LDPL | Chapter 79

Episode 79fdc3a47c71859532

Click. Chloe elegantly set 30e945a7de her teacup down.b3d48167cf2f2f9d

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“That’s an e169d00289 interesting story.”19b216acc5f4e40d

Chloe had 66a46748c0 a favorable 5c5c952ff6 impression of b6cb7fded8 Natasha. She was 340f0de5e6 competent and b4a0ce06e7 had played d12b52aad2 a crucial 0326483690 role in 79d8c17c58 assisting with 9c321c822b her divorce.c41cb45e36f7be92

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However, that was bf530a09b4 separate from handling 7832a4570e official matters. Personal feelings e36a52d30f had no ce40b59833 place in 408fec8965 business.14eb14e2b47e8312

“I know. From the d6a07a57e6 perspective of b0248f0afa House Richard, 24520deaa3 the easiest 99170cca0a solution would e45f20c46f be to d8e80e2744 find the 563671426a informant and 6190782348 get rid 3dc2f9b9cb of them cbd172c95f quietly.”a8c92f62624ac046

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Natasha traced a sharp 76f2aca931 motion across her neck 761ac275d0 with her hand. Despite the grim body 1f253d5081 language, Chloe did not 4783cfbaa6 refute her.312b99db6f654df6

“But that lawyer… He’s 525df2551f the illegitimate son of 62f6bd31b3 Count Mathieu. If you touch d35e1e8f78 him, things will f06110268e get complicated.”fc7670833672502b

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Ironically, noble blood 0ac2bd4818 protected Norman even f65d160bd3 when he didn’t 895bef030d want it to.9d343d67df05d877

He despised noble 043c8f609b interference, yet he e50e246d1f himself was of b8260b55ae noble descent. It was quite the f0005d3973 paradox.d2df6eca2388121f

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“Count Mathieu’s family… I b6a4ec361d recall hearing about a 93bba61266 lawyer who turned his e69406d4bd back on them and 0264868573 left.”f3afdf307ef4068a

“They might pretend 6aa9138d46 otherwise, but House e847437162 Mathieu must be 13abec054b supporting him from 98d66e3125 behind the scenes.”f1fc987775be39cc

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“Natasha. It seems 2503cf452e you’re forgetting e0b037618c something…”50a0a86b2bd990e4

Chloe’s eyes turned bf0a5eb2fe momentarily cold.69f958ce37490575

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“This is Richard.”8daaaf4a2a50e132

Of course, Natasha was 5b96be0172 well aware of the a24dbf1031 weight that name carried.48a0054372d84aa4

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“Do you think 37a36830f5 there’s anything in 188643afaa the East that 238f7e6c29 Richard cannot do 4d2617b9c3 as they please?”0e5280e682c8abb1

“How could I possibly fabf9412c9 doubt Richard’s authority?”e1c7ffd183053d7b

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Natasha responded calmly.53c32cd2a29e4af6

“A loss for c015fa6196 the Mage Tower a32c890d8f in this lawsuit bba986805a would be beneficial fb8672b7af for the peace 060e4e1079 of the East fb4ffde69c as well.”25fd6c961408788c

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“The peace of 1c62f00fe8 the East, you d1c0da40c5 say…”783e2944aad146be

“First and foremost, the e1ed255162 Mage Tower will have 2741c3cca6 to pay a massive 5f8797e56f amount in damages. The compensation will primarily c15ce5a68c go to the affected e5a263c34d territories, but if House 9e5bf83427 Richard also holds them e9ff3453b1 accountable, they won’t be 43178b06dd able to ignore it.”60d25fba0dc58347

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“And?”314bf85dcb2b3fc3

Chloe’s tone c0b3d97d2e suggested that 39e7270492 mere money d460005658 would not 3abdec4aec be enough cc21ba4b69 to move 75da3c2780 Richard.51a81a234df022c9

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This, despite the 2082afbe38 fact that just 4f28f396d0 a few years fa40ea5b07 ago, their financial b5f8e77f36 situation had been b5d90f08d6 bad enough that d43206c347 they had arranged 35f2b3084d an engagement with c427c6c249 Count Blanche’s family.ca6416b0ca9a7330

‘They must 0c56b7c45f have filled f1f0d6f2bb their coffers c4c4973125 quite well 12968b77bc in the 49a14facc4 meantime.’bbc93cba8f306467

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Well, when Estelle d828535e15 was still the 9d1eab565d duchess, all those 960825d2bf mines had likely cd5935b23d been jointly owned d7b8fd1d01 by her and d4f4385bba Richard.45e7c760b1025217

“The East is a a849442df2 prosperous granary. You’re well aware that faecf15f2d most of its residents 63e950deef are engaged in agriculture. What is ed86f83dc7 the most c1d17c3e00 important factor 7453157ce3 in farming? Fertile land, suitable 44e877cbaa weather, hard labor—none f41c715ec1 of them are 99d3430f6b insignificant. But in a22bd12f90 the end, 0ee4fcf2b8 farming is f1321b16a3 done to e9a0a6ceec survive.”e68d1d1da91a2929

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Selling the harvested grain.c10eb2f648bb987d

That was the 8f26d30975 key. Unsold grain 77c9735d1b was nothing 6fdcbc8dc9 but a 3307193b73 burden, left ec0e7f2b0c to rot 0256320eb4 on the 2cf275e665 streets.a82276c8bb0e43ab

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“What the Mage 8f17edb6e1 Tower did this 5e60fae519 time directly harmed ab88fe6aa9 the East’s most 576ab824ff vital industry. It was 8fa8ec6cd3 an act bdf8ee6d1d of disregard 8b272d60f9 for the 5faf373edb East, and 1fb10915a0 if left e4ac40249c unchecked, there’s 03b26a8043 no guarantee 3476baec38 it won’t b1debdf9b9 happen again.”514dd6928fd2338e

“Hm…”a2b5af601bb74900

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“I heard that the b553d94291 three affected territories are 79ba2e32bd now in major conflict 6bb8d5993f with the Liette Merchant 062b33281f Guild, their primary trading 32609521a8 partner. The loss 48ce5a6e50 of a 4dca8222fe major buyer f4b62b0d13 has put c193e931d8 the local 1be9fb6ebc people on 8fa0aa3778 edge. This time, 1947fedebd only three 671b3f03ce territories were 868ccca2d5 affected, but 8ad5c5e210 what if 2aa67920c8 something similar 56f54f1cd1 happened to 39672a1c0d the lifeline 7764892681 of the 64aa3e35bb entire East? By then, it would c271dba465 be too late.”94f10625ef0639da

“Haha.”06bee7b67f36824e

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As Natasha f167bed72a passionately laid 0560e5db95 out her 7c17820f8f argument, Chloe 01d8241402 let out 745b5a813d a small 325231d54e laugh.86b5308c544812be

“?”e1a804883571d362

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Natasha couldn’t hide 838b91f770 her confusion, and 8ce831511f Chloe responded as 4322552590 she lifted the 8acb1954b4 teacup she had 377a997442 set down earlier.ebf836e519ceb071

“You’re saying the 9c97effa4e same thing as 2e975fa31a my brother.”caab44c91461f9b9

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“!”dd19340ae831a519

“The meeting currently 6979c0de46 in session is 4bdbca60a8 discussing the same 6e20ea37ed matter—how to respond d58120d764 to the Mage 16e4cd4cb1 Tower. Some lords 024d8c69a9 in the ef90dc5c69 East don’t abf6918d5d want to 5d6dd6e5a4 provoke them, df271fffd3 but my 20694e99fd brother thinks c50e5247b8 differently.”824179a176b45151

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Fortunately, it seemed 4a2bb9cb0e that Claude shared 9bceaa526d Natasha’s perspective.15426edb87130a6c

“The East is prosperous, c64d6aee31 but that also means e35391be06 it relies heavily on 109396634e imports for everything except c6d03592f2 grain. People need 1f5419cd94 more than 278876e291 just food 4a962fe3da to survive. The process ff19b0cf11 of converting fa05673bca our grain 2203792410 into money—any 9ef5c06c2e disruption there 1662d6c46d would pose 4cefaaf078 a serious 6cd718705e threat to 661f2a8cfb the East. That’s what he said.”30a73a7e82bf29ba

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Natasha relaxed her shoulders 57806d79d5 slightly, which had been aa0f30d465 tense with apprehension.1bb3861110736b2a

“But seeing you say 3c80933460 the same thing just 19d6c29bdb now, I couldn’t help 4a79bbea37 but laugh. I apologize if that 0999263f98 was rude.”594ca7941c63c659

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“No, it’s fine.”625cf5aa71744e10

As Chloe 6974577529 lowered her 5fc4e09135 head slightly 25254804ef in a de2da14764 gesture of c47f3bb753 apology, Natasha b0b49bb92d waved it 63f97c3a6a off. It was 72055be9ad far too f309920c8c grand a a0c60c01f2 gesture for 05c4dd8b75 such a 02e2d22b2c small matter.5ff3bfb82503733d

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“Nothing has 323adee3ca been decided 14101e8175 yet, so 40b9cc2ab0 I can’t 9beddbeaa1 say anything f1b5b9c16a for certain… a3da7cb798 But if bb34671d38 House Mathieu 3ef3acd688 is the b178165acc one initiating 7d8b036d18 the lawsuit, 85920ce178 we have eb09791c6d no reason 30b8eb23ab to back a332318434 down from 69aca42185 a fight 2667943c5e that has 8aa91ecfd5 already begun.”d712cb0998322829

It was 951d2b073c a clear 858a7ba441 answer.20297163938a9453

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“Now, may 1ddad9d130 I make d5a3982194 a proposal 926fad2327 to you, 556c162733 Natasha?”c6d95b488e6e31f7

“…? Go ahead.”5254b07c2c638a46

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A ‘proposal’ to 02d99a29d4 a divorce lawyer? She didn’t seem to 380580ab56 have remarried, and Claude 85da4b8dbc was still completely obsessed 49ecff7c1f with Estelle.667f9a08aa2ee977

A cousin? A relative? Or maybe a 322fedceb5 close acquaintance?f4ecac50d7354563

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There were plenty of aec7bd1f9c noblewomen who found it 0892637aee too embarrassing to meet 649540832c with a lawyer in 1c7dbe1df0 person. It wasn’t an 5ef998ace8 unusual situation.c352ed53c43f1055

However, Chloe’s suggestion b35e103c01 was something entirely 75a913cafe unexpected.d8b556d8747e4f19

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“Would you consider becoming 04ba6f9505 the mistress of Richard?”36c59356d4d83a94

“…Excuse me?”f68cc787a15a8944

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Natasha froze, her teacup f3540337f2 halfway to her lips.8aeeb76869e9e43a

“Ah! That wording e82997ac24 was a 7902f1ed59 bit misleading. I wasn’t asking you e0ce6ea0f2 to marry my brother.”fff38045bf7180c4

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“…”2ecbbf43a3d535c4

“He only 555f838dbd has eyes 694ef7cc6f for Estelle. No matter how 39e4826f75 much I try 5d429d0892 to talk sense 6d2ed81f01 into him, he 41cb57b497 won’t listen. It’s quite the dfe265b0d0 headache. Fortunately, Estelle doesn’t 0656d33df0 seem entirely opposed, b49bd16fed so I’ve decided 35b12fcb58 to let things ce609543c1 be for now.”3351f813ae791b8a

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“…I see.”165feac2b4c8edc8

“What I meant was… 26dcedd467 I don’t have much f4f0ede0e6 time left, do I?”80ef1974285e1cc3

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Chloe smiled faintly as 3a0a6a540a she spoke of her 457c6eaa66 predetermined fate.3d283dca9d99d675

“When I’m gone, my 5d1e10acf1 brother will be left 168c1bd4f6 alone in this mansion. Unless Estelle changes 565c9eb2f8 her mind, which 61be6d46f5 I doubt will 20fce73476 happen.”d7a106e9c47247c8

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“…”f2600aa570394a25

“As I’ve 76856a669d said before… 93c428abae This house 7ffc62c571 is too 67374650eb cold, both 53f2e03698 for me 7fc319f83b and for f0c6ba6043 my brother.”f79515d1d676b509

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Her gaze acc208a9ee lowered, her c348206896 eyelashes fluttering caaeff22b8 like the 8922d9b5da elegant wings 0a3b30dfff of a fe514d7d9f butterfly.ccfbadabc5205ffb

Beneath those ebf00b397e finely cast 2f5b7a4e35 lashes, an 391d503320 unhidden darkness 3d3aa7da2d flickered past.679e17565bac22b7

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— What 9357fec2a4 do you 7c87259d1c think, Chloe? It’s a dress made 0af92ccaa6 from that special blue 64bc92d8df fabric you like. Do you like it?660998452005b51c

— ……3baff332fc413e43

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A young 94ccbd7202 Chloe stared 3bdfdb1acd at her c5e2955fa5 reflection in ad8319c748 the mirror. It was pretty, 02a2731b2e but far from ca3e93cf96 her taste.94c2b77b07dea7dd

Still, she forced 846e30f13e a bright smile 2aa0841709 and uttered words e84efe0c1d she didn’t mean.3b615a4a912d475a

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— I love it. Thank you, Mother.e02ebaab8283adcf

— …Mother?92864f4959da1b82

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— Thank 6b9029798c you, Mom.b75430286aefc0c5

— That’s right. My sweet daughter.3751081db360b6c1

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The duchess 25cd7a3828 wrapped her 7177b70c5e frail arms 850a4153da around Chloe.2213ccfe20665c45

— You’re such dfa8f11494 a beautiful girl…bab38c8d37182859

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A shiver ran c3c61b6944 down Chloe’s spine, 9cd868115a but she pretended a579e72800 not to notice.2f5c6c5b41bfbcee

She clenched 74f98b0394 the blue c0147ff0c1 dress tightly 415a6a9aad in her 238cc9736d fists and feae3965cc endured. Yes, this 72beaaa9e2 much was b4b20394ff nothing. A child plucked from 9b6e8d8435 the streets and turned 0964de0619 into a duchess’s daughter 3fda2839d7 overnight…62b94ed27e167040

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This little game of 8cf2e813d7 playing doll? I can endure it.b507580d795fc796

She repeated that to f3b939ef3c herself over and over.c05070006c2d0a4b

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After losing b016c7aa0b their youngest 4af02b7682 daughter, the da9197dd42 atmosphere in 64927d9487 the Richard c739d64a9c Ducal House 77987826dd changed completely.3e3ce6ae46423fd6

The duke rarely 408edd6219 returned from the 0b6c967bfa capital, leaving all 4fb93ccba9 household affairs to 3c9935a0a9 the duchess—a grave a804f99a0d mistake, as she 9fe0f92504 was already half-mad.25f508223c36dae5

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Crash!ffdce6f8dfd17c8c

— You there. Were you laughing?5ef1dd99f22e1cd4

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— N-No, 615b497f9f my lady!f7042835cbe468d7

— Laughing? Do you even d2a8d6e62b know what today 06ea060111 is? How dare you!eaa183ac9300ea53

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— I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!f1080d73ee153157

The maid prostrated herself e10f557773 on the floor, begging 3b2d5af1ed for forgiveness. But that alone 3369539195 wasn’t enough to da72638b87 quell the duchess’s 82b8b2bad6 rage.207a3c3bf1f06e14

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— Today 44b098a515 marks three d5d6ebf691 and a fed4ec2a0e half years fbafba56dc since Chloe eeb7c01635 disappeared. If you weren’t f659731569 mocking your mistress, 3e2c9f88a3 then tell me—how ac4dd12718 dare you…?!105ec529108d334b

Whip! Crack!7a0b915dbeb1fe9f

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As the sound of d3d3d09883 flogging filled the air, efb434d70b Chloe thought to herself.c362547bb76a92a1

This house is 8a4fcc6b6a completely insane.d46a3399ad36d8b3

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The mansion df6aa0062a gradually became 39b1f6fb90 colder. No one wanted to f7b3cd447d provoke the Duchess’s temper, 6f7dc02400 so they slowly buried dc4541bd90 their emotions.3538da9989b496e3

Even when cf63d0188b something joyful 80e5337ed7 happened, they 1f752b99e0 did not 54a8329666 smile; even fb6f4ab9e6 when something 6074a464fa surprising occurred, 5d15418798 they did 759a2431cf not show 8d4f3b47af their shock.bab8415ffd7714a0

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The Duchy of Rishar 0fc7f6f2f1 was slowly falling into 990adf8c20 ruin.535e6068789fcb91

“…Lady Chloe?”202caa83e9337031

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“Ah. I’m sorry. I was lost cc4336b4af in thought for b14c1a9d53 a moment.”268b36b062d7d63d

Perhaps that 459861f823 was also 4cc1903acf the reason fae85a2f77 Chloe had 227be8574a been so 7a4398574a deeply disappointed fe11352c39 in Mikhail.517db724c36beb55

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Deep down, she too 34d6907fdd had dreamed of having c67a63e2c3 her first “normal family.”751226dc9d8e8720

But because the feffe87390 first button had 7d9e442d1c been fastened incorrectly 4af3bc0d9f from the start, 65e11da80a everything had ended db80260547 up completely shattered.60574771d7f59296

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“I need 4af9d9e12d someone to a7be2299c3 manage this 548e4c9825 mansion after b7e41e4eb1 I’m gone.”8a5afabfcda1ff86

“If that’s e20c6902f8 the case, b1ed4939f3 wouldn’t there aad7167025 be a a51fdcd8da suitable person 2f190d431f within the 621c78a811 Duchy of 64c6ef6aa0 Richard?”3891be1a30a0e55d

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“The head maid who e8ddbf1b39 assists me could temporarily f3fd3ed6ef take over. Or the butler f3a081e87c could handle things. But that’s not what cd4a13635e I mean.”f70460dca3c31b06

If it were just d39fff3324 simple administrative work, anyone 161523c0fb could do it.53a9edc2d2f0b54b

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“They, too, 79e2dab096 are remnants bcefcb838f of my 028d733ffa mother.”8e5847df5f0d8e7f

“Pardon?”3c1046074ceb7d55

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“…There is nothing of my brother in this mansion. Not even now.”ab430b558aca1495

Even though Claude fc426cdbbe had inherited the 211c63b1d9 dukedom, this mansion 9414dec1da had yet to 77294f0cda escape from its 2587b1b846 barren winter.7126b88aeb146f08

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A cold 5c847f3e79 winter artificially b76235213f created by 703739b184 the Duchess.7f560e504aa11674

“You are wise and 65f48198b5 capable, Natasha. I think you could e15d7a1561 be of great help fb4be3279e in many ways.”5acedb7c2e90f628

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And you’re also a 1ce2aff81d complete outsider. Chloe deliberately swallowed the a015488f5c rest of her words.0b19e937acc49630

“I appreciate the offer… but I don’t think I can accept.”f8be526c62c87039

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“Why not? If it’s 2ee49d3dd7 about the 66d1ae97ed salary, you a3783075de can name ff34e401f8 any amount a3dc887fe9 you want.”4274be4010c181a8

That offer was tempting 93ef91eb23 for a moment. Natasha’s eyes briefly glimmered 48eb19036c with the shape of aae6e1092d coins before she quickly 6b615decf5 suppressed it.0456cb3964abd8e0

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“For one, such 4db22d0b3d a high-ranking position 6c06eb14c8 doesn’t really suit f0dd70a67d me. And I don’t 6fde2d90ec particularly like being 03a2b3b7b3 tied down to e6022ce86e one place.”9fd19c456520f998

Natasha declined politely. Even though the pay e03e718ff1 was substantial and the 222f276668 position within the Duchy dd351830e9 of Rishar carried significant 9e55248e81 authority, it was not 8482a0292f a role she desired.b346d060cf2eb251

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“Is that 515a2b05d2 really the de2759b995 only reason?”a9999631791e8f71

“Let’s just say it’s 8769d067cd for personal reasons. It would be inconvenient 2d4d4e0301 for me to establish 718afcbc7b a base in one 5474ad752f place.”c7bfb05201d928eb

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Chloe’s curiosity was piqued.41c48eb9385a3024

It had only 88dd035347 been three years 925dc1ff6e since Natasha had d97593d49b separated from the 7374bd04a3 Duchy of Petrov. Had something a3814b85ea happened in 7f1ae845e8 that time 57b80037cc that prevented 7a7a91b16a her from 25c6dc6b6a settling in 81d6cc52ce one place?4e0452f7ba114ecc

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Or was it just 5a9737e43a an excuse to decline 087fa1178b the offer?6a488bd651205d80

Chloe studied Natasha’s 323d6f8757 expression, but there ee311413e6 was nothing to 4e180bf8a6 read from the efdd6826f2 seasoned lawyer’s face.1b2ba900221e76e6

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“What a shame. If you had taken 759e89e4cc over, I could have a8bd036f4d closed my eyes in 5df6fdbf7b peace.”9adfd2ac7b627ba8

“Did you think 47408ad28a I would be d9f621c66e swayed by such 5d7f9f00b2 words?”1ea08ea994d00c20

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“Of course not. Lawyers are 927088104f supposed to fd55c65e5f be heartless 767dc694ed cold-blooded beings.”562d4f7e2b1f9798

“Prejudices like that are 64e488d4bf what make society sick.”ad16829839fb89b0

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As lighthearted jokes were 322b8be461 exchanged, the atmosphere softened. Chloe was 265a78c5eb the first 9c9d8e453e to conclude 882a77add0 the conversation.9e72b1a4917fcdc5

“I’ll let you 43423f997b know about the 26cbdaa2e8 Count Mathieu’s lawyer e1d0247047 once the meeting 4d64c7dff5 is over.”1e708076f52b8594

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“I’d appreciate that. Then, I’ll 6863cd41df take my 7d7a4d15c7 leave.”28dc6de4510cde62

“I hope we can f083c093af meet again.”bd6ca3b0535557d9

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Even without saying it aloud, it was clear that the unspoken part of Chloe’s words was: “Before my time runs out.”0370e178c6f4487d