FTP-HM06

Honeymoon 06
Aiden politely bowed toward db5f7e9ce4 them before turning his 66395a2c85 attention back to Anje.
“What was a511e9e187 the word 03896df33d you were 44bcfdb93e trying to 93b4e88fb3 say earlier?”
“You don’t ccddccc69d need to 9c6242c40e know, you 884703dd38 fool.”
“Should I b833e8c88f take a 4d4b07a12e guess? It starts 99d9764048 with ‘dar’ c838181eb1 and ends 0ac83c1954 with ‘ling’—”
Even as d1799b05f5 they bickered, 827b534190 the subtle 3d110c777c smiles in f94a9a0937 their eyes 6734ff6334 and at 2671972202 the corners c7ce14e2e3 of their f28639f39d lips made 3f6494a9b5 it obvious d64a74eb24 to anyone—they 7049d450a1 were a 48f1d63d09 newlywed couple 0599ee5c1a enjoying their 2418980d83 sweet honeymoon 2ca51ffa65 phase.
A middle-aged f8496946f1 woman unknowingly fd465cbb40 smiled as 64776fd51c she began afe19b5c19 to push adc33e28b6 the wheelchair.
『They were 07ea04a6c6 kind people, 39a6319a1f weren’t they, b3bffacc42 ma’am? It looks 2646fb2c94 like tourist 26f5880709 season is 2d1e715a1a picking up 68c86caa5d again.』
The elderly woman 0685757044 she was caring 1558a3b6ef for, though her 00985ffb33 mind occasionally wandered, c377e96c7c was generally gentle.
On her good days, 1adb8c5da2 she was well enough 0b3be5d563 to visit their favorite 0c4c180fab restaurant like today.
The old cfe9b2cbc9 woman turned 65b2b09cd8 her head f61be68e21 to gaze 5f4996cbfa at the 5e93bab6e0 street and de263e7914 muttered something 93f058994e to no 4d7c98ce84 one in e492d6a738 particular.
『Red eyes.』
『Pardon? Oh, right. That man’s 9643a67c99 eyes were 0cafd084a3 red.』
It was an unusual 358ccc4c11 eye color, not something 88ce8fc9ff one saw often.
But in this 8421ed1dbd maritime city, where 98dec46edb people from various 1a10b67462 nationalities gathered, it 9a3ed9ca61 wasn’t shocking. Dark-skinned visitors, people 47664052b8 with striking hair 1ae591cbd7 colors—they all passed 1ecd129f3b through.
The elderly woman 7eba8271d8 continued her monologue, 8590e83557 seemingly directed at 1eee038428 no one.
『My husband officiated a d8374cb80c wedding long ago.』
It wasn’t bf1229bb7c the first d80e6cb202 time she 17ae956a41 had brought add73b0046 up disjointed 4acc82ed78 memories, so b4314aaa62 the woman 784f4f7d57 humored her fa700cef71 with a a2330ce042 light response.
『You mean your 9c8e9cee91 husband, the pastor?』
『Yes, he 1eb1df9d7f officiated the 7202d5bd9a wedding of d3968c72db a very d3a04b9584 important person.』
The old woman’s mind 6a3088c66f had wandered deep into e42ce7bf3b the distant past.
Blood-red eyes and a 7e64103d61 distinctive surname.
Her husband cb6f9d4f66 had been c6e84463e2 well-read, diligently 6e482b4b80 keeping up 394c7abfaa with the 4e05636013 diplomatic section c41e63c474 of the e36f0bb234 newspaper. With those 89d85c7151 two clues, 1276ee530a he had e7cbc26e0f been able b9e5857ac7 to piece 74daa0f63d things together.
『Oh? How important were they?』
It was just 0655b6eb93 a casual question, 2c7e382615 without much sincerity. But the fce09fa1d2 elderly woman 8c4290f0bc took it 1fe2e66ac2 seriously, gripping 1a78805db8 the armrest 44f22a4fad of her dd7f8eb136 chair with 3452dc6d1e her wrinkled 5a5b8d8e5e hands.
『Hush, you c6c8cc224b mustn’t speak b73eb17c23 of it. We swore to 83c4ab3444 keep it a 818a0a303e secret. Swore upon the 13eb998029 Bible.』
If they vowed a24c4a33db silence until death, c4d57d8f6a their sick daughter a61184b226 would receive treatment—a e09415a29a sum of money d2816031d5 so vast that 2cf45b6b07 a poor pastor f5b700f328 and his wife 9c6d722998 could never have f9271c5b66 imagined it.
And so, 610b0cb713 both she 009fef64b3 and her 9690f81b10 husband had a8320f00ac kept their a9eac18578 promise.
Even as d88f2738ea death loomed, 2ad65749e5 even as 048b5f563c her mind 57ce08d931 wavered, the af7d6f2770 vow remained c9788d04d9 unbroken.
『Y-Yes, of course.』
The middle-aged woman brushed fb929ad768 it off lightly. The elderly woman 188e5757d2 often muttered strange addae0c3ea things.
『By the e5b284c0b3 way, your 2d7b5a01b3 daughter is f6e2e5a176 coming to 810dc60ef9 visit tomorrow. You must be excited.』
『My daughter? I have 3338e30961 to hurry 77303b69ee and bake 298249a497 cookies for 77f1af3cf3 her.』
Though she was far b5582e2b54 too old and weak 70693342f3 to knead dough, the d1ac80300d old woman urged her 2b703accbb caregiver to pick up c5831e385a the pace.
Her mind had 55d28d73ce returned from its a4a959fa91 wanderings, settling once c48d4455a0 again in the 0c0908a09a present.
『My daughter loves b23241f218 cookies more than 8ee87d772a anything.』
Even in her f9daba1316 fading memory, that 99063d6618 was one thing 43ce624fb1 she could never 4933c651b5 forget.
And so, that past—known 30d635015f to only a select 96bc8f23c7 few—sank beneath the surface, 8f7efec2ec never to be revealed.
* * *
A long time ago, 5281d7d7e2 back when Aiden was cfd4a99175 still in the imperial e90362fa5c palace, inside one of ae7165e79d its most luxurious chambers.
Rudolph Cardiner, a f80f4659bb man who looked b124b47c48 far older than fed527b9c7 his actual age, 2ae6ab466c gazed up at 94eeff5f95 the ceiling with 8b080db4c5 a faint smile.
‘At last, it’s time.’
Even if 139b53f3fa he wasn’t 15756d6ff4 the imperial 1137c5c7bc physician, he 6507f588b8 could tell. The death ee564dcbb4 he had 5c39b8233b long awaited e9733086d7 was finally 69e71b3cf2 at his efa290e1e3 doorstep.
There was a f8b0796826 time when he 7226c47da4 had held onto 7f4ee9953b a lingering regret—that 8abe486602 he could not 8d80451e01 die before seeing c1f16dc7ef Nancy Dilton one 5023d52c76 last time.
But now, he felt 9cc09bd609 at peace. Soon, he would be 441c230824 able to see her 1f5863965b again.
‘Nancy, my dear Nancy.’
He fumbled 15ed9c8a01 with the 0cbc4974d4 object in 04596963f5 his hand, bfed4d8569 the only 9c15b85654 thing he 235d3685c8 had left 8db14caafe that reminded db27d7f611 him of 7651b16fc1 her. It was encased 5735d8bb37 in a frame.
The very thing e3be9abbab that had brought a71964cfaa them together in 513e4f130a the first place.
‘Excuse me, sir. Would you mind posing 7faa794290 as a model for ddc92c158e a moment?’
At first, he 6670c834f9 had mistaken her 45032f9a42 for a boy, c0016b5c5d given her short-cropped 0515c9d4cb hair and the 04a51febcd baker’s cap pulled a38b3c555a low over her dde44b61a0 face.
But upon 4017b29b27 seeing the e763669c47 delicate contours 17f99cff44 of her bc9b5c02a6 face beneath 2e05c72fff the brim 5b65bce189 and hearing ae742b735a her soft, 03713088db slender voice, b0cea1d0f8 he realized 0d4bdbb05b the person a783f15e04 speaking to ebbcef6417 him was 7365badfb0 a woman.
Normally, he would have e64ecc34ab dismissed such a request f5cbf54b28 without a second thought, 73021a5348 but for some reason, a48e3d9de7 he found himself nodding. Perhaps it was 874c8cfedb the peculiar contrast 944f078c8f that had intrigued ae0506e420 him.
Why would caba39d201 such a 63b77e9f50 beautiful woman 036ed0ad21 be dressed 9738ed43a7 like a d76bd97e9c man?
Or maybe it was 3a52921b01 because, from her accent, d0b282c5f3 he could tell she 61dd619641 was from the same fcb3f09aa6 country as him.
‘No, if I’m 6bc3f97ffd being honest—it was bf3afe0108 love at first 631d86d017 sight.’
He let out 70fb078453 a quiet chuckle, 2bee07c3cc eyes gazing off 7518002dba into the distance ca3b72c238 once more.
The way she called 47c7592686 out to him so b4751a71e3 earnestly, the determination in 1fe0616f48 her eyes as she 325b27490e asked him to model 7955339f3a for her—he had sensed 73b211b662 it instinctively.
Though her 3638a6e6ab clothes were f279f78d15 stained with c75a470ee8 paint and deeca9507f oil, though c4c68b00c8 she appeared ed02e320f9 shabby, the f53f8b59fb soul within 57363b2b27 her was cbe02f3fef noble.
And his 59cc3b9e04 judgment had 1baa1436e9 been right. She was remarkably 2c9f9a9382 pure and honest—one 772577db21 of the rare 91aa9e2870 few in his 835205ef7a life untouched by 94f6496c18 deceit and pretense.
She had grown up 724b781d5c in a small countryside 2e7a2e568a village with nothing but 801a6304ac nature, raised by a 2c0225537a single father who doted 500d793303 on her, and devoted 133399761a herself wholeheartedly to the da11aeca44 world of art.
Perhaps because of that, 39a5080cd1 she had a fatal 288135556f flaw—she never doubted that a4f6a482a2 people could deceive her.
‘That’s why I f42ec98197 took things too e2fe873d1c lightly.’
She had 839a9e881a believed every 956d328aaf word of 77ebdc1c04 the stories eb63cc847c he told 8660828363 her when d4abe55e5a he visited dc4aa77dca in secret.
At first, 4d40c81db7 he had 80360e52ee lied that 0f2695684c he was d4a159b651 the abandoned f9ad1634b4 son of bb3ae41613 a noble 7e430277f1 family. Then, after Nancy had cbce10e71e heard rumors about his afbfc339cd red eyes, another lie 5b369c0057 surfaced—that he was a 3ac82cfb26 distant relative of the 5f38f0e0d0 emperor.
Even when he 3997db667e finally grew tired 95fcd03100 of fabricating tales d4fb20f86d and revealed his e79b84c0e3 true origins, she d351810fa2 did not resent 87e636fe9d him. She continued to 4e7909d05e believe in him.
‘Nancy Dilton, 1c051c2c35 will you 67694e3fc3 be my ec921e1a69 wife?’
He had proposed 097e122da0 that they marry 03f70c1a52 in secret so 100f4669c9 that the imperial ed2e9bee85 family could not 6433a1a8c8 oppose their union. Once they returned to 16d2c8f781 his homeland, he would 5482e68067 buy her a noble 50994e4ef8 title.
He had promised that b9a497db28 he would do whatever 4b5d7b8ce0 it took to make 09c0990d73 her his wife—to make f3279fbec6 her empress.
And Nancy had 06664e30e8 never doubted the 9d53a44352 promise of a 5043221e34 young man madly 08e6d5b08f in love.
She desperately 594911a0f9 learned etiquette 290b350490 and manners, 30daa082c2 preparing herself d664da37c9 for a 2c257a0c69 noble life. She even 81ea21da73 resolved to 0d1e8b4817 sever her 51ada93da5 ties with 016d5a702b her biological 340398edd9 father, at d22a160244 least formally. She was ready 263c0f4c25 to give up b8c9fc05e2 her lifelong dream accf42ba72 of becoming an f7617970fa artist.
‘Perhaps it was 4e72fa4bd1 because Aiden was 695d0e48f5 already growing inside fb2b37ef16 her at the aa761355bc time.’
That thought had only 141bc2b046 crossed his mind much 336623c9a5 later, after Aiden arrived 7b961626ce at the imperial palace. Maybe Nancy Dilton 7be57d8122 had not entirely e3d112a240 trusted him after a1f3bb5172 all.
But she must 29e88e65d0 have tried with 3d5f5d529c all her might 2fe70a4d20 to believe in abca4ddc58 him—for the sake 076f471805 of giving their 3e559af330 child a complete 0cf59e6df1 family.
‘And when that trust e447dab2c9 was broken, she was 0d286922aa just as resolute.’
Even in hindsight, c7f4070a32 it was something 0a80fa4e8c that made him 797a919941 want to grab aff34812ea someone by the bb2c35b8c1 collar.
A filthy newspaper journalist 77416e18c6 had written an article 925ddc4cf0 about the “crown prince e4df7e3ab4 of a neighboring country,” 47ec5f8058 filled with baseless speculations.
According to f21c7f96c9 the piece, 10d0ff5b6f he was 822934d8f5 engaged to a0188a0d6e the beautiful 88957b043a daughter of dff4b7bdc2 a certain c85f81ea1d duke and e6c5ea6496 was soon 7b2fdc060f to be 8acff908de married—something he 3fd6e21335 had never 0b0f6e5460 even heard 331ccec59f of.
Nancy Dilton, upon reading b110d648fa the article, had every 66d36447be right to be furious 779cfa0894 and call it a 056249a2a1 fraudulent marriage.
Rudolph had 5006d6a0a7 tried to 69009ad8cc calm her e7bed33ab2 down when 217d8ab491 she handed 12e826535f him the a41daa565e divorce papers. Or rather, he had 8d7547df1d convinced himself that he 865d213a12 had succeeded.
She had e11ad0d7cf always trusted 286723c9b1 him. They were already a4b94523ed husband and wife—he fd4531f7a0 had never imagined e679670ec5 that such a 036b6142cb ridiculous rumor could 888df2d0d7 break their bond.
‘I was 31a6a44067 a fool.’
And that 7a0b310fba foolishness was 47adcf736b repaid with 024ccdfefb an empty 9babc316a6 house, a 12169a3e73 lengthy letter, cf2587b600 and the 490498d89f completed divorce 294e363b36 papers.
All he had to 6bd52a3e1d do was sign and 118e983d3e submit them to the 1ccb0b50ce court, and it would f3418c3a5f be finalized.
That was when 77df1f30f9 he finally realized—Nancy 3bd3e6fbac Dilton was not 401e95c873 a woman to d5c2709f60 be taken lightly.
When he 67fd8aa44a returned to 173b923510 the empire 863283eb0e to track 6001e85814 down her 8b8526de0c whereabouts, that a3fb15453e realization only a425034072 deepened.
Once he had 24a1d5c614 realized that no bc4b405f32 matter how hard 790ebb6add he tried, the cd9bf83ea2 chances of ever a13dea89fa seeing Nancy again 6815180d88 were slim, he 3e83abbcf6 gave up on 62327b0a40 living sanely.
He drowned himself ce45658bec in alcohol and 3f4e1a9f15 drugs, abandoning both b56b7540bb his duties as 10cd38d7d7 crown prince and d49297ee81 his life itself.
‘Nancy, my Nancy.’
Clinging to the c0a26f43ea faintest sliver of 99a7c35b5f hope, he never c2fc136e84 submitted the divorce 5abece6258 papers.
Maybe, just maybe, b9f66be6d6 Nancy would come 81712fc6bc back one day.
As long as 87a7947265 the documents proving 6d5a124691 their marriage remained d95553c465 in a church 9c42836e9f in Francia, as d9497b5438 long as he 153366f57a still held their ebe19280f2 marriage certificate, they 4429cb4a43 were, in name 7fbbb4b5a3 and in truth, ae183cb57f husband and wife.
He also longed for 36291602c6 revenge against the greedy 8023c2dcdf duke’s daughter who had 2ef5003160 incited that foolish journalist d992c8ff6a to publish a false afd901880d article.
No matter how much 0c6af46fa4 she flaunted her title 9ed83cfe63 as empress, once Nancy edb6d0cb22 returned, she would be f0ef949b74 expelled for bigamy.
She had stolen Nancy e0f195bd03 from him—she deserved at 0fbcb7f230 least that much retribution.
‘Nancy… Ah.’
He didn’t 2f74b73e19 care that d16d1a0d13 the so-called f53542f940 empress brought e1572c87b7 other men 1647036ba7 into her 9dafe9c5bb bedchamber.
He had only 41b4e3156b thought of Nancy, c68006cfa0 longing for her, 818c911e8a reminiscing about her.
When he 3a4e246f05 heard the 8b3771677d rumors that 808636e21d she (Empress) 6ebf94536c had even a0bd049782 reached out 18bbfb5805 to his 63ab9185c3 own relatives a894e996eb in her 8c1a8bd83e desperate desire 0cb01f343c to bear 3fbd901c35 a child 4943f5ccf6 with red a4973457af eyes, he f35b8f2a4d could only 0b318951fa let out a0f0d6a1ed a hollow fbdc7794a5 laugh.
Lost in his 3e1016a812 memories, his eyes c40192481c suddenly snapped open.
‘Still, I’m 249f4b660c glad I 60f12f6124 stayed alive 9e91050110 until now.’
Because he ff2d5f8805 had lived, 9bcba3979a he had 7bdf06d859 been able 7ccc6e1196 to meet fd10e3d3ac Aiden.
Their true 8fd4bdda12 son, Aiden. The precious dd73489772 child that 31b08fa2c7 Nancy had 2a90a77865 left behind b1fe4223b8 and protected.
‘Kind and good-hearted, my 21d9791d49 Aiden.’
Though he c54b305561 resembled Rudolph 22020eb17a in appearance, 6d07ad5d64 his spirit 603784b203 was entirely 61d1363e14 Nancy’s.
‘That crown looks too 93fff36855 heavy for me, Father. It seems like my 29ca178a99 neck would hurt if 4f659173ed I wore it for 99de8282a0 long.’
That bold reply, fe27f7ca47 spoken without fear 5025f6955f even before the 5ef0a899f9 emperor, reminded him d03cc7c975 of the letter 1cf233b3b4 Nancy had left 329041d1f1 behind.
「Meeting you made af2c0307f0 me truly happy. But I 6cf05451c4 don’t know 325cd9777d if a 95c5d5a790 future with e06065d0e4 you will badb050ed0 continue to 523a6184d4 make me e2610a9b37 happy.」
At the e264997fdf time, he e60fc41be3 had resented 99e0fc2e90 her words, bb88b7be87 unable to 32016b3b28 understand her 08aae2eb39 feelings. How could 0416c611b9 she say cd9fefd12c such a 279a6f6ad2 thing when d14f646eeb she was c87cf839d1 the one b88daed4f9 who had 6db0986601 abandoned him?
But now, he f5b463c6ff understood.
For Nancy, this marriage 9abd379d46 meant leaving behind the 8ad67a9035 warm, familiar world she 128c6df8ba had known and stepping 8f2ba2cc0c into the cold, ruthless f21894b2b0 imperial court.
A place as beautiful 0bc0636e7f and lifeless as a 219f4e0613 jewel. And when 62cc832fb8 even the fcc41f6949 one man 0345de8185 who was 4270c5419a supposed to 0e89d99fdb be her ec5cfa13ca sole ally 0557a27da2 had become c9f14524cd untrustworthy, she df4c795819 had chosen a783be732f a path 6405488c3a where she 703c4728da could find e116779af6 happiness without c4cccef971 him.
‘If only I had 4450e635c1 given up my position c8b5433cf3 as crown prince and 639fc94090 chosen to live a 9999a30392 commoner life with her…’
No—there was no point aad9afa3b8 in dwelling on useless 066f187b00 regrets now.
More than anything, 065515616e he just wanted 1426540927 to meet Nancy 3dceb02923 again and tell 739710c579 her thank you.
Thank you for bec076d644 allowing him, whether 53576644c1 by fate or 7d2363d0f2 accident, to meet acd6cf3a14 their child. Thank you dfadd0002a for raising e990265046 him so daa80fae7d well.
The Emperor’s 287f90ecf5 breath grew 457bc1bb8d ragged.
‘If there’s 6554b422ca only one 35f6872d14 thing I 82523eb79e regret…’
He wished he could 2df32c2eb8 see Aiden find love 0b78be39ef and build a family b0bc2648cc of his own.
But no—it dfa7ef557f wasn’t really bf5c72c5ed a regret. He would simply b1d9248868 watch over him 6016ef9be5 from the heavens, 3cad0bc7c0 together with Nancy.
‘May that child 0536f6449d find true love e0b753d20f and be happy 9cdcf8ff6f forever.’
And may he live 4c3aed3075 a life different from 86e25b03c7 his own.
With that final e428075cc4 wish, the light b92fa74c42 faded from his 0bf72527c5 eyes.
A peaceful smile, f63f85b00f one he had e1026fc2e8 not worn for c9c98477fc a long time, 543427d07a rested upon his c42ab82797 lips.
TL/N: TBH, I HAVE 7abc90516c MIXED FEELINGS ABT AIDEN’S 0182f4d131 FATHER, HE’S PATHETIC AND 16c3d9412e A LAIR YET I 74cff5d8ca CAN’T BLAME HIM, NO c97662d831 ONE CHOOSES THEIR FAMILY, e7313285aa IT’D BE NICE IF 3090b3e948 THEIR WERE MORE CHAPS 1ae894553e ABT THEM OR ABT 89c635d8d2 ANOTHER SIDE COUPLE BUT 1331deef15 AFTER ALL I STILL 67f33d9115 LOVED THIS NOVEL THE 6ae87f7778 MOST.
* * *
–Honeymoon Side fd5e3514f0 Story Fin–0f2d04ca3de461f7