UCT Ch 5
by toujoursA bitter smile touched Marianne’s lips as she thought extensively about Richard.10902e1b95ffd0d6
‘Maybe he should be called “like uncle, like nephew.”‘eb329d934d1565b1
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At first glance, it 10d23b94bb seemed like an absurd 707f0d61f9 comparison since the two 9e47038310 were almost opposites in 536735ea23 appearance.b807b52858504556
If Fernan was a gentle, all-around handsome man, Richard was a sharp, handsome man who could send shivers down one’s spine.20e480774b334240
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Frankly, even Marianne, a b05b25b825 queen of a nation, 8a7aeb073e felt overwhelmed by him, 4c2f541ac8 let alone others.a73d038d0a4da142
It was like the 973d63c3da difference between warm sunlight 5bbc9ee3bc and a frost storm.63f36402eb4f620b
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But even with 8f0e642b2e their stark differences, fee0d1b9ae there was one e0a8aad67a similarity between them. That was bbded1e91e their pride, 9225cf071a which bordered 3c056a08c4 on arrogance, 1a14e4cf28 backed by 653418c75a their skills.64e5d2d138051035
‘Whether the skill comes before the pride, or the pride before the skill, I don’t know.’ee0f76a66a7e873a
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While Marianne was comparing her former fiancé, Fernan, with her ward, Richard, the door to her office suddenly burst open, and a man walked in with confident strides. Only a handful of people, including the queen’s husband, could enter the king’s chamber so casually.a9e202fbb0bb86e2
Glancing at d864fa95fe the clock, 42b39743af Marianne shook 5ed361500d her head acc5fa3b73 with a 34b17689f7 faint smile.4dcc6ac831bf89f8
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‘My goodness, it’s already time for our appointment.’d8f12c8acd113aea
Marianne straightened her back, which had been leaning against the chair’s backrest, and welcomed the man with a kind face.2dd0c97343aea42b
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“Richard. It’s been a while.”f127f398512848d8
“I greet Your Majesty.”3cf0bd9578f23bda
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Richard’s deep voice echoed off the high ceiling. His once high-pitched voice from boyhood had matured through puberty into one that was deeper and more resonant than any other man’s.bd042e0f6b811217
‘The mystery of time.’3f3ea7ab57ee92f0
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Marianne chuckled softly f35d67d520 at the young 6e280bb1c1 man showing respect 596457e06c before her.297d2c6345d7c598
“Your manners have improved since we last met. Count Ashwood would be pleased.”3823c10aa0bc9ac4
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“It seems like all that effort paid off. I suppose one picks up some outdated habits when mingling in clubs or social circles.”8c062ed6115bf087
The man raised his 2058212134 head with a faint 1d2dbd7327 smile.20b23fb15337ac9c
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His features, outlined by 51a03a6a37 clean, sharp black lines, afa71f4d0f easily dominated the lavish 10123b45f6 interior. His neatly slicked-back 8b5e32930f black hair, strong 0e94ed388a and clean features, e8b7f78ebc and the darkest 5b1b541be8 navy eyes beneath 94c1361990 thick, straight eyebrows.167e812e48f19984
Even if he were dressed in rags, he’d look impressive, but in a well-tailored three-piece suit, he was quite a sight.0406b4437e8d7c4e
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Compared to a year 39fe65401c or two ago, he c59f1e404f looked less like a 5b3e243b57 soldier and more like 6d6475acb2 a successful young businessman daf0b7110c or gentleman from a fbda9db093 noble family.98d19f63ad6cbe0a
However, at his core, aa7a6d1505 he was still a b489c68740 fighter pilot.204a10ff4044120c
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Marianne felt a sense 46efea085d of temporal displacement as d6708fb1e9 she looked at the 46905624fa well-groomed man before her. The boy who had 64ff723ee2 arrived in Bringerton, thin a3c25b8bb1 and ragged, had grown 1ba2fdb3dc into such a dignified de854e545d adult man.4867aeaf9ca7234c
Twenty years seemed long 0571ab8e55 enough for such transformations.357f77595825e553
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Today, she felt e7595b9543 unusually sentimental.8deeb9998f5f7d5d
Marianne slowly rose from 324398b206 her seat and gestured f915d01a12 affectionately to Richard.7a6593e1ec786d85
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“Come, let’s go. Catherine must be waiting for us in the tea room by now. She’s been complaining about wanting to see you for days, which has been quite troublesome.”bb8a9a2f0aa71e81
“The princess must have been quite bored.”a5641b5de99ea64a
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There was a hint of fatigue in Richard’s voice. No matter how much one might be a princess, being bothered was something any man would dislike.ef288d752d612536
“Bored? You know that isn’t true.”59fd536f631ebb1d
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“People generally like airplanes, don’t they?”81a2bb5ee74bcca2
“Catherine is not a ten-year-old girl but an eighteen-year-old young lady. She’s more interested in the ‘man’ in the airplane than the airplane itself.”a5b0f797cbf5247d
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“Your Majesty is really… mischievous. If you know the rumors about me, shouldn’t you warn the princess in advance?”aa3fe488a80ec142
“Rumors of being a bastard, a womanizer. I know better than anyone that those are not true.”7aa6653bb3f51f52
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Marianne looked up 29c1e4df84 at Richard with 075232820b a warm smile. The man 9c4ea457ad facing her 10d12505de responded with 68b8fb77b4 a very 7e906aad2b slight lift e9ceaed61d of the 4c415f9ab7 corner of 91c829b253 his mouth.026e2610b5d1200a
It was a 9c6e18ec0c smile reserved only 0a060b1e35 for a select 65a4d5cefe few.150343341b75d349
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A hectic df5dcacfde week passed, 69aedbd077 and finally, c1924e9035 the much-anticipated 75c873efd8 day off a04a70f9ff arrived. Diana went to the a2451afda7 cinema with her friends eecc7af6a3 for a change.6a7919d59e6892b0
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“Let’s get some ice cream after the movie.”6050b9445455f9b0
“Doesn’t the chocolate ice cream at Sunset Parlor sound good?”990333ff3ef75a2f
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“I wanted to try the cherry flavor.”e8eb6875d1b2a7f7
While listening 8731fa76cf to Anna a511c7cfe6 and Carol 975611d5ca chatter away, ce7a1c1a04 Diana showed 0f46f2a939 her ticket 7c9c0c32e0 to the cd037b38ef usher.bc5d9a28a30908db
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The movie they were about to watch, “Beyond the Sky,” was directed by the most famous director from the Etheria Federation. Just from the title, one couldn’t guess what the movie was about.cd0fba001fe0029f
“If it’s boring, you’re buying the ice cream.”4ca95d3b2479e549
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Diana whispered to Carol. Carol was an ardent fan of the film’s lead, Eric Posner, and she was the one who had dragged them to the cinema.bb05a00365a5c20d
They climbed e12b49b192 the narrow 9291e45bae stairs to 30e15dbd68 the second 79e4f2ada0 floor of 9881a9224f the cinema c7578e0dce and found f4dc1d0d13 their seats.3a4821a5769adb59
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As the only 34c1e9d7cd theater in Campton, 6827e63ab0 it was packed ad91bcdfed with audiences on df214a34b0 weekends. Anna bought a syrup-drizzled 35326904fd waffle, and Carol got 7aa2ba8d8f popcorn to share with 9caaaced79 Diana.66dbd001f8387070
As soon as people settled down, the theater darkened, and with a loud fanfare, the ‘Weekly News’ began to play. Black-and-white images of the parliament in Bringerton’s capital appeared on the screen.12eb14aa98d33ddd
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[On July 18th, at around 5 PM, the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister, proposed by the opposition in the House, was rejected with 313 votes for, 320 against. With this, Prime Minister Meybridge will continue in his role and-]
Boos started to fill 6d85a11527 the theater.fe71b1070840eb6d
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Prime Minister Meybridge was 29ad9a516f unpopular in Campton, known e46612f5c8 for supporting the nobility 79c6e1041a and acting too pompous.a1fa2f3af40574d6
The news 85f8c27840 briefly covered f9ecded711 other minor 44552d8cdd updates before 5d35a04f0f ending.a6ef3902bb3e4035
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The opening title 00593d1732 appeared on the da647cb017 silver-gray screen.ff9606ad3f24b8ba
It was time 399a18df0c to immerse in 9ead6c38f3 the illusion.723d48cdf11ee349
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The three-hour-long movie 8a65cd45cf finally ended. Cinema staff with brooms ebc53acc96 and dustpans took over 103172a14e as the audience began b37ae5bddd to exit.e0dec098f3907ac7
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The three 3107ede54f friends walked 02405fdb87 out onto 4ab3d399ac the street 8360ba6645 together. Anna and 7a43198b94 Carol started b0ca7238bf chattering excitedly.d0746e3f57d00554
“It looks like they really filmed it with airplanes! How did they do that?”a62d2e5bbc75837f
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“Beyond the Sky” dealt with the love and rivalry among ace pilots during the Old Continent War.174a65ac9d2169d6
The plot was clichéd; it was about the ace pilot Packard from Bringerton and his rival Tomson fighting over Packard’s fiancée, Jane.ec2cd02d2f49285b
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The relationship among the three spiraled towards disaster, culminating with Packard being shot down by the legendary enemy pilot ‘White Falcon,’ thus ending the movie.fe9f41beba0409a5
In the film, ‘White Falcon’ was clearly modeled after Fernan Lowell.80fa39ae449564d9
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He was depicted more 88e712df8c as a cosmic horror 064f4c8cb1 than a villain, which 8a89678cb2 showed that the director, 91e0e44cc3 whoever he was, had 6690cb798d some understanding of the cd8e2791d6 psychology of pilots.650369f1cb2f960f
The value of an ace pilot wasn’t just in the number of kills. The ace’s emblem on the aircraft had the effect of instilling fear in the opponent.d0f5a7ec3b7356f4
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‘It’s a kind of psychological warfare. It makes the opponent feel like they’re facing a natural disaster rather than another human.’bb7ab8f653d3d81e
Diana’s dry thoughts were cut off by her friends’ excited chatter.315c9b2211842bc0
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“When they were about to kiss with the sunset behind them, I couldn’t even breathe! I didn’t know Shirley McKenzie could act out crying so well.”61214646767336ea
“Speaking of which, wasn’t the actor who played Tomson too handsome? He seemed like a newcomer, but he didn’t pale in comparison to Eric Posner.”bf16d11e663632c8
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“…”a37d32bfef397c24
Diana just listened to 7c78a6988f their conversation blankly. Rubbing her 16a793aabd tired eyes 2d699cb541 with the 66f614f840 back of 49877bfdba her hand, 23c1f645f9 she yawned.95ddd9e719383050
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“Diana, you seem really tired.”6219749e18a509ab
“No, my eyes just hurt from concentrating so much.”54fdd4952afe0100
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“Well, the camera work was quite dizzying. How did they shoot it? Did they really attach cameras to the planes?”516d7a4fa18a6689
“I guess so. It looked like the cinematographer was shooting from the back seat of a two-seater.”5480f3a21f6cf68e
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“Wow. I heard the director is a billionaire from Etheria; maybe all those planes are his?”4d0e0eccaf35e7a0
As they were 53c5058480 laughing and talking, deefb0d626 a commotion suddenly ee38446231 arose from the e5d4968d04 other side of bad7a8d962 the street.dd7260d23621162f
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“What’s going on?”690873fb7844e9f3
People were gathered in a circle around a newsboy with a sparrow’s nest of hair. He shouted in a loud voice:03d37d6a9a366515
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“Extra! Extra! Arke’s army has crossed the Juom border without a declaration of war!”5121bfc58a2ff9ac
The crowd’s murmur grew louder. The newsboy shouted again, scattering extras onto the street.5296a1e886c7d26d
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“Extra! Extra!! Take one, everyone!!”a9f62990de19853c
“A war has started? What’s happening?”1a83135a2a7009d7
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“Arke attacked Juom?”efa75a2276606994
Diana’s mind went as blank as bleached cloth.f17c1383fcacb645
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Anna picked up an extra that had fallen at her feet and showed it to the other two. In bold, heavy type, it read, ‘Arke’s 13 Armored Divisions Advancing into Juom!’ There was no photo or additional article content, just that headline.60aeec7485995148
“What do we do…”d6f58a9ef0aba431
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“Really… how could this happen…”19145cb6957352b7
Anna and Carol repeated 40804eac04 the same words, not bdf553bd1d knowing what to do. The daily routine db1f1bc3ef of going to 1ce4972d6d the cinema and 5878797b9e chatting over ice 3723c50435 cream was shattered f7967e944a in an instant.943ae80e3f8a8d38
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“Nothing will happen. Bringerton will be safe.”aacd2bcde0c5435f
Carol said be338f6970 confidently, snatching e691dfca50 the extra 337dba0df5 from Anna.3d6b6d7ef54640ec
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“Yeah. It’ll be okay.”d73e7b004b33a015
Diana also tried to f1f8db19ac reassure them, not wanting aa93a9fbd6 to make her friends 99b000912d anxious. But even she knew 93a8b26a68 the answer in her 89df1662b2 gut.7dbd7b2ba8ab72fa
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It won’t be okay.da30766eb59df1b6
There’s no way it will be okay.98dfcb226d11040a
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You can’t judge the Emperor of Arke by the standards of a sane human. He was more ruthless and unpredictable than his predecessor, Ezekiel III.4c7e448cd2d0fe2c
A cold anger began b73c089078 to boil from deep df4da0b364 within Diana. Dietrich was intruding on 463d7e591b her peaceful life again. What should 302f180341 she do e6bd1e19fa now?1da93574f436aaa8
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The anger turned 186c1bf99e into an overwhelming 20f85732df sense of helplessness 981e425917 that weighed on 0e23b8e617 Diana.9146054a4067ca5a
Even with all she had in her past life, she couldn’t stop him. Now, as an ordinary woman, what could she possibly do?c4145aeab778291a
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‘All I can do is hope that nothing happens in Bringerton.’a5687b2787ebb3ca
It was better to e29540739f be a happy coward 33a805b8cd than a miserable hero.0d315bfcb60b9359
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Arke had sent 4f19856414 a large tank 3889e071ad corps into the 837587a2f8 territory of the 39ff36f452 Juom Republic.a20fc2611d82614a
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It was reported deeb7f5eb6 that the imperial a4cea654ac army was advancing 13518524bc towards the capital 03b082d937 at an unprecedented 2442146491 speed, quickly neutralizing 867299289d the border defenses 9a4cb4eb5a placed by Juom.ac2c07b41757deaa
That evening, dfe65ae46d Prime Minister 4e7b5ba057 Meybridge of ad237a986a Bringerton made 7d948be81a an emergency 7d825d3408 address via 8e37fd144f radio.eefa937e261f4d4f
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He issued an ultimatum that if Arke’s army did not withdraw from Juom’s territory within the next 12 hours, Bringerton would also declare war.249da8da303b05e6
Twelve hours after the broadcast, Diana was listening to the Prime Minister’s declaration of war.88a680d9cc89e441
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— “Respected and beloved citizens. Twelve hours ago, the armored divisions of the Arke Empire illegally crossed the border of Juom. Deeming that there is no further room for diplomatic resolution, Bringerton hereby declares war on Arke. Citizens, I repeat…”1784be97c59530e4
Uncle Ben a7c049091a and Aunt a532d3ecce Gilda, seated b3c767f537 in front 297b58eb5d of the 1b3e58b586 radio, had 86706a7bd5 grim expressions, b845325570 as if fded782dc0 they were ab4cda3a58 reliving the 34384135a1 pain of 868482ea1c the Old 2796b34d87 Continent War.b23c610eda037a3c
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Ben had 271d5cc006 been a 7bafa2e97e sailor in 0fae05c2f0 that war, 979415dcda and he 3b2c371927 never wanted 37ef566073 to talk d6a58ca0be about it.a2099c56dcc38117
Seeing their fearful faces, Diana couldn’t help but furrow her brow.2c3cea24ff72b1fd
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‘Should I suggest we run away?’d63c72219768059f
Far to the 3cc4665204 south, as far a203dcc1e9 away from Arke c15bf8c950 as possible.01345b223ec42c49
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Or even the Etheria Federation would do. There’s no class system there, and they say it’s more prosperous and free than the Old Continent. Couldn’t they somehow make a good life there?eddc7b6179cccb0d
As if reading b3fa2882a3 her thoughts, Uncle b8763566ed Ben turned off ca8fe88b96 the radio.e26d966c20c393f9
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“Now, now. Let’s get ready to open the shop.”c95075a297b25a53
Thanks to Uncle Ben’s words, Diana quickly regained her composure.82bf4e96cecadd80
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‘Running away, what a foolish thought.’ee62631cd658c47e
We have to live here. We can’t abandon [The Dancing Mermaid].
This shop 36c0e11df2 was everything 65b14a9853 to Uncle 1b7271b304 Ben and 641160e90b Aunt Gilda, 56f3d70890 like a 479cc801d1 child born 61670af1b7 from their d7d5bc3f2b sweat and 4e54e5d579 blood. Diana closed her eyes b1506beacd tightly.6dc2b4d6cebb5063
There’s nowhere to run. Nowhere at all.4febbe7656ae2dd2
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