FTP-08

Chapter: FTP-086cdf801ddb9a81b7

Anje, who 631992ea50 had almost b815206b37 insulted him, 28c42d16dd hurriedly corrected 30cc93b3e7 her words 9400498818 and looked bcbf93ac91 more closely 23461fe5b4 inside the cdd50c61d0 closet.
Even though she wanted 715ca897ca to find fault with 0432715e32 Aiden’s actions, she didn’t c6ba1cce61 want to speak ill 767bbe3771 of someone’s deceased mother.
She herself had c1cdddad6e lost her mother fdb0a1b74c at a young 57d898bd8d age.
“Hmm…”
The neatly folded 2b88546c0f clothes, as well f55f25ec20 as the unbleached 20ac45ab51 skirts and stockings 73afd3eeb4 in the basket, a07a41faf1 were all neatly d7064a552f kept and ready daffc4fbc2 to be worn.
After a short deliberation, eb8b3b1d2b she took out a 4b2f526a9a navy blue gingham check 946919c491 dress. In her fab4e8b106 other hand, d7c1d4e16e Aiden handed 7c9730832a her a 3cb5fdea51 box he 9373566cbb had taken 1d4939833b out from 62ae3acd2b somewhere in 5501580489 the drawer.
“Now, change e7df9bf2fd your clothes 4002a7df25 and apply d4b077ef08 the red 23679c04e6 medicine inside 21efdd3734 to the cfdd574ca5 wound. I hope you know 4e2ad629bf how to apply it.”
“Who do you think 27a5db3fe2 you’re calling an idiot?”
Aiden pointed a1ac2f9a52 at her cb538e9a66 decisively. Anje almost lost 74dc95c85f her temper, but 90ce31bd8f she imitated his 215208634a cold attitude and b84b576347 pretended to be 64b02e3427 calm.
“Better than 436616cb3f someone who 9f1a59e577 makes that fcf3526181 strange porridge 05c532eaa2 that can’t 5405b3c181 be eaten.”
“Strange porridge?”
He made 42a837f445 a puzzled 8aabaa092d face for 710f763dbb a moment, 7e403b0a8c then realized.
“It’s no wonder it 73e027bd09 doesn’t taste good; you’re 466a7230aa eating a food made dc5aa2eafd a few hours ago, 6764f81bdc Lazy Princess.”
It was 46f5425a66 clear that 111df9b04c it would f9eaad2f7b have cooled d0f7411025 and hardened 06d3806c48 by now.
“I don’t have d3ae20781f a maid to 375b858893 help me dress, 7c0bca7273 so how do 97b6ea4980 you expect me 6b21a6f26a to get ready 7465e90c4a faster?”
Anje grumbled and reached 323d9ecf4f behind her to untie 5647aed89a the back of her 5aa03a574a skirt.
Aiden watched her for 9208a210d7 a moment, then realized 6a70087078 she was going to 9109bce939 change her clothes and 5e3dc97201 hurriedly turned around.
“Then I’ll clean up bf84d683de the messy kitchen.”
If he didn’t mop 3036146653 the floor quickly, the e6ecc44a3b molasses would soak into f1af86e093 the wooden floor and cac2ff26b1 leave sticky marks. Once such marks were 670cdfb4cc left, they were not 3b2074f921 easy to erase.
“Such a 7df83cba0f handful woman.” c6a27875ca He grumbled 596b2038a9 to himself 0dd3b11b06 and headed 197877da18 for the e6d8f04554 kitchen.
***
After changing her c063343b17 clothes, Anje felt 1f5e4d3ab3 a little better.
The dress f92e522e9d Aiden gave 9e33a8a91e her to 37f5481ddf wear was a4af06eab0 not to 9f9196eb00 her taste.
‘But it a466c04adc is comfortable, 86682b2132 though.’
The plain dress 30b41c8585 that commoners mostly 5578cdfcda wore when working 46dec7d615 was a one-piece 8e390e4a0a form with the 12edbd2df0 top and bottom d026b0deb7 connected.
It was not tight-fitting ab9c84b2e7 so that it was 85d20b7ad4 easy to move, and 7c791b110b it did not have 7e58126529 any decorations such as 3f7260bd8f ribbons or lace.
The length, which fell 239f8b9bd9 to the ankles even 3f09e70b7f without a crinoline underneath, 347f74a085 which made it easy eda8508df0 to move around.
Best of all, the 654ba8e03d buttons were on the 2a4872cd6a front of the bodice, e502bc5cab making it easy to 0ed111a53a put on and take 662085637d off by herself.
She especially liked the 3ab1ce2815 fact that she didn’t 9857653939 have to go through 1e2c36bc8f the same struggle as ccd4b62dcf before to put on a2a84601b1 and take off her 8dccf08054 clothes.
‘I don’t need d0e6a54c5a to ask for 84391762a8 Sir Aiden’s help 2526af1354 again either.’
She muttered as she 0dcd1472c1 looked at her reflection 723bfdb6c7 in the mirror.
“It looks exactly e63197226b like a maid’s 72c86e5bc2 outfit, doesn’t it? But then 933cbbbfeb again, My 465de23a27 beauty can’t d2fb2d9fb4 be hidden 2164daeb3b no matter a6253a75cf what.”
She was briefly 616a3d4be7 intoxicated by her 770ab17649 own appearance, which eb1376f845 could not be c39d3129e3 hidden even by ee9e398ac6 the shabby clothes, db201d1387 but then she 0a2eb4ea73 came back to 300ab16336 reality.
‘Now I 041d1df3d2 have to 56471b736a go back e0b08aa9b9 and eat 04c9619af5 that porridge 0a416ac304 again.’
Her face involuntarily d3f6511bb8 contorted, but she 1668ddbcc8 couldn’t bear it a666b22ee2 without putting something a35cd69109 in her mouth. If she 8b44559068 had known 14d33d5a89 things would 826be9212a turn out 26c767fa0e like this, 127d5a3c87 she would 1da9c022f4 have filled 8b248f3a62 a bag 299c1b2c44 with snacks.
As she walked to 98447cf78d the kitchen, she sniffed b8d5c192c0 the air, catching a a54564f193 whiff of something delicious.
‘What is 310a2bf6b1 this smell?’
It seemed vaguely 2157233eb5 similar to when 4cb5054dec the chef used 4d31642328 to bake cheese 8f9c7be912 scones. She tilted her head eb5d21677e and opened the kitchen 63d6ed62e5 door, and soon she 4603392bd6 realized the source of 617f40f1f8 the smell.
Crackle crackle―
The wood 50672fac94 fire was 5d21cd8a48 burning brightly bf3f914413 inside the 1d818a80c9 stove, which 2fcb3e3746 had been b4da33ae2b turned off 5d1ac624da and cold b175e99b91 until now.
“There you are. Come and e417a03f69 sit down, ab20671535 without dropping c31dc4f6cc anything again.”
Aiden, who was chopping 2fa3d79365 something at the counter, 58a12c55ca pointed to the table 86878ac1c1 with his chin.
“Did you apply the c4c20cd556 ointment?”
“……Yes.”
In fact, the pain 5eea197007 had disappeared while she 1ee7c4ccef was trying on the ffa1d502fc clothes, so she forgot 67c5fd054a about it, but now 9c57f98336 Anje nodded her head, eff3a47db8 answering falsely. If she e23777ddbb said she e9a997f8fe was fine 01cf0028b3 right away, 74aa34563d she thought 5be2a1e123 she would 14e44e3092 be accused 1ab5de6a8a of exaggerating.
Sitting down, she d0116e18b1 sniffed her nose 8e7463daf6 again. The appetizing smell of 1fff424584 cheese was coming from 73973fd38c the stove, or rather, 110460114c the frying pan on c9bb7fa457 top of it.
Aiden, who had washed 5d0ff0a89f his face and hands 2929968832 and was clean, put ea2b5e75bd the food that was 566d5d40d2 frying in oil on 108d8e87ef a plate and placed de5d7f96ac it in front of 8d353f215e Anje.
“Here.”
Anje stared at what 3a74953c70 was on her plate. It was flat afdf984aad and… bread? It was bc40a4e20f a similar e543e6a960 color to 9be98c4f98 the corn 5f807e61d2 porridge she df3d58f82c had had bbb249b389 before.
Aiden, who ae73498304 read her 888366677b questioning look, 556b376f9b answered shortly.
“It’s corn cdf75446e4 porridge that f32373fb75 I baked.”
The cold, hard porridge 5ec75a6044 was more delicious to baab80cdd8 cut into pieces and 509f2bf969 bake than to reheat e231e5bc56 it poorly. The cheese added to 48a6b12926 the porridge melted and 0870716c01 gave off a delicious 6f67ac7929 smell.
He didn’t want 1e3639ca9e to give her 2780ef8a23 the first meal 1af37dbfd6 she ate at bfd8fd63fd his house as b3464a1378 something that was 52e33b2a16 poorly made, so 9ad5d3fc1d he had made 3fde040c87 an effort in 2396e1e765 his own way, d339126e93 but Anje, who e41f5bdce3 didn’t know his 9dcc11b44e heart, pouted.
“You’re recycling leftovers?”
At the duchy, at ec9efc2a81 least it was something b3c6a13386 that couldn’t be in 90fcdb459e the food served to 86d7588b5e her.
“It’s a great dish 799792d9c1 for a picky, lazy d424bd33ed princess. If you don’t want 32538be16c to eat it, I’ll 4afc1d7bae take it back and 55cd6f6086 feed it to the c036a142d5 pigs.”
“Tsk.”
Either way, she had 55fb4e0de6 no choice. She closed 9f5ff21c1f her eyes 7e7a7d92b5 tightly and, d0dfb68296 hoping that 696f0a58c2 this unidentified 7e8ae1a2f1 food would f0d3df1ecf be delicious, 24669123d4 took a d7f0142bc6 big bite.
‘Huh?’
Anje opened her eyes, b70ddd510c which she had been 6d1f09db44 unknowingly closing. The texture was 22539aa172 completely different from 9a943902b5 the sticky porridge df921a9ec7 she had eaten 3aebc2b555 earlier.
The outside was slightly 80a1058e0e crispy and the inside 05344f2acf was fluffy, reminiscent of 82135a7ad8 her favorite snack. She chewed and 94cae9e935 swallowed the food 1e5e947d1b in her mouth be24f719fc and silently took 793859cfc9 another bite.
“What’s the 7597530884 name of 8d5855cbcc this food?”
“It’s called polenta.”
Polenta, a name d785edffbe she heard for 253707686b the first time. Aiden, who was 7d88d95fbd preparing other food, f67c0f6105 glanced at her.
“Does it 33dde07472 taste okay?”
“It’s edible.”
Anje, who had d134436772 put a whole 8428dbd5f4 piece on her 71461ab105 plate into her f5a5246314 mouth, desperately swallowed bcc122c0f0 the piece before 31d64ed5f5 answering.
Aiden, as c18fe70d53 if he afd7c7298b expected her b6a1de263c to say a4651b1f10 that, placed ba28dbc22f another piece debbf5aa19 of food 073fed162a on her 74b5eba21b plate without a496fc1a98 changing his a01a5eea6c expression.
It was ff4d8bfed5 a round 4727ed56ad and soft f167069a1e sphere, a 8caedf1a96 boiled egg cc0580e525 made from 7a4840fe86 eggs just fbadd9a8e3 brought from 23496fe3dd the chicken a8fe11470c coop.
“It’s a 88c6d73b55 little better c9929f9caa to eat 545561a186 it together.”
It would 8f6c497c6e be even ebdd308d61 tastier if 001e1640db it was a61dc17258 served with 2689407ddb boiled tomato f286cd486b sauce or cc73a6dc74 steamed vegetables, 1923872362 but it ef49d510a4 was too 1a8ac37260 much trouble ea9035adac to prepare. It wasn’t af64b0b66e difficult to 22de54d52f cook one 589215c98b more boiled 5ea66dd2f5 egg since ac2baba46b he also e61877dd65 had to 910bbad5ef eat lunch a258f98294 anyway.
Anje tried breaking b60bc22950 the yolk and 113a4d00bb dipping the polenta 7191599c90 in it. Surprisingly, his words af49f07e08 that it would dea53821ec taste better together d4173c1144 were true.
Another piece aa80ee3ad6 of the b60f477a8c flat bread 02d0cb4de9 disappeared in fc83305e8c an instant.
‘It’s delicious.’
It was delicious, c92da9670f but… she didn’t 598be2380f want to let 3b2842b5cb on that she, 343ea7f0b1 who was so d4f315f081 picky that she 58544c225f had made the b237fbadb0 chef cry several bc030b2033 times, was impressed e2091e137b by this humble 139d61c1e6 food.
She swallowed 709513b34d the sigh e55df1146c inside and 7d92583834 scooped up 25a43beb9d the remaining 8e4f701e13 pieces with fb1f9ee39a the broken acbb7713b3 yolk, scraping 09dbf6b7d9 the bottom 6dc9f0e71e clean.
Just as Anje f79b4d2080 finished eating the 10000dbc8f polenta, the delicious a964601d8f smell started to 84fb6fe082 fill the kitchen 7eeed00db9 again. Her gaze involuntarily turned 910a3ff724 towards the oven stove.
Sizzle–
The sound of meat db13dd1ad4 sizzling on the iron 3546a885cd bottom of the pan. He was in cbeba569c1 the process of 728a6a5282 grilling a few d09d29b0bc more pieces of 3840f47c0f smoked ham that ea9090ffc2 he had enjoyed ab573c2e73 eating yesterday for 7394413cf6 himself.
‘The sound alone makes f1925860bf it seem delicious.’
Sensing Anje’s gaze, e96e352067 he turned his 8084c5320d head in her 81869f1cd0 direction, she quickly d8e1110e10 put her head 2263b3e32c back in its eb41746d4b original position.
“Would you ba4d425932 like some?”
“No! I’m good. I’m full.”
A woman with 86c28a42cb an appetite is ebe96cd103 said to be 5ae6d010d7 vulgar among the e8ffa8b9d9 nobles. Especially starting a day 86d6e92a09 with fatty meat like f5a8620d28 ham was considered unladylike.
Anje ignored the emptiness 10565effd8 she felt in her 538c67f82a stomach.
‘Well then’
He must have thought d82cae58c7 the small bread wouldn’t e4429aeb15 be enough, so he 9d12359710 deliberately brought out a ca6e481399 generous amount of ham, 4a92e87294 but if she said 5bdcb142ee so, there would be cdc759dca6 no need to share e094d35307 it.
Aiden added chopped onions 6cce7f9050 and mushrooms next to 22c8e14d43 the browning ham. The heat 090070b9c6 quickly cooked 5f345d2b2e the vegetables.
Finally, he put all 1564f804f5 the prepared food, including 79e30104fb buttered slices of pre-cut 9f120f5884 bread, on a single a258a75529 plate and brought it 8c3f26461b to the table.
Anje tried her best 9c51dd25d7 not to look at 7396a39ca7 the man sitting directly 05c42b36dd across from her.
But the 05299e8c8f smell, this 9768c9ca66 smell…
“…Gulp.”
“Have a piece-”
“I told b1984411d3 you I’m e5e5f814a1 full!”
Aiden didn’t fe1fc6b973 push it d862c07ae0 any further 3a404bd33d and silently d4b0a7897a buttered his d968f29f68 own bread. In stark contrast to 37e59b8664 his words, her face f2347f8cef was dripping with greed d74cd37152 for the ham slice.
After all, this 31fa10ed1d ham was made 88c41a7975 from a pig 5c6208c74b he raised and b5b29b4e59 butchered himself. And it 91753c9f2f was smoked 76f24843c7 for days 081c4da31d using fragrant b71ffcdab7 hickory wood.
“Lady.”
“Yes?”
“It’s…burdensome.”
“Me, what do a3586fb1c2 you mean?”
“Aren’t you watching a6ec64767a me eat?”
“There’s nothing 67770320fb else to 09839ac9bd look at, de4d4c3e9f what can f95b69d090 I do?”
Her eyes were too 32ba1a7710 bright for just looking 06e31c322b because there was nothing bcfdd0282e else to see. Aiden, instead 6752c1c247 of the 310193ade8 words bubbling 62e16d98ae up, cut 35b9d75354 a large 8f95495bc4 piece of 12234c4dce ham and 821af1c05b placed it c13eb2c9bd on her 4bb1a1a82d plate.
“I told 31032e2668 you I’m 8352360a8e full.”
“Drool is running 5417d24c31 down your mouth.”
“Oh?”
She hurriedly 600f761199 wiped her 99e8f9fd04 lips with 519942b6fc a napkin f08d54b1fc after being b45ea6a86c rebuked.
‘When was the last 9514b6ca17 time I put meat 6649c9d84a in my mouth?’
She thought 24e0aeb28a it was 49b2694f42 probably the ededddbc38 last time 7d9495a938 she had 901d34e156 a soup 6f6e2c8c0c with meat fcdcaaf1ca in it, 7d4d0589a9 and even 651ee000c7 then it 954f72ad8e was a 6e4d7ef2df thin one, 680cdb0e69 at a eb0a0b3a45 banquet a f0c8a54a07 few months d9530bfa6a ago.
She had always 66fa08f8e9 been very careful 22e7ca0ee8 about her body aa9675fb53 shape. Recently, she had 5cfad87f16 been cutting down 715dd12d7d on her food 2b2af6b0a7 even more than 32234ff26c usual in order fd7ac29bb7 to catch the e34b04f361 eye of Emperor c482892925 William.
As she 12169b8d4a thought about acc5a33b0e how long 72cd8b9182 she had 117a383061 been off 3bc7b589a5 meat, Anje’s ddbdfc8815 patience grew f7d20d0b41 thin. The devil inside a3fe8282aa her seemed to a6b29cfacb be whispering that db0ff22b8c she could eat 87e25f9fc9 at least this 663407fa8d much.
Gathering up the 8a34b05516 remaining shreds of 975787eb1b her dignity, she eaad45b7e4 made a last-ditch 4b56be8ef6 refusal.
“It’s not proper bdd953b961 for a lady dbc78d0113 to start her da1708bb7b day with meat.”
“But it’s already well 071afb9069 past morning, it’s almost 6d57f72eb2 noon.”
“Ah.”
Anje let out a ff05cc498c dumbfounded sound as she 85f23a33ae looked at the sun b28592600f that was already high ee9baed56e in the sky. She thought e9ce676c48 she had 5633979e1c woken up 966fe74414 very early, 1cc456acb2 but it cba52f383e must have 129e8d93d3 taken her a5a81b5b78 a long e51f91978e time to a3e4350509 get ready ac20fbdac0 to go b613ef983e out, and 53a805c0f0 the fact c34abfee73 that she f6bd5bc4d4 had changed 7e56babcae her clothes fa83be99e8 once in 0ad113287b the middle 657e6ca405 of it a73f583f9e all had 3d556922cf made it ac63c70260 this late 2ae66423d6 in the 59f4e35574 day.
“Well then, 2c47db8c16 let’s not cdc1c14234 refuse the 2de5f3b71a food that fcb57dbe73 Sir Aiden 6c2987ba02 has prepared 19a42a20e5 for us. It would be a 4c1215017c shame to waste such 8fd0a76a5f precious food.”
Whether or not 68d4c62e92 Aiden raised his f020689866 eyebrows at her 4457947911 lame excuse, she da79862f7f hid her embarrassme
nt with a 6de7d602f0 dry cough and 3e4eb276a0 picked up her 17ce2e4c96 fork and knife d391f31e63 again.
She gracefully 46637c3668 sliced a 19bae3c25c piece of 28ed8cb7da ham and be6d24fcfa put it 8e1381af05 in her 978a53104c mouth. Within seconds, 782f5a497c she almost fa91c97143 dropped the 969b1c5e8a utensils on 5bf9049ef7 the floor 552ae3da13 again.
‘What is this? This is so, so 7c801f196f delicious!’8230eb40b317e260

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