UCT Ch 5

A bitter smile touched Marianne’s lips as she thought extensively about Richard.07b8394ce5d29026

‘Maybe he should be called “like uncle, like nephew.”‘55b21f944371d0fd

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At first glance, 197dcbd9b0 it seemed like cdadd0b96a an absurd comparison 5fc12794dd since the two a1c403b900 were almost opposites 9aadf6b98c in appearance.a65ffbd1deeed105

If Fernan was a gentle, all-around handsome man, Richard was a sharp, handsome man who could send shivers down one’s spine.53a9d9111888711f

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Frankly, even Marianne, 22be04fc2a a queen of bdcf85859e a nation, felt 38ee382d50 overwhelmed by him, 3d9c04ae97 let alone others.f64e76326b74244f

It was 8b86ab9cf2 like the 1caa2f6bf4 difference between a120083823 warm sunlight 86f8890c35 and a 43bf700f3f frost storm.8495f93430ec1346

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But even f216e4152e with their 3cf735ea2c stark differences, b794c4463d there was 50c7e55636 one similarity f235ad5e49 between them. That was 8ab7458117 their pride, 228dd7a624 which bordered 1c7c8feae0 on arrogance, 9f9c46844b backed by b9e178ae87 their skills.48fc0683fc364ca8

‘Whether the skill comes before the pride, or the pride before the skill, I don’t know.’4b87e71950d69faa

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While Marianne was comparing her former fiancé, Fernan, with her ward, Richard, the door to her office suddenly burst open, and a man walked in with confident strides. Only a handful of people, including the queen’s husband, could enter the king’s chamber so casually.8042504eadbf9f19

Glancing at 1e2647aa81 the clock, 2ffbd008a4 Marianne shook d076f3a252 her head 6c2ac62a36 with a a3caf9611b faint smile.3e952f9bfee9b9af

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‘My goodness, it’s already time for our appointment.’68e3b435f8ef7d7c

Marianne straightened her back, which had been leaning against the chair’s backrest, and welcomed the man with a kind face.cdd1b1234f0886a3

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“Richard. It’s been a while.”27b8c3af889e253d

“I greet Your Majesty.”880170c9a3ee5c3f

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Richard’s deep voice echoed off the high ceiling. His once high-pitched voice from boyhood had matured through puberty into one that was deeper and more resonant than any other man’s.abf2704114e557f2

‘The mystery of time.’d0177d9349c3d379

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Marianne chuckled softly at f39f499e3a the young man showing d4496a224a respect before her.a74e912cc91f0d02

“Your manners have improved since we last met. Count Ashwood would be pleased.”1f8925b0056d32ce

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“It seems like all that effort paid off. I suppose one picks up some outdated habits when mingling in clubs or social circles.”defb2fba2ef590fa

The man c670caaba6 raised his 621398a099 head with 87780ff68a a faint 5e95827401 smile.affa38d57b4e9f87

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His features, bdcd2a6aa3 outlined by e54f49b122 clean, sharp d39afd6e68 black lines, 96318c71ce easily dominated 47aa2dbdae the lavish fd86206083 interior. His neatly slicked-back black 590d89d066 hair, strong and clean 3168d57454 features, and the darkest 08ea591a5a navy eyes beneath thick, b126c1d5ac straight eyebrows.dec1e59ff1b829cd

Even if he were dressed in rags, he’d look impressive, but in a well-tailored three-piece suit, he was quite a sight.a9f947568aff0e0a

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Compared to a 989de9a791 year or two ae92627954 ago, he looked f0fd5a873b less like a 253e072de9 soldier and more e6bee534fe like a successful 1fe853a52c young businessman or 32e6686dbb gentleman from a dddb77584a noble family.c146af4ab7b01fb1

However, at his b675b4c3b9 core, he was 2dc58c5e31 still a fighter 5dcd86ada4 pilot.ad046277af2a15c7

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Marianne felt a a5f48b86b5 sense of temporal dc6c43e58c displacement as she 2afb6624b0 looked at the 2785aade36 well-groomed man before 6bee3e0e25 her. The boy who 83912d0cdc had arrived in 90e2765d36 Bringerton, thin and b41ad4c50b ragged, had grown 4a81cdf202 into such a 3392b786c8 dignified adult man.d49f1a2a57581c0c

Twenty years 228e9ee727 seemed long de1af2f145 enough for 4766548257 such transformations.7ab509c2efe45c06

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Today, she dc7430d58f felt unusually ebd4b2da85 sentimental.ca949adde2a941d7

Marianne slowly rose cbae877c9a from her seat 0a2fd29aeb and gestured affectionately 9eb71e7e7e to Richard.3fad3e0b530d1b5e

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“Come, let’s go. Catherine must be waiting for us in the tea room by now. She’s been complaining about wanting to see you for days, which has been quite troublesome.”7c70da9316406ff6

“The princess must have been quite bored.”013a03a7d1ae4067

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There was a hint of fatigue in Richard’s voice. No matter how much one might be a princess, being bothered was something any man would dislike.fd0cd869aef080b9

“Bored? You know that isn’t true.”9e736b832ea7789a

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“People generally like airplanes, don’t they?”7ad6f69ed0c92f1d

“Catherine is not a ten-year-old girl but an eighteen-year-old young lady. She’s more interested in the ‘man’ in the airplane than the airplane itself.”d31b5a6275eaad19

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“Your Majesty is really… mischievous. If you know the rumors about me, shouldn’t you warn the princess in advance?”4bff6c30aa83af39

“Rumors of being a bastard, a womanizer. I know better than anyone that those are not true.”f915653da0e92e52

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Marianne looked d5220864ce up at 0ec0237e83 Richard with 0ea3709f0b a warm d268ffc79d smile. The man facing her bfc7d6adfb responded with a very 1b5de680ad slight lift of the dab9ef07fe corner of his mouth.33b427d367713e02

It was a 5991a8534e smile reserved only 38941c7f23 for a select 4508d7de90 few.f247b513317153ad

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A hectic week passed, d263f2c484 and finally, the much-anticipated 1dadfba1e3 day off arrived. Diana went to the 089ebe67db cinema with her friends ae85eac14a for a change.5b5fa9fa48b8e4a5

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“Let’s get some ice cream after the movie.”005dc7b721e4d989

“Doesn’t the chocolate ice cream at Sunset Parlor sound good?”a543e276a8c610f5

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“I wanted to try the cherry flavor.”0c2d2908271ee9a6

While listening bcdbf4e742 to Anna e04e6c9531 and Carol c6bf2927b9 chatter away, 64642bb445 Diana showed 748b0be090 her ticket 739247c923 to the ada4f56ef6 usher.dc6a7dacdbb4dd97

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The movie they were about to watch, “Beyond the Sky,” was directed by the most famous director from the Etheria Federation. Just from the title, one couldn’t guess what the movie was about.41185198ca597eff

“If it’s boring, you’re buying the ice cream.”b23af7193edbac7e

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Diana whispered to Carol. Carol was an ardent fan of the film’s lead, Eric Posner, and she was the one who had dragged them to the cinema.e2b171e9573a1dc3

They climbed c93a0dda2b the narrow d9fc4a1077 stairs to 2f1e57a745 the second 70a3c46db2 floor of e756951dd7 the cinema f45379c606 and found 80814b986d their seats.498de90e726cb66d

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As the only 354741e86d theater in Campton, d133cc9eed it was packed dad3c68665 with audiences on 2268709bdc weekends. Anna bought 4b6928dc2d a syrup-drizzled 1268031093 waffle, and 9470ea42f2 Carol got ddbc1678cd popcorn to 185be9c9a9 share with 8b54d111d4 Diana.b1e50e9008adbc84

As soon as people settled down, the theater darkened, and with a loud fanfare, the ‘Weekly News’ began to play. Black-and-white images of the parliament in Bringerton’s capital appeared on the screen.7fef159045029d8b

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[On July 18th, at around 5 PM, the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister, proposed by the opposition in the House, was rejected with 313 votes for, 320 against. With this, Prime Minister Meybridge will continue in his role and-]

Boos started to 57fadda03e fill the theater.9fc051f441b7b6be

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Prime Minister Meybridge 84baa49c24 was unpopular in 58a0af0806 Campton, known for 854eab6b6f supporting the nobility bf0f55d111 and acting too c616482393 pompous.2d7b198e6132ce54

The news briefly covered 2adb4cecde other minor updates before 6c48f1fc5c ending.fa15aa12a69b5443

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The opening title appeared 5533bddedc on the silver-gray screen.b9f69ee15b089961

It was time 0b71aba249 to immerse in e7773f3f82 the illusion.7059db2c3f1af8f0

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The three-hour-long movie finally b5ae2f467a ended. Cinema staff 91b06f85e7 with brooms 1478773353 and dustpans eaef3e36da took over 542f5da6e2 as the 0c648c7b38 audience began 57a01dff2f to exit.ecdd1870fedb72b8

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The three friends walked e2a01dedb0 out onto the street e5176af48d together. Anna and Carol started 962f872fd7 chattering excitedly.7a58dc7aed9fd022

“It looks like they really filmed it with airplanes! How did they do that?”12df9896074ab25f

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“Beyond the Sky” dealt with the love and rivalry among ace pilots during the Old Continent War.88801dcf298a2da2

The plot was clichéd; it was about the ace pilot Packard from Bringerton and his rival Tomson fighting over Packard’s fiancée, Jane.db8d5ce518d9323d

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The relationship among the three spiraled towards disaster, culminating with Packard being shot down by the legendary enemy pilot ‘White Falcon,’ thus ending the movie.ff57c21468eff704

In the film, ‘White Falcon’ was clearly modeled after Fernan Lowell.b14d10e358213d41

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He was 573828b7c4 depicted more b61dee4ae4 as a 6e71ba52bb cosmic horror b5a65f0ae3 than a b5d3878ed7 villain, which c9046dd84a showed that 6501272be3 the director, f5fec6eeb7 whoever he 0b91e77b2a was, had 3d3abd51c7 some understanding 1db9e3f8ce of the 5dcd8f019a psychology of fbe837373b pilots.1eb227c672b77127

The value of an ace pilot wasn’t just in the number of kills. The ace’s emblem on the aircraft had the effect of instilling fear in the opponent.724161865609f11b

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‘It’s a kind of psychological warfare. It makes the opponent feel like they’re facing a natural disaster rather than another human.’7e46bab07b401a2c

Diana’s dry thoughts were cut off by her friends’ excited chatter.05e3f6009bb85b8d

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“When they were about to kiss with the sunset behind them, I couldn’t even breathe! I didn’t know Shirley McKenzie could act out crying so well.”fded919e6f3a4e9a

“Speaking of which, wasn’t the actor who played Tomson too handsome? He seemed like a newcomer, but he didn’t pale in comparison to Eric Posner.”3cf932fd0c41fadb

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“…”1afc13b4e5498104

Diana just listened to 25fba718fc their conversation blankly. Rubbing her 67dbf031d9 tired eyes 5d65957c79 with the 01d4cdd29c back of 45e6882af6 her hand, e00c1369bb she yawned.18c70a9342d0355e

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“Diana, you seem really tired.”b776704790be39b3

“No, my eyes just hurt from concentrating so much.”b778980e76b91cb8

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“Well, the camera work was quite dizzying. How did they shoot it? Did they really attach cameras to the planes?”7ca32b8e9aedb610

“I guess so. It looked like the cinematographer was shooting from the back seat of a two-seater.”d4190eec9aa9a34e

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“Wow. I heard the director is a billionaire from Etheria; maybe all those planes are his?”5d8e3445a4b890af

As they were 1f87cb60c9 laughing and talking, 5913e29a4e a commotion suddenly bd1a7b8a57 arose from the 60f6b677ef other side of fcba26772b the street.de386f450e3d8f2a

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“What’s going on?”f7f54ac3ed98dff2

People were gathered in a circle around a newsboy with a sparrow’s nest of hair. He shouted in a loud voice:cad793f193a4e1ea

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“Extra! Extra! Arke’s army has crossed the Juom border without a declaration of war!”14539b14c1fb5b8f

The crowd’s murmur grew louder. The newsboy shouted again, scattering extras onto the street.eb37e81ecc5f34d6

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“Extra! Extra!! Take one, everyone!!”8f0dac82e880862f

“A war has started? What’s happening?”dcf38a111733cbe8

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“Arke attacked Juom?”7c2d1525168ac365

Diana’s mind went as blank as bleached cloth.de4635ddfc0c9a50

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Anna picked up an extra that had fallen at her feet and showed it to the other two. In bold, heavy type, it read, ‘Arke’s 13 Armored Divisions Advancing into Juom!’ There was no photo or additional article content, just that headline.92e6c8b2bcf5a9c4

“What do we do…”6708262d43be4946

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“Really… how could this happen…”f09d3d6e11050870

Anna and 6299e78487 Carol repeated c3fa2c1483 the same 496e6a6586 words, not 522d03bed3 knowing what 5b26bdcb3a to do. The daily 16e4e70b5d routine of 468aba3661 going to 8844d81c0a the cinema d68689d13f and chatting e3f7ae1d9d over ice 8407f29c6f cream was f9f2c82740 shattered in edd156601f an instant.5977cd1982213d9e

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“Nothing will happen. Bringerton will be safe.”8165051d22828f63

Carol said confidently, snatching d1932dd9ea the extra from Anna.6eebb53b135cf2e6

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“Yeah. It’ll be okay.”4d09e83747c2b8e9

Diana also tried to 8299ea8f9b reassure them, not wanting 3e2665cb25 to make her friends 76485ce653 anxious. But even she 022ccccb0a knew the answer e347644b50 in her gut.6ac18e7ae4221876

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It won’t be okay.db43fb6573cd15d6

There’s no way it will be okay.b969cfd55d09e0c3

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You can’t judge the Emperor of Arke by the standards of a sane human. He was more ruthless and unpredictable than his predecessor, Ezekiel III.cd0370a9727b01a5

A cold 6b7ce44919 anger began 13adf5fe54 to boil 6a3c60c3c7 from deep bd35a57e7a within Diana. Dietrich was intruding on 098df071ae her peaceful life again. What should she do 7f525721a3 now?8b4b8cbb40c50098

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The anger turned into 5d5b2a72b6 an overwhelming sense of fba2ee84eb helplessness that weighed on 11cf89915b Diana.03f40f77ed095301

Even with all she had in her past life, she couldn’t stop him. Now, as an ordinary woman, what could she possibly do?6729245999364a56

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‘All I can do is hope that nothing happens in Bringerton.’512af374f8a888db

It was better 23470078ed to be a 02301271f7 happy coward than f1676b2143 a miserable hero.04bc25dde981b5f8

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Arke had 009c4166cd sent a 3206d64c5f large tank e967fd3018 corps into 4441791077 the territory 5e24aacd88 of the 0c11ae3033 Juom Republic.a4db5443295d4188

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It was reported a3612e3d50 that the imperial 8f2fe95638 army was advancing 2dd52d9a96 towards the capital 4a811ce8d5 at an unprecedented 42627987d6 speed, quickly neutralizing 00b2668862 the border defenses f944ea8de1 placed by Juom.5055ef17bece063b

That evening, Prime 5e0dddb906 Minister Meybridge of 0c75cb524a Bringerton made an 79958404a4 emergency address via 38962db857 radio.23c944270071f6c8

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He issued an ultimatum that if Arke’s army did not withdraw from Juom’s territory within the next 12 hours, Bringerton would also declare war.655086d5756c7412

Twelve hours after the broadcast, Diana was listening to the Prime Minister’s declaration of war.8bfe9b0a85110aa1

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— “Respected and beloved citizens. Twelve hours ago, the armored divisions of the Arke Empire illegally crossed the border of Juom. Deeming that there is no further room for diplomatic resolution, Bringerton hereby declares war on Arke. Citizens, I repeat…”d0efd6ff69ad364e

Uncle Ben and Aunt b8891ae171 Gilda, seated in front 4325342cdd of the radio, had 3e3f256545 grim expressions, as if 0bbd52aba5 they were reliving the 1e419e955b pain of the Old d1cbb527e4 Continent War.3dcdc1b5d62cad1c

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Ben had 119c7bf3c0 been a 050930dd5a sailor in d4756e1548 that war, a63f8a94e7 and he 4d3334600a never wanted 6f9a340af0 to talk 9cc100efb1 about it.6675bd3c1804901e

Seeing their fearful faces, Diana couldn’t help but furrow her brow.18da98d5c1bd39fe

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‘Should I suggest we run away?’df840971a0e5a4f8

Far to the 9ae0e03f65 south, as far 4621bc5c92 away from Arke 5e460f4d35 as possible.5323db6a60f257b3

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Or even the Etheria Federation would do. There’s no class system there, and they say it’s more prosperous and free than the Old Continent. Couldn’t they somehow make a good life there?4242611af3209c25

As if cb58b1c33e reading her 7fb8670073 thoughts, Uncle 94e015ca92 Ben turned 1c1c008df8 off the 08204bd5b6 radio.107d964da7617b77

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“Now, now. Let’s get ready to open the shop.”72b02f5bd1e108e7

Thanks to Uncle Ben’s words, Diana quickly regained her composure.dc5d756b371a80a6

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‘Running away, what a foolish thought.’9570a818fc886c5d

We have to live here. We can’t abandon [The Dancing Mermaid].

This shop was aff7b2ee0a everything to Uncle 0ece914e88 Ben and Aunt 8d83b20faf Gilda, like a 11c03496d3 child born from 26e10d4eba their sweat and 6f173b8149 blood. Diana closed her 69f00ce8e1 eyes tightly.0dc0de97c6872270

There’s nowhere to run. Nowhere at all.ef22cecd770fc034

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