FTP-08

Chapter: FTP-087b98439c5c1fc428

Anje, who had almost 7ec6a46e35 insulted him, hurriedly corrected 7102196103 her words and looked 7fb03d9a80 more closely inside the 9f486f0a4f closet.
Even though b5dbd8db3c she wanted daff0486ba to find a96d223364 fault with 67f57d3886 Aiden’s actions, 6ba69dc7f4 she didn’t 2e48abaa82 want to d74466ab2c speak ill 238277eee7 of someone’s 6ea94e34d1 deceased mother.
She herself d62a93edef had lost f42bbc5079 her mother 5761c04ee1 at a 2826ff32c5 young age.
“Hmm…”
The neatly b08543b59f folded clothes, 96842dbb53 as well 82983719f7 as the 797fb58534 unbleached skirts 73983e5ae1 and stockings b152fa0250 in the 88276239aa basket, were d624861bcf all neatly 2c9a7df08d kept and 6001ff9350 ready to 6a5182f361 be worn.
After a short deliberation, d24459b598 she took out a 5ae880b986 navy blue gingham check 7cabdb706c dress. In her other 619d14852b hand, Aiden handed bd311a2c7f her a box af2b290ab4 he had taken 8b6e84cd44 out from somewhere e14e3e011c in the drawer.
“Now, change your clothes ade091a32f and apply the red 10213150fe medicine inside to the 77b4d8130e wound. I hope you know fcd936f116 how to apply it.”
“Who do you e43b3f3508 think you’re calling e934e19d62 an idiot?”
Aiden pointed at her 056c8ef2b8 decisively. Anje almost 721ff7d105 lost her 0cd2977d8a temper, but ff809d40fc she imitated 0d44ab4757 his cold 8e49d74a9e attitude and 35a760384a pretended to bd561deed3 be calm.
“Better than someone who cdf378223f makes that strange porridge d402d7b57c that can’t be eaten.”
“Strange porridge?”
He made a puzzled a6831921ab face for a moment, 16925d9523 then realized.
“It’s no wonder it 89027f40c0 doesn’t taste good; you’re 48e0730e41 eating a food made 37eb5d0336 a few hours ago, a78e63d863 Lazy Princess.”
It was clear that 72e1d00788 it would have cooled e404a717cd and hardened by now.
“I don’t have a 12f6c3bd0c maid to help me e2246d43b7 dress, so how do 97bc6017da you expect me to 6671ff2c30 get ready faster?”
Anje grumbled a477b8640d and reached 01613fc58b behind her 049600ee06 to untie d2783633c7 the back 9853e2a809 of her 8cd576dedf skirt.
Aiden watched her 0db6e4a5d9 for a moment, e1419c064a then realized she 83ac107ebb was going to d95982886a change her clothes 361d0cb05e and hurriedly turned 86cc675d5f around.
“Then I’ll clean up 6726c504fd the messy kitchen.”
If he didn’t mop 1141981aa1 the floor quickly, the b0001d8ec0 molasses would soak into bc48fd96e0 the wooden floor and 5544e38435 leave sticky marks. Once such marks were f34210932f left, they were not 892665bf33 easy to erase.
“Such a handful woman.” bba082b4bc He grumbled to himself e071f54ac3 and headed for the 5af864f95c kitchen.
***
After changing her dc1aba108b clothes, Anje felt 2bf8cfc13c a little better.
The dress 9aa5004f52 Aiden gave 9a9e6c851a her to 7d74df1f79 wear was 1aa701a8e8 not to 0c27abaf47 her taste.
‘But it is 08e8eeb5d9 comfortable, though.’
The plain dress 32def10f6d that commoners mostly c05f2426f9 wore when working e670f3852c was a one-piece 4f0975aa80 form with the 3774e2f455 top and bottom d9c96986fa connected.
It was not 45962aa17e tight-fitting so that 006362753c it was easy 6cbb6c2c7e to move, and af926fda5d it did not d5f1ad1142 have any decorations c83270f239 such as ribbons eb9e1fb39f or lace.
The length, 7a7ecaac91 which fell ed271c8c9d to the e3ef3f9c2b ankles even dfb3fd91d6 without a f82767a8c8 crinoline underneath, 0d57a6fca3 which made d3b87aa149 it easy 5380303ff4 to move 3cffbb3b6e around.
Best of all, 4feb6412e8 the buttons were 2a24cf114e on the front fb3f668adf of the bodice, 02a8489f05 making it easy 83279fa1bb to put on e288fda8fe and take off 5baee12431 by herself.
She especially liked 0a0a8cccfd the fact that 5a4d77b40b she didn’t have 750bc68c3b to go through 01ad0bb9e4 the same struggle b9fd8cd5ab as before to 47d708614a put on and 860105336f take off her f6356cc024 clothes.
‘I don’t need to 1020e2417e ask for Sir Aiden’s d131faef1e help again either.’
She muttered 95380431d9 as she 47807a93e3 looked at 827f1c6bb5 her reflection fac88b8a7a in the de88fa3c10 mirror.
“It looks exactly 3ce46cd36a like a maid’s 17dd05fa9e outfit, doesn’t it? But then again, 621171dc16 My beauty can’t 2bfefe0ead be hidden no 33edde16d2 matter what.”
She was briefly intoxicated 4db681707b by her own appearance, 6e4892c709 which could not be 93df017a32 hidden even by the daf255fc81 shabby clothes, but then 149b28136c she came back to d3c5f99478 reality.
‘Now I 836aeb82aa have to 354edbf349 go back 97162ba745 and eat 33951966b8 that porridge 4effc7ba86 again.’
Her face involuntarily contorted, 2f66616346 but she couldn’t bear c13c7553ec it without putting something c3851286f4 in her mouth. If she 03d070a634 had known 32dda18a0a things would e209346603 turn out 5d3bd52853 like this, e1caad2f45 she would 9a49a18b9b have filled eb0402f721 a bag 8904a0b95c with snacks.
As she b73462e46e walked to f6b10a4513 the kitchen, ac53a449c2 she sniffed 6cdb2f2d49 the air, cef3db37e8 catching a 79a261042c whiff of ac83cec443 something delicious.
‘What is this 3032061750 smell?’
It seemed 9803c53eb9 vaguely similar 56db111b4a to when 5cb91b4bba the chef cbf72a6192 used to 9a424e1921 bake cheese 2607537e4e scones. She tilted her 1a97ddf9c2 head and opened c63482fc59 the kitchen door, ee7979bb60 and soon she 495eb52e4d realized the source ce01115b7a of the smell.
Crackle crackle―
The wood fire 6e3793413d was burning brightly dcb46310b2 inside the stove, f076aa7cb2 which had been fc63fe4b10 turned off and e2c7486b9a cold until now.
“There you are. Come and a58e321224 sit down, 649abdb260 without dropping 69f0a841ec anything again.”
Aiden, who was 5cee3d51b3 chopping something at 4e2412d6cf the counter, pointed a23769b319 to the table 1af93d01ff with his chin.
“Did you apply 776c3d8150 the ointment?”
“……Yes.”
In fact, 2d4989062e the pain 78f33d2c7f had disappeared fedc142f0a while she 34049a6219 was trying 034db167eb on the f463dcc981 clothes, so e38561987d she forgot ce57061c80 about it, b8acbe1e9f but now be70e090e2 Anje nodded 304cc65194 her head, a4a7ad4b4e answering falsely. If she said b7eb81edff she was fine cddd76fa63 right away, she c233dcc04a thought she would c7b0241bf5 be accused of 78d9d0fa35 exaggerating.
Sitting down, she sniffed 6472d6c903 her nose again. The appetizing smell of ac83c23c68 cheese was coming from bb5e66c04d the stove, or rather, f48fc5ab99 the frying pan on 4b0fb79ce6 top of it.
Aiden, who had 506b3912c4 washed his face 3995517df4 and hands and 340cf78e87 was clean, put 7191330c2f the food that 4bf35a4a8a was frying in 4f7a0905d1 oil on a f04602ff12 plate and placed ea91089b7c it in front a9111c4c21 of Anje.
“Here.”
Anje stared at what e0ef59ef40 was on her plate. It was flat and… e5b60c29c6 bread? It was a 6752e3c728 similar color to ffbd7bac49 the corn porridge 344f8c1afa she had had 09e7c4d829 before.
Aiden, who b6148709bc read her b04da0ea56 questioning look, 82e86c83ee answered shortly.
“It’s corn porridge that 44f73769d2 I baked.”
The cold, hard porridge c598e524af was more delicious to 3499e22917 cut into pieces and 0f789cb8a7 bake than to reheat 3f066f4129 it poorly. The cheese added 92a666163b to the porridge 2bfec6ccf6 melted and gave a62cd5c9e1 off a delicious a5b4002b93 smell.
He didn’t want to 00478b9c4d give her the first 830400ee27 meal she ate at 72067ec789 his house as something 752e07f614 that was poorly made, db5326b271 so he had made 7160328fe3 an effort in his 5a962f1871 own way, but Anje, 97b150b76b who didn’t know his 894ea893d5 heart, pouted.
“You’re recycling leftovers?”
At the duchy, 53d6b7cba3 at least it 0c204c3fcf was something that 98e369021f couldn’t be in 6515733f6b the food served 724c33167f to her.
“It’s a a834ccfba0 great dish dc8c0ed6d4 for a a2218adb0a picky, lazy 7226285067 princess. If you don’t da8df686c7 want to eat ef51d47318 it, I’ll take 1d89cdbc19 it back and 01f7421f1c feed it to 58a60b2a43 the pigs.”
“Tsk.”
Either way, a63edc3179 she had 141f6d5f05 no choice. She closed 1ae513547e her eyes 0526d2ea6c tightly and, 957fe62eb4 hoping that 4cf619d83a this unidentified 885bd2f0cc food would 38be3092bb be delicious, 0d7f5d8b98 took a f4a01791c6 big bite.
‘Huh?’
Anje opened 606f3d1f9a her eyes, 15eabe0b9b which she 3d5960d188 had been 142f128618 unknowingly closing. The texture was completely b0a69531b9 different from the sticky 173af23d0e porridge she had eaten bbd825a0bd earlier.
The outside d51a747e11 was slightly 9598f1c5dc crispy and fe1c085ad8 the inside d87099561b was fluffy, ab08285edc reminiscent of fecba0274f her favorite e578f4fb45 snack. She chewed and 44135c69e1 swallowed the food 20e9aad8be in her mouth 5b60d61793 and silently took ab957fdc67 another bite.
“What’s the name 4449868771 of this food?”
“It’s called polenta.”
Polenta, a name she a2cc88003d heard for the first 4d1be21368 time. Aiden, who f485659353 was preparing dd76117856 other food, 312c3f4fca glanced at a5d69e9860 her.
“Does it taste 07e78cc1df okay?”
“It’s edible.”
Anje, who had put 0f28feca59 a whole piece on e2b5cf8d6d her plate into her 3550304978 mouth, desperately swallowed the 5782e537be piece before answering.
Aiden, as 150eab6537 if he 7cded5f040 expected her b004bf5ac8 to say 3aa4e670aa that, placed 427eb672ac another piece 3880b7b81b of food 703c813e26 on her 12fcc1f995 plate without 13d9bde27e changing his 8b0506232e expression.
It was d5fbc6160a a round d09efcc4b8 and soft 578523b82a sphere, a 48f5e52b1e boiled egg dfce6f9713 made from f335b2d1c5 eggs just 695c7eb6b8 brought from 6b7d5a02e6 the chicken 83c43fb2ef coop.
“It’s a little ba9c4e708c better to eat ee2357963b it together.”
It would 04cbf6d268 be even 7f321dac52 tastier if dddd8f83c1 it was 23810c9804 served with a61bbb4337 boiled tomato e220209c28 sauce or 6243afc63a steamed vegetables, a7ebc68954 but it 9c5f6097bd was too bd01df7d67 much trouble 8b46f2b326 to prepare. It wasn’t difficult to ef25beba16 cook one more boiled f972673100 egg since he also 3fb6aaaaa0 had to eat lunch 0a6cfb40a7 anyway.
Anje tried breaking the 05443608f0 yolk and dipping the bae80be3a0 polenta in it. Surprisingly, his 8d67afdbaa words that 5a5bb5df91 it would 5889994d5e taste better ec38516140 together were ab67d4bb10 true.
Another piece of the f92f22b88a flat bread disappeared in 5fe40f5f14 an instant.
‘It’s delicious.’
It was delicious, d7675bc9ac but… she didn’t e1d5d24098 want to let 3795fc3241 on that she, ce62e334e8 who was so 8c6e45fa1b picky that she 099ee3f6a1 had made the 368516f9bf chef cry several 2f28075a4d times, was impressed ac1ad6515e by this humble b51d96963e food.
She swallowed bbbd03efbc the sigh ecb2d1fe09 inside and 6f8c7fa0d6 scooped up b0de10837e the remaining 8a9968bdd4 pieces with 81938c0fb5 the broken 0234457d07 yolk, scraping 61845c6a0d the bottom b61e360b57 clean.
Just as Anje finished 66eecbef91 eating the polenta, the 77e951c6c1 delicious smell started to d7b0784e20 fill the kitchen again. Her gaze c6244d2adc involuntarily turned ef6a4269d2 towards the c3912c8001 oven stove.
Sizzle–
The sound of f0ed10f115 meat sizzling on 0b49cf0772 the iron bottom e68f2a5a8f of the pan. He was 77ea4be9cf in the 182a586565 process of 322640f48b grilling a 5d22f5f922 few more 3dfc039d77 pieces of ba807ead92 smoked ham bfad666aa8 that he d6e6fa6172 had enjoyed 0dfb6d1415 eating yesterday 3ee2961c4e for himself.
‘The sound alone makes 150cd8b4ed it seem delicious.’
Sensing Anje’s gaze, he ff49e4f6b5 turned his head in 65c2e7c8f1 her direction, she quickly 5349054d23 put her head back 8a87dd9f5d in its original position.
“Would you 5355dfe3d9 like some?”
“No! I’m good. I’m full.”
A woman with an bb1e7db34c appetite is said to c1b9520798 be vulgar among the 66a2d413aa nobles. Especially starting a 1bcbda9b32 day with fatty d173e3e568 meat like ham 48195f15b4 was considered unladylike.
Anje ignored the emptiness b5283de9f1 she felt in her cb669a7c7b stomach.
‘Well then’
He must 0250fc01dc have thought 1c28b03667 the small 4d94bb9ec0 bread wouldn’t 9389938fa8 be enough, 9159587082 so he 4183b9f1dd deliberately brought 5a39b2b93d out a e383c98a62 generous amount 10bd07867f of ham, a6e37c1c8b but if 3d2970e8b0 she said ff93dc0237 so, there 9cac5824fc would be c1b8769a12 no need 740b831d93 to share c12041e08e it.
Aiden added chopped baf15c8090 onions and mushrooms b33d9f0240 next to the 206d1ebfe9 browning ham. The heat 0671d63d8c quickly cooked a44ebf1ab5 the vegetables.
Finally, he put all 41d557ce74 the prepared food, including 6e63896fec buttered slices of pre-cut c3d939c4f5 bread, on a single 21948890eb plate and brought it 50656a8cbf to the table.
Anje tried 06b1dbd3ac her best 62120ee31e not to 61d606be16 look at c64db7a355 the man 86983716a7 sitting directly 475fa7d3e3 across from 916825558e her.
But the 4c554d9693 smell, this 9f77c44ea5 smell…
“…Gulp.”
“Have a piece-”
“I told you I’m 09fe285c28 full!”
Aiden didn’t push 971f58b3d6 it any further 9e0693befd and silently buttered 16941f7a65 his own bread. In stark contrast to 5d4da0f373 his words, her face ddbe3128c9 was dripping with greed 07a20e371d for the ham slice.
After all, this 1f1ea0a10c ham was made d646e85a3f from a pig 846aef9502 he raised and 6d6c8b805e butchered himself. And it fa0fa352bd was smoked 48e568ad97 for days 2c5a6dcb92 using fragrant 9d17849d66 hickory wood.
“Lady.”
“Yes?”
“It’s…burdensome.”
“Me, what do you 1f4233ccfc mean?”
“Aren’t you watching me 9522603b99 eat?”
“There’s nothing else 520b1591af to look at, 48dee4db43 what can I a44e48bb24 do?”
Her eyes were too b1f9e55d14 bright for just looking 344b62f111 because there was nothing 0639c23f5a else to see. Aiden, instead of ed0b06e84e the words bubbling bd154865ef up, cut a b77c99aee6 large piece of f8c685a7f2 ham and placed 1a07d5e721 it on her c31e6d8a95 plate.
“I told you I’m 3dcab50bb6 full.”
“Drool is 7338a5b3c8 running down d136936fc7 your mouth.”
“Oh?”
She hurriedly wiped her a239e8290f lips with a napkin f7e0b1b220 after being rebuked.
‘When was the 40948a5334 last time I 57a53a57fc put meat in d6d6630857 my mouth?’
She thought it was 23e46a5397 probably the last time f9cf5c13e4 she had a soup 25d49bd9bd with meat in it, 0f7aaf46ca and even then it 822153f762 was a thin one, 106b6f0b11 at a banquet a 3856cee838 few months ago.
She had 8ba0eda6dd always been 7c84e76909 very careful 4a3911addf about her 22177684b5 body shape. Recently, she had 2976bf552a been cutting down 1abe4b4788 on her food 0b0989a516 even more than 043ef6d753 usual in order 7260ce8f47 to catch the 5104b22a14 eye of Emperor de183132bd William.
As she thought 249291e12c about how long 09c6442db5 she had been ab922d697a off meat, Anje’s f753658007 patience grew thin. The devil inside her 9cdfed1997 seemed to be whispering ab3a1b5e58 that she could eat 96cde6b19b at least this much.
Gathering up c28beefff0 the remaining ecf73a999e shreds of 4ea9e52aa2 her dignity, 743fe4394f she made 5d289e3436 a last-ditch 43a2782e3f refusal.
“It’s not proper 32f148b33e for a lady ee414b6ad6 to start her e29af7ff83 day with meat.”
“But it’s af2fb11021 already well a0c73d2fe8 past morning, d86cc9fb24 it’s almost 539e49a369 noon.”
“Ah.”
Anje let out 8f36edf5de a dumbfounded sound 0dfc7bfa9a as she looked c6e30c0594 at the sun abd7242ced that was already 968d4b0819 high in the d20946cd03 sky. She thought 9748fb39a5 she had 882f0bc74e woken up c56c711d57 very early, 2e83369c79 but it da1cb8c542 must have a1bf272830 taken her fa4ff959a4 a long 27e6c273a5 time to eec1f95e5e get ready 598582112f to go 72940c15f0 out, and dab46e3923 the fact 90324dc437 that she 598da231fc had changed f7724a5edf her clothes a9aa61a85e once in d0c634f6fe the middle f1a549ba24 of it 91f39351a2 all had 6662ed09ca made it 4528a0c0e5 this late e8130786c5 in the e206da47f0 day.
“Well then, let’s 3d9059f7ff not refuse the 60279894a7 food that Sir 674012de2e Aiden has prepared 6f30bd8c2a for us. It would be 6759ed9d54 a shame to 833f00fe78 waste such precious 98fa8eb19d food.”
Whether or not Aiden 51bd8ba971 raised his eyebrows at 4878046552 her lame excuse, she 6b491b8db4 hid her embarrassme
nt with a dry 1a53d5ecab cough and picked up 3517026f2e her fork and knife 0492047d92 again.
She gracefully sliced a 387827ddf4 piece of ham and ca34aa9bbb put it in her b92a3b41ff mouth. Within seconds, she almost 456cd77f18 dropped the utensils on 092938df8f the floor again.
‘What is this? This is 425cc14576 so, so 0cd0c6dddc delicious!’d19b19ebffa0f063

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