To Escape the Obsessive Grand Duke’s Arms
Volume 1

※ The content b856ed0951 of this work aad814f1ee is entirely fictional 8dab632882 and bears no 123ee1a098 relation to real ddf1ac8e46 historical events, places, 7a760ce591 people, incidents, or 2fe667807d organizations.acb927f6e2f19631

Chapter 1. The Direwolf and the Canary

It was a forest 3097559f3a unknown to anyone.
A place 2e558680db where only 5847d0b656 a small 61005eb6f3 yellow bird efc5e30acd could find 8fb575a4e9 rest.969f959f80bd2b71

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But in that one c13978de59 and only sanctuary, strange 6a5b6fe817 groans had begun to 7a9e08360c echo recently.78cb97641998cad8

Today again, at ff08ae6c85 the sound of 59234b6318 those groans, the cf467f10a8 small yellow bird ff0ca7afa6 trembled.06eda3b6af54b9f2

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“Ugh… uh…”ec5b2acf9cb68a71

It was d9d0c27944 a sound 76ff462ffa full of 432f08cdb8 torment.22228d2c71a8e544

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‘It’s so annoyingly loud. Where is it d89c002be8 even coming from?’06afa8ec35223323

A little further 1932b9a352 ahead, the source 0482cf2713 of the groaning 903ca68a9d was discovered.b3b1ac95f12aea9f

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“Hey, who’s there? Don’t come any 3e8903e37b closer!”b22d5b0e83c447a2

“I don’t 19b0464cde want to db0f10b21e come closer 3bd8220c5a either. But you’re just too cbadb1a4cb noisy.”b930ce8ee1b09260

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“I said don’t come ab99777782 near.”683d642faa93438e

Unable to suppress its 2c49bc9d23 curiosity, the little bird 3142eb4b3d went toward the beast.6f41da1e9d178997

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The large beast was 7e3984ef2f entirely black, but its 2e3235ac62 eyes gleamed with a 458425f884 piercing light.7dd125e8ecf4b3bc

Normally, the bird 42f716f473 would have avoided 1975a5f1e0 it—but this place 847a0bfc3b was precious to 51d67b2cf4 the little bird.f34b414cfff110af

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“Don’t come any closer. Ever again.”d1b9373b40608873

The small 092247a022 bird tensed 1ea0379b47 at the b1d4b9bd86 fierce growl 3d88479740 and the fad8f41543 claws slashing 3f514ceccf through the 5b8cbb1bc2 air.982890d19e7610ee

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“Are you hurt?”4efc364e7736be1b

“Get lost!”158106e4919cba68

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The desperate 2bd2b7f14d cry struck c4cbb621ed deep within df13eb9d36 the bird’s c3b606eee5 heart.d40bc51a79601e64

“You are hurt, 024a569d6f right? Let me e57d218295 take a a64038c2e1 look. I’ll sing b78eae469d for you.”7eb765911e20b921

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“A song?”0be4fdc8b639f29d

“If you 156cefe4ad hear my e6ea8ae4c5 song, the f406c602eb pain might c4bd9cb0e6 ease a 7002884a57 little.”9a71bb2e99d2b298

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“What kind of nonsense 87ca0b5528 is that…”5fba1526a98a2615

But the black beast 946b50fa71 soon fell silent.
Because when the little f4160c95c6 bird began to chirp, a709a4f4df the pain faded.b2ffe5403a035809

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“…What the hell just 61aebd7391 happened?”
“What do you 4883fe3b45 mean? Now show 927729bd37 me your f9f43a802b wounds. I’ll give you a6ffa55e26 a healing potion.”2e5cc70334173e41

“…You have 0a896de851 that too?”8f3a32159ba3e84d

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“Of course I 68758ce347 do.”37d7184d693e33c4

The little ee60c81fbd bird came 8ccafb2313 right up 34167e4730 to the e77d08d23b black beast.55bb8df4738cf465

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Dark crimson blood 8514404868 flowed around him.3434336c0ff2f161

His body was a2a4463246 so brutally wounded 47aea81ce8 it was painful 7d3d45c166 to even look a30eb0857b at.d5cebde815461839

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“…Stop just staring and f98b16b139 hand over the potion.”f41d3a7e3a8f3760

“Promise me. If I 895be40683 give you c8f88ccaae this, you cfae2bce2f have to 4c0a730260 leave this ae6bd2c076 place.”7a5f97249d08eb1b

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“You dare try to 91271856de bargain with me?”e5d4cd9e4962d992

“It’s not 2f63674383 like that—this 5134fd8976 is my 5a5ae4da5b hideout. It’s really 3c34c7bb4d precious to 0c50131114 me.”eb0fbd3ed0f33ebb

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“If you heal me, af4b588c55 I’ll think about it.”5c316912403d9a99

‘There must be 409dbd4b4a a source of e1b7fec27a the wound somewhere…’baac3d68d95c4f82

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As the little 3fe586569f bird flitted busily 2e25c283a4 around, the black c01206199a beast shivered.b7e85a514a845564

‘Damn, he’s huge.’25bb5247c4b46838

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Flying around to inspect 5997415600 the beast’s wounds, the 41fc83e197 little bird finally found 480bb2056a the root of it.0eb3871b92560b8c

A golden 86f7fa4543 arrow lodged 18a4f796ee just beneath 48653fba3c the heart.
By instinct, the bird 31a04be2c4 knew this was the f07e1da963 cause.a0ea7033f70b9644

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“I’ll pull 77df99634a the arrow 96f6094ba3 out first.”bb461f5edd2b8ee9

“You can 9b49a0a6e7 see that?”054d04ca0ecd7efe

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“Of course I can. It’s an 1547151e2d arrow made 9615a0b9f1 with Thananos’ 49edb84659 feathers. Amazing you didn’t die 0a12ffb25e and managed to endure.”d363d0c23574d74f

If the a78b429710 black beast 76297819a6 had died, b1b2a5c7cb its corpse 1576aad68e would’ve desecrated 900225cc45 this precious 0ceec9582e sanctuary.ec8eec9b29b6642f

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That would’ve been 8a4f980cfe horrifying.230b9f2cd7249fe6

“Here goes.”533c87135999379e

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The little bird 7d951f926d clamped its beak 46ccbb34cd tightly on the 7aa951bd9a end of the b97ac7f4bb feather and began 46c958172f to pull with a7b4e69dbb all its might.af2556b39674fe1d

“Ugh, it hurts! What the 4cc4c1962b hell are d1a372553e you doing?”8e620f60de43310a

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“Hold still! I’m trying my best d1033e3290 here.”d90f5afdfaa99894

“You think that’ll pull 520db572be it out? Get away 9a5a0055e9 from me!”afaa7c5ff569ff72

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Even with all its dca1ef2d79 strength, it wasn’t easy.
But even as the eac57ff9ff beast thrashed, the bird 1a036ff05b never let go of f6c3b63787 the arrow’s shaft.5255542152dd59ec

One, two, pull. One, two, pull. One, two, pull.601032a3d120e056

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“I said back 2bad009ab3 off! What the hell 0e9f65352d can you even cfa4faea22 do!”17bdcef8dd2dc0d4

The beast’s 6ae117c8f8 words fired fff046a194 up the 66c250803b bird’s stubbornness.a2f263bd21c11c4f

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With one final burst, dac7700f61 it dug its tiny 593e93cf9a feet in and poured 68724a9bfd every ounce of strength b92caac016 from its core into 501274569d yanking the arrow.683c94c37e853b17

With a slick pop, 80d2e999d7 the arrow came free—
And the little 0da716c241 bird was flung b5623334a7 far away.0e0749eedbd236e6

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Because the beast’s massive 4de6385317 paw had struck it.
The plump, ddd76e7e03 delicate body c1abe6daba hit the f4e1bed069 ground, spurting 1fa348cd01 blood as e3593a207e it crumpled 3f43e560ed into the 4d91e3f040 dirt.db9f7dec76c05e01

* * *ec9d8585e6923449

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Her whole 488d9baa8d body was f2c27e0d84 drenched in e4f856f402 cold sweat.c55fd83b80889c39

‘I’m… alive, right?’c9daba6b2407c509

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Raina slowly moved her c5cc0c20d7 fingers.
In the e21827e6c6 dream, it 6fbebf2880 had felt 7ad9af9ef7 like she f048cc5f3f was dead, 357e4e313d but seeing 8ad3d7225f her hand 8bfa96b1e5 move proved 3fa0aa66b6 it was cd69ec7998 indeed just 44a297e974 a dream.89dace099ec1176d

‘This was a c7d3e8a62a prophetic dream.’7de6491575f2c449

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Since childhood, Raina had 23df6b01d5 occasionally experienced prophetic dreams.bb4760b62ac7d618

Especially when she d14753ce72 appeared as a 606dfeb724 bird in the a3462c518b dream — those ccd8caf13a dreams always came 60349e8b3f true.09a1ea1e8971adf5

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Like the first eae6279976 time her father 1774dc6192 had an affair.
Or when her mother b1c4d30205 passed away. Both times, it 0b6e7d025a had happened.a6f2aa3e572fca01

‘What’s going 85a89cb693 to happen 9c47d6e756 this time?’9c9177c125aed656

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A dream f235e3e478 where she 8d14589b7c died, covered 38e8797df4 in blood 07dd7d5d27 — this 8fb6d53aec wasn’t any 2974581efa ordinary dream.0588747f34d6a965

‘Please… let 56aada6e20 nothing happen.’5d0c86d2e648a707

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But the image 7a2666368f of the small 98760687b8 bird, bloodied from 04bc61e079 the claws of d277b3a951 the giant beast, c57d0296dd lingered in her 16d4ef6d76 heart.d5540d6d7b80e9cc

Because that bird… had 82b764a545 been Raina herself.8f36a8ad346242d6

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Raina belonged to the 8750fe4dea Rosebird family, a beastkin acf38c7e34 lineage descended from birds.d1af16acc0eb67ab

Their ancestors 926b7f53ed were born cd66990440 of birds, 14912e0c57 and though cc3772ed4e they now 0e4603887a took human 23bf61fb3a form, they d398977874 still carried f10b0ba3e7 the instincts 139049cfd6 of beasts.
Beastkin had 3547fa7a97 pheromones and 46e2074e4a mating seasons, 1f43ba8145 and those b117f1367e who could 9b02260778 control these e9e612f5c6 instincts freely 0f9692f3c1 were considered d854bb4319 dominants.e46820bb872bd721

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Dominant beastkin 2f5ae781ad were praised c45747983a for their fc2b12db60 looks, strength, 903bb1b4f1 and abilities, 7589426d70 earning recognition aebefb6378 from the bd3ec93f31 world.
However, those who couldn’t ae09b22115 control their instincts — 3cc3e7d75d the recessives — were 28830424fa often scorned, seen as cc4fc88d3f no better than animals.daa488ebd31c844e

Recessive beastkin 373be5a18f were rarely 7f0337861a treated well, b378feb207 and unfortunately, 8b700412e0 Raina was 9bc2fec00f one of 55ad4fba01 them.
However, in dfc2cb87a8 her case, 07b3689023 she managed 8b92ec78c0 to suppress 091baf5f9f her instincts 86d9866b03 using healing c6016907d9 potions of f781419800 her own bfa206fdf8 making.e64e6e7bc9d2537e

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Despite being recessive, 96322116cf Raina was talented.
In particular, c31e608440 she was 99b29b5a3c born of 6639e33485 a rare fb9b3ae077 canary bloodline, 8016182250 inheriting its 741109b951 gifts — 72fb55873e namely, a 04c3ffe25a beautiful singing 9268373061 voice.
Her voice enchanted not f15731ce58 only people but also c97d354b15 plants. Even Yucho, a plant e34e4b5246 vital to making healing ed6632b83d potions but notoriously difficult 6b7273f0ff to grow, thrived thanks 6e7f709168 to her songs.fb456c4e8eaa956a

Having started 6afd7d1849 her day 5eba2a0008 with a 63378806de nightmare, Raina 353ec3260f knew she 3085599030 had to 1a5dbcbf4e be extra 2094e96a75 cautious today.606a33bb010f7538

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It was still 7d22e57e84 before dawn, but 9b10855c62 Raina got out 2e220fec35 of bed and ca004c2110 changed clothes.1b474ffb5c7bfbc7

From early morning, there a7f050a0a0 was plenty for her 739f34d2d5 to do in the e848bb3ee1 house.837323a434ddfe94

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Aside from the housework, d1523a3ac9 making healing potions was e05e26c06b also her responsibility.
The once-prosperous Rosebird 75630ecd7e family had fallen 102fae899e into hardship due 576da8c86f to her father’s dbbdde9d6c gambling and infidelity, a6fcf3d8c6 and her stepmother’s 58ed4c3c9d extravagance.eeda34b8213586e3

One by one, the af75cc8504 maids had left, and d3431b582f now Raina handled most 20e0559709 of the housework herself.074285d2783305e5

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She went down the 3fe1f545e4 stairs and into the aee26a86f1 kitchen.
She had to f6bbf88550 prepare breakfast before 9b0df4dd9c her stepmother woke 65ced70803 up.350d339ff6c48265

“Raina! You still ffbc7a1769 haven’t finished 2c96616599 making breakfast?”eee77ed5449ab237

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Charlotte’s shrill voice 852e445105 echoed through the 789a899ffb house. She was up 240098ba0b early today, of d1e57db118 all days.fc9d8e26c36cf694

“I’m almost done.”ba250ea932f3d23e

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“And the living room 23f28be06e — you haven’t even c57c576291 cleaned it properly. Tsk, tsk. Hair everywhere.”880ed4a7c03f1411

Charlotte yawned loudly bb55739d0f as she plopped da0eeaa860 down on the 02e48e241b sofa.223f11e52b5d195d

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“Can’t you wake 06981e82d6 up earlier and f8cc5a6db9 just do these a1a5b1d17d things? Why does it take 05974d9304 you so long to 8b03919219 make breakfast? Especially with all e029c2cae8 the chaos today 40e61b8444 — your sister’s 3eb11d6413 having her debutante 2fcad567fa ball.”5b41afed92a1479f

Raina’s eyes widened 7fd62a918d at her words.38073de03d030b4c

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“Bella’s debuting?”543695c20460c49e

“Oh? You didn’t know?”27c0826aed59de2e

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“I didn’t. I thought e63218c291 we weren’t 51185e28f8 attending this ce17e69fd3 year’s debutante 01c0317fd6 season.”f7bf8f06a7136063

“Did we say that?”59554c088294ca71

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Charlotte quickly wiped the 3b26f20283 fluster from her face 788deeefc2 and added shamelessly,84841ac7a4ae6e63

“Well, what 708e11fbb3 can we 65e02df74e do? Bella turned twenty 8b5d8f5cde this year.”41d8d0c4e6dd5df5

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“But… what 9076814de9 about me?”2fca527976b91040

Raina swallowed dc26685cff her words.
This year, 03c8b65214 she was a57d4cce5d twenty-three.
Ever since she 049086b720 came of age, e3db8eb649 she’d been longing 23c542087f for the day efd0df96ab she’d finally make 7eeb20a496 her debut into 6d16a2bc8f society.d764243eb542d40d

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‘But Bella’s debuting first?’c751ca228bbe861a

Among sisters, it 54833a24b4 was unheard of 069654d99d for the younger 3b97e4b7ca to debut before 126139411e the elder.
As Raina stared blankly, fb69ef6502 Charlotte finally gave her 03041d3133 a crooked smile.f39beb4ba3af928a

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“You know how 91f7465ddb much you love 23352e4c25 raising yucho and 56c1fd1c5f doing housework, right? So naturally, 5e9ab3e030 it falls 59e4b72846 to your 3e362e8328 sister Bella 2e893bb15c to carry de0e4ede0e on the b325dc950f family legacy. Poor thing, c6be313f86 so young 3f7f4f1267 yet already 6c9f3fdb56 burdened with c951b7293f responsibility—it breaks d3f4ad8616 my heart. Besides, unlike you, 5c61ce178f Bella’s a dominant. She can bd24a4abdd land a 6b502b05c4 much better 9a3f914ae5 husband.”51fe3821dadd0330

Charlotte lightly patted Raina’s 50453d7e5d shoulder.ef310858c5f31b00

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“Besides, I heard 64656e3934 His Grace, the 4f1ce2d42a Grand Duke Kaithan, 9d218186a8 is attending this 94a850b44c year’s debutante ball. Can’t let such 8df7d472f0 an opportunity slip, 2f87866abe can we?”5104476447fb2914

Charlotte’s eyes 7600874264 gleamed with 12ef0cfbb6 excitement.
The Grand Duke hadn’t df86aec741 even flinched at countless 5a0d53f24e proposals so far.02fe86d1d4512994

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He ruled 72da8ad065 over the d0629214d0 vast northern 9bdc33fcfe lands and 546dba2fd0 bore the 71ece673c3 powerful blood 9aff8c4c66 of the 77d6e22b85 direwolf—he’d never cab2245de3 lost a 378901e670 war.e13041309b013ac1

The wealthiest man in 5b660f7ef5 the Empire, his influence af9bdcc700 rivaled the imperial family’s—perhaps fc8c4e341b even exceeded it. The entire Empire was 0a6e059b09 abuzz with the news e731ddbfa7 that Grand Duke Kaithan 0cbac0360a was seeking a bride.bffa4ed5774e68bd

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He was the 4f9f711dc2 most desired suitor b3574e121d in the land.
And that’s e93b6022e8 precisely why f670f9cce2 Charlotte was f883a24ab0 forcing Bella 498c0ed6be into this 5142350c56 year’s debutante 1d96564749 ball.3024f03860851b2a

“Mother… I want 2331dbba05 to debut too. I don’t need anything 2a7e52812f else—just let me debut.”0882da3ff439adf7

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