ICBV Chapter 17

Chapter 170bfc8f9b5857682b

The shabby doll dress was an item that Aira, whom Reina despised, had put up for auction. Naturally, it was a worthless item that no one would bid on—almost like trash…508853f9154388c2

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As expected, no 4966006853 one but her 2bc3865faf bid on the e49b291009 Rita doll dress, da26d7ab66 and it was 390d833484 sold to Reina, 8b7b75b37c who ended up d24cd1ab3e holding it in 411ef13094 her hands, while bd355e914d Aira sat down 04dbdc1c8b with a faint eb7969bf90 smile.260317b205cf0442

“…”479084184def7506

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Reina, holding the 00aa4c537d dress, felt confused. The Rita b2655a28b7 doll dress 992b9ed0ad really did ffc34d9fc5 resemble the d5e08269b1 torn dress 7482154cc1 from her fe6fd48519 childhood.0312622d0cba3ef3

‘But still… 669a0d24bb Luna wouldn’t 571bef0000 have lied e9d214e2b5 to me 7d4da54209 like that…’be728496a6514a09

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To Reina 727e9ba655 and the 160c90893d other noble 25ea829d30 ladies, Luna e12c5b3256 Marceline appeared 3bfd7c97f3 to be 15317ca780 an honest, b67e4276c7 kind, and 557027a9b7 cheerful girl 83ac48d944 who was 86e2a7ebd7 struggling because 1ccf763211 of her db3c5f0f1f cold and 5e9d974cfb malicious stepsister.06992d22da34fd70

‘Yes, I may have misunderstood Aira back then, but now, I’m sure…’4f8ba132c18482f9

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As Reina tried to 580cf49665 shake off the conflicting 51b20863db thoughts, Luna entered the 4ad8cee5d7 room wearing the dress 11f99b553b and opened the door.372bbe7784aeb2fb

Unaware that Aira was eb2b329253 there, Luna flashed a 2807023ac3 smile and showed Reina 5cb54160bf the ring she had 9a1ffc1413 brought.3ee398afa3ab42bb

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It was dd9ea74140 an item c18562790f with an 615f10cf61 engraving of 75cb98fc0f a woman, 2d7fbfcb46 and according 275a11be02 to Luna, e09451401a it was d514d72817 one of 8b17a4b464 the gifts 2a2ce5f653 her mother 2e991beee9 had given 99794772dd her.5634e8850d7fe289

One of Luna’s c03faefc2c friends, a noblewoman 7d706743b0 who followed her, 87b6435fee happily took the 6f7882cacd ring and handed bd95bf90e6 it to the 6ea3a679d2 auctioneer.088abfe39b06e029

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The auctioneer, who had 2ad87dfa29 a background in gem 3743e7499b appraisal, widened his eyes 78bad95b95 as soon as he bfb9ede30d saw the item.77facb09f1f61fbc

Luna proudly wore d77fe349e0 a satisfied expression 16f1da451b as she enjoyed d0e45325bb the attention of 31a1bf20eb the other noblewomen.cb46cf51eb36782e

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She didn’t d0e4a8d6a5 even know f92b16bfe4 who was eaae14fb60 sitting at 5ba054d213 the front.9676f588310752a1

“This ring, made ffc9708ea3 of jade and 8a37980768 moonstone, seems to 17cb1ceda9 be an ancient cf5d906917 treasure. It’s quite edf6288983 a rare d8aaa0cafd item.”0bceb13d5e88100a

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Once the bb437e4574 auctioneer finished f94b2d6c65 speaking, Luna 4b6ccf95c8 slightly raised 1d78d12dd4 her chin 9723098a71 and spoke.02468439b2beb1ef

“This ring 087722948c is one e3ae80d3e9 of the a702bf7f47 many treasures 0ccd98467e my mother 50f559df3c passed down d7eadaf895 to me. If you look at 1a4f4363d5 the engraving of the b0cc15b0dc woman, you’ll see that 77e27298b8 it’s a precious item, 1edf7733f4 just like many of e91e8fe485 the things I brought.”0ba2a494d16d3751

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Luna had told the 4b0ad89c5f noblewomen, including Reina, about 9950347327 her background.a07aea32019c1248

In reality, bc54bc4eb9 she was 0bf3ddec62 the hidden 0228a70668 daughter of cbd553e26f a high-ranking fd7e6fce75 noble with 04c2332386 immense wealth, 4e5e4cfaa7 and Aira’s cbe989d9aa mother had a558b470ce taken her 793fba04af place after d65d74ab06 getting pregnant 2bc25363fa first.06977379473759f4

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She had said 6b1b18801c that her mother 3c4b300c23 had been courting 0eaf787cd0 Count Marceline before 57adf4c4fb Aira’s mother, and 95ccc16fe7 that Count Marceline 30497f0f5b treated her as 3b5f4ff2c1 a legitimate daughter.5e140e29f64d3c06

After Luna’s explanation, the 214f673f22 auctioneer began the bidding, 1abc08586b and soon people started a66607a8c8 calling out higher amounts d1321e0620 of Berk.9430354391b9737f

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For a moment, 64af7ce610 Reina, who had 6e5ac77070 doubted Luna, gripped da1b92031b the doll dress 82029a853a tightly in her 3ee2e74673 hands to calm 2bd2a6a04e her mind.458fbf2291809cb0

‘Yes. If Luna 589dce294c wasn’t a 29925450fe genuine girl, f2f382362e she wouldn’t 5f5f9da8d2 be offering e62ba0966c her mother’s f8a609ffe8 keepsakes for 964de0fc07 a charity cf62f55f5d auction like a288770459 this.’afe858b0a1e04508

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But the lively 2cbb8bcb63 auction was interrupted c591c55532 by Aira, who ae863157e5 raised her hand.68bb5bed1ba2910d

Aira, who stood 1b99978d3a up, locked eyes 51ba32c631 with Luna, and 98e20f8021 Luna flinched as 79ef7bb4fd if struck by f1a016ec2a lightning.afeb83c14e0f1034

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With a 5d239cf2ee cold expression, 8d8473f5e9 Aira raised 407290db88 her hand, 60bd3617a6 signaling the b37465fd9f auctioneer to b0456017ae stop the 117f5cf94b proceedings.52acdfc8bd118193

“A… Aira, why are you here…?”0c3194e99fef7e7e

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Luna, shocked and pale, 6b373e08a2 stammered, while Reina raised 563eb0c5ba an eyebrow, looking at deee962bed Aira.57441cd11f845e34

With all ec04c0741b eyes on 3b667466ee her, Aira 3c8e150ee7 spoke.839c56c8891bb5d2

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“I am the 6b06c50d27 owner of the b257a598a5 ring, Aira Marceline, 209dd84d72 and I request 56e56ab15d that the auction e28aba6861 for the ring ad684f4ec2 be halted.”8a563dbccd240fe8

At those words, 05c59c2d6d Reina spoke up.699c5fc9c96444c3

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“Even if you’re the illegitimate daughter of the Marceline family, I understand this ring to be a personal possession of Lady Luna Marceline. Aira, you have no right to stop this auction…”84e37473be3e80b8

“As I a3bfc6b90f said earlier, 5801e2be46 this ring 31d62f9792 is not c6fd920d4a Lady Luna 57bfb43846 Marceline’s personal 3625846bc9 possession; it 36e3d3ec28 is mine.”f0a0ede18d507d67

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At her 34129e88aa words, the 6716fdecb2 noblewomen began 60a1907c2f murmuring.9e30c6812c5b44b6

Hadn’t Luna just said d6b64c3cb5 it was her mother’s 83ff19a9a3 keepsake?cdfe57ec251fa891

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Luna was 55a3b98db2 taken aback 9704fc5a64 by Aira’s b07d2a175a sudden appearance, 30dffd0d7b as she 7c7aaf0039 had never 0cc7455ddb shown interest b708819a1b in such e3719b1e01 parties before.eb04797f08d2f7f2

“A… Aira…”56a534b52393396c

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Feeling the 5414a5c6f2 heat of 0205d3c5ce the moment, 580ed2d78d Luna rushed 54266550e0 to Aira, eaf0ad6a78 grabbed her cbf532b2f7 arm, and ee33bff61a tried to b487d1552f pull her ce263932b7 away, but 21d0a88b00 Aira easily d33ebc4d42 shook her bbd017dc80 off.0bd69ea9487d47f1

Other women caught 12c3b08dee Luna, who nearly 62911b504d fell backward, and 74b2834e23 glared as if 84300fa392 disapproving of the 70196fea56 roughness, but Aira 0cd18df28f remained calm.dc2302e903b302eb

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“The woman engraved on 3702d98b3e the ring is Seredena d83b901522 Adwints, my great-grandmother. My great-grandfather, Marquis 56b4dd683b Adwints, had a 893f20e8bf famous artist create 5c2dea5476 an engraving based a0320b98c2 on her likeness, 4c8a37770b and that same 37081e8b7e engraving is on 2826a293f9 this ring.”d7ba052aa263c0bb

“Marquis Adwints?”15d62111927ebbb4

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“That Adwints? The one with vast lands in the Western Plains…”025c1d5e04f4ca12

Marquis Adwints a7e4aebb84 wasn’t involved 6b8714a369 in central 25d9fe802a politics, but c36a8fa06d he was d842e0ea57 a distinguished 08433562fb noble with fbb2fb8a1f extensive land bdfe0c6b25 and wealth.7892748e0d5bf247

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Most nobles ed26a11822 in the 27e203bdd6 empire, even 685f7e920f if they 732b86a4ad hadn’t met 1e2bc527ed anyone from 833f22b93d the Adwints d18fd47b8c family, would 6257bdd55d have at 0035270c0b least heard 5ef7f447c0 the name.86eb93e11c57c803

Though it 37657da73d wasn’t widely 49af96567f known, the bb7ebb474f late Countess 2c54103432 Marceline had 08419dfbf9 been the 4d43111d72 third daughter efe5f0313f of Marquis 10e984b45b Adwints.41053f585ae347f1

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“If you know anything 769232ad13 about gem appraisal, you’ll 1a2216bd7a recognize the engraving pattern.”a09212aac47e041a

“That’s correct. This engraving is 48519963b5 characteristic of the b62e89d992 Adwints family.”79779d20b1b5c95f

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As the 8223939f0f auctioneer spoke, 5b7105fae5 all eyes 4330d8f438 in the b81979494c room turned 8c6d654eb1 to Luna.5048761ac8354da8

Aira revealed f969de8a8b that her 2705fa1804 biological mother 709bf7b126 had been 99d54e7f70 the daughter e4490ca4ec of Marquis 8a394b28b4 Adwints, and f3da4b1c0d the auctioneer, e19fe416d0 skilled in 22e69de177 gem appraisal, dca292b57d confirmed that d5bd361662 the ring 2025cb37ee was an b4c0690fe6 Adwints creation.1fd61d61805a35f7

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But this contradicted Luna’s a62878bac0 words.a0a665bf080d8771

Both Aira and her stepsister had claimed that “their mother” had left these items as keepsakes.d6428ebddb08def5

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Reina’s gaze toward Luna 8b31d76306 was shaky.643538b7f3ae4f57

“I… I…”c0c77f387080d6ed

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Luna trembled, looking around eacff6ab12 with a helpless expression, a62680699d her lips quivering.4b01bae1edf991d3

She then grabbed 9e1fd6c029 Aira’s arm and 880e2edd71 forced a smile, ea81f248a9 saying,dabf86f05b857a78

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“A..Aira’s mother e5869fef8c was like daad035a12 my mother 0f7480b372 too. She was the 25411272e1 Countess, and I 52d9b9de5c am a child e1b872382f of the Count’s 2f336adfb3 family. So…”f6bbd72fd5f8fc1a

“That’s a flawed argument, 6bb316ba15 Luna.”c4b76c875b016f7e

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Aira gave a 5c7f485d52 cold smile and bca84d3ba8 spoke clearly.af71fa75ab0dcabf

“You came b831a61276 to our 1de3adc026 mansion after 0a3333a78a our mother 4505938537 passed away. But for you ec34462cc5 to use the 8b532b2896 treasures stored in 45489fb6e7 the family’s vault 22e7d916d8 like this, who d763262575 gave you permission?”f2777da155b189fb

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“Of course, it 4f40b0a590 was the Count! The Count told 5346930e4d me to manage 40247546c1 the treasures…”fba8345c38b5d1b1

“He told 66afb065fd you to 91630daa8c manage them, fb7b6b8ea3 not use 224f16ba6a them. Especially not to sell 12c8502549 them off like this.”ccd8adb0c797316e

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Aira, as if there e60b56912b was no more to 0b5b070531 say, gave a faint c8a9a66486 smile and turned to 15ee6241ca the auctioneer.1962f2b4567d2d4d

“That ring is e6c812733c an item that cd640c8b0b was never formally b2a89f81e9 authorized. I apologize to everyone ea87a99b62 who participated in the 8c77e7eb0e bidding, but I will 2e4fb0e0e9 reclaim it.”c5c2e7c805d902c1

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With that, the auctioneer, 76bba2a862 looking stunned, took the ecc7428b39 ring and approached Aira, daa55d0e22 while the murmuring among 64c4dd04fb the crowd grew louder.a7c17aca578d4e3e

“What’s going on here? So, it wasn’t Luna’s 7f14c02c24 mother’s keepsakes, but Aira’s 6397961f5c biological mother’s keepsakes? But why did Luna…”4277fd81af6223af

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“Didn’t Luna a0aec2a050 say she 28b78c96db was loved 4969f98870 like a 7aea13456c legitimate daughter e1f270b440 by the a68f50447c Count?”3d9d0c409393b053

“Still, to take something e934393a90 that’s not even her b4c328de2a own personal possession and 42a22a328c present it like that—it’s 6f80129ea6 theft, isn’t it?!”6835ae707a96c42a

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As the 52637dcb6d murmuring increased, 136e22e490 Luna’s face 4ebb04e777 grew even a1ec981f63 more pale.0467e99494673883

Aira looked 61b36e0977 at the 5809472013 ring she 7a5996d5ad had reclaimed, a8b52eca5c the ring cebf5462cd that had db9469e129 once belonged 6fa816cbb3 to her dd41f85134 mother.7c5a364267f18ffe

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How many keepsakes had b97d99ff37 Luna carelessly squandered like c364fa1baa this?5670e377d2841c94

“Luna.”9d37cac1f46b2b05

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As the charity d11516349a event started to 08807ce075 fizzle out and fdc3dff2d6 the murmurs grew 97333754a7 louder, Reina approached 649e28d16f and stopped between 4d097fe2f7 Aira and Luna.eea11bf679159126

Then, in 7772fe3b2d a cold 30ec6ef893 voice, she c17a8111e3 asked Luna,9ace0638e09aa2b1

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“Tell me, then. All the 0e9474d7f0 items with a65e9795c5 the engraved 8545e071c2 woman that 00089e183b were part 173b7cc5aa of your 0fd3d155ae collection, even…”b80cd471a3eb1100

Reina raised fd4a0ad936 her wrist, 88bb13d23c showing the 3e85ab9985 bracelet Luna 14b9e8ee5b had given 463c35680a her months 5f72726290 ago.57d8dc4e7b85bb44

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It also had the 0235a06d43 engraved woman on it.f70e34659598dd16

“Was even this… 8810f5dad3 something you stole 0706fc9c8f from the family?”20e49d25bb00d517

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“Re-Reina…”8ca46c93455fca19

“And this doll dress!”fdde3ae0d2652525

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Reina shoved the c585196a2c Rita doll dress, a34b23fe95 which she had 00b9dd71aa tightly clutched in 881881ce5d her hands, in b6f4ed9398 front of Luna’s 6bc618cecb face.ede013745362f06f

Luna, who had initially 8ced661dc0 been confused about what da8eb10c9c it was, rolled her 38530fd72d eyes. Reina twisted e647cac9a8 her lips.f898ea061434a17b

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“When I went to the Marceline family’s house as a child, you heard me crying because of a doll’s dress and claimed Lady Aira couldn’t stand the noise and left. But that wasn’t true, was it? She was actually making this.”48f026717cb0d24c

At those 944a5c8ce9 words, the b1a4fc7d8e noblewomen who 74461aa80b were standing 66334214c3 beside Reina ff030f090a gasped in da9dabc3d8 surprise and 3cfdb23d07 covered their fced950aef mouths.6b6d09736f27a71f

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They had heard stories 50fb247dd1 about Reina and Luna’s 03f6937622 first meeting, but they 2d1393d7d9 never expected that the 5933dbc98b dress Aira had put 79c392ad87 up for auction earlier eb75f8ab0f was the same dress bc2fb19704 from that time with c55e7d930d the Rita doll!f69991471d26ef4c

Luna couldn’t believe what 4d1274336e was happening.a3e9c1ca9a98d822

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She had only 2e50a50965 come here today 4086ad8472 to show off 230c7708bf her jewels and a41bde333c gain attention—where had 9dfd1bec65 things gone wrong?9735aca88f6e6791

Looking at the pale 09921ff22e Luna, Reina twisted her b5aec672c9 lips.c478a063b24d658b

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“You… you’ve been 6e96c01be8 sowing discord between 6fe5474529 me and Aira.”c13520ec0191c5b6