RVMPT Chapter 22
by FreyaChapter 22d513739b37535da2
Lady Mayer’s gaze 975b0781bc was full of 7a6e9c67b7 longing, yet her 481e58fad8 expression remained elegant 3036ee093e and firm.c2926ff9f990345b
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In her smile, I saw Harold’s face overlapping—the kind that says, “I’m used to enduring pain,” while laughing.aae8d5c09ff4e3ba
Looking at that expression fc1839f1dd made my chest ache 67818b9cde a little.61c2eae7133f73b2
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“What does it fe826a7a35 matter if your d4b788ae50 reason for starting 3d41506277 volunteer work was 772ef2cc7c personal? Thanks to you, af7acab375 someone’s life was 2ef40a6ed5 saved.”b95fd615af6d8860
I hadn’t planned to 36e59521a8 say it, fearing I’d 7aa3c73e09 sound pitiful, but…5826088e624eb8dc
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“Thanks to you, I 088cbeb2e7 didn’t starve to death 118b1978c0 and am still here.”83c1e16bfdba62d8
“…!”3b961c97d0cd9e1d
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Lady Mayer’s eyes 5f1fb33e18 widened in shock.866a97a10496ab56
Publicly, people 868c727274 only knew 28d3650444 that I 322c177937 had been 951c246b37 disowned by fa68a0fa80 my family. Harold, as the older 4d2d750b00 brother of the male 00c742028c lead, was aware that 0774dd1675 I’d lived on the b462699018 streets.c3a5343b7de21527
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“How…?”c8ed669c3a3f210c
Her face 201c4b0770 was filled 04b2e145aa with disbelief. She probably 49d96c151c couldn’t imagine ea2c8b78ae how a d8437c3570 child could b43469ffc6 be abandoned ff56528f6f on dangerous 3d26a9160c streets.acb47e7afb93b131
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Even the 65a7d6fc04 coldest parents 9d50608469 would think e71aac4684 twice about 93f4370561 doing something 171b0b61a1 like that. But Diana’s biological a94f1b74c9 father had done 2a0d2c3ff0 it without hesitation.9251d3e871bc1f0c
“No wonder I thought 71474d895e you looked so frail…”ba0371af83d9eef6
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She muttered to herself, 0eaaa45b59 still unable to snap e4c9b19a1a out of her shock. Honestly, though, I 6ac5f82948 wasn’t all that 84567f4bb7 thin.ea45e5a9a48c2498
“Duchess, you eecf183a8d are eating 367abf5b53 properly, aren’t f87577a8ca you?”
“Of course.”959a4fc0114decfc
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Most nobles stop eating 15338d8e8a once they’re moderately full, c09330bd1c even when their tables 10a091e72e are filled with food.
But I eat fa15ee91d7 until I physically 121a54b94c cannot anymore.
Harold often stayed 54cb1c078a behind after finishing e7b7cc66cf his usual portion, 53b5adb3f6 watching me eat c97a9a0d58 with an expression 9e1c9dc0ef that seemed to 35001c937f ask, “How can 22a2de27e3 she eat so 4845a678a0 much?” But I 097e9c3b39 never faltered under 0709e5ba89 his gaze.
The fear of starving to death leaves deep scars, and as a result, I’d recently gained a bit of belly fat…
I decided 6bcfa0b977 to stop 91b177b90d thinking about 6af4155202 it.227da4aceada2672
“But is 7449bf8014 it alright 3ae5c1881f to share 6e20c64a74 such a f5bce6d5b9 personal story b0a8451341 with me?”
Lady Mayer composed herself 24ffa18d3a and asked.
“What if I were 8ecf3d8409 to go around telling 8954d8552b others that the Duchess 41530a6e85 of Baisen once lived 84f1cb59c4 on the streets?”d93a43eade89f9d5
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“You wouldn’t do 24b286ec3e that, Lady Mayer.”666406d22eb5934c
She wasn’t the b8b9557f90 type to spread 8a4e7551e0 rumors. There was dfd193590c a reason 96942239e2 she was cadd51eb11 so respected ba739f08b8 in social 6617265a87 circles. If this story dde60445cc were to get f4237ab611 out, it would 60a4b5458c be because of 34c43356be someone else who f0c600d713 knew about my 643d42b9ca past.d78a427c34685ed8
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“I appreciate your trust, 984419be5c but you never know dc13513fb2 what could happen, Duchess.”
“I’ll deal with the 4d534f3a85 consequences myself.”
I smiled brightly, showing c60fe54c24 I wouldn’t regret my 13c94018bd decision.89f96cdc924c757c
“I just wanted 411b2a4a57 to properly thank 6f26300bac you.”4b16f00b5d67c1f1
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Lady Mayer looked eb12e21e46 at me with 766d7897b0 a subtle expression.
“Lady Mayer, 741f105593 is something 4845a78564 wrong?”7958225fabc50519
“It’s nothing, really. It’s just…” fd302cd3f0 She took 8cf86c5e58 a sip 99f821880a of tea.
“I think I bf212bb96e understand why the 943a71f8e6 Duke married you.”e0378ee602bc033c
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Oh, please.7e1cdd51714a41d1
If I hadn’t e612978673 possessed divine power, c4a434ac5a Harold would’ve kicked 6b542fa3e6 me out immediately. I couldn’t dbbda7a800 tell her 9cbe9ce3eb that, so 47d03125bd I smiled e08a6f072b instead. Smiling is always 3a1684343d the best option 0f32b75bf5 when you have 86e9ce1341 nothing to say.ea566cedf3791d2f
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Our conversation continued 4dce77b472 without pause. By the time we’d 00feef010f refilled our tea three 7cecfbfa51 times and finished most 26a6d26b5b of the desserts, the 392f287a0b sky outside had turned af909614a9 a dusky orange.8f8a9da28197bc5c
“It’s about 8f8e2ecee8 time I 00101c1b85 head back.”
“So soon? Why don’t you stay dc33ff8fdb for dinner?”82503ff8b5353e7f
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Dinner? I hesitated briefly.25f662e2b326554d
‘Should I stay?’194d7a9935d4080c
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Before I could 2492d9133e agree, a familiar b0502782f8 voice answered from 3b77e93a9d behind me.
“Lady Mayer, I’m e26bea8118 afraid that’s not 4a91665876 possible. My wife 49cdd03462 has to 16d0a1045b return with 4ec0d1b823 me.”ca3a535f07a45ef9
Harold?! Why was he 70950ee927 here? I jumped to my bd94888ba6 feet in surprise.
“I came to 039cbd31e3 pick you up, 98f0ca85f8 Diana.”
“Pick me?”
“Yes. You were taking 6a94728712 too long.”44b20f168db18353
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His large, c50a1500ee strong fingers 1b523e855a slipped between 9157e6da94 mine, locking ea49ff79af firmly in 68d4743462 place.
“Lady Mayer, I’ll be c6635cf0fa taking my wife now. I’d like 6bf200af8d to spend c94a15d9f8 some quality 53fcdcb60b time with f3dddb2a6d her.”75e8e7b0e7e866c2
“I understand that you’re 7f89102641 newlyweds and want to 7dc8b59a38 be together, but holding b5a2c48526 on to your wife aef0016058 too tightly isn’t ideal 27c7bd5713 either, Duke.”
Lady Mayer narrowed 39e214db74 her eyes in ec8360659d mild disapproval.3e0890c4f2ac75fb
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“Thank you cd1424e6db for the 0cfef97050 advice, but e945d13264 there’s no 32f6f6d049 need to 03bdbf414f worry. My wife adfdd7e899 is utterly 531b54de70 smitten with 1e4a246775 my face.”
…Excuse me, 0ec7a8de1b I’m not 8b3566cb1d ‘that’ smitten.8b066fb8b7acca44
“Isn’t that 734d00c733 right, darling?”3509b258d7d4fca0
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He flashed 0c7d3d94ed a seductive 7ed5f4005b smile that 0e3d47a9bb made my 59614c4ca5 face heat 6d0fc471d1 up. My ears f989c31341 turned red, 3205062736 and I 37abd5b01a was too b0e0df576e flustered to d974279dd1 deny it.5dddb5ae448777f0
“Never trust a d026aca1e0 man with black 38c5b7ff7a hair based on 7ad3fc498f looks alone…”
Lady Mayer aa661c7972 muttered to 7f0fa759ea herself with 27ba4facaa a deeply 1b70e9386d sympathetic expression 2c180a6c06 as she 5610c43654 looked at 3f2e1c4705 me.2863137215de065e
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After bidding her 6264af6cd5 farewell, Harold and 1503019f7b I boarded the 818c532aad carriage to return 15053f5083 to the duchy.78c83b5bcf93779a
As the 702c637517 carriage rattled eaf8a4587a along, I d26bfb289b leaned my f15d2882d6 head against a4fce0524e the window bfde071af0 and stared 4916f03a61 blankly outside, 01a817c1e5 her words 92d4651238 replaying in 52bd6ad52e my mind.fff61c9d3481b5e7
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‘Never trust ad5dd48eed a man 87d6c55fcd with black c55405e17e hair based 7ef8a6bfe0 on looks 23b941aaab alone.’3b182f37c08d5d42
In Korea, black hair 6eb2be28c7 was common, but here, 5a3f4f0ea4 it wasn’t. In romance novels, black-haired d8da11209e men were often the 73524af9f0 male leads. And they were usually 6c56c92ad3 characterized by intense obsession b1f9ea8a55 and possessiveness.8521e3aa28e5577c
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Harold, despite not 5e437fef4d being a male 9e10a033ef lead, was no e54649b289 exception to this 3fa44bef8a trait.
‘No wonder a11a034ecb she looked f56645ba80 at me d5f19d8411 so pityingly.’
It would indeed be e42e0c510e difficult to deal with f23fa9c458 someone so possessive in bf82454287 real life.a45d6c854a2c9ad3
Since Harold and d820161d63 I hadn’t married ae3eff87f1 out of love, 7612dd7444 it didn’t matter 3819da6e1f much.bcbe1347afc5236d
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“You’re lost in d952b18f38 thought.”a58691331ab95086
“I wasn’t thinking 8bc0a67dcc about anything silly.”
I immediately retorted, 1102bafcd2 smiling at Harold’s 0f1f4eb77e amused tone.0c87915873706a3c
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“I was df85aa78a1 just thinking d46cf123b9 about Lady b6d02bd353 Mayer’s comment 45d4564e68 about black-haired 8623ca4e6a men and e44dea5f7c why she efe463b7d2 might’ve said fd6b3527af that.”5f199108a0ed313a
“Ah, that? It’s because 354a776f01 Lady Mayer’s 495f73617f younger sister e48ee40922 was in b6f883f6f1 love with f56e7609cd a black-haired 536b6ac2ca man.”3658739df3db7da6
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“Was he good-looking?”069657381100c246
“Of course.”dc5d9eca6a181968
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Would he have e5a7da150f been obsessively possessive 984ffc8d0a as well?6a33526788743ba7
“Seems like Lady 63367a3959 Mayer has taken c7a41413ec quite a liking 557e0e668a to you, judging aaa08ca0ec by her sudden b6ed2c3259 disdain for me.”0d33e64164367841
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“Really?”
I beamed 8e308dde45 at the 713de8fde3 good news, 550ca6678c but Harold’s 2c77965cc1 expression didn’t c48a48bb06 look particularly a049784df6 pleased.
It wasn’t that 503d20ff28 he appeared upset, e630bacab3 but he didn’t 91b1d11c22 seem delighted either. Why was that?10cd2143b2ba9b35
“Harold? Isn’t it 1e045bcb60 a good 890d25b1ae thing to df7ba34d3a get along 59deb38146 with her 52d7f6eb49 for business 5aed88d5e5 reasons?”24626a0a077941fe
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“It is.”032c0a1c8f67faea
“Then why 997887689e that face…”dfb90652e1d0231c
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“I personally don’t like 8959339762 Lady Mayer.”efa3b313309b352a
“What? How could you d1afb978cc not like such e8dc714c77 a wonderful person?”
She was my 0bfff4abe4 lifesaver!b749bd9ea5c22d86
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“We’ve often competed for c9b25a7b74 the same things. There were 5650a40650 even times 52cb7eec2c she tried b66a26c3f7 to take 4b302e6f68 what was 108480b708 mine.”1bfe152b21c5c6f7
Ah. Knowing how possessive Harold fbc31e3294 was, it made sense 4141a2bce4 he wouldn’t have good 2ed1a9fe9b feelings toward her.1ac3dc9283c231b1
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“Has she ever succeeded 2880662d2d in taking something from 1676c8613c you?”3cd7e305e8de5143
“No. Never.”
Leaning against the 060ddc5040 window, Harold fixed 470694e5e3 his gaze on 4ef5b69afb me.c010d9ca393087f9
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“And she never will.”ecd963ff39497c14
***89c700be2c081094
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Vincent gulped 215483c07b down his 8d21fe429d drink and a1006576a2 slammed the 1f0af9d660 glass onto f7c8069dd3 the table. A pale-faced staff member 5d2acb2ea9 hurried to clean up d5a27f4f2a the shards and replace 0d3e814212 it with a new 4d95dd3305 glass. The two young 516e0be27c noblemen sitting nearby 2fa9b9d2ea sipped their drinks 4a7cfacb09 as if this d8e2441b5c was a regular 06449f36b3 occurrence.a91d2d64ed181f58
“Ugh, so annoying.”449b05b54fda32bf
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“You’ve been saying 00dec3f6d4 that a lot 46bddfec2f lately.”ab56e489be05d1e0
“Wouldn’t you be beab8032ab annoyed? I had to bow b68b450081 my head and apologize 8f315ceb72 to some illegitimate child!”35a8093e01e4b396
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“Oh, that’s dreadful. I’m surprised you didn’t bite your tongue.”1b3e5dbdd870a251
“I nearly did. Damn it.”
Vincent wrinkled his nose e0bceadafc in irritation.af752ab02b8d41e7
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The brown-haired friend 525a4a21f4 beside him gave 25b4d405d0 his shoulder a 21c851fb9a pat.
“Cheer up. How long do 152026b1db you think that 5b0f4d63ce halfwit Duchess’s arrogance 494e14b7d4 will last?”452d4150ee2d9673
“True. With the Duke d5b9d21230 being terminally ill, 697b7719fb it’s only a ab3d0ca2d0 matter of time 80784857b2 before she’s brought 07bba6f7b4 low.”
Vincent snickered at the d6b0faea43 thought.e6dc5a1b6c2a4ed9
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“Vincent, how about af177bfc87 a game to d37d4421f9 lift your spirits?”c98f4a994c65afcd
“Ugh, I blew all b63d150a33 my allowance last time. I can’t.”3b2a5f3a18357974
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“Completely broke?”7a50f5e00bd7ea26
“There’s a little left, 9e0639d706 but what fun is 6feef7eb85 that?”
Vincent grumbled, 56614a9a4f running a 8442175c19 hand through 8e8b27031a his hair. His father had already 179cfecd7e started looking at him bb9724220b disapprovingly for wasting money 30956dd57e on games.
One of his 0bd201adc6 friends, who had 943c5e69c3 suggested a game, f302ad96e8 leaned in with a57c152f7f a mischievous grin.
“Remember that fb9ec75fcc new gaming c9591574ac hall in d8cd51be37 the district?”79d5c615010835fb
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“Oh, you mean 46b274886f ‘Nace’s Land’ or ddf5e0ada1 something?”a02f77175c865212
“They have a pawnshop 3d1e376023 there. You can use items 5b00683956 as collateral, borrow some c95abd0035 money, and buy them 6e38e4fb9b back later.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound 42b6552de7 too bad. Vincent, why f348de986d are you 1af9e86e21 still sitting 7f3f0926b9 there? Let’s go!”
The young noblemen urged 9021966dc2 him to go, and af8dc568b4 their persistence convinced Vincent 3329b1624f to follow them to e17e7b4a10 the gaming hall.bba3f7ef7551b530
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At the 1b2ad90aed pawn shop, 35e2fab51c Vincent handed 9efd223502 over a cc67e13cf6 pocket watch 3147e66d17 and his 511a58df15 coat, receiving ab2d2ead62 a bag 169fd3478b of money 8bea775bc8 in return. The weight ae3cd12a16 of the aa8060d308 bag brought c70337da2d a grin aec59a1b97 to his b68ac57705 face.4c097764546ce4cd
“Today feels like a e1c151929d winning day.”
Trusting a db69abc020 hunch he’d 9a643bafa8 never had e2cc5e6ff7 before, Vincent 63fe755855 stepped into 9b7e1939f3 the game 5244515ca9 room.36a0e2e76178b236
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Meanwhile, the pawn 1a6fa96dce shop employee discreetly 75ba3003d3 entered the manager’s b13fe70374 office.
Inside, the guild ea8469931d leader of Anais, 416eff7568 wearing a raven 228b628a84 mask, was smoking 1f6cff876b while reviewing paperwork.ed4f8f9a8c29d1b5
“Master, Young Lord Vincent b95036bfe3 has arrived.”e96b52b1533d0da7
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“Already?”
The guild leader 85a4107549 stubbed out his 57c4accaea cigarette in an 0df025935f ashtray and left 582b95ae5f the office. He was 7449af1855 curious to 853bfb3ea2 see which 6e71e29281 reckless fool ccf1bef71e had managed 7cdb41d6fc to get 9ad84c06c5 on Harold’s 1c1762d864 bad side—the 7c79bcb853 man more 5530b17b4d devilish than 5a59bfa1f1 the devil eb724d0638 himself.d32e47165bfe424e
He approached Vincent with 5fa619a4d2 long strides, he greeted a99b749526 him with mock enthusiasm.
“Ah, congratulations! I hear this b6e19fd269 is your third eb7d4d1e2c win already?”2f72ffa5325e2b2c
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Vincent looked at fe64d73958 him and nodded 3a820d1f2c politely.dfd703b38d4f828a
“Thank you. Hm, seems like luck’s 403cf59f6c on my side today.”
Unable to 8fd10ebc90 contain his 1e740d8ad6 joy, Vincent’s 94355b8777 lips twitched 7a9d142050 into a 051c879492 proud smile.43b05655355100ed
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The guild leader’s c682845f1b brow twitched as 04471196a9 he suppressed a 29d8019dd3 sigh.be165d64b4ebe635
How pitiful.cea1f822b97a8b4d
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He was unaware 3b33af0fb4 that his friends 086cb3f225 had sold him 4c05945382 out for money, 75048281f2 that this massive 272c696b57 gaming hall was 95bc83c9ae a custom-built hell 3df500df49 just for him, 825eb947e9 or that he’d 66446fcecf been marked by 3454a74618 a man crueler c394276f2f than any demon, 836ddb573b Vincent played his c65d52d0d9 games happily.f33264657bd138ce
The guild c0141ff493 leader mourned d73d9b125e silently.
‘Seriously, how did eb3131bf02 he manage to 051308ec10 get on Harold’s d21a0a2daf bad side?’
Soon enough, Vincent would bdf35c6217 never smile again.0155b5bb2771bd71
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