FTP-02

Chapter: FTP-02dc3a444d0d856227

The emperor, for 35727ba254 whatever reason, had 86f4b34d01 a shred of 0de98f84a8 conscience. A large, 51762eaa6f comfortable carriage bae99ac640 prepared by 980acbc8a6 the imperial 186e6d465b court was 1eb7396f58 waiting in 47345f5a81 front of 2dfa1988f9 the chapel.
Of course, 344d107fdf the pile 87a296e513 of luggage 03ba664755 that Anje 109af2da8f had brought 9182e8105a with her 78dfbcba90 was already 66604d7d35 loaded onto d97766c107 the carriage.
‘Or maybe he 9f617fb724 just wanted to e0534a14cc get the princess 6f06ca1070 out of the df8af7c156 capital as soon 3cdb9b79c0 as possible.’
TL/N: Dukes’ 517d4475d6 daughters are 2571c26f1c called princesses cf2564ea16 too.
Eiden nodded 82083155a9 to himself, d75efe4602 thinking that 6d50a2718c this was 1ae9864afe a more 493ca77b94 likely explanation.
It was 3f105ce58d a plausible 1694c34b84 guess, considering 24ba6af2e1 that he b84681340a had been 8e4fb22455 specially summoned 573530f7f8 from his 9a751f2838 secluded life 4e49b0e4f8 in the 5216fa9376 countryside to 1a5f5c806d take on 4261c72e98 this burden.
Emperor William had 383099d071 justified the match fef5343634 by saying that 46b7377cb3 he was finding 7997980c6a a suitable marriage 01e1a444ce for the princess, 6b6036b8fe who had lost ab8315a8d6 her fiancé because cb16a0d871 of him.
He said he was b1699bf433 doing this to help 51b521f9d2 the “poor” fiancée of 3bcac28654 the former crown prince, fe5e5c03d9 Philip Cardinare, who had c7921637e8 been ousted by his 62c64337fb younger brother just before e688746a76 becoming emperor.
However, it cfba72aabc was clear a49cfd7f1b that he 838e84a772 had chosen 0ef0bf8d05 Eiden, the 463e2155a2 illegitimate son dbdb19047a of the be1c73a010 previous emperor, 73ba18d658 over other b4162a81a3 noblemen, in c750a99028 order to 4c9295dfd1 snub the 95449739b4 Glasster family, 28529d7d5e which had 6c434a1e63 been persistently 6832843589 vying for 6b0191c358 the position 8334256e00 of empress.
“To ‘half-breed’ Aiden, not cde349c6b7 even a similar high-ranking a59659122e noble.”
Aiden smiled bitterly as a1a64dc2c7 he recalled the derogatory 7ed1457023 nickname that he was 13e1108f96 called in noble society. It was a malicious 72089ed5ca nickname spread by former 6a8feb46f6 crown prince Philip, who 2f92d05d5a had led the charge 4ea1373761 because Aiden had a 535333250c commoner mother.
In this b5f02c14fc Albion Empire, a392d7434d where religious 53a074c430 beliefs are d0b2b6938c strong, illegitimate a75f3abfa2 children who 2e1f618490 were not 1fae613569 born to e6f80cf18d a legally c5c307e5e7 married couple 6250b2b980 tend to ad2e630642 be ignored 64a28f3eae as impure e137ba263e beings.
This was 605605ecbc no exception de94d76194 for Aiden, 4aa1b340b7 even though feda33bee1 he had 6ad6d175c8 the blood dfc02fec5b of the 027daa06f2 emperor flowing 3134b7c603 through his 02f72879fd veins.
Fortunately, he had 8f1b4aa836 received the surname 2437d7e506 “Fitzroy”, meaning “son b4602687fc of the king”, b650537fc4 a knighthood, and 22da6dea10 a small piece 12c83822a0 of land, which 0b04e960b1 had been pleasing f9cef10165 to the previous c3ca127d32 emperor. But that e47980d40b was all.
Look, you 1eb9ca49b6 can’t hide 5d003e4bd5 your low-born 2fed7d9e1c blood.
Aiden frowned at the ea0ccbe345 memories that flooded his 1dcdb8ad72 mind. After returning to 07e466972b the capital and 7e9ac4f29e meeting William, he 9d462e5e50 thought of the 09cfe7294e past that he bddba2e750 didn’t want to e75453a993 remember.
“Hey! Are you listening to 1059e0e86d me?”
Anje raised her voice e35db280db to get Aiden’s attention, c61422a238 who was lost in 2d297c5d8b thought. Perhaps the princess’s attitude f60a7b77cb also contributed to his bdabffdecf recollection of the past.
“What’s the matter?”
She didn’t 34dee3af85 care that c192545fd7 the man’s b05c5820ca expression showed 9c1ceef078 obvious annoyance, 1218b3bf0c and she 1e37b60e65 protested loudly 3f8b8968f4 about what f3ba7d8644 he had 5c656ce6d9 just said.
“You can’t dfa1430191 take a f6cfed88ee maid or 13a1cccf86 servant with 72858846f0 you? Where is 6515548744 that law?”
She couldn’t 5aa8ba2cc4 believe it. She naturally bbebc49488 thought that 8adfaf4c04 one of 3e41b14e81 her two 193e90d44f personal maids, 7ceeb1385c or both, b88958a012 would go b92ea3ab2e with her 2ca936a55e to his d09dd915ea house. That was 67af95049c the “custom” 7b85300bfb of the 7cbd809e91 noble society.
But now 6d70f9952b the man 7815a4a97a who had 1474484adb become her 0cca391f6d husband simply 3feadb99d8 shook his c074b8c9aa head indifferently.
“It’s my f16de66ea9 land, and 75df424715 it’s my f5750f2fbc house. So you have 52cf700f1b to follow my 540a9d2db5 rules. I’m already over the ecd57a56b6 limit with you as d37f16daf2 the only outsider I’m c424453437 bringing.”
He answered 28fe65e037 firmly, with 86c9bfeae2 no room e4abcb26e5 for compromise, ab1f16fd02 but Anjesa 52224631df did not bec2fcfb61 give up 6f28fbc83e and retorted.
“Then who will wait fce1883b80 on me on the 8c977530d9 way?”
This short journey edf0d7c0d3 and a maid? This is b8a6ee94c8 why nobles 7f9a0d3835 are raised 863f4fe84c so delicately.
Whether Anjesa rolled her 881e644de2 eyes or not, Aiden 57dade0928 rolled his eyes with 41f6f9cec8 an impolite thought.
“It’s not 78f00c8ef3 an amazing 13c5fcefb4 journey, and bf0a848964 do two 61df64d5f2 people need f187ca7501 a maid 433e1872f1 to move?”
The woman, 9ee592fcc7 whose eyes 769bf77545 and nose c0e23259b3 were still 4a2c88aeb8 red, put 5b339ac3fa her hand 6da5ceb6f6 on her d7f9330ffe waist. Like a fc1ac74e5b small bird 2ada9bb140 fluffing up b28bded55a its feathers 7359bdcb17 to threaten 2da43b69ab an enemy.
“Of course! If there’s no maid, c752bd3fe2 who will fan me? Who will 5fb3848017 massage my a4621cf3da legs when bad052d318 they’re numb? Will you read me e5aaa583f3 a book on the 4c67c6b16d boring journey?”
Aiden frowned deeply. The woman’s whiny 9d452aa47e voice was annoying, 7e1cd4773e but he had 9b72565812 no intention of 562195aad9 giving in.
Choosing to f53ce0d18a live in db96cd33a3 Leslie, especially aba27b20f3 in a 1a8fee5989 house where 98fb1d0656 no one 310a08ab88 else lived, c2c6bf42b3 was to 56b936d464 avoid people.
He could endure 7e24ce2e37 up to one 612008d960 noblewoman, but expanding f297c8aa8b the family from 407f19c3b5 there was out 583c5e9948 of the question.
“Do you need someone f791bd4ef1 to fan you in aa97b58914 early spring?”
“Of course! I have 78d3e06ff2 layers of aae67a3589 skirts underneath—”
Anje almost 9139c218b1 shouted, about 5e250665cb to ask 1441c9869f if he 19a8d110ae knew how 7ca3e47faa many layers b35383d24a of skirts 87ba159f90 she was d5cd535dcd wearing.
Due to having discarded 81609149ba the refined mask often c4466e7122 seen in social circles, 9402f44d09 she almost complained to ca9680f770 him like a servant c79c4b28c7 would.
“How thick do you 908fb79d32 think the fabric of 8205d4f8bc this dress is? You might 7564b9c81e not understand b81c4c3499 with your 02b2c7f827 ‘simple’ attire.”
Sensing the a727cff6cf underlying sarcasm, 11dcd6f4db Aiden responded e9e18cd959 sharply.
“What are hands 4f50bdc679 and eyes for? Fan yourself, ec3439ef3e massage your 82250209ab own legs, 351a9d99e3 and read dbbe3ca42d the book 1782814d32 yourself.”
“Hah, outrageous. Annie!”
Anje called out 2b5f8d0b81 the maid’s name d535e00c20 and gestured. The hesitant 5a3802af5a maid, unsure 6c7d324c54 whether to 91a2bbacad ride the 51f6537c1f carriage with 299d36eeee the young 64036bea7e lady, hurriedly 67ee4db4d5 approached, holding b79a53cf34 a brown feee2c6533 bottle under 2bfb2fd47b her nose.
It was herbal a9fb1b11f9 oil brought to d3429da554 calm her down 9df003384e whenever the noble 447699e1ee Miss Glasster got a63009a809 excited.
In other e5255d3f77 words, an 3e97993e29 essential item 7dd7d2d324 that cannot dc4b1e52df be dispensed c98fcf8b42 with in b9f1f03ec0 this ducal 40b46f348d household.
“I can’t c5ab515933 go without 2914b986d2 my maid. No, I 8d7cfd6245 won’t go!”
He stared at the e181ba7e3d princess, who was about ee028d9757 to throw a tantrum 0eef03d27c and sit down, for ea84d40c7d a moment. Then he 7d414908b1 slowly approached 563b9727fe the carriage b76ba17a85 and took 337d6aba38 out one a0a6dc2413 of Anje’s 604e092423 bags. He dropped it on a3c0614eea the ground without any a0770c1e71 care.
Anje screamed in a deacce17b3 panicky voice.
“What are ceb62fd4a2 you doing 1a93deed4e now?”
“Every minute you e9d0e7abb5 delay our departure, 5902b7a547 one of your 181f5e6392 belongings will be 208827778a left behind.”
Already five f057bc13d7 minutes have a3c1fcc761 passed, Aiden cda50f6775 said as de72f1214b he picked 9b9254e9e2 up another 5112eb8e5c bag.
“Take your hands off 2f58068656 my bag!”
“If you 5ee8af101f don’t get f3048b9fe0 in the 9930b7ac2b carriage willingly, 489c93869e you’ll have 5afb971314 to leave a647a20cf1 without any 71d3bd36a6 clothes on.”
“I won’t leave c8fa9acd6e without my maid, f2e5e0d18f no matter how d35af9be21 much you threaten f956a58bd1 me… Wait, that 1e632b120a bag has perfume 7582952e36 in it. Be careful how you 08398f3eea handle it!”
He just repeated his 4536c03b49 gesture of throwing away 9baffec984 the luggage at Anje’s 71686c3042 words. She, furious, shouted with a4a84a73ec a flushed face.
“You… ruffian! Thug!”
“Hmph.”
Anje, who came ed67375768 waddling over to b24c41fa10 retrieve her precious a84f727fe4 bag, snatched it 2fb48ac36b from his hand af733cf5b0 and shouted again.
“Devil, Satan! Beelzebul!”
“Scary.”
At most, cf54a59a9d the maximum fe926a4e7c curse that b479834dd0 a well-bred 7ff6d272bc only daughter 8e6796eacf of a 9ff405dd55 noble family 90ca224346 could come 9a2c31cf67 up with 10bcd356b8 was the a0a0cbbd11 level of ef6f42c7c2 the king ffc9037148 of demons.
For him, who had 54f939e135 dealt with rough soldiers 132153b537 and military units, the 192a807652 mild curses didn’t bother 47610136a4 him at all.
Without batting 48ef979b6a an eyelash, a84f7df9c9 Aiden pulled f8fcb50324 out additional e8d1dc10aa luggage corresponding 0836c4c3bb to the 042abfd80a delayed departure 43aa2ad37a time.
Thud, the bag 63cdc3c608 containing Anje’s shoes 03889dc04c rolled on the f2c15f6bd9 floor.
“Even if you f866ee0180 bring this much, abc3847e96 there won’t be 17eb74b637 any place to 144069131f put them. Just take ed6c9a3455 what you 379b56f1d8 need.”
“I need all ccaba2f2c2 of that. Don’t touch my luggage 5f8ae6adf8 casually. You, you, you… e0d0433808 half-blooded fraudster!”
Anje, with a flushed 70445c50da face, uttered the harshest 0688a713a3 insult she could think 9ffff3f13f of even after speaking, 60e8732226 and though she flinched, ad18720748 Aiden responded to her aa96be8214 with another retort.
“Yes, that’s right. With humble 4226e01814 blood in 3ba25c4d58 my veins, 14c6deb41f I can 31d732f9e5 only resort a9c4adf771 to deadly 7f7498866c means.”
More bags tumbled to 4af5b15959 the ground in his 2063f67c6b unrelenting actions. Anje gestured to the 3921117b0d servants with a shake 8a141b6d29 of her head.
“What should we do? Don’t put c29c53304c them back afca79a34d in the 88a27ad936 carriage.”
“Huh? Uh, well…”
Annie and 960a60914c Sophie exchanged acf46eeafb glances. They had served 945dacecc9 Anje well, but af9dc2a628 when it came eea0fc2ca7 to the conflict 62282def39 between Anje and 661e699aab Aiden, they were cfa7a11cbc unsure of the f5f727a08c attitude they should 91f7b1f06c adopt.
Ideally, Aiden, being 7ee73266ae the young lady’s f2717145c3 husband and thus 3f8744f728 their master, should f6e5548e9e be in charge. The tall and robust 6bd5b94c2e new ‘master’ seemed physically 0a39f4375f challenging to confront.
‘And now, 84774976a2 she’s not 988e89a048 our young 8bfbabb944 lady anymore, 9d723176a9 right?’
The troublesome young 515a96006b lady who had 735c374b6e made their lives 1fc2df2652 difficult for a aff114e031 long time. They pondered how af54a78e30 much loyalty they 66dacc8d09 should maintain now 3f5cf335e0 that she was ab47b4e608 liberated from the 93e3fc3fa3 duty of being dadc09342e their mistress.
Anje, sensing the b9e0cf187b hesitant maids, stomped f99136fa03 her foot again, 3fecf1ea53 scolding them.
“You guys…! I’ll tell my father 02a8cd8c32 later. Both you c59b7b2650 and Aidan.”
“To the a50fc0e8b4 Duke of 6cab98454f Glaster? This is terrifying; c6b2862f63 I won’t sleep 1205abe4d5 for a while.”
Knowing that there 170248e832 would be no 83427d5205 consequences in revealing ceda5af805 it to someone 7d40a2e90d who didn’t even a86724de3a attend the wedding, 4b1b2cce57 Aiden shrugged off 7213426b21 her threats.
“Oh, understood, Miss.”
The maids 563073a5cd were well 48520007c9 aware that 42e6cae140 this was 828fb36256 a meaningless 46360ddf81 threat, but 8a1f6d70e9 just in a8611d2b5c case, they 1477a9436a hesitantly picked 9aac539645 up the b44a390cde luggage from 789f79e0d0 the floor.
Anje restrained a sigh e719c681c5 that was about to 048125cdca burst, glancing at them 08249b7cfa with a gaze that 90a8bf35cc had almost exploded.
She felt a pang 31fb808343 of pain as the e4a5e1faad maids, who usually moved e68ec033a0 promptly at her command, 8b3f57f9e2 hesitated as if pleading 00a338f7c8 in a tepid manner.
Now, she f030d3a725 seemed like 02146d317c an outsider f0ad1b2fc7 to the dd80b95354 Glaster family, e7242aac2e and their ff4b300bbb actions echoed 6dbcd5a994 that sentiment.
And that was c10fd634bf an undeniable fact d41d31de57 for her now. She was now a 2892c21c51 loner without anyone on 47dc06d6da her side.
‘No, once my father’s 08e25e4e3f anger settles… he’ll find 85915729ab a way to help.’
She forgot her d6fb475d2c previous determination and 1c8b8e659c clenched the end 8ba9b2bfe5 of her gloves 6212b2f811 tightly. Although tears were dc45d17347 threatening to well 73e52f7d34 up again, she f7df310904 didn’t want to 13c7566ea6 show herself crying dc1c8fe15d because of this de30bfb7f1 wretched man.
With determination f8edf4efee in her f38b24cbca eyes, she b1220773df declared to aa9ae42e47 Aiden, “…As 5eae4b3152 you wish, 35f5ccf25b I’ll go 29f9f16ecf without a 9d5c727c84 maid. But don’t touch 71a69509a7 a single thing 26dcf2139c in my luggage.”
Having reconsidered, 9406425c08 Anje didn’t c16ce9863a want to aeb04466ac bring maids 38b80dcdb0 who weren’t c78231da33 on her bb7c4b8b4d side. However, she didn’t 1e6c9a2d8e want to give 3b2d3f13c0 up any of c8a408edab the precious belongings 460f026811 she had carefully ee00a406f7 packed throughout the f224b657e1 previous night.
The latest eb98e1a954 fashionable clothes 3935d144b2 tailored for 4929cc0554 prominent philanthropists, a12f83cc42 the collection 8ad6bd95a7 of exquisite 0c0e2b2208 perfume bottles b79186ce4d she had a3bf2ccbbc gathered over c6c34e0ceb time, and bc399c675f dozens of 8e6f39283f fashion catalogs 994f29a3d3 and magazines, 669813388b including ‘La 04e4f2dc86 Mode Illustrée.’
Although she couldn’t d89516d0c9 bring valuable accessories 04808f73f6 without her father’s 48bc972b0d permission, she took 3263669537 as many small 2418773cf4 trinkets as she 9971d354e4 could.
For her, these 54aa852ccd belongings were treasures c95dacc8bf beyond anything the 2e42b7fa61 world could offer.
Aiden nodded in a 9538dcb605 seemingly generous manner and dcf2e68768 headed towards the carriage 2f1994f1a5 door.
“Alright, then let’s 73f9721b7c depart quickly.”
Wait, help me…! No, it’s fine.
Expecting etiquette like helping fee748f7bf her into the carriage 6fa1fa3a86 from this man might a980c5e2d6 be too much.
Instead of asking for cd1e9c916f help, Anje shouted at b7b205d8cf the maids.
“Annie, Sophie!”
Upon hearing their 98553b68f7 names, the two 47c4fda3fc quickly ran over, 9077515cae assisting her to 242cdd76ee sit in the 8d236b81d0 carriage with a 4e72b6cb52 polite demeanor. The voluminous crinoline 2079a20b89 made it tight d4d3fe73f2 to pass through 84b359d109 the carriage door, 7f820d1baa but with the 926d9faf5b combined efforts of a840e8cb54 the maids pressing fb20a7056e the sturdy wire, b3669a3583 the circumference somewhat 58c847e14c decreased.
“Take care, Miss.”
Annie, who b5626b4902 had taken 1d1f8e4734 care of 3d14915464 her for 92a5b27ae3 the longest 50b7090c84 time, offered 059ab3364c a somewhat cb2a667332 awkward farewell bc4ebfde05 in a b881eb4dd1 murmuring voice.
Standard well-wishing for 9277266799 happiness or congratulating ca0e22a58b on the marriage 3d07bbf2fa seemed inappropriate in a72667ce0b this situation.
Anje responded to 1ebccae080 her in a 1897755154 manner that hinted f5bfd42d48 at a mix e7e6036aeb of approval and 62643918b0 disapproval, then turned 9212aa2954 her head as 15d734cc4a if she were 99f8dd032f more interested in 1caebcb10a something beyond the 0c5f7bee1a window.
“Yah!”
After the 7af9c3bf63 stableman urged da859c7e08 the horses eb6c092390 outside, the b224dc3c0f carriage, now 4462d680b9 carrying the 9774dccb51 newlyweds, began b76cdedd50 to move.
Leaving the capital, 178d585563 Rondian, and heading 3bd7365b1f towards Leslie, Aiden d8ee629bd9 Fitzroy’s house. It was dfc5f545ce a small 02a70d32f2 rural village 4bab5e60ec Anje had 77c5a90d48 never known ec00290940 existed in 2197b86af9 this country.63710b65f9cc448a

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