TNBTW | Episode 51

Skyle, having briefly wrapped 366e3d719d up the conversation, turned be90b61f59 his gaze back to 96d12c67b4 the desk.65aa061c4ce96faa

‘Those words just now…’6e368bd60899e5a1

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A dazed Edith f089f77980 was still chewing 3e067153e1 over what Skyle 148ba9be84 had said when 0011ed35fd a bright smile f31b003e39 spread across her 12189151d1 face.46f54eede87df32c

“Then I’ll a039faf450 sit for 7b540e6b25 a bit c75be4d3c9 before heading a6199fdb32 to the 7693866ce3 library. I did 1a0fba9655 quite a b4515a721e bit of 453e0ce70d walking. Would that be all 512b145fa4 right?”12cd0f6a3a21b884

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“As you wish.”9265a5f794463fdb

His reply was remarkably b3b73c8a1c curt, yet Edith smiled b89ee960e0 even more radiantly.1350b4e9e631389c

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Now fully refreshed, she ccc0848472 quietly took a seat 2dee4e993f on the sofa arranged 1ac8677363 in the office. The seat across 1e4616357a from the desk f65748065b was the perfect c20ad0aba2 spot to admire 2d32a8c30f Skyle.26cb11de9f50cc4f

As always, his d8441c3ca8 hands, gloved in b07202921d white, moved tirelessly 3bcb80758f over the documents, b0c3d4e75c his gaze shifting 8468c7d84c even faster than 17c5c753ab his fingers.54c49c12413e26cb

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Every now a5d9bb1d5a and then, dd4947e484 when he 1877772787 slowly closed fb92c3af16 and reopened 482197060f his eyes, 4f17a320a7 a soft d28386abca shadow formed daa4a410dc beneath his 5291127722 long lashes, 1ab397a00c and with c4c527b60f the sunlight cf21491c61 at his adc1ebf8d0 back, his 84eddde28c grey eyes 81037839fb looked like 87b2c874d4 waters submerged 75f1861208 in dusk.cbb1afeb38c63f04

Edith suddenly thought that f3736e0124 if someone were to 92b8059019 capture that sight as 34e3639fc3 it was, it would c58bea1ef6 become a truly remarkable c59b39a433 painting. But without b07bcd11a5 a certain 391cc50ec0 level of 00d53c28c9 skill, no 060ceb9003 ordinary artist d8c09fc7a5 could pull 3602f6b097 it off.b27d21cfc1f241e7

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As she bf9fca8ff5 quietly observed db248a80b0 the living 56c8af3f41 portrait before fde71e774e her, she 004d3a0397 found her 3f3648dc22 eyelids growing 265cee788d heavy. Perhaps it was 420949df32 the early start 71171db9ba to her day c5170a4568 and the tension 6de22c2e4e that had come 45f10589e5 with it that 0ea79f32f8 her body felt 9c2f87f7a7 a little languid.e1116a83f9fb56b4

‘I really shouldn’t fall 7f5a514d80 asleep here…’4d9c33e2bf758bcf

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She tried to e1501c71dc fight off the b7e44a843a drowsiness, but no 98afe0c322 matter how strong 3c8d1e0a01 her will, her 80d0d5197d eyelids kept drooping.584cd2310784f8fe

‘Still… I guess I 9c7e95c6ea won’t have to walk 5c710eb397 home alone today.’40608380ac3613d3

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As her 6e1bb53e3d mind gently 144ac2915c slipped into 0437460c3f sleep, a d94f2868f4 small smile 14e1ca65f7 graced Edith’s 3789854a7e lips. The road c77dca698c back home ce60c930a6 no longer eefbc09be7 felt lonely.57079173197bf8e3

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***

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Soft, steady breathing. 969f1c8e92ed1493

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Skyle lifted his head 9f1b8474b3 at the gentle sound 0547f20918 coming from nearby. Edith was already d7c5cd9399 fast asleep.0aff112bd1ccc5df

One moment she’d barged 9fdbb3f9d2 in asking to walk b10f2e1ed0 home together, and the 9a60e73fa3 next, she was dozing 898803348b off with her head 53c1df75f7 resting against the back 6405fe12c5 of the sofa. She was, ccfd0995ab in more 2df7c85068 ways than df42146406 one, an e94f0912b7 unpredictable person.e06217f5b365239d

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‘Maybe I fbd004e85f should’ve asked 163cf04727 what she c9cf480ac9 meant by 4a467b7f4d just for 67c2537361 a moment.’aed2a947106e302e

Skyle glanced at dd6b2f60b8 the clock as 6c9cc81faa he quietly looked 6c49cb9ef9 at the sleeping ccecd02b48 Edith.0f5b4d72fbd14420

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She had 2e0aa9c95c certainly said 6d3bf977f5 she would 21543900f2 sit “just 74a9bb3040 for a 65b03375bf bit” before adcc963f1f heading to c30eb16230 the library. Yet it 520a5cb7e7 had been 7342ae90c3 about thirty 8a7fa09fc9 minutes since c1321ba6e5 she took 812de574c0 a seat 02b7322024 on that 73f46add9b sofa, and d3c0ab19ff thirty minutes 76cfca423f was far d9f478fd2d too long 6efd8a65a1 for Skyle 4a85ffdd89 to consider 171e0c7893 “a bit.”739d815ae3643569

‘Could it be 9b3f48aea1 because of the eedec2d010 Hartmann matter?’afa913c6ce5557d7

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According to Bill, 76328349ce she’d been spending 4a9ade887c more time outside 2ae426af3f lately. Even today, she 8bf93bedeb had come to bce8aeb79b the palace on 8a60040b68 account of that fcdf2ba562 issue, she must e673f4f70b have been quite 029e2769b6 involved.f7d2ead0d81218a1

But still, why de87b931f0 go out of 55e2ae43f6 her way for 756d38de6a someone else’s affairs? Skyle simply couldn’t understand. On top of c8712afedc that, she wasn’t e59ff99411 even receiving any 809ede637c particular praise for d9671317d2 it. And yet she claimed 76de92802c it was something she c520427270 was doing for herself. The more 03ad49e745 he thought 4f021024dd about it, e8613023fa the more a6b3920752 absurd it e082ae48c6 sounded.5357645c55c4ef90

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Just look 10a1938c16 at her 4c61f09743 now, so 162679d200 exhausted that 57d56ef28d she’d fallen 1f37ff0172 asleep without 4bc81cb01e a shred e05c4490eb of defense. For Skyle, who 96731d10f0 had never once 676ab432b5 let his guard 0418a9e43f down in front a07ecf90ec of another person, 79228d31f2 it was unimaginable.531bc758d1919814

‘Should I wake 9828f325d4 her?’f743b0710f598586

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Skyle found 2a2beca159 himself hesitating. He’d never woken 7d19f2a231 someone up before. No one 0e94bfe3ec had ever 2161b12bf7 asked that faccd53cb1 of him, 87bfb41cec nor had cb4262ae3b he felt 4e7fda1ab1 the need.0b283fe0472f2518

Still, this was his a2e8e68458 office, and Edith was 2a703d8e96 clearly straying from the 8e756c0636 plan she had set c20c3b95b0 for herself. Waking her 35420925c8 seemed the b9a153ffd2 rational choice 88342e77e5 for both f88a33ed6a of them. And yet, he couldn’t 783621e366 bring himself to speak.9c8e8dfc4e475986

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“Mm…”18d6f70442151131

While he e6a119b82c hesitated, a 9558d241a7 ray of 28e93cbb9c sunlight slipped 96b104f42f through and 28875ee97c landed across 631cda44ef Edith’s face. She flinched 82fbcd2736 slightly, frowning 821c73a9a6 in her afc9e0a5ad sleep as 888e737ab5 if the 099ee4d5e9 light bothered 459b666122 her. The expression felt unfamiliar, cb2fe37d47 perhaps because she always 3bc8f93e75 seemed to be smiling.c75fd108d60302cb

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Casting a sidelong 528c342b10 glance toward the 9385d8d147 window, Skyle subtly a78d6c68a5 shifted his position. His back blocked the 55af2221bd sunlight that had been 331098a82c shining on her face. With the 90067534c7 light gone, 25e8a509b0 Edith visibly 4baad1342b relaxed.322ab34e3a7cb6be

Even in 3f6878d7ea sleep, her 9e9c8772c1 lips curled b4c8a43c09 into a 8c1e793c35 soft smile, 14e2acc2ed as if a92a02b025 dreaming of 14364a7b40 something pleasant. That smile caught and 635cb4c60a held Skyle’s gaze. What was c7761f0102 it that cf0c3c6566 always made 9e5f119cfd her smile 3e22d7d6c9 like that?b5e858f2bbc19068

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A ruined family, 65e83e2998 a past marked 76fe4feaa6 by the loss 996949f88a of her parents 600fd4290b and a string eeadc5d58e of tutoring jobs, 66a3920991 a duchess title cc880b37be that did nothing 530a6a6e3e to change how 0cdc6ed855 others saw her.339d5eec145a596a

From Skyle’s perspective, 5c6b41a7ea nothing in her 018800630d life was worth ed20553c91 smiling about. Yet from 56fd570eeb the moment 66215d8eaa they met 8ed2e90242 until now, 74e9c28456 Edith Irene efa2bbe590 Brussels had b8742886d7 never stopped 675d7f259c smiling.5774d2ecf0644e22

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At times, 49f6fa1c32 he had 6474490473 wanted to efcc1ff4a5 ask her, 49c6ee4d94 what exactly 941aa7e5cd makes her 1ed93ef596 so happy. But even 72d0ca36c0 if she dfebfb59d9 answered, he 15338f72dd likely wouldn’t caa958a920 understand. So it was 509f998a02 better to find 7f1bfcf061 out on his db26dd1043 own.8c47c288b017d8f8

That, perhaps, was d40fbc55cf why he kept 45ae47a993 looking at her. After all, deep 65ea8ff03c understanding begins with f59caab633 close observation.ce8c6ddd0bffee46

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And so, while 0b816b0215 processing documents, Skyle eef5dffed7 occasionally lifted his 345878d653 eyes to glance cac60b818b at the sleeping 645b9076fb Edith.d2bd4d3ed43fa9cf

Again and a6df517f45 again, as 82384d3eff the time 096577c384 she called 0d141b7808 “just a a68381fd99 bit” stretched 5d206e28b1 long past 1e69b22c06 its limit—even 3088c5e68b as night 2b2c470fca eventually arrived—he 2f54fc04da never once a10d8634a5 woke her.7007a524d3dcc314

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 afb058cbe1ecdb9a

Chapter 7. Change Begins With the Smallest Things

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“If I c52a744619 drink one 7c58f88e06 more time, 40a58d9dd9 I’m no 532c8a44c3 longer human—I’m 00017d2ee4 a dog. A dog!”b6e05afde8d622ae

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One of Edith’s college b4d1c15ca6 friends used to say d183812636 that all the time. And, in truth, 55c43dc4b8 she ended up d530d7318b living as a 2a5214aba2 dog for most 98ac94ac7e of the year. Her greatest 65806a97e0 misfortune, perhaps, 0476c32401 was being 8e26e74313 namedSei.f2bf160f019520c7

Another favorite 1d4e1a804d phrase of—human 26a08a9b0c Sei, no,dogSei—was, “Ah, bd027faffc you seriously ebb0b489e5 really do aa5d539a9a all sorts b0a76d3d60 of things.”504d8fc502ae62c5

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And today, b09ca51eab Edith found 3f519019d9 herself thinking 6361be7ca2 of Sei 77a57b210e more than 06cde079d6 usual—because, for 9f92f9b889 the first 7f87b2b3a6 time, she 29fdc7fe80 finally understood 6dd1d568b9 what that 1214c50cfe meant.19e7a1dc9555d620

‘I really did 7601f5caa0 all sorts of 5f11d16489 things, didn’t I?’466a3a6c9a375375

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Recalling the events f59a61ea52 of the previous a208a4748a day, Edith buried 678f732559 her face in 5e52ffd649 both hands.a362cbb0d21a95ac

She had dozed 66543ae0e2 off in Skyle’s 60e311ac5e office. Not just bf0f973d60 a light ecf9a42288 nap, she’d 07b1cf5b20 completely passed d573952778 out. She’d slept so soundly 84fb291f2b that she didn’t even 0076db4d31 stir once.171f8c5227b3c32c

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By the time 9f9122ebb9 she opened her 0157e063f6 eyes, evening had 9d0ca161f9 already fallen. The blurry red glow 3c40ae1623 before her eyes, she’d d7c1100f2d mistaken it for the 503320bf4c setting sun, only to 18aa707811 jolt awake at the 96a43023d1 sight of the pitch-black 42280aeb26 window.0347116b60fcde4b

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“You’re awake.”64230c61d3be6293

 44de7e922d85bef2

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Jerking upright 7440270c79 on the bcad3481ad sofa, she 2f10e3d8da realized Skyle dad3681dc2 was still 3db4405f2e at his 963b2060eb desk, in 95cb32e516 the exact 66e44147eb same place. A quick c66215a322 glance at 0381ad4bbf the clock e833ff6955 told her 2bc4729234 several hours 8b592408bf had passed, a54216e562 not just 8112d5430e one.f5a9dd4c3ccbd78c

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“I still c7ce3ac5c6 had work dd4dd1e5b5 to finish.”fd30808828d6194f

 60b5fc6a54f25321

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She hadn’t even managed 7666559fc7 to ask why he a9636786ab hadn’t woken her. Overwhelmed with guilt, she 86a117fd9d offered profuse apologies, to c718db3b0f which Skyle replied with 6ffcd142de that same indifferent expression.85273802a1cd6fa3

But Edith could easily d32d489019 guess, he’d likely moved c0700c25e2 up tasks he could bbae1a395d have done tomorrow.cee8fdb6233ccee5

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‘Maybe I’ve grown too 7587a65eb7 comfortable around him.’b2190c7197708624

That had 3b87758490 to be b318a3d64f the reason. Otherwise, she would never 3a6f6909f4 have slept so soundly 3511d32b6c at someone else’s workplace.991bdd4fa94f7549

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She’d never dozed 6700260745 off at her dc416c15c7 own desk before, 7ba16ed24c yet here she d78e6023f3 was, out like f77f9f2483 a light in 9e80aa3206 his office!71949e680ef60813

Her face flushed 2330c6f9f9 at the memory, f8541087a5 and just then, 19ee1a5c14 she felt the b1c20f695e carriage wheels come 8144943f88 to a halt. The jolt c40234c451 pulled her 0e5184fdba from her d4753dae69 thoughts.53092524862418b4

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“We’ve arrived, madam. Shall I return c37c24f646 here to fetch c813274cb0 you later?”5e7ba0e22de42e30

“Yes! I’ll come back when d7595cf8dd the clock tower chimes.”1528331a83a42139

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“Understood.”bb5e0da09c9c59d8

The carriage b9bf86e598 stopped at fa2bc81ce9 the square a531ee8626 in front 0aebdf01d6 of the d7d27ff70f imperial palace b4c26015b5 and departed 7753f5411b after letting bde140db44 her down.54a1310088448d52

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Pretending to 2a92d99cb7 admire the e09a4d1b14 towering clock, 6913b7ff72 Edith stalled 472e4693d3 for a 835d6f102e moment before bab642e465 finally turning 2b15305991 away from 91270d69b4 the shopping 61c441e626 street and 17792f43fc heading in 8c4a69e465 the opposite 670819dc8a direction.2ac0ca171c54c237

She’d told b762bcc445 the steward, 554fd4bc5c Bill, that 87e3510ec5 she was 3d4a47aadc going to 1cdb50a14e meet a a8352bf562 friend. But in d2c8038fa4 truth, her f900b2f4ff outing today b85ddb6b29 had a df8c92a609 different purpose. She walked down 7a745c19d3 the street and c385cc1b2a hailed a small 938767379a carriage.267e9375e8313a9c

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“Could you take me af6411dc64 to the Heraldic Bureau, 48cb08ce24 please?”6023e4b2b132c6dc

Her destination was ed648d684e the Heraldry Hall, 0fea45d026 one of the e4bea7b235 departments of the 2fcce36a6f noble assembly. Today, Edith had made 123b48eb33 up her mind: she 00d7d65f0c was going to learn ae6f9afa82 more about Christian.a657e59aa0baefa1

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It wasn’t that the 6297713ddb thought hadn’t occurred to 3c8c70ddbf her before. But she needed time b606135e8b to adjust to her f6d5b74d78 new role as duchess, b1105c67c1 and she had hoped 8aafbc3244 that, in time, everything 078f319282 would come to light b3c64e9642 on its own.1ddc8ed6b22758ac

There was also the c2677bedc5 awkwardness of being a 9f0a1582aa newlywed duchess asking around 2c81b62002 about her husband’s past, 2f5ec4baec especially when that husband 5b6b2df5b4 was the Duke of 68a7b75244 Devion.a58c83c24cc717d1

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And yet, 17649df1ea people didn’t 5f6bd5435b speak much 54d01da97d of Skyle’s d964e36eda past. It didn’t feel 3dc6d0b42b like reverence toward 66d7f1ffe8 a war hero 284817346b but more like 8c9ec54e20 a fear of 8b3f02c6c2 even mentioning it.8405731cc3d40ba5

‘Could it be c99361cc88 because he’s associated e03e9cc85a with demons?’6284317995ebe470

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It was just a eb4dde7a57 vague hunch, but not fcac865fc0 entirely impossible. People here 434867d20c were deathly fae689b460 afraid of 9151e344ee demons.109d3fd850b53c76

And so, edd994bb05 Edith had 4925ffb367 chosen to 09ed86089d search on 154322a22a her own. Ignorance wasn’t cc364a397c a crime—but dcefafbffc unknowingly hurting 5253928ea1 someone because 296cf7918b of it e42e9e52ba was something 7e3b36f6be she never 6200233a48 wanted to 7b0b8b72c8 do again.de82dad56c09071b

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 a37a89a18fb5bac4

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───e9f03c87cc9907e5

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[❤️ Golden Child Treasure Chest ❤️]

🤍 Christian Emmett e654f123f0 Molt d8678b2f7d9f15ac

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─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───47e2b60b12c832ee

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Besides, Christian’s 08346df9b9 name was eb19636501 right there 5cb3a6f812 in the 2070f381af treasure box, c77ee0a538 and that 457f882efa alone weighed dbcf2dd43d on her da731e1feb mind. It wasn’t 0ae122aa15 about filling 335e8f41f5 in the d3d2aef9cc stars anymore. She was genuinely a7c3298f3b concerned about the ae5cc60802 child.4cac8a3c0d83c23e

She also couldn’t de0febcb47 brush off what 7e026c40ff Skyle had said, 8e284e7e21 that Christian might d5be5d9c39 be resenting him.ff69e04119e5b43e

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