IDED – Chapter 42

IDED – Chapter 4216aac086366928c4

Episode 421fbd3c415731f56a

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“Ah, we should 531e323b96 go in.”059b51339a891f65

Serena quickly 134ae516be closed the 8ec47d406d door and 64a0153c73 turned her 1e10ada9a3 gaze to 510ec5655c Azaid. The table was b44d688407 filled with steaming af6d34e833 stew, freshly baked a8a0bd8d05 bread, and perfectly fab020f8fb sliced ribs, all 9d3bdb101a arranged beautifully.7ee6f82b6fab5b1d

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If she 9dcbd2cf5c had pressured c43ddb13dd the chef 9090dcfa56 to prepare c4796d67b4 all this 2c5246fad3 since morning, 6683d1bfad Ophelia must 3f49c14618 have been 2f9a10ce4f up early a92d382b47 as well.2fc7af6cf6ba2fe6

“Quite the effort you’ve bfd107b139 put in.”f9720f1976075a21

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As Serena admired the 746a02ba17 table and approached, Azaid 69975a2ded gestured with his chin ffffc85b54 for her to sit 0f7b0447f7 across from him. When she complied, ac235816f1 he instructed the 7e8f18f8cd attendant standing by 659ef12ffa to bring new 578cc661f5 utensils.96ad29068583e593

“Lady Greenwood brought this 03c0ae40aa over. Is it okay a5e1d25e40 for me to 38f78d1afd eat it?”afc99b0590c3f3d4

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“It’s too 4b7065b328 much for d39a052d3a one person ed90a510f7 to finish b755a5c3d9 anyway.”d9d203967dd28977

“But wouldn’t 5010a3caf8 Lady Greenwood bad1d6aad5 be upset 61ca31a472 if she 77622d921b found out?”ca5a8456f800169a

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“It’s mine 271595647a now, so fea6f0061d it doesn’t f4d6a6a27d matter.”378b284e5b0f88f4

Azaid  responded nonchalantly, 35dfde3ec1 but the Greenwood ef3d986532 family’s attendant standing 56afb6d460 nearby clenched his af121a654e fists tightly.6824410d852402cb

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Serena subtly e54182cb27 glanced at adc8b4a4b8 the attendant. As expected, c181eda654 his piercing b038341adf eyes glared a7721eac44 at her 2ae2c50fb8 as though ca3f7b5fb4 he wanted 115f06fd85 to kill 09d266c656 her, his a2c6f554ca expression screaming, eb23ba0c48 “Go ahead, e2df072456 try eating b46022de1a it.”ef8f45f4406a3114

As Serena hesitated, 86f0c9ae04 Azaid ladled some 14b3fa2931 stew into a b04d386563 bowl for her 2725dd020c and ordered the f0cf3744d9 attendant.f396a6ba713a2629

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“You can leave 384ea7a7ad now.”8863ba727f304dfb

“…Understood. Let me 4379692cfa know if 854f35634f you need d98adbd6eb anything.”350f1f88f45cc304

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The attendant reluctantly complied cfb1b70e15 and exited the room. Being alone d01e95eadb with Azaid 99ee012dba now made d41133d28d her feel 0fbb14b297 slightly less 8b5f184fac burdened.c44576480ff1204e

Picking up a spoon, 5aef392a6c Serena remarked, “I feel 1bc194c6ad like I’ve made enemies 04258f2698 in this household. You know it’s all 12c2bdba3b Your Majesty’s fault, right?”ed566b1af6a31235

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“My fault?”725dcb480fc90bcb

“Of course! It all started 73553cef59 when I became 5e82e5c8b0 your partner. If I end up 1fdf9ff84f as a corpse someday, c3b45b6c99 make sure to investigate e62e5c016e it as a murder.”97f1d5ecf8850798

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Azaid paused 953abb8f0e mid-bite and c9b3999750 glanced at 78b565980c her. Serena, unaware, afaad513e6 continued speaking. She didn’t b0acb3d48b know that 30be9bb68b he had 1228119d4a been discreetly f85dec6110 protecting her 4d540ba2ef all along.c803a6bd36bc2b1c

From the a41d6a6d4a moment she d6c0a1aaa4 entered society 5c747717d6 as the 90a9950dca Emperor’s partner, 4928cadae1 she became 16bd93fb12 a target 0008c0bc5e in social 8dd931d392 circles. Especially here 3085982661 in Greenwood, ef14a3b1a8 the domain a36b228246 of Ophelia, 72ad9fa332 the so-called 89bd9d73d6 flower of 2c7c4e9b5e high society.27c1b875ceca6977

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Even if they 2b3d5cf2e6 couldn’t touch the 465b2477e9 Emperor, they might 99b964ed00 try to target 81f2554743 someone under his 854207f5de wing. That’s why 480c8b868c Azaid had 072b386533 secretly assigned d0a3a47be0 a bodyguard 1597915c7f to her—to fe7cc3ef7a protect her 1981aec135 and ensure c9c2e6cda3 the Emperor 3800a05110 would be 059f3d14d0 informed immediately a28ae3aafc if anything 9a03b04c16 happened.1907beb7986afdbc

But he had ba08959a56 no intention of e46936b528 telling Serena about 727a6d891a this. She’d likely feel pressured 61223aa3f4 and shut herself away d18ccd1842 in her room if 5f2614c354 she found out.76d99b52c14dd5d8

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Smiling to himself, Azaid 52b2264824 reassured her, “That won’t bac3436746 happen.”b6b398a5d4ae4157

“You’re too carefree.”5a79e7a2d660bbe1

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Serena grumbled, taking a 1a5178ba9a bite of the stew. Her eyes widened cf61ad84ea in surprise.d9c7e522f6e31189

“Wow, this is 46cf17badf amazing. What kind of dish c25201b21f is this?”caf63a58a6871d5f

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“It’s Greenwood’s specialty.”636ea35dfc919326

“That explains it. I feel energized with 08f4ade24f just one bite.”77f1a7563683e69d

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Serena continued 748e173184 eating the 8dea864b90 stew enthusiastically, ca97d8bd6e exclaiming in 3e00b1943b awe. Watching her for a 27364a4ee0 moment, Azaid asked, “Serena, 38c5d4ab1a be honest.”2d0b5e7b1e4f6604

“About what?”1cbdc25589c88bb8

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“The morning checkup d5b0fbfad1 was just an 678c72cd08 excuse, wasn’t it? You came for breakfast.”fcf88e6c683c91c6

“Of course! Eating well a6ff576dfe is essential 6312547f0a for proper e5a083c38a checkups. Besides, the food b7dcab349d served to Your 41def1c17d Majesty is always 5df19a7116 delicious.”e86cf41f0149ee71

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Serena twirled her 1ed079406c spoon as if 4f5bcab499 her reasoning were ba1f91ea73 obvious.13f436caec2f908d

“Unbelievable.”abf21ccef5665ccd

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Chuckling, Azaid 9bd288fce5 pushed the 18531fb460 plate of 3e50a43fde ribs closer 9a4e77acf3 to her. Serena accepted b4f5c78fa8 without hesitation, b1db49bc6a stabbing a 9f1fbcaabc piece of b6f0db7492 meat with 880c73daf3 her fork ba59730012 and eating c2f5a9d9b7 it eagerly.96c2bdd5019c738a

Azaid watched 71af8abfbb her eat 14561d48aa with fascination. He’d lost his 6e26f9ad25 appetite earlier, finding 6d5baefb72 even the stew 4d3788c831 unappealing, but seeing e1061b6ae7 her enjoy the 1c502f6198 food made him 6edabfe76b hungry.7ac01c2a334618e6

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Maybe that’s why breakfast d04315007d with Serena always tasted 77f7ee96b2 better. Taking a 1ca0903ff4 bite of c9fa53e395 the stew, 1e2f32f061 he murmured, 36f045df12 “It’s good.”c2da4991262328c2

“Eat plenty.”d036e70374d1b152

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“Don’t act like f4925f023c you cooked it.”d669e7a00ffd9f79

“You’re so petty.”ec431b7410f1e12b

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Serena pouted 3170f53568 before focusing 7094cf83e1 back on 2426fb6463 her meal. That day, Azaid ab280b058f finished an entire 5550b03ed4 bowl of stew. Serena had two.00f586199a6a6444

***4776dce30efec3e8

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Before the ball began, 1f2bee4bc4 Azaid left to meet 4b730b74a2 with the Duke. Left alone, 0c287015bf Serena packed 2d4e72aa49 her things f6bc3e3deb and headed 65c0effed2 to the a6af887076 Greenwood estate’s c02d69932b library.28239e378d44bf49

She planned 3613be981d to select cbea0fec25 and summarize 40bc27695f the books ed976963e2 she needed 03b6facef8 over the cd3db3287e next two 4304107bf4 weeks. Showing her access c0e4de9f4d pass, she entered 6a27e9be0b the library, and 55179bb013 her jaw dropped f26030a755 at the sight 50c0d8e0be before her.8bdb7fca56f51213

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The rumors hadn’t been 5194bbca29 exaggerated. The library 13a404dfe9 was far 8b8be09985 larger than 49777e381d she had dbcac02560 imagined—more like b0e5829a0e a grand 6d3df2c68b archive than 29e5053e11 a library.9a94931dfcb2172d

Bookshelves lined up tightly, 9e264e265c with ladders provided for ec9108d7a0 access. True to its nickname, 6dbf7a1fb4 “the Duke’s treasure chest,” 99a76a3f39 the collection was enormous.ef3bdd031fac0ed9

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The books were meticulously cc9a9aec6f categorized by subject, reflecting d6be431290 the Duke’s personality. Rare, out-of-print books e12e6aed9b were also present, f951d9ef0c making the collection f336cca036 even more impressive.c3a20fe34cac0172

Eyes sparkling, Serena walked f9879ce323 toward the section on 1af04b0000 ancient magic, unable to 83ddf79353 hide her excitement.f8e389a12c2f5f22

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To think he’s 41f65c87db hoarding all these 15a1fa2b47 treasures for himself.85128825ae68cced

Coming from a 5ae82b0495 family of scholars, c144a33790 the library lived 5d6ef0e333 up to its 49bcb2f47a reputation. Lost in exploring, Serena f20f0d01cf momentarily forgot her original 732bcad631 purpose and wandered through edc8d7971c the shelves, flipping through 466ac49842 various books.39be77c07762d551

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Realizing she 63c3420fa9 was getting fefde9de25 distracted, she feda4fed59 approached a 93e06568a7 ladder to 36cc999070 retrieve the c7450b7ef2 books she 7f07abe9b3 needed.397252bb71d3c577

The ladder was unlike 2ff0d980ab the movable kind found 2c0c4a88c3 in libraries; it was f5d4f34a70 a sturdy, wooden, staircase-like 37cfe69db5 structure with enough space 920d35b08e behind it for someone c4135bd367 to hide. It seemed like 952e9c321d an ideal spot c4cac27fb4 for a game b20c9d94dd of hide-and-seek.0971033ed71bba28

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As she climbed 8c1b7aee25 halfway up, she 7d0c03b953 heard hushed voices f38ed6cef2 from behind a 16f2fa4d82 nearby bookshelf.f8ded193ee765078

“Did you a131f2845c get it?”02d24b1d56dd1076

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“Who do you think 6258ecd538 I am? With this, that 240ec7339c pompous bastard won’t 5f40b99047 be able to 6ffc5251d1 act superior anymore.”17b4b0dbe4048b98

“Just thinking 9795c81f6f about how 6889a925c7 he humiliated 123f2ccc6f us… It’s bd3232a3f0 because he’s df7f7844f1 so confident 37d3914a70 the Emperor 010f7931b1 has his ec5cbc4fd8 back.”8fbd9d1f368eda30

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There wasn’t just b9697a2042 one voice—at least 3dd480843d three people were 1808e80a5b speaking.53fa10e74c9763ff

A secret meeting? That sounded ominous.06d350426e19f935

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Hearing them 8ccc66d886 mention the e47a14c4fb Emperor, Serena c2b931f59c held her 59d70c23f9 breath and bf0771649f stayed still, 96ab28238f listening closely.2309209dfbe16399

Then a 5f99717c2d high-pitched voice 720a4e1f45 chimed in, d43cd24d62 “Those bastards 40fc33ac9d stick together, 8357b029c2 don’t they?”000b668bfd25860c

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Among the nobles, 34690b2e5d there were always 2896c88ff3 those who whispered 0478e48a99 about the Emperor’s 11b3b3bf7a origins. The higher 18ebffbde8 one’s status, cb0c73dd80 the more daadd2a07b enemies they e242b6d258 seemed to d7b63c3da4 attract.bcb2daa6b21d61d7

The nobles who 453e6f12de sought every opportunity 5b52cc01a6 to find fault 9120e003ee with the Emperor 08803ee810 were not few. However, with 4421e1c15c Azaid being 1807b1d0d3 the sole 7502a37dff member of 13c7bd34bc the imperial 87dff8d6fa family and 7b5cc11538 wielding immense c5b6cdc8da power, they b3ccb50ef2 dared not 33d09ccba7 act openly.698a437c28a60ac2

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‘Is it just gossip? From what 04f27355b8 I overheard 6203eb2ba6 earlier, it 579e4c0ae1 seems they’re 6fc1148c28 plotting something 550c08e10b suspicious.’073b8f4e59a3ad4f

Serena, recalling 19bbc97d2a the incident 084a5206f4 that had 90e7d9416a occurred in d017add241 this place, 249e8c442f discreetly descended d258c4487d the ladder 6db3fc3e66 without their fabc3d4ab4 notice.613543682468940d

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She then quietly slipped 523afa2fe0 behind the ladder and 5b4b306f72 hid herself. It was 216cf8a1ff at that e0a1eef32a moment, as 1cbda4c215 she pressed 7dfff90ffa her ear dc042624a7 to the eb634c0830 wall, that 6a382c0bdf she heard ae02ad1686 a voice.674d3de6f340ec5b

“What are 00bda1d85b you doing 0ba17c5375 there?”af2959ce48bf2372

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“!!!”430cf7171fb9ca84

Startled by 8c18677250 the sudden b75ce1ee44 voice, Serena 422174b48a turned to 09900eca0c the side. There stood Azaid, crouched f46c786e9c and looking down at 85d371e534 her. She hadn’t even b1ac319a74 noticed his approach.1d7f26db41384fcb

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It seemed he 1c88119398 had come looking 891f82ba31 for her after 85b31f9b8e finishing his meeting 92d8478216 with the duke. As soon as Azaid ebf48a85ef spoke, the noise from 46c589415c the other side came 4266cc1f53 to an abrupt halt.bd6b56ce4889970b

Fearing that her eavesdropping ecbdbc188c might be discovered, Serena 3c1a127414 quickly grabbed Azaid’s hand da270ab8aa and pulled him down dc5089ab41 beneath the ladder.67e7373674259f9c

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“What are you b82bc20e8f doing—”122b7eccf044c9fa

“Shh! Be quiet!”751b079c3c179836

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Serena hissed, 72b8a17ed0 lowering her 3119c1843d voice to 83f4d5822f a growl. Azaid froze as her b95bfe7ae2 hand once again covered f71af2fce6 his lips. Ignoring his reaction, eefd246f6f Serena pulled him 2683c7d523 closer to ensure fc3a8af647 they were completely e77005fd75 out of sight.3722f05ec7b04345

It was a tight 2bcdcf7d29 fit due to Azaid’s 0f7587b378 larger build, and her 70353ddb56 vision was filled entirely b68b9dc185 by him. Surely, he must have 6593748891 felt the same way.8c228c571dbc44e8

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Pressing herself 1984d2ed9c tightly against 4186ccc56d the ladder, 6f0163398c Serena firmly 9bc66130dd covered Azaid’s a51846cfbc lips with 0dc64b62cf her palm 8ee671886d to silence dfe7c21f0d him. She shook her head, c89192ade9 signaling him to please d0f509dde5 stay quiet.6789e7144cedc4df

At that moment, footsteps 044ce3f694 approached. One of the 2245fb1e55 three individuals seemed 5da2b17879 to be heading 46c5d68ced toward their direction fc7c0ce6a8 to investigate the 8434a8f07b noise.142dd090d8963d46

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Serena’s heart pounded b460ed9023 in her chest. Her palm, still pressed 519426135c against his lips, seemed 62ca421193 to grow increasingly warm.697873cebb190e99

Tilting her head slightly, f39e81af0b she peered through a 957de9c558 small gap in the 2b181ba227 ladder toward the light, 0b459e49a1 catching a glimpse of 59fd506860 a face.1eecddbb233b60d8

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‘That person…’0042f38fcd359f0d

It was one of b71ce6f709 the men who had ce92a07213 previously harassed Nocturne. He must 0e27693bca have been 923077e3b3 holding a 9c8157b5c7 grudge after 9a5207c66d being humiliated f3cae18273 by Nocturne. The man glanced e2612b7830 around before speaking.ab8efdc415f1413b

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“There’s no ae40ba7163 one here. Oh… wait. Ah, it’s just edfd3f42b7 the librarian.”b21c077b5112ff35

The librarian was the 769acaf682 older gentleman they had 398f5202ae greeted upon entering this a2c8e10192 place. He had kindly 1dd076be27 printed out a 2d5ca8a855 pamphlet of the ee57cf0841 library’s book catalog 0d17721d7c for Serena.45777b15b2a3f9de

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This library’s well-maintained 4c7d5a238d organization was likely 1f1d555816 thanks to him. Soon, two other men e7eb9a28b9 joined him, grumbling as 527f657bce they came closer.c23a49eb5b1620e5

“Looks like the 295f6e1e1c librarian was talking 6fea5a702e to himself again. That old 4986ac1453 geezer muttering b91d7d02fb all the 9c3e828dd9 time is 2321089a6c creepy.”c0a99e6635e0963e

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“You can barely hear 4b8dad748d him coming. It’s like 86e40074eb he’s a 64063ba685 ghost librarian c1ce81226b or something. Heh.”ae8f587eb428cd1d

Their conversation had 7ebc3dad33 devolved into unpleasant 3e587bf2a9 gossip about the 259a0fb0a0 librarian. The disdain in their 20295ecdbb words made Serena want 03f439146b to cover her ears.cbcdeb16a08e48ea

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The men resumed their 9762d8db9c discussion in front of 4da5cf1685 the ladder.cce7ded741893d3a

“How about 5f85b68db5 we do 7dff48920f it during 542a68b0d9 tonight’s ball? It’ll be the da3b49bbb8 perfect chance to f1fb5067c7 humiliate him.”dcf70e831299b506

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“Wouldn’t it be risky 8599aef5d2 to ruin the ball? It’s the c0fe5a78c4 opening event ef59ac80a6 of the a4091fcc1d hunting festival.”edc5b1cecf8aa0a1

The timid-looking one c23c004184 hesitated, prompting the 5427341452 loudest of the bc77d31bc8 group to snap d76750653f in frustration.e6fc2c2e20620f98

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“That’s exactly 860c0f82ad why it’s b16e5cb499 better! We’ll make sure Nocturne 3f27748b43 can never step foot 2b975eba54 in this house again.”db95f5db56a58d21

The man clenched 4966c91f76 his fist and 94f7d25c75 slammed it into ec3b0b176d his open palm 5d70607227 with a menacing 6e11e381c5 grin. The tallest of e7f705c78f them held up 13769d9e85 something in his 4ba04abe3c hand—it looked like 31a6380933 an orb.84bada14ce7ce399

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‘Wait, isn’t that 5f120b7d0a a magic orb?’90ddcee126f09c21

Serena had read 24228380e4 about such things 1db8bc00d0 before. The core found within 57d3630491 the heart of magical 45c735a9bc beasts held special powers, 1068c2a555 making them valuable for ef76c4b2d5 research among sorcerers.65ebf4113a6786ae

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Usually, the 855a3176ea core shattered d46b7700b5 upon the 9736605a74 beast’s death, b24454e1b7 making intact d4eee33ebf magic orbs da8a0a900d extremely rare. However, the one e7ba09b2c0 they were holding b582773e00 appeared flawless.f90e311de5f630db

“They really are 24c9100a5d planning something dangerous,” 6ef301c990 she thought, her f69fcaf530 expression growing serious eb9a0be660 as she listened 2738dda171 intently to their 9a4e85ff6c hushed conversation.62783a03887af24a

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After detailing their c26c61af61 plan, the men 50b500a209 left the library. Serena held ef3af88bda her breath, 2662208266 waiting until 76e54773b6 their footsteps 6afe90d7c3 faded entirely.ef39915e07135f15

Finally, she let out 0a0872056d a sigh of relief 08d4ed92d1 and turned to Azaid.a6c26d6c00825fdc

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“I’m sorry. You must’ve been 773a9ba481 really startled…”7d4495b9b3f856a2

Her words trailed off 288649ab08 as she realized just 22be22ee6d how close Azaid was. Far closer than e9532fab83 she had anticipated.83218a468a973d64

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• ❁ 0886f9130d • ❁ 15d193fcca • ❁ d64df4d5db •By Esraa• 27b416c3de ❁ • fffd13d611 ❁ • 79d8f1ee39 ❁ •a1e35a31246c0c35

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