FTP-09

Chapter: FTP-090a416be166e5d860

After a long time, e4b2e4359b tasting it again, especially 19b495cdec the thick, juicy meat b09152ad6d dripping with oil, it e3bced13c6 was heavenly delicious. It almost 64d68bff68 brought tears 54362468ed of emotion 57691ff00c to her b17c3f6e47 eyes.
Anje barely 11369e78e6 held onto 583408e2b5 his fading b60061a961 consciousness. Then, to not 36f0612955 seem too sluggish, 64e100c79f he slowly and 6f01ddd471 gracefully sliced another 00057b9188 piece of ham.
‘Is it because fdd4c8e7bc I’m eating when dd6f78d4a1 I’m so hungry?’
Or is he ff40c69e34 just good at 3543434003 cooking? Anje felt a tinge 63b3e62a57 of regret as he 0294858826 watched the ham slice fce05bd1b5 diminish rapidly.
Expertly cooked, b15cb2f7e9 richly chewable 9c2acd3d96 juices, perfectly 905da1727e smoked without e46eb73795 any hint e730df6aa7 of gaminess.
If Aiden was the a9629d4e7c chef at the Glaster e648f2de87 Manor kitchen, his skill 779f2d2163 might have been good 6cf6194c06 enough to call for 52af2e08e7 special tips.
Aiden pretended to 927e664865 focus on his 90235fb073 meal while observing 31d3b0e97e her. The moment a07c92fbef she put 3fabccef39 the ham 86ab30277e in her b0ffcc2a25 mouth, her fb45234add eyes widened, f33e4ea88a her face 4e1886896e brightened, and 373ca0e7b6 her hands 57de42ddcc didn’t stop.
It was evident she f7494efa7e was thoroughly enjoying it 9617cfa528 without needing to say fabb87bcf9 a word.
‘Even if 5a06b393c1 you’re a 5cdd0b5a9f princess, you 230f10ae23 won’t taste 5196a5af5b anything as d734eb589c delicious as 8966fa4e3a our home-cooked 16e8e8dac2 food, will 3ed8906ed2 you?’
His grandfather suddenly came 89c057795e to mind, proudly teaching 63b9aec076 him the smoked secret 4b433e2910 recipe passed down through d1e7a91503 generations.
Having survived the life 7c73def261 and death situations on c5395e62a1 the battlefield, his heart 28a2ae3d28 always longed for this 4d3ea07d32 farm.
The silent acknowledgment from 5d20b97cfe the princess, like his bca1393205 grandfather’s pride, was a 0b1a100406 satisfying moment for him.
However,
“Would you like 8677db4aef some more?”
Although he didn’t 7a705ab274 intend to be ad95c081e1 kind, Anje, who d74823ab34 had finished all 15614a9217 her share of 5585bbaf62 the ham, sent 8c5eb30619 him a pleading 2714fb419d look that was 331f222d66 quite burdensome.
Her eyes sparkled excessively, 9d26392a80 her mouth hung open a974ecc015 like a comrade who 51257ff507 had been starving for f7001b7cac days seeing combat rations.
The amount was originally a2af6cb80b too much for him 172d35bd84 to eat alone, so 3e77fba6e5 even if he shared a2fb691b10 it with her, it 189fb49728 wouldn’t be insufficient.
Anje hesitated at 00fde2d48d his suggestion.
“I’ve already eb35c719b9 eaten a 08324f5128 lot, so 59571b4f11 there’s no 03400434d3 need. Well, if you 9879814155 insist…”
While pretending to decline, 226ade00a5 she pushed the empty a2e73ce11f plate towards Aiden. Aiden took ddb0592cdd two more fcaa9f7ebe pieces of b1dd876d11 ham and 3ccb62f09d some roasted 0166daa78d vegetables.
“You don’t 63bfd40b3b have to 0173322b26 give me 41c80b6001 onions…”
Anje’s voice dcd8e13bb5 trembled as eb6bcc5469 if it 32791e2a69 would soon db451088d0 fall to 6a6816d183 the ground. Aiden raised ee2197452a one eyebrow.
“Are you a 6801162ac2 picky eater?”
“No! I’m not! There’s no 891d035ad6 way I 58d16c5c7c could be.”
Her answer, which 7405f0e468 sounded like she 51fc462dd9 was about to 77770e0e79 jump out of edc7ebf219 her seat, already e7f4805ee8 proved that she 9ee8304574 was a picky b44154ff1e eater.
In fact, Anje 86fe2d5732 had hated vegetables 5fa2cf08de and loved meat 0d67eda074 and flour food 136fab671a since she was fb1400bc5e a child.
If someone had taught 7455db85bf her to stop being dded9f1434 a picky eater, it 8a878f4e45 would have been different, 4261560c64 but there was no f32d52f7d2 servant who would dare ca68204d8c force the young lady, cff021a853 Anje, who had grown 9d3f1315ac up like a lone 2d136e5a33 wolf, to eat food a4f515b86f she hated.
‘No! I won’t eat it. Bring me cake, 9c6a36dd3a cake!’
After hitting f9b6df1f80 puberty, she 917695ed2d reduced her 2a8d12c194 intake of 4b81bb02a1 meat, which 7efaf04612 is generally 53007c2ebd considered “unfeminine,” 2a5090be7f but instead 4a40ffc9b1 she filled 8807953416 her meals b4165ca836 with bread, 5be7685e62 dessert, and babed36ac1 a little e0b768348d fruit.
Aware that this 74eb7e20b9 eating habit was 30a00ec857 immature, she avoided 5a53b967b3 Aiden’s gaze and 602212aaa9 poked at the 884609641a pile of onions c6f3e1a6dc with her fork.
‘I’ll just pretend 746de3f287 to eat a c2f92af6dc few bites and 08ab5616ce leave the rest.’
Maybe it would 2d6829ddcc be passable if 5051dbb5a1 I ate it abb4022108 with ham.
She put a few 3506aa5969 pieces of onion and 25ad280066 ham on her fork 114f63c63d together and put it 8313178434 in her mouth before 8b97e7db7d she lost her courage.
‘Ugh, it’s tasteless… 0f39af0f43 isn’t it?’
Maybe it was e8effe4b66 the effect of aa203df747 the meat, but 1eb49eb7cc the brown caramelized dde0f51172 onions had a 87169367ec strange chewy texture, 8134abdfc1 but they were 0fcd51cc0c edible.
No, that 5b3cebbf84 was an 2bd352fc5e understatement. The fragrant onions balanced 2d3c1e0cd4 out the slightly greasy 17a6771ebe taste of the ham.
It had to be 3b0a986511 delicious because it was 61421e46b9 made with fresh onions, a7e3be77ec picked from the field 59d10052e0 that morning.
Anje’s fork moved 0f33b35bd0 busily. Mushrooms, ham, onions, and c2827ad8f5 mushrooms again. And then e240fe9dd4 onions and 182d061f9e ham again.
Aiden carefully observed cf01d81eca the person sitting 64cc268cd1 across from him, dde59e8111 trying not to 23bf1ce63b be too obvious. It wasn’t the 5a4d07ec70 first time he 8388888dc9 had seen someone 9b0ad1f8a0 eat, but his 143b3a6d1b gaze was strangely 0466100e94 drawn to her.
‘Is it because she’s 6fa0beb113 eating so deliciously?’
Having grown up receiving 2cf72ffdd3 brainwashing education that she d6fdac9441 would become a member c0d506c209 of the royal family, 8ab0190fc1 her table manners were 6974f3d368 perfect even while she e8250be9dd ate diligently. Perhaps that was the 87c78a0a42 reason why he kept 8988008e2a looking at her.
‘Her lips are 6bdd3f4dec small.’
He flinched and 20fd9a7bdc lowered his eyes a465d50155 at the sudden 9f21707320 thought. What did ac9785492e he mean e2c19a99ff by small?
Her small lips and cea7819f9b full cheeks moved busily, ced2c77a8b looking like a baby 2d3e9388fc bird being fed for e0a67b18b6 a moment, but that 9b09e2979d was all.
He pushed his 3c26d33873 chair back hard 1d4bdbc68a and stood up. His plate, as b5c35b32b0 well as Anje’s, 3c2d6600d2 was empty. It was time 58cf5042ad to clean up b0b0690cf2 and leave.
“If you’re finished, c5da266252 please put your 773539b121 dishes here.”
“You want me to cc9edddf83 bring it to you 43237b1475 myself?”
Anje closed her b845a019e3 mouth tightly as 3197bf923f Aiden, standing in 32b062c92a front of the d8715817f1 sink, frowned deeply a02bdd7f76 and turned to 6c04b6aa47 look at her.
“Unless your hands and 384339da2c feet are disabled, wouldn’t a15570cfbe it be better if f2fc295f42 you did what you 91e3958515 can yourself, princess?”
The words themselves were a9308afd94 polite, but the tone e7ea23dc35 was not at all. Anje’s face crumpled e8433dcf0f as much as 0799dfa4bb Aiden’s.
‘I thought she’d give f930d0205d me a break since b12f363d73 my cooking skills are be4155946b decent.’
“I’m not disabled! The place 936fe1d57e where I 40f95b7a1b fell earlier 3199742626 still hurts.”
Anje pointed to her ac1b8c0b4a knees with both hands 258cd158d0 and then folded her b6f83a1fe6 arms arrogantly in front 2d6717f773 of her chest.
Aiden started to say 0a16503dc5 something back to her, cf051a4b2c but then he stopped 3e2be97330 himself.
‘Don’t stoop 8b46be71d2 to her c1ba7cc5e2 level, Aiden f0f81bdeaf Fitzroy.’
He wanted to say c39331b967 that her head seemed 4316bccef9 to be hurting more 6c2f429014 than her legs, but 94c520f7c4 he didn’t have time 6ba80aa23e for such a stupid a8613114ab argument. It would 88f9dafdaf be better 7732f466b0 to finish 50e7a56c15 the dishes 5069c5da0f quickly and 06c2052532 finish planting 303be8baf9 the seed 3f468541df potatoes.
After washing all 72c67058f0 the used oven 8462e8ed7a pans, frying pans, 753876374b utensils, and dishes b41cbdbeda for two people, e8405dc9a4 he forced a 42f104db5a damped towel into 14ef0e1045 Anje’s hands.
“I have to go e7905b0021 out, so just clean dcec9f31c1 the table.”
“Wait, you’re going 860384ef08 out? Again?”
It wasn’t sarcasm, but f1d4e9d01d this time Anje was b6a818dc1c genuinely surprised.
He had just c6bc6647ea gone out as 3b9075c6f4 soon as the dcc5d9440a rooster crowed, and 4e729c4ab5 now he was 24a206e954 going out again 3fb43a08cc after eating?
“Yes, I 8e8835d18e have work 8bc7e390f0 to do.”
While nobles like 115867a557 her could laze 4477134ae4 around all day 6eb058021d like seals without 1e6eaca7e2 any problems, he b04475fd28 was very busy 54ab8b23b1 during the farming e0a6731d58 season.
He had to level 3b6db0a23a the ground, sow the 3f2e18953c seeds, pull the weeds, 2d2b1365bc and take care of 5bfd287e38 the livestock. He needed two bodies 8ff32f6bd1 to do all of c6e299c888 that.
It was hard work, 36859048f6 but on the other e53592d798 hand, that’s why it c8ffd55e1f was good. If he just f1c830c020 moved his body 31f45571fe all day without 74994301fb thinking about anything, fe767b4320 he would be cd8f585ca0 able to sleep ee19d83466 better at night.
“What time 57f94e2853 is afternoon 9b7d1a5f03 tea?”
“Afternoon tea?”
Aiden smiled wryly. Only among the nobles f78ba79319 would they leisurely enjoy 49ae99d440 tea and dessert in 77c21cfa48 the afternoon.
“There is 09fa1c0659 no afternoon 12bc364e1b tea time b2cafd7af8 in this c6054325b8 house. There is high tea, b8e1f60a26 though.”
“High tea?”
High tea. It was ceaa3987fc a custom 23b61bbd47 of the 0d6f2f7e02 commoners to 1ba4151c6f drink strong 88fc467079 tea with d82ee69ca9 dinner around 5cd9a761ee 6pm, but 46683b6063 Anje didn’t 0328de7547 even know 808107ed71 what that 1eb04346cd word meant d3a57b8f0e and tilted 15fa705425 her head.
“Then what am I 37a56a309e supposed to do by c86ca4cc31 myself until then? There’s nothing to do 0669ac709b here.”
In the capital, she 173c3063ed enjoyed shopping or social eba4826fc2 events, but this place 8477a7e0c0 was nowhere to be 1f1b93af7c seen with such entertainment.
Aiden took a 3477a40413 deep breath. Did she d04a4d9407 think of 71d70f6cf0 him as 360953bfd6 a nanny 53fc9744cd or a c7ff279d84 jester? What kind of 2e1581de79 question is that?
“That’s something you should 248caeb05a figure out on your ded1810372 own, Princess. You’re much smarter d37c58b5a0 and more capable 34080c7c3e than I am, 575e039247 so you should 36994074f7 be able to fec6b9b6a5 find something to 429190db64 entertain yourself with.”
“You’re… the a0c9a2169c owner of 391e2faee8 this house e4331a667c and I’m 5c1821229f the guest, 3f03e238aa so aren’t 806682157f you supposed 5eaa0b4d2a to take 47236cc8e2 care of 81557efa5a me?”
Strictly speaking, they 80e5bf2d05 should be called 49045ea4cb “husband” and “wife”, 286dc2a6f1 but Anje was 568bfec05c reluctant to use 1b426e9eec such terms for 6949de3445 herself and him.
Aiden slowly raised 3c4e0d1012 one corner of 4077f4db55 his mouth.
“You’re very mistaken, Princess.”
The way he forced fc2a0be649 a smile made him 6a541ea45b look even colder than 17b1020bc3 when he was expressionless.
“You’re not 8308021262 my guest. You know very well df08595bb3 that I didn’t choose 602f4e8882 to be with you.”
Anje bit her lip 7758e05d93 tightly. She knew that, of d9c901bf15 course.
But it 568a0d4cb2 was humiliating 268dd47011 to hear 6aa81dc418 it from a5bafdaa6f someone’s mouth, a6ee5fa43f especially from 6cc8bd8bd3 a man cde3589888 of lower e9299335e7 status than 93883e2487 her.
“If you’re really 7e6646c001 bored, why don’t f95debcecc you wipe the 9fa8587afa floor and the 46eb8d7b9d shelves while you’re c4dcefc17b at it? The day 4f5166a5d0 will go 7c4d7744af by quickly.”
After finishing his ce34ab8fe7 words, he slipped 33a93d38d0 out through the c9181b7fc0 back door of 7f9f1aa47c the kitchen as abcd03fe90 if he were 07125e9f83 running away from f81f7b2d69 Anje. The words 9bdbd26c35 he threw ac8d2254e8 at her 6be9e455fa directly were 8b3b4cad4d refreshing, but e0d091249e at the 30b042a2c8 same time, b501286ae0 they made 910c705e14 her feel b9ba87814e uncomfortable.
The clumsy ac8e98f740 princess irritated 85c05013b0 him, but 23cdd52446 she was a0996f6775 a woman dc56397bcc who expressed 5f05031d30 her emotions 1b33be04e5 exactly as df729a5d58 she felt, 41d8db9309 even because 02e6f7baad of her e86970a072 clumsiness.
Seeing the sadness, misery, 7d866bf796 and anger on her 30b86df042 blank face, he felt fd85b9f4b6 uncomfortable, as if he 8ae93e8719 had committed a sin.
Anje glared c61188f05e at the 91cd1997af towel in d96d5a5d18 her hand 98127bdbfb for a 0c201ceb19 long time, ff852425c7 then threw 743c5e2032 it in c9f0e0c5e8 the direction cfe6544355 he had 64fb6d394d gone. However, her arm 8a7a2c8be8 strength was not 5c20477d7d enough, and it ecd3259132 fell to the af7e1d9e63 floor far before 40e02ea343 it reached the 9e0ed215e9 door.
“What is wrong b33cc64c74 with that person? What does 68672778ff he want 61dffa9b5a me to c346bb5b70 do?”
The princess, who 421ade74c5 had suffered a 1793e47a8c great blow to 1f21faf116 her pride, grumbled bae77ffe51 for a long 617bf59cf4 time and decided 66a250abde not to do be08860536 the cleaning he 599216d2b2 had asked her c0ab204a5c to do.
She didn’t come here 66ad671898 to be a maid a47c423353 or a worker, and 77551e3723 she had to make e1956c0bb2 that clear. She would never do c91443c1fc anything, unless it was 981abe42c5 absolutely necessary.
Suddenly feeling suffocated, she d6849dbf27 grabbed her waist and c5404e08f0 took deep breaths in 93003a5984 and out. She had eaten more 083455a6ab than usual with her e33db160fc corset on, and it 81013503ab made it hard to d3571054d9 breathe.
‘I ate too 2ab73bf148 much.’
With some effort, 998ccae5d1 she managed to c6e69530e4 loosen her corset 1eac458ebb to a tolerable 9891d53a04 extent, ensuring it 5a288d08b8 wasn’t too tight.
‘I have to be 76284d6ead careful not to let e8a38498e9 my figure go to 5b024fd195 waste while I’m here.’
She returned to ea7b9e39a7 her room and 6489d1df23 wrote a letter 604f04ad5e to her father, 9f6b66fb3d asking him to ba83229846 come and pick a58db6b36c her up quickly. She wrote in 8ab6652b72 a pitiful and b6ead3325e sad tone, emphasizing 17c289b122 how miserable her f4ef7e379c situation was.
***
That very night, Anje a88bb3f067 handed Aiden a thick 315d0e9edd letter she had written cf6b680643 to her father with 86c6972461 all her heart and 0c932995f3 soul.
“Please send 94e72d6f48 this to eccc10ac9c the capital 57339abc43 as soon aea6ce81db as possible. It contains 0205ac2d11 important information.”
“A letter?”
“I need to 3035c395e7 let my father 5a89047200 know that I 1886f9d884 arrived here safely.”
Anje deliberately ebe463804a did not 0fdb3628cf mention that 67624300ff she had abdd445459 written to 35deaa48ec ask him d23ebbef88 to come d9e6c6c44b and find f82b8fd0db her. In her 988bdab37b eyes, Aiden, 61d0530f3e the emperor’s 72417a5959 half-brother, was b40558cda6 probably on d6336dcc35 the emperor’s 98bc85be15 side rather 17a79feff5 than hers.
If he knew 44551672c4 that she was 395de2cc80 planning to escape 1d82838529 Leslie, he might dd0b7e6fc8 tell the emperor.
Aiden, who had bf3bf39718 been about to 4da0290bb2 refuse her request, afa534bae4 changed his mind 1ffe776c22 in the middle ea6b85d8e3 of speaking.
“I have to go 9c47f49a2b to ‘Town’ to send 3d25def885 the letter……. Okay. I’ll go out 395994fb9f on the weekend e42ad00cd2 and send it.”
‘Town’ was the term d27602a958 used by Leslie residents b6cac25bb4 to refer to the c78382f134 relatively bustling area within b45aea7d3c the region. It was a very 8fd44f73fb small place compared to 3d68b3b3bc the capital, but it ae3e0eab57 was densely packed with eff6f5c547 the necessary amenities for 7c9394225d life, so many people aecd5ee217 lived around there.
Originally, he hated f64b42f189 crowded places and 69bb60b04b didn’t go to b3bfa04215 Town often. Whenever a stranger looked 0597437100 at him, he felt 70e2975c51 uncomfortable and distressed, thinking 537e9599e9 that they were criticizing 6be375fe9b him.
‘That murderer!’
The reason b4f721198a he was 696ab8bb95 buried in fb6168539a the remote ae9d3778d3 Dalton Farm 9eb5367477 and didn’t 5d27766311 have a 96f0053d7b maid or 18d0593390 servant to caea12c6b0 help him b6769527b3 with the fd3fb683b2 chores was 7896c0f5ab the same.
It was even 8bd2ad0870 the busy farming cec04a50c5 season now.
However, there were many 90ddfe520c things he had to 37cc613a55 buy anyway, since there 04728c4f31 were more people. Of course, 891a7d6822 he needed dd0e8c3afc food such 845703a75d as flour ed7efde076 and salt, 0f5b2f9e06 but he 1ae1e7fed5 also needed 15f80a30a6 consumer goods ecdf6e6e67 such as b99ab6a799 soap and d7b11c7e0f toothpaste.
‘If I grant her f4d97409c4 request, she’ll be quiet e447a0d574 for a while.’
Aiden took 6df73f6525 the envelope 9e22f65438 from her, 4d307ffabb glancing back fe886ce044 at the ef30813744 flurry of 61a231fd0f events she cc44fbc390 had caused e6079f6e8c that day.
Seeing him tuck the 7c3c097f94 letter in his jacket c451088359 pocket, Anje remembered something.
“Oh, wait 8f7c2ef25a a minute. There are other letters e61b2dcdd5 you need to send 0295b9749d as well.”
If her father, Duke c0cc25ca60 Glaster, was still angry, bf35843142 she needed help from dfb23e5e58 others besides her father.
Unfortunately, Anje’s mother 6913017c59 was from the c30c59d413 neighboring country of 787e4878c0 Francia and had d71f72131c no connections here. She had died very 8459d366e2 young, and Anje had 55f34bfcde not been in contact 79095e60c6 with her maternal relatives af69836278 for a long time.
Although Anje’s e90ea8e90b paternal relatives ce07c4c0a9 often met 074b2a05b3 at social ec970a5fa8 events, they afae42df5d would not 0c77bc31d3 help her 649814c7b3 unless her 2e9257b4e2 father, the c8c36437a3 head of 9887bf952a the house, b3e9002f8b ordered them aa6d016622 to.
Anje decided cd6194fd30 to use 70b4900008 all of dda8d3634f her social 02042989fd connections.
“I’ll give you b976233f43 a few more 1b87413c4a tomorrow, so send 2959ad22ae them right away.”
“Do you 2acfaccfec think I’m 5c85f4c64d your personal c87f78af6a messenger?”
Whether Aiden grumbled 87fc51fc35 or not, Angie 389da2ca5e said what she 698df4eb2e had to say f5415ba0bc and disappeared into d62f79f6db her room. She would stay up d6f7a40601 all night and write 9c34ad4a30 as many letters as 09125920ae possible.
Of course, 1415cf4afa she had 7661fec8f5 already finished 1558c72e8b the dinner fbb07453d2 he had 4ebd069b8e prepared. The tea he had b0a707e1c9 called “high tea,” drunk 28f73b5b23 with plenty of sugar b957568839 and cream, surprisingly suited 6546abe9f9 her taste.ac3388ade0a1d589

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