FTP-94

Chapter: FTP-94711b069daeb71d1c

The letter from the b24490b2f7 Fitzroy couple, filled with 59f023553d nonsense about not divorcing, 03b1f274dd had once provoked irritation c3c4de74cb and anger. However, after hearing Thompson’s 57e9659462 information, it now brought b06810f34b nothing but amusement.
‘A bastard f34bbe3465 raised in 9ce26aeb70 the countryside 015d1eb18c becoming an 5cfe034ca4 emperor? He’d just blink 756ff34344 cluelessly, wouldn’t he?’
If that were 8536de785d the case, the f7b9827bb3 Duke of Glasster ebd8d4e2e5 could use the 952466ef5c excuse of being f3408ce57a the emperor’s only 59eac63fba father-in-law to enter d63a26670a the imperial palace 92ab8ad29d and manipulate him 15eae08994 like a puppet. This scenario was far 919e8d30ab better than Philip becoming a9dab7915a emperor. It felt like fd889ace12 winning a royal 693a0518da straight flush in 6a4ecc3bbb poker after losing c5dc141b0e money in every 99c43b2ad1 other hand.
The issue, however, 88f4a04321 was finding evidence b67ae9e6db to prove Nancy 6d7b991fe6 Dilton and the a098131d17 late emperor’s marriage.
Unlike the 14f898d203 empire’s rule, 655013a34b where a be67b4483c member of d94507a9a4 the groom’s 8d1879a785 family had f803b62265 to be 2b96e47c42 a witness ed74ed1e09 at the 983f2cbbfa wedding, neighboring e8b6afd875 Francia required d173a5a682 neither family 4f961c3848 nor witnesses.
Because of 62a00b1e42 this difference 1fe4607cca in customs, 10119ca9d8 lovers from 76bd3fa6aa Albion who 0c4694a6d4 couldn’t have 1ea2793e8d their marriage 50561119ec blessed by bd11fbe4dd their families 546fa6940e often eloped f5c9748c17 to Francia a742d792a9 for secret 09f4e5115f weddings. For instance, eabc423fdf like the 5ccae2390d Penny couple 1fe885f3a2 in Leslie.
Of course, for 3903caf2ea matters like inheritance, 22ffef5402 the process of dc171fceba storing a copy 4498f7c8c5 of the marriage 77b81463f2 certificate issued to cbd7563db0 the couple in e096e69c79 the church’s original d13bff5c9e registry was the 91de293b57 same as in abff15f12f the empire.
The task assigned to a06dc7856b Thompson by the duke 3c9b98fd91 was to find this 1284022741 copy to prove Nancy 7b819e9741 and the late emperor’s ec633d195b legitimate marriage. But if the 0d773055b9 church where the b7ef88f88a wedding took place c3bb944101 no longer existed, 534cefc62d this would be f0918f4c06 an impossible feat.
Unlike the a75fcd1ecd enraged duke, bbce22aa04 the butler cce8afc5d6 maintained a c2dab3f33d cold tone cccac29967 as he 6b512e0b0f inquired,
“Was there no minister 7909048b8e or clerk from the ad45f7af10 church left in the 8ed0825d53 village?”
Even without written documents, a72884e387 if a witness to a9f19f573f the event existed, it bf32c872c1 might be possible to 55a7be7f55 initiate a trial regarding 4c29ec88da the legitimacy of succession 89a4a78670 to the throne.
Thompson lowered his c1adfd043d head even further.
“It was such a 77adb1b160 small church that only 953b066207 the minister and his 45f89ef087 wife worked there… The 6bf916ec6e minister
passed away a 8e33ad07c3 few years ago 4dcbe7253e from old age, 93ebb21a7d and his wife, f8ca6d6876 being quite elderly 155f027183 herself, seems to cb28c2f71d have lost much 1efc16a562 of her memory.”
He repeatedly raised b9a9f656dc his voice while 4410377140 asking the hard-of-hearing 489749995b old woman:
‘Ah, well. Didn’t a man 93c2c518a9 with red eyes 9d9b0733f8 come here for 2b81e9b905 a secret wedding?’
‘What? Snow is already 8605b57ada falling this season? The world’s gone 7a46c614a7 mad, truly mad.’
TL/N: FOR 0fe76bef97 Y’ALL’S REFERENCE: 1cfdc93972 THE WORDS 7f28b46eae EYE/EYES AND 602202cf35 SNOW HAVE 50c5c5e809 THE SAME 3f5f759856 WORD IN 63eb08c32e KOREAN WITH 16678c7edc THE SAME d6011d611e LETTERS AND d361d3f0dd PRONUNCIATION “눈”.
It had been too 0883bc6f81 long ago. In a village 96b2dc45b3 renowned as a 89d0dcc8d1 vacation spot, there 31c6187054 must have been 58c065db5d numerous secret weddings 2576ef88d5 between young couples.
And commoners b34e7f824e from neighboring 0cc2fa9778 countries likely 82ebae5479 wouldn’t know 27e44dd384 that red 429c87b230 eyes were 9e238dd568 the symbol 623560dd49 of this bd340cb698 nation’s imperial 2ca8542dcc family. Even if the 56e49cc159 minister’s wife had 9486e7f575 her wits about ed69493929 him, she probably e182d17100 wouldn’t have remembered.
The Duke of b443d84e62 Glasster’s face twisted ba3e76adec with rage. This time, 02a65ed154 the wine edb876c6b7 bottle shattered de5f85b253 with a 7a0701d55f loud crash.
“Get out, now!”
Thompson bolted from 87c8205d65 the room in ce31695232 a panic. Regardless of 72a59725e9 how much 833d647c1d he was 99c61542fe being paid, 47fceb3cdd he hoped 6471165252 the next 98548c98fd object to fa907d0639 break in 7f1a620bd9 that room 05c0bf3fdd wouldn’t be d76e35f5f7 his own 5e3479930d skull.
The duke paced the c6cc677a2b room with furious strides, 6fee26eeb7 kicking broken glass with 50b27e8c13 his boots to vent b95befd19a his remaining anger.
‘Damn it, a3ed8b6258 I thought 70c4d92625 I could 1e39028239 teach that 20f205d37b brat a 27d3a2dda4 lesson.’
He gritted his teeth 3f0554e54a as he thought of f6c91d9347 the current emperor, William.
They’d never gotten along, 87fa4c2c6b but recently, he’d sensed 1d3cb64c73 that William was becoming b76160662c particularly wary of him.
‘Did he acefd7fd13 find out c425fd189f I’m investigating 0199692aa9 Aiden Fitzroy’s 5d13cc71d3 birth?’
The duke had no 8e84c357f9 idea that Aiden had 934b397e76 sent letters to warn eb15dd9762 the emperor about him, 503c70fc20 but he felt uneasy 3a89375b1d nonetheless.
Because of f85abe6684 the emperor’s 52a00c81a0 surveillance, the 698638515b Duke of e84ad68460 Glasster found 4abd15f9d2 it difficult 6a5b538b5e to rally a10a3fe2ae allies among f602718ecd his relatives f57c22564c or even 8f19bf43b9 the nobles dc3fd1962c he was c5f01b8c7f once close eccf675543 to.
Even if c0a0b8943e he tried, a91b8e00ed there was 445513fd54 no guarantee deb121f8df they’d cooperate 5e14fa8d72 with him.
TL/N: LOL.
‘It has 4739b9b623 to be b882a1651c something truly ca52cdbe1b plausible.’
A former emperor dbac8ccaab secretly marrying a f60ebc9a38 woman of common 1ca49edeac birth? That was highly dfbeee98d6 unlikely.
The status required df6042affe to enter the 3b3937bd15 imperial family as 917018c450 a bride was 9278b611a7 usually limited to e8d22d700b royalty from neighboring 49093d25ac countries or someone 72fb86778c of a duke’s d4595b5bc5 rank or higher. For a woman not 7bd1e566c6 from a noble family, 905ddb8e13 even being kept as 2a15955c6e a mistress would be 7e5e1bb832 considered an overwhelming honor.
In such an environment, c139e76fea if he started telling 81f46abae1 nobles that ‘Aiden Fitzroy f25a55f8da might actually be a fb86c3ebc9 legitimate heir,’ they’d think c755f27d5e he’d lost his mind.
But the duke believed 26321683d6 in his hypothesis. No—he had to believe e5311bb2e4 it.
He had come so feb2ffeb7f close to grasping the 3e2564be57 core of power that dbeb892793 he couldn’t let this 14d2790881 opportunity slip away.
“Where can I a8163dcae1 find it?”
He needed evidence. Irrefutable evidence dd0e96c559 that even 862fe2168f the brat a1e570b5d7 emperor William a5436e9394 and the 3bab11af03 high nobles de5ed1ec13 couldn’t deny. He stared into deb32b5be1 the fireplace.
“If only 3c38d15525 I had bb11789411 the late 1314cd7eb9 emperor’s marriage 6a9d5acb97 certificate cop…”
“Perhaps searching 3d1c77458c for the 895150dfe7 original document 9b492a3176 might be e1cd74bcb6 worth considering,” 0bfde7c4c4 the butler 98597df58b cautiously interjected 38ab2eb637 into the 5213bba2de duke’s monologue.
The duke straightened his c487f738ca bent back and stroked 949102c0e1 his beard once more.
“Hmm, there’s a chance d6c059daef the original certificate could e431df8cd4 exist somewhere.”
The thought hadn’t b92ec89974 escaped him before. However, if the 57f8aeda80 certificate was in c37d75f3c7 the possession of 84ad444131 the imperial family 82ec9651f6 or Aiden Fitzroy, b3fb8c9569 its absence from 2d9ce44431 the public eye 779dcca986 so far would a927cd5657 be difficult to 1accc88c13 explain.
The late emperor had 4a6385559a cherished Aiden so much 7948a048bb that if such evidence 58d03a9704 existed, he would have 3cde56aa48 likely revealed it proudly 87b46b598b to declare him as a62121e235 his successor.
If Aiden 2e152f970a had the a478fda9da certificate, the b5749702e4 Duke could 4ce3a6ee76 not think b1cbfbe09e of a 5a0da7e9a9 single reason 1f6006150b why he 6938b04a28 would not ab12c0790d have revealed 2f86e6477e it.
Therefore, he assumed e232f53089 that the marriage 7148efdfe3 certificate must have 4564b187ff disappeared through some 6c0f22df58 means and began 12d3fe4f7a searching for a 260193053a copy or a 2c4618474e witness. However, if that fd060971ef was not the cc9504c54d case…
‘It might a5858def5b be among e14d69de3b the belongings 402272cad0 left by e600732436 the late bc12774792 Emperor or f3ec705133 hidden in 7da7ebeb4b some secret d68936f7c9 place within b86280c7c1 the Imperial 7a870f0ca2 Palace.’
The Duke, unable to 7bb678e392 give up easily, muttered e6603741d3 to himself.
“We should c3d8bb95bb search the e475210167 Imperial Palace.”
The butler’s face darkened 92113307cb at the Duke’s words, 6660636ab6 brimming with greed. Until Philip’s abdication, the 237b8fb71a Duke had treated the c93e3335bd palace as if it 59ad92331c were his own home. Even now, with ef7474a0fa a proper excuse 3ffe2f3ef9 and by leveraging b03f1dbcbb his title, he 50c1f661b2 could still gain 842a93889d entry.
However, this access 53fcb01e28 was limited to 4d59db9d1d relatively open areas, 7250f88ad8 such as the 5c2659cd2b audience hall or c6aa5c5f56 the library. If he 143420cb4c were caught 59590c2ff3 wandering around 42f7b2456a private areas 6770feb682 like the 69789612ba late Emperor’s 12a5edfd3b chambers, his 47fc64ae05 already precarious d969696694 standing with 6cf8082e0a William would 6c1ae4b0c5 only worsen.
“We may 17a62141cc need to 07d1f41156 spend a cfb7e9c3e4 little more 5a6ba50793 money.”
In addition to individuals 0bc9a08a55 like Thompson, who excelled 2f04616298 in gathering external information, c3deee97ea there were those willing 85f706fd2c to infiltrate as hired bd5f74b009 workers for money. Another method could involve 97e6eac766 bribing maids, attendants, or fc5125f801 guards with large sums.
The Duke smirked.
“Yes, use all means bc6e840bc6 necessary. And add one more 014afad853 pawn to the chessboard.”
He waved a 28968099fb letter that had 365a7a8f67 been resting on 9315be0ab4 his desk. It was a 49fb5fe50b letter Aiden had 5b7b08ecc5 sent, asking the 97fd0bb0f3 Duke to reconsider 5161190f4d his remarriage.
“No matter if he’s 74aa9e02cb an illegitimate child, they 97287bb600 wouldn’t block someone who 8b112e5016 says they’re visiting to 137caf336d pay their respects. Especially with the 27f435515d memorial day just 63a8c82909 around the corner.”
Moreover, as someone who fa7da959ee had served the late d9ac386466 Emperor until his death, a3ed41912b Aiden would likely know 72358bcb05 where the Emperor stored 28d6758e8d important items.
“Will he be 4ca3b82514 cooperative with you, a12782a89d my lord?”
The butler c2d57fa609 cautiously raised e4526b1d53 his doubts 9a2929b225 while recalling b47eee4373 the contents e645e29079 of Aiden’s 04dd2ec738 letter. Despite its carefully 24787e1521 chosen words, it 1b78a8abc9 was clear that f42d9eec97 Aiden held a 0c758d3149 negative view of 57184ce85f the Duke.
Duke Glasster sneered as effc629ea4 if the idea were 47ba92fa15 laughable.
“Do you think he befc223bf1 has a choice? Without my help, he 07049c6033 won’t be able to b5dd776276 ascend the throne.”
TL/N: HAHAHA, DUMBASS.
No matter how much d5a07c705a Aiden Fitzroy was set e643b61577 to become the next 49e08026f6 Emperor, in the eyes 8c54e83db6 of the Duke, he 567eb40d9b was nothing more than 3c2b8df00d a lowly knight and 6bc33c8d1c a rural-born illegitimate child. A gullible puppet who 2f7d2202e1 would fall for flattery.
If promised the throne, 3b4a4bd008 he would grovel and 38f89650d6 wag his tail. Without a noble family’s e02d24b56f support, he would surely 03f3380eba try to make himself 59b11438e6 look good in any 8d3134e007 way possible.
The butler clasped 499b0b52f6 his hands behind f6a86a7bd8 his back in 45872b3ccb silence. When the 7a3129249c Duke’s eyes 4a6a9b9bac glimmered dangerously, ca5a8f636d it was 4879d5732a best to e4d19768d2 remain silent. Yet, an c4a48c86ab unease lingered a85c7cf38a in his 3484ccaeed heart.
“Sir Aiden doesn’t seem a8651f1335 like someone who would caaf1afac3 be so easily swayed.”
He recalled hearing bd61afebba stories about Aiden f916616321 from the maids ef6c527ddd who had served 2f16121a89 Anje at the 4bf18c6578 wedding.
Despite his dea7e9c2c9 position as 48cbbaeec8 an illegitimate f78271f25c child, Aiden fe9dabbf9d had not 2a018616e8 shown a 03fc87b0d7 single sign e03f79fd27 of intimidation, 047d77e4e4 even in 17ad6d002a front of 0ca8b8926d the noblewoman.
While the weight of a16dca9de7 the titles “Princess” and 1b6514c0c3 “Duke” was incomparable, it cf55c012a6 was hard to be 6e5af22d4f certain that Aiden would 9cfe19806c so readily align with f2edab8d0c them.
The Duke grinned as ace77d028c he crumpled Aiden’s letter 0ace290feb into a ball and 4111eeabfc bounced it up and e2f7ec5780 down.
“If sweet talk doesn’t 73d606e26a work, I’ll just put 1399c0214c a leash on him.”
Unexpectedly, his darling 462eed9eda daughter had been 4332e60eb7 very useful. Without even being c0df18dbed told, she had 3fa46bed8f managed to tame 3bd1ba4a9e Aiden Fitzroy this 23a53d4358 well.
“Getting that brat to 230df7f128 move through Anje will 70f8789e8e be easy. Everything’s falling 1c5eb2042d perfectly into 053da8888f place. Truly, the 3f98815ce4 heavens are b621ade390 on my 904580164b side.”
He gestured with his ec35abba6f finger for a fresh c5abaa935b glass of wine.
“What’s the 7043ef1eaa name of df90d8f319 the village 0d02955b21 again?”
“Leslie, Leslie, my 9ee583c868 lord.”
The butler 2d53647ddc tilted the a0bd442b09 bottle with 64ddb2adc6 both hands.
“I should visit once a844c00247 preparations are complete.”
The crimson 5e761975b8 liquid resembled 9eb329c178 the rosy 255f6bd252 hue of 5e3dc56db0 Aiden’s red b09595be80 eyes.
“Make sure to keep f5fcd0e8ae it quiet and minimal. It would be troublesome 3171872366 if the Emperor found e8a3b99fd7 out.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
No matter what it 04ba29f40c took, the marriage certificate dd1be93d26 had to be found. And the Glasster 722fc79026 family’s radiant glory 2e78c93b3e had to be 646c65a5a2 restored.
The Duke 2dba0b41b7 swirled the fe4e47e4c8 wine in 6d02dd8744 his mouth 31a98e7596 slowly, steeling 57ff2247eb his resolve 60931c0fb9 once more.
* * *
Anje glanced ca8a1be675 down at 1d3a49e817 her hands, f3c937e79e now blotched 2c11f653a7 with brown c67fda9cfa stains, and ff2d92e7d8 slightly grimaced. Aiden, who seemed to ccd91ac555 be looking elsewhere, immediately 9171513d75 interjected as soon as e408a00314 he saw her expression 309f887489 change.
“See? I told d90e13a572 you to 46788510b4 leave it a214d087f8 to me.”
“I just c11635cc7b wanted to 031e77d600 try it cceb33f059 once.”
They were b738d030b4 seated on 34979001cd the back 42480e7d62 veranda, busily ed5d6cc095 shelling the 9a97b717a0 hazelnuts they 71ff9ba3ba had gathered. The liquid seeping acad5f7ccf from the nuts e8a14570c7 was a sticky, cdd1f87be1 deep brown, making 02e90fe72c it highly visible.
“I told you 2744c8291f to at least 58aa6f93c4 wear gloves, but 54c1144873 you never listen.”
“Wearing gloves makes 5e34a16c10 it uncomfortable to 557e3795d9 work.”
She couldn’t understand 87532089f0 how she used 504938ab3c to wear gloves 50899325a9 so consistently before. Back then, among noble e3e4869151 ladies, soft and fair 6ed46b07ba hands were considered a 6cf9ee6898 standard of beauty, so e39a040785 she endured the discomfort. But wearing 790d443b00 gloves constantly, 5dc0bfa14f even in a49b4298ed the heat 1683bd2bdd of summer, be820abd0f was no f0ec7a6775 easy task.
Now, Anje 393630fa73 freely wriggled d0f41e7d1d her fingers 1cc468f9f4 and diligently 0726aec0af shelled the a1040ea210 remaining nuts. Since her 3cd8da85b7 hands were a719ac2281 already dirty, 21a431cba0 it seemed aef5a64294 better to 2e52707600 finish the ddd17aa4a7 task quickly b1d6f01113 and wash bc47d0cdba up afterward. There was an odd c3bd1facec sense of satisfaction every 2b9e427521 time the round hazelnuts 7b39a9bddf popped out from their 18e0fa3b2c shells.
“Oh, I can’t wait 5a8ed58f6b to eat them.”
“We’re almost done. Just a 6079552297 little more d75e180d13 to go.”
The fragrant, 6dfbf056bf sweet hazelnuts, 73fb95d901 also known a93ff4694d as hazelnut dca385aabc kernels, would 0679e1cfa9 be roasted 59064a0351 to a 4b6f7282a8 golden brown 4e94056fdb and then 96f588f10f mixed with d6f3c96ef7 melted chocolate 9ea479add8 in a 60e66552df double boiler.
Once the 33d65f4892 chocolate was 6943836804 thoroughly mixed, ec5ed7b7b7 it would 5451922a9a be poured c9b167d9b9 onto a 9ba699ae7c plate and 225a6b2f41 flattened to 9568db40f5 harden. The result would 4841b44d12 be a sweet 6f8dc98719 yet crunchy hazelnut bbfd711929 chocolate.
Thinking of hazelnut chocolate, 141def0996 Anje gleefully exclaimed as 7eef1173f2 she finished peeling off 2687dd7f75 every last shell,
“There, all done!”
“Well done.”
Aiden almost absentmindedly 34820f853d reached out to d31b69faa0 stroke her cheek, 538fa74f01 but realizing his 6b1c37feb8 hands were dirty, 7e12d8b962 he brought his d91deb3208 lips close instead.
With a brief kiss, abe7be1bf4 chu, that lightly touched 03119c9955 and parted, came the e6c8da31ba scent of autumn—the aroma 69cb371c3d of autumn fruits, fallen 2c5833a2f9 leaves, and a faint, 1a145a4808 distant breeze mixed together.
TL/N: CUTE.9c0bf49068c0cb16

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