TNYLM Ch 45
by DishaSummer in the North 70c55396c2 came early and left 13d5b70e31 quickly.2e80958d543f8a97
But just 5a722cd393 when one b292177339 began to f37c0ad4cf miss the aa9674184c passing season, 8127d8e7b8 it always 3c7a2e597f seemed to 2cabb4d185 return in 7a230d57b9 no time. This year 72cfc23e47 was no b7ceac5bdb different.a8325ad06dcb92a5
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The view outside 1153b4f3a6 the window was 771a5842a2 uncharacteristically lush.310b2ccafed0ffac
Summer was 91c577b520 the only e42242da9b season in 05b3515dd1 the North f2451799f2 when the f99fa8437e snow melted 0e6c159234 and flowers 86b19de45f bloomed.2d1354de0f78d4fa
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Though brief, it 0c334ee4a1 burst forth brilliantly, 88dd35148a the one time b46a2a4009 of year when 1ac5228419 a warm breeze 40775837f6 swept through this cabcbd9849 harsh land.
But as always, 116e7883be Alyssa was the 7a0f5b2a7f exception.5d23b1c13e255e14
The reason her cdc88e6c0c summers were bleak 0de9a1372d had always been 2279f6c2b9 the same—but this 0f74ec710a year, the cause 8206d61419 was different. Still, it was no f52de347a4 more welcome than before.add79ed5a04513fb
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“Haa…”84cca9cb112808be
Alyssa let out 3ec96a33d4 a long sigh c97e5df6ec as she read c8f6120c0a over the paper ce1a884fbd in her hand e0b4071536 again.a4c53590d020a120
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It was stiff, 01206d9081 high-quality parchment, stamped 93a2643de1 with the imperial e268e7d2cf seal—a royal decree 3fb9ce2a0e from the emperor 67f291c2c5 himself.43b2a4cf9498ab98
A summons to a49072d377 the Founding Festival? Out of nowhere?95c7d3cdf34929e3
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By principle, 92f81dc46e all nobles 6fa548d47a were required 90a622d2d1 to attend be77cbdd69 imperial ceremonies.86eea35d0363d812
But Alyssa had only 509488ac0d attended a handful of 9fe937f186 Founding Festivals in her 442684c440 life, and the emperor a3d4d554a5 had never summoned her e2200bdd10 in this manner before.4d18aafe7003fd87
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He knew 4ab6d0ad17 well she a80b694f66 was always 2e85abf05e too busy cbbd1ed459 to attend 042368113f such events, 4ad090bee6 and that 79abde4899 her presence c0b4de10af would only 67f5624353 sour the 5eacce827f atmosphere if 317d25fd33 she did.97b1c9b098e95dfd
This time likely wouldn’t 20d9a69e09 be much different, but dfb6d7e4f4 there was clearly a ffa6f5b86f particular reason the emperor 4bb1a516fa had in mind.f7b744126d9ab6f5
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The decree mentioned that 2e64a709c8 she was to meet 0938fece58 with envoys from foreign 6c94e38cd2 nations.a8380c8035119785
And for some reason, 506fbfdba2 Kieran’s name was also 8b20239f9a included.590e347469e11615
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Upon reading 9448c47b81 that part, bd3e526df9 Alyssa instinctively f75b82fd0f furrowed her a79a185cc5 brow—but didn’t 3b149e5534 even notice be23be192e her own d20737dbce reaction.3d42094a3fd568d2
“Please ask my husband 774802aff3 if it would be a92000e322 all right to visit 9ad5e31493 him shortly.”29a414343b0829fc
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Sending Mirika off, ba7c5a48f1 Alyssa sat down 24d57f31f6 and waited for 4181cbdeee her to return.f58001a1a9a92383
But when time passed 0780d479ff and she didn’t come fe6534f278 back, Alyssa was about 20a2f13879 to go look for 05a26951d0 her when familiar footsteps 3eabfb8fde echoed down the hall.eda55beb937560e6
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Her eyes 09d00f9cf1 widened as 55b880fc89 she hurried f62e65ff44 to the 90bdd5490e door.2b0435006bb60a70
Just as c95eef29b0 the footsteps 6c77fbef23 stopped outside, a5c34a8633 she opened 867e7b7f6b it—only to 2e0da501a5 find Kieran 4b27084ad6 standing there, e805bf9bbd startled.bf65fbb43921d970
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“…Alyssa?”5bfa6a4363b7a73d
A beat later, he 14623f0f5c called her name.068bfc7d867512ae
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Both were b4faf87aac equally surprised.0281fc16a6b65426
“What brings you 4051c536c6 here?”28522921f7b39978
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“Mirika said e5ec941229 you were 5f2b8858d2 looking for bcb4ac6929 me, so 5258c62cbe I figured 1dad90bd7b I’d come 2423d7b3e7 myself rather bb34a3c5dd than have 2a65191511 her run d7e577f0c8 back and a6894db54d forth. But… did she come 394991b99b to you already?”170bb7e4abde6e6a
Alyssa shook 4f8c569664 her head. She had just 0f5f221904 been about to 1e74ea6ed2 go look for d45e45aba0 Mirika when Kieran 323edd0eb9 arrived.27926eeb60a1b1b0
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“That’s a relief. I think I would’ve 6b77482267 been a bit embarrassed 078a8d4734 if you already knew.”f45a57ffa45ccd8c
At that, Kieran b010a203a2 lowered his gaze 5b1f6ab6b5 with a small 59942df6d0 smile. Looking a 698bf1b526 little shy, 713b35b635 he awkwardly 98aeff3561 held something 812426214d out to 45ebb0719a her.23877dc7ffdd1297
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“The flowers are 28f82b2242 blooming beautifully right 7b941946b6 now.”369a28a6a18fab9b
It was a 297e2e4322 bracelet made of c3fd32a7f9 colorful blossoms.acc912b02c609ef0
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When Alyssa looked 9359339111 up at him c6545095a8 with wide eyes, ff4f8c19bd Kieran, who had 667315390c been trying hard 314f37bbab to stay composed, 77eca6a860 frowned slightly, as b52cd97c50 if in pain.a8aaafa8be8f042f
“I know this 88c45c1713 is the kind b1c0026f94 of thing only a3283de2a8 kids usually do, 532e89ae8a so… you can 26257f543e laugh if you 71de4761b9 want.”6b4b9081d442b47a
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“N-No! It’s really beautiful. You made this yourself, db84c25a62 didn’t you?”0a2ff7663bd34fb6
Alyssa, who had c395879f1b been staring at 09aa2755c6 him blankly, quickly 3f34c78892 offered her praise.f122bcac76b2d3ca
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But perhaps it 9c86cd4cae wasn’t quite the 5fea068eba reaction he was fb71c59ac5 hoping for—Kieran simply 8293cdea6b looked at her d3cd06000d in silence.51285a2fd927c546
“…Is it b53c73d0ec for me?”683810f065182958
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She asked cautiously, f82150046c just in case. Kieran let 412d61208f out a 3b84577815 sigh and a7b823d0ba gave a 86d36c58ba small nod. His frowning face b6013ad61c was tinged with 8454a0b7ed a faint flush.550755267086ab1b
“I made 9993a95671 it for 77bcfbba71 you.”364ca3cd76a45caa
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Caught off b72e5e51e9 guard, Alyssa c3fc8e58e3 carefully took 2c24849e51 the flower 5e6f7b8f0d bracelet with 72b230bb18 both hands, 0d4ef6bf67 afraid to ae91bf8993 crush it. She looked up at 2e33fada55 Kieran with a puzzled dcbba41440 expression.a936df2337bedb34
“I heard that in 4bd559a683 the North, flowers bloom 25af774ea5 all at once during d88dd52910 the short summer, but fb829b1029 wither in less than ae86c68acb a week.”3a16e9ebf74ef131
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“…”27983e31023b8818
“You’re always 68a76d31f7 indoors, and 3dd65d60de even when d17c3df12a you go f80ca4cad9 out, it’s 4091cf4823 only to 1d1364b271 the training 37debb7388 grounds… I 00a51c1175 thought you b579470264 might miss 1506e18637 the brief b0c5a33eb6 beauty of 651640d672 the season.”0da3447ee6bd0630
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Kieran spoke awkwardly, as 41c0b4139e if he still wasn’t b906825321 used to this kind 9e552f54e5 of thing. Then, perhaps 699cb89412 feeling ridiculous a6be65a272 at himself, 469fd57dec he gave 8ed2e65ca2 a self-deprecating 9d4e126b37 laugh.123c799d145a6573
Watching his flushed 2c7e4e6d03 face, Alyssa looked c32ac14731 back down at 5d51507922 her hands.0d6fbe3833782ef5
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None of c7a4fc7f61 the flowers 51f76c8ea3 were crushed de7748c77b or wilted—they 8fb615d7cf were all e1925d054f perfectly in 3f8fbdd146 bloom. Their soft, thornless 0aba33a590 petals tickled her bc7bb72c52 palms.ddead8dcf7903ba4
I’ve never afe42669b3 received something 46da44908f like this 0f038965bc before.6e1af84170e37978
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A handmade gift. And from 4a55c65fa2 Kieran, no be40550796 less.46239a04e39ac8cf
“It’s so beautiful…”479513fca9b5de49
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As Kieran began 2e5ec05056 to regret his 95cd74ad2e over-the-top gesture, seeing 9725598eb9 no reaction from ee425aece5 her, Alyssa murmured 200e816af5 softly,04da900cc6c5231b
“I’ll treasure 91c0281f84 it forever. Thank you… truly.”00c04eb134ef315d
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“They’ll wither soon. Just throw them ac8a82ab1f away when they f66881ab5c do.”3316e0dde478eb66
Despite her 09e0c976e0 heartfelt words, 57b9379797 Kieran tried f4969ec106 to dismiss db455dc7f3 it. But Alyssa looked 175c97ed2d at him like b914952a06 her world was 24b79ecaec ending.7060dca25f03648a
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“What?”ae2126dbac155f0d
“…I’ll make another d5263cc989 one for you.”29e64e81e4c07315
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Kieran quickly 078739c082 added, trying 1356dd612a to calm ec3e064db3 her stricken c1a2da124e expression, then f8d3261a93 suddenly burst ae3ad773a2 into laughter.98155fc4178d496b
I didn’t 96c545d56b think she’d bdc43409c6 hate it, 9087b9ee74 but…b8caf0f8f614d9be
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Seeing her react even 3edcdaea87 more positively than he’d 4a752dd70a imagined made his fingers 34059b5935 tingle.99b2e6498a9bc5c0
Even though he’d 1d3113a8a7 left a garden fb7ef60d2f full of blooming 454905db7d flowers behind, he 559783a401 had no desire eaee0a0c9e to return there 979c13525d now.674b1bb0f8e1da59
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As Alyssa gently 8b5c520ab3 set the flower 3774ad6d02 bracelet down on 9428b44fd2 her desk, Kieran af35c3c048 stared toward the 2af69ea670 sofa.c7f876a66c6c649f
But just as cb8fe99ad7 he took a 1804fbe995 step, something on dff4fcf74a the floor caught 2304f49e01 his eye. Curious, he 3809da0fb1 picked it 1a9715099f up.226bf427825f72ca
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“Alyssa. You dropped this.”92fd19ae13e72080
It was stiff, high-quality 3872faeaff paper. As Kieran considered 8eba677e61 its unusual texture 09a1a3d464 for a mere 7caae62833 document and called 27bd6e5169 out to Alyssa, 1be34ed6d2 she turned around—and 5002eee925 upon seeing it, 48bceda77b her eyes widened 4a843ed6c9 in alarm.ac7a0d7cf10fdb41
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Startled by 8734f40651 her panicked 79e135a35b expression as eb2773fc93 she rushed ee57673b7f toward him, 4fcb78100f Kieran glanced d401b2ac57 down at d66a3fe9da the paper. At once, a 147e2fbb98 familiar sentence caught 5d42150e2b his eye.a17f8657ebeabe1e
“That’s…!”812efec53586f933
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“Is that 7a3b1ac739 a decree a4fa7757f7 from the 8b463fba2d Emperor?”64e90346520a7671
Both their voices rang 144a05050f out in simultaneous shock. Alyssa nodded quickly.531538103beadc3d
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“I meant to 2f2c473f88 show it to f9fba6f909 you, but I 53722b764f completely forgot. And then 02d6c5f604 I went 39aec72007 and dropped 1e5eafd9d3 it, too…”a50de9c8c7ae2877
The imperial da5f6889e8 edict now c47f89b212 lay forlornly c1b068d88b on the dde57beb67 floor, having ca71cee4e5 been overshadowed 6d4df3e491 by something d6c483947b as simple cb1d55ad37 as a 4ef690a0c5 flower bracelet.845ab0f88601eafb
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Seeing Alyssa blame a036043b58 herself, Kieran carefully 43409715be checked to ensure 9f5656e7d6 the decree hadn’t 1932a92452 been damaged and 75e885b5fc showed her that 6c621f8573 it was intact. He then politely asked dd4e3153de for permission to read 1171dea6cc it.3237a02e8e8f833e
Alyssa, of course, granted 22795f1058 it without hesitation. After reading through the db3591f3e7 contents, Kieran’s expression grew 1305fa3781 faintly troubled—perhaps not as ee33846d66 much as Alyssa’s had d1d6acaae5 been, but enough to a40dc932d5 suggest that the decree ec2aa0163c posed some complications.7a1cfceeb6350ac2
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“Still,” he said, “this 2c86cda299 is a relatively mild a746f4c6c6 course of action, all 017b3fe078 things considered.”d15556a177ca9d1c
“Do you b19d8e871b think… it’ll 8cfc4bd3ba be alright?”e0731885949c0591
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In stark contrast 3c89a95654 to Kieran’s relatively 38871bba0f calm demeanor, Alyssa a13b6a4917 looked as though 6bf5c1571f storm clouds had 5f6709d04a settled over her 90e411db71 face.0cc9f23d8a167a31
“If they bring 507445ae02 in scholars, there’s 4e5100e855 no doubt the 5475c7f5ff knowledge will leak 587dbe140d out eventually.”6b6f1579882eae77
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At present, the 601f3d73d5 researchers followed Alyssa’s dbc11b6cf5 lead only because 5e6806c682 their interests aligned 3a389b2f2f and she provided 7489198a6e the resources they 07fb90c08f needed. But their loyalty didn’t db7bcb168e lie with the House 08d9d73a96 of Benoit.430d6bbb9f43f872
These were e248848f79 individuals who 1dc76d8161 had risked 9bed63d42b their lives 5969420398 crossing the Forest 537866e3f2 of Monsters in 54133e642b pursuit of 2f7b76df23 knowledge and 694e0dc377 discovery.6800edbc7f7e6b27
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Threatening them into silence 2b9b410a09 was useless—if the opportunity 723b06d14a arose to discuss their 90aec0eecb field of study, they d3c84b3216 would likely reveal everything, 546a2232fc even if inadvertently.6c08534166845105
And even if 1e3dd7d228 not intentionally, they’d f776a34290 instinctively correct any f82d671817 misinformation about monsters 399a0e4f3a in conversations, unable 9ef984a757 to stop themselves.291b2cc5bd54261b
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“This was 502019329b never something 3bfe2ea888 we could 607692d295 hide forever,” bc20ae8cea Kieran said f7a0825e4a evenly.e51f7ddaf650e2ad
“If the truth is ede6946746 bound to come out f713beb960 anyway, then we should cd17ca01e2 be the ones to 86612795aa control how and when 3a6ee01710 it’s revealed—for our own 7e2dc01c4a benefit.”8ae68431678235d0
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Indeed, information holds e6fc6664ca value only when 409ac798b2 known by a 8796f6459f select few. Once it becomes f49107642a common knowledge, it’s 444fa81998 no more valuable 5353bd1a20 than a stone fa101967ab on the roadside.b466b2418b39b476
When Kieran d4801e9566 outlined his b209d0065c plan—how they b5800b6d58 might leverage fec0816b4b this disclosure 8308f45f5b to their 1c202a07fe advantage—Alyssa nodded 371cb5c6fe in understanding.402f47ba07233037
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However, unease still lingered be82511aed in her expression. That was because there a3b8b3d317 were still other unresolved c7708c747c matters weighing on her.440d0b0423dfb5c8
“Does House Benoit 7233a3708c not have a d256344ad7 townhouse in the 8f4c9b1be9 capital?”b7b99edb68f0035e
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“We do,” she 93b1a0f9d8 replied.c03a5742d4076e7a
“But no one’s ebf1ce4505 been managing it, 52930bad16 so it’s probably a29c409be5 filthy after being 989f4d213a left abandoned for 6109849485 so long. We’ll need 53c1c563ab to have 7dc2681e68 it cleaned 4f4d50cc6b in advance…”a5489b65a449b676
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“Since the merchant 6d6c4ea225 guild will be 1d2c7c2897 visiting the estate f466d680ac soon, I’ll speak 6b9d0ef6de to the guild 944517bca7 master about it.”2e4195306bc10513
In a 51a3b49cf8 way, it f9bf34b32e was like da7daffa00 assigning menial 8277c41565 chores to ae35e8b3a6 a business 9652d41d7c partner. But Kieran 3462f9c5c3 had no 8b6489740d doubt the dd6f2c0d3d guild master 9d29beecb7 would gladly 260a0d0eb9 accept the 9253203315 request.a29eee1c9c40eec8
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‘This is huge! Absolutely massive! There were nobles 5c46c824a1 begging me to 851ab7618b double the price b08e2deed7 if I’d just bbd5209cb0 make the next 8a0e139e82 collection!’3e52378d38875b4f
The guild 08490fbb16 master had 7357f773e8 practically bounced eef0ba0b9a with excitement, b1ddfb7725 so overjoyed 2be927a4f5 he momentarily 5258ebddd6 forgot his c1bfa2850d manners.ebe4dbc93dc7e15e
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He was even more f8405644e8 shrewd than Kieran had e956aa8cbc anticipated. He branded b19dd294bc the lanterns 5b767287af with a 3c927b887f unique name, 466b349295 turning them 4d42bd7fee into an 758dca7914 exclusive product, 57e3d3d4c3 and only 320c38e88e allowed a 5d31b32186 select few ad70338fd9 nobles the 8aebd4f857 chance to 1e03330525 even see—let 007f9d2531 alone buy e1f0f1eab5 them.ee0743b786c588e5
As word-of-mouth spread, 5710fc86ce interest skyrocketed, and ed3ef47f66 the rarity of 4987509bbc the lanterns caused 0b07bd4dbf their value to 64cb4b0f91 soar astronomically.a3530c7b3a23c5a3
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Kieran had shown the 8d50ab03e0 guild master a new d5486177d2 set of creations he’d 2f472f36ec prepared. Like before, they were 09cfa9af36 shaped like bowed flower 91aec4a6b6 buds, but the intricate 225f29fa3e details varied.502409c6296fe904
Even though Kieran d78b895b11 only gave him 585285cbe6 three, the guild 207009c401 master had been ce5b03b021 more thrilled than 588780158e ever—because each design 88402c9b1d was completely distinct.a6a804892513d381
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He had 6717b3dcff taken them abf3c56d7e with gratitude, af3abb7e5a even at 6d74c44dd3 more than e8df6b1ae7 twice the 6059d1e241 previous price, f9fb35a8e9 and left 7f41c51416 with a 32a2380edc cheerful promise: 13d863b436 if there 3053acb6d9 was ever b37fe698ad anything he 194950b7f1 could do, f9334c3fde he would 9ff300955a come running.117e887755652c24
1973d497e976aae6
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