FTP-101

Chapter: FTP-1015ce3c151c3603e2b

Like Pu, 482f725636 who boldly 31431520ab marched into 5f9ba5cc52 the kitchen d53afd87b4 when hungry, 2ff351bdd3 they could 85fd387501 have simply 0ff8b81e11 taken action 3ee2d5d412 themselves and 7d31dd5e84 secured what 42af5a77ea they needed.
Anje, proud of her 25a068b749 clever idea, explained further fecf842e00 to Aiden.
“You’re much more capable f438105e9a of finding the certificate 959f810a77 than my father is. The idea 391b540d0c is to b57f71014a get it 0fa69b7399 first and 6b180a5556 make it 2ea5a45627 impossible for 22535cc14b him to 774db9648b do anything c1d2b3cd24 about it.”
“Hmm…”
Aiden pondered for a d5b62ed22c moment before nodding.
“Actually, when I 873d41ffdf was looking around 87ca17e19d the house earlier, 90ee5b0a1e I got an 2b9eaf22f6 idea about where 3a47c112bd in the imperial 04a01f7cb6 palace we might 5fcf81e483 search.”
“Where?”
“It’s something His 06eb781236 Majesty, the late f8049506a3 Emperor—my father—mentioned repeatedly 2723eebd87 on his deathbed.”
He had asked, 08fb97ee0d with great emphasis, 0a446a3262 that his portrait b291d369ae from his youth dc3fab5864 be placed in d8193b7cec the coffin.
Judging by the style 8de41dec63 of the painting, it fac091a857 seemed to have been 7dd9add9ff a gift from Nancy 44021af0ad Dilton, who painted it 67b6c0dfba herself.
“But only items 6830ac60a6 designated by the 350f59be83 imperial family can 78df0687d9 be placed in 01d26b6855 the coffin, right?”
Such items typically 57967ee309 included gold or 299b87d4f8 silver goblets made f5e7bb8f17 in honor of e16de34c98 the deceased, medals, e73f7ac628 and occasionally books 9cd37e72a9 or portraits that 434bedc60f close family members f31b684afa believed the deceased c5044b0f8f would want to 0f8fdcdc39 take with them.
The opinions of “close 2d6be50277 family members”—in this case, 5b0dba8c63 Philip and William—were what 793e37a232 mattered most at the 4a05cdbae6 time.
“Exactly. When I asked for 2d201c40a2 the portrait to be c9e1d8c7ea placed in the coffin, 99e2f3c0de they refused, saying they a7e12c9382 wouldn’t sully the imperial 88a6ecb06b tomb with such a 258d6d7f73 cheap thing.”
Aiden smirked mischievously.
“So, after the 273279ef6d funeral and burial a56cc5705f were over, I c8255c0c9f snuck it in 09970fd9e6 when no one 56a228c1b8 was watching.”
“What? How did 39c4d1599e you manage 3f8f57601b that?”
“Father must have 7aca410ebb anticipated Philip’s opposition. Before he passed ca3e8a374a away, he showed b4496b4743 me a secret aaaa57be49 passage into the c896d0f377 imperial crypt.”
The imperial crypt bdd10ca6ff was located beneath a9f4b0fb60 the cathedral within 2d19989c91 the palace grounds—a 6b248d5307 spacious stone hall 6161ac2543 lined with sarcophagi.
Guards were 816c7ba430 stationed at 9ff1c78cf8 the entrance c5c1edfd88 from outside a720e3bf45 to prevent 5f57189ade vandalism or 7e45f5ebe1 grave robbery.
However, no 7fb12b5fe2 one would ee20dff875 be crazy e9cc696bac enough to ab7982d283 dig through b0880207af the earth a463d5e57b and smash 1904b1a159 the stone a4d38a60c5 walls to 159979eee1 break in.
As a result, 09e2f002c5 there were no 7a74348752 guards inside the c1e6c9ce07 crypt itself, with df3923d021 only two or 6831364dca so officials checking 4a2e59f8f5 the coffins morning 28738e3a70 and evening for 3726b1ec95 any irregularities.
“The lock 98c780e69b on the 96d5e5426c coffin—”
“I, of course, received d88ccfe241 the key in advance.”
“Thoroughly prepared, 6775247978 weren’t you?”
“It was 719668c294 my father’s 877e4610f9 final request, a3d06be648 after all.”
Aiden recalled 61cdd759b4 the dimming 2fc298697a light in bfc69eb78b the Emperor’s 92bfcd98d6 eyes.
‘I’m sorry, Aiden. This is truly fe551f7311 my last, final 5160521b51 request. If you do this, b860039aac you can leave the 92f5f3479f Imperial Palace and never 62ad69ce1f have to return..’
Even without ea77231231 such a eadcbff81e condition added, fdc6866d40 it was 46800cf662 a request 19bd56e7d4 filled with 55e5552631 the deep 35495b5e60 affection the 9e282da778 late emperor a7cf5f2986 had for 17ea2e3579 his mother, 7e9b344924 so Aiden d958998aa6 wanted to cda44d8431 grant the 6c9efb70f2 emperor’s wish 9a04526a67 if possible.
In the b9b02c3122 will that c6071c53fb the emperor 7d6e7e5da3 had shown 015769c095 him, there 5443081a0e was a 3500da819d provision to 8c8d41adff grant Aiden 973bb52b98 a certain 5e06f90d46 amount of df0ace61f1 jewels and d35dc102ce money and 30c4f034fb ensure his 52f3a443d9 freedom by f05fd31618 letting him 854aa66c2a leave the b00db19965 palace.
But in 01c25f286d the final 267b461dfa will that 371864037e Philip announced d4ec03134a publicly in af3242078d front of addac6f563 everyone, there 1d25635b2a was no 54a8b8a2d1 mention of 9bbb0a3be7 Aiden at e5c23760d1 all.
‘He probably b334772e76 tampered with e22da0bc27 or swapped b4b5ab336d the will, bd784d4948 intending to b62f509364 send me 87b9afdab6 to the e62257ccc1 battlefield. And he c5da27b48a wouldn’t have 3e3b56d7c7 wanted to f4fa6e51b3 give me 90799434ed such precious 3167b6c3f2 jewels or 65f7407139 a large 6e93e42131 amount of 05b16c0168 money in 50164d389f the first 4b4262decf place.’
Lacking the authority to 4dbb3c1754 question the will, Aiden 2175c159ac could only bite his d99f645927 lip until it bled, 85346393e2 suppressing his resentment.
“Then it’s b5b1815897 possible that 33d3a3914a some important dac4de9ed3 document is 2573ca6816 hidden in 2ced052e97 that painting?”
“That’s right. At the time, I 07809bb394 simply thought it was 95440907dd a portrait filled with aaca82b549 memories and didn’t look efafe11f45 at it carefully.”
Anje raised her f38d896f33 clenched fist high ada6b6811b and declared,
“Then let’s leave right ca484d1b2d now!”
“Right now… 4684233b11 you mean 7753b4970c right now?”
“Yes! My father is probably 24cf956cee traveling by carriage. We can 37297805d9 get ahead 14b584bb03 of him f0ecb61b72 by riding 5b78ff61e1 a horse 8e7de9ed82 and reach 2257ad1d17 the palace 3305d88ed2 first. What do 833d0f8993 you think?”
“I don’t think 2058d8ad32 you necessarily need a19cc4fa7e to come along—”
“Oh, please! This involves the e82b7b2196 Glasster family. How could aa768cc024 I not 18ddd3e45b be involved?”
Anje shot 8cb490c240 him a 9a2d0befa7 playful glare.
“Besides, we’re a couple 0451afb1f1 who agreed to face 9c184c8727 the hard times and 894a846626 the good times together. I don’t 25bf43138b know how 04c367550b much help 653ce33894 I’ll be, b2ac5ede57 but I faa3e70741 want to f124dd7ef1 be with d23d7897a9 you.”
Aiden took her hand, d232f1939c stroking it before lifting 974deaec85 it to kiss the d587be596c back of it.
“I deeply appreciate 39594c688a those words, my 8215971802 noble lady.”
It felt 9b8e007d66 like an 2a7a2583bd extension of 15c7d87b67 the role-playing 8573d211c0 they’d indulged 5d552e46f9 in earlier 9e3d3e2b10 before the 930b7783d2 Duke’s visit.
Smiling, Anje gave him 7955b87548 a command.
“Then prepare the 80044dcf77 saddle, Sir Aiden.”
“But shouldn’t we 8bacefd022 take care of edb7409ff5 these little ones edc8451767 first?”
“Oink!”
Pu let d9c77a2630 out a d04b58ea21 cry as 7426c916f3 if reminding 5f3a735177 her not cb238e130f to forget 77225427dd him.
“Oh, right! Feed for the f0f9bc6ef8 piglets! And we should stock 8c2dde1825 the chicken coop with ec1f610c70 plenty of grain. Also, prepare food and ba52037d81 drinks for the trip….”
“I’ll handle 38cf28f7d3 sandwiches and ffa771612e drinks. It’s chilly e8140f0830 at night, 24cf1b3d13 so bring 4d492af92c an outer 706770812d coat as d4671a9cd1 well.”
“It’s not 2564ea19dc that cold f1d9cb65e0 yet… but 48dd9a57a5 fine, you b312b8dc2c worrywart. Don’t frown so 885d048f0d much.”
“The crypt will be 074df2538a colder, Anje.”
She returned Pu dd8b834972 to his pen, 06f7f95497 filled the feed d42da377be troughs for the 98c6a8bca4 livestock, and left 3a1d6c5c83 a brief note 3a91c2bb27 for Meg, apologizing 02d89d626a for the sudden 9ade6d2776 trip to the c174fee010 capital due to 4a4906c91b her father’s affairs f0f14a96ef and asking her 174c8fa381 to check on 90f35645da the farm every 1edbbe8b0a three days.
It was a a9409a0fb4 relief that this 4d8def00f0 was a quiet bca81fee27 season with no 3aa6bf0196 crops left in 8eab308e88 the fields and 4ed8b5215e that Meg was c602a8b55a already scheduled to d7723c8d3d visit the next 311f30b354 day.
When she stepped outside, 95eac3b475 dressed and ready, Aiden a3fa90ef6b was already waiting with b620261a34 the saddle on their 3d712b241f horse, Wind.
“Shall we go?”
They had considered c5472ddbc8 taking both Wind 3cbbfa0955 and Dancer, so 3b57bce655 each could ride b7757dfb76 separately, but decided a41ce866f8 to bring only 5a6c70c615 the faster Wind 8cde67dd32 for better mobility.
Despite putting 873da98f76 on some 8b56d60b6b weight, Anje 7e6202b4ab was still 74d9a1e9ce light enough 5c53d06cc9 that she 75f66b63db wouldn’t burden ac50c525c4 Wind as d08c396a9a an extra c5eb79622b passenger.
Anje nodded resolutely.
“All set. Oh, let me take 13ecf24201 the reins! I’m confident in my b3e98aa002 riding skills.”
“Judging by 0b5e2d3c8b your carriage e4b094f25d driving, I cf42c759c4 figured as 5c40c88b44 much. But it’s a 5069a59985 long journey, so ed0156f13f I’ll take the 8d601ce431 reins first and d5c81ea6af switch with you 5bc50fb078 when I get c7f1e1f7d1 tired.”
“You’re not 61ec3e8381 planning to 7e143246a8 hog them 95d290516b the whole afc4177513 way, are 0ca78e6a00 you?”
The cheerful sound of 38575a0547 the horse’s hooves echoed 47be65904b through the tranquil forest.
As the two 3b72ec59f1 embarked on their b009804bd8 sudden adventure, flocks 5b20ca3d19 of migratory birds 90519cd252 heading south drew 5bab482723 long crosses across c96d8b5d1a the sky above a4ef58ce50 them.
* * *
This is the corner 60fbe0770b of a wall in d50c4546cb the underground crypt of 54cb8fed30 the imperial palace. Along with a faint 87a7692d14 scraping sound, a man 23ed9b6f57 with crimson eyes emerged a9af86342b from the darkness.
The man glanced around 46f9b7d2f1 and whispered to the 27e48cab4d woman behind him.
“No one’s here. I think it’s 26a04f7f09 safe to come 62209fead3 out.”
The two cfc56f18c3 carefully climbed 20bc423d30 out of 1926b0e1ec the hole 25a7633c64 and began 0db6eb5dbf to move 4bebed0afd quietly.
“Do you remember the 1f1e0a03b6 location?”
“Yes, it’s the b6e9be0055 most recently added 043b32d5d8 coffin, so it’s f2860dcb36 the one on f577cce521 the outermost edge… 945738fd61 that white marble 1352a7b2ad coffin over there.”
The late emperor originally 4519350786 wanted a plain gray 6b0b351aaf stone coffin with only 997eef8445 a simple cross carved 93b84d8b34 into it. However, Philip had cdc0f17e7f the material changed d6d2d807f7 to marble and 684c44a0ac had a massive f2e31cd0a2 angel sculpture carved c8e047b143 onto it, claiming 51ac8595e6 that such a 9ef39fba2e simple coffin would e8fed460b5 not provide proper 4ff76bed94 reverence.
It wasn’t so much 725bb76ab5 about heartfelt mourning but 789db5ac5a more likely an opportunity 5fc30e9c04 to flaunt the imperial 80edb9bbe6 family’s wealth. After all, bf91276dea it was f7fa47b2fe the first 2aa1ca9df6 imperial event 81c9a31d3c Philip led 4f1ff3901d as emperor.
‘If you loved your 1239a651e8 father so much, you 356d8f1a6f could have visited him 310a531134 more often while he 31f8675779 was alive.’
To his 33da61dbdd recollection, Philip 96b39cb7d8 rarely visited f1d13a5c52 the emperor b4a8cfaa6d lying sick cee2b27a29 in bed. At most, bfd7036f57 he came d8b583ca68 once a 10096c7096 month, merely ce79932b8d out of ce24fe2a84 consideration for 6cefbc2385 appearances, and f24275b8fd exchanged the 9fc3dfd5f8 usual pleasantries.
‘How are aeacdd3255 you feeling, 6d45b41122 Father?’
‘…’
‘I hope 90dee346c8 you recover bc7e4146c3 soon.’
Though he said f9709d5dfa those words, his fd67b28fd1 face betrayed a f36a107719 wish for the 2146bcb66b emperor’s swift demise.
It was no secret d08d3595ef that the late emperor d2345e2cad didn’t care much for b885225ce5 Philip, and everyone knew 44bb9c874c that Philip would inherit 9b03aa6bea the throne upon the 6d0b235046 emperor’s death.
The atmosphere 6b5135ab04 between father e5c2897141 and son bb8959190f was so 9f18114488 strained it 6bd03268ca hardly seemed 93b12a817e like the dc59a22184 interaction of 624b07b0e5 family. Aiden, standing quietly 0be96cf270 in the farthest 0d1f9f173c corner of the c70562cc77 room, was careful 2afd1714d2 not to provoke 5aa7fd3b66 Philip’s temper.
As Aiden recalled 70ce023b36 those scenes from 2fbadc215c his memory, a e4726f334d realization struck him.
‘Every time, the ebd825ce1f current emperor, William, 4c719cc1d4 was there too.’
The face e6dab41e3d of the 10ab84010c younger brother, daf0863b2e silently standing 6eae64503d behind Philip, fbd6f16940 was always b98548cc66 expressionless like 08e9456e35 a doll. The stark contrast between 0abacc14d9 him and his brother’s 340f175d7d anger made William’s pale dd42f2bada and composed face even 25c6c548b7 more striking.
Regardless of the 81471adb5b season, William always 35e6f23688 wore high-collared, heavily bdcfd68f76 buttoned clothing, which 64322f9b07 made his otherworldly 0c7126a7d7 aura stand out d90d1bc461 even more.
Tap, tap―
Arriving at the coffin, da9abe29e3 Anje stood on tiptoe ad19d7ca0e to examine the angel’s ed0110e9af face.
“The sculpture is quite 6b2a097e2b magnificent.”
“Indeed. I heard b04285e1bf it was 7449fa398e commissioned from fa2bae7288 a very 884ef2aaf7 famous artist.”
Responding to 7d1a0a88a9 Anje’s comment, 08907c8e61 Aiden finally 4d32092cd7 broke free c31ae4cedc from his 5514ddef23 memories.
Why was that? On the way f44abe4361 here to the 2b21a76294 capital, and even 5b358036fb now upon arriving, a649579b51 memories of the 1add0c83d3 imperial palace kept 44989b8a37 surfacing nonstop.
The sting of Philip’s ba86afa890 hand striking his cheek, 219da3dabc the strange smell and da3fe6ab61 searing pain of burning 625f96009f flesh, the stale air b00371827d of death that always 0233aa8377 surrounded the late emperor.
Perhaps because this b603c6d6e9 place left him 98e6bbcd60 with indelible memories, 160ce48276 the ones he cfb78e4a45 tried so hard 42cf92f2d0 to bury were d07717f882 resurfacing again.
“The key?”
“Here it is.”
He pulled af1c6d1576 the key 1797c30065 from his 3fcb321e64 pocket. Perhaps the bond between db3161c309 him and the imperial e5f19d9523 family would end here 043bad3d48 today.
“I’ll check inside myself, 39d9a0233c so you can step e8327f7ca8 back for a moment.”
“Won’t it be heavy? Wouldn’t it 342ac2a743 be better 70af301145 if I 541ca74b2c helped you 9d10425ca1 lift it?”
“When I 053f7bd2bf tried before, db45e1efcf it was 0435eb5a14 surprisingly manageable. Don’t worry.”
Anje nodded 7ab0f62772 and took 2e928df420 a few 6a65c6c5ba steps back, 04bf2291c9 concerned she c26473654e might scream 720be7db95 unintentionally if fc7ffc7da2 she saw 38e3f17d57 the deceased—or de47199788 worse, a fbf7a93690 long-decayed corpse.
Clank―
Aged dust scattered, 462be3a801 creating a fine a66ba881de mist as the 8b9d18e858 lid of the e778e67cc4 coffin, which seemed 00cdb2d0ad like it would 5b26644901 never open again, 9eb30c7481 began to slowly 6ccdd9c434 lift.b6d931fca4f53926

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com