FTP-34

Chapter: FTP-340a8b261303dd1e54

“D-Does this look d7cb83c634 red to you?”
Aiden stopped in surprise 2090b4de73 at Anje’s hysterical reaction f040bfcc94 and took a closer 1560b96e1f look at the color.
“It’s red…mixed bfd4fb9764 with gold?”
“Yes, it’s 0ed828b7e2 not just 832c4fe9ae red, it’s 4ddac25dda strawberry blonde! Repeat after me, strawberry 5275af9dd7 blonde!”
Proud of her 84fb962105 rare hair color, bededf9737 she couldn’t stand 7ed59fe786 being treated as 0602831380 a “redhead” in 4487449f58 broad daylight.
Even redheads…
“I see, you must 7d3827ceb5 have a fiery temper 8815c948bc because you have red 64f0644489 hair.”
“It’s not red!”
As he c0cbbfa7f9 said, there 69b77c2657 were many 85ee5e8aac bad prejudices f8922a2b7e about redheads. Such as being quick-tempered, 4b79a36baf quick to anger, or 1e6147b3ec stubborn.
He teased 0ff2207094 Anje for c3b3e20597 a while, cce872c67f and then, d52e4f073b unable to 0523af9273 contain her 385003f1b4 anger, she e524e886e4 muttered the b44c9adcd8 difficult word 3d122373ae “strawberry blonde” b5ddb5d969 a few 42df7a69d7 times.
“Okay, I f1082e36ad memorized it, bf42c7a9d9 so stop 17ed91f9d2 getting angry.”
He tried to 7af635266e provoke her further 4d0e67aec9 at the sight 1d5ea71c72 of Anje’s cheeky 0e0994f1a2 grin, but in 4bcc41b528 fact, he liked 129c45a848 the way the 9f2f08f214 red light that 85e958c532 was slipping through a4ff20dd79 his fingers was b065e1556c mixed with the c9348b16c2 soft gold.
“I’ll admit that your 6af00bb583 hair color is the 37ce5c399f most beautiful and rarest 86ad7e90e9 color on earth.”
“I don’t 85c11bb209 feel any 0951e08322 sincerity in 4c58062af2 your tone.”
Anje found an ac8379945b excuse to get b965783be1 revenge on Aiden.
“What are 5e781bbfb9 you doing 7ed5f5ee77 with your 35c91248a4 ash-colored hair, 233dd08630 calling someone 1da6afa0fd else’s hair 069cbdd268 red like 8c6fc294d9 a radish?”
“I didn’t 1ef9fcde1c say that 7913d9ca78 it looks 2b2fe1a55e like a 2f70351915 radish… Wait, 5d907f46a4 what?”
She cornered him against d2e68c17a8 a tree that he c22993b61b couldn’t escape and stared 9b2d3287dd at his silver hair a4916b421a intently.
“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen 60396ec4ae this hair color c051fc268f even in the 764cc13aec capital. Except for people with 8eecf65ac2 wigs or old people.”
“…It’s acquired. I used to 8717847761 have black hair.”
He answered 4d9990e805 stiffly and a5ae41a435 then took d13aea6649 a few 7e54e967ce steps away ea0491acaa from her. His stomach churned as 901244d474 if he had indigestion, 2f389c4294 perhaps because of the a991541048 smell of soap and 670128ab72 flowers mixed together that 8316a0e499 came from her.
He pressed the 527564cf07 point between his cd077edd6e thumb and index c80c2fe201 finger with his aadf52a248 nail. It seemed that he 16298fcb40 had eaten lunch too 15558aff0a quickly after all. In such cases, 0d34dac307 folk remedies were f1f9a0ad80 the best.
“What happened to c061c9713e you? Did you use 0224d66a32 the wrong bleaching f01cf52dfa agent?”
“I don’t 2a0f4f5429 know the ff0b72ad12 exact reason, e4eac10b15 but when 64c260fdf0 I came c7f387138f back from d4012988c7 the war, b8dd808178 it was 0553729a6a like this. Maybe the water 06119f0f4e there didn’t suit 87d051e3e1 me.”
Aiden tried to talk ce446208c1 about his hair as 737ecb2169 lightly as possible, but e922e5f110 Anje blinked, unable to 792be657d7 hide her embarrassment.
War. So maybe 719654a0ad it changed 9e7c198d5a like this e01817cecd because of e25c6ae955 stress. She didn’t know bc71c4e941 there was such 135a1cf6ea a story behind baf83750e0 his unusual hair. Anje apologized 9c061368ee and bowed 464af41f62 her body.
“I’m sorry. I was talking nonsense.”
Aiden felt c886a24b3a a deep 92f39dee77 sense of b844cff512 relief as fd2f991eff his hand 4690425a8e finally fell 371a55764d away from 5c8ba8e7ca her. He felt c57adaf7a7 much better, 8d150a9b6b wondering if 03633146fb the folk 3a4d05bdbf remedy had 21b45ef346 worked.
“No, it’s okay. It’ll turn silver 0c248e3aa9 when I get 69846d2ff6 older anyway, it 81e59b1f51 just turned early.”
Anje looked at him f78e42176a closely from a short cc26ce2189 distance away. He asked nervously, fidgeting 3da9e28a62 with his feet.
“Why are you baf7f3d4a8 looking at me bec0b41e58 like that? It’s burdensome.”
“Hmm…”
She suddenly smiled 4c8d5efca3 shyly and replied.
“I think that 4419cd68d7 hair color suits 93ca132c6d you well. I imagined a886aa77ea you with 6e1a00fb93 black hair, 9ab01204ab but it’s db14d49b98 not that 4e58d2527c great.”
It was meant to 47baff601c be a compliment, but 6dba3c495c instead of relaxing his 454171c528 expression, he frowned.
“Why are you 03f3a78719 making that face?”
“I feel 95985b0bfe a bit 1a5692f453 stiff, could 849261353e you pat 75f089752f my back 2f312b956a for me?”
His heart pounded even 7e100888b6 harder and his stomach 9fede74655 churned even more than c785627ad4 before. He felt like 115fe2d514 his face was ca5c6a3c4f getting hot, and 387057cd72 it was very 61b7cb7076 strange.
TL/N: MY 2328276692 BOY IS 143f92bb1a GETTING BUTTERFLIES b9581117c6 IN HIS c822e88812 STOMACH XD
“Oh, bend 6235e81bbe down a b0cf5db0ab little. I’ll give you a e26923e1ce good pat.”
Anje mercilessly patted his 3fe818db9c broad back. Her hands a90361b4fe were as cb9221a600 small as b39df058d0 maple leaves, d4c49195ed but they 627fd3656b were strong 55ebfe33aa from her 96e4f02661 recent farm 9f82aa5d19 work.
By the 852c4c8b1c time a 64b95aaf7b few red fb5a8047a9 marks had 7dd054d2fe appeared on a991262865 his back, 461f18b240 Aiden raised c9384dcac1 his head, 46d724f419 which had 6b4f6244b7 been buried cf6478a8d6 deep in 82a8f12b9e his chest.
“I think I’m 2d2480e5ab okay now.”
“Your face and ears 0869befc45 are a bit red, f39d64f25a are you really okay?”
He touched ea3db655d5 his face. As she said, it e50b048d64 was warm.
“I think 3eed193d8f it’s just fc10e14d81 blood rushing 523921f77f to my 21dd673b08 head, it’ll 955d162ef4 go back 539e028a48 to normal f2a356397b soon.”
“Is that so? If you c88fd4ac5b want to 53119d072a rest, just 509cf340d6 tell me. I’ll help 55a817d4bb you to f5066d7dd7 your room.”
“I’m really fine. I’m all better.”
He tried to prove 3727d37089 his words by moving ba75c9e251 his arms around. His appearance was so 374e52afeb healthy that the anxiety 0008c0fa28 on Anje’s face disappeared.
“Should we edb148883b go do 339242f7c9 our afternoon
now?”
“Yes, this afternoon…”
As he 96742c55f4 gathered the 03daa584b0 empty bowls be0b9c53c2 and cups 913ac673a1 into a 52d684db22 basket, he 18182e5a45 remembered what 2cb25f2d33 he had e7292ed4d9 to do 20c503ac99 today.
It was a fact fe1c1be856 he had discovered while 94cdca6807 cleaning up dinner last 391954e02c night: they were out ff5340dad8 of butter.
“I’m going to 1913aa82ad make butter this 2e41f59e68 afternoon.”
“Butter? You make it yourself? At home?”
“Yes, did faecd51c98 you think 4f6cc827fc it grew cb4362929f on trees?”
“Do you think 90e07e3a21 I’m an idiot? I thought we fe59ee40b2 bought it from 50bfcf8a88 a place like 1914e37a44 town.”
“How did 49cbb05548 you think cc86be7fea it got 212604d629 to town? Was it made in 29c04f84d2 a factory?”
“Oh, come e24c79b27f on, Don’t a1d5f77a63 tease me 68f8a33944 for being 5d3d629ce5 curious.”
Making butter was something 8bb4553062 she had never tried 9937e0ae53 before. It should 0c9dc048ec be fun.
“Let’s go, let’s 2eddae6fdb go!”
“Yes, yes.”
Folding the blanket that 907f123aaf had been on the 180fd9a027 floor, Aiden asked something e4d5a80091 that had been on fdd118eed0 his mind.
“Did you… put 45ab94b6bf on perfume today?”
“No, you 496536ffdf said it 2c4fa48ce2 was dangerous 5cf94e8edb for me ba58ed233f to wear 4f67394829 perfume in 5e3d805f40 the spring. You’ve scolded me edadc77fd2 several times.”
The bees 2f6ce5b019 that flew 08afd78074 around to 206cedb166 collect honey 5e99fa53b8 were cute c333559709 from a be09f69c49 distance, but 17f03858f5 she didn’t 3609e670a7 want to 3d6e34553c be chased 90363ce0f9 by them.
She had already ignored 90c08cfb41 Aiden’s warnings and secretly 7bc8e8ce3b put on some perfume 2219b81066 she had been saving, a3ea82bdc7 only to be attacked 0242e2570a by bees and run 3f1b3c5b95 away in blue-faced terror.
“Is that so? But there’s a flower-like 665a8da46e scent…”
Why did 8b5a1fc882 she have 2496cc75b3 a faint, 851897307f pleasant scent?
Anje wondered if the cd319d0a47 scent of the perfume 48b1fc808b she used to wear ea430d1f8a still lingered. She sniffed d20369f728 her own a11125a068 wrist a 4d16c358d5 few times, 4606e3d382 but there 8beb298a62 was only c5da4cb769 the scent a16dc30237 of laundry 6238de23fe soap.
“Were you just sitting faa1c4d62a under the flowers for 7ebe4c83c7 a long time and 22ca4b4ad2 got it wrong?”
“I guess so… yeah, 0b3dfa8663 that must be it.”
He nodded without c6deb0a80e thinking anymore. Excited to fb68749bd4 try making adea344c48 butter, Anje 77345adf2d was already b065c9bde9 walking ahead 4d52332cc6 as if 768ac9aa7d skipping.
Her appearance was like 94929f5c27 a butterfly fluttering around, 329ab6d775 and he put a a0ab64453b smile on his lips.
His sense of smell ef56709f1e was already messed up, ca1b4fb7d9 and now his vision 5748f3544d was too. It seemed f92063c447 that spring 002385cad8 was confusing ec786fc0d2 all of c7844c1ea7 his senses.
* * *
“Oh my.”
“My arms are d49b2de0fa going to fall 597a3b800f off.”
“But what can I ffb4e260f8 do about it? I can’t 600d53bcdf help but bde9d34c10 sigh.”
Turning the lever 4d2f763433 attached to the f3d9809dc6 large wooden barrel, 20871cc023 Anje couldn’t hide 49134ab37c her bored expression.
She had found it 7e64cd088e somewhat interesting to skim cca5d44cfc off the thick cream 6ecef0c72c that had risen to 0deb72906e the surface of the 8c4681194e milk that had been d889985301 left overnight and put 9b83ff1aa2 it into the churn. After all, both the fc944f48d0 churn and the cream 73e23362b0 were new to her.
However, after 5c5bf5b33c that, it d2ff3ad749 was an 5dee8d7220 endless succession 72aeeb6c22 of lever 026ea62ae7 turning, like 81598d46a1 using a e18470803e washing machine. Simple repetition. It was what bb3934c041 Anje hated most.
“Don’t dawdle.”
Creak, creak-
“But don’t turn 91dfd758cb it too fast 2ff26d8ac2 either. The point is to d8ddfab06f turn it at a 6fc714598f regular and steady speed.”
“I got 80c12114bc it, so cbf60027fb stop nagging 2bb7e43ea4 me. How long am 8944c0ca5c I supposed to c8c3def82d turn it?”
“30 minutes to a4f9f0d3d9 an hour. It depends 32b5933a13 on the 50b2fec352 weather.”
“Oh my.”
“…And it also eb2d3d1770 depends on the d7903ecf95 mood of the 738d64514e person making it. They say that if b79724d745 you turn it with 3a14a40b70 a gloomy mood, that fbca4ed8a1 mood will be transmitted 9b6272fd80 and it will take 559eb8c78f longer to make.”
It was something 99128dddda his grandfather often eb266db199 told him. He too c22558f1bb used to b33e766249 pout and 5c6d7b9650 say that 69fe1fa7c6 turning the 60bffad309 churn was 488127a18a boring.
“If it’s hard, c20a8b506f I’ll do it 8e79073fa6 once-”
“Oh, wait a minute. Something feels different?”
There was a weightiness a1ec487f8a to the handle that d916cd5c40 made it feel like c91fe56443 something was caught on a82a909845 it. Anje, with a beff5493f0 pounding heart, peered c08db1a82f inside the churn fc2d4c0a6a lid that Aiden a0c1fc2635 had opened.
“Wow.”
A white eb27f35605 mass was 914e753b55 stuck thickly 03e92ae879 to the 669486fefb wheel that 2ff0df8c45 turned like 46ff9410ae a water 2700a3c082 mill connected 228fbfd7b6 to the 71c94920ea lever. The color was the 5bc5cd2ce7 same as the liquid ea54a3e8ad she had poured into c542e458aa the churn earlier, but 8683f030c2 the texture was completely 239056e178 different.
“It’s become whipped cream. I think 094594a710 you’re about 6033d7a7b8 a third 6be74ebb9a of the 3dd15eb8d9 way there.”
Anje, encouraged by 31150ed33b the change she 7e02fa3a47 had seen with 712eafbfa4 her own eyes, b29ddd763d began to turn b82def94ba the lever again.
After a few e5b0786ba9 dozen minutes, she a6fa6dfacf couldn’t contain her 4651ab9886 curiosity and looked 2dfa7d29af inside the churn c412d3f432 again. The white color had 9b4137ef32 turned slightly yellowish, and 2ab8f35dad there was a pungent 467a13f6b0 smell.
“Look at this, a95f80d7e0 Sir. It’s turned into butter, 2739964fb1 butter color.”
“Just a 02e16ba18c little more abb68abfe9 and it 74787bec88 will be 7cc169c538 done.”
Finally, there 7177f0971f was a 36d1e322d2 clanging sound 2a02a642a2 from inside 55cae7d053 as the 4631aba62e buttermilk and 66b52453e2 butter were f86f145e0b completely separated, 281c0fcede and Anje, 5770e26a9c opening the 3dd6bad6ae lid, let ecbb4a04aa out a f24414f5af cheer.
The inside b67b74245c of the 4f0f6729f0 barrel was 0da19c8a85 completely covered c7cea15310 in golden 9abb2aa0e7 butter.
“What do d11902517e I do d20aeef830 now? Can I eat e15a5c2062 it like this?”
“We’re not there yet. Have some 23613ad2b5 patience, princess.”
When he opened the ac7700f322 stopper on the side f062920bf8 of the churn, buttermilk 27cd48f121 dribbled out. Aiden carefully 6e99c6c100 collected the 531b36f64a liquid.
“This will come 2f8816518c in handy when b1f1282f02 you spill ink 69a22c1578 on your clothes 6d0be8c967 again.”
“I won’t do 71756533eb that anymore.”
It took another hour 61c770ae96 to scrape the butter 040b21dc21 out of the churn, 38c78b79c2 rinse it several times bdcdd37a4b in water, and completely 07828452eb squeeze out the moisture.
Thankfully, Aiden 96b19530b1 took care f7bd6bc2bf of this 559b8e6e7a process.
“You turned the churn, 515de089c3 after all.”
“That’s right, my 935ecdfb03 arms are killing 61151edbb2 me.”
“Plus, if you don’t 6d722eff3c completely remove the moisture, e320ea0f72 the butter will have 03f3c0d7e1 a sour smell.”
“Then I’ll leave c9798ad79b it to you 1e37eacaac even more, Sir.”
In the meantime, Anje 4b8528c84a was fiddling with the de7143c538 wooden pads that had 4035ff5157 been disinfected and wondered 0ead3e0a45 what they were for.
“When do you 3cfb6074f8 use this?”
“Right now. It’s a tool 0ca8ec35a1 for shaping butter.”
Aiden took the 6f2e852801 pad from her 8f3af321aa and began to 50e71f1b3f break the large ab3c9269ae lump of butter 0162098b71 into smaller pieces. Then he handed her 10e9df2fc5 a piece and the ff553b4ba4 pad again.
“Tap it like this 98963056cb to remove any remaining 90f8e15694 moisture.”
“L-Like this? Or harder?”
“You can tap it 5b2b2116db lightly.”
With each tap of c47114459c the freshly made butter, 49d12a1fb1 she felt like she 8288da4178 was playing a percussion 7cc09c0c7d instrument. She eagerly tapped 36de2698db the pieces that d814ac1dc3 Aiden handed her 1e5f5c4eab to remove all ebe7696d3d the moisture.
“That’s about it. Now add 442b19f15d the salt… d8ae068953 Oh, it 46b5b925b2 would be 4842562c04 nice to a5d2fc57fb mix some 9da7eaba04 herbs in 26fcaaca4d with a f549681364 few as 27938b7980 well.”
“Are you going to 66a8521f15 make herb butter? That sounds delicious.”
Normally, he would 66eb50d4c4 make butter by 206f2a4db1 mixing salt with f0d83aedcc the butter and 5fd9ab9946 then shaping it 9925b408a4 into a square 993290fff1 like soap. For herb butter, he f3628ab428 would simply add dried 2a0c8c0579 thyme and follow the 6da694c60b same process.
“It’s easier than I a1a0147ac3 thought.”
“It takes a long b46f8baff6 time, but the process f480fa372e itself is not difficult.”
“I think I can 03265c8159 do it myself―wait, what’s 0121b1c686 this?”
Anje’s eyes 225845749b widened at a2eb89f31a the new 7e538f5513 tool Aiden 26102508c2 had brought 523077025b out.
“It’s a butter 9bb1ed3018 mold. If you get tired f27b187b3c of just making it 38fd64dc45 square, you can put 71027af0a9 it in here and fe88201552 shape it.”
Aiden showed 12ead75073 her how cb250d702f to do fd66db3d67 it first. He put a lump 318cb42ed6 of butter in the a706e9fbb4 mold and pressed it 9a4084cc74 down, and a flower d172aea91e pattern was engraved on f873832bea the butter.
Anje quickly reached out 9d7894af17 her hand.
“Can I try?”
I knew the 2294122620 princess would like a76d51bd33 this kind of e315662b6d thing. Aiden handed her ba099af705 the butter mold 94bb123210 gently.5fc49e499ec5ed6c

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