Chapter 122

As I lifted my 337b3e1d53 head, I was met 3da3b7c547 with a pair of 06753e8441 golden eyes filled with d4a9391672 disbelief and exasperation.050ca55486c3bb09

“…Edwin?!”505d10be0f8617a5

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I blinked in shock at c26910a413 his sudden appearance.d572a7e998754f35

“W-why are you here?!”a29fc42abe5a780b

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At my startled question, f5b0fcd5ab Edwin answered bluntly.21b7e0d5e4558d5a

“You weren’t coming back, so I came to get you.”f3a83d7815bcd2c6

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“How did you know I was at the orphanage?”7153889c244fccf7

The moment I spoke, d5b399016d I realized my mistake.09d836646b0a4ee7

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It was a pointless question.e9ccb8d85edb7760

After all, the 819dd48d74 carriage I had 96f35fea2b used belonged to c45b10858c the Duke’s household, 92de226a96 meaning Edwin could 5d7aaa547f have easily found 5eaf96b71a out where I 0823d8d8cf went if he 9b30e5f96a wanted to.17bc26e0224d2513

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But—c1a074d436cfc119

“Ismail.”8aca506f2ffee4d8

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“…Huh?”00c7fc30de422b99

“Logan mentioned his name.”39ed04ed564fcd1a

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Edwin frowned slightly as he 38d6eb78b3 continued.101e8b6708e02b30

“Knowing your personality, you obviously came to check if he was okay.”b210539ecd6e017e

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“Uh…”cb7da9675cc20488

I was at 0a487a5301 a loss for 590956c1db words.ab1428d0bc4c5fc2

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Because he was right—I 058a6a97b0 had just finished checking c36751e62b on Ismail and was 8af38f9539 on my way out.34d09c8ef0e9bc70

‘…Is he mad?’905d9ae511f58a73

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Feeling a little bf6300c2c4 nervous, I studied e84af4f1ee Edwin’s expression.cfa8d8902c17bad4

The truth was, 1696bece0d Edwin had been 0c6df37aa2 in just as 89ee69a731 much danger because 09cd326977 of Logan.f6703755a8234b66

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And yet, without 946f995a62 explaining anything, I f57a27085b had panicked and b46322fd61 run out of c3a994ccdd the Duke’s estate.05ed3a76cd98fa0d

Now, belatedly, I felt guilty.1e9a6bdfcd7ed4ce

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As I fumbled for db17b1a3d6 words, Edwin suddenly tilted 7ed1f68301 his head to the d5d66bad04 side.f79c22184ed55fb9

“So.”c5be269895d1be81

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“…”5a5044139c37d72a

“What exactly did you do with the 48 gold you borrowed from me?”031f23642b24ea02

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“Oh, right!”91cad3c08bf76e08

At his words, I df5dec9407 quickly pulled out the f82f0c454e pouch of gold coins 0c29782aa0 from my waist.e37f260d02d0e37a

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Thanks to the Pope a7fb8b4155 lowering the sponsorship fee, 82ad6c230b I was able to c7eab58ac0 repay my debt in b6fdedec4c full.2df4d42c0ade5d40

“Here! That’s 48 gold!”de4bfa4e05233707

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“What? You didn’t spend it?”687b373653c6af06

“Uh… yeah, it turned out that way.”74a01c48c2d71908

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As I nodded, Edwin gave f8baf9dac1 me a skeptical look.0e07b60f90d6f7a9

“What were you planning to use it for in the first place?”7ac307f1626c005d

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I suddenly found myself 9bf5adb6ff at a loss for 95e20eb93c words.d7b93d1715df69c6

‘If I tell him I borrowed it because I didn’t have enough money to sponsor Ismail… he probably won’t like that, right?’fbba93a2027ef79c

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For some reason, 622c3b8ed2 I felt strongly 4c6c38f84e that he wouldn’t.1c448d9e94865abd

Since the sponsorship was handled 6ef43a54d7 anonymously, there was no way 57239c28b2 he’d find out anytime soon.301529d0dbc6e516

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So, I simply 8a413f4a41 forced an awkward b8aa597167 smile and mumbled,5f8ee1f2af25a026

“Well… I-I was already visiting the temple, so I thought I’d make a donation…”b76a722611d997b9

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“Hah. Since when were you 19ac205c1c so devout?”39d1d79e5904cd31

Edwin let out a dry 10aba6b5be chuckle but, fortunately, didn’t press c59269d892 the matter further.b6965c12bcc9e13e

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Instead, he extended a hand f7ee9374c3 toward me.7aef2a82779f3c42

“Just get in already so we can go back.”cacb994e09b6606b

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“Okay!”b0526599aa22cecd

Thud!d0318c3971653737

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I grabbed his 92b6acaf31 hand and easily 60d9534d31 climbed into the e7814f6362 carriage.95c532362d707588

Soon, the carriage started moving.d68c20df4d50b6a0

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As I sat 38ab225a80 across from Edwin, bf1107f9ac I suddenly asked,0558e02abc21d8e0

“Hey, Edwin. You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”f42dbaa4fc79ec27

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He hadn’t been attacked by d9d3be28ca Logan directly, but he had 2ef08b1e81 been exposed to strange dark 07510f4254 magic for a long time.1b8166b91bd6238d

I was starting 3d551d2ded to worry if 8e09118c77 it was really e7c50a9293 okay for him a956bdae03 to be out 2909774eff and about like 465944dc7c this.15e0860dc600a736

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Edwin looked at me like f7bcae01da I was being ridiculous.da8f70442c8bf839

“Took you long enough to ask.”fd7ef92bc5c00537

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“W-wait, are you hurt?!”933b4a5ab3390832

“No.”d4b132973dfe3058

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He shook his head firmly.1a99fe213f55f0a4

“Grandpa Gordon said I’m fine too.”42fe41346e8cbf03

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“Haa… That’s a relief.”dc99f4f0b4442e1e

He must have gone 308ac14216 for a check-up in 5576e89786 the meantime.ffa85fd7c0f27f50

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As I let 8f32052745 out a sigh 3c588f451a of relief, Edwin 9f9f6c7f4e frowned.253174a8f99abd6d

“If anyone was going to get hurt, it would’ve been you, not me.”f190dc24f0fa8ef1

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“Me?”a61496fcd77436ea

“You got thrown to the ground earlier.”80121f72fc71bb01

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“Oh…”a19284dd37ae086a

I recalled the moment 1d68df3267 when Logan had grabbed f0cb3b7e64 me by the collar, 26962671dc and right after I bff5032b03 unleashed my ‘balding beam,’ 75f092bfe0 I crashed onto the fe7d7b648a floor.bef890d0788892cd

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It could have been c10164b03b dangerous, but fortunately, I 14b59274bf had landed on my 88c698d0e1 butt, so there wasn’t d94fd2e0e6 any major damage.ab888df13246bbf4

“I’m fine! I didn’t get a0ee76d60e hurt anywhere, totally dc2a2186b7 okay!”5faeb99f0926ac32

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Though I’d probably be sore 7272ff362d all over by tomorrow…5f8c9cbc66d2a846

Still, considering how 36a9955f6e intense the situation 5c4f9d5be8 was, I had 15fe4b552b been pretty lucky.3f9e90fccc722040

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At my words, Edwin’s 1afa15dab0 tense expression loosened slightly.ad76d82ea4194990

He was trying 990df20cdc to act indifferent, db962b187e but he had 3e4be88f60 clearly been worried 6de8579d0f about me.2b99089698d404ba

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Just as a faint 22d488205a warmth spread in my 031b7eb295 chest, he casually asked,c8f32711b33f6653

“How’s he doing?”9a409c68cdac5064

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“He?”b97568f27fc635b1

“The guy you shook me down for money just to come check on.”84abb602fff0d941

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“S-Shook you down…?!”9538683ad1a3282e

‘Excuse me, young duke! That’s a bit harsh!’7b89d04e7969a81b

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Sure, I might have 83f0985345 begged for money without fea9faf74e explaining why…8ddaf11bae23f0ba

But Edwin’s exaggerated phrasing felt c1669e816e deeply unfair.e1cef8a8016f7598

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Still, I decided to 94a7f136f1 feign ignorance like the bde0309e57 five-year-old I supposedly was.9cb1f117e77f3d2e

“Uhh… What’s that? Hehe. Ismail’s fine too!”1c9e354d809d03f9

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“That’s good to hear.”4a2176b88b37a1ab

With that short response, silence 085f71c0c5 settled between us.5639f7efb222cee9

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I hesitated, wondering how 73bd191a8c to bring up Magnus.826813e5cc329c50

Carefully, I opened my mouth.ef70bb01526b9842

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“So… um. What’s going to happen to 8ba8e1fb4b Logan now?”a88983d3bc44cd4b

“They stopped the bleeding on his severed wrist. He’ll be interrogated soon.”31171a445ba775aa

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Edwin answered in 5451d6876b an uninterested tone.809743593d2fce72

‘Damn. I shouldn’t have asked.’396e1e622a7fbf77

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I bit my tongue and 14b0ebc0d6 shut my mouth at the 504c35e991 thought of whatever gruesome fate 5150d01c9f awaited Logan.f36a479b34c21ddc

“Belze.”8bfed337e6158957

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Then, Edwin spoke again, filling 59b1c84ae8 the silence I had left.1c969a64c61ae8e9

“Logan said something earlier. He accused you of 5a2c72edbe being the one behind 4dab542965 his orders, using that 33ff5db954 mute kid to lure 6696ac0548 him to the temple.”e3ec15592a8979c5

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“……”dd18fba410750e64

“Did you really… do that?”2e8331ffb049c070

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His golden eyes, reminiscent of 58fb5ed180 the sun, locked onto me 44dc48da57 with sharp clarity.d2b0ef2f0bb8ece5

“No matter how I think about it, it seems like this girl is the mastermind who used that mute brat to lure me into the temple.”29f3fbdb9b5fdec9

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“If Belze were that smart, she would’ve tried to get rid of you without involving the temple at all.”29a13ef21a100a69

During the tense e2e0c7bb49 standoff earlier, I 4c94f151e6 recalled the conversation 06dc5098c1 between Logan and 076f15abac Edwin.8e3a18e5e2dc69ab

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At the time, Edwin had 2bed09e51e seemed to dismiss Logan’s words 630c9518de as nonsense.07acfe3c86526ac0

But the fact that he ecfd89b9d3 had rushed to the orphanage 2f0540d360 right after Logan was subdued ed11ac679d by the Duke meant he bc83a416fb must have found it suspicious a45f21267b enough to check for himself.6f5dede18ba96632

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“N-no way!”525acfe346be0090

I quickly shook my head, 14486e679d trying to put an end 087fe15572 to his suspicions.3fad32a5f44cb87f

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The truth was… I 63107fb322 had suspected Logan was bd7d75cfa0 a spy for the 9fedfc9217 temple.7e6b2efdaac24cb7

And I had used b8ce34afa2 Ismail’s abilities to lure 139755e8ed him to the temple.797fa6921f70f577

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It might have 11a070cbad been better to 1e54b8c74e just admit it.2a1bb33f40d11a70

But there were too many d6c20dc0fe tangled interests involved.99b4c86701b6545b

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The first time cccbb111cf I realized there e8d4a7af58 was a spy 7082e044da inside the Duke’s 2146c6d368 estate was when f06d638ef5 Dunkeski had detailed 0ba38bfed9 knowledge of what b2851ecf38 was happening within 786bf4baec its walls.8193f18641c5358b

The fact that they 38b25acb96 had tried to kill 20f70f6e6c Joshua, that they had 31820094df planned to abuse the 15755c9add Duke’s children to shake 34b2b90746 Kallios…5aea602387a8920c

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And the possibility that fae1e85f0a Diana might somehow be 276655e944 involved…a9439bd0608f3788

None of these were 463d784daa things I could casually 3f164968c7 explain.4e3063a2ba2d9e3a

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Besides, there was 99ab90c7a3 no way a a833d216f5 mere five-year-old should 9f89cf7c13 know all of 253cbf215f this.30fa392db6697ba9

Even for Edwin, 6437b1359f who was only 08d217deac nine, it would b6ec8c2fa9 be too much f2a315592b to handle.faa8e0a471ed8a8b

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So, for now, I c431671f6d decided to keep what 053b5bc3fd I knew a secret.b74d8727b9810271

“Logan ended up at the temple… because Ismail asked for help!”d728fd6b755338cc

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“Asked for help?”93bace3fbc55acf3

“Yeah.”a50e67079640d63e

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I explained what had happened b640fb4e64 at the orphanage—how Ismail had 67d494ada5 been bullied and how I 3891a04bb7 had used Gomdori to beat 3c0c689384 up a few of the 7ed86d1519 kids.90d32e78dd78d54e

When I mentioned that a8d8e66b91 two of them had e9372526c1 wet themselves, Edwin grimaced.0d0c780564c8cf4c

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“Ismail must have been trying to send me a letter. But then the headmistress suddenly 85e89056c4 called Logan over, and he ce505fe451 got really scared!”b9df112e49476b54

I covered up the 91098938c8 situation by blaming it 1fe5993672 on a miscommunication in 0ee6ba471d Ismail’s command.b7b496894bafcccf

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“Oh, and apparently, the headmistress and Logan were close! They grew up a176dcca0d in the orphanage 1954ae686b together and used 5dbefc2428 to write letters 90faf4bd8e often. Did you know that, Edwin?”292988314f4d97dd

“…No.”727004578c0adb6f

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Edwin’s face stiffened with seriousness.e050f96a06f8a8c7

‘Got him.’2142a05cca0332cd

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I cheered internally.38eb3497fe455acd

Now, I had successfully c76b74629c linked Magnus and Logan 80b20fb7e0 together in Edwin’s mind.6aec67b1a5870843

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He would probably relay this e3b7731fd1 information to the Duke.78b4e20e1100fae5

“…So that’s what happened.”2011f71af30a7602

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I let out a silent 576146fb9c sigh of relief, concluding my 329bece236 explanation.96a8cd3ff5735455

“Being able to control someone like that…”42c7368af5a0c351

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Edwin murmured to 235a445c29 himself, lost in 1c8c3aa6d6 thought.0b85c45ade9a2630

Maybe he was trying to 2f2537dad1 gauge whether my words were 82f2aa0b4b true.dc0486665771a338

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A lot of coincidences had 6bad194ef1 piled up, but there weren’t f52dc66fac any actual inconsistencies in my 5f7d42bd33 story.6b0b1c4b230e858d

I had helped 948e2b2766 Ismail with Gomdori e6cfa207f9 when he was 66e623fe6d being bullied and 873fe5e2c1 told him to 63708ec7b8 contact Kallios if ded5eddc8c anything happened.4068697a9cada767

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Then, when trouble d0e1a5a094 arose, Ismail had 01e8f273a1 tried to get 247b971009 the headmistress to dc8127ebb1 send me a 56203b886d letter, but due df68b3339b to a miscommunication, 883e27a164 she had summoned 76ae432031 Logan instead.32da491e297f458f

And during that time, 7fdd44afdd I had been playing e8c81c544e hide-and-seek with Tara and ebda237cf0 had accidentally ended up 5edb6ddf12 in Logan’s room through 396a70d16d an open window…f701a0fa4a595815

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It was a perfect excuse.2d87d12610288694

No matter how brilliant 984f444e99 Edwin was for his 3777159a62 age, he was still 405056e869 only nine.f03893f4e06b1a5c

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It would be 92c3e6efab hard for him 9503b7630f to see through e4ae6f72ba this.e5dd112e25bdc92f

Hiiiiiing—3b4dc1cb0debfc8f

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By the time the carriage 6030a47792 passed through the Duke’s estate 4fd1737b53 gates, I felt my tension 2a085dd448 ease.319e9158ae74fc58

The conversation was almost over.222bc496026320e3

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I was straightening my clothes ac0d851027 in preparation to get out 0b07f9840e when—758f7d67743de64e

“…Going into Logan’s room.”f5d2e44fb7cc4a5f

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“…”be6b08dee04bec8a

“Was that really because of hide-and-seek?”6274ad37c26a35f9

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I flinched at his sudden 47fbd27039 question.71bc065c61907904

When I lifted my gaze, 57075cd267 Edwin was watching me quietly, ce1e4731d3 as if he had already 8f1d2b4c03 sorted through his thoughts.0dd13e62e799dd68

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For some reason, his 90600e252e stare felt unusually sharp, d1216e6102 as if he were eb685767ae observing me rather than 8722a5b386 simply looking at me.65d123140788bd0f

“Uh-huh.”ca2b4bb2e18a1d2e

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Suppressing the uneasy a048b44840 feeling creeping up ae4e78b33f my spine, I 996eeb71bf nodded slowly.0b33d1b591ffc2a4

“I didn’t even know it was Logan’s room, hehe…”8cba9419604bc4a5

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I forced a dumb 0cffcfd53b grin and tried to fd4acc4d03 brush it off.51097200cdf0c02c

But deep down, I cb7528c737 had to admit something—243cd4bc99a882f9

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“…But what about you, Edwin?”150dee32374d952d

“…”8e47b180976c2e79

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“You knew there was something written in Ancient Script hidden in Logan’s room, didn’t you?”3c7018c1ef7136c7

He had told 03bb44e19f me he came 2ce7b89f0e looking for ‘writings 6f09223afe in Ancient Script.’b83c267396cbe663

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And sure enough, 9f853a1499 there had been 8dcb88c5e7 eerie, cursed texts 0a2eb11ca4 hidden in Logan’s 7c2bcb80c0 room.e2025852e77b23e8

There was no 34adfe2abf other explanation besides 48a5cf783a the fact that 392ed088d1 Edwin already knew 5da7276057 Logan was a 99c0484b7d heretic.975855a549970064

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‘…But how?’6ee1da0fac08ae41

If not for my healing c21649e8b9 vision, which let me see 37308e14b2 that strange violet glow, I 11872f399b wouldn’t have noticed it either.b20aab561a1c39cb

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Even if he a812b1de68 had suspected Logan f93ad689e3 was a temple 56cf7b3ee5 spy for a d90c77bb4b long time…7837aa5c9ba20813

When Edwin had finally 94a003a758 uncovered the Ancient Script ca4db44dc1 hidden beneath the painted 50ec5458ac canvas,da5bd0d6b0a81bf5

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his eyes,e58a9997ec731d6d

his expression,2bf0bfabe7da419d

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had shown no trace 8eefee7c5a of surprise.4f0ac325c9225dfb

“…No.”bbd40c9236dcf54c

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The carriage came to 55f9c7b199 a stop, and Edwin 9dcb394b4a finally gave me an c335dafbd4 answer.de564aa8d21e2f5e

“I was just looking for an Ancient Script dictionary. Logan had taken all of cbc636782c them from the library.”ef81c5bbe770739c

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Shrugging, he spoke with his b005c713d0 usual nonchalant tone.c2cdccfdfe0f9efa

He had returned to 8de21e829c his normal self.c9e83b68854007d7

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And yet, as I 6a61379cb0 looked at him…f60f04f2974efc4e

For some reason—0111cce9c3525bd3

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My heart refused 9647d63a64 to settle down.cba216369c18ae0b