Outside the palace entrance, the afternoon crowd moved in steady streams. Guests arrived in waves, guards directed the flow with respectful gestures, and voices overlapped in the warm air that carried the scent of street food and perfume. Among them, half hidden by the constant movement of bodies, a young man sat in a wheelchair being pushed carefully through the noise. A slim teenage girl guided him forward with gentle hands, her tired eyes focused on navigating the path ahead as she tried her best to manoeuvre the wheelchair through the dense crowd without bumping into anyone.
"Little sister, I'm sorry." Big Brother's voice was low, rough at the edges like sandpaper against wood. "Because of me, you nearly got hurt."
"Big brother, what are you saying?" Little Sister laughed softly while shaking her head in denial, her voice carrying warmth despite the exhaustion clinging to her features. "The riot in the 3rd rock wasn't your fault. And don't let this slim figure fool you.... I'm actually quite strong, you know? I can even manage a few grown men all alone if I have to."
Little Sister laughed cheerfully, though her eyes couldn't help but drift downward at her Brother condition. They landed on his bandaged hands first; the white cloth wrapped around his palms and fingers. Then got lower to his unmoving legs. Those legs that once carried him to work before dawn, that once ran to bring medicine when Mother fell ill, that once chased her through their tiny home when she was small enough to hide under tables. Now they sat fixed in the chair, refusing to respond no matter how hard he willed them to move.
A deep sadness pressed heavy behind her ribs. She let out a slow, quiet breath, trying to release it without making a sound he might hear.
"Strong enough that you're secretly looking for work behind my back instead of studying?" Big Brother glanced at her, and through the weariness etched into every line of his face, his gaze sharpened with concern. His face was dry and worn from days of endless constant thinking, dark circles shadowing his eyes from sleepless nights where he stared at the ceiling calculating numbers that never added up right. Yet when he spoke to her, when he looked at her, there was no anger in those eyes. Only worry for his little sister.
"Ah.... Big Brother, I.... I...." Little Sister wanted to make some excuses, her mind scrambling for words that might soften the truth. But seeing Big Brother's eyes locked on hers, seeing the way he already knew, she could only manage one word clearly. "Sorry!"
She meant it from her whole heart and he could see that truth written across her face. But then her voice dropped lower, becoming smaller and more honest as the words spilled out. "What else can I do? Sitting at home studying feels useless right now. I want to help Mother. I want to do something real, something that matters."
She stared at her own hands gripping the wheelchair handles as her thoughts ran quietly beneath her spoken words. "But no decent place will take me for work. The places where they do decide to hire me pays me too low, barely enough for a week's food. And there are places where the pay is high but...." She felt her throat tighten. Sigghhh.... "If I took those kinds of jobs, Big Brother would lose his mind. But what choice do we have? Mother can't carry this burden alone forever. I have to do something, anything!!!"
Her knuckles whitened around the handles, the skin stretching taut.
"I'm sorry." Big Brother's voice came out brittle, cracking at the edges as he watched his little sister's expression crumble. "Because of me, you're both are suffering. If I'd just been more careful.... if I hadn't been so stupid to go at High wind speed passageway after getting drunk then,,,,.... I wouldn't have fallen off... I wouldn't be sitting here useless in this chair, watching you sacrifice everything...."
"TSK!" He slammed his fist against the armrest. The sound should have been loud and sharp, but the crowd noise around them swallowed it whole, turning his frustration into nothing more than a futile anger reaction.
"Brother!" Little Sister hurried around to his side immediately, abandoning the wheelchair handles. She crouched in front of him, her knees hitting the ground without hesitation, and her hands reached up to take his clenched fist. Carefully, so carefully, she began to pry his fingers open one by one. His palm was bruised underneath, the tight skin roughed everywhere from all the hard work he had done for them over the years. Every callus told a story. Every scar was a sacrifice. She held his damaged hand carefully in both of hers and looked up at his face with eyes that refused to let him drown in guilt. "It is not your fault. Don't you dare say that."
His jaw stayed locked tight. His eyes burned with frustration and disappointment, all of it aimed inward at himself like arrows seeking their target.
"Big Brother." Little Sister's voice softened, taking on that soothing tone she'd learned to use when his emotions started spiralling out of control. "After Father passed, you were younger than I am now. Just a boy who suddenly got the weight of the house….. But you didn't even twitch your eyes and went out for work anyway. You gave everything to me and to Mother without complaining, without stopping, without asking for anything back." Her eyes were wet now and she didn't bother hiding the tears that gathered there. "I'm so proud of you... And I really mean it with every part of my soul. So, please.... please don't lose hope now. We came here to ask for help. We couldn't reach Princess back then, I know, but Master Zack...."
She squeezed his hand tighter. "I'm sure he'll listen. I'm sure he'll help us. I can feel it in my heart!!!" her eyes were burning there like a flame that won't go out! "And when he does, I promise I will listen to you. I'll stop trying to find work and focus on my studies, I'll do everything you've always wanted me to...."
She was still talking, words tumbling out in her earnest rush to convince him, when another voice cut through there moment.
"HEY! YOU TWO!!!!" A Crown man near the entrance stepped forward, his boots clicking against the stone. His eyes moved over them in disgust, his lip curling as though he'd spotted something foul. "Why are you coming here? Common people aren't permitted at this gathering. This is for people who can actually improve this city.... not some handicapped man who can't move without a little girl pushing him around."
A few Crown people nearby sniggered, making ugly sound and gestures sharp enough to pierce a thick wall. Others passing by went quiet and looked away, their faces tight with expression between discomfort and shame….. Everyone saw what was happening but not a single one of them moved to intervene.
Big Brother's expression went still. Every trace of vulnerability vanished from his face, replaced by protective instinct. He straightened in his chair as much as his body would allow and moved slightly forward, angling himself between the approaching man and his sister. Little Sister ducked instinctively behind the chair, her body moving on pure reflex. She dropped to one knee and gripped the handles with her trembling hands, making herself small and hidden while refusing to let go of Big Brother.
"Sir." Big Brother's voice was controlled, each word measured and cold with restrained anger. "I haven't heard of any such rule. If a Queen's guard tells me I'm not allowed inside, I'll leave without argument. But you will not speak about my sister that way."
His eyes didn't flinch. Instead, they glared more openly at the Crown man, daring him to continue.
The Crown man's smirk widened, stretching across his face. "Kekeke.... look at him. Can't even protect himself and he's trying to act like her big hero." He tilted his head slowly, his gaze sliding past the wheelchair to Little Sister pressed behind it. His eyes lingered there too long for a casual look. "Hmmmm…well let's say.... I'll solve your problem for you right here and now.... But give me the girl. Let her work for me. I'll pay her well for her services, and I'll even throw in a job for you while I'm at it."
He took a slow step forward, his tongue touching his lip. "Good deal, yeah? Kekeke."
Little Sister's whole body went cold. Ice seemed to flood through her veins, freezing her in place. She pressed herself completely behind the chair, eyes squeezing shut, every muscle in her body tensing. But her hands.... her hands did not let go of him. She did not run. She did not abandon her brother. She held on because Big Brother was everything to her, because she knew deep in her bones that as long as she stayed with him, as long as she didn't let go, no one could truly harm her.
"You bastard!!" Big Brother's voice cracked like a whip, all the careful control shattering in an instant. "How DARE you.... I'll kill you, I swear I'll rip you apart with my bare hands!!"
He shoved his arms against the armrests, every muscle in his upper body straining with everything he had. He tried to push himself upright, tried to force his body to stand and fight and protect.
But his legs didn't move.
TSK. STAND UP. Stand up, you piece of SHIT!! STAND UPPPP!!!!
He could see the Crown man walking around the wheelchair now. Reaching past him as though he wasn't even there. That filthy hand stretching toward his little sister's arm, fingers spreading to grab.
"Kekeke.... don't worry, I'll pay well for her, better than she'd get anywhere else...."
THAP!!!
There was a sharp sound, cutting through the his filthy laughter.
The Crown man's wrist stopped moving. A howl tore out of his throat as he stumbled backward, nearly losing his footing entirely while cradling his caught arm.
"That is enough."
The voice was eerily calm, carrying authority that needed no volume to be heard.
Miss Queen Expert stood there, her grip still loosening from where she'd caught his arm mid-reach. She didn't waste a glance on the Crown man again. Instead, she turned and placed her hand gently on Little Sister's head, the touch was clearly filled with different emotions.
Little Sister looked up at her with eyes so wide and bright they might have been holding entire galaxies. She scrambled to her feet immediately and bowed so deeply her hair fell forward like a curtain, words tumbling out of her in a rush of pure gratitude. Big Brother's jaw had unclenched for the first time in what felt like hours, and he bowed his head toward Miss Expert with quiet sincerity, unable to find words adequate enough to express what he felt.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Miss Expert's spoke in calm voice. "Don't worry. Things are going to change soon."
She turned and let her gaze sweep across the entrance, taking in everything and everyone. The guards standing at their posts. The bystanders who had watched without moving. The Crown people who'd laughed and the ones who'd looked away pretending not to see. She raised her voice to carry over all of it.
"THERE IS NO ENTRY RULE. EVERYONE MAY ENTER. EVERYONE'S VOICE WILL BE HEARD TODAY. GO INSIDE.... THERE IS SPACE FOR ALL OF YOU. AND IF SPACE RUNS SHORT...."
Her eyes landed briefly on the Crown man, who was already edging away from her presence. "...I'll make some."
KEEEKKKK
The Crown man shivered visibly in fear before leaving quickly, his departure giving everyone watching a moment of embarrassing laughter at his expense.
The crowd around the entrance shifted immediately. The tension that had built up broke apart and dissolved as people began to move inside, the mood loosening back into welcoming atmosphere.
Miss Expert looked at Big Brother in the wheelchair. Then she spoke without any trace of emotion coloring her words. "Come with me. I'll take you to Master Zack."
She turned and walked without waiting for confirmation.
BLINK BLINK!
HUH!!!!
Little Sister blinked. Big Brother blinked. They looked at each other for one half-second of shared confusion, their minds struggling to process what had just happened.
Then Little Sister grabbed the handles and moved swiftly, weaving through the crowd after Miss Expert's retreating back before she could disappear into it entirely.
Little Sister's eyes fixed on the straight, steady line of Miss Expert's shoulders ahead of her, and slowly many feelings started to rose in her throat. Gratitude, hope, relief.... all of it mixing together until she thought she might cry from the weight of it. She didn't hesitate for even a second and rushed to catch up.
Miss Expert's face remained forward, her expression unreadable as always. But behind the mask, behind the stillness she always maintained, a small and bright smile was present. She didn't show it openly, but everyone who caught a glimpse of her eyes could tell she was incredibly happy.
Big Brother gripped the armrests with both hands. His loud heart was hammering inside his chest, a drumbeat made of fear and desperate hope all knotted together until he couldn't tell where one emotion ended and another began. The palace main gates were getting closer with each push of the wheelchair, slowly becoming huge in his vision. As they got bigger, as those gates loomed larger and larger, his inner voice grew louder too.
Anything!!!! I'll do anything you ask. Just one job. Just enough for Mother to rest without worrying where the next meal comes from. Just enough for my sister to go back to school so that she could stop worrying about money and just be a young sweet little girl thinking about her future, not about how to save our family.
His throat tightened painfully.
Master Zack.... please. Just a little tiny job. That's all I'm asking for. That's all I need.
They passed through the entrance, and the beauty of Queen's palace rose up around them in all its glory. And Big Brother's heartbeat got faster and faster until he could hear nothing else.
________________________________________
"Did we hear that right?" A man near the outer crowd straightened up, blinking rapidly. "We're actually allowed inside?"
"What are we waiting for then?" Several men of all ages were already moving, pulling each other forward with the energy of people who'd been waiting outside a door they thought was locked forever.
As they reached the entrance, another Miss Expert guard was stationed at the post, overlooking everything with her calm and watchful eyes that missed nothing. One of the men gathered himself, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
"Miss Expert.... we want to speak with Master Zack. We have concerns we couldn't bring up in the 4th rock. We weren't permitted to enter before today. Is there any way we can meet him?"
The group behind him went completely still, holding their breath. Their eyes were wide with a hope they were trying desperately not to show too obviously, afraid that showing it might somehow make it disappear.
Miss Expert looked them over without speaking a word. Then she turned and gave a quiet order to one of her people, who disappeared at a jog. The men waited, their hearts pounding in their chests. When the guard returned shortly after with an armful of neatly prepared letter papers, their confusion only deepened.
Miss Expert distributed the papers and spoke plainly. "Write whatever you need to say. After lunch, we're planning to give these to everyone, but since you're here now, you can write ahead of time. Bring the letters to our people at the meeting area."
She paused, making sure they were listening. "If multiple letters say exactly the same thing, only one will be passed to Master Zack directly.... but your concerns will still be represented. Every letter will be read. Your voices will not be lost. That's all."
She stepped back, not bothering to elaborate further.
The men turned to one another; papers clutched tightly in their hands. A low soft stunned murmur rippled through the group, which was filled with disbelief. Their faces carried expressions of pure shock, mixed with fragile hope that was unfamiliar to them. Hope?? Real, genuine hope???
Several of them looked as though they wanted to ask again, to confirm they had heard correctly, to make absolutely sure this wasn't some cruel trick. But none of them dared question Miss Expert directly. Instead, they turned quietly to the guards standing nearby, asking in hushed voices if what they had just heard was truly real.
With every answer they received, the truth settled in a little deeper.
It was not a misunderstanding. It was not a mistake. And it was certainly not a dream they would wake up from.
Someone was finally going to listen to them.
The realization spread through the group like warmth spreading through cold hands, filling their hearts until they felt almost too full. The men looked at one another again, their disbelief slowly melting into overwhelming relief. Some of them laughed nervously, their body shaking from all the feelings. Others simply stood there, shaking their heads as if their minds could not quite keep up with what their hearts already knew to be true.
Then, one by one, a few of the older men began to cry.
These were men who had spent years forcing their emotions down deep where no one could see them. Men who had grown used to silence, to being ignored, to feeling as though their voices had disappeared into empty air where nobody cared to listen. For so long they had spoken without being heard, complained without receiving any response, hoped without ever seeing results.
And now, suddenly, someone was listening.
The happiness that rose within them felt almost too large to contain inside their chests. It lifted their spirits higher and higher, as though their joy might touch the sky itself and keep going beyond. Questions tumbled out as they asked the guards for more details, wanting to know when it would happen, how it would work, what they should do next, where they should go.
The answers they received only strengthened their belief that this was real.
At last, with lighter steps and wide grateful smiles stretching across weathered faces, the men began to disperse. They walked away still talking among themselves, their voices brighter than before, carrying with them something they had not felt in a very long time.
Hope.
Miss Expert watched them go, and behind her mask she smiled.
Good, she thought. That's how it should be.
________________________________________
"Hey, you little animals, move faster! Why are you giggling so much.... this is a kitchen, not a festival!"
Miss Expert Sisters Grandma sat firmly in her chair at the edge of the kitchen area, arms crossed tightly across her chest, eyes sharp as knives. She surveyed the organized chaos around her with the experienced eye of a general reviewing an underprepared army before battle. Maids and butlers moved around her in quick, careful orbits, none of them daring to get too close while she was in one of her moods.
"But Senior!" One maid spun around so fast she barely managed not to slosh the dish in her hands all over the floor. "We heard what Master Zack and Queen are planning and I just.... I can't keep the joy inside; it keeps trying to climb out of me like it has a life of its own! KKKKYYYYAAAAA, I am so happy!!!! Master Zack is so wonderful, he's always been so kind to us, and now he might actually change things for real.... Princess is so lucky to have a man li...."
"If you drop that dish, I will personally throw you out of this palace, and then you will never see Master Zack's face again in your life!"
A wave of instant silence crashed over the kitchen.
Every maid snapped out from their happiness and worked with sudden, focused dedication, their hands moving twice as fast as before.
But the happiness still radiated off them in waves, invisible energy hitting Grandma's face and making her eye twitch in irritation.
"Let them be."
A very senior butler appeared quietly at her elbow. He moved with the careful steps gracefully making his way around the kitchen, each movement measured to not disturb the people working in this hot kitchen. There was a steadiness in him that had not faded with age, a core strength that time had failed to erode. Deep lines creased his face, marks carved by decades of work and quiet endurance. And yet, resting on that worn face was a gentle smile.... a smile that had been absent for a very long time.
"They're just happy about what's coming," he said softly, watching the distant commotion with warm eyes that crinkled at the corners. "Even this old man is happy."
Grandma turned her head toward him, her sharp gaze sweeping over the elderly man from head to toe.
"TSK." She clicked her tongue dismissively. "You're still alive and working? Just go lie down somewhere, old man. Otherwise, one day you'll drop dead while coming to work and I'll have to clean up the mess."
"Hm…. I'd like to," Senior Butler replied with an unhurried smile, completely unbothered by her rough tone. "But you know my situation."
He folded his hands quietly in front of him, the gesture calm from years of practice.
"For a long time, I was barely surviving. No real future to plan for myself, nothing to look forward to when I woke up each morning." His voice remained gentle, but there was a quiet weight pressing down behind the words. "Just getting through the days one at a time."
For a moment, his gaze drifted somewhere far away, as though remembering those years when everything felt grey and endless cycle of plain boring life.
"But Master Zack gave me something I hadn't had in a very long time."
He looked back at the beautiful faces of smiling maids and butlers scattered around the kitchen. They laughed and worked happily, enjoying their lives to the fullest without the constant fear that had haunted them before.
"Hope."
The word rested softly in the air between them.
"Now I can actually think about what little time I have left.... how I want to spend it, what I still want to do before my body gives out completely." His eyes crinkled warmly as he smiled. "I'm happy….. Genuinely, truly happy."
Grandma stared at him for a long second, her expression unreadable.
"GAH." She waved her hand irritably in his direction. "You are already one leg in death's bed and talking about exploring yourself! Did you forget your young days are already over, old man?!!"
"Why can't I?" Senior Butler's smirk appeared, transforming his wrinkled face. "I still walk properly and think properly. I say I am a pretty young man!"
"Yeah, yeah, wrinkle free young man," Grandma replied with heavy sarcasm dripping from every word. "Do whatever you want. If you broke a bone or two inside your head and pass away, then tell the gods to make me live another 1000 years, heheh."
Her evil smile spread across her face.
"Hahah, sure sure, I will do that," Senior Butler laughed happily.
Grandma shook her head slowly. "That brat Zack.... getting serious old men to smile like children. He's something else, that boy."
She paused, and her eyes sharpened with a sudden, calculating glint.
"...Kekeke."
A sly grin slowly curled across her face, transforming her expression mischievous tone.
"If even one of my girls could land him, I could die in peace."
Her gaze drifted across the busy kitchen, searching until it found what it was looking for.
There, standing at the far entrance, was her one of the granddaughter. The young woman stood with her back perfectly straight, quietly overseeing the guests with her usual cool composure. Her expression remained calm, professional, and unreadable.... as if the chaos and excitement swirling around her had nothing to do with her at all.
Grandma watched her for a long moment, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of mischief and determination.
GAAAHHH!!!
Miss Expert shivered violently without warning.
A deep, source less dread moved down her spine like ice water trickling slowly along her back.
...What was that.
She shook it off quickly, but her eyes were now constantly scanning her surroundings for any danger lurking in the shadows.
"Miss Expert?"
A cluster of maids appeared beside her; their expressions carefully arranged somewhere between nervousness and determination. One of the maids with more courage than the others came forward and spoke.
"Can we ask you something?"
"Go ahead," Miss Expert nodded once.
The front maid took a slow, steady breath, gathering her courage from deep inside herself. When she spoke, her voice was clear, though the weight of everything she carried trembled just beneath the surface.
"We're maids from several different households," she said carefully, choosing each word with precision. "We wanted to meet Master Zack.... to talk to him about some things that have been troubling us for a long time now."
Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her apron, crumpling it.
"We know he's very busy with everything happening today. But we don't need much time. Even just a few minutes would be enough for us to speak our hearts."
Her eyes searched Miss Expert's face anxiously, desperately looking for any sign.... any hint.... of the same refusal she had received so many times before from others in positions of authority.
So many doors had already been closed in their faces. So many people had turned them away without listening.
"If he could just hear us.... it would mean so much to us."
Her voice dropped into a near whisper, fragile as glass.
"Please.... we beg you."
The maid bent forward into a deep bow, her back curving low.
Behind her, the other maids quickly followed, lowering their heads in unison until they all faced the ground.
Miss Expert simply looked at them.
For a moment, she said nothing. The silence was making them more nervous.
Then....
"Fine."
The word was simple. Just one word. Yet it shook the maids to their very core.
The maids blinked in confusion, their minds struggling to process what they'd just heard.
One of them lifted her head slightly, unsure if she had heard correctly. Another looked sideways at the others, seeking confirmation. Their eyes met in silent confusion before all of them turned back toward Miss Expert, still trying to understand what had just happened.
Miss Expert, however, had already moved on from the moment.
Her gaze shifted away from them, scanning the entrance area looking for something. Her sharp eyes moved across the crowd until they stopped on exactly what she had been looking for.
There, near the kitchen entrance, a young man lay stretched completely across a sofa.
The man was sleeping horizontally with his one leg propped on the sofa headrest, with no care for the world around him whatsoever.
It was Gloomy.
Maids and butlers flowed past him in a constant stream of footsteps, voices, clattering dishes, and movement. The entrance buzzed with activity like a disturbed beehive, yet he remained perfectly still, sleeping with the peacefulness of someone who had found the most comfortable place in the entire universe.
Nothing disturbed him.
Not the noise.
Not the footsteps.
Not the chaos swirling around his unconscious form.
But somehow his eyes twitched.
Miss Expert calmly walked across that universe.
Without hesitation, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him upright in one smooth motion.
His body rose like a loosely assembled puppet, still half lost in whatever dream he'd been having.
"Take them to Master Zack."
TAKK.
Her palm struck the back of his head with a sharp, precise smack that echoed through the entrance.
"GAAAHH!! OWW!!"
Gloomy jolted awake instantly, clutching the back of his head as pain exploded through his skull.
His eyes shot open wide as he looked around in total confusion, still halfway between the dream world and reality. His mind scrambled to understand where he was and what had just happened.
Gloomy's eyes snapped into focus.... wide, blinking, furious. He whirled toward her, opened his mouth wanting to unleash whatever complaint had formed in his sleep-addled brain. But the moment he registered exactly whose face he was looking at; he closed his mouth again without a sound. He turned sharply to the maids instead, adjusting his hood with what remained of his dignity, and walked without another word of protest.
The maids scrambled to follow him.
As they fell into step behind him, quiet murmuring broke out between them in hushed whispers.
You ask him. No, you! I can't, you ask.... Someone has to....
Gloomy glanced back over his shoulder. He was shorter than all of them, so the glance went slightly upward.... revealing a row of nervous maids looking back down at him with varying degrees of barely suppressed anxiety written across their faces.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Um." The bravest one straightened her posture. "Sir Gloomy.... are we.... are we really going to see Master Zack? The one representing Queen?"
"SIRRRR?????"
Gloomy's entire posture changed in an instant. He stood straighter. His hood shifted back slightly, revealing more of his face. His chin came up with newfound confidence. He turned fully toward them mid-walk with the smooth energy of a man who has been waiting his whole life for this particular form of recognition.
"Of course, this Gloomy is bringing you to Big Brother Zack." He said it with such calm confidence that if anyone who knew him saw him acting like this, they would for sure hit him back to being Gloomy again. "And just so you're aware.... I am his favourite brother."
The maids' faces lit up like lanterns being ignited all at once, their eyes practically giving out a radiance of pure light.
"Is that true, Sir Gloomy?!" "Thank you, thank you so much!!" "We've been so troubled lately, and no one would listen to us, and we just...." They were all talking at once, bowing slightly as they walked, the relief tumbling out of them in overlapping streams of gratitude. "Please take care of us, Sir Gloomy...."
Gloomy's expression changed after hearing their genuine words.... the easy swagger melting into quieter sincerity as he heard the real weight underneath their words. "Don't worry about anything," he said in a casual tone that somehow still carried reassurance. "Let's go."
They went.... deeper into the palace, laughing and talking together, the nervousness unwinding slowly from their shoulders as they walked more and more into the heart of Queen's palace.
Behind them, Miss Expert watched them go. She shook her head slowly.
And just smiled inside her mask…..
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END OF CHAPTER
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Author Blabbering
English is a funny language just like any other language..... I type a word in Microsoft Word differently then in other places, it will show that this word is wrong please use this spelling!!!! English people just choose one spelling for one word.....
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