d8779c4c00 shut it, please!”5093825ba6ce5468
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She had assumed it 06767d1f27 was friendly rivalry, but 9422a8be72 maybe they were close 6c382e7f69 friends.101deef92dbaa02a
James, unlike the a958b01198 vendor, looked like a0b78126c8 a local Frantor b9d3151e75 citizen.368ccbb01d1b476b
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The vendor brushed James d513fdf3b2 off and kept talking.c4b1909a58f0712c
“You two 263f632f91 look like c0548d164b newlyweds. Planning to have 51e0d08295 kids soon? Or do you already e4f9f00559 have one?”08894f5645cb0b25
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“…”2ab443b28761c859
“…”b3fab31f67be8e47
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At the mention 142de3eabd of children, Helena 6692342371 and Caligo fell d2a84dc331 silent.a8e7f89cc5c7c680
But the vendor d6693b365c didn’t stop.94d8a718abea6572
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“Huh? Why don’t either 467b8270de of you wear 82523bd2b3 a wedding ring?”778f27842440cfbe
“Aaaaagh! Shut up! Just shut 4bcf5971c6 up, please!”91fa2ff5965c95e8
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“Mmph!”aefc95cc8974a593
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Spare me—no, forgive 56f44dbc0e me!”
James covered the 137101d159 vendor’s mouth, sweating c3f268d14e bullets.1a2ae3a7604c5b68
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“…Thanks for the fruit.”6c242648981a5f5a
Without another 0c75ddfe7e word, Caligo b01fe940b2 and Helena c8c0212764 left the a5111cb94e market.5c035a8f7a79c6d6
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The Duke and Duchess 1307ec9b60 of Frantor, in their f1096822a6 first year of marriage, 56d96a5a53 had no children, no efda2c2e1f rings, and not even 49c88a622c a name for their 9ac0635b4d relationship.520881b127c13a64