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The Red Flower
Chapter. 36
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I was a spoiled brat.
A baby who cries easily over anything, constantly demanding attention and care from dad, uncle or sometimes in the beginning, mother.
But I found the most amount from my brother, who was naturally loved by many wherever he went, and I was always trying to distance him from his friends because nobody liked Owin, the spoiled brat who was only good by sticking to his brother's side.
Elois never complained, and he prioritized his brother over anyone outside the family.
I haven't understood until late that Elois was trying to fill the emptiness I felt back then as a child because all the adults had their own life to deal with.
He understood we should be careful not to tire our sick uncle and be thoughtful of how much we could ask from dad.
And he understood... there was something wrong with Ashley, our mother.
Elois understood there was something odd happening. He wasn't a naive child, he was sharp and careful, but his love for his family was the poison he fed himself with.
He had seen the signs but refused to understand them, because his lovely family wouldn't and shouldn't end like that, like the torn and old picture in dad's room now.
Elois and dad were very similar, so similar that it was scary to look at from a distance all those years.
And I was always scared to lose them because they could easily break or disappear.
“Huh? No, you are all the same.” the boy scoffed, “Cowards.”
Bren, the isolated and rebellious kid in the orphanage I was tossed at and the only person who seemed alive in that dead place, had been so blunt to punch the truth in my face.
I was pissed and hurt when I heard the reality from someone who was nothing but a stranger outside the family, but I wasn't hurt because he was rude.
The truth that I've always refused to acknowledge was hard to accept, and I avoided it at all costs, only to hear it from a child my age who had never met my brother or my father or uncle once before but understood the whole picture only from a story told by the new, pathetic kid in the orphanage.
“Learn it, idiot. The Iriarts' life wouldn't be this pathetic if you all hadn't run away like the cowards you are, so either you stop acting like the victim or piss off.”
Bren had been the first person to ever be brutally honest with the spoiled brat, who was always sheltered behind his brother's back.
And the spoiled brat needed the punches, the slaps, the kicks and the bites from that brutal person who did not know how to filter out the stabbing words coming from his mouth and had seen the world long before the spoiled brat had.
One from the family should receive the blows to wake up and fix the miserable mistake, and that was me, apparently.
I've seen and heard the most behind closed doors but chose to stay safe beside Elois, because as long as Elois was with me... then I was safe.
“If your father lacked parental skills and sucked this bad, then he shouldn't have thought of marrying in the first place.”
Our dad wasn't the best father. We both knew.
“Was it a duty to have a woman and kids at home waiting for him when he had been so fixated on curing his brother and was surprisingly blinded from everything wrong happening in the family?”
Dad had made severe mistakes, and he himself knew them, and perhaps the encounter with Davante was the final blow to make him own his mistakes and work on fixing what was left at last.
“What father would leave his job to his youngest kid to solve whatever was wrong with the crazy mother at home?”
I was a child, and no matter how I tried to push the blame on myself to defend my family, it wouldn't do.
What could a child do in a twisted situation?
“Are you stupid? Your brother clearly prioritized your mother over you, and he never was going to side with you no matter how long you cried.”
Elois had seen more than enough to believe his little brother, but it was the first time Elois had treated his little brother like the adults did. Going with the flow with the child to silence him because he was saying some unpleasant stuff.
I knew Elois didn't really mean his promise to me that day. The promise of believing me was to calm me down and have a sense of comfort as soon as possible because nothing was right that day.
“Then again, the whole blame is on your father.”
Elois and I were kids, sheltered and pampered kids at that.
“And probably your mother was never a good person, to begin with.”
Ashley, strangely, never felt like a mother to me.
She was gentle and caring at first, and it all felt forced, but she eventually became like an imposter in our little family, especially when dad was away from home for a long while locked in the company.
Anyone would say she was feeling lonely without her husband, but Uncle Alvin had started giving her the cold shoulder instead of supporting or assuring her, so there must have been something else behind her actions...
Really, there was no use in excusing that woman.
“Listen, you idiot.”
And honestly, I only came to talk to my father and brother because I wanted to bring us together, to be able to call us a family again. Someone had already drilled the whole picture into my head long ago, so there was no need to try to understand anything now when I could see the picture clearly.
“It's easier being honest, whether harsh or not.”
Bren was really like a brutal force I needed in my life, and maybe a bit of his bluntness rubbed on me with time, so why not use that bluntness to good use?
“Geez, what a delicate family you bunch are. It’s even painful to listen to you. Man up and go slap some sense into your beloved father and brother. Make it your life goal, please. Or maybe stay the way you are but make sure to stay out of my sight.”
‘Hey, I managed to accomplish that goal now, bastard.’ Owin thought as he smiled at his brother staring at him blankly after listening briefly to where he ended up when their mother separated them and how Owin had met a spectacular person the same age as him, yet it felt like that kid was mature enough to blurt out the obvious to a family of cowards.
“...what a chaotic friend.” Elois finally commented.
Owin chuckled with a sigh, “I know. Tell me about it.”
Elois looked down at the glass of water on the small table between them with a small smile, “...I think if Davante wasn't holding back, he would have been the same honest to me back then.”
“Wait, really?” Owin blinked at the confused look from his brother, “I never got to know him well, but I did sense some similarity between him and Bren from up close.” He laughed at the discovery. Davante, while much quieter and well-behaved, and despite the stoic face, seemed the honest type whose face was blunt enough without even having to say anything. Their talk in their first meeting was quick and wasn’t much, but Owin could remember the younger’s subtle facial changes, especially when he asked him a favor to take care of Elois, Davante’s face remained the same, but his eyes apparently spoke louder than his words. He wondered if that look was one of anger or was the teen burdened. ‘However, he did take care of Elois in the end. Way before I’d asked him even…’ Owin looked down with a small smile, deciding to thank Davante if they met again.
Elois stared long at Owin, looking down when the other raised his face to look back at him with his expectant smile. “...what you need is not an apology.”
“Correct.”
Elois slowly nodded, fiddling with his glass on the table, “You've had enough of that.”
“Yes.”
Elois slowly nodded again, thinking for a while before he looked at his brother like he had firmed his resolve. “...I understand.”
‘Being honest and straightforward is easier indeed.’ Owin had to thank Bren later. He leaned both his elbows on the table with a knowing smile, “No more running away?”
“...yes.” Elois felt he was suddenly cornered for some reason by the look in his little brother’s eye.
“No more self-doubt?”
Elois blinked, slightly frowning, “Hey, people can doubt themselves sometimes.”
“Your doubt is unhealthy though, brother.”
Elois slightly flinched, “Wha— huh?”
“You doubt, no, you believe that you caused the most damage to the people around you, right?”
Elois understood now why he felt unsettled by Owin’s look at that moment. It reminded him of the look he had received from Ellmer when he could see what was going through in his mind. ‘…why is Owin’s smile a bit similar to Ellmer’s…?’
“While you did cause some trouble,” Owin continued even with the other’s flinch again and avoiding his eye, “But constantly blaming yourself isn't the development everyone asked for.”
Elois mumbled after a moment of silence, still looking away from the other. “...did Ellmer tell you what happened in the forest, after all...?”
“No, however, he expressed his concerns about your current state and how you view yourself now.” Owin sighed and relaxed back on his palms with a helpless smile.
“...oh... he did...?” Elois blinked numerous times at the news that funnily didn’t sound so surprising to him.
“He cares for others despite how he behaves.” Owin shrugged with a chuckle, “You've noticed, right? You were always good at detecting suspicious people and avoiding them.”
Elois tilted his head back, looking up and thought, “Well...” that’s right, that was also why he sometimes could be violent and hostile to some people at first sight with no particular reason besides that they seemed anything but safe to be around. And this was why his reputation wasn’t really the best in the academy, but he didn’t give a damn about what strangers thought of him.
“He apologized for the threat he pulled at you, but I thanked him.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Elois stilled, slowly turning to look at his brother cautiously, noticing how Owin looked to be upset with him.
“Otherwise, I wouldn't have known what was scaring you from approaching dad and me!”
Elois flinched away when Owin suddenly leaned close with a frown, raising his voice a bit in frustration. “Ah… that…”
“Call me crazy, but I honestly don't care if you have killed people before, Elois.” Owin huffed at the look of shock from his big brother and moved away to sit back in place with a serious face, mumbling. “I bet they were all scumbags anyway.”
“......”
Owin noticed Elois looking at him silently without even blinking, “You just thought I became like this because of Bren, right?”
Elois blinked, looking to the side with a blank face, “...maybe.”
Owin tilted his head to the side a bit, thinking before shrugging and smiling brightly at his brother. “Well, I suppose it is because of him, but don't worry, I still know what morals are and am kind enough to mind my words!”
Elois glanced at his smiling brother, “...hopefully.” he couldn’t help but feel that Owin and Ellmer were strangely similar now. They even seem to be very close, judging by how someone like Ellmer went to Owin to express his concerns about someone he had claimed to have had enough of, like Elois, for example.
“Oh, come on!” Owin moved to sit in front of his brother’s sight with a pout, “Do I look like that rude punk to you?!”
Elois frowned slightly, staring at his brother, who sounded like a big baby. Elois sighed. “I haven't met him, Owin.”
“Ah…” Owin blinked before sitting properly on his knees, “Right...”
Elois snorted lightly, smirking and shaking his head with his eyes closed. “I bet he hates me even.”
“If he dares.”
“Huh?” Elois frowned at his brother again, wondering if he had heard that right.
Owin moved to sit with his legs crossed, “So, what happened in the forest?”
Blinking, Elois asked. “...will you not ask me about the past?”
Owin hesitated, “To be honest, I have a brief idea of what happened, and...”
Elois waited, worried when the other looked troubled with an awkward smile suddenly, avoiding his eyes for a moment, “...what?”
Owin glanced at Elois before looking elsewhere again, deciding to explain like it was nothing. “Ellmer's step-siblings implanted recording devices in your room initially.” He cleared his throat when he noticed the other stiffening near him. “Their target was specifically Davante, but Ellmer didn't come here to kill him but to gain information, and he knew who you were, so he decided to keep an eye on you since it looked like you were close to his little brother, and he may have, um...” he scratched his head with his finger awkwardly, “He heard your talk with Davante, when you cried about your past and, you know...”
Elois slowly widened his eyes and had a look of horror with his mouth slightly open, ‘Shit… that night, I said some really harsh stuff to Davante… and I was an utterly despicable and ridiculous son of a…’ he recalled how Ellmer looked at him while warning him of not treating Davante better once again. Elois slowly leaned on the table, hiding his face with both hands while mumbling. “...no wonder he threatened me...”
“Well...” Owin had a troubled smile as he looked at his brother hunched over the small table, “He did sound like you were taking advantage of Davante's kindness...”
Elois hummed weakly, “...I did that, sadly.” Still covering his face with his hands. “Did anyone listen to the recording besides you two...?”
“He offered the recording to me as a sort of being clear with me so I won't get mad at him since you're my brother and all, but I refused to listen, and yet he briefed me on your friendship with Davante in the past and what happened before you ended up the way you were under the tree. So, no one had heard your conversation but him…” Owin quickly explained with an awkward smile. He couldn’t be mad at Ellmer since the guy did help him quite much to be able to sit down with Elois now and talk like brothers again.
Elois mumbled after a long moment of being quiet and unmoving, “...are the devices still here?”
“He removed them the night you fought with Javi.” He refrained from laughing at remembering how Ellmer had been when he informed him of removing the devices that night.
“That was sooner than I thought,” Owin said, tilting his head with a questioning smile.
Ellmer tossed the devices with a long sigh, “Yeah, your brother is just a pitiful punk. I feel ridiculous spying on a baby like him.”
Owin knew that Ellmer was more pissed at himself that day for starting to care for Elois and even worrying about him when he had hoped for the older orange head to be a bastard instead to make things easier for him, so it was funny to look at the guy be yet again concerned for someone else besides the group he had in his list already. Yet he still claims he cares for only his little brother Davante. What an affectionate, silly man.
He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Elois sighing after a long while of complete silence, still not removing his hands from his face.
“Um, he deleted the recording, don't worry.” He was about to pat his brother’s back when the other suddenly removed his hands with a low sigh.
“I trust him, so never mind.”
Owin relaxed with an easy smile, “So, the forest...” he pushed the topic again, expecting the silence he was met with. “Ellmer usually shares whatever information about you with me, but not this time...” observing his brother, who was looking elsewhere with a blank face, “Even though he controls his facial expressions very well, he still looked like he had seen something horrid and doesn't ever want to talk about it.”
Elois’s hands twitched. He stared long at one spot before turning to his brother, cautiously asking, “......how about you tell me first what happened to your eye?”
Owin blinked numerous times, looking surprised yet unbothered, “Javi had been in a tight situation, became the Shadow and ran to attack Bren, but I protected Bren and was close to dying if not for the help from Ellmer.” He smiled a little and raised his hand to his eyepatch, asking in almost a whisper. “Do you want to see it?”
Elois observed and noticed how stiff his brother’s smile looked, “...does it hurt?”
Owin’s hand paused, slowly lowering it back down, “No, I can't feel anything around this side of my face.”
Elois kept his gaze on the eyepatch, “...can I touch it?”
Owin nodded with a smile, “Yes, go ahead.”
Elois shifted closer to his brother, carefully bringing his hand up to feel the marred eye through the eyepatch. Feeling slight bumps, some parts of the flesh were hard and some soft, which was disturbing. He was too careful to rip off the flesh by mistake because it didn’t feel like there was skin even, especially since Owin had said he couldn’t feel a thing around it. After some time of gently rubbing over the area, he asked, “...can't dad do something about it?”
Owin opened his eye and looked at Elois’s face, which was slightly contorted and looked pained as he inspected the eye with his hand, “I... never thought about it.”
Elois frowned, “He never asked?”
“Twice, but I avoided the topic with him...” Owin closed his eye with a calm smile, “I'm already used to it, and it looks so ruined beyond help, so I quickly gave up on finding a way to fix it.”
“Hmm...” Elois kept gently and carefully rubbing the place, unknowingly soothing and lulling his little brother to sleep for a moment before speaking in a low tone, “Owin.”
Owin’s eye twitched as he was suddenly pulled from a comfortable, quick nap and quietly hummed to answer his big brother.
“I no longer think of our mother.”
“......”
“I'm not sure how it is for dad, but after talking with him about the past, I think he had even erased her face from his memory. He doesn't remember how she looked and doesn’t seem to want to. You’re no longer the only one refusing her in the family.”
“......”
“You can talk to us... if you want.”
“......”
“You can show us when you're ready, and maybe there isn't a way to heal it now, but it won't hurt to look for a way later.”
Elois moved his hand back to his side, waiting for his brother to open his eye and look at him, and he smiled a little once Owin looked at him, staring silently.
“......”
“Whoa—!” Elois instinctively brought his arms around his giant brother as he was suddenly pushed to the floor by a strong hug from Owin, who had his face hidden in his big brother’s chest.
[https://i.postimg.cc/52y0tyyC/1.jpg]
He lightly slapped Owin’s broad back, sighing, “You scared me, and you’re heavy...”
“...I missed you.”
“......” Elois absently started gently ruffling his brother’s short hair at the weak mumble that sounded wobbly a little.
They stayed that way for a while and in comfortable silence. Elois stared at the ceiling with his big, baby brother above him. He wouldn’t say it, but he missed this feeling… ‘You finally feel familiar to me…’ he breathed a silent chuckle with his hand still fondly ruffling Owin’s hair.
“You just thought I'm still a spoiled brat.”
“Not that...” he blinked at the mumble that sounded like a whine from his brother, who was still hugging him and hiding his face. He lightly huffed a laugh, “Well, I'm glad some things never change.” He teasingly pinched his little brother’s cheek lightly.
“For example, being the big brother?”
He raised an eyebrow, thinking a bit with a hum. “Maybe it suits you better now? Wanna switch?”
“No, I still want to be spoiled.”
“What? You brat, seriously...” Elois couldn’t help but laugh loudly at his childish brother, who had no shame saying that out loud after all this time acting like the mature one of them.
They were back with the comfortable silence.
“...will you find a way to heal my eye?”
Elois blinked, “I mean, the vampire helped lift off something from within me and lessened the curse in Javi's blood, and all that in mere minutes, so...” he hummed in thought, “I bet there is a way because apparently, vampires can use magic.”
Owin slowly pushed himself up on his elbows to look at his brother, “...what?” vampires were not a theory anymore?
“Ah…” Elois blinked at his brother, who was looking at him like Elois had grown a second head out of nowhere. “We met a vampire in the forest.”
“...what?”
“And uh... you asked me why I kicked Javi out in a hurry...” Elois looked elsewhere, “He turned into the Shadow and attacked me.”
Owin blinked numerous times, “...and Ellmer helped?”
“He arrived when the Shadow was feasting on me.”
“What...?”
Elois couldn’t bring himself to look at Owin, “The Shadow was eating me alive.”
“...wait, sit up,” Owin quickly sat on his knees, easily pulling his brother to sit with him, “Tell me everything. Speak, Elois, please.”
Elois felt like he had made a mistake at the look from Owin, who looked so concerned that his face looked murderous for a moment. “Okay, but calm down—”
“Everything, Elois.”
Elois slightly moved away from his brother as Owin looked so ready to tie him down right then and there, looking intently at him without any hint of a smile. Elois smiled awkwardly in resignation. ‘Ah, no wonder Ellmer passed over the mission to me...’
Owin could be really scary…
.
.
“If...” Javi finally spoke, avoiding the other’s eyes, glaring daggers at him, “…if it would make things better for you... go ahead... I think...” he deserved the slap or punch or whatever from both Owin and Bren, after all. Owin would never do it as it seemed, so there was Bren to do it for the two of them.
“......”
Javi, however, was more scared by the silence he was left with when nothing came for a long moment. He carefully chanced a look at the other, “Umgh!?” he was not expecting his face to be yanked with one strong grip, squishing his cheeks to make him look dumb with startled eyes.
“I knew I would hate talking to you now.” Bren clicked his tongue, looking to be holding back and reminding himself of something for a moment as he closed his eyes and then looked fiercely at the other, “Javi Cavalon.”
“Hnph…?” feeling like a child about to be berated by his older, stern sibling, Javi was reminded then that Bren was, in fact, younger than him in age. ‘Has he ever felt younger than me even…?’
“I'll make it short, so listen well.”
Javi caught his breath and waited.
“I knew you weren't an ordinary kid since the start,”
Javi flinched. Since when? He wanted to ask but was too scared to question the other for now.
“And probably even Owin did a bit,” Bren shrugged indifferently, “Anyway, we never hated you or anything silly when you suddenly came out and revealed the truth to us in the most dramatic way that day on the beach.”
“......”
Bren nodded firmly, “Right, what you did to Owin that night wasn't anything easy to brush off, but it was also my fault for not getting the situation better and dealing with your ‘supposed’ cousin properly.”
The grip around Javi’s face tightened slightly, and he worried for a second if Bren would actually crush his face in one hand; it looked like he could do it easily with the force he was revealing, and it looked to Javi that the other was even holding back for his sake. A thought crossed his mind at that moment, was Bren even human?
“So, I'll be sure to bring Owin's eye to how it was after all this circus.”
Javi looked at his past friend, who had a look that made him wonder if Bren had promised himself that and hid it from even Owin himself.
“However, you...”
He winced at the grip, ‘Bren… will you really kill me this way?’
“What exactly are you doing?”
Javi froze.
“Becoming a better person? Becoming a different person?”
“......”
“You stupid imbecile.”
[https://i.postimg.cc/bvL3968M/2.jpg]
Javi flinched and gulped at the low, dark growl.
“It pisses me off to look at a fake trying desperately to seem real.”
‘A... fake...?’ he had no idea what that meant, and he was reminded again that Bren always used to talk in riddles despite always being blunt with no regard to age or anything.
“Wake up if you want to meet him again properly.”
‘Him...? Huh...?’ he must have looked stupid because Bren suddenly snorted and smirked at him, his eyes oddly softening a bit.
“A tip to help you a little, talk to the red dude.”
‘Red dude...?’ Javi racked his head to search for anyone red in his memory, quickly remembering a person with red eyes, lashes, eyebrows and probably hair if not for the black dye, ‘Ellmer...?’
“That's all.” Bren suddenly let go of the other’s face and stood up with a smile, “See you later, friend.”
“B-Bren!” Javi was relieved when Bren at least stopped at his call, turning around with his hands in his pockets. “Please answer this one thing...”
Bren smiled in satisfaction, “Ah, you just sounded like Javi for a second.” He nodded, “Good, good.”
Javi blinked, not understanding what the other meant but quickly asked his question, “...Edmund...” he cautiously asked when the other’s smile suddenly dropped, and Bren looked at him with a deadpan face. “What happened between you two and him that night...?”
“...well, where to start?” Bren looked up, thinking with a hum, before shrugging indifferently and looking back at Javi, “Start with finding out who he is first.”
“...what...?”
Bren huffed a laugh at the other’s puzzled face, “Red dude, Javi.” He smirked, “Don't choose that red guy as your enemy if you're looking for a way to step out from your cage now.” He shrugged and turned to leave again, “He and Owin are the babysitters, not me. As you can tell, I've never been good with the role.”
Javi was left alone, looking very much confused and lost…
.
.
“Hm? He is going in the wrong direction...” Neron said as he watched Davante from a distance walk in the wrong hallway, trying to get back to his room with Neron watching him as decided in Alvis’ room. “…is he lost?” Neron forgot that the teen was hopeless when it came to directions for some reason.
He followed the teen until it was late at night, standing still when Davante approached with a stoic face, “I got lost, so can I sleep in your room for tonight, sir?”
Neron blinked, “Yes, of course.” He didn’t know what else to say. He decided to sleep on the sofa for tonight.
Of course, Davante didn’t allow him and instead was the one sleeping on the sofa. ‘Since I perfectly fit in there anyway’ was what he reasoned with.
And the next day—
“Hm?” Neron stood from a distance again and watched the teen going in a different direction and another building this time, “Is he lost again?”
Later at night….
“Can I sleep again in your room, sir?”
Neron blinked, nodding shortly after, “Sure.”
The next day—
“Hm? Is he sleeping there tonight?” Neron questioned as he watched the teen going into a storage house after having his meals in any restaurant he found with the money Alvis had given him several days before, just in case. He kept blinking at seeing the teen curling and sleeping on a comfortable mat inside like he was pretty used to it. Staring at the peaceful sleeping face up close, Neron inspected the place around him.
That night, Neron decided to sleep in a storage room for the first time in his life to keep the teen safe.
The next day at night—
“Can I bathe in your room again, please?”
Neron stared down at the teen, “By all means.”
And the next day—
“Sorry to bother you. Can I sleep in your room again, sir?”
“No problem, but...” Neron finally asked after a whole week of following and watching the lost teen, “Do you need help getting to your room?”
“No, it's fine.” Davante nodded firmly to himself, sounding determined. “I can do it.”
Neron stared and blinked at the stoic teen; he nodded. “...you can do it.” He decided to cheer for the boy.
Davante nodded with a thankful little smile, “Thank you, sir.”
“Neron is fine.”
Davante tilted his head slightly, “Sir, Nero?”
“Neron.”
“Nenon?”
“Eh... N...” Neron couldn’t know when was the last time he had had a light conversation like this before, or maybe he never had one at all, so he was unusually awkward and unable to respond appropriately. He reluctantly nodded, “…Nenon, yes.” He wondered if the teen’s hearing was becoming poor. ‘Or did he forget my name? Should I tell sir Alvis?’ he was bewildered when Davante smiled and moved to pat Neron’s head silently like he was patting a child fondly. Blinking, Neron wondered if the teen was just teasing him after all.
[https://i.postimg.cc/63kj88B5/3.jpg]
He let it be and took the teen with him to his room once again.
Another week later, Neron stood from a distance with the phone in his hand this time.
-He isn't back in his room yet...?
He heard the man ask, sounding as puzzled as him. “He looks so determined to make it back by himself...”
-...is he really just lost?
Neron blinked at the question from Alvis, sounding like he was starting to suspect the teen after all this time. He couldn’t blame the man since the teen had been acting strange ever since he woke up from his long sleep, but he also couldn’t sense anything bad or ominous from the boy, so he had just gone along with his whims, and a part of him was glad the teen seemed to be living his life for once.
His eyes slightly widened suddenly, “Ah, he’s getting close this time…”
-…are you feeling proud, Neron?
Neron paused for a second at Alvis’s surprised and amused comment, “Eh-hem.” He faked a quiet cough and regained his composure soon after, silently following the teen who seemingly found his way to his room.
Meanwhile, Davante, who had been carefully eyeing everything around him for days, “Hmm…” he looked straight and proceeded to where he trusted was his shared room with Elois. He whispered.
“Looks like the hideous Cowndrel Queen is using her head properly for once.”
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The End of CH. 36