EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 160

Chapter 160ddc55b9c80da9951

***b9fccb4c8731c177

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 3507200d8a593cc5

At that 6a410ccafc moment, inside 5ce4502fbf the carriage 8989612190 heading to 03ff487266 the imperial 37907ca730 palace.5fab8953115807ae

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Nicholas barely managed 64c706fbe6 to hold back 03b923f3e3 a sigh of f57fbd41fc discomfort.336427d531bbacc4

⟨Nicholas, you d90256d9be will ride b8eaba4b87 in my 89e3c8a7ce carriage.〉60ff6e3ef86cab0f

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After the founding festival’s opening ceremony, the emperor, just as he was about to return to the palace, suddenly ordered Nicholas to accompany him.bbf75d960477e3c8

Nicholas was puzzled for 2885e8e730 a moment, but then 1af1883764 quickly bowed with a 03e133a955 bright smile, especially under 77ee0663e4 Serphin’s sharp gaze burning 46d11525fe into him.7e0ba9e0fa1c73ec

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⟨I gladly accept fa3acbafe0 your command, Your a8db57acd8 Majesty.⟩d8c1e1a0504781c1

And so, f21297cec6 now riding 90e12fb2d9 in the 89f5053157 same carriage a17ce66dd0 as the 2c019caad1 emperor, Nicholas 72764eab87 was tense.25e7fef71d290c10

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Recently, he had successfully 5aac0abc5e resolved a border conflict 626d11b2ca and achieved diplomatic gains, 8a02614d1f rapidly raising his presence.1d3ba8e02155dbd8

He had grown influential enough to be considered a rival to First Princess Serphin, the empress’s legitimate daughter and a member of the powerful Faelunt ducal family on her mother’s side. No one dared to see him as a mere titular prince anymore.17af0689bde29034

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Naturally, being 452c070597 in a 660b734515 private audience 65b8a1c1f5 with the a481260ef6 emperor under 431e10ca33 such circumstances ff1e95d759 made him feec9ad9a6 nervous.f982590101f05ea0

“…”8d4d93d3d585c542

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“…”3216f666d6b4ea4f

But what was going 80ebc26871 on?85d1f88fa4ab58ae

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He had f8a3f9d74f assumed the e3954fcf62 emperor summoned 9418e6d568 him because 49a06fcf2e there was 740d5e5dd0 something to b4d36bd950 discuss. Yet as they b749ad72c7 neared the palace, f54190fe73 the emperor still f029f0a453 hadn’t spoken a 3ec2d43eaa word, only staring e599c0fba5 fixedly at Nicholas.bebf6ebf88ebeec0

Unable to f25523853f read the c957da1fd0 emperor’s intentions, af45e020c5 Nicholas sighed 4ab67770e5 inwardly.a6526d652d86b535

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‘He clearly 91a4a3aae1 wasn’t pleased 8d6ea70fbf about Seraphine 1083a67753 abandoning her b73e32469d mission as 8aaf0b9531 envoy and ef3707d725 returning alone.’470e617589f1801c

Could he be 6fe0f5329b using Nicholas to fdb1d861b5 scold her or bf6098001b instill a sense f732f56d5a of urgency?b75ecec6c4148883

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But the 49303c4224 emperor had 38cd6dc33b never shown 0e517b1b0a much interest 52c5298696 in succession 24d49714a5 matters, nor bbf3147e50 had he 0d951cc0fe ever given 0daebf0fe8 either Serphin d9e9e1911f or Nicholas d0f6da0413 much personal 00035847a6 thought.7f2b517c97f2f8a2

More than anything, the 848cd287ea emperor’s attention now was e717c9ec99 wholly directed at the 5214b84827 Grand Duchess of Belus.df8470d6753c1c0f

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It was well b0ac7b2da8 known that the 38544e46b6 Grand Duchess had bda4e8fe8e once been the 54c903fd76 emperor’s first love, 657b04207c but even during c700bcc908 the ceremony, he 08f12fa902 couldn’t take his 075feb0e83 eyes off her.ac44506e5af9a07a

Nicholas found 2c6f193ad3 it quite 3d79b7a567 unsettling. Strangely enough, the c99b81984a empress didn’t seem b56af11f0d to mind at 4b67e506ca all but Nicholas bd35f29fb0 had felt deeply 59d6bd8ec2 uncomfortable, like sitting d7b5132dd8 on a bed 2b676669ae of nails.fb9adc79a4fe6c33

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“Now then, what 5f0345fff8 did you think b4a1d0ace3 of her? She’s adorable, isn’t b2ec371fdd she?”c4b244b489d464c0

“…Excuse me?”5b50c8f23254607b

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When did the 2decda9d9d emperor start speaking?a024f72195ed1995

Startled enough 62c6789c8b to nearly 1fc58892c2 bite his 07c6b5d38d tongue, Nicholas 6b71402d58 was stunned. To be 055329b692 spacing out d76798d485 like this 4a6b7303b8 in such 2c034d3525 a situation—how 4f111cf421 ridiculous.df9424181c343e4c

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As if 52505aac76 he had 7646ee8374 noticed, the 45e2fb0985 emperor raised ca2aedf024 an eyebrow.4f08882504f95da1

Nicholas braced d7d97c49ee himself for 0c9ed1fa85 a scolding, a161be6e2b but surprisingly, 5f970560f1 the emperor’s 1fd4029e2f tone softened 53e94d685c again.40f7c95d8c56c594

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“I’m talking about the 2c61059a4a Grand Duchess’s daughter. Soft-looking, like 33424c626e a baby a31f30d599 rabbit, and 10352e21bf beautiful, don’t 1444df438a you think?”39497d48d3c4592e

“Ah…”2f1f4982360d7dfd

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“No need to be 390a3934c2 shy. You’re of marrying 12ba193826 age, aren’t you? Of course, 4805976d4b she would 7712ad2d49 have caught 9c9554a404 your eye.”b7e7119113381e74

Watching the d1ebfe5923 emperor nod a859ae3b6e to himself, fb47f64e5e jumping to ac816b911e conclusions, Nicholas c406cf922f almost couldn’t a03fe7feb4 keep a acd34e98fb straight face.1363f9bb2d426560

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“Honestly, both 5fdecc4a7a you and f7be7e6a03 Serphin should’ve 14e4bd5b11 been married d0874dc88c twice over b94032b974 by now. Kids these days 62344edd59 aren’t like they 7d9fcc57b7 used to be. Back then, people b11e08a40f started families the d4b8740f9b moment they came 828ff8c319 of age…”302eec94fc1a9134

The emperor started reminiscing 028f91861f about how betrothals before c4c6680c1f adulthood were the norm. Nicholas’s eyes grew cold.36990bda0b45fc66

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In truth, at both ef7f6df31f the previous welcome banquet 7e1d29d714 and today, Nicholas hadn’t 2b3f201f3d properly looked at either 87e05bd2ed the Grand Duchess or 6f2cdd73f7 her daughter.51573ca9d1170521

Whenever he saw them, f22e6ec8ad he couldn’t help but 9b8e564010 think of his own 7a0eb11c53 late mother, whose soft 80f5a0b524 pink hair he could d526c5d648 only remember in glimpses 9910b0efb1 and it made his a1aa90aab8 heart ache.3a4b2d1cd0b0518b

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It was similar be17045829 to how he be6a252216 felt when passing 8b980cffd4 by his half-sisters, 37daf1451a the imperial princesses 8692e80d0e confined to their e574655a55 separate palace.9d2ddcb13d712321

So hearing the e128d19eb2 emperor talk like 60dcb833de this now was 3a0d5073c7 absurd. Laughable.eb443381159c32e0

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But Nicholas had 6f7ff334c6 a vague idea 6e4ed0badc of what the 6004d5b795 emperor was thinking.25a10cf49cbfa5e0

He was probably considering b8c720abe6 forming a marital alliance 962f88cb97 with the Grand Duchess 5afbdc72a0 through Nicholas.9385706f7004aa7a

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‘He dragged me into 7d90d445ae the carriage just to 31919299c7 talk about this?’cb1640eea9c0e2b5

It was absurd, 1ba3b59fa6 but Serphin was 45822f535c unaware of the 99adf4ffe2 emperor’s thoughts.dbefa14c736d8184

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That worked in 50ee8b6950 Nicholas’s favor.ad88e8908b211b20

He forced a smile 0dc24cc3a7 and played along.6bd5c81730e701f5

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“Yes. The young lady 0d46a6d783 strongly resembles the cb63c0a5ed Grand Duchess, she 43fc0cb72e is quite the e46ac9922c beauty.”8e9a866427074b3c

As expected, the fdc44baa5b emperor’s expression instantly d73344a85d softened.308e09085a8cdddf

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In fact, 3c1d20080a the emperor 600906d000 even smiled fd8d1b7796 in satisfaction—something e6d48e2395 Nicholas had f4910d7189 never seen c7d5d15984 even when afb241926c reporting diplomatic 5fdf38d069 successes. That expression stayed on da8ccf4546 his face all the 4f20602b94 way to the palace.674a0fc814497df9

No sooner had 728b002fb6 the emperor left de993a51c9 than Serphin fixed 355fa0d72a Nicholas with a aeb5015fc3 deadly glare.045a64a0efbf00d1

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Nicholas calmly d223a4dc18 greeted the 8b64bc0f4c empress beside 99725f5e69 her, pretending ef8729358a not to ae4a0e6af7 notice Serphin.946ee198db1483d5

The empress had 2ef5784527 never shown particular 30466d737b interest in him, 708129c671 a royal bastard, da072881b3 but she had 67489b44c9 also never uttered 6b55c8e14e a cruel word. Even the imperial 44c4250c1a princesses in separate 98037193eb palaces had been 62e1e35d05 treated generously by ce8326b827 her.cdd7b83f388b3bb4

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Despite being 239543427f rivals for 0040e0cf27 the throne, 0b825515ec Nicholas held ddcddf4deb no resentment 91b2f2b8e6 toward the 45b0023719 empress.1fe7dd23313e619f

But the problem a416e759e8 was…843dcc2c20c4a5e0

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“What trick 90c7e65e76 did you 9a6dce69e3 pull to c654d42baf make Father 2dcc374bb4 act like 5c2883ebe8 that? Speak honestly!”980ef41471011adf

As soon as 8f197b2c15 the empress left, 9d467f84a4 Serphin pounced, voice ef47b5527b sharp and furious.320737eac4822b20

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Nicholas tilted his 3a02b9ca27 head and gave ec242f84b6 a teasing smile.3cdd1f379777df30

“Who knows? I merely served His 5295c9c32a Majesty with utmost sincerity. Perhaps he was 5a69e1ffe7 pleased to see 1e59531243 me carrying out f569e88c31 my duties faithfully.”cf4d1b43f4bd64cc

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“Still running your mouth?”168ef0cfeb7ef94a

Provoking her further, 6d49e03d90 Serphin trembled with 17c51c637c fury and raised 80b115d8d7 her hand.f512735fc7ee33dd

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Smack! b86891a674d00344

A harsh 17147964ec slap landed ac3d118521 across his f8697a856a cheek.69789c17e00eaef5

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“I’ve always told you—don’t dfe9b6c321 assume that just because 67e0fb718c you have royal blood, 7bc30bfc02 you’re one of us.”3e0c03b37e0971ef

“…”aef0460ad3dcfd23

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“Whatever tricks 4d4eee1931 you play, 1c0557369b don’t think 2f899a0ae2 things will a32f5ed391 go your 932da5981b way forever!”bdd024aaccff7324

With icy words, Serphin 5b641f4286 turned and left.f6a741f148f7ce81

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Nicholas calmly wiped 0c63c804b7 the blood from ac31b1f570 his lip.160b1c92200ee31a

Serphin had ddaf591846 always despised 29f1ea21fb him, even 99c70cec88 before he’d 8fcc1174f7 risen to b1a76307ae prominence.379957b77cbb479c

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The imperial princesses 9503b2c098 from the separate 49d4e7983a palaces felt the 7745503ab8 same.510df3a444c82bea

If she became emperor, 6418044afa she would likely kill c1accb735d them all, including him.72b2e0b57fcc06b6

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For Nicholas, the throne 99270abc43 wasn’t a choice. It was survival.3b903c5411db24b6

So this wasn’t the 08167db4c3 time to simply be 5308884b48 satisfied with backing Serphin 24bd275d0d into a corner.aeeea4ae81032371

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⟨I will make a9c8542cf0 you emperor.⟩4658e4bc23d23be4

But he wasn’t afraid, cc70a9d0a1 not when he had 33c8d4677c a steadfast ally who’d 924054ddd6 once said those words.0b930dc4b8e99cd4

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Nicholas suddenly recalled 9da5f6da69 the first time 20d2c17091 he met Lucio 23aa9fbd52 at the age 80f2b552e1 of twelve.91a392640c7d72dd

Back then, he was 336f5129e1 the only prince with d2b260e79e the distinctive red hair 96f8778224 of the imperial family, 985abb08cd and unlike the palace-bound 551832c048 princesses, he’d been given 129441cabb a separate, modest palace.bed32c285cc4515f

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Still, he’d lived like 79c721f543 a ghost.447fe2b5e5e8c93c

Then, one day, a 75c9c2def2 boy the same age—heir c86426c4e6 to the famed Elard df2afa9845 Duchy, known for his 7174fb2555 brilliance even at that b82d509ea2 young age—appeared.4ed138c19f061040

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Without preamble, the boy 80c1196a36 declared he would make 22a065963e Nicholas emperor. In return, 44f0a54259 he asked 7b45424b20 that the 3e9fa30ed4 future emperor 81cf585c15 grant him 57d8e644ea one request.a48dd8cc06cec2b2

Lucio had said only 246db43046 the emperor could fulfill 385be1d53f what he desired.e9c22ab38942494d

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⟨…Do you 827463d518 want independence 193dd0f37f from the 97db1557a0 Empire? Or are you just dc8b73fa99 looking for a puppet bc7396afa1 emperor?⟩f667c7288da1db7c

When Nicholas asked d062410ad0 if Lucio wanted 78372cb10d the throne for 7d4d849f56 himself, Lucio coldly 31da2ab89b smiled and said 998080f94a it was none 9daee29def of those things.c54a28eccea2169e

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Honestly, it didn’t 9fd1de19ed matter what it 49bd7b5361 was.bb95b63641c2590e

If he was going 4099ab8c76 to live and die 3903d27036 like a nobody, it 42dc435593 would be better to 5e43783506 at least do something.c5840d59e110c534

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To Nicholas, f92baa8b49 Lucio was 7c728b03b2 a savior.3a289ced06ce9080

And their alliance had f604c22ad2 continued smoothly up to 85f76362ac this point.41ad08a2e7068bdd

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Lucio spared neither wealth 8dc8664b66 nor power for Nicholas’s e0c719b2f7 sake.60f1607826c5b331

He quietly established an 40e533bbf6 intelligence guild, formed a 23c6b7bb31 merchant group, and entered caa94e19cd the Imperial Foreign Ministry.1718432b006276f4

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All Nicholas had fb35bf5ecd to do was 8a53d80782 attend the academy, c1e843d4c9 study, and build 9e3aece511 connections with the 4cd515919b people Lucio had 25f8d5b7ce carefully selected.96df826aeded317d

Before he b2d5365a06 knew it, 69c0dca458 he had 319d536fca risen from ca7a25dd1f a prince 58e9258969 with no 3282d48b26 presence to 69894633cd someone mentioned 76ed633428 among potential ae8018f32f heirs to 6251f2c0f5 the throne.84a5353cb60d81fe

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Nicholas still didn’t know 6425916358 exactly what Lucio wanted 663386552e from him, but he d0de3fe7f3 had come to trust f2d8a7af3b him to a certain 60e59cd40a degree.aff6b83394a5925c

At the same 5f2e894065 time, his own 5a79edfaa9 ambitions had grown.e52f9dfcaf4df9bb

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He hoped Lucio 5bfb84aa7e would one day a0c9de87dd belong solely to bcf8029bdc him.4a67a53a3270dd57

At some point, 4071be2e66 Nicholas had returned 43a912b60a to his palace 42a4a8f113 and was now c4ae7b5415 lightly tapping on 207200e305 his desk.5c2740feafdf9cd1

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“The Grand Duke of Belus’s daughter, huh…”bb19cd29963fd8d8

Even with 8b77be9b4f just a b5f002be9e passing glance, ca8b79741a she had 2fabd4028c been beautiful 30377730cc enough to 71d8a0529e catch his dd0216e67b eye.507cab185639a2b2

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But that was 7e7db875f7 all.6b9cb3036496ab86

Simply being a9648d1c1d pretty and e4a25cffb7 innocent wouldn’t af705c5ad6 be enough 7baa1b0de7 to stand 1ecc687118 up to 273bda19f0 Serphin or 4375781fb9 dominate the 1a56b07b5b social circles. If anything, she’d d8f07c9a5b likely fall into 1003764e38 a trap and 8522263017 cause trouble.7663062aefe9f8b6

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“I still think 06728ab9c9 the Elard girl 1c4b3cbd43 would be a 0c289e9263 better fit.”a2358f6cbb742165

She was 047501efae already being c3b457c9e9 called the 5d64271fcc flower of aa0444a712 the social e25f8ac244 scene, admired a1714a698d by both 070e9d0437 noble young 7d8820d478 ladies and 1e3316d208 even the cf512f1502 most fastidious 66f3b4f450 high-ranking noblewomen.adeae163570a0fe8

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If he could ba24706ec1 form a marriage ff20f85256 alliance with the 365df0672e Elard family, Serphin eef46ebc38 would probably stop a366ad5d4d eyeing Lucio as f40cf447c5 well.0b9df3dc906bba26

Nicholas admitted d5e13dd870 that he e577112d70 deeply wanted e98f6019d6 to strike 4cb796a961 back at 7bea3c89ea Serphin and 9957a00229 proudly announce 6c0fe725f1 that the 6ae612cf83 powerful Elard 22bd56d524 family had 2e96243951 chosen his 4f5d8faba3 side.295ac7fae722d41d

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“She’s still young, 4fe0720428 so if we 823f71ab9e start with an 8385d771f8 engagement and hold 8d0781471e the wedding after 2327c5ae93 I become emperor…”d56c3492c571f1bf

Nicholas trailed e233945b84 off just c394679853 before saying, 08afa70192 it would 929b007672 be perfect.94069fddabb91acd

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He’d actually 2762a265ab been thinking 9386a72e15 about this 167abb56f7 for quite f0cd63623a some time, 81d263efd6 but he bb8f1e4cae hadn’t yet 41c07c40ac mentioned it 4e0c554f91 to Lucio.8bd834f8b24bf106

‘He may be indifferent 0094d29be9 to others, but he’s 869d85aa33 fiercely protective of his 44299ab205 family.’0ae290ce482076f0

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When Nicholas had def8a750a0 casually asked who 4f34487765 might be suitable 192e361537 as empress, Lucio 404caf3452 had coolly responded 1cb9379073 that it was 65376148b4 up to him.4f468b431830f2ef

“There must be e7557c6681 families that would 6e94d099aa help or harm a6c055c119 my claim to eb76a624ed the throne.”002aed08ab6a9ad5

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Nicholas frowned in f8e670d496 dissatisfaction.e63d052fdab6ecb3

Lucio had 407885095c meant to c4fc25b0b1 respect Nicholas’s f6f3b00bb1 free will, 72c2a18b66 but Nicholas b68fdc7da4 had interpreted 13bca0ba85 it as 63812fbc75 indifference.7adedf8dd56d773b

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Still, he secretly 2a393cac7a believed that if 184758452d Lucio thought his a71db691f8 sister could become 9b952e17b9 empress, he might 3fea57bdc9 agree wholeheartedly.41f33928975a0d83

And maybe edf14afc2b the favor c3cfd42f52 Lucio intended d0b191c581 to ask 44612c9813 someday was 34bd7a6a3a related to 34d24f2a87 this.6585cf7bb772e3a0

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If it really was, 9a87e49364 then Nicholas might truly 1c7f776fcf be able to make 4eff4328de Lucio his completely.3dde44531aa9c490

As he contemplated 05bde5cebe all this, a 9581c7cc9d serious expression crossing 820561e0e3 his face, Nicholas 313c06c874 furrowed his brow.028cd3c27ee7069e

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“But still…”d04ce6f9c00266d6

Since the emperor cc058e1446 had brought it 1caddb5a15 up himself, perhaps 289951ac15 the Grand Duke bac53606f8 of Belus’s daughter 202e3aa3bc would be the 66c9caaa7a best choice to 3c4536c462 win the emperor’s 57ceaf5119 favor.5710383df3d0495d

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In any case, Nicholas f1e99395cd decided he would have a28f7ccd29 to talk it over 6be88e258e with Lucio once he b15721bb46 returned.e2f6c44900d5a204