"Has he always been like that?"
The Duchess inquired as she turned her head and faced the window of the room she was in, admiring the view outside.
Sitting opposite from her was Jin. Similarly looking at the window, he inwardly sighed.
"Yeah…"
They were currently talking about Ren.
He may have changed a little over the years, but thinking back at all the times he had been with him, he couldn't find a way to deny her words.
"Must've been tough."
"Tell me about it."
Thankfully, the Duchess was quite hospitable. Else he really would've been cursing Ren till the end of his life.
He reached out for his pocket and took out a cigarette.
…It was a habit he picked up due to all the stress he'd been facing recently. It wasn't harmful to him anyways, so it didn't really matter.
"What's that?"
"This?"
He lifted the cigarette.
"Yeah."
The Duchess nodded, her eyes carrying a hint of interest.
After noticing how interested the Duchess was, he lifted his index finger to light the cigarette and then took a brief drag from it.
*Puff*
The Duchess's gaze followed the smoke that raised in the air.
"It's called a cigarette, and it's something that helps me manage my stress."
"…There's such a thing?"
"Mhm"
He took another puff before handing the Duchess his pack.
"Want to have a go?"
"Can I?"
"Yeah. Go ahead."
She reached out with caution. Sliding the cigarette out with the tips of her slim fingers, she brought it in close to her mouth and placed it in between her lips before taking it out.
For a good minute, she examined it with wonder.
"What do I do now?"
"Light the tip."
He pointed at the white side.
A blue flame flickered over the Duchess's finger.
Alternating her gaze between Jin and the stick, she brought the finger close to the tip.
"Like this?"
"Yuh."
The cigarette lit, and an orange ring formed.
"Bring it to your mouth and inhale."
Jin explained before she could ask further.
"…Okay."
the cigarette to her mouth and
Only that…
"Cough! Cough!"
entire face turned bright red, and she began coughing
fly out from her
lied to m—Cough!
started coughing even
"Hahah."
having trouble keeping his composure, let out a muffled chuckle.
fuck are
her subsequent change in expression and her
you trick me
'…Is this really her?'
before when she was talking with Ren, now that he was directly interacting with her, he
she hiding her true
you dead or something? Cant
looked no different than a
twitch of his
inhale it properly. Try again, but this time try inhaling with
be
him fiercely. Then, bringing the cigarette close to
chest heaved up, and Jin turned his head. They were
*Puff*
and Jin could very clearly hear her letting out a series of muffled coughs. Nevertheless, it was a marked improvement over
burns
Then, bringing
an ensuing couple of minutes, up until the point where
I
She showed the butt.
before casting his
"Throw it away."
"Mhm."
light flick, it disappeared out of
then extended her hand
"What?"
somewhat had an idea of what she wanted but found himself rather taken aback when he thought about
It couldn't be, right?
"…"
bobbed her
Jin took out a cigarette and placed it on her hand.
"More?"
Now, this…
took another cigarette and placed it
she didn't even bother looking at her hand before directly staring at Jin. Her gaze and expression
in a long time, Jin was
'Ah, whatever.'
head and placed the pack in her hand,
"Very generous of you."
'Motherf—'
***
me at the Red Peak, Duke Velmout. I'd like to discuss with you about
Priscilla—]
"Interesting."
while staring at the letter in
a clear glass that was filled with a crimson
the stone edge of the
finally couldn't wait any
face.
already made its way to his ears, so the letter did not come as a surprise to him
her portion, he too would've resorted to an alliance. After all, by that point, the only
he could from Priscilla, granted that he would help her get revenge
two birds with one
"Alright, then."
of his finger, the letter vanished into thin air, and
his suit, he mumbled with
much I can
*
sure it's not
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