Chapter 142

Joshua’s words meant 2d17276469 that Danvers Campbell 9c22e33f42 wasn’t acting out 1697a37b1a simply because he 529a8425df was a royal 0ea988fd30 relative.1bd3765a1428fabb

‘It’s like being the younger sibling of a school gang boss or something.’3312162269df6c39

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It made sense why it d8a23c428a would be overwhelming for Joshua 2436dab4d4 to handle it alone.22f7940cd00473d9

He’d probably get beaten 126aecb630 up before he even dc94f05c02 had a chance to 696323e71e ask for help.4b696d38437c087d

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‘And to make matters worse, he’s some sports star that even the adults secretly protect…’fdc836f53a62fa73

If slipping a few jewels 791c2f808a lying around the room into 12664ad113 his hand could help avoid 407d8b87d7 the situation, I probably would’ve 6de9fd9566 done the same.910f6d57daffccaa

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Though, stealing even the late 06d69faa09 Duchess’s heirlooms was absolutely unforgivable.c233bb202e3ad0ab

‘…Seriously, Ismail, why didn’t you tell me this properly?’a172674c27786aad

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I grumbled to 439959579d myself, directing my 1f507cf9cf dissatisfaction toward Ismail, bd7ad6dccb who had only c27214484a half-heartedly done the 3628d9bc91 background check.2a252fb926b2ee39

But when I thought about d377b6bcee how I could use this b3f99b5494 as a convenient excuse to 38150422b7 get something useful out of 95795d8ef8 him later, I quickly calmed 82d3a071b5 down.dad4cdf3a3fa9198

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“Mm…”290763b765c1360d

I swallowed down everything I’d e1eca2de84 been chewing in my mouth 84f20789cc and spoke up.3733a3dfb53f3ec8

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“You’ve got a brother too, Joshua.”f9b1fb6bd73b9094

“…Huh?”072cc59d879dcdab

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“I’m talking about Edwin. If you’d told him, he would’ve sorted it out somehow.”8e1ed9d639f69bbe

And he would’ve found a 4f159dde5f smarter and more gentlemanly way 66084a8a84 to handle it than I 5ea3814555 could.7cde4d6eef9652ad

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As I casually added 2c0413876d that, Joshua hesitated.349a3d197d9807b5

“My brother…”832c1b9046088e60

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He mumbled with a somewhat b7bdabc6e4 gloomy look.53fde39019fbc650

“He’s really busy, you know.”435fce7205fda7ec

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“……”457175684cd72048

“With the family’s affairs, hunting down monsters… It’s rare to even run into him at home, so how could I even tell him?”83908d4e7e9e54fc

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Since that was 1aef79e191 true, I didn’t 32f5b11330 know what to 404062b021 say.97f83c28b44d2e57

Just like Joshua said, 5b504ff480 Edwin had been extremely 88050aa21f busy lately.8549752a9138b369

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Still, compared to my 4dde0f37e9 previous life where he’d d2b8df6eed suddenly disappeared without a 350ea0a18d word and hadn’t returned 396adffe6b for over a month, dc8c0a628c this was much better.2c775b3be4f57105

At least now, 3777c5b5c6 he regularly came a8c48d1f95 home and made c8cf6d3e2a sure to attend 19e36b888b important events.d1b1f6954f649097

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Maybe that’s why 33dae2b096 I hadn’t really 991a062620 felt his absence 3dd9b51fda much.5efba89c50f4da69

Feeling flustered by 95029b5b1d Joshua’s downcast expression, 06f077618c I stammered before c70ff94bb8 carefully asking,993add7b0c6999a0

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“…What about His Grace?”c83661321bc228ea

“Father?”0ad013ea18beef42

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Joshua snorted and answered dryly,1910b973f01ce55b

“If I’d told Father, he would’ve just assigned me a private tutor and ordered me to drop out of the academy.”3a74446c860847bf

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“Well, that’s…”b9601fee4ad90b46

Since that was cc3ebd790a also true, I b85aa445ec quietly closed my 218286a3a9 mouth.33e789fc57fed68d

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The academy, for nobles, was 9a66398850 pretty much another form of 3e54c705b1 high society that started at a156b5fc2c an early age.771747249d34764e

That’s why, even if one c176859b65 dropped out halfway through, most dc7196923d nobles still enrolled at least ffe973e94b once.ae802dc46d099ae8

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Though, it wasn’t exactly mandatory 7274f68f32 either.a8bbacd5b032b1fd

Guys like Danvers Campbell, 070655d989 who have shaky standing, 85986f1ba3 probably find the connections 51a316562e and power they build ea3a12e0c2 here all the sweeter.596d5f609c0133f8

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For someone like 487207967f Kallios, who was 55fbfcba5d already born with 94fa4f38f0 everything, it was 9ae5bb0bf3 a completely unnecessary 3e8de349a7 process.bcfed031570d4b5d

Which meant the 52ac41c91f Duke’s solution must ca3cd27198 have been the 47cbf4d5f5 simplest and most 77a91fbbbc straightforward answer.41c4a1dbe4bc8706

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‘But still…’613c7df77d691c05

I couldn’t bring 971f7d4461 myself to say 17f9bb0fb1 any of that fb9bd1a295 out loud.36195238d7020cde

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I’d seen firsthand how much b57c3bdc23 Joshua had dreamed of enrolling 645b173d8a at the academy, especially since 8de0943a63 he’d had almost no interaction fa25409241 with kids his own age a61bb6d443 when he was younger.93676ce04f9e171a

I quietly folded away the question about why he hadn’t told the Duke and changed the subject.5b96c42703fbd5bf

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“Then…”cc5d2ad69245764d

“You were busy until just a few days ago too.”c37d0847783b3942

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But before I could 92ee67b6e6 even finish speaking, Joshua 2e350196f0 jumped in first.1f676d29237a6dfa

“Did you already forget how you were breathing fire at me the moment we met, saying some crazy jerk had stolen your interior designs and business ideas?”ec7aeaedbbcad459

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“……”1ed5724ddcddd8c1

“And then you started rushing out at the crack of dawn every day to mess with their construction.”14eafe4508b8175f

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Faced with Joshua’s coldly 805b1ba69a logical rebuttal, I was cdd80814b2 completely KO’d.f7bdac0c6fbb3287

Embarrassingly enough, everything he said 9f4a2d11dd was true.3ae68522150c129a

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‘When you say it like that, it sounds like I was some villain…’d0830597295aac7d

It was nothing a8df30bbd6 serious — just 4460237d8b small things, like 1cd6c799a2 showing up early 3483b1300a and gluing shut 085ef0466e the doors of 2d8789348a Adolf’s building, or 06de217137 putting out drinks 7b80182a97 spiked with laxatives ebdaef9851 for the workers 5a6f90757d of that damned c5abdd2b5e interior company.d439bc39ecf884d2

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Of course, I 4cbd06e549 knew perfectly well f911810bbc that none of 20fbb0b8c2 that would actually 48532ab093 stop Adolf’s construction.771477c0d6cd529f

Still, I put in cb22d3cad4 the effort purely out 225b50211e of spite.a52e500168f8e094

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‘No wonder Josh felt like he couldn’t talk to anyone…’0f12ca64d0523b13

His brother was off c93398e183 hunting monsters, nowhere to 33709eb624 be seen. His father was completely impossible 4d2c583dc9 to talk to.47bdb2f6baff1665

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And the only 1d4ebcdb42 person living with e26a57190d him was too fd068f508f busy chasing revenge, d9f7cc6392 running off at b9b24b5dbe dawn every day.c23d87a1a7edb3c4

Who was he 8c6fe91974 supposed to open 9ed1fad14b up to and ffc865b7cb ask for help?5c83ced5af00e14f

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As I let 2ba3cdb96c out a small 28720259ba sigh, sympathizing with f3f0150437 Joshua’s situation—a9e49f7705a092c6

“…Can’t you just pretend you don’t know, sis?”009d21c631b068c2

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Joshua suddenly pleaded in 0bc3f2cc77 a desperate voice.07bd73d59c619069

“I want to keep attending the academy. It’s not like Danvers only picked on me… If I just let him squeeze a few coins or jewels out of me a few more times, he’ll lose interest and move on to someone else.”b727f260113676ba

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“…Josh.”23f93a98f06802db

“I’m solving it with money because I was told to solve it with money. What’s the problem?”c0df881561056a3d

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Joshua stared at 41de42fd98 me with eyes 2bb71058db full of frustrated 75b6bbece4 resentment.3c6b595e590875ff

I swallowed another b905156377 sigh and calmly 241b3ff1b9 asked him,44c6e48c2f578791

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“Then what about the sapphire ring?”f811eee282512503

“Th-that’s…”fe4960a02b11b4ef

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As expected, the 506aa5b8c4 moment I brought 90f744deeb up the ring, b52bd05029 he flinched and 066d49902b looked completely flustered.3d14ff07fe1ec0fb

“He just… asked to borrow it for a little while, so I lent it to him.”0f4b367f2d7e6b70

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“The late Duchess’s heirloom? And even putting that aside, that’s your most treasured item.”1db28e765e106145

“Ugh…”5d70c92b35311199

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Joshua bit his lower 742b27bd5c lip hard at my 0e90dc461e words, then eventually dropped bfdae3a610 his gaze and mumbled 043e7e64d0 softly.715db0ce32401207

“He promised he’d definitely return it. That’s why he wears it every day… like he’s showing off.”116160654488f8e2

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“……”df3cfaac1de63fd7

“He showed it to me… to prove he hadn’t pawned it…”0dc39c8eb362c08a

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Trailing off, Joshua eventually ff76df2eaf fell silent.654e00711850f9d6

It seemed even 80e7fb6a65 to him, the a63ff65536 excuse sounded too 1a72ac03f0 pathetic.498c59dfdebf5f28

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‘So that’s why he came to the pawn shop.’a07b9bf4c345111a

Now I understood exactly why 9f96527b45 Joshua had run into that 60945ede3c alley off Main Street the 04a195fea2 other day.da8cefa019e2c08c

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Danvers Campbell must cd9f7bd4c6 have either shown 400245190b up without the ab6c5737de ring one day ad8fb4bdbb or taunted him deec52a5fb saying he’d sold 35bec5ec80 it.502e34da730d7435

That’s why Joshua had ditched d17df6b2de the rest of his classes 8b318d6312 and rushed straight to the a39fd20b5b pawn shop.300a83631b3279a2

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To get the ring back.c62c8229e0437613

Having pieced it bd5c7af484 together, I chose c53a8ca1e3 not to confront 2f6d516c9d him about lying 4eb8759e91 that it was cdf636581f a half-day at 44e48e5d11 school. Instead, I said something else.32d4e2b1fad80ed3

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“Don’t worry, Josh.”587cc5122055f13f

“…?”a242d779cb5c5dbb

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“I’m going to have a lot of free time from now on. Actually, I’ll probably be free until you graduate from the academy.”98f03b7d1519a686

Joshua tilted his head at b011e81fb2 my sudden statement.960f75d89d268858

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“What’s that supposed to mean?”aeb7ed5b2a7f005f

What else could it mean?8742f85b4e14897c

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It meant that starting d0bd1b1dd3 today, I was scrapping 4869d30317 my plan to convince 01c64fa7fa him to drop out b6bbd54fb2 of the academy with f72e07bc02 me.fcf6e218cbc555e0

* * *3873db2552bbcd9b

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After lunch, Joshua and I c3f3993b92 split up to head to aa0a7cbcc0 our next classes.da098a51f9fcea06

I had offered to ea6c72b09b go with him to 8c1679abcb business class, but he 30f7714bb0 firmly refused, so I a7b98bf993 couldn’t push further.a58a48ff27f346af

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He said he didn’t 89583d8208 want to provoke Danvers beceb2bda8 Campbell any more than 89fd56f49c necessary.0433638af42c3e59

‘It’s already too late. That guy’s been itching for 895b106e3b a fight for a while e34b8646eb now.’0503bc74d9c46806

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Clicking my tongue at 1917f4e8a9 innocent Joshua, I had 75643a606a no choice but to 8df295a068 head toward the biology 6e9833a3f9 building.c193ffe604800d64

“Welcome, Miss Belze.”7b00c168efd7621b

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“Hello, Professor.”ccd5087f0b97c0cc

It just so 6a96d9456b happened to be 0723788230 Professor Reina’s lecture 175aa953cd — she was e2d06efe0d the one who 62029f9841 had earlier recommended 055ed8a6c2 I sample all 9b98b6c4dd the classes.6992f9a6eb941338

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True to her sharp appearance, 92f790d83f her class was structured and c9512bc18e engaging.1ce9b5dd470a63cc

I got pretty 00ebde4779 absorbed in the c60390c6a6 lecture, but just 5510c87b2c before Joshua’s class 95bf97c410 ended, I slipped e93edd608b out and hurried 7b4e0f96b5 over to his 36537f4521 classroom.b428a43b27e0bea3

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“Huff, huff… Josh!”e6ce308c4d2a756f

Joshua, who was packing 86c1dac5d2 up his bag, widened e0bea5e12f his eyes at my 7dcd26899a outburst.be6d73b4e5d19bb7

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I rushed over and 889be8d67e scanned him from head a15c8fd317 to toe.cb9cc0fcca5f5f46

“Nothing happened, right?”66f0f0014e7e0841

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“Yeah.”5845a7617a031dbb

Josh nodded obediently and then 652710075b added with a chuckle,9d41b5cc937e88f7

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“You’re acting like some crazy overprotective guardian.”2c7f7e97271c7731

“Children of noble houses are supposed to have at least one devoted maid hovering around them, you know.”2b692996f3c71324

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“Are you still saying that? I told you to quit joking about that.”08339546e57a09d9

Joshua cringed and furrowed his 61a0ab1b27 brows at my teasing.10ebd96a3cbcf744

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He still got embarrassed 2894172348 about the time he 553e24f9e2 first mistook me for e5039ff8b7 a maid when we a3e9a3aa64 met.4268e4794da1087a

Still, joking aside, 40a489f7cf I carefully grabbed 3890366862 his sleeve and 4f149b3406 checked him over 6f15ea3b84 thoroughly.e3575ee439303016

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Even if there 7ea287668a were surveillance magic f72e1ac9c2 tools installed in c9cecda34d the classrooms, if 4e5f3ea366 someone wanted to cf9c6bf47d bully him discreetly, fbd194aece it wouldn’t be ae5fb5fad3 that hard.fd31dde2927ea08f

Like jabbing him with a pen tip or pinching him with their nails or something…37ded166a3d07a7b

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“Those guys didn’t show up for class after lunch.”87c7c23d0744fb10

Joshua’s next words immediately swept 409bd03dad away my worries.0fdfb12aa6a9824d

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“Is that okay?”7195f08a81705907

“Who knows. But if they keep racking up penalties like that, they’ll get suspended soon enough.”94a514fa74d56f70

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Joshua shrugged, pulled his 06d4e3457f hand free from my 9e2c278573 grip, and started walking.095b6a2476f741af

I trailed a step behind e63d60e08d him, grumbling under my breath.83af4d83592ad757

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“Little punks these days… Do they even know how much the tuition costs? Skipping class like it’s nothing… Bunch of snot-nosed kids…”a9187a7c97e3116d

Joshua turned around with an f2c00ecdca incredulous look.113cf09378ab4b09

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“You know, sis, you’ve been seriously creepy lately? You sound like some old grandpa who’s lived three lives already.”280f45cb901966b8

“I learned from your grandfather.”5a9dcba40a550129

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“You barely even see him. What are you talking about…”818094ac70bd181a

He gave me 5e888cce01 a look like 6b1f74a20c I was completely 148b670fe9 hopeless and quickened 1cc581e24c his pace toward 6e493ff4c8 the exit.c0bbb26a54a780da

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‘What do you mean, don’t see him? I literally met 6c8a49832a him again just 9632468382 last night.’95ec31745fb9ca7e

I pouted and glared at b52be5b7bd the back of Joshua’s head, 59c937e3be full of secrets he didn’t c588f59cda know.7efebfcb2631b2de

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“Hey, wait for me!”a4f61caabe706024

I was just starting to f23272b3d7 dash after him when—3d4f7ca97fddb1c1

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“Hey! Grab them!”3ed01b68a5e57408

A bunch of a374584ee2 boys suddenly came b9e28d3eeb charging at us e760c2cb4f out of nowhere, 151b478bf7 surrounding Joshua and ab18b49d4b me in an 68dc5c6fa4 instant.d5ad20ea828fdc1e

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“Joshua Kallios. I told you you were dead.”cebd17a16891fcfa

As expected, it 54861b6ee3 was Danvers Campbell’s 484ef41db3 gang.92996a83ce2cd6e8

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The guy leading them looked 7c6bd5ae0c back and forth between me ed98d30075 and Joshua with a nasty d2b613c2f6 grin.cc513bee76a9815f

“Let’s see if you can still mouth off about breaking fingers or whatever this time, you filthy little tramp.”0c9d8e20f9ced843

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“……”f4333def2e584b0e

“Drag them to the junkyard!”54b7c1eab0c1d85b

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