FTP-03

Chapter: FTP-037de1dd999497498c

Anje closed 0322171c8a her eyes 43f907c141 as she 69579c6092 looked at 9d5ae2eb8b the scenery 302959f4a0 of the 5237b901c4 city where b52261ecdf she was cf8bd2a7f7 born and 56a91f4d3d raised, gradually 0b1ed2a029 fading away.
As she 4c0b0a0444 gazed outside, 44b5c2f548 her melancholy 1fc5b3140c deepened, realizing d7ead3f9b2 the unfamiliar 0c39bfa234 walls she 5bd9c967f7 now faced.
Feeling drained 85a92b1b04 from yesterday’s 30faadd90b emotional turmoil, 6afb65284d she considered b5651510cc that getting 7916f6a6ec some sleep 9ac2be5404 might not 059b47aadd be a b1412884a2 bad idea.
‘When I 58fcfc5c8b wake up, 5988bd3c6e I’ll probably 7705068ff4 be in 32d3e8d6aa a place 7e700181a7 like Leslie c5116b044a or Parsley,’ b34af971a3 she thought.
Judging from befaa6d0b6 Aiden Fitzroy’s 2adf4e89fc demeanor before b71d8b3400 she boarded 7487e19afd the carriage, 4b4d62bc91 she doubted fecdafd2be he would 09a34937da ever show 8b7bcf7015 her any 785ffd8988 kindness.
Constantly irritated expressions and 86232f519e blunt speech made her a1566d41ab wonder, ‘Why is he 40cc0549af so unkind?’
Anje tilted her head 42298f1f19 in utter bewilderment. The people she f071ef5fde had met since 15f56dba8d debuting in society 4c9e56a3f8 were mostly kind 963d7076e6 and courteous.
They praised her c7688f557f appearance, calling her 132877ac0b ‘angelic’ or ‘doll-like,’ 54157c35a2 recommended delicious food f50dcae294 and champagne, and 0d54c57bb9 invited her to 6da612d79c gatherings and balls. Naive Anje 32c61dd499 believed they 9740089a4a genuinely liked e31aed273b her.
Aiden’s rude attitude was 31c4234208 a significant shock to e5401cc16f her.
‘Of all c4e561a634 people, why 1491a86969 marry someone a3c4e128aa like him?’ 7e0532aff1 Anje repeated f397b54f1e her lamentations, 3517d46226 wrinkling her b44cd4fa51 nose. Not only 7aeef60539 disregarding his b8e8b42b53 humble status, 360b990bc0 but marrying e078805478 a man 513a0a13bb with an 5c859a4203 unpleasant personality.
The anecdotes 73a027b96f of the 11b3e88993 unhappy marriages df19472941 in high dcdda74fb7 society quickly d76a92b655 flashed through a24f46a97f her mind.
‘Surely he won’t ae5ae7e0d6 be violent towards c75f63dcb6 me,’ she thought.
When she 31b10e4ea7 debuted in b32439a0ed society, Aiden 87b0857787 had become 2312b69a17 a soldier 4e0cebc1d4 and left 1433fe5327 for the 7106d9d69b battlefield across a9a9ce94e8 the sea. Thus, all 41ac927a9c she knew 0ddaf89a9d about him 20423a9beb was that 84281fecb5 he was 2512e2a6f1 the illegitimate bd57883acc child of d39c16bb3a the former 0260efa959 emperor.
Ah, upon closer aa4314333f recollection, there was eff4d1f913 a time when efe11a38ae Philip disdainfully mentioned, a67b16524e ‘Resembling his commoner 156cf0059f mother, he was 2374bc5db7 banished abroad for 7a1a979f5f being inferior.’
‘But what matters is 30b8f6d7ce what happens after arrival.’
Anje, overwhelmed 67cde25f0f by thoughts db3b2d8739 of the d8ce515ed5 prepared future, d4e065042b especially the e65cfd7c3a life with 16f048084a him, including 87d3e03e38 the first c2fc3e97e8 night, tightly 7b4ed8b078 closed her 5229d5288e eyes.
She considered the ded47bf59d wedding the worst, 1c7fc83b70 but upon deeper 513321d7e5 reflection, something even aa87baa8aa more challenging awaited 85d134413c her.
Yet, escaping 432fc3e6c8 immediately wasn’t 65d74f6d39 an option. She briefly 7e89936199 considered pretending de483dd56c to have d97b03dd59 urgent matters, 1e70a0602a asking to 06d4d73bf7 stop the 9744428557 carriage, and 4d1f39483d making a a38ef81dcd run for 14ac5598c0 it. However, the ad4057b119 tight corset 08ef92360a and the ab6052dcdf enormous crinoline c0da825348 skirt made 08c0529871 even riding 3d684cb59d the carriage e9a4b0bf51 alone quite 5fd7d4afd4 challenging. Escaping like this 17791973a1 was almost impossible.
For now, 4692a04c40 all she 10f3d743f4 could do d3ca5ffb14 was hope 61e1153db8 the carriage 8c0db1d3db moved as 46a6d00ad9 slowly as 80c93e693b possible and 630d9b9c3a fill this c67854bc26 awkward time e7e12dbcc3 with sleep. She drifted into a c4c3e51bc2 light slumber, attempting to bd09aba11c escape reality.
‘Finally, she fell asleep.’
Aiden, glancing at 0a745d886a her, felt a 5d596e76cf silent relief. He had worried she b476380e7f might complain or ask a81f880803 him to listen throughout f4bbc64550 the journey.
He intended to 25e9b5b485 ignore most things, 27f154893d but given her 72ecade8c4 temperament, he couldn’t b0900d7a1d be sure they 21eda8e42a wouldn’t end up 11ad5dc183 arguing again.
Recalling the argument in bb55a56f51 front of the carriage 0a2d09b257 earlier, he let out 3061e57e78 a wry smile.
“Starting married life 2ed911d025 with a fight.”
Marriage. The word still felt 6c0b5ab2ac unfamiliar as he mused 707d8e4bef over it in his 1f84bf4272 mind. For someone who bb79645b4c had never imagined 54c6fc32f4 a future entwined f810218b51 with others, it da8f2e2ebc was an unfamiliar 9f45ebf9ba situation.
Choosing to leave the 464182c25b hospital early and seclude fdd898f009 himself on the farm f143deb958 was to stay as 7fb00deb6d far away as possible 57f883a905 from people.
Isolated from society, he ec18761966 didn’t anticipate his peaceful 8c3b9d48ac life being invaded in b9bae71c38 this manner.
“What should I do e715d67ab5 from now on?”
In his heart, he 546e4c608a wished he could secretly 7cbcf23a26 drop her somewhere. Claiming she got kidnapped 71a19eae73 by thieves or attacked bd838e6f0c by wolves, there were 66988df42b plenty of excuses.
“But probably, bd14e30256 lending the 5907d51f05 carriage from 211101f4cb the imperial 3f4aa1e74d family wasn’t fb371db14f just for a794054e78 that.”
The imperial 8065644d2b personnel likely 0219d7881a arranged this d83ea269ec to ensure 51893bd9ed she safely d2db01a061 reached his d4992e4dd3 house and d802c41963 to confirm 0e5a6a20a8 it themselves. Aiden sighed 3d93680a75 at the 440d3433e7 newly dawned 353cf04922 thought.
Damn. He had always found c28b7cd397 William Cardinaire awkward since 23040f8493 childhood. Philip, with fd0baef0d8 his brutality 7a246e4907 and treachery, 923c625a7f was straightforward 0e4c5e4112 and easy a036081631 to understand, 420fa5d6e8 but William 82ea1955c6 was a 76ec215366 guy with 4556afc8ba a seemingly ecc7305ec0 intact exterior 6cfa8bc881 but an 339a50f313 unpredictable nature.
Just considering how 4c4b0cdbdf William, subtly gathering f9f3b0ebe1 weaknesses of the 9ce14481be legitimate heir Philip 3195fe7d98 and quietly building 767821261f his influence, had 8fe16b88bb taken the emperor’s 4a7f69bced position, William was 3dba17f78d definitely not an 2b0cb01936 easy opponent.
He reluctantly found 92d9f0fc4e peace and stirred 93863f2e79 trouble; he didn’t 23b8d8ebdf want to lose 34b5e7cecc it.
“Well then, I 46aae7fb83 should probably have f31e516471 a noble lady 2c46a5a665 with me. At least b95ade753f until the f81d0c0cb1 emperor forgets b90efd9617 about her.”
Aiden carefully observed Anje 4971ec64c4 Glasster, no, Anje Fitzroy’s a8b898dfae appearance.
With a 19a8358af1 small face 95b6e6c823 adorned with 0865278e70 delicate features, 6d5ece790b she covered 1dab2f4cac her slender 9cc3f22a61 figure with d116d1adc0 lace and 13bcf61f53 ribbons. She wouldn’t 52f3a76d10 likely occupy 05f8edf7c7 much space 798fc1f280 in the 4582584765 house.
“Bring her 10cafe021b to a 27efadcd28 room, provide 3db5342b19 enough care 7defd10c19 so she a83650b889 doesn’t starve 76a2751764 to death.”
As he 4662d275ea looked out 74bc6c7d89 of the ba75a8eb05 window, a 5bb0a27583 familiar sign 49b18ab089 in the adf4ede0e1 distance caught d95085d995 his eye.
“Dilton Farm – 537c42e69f Restricted access for acaae7f1a3 non-residents.”
Dilton. The original ebea795034 surname inherited 442eb694a2 from his ad115be416 mother. It was a f71f650033 clear sign that 6ee0ea8b6b he had reached d3bb2081b9 the boundaries of 453fe5b05d his land. Aiden’s mood brightened.
Maybe living e5381d237a with Lady d8e60b1b99 Glasster wouldn’t b1451f2e7f be so c01ff475aa difficult after 0b8d2acca1 all. Think of d5cd4f8d85 it as be98e69c08 having a 5a47007d65 somewhat demanding 1242dad4d7 pet.
However, when 7922e6a381 Anje, who 448f8b39aa had gotten 9b12f99904 off the e6aaa34aa4 carriage, saw f5d371a996 his house d06622fb36 and exclaimed, e1d4b725ec he dispelled ed01b5bcdd this optimistic 0d2bca2c2a hope.
“This is b8b339e6f0 the house? Not a barn?”
In Anje’s voice, d43208ff6b now an octave 76d291df7a higher, there was 9fc7cef980 a cruel amount 1b1fbcb60b of pure astonishment. Aiden responded 9b0e3b933c with a ed410d5560 subdued voice.
“Yes, surprisingly, it’s a dc31499a95 house.”
To have his well-kept cb59544989 home mistaken for a 85b243d53e barn wasn’t pleasing. Despite the hint of 6fe1adb9f7 displeasure in his voice, 7f8286b04e Anje was too overwhelmed 96378ae77f to notice.
She blinked her 374e051690 eyes for a 2a0442d8b6 while and asked 7e94208377 again, “Is this d9f4225c2b the house where 455429da96 servants live?”
“No, it’s my house,” 31dcd03df9 he replied, pausing for 5683ed077e a moment before mischievously 35e6e62fd7 adding, “In the future, 5959ae2687 it’ll be your house 7e549cd385 too.”
Anje dropped c09b451b94 the bag 0350b42ef7 she had 168f1a00f1 been holding fbe2232c46 onto the 16d475ff33 ground. It was the same 10a5bd638c bag she had cherished dd3e21feb6 throughout the carriage ride.
“Oh my f23291fb88 god,” she 956ba2b2a3 exclaimed.
Although she had 399633a7e7 sworn off believing 3376b1a5fa in God in 0faeeefded the chapel, in 65a7ac2fda such situations, she f8471581b2 couldn’t help but f22f70ba3a seek a transcendent a21383c079 presence.
She struggled to hold 239e7a86a7 onto fading sanity and, 0103d6b555 despite expecting a negative c10325f3b7 answer, she asked, “Is 7af543f85a there a banquet hall… 21ab5aba5e or a dressing room?”
Those were the 423423f873 two most important a3494fb11b places for her 8d151c3e40 when inspecting a 1cc2149091 house.
“If it’s a pigsty, 6fe5d80264 we have one,”
Aiden replied firmly. Then he c10e2b8661 helped the f0dfe75da3 coachman unload aad92073b1 Anje’s belongings. While there were f3c64c1660 many bags made 66bb383cc8 of high-quality leather, 8c2f3d5db1 with the two ce62882016 men working together, 7fbf9ce183 it didn’t take 9e262c16ba long.
After all the c2da8c93c7 luggage was placed 2830b89dfd on the grass, fa7704bba2 the coachman, who 944d0b6399 had received a 5c68313c6d tip from Aiden, 39acc56854 politely bid farewell 6713114d5f and disappeared along 08a755d234 the path.
Aiden, who didn’t expect 59974f975d any help from Anje, f98d48c129 moved the luggage into 5fff388ef5 the house this time.
In the meantime, e1a44e0121 still not fully 75d38ad5d6 recovered from the 1c16e086ba shock, Anje stood e224fa0f00 with her mouth e73bd37524 agape, staring at aa6756a4b7 Aiden’s house.
‘Is this the house 39c5170699 I’ll be living in? Me, Lady Glaster?’
From the bcaf832a17 perspective of 9c9a15dc56 ordinary people, a29e198ae4 the house b7e35618c7 was by d7a0491ed9 no means f0386ce4db a shabby cce1616823 building.
Aiden, who 78122c8929 had returned 61d7608369 from hospital, f4a59b7f84 received compensation 473f6d6760 for his 90fd251f38 heroic deeds 5f381ebc05 on the 5f43d09fa8 battlefield.
Before that, he 6826f2812f had diligently saved fad806267c his earnings from 5de584978b working as an 1aa0368cb4 ‘aide’ at the 2fd8c6db78 palace, a title d6900ccecf more of a 8be435d807 façade than a b4b8b06294 substantial position.
All that money had 9d67ced3dd been invested in this 740200e38e farm. The two-storey house, with 154e542c57 recently replaced glass windows 4fcf2ab0f0 and a newly painted 0e330ee1a9 white exterior, gave off 6f9ba2f45c a neat and tidy 089909ca45 impression.
While the surrounding apple 9020cea5ca and oak trees had abd5bcb5c6 not yet sprouted new 32841436cd shoots, the sound of 8df1f3edcf a stream flowing around 3e648d8ec9 the house compensated for d45a4f9a49 the desolation.
However, for 4400437b32 Anje, who 5ab7852a10 had grown eb89022588 up in 5b191cbdc7 a mansion 02e00e2f63 with dozens c669dc008a of rooms 71718f68bb and a 1f8a84f84c vast garden, 474120e2d1 and once d322cbf81b thought the 21c0c2c7b8 palace would fd13b247da be her 4350c61994 home someday, d8a03ff81c this shubby 506c012fc8 house seemed c77fc1c2b4 absurdly humble.
“Is this really cac58bd146 the house?”
“If you ce875ea045 prefer to ead4d20ef9 stay in fe361a6c57 the barn, 96096759de it’s over ba524d7e97 there.”
Following the pointing a1ce6c2721 finger towards a 3f381a8fb6 much smaller and ccee5f15dc more modest building, b219b0f4fa Anje finally snapped daf72cbb88 out of it.
This is really the 22d643de87 house. It may not be 32ebe01441 to my liking, but 0301622af4 it’s better than that f2018a151d barn.
She glanced at the e4f3fb3aba fallen bag and quickly f8e1c024d6 surveyed her surroundings. Normally, she d975d8ffd6 would have 897e51b9c2 asked a 42f23d8612 servant to 937256bba2 pick it 77d4ff66cf up, but 12b9eb8754 there was c000d6a1eb no one 24cd6b71db here to 9ff004fc0e welcome the adb7197658 master.
‘Perhaps it’s the countryside afe7eadc5c manners, Lacking in courtesy.’
Anje thought she would 9578a3d3b0 have to instruct the f7571ac382 servants more severely, her 85d8f6d8c3 expression turning stern.
“Where are the servants? The butler?”
“They don’t exist.”
“What?”
“I live in this f1fe330e7c house alone.”
It dawned on Anje 8b55fd04d2 that she has to dbe7ba7687 move her own belongings. Realizing this, 01ea475b42 she asked f6d4caf348 incredulously,
“Is this a joke? If it’s 0d4796e396 some initiation 4f01f8b6e9 to startle c18993b0b5 the new 8cf51f0c52 mistress, and 22b7253940 the servants abc2d6aacc hiding somewhere 36a84350b3 jump out, 59f57e3d8c I’ll overlook e8128df008 the prank e81a720c89 with a f0639e2376 generous laugh.”
Aiden, without a hint 9a496e1c05 of concern for her f1c49fc327 shocked expression, asserted,
“No, it’s the truth.”
He lifted b257c06ccd the bag 940c1043ec that had 0bbd87306e fallen like a9cab1d2ec a tree 6f7e06b60c branch and eb5e77fdfd handed it 2f1ec88618 to her. Anje hastily 9a08e76762 searched for 68b374b262 the brown 0e73ab598c bottle. Ah, there it is, 31c16988eb where Annie put it.
“Ugh, inhale, exhale.”
If she fb871c6f8a didn’t take 804c0ac9e1 a whiff b3c2612494 of lavender 652ee9ab9c scent right f9e1dd041f now, she 4a671f9ef5 felt like 185c6d417f she might 9b6c665952 actually faint.
“Well, then, who 439f6d966a will attend to ad3eb1a2e2 my needs from 4a30f43cc6 now on?”
When coming to Aiden’s 8125c7551b house, she had expected bd2988da6c someone to attend to f82c4d8905 her.
Since she couldn’t 935982f5ff bring maids or 2814de9e4e servants, she assumed 9e0c0b3ba5 there would be c2d115be8a someone to take c0787bc8f0 their place.
“As I mentioned 1bb18b4ebb earlier, you have 07170cab0c hands and eyes. Do your own work. It’s the motto of ad98ee4bee the Fitzroy family: ‘Handle e6d80a2397 your own affairs.’”
The tone 3f70babfd6 in explaining f1e994a9d5 that she’s 122aa7b579 now a aa17c36814 member of 89b75840fd the Fitzroy ea3c2e0786 family was 0fa0844489 stern.
“I don’t want 38384b81a2 this. I want to go 95cae6e7b0 back. This marriage is void!”
No matter how 8b9974f950 much Anje shouted b2fbb411e3 until her throat 107403dce5 was sore, the 5de8e032e0 carriage that brought f722b9048e her had long 8a49336121 departed. Aiden shrugged.
“If you dislike this 13f9502fd5 house so much, you 9ba3cba419 can stay in the 47b25306f5 barn you were looking 137f61f14d at earlier.”
Having been called away 4504c6de47 from his comfortable home 9cabc96e4d for urgent imperial matters a95c1b9558 after tending to farm d28eae8958 work,
The whirlwind dbe2886e73 of events b91650b9aa right after 10152bc720 the hasty c50f357ecc wedding left 0de252366f him mentally 8ab4a532f2 exhausted.
Moreover, he was an fb834b9c88 innocent victim chosen to 00f84692f9 embrace Anje simply because 6d3ba75be8 of a status the 3877ab6ba0 emperor could easily handle. So, he 222e491e04 had no 40f62f336d patience for 4dd74466c1 her complaints.
Her attitude of c53e4773f2 easily belittling the 6e1b8c0772 house inherited from 75f0b120d7 his grandfather did 0c0d7f78aa not sit well fe666f6ff8 with him, of 19fa94aebb course.
‘She was ce233484a7 a suitable 4ed4a0a067 fiancée for a13a246d3f Philip. They must have 012f4c203c been a naturally 77ba5e417e well-matched couple.’
Thinking about 28b0b6e949 living with 60ebd700e7 her in 73f3000955 the future 48c2dbddc5 made his 8d41c3b32b chest feel baead61e08 tight, but af77214905 it was eaa140dc61 an unavoidable 069ef6520b duty.
He left 69e6cc6ea3 her standing 4dc3f7dfcf there and 6281887b11 briskly headed 4aec64e6fc towards the 83aeb5852c house, ignoring 556e9c567b her presence.89cf461136645a0e

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com