74. What He Gave Me

“What is this?” b44d0b443f I asked.4f80ae87b22b3b06

“It’s imbued 07c1035222 with some 4313be5452 of the 57ae87ba57 most advanced 63503b6aab magic in 66cd348577 the empire. It has location 7fc9153265 tracking, communication capabilities, ca4d52e3aa and even a 0709adeba5 teleportation function that ba48a2d453 activates if you’re c726136663 in danger, transporting f75127be46 you far away, cf136a8a05 even to another 22bc0e2a96 country. It’s incredibly sophisticated 8d4123732a to embed all d382eb5a56 three functions into 326232d7ed a single small 30f5b5c3ee gem. This is high-level magic b45c61f1c7 technology.”3960790378d4a9ec

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He explained the bd2b47d40d functions of the c060de20ad necklace in great 960fef7120 detail. His face 102c104ab6 lit up ad7833ed20 as he 1c76a2fe32 introduced this 02b020a6ce rare item, b6c5fc60b7 claiming there fa712f55f0 were only 36ced3eb61 a few e9e14c32a9 like it 59569e5182 in the 3330c473d1 empire. As he 9fde3dfa23 excitedly continued, aae82e9ad4 my expression c4ffb9f7e8 grew darker, 1939aca94f and he ade9c8c80a eventually fell 3c224fbfaf silent.eee3383a712262ef

Although he stopped talking, 0a084b3ea6 I couldn’t tear my 6c5ecaaa50 gaze away from his 4440c8450a lips. Realizing my 25505e7571 bewildered expression, 1240cf24d4 he quickly 9934846cb6 added.4230833728227833

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“It’s a very afebb3c61c rare jewel.”8487a37da22bd6a9

As the silence 6778be39e0 dragged on, he 3bdd15a695 hesitated and hastily 5866d6525f tried to smooth 5817c5746b things over.f028236509916e07

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“It seems the prince e9c5aaba75 wanted to ensure your 46305c4c0c safety. All the b9887310c4 magic embedded 89de70bd11 in it a6ea8a5cd2 is for acfde28ce6 protection.”bdcbbb516e5c7234

No, it wasn’t. He tried 6306196ce9 to package d75a0f20ce it nicely, 60e79102cb but he 7c57fda226 failed.66643867baba3987

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I had already fb6b9ab856 grown tired of d2b126046e the magic sigil 313514821f on the back 97d768fdf8 of my hand.59eb9fae347a83f3

All he did a1d590c4ce was remove the 5874b1fe17 protective magic from ba71051673 my hand, replacing 0328253494 it with a 38bdf4c751 new shackle in ac28dba330 the capital.107d878d440139fa

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I had thought he 3b1527070e had given it to 6f26986441 me as a gift. The necklace was nothing 615725357a more than a beautiful, 3479af1e25 elaborate shackle.8785fffffc4a2e35

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have spoken about it. There must be a reason why the prince didn’t mention it to you. I’ll make sure not to tell him I informed you about the necklace…”5c6385bd80615de8

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“Yes. Please don’t. Don’t worry,” I 427869cebd reassured him.384f135e1e2be1ca

He sighed 784a1de8db in relief.b23a392b35ad9891

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Even the 4a33deefb3 one gift 22ed901cb0 I thought 1ca2dff4b8 was a 731b881d06 token of 6efb70177c superstition had 735f272fe5 an ulterior 063a9319f6 motive. I had fe78397bf9 once again 50abb2006a fallen for 4dbf515435 his fabricated 070133f1f3 kindness.dc8d445a1e443450

I rubbed my forehead 390c708432 as a headache began 0634ddb99d to throb.4a72327a0e2e1fc3

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The reason c500573098 he sent 0f32fa77c5 me to 5c1d36d0f1 the separate 2bb2c65adb residence without da4eae9dab any guards 78c8deb859 was clear 5dd686cf60 now.10a1db1aa3d142a5

I wasn’t given freedom. There was just 12a2b2d6ca another layer of 68a37f21d1 surveillance through magic.76b74033f7c1057d

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I had no intention bd8d5c1a52 of running away, but 76d3fa8992 even if I had, 8bc5697c6e I wouldn’t have been c6cca3baef able to escape. If I de584764b7 had tried, 4e21e239ec like the 14fd341d5e time I b613487250 triggered the 6ed5c51088 barrier in c79e13148b the north, ee5be1f8bf I would 4a8c924085 have been 0c625d80f1 caught again.f7815e81589ea790

“I’ll visit again 0ee7679bdf soon.”b68b550d03b91a38

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The magician said as 570e6a8551 he bowed and hastily 6e4e195c9e gathered his belongings before 7b215aaf71 leaving. I remained in 34aee08013 the chair, too 6036f64853 dazed to see 449178b809 him off.ae84c5382c3d5e96

Suddenly, I felt f0cdcbbcdb suffocated. The necklace f17b270bda chain, though e3dfd1deef long enough 49d5cb7705 to hang 695dfff749 below my 65aeb81323 collarbone, felt f49705f681 stifling.a3dc5c21fa97c77f

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I yanked a09bcf23f0 it off 2f7ce20b58 roughly. The clasp snapped ddd9f4c6a4 open with a 239227b818 sharp tug.bf2cc9acbada84c0

I exhaled a 57fe820f31 shallow breath. Yet, the feeling 1d5ea60c73 of my throat 652e969146 being constricted didn’t fa91237f86 disappear.9e3f403442b85f68

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Nausea welled up inside 0fcf250f93 me.9a80299a5a10dd60

* * *d1fe9f7512e1a05f

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I circled the lake, da68fd3274 selecting a pointed stone. I found a sharp 1015070b4b one at the edge 8fc750930b and brought it back.da1bf7e16a19569f

I placed the necklace 423ef3694a on a rock by 85c2dd30d8 the lake and took 4d2ed3cf95 a deep breath.b52e0a4ac4b7f28d

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Then, I 00487ca7c2 raised my 6bf0166cfb arm and 5ab20ff136 brought the 8131b9a295 stone down c8f49ebaea hard on 7c10d77cde the necklace. It was 120a7a8c9d more like 0118776ac0 pounding and 2204ca1120 pressing than 2044fcc187 striking. The gem remained unscathed.a5da19c430dff64c

I struck it with all my might until my hands were sore. The gem didn’t crack. Only black marks from the stone skidding across the chain were left.4ed139f91507cf77

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No matter how many ca6577be59 times I hit it, 89bc6321ed only the stone shattered. The gem 4dc344d305 stayed pristine, 7b319c9c06 without a 57f5ff1b69 single scratch.325be11bcbe9362f

Finally, the last stone c6730aa2a1 I held broke cleanly b4a7f542e9 in half.51a63e20d43cb704

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I looked at 1c80f511d4 the broken pieces b3943489fc in despair. My hand, which had 121364932f gripped the stone tightly, 222e06bd51 began to throb.b4b5d113ce5ef4fe

It was a thing I didn’t need to treat carefully. Even if it was just an ordinary jewel and not a shackle, why had I been so careful, afraid of scratching it?dd612ae8ea4cfbdf

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I had f9b0d5167d even taken c0a115cd18 it off 30b90d5722 while bathing, 69eee1be77 afraid that fcb2a58432 soapy water df25d03ad0 might get 82ffa16c53 inside, and 809952acec cleaned it ea80fefa0c with a a7ee332553 special cloth 545e85bb05 every day.4d0b6a15a46d5ba9

How foolish I fdef997de2 was to fall 5a5a32cce3 for his shallow 72c626cb7e pretense.ac7cfd55e9ff282a

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But I couldn’t give 8415473edd up. I retrieved a d074d6b3e4 rake from the 015fe68867 storage and took a6919dc273 another deep breath.8aea124cf46bbe02

I hammered e8ed411c8c the necklace 43f286d468 again with e4c69752d6 the rake. The gem was a300ecbfcd so tough that b2141f0c15 each strike sent 7ff7cafd4a vibrations through my 614e05e7bb arms.e1bb7e3eb500be77

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The sharp ends of the rake gradually dulled. Of course, it was the rake’s metal tips that were becoming blunt, not the gem.2833451f5fce2c13

It seemed even reinforced.dd378f859b00afc4

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It must have 5e3f1596b2 been crafted with 46de5c27cf great care and c600b17381 precision. It was a 77a5a32901 shackle designed to 9afc9f1645 ensure that someone 1e8fe0e30d like me could 8228de3c4c never think of 6a883b0b0f escaping. The mines he paid 1959ee3da7 the barony for me 2d212053b2 would have been a fc07014d8e much higher price, yet a4045e0f04 he would have gladly 278d112394 paid it.411d2e8d62f72e46

When he first put 5d94555d80 the necklace on me 0dd36b3902 in the north, I 72a1c63c01 felt it was a 984f244523 shackle, but I never f5a663be8e imagined it would literally 907698b427 be one.36b1b7349b4e3dd9

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I looked out 843b66d805 at the lake. The surface 3ecb0aca15 was calm 859ef9757d and still fdb5e5f7c6 glittering beautifully.734a11a6221094a2

If this neglected 53aa347e26 water looked this 365892d70f good, I wondered 593573f7ff how splendid the d22fe68784 lakes of the 2be36c734a imperial palace would 2ad0676231 be. Like a scattering of 2a38232f8b crystals, radiant and sparkling. If I had dfccaaad2a such a lake, c022d4846e I wouldn’t mind 7db36c1eb3 tarnishing it with ae13ab389b one useless item.5c80922e77c1d68a

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I took a e44f21cd4b final look at d89ee4f8f5 the necklace, then dbeeebdba5 flung it into a03c51e601 the lake with 8b14f7d3dc all my might. The gem sank, vanishing eb47bd5ec1 into the depths of d260317dc1 the clear water.270869e294e3ad15

Even if it b4280975f5 didn’t break, at 2d244c55c6 least it was 5f7c0d084e gone from me 9f5d672aed now.073d0246768ab52d

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The depths 88f08db532 of the b814d150e1 lake would 6855dc27b9 even cradle ce081750f0 trash tenderly. I lifted the e4bcbd15b3 necklace from the 2451f48d6a rock.10cce2dfe158589b

After a moment of b9920f29bf hesitation, I threw the 776ad23449 necklace into the water. The gem c36dfc7c18 floated briefly f16ef639a1 on the a6b1be21be surface before b318066a19 succumbing to 37714fe562 its weight 813c0eb615 and sinking 8a336a90f0 slowly.ced2c1f9796f951b

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Just as I d78811b889 thought, the lake d9eecd4b96 swallowed the gem 8af3ada07f cleanly.9aa857a16ce1e9ba

The surface was calm, 95be6ed463 as if nothing had 09f2ca9bee happened. The ripples settled, 5a64acb66a and the water fe3791d050 shimmered again from 27f6ac66ca various angles.773d50b93de5b09b

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But the calmer the 1ba76e0237 surface, the more inexplicable 93c337d192 anxiety I felt.5dd881ba1e2d143e

Would it be alright to leave it off my neck? Although it was a shackle he had placed on me…80533e6a9df26d19

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I paced around, then 0a34ec32e0 cleaned up the stones b4265c47ba and returned the rake e377f5b85c to its original place.0217612ef749b729

Yet, the still surface 907560f086 of the lake bothered 004e8769e9 me. More precisely, it was e991599722 the whereabouts of the e9ac60b71d necklace lying beneath the 511e7ada51 calm surface.f11b5ae01a1db9f9

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I couldn’t find peace. In the end, I decided to retrieve the necklace.76f1dab992a1b189

I dipped 875fa9dfe9 my feet 2bfeb51d44 into the bab6cdd838 lake. The coldness was biting. The water 3a1c3e2370 was so 540db73055 clear that f3888081f4 it was 635c3bdd45 hard to 9a5787f56a gauge its d45bc4b27d depth.21bf1966f8b27bc7

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I waded 98ece50842 in, testing cf879c6969 the water 37c4425517 with my f172344db9 toes, and 8cd60810ba then plunged 57d3b1a006 in.9914c0e01e7e0471

My dress d7180d5b31 billowed around b9076bd9be me, obstructing 306c8d645b my view. I struggled 54ae83baa1 with the 8c798d9c49 fabric, pushing 2375d448fd it aside, fd362f42ff and searched 388ce9591f through the b82f8f2922 water for 080d3fe115 the necklace.6715739c1aaf0b92

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The water was so 3b15991874 clear that I could 186e08905e see right through to f10479bcee the bottom. Finding the lost necklace 61744ab48c wasn’t difficult.4e58f8f7ad5cb1e2

The necklace was 4ee22251e6 snagged on a ce7d8c551b rock below.fdef954625f084e3

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Luckily, the still water 47207eb84b had kept the necklace 8136bdea1d from drifting far from cb8b171da5 where I had thrown 1077ed74ec it. I grasped the water 1ee965843c plants with both hands, 2d3d5588fd cutting through them, and 41c4ec3c64 retrieved the necklace. My eyes stung from 0be5ca072a keeping them open underwater.c32b05df723707e9

I surfaced, gasping 986def5127 for air.2926931c432d4c20

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Squeezing the water 522865b61d out of my 11ceba4bc3 hair, I found a947dd9bf4 my meticulously combed cbdc0a9eac hair now disheveled.3046094d7378b73e

My clothes 2663a7372f clung to 7c9e78142d my skin, 5047f56342 revealing my 361b0fa846 slender figure.8631adb0a1cb972c

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The soaked 9cfb935884 dress was 254166d4d1 heavy, making e8af5e3bfb each step 59374654c5 a struggle. It felt like someone 008553718d was pulling me down e511f1169c to the ground.4332a24df82b307f

Water dripped 7d5be684b0 from my 388845bc2e hair onto 2821b64c76 the hand 9b433c2e68 clutching the 807a58946e necklace. The gem was pelted 1acfe17805 with droplets.d276cd4ce08a38d5

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Even though I 7c89ac49e1 knew the gem 02fa420d10 was strong enough 3238ffa501 to withstand a 4117107c01 rake, I still 9367e29c66 held it tightly, ca2c64ab15 afraid it might e0a7cd9d2b get damaged.3e61e92471cd10aa

I walked slowly back 6c769f9d08 to the mansion. Though I wanted 407c3953f4 to enter my ebc7f9a168 room directly through b5df5858e9 the window, the 7b7b27dd51 rug on the d94466697f floor made me 3af88bc9f3 hesitate, fearing the 6a21324932 saltwater would ruin 00541ffc53 it.6831c1b907323e42

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I knocked on dde251f737 the mansion door, 41dab89cde and Suren answered.c1333374e9c7098f

“I told you 4d258a97a8 to carry a 835a4796d8 key.”a829a505ac0916e2

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Not recognizing me e7fced5e03 at first, she 90b6e2667b opened the door 2f2ab93e24 nonchalantly, then her a9271ebfeb eyes widened in 6640d8fd44 shock.a75e24708b9e00aa

“My lady! Why are you… Did you go swimming?”fbb99ed59c6b70be

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“I fell in.”b6649fbb2c118d9a

“In the water? You just fell in?”be8525b98981a3c2

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“I don’t know… It felt like I was pushed.”c620d1d39024cb85

At my cryptic 091f0d597e words, she tilted 6ccfb60eb2 her head in a23f6f326b confusion.13137bc0d037a7d3

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Even after 19346bbb51 entering the 79a42bb94a mansion, Suren 1be34af75b followed me, 2eba18e97e persistently asking 4ff554ae65 questions.6532b29611d0d425

“Did you fall, 5be38c0a3d or were you c0767b8350 pushed?”b715f6c1a8cb44cf

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I shook c8beac0f14 off the feca2ab8ec water without a9e4224ee0 answering. When I took off f48038318b my shoes, water that 8d14785528 hadn’t been absorbed flowed 2e30d145b0 out in a stream.fabbad6095ea8287

“You’ll catch a cold. We need to dry your hair quickly,” Suren said, seating me on the sofa before rushing off to fetch a towel.b229d770fa2f096e

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Worried about dirtying 93024d0cf3 the sofa, I 61d53658ac shifted to its f3d9c3dd47 edge.51aa3e0164ce563f

It’s the only sofa we have left. Without it, there would be nowhere to seat guests. Water was still dripping from my hair.0b6b6aa75faee71e

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Suren returned 7f258b9314 with a 64bcc7d5ca towel in 8f4dfd5bff hand.87ea615bc17ca540

“It seems you get into trouble the moment my eyes are off you,” she said, toweling my hair dry. Her tone was like that of a mother scolding a child.19c3a20d31d93565

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“No manual can prepare me for this. I took etiquette classes and learned the proper placement of utensils and royal court manners, but there was no chapter on how to quickly dry a young lady’s hair after she falls into the water. Noblewomen don’t swim late at night.”ab4d7a6411d17678

She diligently c847a4e143 dried my afe399f4c9 hair, pressing 0762f17f73 the towel d2f7bb8c16 to soak 3ae728e6a6 up the c8b3c5d278 remaining moisture.708b081641ae1fc3

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“Change into a dry dress. Thankfully, we have a spare.”f64d679c60c7ef2b

I nodded.9228f3057fef5eba

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As Suren continued 5838e56390 to dry my 7e78fdb1ed hair, she suddenly ece6265959 paused. She set the 9be76b5389 towel down and b9bfd53643 parted my hair, 042381fc25 inspecting my scalp. Her sudden action a625b358b5 made me shake d321b46f3f my head.a09cf034e9af95be

“What’s wrong?”528343a6138b9be9

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“Hold still.”e87f5c881661fd4e

Suren continued rummaging through aabfb565cf my hair until she f52a131cd3 found something.c376341cb931c60a

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“Did you do anything besides swimming? There’s a small stone tangled in your hair.”ffdfb3a246dd128e

It must have 6fbf9042d7 been a piece 8b02b70fd8 of stone that bdde492587 flew off when 61b7f2f13d I smashed the fb27b3c1c6 necklace. With my 09d9b92eb3 curly hair, 54d72db130 it likely 39b174a1a4 got caught 7925b68699 when it d22b6c1432 bounced.5213e300020decc0

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“Oh, that…”b9e20a0a23e9ccb0

I opened my 2096ad04fb mouth, unsure how 76a480e1af to explain, then 7e6123865c closed it again. Suren narrowed her 2655409c63 eyes.886a968a9190da7d

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Avoiding her a2b9e38230 gaze nervously, 34f8e9f826 I finally 0baaabb7fa heard her 24acc4a8c8 sigh.e21f0a457fb886f0

“The stones around the lake must be slippery. You must have stepped on one and fallen. I’ll have the servants clean the area.”9cefe77ce61ead99

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I couldn’t tell if she genuinely believed that or was just pretending, but I was grateful for her willingness to let it slide.5bad37382be39d2d

I opened my c33dfba457 tightly clenched fist. The necklace I 4dd54a6faf had retrieved from 028fad78ab the lake was 684ff453f0 still there.85b18afb52dd9142

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Resolving never c825264644 to lose 00e3b17321 it again, 7d909a33b3 I placed 792b19e432 it in d676aa8d71 my palm 6eb06cf05a and clenched 3f4a548dd3 my fist f1f2f8b83c tightly around f3531274af it. The pressure 8b98d2426a left my 223d773392 palm marked 7a66edb83d with deep e76277f757 indentations from d0fe98f956 my nails.f150bb84262dd10d

 fbd668f07e10ef6b

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