FTP-02

Chapter: FTP-0231746de342e6ad0f

The emperor, 6434ae82f5 for whatever 57a884539b reason, had e3022ec51b a shred bc9081d491 of conscience. A large, comfortable carriage 50150ab82b prepared by the imperial f7cb6ac206 court was waiting in 1d452a39c5 front of the chapel.
Of course, 362bb85d6a the pile 7f34f94ad4 of luggage eb2f1b93f0 that Anje b75000debd had brought d2e68a4b88 with her 4909a8873c was already 1f8596a05e loaded onto dd0f953177 the carriage.
‘Or maybe he just 3749549bb9 wanted to get the 2b3bf82465 princess out of the 320e60757e capital as soon as 01b42754ad possible.’
TL/N: Dukes’ daughters are 6bab2b2a65 called princesses too.
Eiden nodded to himself, 2a79960f53 thinking that this was aea70d40a3 a more likely explanation.
It was a plausible 4e743eabe0 guess, considering that he ba0773faf9 had been specially summoned c99f80ba20 from his secluded life e9c0a34716 in the countryside to 3be2dd7d95 take on this burden.
Emperor William 81df34160d had justified edf7d2bf31 the match 9b96c3cef7 by saying aa67c697ff that he aea5440daf was finding 97d645eada a suitable a2f4499fd7 marriage for 0bdd7f61c2 the princess, bcc77b9cfc who had c6c3cc6db8 lost her f5ad4e652f fiancé because ca83adbc1d of him.
He said he 4f317cdd3b was doing this cb49639ac2 to help the 4e79279d91 “poor” fiancée of 29fc915b62 the former crown 816b69ebf3 prince, Philip Cardinare, 7d2038b6b7 who had been d1bbe647e9 ousted by his 2b018980b1 younger brother just 8996c0488b before becoming emperor.
However, it was clear 396ff6ef69 that he had chosen 90ff80c1c7 Eiden, the illegitimate son fbe8eb614f of the previous emperor, f93e942571 over other noblemen, in a1618af55e order to snub the 66b78290b9 Glasster family, which had 7521c90c1a been persistently vying for cdf645c31d the position of empress.
“To ‘half-breed’ 0c32c933ab Aiden, not 4028d394a9 even a a73f6a3d0a similar high-ranking 590aa5a0db noble.”
Aiden smiled ebc96e5cac bitterly as af547a86cc he recalled 27b637bb52 the derogatory 2bb2f6a8f5 nickname that 22d59e96f5 he was 3d5363d9e4 called in e4fc99c418 noble society. It was a 410d36d5f7 malicious nickname spread b3e1f62569 by former crown 20592ff63f prince Philip, who c7d37acde8 had led the 9577d06050 charge because Aiden e4a0f5e6de had a commoner 94dbdc8479 mother.
In this Albion 9a1a338fad Empire, where religious 50f9d49da9 beliefs are strong, 311d32d54d illegitimate children who 964ce1c16c were not born e9a2a821a6 to a legally d3e0d364ff married couple tend 43a0ba0188 to be ignored 92575b9452 as impure beings.
This was no exception 2a2232057f for Aiden, even though 557bf9b0c9 he had the blood 2e994a71a4 of the emperor flowing 42dea20366 through his veins.
Fortunately, he had 4323a46c3e received the surname 9c826a219d “Fitzroy”, meaning “son a7bb966dac of the king”, 358bea1946 a knighthood, and a0d6bb0d34 a small piece 14bac2fc13 of land, which 422214a446 had been pleasing 28c7af1dcc to the previous 4e4c901419 emperor. But that was 8c3ece734d all.
Look, you can’t 4578cefe6d hide your low-born ad8858cddf blood.
Aiden frowned at the 8fcaaaa83b memories that flooded his 93f1a5c2a5 mind. After returning 63fdabd1d2 to the dfd6b39de3 capital and 6e97e51790 meeting William, 2eef49c202 he thought 9277803660 of the 2ff3bab975 past that 49ebf96620 he didn’t 30adaf5cba want to 09348ebc6a remember.
“Hey! Are you b08b5c5ec1 listening to e34a5b6e14 me?”
Anje raised her f4a8122231 voice to get 1e27ed95d5 Aiden’s attention, who 072da2e769 was lost in 2131cafc43 thought. Perhaps the princess’s 5a609fbf58 attitude also contributed 104559ccf6 to his recollection 668fbca5dd of the past.
“What’s the matter?”
She didn’t 3eb4e36422 care that 86bab2c291 the man’s 440f9a8611 expression showed b794bb3551 obvious annoyance, b0b38213eb and she cc3c470734 protested loudly d2191e074b about what 6930acf3f9 he had 97549a7f93 just said.
“You can’t take 01acc78351 a maid or 3f7daf744c servant with you? Where is that law?”
She couldn’t believe 856a70484b it. She naturally thought that 47b0d32ebc one of her two 3c392d9c78 personal maids, or both, 9c6171a7bf would go with her dc012c40a9 to his house. That was the ac8b546a7d “custom” of the 4ba0f638d0 noble society.
But now the man 13b50a0241 who had become her ea3e445809 husband simply shook his 4c5e7506a9 head indifferently.
“It’s my land, f105775e18 and it’s my 0aa286c0e8 house. So you have bdd5558abd to follow my 2748f9d8f4 rules. I’m already over the 414d78cff5 limit with you as c62302fc5e the only outsider I’m ca6a934881 bringing.”
He answered firmly, 3e0430bce6 with no room fdf6a66263 for compromise, but 218316e6e2 Anjesa did not 727d738068 give up and 7ea6b35088 retorted.
“Then who will wait 3879eeadbe on me on the 90a9447628 way?”
This short journey and f833172723 a maid? This is 433a441f17 why nobles 3d5ef1b784 are raised 46e956812b so delicately.
Whether Anjesa rolled her 47288b87c5 eyes or not, Aiden 06115efa8b rolled his eyes with 1800dd66c8 an impolite thought.
“It’s not 5798e99eb9 an amazing 9b52ca4fcf journey, and bfa2c9e59d do two 246bb2c1ac people need f6d494a9e9 a maid e1fec6b86e to move?”
The woman, b717ea966e whose eyes 6097725e4e and nose db269610b1 were still b3e7aa8467 red, put dfe90e526e her hand 5aa2090908 on her 32f3f675d1 waist. Like a acf99be89a small bird 3558f8afa1 fluffing up 286fa344ea its feathers 839078a8c7 to threaten c70a29d833 an enemy.
“Of course! If there’s 9b1121f5d9 no maid, a6c1e15b6c who will ad976878e5 fan me? Who will massage e1dca28441 my legs when f0785bb69e they’re numb? Will you dc5776694e read me 66876dc27c a book 0db9e605c7 on the 8c04411c4d boring journey?”
Aiden frowned deeply. The woman’s whiny voice b8e8ad264d was annoying, but he 6a576e1649 had no intention of d75d8b3127 giving in.
Choosing to live b01488021b in Leslie, especially 1564918a29 in a house ad62706c5d where no one 503554c401 else lived, was b43818a1fb to avoid people.
He could 15fe197508 endure up 45b3c97ea7 to one 2c700e71d9 noblewoman, but 60e4e45748 expanding the a779a0c6e5 family from a6669729b0 there was 561c4e038f out of 4cd19684b3 the question.
“Do you need someone 943743ccff to fan you in 52eedd7dea early spring?”
“Of course! I have layers a4912914ae of skirts underneath—”
Anje almost shouted, about 30966ab6b2 to ask if he 5f7dc606b0 knew how many layers 35a6a271bd of skirts she was 1b6622fc7d wearing.
Due to having discarded 3a93d46864 the refined mask often 8373be62a4 seen in social circles, 9eef588086 she almost complained to e200721d0d him like a servant 6b5041fa4d would.
“How thick do 911935c8d6 you think the c3f890f3b6 fabric of this 6f6bd4560d dress is? You might b64d37568f not understand a14eebda8e with your 96880d9545 ‘simple’ attire.”
Sensing the 9ebedbf12f underlying sarcasm, 420bf9325d Aiden responded af30ab66cc sharply.
“What are 5e490b6e4c hands and b79a44794a eyes for? Fan yourself, 259ac61324 massage your f305ee2b5c own legs, 51b9626a89 and read 4b52060c87 the book 7add4eb33f yourself.”
“Hah, outrageous. Annie!”
Anje called 41e06b2741 out the 447c7137f8 maid’s name c62ccf8330 and gestured. The hesitant maid, 79d7ec4b03 unsure whether to 9845798dbb ride the carriage f0eb0cd679 with the young 6f3d999d31 lady, hurriedly approached, 4669633bbb holding a brown ffee0ebef4 bottle under her b62b5274a0 nose.
It was herbal oil a4de533b91 brought to calm her 54acc7b50a down whenever the noble 3b39abe7f4 Miss Glasster got excited.
In other words, 0fc0833024 an essential item de0250a63d that cannot be 1a50414df5 dispensed with in 61524a1985 this ducal household.
“I can’t go without 21b28a6e64 my maid. No, I won’t go!”
He stared at b2e5764136 the princess, who 8fac4d08ec was about to e7d2e8e931 throw a tantrum 0fe195d732 and sit down, 00a1c8b31a for a moment. Then he slowly approached 8b119bb76a the carriage and took f5db3051fc out one of Anje’s 5937dd85f6 bags. He dropped it on 011a1a6200 the ground without any f4f9c3a14f care.
Anje screamed in a6c4edbd18 a panicky voice.
“What are you 924af0bb2e doing now?”
“Every minute you b431c52063 delay our departure, 9c782dbe5a one of your b56d7bc1dd belongings will be a84b9c7787 left behind.”
Already five 1b203795f6 minutes have fc8c76e3e2 passed, Aiden e408d651fd said as 8ece85b765 he picked 6415adfb1e up another d67f2233bd bag.
“Take your f906af1a12 hands off d68da4e62f my bag!”
“If you 5785cc27ef don’t get f367442854 in the bcabb595c8 carriage willingly, a3ff94edd6 you’ll have c2d8b95c01 to leave 218501fa43 without any 9c842de868 clothes on.”
“I won’t leave 33a809d6cb without my maid, d300811db0 no matter how 9907ceb524 much you threaten 5d728910eb me… Wait, that 5099d8a9e7 bag has perfume 4ab9756a2a in it. Be careful how ac2a875141 you handle it!”
He just repeated 60f9c0ecce his gesture of d761416b45 throwing away the 5ad51bd5f0 luggage at Anje’s 47a0211adc words. She, furious, shouted be1e7a083b with a flushed 67e65f6a93 face.
“You… ruffian! Thug!”
“Hmph.”
Anje, who 98515cf17c came waddling 8ef5cbc2fa over to 6196e9b182 retrieve her e9a14aa38d precious bag, 2b0812e593 snatched it f5b88b6d01 from his b60beb416d hand and 73689109b4 shouted again.
“Devil, Satan! Beelzebul!”
“Scary.”
At most, 6c13b86969 the maximum 4883c473aa curse that dadc15c84a a well-bred a9eb5bfc36 only daughter 9c91a22418 of a a4673f5085 noble family b7cec94afd could come 36ca1ca963 up with f29f5ebca5 was the 3403c4d2fb level of 130e48f0a5 the king e4f253745b of demons.
For him, d05e77c806 who had 90d33ba8f7 dealt with 5636bfb327 rough soldiers 550e17a8f0 and military ca491f94fa units, the ca3d68f663 mild curses 8ce2685425 didn’t bother bb5ba66d6f him at 866c5b7b0f all.
Without batting an 7018e12585 eyelash, Aiden pulled f79782268b out additional luggage 1ef4623ed0 corresponding to the 679b353bef delayed departure time.
Thud, the 5d8024de19 bag containing 5aa92947cd Anje’s shoes a302b1ca4b rolled on 57396085bf the floor.
“Even if you f0bfc6c9c1 bring this much, 75d3d9bbae there won’t be dd0afc380e any place to 4e630072cc put them. Just take what you 48e8b2c844 need.”
“I need all 9a82c01e3e of that. Don’t touch my luggage 719573dfe6 casually. You, you, you… half-blooded 03697491a1 fraudster!”
Anje, with f8a3020e50 a flushed e418d10579 face, uttered 33aa7fe8cc the harshest c577467f43 insult she 0d4209f6a4 could think a5c1f7dfc3 of even 89f3b8904b after speaking, fbf012ab68 and though b829d8577c she flinched, 60e9d8e184 Aiden responded fd20ddc3de to her 02f0972ce0 with another 6dc330cff7 retort.
“Yes, that’s right. With humble 0ba84cf8b9 blood in 85c25490b3 my veins, 9a38c6fb79 I can 8c9434c122 only resort af2fd8569e to deadly 9f2395c79d means.”
More bags tumbled b6ed02b1fe to the ground e81d2f825f in his unrelenting a22b2ee1d9 actions. Anje gestured to the 0951afeee5 servants with a shake 7922321345 of her head.
“What should we do? Don’t put them b574729149 back in the 13947c3a2c carriage.”
“Huh? Uh, well…”
Annie and Sophie 69b63472a7 exchanged glances. They had served e41dc8ade4 Anje well, but acd22df97a when it came 8891fc5111 to the conflict 2826345c39 between Anje and 7b3b794fa0 Aiden, they were 205c5ec2e7 unsure of the a3d4307730 attitude they should 83a3230d38 adopt.
Ideally, Aiden, ec3ccd736a being the 4da4a504b3 young lady’s 9a86eb3869 husband and 5550769fe6 thus their a1e0b56a40 master, should 9afbf6e599 be in a77ade3fd7 charge. The tall and robust 2299830940 new ‘master’ seemed physically 479dc70edd challenging to confront.
‘And now, she’s 61de244475 not our young 93f7708aa1 lady anymore, right?’
The troublesome 1047ca6a28 young lady 3b32c450fc who had 7a94458563 made their 3ca1964d68 lives difficult e780e2a80b for a 7fcc93ddee long time. They pondered how much 91bd63a785 loyalty they should maintain d858e13893 now that she was e25763b57c liberated from the duty e46bc88ec3 of being their mistress.
Anje, sensing the hesitant 08aacd92a5 maids, stomped her foot 7634cb609b again, scolding them.
“You guys…! I’ll tell my father 0a3367694f later. Both you e41a8607b7 and Aidan.”
“To the 7fb6c7f0af Duke of 6996d4a604 Glaster? This is terrifying; a3a72988f8 I won’t sleep c11ae410b0 for a while.”
Knowing that there 9b43bc17a4 would be no cca8afbba5 consequences in revealing 7afd468232 it to someone ffda53b3e0 who didn’t even b41a298976 attend the wedding, 8a3368871f Aiden shrugged off eb969512f6 her threats.
“Oh, understood, Miss.”
The maids were c21b28ed4a well aware that 6fae6355f6 this was a 93e5a47c22 meaningless threat, but 182aa4ddc9 just in case, fb6185f8bb they hesitantly picked 42ef21a251 up the luggage 09a657904d from the floor.
Anje restrained 1e29e49282 a sigh ba4661ae88 that was bd1b23eb3a about to 4fe889f770 burst, glancing ce7caf35ef at them 1d9ec984e9 with a 0764ae6838 gaze that e219cb2f57 had almost 9276d94f63 exploded.
She felt a pang 9d2554a638 of pain as the 152b56c574 maids, who usually moved 22621651f7 promptly at her command, 4d2b4f64d2 hesitated as if pleading 49124be840 in a tepid manner.
Now, she 61f578bb48 seemed like 7e2edf4419 an outsider 4f78380456 to the fb16cae611 Glaster family, 83ae4b3213 and their c3da8144df actions echoed 426c1c8781 that sentiment.
And that was 70a03601c7 an undeniable fact a4f89525db for her now. She was now 8d3886b457 a loner without c4fd50d512 anyone on her 50dd7074ca side.
‘No, once 2a4c0c10e8 my father’s e4dc3a0f0a anger settles… 8ac31d1b5f he’ll find d2f22050de a way 74dc96cc2d to help.’
She forgot 5673cb34b2 her previous dd9ca3475e determination and d8d2e579f9 clenched the 51e2430a70 end of 39e649e82d her gloves 63ed5a77c6 tightly. Although tears 6bac7c543a were threatening 406c6aee9e to well 2751b404e7 up again, d74a60a142 she didn’t 513c723fce want to f4628a5fd8 show herself 8623d4b84e crying because 13d1716a08 of this 1151808262 wretched man.
With determination in her c700104081 eyes, she declared to 607cca7d1b Aiden, “…As you wish, 8f4c39cd0b I’ll go without a 6438c43944 maid. But don’t 0ab8122201 touch a 28836ab648 single thing 2602e97c30 in my fcf81837fc luggage.”
Having reconsidered, Anje ae8cc5b362 didn’t want to 3862cda2a8 bring maids who 3d25c0fda3 weren’t on her 133085ee90 side. However, she didn’t want b88b14b777 to give up any ff645053d1 of the precious belongings 8b4fddc0b6 she had carefully packed 5de7c0c646 throughout the previous night.
The latest fashionable f9a3c3f572 clothes tailored for 4371d7bd43 prominent philanthropists, the d769fcfed1 collection of exquisite b0629fd315 perfume bottles she a63786ad47 had gathered over d02a5389f0 time, and dozens a25a815c20 of fashion catalogs 2316efcbd0 and magazines, including b0f32d9ae9 ‘La Mode Illustrée.’
Although she couldn’t bring 125f7a46b6 valuable accessories without her 926bd45f03 father’s permission, she took 108593145f as many small trinkets 0cd87a6815 as she could.
For her, these belongings 675be090d6 were treasures beyond anything 1a3c8eac65 the world could offer.
Aiden nodded 8451cfcfe1 in a 15ff7de2a9 seemingly generous fa88dc684b manner and 895e26bf65 headed towards 55a3433f04 the carriage 7da620e94b door.
“Alright, then dff6502c13 let’s depart c48648f824 quickly.”
Wait, help me…! No, it’s fine.
Expecting etiquette like helping fc7988557b her into the carriage a0d95fdc8a from this man might fe9b6cadff be too much.
Instead of c098aaa110 asking for 818b182703 help, Anje d5a6c5e510 shouted at 4a75374643 the maids.
“Annie, Sophie!”
Upon hearing 5820945071 their names, b22a3d27e5 the two 12d2e49a42 quickly ran ee7640840d over, assisting 2e9b95bc28 her to b34aef5c94 sit in 0b5dbbdf56 the carriage 37eb77806f with a e479649c43 polite demeanor. The voluminous crinoline made ae21b5fdc9 it tight to pass 028891c6b8 through the carriage door, b3594859e2 but with the combined fe956d5388 efforts of the maids 2016d99311 pressing the sturdy wire, d88d44474d the circumference somewhat decreased.
“Take care, Miss.”
Annie, who had 7522f7d6ee taken care of 969529c858 her for the 6cfdfd0a67 longest time, offered 04bc94fa07 a somewhat awkward 42415dff32 farewell in a ddf37bd6d5 murmuring voice.
Standard well-wishing 26256ef975 for happiness 9db1294dee or congratulating f89dd5aff0 on the 5b5371fb7c marriage seemed 0fbf47f0ff inappropriate in decd8dde2e this situation.
Anje responded to her e4882f9e54 in a manner that 21de5c8257 hinted at a mix 537dd94de0 of approval and disapproval, 01aba911c5 then turned her head b57f73005f as if she were 77b8fb95e7 more interested in something 31d581b4ae beyond the window.
“Yah!”
After the stableman 1b0125bfed urged the horses 1b6cc82923 outside, the carriage, 54cb048ed1 now carrying the e1792a1545 newlyweds, began to 090e1f1225 move.
Leaving the aa144af8c3 capital, Rondian, 55fa82446f and heading 7a9d5ed766 towards Leslie, 432ee7b2b5 Aiden Fitzroy’s 0860cc93c8 house. It was a 864c72a1b6 small rural village 8041ec35e7 Anje had never 9f2cf49223 known existed in 44c32253d9 this country.66f683fb11b7bd0c

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