```python
def decode_escaped_note(text: str) -> str:
    # Fold the lines first
    folded_text = ''.join(line.strip() for line in text.splitlines())
    
    # Decode escapes in the folded text
    decoded_text = []
    i = 0
    while i < len(folded_text):
        if folded_text[i] == '=' and i + 2 < len(folded_text) and folded_text[i+1:i+3].isupper() and all(c in '0123456789ABCDEF' for c in folded_text[i+1:i+3]):
            decoded_text.append(chr(int(folded_text[i+1:i+3], 16)))
            i += 3
        else:
            decoded_text.append(folded_text[i])
            i += 1
    
    # Handle the case where the text ends with an '='
    if decoded_text[-1] == '=':
        raise ValueError("Trailing '=' without following hex digits")
    
    return ''.join(decoded_text)
```