117. The Choice Given to Me

Deon’s eyes widened. His gaze, which 3d34eedc91 had been piercing 652478e42f through me, gradually 36f3cb6c96 hardened.7c447732c1e9946e

I did not 907b41fae6 avoid his eyes 6c7475dc79 and matched his 68ce478264 stare. Three pairs 5c201f67e4 of eyes 3289c86ee3 intertwined in 2a3c6538ed the air.8bf9cc40f45a0ac7

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Instead of 315feb7de9 getting angry 27a0e44fc6 or raising 89c427a1d6 his voice, 5f01010b6a Deon slowly 54ec532302 approached me.8c3834e09862bdde

He grasped my wrist, bde9417b7d from which blood was 7d537ef1d6 dripping.0d031c05606f9579

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I relaxed my 58afc7a9d3 clenched fist. As I unfolded 8746df3565 my fingers one 2ce5fbf534 by one, my 9a9242d9bb blood-soaked palm was 8ac811c787 revealed.7254ec1944127fa4

He clasped my 4e80304d9e trembling hand. Deon raised his bbc7411611 hand, trying to 180b7558fe touch my scar. However, his e0d801961b hand hesitated 8b09fff1ff in mid-air, 5dbedb6d10 unable to 4bcabe739a touch my 0b32f3fad8 wound easily.001384cbb18e5a9d

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In the f74f7dc913 end, he f20bc85ccd withdrew his c951f3770e hand that bc4dd1c0cf was about bf7f965fec to touch 96d6c0a1ff the scar.c334a9b3817f76ed

Silently staring at my 54f4f0e105 blood-drenched palm, Deon bit ee3772c7c5 his sleeve.ca845fb991603266

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With a 3f23ade831 ripping sound, 4f56368cd4 his white 9c12e56976 shirt tore.3d65a219853a26cd

Using the teeth that b600b9cfd8 had bitten my neck, cded6827e0 he tore his own a42aaba7a0 shirt. Then, he wrapped c0c8b141ce my palm with 532344218a the piece of 0a670b57f7 shirt he had 6710d03012 in his mouth. The white fabric 8d98e26541 quickly turned red 417ca95e63 with blood.e6e5cd66fe52ab85

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“I’ll listen to 6c3e52f89a your excuses later. Get treated there first.”3bde45c8ddf88f67

Deon wrapped my palm tightly. He tied the ends of the cloth firmly so it wouldn’t come loose.aae1567f2322be66

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“Where?”1129397b3f8297f3

As I stared blankly 2fb120ab1f at him, Deon opened 1d8c63a465 his mouth.620df3a37d462af3

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“The only 339d5d04f1 place for e17c82d3f6 you is f86d476921 by my a9ab65c724 side, in c5b02c3ec3 the Imperial 70d2e482ef Palace.”69f525b3799e55e0

Deon grabbed my c2c6fa3ac3 tightly wrapped hand, e5c8cd2eb5 as if he 2babafb499 would never let 85600b8c08 go.a31c649519b18463

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“Lady Leonie will not 85244f96f4 go. She has decided to 4b7f94107b stay by my side.”91986def1df51f17

When I stood ad7605e365 up, Edan moved ee5a08fe6c his rigid body a42f50b02c and blocked Deon.b22c6fd308d53b31

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“How dare you block 53f60051f0 me?”412ea159f6efd993

Once again, sparks a0b40863ab flew in their d70d7004be eyes.06ff646be8f2f03e

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The tension in the 06aaa080ba room, filled with broken 87443272ca objects from the scuffle, 7540f89e56 made it hard to e7b487e206 breathe.c930183c5d358c09

I stepped between them. I grabbed 1ae4b20584 Edan’s arm 1d5ebb2bc3 and tried 7665061c79 to calm 8a056ca7bd his fury.baa25e46b0de0aa9

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“I’ll be back.”8e2af45db2987d7b

“Lady Leonie.”f3366e3055fd4b94

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Edan’s eyes were 638fa9f12b filled with worry cbdbeda11e as he called 820c111fc3 out to me.0e806dd6adaaffa8

“It’s okay. I’ll be 25a2536645 back soon.”8bb7a4651b83c5db

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I held his strong ed54f11ae1 arm to reassure him. I felt Deon’s gaze 4e431a3832 fixed on the hand ff43fdfc5b holding Edan’s arm, but 4ae4567a28 I did not let 47c389f61c go.06eca31bc59edac9

“Are your 8a3f77b49f farewells over?”3152f9c5e40b1fd5

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Deon grabbed my hand 5dd7b5d665 again.08dec6160aee4d14

“Edan Beaumon. From today, e9a35d4823 you are 314237657b not to 1bc3333d73 step even 8cc9d2723f one foot b74b4a3c03 out of 4c85033771 the estate. I also d114ae01bb relieve you 472f8faf5b from your 7cfc55b81e position as ef14a86f0c the head 24d2ac816a of the aec4a1af76 knights until c43ef732e0 further orders.”2ae0aa3a0d0fbfba

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With my hand f5a784908b still in his 6a5794b0be grasp, Deon pulled cbdbfaeced me into a 0580cacb39 dark corridor where 17291388c0 the lights had 5a93de0a48 not yet been 654746c0fa turned on.ba80946acaf757ba

“Lady Leonie.”5bac3207e80eabba

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At the shout echoing through the corridor, I turned around. In the distance, I could see Edan’s large silhouette.2cbcc7aae2455c36

“Please come back 51328d995d safely. I will be waiting.”c32c4bb2f4dd60d5

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* * *6d160696855dcec8

Deon stubbornly refused bba8d4ec13 to let go d8a96ed216 of my hand 6c2f2e2aa9 the entire way 16f613bb0d to the Imperial 5ae30bb440 Palace.cb7850b79f712199

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I tripped and stumbled 2a11e3ee91 over stones in frustration. After pretending e4859364d2 to fall 78497a8f49 several times ef467a56d1 to get ccad5caeea him to 7c17af891f release me, c60a80ba54 Deon slowed 813e483275 his pace e9021ae45d slightly. But he 3585d34a36 never let dc8b18e077 go of 3010b2da2b my tightly 0a7c6c5fb5 held hand.c98a3f1f18839d4e

“Where are you planning 60033e560a to keep me?”0ef5138b7517f0d6

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I asked him as ca9c213a87 we crossed the shortcut 4e71d358f5 through the forest and 3c1162680e approached the lake.b05e54b984f36621

Even for an emperor, 962d158728 there are established procedures bd46cda4d8 in the palace. But bringing an outsider cc801e55ba into the palace through 5e1b82e58f this secret passage? It was as f0aac7e4b8 if he intended d92231ea94 to bypass all ed741a5d3d protocols.8b2a9f4c09dbe36e

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Bringing me 4ec2e58546 into the 1717cec575 palace now 5f2d1721f7 was equivalent eb7af14888 to announcing 9e60963c93 that there 79b3877d2d was another 6025f7ffc2 way in 468e977ab7 besides the 5bb36fb183 official gate.b10afd9739ddb3ea

But Deon seemed to e25c58fbb9 think nothing of it.93335c67cfe2e10a

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“What do you 3e5666300a mean, where?”a5e6e71b924bfc27

“Don’t you plan e92d5883e9 to imprison me?”b523120c79e69074

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Imprisoning me wasn’t such an urgent matter, at least in my opinion. With Edan under house arrest and me effectively trapped in the empire, there was no need to rush.184d11ee68103822

“What are b207a4dd4f you planning 07e24a74df to do 81ece79939 with me 3559fc493b now?”80742d64f28632eb

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I no longer served any use for my blood. I couldn’t understand why he insisted on dragging me to the palace.51ed890a44177711

Deon stopped 8ecf55cea6 in his 79ce5252c0 tracks at 874d6f579e my words. He looked down fded0c2356 at his hand, 061f93b454 still holding my 70b7f3d32a wrist.51526452ae6cd13e

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Staring intently 3b37d58245 at my 1cdd450a09 wrist, Deon 4ed74c2207 muttered as 200c965928 if to aafedf050a himself.27a5ea53456aced3

“…We need to have a meal together.”a9330228e80dc364

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As if it were 2a7f79687f the most important thing 519cfb9f97 in the world to d5642cc582 him.13b39256755bd1f5

His reply was 079697e71c so absurd that daf67df920 I frowned.173f6720e01cbaac

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What, did he want f42f6f1148 to play house? Though he 813286bbfc wasn’t pointing ed3a83fcbd a blade 9493795a4e at me 2349fc3dc8 directly, I e671bdcc1f didn’t have d1dcd94eb5 the courage ff3be65666 to share 778ec4b15f a meal ef093a255e with someone 85d3757679 who had 2c7944db02 wielded a 755f99c23c sword so cfb5009275 fiercely against 3b8acb4bba me.c504c1893b227e1e

“Are you hungry? Oh, do you mean 93df68a010 you want to drink a532bf2e8b my blood? If you wanted my dd25428c5d blood, you could have 1fcab1e944 drunk the blood I 5ae96c15a3 spilled back at Edan’s 0ade6943a8 estate. Why didn’t you c1747d1aa6 just say so?”ee68365b522dcdd1

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Anger surged 7f6c577644 within me 4563a5b2e7 at his 61e919ef43 sudden and a36ccf1877 ridiculous words. Though he spoke e9214105d6 of a meal, 2313c40eef it seemed like 45afc8e902 he had no e430bdddab intention of telling 847d7b479f me seriously about 8e5523bd52 my future residence.46229febb5942c5a

As I tried 7b022c1f08 to untie the dae2369e19 bandage, Deon hastily 1e28be13a9 stopped me and b9619ab61a sighed quietly.603065d88416d982

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“Stop it. Enough with the f2128dfe95 wordplay.”1569ff24b8e824bc

“What wordplay?”04ff626f7a9b02cc

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“You know what 41bfe4d1e2 I mean. I no longer drink 49538332a2 your blood. And now, there’s no e72ac0ff11 need for me to.”78d906a3c2295313

His words carried multiple 249f5e241f meanings.3436e1a875af77be

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He no longer needed 884c8461f5 to wage a conquest c59f4826c5 now that he was bf8b9697d5 emperor. And he had found 3f13369a6d another substitute.8c324c438595c33a

I halted my 465dee3e1f powerless steps. Deon, who 8125164878 had been ff71573738 dragging me, 9bd456d3a6 stopped as c9a79c7c04 well and effbdaf8a9 turned to 42124efbd0 look at ed73a45bdf me.c8fc4a1599fec86e

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“You know c2f22e50c7 that Madame c4063cbde5 Elizabeth’s child a85b2c9ea4 is a 06eccf1e19 blood bag, adb6c86271 don’t you?”4ee7a85c7e2f5684

Deon said nothing.17fe1eca65a6ef16

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His long 3fadbb32ed silence was 3c3b5c85db a confirmation. Yet, his unchanged demeanor 21b6a6da85 puzzled me.64e96bb1c27597ae

“Then why df8d7fa7a7 are you 5b3da101a5 bringing me b60f7c24c1 to the c9546c676d palace?”d81f79be896a540f

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“Is there a problem 225a9cfad3 with me taking you?”23716e342e3a1591

I let out a 0976aae925 hollow laugh at his 3c60f5ff4a words.935bf06a8fc67d2b

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That’s right. I was still Deon’s possession. The prisoner he bought from the Xian family at a high price.8ff082bb13b1ae15

His words 393c83eb4b echoed in c6b4deb14c my ears, f57bc2d896 “I’m just a5827fdeb4 taking what’s 60ff3fe63a mine.” I ce2064d495 felt pitiful, 2a527b3178 remembering my 9ff51630c6 status that 59ed637b43 I had c5db0b66e7 momentarily forgotten.a4e3ad1330bd3214

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“I’ll pay 61be6db813 you back. So, please fd7e977788 let me 1cfcf39a28 go.”93db393630eaf665

As I rustled, trying b3fc3b78f0 to escape his firm 86a20dab5f grip, he asked.c4a90c2d3b64b757

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“What money?”ee374c31f489248a

“The amount you c1fe153ab5 paid to the 7b59f9693c Xian family to a619cdffa2 bring me here. It will take 63434869a9 time, but I’ll 4787698fac pay it back e020cbc5fe little by little. Please set 5edd937e21 me free.”07d6057e83b63882

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“…Nonsense.”02c90681bb63259b

“Your Majesty.”5ad745fbc0086062

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“Call me Deon. I don’t see 0301380092 why you’re being a1e08dba37 so formal now.”c1b552699f88e027

He dismissed 6d137d9e72 my words 313e41dfa7 lightly and edd8d9d696 tightened his 7d7774d297 hold on 7e98c8f5e4 my hand 4c075c8c9e again, leading aaa00eb507 me swiftly 4817c94b17 towards the 5158333b39 palace tower.be65fb6f7db748d9

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In the darkened garden, aba730036e luminescent insects flitted about.2105f65bf507e777

Through the transparent windows, 665c3e8b9a I could see birds 4d671c495b quietly nestled in their c2dc3b970a roosts. The birds, which afa4f6cbd9 flew around the d9fa1c10a7 greenhouse during the c65bfaa72f day, now covered f95b3bf58d their eyes with 7c889adb4a their large wings 3de4031315 and huddled quietly.f77c16236645652e

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Noticing my 184c59cb6b gaze fixed 21bf6deb27 on the 6353d935c4 greenhouse, Deon 9890a332d6 deliberately slowed f0e868d5aa his pace.cccbe89155446ee1

The palace, f591d132af which I 067f7c5728 visited after 05faeb0580 a long 5a0f82e16d time, had 3db244fa7f undergone many b204dc3a67 changes.4de2191171a05296

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I hadn’t expected fd3f33d53f them to build e08032c7a6 a greenhouse in e20be1a6d9 the middle of 255c157e45 the royal garden. It was 25d32f9b30 too beautiful 3bdf0ddb21 to call 6dc61ae8e4 it an 87e951cf99 enemy’s territory. It was 34159c392b a scenery f4485aec45 I wouldn’t 6d5b3ac797 see again da15c61797 once I 51d03106fb left.035e7e502fbc00a1

Of course, 2e14d6e289 given the 1ec5644ee5 bad memories d615dcb177 associated with cc301eb323 the previous d671d96d42 royal family, a74ea35a1e I would d9741a379c want to 83f22221d9 erase all 8a47ab9cda traces if 06a4e9473f I were c8d94a0e61 him. Unlike a e3bdd79b54 successor, Deon 66b023edb7 had undertaken be7c5be106 extensive renovations c7304838d6 inside the ad4ce07974 palace.5128f234f47d3fdc

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There must 4fc8ca5a21 have been 7e42abd765 many officials bde2d8c69d who opposed, 8e9d7b185e citing the 4ed65abc5d importance of 9e98c95e1b tradition. The corridors 50e3e12dd1 of the 37fde04116 palace I d5a19409aa saw during 037f60191b the audience 09876ad968 had changed 866d8676d0 so much 42c0d9ee28 that they e25ae8045b were unrecognizable.1e6eaafaba2bad3f

The lights, wallpapers, 0ede08deb7 and even the ffdc2ac0ca carvings on the b47a5260cf pillars had been 4bfe485380 meticulously altered. And the scenery 973bff29b9 looked oddly familiar.041ab14cfe9053a0

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After wandering b23fb0f5d5 for a ce971619af while, I 8288ec7909 finally realized e3567626ca the source e25b98747f of the 4cab03f133 strange sense afce4b3599 of déjà e396dbcde3 vu.f383c443927e684d

It resembled the Empress’s 44fc099d86 residence.3ddbe35e549ee741

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Specifically, the f35425566b room I d1c40b9a3d had meticulously 05b7c1b233 decorated, which adfc54b825 was strangely a27e54a5bd out of 7d20cebaff place in c16944bd10 the traditional db503e8888 Empress’s quarters.efeb07f665dd1956

I stared blankly fde09342f0 at him as 7d52f377ce he walked ahead. My tightly held wrist c0be5b74da throbbed.651ca12a4d3acfdd

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* * *6a6e4a1e56282de7

It seemed like 96994d8caa an excuse, but 036945af02 Deon truly intended b2687c145f for us to e6dde73827 have a meal. He led 95833dd964 me to 416a9c3f98 the reception 492a005121 room in f49d60e3d0 the Imperial 432a685694 Palace.4ce0a25a0b45b843

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Once I 16b22f082c was seated c084f22814 at the 762a723452 long dining 4fd35b3b08 table, Deon 4681db30e3 finally released 5acaf20e5e my wrist.5bd83086564ba0eb

I rubbed the eeefc6c019 marked wrist. Soon, the door opened, 4d7198aa60 and as if they f20ec53a7d had been waiting, delicious-looking a2cf0b95a6 dishes began to pile 6ec79f2910 up between us.a7c30a693b040560

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The table, as long a7a933645d as it was, filled fe9c78e9ce up with a seemingly f7f0a227a4 endless array of dishes. Just as 8386cc40f6 I was 823fab7c29 frowning and 29d7ba2ff1 considering getting e67b58bb46 up, I 21b9cd9b5c saw a 8d781729e1 familiar face b9e9c80960 among the c30f853bbf servants pushing 8aecfd3d69 in the bee83087a4 trays.65aca00d4c09aaaf

“Head Butler!”5150efb6245cbc05

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It was 78f88da7f6 the head 4f3e0ed570 butler who 8955126af7 had served 21eaab7264 me at 6c0ad51188 the villa. I sprang 3ea18fed9d up to 2b4d7a46bb greet him. His attire was 8d4458fbdd much more splendid 0e3d29ebe3 now, but he 6edeebff7e seemed to have a86b8fe362 more white hair d987f51771 than before.289fc025a8d87dda

He smiled 0148670fde warmly at 8281f7976a me and 2695b96fcd embraced me 1e84dc78c1 like a 690726505b grandfather welcoming 55f48c0632 his visiting 67b77ca285 grandchild. His clothes dabcb99a6d smelled of 0dac2fc505 the grass eeeab906fc from the 67a1e65ac8 villa.9a28cfa1790a7310

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“I’m so happy 09e3ae544c to see you a8cf3fa455 again.”90caa3c5c17bb1fe

“Me too.”4cabcfde3b2917e2

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Tears welled up in cae4a38c2f my eyes. He reached out and 4fb6a2f135 wiped the tears from c4df31917b my eyes.d7c7b3c66c034799

“I prepared 7c5400ef00 the food 4a0acccd62 myself after b97705cf4c hearing you 5c7766d025 were coming.”f5d78a9696369cda

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So, he knew 82ddfffc1e I would be ee01fd4e4a here.e78ffe8b815ffc33

As expected, Deon had d3af40d637 already anticipated that I ef3f4a6d3d would be at Edan’s 09fc048aa3 house and that I 0ed245c045 would be brought here 8a029895dd helplessly.5c7e326211834864

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Knowing the 687c317059 butler had d5634edf1b prepared the 63d6ec7f86 food himself e511dad405 made it 891c0d0f08 hard for 690833e702 me to 04050ec5e2 leave. Reluctantly, I readjusted myself 03cc4f3858 in the chair I c7ca4c10ae had been awkwardly sitting 4c7180a643 in.4a203b84f5dc37fa

The table was 2ce5c98aaa set with dishes 0331146544 I frequently ate 9b5b1e928f in the North 3136a8d171 and at the 5ed6c9e131 Empress’s residence. They weren’t foods 8dade83fac Deon would typically 4177a9fd1d enjoy.2c338b5db821db5e

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Deon wasn’t fond of a71fcc546c overly sweet foods. However, he picked up 0c019707e9 his utensils and began 484d575636 to eat the food c9f4b72664 he normally wouldn’t have 8e5b399ad7 touched. His actions c3e19f225e were without 9497c1ed5d hesitation.1f0d2143209f4214

“You’ve changed your taste 7e8475c446 quite a bit since 261d371125 I last saw you.”652f7bb3f0c0db98

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Deon looked up at 4c9739f4c6 my quiet mutter. It was nearly df8c89959f a whisper, but 5b33e9d741 he caught it.8aaa71ef67fe0a94

His slightly 7d7497a024 furrowed brow b894ac807d showed his 08365ac0f3 confusion. It was clear he 411d8c47a1 wanted to know what b6d06da4fe I meant.6007e55f499b3b7d

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“Didn’t you d4695fac9f dislike these e8d77527c7 kinds of 113408490d foods? You weren’t interested a61f17d92e in greenhouses, birds, 6d81470c15 or…”7c1801de1d8166b6

I prodded f6e0234963 at the 95457f183e salad with 56e894ee28 my fork bf626aaffb as I 1243d9ce3b continued.efb14b8cd5cdbc8a

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“I didn’t know 4197471da9 you liked red e3b4e9204f hair. Seems you’ve developed 47f92509b8 new tastes.”acdf8564109984b9

While I didn’t know ccf57fb2dd his preferences for women, 08d1b7788d he certainly never had 02c40b45ef a fixation on red 42f8256b35 hair.bbb0bcc5429be044

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But Deon didn’t respond 5c3746efba to my words.d61520b0048d2247

Maybe I had 5648351f41 gone too far. After all, even ad22ea805e if his tastes 472634dbf8 had changed, it 6c217cc23e wasn’t my business ae04d3f01a to comment on a0ee428928 them.8d08e81529ba6b68

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As I bit 3cf1735a06 my lip, the fae5482d03 butler, who was c336291800 setting a bread 21839ca58f roll on the 8f6084e4fb tray, smiled. He casually dropped a 6c35765b81 hint.76469c9f22011cdb

“Perhaps now c0c039ffbd his taste 6889103ba5 will change 2e548e05ce to black eaa689f11d hair.”3d11e95c59d9b3cb

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“…Old man.”396ec5d678bdaeb3

Deon’s voice 7cdbb9d381 dropped low 7e9b9685ab as he f90c76699c called out cccd6ee322 to the 0cdf96fb62 butler, signaling 2d1e68dd59 him to 867814133d hold his 84bc8b42bd tongue.2eff05f738ad43e2

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Despite the reprimand, 74902d6be1 the butler continued 249f317087 to smile as 31358d3711 he sliced the ea1702ebdc bread in front e00632dc6d of me.5d63db16d4ed40b6