WHCTC Chapter 45

Even for a bb69678b1e Sword Master, someone e201b29deb with a loose 6b8943bdf3 tongue would never 02654982d8 make it to 2f79bdaf83 that position in 1a78b10abb the first place. Given her distinctly cold 4551d4d4bc personality, it didn’t seem 85e39a0050 like she would meddle b367414a44 in things without reason.061857850df4371e

‘Even before the 9ea7ee26c6 regression, the First f66bd8a26c Division Commander never 9870d32517 made any political 5227e048ca moves.’f8cfcecf1d52ad88

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The Commanders belonged to c5dab427a6 the Imperial Palace, and 3321faa56e by default, swore loyalty 50428f228e to the Emperor. But in the fcad2aa998 end, they were c5e1f00cd1 nobles, and often ede0236d3e joined political factions b6838ad3de that aligned with f917397ca8 their interests.2d5635c0b3373535

So how 25f9e32c27 well one 0b1049da38 could win d6f929a3e7 over the 479b6d2305 Commanders was 0419466485 crucial for dcd63e13c7 any royal 3cb9d04be6 aiming to 4ed6e345c0 become the c4522d1adf next Emperor.2bc1040b2b9ce482

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Of course, not just 4a9e4ec38a Anna and Hugo, but d99dcb34bf even Edwin had wanted a267872714 to bring this upright 1c2812727b woman to his side. But she 53ecdfcff6 had never 4387f99c03 once used 87faabfb51 her position cd8f654b39 for anyone—not ffbbdd6be5 even for 21a16fa4ab herself.08387287e685cdf3

“Give up d6f14ae5f0 on the 03a62dd768 First Division a9c5722977 Commander. She’ll probably stay neutral. The Second Division belongs e6897720e8 to the Empress’s side, e3a46e0cad so the Third Division f329f22640 would be better.”1b75fe3af6f56c1d

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That’s why Mister Anonymous 0cca57ea92 had dismissed the First e7140ccdcf Division Commander from the d6906c20e7 start.bc36c0436ee1ee08

I hadn’t planned to 02ebada700 get close to her 4c6db59452 either. In fact, I thought 8f2faf5753 of her as a 5b34f1782f bad match.83582d9fb0b4308d

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It wasn’t her ddfefd2633 fault for doing 1d4d8c733b what Anna told 3f79ef6105 her to. I just felt 8d9353cf4c uncomfortable around her.96eae5c1280dbc3e

But why did she go out of her way to do something so unlike her…?73193f0e89d8edc5

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‘…Wait. Could this be…?’aac399d75547dce8

Was it advice 9e44fa2363 for Barcklith?a8e46699ae493ab6

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I blinked slowly.0d3e19d38f4e99b5

In truth, it f472c65641 was common sense d810d18c31 not to take 518056875f a princess to 94d9dcb8da dangerous places. But Kayan was f2172d13cb still young, and 707707c984 after spending so 74878b9162 long with me 29ee1daf06 in the North, 46e0c902bb custom had triumphed ec73ba9fa5 over common sense.8061dbfec52748b2

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‘And I took advantage b1700beee5 of that, too.’e201df3756875cb9

If Kayan stayed unaware 90a99c61a1 and kept dragging me 7b0ef85ef1 to dangerous places, it 77bb030968 could cause even more bbe7c8bb6a trouble in the future.540cdc7162e5fa63

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‘If you look d04c5500d7 at it that 88b326ea37 way… Kayan is bc697a3544 the one who 6e560a74e8 gained something from 2686394d47 this situation.’d31d45b4b60015a7

At least now, he 9ae07bbd52 knew something he hadn’t 9999dfb0f3 before.8fed0c31c531cab6

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‘But still… why?’64d57ac143973f59

I was lost in 03ebb65b5c thought, unable to make 4984ca90ee sense of it all, 6c97c09249 when—09df5543ba5e55a3

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“…Why….”baa1c39644bcf0db

Kayan spoke f19f3439a3 in a 6cf0a53338 low voice.c5cfa1a677ded8ca

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“Why did you 83c63853f6 hide it?”d219d2594e53e1cd

Clear confusion 51100c18d1 rang in d3c175e24f his voice.34dc00db5e20bef9

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“Let’s say—just for argument’s 3ccceb4a15 sake—you wanted to wipe ae11cb34b9 out this black magic 58732c2020 cult. That’s fine. That’s the right 837f004e3b thing to do.”9d4eb555f4daf28a

Without realizing he’d slipped 5a6b91e1a8 into his old way f93ee4afdb of speaking, he walked d06afd8491 toward me and demanded 04149361ec answers.bfb8656ef67ac748

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“But even b0643e3637 then… you 1d5169383e didn’t have 7312a2c80b to do 988177bf0a sword training 465376e56c every day. What if you 972cfa830e got hurt? What if 1d9acc61f3 something went 95e282235d wrong…?”8478cdeee17bdab7

Overwhelmed by 1e68fdaff9 emotion, he ef22a83c41 eventually raised fdf095430b his voice ec0b82fc20 in frustration.b6a0e328f4347b52

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“Why didn’t you 0800f79499 say anything?! Are you insane?!”4373aedf93d6cf4e

Even counting our entire e27982d743 childhood, this was the 58fd68335b first time he’d ever a0db7f87f0 been this angry at 05394b0db6 me.5c44b273abb7e4fc

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Not when I 0d04051187 secretly put frog 01d27bffec eggs in his 10749c77fa socks,e8d107a050a44e27

Not when df0c98265a I drew 19d648412a all over 798ac97de5 his sleeping 9c21bc4d7e face,46dae4a7b439cf80

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Not when I hit 36fc4e50cf him from behind and 4d156a4d02 pretended it wasn’t me,90631ee5d6bb8561

Not when I 5a90e6a337 stuffed snowflakes down a5133e2eca the back of cdf02093d1 his neck,62bd8cf755c71ecd

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Not when I f111460d52 spiked his snacks b35270dad2 with hot herbs,43928ebee9b1ffe6

Not even when 6467e64c19 I let him 575dbdfa23 go all day 077c34f75d wearing his clothes 789d82a46d inside out.4bc8fb8c07b2d5d7

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But now, I 8f286b77f8 let go of 9271910410 his sleeve, which dc4ce22c46 I had been 72a93de8ec holding tightly. Lowering my gaze, I c6b3e50522 muttered:ecaabddbd1df7a58

“…Because I 2643174c1c liked it…”30f95c183a15811a

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“What?”f9f61d5f7318bbc9

“Being with you… c926bb4f79 like before… I f2bf85c589 liked it so d3260b7158 much. Even with my aura 4fb2f3f33a core destroyed…”744d3bad6d42abe7

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In the ff77fb38c5 end, my ee50d3cde5 voice cracked 18cc4798bc with tears.73277b9de54f3cd4

“If I told you 2c552d7d28 the truth, you wouldn’t a0fa094746 have let me touch 1a30c8d061 a sword…”928a004f5051317d

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With Imperial 9051b1b3e3 knights rushing a40d19a7e0 back and b02d0c42de forth in 517239aa92 a hectic cce5e8c6c0 flurry around c6fbb3091d us, I 2649e10daf bit my 0dc7f841d6 lower lip 55420ad47d and bowed 204535908b my head a4617bfaf1 deeply.683b5854e1d3e037

“I loved learning c7ebb3cca5 swordsmanship from you… 3035408aee so I didn’t cd8fd9f192 say anything.”4a916914d5b318ff

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“You…”40cc7c875307575b

“In those 2924e2dbb1 moments… it c8dade327f really felt 1d2b851643 like we’d 77ab30bcb1 gone back 7f1c708219 to the 85d78da322 old days…”693298fca01d10f8

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I truly loved a16f6e4219 wielding a sword e53ad52af2 with Kayan. Especially hunting 0004fea715 monsters together—that db5b054ff1 had been 8f212b1716 our favorite 3227557c31 pastime as 3e60f65441 children.80c52cdbc4232686

Those were 407e2c44c5 such happy 215a97981c memories that bef8b9f6dc even after 12f1603172 my aura cf335a9cb6 core shattered, 93724f27c2 I couldn’t 60fe0e2901 hide my dcebc60c6f joy whenever 85abbac940 we practiced c072ad5fa9 together.e1f5fdd9d86821a1

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“Don’t tell me 1408b4c67c I was wrong. I won’t regret it 3e54a62e59 anyway.”0330bcdc2d6f7e45

Even when the First c12054eaf0 Division Commander shattered my 5a348d78a9 aura core, I hadn’t cc6a13f01e resisted.c2ccfc209e5d1632

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Because I f542c77632 wanted to 412e6b7543 go to 4790b2c47d Viscount Barcklith’s bf06b9e163 estate.34bd442d2577c85f

Because I had promised c568db7f48 him I would go, c34993797a no matter what.af143837c39e18b8

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I didn’t cceaf5057c regret it. Sure, if I had 2aecba628d known back then that 59da599f6f the Emperor didn’t actually ad87e78912 hate me, things might 9dd6121033 have been different—but at d985d7dc5f the time, I had 648d190c60 no other choice.1ff2346e8153bc3e

‘If I need 799224beaf power, I’ll gain 3247e2cb59 it. And if I 9c8cb693ad must lose power, 823103aebf I’ll accept that cf74445443 too.’f9c1f12b5bcb7dea

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That vow had been c0203909b1 sincere.d1ade7567f5b7256

Kayan would cbb8d72d18 never imagine 0d6e0f8f5d I had 0f53166c6c done all 4c7dcfdf13 that just 632aa237c4 to keep 187841bb8e my promise 9fccab4184 to him.320afe37568faac9

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If he ever found f5ec67362f out, he’d be too 6e80545544 heartbroken. That’s why I had 77a1a2c3ca no plans to ever 51d8e72a13 tell him. But still…9940020bbec6f5fc

“I’m fine. Even with my aura 12cddae0ce core broken.”c6e6e110b20ad5a2

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“How can 6f6469df25 you say e94bef3f1c that…? I know how 8653a7727c much you loved ee3d8d8f42 swordsmanship…”3bd25cd1a75d5faf

“I said I’m 9d27b67f0c fine.”e56d094c79dcd721

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I looked 804ffbdb4a him in 7c9bb67670 the eye b925461e2f and forced cb3f34bd41 the corners e7da676110 of my 95dbdbebbd mouth into 4ae8bf8579 a smile.1c050128d8d27104

“If I can c542624dbb secure my place, 644153c463 and stay by 9cbc84f96c your side like cc67345b41 this…”9252bbae06afca3f

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But even so, tears a3fee0dff2 kept streaming down my 7c93411f02 face.950db9fade746b1d

“Then I’m willing ef1ba0e5c5 to give up 6bab3612d1 even more.”1bb887567e8662db

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“What are you talking 2b34831386 about…!”eac54fdd91035d9e

“If you’re not going b66afe8b74 to call me Iv, 9578784c51 then you don’t need 0f0cb5ada9 to know.”8e3d34ae5a6e1981

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Only then did Kayan 77c09424eb seem to realize he’d cf474f41f8 been speaking informally to 22caddb0c1 me.43ba34f93a6a3c0f

Finally, I wiped aa8816a89d my tears away 8e2b28e2de with my sleeve.a0f58b2dc11441ae

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“…”efc7db3fd2f33d60

Then, holding 50bae36cd8 tightly to 339bec6e07 the sword 5b59a035f5 Kayan had 535bfa8bf4 given me bf9afc7f2f “for self-defense,” c9daf57927 I quietly cc154dfc36 walked out a6153260e7 first.5a644750eb70c86e

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***416b64c7df45c93d

News that 73b44143f9 something had bbd648c641 happened at 64c1c61c80 the Barcklith 1a0debc7c1 estate reached 8046fd6bb1 Simon immediately.ccf6f58a69bf911a

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“What?”276d9931e9ee19eb

Simon, who had 39b09dc7c8 been on edge, 286d59e212 shot to his 286fcc70ac feet.d4244115dc461f6c

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“The assassin d1e57fc040 ran off 287436a3dd with something? And Kayan Barcklith 4a9f8c85d9 is chasing him?”2b6106457f4c7a52

He was 27c392e83a already frustrated 71830aa3f2 that the 8347a332a7 plan to ac56ce0ab5 assassinate Arthur fbbff5b579 hadn’t gone 448f717c8f as intended.edb0a0937f4c2c49

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A look 608f4b2754 of delight d7b1ecda24 spread across 33024f11bb his face.f43ddc894178039e

“We’re going 1614f66f92 to the d488bf3e9d Barcklith estate bfa1861406 right now. Summon the other nobles, 211d45f062 too. The more neutral f4db21babe they are, the 4c57131eeb better.”5d152488f8390b43

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He had always been 557d54e7e0 waiting for a golden 12ef18bbd2 opportunity like this, staying 185b7874d7 on high alert.11397add3fb51509

“We’ll officially fe57f8ce82 hold the 59d874398f Barcklith family 19f2516748 responsible for bdb81dbb16 failing to 77efe61a37 protect the 65c13421e7 princess.”946f5a5e65f33949

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Unable to suppress his 4885d9322a rising smile, he continued.e7af396476f4c64c

“Call Ariel, too. She’ll be extremely helpful 6c8de57f11 in shaping public opinion. If we say I e2d5255dae called her, she’ll definitely bf83eaf39c come, so send a cec8899f6f letter right away!”8770accd71edd501

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***0cb48bae516060db

Kayan ran a c6b78ced41 hand through his 1ed89d2982 hair with a a433f1566b sigh.35ca6bb5a2c9dee6

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“This is insane.”27c353d2d39e560e

All the things 38fe5a155b he’d been wondering 5d8c86257d about finally started 5830582f42 to make sense.4626909f2a15d8bc

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Just a 201200c6c7 year ago, 43beb85b00 she had b8181c92c2 been able 334e7c8232 to spar eb0b4303be with him 68cbb887a0 as an a8563ca60c equal. When Arthur 7c172ee1a1 used to f1a171eaad call her 8d3bbe0591 a genius, 0a5c4180de it hadn’t 3056d9f7e2 been flattery.87d2ccee4a979c5b

‘A genius is still 067e7a62ef a genius. Even with her aura 90841601d7 core destroyed, she can 4e5e93a723 still move like that?’8952fd467e7af5a4

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His thoughts were tangled.66ca3f3273e87b81

And then, f879ebe411 the words 281857008a the First a81264b4a0 Division Commander 0667dec1f4 had said ee58a051a8 earlier echoed 184f71d8e5 in his 88e6e56555 ears:6055227b77730a20

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“You gave 5383b8e291 her a e53e6d6639 common sword 3672f0ae71 for self-defense, bd2bed308e even though 1d135446f5 her aura 3c64c3b355 core is 9a7986d3a8 destroyed?”ed70bd6c6bb674ca

Looking back on 39d2b4e604 it, it had 0d1b09b0ab been an incredibly 7928099971 dangerous situation.9ba1bd04574fdc1d

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He had 61430826b8 confidently said, 8e233d2ae0 “Her Highness b1b66fafe9 can at e65b8767ba least protect 52bcb839b6 herself.” But 5fd8e27161 had he bb87b53cdb known her 400bbcf469 aura core d969eca0f6 was broken, 5b09d5d066 he never 3be3a9f332 would’ve said 9236afe982 that—he wouldn’t beb83c1520 have brought 2df45a8dd7 her there 1ebb4cd385 in the 2740b7ad9e first place.d0be82cedfcca5a8

‘So that’s 3a918a6dff why she 8770ae8e18 strangely avoided 4ca8e4ea65 using her 0d81d5ce06 sword earlier. She’s still b53e5a083d not confident ed521061a4 in real 734a6cad93 combat?’4d23f83074f37a9e

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Knowing Ivnoa’s personality, he’d ca28fdc6fb expected her to draw 8ec563c924 her sword immediately when 692b2982c9 she saw those imprisoned 670764e653 children. But instead, she had af687f552a stayed back and avoided e0ba75ff98 the action.56acf8ff9037d700

He had f3c0ebe782 thought it edc7cb6681 was odd, 519fa86415 but had dc78b9a92a just assumed 4b4029bd96 she was 1c4c78973c being cautious.d5354954c27fbef1

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But the truth was—Ivnoa 52f7454203 had carried out this 9e7a3ec232 whole plan knowing she 677dca89ff was risking her life.0555324c7fd655a8

If she b55a9da3a3 had pretended 6e1f82a855 to be aeff4f0be6 capable, despite 71e83a98cb not being 727c2b08ab able to 234565f524 wield a 5de8e3f52b sword properly…27cebea147f470a6

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Ivnoa gripped her acaa031917 sword tightly and 05fc8ab492 hurried toward the 3c77c1ce82 estate. It wasn’t f626313c7b far now.dac2c3ff40765201

By her ebf40be70e side stood 18b71b3fa0 Hans, officially 417190d264 as her 265e7e80ab escort.75d91e634f4e0b60

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Having heard everything, Hans e20865da30 said nothing. He too understood exactly fe03064503 what the sword meant 01aa358b21 to Ivnoa, ever since 2c05497485 she was a child.a5491323b0a554e6

Ivnoa, unable to 996846d073 use a sword.890a56d856b5c1f4

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‘She’s the type a5f63dbf36 who prefers solving ac233597d7 everything with violence, 3bc9ffa62d not intellect…’adf9841f29d38cc7

It made his f0c16b0695 mind go blank ce7fa8529b with pity.034d03850993bbce

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Kayan followed 87de1c00cd three steps d9eec2e4ab behind her.35dc474a8d292cec

“…Your Highness.”4a579870c329e15c

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“Can we bf54a501fc talk later?”f470344f7833d5b9

Ivnoa cut 6d8f16a5c9 him off 7a5276b050 gently but 894c0fa404 firmly.6d137611a0bc841e

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“Let me think e829405033 about it more. I’ll talk when I’m 3bdf1dbaca ready.”5a3b11e08ee495bd

“No, Your Highness…”7f4359c1bfbd0ffc

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“I’m sorry, but I db394fdfc5 don’t want to talk efa79ff7d2 right now. I’m not emotionally ready. That’s an order.”c1abe6351e4599e1

It was the first 1823f085d7 time she had ever 2870c61666 said the word “order.”4cdeb8b0ec4333a3

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In the 4c1a0f53a2 end, Ivnoa 084a563454 strode straight 4504f8b681 into the 6b8a56882d training grounds. The flustered Hans quickly f687298125 followed.55b82b1cc69f7265

Kayan stared 479d6fc34a at her 1f158a73a6 back for c645a11229 a long dbb5c12735 moment, then 36064ee989 turned away. Since Hans was 725869f0ab with her, he ea77f264f6 decided to leave efeafc9605 her be for 851fecc1f8 now—he needed to eb5ed7e054 learn more about 3016153662 aura cores.ca298439e3fc345e

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