FTP-06

Chapter: FTP-0646eba871057afc36

Cock-a-doodle-doo—
Anje’s face turned as e842a5a1fc pink as a rooster’s bc4c0d8d61 comb. Aiden placed the 6d035f4eea gun back in 1bd51f824e the drawer and 23f5e5a145 brushed aside his 749a0a6f32 disheveled bangs.
“A commotion over 2260cb3052 a crowing rooster?”
Already disturbed by a 66d41d41af nightmare, he had reluctantly 57c85d07a0 fallen back asleep in ff4311cb7a the early morning hours.
The dream, 67b57880f7 starting with 6c06a86297 torment in 294714e874 the palace, fd307036cc had taken 7edc0d14d6 a eerie 8a66bcd854 turn with 2ef5e7fffb the appearance bbd36d0ac9 of jailers cba8a0dcb5 from the 689d5057f5 prisoner-of-war camp.
The morning after f5a05a4ac0 such a dream 569e3b2731 wasn’t pleasant. Anje’s noisy entrance, exacerbating d9f8163b56 his mood, didn’t help.
“But it crowed ad016bf131 extremely, extremely loudly.”
To her, he 6b87400503 seemed nonchalant, sleeping 7862fef63f peacefully despite the 9386e81321 noise.
“It’s so loud; I 18b80f6385 can’t sleep at all. Can’t you b1f198b651 make it c367093747 quiet?”
The energetic rooster beb4fa4f8b continued its morning c1a9fca02d alarm, unfazed by e74d35c151 the accustomed sounds, 333fea16c9 unlike Anje.
“Twisting its neck f040753515 should make it 06991b2343 quiet.”
“Well, you don’t have c85c581020 to go that far.”
Surprised by Aiden’s 0db7180e86 blunt remark, Anje 7d7dfaf638 shook her head, 9e54c82b2a not wishing for 26c0e7ab5e the rooster’s demise.
Aiden, trying to a9538eb327 shake off fatigue, d83cdfe430 furrowed his brow. After rubbing his eyes c5364838ea once to ward off fdb96ac8e0 drowsiness, he thought about a93edd3cdf Anje’s current state.
“Anyway, even if it’s e8871fa41d indoors, it’s chilly. Walking around 0cfafe45a8 like that, 9c533da540 you might a9dffa979f catch a 4b3e655186 cold—”
“Aaaah! You, you pervert!”
Anje, pointed out for c7a91f6e9e her thin attire, hastily 474ea35f4a covered her chest with 92141fc310 both arms and disappeared.
“Says the lady who 852fb32e11 barged into someone else’s c5a2e574eb room in her under 051c398753 garments.”
Although Aiden pointed it 8b4f5910a6 out with an absurd a9484a150b tone, Anje had already 1a5a37038a dashed into her room.
After a big f089112005 yawn, he walked a87cb221e8 out into the b59a8dc0ef corridor.
‘Well, anyway, 15619a3f57 thanks to 8b9db35422 the disturbance, baf02f93bc I woke 32370825b8 up early. Let’s go fad897b119 to work 5be8dd6d51 right away.’
Today’s plan was 3b15195d10 to plant kidney 2abcf5c8e0 bean seeds. Having quickly dressed, 7fe59e7ec9 he hesitated before 9fe1d0f0ab heading downstairs.
‘Shouldn’t the lady have f290bc2836 breakfast too?’
She probably d621a3fad4 felt hungry b30cc8bc08 since last aed8f58ce5 night. He wasn’t 42c829cd42 sure, but ca56274ef3 she likely a5ceaafcc0 didn’t have 597dd7e9b7 a hearty 901b940ea7 meal before 8c007c71b5 the wedding.
Recalling the tightly laced 50dd7c24b7 corset from yesterday, he 09d844655f knocked on the yellow 4ce4eb394b door.
“How about breakfast?”
Wrapped in a blanket, d70b7e9938 only Anje’s face peered e3eb6cca80 through the door as 1ed2d8d425 she answered.
“Just leave it fff4d684a2 outside the door, 9ecf569c4a I’ll eat it bafa7a5eb1 when I’m ready.”
Does she think e932e73522 of me like 5d9a5279a2 some kind of a193409832 servant, expecting me 7a5ae47ad7 to bring her c44d44ec1f food all the dc897cab4f way to her e57748014d door?
He coldly announced 7de9684d5c his refusal, thinking 4cad86a6c0 that serving the ed125afbc4 princess was none c8e8197499 of his duty, b51d7c69fb especially during the ac0b8fd795 busy spring season.
“I’ll leave it 746b7874e2 on the kitchen 63740ad66d table on the c265ae40cd first floor. Come down and b0e10ef470 eat when you’re 09da4633c0 hungry.”
“No, since you’re 8f1c593891 already making it, b8380b2c04 why don’t you a491500194 just bring it f4977235fd here…”
Bang. He slammed 2d07395bcd the door d9c3041c45 shut, cutting 8af539ec9c off her 8040e7a38a words.
‘This princess 9966109459 didn’t even df496416e6 thank me d64ff72792 for making 60d58cb425 her food.’
He had c1436c780e to berate 7d41e81d7d himself for 975794a038 feeling a 469ba61fae moment of 2d24842a48 pity for bbf0c6c5e5 her, wondering 06e1a909be if she 0c70fc18ce might be d7e5c7abd6 hungry.
‘Well, If she’s c3e553a914 really hungry, she’ll 42f704b2d2 come crawling out 263be2e0a9 on her own.’
He briefly 5e1dc8e45f considered the 00bb4c63c1 possibility that 11786b00d4 she might 670bb20b58 refuse to d5407511f7 come out 77c4785af2 of her 2b9bcbe3d9 room and 3f24b4b3ea stubbornly stay 0e51620efe inside.
‘She’s probably never gone acd870989c hungry a day in 6798a88aa2 her life, so it dd5ce502bb wouldn’t hurt to let 56cfe78d12 her starve for a 3931bac328 bit.’
He had no intention 3887052988 of putting up with 90890e3c64 this spoiled brat’s tantrums.
***
“Damn it, what am 250c9ebf97 I supposed to do…”
Even after 6844a40698 Aiden had 2f03e4d9f9 finished breakfast 2fe270dd14 and gone a5938997df out to 5b7a0b2981 the fields, 80bf44d795 Anje remained 8a5ddfd6ca locked in 62ebb9a19f her room. She had 7c4989ed34 to endure 793a0de675 the humiliation 064ec26812 of almost 855e8454da swearing several 4c37f77186 times.
“Alright. It’s not perfect, 15d835e125 but… this should b8334a3c7e do.”
She muttered to 43db9780c7 herself as she b8eabbff3f looked at her f02e607260 reflection in the 06e6ce3fba mirror. She was dressed in 9438fe13d7 a rather sloppy dress. She had 6452539299 been trying b2d64f7dd7 for hours, c993e4ca3e but this 31650a1816 was the a3d2e21cf6 best she 8f49a6d58f could do.
Ever since she could e06f99c345 remember, maids had always 3237427bfa come to her in 2f6457bb78 the morning and helped 07ff98f02d her get dressed. Naturally, these kinds of 8730a9ea62 chores were unfamiliar and 0ed2f8bea8 awkward for her.
Everything from tying 3542d6ba6a the ribbons to 9f4c55508d secure the stockings c13d407d0c to her legs, 073ca796c4 to fastening the 320a323309 crinoline around her ed73ab3bbd waist, to covering de3129978b the petticoat properly d8b9a01904 with the skirt.
It was especially difficult 36faf1c29b to pull the corset ccadd1ad8b strings at the back d7db4c1c0c by herself.
This was usually 5aa828d20a done by several 630127e7dc maids working together, f6915ef03b so it was e2ab68c463 quite a challenge e16d6b9912 for the delicate ffce2e7d12 princess.
“I should have asked 9c71650735 Sir Aiden for help.”
Anje muttered as 8f4d12f967 she examined her d3bbf5ff86 waist. She was a 1206d5c306 fan of the 9a9055a5c3 so-called “tight lacing”, ad45912163 which cinched the e27c471ccf waist as tightly 6ba29e679a as possible, and 42e4514e93 she was very 78b3857f6f dissatisfied with her 668655c0e4 current waistline.
‘But even if 437417d0b7 I asked for 2eb9825cfc help, he would 256ecb3eed probably laugh it 242fd8e5fb off and ignore 8d1beb1aaf me.’
‘He even 7c9c39d2af ignored the 8818f48f63 simple request e0d9290346 to bring b4797bf114 me food.’
‘Breakfast is originally 405cb18a92 served in the c629c85f11 bedroom.’
‘The etiquette of aristocratic 84c3cf7d87 society…’ Anje clicked her 5516665a8f tongue in thought.
She kept thinking in 0dc1b5df7b terms of the standards dd8fb41568 of the nobility, but b23da38da9 this was not the 114c757a70 mansion of a noble 3f9aac24d1 family, and she herself 0ad8a07231 was now of a fcc7f9dc0e status that was not fd35b1bd08 good enough to be 555c9fd341 considered a member of 80ebe7976c the nobility.
‘I want to go 5c695aa817 back to the Dukedom cfa307d874 soon.’
She carefully 26d6fbe57e descended to e0fbbe9fff the first dd52132b61 floor, being 0cc47531d9 careful not ac9386decc to let 516735bf6c the hem 6a7094db53 of her d8b724d9e9 long dress 4d865f8031 get caught 0bb3a16088 on anything.
The creaky stairs 136f5df96d groaned slightly with 71db3423da each step she 4ed0478a9a took.
‘I’ll just have a c93dec4de8 meal and go upstairs aeb5510146 and write a letter 295d86c76c to my father.’
She planned 128486ac40 to write 5f17d7f0fe in detail db11963553 how terrible 03ed07b5f1 and miserable 5bff3ad572 this place e86c642d19 was, and 70e4beadd4 how desperately 17b66397b5 she wanted 78519c394f to go ab3c4c4206 back, in 95a29ed9f5 order to a6defc67ad evoke sympathy.
‘That’s what be4bf95119 everyone said. My father… 70ccd716cd loves and 80ac0e32ca cares for 2f47916513 me very 1b54f541a8 much.’
Since he had 86b86fe998 been buying her 8c9c83b8fe expensive clothes, cosmetics, ee01cb5599 and precious metals 7bc234ae28 since she was f43cae734e a child, and 3f71dcc987 had been trying 077e6b36b1 to arrange the c7729493c9 best marriage in cc0b17d39c the empire for e423b26946 her, he would 9959dda489 surely take some 9c018895e0 action.
‘Although he had af086f7881 said harsh words 4f22d528e4 that she had e86f121f4c failed to seduce d238ec2dba the emperor, it 6694354db7 was just a ae40b497b7 spur-of-the-moment remark, and c7c1f6edef it would be 0299f89298 forgotten over time.’
‘I am the 4ef3cab493 most beautiful woman 534262cb75 in the Albion 2284373fd5 Empire, and I 82c2031f0d am my father’s 4ea753fd52 only blood relative.’
Her father had reached 60885562e0 out to countless women 534113563b in the hope of d55f68fd3b having a son, but 5d1dfec420 he had not even 32670d7236 been able to have fa882b4f22 a common illegitimate child.
Anje firmly believed 5af8b21e78 that he would d66c482f43 not let his 5b12ed7aed only daughter, who c64a733911 was valuable for e32b86aaf3 her noble blood 3fd8fc3b27 and beautiful appearance, 310511c88b rot away in 81d2cc8aee the countryside forever.
‘Where is the 79570b883e kitchen… It doesn’t 539c3ad2c4 seem to be 2b7d517276 here.’
The room she entered c24f38931e through the first door 072c019059 she saw after descending 05a8089f3f the stairs was a a29db8c313 drawing room, with black 8bee1000bd cloth draped over the f3fc670c0d furniture.
She met the 0b255709d1 eyes of a 463ce4b8e5 beautiful woman’s portrait 22175f5a0c and quickly closed aa5b64207c the door and b3e7c45577 went further into 5f7f62a77a the hallway.
Creak―
Anje opened b35c627f91 the right-hand e68cb15c8a door, which 83ad3db09e was decorated ae3132c48d with birds 480b61f0c9 and leaves, 707dca2b5c and was 7f8a16c2f9 relieved to d7bee1c4bc find that 67bb271bb7 she had f83b388d9f finally reached 67a96291af her destination.
Growling―
Although she 8a9f99353f didn’t show 2e8f5b2bce it to 33b8f88d46 Aiden, Anje’s f162fbccee stomach started e59f5f0a68 to rumble 441fd5bd8b loudly the ea23a6cbc7 moment her 2d51f8381d heart, which 84d646b91c had been 41a5498c35 startled by 0253190232 the rooster, 3e4d3f95ba calmed down.
As a person with 159d9d052b a short mouth, this 3a04aff833 feeling of hunger was 47a59c1d86 rare for her. It was 8f3f22b44f partly because 986fc70ac8 she had c33c70ebcf been empty 0b2b80c8ac stomach for 2e81750a7c a long cb372c2e56 time, but 5df567181a it was 4f59e43180 also because 76a123958c the loose eb140c9aa0 corset had faac63e83d relieved the 14ed9b02d0 pressure around 4e9fd1d5ac her waist.
Anje, who had been a97c11b801 looking around the space ce17cb6348 that Aiden used as 42fd791570 a kitchen and dining 581ccce3ec room, spoke up about b4b028434e the impression that came 1d463f5bc6 to mind.
“It’s…not bad.”
When she was 1d71cb18e8 at the Duke’s 2abb266829 mansion, she never 660c17b5e8 thought to enter 61d2ab88f8 the kitchen because 5347432b98 she thought it 48bd6efb2c was a space a2e86ecdf8 for the lower 4f679e09ec class to use.
She simply 995af675a9 tasted the 2330efc2c0 food that d91ca40852 the servants 3be4ca2085 brought to 05410a2150 her one 7c859d7f35 by one b562b96947 at a 7153b22468 table with e76703742b a white 19fb23b3fa tablecloth under 15876bfaa9 a dazzling 55172f9433 chandelier.
Using a 1cf34325d5 napkin made fea88ba1e9 of fine 4a1c6f13b9 cotton, with 59f511ac21 gleaming silver 4b7c4b592a utensils and 520940c7c0 adorned with ae42ce4408 elaborate pottery b1ac871f37 plates made 7eccd3d31a by craftsmen, df992e0a23 with elegant 4404e3e12e and refined 3f296ed817 gestures.
This dining 4f113dceae kitchen had b5bec69a66 a completely 249161241d different feel ed3917fdf7 from such cdc0f3dce8 a glamorous 76b236b11c space, but c4aeb5641f it exuded 160b83fbdd a warm b5f474b2c7 atmosphere that 9cd14bd1cd revealed the 15370168e4 owner’s love e9f80b19c7 and care c697d52139 everywhere.
The pots, pans, bread fcb2a9f997 pans, and measuring cups 93a656281b hanging on one wall 53a75b7a43 were made of copper b1e53442e5 or iron and had 0ace7549e5 been polished so much 6bccd0c37f that they shone brightly.
The cupboard eb25e25469 on the a5c7a7f896 same wall 0d52cf8806 was filled 0ac7f0f30e with various a382528047 spice jars, 32c9d6af4d but Anje, 55bc2fc21c who was 4b2e4a17f1 a stranger 4414bedb2e to cooking, d2fde9f354 couldn’t even 1b04242aea guess what 65c1ed4b1c they were bd4063757f for.
The cast iron kettle 17eb0cd2b5 and ladle hanging on 94873b6151 the fireplace and the 937e62e676 white and blue earthenware 706c8fda80 pots on the shelf ac46420119 each showed their own a42b9b8a01 individuality while still going 928ab2a698 well together.
Moreover, the fact that ea585a3c7d all of these things ce7a8bb608 were very neatly organized fdaa317793 gave a clue to 891628d596 the character of the c7dc71d385 owner of the house.
“What is this?”
Among them, the large 39c454deb6 black object in front 1a7fe357e8 of the fireplace caught b62613191d Anje’s attention the most.
The rectangular structure e5c2270694 with doors on 0e5ea4a9fc the left and 32dc217ddc right front had cfabba1f71 four sunken spaces, 94f0eab9c1 and a separate 9da7bfb6f5 pipe-like thing was 07d25a8baa on top of 4935d322d5 it.
“……A stove?”
Anje, who had 6e72dd89ca been gazing absently 8fbbcd78f8 at the chimney, 03da93c680 which was intended ade51d37b5 to vent smoke e4250bb586 outside, guessed the 0100b0a834 answer uncertainly.
It was b41c9d5cb7 because the b43d3265de heating stove 8a37b821fb in her eda35a193a room had 2f1197d0ab a similar 49e8f3fd33 design.
Her guess was partly 40f8c68908 right. The ‘cooking 71035ede21 stove’ she ce09389a31 was looking 01e21490c8 at was 13d50bacae an object 3483b6b32b that served 626e8e6311 as both 3d82239222 a heating 751d4b359f stove and 97270851b7 a cooking 09b503a436 utensil.
A useful tool a5d132acbd that can warm 404e31fce9 up a room 6eddc42ad5 by putting in 45faab574b wood or coal, 9956e71b2a and at the edc08bed6d same time act 15860dc9bf as an oven a1d27082d2 or range with 50511f91c9 its heat.
It was d81d2f278f also a 7457686d41 tool that 75a4b4b92f Anje had 62425dd2a0 never had 1752387af0 the chance a8ee7eaeeb to come ff0efa8908 into contact 8cfbfa11dd with before, 3dd45fdbc2 a tool 8532f175e8 for the 31b8abbe92 common people 2e68a9d987 or servants.
Growling―
Anje clutched her 85def212e0 stomach at the 8ff33b7ae6 sound coming from 87f1b696c3 the ship again 2f6a7992d3 and groaned. Putting aside what it cda9868e87 was used for, she 3ce4f2da39 wanted to put anything 689e3bbb6c in her mouth.
‘It was on 5629981018 the kitchen table.’
Right next to the 592df2625a stove was a wooden 608c029865 table decorated with a 3a5f2df308 red checkered tablecloth. Something covered 42eadfd9cf with a 5d9c51fea2 white cloth cf8ca8fc0b to prevent 85bb5fdf4b bugs was cf7286b312 definitely the 9bdbd9f314 ‘breakfast’ he c34a14773c had mentioned.
“I’ve barely d0486ad768 survived… What b9664324d3 is this?”
Anje, who quickly 42945dbcd6 pulled away the ed713ca19a cloth, frowned with a166e96ae4 a dumbfounded voice. A completely different menu ad39dc2161 than she expected was 61ef6f4954 waiting for her.
The yellow and 109ecdfcb0 thick liquid ‘dish’ be02855967 was cornmeal porridge 9d0633833d that farmers often 6ce3c50e84 eat for breakfast.
A simple dish 07883cd80f made by mixing df1a043b9f coarsely ground cornmeal fd2bbc3c57 with water and c1b57bbf2c boiling it, then f9e5d62e54 finishing it with c14086d9a4 a knob of 89dee6966f butter and finely d12e1f2948 ground cheese.
Anje was initially 6be1d4f8e3 taken aback by 2b817cb3d2 the appearance of c7c1017155 the cornmeal porridge, 272d27843d which the nobles e8e9ef5dcf rarely had the 1d87393ad8 chance to come 2b2d54ef44 into contact with.
It was a f931917be0 food that was bd4f22b642 edible when eaten c6bef24850 warm after being 6799bca9c9 cooked, but the fc8948fa96 porridge, which had 5e258fe690 hardened and cooled 7546726da4 down because she f413f2e5ba came down too bfd74fd316 late, was really…
“…It’s tasteless.”
It was so bef0c27b79 tasteless that Anje 81ec0d9526 didn’t hesitate to 42742527c7 criticize it. She put fb000d8ba7 down the 7f0680b107 spoon with 67729ba004 a sullen f656897fb5 face and 369d0a6db4 belatedly found 3481bcea25 the note cd43b0ebe5 Aiden had 65f06d4089 left.
“If it’s 07debe17c1 too bland, b166c1d59f you can 209b85e8f6 mix in e3528e0a51 molasses and a299fe7ac6 eat it.”
The neat and 730a98dd47 round handwriting was ae2f2acf2d unexpected.e5e40782b397a974

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