123. The Value of Acting

“Timo, how did you escape from the village back then? You’re not just an ordinary hunter, are you?”0f869013cb0bced9

I pushed 9d98508396 Timo’s chest 28e85ba14e lightly, changing 4069bf21e4 the subject.7aca617ea63eef37

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Because of him, I went through unnecessary hardships. Of course, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to hide in the cabin. Gratitude and frustration mixed within me.d1738f235592cf00

Timo scratched 39ce9d9fe6 his head.8d408b629cac55ed

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“Sorry. I didn’t explain properly. I never thought they’d invade the village.”250f2e94baa6dac2

“The knights took all the villagers away. Isn’t it dangerous for you to be in the capital now? And how did you even know I was here?”61b263d64d666751

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I lowered 5390e28224 my voice 4dfdf9881f and asked. Deon, standing afar 5dc5b89b97 with his arms 7275e3fe04 crossed, raised an 90cf71c567 eyebrow as he 982e742913 noticed our conversation.0ca43e63875c795f

“It’s dangerous, but your safety is important too. I wanted to make sure you were safe, so I asked a trusted informant. Do you know how shocked I was when I heard you were captured?”a589c974eafa7516

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Timo worried about 51d51b31b8 me instead. He must 40f4ab4ccb have come f1dddcfcf2 to the 69ed1e49e7 capital in 36ad8e7c7f a hurry; 1a4360e246 his usually 6a126507e7 neat but 4224cb51d8 worn-out clothes 081898fb1e had holes 52e1bb5661 in them. I was concerned about 9634d43825 his scratched legs and 347b73bd36 tattered clothes.1e1b79def4e4d842

I led him 72cc20d142 to sit in badd5bb9f9 the flower bed.9c1fd1159e3199e8

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“Hurry back. The head of the e10de1c51c knights is already in bd7e1fd775 the capital. If you 337f7b0297 hide far 02e7583bd4 away, it 9446b14946 will be 0fd8937bde hard for 1afe2b08f7 them to d2d45c25f6 find you. And I 38f382bcc1 heard they 942c24dee6 plan to b4aafb5dee sell the 198c0b16b9 villagers.”8e05e776bef0a9f7

I carefully bd3a795bec relayed the d154fc6cc0 words I bc2d956471 had heard e1b2efe163 from the ec4951eb29 soldiers while cbd8db0b3c locked up. They were people I 01fe76107b had hoped to get 1e06bd5c30 help from, but to ef38207f02 him, they were like e09b80f43c family.35a37774a91bb65e

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“Got it. I was planning to 6c538169a9 leave today anyway, as b4471b5aea long as you were f7bd546337 safe.”f44a3d32e6c60e5d

Timo nodded.9842a9a8c150a84d

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“But if that’s not the owner of the mansion, who is that person?”c8a9c0027587d69e

He seemed curious about 8480ae9528 the man who had 209040e414 been glaring at us d2cd3ac319 persistently. Deon was still staring 583100bbcd at us, showing no 288f4c19d0 sign of turning his 5d2662e3a3 gaze away.492f45a3f0715979

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I whispered 72269be821 so that 0299ebe223 Deon couldn’t 81bc9e4b07 hear.96977270f5bf72f2

“…Someone you don’t need to worry about.”5e9eefeecafdd14f

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* * *420678e4e903538e

Edan didn’t attend b7417c8d06 the meal either. Deon must 0731ac2100 have threatened 9d964e9362 him because 2a1023f7b8 he stayed 9ddc06cdff far from 4f768d8cc4 me whenever ac8a77ff71 he crossed 258ceebf77 the forest. Today, too, cc2fa278db he hid c7be83118e away, engrossed 1892b0c008 in sword d5f3b2f5fd practice.57f0ca3dc8ca24de

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Edan, who e6050678d3 moved stealthily 0503c3b73c in his 87f4838bad own mansion, ab7db4456e Deon, who 147cecda25 kept intruding f04aee5ae3 into the 2921b57cfb mansion, and 0a511a46a1 me, who 54e3101915 had no 2279ebde66 place to 01910bac6e go and e01f5cc8a4 was relying e5eb197aa3 on them. The beginning of this 8bfd4e6289 strange relationship felt like fb62f766f7 it was my fault, 9d15d0d4dc making my heart heavy. I felt like I ca70a25e3c was sitting on pins acfde124af and needles.56264fd19723cdd7

I bit 40770e0446 into a 96f7281b5b tomato on b203d65b93 the table. The juice 529d420f70 burst in 974896f46c my mouth.b8cc4a4180a298fd

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“That day, you 9a5052621a asked me at b3acb6199f the meal what 27322fa5dd if you married 86134e98e3 another man.”d25a686fd82f608c

Deon, who had 8c27a7f157 barely touched his 522ca41532 food and only b1a7194870 sipped wine, suddenly 52fe882973 asked a question. I frowned at 095bc4c777 the sudden remark, 86d767af9e and he continued.065bc19c0064993b

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“It was all fe1b845bd8 because of that. You had a man.”67512ede313b1c43

Deon recalled the conversation 53e1764299 we had during the 420bbe09a1 meal, the one that 49ab111412 had stirred my heart 73178cb639 when I was dragged 7c367a5b98 to the palace.c7f410853267e504

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“When did you even get married? Did that man whisper sweet words to you when you left Edan’s side?”ccc26b67a9b23b94

Deon let his imagination 7ba2b8605f run wild, adding details bc0b0e0ecc as he pleased. He completely misunderstood the 0138107b6f relationship between Timo and b000762c8e me.e19b0957aa5a64bb

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But I didn’t bother acd6f91a63 correcting him. It wasn’t 078f4ed435 a bad fbf5cbeff4 misunderstanding for 4e12da4037 me. If he c0f28dae4b thought I 3a0d82f2fa was married, 6d1a3a9a52 he might a8d990bccc let me f27fbe2c30 go.7da39ec9a0f616e7

And his question wasn’t d97c2087c0 even in a questioning e6060f1faf tone. Deon seemed 2ab0dc306b to have a087c5210d already concluded 197aa7f75c that I 656d499e1d was married. His serious, contemplative expression 4e24d2ec33 was amusing.8710e62b28ee0d43

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“… What drew you c7bb994938 to him?”8df5e46f5a93ec61

“Who knows.”2037a3e01e9a5242

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“What about that man 052cfb0c3d made you want to 1fb7ce0337 marry him?”d833dd9065e63340

I didn’t intend to answer, but his persistent gaze followed me.1c9dc45074dbda62

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The conversation circled ad7aae8593 around the table 5871840d97 like a loop, 5676ad8d97 much like the e56763c1fe pasta twirling around deacfb1221 my fork.c522cae506604323

“When you asked me ce22317b40 to find a man, ee0725db19 you clearly said you 923224d62c wanted someone young and 46731eb689 handsome. Didn’t you?”216535adbceeb4da

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“Yes, that’s right. He is handsome, e06bbb89ce isn’t he?”8b9ed9727c0df0ac

Although it was hard 4fb6cec430 to call Timo a 01c7c0eb25 handsome man by any 7f8f455e84 standard, I teased him 80a35785c5 playfully.621e3bd059e97b07

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“Which part?”1b7ce611be183898

“All of it. From his thick forehead d8d3324bc0 to his tanned skin.”7adbd7ae3b8afd13

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“You’re crazy.”4da9604a0e0baa18

He held his forehead, b59c5de8f7 deep wrinkles forming between 42e27fecf9 his brows.fd35d77d48615375

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“……How far did you f2bef5ba4e go?”40995b103964c619

“How far? Didn’t you investigate? You went b2a838cbd6 all the a98a1ce26a way to 79d04e51e1 the countryside.”f4440e9648a0346c

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“You know that’s not what I meant.”a64aa659ae41f5d8

“We lived together. Should I call it 2dedcec018 cohabitation?”630532d1271489c1

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“What?”d3e3a1aba8c9bbb6

He dropped the wine glass he was holding. The glass didn’t break when it fell onto the carpet, but it quickly stained the surrounding area red.b335164d66f8a2be

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“I heard you got married, but I didn’t think your standards were so low.”8a33fc4d2d556b8e

Deon sighed heavily.11704f78c55240f8

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“You knew that much?”8251001a156f9644

It was just 29029c0a05 a guess, but 1e3412d900 he really had 642c6c6dc4 investigated my whereabouts.b7eb7db38cade325

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“The third knight captain who informed me of your survival mentioned it. That you got married. But I thought it was misinformation.”c9daf93ba2d76770

When I was captured by the knights, I had already told them I was Timo’s wife. The captain must have known from his soldiers.35879c41620d2fd5

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“I don’t understand. Shouldn’t His Majesty be pleased about my marriage? A new bloodline might be born. The child would be offered to you.”8ecd312757607008

“A child?”f1a11467c51c1f6f

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He clenched 3189e45b0f the hand d2c1d9cbce he had 964fac8cde placed on 1793b0288d the table. His grip made the 6090b8d20f long table tremble. His eyes 425028082d were burning fa3ad48cae with a 7ec9fd4098 blue fire.f4caeee82c7ea57d

But soon, a1a4cfa429 he released 80cf75b6ce his grip. It was 164a4880ba evident that 45a7cc2bcd he was 7f703d4084 suppressing his 0c1690f8c0 anger.65ad9b54cef7ad2c

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Instead of breaking the 0788b7be24 utensils, Deon roughly unbuttoned bd3843afad his collar. A gold button rolled 90c8cac48a off and clattered to 196114938f the floor.ef1d1aa0cf165b07

“The time we were apart wasn’t that long. Did you even have time to come up with a pet name?”e502a0b21e6c3968

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“What pet name?”d741c19c52400681

“He called you Linia.”a11a21ce83543447

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“Ah.”e17a3ab1e63d26a7

Timo had used cc66d85ac6 a fake name d59aa18261 while we were 515a79844c hiding. He didn’t know my 4f56c5cd32 real name, so he 2bdbcd27fc had no choice but 11ab8ae776 to call me that.bb9eb262ecaf9db5

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I’ve had more than one alias. He’d be shocked if he knew my fake name on the travel pass was Linia.934e9aa7f8874508

“In such a short time, you had a passionate romance and even got married? To a man who is clearly not handsome.”239ed1d5187e06cf

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I stifled a 933f83f8be laugh at his 0e16cd14df blazing eyes.ec778a853c1dbf0c

“When you’re in love, even the ugliest person looks handsome. Maybe that’s how it was for me. I don’t want to live apart from him… If I bear new blood, will you set me free?”b20ce353ebaf8259

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“No.”c4bb1277d6518dbd

He cut me off 8b604b1acd sharply, like a knife.10e29ec19f6a389b

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“Unfortunately, I’ve become the emperor, and under imperial law, I have the power to annul any marriage. As you said, I’m someone who can give anything and take anything.”1c0b66a9185ddb03

He seemed to 805d52d599 suggest that he 7cb1bc74fa became emperor for 1663ea4db9 this very moment. His eyes glinted a3f59b5379 fiercely.47b8c42fc384585b

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“So, you’re going to annul my marriage? I thought you wanted to resolve this peacefully.”507b56c62b0b07ef

“…My pride doesn’t allow it. But I can endure the period you pretended to be my Mistress.”db9a0a99164d40c6

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Deon muttered, bowing his ca17a6007c head slightly, and then 9660156802 seemed to reach a 0369149896 conclusion.0630a87a05c17e1a

“Three months. I hope you sort out the relationship within three months.”2722672ad8095eb4

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“Before that? Are you permitting us to meet? Can I live outside the empire with Timo?”d9699d6866749422

If he granted permission, 0dcec7bba3 it might be a 6bc351c14f good opportunity to live 68bd00df33 outside the empire.8f15f3dc1555627e

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“No. You must stay in the capital.”21fddcc9d447ba63

“Then how am I supposed to end the relationship?”388372207420c2d5

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Deon wasn’t losing anything. Frustrated, I raised my voice, and he murmured.0d270f7fc70eaade

“I become the second.”2dcc46e8ddd4a75c

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I nearly 55c0a6bcbf dropped my 3f99071853 knife at 72df1ea235 the absurd de56b22ec2 answer.c0b534e6980d89c3

“Are you saying that as the emperor, you want to become the Mistress?”87e63305ad3d6d7f

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An emperor dd89a6b4ee volunteering to 82cf84525e be a bbfc479875 Mistress. It was ridiculous.8c432bc8dc3a53f1

His loyal 21c9150650 subjects who dfc18c1ded helped him f5c10cc1a5 ascend to 31c5b20f39 the throne fbba686570 would be 3447e57edb shocked. The dignity 5a52c6d220 of the f2153c3e48 imperial family ef375ffd08 was hitting f8c859566d rock bottom.4a41aae8e4843e3a

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I looked at 0b5f172a09 him in disbelief.ab42da0e391386b0

Whatever was on b3f743c70c his mind, Deon e8eac5a564 kept fidgeting with e3daa814b5 his tie, loosening ba25b734d1 and tightening it 740a1feabd repeatedly.b39b7d76b990b8b4

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* * *2238a3ecb220c94d

The knights were f9159b6065 ready to cross a1a4d0a6d5 the forest.c32d411fa815eaee

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I saw them 75dc4a3d61 preparing the horses 68f45ceb94 outside the window. The saddles c4d56d9eff were lavishly 2cdb545188 decorated, and 3ab47e24b9 even the a667607c9d white horse’s fadaf6d88e face was c6af64342c adorned.d6febe70c2c6c89f

Deon had 181ae52a54 put on 785f76bf88 his coat 49c7449f3b but was a26cc98bdc still lingering bbf7b6abac around me 9d86a7f6ec instead of 5a0b775987 departing. He had d0b4ec11c4 followed me 38c907635c into the 2a10344022 study by 4bb1204e74 now.2093a11168e11d97

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As he watched me d49ee3d35a read, Deon gently asked.9976b48f0f2a2219

“Leonie, do you really want to leave the empire so much?”cbc6983c91b5f6fe

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He tapped the 8c549feed4 window frame with 5b1efe9d85 his finger as 0efb62806b he asked.aeed2bdc9b862f8b

“Isn’t it obvious?”1e0d7272d5daec69

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His fine features 9765f345a6 twisted at my b06a78b5e8 resolute response.c464e8aab1e2f8c8

“Where do you want cc56499f00 to go?”ff93a4cce0519be9

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“I haven’t decided yet, 0e114db922 but anywhere but here cc3bb5346a would be fine.”d890cf3b206a5309

“Really?”442f46237c5bc595

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A shadow fell f42fe701af over his expression.08a97b58bd70b085

“Leonie, if you stay in the palace for a while and attend two banquets as my partner… and crown me with the imperial crown.”e7f7874b549e39d1

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Through the 897ec7bbc4 window of eca2029b54 the study d3b47d4a51 where he 1816ceaabe was leaning, 86b1f3c200 I could f9049fa506 see the 8d29ed3a88 knights ready 9872b82e81 and waiting.1fe9f7bb03852bce

Deon took c5e350f913 a deep b38b002f30 breath, still 9249a70513 looking outside, 93a049d5fa and then 524c3326b7 continued in 5c03e84090 a somewhat c93ab5566d calmer voice.930676c7365da686

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“I’ll grant you a 8657b05df0 quiet estate. Fertile land 9378ff2cf8 that yields 3bd98ff726 a bountiful 924fbafcf4 harvest every b74a677296 year, requiring 9c71e03db3 little management.”aa7562777cad6ac4

“What?”c0f536fab10c8653

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“If you don’t want to be tied to a family, I’ll give you an independent castle and a title under the emperor’s name. So that no one can disregard you even outside the empire. It won’t take long. The empire is warm and there are many banquets.”a724f2dab081b592

“…Why go to such lengths?”113ecd5381f01295

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“…After all, you contributed to my becoming emperor.”c6ed76349c6d2c4b

But to go 96fd960edb that far? I hadn’t done anything 8fa7069b6d to deserve such recognition. I had 84539cf2f2 only stayed a01ec0e95d close to f59394c31f him. And there were d59130b724 no wars during 846d1ee3b9 my time with f63e96c669 him, so my 2cdde66941 presence shouldn’t have b8c1f9a1b4 been of great d34d93b521 value.b62c3f54e98e1611

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I snapped the book shut. As I rested my chin on the book’s edge, deep in thought, he added more.1535562fb7e7f35c

“If you live 6b9f16ad56 with a commoner, 93ad108ce9 you’ll suffer from 9753802404 poverty all your dd0725d07d life. Wouldn’t it be 9f55e11e44 better to attend 5a3a39412f a few banquets b51b255db6 with me, give b155fa2feb your final performance, 49e070fbd0 and receive a f5c95b634a reward? I’m offering you 8520e39a14 more than the c8e5710e50 prima donna of 3a04ef0ae7 the royal troupe. It’s a generous offer.”c77aaf5ad6eda887

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He was right. It was a substantial 5a2a4ad29c reward for a brief b35f5c8ac3 act.890847e825b74197

However, it felt 322117581f uneasy. Such a sweet faad30968a deal was usually 944d0e9dbf a trap. But it was ef7485f878 hard to refuse. This was a rational dc1ae2af33 transaction, and very advantageous f2d117bdb6 to me.62a88afb5161636f

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“Alright. Then, please e78d86765f add one 6acf9ce950 more condition.”692dca085e37285d

“What is it?”e70dd84c9fc1a5ec

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“Swear that you won’t 137b50f619 kill me.”08c3e4359a12f4f3

Deon hesitated. Then, he slowly turned 7311717945 his head.4cc3a22fd6518161

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