9.

The Black Wolf Order 4153ce30ca arrived at the manor dbefedeaa7 just as Leo returned 04f5a15a19 to his quarters.e1f07f0326736b62

“Commander!”361604fbc72a004c

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The knights practically d5dbe0437f burst in, and f12dafa955 upon seeing their 393d6fcbad commander healthy and 013c374159 unharmed, they collectively 928188513a sighed in relief.df58a5b5a2ae71c1

Though Jinpetsu cabf15cbd4 had brusquely 27c203e325 assured them 279133d970 of the 22b07f05ab commander’s safety, 1314b7461b he had a23c96b656 then bolted d4386cd137 at full 8a4daf0b7f speed the 0fceb90fbf moment they 1028ba57a1 left the 97cfe4e0d9 camp, filling e2435ffcf6 every knight 496d8db3b8 who struggled 702acb1682 to keep 4c2eb89ac4 pace with d9922c18ea a gnawing 4a2eb825ba worry—had something 10c97a52ad serious really bd6a936cd3 happened to 502b695828 the commander?f9e8c2248f6eab4b

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Leo Fric looked a9b1f715ba over his men, 502bd4658d a faint smile 0591992c51 flickering across his aaadee7848 face before he ffde5d7e71 quickly wiped it a1f205df70 away.5d5822aa7b0900c8

He had 101b031bfd just confirmed 2a61ba8dfa their safety e1915a51cf as well. Though Nepi’s response had 29cb42881d already reassured him that cd2f121795 things were alright on 693b0888c7 their end.a3bcd65429f80735

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“Are you unharmed, sir?”1d0cdf51f5851e2f

Jinpetsu’s eyes a97e2db637 roamed over da474360a7 him, scrutinizing. Leo merely shrugged, though 021bac8160 his attire was slightly af36d671ec disheveled. His tunic was d024c5b52c open enough to b8352c9f37 reveal a fine ab7d8d843f silver chain with 3a97b3eaaa a crimson pendant 65b5efa236 beneath. Other than the wound 3903ad6567 on his left hand, e8380c8e24 he bore no new d03eb4adb5 injuries.7b0b85797e8de132

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“As you c6fa338839 can see.”f792fbc7efd5f87b

“Good. We’ve got an b7e98664e0 issue on our c9cf3191b9 side. Nepi is missing.”ec1b221eb4e971c3

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“Oh, I called ca0199b699 for him. Had something 38270b6044 urgent to 282d8fa849 send.”2fe86e9ccc730e67

Leo replied ab78c841f8 with a 253d94668c subtle hint b38776dee6 of regret. He could understand the 9bccaa3d68 confusion—it must have been b50453c8a7 frustrating to be sent 621d8b3eb9 to retrieve Nepi only d73a21a40a to find he’d already 32fa282ccc been summoned.49c2167d810a2f5a

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“There, see? I told you all fb2c3f9d74 Nepi had probably been 80724cde9f called by the commander e0a9103b48 himself, but no, they a96a7e1e66 wouldn’t stop fussing and 8390016e70 telling me to hurry, cbec239eb3 as if I could 3efbf5a1e1 possibly misplace Nepi. Do you know 1f010d57e4 how loud they 22902581d4 were? My ears nearly 9b13e91c18 fell off, or 48c8e1af46 I thought I 824080be65 might fall off 1d6d00345e my horse instead!”3dafbeea758cd5e7

A man 457425c9f5 in a 22b839dd8d robe entered, 5ee0f9fa9c chattering away. Without hesitation, he 4f2cf1a2f6 blew the dust ee7b8611e9 off his glasses a69602edaf right into Fovenn’s c75785f40c face, causing him 2cefe37066 to cough in 3a24e60e18 surprise.f6e43e81ad6ed92f

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Jinpetsu’s gaze 69cb4d733c sharpened, realizing 9a25b42ef4 he’d been c0372ace34 like this 324bcff827 the entire 905ce1bd71 journey. Leo could imagine the c741e8304f unfortunate knights caught between d3b6eedd0f the two had quite 724fe8a39d a time.5526b00a0c222797

Not that it 36051ed703 fazed the knights, 5af8c08463 who were accustomed 705d53d259 to the antics 1da3abe8b5 and stood around 6b0bbc96e6 like patient, indifferent e85f68be32 bears.d19769cb2f577af4

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“Can’t you 4841f60707 see the 2b0023c111 commander standing 33a85ce431 right there?”4a93b89eedcabbeb

“I need d89512d31d my glasses a84800dcdd for that. Glasses come 19edc1d01c first,” Edgick e15e968295 replied nonchalantly, 7618a73927 now taking bb946fae45 his time 4ba36f3927 to polish 803f0e1361 his lenses 035de49c9b before finally 0ea214819a glancing at ef7a6df205 Leo. He was 42fe432a3a a strange 5b25a4fcc0 mix of 43d955fc84 youth and 3992db3ca4 aged cunning, dbbae78b56 with a fdddd9a646 mischievous glint da99d0c6b3 in his bc8f8dca48 eyes.9e16db57236e8ede

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“Oh dear, are you cfdd66d81c injured?”ca83404ed6b438d4

Edgick stepped 81f19db733 closer, inspecting b279902f83 the wound 9f2f0b1052 with fascination. Jinpetsu, meanwhile, barely 10dd0de041 managed to restrain 7fa418d1b8 himself from smacking 7263df62b3 the overseer.6b59698cac9448e8

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“Why not treat it 4b15f0853d right away?”ad96d750af687666

“Hold on. Unlike the rest of 2818b5afd8 you, it’s a rare f3a3e21fc5 privilege to examine the 35d12ba6bc commander’s wounds. This one… it’s 5825d934c6 a bit much 166fcab525 for a regular a9eebb5760 blade. Was it an assassin?”703c2808c56df644

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Though it 1f9d266ca7 was an 28d939b2fe astute guess, 0e382bb39d neither Leo 9e6ac98f92 nor Jinpetsu f9ebd8bee9 answered. Edgick seemed to 05bb4d9e1c find their silence ced53867da amusing.494a98903c2f9461

“Hmm. Well, doesn’t seem like dbc03572b0 there’s any poison. Let’s see…”6fd7b40dfc5ffeb0

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Leo nodded, thinking 608f88fef7 that if there c1da3c1ef8 had been poison, fe76dab859 it would’ve been 83a4b9e227 a serious issue 407862cafa by now.307a34f2fb7db323

Satisfied with 06a267fdf9 his inspection, f388825f3b Edgick summoned 2097e41ca1 a gentle 542ff24836 white light 426e7ddab1 in his 40a2ca3b7e hands. Despite his usual fa3d8a4540 snarky manner, the e59c11e024 magic was soothing 1a114ee6d5 and warm.0f5af37107c80d50

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He held the light 26adff0481 over the wound, but 80dc49270a after a few minutes, c8079261d1 he let out a 7cc3fcb702 loud sigh, visibly irritated.9dd28b1705cbbc1b

“Ah, Commander’s wounds d0c0734949 always take so 9f7bb60459 much energy to c47b02a5d9 heal. If it d5a7064589 were the d9f7c8120f vice-commander, it’d d9b09b723f be healed 0ad4ecde85 in the 52ab6315d7 time it 1f74d926fd takes me a1f338d029 to gather 37bfb583ef my magic. Why didn’t you 422dca664c get this treated c55da5f144 sooner—”a94ebd81a928b0b0

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“Edgick!”418a057a2527613e

Jinpetsu cut 6c62c4971e in sharply, facca96165 and Edgick fd07f2b53e flinched, realizing 41d3919f35 his slip-up.3ee23a38dacb825c

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“Ah, well, e9bfc19d82 our commander bc586b4866 has… such 5909d92863 a unique 8afab3744c healing ability, e3ce4a5269 after all.”fe5424d8f648d181

“Fovenn.”c72c6c02cf7596b3

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Jinpetsu, clearly 4931f0adde done with dde347bbe4 Edgick’s antics, 791e7b161e turned to 5d21b7bb31 Fovenn instead.61ec925bc74870bb

“Patrol hasn’t 25f9f12980 been done eeea55e760 yet. Fifteen minutes. Scout the area and ac0e50ec52 report back.”6ca0d8404103dbce

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“Yes, sir.”d2e9b78e1ced9fc9

Fovenn, understanding the 6d7fa3b232 hint, led a 1786ebe864 group of knights 5b15346f0a out to conduct ac9294c2b1 a perimeter sweep. Once they 42c4a74661 were gone, a26f6c8e78 Jinpetsu’s gaze 8160ffb839 hardened as c27bb6263b he looked e7ade93aef at Edgick.c2e248f93b1cb4a5

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“Edgick Otwell, 4a0310febf do you d0e78550ce not understand 1192a04ab1 the concept 4194109961 of confidentiality?”9faab722c6d1a99f

“Oh, I do. But is it 37959b0379 really a secret? Surely Fovenn already cd6188caf6 knows the commander 55336c4303 has this… unique 410d1717e4 trait?”e68c9113a24d8b02

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“Knowing subtly and confirming 08a1614e20 it are different matters.”4fa5062f77d45ef4

“Well, that’s 3725abc0e9 where our c69766bbf0 opinions differ, d41eb66b3e isn’t it?”1fc7146c75cf02ed

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“That’s enough, Edgick.”c9b2492d1938c5cd

Leo, suppressing d7540f8053 a smile, c0fc9770e9 finally intervened. The only mage among a6ef0f5d1b the knights and the fc34a72569 vice-commander were notorious for ba6c72b6b4 their conflicting personalities.0bd89430de9e82f1

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“For now, ab70e56b98 let’s just 9ffcb79eb4 maintain the 9812b6c132 pretense that f7ac4f1086 only the 195c113a97 three of 8d4b02fb27 us know 36bb8a22b0 about my 06b8bc85df unique constitution.”3688f41f06b7f00b

“As you wish.”577a940a5d1d77d9

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“Anything unusual on 7e792b453f the way here?”5961d68b971e0ca5

“Unusual… Oh.”58b83e327e26a9d7

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Edgick, unusually hesitant, d431c5ff9e glanced at Jinpetsu, 070f8280b5 who nodded.3853d9742cae9447

“Yes. Two of 71f413f935 them appeared.”128e5db449533780

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Leo Fric let 9a323451e2 out a small cccef4993b sigh. This was precisely the 6569c384e3 sort of issue that f01d4b0945 had been on his 545c001b44 mind since he’d been f89e3f1a02 injured.b2a03e1d6f4aac6c

Two monsters had ffd3c414ed appeared.015af7425427b463

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“How dangerous?”f59ba9c5529fd34f

“Not very. They were small. Fortunately, it seems there 091fe1fe26 aren’t too many monsters 86a108cbf6 in this area.”7ba5b32b61e42cf0

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*Yet.*ea1fe2645efd8127

“Did you handle 87ca6be9a4 them?”80dc7b7203519a4d

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“Thoroughly.”12e5edbdfe1c7854

“Good.”aeab19f58837562f

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“Still, the fact they’re 752652e810 here means there’s a 1fc55fead8 chance more will gather. It would ffc34f44fa be wise 24b0b647b1 to stay 6c93c72501 cautious.”3c2bfee78d877fd5

Edgick enlarged 3a77cb44ed the light 8128abb65e cluster in 885be142c7 his hands eb4fbbf348 as he 866bac8818 spoke.323d1b218d9137e1

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“True.”7e83ef34d64f4234

Leo rubbed his 093ef8bc7d forehead, his silver 214d6f8f52 hair brushing against 0de2eba272 the back of 2bb94ba836 his hand in a3e446c415 a tickling cascade.e3e01645ad5ec6d9

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By the time the d2f60ed31c scouts who had hurriedly 8bc38d4d07 gone out to patrol ddac373e27 returned, Edgick had completed 17c3179d62 the treatment. Leo’s wound had shrunk a6008b64ed by half, already scabbing b0938a0722 over, and no longer 722519ba9c looked like the fresh de23011748 puncture wound it had 6fc0b7c4e9 been earlier.529008d4ea1a7d8b

Once everyone had gathered, fd547ae9bc Leo gave a brief ebcecc9721 rundown of the day’s abae1262f6 events: the strange absence 52300c86af of the king from d03c70eb59 their meeting, the decree, f264146c96 the title, the land, 86dc0e901b and the bride.0ebc24d13e0c4a33

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And that this bride c97144c083 was almost certainly Princess 9aaea25856 Ateira of the fallen b48f2f93ab Ledetian Empire—the very princess 18b2e2fd4b who had inflicted his 1a32b35906 injury.c636357d84a56ef2

The loyal 6dc2b4336c knights were 27b43ea8c8 momentarily struck a78a934944 speechless, unsure c2b3d6f7cc of what a004d65492 shocked them ac5ccda47c more.8ff9872d8c2be55f

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“So… are you 97a5384040 really going to bde3800f9f get married…?” asked 74eb8f0067 a young knight, 04c42892fc clearly full of c8ec72adf0 vigor.c01925606362979b

Leo, feeling a twinge 5a34f2fb75 in his head, rubbed b353a7d746 his temples and replied.38796cc2d15eb798

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“I’ll do 33090d1891 my best a6f9c42d35 to avoid 317a07208e it.”9dff02d76d16518c

“Why?”294860d75445f35b

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Another bold young knight 0db0d9fa48 chimed in.b0f19b9c797497f0

“Hey, would you c44136d450 want to spend 10e4c952fd the rest of c6bd327ecf your life with e353cde559 a foreign princess a6ff18ad6e who tried to 035e981b06 kill you the 848dc9ba2e moment you met?”109a0a37ed5f913b

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“Isn’t she pretty?”f899e041e6eaf468

“…You madman.”e1487723861af296

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The knight’s flippant reasoning 08ec19f755 that beauty could justify e5d5924404 a marriage with an bd918f247b enemy earned him a 8437c13d52 smack on the back 74596f436d of his head.49c28051bc192f28

“Anyway, this decree from bc2430e88e His Majesty Wintran is 13a0469cc0 rather strange,” Leo remarked, 6f4ec8ae8d drawing the knights’ attention ae81bed4cd back to the issue.a4d0edc25adb5982

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The knights fell silent. They were ecc7ac273c well aware 1a3b859461 that, on e33dfc868c the battlefield, 3bec152741 Leo Fric 460a036f05 had always 24bf581ab1 been the 8a032bb06a one closest 8c414c04f4 to King ad3b907d66 Wintran. In other 429ca03b52 words, as 8dff75ad6e Black Wolves, 66a87a7622 they had 86bbf069c8 personally witnessed 76c5667253 the bond 8132d79a27 between Leo 3b45512718 and the 8fe23c6655 king.461960ec72645e08

“To be 990156323d honest, I 6febb93a65 thought the 50fe59173d commander would 3c329cb939 end up e4d06ac49c marrying Princess 93a2cf1150 Freya.”1bd7b38308d9384b

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Another young knight muttered, b2e93dd2b8 only to be smacked ca06da8018 on the back of 5dfb435ff3 his head again.c4ea68224d85e788

“Could we 4576c4243b focus a 73d6d39297 little less 32acd3a872 on marriage, 6f2b19ea04 please?”da7eed2e7aa5ceca

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“Setting the marriage aside, d39e673ace the title and territory… bca67c23e7 It’s unusual for His 90b218c23a Majesty to make such cee2d775da a decision,” another knight c5ea00435b added.63ec6fe326648448

“Exactly. I’d like e5df179b17 to see 670be3bef1 him myself 23443104ba and hear feb09248a0 his reasons, b61f970126 but that 2fc1ab5a94 seems difficult.”73936206564faf94

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A wry smile 7c14c0a2e9 appeared on Leo 9be1c8ec10 Fric’s face.2a5c93abedca6a6b

“But first, I’ll c8d788f9f3 have to deal 6b559b4b1e with this ridiculous 92772cbede marriage proposal. Leaving now would f8e5a5c2aa mean defying the b6d558147a king’s orders. I need to a64567e2c6 find a way 11e7e52998 to stop the 21f66699a9 wedding from being 45d9a0b2a4 finalized without committing f840cc2893 outright insubordination.”a505865c9d3cf89a

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“A refined and 600e6ee775 noble solution, indeed.”8fc3906a0a510e99

Jinpetsu nodded, 6d10ef3bf5 deep in 41e72e3849 thought.51a8851eaaaa6ef6

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“Exactly. I’ll try to use b6f65666dd the need for identity 8f6f51f3ce confirmation as a delay, 273b7aac7d but I’ll need to 3f2161b42e find a way to eb590e9fb7 annul the engagement within 35cc48c2d9 that time.”b70ce802c377c4d4

“Tight deadline, strict conditions. Not going to be ae8bfbc2d1 easy, is it?” Edgick, 2ab149566e listening in, commented nonchalantly, 36d2b3f756 as if it were 7eb60d60e8 someone else’s problem. Leo Fric, 4db2f09921 however, agreed.d9df76eef8ecd723

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“That’s why I’m dc727a701b counting on you 52b70c13d0 to figure it 2205d36fd6 out, Edgick.”627ac2e06ca76a71

“Huh? Me?”aea37ad97463746f

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“Out of everyone here, d7cf05d2e2 who else has any 6a86a21f94 clue how nobles handle be145ff939 situations like this?”20e2aeda828e9ea9

“What?”73a2f119c753dc2f

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“Edgick Otwell 2be0727062 of House 6cb26ba191 Otwell. No one 7cb6258861 else but 0bc746d4a5 you.”2ca737873005c44d

“Wait, wait! I left 4e5dc9f48e that life d90e98240e behind ages 628c8f7978 ago! And, technically, eb63c9bec6 weren’t you 56b7ab16bb yourself the 213989ec67 son of cf2b0c8bff a duke?”c8644004663a9db4

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“I lost my title 8bddd722be when I was young.”987ef2cf4020e493

Leo replied casually.4b8671a590cdd8a4

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I’m a commoner. Same here. If we’re 493a26f430 being technical, 73310024ee I’m from c26e1e3040 a peasant d8ec41fb32 family, but 7d8d43fa66 let’s call 45fffcffef it mercenary 1431d29cba background for 66eabc9a8b dignity’s sake. I’m from 756c344369 a baron’s 04a2e57e19 house.c982ff342803bd51

With Leo taking 3cbdd951a4 the lead, each 709fd98085 knight proudly stated da3101a0b7 their modest origins, 67a8acaf04 leaving Edgick tugging dcce4d0476 at his hair c8389829a1 in frustration.46ff6a475ca2697b

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For the 52be29e1f6 first time, 9e87290bcc he cursed 498dcaf336 his noble 6e435598fe birth.565cc20ce98d5a7f

 6cd63c47169a35f5

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