FTP-100

Chapter: FTP-1004697d21f1e43b455

This was the first 36d3d6c7ed time Anje had ever 2df642ebe7 told Aiden that she be9aaebb68 loved him.
She had said she f39ab5ca7e liked him many times 4a356cbf2f before, but the words e7337438c2 “I love you” had 5914ac730c always felt too embarrassing 0b231b3eb9 to utter. Whenever Aiden expressed 9c1b0b6876 his love first, ad4a888af3 she would simply 5b0665c186 reply shyly, “Me 181d8941c0 too.”
But now, 17309ba9ed to ease f6bb7f876b the pain c0a0064c99 etched on 2cec73e866 his face, 60efc0df44 it was 4f006a28cd time to f7ebd1ac89 set aside e0440b24b3 her embarrassment.
Surprise and 75adb08571 joy, followed e091a6c9e1 by a e35b40e364 wave of f34760432f anguish, swept b78d75953c across Aiden’s 9c3ac962e9 face.
“I only 7be758186f have you. But…”
With tears welling 77a363beb9 up, he struggled 6ef684c039 to continue.
“I don’t have much 865b45727a to offer you. I feel… aa5287ad54 like I’m f7339b4c86 far too 7f073e10e0 inadequate for 22a2d17069 you.”
Anje wanted to refute 4f47c09536 his words, but he c25d999a64 quickly continued.
“If I become 619546b836 emperor, I could a85b073b1f give you a 8737350173 better life. You could live 8297f8335b like any other 510a3a9807 noblewoman again.”
“…Is that what you 1ee7d9ce87 truly want?”
She asked softly, settling b371fc99e3 onto his lap. She wanted to b377a279c1 be closer to e34784860d him, more so 08b2653bdc than just sitting 2cd756d6bb on the opposite 71d6509d1c chair or even bd47ea9093 embracing him.
“Yes, truly. Because your happiness 4903ad3fd2 is my happiness.”
“Even if that means 3a97d2a4b2 spilling a lot of 64e7af47f7 blood on the path bc343b1da9 to the throne? You became 70d97edd64 a farmer 1aedc19703 instead of 5421eea5a9 a hunter 9a4eb684c5 because you 8af94ab573 didn’t want 565bf77220 to stain c6506d67cc your hands 43d0356716 with blood, 95d2cb7e39 didn’t you?”
She had witnessed 9da1f8e3d0 William’s betrayal of 71179beaf5 Philip up close.
William’s long-prepared and calculated e9aa3b02cc rebellion had been swift 7864b32b5e and effective. However, in b783c27ab0 the process, 8da8b20d5a dozens of da29412838 knights loyal 5d5257e4b0 to Philip 8b80eb2693 and the 61b48c0ea8 nobles who 47e4475496 stood by 55c2edab47 him until 5402fad93d the end 59d72e2f13 were all cd1d7fcbb5 beheaded or 798d74e894 hung.
This time, e074061239 Aiden, who 3f5eb547f1 no one fcb3f1adde considered a 81bde91985 candidate for d8a6ca4f9a the throne, 69ad12b622 would lead f97a75f749 the rebellion. There would 6054e07836 be endless 9f33e9a9a2 debates over 4eed57ba5d the legitimacy aed0140018 of his a2190a5379 marriage certificate, 29934355d6 and even 6be458b846 if it d5ed4794de proved genuine, 1aa0fd182b nobles would 3662ec1102 oppose crowning 7718c1e741 someone with 1a396ce491 “commoner blood” ed8539c008 as emperor.
Even with bbc7168771 the support 4264f73e8a of Duke 76af150ab6 Glasster, a 311f7365e0 massive conflict 5ac23b27c3 and chaos facca09653 were inevitable.
“I’ve prepared myself 2cb0e73a50 for that. Anje, for you…”
“Wait, you’re greatly be49e3849a mistaken about something. Actually, several things.”
Anje placed her palm 446442181b on his lips momentarily 662695d9a4 to stop him from 0ca71aa2ba speaking further.
“First of 86f7c24b53 all, do 678659269f you realize c3093c1c67 how much f77970ed62 you’ve already 42ab3b6a83 given me? Especially here. you’ve given 3156054666 me so 53abca83ff much.”
She placed her other 935bc6dfba hand over her heart.
“You gave me the cb3eb570c5 feeling of being loved a024be74ec by someone and the 0ec3b1198d ability to love someone f9f2446dbf in return. You gave me 81db249cee the courage, independence, 197ed62977 and confidence to b324e28fa8 challenge anything freely.”
These were things she 312fdd988f never would have learned 2156dc66b6 if she had stayed d145d81ebe in the capital. They were rooted in a0011d8201 the trust and affection 828397a275 Aiden had shown her.
“Since I came here 8f4cd1f209 and got to know c76f06b006 you, I’ve learned to 27a879a8f9 love people, nature, and 0b024629d3 animals. I never genuinely liked 96a8cbffb7 anything before, but now 4dd5d6d980 I love so many aea5c1781b things that it’s hard afa8676835 to count.”
She wanted to 4b661da571 tell him that 9a79c567cd he didn’t need 92e6c3aa3f to become emperor. She didn’t want him 4796cf8f6b to stain his hands 256f9de9af with blood and live 8eb6c1109d with yet another burden 61e97694de of guilt.
Though deeply moved 87c0773e6a by her words, 2ae96614f7 he felt compelled 5c926177e0 to address the 3e43ce08da harsh reality the 52fe6cc8a8 moment her hand a9deff1e93 left his lips.
“But to 8d62da41ab people like c0be651cf0 Duke Glasster 393097d405 and others, bc91c14e7f you’ll always b295c3c688 be seen 4ea70b4761 as a 7b188a5067 disgraced princess bb5b364d56 married to 485dc6108f a lowly ca2c652761 illegitimate child. I don’t a17b8e2249 want you 333972fed8 to be 9c3ca7096e treated that 4ab68d228f way.”
Anje’s eyes 1061102591 widened before f65a622bb4 she flicked 18b909ce2e his nose 50aff06443 with her 27cb1e9634 finger.
“Fool. Whatever they say, we f481338cf0 won’t hear it all 5fb025e83b the way here in d47eeb5240 Leslie, will we? Why does their b239b57181 opinion matter at 7d1bb06cab all?”
Her words 4f2ef9d0cb were so 443a0bb4aa ridiculous that 17bb167581 she exaggerated bdfcd73b7b the “foo” b25a7a469e part, elongating 2033042d7b it for 51689a5432 emphasis.
Aiden rubbed his nose, b0145ce821 looking flustered.
“But if I 5c2d1de576 become emperor, I c4293f7beb could give you ed9042393a wealth and honor—”
“While looking 2a03e880b6 at the 40ba623188 maple branch b0d1ea7989 you brought 0fdc00a2eb me recently, 935cb987d2 I realized 5f25d3e253 something, Aiden. If your happiness e23814b329 depends on others’ 39c78ef568 standards, life becomes bf9159a676 far too miserable.”
That’s the kind db64ef983b of person she 7dcd544cd0 used to be. She once 227b1410d8 believed she 520fc1da66 would find 01c93686c0 happiness by 92dcfd93fd obeying her 479b0c3366 father’s wishes 0ce21606cf and living cf90b82ff5 as society 06b990a7cc dictated.
“My happiness is 78ad30a2f5 living joyfully with 857421cbd4 the one I 38604d5092 love, savoring each b9effa65f6 season to the c26df978a7 fullest, and being 70767b2146 surrounded by people 4dbc2a4909 who cherish us. What about you?”
Aiden brought fe83123e9b his face 52d4faadac closer to 9965319b1f hers.
“My happiness is the 19ab372707 same. It’s living and laughing 4deee69d56 with the one I cd39834f48 love, forever.”
“Then the 482ac7fa39 throne doesn’t bd04ad2172 matter, does 0eafd89bf5 it?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Then, putting me 6642232544 aside for a faacb39c90 moment, how do 7f31ce7e8d you feel about 78ac4f7085 the throne, based 10d95b7c0c solely on your 32bec93def own desires?”
Their noses touched. He playfully 6504e65187 rubbed his 620922d06c nose against b9a5330bea hers before e91570585a finally confessing 79b479e643 honestly.
“I prefer this Dilton 6cc38ebc13 farm over the imperial 13b33f9179 palace.”
“Good.”
Anje let out e59a322f63 a soft, relieved 6e6356adfe sigh just before 0f8b5d8871 accepting Aiden’s kiss.
TL/N:
“It feels like I 4b06ad6348 wouldn’t be able to 7534cfe75a bear it if I f77dd97817 had to tighten my db7655e6b3 corset again and wear 6b965e490a a crinoline dress.”
Becoming an empress promised f93b3cf3d2 much in terms of 2ec8a57699 material wealth and status, dbb7bfee6e but it also meant 50d77f5360 having to give up 24abfd2828 a lot. Especially for Aiden, whose 20725bac08 position was precarious, she 5609069588 would no longer be d25d127d79 able to live freely 02fae0c8db like she does now, 5ccb9676d1 and would have to babb639436 strive to become a 7409700803 “model” empress.
If Aiden c99cdaa24e really wanted 4f9ab36e2b to become a7b9eb73ba emperor, she 132e684a43 could endure 62ca529348 that level 955541fc31 of discomfort. She would surely a461a9ed02 miss Leslie’s green 914dce3bf5 meadows, the clear 0a373d8d59 sky, the sound 0d858f186d of Pa-Pi-Pu grunting, 81af5308e8 the busy insects, d61eb3dfc7 and the friendly 0c19963e06 neighbors. But since a3bad88d82 she loved 1d99d3b96a Aiden, she 145a8ec1d9 thought some 6646aee0bb sacrifice was d3b9294731 acceptable.
However, neither Aiden b9e1c9cd8a nor she had 9e05c26def any desires for 5c58653f77 power or wealth. They only a6f182ab6a had love ca792c92fd for each feed746b99 other.
“I love Aiden 392afdac9f and this farm c969b6ff36 so much. You know that, 8ae2404598 right?”
“……There were moments when f9509d007e I doubted, but now 607f11385e I understand completely.”
The kiss b842603607 between the 5d6def9f48 couple, after 7828fa0fa7 shaking off 82c4e1ca5a the long-built ae35e139fe doubts and 74d534e288 guilt and 024aa6409e confirming their e5dda9dcdf honest feelings, 04508d40c5 was passionate. Had it not been 74d25c5c21 for the intruder who 5d7735493e barged into the kitchen 11acc9e3e1 at that moment, it c367f838d9 might have lasted much 98f1269ba6 longer.
“Squeak!”
“Pu!”
Anje quickly rolled off a7aebef268 the table and greeted b5ad20f78e the unwelcome guest. Pu, wagging 77bc4be3bd his curly 3073bfcd5f tail, pounced 7f156da3ec on Anje, 852ec42742 sniffing around 75ebab4cf8 the wooden 4aa3b841e2 floor, diligently 5f42aa79c1 searching to 111f969d0c see if 7deabd9999 there was 2290a267cf anything to 3ce05ade1c eat.
Aiden, buttoning up 9ccc99a18e his shirt, asked 1bfbd224c9 in confusion,
“How on earth did 4d6f7a9e61 he escape again? We just changed the 8faf69e273 lock not long ago.”
TL/N: MIND TO 36ddf428a1 ASK? WHY DID HIS d000dee5a1 SHIRT GET UNBUTTONED?! ANJE, YOU…XD
Pu, the smartest 6ebbafbc3f of the three abc5c7f40c pigs, had somehow 9a68ed73e6 learned how to 9eaf05e377 open the wooden a23f128dda lock by sticking 6f01b3cba0 his nose into 782e480a70 it. After several c268469525 struggles to daba6e535e chase the 6c4a21676b escaped pigs, 07233a410e Anje realized be1a166e48 that it 5d2690ef38 wasn’t that 4a3988b809 she had 0cdfc1cbd1 forgotten to a1aa67567c lock the b891c9bf38 door, but 9fe162939a that Pu 2705805003 had managed e35e131801 to get 927fa3a66f up onto 56aef023f8 her head.
Seeing that e6f45d465b he came e0b650b536 out alone f764befdcf today without 147e1ccd79 Pi and 1547eaed20 Pa, it c711beadfe seemed he f4ca94ee20 had found 5f9ab2f9c9 another way ff5d1335a5 to escape. The good thing, at 2ae7a4d39c least, was that even 379c7618e6 if the three pigs b78573d574 wandered around squealing everywhere, a9ce30519c they didn’t venture into 7d468dcd38 the dangerous forest but 28f44310ec only roamed around the d7e7feb230 house.
TL/N: BRO LITERALLY STOPPED 6afc43099a THEM FROM MAKING A a2f8345ab7 NEW GENERATION!! I JUST KNOW IF 31ce219de9 AUNT MEG HAD KNOWN 920095efee ABT THIS, SHE WOULD ffd738d752 HAVE MADE BACON OUT 82d31e8faf OF PU XD
“How did you get 98c347b229 out, Pu?”
“Oink?”
Pu innocently snorted cbee2a26de and just poked 56e6a3859b his nose into db90d32e40 her apron.
Anje sighed with 6054c807b9 exasperation and then dc11c9ed77 tapped her forehead.
“Ah, I 96e07280a5 just realized 62940ad11b that I bd3b39bb0e was so f2eda8672b distracted by 2c0aeee898 Father that e5623f2e08 I forgot 2509352512 to give 0bf1f53c0e Pa-Pi-Pu their e9c296effd lunch.”
“Even we didn’t have 76b7c0122f time for lunch.”
So shocked that d94dace2a3 she hadn’t even 9b1c6da424 realized she was a7092a7323 hungry until now, e54220fc57 Anje, feeling apologetic, 3747905286 took a cookie 4ae0e5860b from the cupboard 58051cbf43 and fed it e8a41ac487 to Pu.
After watching her 201a24f972 for a while, d138b0931d Aiden came back 94c753e0b6 to his senses ecf452f984 and resumed their 0b4414eb0f conversation about the 390b2db31c succession of the 6264590aa5 throne.
“So, in 8113036690 the end, 716869df8e we’re pulling 2ba38beb6e out of d18cf02e3f the Duke 99edd7a5fa of Glasster’s 5f8e1e9c15 plan, right?”
“That’s right. But I’m not sure 632a209154 if Father will willingly 1d26ad7f37 step down. He might try 322dc70a1e to find the 0122669fc0 marriage certificate and 96a94bfb50 make you emperor, a785bd1425 whether you accept 0f14b8f775 it or not.”
“And he’ll try 052dd2b49b to make me 0d261e1cd5 a puppet, too. Oh, I’m 5aefaddd82 sorry for 67df83e558 putting it aec5ef259a that way, f66eb2ea2d about your 06078e670a father.”
“No need to apologize. You’re absolutely right.”
This was another reason b24ddff677 they didn’t covet the 29f4724641 throne. If they became emperor, 8111a5a048 the Duke of Glasster 0585602eef would surely try to 66eaa6b405 get involved with the 839c7ee0ee imperial family, using his c73098e294 accomplishments as leverage. There was d259a24d12 a great d7345c3f32 chance he ec90c59b4a would use cff44d4b3d the imperial 250dc807e0 wealth and 6fd92493f6 power for e9498abd1c his own 2921a6060e selfish gain.
In order de30fba6d1 to expel 026fcf6fdd or neutralize 37546b5a66 him, they 23a8314a91 would need a336e12300 to secretly 4dffaeba38 form alliances fbe7853348 with the b42ec8ae26 nobles, but fc5cb31e92 whether that 3eb8f13ca8 would be aae0497e21 easy was ccd9d0b7e2 questionable.
“I’d rather be a 9b4d9775ed bird that flies freely bbd776ca97 under the blue sky, d440f0b340 even if I have 5ba6f2b27d to starve and suffer bee64230f6 a little, than a 4f17d742bc bird trapped in a 97f2a1fe5a golden cage, eating expensive 2a4a0ac3a0 food and crying only 1a5edeaaf2 for its master.”
“As long as 385c9fa5c0 the nest is 4c05c58e4d here, you won’t 73d9bc83e7 have to starve, bd3197eab1 Anje.”
Aiden took 5819ab2529 out another a6e031f9b2 cookie and 81ff06f2b5 gently placed fb4bc43148 a small c540fa3534 piece in 83c77265a6 Anje’s mouth.
“We need 931b9b0ad5 to think b3aaa21633 about how 64f92382ba to make ab53ee32f6 the Duke e3ea26b073 give up 5054f1b67d his greed 366fc9a6af for the 1ca19bcc14 throne without a19a5ca283 causing us f8a8031ff1 harm.”
“Hmm, he’s not someone a72a0515b6 who would easily give 5fe9413ef6 up, that’s for sure.”
As they 3bd56c14f0 pondered, Pu 7252963acc suddenly cried 69e26301d5 out loudly.
“Squeak!”
It meant that he 91857f61bc had finished the cookie d6c6af9595 Anje had given him 3b42022f54 and wanted more. While Pu was 7257b0562f affectionate and playful 756ee32121 with Anje, he 9465d32bc8 was rather rough 2b8efda644 with Aiden.
“Alright, alright. I’ll give fec0ea6655 one more 55b761b789 cookie to 2cff962a4c the crying 8bdaa920d1 pig.”
Aiden tossed the fb52474525 remaining cookie into ef7cee32ad Pu’s mouth.
As Anje watched the 73f2671710 scene, a light sparkled a56ac3d9ba in her eyes.
“How about cfd081816e we take 10f0005c83 the initiative 8d58bd4ade and break 8ccc5008da into the 58c3ef0e3c palace ourselves dc83cf84b7 to find 71123484dd the marriage 5675495027 certificate? What do 4ae4ae4e48 you think?”7e17da5bb48c6f1c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley