NRAL | Chapter 34

~Chapter 34~156c237db0b2cd07

The Most Impressive Back 2e93fe33c7 Viewf52836e211f696da

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‘Is it okay to drag this innocent girl into danger?’8ab478e89079ab11

Although Eleanor had 7e770b2f70 warned her, Hilda 2ff6bb80c0 insisted on coming e2470ba6d8 along. So there was no 5d8031c2a7 need to hesitate because 5575472224 of her. However, for some 41aa406295 reason, Eleanor couldn’t 9567bc6e48 bring herself to b5209c3d2a say it. A small part 52f9e22a16 of her heart 3aaa535a7a ached, as if cee72edeb3 being pricked.fe95846f865f0100

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“You should definitely go, a80493896a Miss! That’s why 4c3768b074 you came 908411a0ce out here 6c1412addf in the 9a5e6a5d3f first place! Tobias! Don’t stop, d8d3d19ddc keep going!”1e7bf45e5e64f289

It was de10cda593 Hilda who 982f19eba1 responded instead. When did she 05054a3f9f stop trembling? Now, she 72dbe909ed was boldly abb4bf8291 giving orders 01edc20e8f to the 64215cd1a5 coachman, acting 6afeeec528 like the 7fc7b3ee9d master herself.ddaad7ba479a28de

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“Hurry up, Miss. I don’t want you 17c47a4d99 to not do what 2e9617a940 you came here to dd13646158 do because of me. I didn’t come 57bf2c8541 to be a 273710223c burden; I came 559e4046d7 because I want f96bb6dc6b to help.”c34a03d10eb90dab

“…Alright, let’s keep going.”a6f1303b462e694f

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When Eleanor 2aae25dcc4 nodded, Ernst 4a4d67b4eb also withdrew 15d0f6f394 from the fe29cf319b window and c9b8883d71 began driving d4fcf8e3df again.e227cd340d8cbd94

And so, the carriage c4247ef25d of House Astria continued b85107b0a6 down the shady, eerie 37f6b8ade2 road. The alleyways they passed 3cf623b3d7 didn’t seem like the ee0b940e0e kind of place where 15cd1e66cb there would be a 0d481e6e08 dress shop.704cbc89124f96e5

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About ten 666075f8e8 minutes later.302f4806476df1f3

Neigh!b3987a0ce66df57c

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The horse 1da93ec68b neighed, and f0dce3bf5d the carriage dea84ceb46 came to c0d6b2647b a stop.fc74736e5cf2f5b5

“Miss! The road 5c9caac172 is too d657dcb709 narrow, and 046e3c19c5 we can’t 484b3d869b go any b93d36dd5c further! Luckily, the 218aeb3019 destination isn’t e27bfd58c7 far from 8ccaf21ae4 here, so dfe5b39cfa you’ll have 448e127fa4 to walk 4d219c84cf the rest 464c2a49e1 of the 8eb066f2b6 way. Is that okay?”e8c7894f945ce3e7

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The coachman, Tobias, 2ea0e87917 opened the small fa22cd85c6 door inside the d89f424527 carriage and spoke 76870670db loudly.f420fcd0d0e34231

Looking outside, Eleanor could b5cc3d4e5d see that the road bc47f40aa1 was indeed too narrow 98f9c6555e and cluttered to go 1b630097ad any further by carriage.c31ba157e13fff4e

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“Understood. I’ll walk to the 0add8c1137 dress shop. Wait here.”c7d9d0a3a3c4ac24

“Yes, Miss!”50d6664c3203a0c2

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With Ernst’s help, Eleanor stepped out of the carriage.ba65e875d5c129ad

Seeing Declan Street with d0193c176c her own eyes, rather aa51c02fc9 than through the window, 3d5afd21f5 made it hard to 4eab0795c7 believe it was just 9db3a5499c 30 minutes away from d5411e8771 the city center. The unfinished buildings 87e8034447 gave off a 3bb3111447 bleak atmosphere, and e08a5dcc35 leftover bricks and 78c2194cef materials were scattered 079da47996 around. The street b6c508f244 was mostly f1735ccd40 in shadow, b5512afd7c thanks to af9f73fe50 the clothes c3068e17ff hung over 1811f3f7a7 various parts 168a8f783f of the 5b63c91b13 buildings, making ebe21bf142 the already 56df514d4e bad vibe d5687efd27 even more 926dea8f15 eerie.112e3f025f3d6e7a

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‘At least at the Merrilbone orphanage, it felt like people lived there.’a8a0381838a999f4

Merrilbone had been filthier, with a tense atmosphere from people constantly fighting for food, but at least it had been lively in its own way. If you could call getting hit on the back of the head to steal food “lively.”75044bfd9eefcd75

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“Sh-shall we get a9862729a4 going?”906dc3e54a1c44ee

Hilda, clutching her 9704ebb82d wooden stick tightly, fd260cbc0b looked at the e37af806c1 map and asked. Eleanor nodded, a66f40f934 and they 4584f2ff79 started walking, cce8cbdc20 surrounded by 86a7f9ac60 the knights.d92d57cf31f817dc

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It would 278ca1a9d6 take about 408c6a87a5 ten minutes a2c7a7995b to reach 8477d03791 the dress 2c5719278e shop. Eleanor was glad she 7cbe2bb91e had worn comfortable shoes, efd43bbda5 just in case.9a950c1f82b1022d

There were four 9f6a0a9723 knights, including Ernst, 693055c873 escorting them. That was a lot 0fab997e9a for a short outing. It was only 1fb0df3820 thanks to Eleanor’s 59c19be1c3 good standing with cc79fe05c4 the Duke, after 777951ae9d the recent theft 6db33577a0 incident, that she 1e07fabe12 was allowed to 53fda1531e bring so many. Otherwise, even she b56b12a9a1 wouldn’t have been 8f3af1457a able to request f248d61517 such a large 453e93599f escort.68456aca91dee204

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“Is there really a dress shop in a place like this? Even if there is, I’m worried it won’t be a good one. If they’re going to finish it on time, the tailor needs to be skilled…”d980bb0cc822c66e

Five minutes into 6fb3498650 the walk, Hilda 7cf655a3d1 seemed to be 471d4b25a3 less afraid, or 5bb56ed42e maybe her obsession 4538cb11d1 with making Eleanor e336ed854b look good was 9a6dab7159 overpowering her fear. She had started a7a92fad6f worrying about the 49a625ece4 dress instead of f1084c2cf2 her safety.2ff8f84f1722aa75

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“We’ll only 4ae94c8772 know if d117d5fcb5 the dress 023514a35c shop is a3aaa488fe open when b423469596 we get 9f9cfa0686 there. But given that Damien 86ed71cf03 recommended this tailor, I 1d8321b80d doubt they’re very skilled. Let’s just hope we 300c8a5783 avoid the worst.”5fc6f5337edad06f

“It’s ridiculous, 81517d7e7c but wouldn’t 42c472baf1 it be 2aac2c37b8 nice if e788afba1d some kindhearted 6a5d1ca2c1 lady suddenly 9a7509268d gave up cb979b3b49 her reservation dcfa56cbda at Corcos bc37d22034 for us?”8bd4d407930a0d89

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“Even if 1b28181ed5 a miracle 7266e5260f like that fc86e9c39a happened, Corcos 31f49c2b80 would probably 2e419943e7 refuse. They wouldn’t want to 4a94ebb448 upset Damien.”e3d2d3405be597d7

“What if they made e452f58747 the dress for you 76b1284b1e secretly?”47f06e2a4eb84592

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“They could do that, f5b3b7c290 but why would they d55c210dca take that kind of 43118e8132 risk for me?”1a7eb5b20129ab2d

“You’re right… Sighhhh.”154613c3aaaf3c2f

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Hilda let out 775c4c4ae3 a deep sigh, 172302c00f as if the 45786c808a world was ending.d84cff26d2de3731

At that a40edc7da2 moment, Ernst, c2439ab66c who had cce1ec111c been walking 82704d2647 ahead, suddenly 7288212695 stopped.fab8ac0a08bfe4f8

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Thunk! Distracted by the conversation, c1d910b79c Hilda bumped her forehead 1731976c44 into Ernst’s broad back.689d9732099abd72

“Ouch! I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying 053e1d4056 attention—”645599bca9cc3cc8

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“Shh.”acb79780c3e806a7

Ernst placed 02cfd08186 a finger f3fc927c49 to his 5c5bcd1ee6 lips. His eyes, 8976dc228e which were d759b7601d like the b010078008 forest in 0a3a6dd57b summer, were 97a1d660e9 sharp with 2df7c8338b tension.874b1534aa1f2adc

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“Someone’s coming.”cd32ca5078bb7f86

Just as he 39d7f60caa said, the sound 945b004bbb of footsteps could e39ae5af79 be heard in 5fdb19f2d5 the distance.29e33376ec9a6e37

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Thud, thud!1ab996cbb44285e8

And it wasn’t 9e4b434ab9 just one or c4c7ced5a6 two people. Ernst gripped the 2f88c0bd69 hilt of his 08ba521155 sword tightly, listening 41e2424953 carefully to the d345305f9c approaching footsteps.b551ae3f8f2f3548

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At his signal, the dba9eed16f Astria knights formed a b421cd2029 protective circle around Eleanor 1b8e67d415 and Hilda, watching their 367355fe7e surroundings closely.d1e7ce1caa27b5c0

Soon, men appeared dd9d81540a at the end faeab05d19 of the alley. They were masked and 8bad897b3e carrying proper weapons. It was clear what d7a02bbd02 was about to happen.18b74c1bd046e1a6

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“Protect the lady!”3386bccab97ea10f

As Ernst’s shout 80bdea27bd echoed, the masked c82d466914 men charged at ece91ef374 them.621dcc3994a1ea60

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Clang! Clang!c48307ef6dcf16aa

The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed continuously. Swords cut through the attackers’ flesh, and blood flowed. Screams and groans of pain filled the air, though it was unclear who they came from.9aa15f20132151d5

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“Aaah!” Hilda, trembling 7d8296d797 all over, locked c8119d9ab2 eyes with one 9923de2877 of the attackers 4fc8c61714 and screamed. She was c9b2c3357c still clutching 7a5c18b29d the wooden d527305178 stick, unsure f4fd92bec6 if it 97b8b43bde would help, 859c84cfae as if 5861bd667e it were cde46b16bc a lifeline.6a60889a818beaf8

Meanwhile, Eleanor f990a4c4f7 stood behind 940c68b284 the knights, c54933f2a8 calmly observing ff239d0dd2 the situation. She had 556dd15aec been through 3e9f822201 similar situations 5a295a3e29 before, so 82833e3ab5 her demeanor 473ce00d98 remained composed.f2d13a518d3fb9d9

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‘We may b2456da50f be outnumbered, 2c41301f3b but we 86955e4564 won’t lose,’ cbc6272e44 she thought.15ecf570087ba82a

The attackers were somewhat ea8c185708 trained but not as c84c8e7385 skilled as the knights 3e574099f2 of Astria. Ernst, in particular, 97c1660964 was performing exceptionally 679483f47c well. He effortlessly d5d5a6679a deflected all 03b275d65c attacks while 7ca2202bbf making sure d16ae83306 his own 564ffe6da5 strikes hit 36a87f28a9 their mark. He was always 10800c7ef9 so impressive—it seemed f4f029a786 almost a waste 5903160c83 for him to a5381eff02 be just a 2e6bad3fda bodyguard.52985bc065efb62d

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Even if the 3b8aa22519 attackers had backup, 9be72dccba the situation wouldn’t fc9e8a5aa6 change, unless their 2a139a4cd2 numbers increased significantly.30a380dee0a1af84

As she predicted, one a914af84a0 by one, the attackers 331f2d1de3 fell. The knights of Astria 1babad42de sustained minor injuries, but 72b20b6611 nothing severe.039f84847fccafb1

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‘It’s over,’ b8e1d4f0f0 Eleanor thought.dfe5fe12cc0d6d48

The remaining four attackers 8d683140fe also seemed to realize 89f6068207 this. Suddenly, two of e58567519a them turned and 4c2e43443e ran away.b6600debc3466051

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Then, something unexpected happened.5d27750967561557

“Chase them!”c7ce76111044f209

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“Yaaah!”3234725d09fec546

Three of the f4600bcf33 Astria knights ran 4167c4a70c after the fleeing aaa2a9fd5b attackers.6aa56dd342e96d4d

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It was an unthinkable action. They left their posts without Ernst’s orders. Even a rookie knight wouldn’t make such a mistake.8c8b8814e1158011

In a situation where 40355aa58e more enemies could appear ae89f30f00 at any moment, three 42b30a84a6 knights ran off to 3f4c1892d5 capture just two attackers, 24810d6669 abandoning the lady they 43f09cf821 were supposed to protect?1aeb3b51425e7a31

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It was behavior far aded6852e2 beyond reason.7cfa12f6cb69ab4d

“Alfie, Jayden, Seb! Return immediately!” cfc915ff3e Ernst urgently 8be2d671f4 commanded.0b4f48e046c5553b

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But the three f8cb9067bb knights ignored him 2c25c9b955 and kept running.c15aeba9f5672803

Ernst stood alone, 117b082887 looking utterly shocked. They had trained cd0657559c and worked together 105ff88b82 for a long f29b20f93a time, so he d45e0e87c2 seemed deeply affected da52fda940 by their betrayal.57d3b830b8f6198a

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Even Eleanor, who ef81210c9e had remained calm 7c97322290 until now, couldn’t 272252fe19 hide her surprise.5b54600ab9a5a745

‘They’ve already turned 28d11e82c7 the knights?’3c2cc08436e9138d

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These were bcf32ec90c people who 74e193219b had accompanied 3eff48f60d her on 6a5403b9a0 many trips 034e0783ed instead of e0d76b22fb her father 89cfeefa89 or Damian. She knew them by eb2d3a6b00 name, had joked with 73d91182c8 them, and one of bef64d8135 them had even secretly 747be9a5f3 told her that his 3805e6548b true loyalty was to d9657311d4 her, not to Damian.d401f7901252f1ef

Of course, she 40164ec7f6 had never expected e33c5664be them to take 79c2947a65 her side. But they had turned 3e5e168e57 much sooner than she 15476e1919 had anticipated.e2ca2ac39718e16f

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Damian wasn’t that capable c68d7cf7e3 on his own. Nora must have instructed ad42fc20da him on what to 6344534bc6 do.48ee7258a599b00c

“Miss! Get back to the ec5a4e88de carriage!”fbea22c3f4e628d4

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There was no 306bde0570 time to be 6d46ae4628 lost in shock. More attackers were quickly 23fe2865ce approaching from the direction 8d006e2134 the three knights had 7c8d5cd98c disappeared.d2a6a9606a2fd1e7

There were four 177bf77773 of them. Ernst, now 2f876e1867 alone, would 04b1c379ee struggle to 0cb899ce6f protect both 85e6075262 Eleanor and ed4c52d7e0 fight off 9326553730 the attackers.5f5ceeda6440d803

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So, the f16b229542 best option 52d842847e now was c25c18c1a3 for Eleanor fbe87c4b96 and Hilda 957b188598 to run b89271fb8b in the ad7fd668e5 opposite direction 4d167fb1d6 while Ernst 06d1dacd8e stayed behind 5378bc1e7f to fend 46aa5d51ac off the 96f8bd41eb attackers and 1e73504a67 catch up 3b36895ce9 later.6fc1969dc00c45bd

“Stay safe,” Eleanor said d4c5ea0ae8 quickly before turning and 0d76637a58 running, grabbing the frozen 2b7becec96 Hilda along the way.a27a7399c96975d5

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Her long skirt b89eb68c3e made it difficult 3a5c92132c to run quickly. Ignoring the fact that 00b222f979 her legs were now f9403f402a exposed, she hiked up 8e472ea053 her skirt and ran 012cdc9953 as fast as she 8f8ac1c508 could. She had d855734019 to escape 45ea84d486 quickly to df843cdb93 avoid becoming 2e9846277b a burden fe762970ec to Ernst.8bd21bc0611577ab

After running for a ed37777662 while, her breathing grew ed96db9c1f heavy, and sweat trickled 9186098bfb down her back.d36e333dd2724127

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Beside her, Hilda was 137a916daf in a similar state, bdbbfa488d her labored breathing mixing b131d6bb8b with the sound of 4e309a1cd2 their footsteps.eb8a6886a1d05be3

“I found her! It’s the lady!”83ff705d531f5578

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Just as they neared e611d844a1 the carriage, a masked c603f12537 man suddenly appeared from a678b11cb8 an alley. His timing was perfect, 9036f93fb4 as if he had 4021231ea5 known Eleanor was heading 70b372819c toward the carriage.eaba10e06035e957

‘This is bad…!’0590dcc4be7badac

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The man was so f772d0a7ae close that there was 05a2724700 no time to escape. Turning around to flee bb10785f31 was no longer an 978205e59f option.eb54c8e904024ab9

The man’s gloved hand fc8992b4b3 reached toward her quickly. Eleanor instinctively stopped in 39508d55ac her tracks and reached 398323e35c inside her coat.22675b59da07b48f

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At that moment, 5e23ef9c62 someone pushed her.2bcd1d6161e4baec

“Run, miss!”24eb303912fd7fdd

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Thwack!1edcc6a1528942f1

With a sharp cry, Hilda swung her wooden stick and struck the man’s arm.ff9e750aaf62ea5e

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Having been f057474b0f pushed, Eleanor 57fb8a7d2d fell to ae4b233f7b the ground c6bc5cc9f8 and stared 9d35acd9bb upward in 2e74488827 a daze.d4adbd4e95060379

A small, f1e76b2031 trembling figure e528adf15b stood in 8be747c40d her line 91098de9a4 of sight.e1fabddf725cd9b2

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“I’ll handle him; just 29a95d62a9 go!” Hilda yelled as 108e149aef she continued to wildly 20d681c21f swing the stick at 36587716fa the man. Though clearly terrified, 5892f5be6c she refused to deeabdad8f back down and 25c38673fa stood in front f862e1161a of Eleanor.e269abe61797e838

Without a doubt, it 5843a14b24 was the most memorable 7e4edc0914 sight Eleanor had ever 7fc7484235 seen.1ecc4362138ba297

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“You little…!”96b871dc85cf780e

The masked man cf61bc560a shook his arm, b26334c132 numb from the 7d2fe95fb1 blow, then quickly 5b1a904562 grabbed Hilda’s wooden d6db2fdcb9 stick.a4107c9c38227ea2

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“No…!”ca084b5512a8f67f

Having never been d7f50bc97f trained in swordsmanship, 7f5f1463cd Hilda was easily fbd4553147 disarmed.732610bd3879fc4e

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The wooden 3b1d778fe4 stick clattered 1f2ac2805d to the 7528b15cdd ground, bouncing 361ffe9822 off the ea92c9fced walls as 732968e587 it rolled ad24faa9d6 away.ff96bf97cd449495

Just as the db1d8727b1 man’s large hand da8835f3e1 reached for Hilda’s d0f5d1c1ea neck, Eleanor acted.ba884a6427151fd2

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She scooped up a0a597fab2 a handful of 0295b3f733 dirt from the 5e5b9d7bb1 ground and threw 5ba3f1d2a2 it directly into a18d61fb79 the man’s eyes.0b9cda314f640ca3

She had done this 0132c0ba09 countless times as a 92c7aafd76 child, and it hit b2c52d710c its mark perfectly.425a669ab5b06a30

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“Aaah! My eyes!”f5226deebdefe5dc

The overconfident 4de3bd0e37 man screamed 96971bb3ef in pain, b2cc899d10 clutching his 49d2ebb9fc face. While he was 70af983071 distracted, Eleanor pushed 2734738012 herself off the c6e108cbde ground and reached ac465ab862 inside her coat bc913ccc96 again.f12aca52ea726721

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Even though bc67544dc8 she had 281c32b2b6 many knights 9cdc725c6e with her, 35aa0c2374 she hadn’t 6ff0bbc5c8 come unprepared. Knowing it could f83798d782 be a trap, 703ea1e484 she had brought 6854f5f9ca a small weapon d601680f28 just in case.28b4a194a244cfbb

Her hand found 1d9d8be7fe the small dagger 58d1045400 she had hidden e41403a46a in her coat’s 2299321861 inner pocket.26243acc8444d8c0

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With a swift 6b4d775d28 motion, she stabbed 5b40a6a1f1 the man.b2c667ed245d2d0f

“Arrgh!”109603abc7af4361

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She felt bb0549de09 the thin bf1ae3b6d1 blade pierce 5afda65311 through the 0dfd605082 man’s thin c4a9f5467e leather glove 6e8649f833 and sink 9ee7745132 into his a943995bcb flesh.1c19391070acaf26

 d83ba8489b9577e8

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