FTP-10

Chapter: FTP-109d3e29dd33371563

After sending 104a406cea several thick 3c7a364084 letters to 0f2f72ed2d the capital, 0d1d2e95ff time seemed cf70a58a67 to move e8c9c33041 slowly for 32f876aa8a Anje.
She would wake up 8eda932d4b in the morning, eat 306af40cf1 the meal Aiden prepared 40c29bf210 for her, and lie 51ed5c0296 in bed, staring blankly 6fa220ae18 at the wooden grain 38eb5c34a6 on the ceiling.
‘That flat pattern 53026192b8 looks just like 754d826dc0 Mrs. Morris’ nose.’
She was 167da43a85 her fifth cc8d28ae18 governess, and 8830cd66f6 the woman 3f3a84e599 who had bcaa31c9b7 shown her 98b4b123f6 the most 7b181f629e patience. Thanks to 55c92e1fa8 that governess, 0ba6c1e2f9 Anje, who cc3b5552dc had been 02d17a63d4 all over d7e4e2bfb4 the place, 7963feb9f3 was finally 4cacf4fe8b able to c1a2700d3c learn to 3d916976c5 read and 3b7f804b7f write.
‘But she quit after 9a9385b80b arguing with my father.’
After spending 6f6fc5002f the day 62e20eb139 lost in c87e2e9da2 thought, she 793459f5db would have be3450aea9 lunch. She would only have 0c54603aa3 the minimum conversation with 77641845cb Aiden, and stubbornly ignore 74abfa6c85 his requests to do 514ba27073 chores.
Then she 7fe5693e3c would return 360938c953 to her ddc1195e81 room and cdb7604b5c flip through 2e7b58f503 catalogs, predicting f6c1c7ed34 what kind 042681a955 of hats d1b22c0906 would be e447e722ae in fashion 5bda0ae5ae this spring 434b8d8252 and what 674fe9c302 kind of 57d779f55f events would 7fc095666a be happening 712a73d2b3 in the 1dab2d8911 social circles 2eb13abf8c by now.
‘Will Lady Casey 39402c52e0 finally get married ed0a21e154 this year?’
The question of when cd4514a40a Lady Casey, the ‘spinster’ 5df9beced3 who had been engaged 69f8c34bf1 for 10 years, would 1f527840cd finally get married was 5ec82a3db7 a hot topic of 80c18929d5 interest for everyone in f0966a1e76 the social circles.
Anje was also c4421c0fd6 always interested in 3577e59953 such rumors. And to entertain 311a4ae7f5 her, who was 2f0962fc10 at the center 98185f1303 of the social e7af6e82a9 circles, people would a84a7663db tell her all 841095aa4d the rumors they 80809cbdd2 knew.
As she b06e55d599 thought of 953b928d49 her cheerful 9476f0f487 friends, she 5f4c039e39 grimaced at d4e31b4ff5 the unpleasant 5548c6b949 thought.
‘Maybe I’m the talk 539fa171b3 of the social circles 11672c94e4 now.’
How funny 53bfbc533a would it 71690af5c9 be for ed159b3d32 others? The fact c747cf422f that the e3d934c068 Duke of 606f305ade Glasster, who dfa0faccd8 had been 395d834071 bragging about 0805985549 soon producing 98868e8944 an empress, 5e02d72684 was kicked 6b71af21ec out by 8394b9d4cc the new 4ecf3b45fb emperor.
And even more, b48288f109 a concubine-born knight, 632251c85d who was considered 377fbdb55c lowly by the 126c7b7e13 nobles, was to d8a3119189 marry the princess.
‘But someone 8e167fcc3f will pity 9905d38c98 me. I had 50c078d93c a lot fed1a8d520 of close 846fb87a38 friends.’
Anje bit her 44dc6c9fba fingertips to soothe 812294aadf her anxious heart.
Lady Dorothea, 5b865fcf6e who had 498fb6a526 given her 8316811268 a sapphire 69e67ff322 brooch for 9e9291f89a her birthday, 694f40c385 and Lady 9cc6b4f927 Hyde, who 6dbe71915b had introduced 9bcd8e854c her to e76f810dda a good ee2fd0da2a dressmaker because 012e3cbbea their fashion b6c2db5f8f tastes matched bc9da9cdb6 well.
They would 07f00b854b feel sorry 5677398d33 for her 7906a4739c and make a22080ebbe sure no 692aad3c1f bad rumors e0ef5453f5 spread.
Although they might 9ae75442eb not have come 21115eea0b to the wedding 6e2cc265d1 because it was 1cb1dc2d10 rushed and they 8f0db127b4 were worried about 110caff2e5 being seen by efa2bdc505 the emperor……. The generous Anje could 84b5e8aa6a forgive them for that 7b96d1d3db much.
‘Father or whoever, 09db186214 someone must be 50577120ee worried about me.’
When will the reply 02386aacaa come? Would he come and daefb16c4f see me in person? Would he take 4c798e8e94 me with him e52209b2a0 to the capital 75711c769a when he comes?
As her anticipation c901c4a5fd grew, time slowed a6c546847c down even more, b6557a4868 and Anje’s shallow b17e44590c patience began to e1a7e5cc5f wear thin.
About ten days after 0348a62ff6 sending the letter, Anje cb5793a746 urged Aiden, who had 762ad3d0e1 returned for dinner.
“When are you 820ffbb9d0 going to town e6caacd300 again? I need cae8894edf to go a0f50ae522 check if eabd0d0d63 the letter bf59fbcede has arrived.”
Even Anje, who 8162b172e6 was ignorant of bce0ad679f the world, could 473a9c319c easily guess that 655012e5c5 they wouldn’t deliver 6136b0cdb9 a letter to 6acd236383 such a remote 426e5925d3 house.
Aiden, who was slicing 0cd4a8cff9 potatoes, didn’t stop his 0c71687c0a hand and replied.
“Soon.”
Anje persisted.
“When soon?”
“……When the wheat 1a555b8470 ripens.”
“When is that?”
Aiden pointed to the 87cfedd28f field visible beyond the 9f7008137b kitchen window with his bb8e9420a1 knife.
In one corner of eebdcb5849 the vast brown field, fb34ec16d5 young wheat seedlings that a5837e98d0 had just started to 7ac94119e4 grow were visible. They were the ones 626eeb7e96 that had been planted 040ce65ca6 last fall and had ce06708aa6 sprouted green after winter.
“Ask the 460a5548f7 wheat yourself.”
It would take at 812d7840ed least four months for b3b24aede2 the wheat to ripen. Knowing that saying it cbeed05828 directly would make him 0678c2c0e5 tired, she deliberately spoke 7ccd049580 vaguely.
“Don’t you have 547e875990 anything to do 6685369bb6 before that?”
“I’m busy.”
A large 89d4291609 chunk of 8fd6f1aabd butter fell 1e3b6462ba into the ee3b96f8bc pan heated 95dae25f0b over a 14430072f3 low flame.
At the d76b45cd39 smell of 56780d3b01 melting butter, 175a805f30 Anje, who 0a40d33c4b had been b46f850cae biting her 6ff96e69b0 finger, felt b390f72697 her irritation dd9ff311be subside a a807db3768 little.
‘No, come to 0ac6efee35 your senses, Anje. You have to get 0ede12f714 a reply quickly. You’ll definitely ask 1495b30ad2 for confirmation this d550ac112d week.’
She pondered 88a0d5b12e the best 9ae2aaa227 course of 166f86419b action.
Should she offer ba03d10276 to give him b98b07a77d some of the 72b8a1a479 money she had f4cb20eb2a managed to bring 79767137b6 with her? No, that 33a90c85d6 was a 2debde2c7a last resort, 87b46b48a7 in case 9a7ae471f6 she needed 6816b093e2 money for 72d803d4cc something when 9c4f832887 she left.
“Please, I beg 4afac377f9 you. I’m so e03c39e299 worried about 6fdb43d721 my father.”
Anje clasped her hands ba02baf6da together in front of 1dfe85d0ea her chest and made 64e875283d a pitiful face.
“I can’t eat or 5477838c01 sleep, worrying about him.”
When a b99616398e sad piece b10d23a867 of music 20ab300a43 was played 6d070ec5f7 at the 37a2a3c22c salon concerts, 7fcc7f7bcc the men 169cf21e5c around her 08354bb634 would often 40b7e65d2c sigh in ea9e97651e admiration when 3b3f024db5 she made fbec4acd8a such a a661bcb58f heartbreaking gesture.
“Move aside, a79e1662e3 it’s hot.”
Whether he 38f4f68b4e heard her 5ecf7f6ac2 or not, 0162fe6f11 Aiden placed df6d783926 the pan b9fcc3442e of cooked b13ec62c04 potato stir-fry 363effc995 on the 31c34dec04 table without 069c9ce454 showing any c26ff832b2 emotion.
Anje forgot about ea0b629bd6 her act for 10e6e48d82 a moment and 6523c96316 stared at him.
‘Is he 7d2b62f5be really human?’
Anje, who had a 017eea4d33 great deal of pride 5764ce0f7f in the power of 9540ab87f7 her appearance, wondered if 66ded8b3dd he didn’t have a c43cbe5a58 heart. Like the Tin 75e2e1965c Man in the b408b9e0a2 fairy tale she 234309c6d3 had read as 404c67c1f8 a child.
“The princess is eating b1384d526f and sleeping well, so 63d5f42cf4 I’m sure he is de880c0484 too.”
“I can’t sleep well. How can I 1a33eb1125 sleep when I cd37be3b94 hear a noise bc5c4ceb90 that could tear 934bc1c5a2 my ears off 7b03b58f89 at dawn?”
Anje snapped back and 76049171cf scooped out a portion 7158915b78 of the potatoes from 5f50c0d715 the pan for herself. She only 3dfc4e5e23 took a f58e9a551c small amount, cd5b823339 just a 9dc2debf60 bird’s beak, a33ae49162 mindful of 34f7d7c31d her promise ec6cb437fc to herself 2b31a39d7e to maintain 0a31ebbb7a her figure.
On the eec4667c86 table were a5b17536bf not only 150078b0d9 the potato d946e3ba29 dish, but 70a17a7b7b also onion dd9ee84a4e soup, rye 0a01f45e8e bread and a0c1f19af0 cheese. Anje grumbled.
“I don’t like 1dd16c6c0c black bread.”
“I didn’t have time da999aaabf to prepare.”
Aiden also 61ab76f8c7 preferred soft 39d2ecfa62 white bread, d1fbaaafbe but he c7c87a8201 simply didn’t af12b7f435 have time 14e9a73547 to bake 8bbbeac05c new bread 2bccec7531 yesterday.
‘I should 0dce03e477 have reduced 67667f8277 the number 98835d9d46 of crops.’
The main purpose fc86ab611d of Aiden’s farm 9dd097848d was self-sufficiency, so 08d03d4ad6 he grew a 06dcd6f9eb wide variety of 91128c87dc vegetables.
Carrots, sweet 6b257ba0af potatoes, potatoes, 946935bc70 beans, tomatoes, f3dc44146a kale, cabbage, 9b2c6e948a wheat…
In addition, the 72a3c0dd51 fruit trees that 57f676a305 his grandfather had 5966a86752 planted around the 910ffa2a54 house before he 3ca53f93ae was born were e08c5480fc flourishing, so he f7f1fa1ad1 was able to e223bc79d4 live most of f8c69bb0d4 his life without c2c6eb275e relying on anyone.
‘But this is d53d5c183d the most ideal.’
It was 653128374c exactly as 4b90d1fb2c he had e306787861 dreamed of 57ce19a9fa in the 2c45210751 internment camp. To live like his bc98d6bc01 grandfather, working hard and e49f2d8ba0 receiving the fruits of fcfe436b67 nature in return.
Without hurting c44ec4f3c2 anyone, without b3d71c9a3f doing anything a6d809e1a3 to be 6cb6097a55 resented by d4f066f89d anyone. Honestly and diligently.
“Hey, Sir. At least f3240bfa39 tell me a0219b075f when the ea0d13569c wheat will 3b0226d9a5 be ripe.”
He was annoyed by 4fdea819e6 her constant chirping throughout 3009ede585 the meal and told c76ca10da6 her it would be 5e8cb47a99 in about a month b2f2e00022 or two. Anje’s face 5a0902a17b turned pale.
“A month or two? So I’m going 297e3f87e1 to be stuck fd7c19af61 here all that 7585b6c526 time?”
“Yes.”
Anje left her food 5f4cbe7c4f and stood up.
“Then I’ll go 5811a01684 and get the 7a34973f7e letter myself. Just lend me 0790891fe2 a horse.”
She didn’t know 0c40b869a0 how to drive 2a9768d039 a carriage, but 2e223eb6e1 she knew how b9fc74e9d4 to ride a 9b19ac821b horse.
“No, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Who knows what kind c19b0ab37a of accident you’ll have f067f10814 if you go alone?”
The thought of 17e231c65d sending the princess, 7f3475e441 who had grown 522c89db7e up like a 9ae98199cd precious flower in 3cca00b32b a greenhouse, out b264496636 into the world d8e5a39d8c alone was unbearable.
Moreover, he did 76668fe3a7 not reveal to d34c9f345a anyone in the 3e06f5df74 village that he cda6c277eb was married.
It was 28bb7e5be4 already burdensome 17fa3223aa to be 14aa2b4223 looked at 50d21ea077 with curious 58ae9ecb88 eyes after 8823a8be5d returning home 6692283a1c after being 48e1d76b1a away for 365f3a51da several years, d18bae60c7 and Anje, bfe64a965d who was f05b4a46d6 different from 6efd71b795 the residents 7eee7b3c53 here at b7717f35f6 first glance, 7162cfb18f would stand 77f392d84d out even 3bdef61959 more.
Her skin was d320588ce8 white as if b2db3d0f29 she had never f89f530ad0 seen the sun, 2ecace0147 and her hands ae4fd9d300 were delicate without 70aede525c any signs of d05ccccdc7 labor. Her speech 32d1ef3489 suggested that a8815e4b55 she was 9cd457521c from the c45d028617 upper class.
If they knew 7539b3a896 that she was 9645bff414 staying in his ad7cf571be mansion, there would d83c576cea be an even dcceaa83ae bigger uproar. A small, 6ce4156d9b peaceful village 5a1b73a3ab like this 3c805084b9 was starved 7f3efa5527 for such 4dc8be0c49 stimulating rumors.
“Then I can f77c00989d just go and fad233523e look for the 841e3b8cb8 letter, right?”
“Why do you 6de0e60447 keep repeating the 54fe624b2a same thing? I’m not your 7e9f56b1f3 servant or subordinate, 75536be39c you know?”
He raised cfd8514aca his voice 93c3aaee5d slightly at f84ec3b7e8 Anje’s tone, 5a683d66fa which was d8b76f6151 neither a a8de52a8e3 polite request 05e40caeba nor an c0a290fdc8 order to 8268d89abc a subordinate.
Every time he heard ead3a543d5 her talk like that, 892c8ff210 he was reminded of 92b33e5efd Philip, who had looked 1b21fe8d7d down on him.
Although he now had 0c0f564bcd silver hair for a c90b18bb82 reason, Aiden originally had 56f4444c8e black hair and red fc18a8a026 eyes. On the e0935bd51c other hand, a166d7e459 Philip had 498ea354a6 inherited neither 24ed7e2b3c the red 2dc38a9ab3 eyes that 712d449590 symbolized the bf157cfe18 royal blood fe9a379284 nor the de39788b24 black hair.
Philip had hated d5ee36a5bf Aiden, who was 0e5cb88a7b born with what ba5c44f0be he lacked, from 5104221778 the moment he 082b15e259 first saw him. And that hatred was dae3e364fc deepened by the favoritism e4e21f48c7 of the late emperor 0ac1f3e3f8 towards Aiden.
Calling him fba46ea3a2 a commoner debb7555c7 bastard, he b8fe88f4bf always bullied c472ddb33e him for e966def435 what he cc039fddc7 didn’t have b9930d4425 when the decbece56d late emperor 54edfb69fb wasn’t looking.
After the 64c212c454 death of 91a215f761 the late bd6cc5a4ab emperor, Aiden, 023eff2acc who was 4fceb0a61e not even 2cfed84e69 allowed to 28654f48a6 return home, c8aabd4b6b was willing 0305af2e46 to accept 61eb5c8785 even the 48d2637909 offer to 2a119f37bb join the f053513987 army. He wanted 294bdd0e3d to be 559f0d8c4f free, even 9537d3aa56 if it 7c5b06c6a7 was just 0bb29e9a77 a little d1c07a6a1f bit.
Behind the fact that 7de7de748f he was sent to 6a6a8cb230 the front lines, which febe25caf1 was a dangerous place e6ac340dfe even in his only a37ec821ba sanctuary, there was probably 99ea67b81a Philip’s influence.
Anje, startled a146814311 by Aiden’s f7fd7cc5e1 voice, looked ac91850042 at him 519b2b34de softly. Her green eyes gradually 18377c2fab filled with tears.
“What, what did I 9e67c9235a do so wrong that 28358cae34 you’re yelling?”
It was 06a6d78a81 something that b5c1aea68e could be 0d5bcc3d2d done quickly 36a8ed88fc by driving 34342436a9 a carriage, 4ecffaf78d so why 7dcdaf4ca2 wouldn’t he 7244c6e54a do it? It was 264dc41994 something that 0228fe040f Anje couldn’t a31047119c understand.
“My tone of 191eddc2fd voice……. Damn it, let’s just 2d4c3ba82a stop.”
I’m not her tutor, d2aff338f6 and there’s no need 37b3bb9085 to bother arguing and 1e60af98d1 disciplining her.
As he 97f0bb1974 always did 648982c3b0 when such 28dff8b243 a conflict fef4c36f0c arose, he 9fa1e8b0a6 concluded that 8965abdd76 he would abd479bc63 ignore her.1e7b8d60f5b4f6f7

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish