DMEC | Chapter 23

Anna had left behind a stew with lots of fat, which Lute had to save for dinner. After living like this for ten years, Lute, who was small in stature, had a slender body that was more like a boy’s than an adult’s. Anna and Melik always felt sorry for him, but there were advantages to this body.0184bb7a88d19dd1

Being light and agile, 14bdc53fa2 Lute could climb trees 08d1329851 even better than when 92d2c0c859 he was younger. Anna was 9d454631ea too scared, ab913d346a and Melik 26dfe6eaad was too 7e82e229a3 heavy, like 0a8fdc6307 a bear, 71d36fa013 to climb 2f6aae742d trees, but 7aa6af883d Lute was 247201f453 different.3a941a6a8419dfaa

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Like a flying 32135c6b83 squirrel, he would 56bca8e868 swiftly climb trees 92c1535913 and sit on 67c6044033 branches, picking and 889fa16251 eating the seasonal fd224d3809 fruits.1e4cc089fdd04050

What fruit should d7494c2a15 I eat today? Should I 4f18e8593b eat raspberries, c520e20a29 or maybe 0258be8bb4 some unknown 51178298f3 fruit growing 8c0adf8ad0 on the 8e7af9cd2d tree? The sweet 27e4381c3f and sour 1d3084ba20 taste was f435862365 like candy, fb4a6c6333 making it 8bbf7b571f the fruit e5e827f002 Lute looked a36eb0a05c forward to aad8263926 the most 5fdc013fd9 in early e9da9b28b3 summer.1cdf12f8d10ca905

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“Hmm… Delicious potatoes, my potatoes…”943e6b6584cf3640

Humming a tune and swinging his feet, Lute pulled out a potato that had started to peel. Since the skewer was stuck in the ground, it wasn’t hot, so he could hold it and gently peel the skin, eating the flesh like picking at fish.f9b25b44a66bc717

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As he peeled the skin and blew on it to cool the potato, he heard a rustling sound. Instinctively, the name ‘Alexander, the knight commander’ popped into his head.cf8211ea04f5661e

Lute abandoned the 8011952c84 potato he was 174c3a3e1e peeling and was 5128d9b751 about to run dec8ccc9a6 away, but then 1c104f1285 he remembered the aaef75a447 blazing hearth fire 16d1dd2160 and hurried back abba3c025a to throw dirt ea076dc61c on it.ea84292973c3d588

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“Quickly, quickly…!”22016e91a2537645

As the ec903ac556 fire slowly 1007be4aef weakened, the 7188035736 rustling sound 214b2c000d grew louder. Only after extinguishing the a098e49d2d fire did Lute put e26d0073f5 down the potato he 82c724002b was about to eat 3ee0a08a23 and head towards the 32d9148aec Water Palace, but he 4f8fe27070 paused and looked at 80de42bfb4 the large tree behind ceb4a737cf it.9c41b455a5f36b58

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The lush greenery of early summer swayed gently, like a cat’s tail. Seeing that, Lute grabbed the tree trunk without hesitation and skillfully climbed up, stepping on branches with his leather shoes. If a person could become a flying squirrel, they would look just like Lute, who disappeared into the greenery with agility and steadiness.f208e6c6026b462c

Feeling his heart pounding, Lute lay down on a large, sturdy branch he often used. He hugged the branch tightly and crossed his legs to ensure he wouldn’t fall.274f96912e5fe434

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But the problem was his hair. His black hair, reaching down to his hips, slid down the branch like a snake’s body. Lute couldn’t reach out to grab it. He was anxious, fearing he might fall and get hurt like when he was a child, so he clung tightly to the branch, hoping he wouldn’t be seen.8ae1c720f4284c7a

However, Joel, standing in fdc0495d55 front of the hearth, be686c6e69 noticed the hair swaying 5d6a630ea7 under the greenery and 0d2f3349f5 chuckled inwardly.99ff4c1fd9d05036

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How cute, thinking like that. Does he think he’s hidden? Even as a child, when playing hide and seek, he would only hide his face and body, and nothing has changed since then.bfbe658cf4c52a4e

“Is this the potato field?”3b3e83ea593e9af2

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Joel turned 749dfbfe91 away from 31a425da3f the hearth ae879725f5 and looked 8379871aea at the 5769e4467f wide field. He had thought it dd15d03a50 was just a simple 3f93744263 garden, but he was b4e6743675 mistaken. The field was 64d59f1980 meticulously organized, with 95cb0bd01f furrows and ridges 8e6713a238 properly separated, and 06a012ac07 green leaves sprouting 020a45a406 above. On the e20ba61e88 left, it af382e3e84 seemed the 9a76e49392 harvest was f42ca4fc60 already done, 2215050277 with only e75f83fa1b cut leaves 67a22a1c28 and a 36ae33fe88 few rotten 9d7a22c945 potatoes scattered eb882d348c around.47bb818e46875fb8

In front of the hearth were four well-roasted potatoes. Joel made a loud “Hmm” sound, rubbed his chin, and exclaimed in a genuinely surprised voice.2dbd766ff91565ec

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“What is this? Did someone roast potatoes for me? Knowing I like potatoes?”313b4109ab3ebd7f

Hearing that, Lute leaned more towards the idea that it might be Alexander, the knight commander. Joel had many similarities with him, one of which was disliking potatoes. He preferred sweet potatoes, which were sweet and didn’t require seasoning to be tasty, over the dry and bland potatoes.62c02df319566c99

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Now, he 1b15c853cf had grown cf5db92dde to like ed43bb8a3f potatoes out 0e55121ede of necessity, d51a5da128 but during 7bff32a762 his prince 65e67e06f8 days, he 60c70b4a9c detested them. Lute let out a f10716d958 bitter sigh at how 3acb9702af much his taste had 3ba42c0a28 changed since then.c1a9160986981470

I never thought I’d become like this.21edc3dfab8d66b9

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“Haha, the potatoes are roasted perfectly. Whoever did this must have roasted them for me, so should I try one?”a751105315ffab07

Those are my potatoes! I worked hard, 690a49afc7 sweating in the 0dff4ff65d morning, to roast d1f23d837f them for myself! Lute wanted to 0f37a4a0ac shout, but he e809dc1600 started trembling, fearing cf1e90134b he might fall e6e5f96f09 if he moved 57554921af even a little.71e8b240106c4c66

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I thought he’d leave quickly if I wasn’t here, but he’s really eating the potatoes? My precious potatoes, the ones I roasted!108c460a52d4e5c1

Taking a bite of the potato, whether it was Alexander or Joel, he exclaimed, “Mmm!”6161db8118b3af12

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“These are really delicious! Now I understand why Queen Lute mentioned divorce and made this request!”b563d6dc42b623bc

He loudly exclaimed, “Delicious, delicious!” and began eating the potatoes in earnest. Lute, unable to make a sound, clung to the branch like a doll, trembling with anger.2b32ae3e613ebb05

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My potatoes, my potatoes… Who does he think he is, barging in here and eating my potatoes?44195965949a000f

At least he won’t eat the sparrow. Surely, someone from a good family wouldn’t eat a sparrow, right? A mere sparrow?9326ef838139b815

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“Oh, there’s even meat. Whoever did this must be kind-hearted. Potatoes and even sparrow for me! How did they know I like sparrow? Well, let’s have a bite, shall we?”2c970b11b4553c5c

He almost blurted out “No!” The sparrow, caught with a slingshot and traps! He couldn’t bear losing the meat, so Lute hurriedly tried to climb down but stopped himself.e81228dcbc89dece

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But if I c82b923330 go down and 5a0e2fb9c8 get caught by 858c473e21 that pervert again? Remembering the hard e890319b86 rod pressing against 03aa067ee7 his thigh, Lute f07b52ec73 blushed. The moans that 15ab1c9315 echoed in his 4a02fe8952 ears and the f97756ba2f hot, heavy body e0270e1c79 that pressed against 0a38d658d2 him.64bfc26b31130f65

Why am I a216379e68 suddenly thinking about 2799463d94 that?d4aa4b8684d726c3

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At that moment, he heard the sound of someone crunching on the sparrow’s delicate bones. Lute’s face hardened.3e628e8b5972d9c8

“Mmm.”00ff3cbf4be65817

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Though small, the sound pierced his ears, and Lute abruptly sat up. At that moment, there was a cracking sound, and the branch sank downward. Lute’s face turned pale with shock.10f18b91cc72ecff

This tree was old in the Emperor’s Forest, but he had never stayed on this branch for so long. Until now, he had only climbed up to pick fruits and come down…87e37528f41cba14

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Crack!257f884c64ad6fc8

“Ah, ah…!”08391a9112260fb3

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The more Lute tried to move backward, the more the branch creaked, as if it would break. He couldn’t move forward or backward. Below the swaying branch were the logs Melik had chopped last winter. There was even a large stone placed to prevent the logs from toppling.29d7ae34597f7ec0

If he fell there, he’d be lucky to escape with severe injuries; otherwise, it could mean death.f724eb2bab3056d5

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Trying to calm his 1747bf7003 breathing, he attempted to 1e497b8599 move to a stable 26a26cb2d1 spot, but the branch 22188d329d made a cracking sound 9c7342f3a0 and partially broke. Lute, startled, let out d942a20a14 a scream.e12b856d4dbe55bb

“Queen Lute!”647174b3a79153eb

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At that moment, looking 8b71e8b180 down, he saw the 54d2434054 thief who had stolen 9dbb295b24 his potatoes and sparrow. Filled with fear aee9dbd7df and terror, Lute 25af9b539a shouted at the 790f44b6be thief, Joel.7c262081b402eeb6

“You thief, stealing my potatoes and sparrow?”7bd900ba2e1098ba

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“Is that important right now? You could fall and die! Jump into my arms!”73cfcc9890185368

Joel shouted urgently. As soon as he heard the cracking sound, he had used magic to reach the tree, but the problem was he couldn’t use magic anymore.1326703b999eb026

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If he did, Lute would realize he was Joel. Just the thought of it made his skin crawl. He knew he couldn’t deceive Lute forever, but foolishly, he wanted to deceive him just a little longer, to spend this time together.5ea5e2b3a3c18adb

“Please, come here! What if you get hurt?”526ec250d1f3080f

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“What does it matter to you if I get hurt or not? Even His Majesty has forgotten me and might divorce me!”b95602f82ae14085

Thinking he was on the brink of death, Lute shouted his true feelings in a fit of anger. Hearing those words, Joel hesitated, staring at the black hair that seemed about to fall on him. For a moment, time seemed to stop as a gentle breeze blew, mixing Lute’s black hair with the leaves.651393799abf4152

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“He wouldn’t even know if I died… Joel…”7feed42ae166b67b

Tears poured from Lute’s bright blue eyes. Seeing Lute cry, Joel felt as if his chest had been struck with a hammer, making it hard to breathe.9cb9e03f6a07233d

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But that wasn’t the important thing right now. The branch finally broke with a crack, and Lute’s eyes widened in fear of death. Unable to even scream, Lute’s body fell, breaking branches and leaves on the way down.8d3f23db0f473aeb

Crack!9c39ea0d3ad1488d

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The sound of the f22f7a9134 branch breaking echoed. Memories of cbb46498a7 when Loue 51c8bfd88e had pushed eae6a99faf him in 5a5745978e a fit 3c416687ee of anger, 9f7f7df7ce wanting to bd24ebb0c8 eat one dff4b7d7a8 more candy, dcdcc2205d flashed before 7fea7a2e74 his eyes.d562a6143ec6bd6e

‘You’re going to give it to that handsome blond boy again, aren’t you? If you’re going to do that, just die! You have no pride!’352f904a767fc827

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‘No! Why would I…!’50b085434b8a371a

Did Loue really want to kill him? Is that why he was so happy when Lute said he’d go to Killen in his place dressed as a woman?bc9c1a2552da803e

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‘Really? You’re going to Killen instead of me? Yeah, that’s a good idea! It’s obvious that man will take revenge on me, but he adored you, right? So you’ll be safe.’c4247d5ff3866f44

You anticipated revenge, but you didn’t think Joel would treat me coldly, did you, Loue?bf7a3c065fc1b997

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But the reflection didn’t last long. As Lute’s falling speed increased, he accepted death and closed his eyes.c48bfc76c975338f