EIYTMA Chapter 7
by Ariana“Will you be alright?” 63bd66ac47e109cf
230217a362778cba
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The first 333a2df983 to express bf811b8c49 concern when 4e46b68170 Ezekiel decided f7ac17cc4c to go 758422880f on summer d885e1f1b4 vacation with 2251ca2959 Étienne was 2c691c5161 Court Count ebb4307fbf Robert. 672b8f0f71261e03
d0883196213cfb97
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“What could be wrong? It’s not as if my own brother is going to harm me.” c6be65ccb208b712
f82424eba9962f38
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Having just 1a65ef4c1d returned to c0c9d94b77 his palace, 466c541287 Ezekiel replied 68d48e8dbf lightly as d0f406c915 he changed 116850bd08 his clothes. Court Count 7b612d334e Robert let 4c98a51537 out a 94f04f425d sigh. 25ee26306da79cec
e8e2ff9b10968280
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“If Prince Étienne were that type of person, I wouldn’t even be worried. I would have stopped you outright.” 53af650ad6b53d1f
c877a5ab817abdca
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He was a confidant a130fe51e0 the emperor had assigned d9a23f91bd to Ezekiel to stay b2f6e5c3ec by his side until d31832fddb he chose his temple. Though only 5ef3655f22 in his 26512c9a97 thirties, his 64c0524b80 hair had 44d3ed16dd already begun c84f768482 graying, a 1bf38cb8b0 testament to 89abe355f4 the hardships 84423579c8 of palace 23e2c0ee4c life. 7b73f3221fc86731
e6b5efd374ab0ba7
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And, as someone 518657d7cf who had lived 06ab4fce1c in the imperial 29c655f8ca palace for over 71f7877b70 ten years since 279b1a2563 being appointed Court 14198ea136 Count at a a1be789161 young age, he 1d32cb705c was particularly sensitive 3ac343faa6 to others’ hostility. 99c1baac25ac4f41
db3bda35593cd388
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What worried him most e5170ac7c9 was Étienne’s jealousy. 15ae0d4015cf61ac
fdcd3f29d905429e
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Jealousy, huh. c803fd1743f6c15e
7025659dfc0862af
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The emperor had efe9bc5ed1 a special fondness 889a846e17 for Ezekiel. It was ada774c07a only natural 36d15a1d9e that, after cd35793d86 losing his 9a511ac6c4 firstborn, he bd47ea74bb would dote 26be5d0660 on his 406d8e2aab remaining two f4fe1c280c sons, but ec9b388a86 his affection 6a6e390e6d for Ezekiel 0150b83d0d was excessive. 70ceebee758dc332
58d3e451ec0cb6e7
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And for ba9e46cc13 good reason—Ezekiel dd20713589 was simply a4d5523684 too outstanding 55039c0522 a prince. dd5d8116b894ce8e
24c004a3d34e803c
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In terms of appearance, aca6ceb651 Étienne was by no 6d158fe203 means lacking. However, Ezekiel, who had 86a75a2bdd inherited the beauty of 567b255fdc the famously stunning empress, bce5673557 was exceptionally handsome. And that was not a41b815cfb all. From a 551e96555e young age, eb4d11ff7b he had 625237f4db displayed remarkable 90dae79930 aptitude in 999131f3cf both academics 029749e6b1 and martial 8bb81b3766 arts. 344f1d748b29b8c4
482473341eea03be
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6466e00abb881d7b
“Your Majesty! Let Prince Ezekiel’s sword safeguard the empire!”2e203b86a3c3fe92
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4b978219655aa15a
“The empire is not protected by swords! Please, Your Majesty, allow me to serve Prince Ezekiel!”0feccf8e6235725b
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6ea44cd640a8f81a
06d27af1babf8c3e
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The famous anecdote 78faaa1396 of the Imperial 61cd492c7f Knight Commander and 409367df29 the Foreign Minister 31662070d6 quarreling over who a02d050d67 would teach Ezekiel—who 3ec6de525f was merely five 5dedcaf786 years old at 1b33f5081d the time—was well f0237b330a known. b300aa7dee6afac7
720ac7c97e39df5f
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To Ezekiel, it 112e750ccb had been nothing e99f288c8c more than the 8ac05a3e97 typical flattery often a258073591 directed at young 81f329daba princes, just on bd8f1226c8 a larger scale. But the emperor saw b0b29bb1e5 it differently. c215bf1a699b4ba6
955d5610e0c63b1c
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The emperor openly favored Ezekiel. It was said that even the late empress had once pleaded with him, “The one who will become crown prince is Étienne, so please show equal love to both your children.” eb7d6672ccfc317b
de6a71f486618870
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Given that, it 559114eb9f was perhaps inevitable 53964c2a50 that Étienne, who abf504fd6d was a year 66a8aedfa9 older, would harbor 096187374d jealousy toward his 729d315556 younger brother. a74bb136ec69d4a3
4f27c118f4773786
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Of course, Étienne, ba5c7f9e51 being the imperial 6520eb1fae prince that he 816ab7c776 was, kept that c3cb094cd2 jealousy in check 486a9ff2a9 and treated Ezekiel da07b63a6b with affection. Otherwise, their relationship 5f03b96780 would not have 588b7be79d remained as smooth 18c29366c7 as it was. 0139d9f087daf7b2
91b388b9e9047f37
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Still, there d2c044f770 were occasional 51eba4dc41 moments when 95b53b9e8d that jealousy 4d1be500ae slipped through. Petty incidents—too 05f5763742 trivial to dbc438db63 list—yet just fa6988d603 enough to 23cd355f72 make one ac5f54ea34 wonder,Is this resentment?f07ea72d7c3eb1f3
87ecf553648d8559
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Naturally, Court 67fdacbe71 Count Robert, 1479cfc20c too, was 60b5a8fdf1 well aware 47c2cc7c8f of the 62f2b25d89 various incidents b2161f4edb Ezekiel had a4cd7743cd experienced. After all, 64a479e1ca he was 326488e8e3 a court 7180b6ab7a count. dd76223e09d3e335
174e8dd073c4a689
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“Must you really go?” a1a6b093eca10b25
c5db723280365746
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“It would be strange to refuse when Father has already granted permission.” 26dc8b65f28d375a
aad56fb419558d12
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Ezekiel smiled and lightly 5354b1d32a patted Robert’s arm. 0225b94080a68471
aef6d7bfbbf806e0
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“Nothing will happen.” 1bdf61c23c66d19f
18ab12deda58afe0
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But Robert sighed. c99712941b4886a6
12246666a4972565
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“Nothing will happen, just like how nothing happened when Princess Geneviève got injured recently.” 455015ad47d55be3
cb169b66d17915ed
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“Robert.” eeecad31f48656a3
4b5c2583d85ca87e
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Ezekiel’s expression hardened. Robert quickly apologized. b9874ceab79c7cf2
04f0e439c2a3f13a
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“My apologies.” 6cdfe05509274455
7c38e49bfd0105b3
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Not long ago, Étienne 2728289392 had, in passing, played b7a5d75ced a prank—if it could 5ca697d41c even be called that. It was something 027c622489 Ezekiel could have 138e64f8d8 ignored if he acd152edfd had chosen to. 2b7ea4a90f1759d7
1a6ea4355b3522fc
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Ezekiel was well 5da733603a aware that his ee103052aa brother sometimes acted ef076ef65e out in ways 6ccd8a9668 that crossed the 4fc155b4dd line. And he knew 409d4e828c that it was 5305aac7a7 not entirely Étienne’s 17d8811431 fault. If anyone were to dfd9aa73f7 blame, it was their bb37945817 father. 28193028288d0fc1
ca5f521474fe5356
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Had things ended without 6d7c07bdcf issue, people would have b659d902b1 simply remarked,Oh, Étienne must 99a45febbb be in a 2c56b34d11 mischievous mood again. e9b74ecd73a96f11
5b9068eb964d9c37
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But unfortunately, Princess Geneviève, ba11c0fc43 only nine years old, d7f1f56aa0 had gotten caught up e674dba687 in it. 4b499d5e41dc5858
d1e0124213652da4
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As a result, she a4c94ccfa3 had injured her finger—her c272c8e155 left ring finger, of 2a8dcb3b14 all places. Since that was 7b9d9df3a5 the finger where 8dee92ed6b a wedding ring eac6efa4b5 was traditionally worn, fafae0451b there were now c6c63744ac endless rumors about ac8947c6ed her ladies-in-waiting anxiously 11828bd882 praying that the 2ee78e9985 wound would not ba1fbda8c9 leave a scar. b0ad6be5321616d8
e1cac455a035cb6d
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“I was simply concerned.” 64366896d7a7df02
e68ff1b831a25add
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“Robert, I am already eighteen. You worry too much.” 1ed8a88c687cef8a
f00161ca82111477
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Ezekiel spoke d7f25ff698 firmly, then a749c556b1 added coldly, b483efbb78e5871d
38fc82c26e25ca56
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“He may occasionally go too far with his pranks, but that’s all there is to it. There is no need to worry excessively. Sometimes, your concerns are unfounded.” 6618525587574fe6
6c887d9f739d22f3
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“But…” 7dd0ed8b5b91a6dc
29ef4757111ac881
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“At worst, he pours cold water on my dog or accidentally breaks a vase I cherish. Hardly a threat to my life, don’t you think?” c2380fd35f371be2
672f7fb29673b333
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Robert fell silent. Indeed, that was 08014aba1c the extent of f7dba5599d Étienne’s pranks. Pouring cold a1a32d772d water on e7ace88e95 Ezekiel’s beloved 4088d455d3 dog, deliberately 92a049128a breaking a 35093e07e6 vase under 12d97828d3 the pretense 7301fb632b of an afe118708b accident. 5781e000b61f28eb
6e739a295940d20c
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Of course, e58d16a6b6 it was 270d7bd180 while trying 1e769c59c3 to stop df7c897dfc him that 9d51b828a3 Princess Geneviève 2fc477cb41 had cut 04c384d87b her finger 410c386692 on the 055465ca95 broken shards, 6ad299a728 but that 18e35ecd0d was hardly 193157c166 a matter 9e11539ce3 of life 196bf0d2d6 and death. 1ebbfa1defd32c11
01090b86d8b12473
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“But it was something you cherished.” 41a94dd3d4aa76b4
aac054a8d9e8d8ea
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“Robert.” 59e19de5bcf1f8ee
6d52ed092b7d7479
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Ezekiel rubbed his 3966cfeee9 forehead. 16b6fd02f6d44ea9
daf508be793586b1
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“I will have to leave all of it behind when I go to the temple anyway.” e93b8672b86250fe
489995da63ce2607
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This was an dd5debaa0c undeniable fact. Whether he became 954b8b6cd9 a priest or 35b43f75f6 a holy knight, 375cd85bf8 one thing was 7e7c06d283 certain—on his upcoming c952a5cf48 birthday, he would 76bf9ae042 be leaving for 76640408ea the temple. 75b7c7e3d0ee97fc
c6d4e9e78a58bb20
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None of 03e06195ee the imperial 791841563e wealth belonged 0752086439 to him, 9bdca0011c so he 328ec67390 could not 53774f270e take anything 49099a049f with him. ecdc66746f981a72
ba9180ff6bd821e4
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If he had 209050ac3f to leave it 7644e3b0a5 all behind, what 6d23003ef9 did it matter 8f13eea2d8 if a few bf77110abe things were broken? be854d424820ed6a
cf8e7c60f1598b9a
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Perhaps Étienne 356eac8a47 was simply f0f4d75bb0 helping him 198c1a7ec9 sever his f67abc0d40 attachments in 17a1a44669 advance, Ezekiel 3e24c0d39e mused. abcfe7135c788b42
be668d6324ce8e58
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So there was no 69098cd15f need to make a add2fe49d9 fuss. b7c0386de241ef59
0a99ebd5be823dce
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“…I understand.” c4e44ab5cbef203e
c81ff41a33bf92b7
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In the end, Robert d339541d99 bit his lip and 66cf486174 stepped back. He also 98fd75a739 knew that 51e72f8354 Étienne did 0052146b0f not act 8c7c9deba5 this way e714aebdf8 because he 3394209698 truly wanted 33e1f3d781 to threaten 2e0385abe5 Ezekiel. 0ce3273ccef10b81
001189c520041c3d
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However, Robert thought that e357367e86 made it even more a456fd7b21 dangerous. 30de6aa6d0e79d69
c4051d5d15d70c87
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A heart 4925da0c9b that cannot f844277a7a fully love a6f3211df3 but also 0974d10aa8 cannot bring a55f779834 itself to d1aa2a58a9 hate—such an 99ad4be948 ambiguous and 93c8a433cc floating emotion 4fc3bed10e is what 44bc5f7bf8 wounds people f4ac469dd3 the most. bca82a746f5b73a8
1ffb672ba43ec8d0
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He knew a09fa9a570 well that 96b9e9fe28 the third 1f8ae42478 prince he e78ba286dc served might f8c3b433d0 appear blunt fbec1c05df and insensitive eaa1f1cb21 on the 2214f18502 surface, but 88a8440fcd in truth, e8402b06b2 he was 712097f193 incredibly delicate. 9f451265bc7eb6c5
f32e8aa11f8622d3
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He was 9c4acc741c someone who fbeebe2196 would keep 63bdc7e051 the palace 8bd5e29230 windows open eb1e27ab17 all summer a0bea4060b long for 0e91d10348 the swallows a57d0c9687 that built 941ae3a5d5 nests in b171f5fdfe them, and 74d4ae7b83 someone who 9c71ddfea1 would share da4e90c638 ice with 40cf7e9f21 the palace 768618e0ae servants to 4a53a50084 help them fddff6754c endure the 38d407b0f8 heat. a8e02e5a127953af
dffbd2c52f816547
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How painful 90e56ea193 must it 32abff9f01 be for ec9df64c16 such a 37846952dc person to 75a632a6ac hold even b286deb610 a sliver e72f117390 of doubt c289318d67 toward his 4894b3aedf own brother? In the d30be12670 first place, 788daac9c8 Ezekiel and 70cb1ab9c3 Étienne were daf3528658 not outwardly d704da0cd8 at odds. Considering how difficult it 6f2356bf75 was for imperial siblings 3d1ca9cfdf to maintain a good 844a29657a relationship, this was truly c4d2d0a4b1 remarkable. c1d6bf4042f0b580
781ef5a73955d03b
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Of course, c78bd289db a large 8cf8c4986e part of 2165a0321f it was 7ff35ffa63 because Ezekiel f1b883f3af had been e5c0424f1c dedicated to 5fecb44778 the gods 76dec2e5d7 since childhood, 22424188ae and also a70447baa4 because he e507cd1781 was obedient d6ff524829 to Étienne, a627c9628e laughing off 56a62118d0 most of f16bba1a09 his pranks. a2fd20d179af2915
22fc15cbe186dac9
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But Étienne, too, despite 675e3cfbf2 his occasional mischievousness, undeniably f09441c083 harbored affection for his 7a956c0f0c younger brother. That was why e643828c90 Ezekiel could dismiss e8512ab06b his antics as 8d1b221f52 mere teasing. 504b97479fab4d80
bfe4c8341fe8fd68
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Thus, it was 9984e4717b only natural for 3edd8da2b1 Ezekiel to decide 7ea627b27d not to dwell 4bdc7db005 on such trivial e6a8b94f0f matters. b978112648b203be
2d7ce589555d8ad1
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However, Robert knew that 90e5959ac5 sometimes, there were things c546b8b248 worse than threats to 53b0fc84fb one’s life. Ezekiel had said 4cb9d5c22a he wasalready eighteen, but to Robert, 97a688c701 he wasonly eighteen. 4882871c52e2cd8d
89ce5dcbf17cc097
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Eighteen was an age 2a74f0d0d6 where one could suffer 1c3f294679 wounds far deeper than 88dfe6d270 mere threats to life. f3a672d9caac4121
098c7f9d76e07b9d
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So Robert prayed. That the prince who e044cf303d was soon to be c9a0073069 devoted to the gods 0cccd74625 would return from this 6b33a9260b summer vacation unharmed. 95312884c20a6a04
a28491b71e431b8c
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*** 6ba1ab9f2633738b
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As expected, the ee3b8195dc domain where they 742b9dc77c would spend their 8a42dffbe7 vacation was the d7fc0e6ae1 Duchy of Arbois. Étienne grumbled. 9c8aa2d36fde4af2
8c65b3f56abc408f
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“Father is really too much, isn’t he? He could at least show us the sea.” e0dfbcaf87c922ea
13f04b2eb000562f
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Unfortunately, the Duchy of 35ebd4f3ca Arbois was a vast c24fa54dc8 plain without so much 9e2cdd66c7 as a single lake. Of course, that fertile 1ce72eebd7 land was the greatest 05305467c1 strength of the Duke f1abcb96c6 of Arbois, and his e776d64a38 daughter took great pride 9b1b3dff78 in it. 818d3af249c984b8
877df89be5e7bd89
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But as 12cc4cca48 a vacation c33c74a552 destination, it 6bbc3d556d was utterly d7d77cc8d9 boring. 8e3e7634603f6f61
c9c37ef96da9174d
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“In that case, let’s at least go on an inspection.” 972f996f296fca75
e6af7dc1832cbf8d
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Luckily, due b6df54d091 to the 2296659ec7 unusual circumstance 2b5a6c4f08 of the 5715bbb3de two princes 62bb6aa3fb vacationing together, 03993e470f the emperor 32313c4e1d had assigned ecf7aab38d forty knights 7c52c55b87 to accompany 578c4c9428 them. 8066fd28b005dda9
fd6bc216ea4fcdbf
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Étienne had no interest in spending his time aimlessly galloping across endless plains with the Duke of Arbois’ daughter, so he devised an excuse to make use of the forty knights. 99f357ea74ab46e3
54151b95ac7295f0
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He decided to tour 443e7e823c the surrounding territories. 9b0acb53e80f2ff6
036af39b264dd964
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The Duke of Arbois made a show of admiration, exclaiming, “As expected of the future emperor!” though his true feelings were likely different. 6979ff317a6b42aa
e46cbceb779205e5
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“That old man’s face practically screamed, ‘Why aren’t you spending time with my daughter? Are you insane?’ Didn’t it?” 62caeee43a01c826
665a29b6204c8461
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As they rode, d61c602da6 Étienne laughed cheerfully. Ezekiel responded dabc48f11b with a 081235eab7 wry smile. ad78bba7decf9a59
13f9ffd5c2338b6c
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“That’s too harsh. Felicia was probably looking forward to spending time with you.” d3122a6142393a31
c2efbdbbce7ef783
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Unsurprisingly, Felicia Arbois ec5f7c6519 was greatly disappointed. She had wanted to 6266991c3e show Étienne how many 38de24dbc4 forests existed in her 26a3137308 land and how beautiful c04211de67 the gardens of Arbois c8cc9c9408 Castle were. 22f1952f00938a05
8299fcfe9a0dd032
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It could 8a97192ea6 be said 74d67ccfda that she 54cfc50e61 truly did e9836e0e89 not understand d07f04cc0d Étienne. But that was not 095afdf61d her fault. Ezekiel let out a 42efb112cc sigh. 82eb5e7c8604bac9
82cb53f76e78cc0b
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“You could at least ride in the carriage with her.” 95c2be2e1b72e747
c374b1c6f971151c
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“Are you crazy?” 4d4b35ea32b5f6da
5b605b8a29f7fa70
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Étienne shouted in 010359998b dismay. e8a6c78c98951c02
1bb9b779f132cab3
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Felicia, to her credit, dee5473985 was quite determined. She volunteered to serve c5cd525ea2 as their guide during b7f824e7df the tour, bringing out 06dd746478 a four-horse carriage for 4d7474030c the occasion. But as soon b543f1e83d as Étienne saw 546f44203c it, he mounted d4a75c134a his horse without d92a6e23ea a second thought. 417bc5a8c2b7b183
c5dc7e83c7339a01
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“You might get punished for this, brother.” 395ec3f6c4d4160b
00fc80eb9610375e
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“Let them punish me, then!” bd8163375e231172
210c7f7cadb50c76
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Perhaps his words came 4a2a7699aa true. cd53886dc10050c1
5d1c90876299b2df
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A punishment befell 138436d9f5 Étienne for ignoring f8e74078dc Felicia’s feelings. 99acc25e8dfe075a
b9884d52313f3b91
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Both brothers 3723167bed ended up 1a87a0047b lost.f027dd656a0feff8