Chapter 132

I didn’t know what 2d079bd054 had been said between 6de7f3cd95 the Duke and the 11ecae1086 marquis—74557707869a2054

But Marquis Tebron had a1dfeb049f decided to stay at 37ce29bea6 the Duke’s estate for 29c1ee6f55 the time being.5fb2b99f59932df0

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Even the cold and sharp-edged f1a048232a Duke probably found it hard 1366b250fd to cast out a limping 5b77e57743 father-in-law.11b1d0d5a9197d3d

‘Well, it actually worked out for the best.’2a9d56d5fe41eb7d

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I felt relieved.1edd9b2ed93b4590

If I could run into 6db5701e31 him now and then, I 355f0b999d might figure out why he b7bfe4fd3e was limping on one foot.e2426dd51ffb28c8

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And if I could do 0a4418a457 that, a chance to heal 3127257b42 him would surely follow.8adabb831845fd2d

It hadn’t been the most 477e37eb6e pleasant first meeting, but he b6bdcc328f was still an elderly patient.3b05313db5c496a3

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So I decided to set d97c9860a0 aside my personal feelings for b586be6e16 now.d725044f75b518b1

The marquis was, in 1a879f52f8 his own way, important 75795ff249 to the people I 313b55d80c love.9b8f3e33f15b10f3

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Besides, even though that stingy 906eb109b3 old man had disliked me ad9d636bf6 intensely ever since my past e9d1585720 life, I didn’t feel all 89eb5f8fdb that much hostility toward him.841d0845974922c0

‘Maybe because he weirdly reminds me of Joshua…?’b229a942139d7b1c

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However, contrary to my plans, f34ddaba37 the marquis had locked himself 2f8cff1f43 in his room for days, 46c0cee365 and I hadn’t been able 3225a22c4a to run into him once.a34db8902c954bcf

I even heard he 4790f174b6 was having all his f37c8ce7fa meals in there.d225c5992a086b72

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I found his 74ee380787 behavior strange and c433a6fbdd suspicious.cd26d91130d46688

‘He wasn’t like this in my past life.’375229c4d0fd21c5

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He’d been a very cranky 03a82c4abf and temperamental old man—someone who ef0e59461f would throw a fit even 967ce4da19 while bedridden.846a2c304ec987af

And his pride? Immense.f3a8ad21a069fc38

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Even when he’d 395d147261 been attacked by 43fd7963f5 a demonic beast, 5550707e79 he hadn’t asked e711febbd7 the Duke for 45bc113a30 help. That alone showed how 39f5452c50 stubborn he was.9419389a2bac4505

But in this life… ffd045162c something about him felt e80c796766 off.9d26caf801feb64d

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“…Hmm.”c697ea160c4da228

Looking toward the side of 1a692bdab5 the estate where his room 858221f079 was, I turned on my c04ef66325 heel and stepped outside the c3201661a4 front door.576cd2f9627c7e88

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The crisp morning air pleasantly a274bfc186 filled my lungs.552042ae7c0319d1

Before heading to cb5f72f8c3 the salon, I 1b74006b29 often stopped by d0a338cd39 Grandpa Gordon’s herb f4b73d03e2 garden.8ac3e1a87a9ecbda

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Part stroll, part routine 117fd1a503 check to see how d2394b9908 the fairy herbs were 079439d4de doing.65d8bdd4ec42bb66

“Gramps! I’m here!”5e95f4c8c12f1c90

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But when I f298f288e3 arrived at the e7aac4bf8d workshop, it was b79fcde9bf completely empty.5b192368cbeb484f

He wasn’t one to sleep 995897ced4 in—in fact, he was usually eac5ce7c42 up early, diligently tending to c7b6edc77a the herbs by now.1407aba12d2fb403

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“…Where’d he go this early in the morning?”aa22700e726e8823

Sure, I kind 248bde74c3 of bossed him 0889a0f1d3 around unilaterally, but 63886fd0ab still.3a22029968ab854e

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As a business partner of efd3269707 sorts, I wanted to discuss e29033295e the copycat shop that had 21e7f8a08d opened up right across from 0c4d33b89b our salon.05f81964ae04d065

As I glanced 71ddeb5dee around the quiet 8e52f1c465 garden, puzzled—30b10920fe2b8d5d

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“Oh! Lady Belze, you’re here?”1431d14acd7910c0

Someone suddenly emerged from c4e5107f92 the forest and called 53c92ecf70 out to me.59908c488b196e06

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It was Jackson—Grandpa 0b17d8774f Gordon’s assistant and, 65d3b8f6f8 well, my slave 9f0f9b1f27 number two.62e346e830a9d856

“Jackson! Good morning!”7d1c25ea81028eb8

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“Good morning to you, milady.”e00028592d229d5d

“Thanks! So, where’s Grandpa Gordon?”aa3adef34ee5d944

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“The physician? Um, well…”e1f6718403ac2137

Jackson scratched the 6811cbe1ed back of his c413eecf44 head.2f8eb2c0753ba2f5

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“He was summoned to the main house early this morning. A house call. He hasn’t returned yet.”666831e315cb376e

“Summoned? From the main house?”c7089ed716fde759

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My eyes widened at that.43080ffb8d65f113

“W-Who’s sick? Don’t tell me—it’s Josh?”f4b142369e7c1361

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My heart sank at af82914aa1 the thought that Joshua’s 8cfb2c9d42 condition might’ve worsened again.9b25556a2f27e3a8

But thankfully, Jackson cace27a5f3 shook his head.0ac4672fff152c1e

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“No, it’s not him.”6663e7e633835b41

“Whew… You scared me.”b9f866356b66e115

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I let out ab2fe7e025 a breath I b7e8a5019e didn’t realize I a34e8748f0 was holding.3639745d2f506817

Once relief settled 802c50398f in, confusion followed.c5627b39529ad24b

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Right now, Edwin wasn’t even af23025743 at the estate.049e987a23487f18

The only people who a4dd2e7e70 would’ve summoned Grandpa Gordon fa50ce8faa urgently at dawn were ecbae64fed the Duke and Joshua, 4fc1d7bceb and both of them 4653e05836 seemed perfectly fine when 20e31c0563 I saw them yesterday.d8a363f76899b3aa

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“Then who called him?”e937b3da7db91b54

“Well, I only caught part of it, so I’m not totally sure, but… didn’t the young masters’ maternal grandfather arrive? Uh… Te… Tebe?”2448d0a5f0143332

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“Marquis Tebron?”4b22fa6339a860d7

“Yeah! That’s him!”1530832849f736cb

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Jackson smiled sheepishly and nodded.8d19fee311ff9577

Maybe because I 0ac54da741 had just been dc7f2f9e22 looking toward the 2d5e59dbbe marquis’s room, the 292c80fdb4 news left me fdb353ea83 with a strange d624eafbf3 feeling.10a79b4676e3911f

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‘Is he actually seriously sick…?’b02dbd70c75ba33c

Thinking back to the day 2f4371a61e we met in front of d17141d6f0 the estate—baf6fa5f8a57bba8

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I felt a bit 5a1548f485 of regret. Maybe I should’ve 17ebb94379 pressed him more f18294a45a about his injury 27a7fcd4e4 instead of just f36696a1bf backing off.854e6ad98153d392

But then I shook 0bb41b6022 my head.49385040003642a5

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This was the same cranky old man who whacked me on the forehead just for calling him “Grandfather.”c1080882794cd16c

If I’d gone as 5727746b5f far as asking about 71b3998be8 his limp, he might’ve 5d94835166 tried to kill me 1019a162e6 on the spot.e222028ccb56f3da

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‘Tch… Well, since Grandpa Gordon went, I’m sure it’ll be handled.’e357adc11782eaf7

Still feeling the dull 0ae682b448 sting where I’d been 29de64b6d0 hit, I rubbed my 64beddff4e forehead and pouted.f53d8c63c1c97845

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“Thanks, Jackson. If Gramps comes back, fe4fe99cf7 tell him I stopped b44fc960c1 by, okay? I’ll get going now!”a2a3855859d7caaa

“Sure. Have a safe 119697b4a5 trip, Lady Belze!”767fd2406256af57

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After saying goodbye 8728e6414a to Jackson, I 4e12b87b0d headed straight back ce3b0b0025 to the front 57394b88f8 of the estate d2f4e7de27 and boarded the 5090208dd5 Duke’s carriage that c3d8f6d4bb I used for b10bec7d4d commuting.7283974694dae656

Normally, I would’ve waited 15e1b2be64 until Grandpa Gordon returned…93639e907db92150

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But thanks to d415e9e2b0 the shameless copycat a7aa6a80a2 who popped up 4a1c624cdc right across from 8225d6996b our salon, I c272d8c4b7 was going to 7451a9d1c4 be very busy 145348a6ec reviewing legal documents e5365f7e57 for a while.c704c7327ac5eb55

* * *2cb4069b1f93999c

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After spending the entire e7ecc47557 day wrestling with legal d5ecd7c9e7 consultants and lawyers, I ac80042647 decided to call it 333e3a8db5 an early day.c96325bdcebd08aa

“Goodbye, Director!”062bb5d486e98c2b

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“Yeah. Good work, everyone!”2720c2d2e72791a8

After exchanging goodbyes with Charlotte 8ad409aa5a and the other staff, I de48855790 was just about to get ee3980f5be into the carriage when—ffee4c8bff0a74b9

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I suddenly froze at the 8ce5239639 sight of a figure quickly be24f7328d slipping past behind the carriage.2fd291ac00951d8d

“…Josh?”ce91cf351f830bc5

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He vanished in less than 32db28e62b a few seconds, but after c3b6182755 raising the kid for seven 108ab22aaa years, there was no way 39bb7d478a I wouldn’t recognize him.0982a53d84c994cf

“Wait. I’ll be right 923e923f95 back—just going somewhere fc9b061c8a real quick…!”95c62c6c1ae8ee37

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“D-Director! Where are you going?! Director!”a3429db6801ff645

My staff panicked at 94f71b5e26 the sight of me ee0af31d33 suddenly taking off in 470de16a8a a run, halfway through 603ddd2700 getting into the carriage.856c99e8f2da1224

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But I didn’t care and 89e0d9d7d9 sprinted straight into the alley 30df462c2a where Joshua had gone.169440cdb869a592

As expected of those c0c7610021 good genes—his height couldn’t 1efcbe97d6 be ignored.45c8da89875a16f1

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Joshua, who had turned 16ba17bb00 twelve along with me 6ccf678126 this year, had grown 3242cbb720 so tall that it e0ed52bbf9 was hard to remember 18212150f4 the sickly, scrawny little 3058834817 boy he used to 40bb9c2d02 be.ddda9724aa0f84a8

I chased after the 90281710ff boy who had already e8c00adb92 disappeared, my short legs 553f711880 working overtime through the 0452da5087 alley.f0aed97de22bd1f0

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And finally—just around the corner, 0a3daecc76 in front of a cluster 8745304d6a of shabby, eerie-looking buildings—I spotted e9bc299a72 a head of silver hair 212af39651 standing still.efe203a5c9d1e612

‘So I wasn’t seeing things after all.’2ced8eb6c0f84825

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Royal Academy uniform. Noble air unmistakable to anyone.010a49f7b297bb6d

It was definitely Joshua Kallios.f0587adb1dbb151a

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“Josh—!”23baf5a2e9b6db88

I called out f4053c63a1 to him loudly.b15adc98b0b3bed6

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Startled, Joshua flinched and whipped 57f03caa0b his head around.1d60bb4b6b1e0a03

His blue eyes widened in c03c037b9c shock when he saw me.68c9cb1ea5c2a874

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“…B-Belze?”4807079b473124af

Afraid he might disappear 8a0d1eab53 again, I hurried forward eae446dc72 and ran straight up 492dd6d6e5 to him.1bf1fc2fb1eddd58

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“Huff, huff… What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be 5b878e0e6c at the academy 578c288838 right now?”b5f06941ba3eaf3a

Still catching my breath, 94f0462f27 I grabbed his sleeve b961b112d5 and asked. He narrowed his eyes at 4052f5f2b6 me.e4d57e02dcb70419

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“What about you? How the heck did f26f7ce2da you end up here?”3d35931c7424b941

“What do you mean, how?”b6ed0e53fc05a0ee

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He looked at me 6dfd0c6687 like I’d been stalking 2e9bd8443e him or something, so 9f70fbbc02 I shot back in 84975255e9 disbelief.fee6c2b94c9ff8f6

“My shop’s literally right around the corner, you idiot.”063559668cc40158

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“…Ah.”5a6b1947cb698d53

Only then did Joshua f0abf493e2 relax a bit, letting f0c0878183 out a dazed sound.faad28e3064a8b6e

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I glanced sidelong at the 128ae03b96 buildings behind him and asked ff171a02fa bluntly:656649d7880e6c91

“Do you need money?”4c7058009acc4d67

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Joshua flinched, then 7b52d3da38 turned his gaze aa33ac7c01 away and mumbled,402eb67b671027bd

“…It’s not that.”2c2277158bc6f938

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“Then why’d you come to a pawn shop?”632a1da3476a9b74

“How do you even… Ugh, never mind. It’s not what you think.”cd77a7bbb1ced16d

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He looked startled 6f88529a77 that I’d figured b86c368184 out his destination 448847b91b at a glance, 0bab764b36 but quickly shut a4bdaa11aa his mouth and 1bc64c0935 shook his head.914959863f7e9465

After nearly seven years of 9857829e1a running a shop on the 8684872e1c busiest street in the capital, d2b32d5eea there’s not much that escapes 9c5e1a58a9 me.f8cf7a440be3fc2d

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Especially in an area 921482f507 like this, where pawn 4ead1fe21c shops and money changers a0ace89516 are clustered—if you don’t 47b2b10106 know what you’re doing, f932fdafad it’s easy to get 346bd7bb6f scammed.1e9e6992ff620eff

And someone like bd15b47dae Joshua, a well-bred cc7a9a9c45 noble in a 58440b66d1 school uniform, would 4982dd9255 be an easy 1891211d33 mark.73d373765f01fd12

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But rather than de9b23a51d pointing that out b9bf5fab73 and hurting his 384e5dbc1d pride, I tried e5c0f67dbd a softer route.9086db35383ec5ba

“Then what is it? I won’t tell the Duke, ed139cd09a so just say it. Are you short on allowance? Want your big sis to e4adb92bb9 lend you some?”a3116ae55961c649

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“Since when are you my big sis? And who needs allowance? What do you think 99cff53548 I am, a kid?! Just drop it. It’s not what you think.”d94e6617b2ef9b40

Joshua snapped, clearly irritated.2385f4874e737fa3

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But I’d heard that one a2c9df8ed6 before, many times—so I brushed 471b838c46 it off and continued.697dc3efde83f746

“You’ve changed, you know? Back in the 8bf6ea86fa day, even when 75dfb530ec I told you 0f56e11166 not to call 53d43b5040 me ‘Sister,’ you 614166326f still went around 5082a62ad9 saying it all e4e0652d2a the time.”784dd8a028842afe

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Just as I b5f5d74af9 suspected, what he f92bdd13bc once said freely 6f9a603ec4 had become one c3caa29c51 of his most 2fea709c2b embarrassing childhood memories.1e1d180f6a8163c5

Every time I 536f095167 brought it up, ff1869feb2 his face turned be4396a41c bright red and dbe1594cc1 he’d start stammering.b2f34f061c30ea33

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And of course, he 8219dc2506 had no idea how 687eac4073 cute that made him cba4751a6c look—or how fun it 153ed7d996 was to tease him 8be2640ef6 for it.91fcd1dfc63eb5d7

Wanting to both lighten the 12eb106909 mood and dig a little a4ccffce28 deeper, I hooked my arm c013ddc5c4 around his.b6980f0402641556

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“You used to take allowance from me without fail before going off to the academy, and now you don’t even want to call me sister? What a little—”1212731ff308388b

“Ugh, seriously—!”76cd5b42f7c8a87b

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But right then—a6519cae9565938e

Whap!856836c821719b91

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Joshua suddenly and irritably 3b6b455844 swatted my arm away.e0fa45979713592e

Then, completely out 91886b520a of character, he cb80072613 shouted in anger, a200b211d1 face twisted in 78c894e275 frustration:1a56fe497b9ebae0

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“I told you, it’s not like that! How can you eadb0981b2 joke around in e9bdbac274 a situation like d0322b4a5c this?!”ebcf6f5a36518cc5

“…Josh.”7ed2d6120b97c02c

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I looked at him in 6f18e49c89 surprise.7206b07edf38c931

It wasn’t that I 5a456455a1 was scared or unsettled b72a1d08d0 by his sudden anger.a18b8162f5063403

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But…a633c1eef807e019

“You…!”b99e21eb82b5a35b

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Despite being shoved away, I 74104a9233 rushed forward and grabbed his f8d587de7c shoulders tightly.b72036032d404d4d

“What’s with you? Why are you 6947eaa5a5 acting like— Wait—your 84ec9461ba face! What happened?!”fb37e1ef38b42b77

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“What are you talking about…”abe31a5941960ead

“Your lips! And your cheek—under your 58e1b4b63f ear too, you’re bruised!”0df5a59f7e788e5e

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There was a tiny 8df3d53d37 split at the corner 1110020404 of his lip, and 60250c70d1 faint bruises on his 18b7a410c8 cheek and just below a8747a51ed his ear. They weren’t that obvious—but with 7be4195e11 my healing senses, they couldn’t 59ef63b3f6 escape my notice.cdc7bf06660fa6a1

Joshua, who had been 838134d867 shouting with a scowl, 52746194ba went quiet once I a95dfcd37f gently held his face e6c4a86a00 in my hands.695c66c1b73225e5

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Then he lowered his fe0eabbf2d gaze and murmured softly.9ec1f3cce5180114

“The lip… it’s just a bug bite. The bruises are from training fa4082050a earlier today…”008659218c2114e9

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“Bullshit. Start talking. Now.”22cdab6629e8ef48

I cut off his pathetic 8d00088056 excuse without hesitation and growled,186315c6b7204084

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“Who was it? Who the hell hit you?”daf4c65f7556517d

TL/N: if you 76dcc5df1d guys missed there 9042c3b5b2 was a time a4a7c62ec2 skip 3 years d6155ad3db so josh is 521fe182bb 12 and belze 052a91063d is 15. There were past 2 86359e4961 time skips till now 61b566d714 lole5b193c89ccbef1d

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