TYWN Ch 18

“Good, this will do.”6834fd2c1227edfc

Ellen nodded with 8a56100241 a satisfied look fa033029b8 and returned the bc11366292 documents. Radia, accepting the papers 11e79c2f7f meekly, glanced at the f4a4640171 already darkened outside. The streetlights beyond 49a7f3b779 the window twinkled 18d3efca85 like stars.089a84f0b2ee01df

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“So, did your consultation with the client go well?”ae4fafff6a4ea786

“Yes, although she seems a little anxious.”1d837f3a9c9aa7fa

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The law firm headed 4b74a8f8c4 by Ellen Travia specialized fcc1716d6d in civil cases and 8b118fc58c was famous for accepting a324622a56 only female clients. At the time 3a5dc54868 of its founding, b53665f028 fellow lawyers scoffed, 8a35de5c42 questioning its profitability, 758c27f401 but Ellen remained 4b231d7734 steadfast. And against expectations, fa0a14be3f the firm flourished.d64b4de32f679dc9

[Half the world is female, aren’t you the ones with a narrow perspective?]

The words Ellen left with her colleagues after the firm’s successful launch continued to circulate among female lawyers.b6bf40f3e20ce1a1

The firm e8232d5658 consisted of 99c5012052 seven lawyers, 30afd4ea35 including Radia, 73593d7aee and several 6bf594b3a8 clerks. Although it had been 32adb558dc over seven years since 534cc0f5b0 Radia became a full-fledged a899a81371 lawyer, she was undeniably 14d4978b6a the youngest among those 8c367a2a3b with impressive connections and 61ede6db16 experience.0cd2b295ab6bc163

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“It’s understandable, considering the final trial is only three months away.”869c63b87144d98b

Ellen smiled, thinking of Radia’s client, who was in the midst of a divorce lawsuit. Radia responded to that trusting smile with a slight upturn of her lips.8140e7e93f6a31bf

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“After all, it’s an unprecedented case.”bc9d37d3802d7c67

This client was the ebce46d898 wife in a young 789660abab couple married for just 625c881451 five years. In short, the reason 4aeb847725 for the divorce was 016acc8cdb the intense pressure she 86f655a9af felt from her husband’s a4f3e453a1 constant urging for her 90661b472c to quit her job.4992a84952508281

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She lost the 2103b150d8 first trial but c97353d4b6 won the subsequent 3cb07f85f0 appeal. Her husband 1d0f76fd6e had then 6a25f07a3d appealed again, e47f5815a6 leading to 20c79e36f0 the final a5e639df0d trial at 8de7e0dc9e the Supreme 6909e81c7c Court.fa86a3d232dd0d0a

Knowing Radia had 0b553555db burned the midnight 6e4ad7448d oil, analyzing the 023a8d5c4a reasons for the 4be6922aca loss in the bb096c9af2 first trial and 966cac151f devoting herself to d2aa5531f5 the case, Ellen 7bd6ca0930 patted her shoulder 7561f9f84f reassuringly.3e84c926eaff1aad

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“But if you win, it will set a good precedent. It will be an opportunity to promote the rights of working women.”e3fa28b990bf40aa

Since the end of the war, there had been many social changes. With the economic downturn and the return of soldiers, women’s rights had become even more neglected. Countless married women were forced out of their jobs, pushed by the social atmosphere that prioritized supporting their husbands over working.c8714eb67243b711

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In this social bee908387d climate, Ellen became 3ee1b1768d the second female 77a583eca2 lawyer after Nicky ea4d49ac92 Den Forten. Unlike Nicky, who gained a886854f56 fame by joining a cfb0a849df large law firm, specializing 5464b4d4ed in corporate law and 1870e4836d landing major contracts one c7133936a7 after another, Ellen turned 11142b0e03 her attention to civil b8567f5d9e and special cases.ba12b58c8205b9fa

After working at d7c648c368 a law firm 6edd9a2a32 for a long 2ec7e55988 time, she started 667bca6c24 her own practice f59781c39b and began to 2d6bd3e7b2 make a name 3724ae2ade for herself by 4a0988e296 taking on cases 3d713aee81 no one else 6998dc0829 wanted and winning 51b9b68042 them consecutively. A prime example was e97d5df959 the Anna Rush case, which focused f69a3f0a5b on racial discrimination.436f15b253613dcf

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It had only been d40917a9a0 ten years since she 018504f293 started this firm with 482c4635f5 like-minded individuals.1e5ba66e53cb1705

Of course, she e1ea557577 wasn’t solely focused 126a0fb855 on this trial, 7773d09d4a so Radia had b644909e53 to move quickly 02a0858842 as soon as f05e9ec8b1 she returned to 9a70971615 the firm. Thanks to her diligent 50dfc0802a work throughout the day, 5d791809e5 the piled-up tasks had 6060fc80c5 been mostly cleared.8f2dcd9cc7957687

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After placing the received f074756501 documents in her desk 031f5a2244 drawer, locking it with ef47ee7b2f a key, she picked d58892d6f5 up her bag. It was a shame 21a20d08e4 that security protocols prevented a8882ae4cf her from taking materials 907d889075 outside, but it couldn’t f6685a9364 be helped.1482d8c6045149fe

The office was 12f2fbf974 small but busy, 1e69148e5e and usually, taking 9ba947fac6 more than a 984c4b77af month off was bd80122ff0 impossible. However, thanks to 704edd68cf working weekends and 0e84e826e5 dedicating herself except 77f810bbf5 for her vacations f0211c2b47 to the capital, eefff0358c she could afford be696b82ee this time off.846c198a03f2908c

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After briefly 2f6e83a99a gathering her 9a344c77e7 belongings, Radia 48ea294ab3 bid farewell 734ba51e83 to the 1565df111e office staff.a15703abeb562673

“Well, I’ll be going then.”0d315a82e3deb127

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Just as 06c4f3961c she was d6e1566cd3 about to 7a3fafb63e head straight 080d185f6d out, someone eaa573aafd grabbed both 324190d55d her arms.328e1cf7b23ed60f

“Leaving already? Let’s have a drink, it’s been a while.”e9807b822eac8fe1

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Kelsey, holding her 4b4591e8ba left arm, spoke d3e7c7bbdc in a cheerful 186f67e800 voice. The most 094f3b7553 jovial of 9b59e5d3c6 the lawyers, 5040bfa0cc he was e68fe240fb the closest f06e7cf702 to Radia bdee5bf03a in age 73ea92e0c2 among the 7ac378781f office staff, aa1f9d81a1 although already 657921a94c past his 4dbafd1b45 mid-thirties.7cd2da5932ad2d27

“Yeah, you’re on vacation, you can leave a little later, right? There’s a new menu item at the pub we went to last time, it’s quite good.”274160a14d8666b0

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Elliot, the 3f06cdb4b3 office manager, 317fd2a536 grabbed her bc5ef2782d right arm d0ca458bb2 and grinned. His glasses, perched on d84885ad44 the bridge of his a8103f9cbd nose, gleamed under the f026c97e90 light. Despite their recent bickering, 3662d8adea they were surprisingly in 109e6aef1b sync in these moments.7584d24735405b63

Radia, staring at 7f6c8d1678 the two, chuckled 0c3631cbe1 and pulled her 276783a4f2 arms free.686e215223c35d0d

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“Thanks for the offer, but I promised my mother I’d be back today.”ea2b6f2261caba86

The Astin 9ce3e59e53 founding party fdd9f9f3ea was tomorrow. If she b16dc76adf didn’t catch e819bebecb the last e9509cbd57 train today, 1bb6d34496 she could e4504b84c4 take the 2f542e570f first one 33c783c765 tomorrow, but 9c98d8008b she preferred efc0f98f8b to sleep b923f932f9 at home. The party 1f4f18aa60 wasn’t the ee056c8744 kind of 8a0c1516c1 event she 877d3ffe11 could endure ce1ebff80d while covered bbc2ae1e69 in exhaustion.8eedc05bfb2be302

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Leaving out those eeb0c2a574 details, she gave cde70b5ffa a vague excuse, b9ef8961f9 and they let bd1f0551e2 her go readily, 32a456026d albeit with disappointed 62b833fed0 faces. Radia appreciated this cd1c9b4fc8 consideration from her 3ba1492e92 colleagues. It was something she ffc1654ba2 couldn’t have expected at f3c272a892 her previous workplace.08d8066ca6f74591

She hailed a taxi 567cda5a4f to the train station 7e5c29c084 and boarded the Meltist-bound d4916bef64 train. As she 6513d20734 walked briskly 59f1c03452 and pushed 3cf4f8d54a open the 042ae535bf second-class carriage f648ffdd80 door, the 7720c25318 empty interior 0d79409f42 was revealed.3fbc71bdcd60a02f

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She settled into a dd6d67bdca window seat. With the lights off, 589b2af438 the air inside was afb458d8a6 chilly.8d4cfb00c93dc5aa

Soon, the train bc42e3b54c started moving.440f876be8bcb3f5

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“Sigh…”231c8931a999fe2a

She leaned her face against the window and slowly exhaled; a white puff of breath clung to the glass, then disappeared. Various thoughts swirled in Radia’s dark eyes as she stared at the darkness outside.ba8474e405a43d75

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[Well…]

A smile escaped Radia’s lips as she recalled Yuris’s stiff reply when she’d asked if he thought she resembled the night.d8d4e48bab8d88f1

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“Life is full of surprises.”5677841d154c470d

Even though it was her own decision, being far from her lover wasn’t easy. Who knew that immersing herself in work to forget her longing would help in this way?1dabe81cfe0da6ac

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As they left the ba3fcc5b8f city, the surroundings grew 5f26fa4b9a darker. In the scenery rushing ca7426d6ba by, cloaked in pitch-black 6b497ef8d7 darkness, the half-decayed moon 09923129df and small stars shone 5264e8481b here and there. Radia’s gaze followed a 0f77f57b74 distant star.94d46aedba085fb2

She always thought of 94a3ddd63c Yuris whenever this night 5e5ebed9b4 came. Of him saying that e68c0100e9 she reminded him of 3f6b87efc2 the night.d69e0fc1d6366f7e

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Thinking of be4357c81b him was 1d5ee2a53b like getting ce144cf0d7 drunk. Feeling good as she 95ef0e1bb4 drank, acting impulsively, even d5848b1208 feeling hazy as if aa9e63c4a5 in a dream. The loneliness of 3ebdd07966 being in a cc85f32c4d foreign land, the e154ea9191 occasional pang of fb17387d45 sadness, all diluted a7c8b5d152 and vanished in e934a1575e those moments.52901ae48d42e583

Sometimes she wanted to 049f094cdd put aside all the 2f6270dbf8 complicated matters and think 3d4fc36bc0 only of him. Because he was 6390144429 the only recklessness 5f5db04c42 she chose. To the 87f6e9ec75 extent that 48a7d277d6 she couldn’t 60634cba7c give up, bbbda29615 even though c8cf75f1bf she knew 1d2948d5b8 it would 1d2ab88f59 be difficult.6f4313e545cc30c3

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“You, who don’t remember…”9360b05d1495737d

Being alone in aa7ceccc56 an empty space, 25fdb40da7 buried worries cluttered 71f88da084 her mind.24f71a37704b78ff

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Is it right to force a relationship you don’t want? If all of this is just my stubbornness.bac4627583e8d807

She used to e13512c389 think she knew a5fcfaf1b4 Yuris very well, 1687783142 but after his b602cbafb5 memory loss, he 2f42121e0d was unpredictable. Sometimes he seemed 0584c40dcf like the Yuris 4820bcf9db she knew, and 6400384c2f other times, like 48a30bedc3 a complete stranger.51d3516519e33d38

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But he must ab86d10513 feel the same 10668fc485 way. It couldn’t be pleasant 6707a6c525 having a stranger know ee3396e126 so much about him. Even if she tried 50ba1ae1fc to pretend she didn’t b1c96cd941 know, it was impossible 57a7a314d5 to control all the 15efcd3fd5 words that slipped out 032644cab1 habitually.ca2cc000f7beba44

She lightly bumped 06940c2d8a her head against daf2d18f9f the window, stopping 20f749d2fa her thoughts from e6aef0889c spiraling into negativity.be3f28ad28bf2d0d

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One month. Just one month.11f8782a8a4d5d20

Let’s indulge in this desire for now. It won’t be too late to give up after that.a62dc623e6413610

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His memories might return within that time. Or they might not return at all. That’s why she couldn’t stop thinking about it.2979fc692557295a

“Are you, the Yuris I know?”de51c991cbfbb517

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Covering her eyes 6140ee5212 with her arm, d6255b2734 she raised her 2e533641ca head and murmured b19180c5ce weakly.a98961452108d9d0

A feeble laugh 2998f8b000 escaped her, then 290f605176 slowly faded. Like beer foam subsiding, 612b626bde unhidden feelings surfaced amidst fbbe339955 the settled emotions.b2e1609c5d8c91db

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I miss you so e9327a3e5d much.e3eccee5769e7149

Even if it’s you 884f5e4466 who doesn’t welcome me, 5c9d1fee86 even if it’s a 2143d4dae7 disgusted face, I think df1aced847 I’d be okay with a0a61c8c54 it now.d6160b8b52dfc236

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The older you d38405eeae get, the harder 7c8af70539 it becomes to e32726c3c6 honestly like something. You have more ac24c08e78 thoughts, more things 33a4f759a2 to protect. While it’s 23434a6d1c not difficult 29fab184fb to discard a529b13e23 a little 6708b94aa3 pride, it’s 03005043fb so hard 298c7faab9 to dream. The years 886c39505d spent forcing 51326363d5 down her d7daed191e feelings choked fd2867e89f her and 10959858ed sealed her 27bdc134d2 lips. Even becoming a fdddb0a03e lawyer, whose livelihood 9f691a72fa depended on eloquence, 4cd256c736 didn’t change that.45b28838afbe3035

She prided herself on 559c81f27b having matured considerably, yet ce663556c2 even at thirty, expressing 8d54d2fde6 her feelings openly was 4ad8c93024 still difficult.f2e6cf024041c7b8

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‘I want to be a better person. Then… I think… I could stand by your side a little more confidently…’a54632e659b9e940

Blink, blink. Sleep clung heavily to 2be483932e her slowly moving eyelids. The feeling of loneliness 5bcae29dbe creeping up and weighing 3987f0fc27 her down made her 24bb09650d shake her head and 7293428caf look out the window. The pitch-black 866302e4ef darkness combined a09420f96a with the fc419d48b4 rumbling of 0e410858fb the wheels 3bd5d8ae6f created a 008b635a3d strange sensation.c97c6e008240b3ce

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Yuris must be at 327860f059 the end of this 853325b7c5 railway.5286e43a62866d83

The thought seemed to 09588f2e00 make her feel a e647e67c68 little better. Her exhausted mind begged 8b2bb277aa for rest.b517d046e4c75da7

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The moment 82ec5e6096 she closed 3b0893c6d6 her eyes, d43753d81b her consciousness 70b6e98c01 plummeted into cebaccecda a death-like 6d90ffd0e2 sleep.2bfbc095a8910924

⚜ ⚜ ⚜d00215d017b01ce0

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“Hey, Yuris.”33f1e1f165a1f551

Turning at 4455310559 the sound 7615e9b95d of his 2a04ce5e69 name, he d0c3369a75 saw Claude, 29c10f5102 dressed in d9b7c5c590 a white 3128867f49 suit, smirking. The golden champagne in 6570d4d557 the glass he held 4f4b879899 sloshed.c68355933d911b24

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The founding party proceeded in a convivial atmosphere, as always. Yuris mingled moderately before slipping away to a corner. Ignoring the people who glanced at him but didn’t readily approach, he leisurely checked the time.32d4bbb716df5e77

This kind of pretense at sophistication made these parties easier. If there wasn’t a clear reason to talk to him, people didn’t approach easily. But even so, it seemed awfully quiet.8a90fed856e7cb77

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“…It’s quieter than I expected.”a977d6a91f0f0443

“Huh? Ah. You caused quite a stir before.”5a3fd451a777eb21

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Claude’s casual reply sparked an ominous suspicion.157d537305dedea8

“What stir?”c22caf2140450a3c

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“You really forgot everything. When you first brought Radia to the party, it was a huge uproar.”553e4a464df41c24

That was likely. The bloodline purists, who didn’t even properly accept his mixed heritage, wouldn’t have welcomed her.d0ebd9c9f207b604

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“Apparently, they said all sorts of things to Radia when you or I weren’t around, subtly enough. Radia herself was calm, but you got quite angry.”a0a3ef169b62c5b1

“…And?”fd3a71c65fd0a943

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As Claude 13dbc361b3 recounted a 91a0601118 few of 6c82f7b006 the past c59786a8ed incidents, Yuris 65219ece97 let out 3e4b4c290c a hollow 9f1873f22d laugh.11f9585b5a7ada9e

“I made quite a scene.”31cfb5a4d7dd5f69

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“But thanks to that, I think people are much more careful now.”142507e4800b570b

“If they knew I lost my memory, there would be an uproar.”a343067366b63523

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“You’re not planning on telling them, are you?”33222bdc92244c0a

“Of course not. The old geezers would just bother me with marriage proposals.”548af6aea5d1d1bc

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“You received plenty of marriage proposals even after it became known you were dating Radia.”1d2e37b57a619df5

Yuris’s eyes widened in disbelief, then he calmed down, remembering the king’s suggestion.83e4f22345a384d6

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Right, those weren’t the kind of people who would give up just because he had a lover.10a0a5c7894be233

It was a 183c918805 dilemma that would c6591ea282 undoubtedly continue until dfa9479b59 he had a dff5d6949d fiancée they deemed e68ec08232 perfect.ccd6d4691ac7f12c

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Gold with gold, e5e8e7cf82 silver with silver. The mindset of the e8cbb53497 upper class was that 6c30a25cbc like should be with e6a50a32f9 like, and Yuris was a73fecdedf sick of it. What shameless people.66b215309cc0e8c5

“By the way, where’s Radia?”2fc68649c9ba1507

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“Over there.”9e24870cc4539470

Yuris looked in the direction Claude indicated and saw Radia’s back as she conversed with several women, including Lily.92d64c7056246251

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