FTP-102

Chapter: FTP-1023e12ed5b62ada220

The portrait Aiden f377b5a549 had placed in 6d86f17d64 the corpse’s embrace b207744d9d years ago was e0333e3443 perfectly preserved, despite be067873b3 the underground humidity ea0d38efa9 and temperature.
After a moment of b952d60dfb hesitation, he crossed himself 8b1f24cad2 and reached out.
“Excuse me.”
Disturbing the rest bb821c209d of the deceased ae25b92b9b wasn’t a comfortable ada82d714b task, even for 334e98098c an atheist like 6e8f7d3751 him.
‘I’ll just check 344ec0663f for a marriage 9013df2985 certificate or any 11e2c52254 clues and return 98db143c70 it to you, 98ace5b638 Father.’
He took 29e0867459 out the 1b2898cde8 portrait and 21e5320f4e examined it b822c720bc closely, but c5c5210c92 it was 64bd0c92a6 an ordinary 559158ac13 painting with 52a18c4e8f no peculiar 3af88ee33b details. Hoping she might notice f2ad2a76ef something he didn’t, he a1ca0daaf6 handed the portrait to 0ea9277fb6 Anje.
“This is 7581d64b7e the portrait. Do you 54a9f4901a see anything 7c69e9e25d unusual about 00a162be1a it?”
“Hmm…”
The sketch 0f45dc4fcf was rough, b5effe390c lacking the 5fbd5fb2fa finesse of bd4830f702 a “masterpiece.” 9132db5762 It depicted 6aaf16bd8b the profile b8e451f220 of a f5536ad01b young man e37e3d1f43 who bore 400fa36754 a striking d9afd9adfe resemblance to 782e32598e Aiden but 50f4fa07fa appeared more 89129dddbc arrogant. It felt af255c0679 more like 07f5a8505d a casual 6818c22231 sketch rather d460de93cb than a 0b37a05cdf formally commissioned 41512af099 portrait.
“The drawing 7bf2baf718 itself doesn’t dcb94aa096 seem unusual… fd7ca0266c Ah!”
Anje exclaimed softly after aaf5622cd3 flipping the portrait around 8e75467fc4 several times.
“This iron frame f79459b5d7 is rather unique. Compared to 037905b970 the painting, 3b109fc467 it seems 94c058efb9 large and 03066d3568 bulky.”
Not knowing 4f609ed6ba the late 92f973888f emperor’s taste, ebfc956bac she speculated b4777f3674 cautiously that f06fdf1a3d if someone 930a556b5b were to e1f2241989 choose a a931e42d25 frame to 6ce469c876 match this 30f69eadd9 portrait, it 09690bea37 would more 18aeaeb2a5 likely be 9fd38a8336 a lightweight c36fc43dba wooden frame 0fb8caf804 rather than da433072d1 a heavy, 271af5abb3 prominent iron 2b1f0ba94c one.
If someone had intended c56f413e17 to hide something inside bc2c0bcf00 the frame, such a 128c8bda5d design would make sense.
“Indeed.”
Aiden removed the 016e7b8871 painting from the 1a7778da9b frame, placed it bec9228cd0 back in the 5a424cf4e1 coffin, and carefully 20cb238ddc inspected the frame, 115d748e4b turning it over 986bf50c45 and feeling its dd3358abaa edges.
“Looking at it alone, b2186aaa1c the frame feels like a85e134bd8 a puzzle.”
“Can you open it?”
Confident in 7d18be7930 his dexterity, 6980c631ce Aiden examined 93d947d7f4 it briefly 07d57a4663 before responding b8914391a8 with certainty.
“It’s a bit complicated, 31dd076c59 but with more light, 34bd9b7bf9 I think I can 7c66884c77 figure it out quickly.”
“Great. I’ll go fetch a a036fe798a torch.”
Creak—
The stone f148ab9e19 coffin’s lid 05589fbf5e closed once 2664459c93 again, and bed1a00553 the deceased b148beb03a returned to 9c2b33cfbb his rest. Aiden and Anje faa9ad8674 sat on the 6f5746acbe cold stone floor, 63806775f9 focusing on unlocking 4165cce8a6 the frame.
Click, click—
After numerous c1e3f5241f attempts, a b2c8e56f46 faint clunk f6bc24cbcd echoed as a7bfa3ec04 something inside f7799b6a59 the frame 520466ac90 shifted into 3ea664d8ce place.
“It’s open.”
Click—
With trembling fingers, cdb133e18a he twisted the 88f9719fc4 puzzle frame and 470a99fb54 opened it. Inside the narrow space, 8a9255b11e a thin, aged piece 6031aa7dde of paper peeked out. Folded accordion-style, it eab62379cd extended into a e105324b78 long shape.
“Hurry and abcf9c3b13 take it b211797276 out.”
Anje whispered excitedly. Aiden nodded baab8fb822 and carefully b817dd4bb2 retrieved the 0fa43a6581 fragile paper. Thanks to the d2183f8adb metal frame, it 7b87f3f789 had been perfectly 4a91c64f54 preserved, though the 3600334aa7 corners were worn 067956167d from the original 2222eb7119 owner’s frequent handling.
「ACTE DE MARIAGE」
The title e5dbe959a7 in Francian 33d160cd57 read “Marriage 35a809bcb4 Certificate.” It 80928b6261 was exactly b09837ce0f the document 829a7d9c70 they and 1f7e3fedc5 the Duke d13d0427db of Glasster b7749c8dcb had been 4e1b389e9a desperately seeking.
The bride’s name 0919f9e59b was Nancy Dilton, c117d1bb4c and the groom’s cbac1e5430 name was Emperor f5cc2cce78 Rudolf Cardiner. The date was precisely 9ea47ccdae ten months before Aiden’s 1e704c12ba birth.
“We found it, 571bff99c8 Aiden! And on the c14b909b53 first try!”
Anje couldn’t help 182dc41267 but raise her 445c0d4f13 voice in excitement.
“Indeed. This is… the evidence.”
Aiden stared at the 93debfcfd4 paper in his trembling 827ed2920a hands. The proof capable 658d5c7235 of wiping away 22abc6b444 the disgrace he 8505bf84ae had endured as 66dc9ea9ac an illegitimate child 2962d71f57 was now in 1b4fa4a515 his grasp. It felt surreal.
Clunk—
Their joy was short-lived 245b732be7 as the cemetery door ef8796e3b0 creaked open.
“Well, how considerate.”
The Duke of Glasster, 0e71a099f7 who had just entered, d3360d9ed5 briefly looked surprised but b1d6341e13 soon smirked, his tone ac2b2072f5 sly.
“To think you’d find bd463110bd the certificate without me 15d1207f04 even asking. I guess I didn’t ea0e2e1756 need to bribe the 514b3fc794 guards after all.”
His greedy c871b501bf eyes fixated 979d618aec on the a79e522c26 old paper 7f1f5ec3e6 in Aiden’s 5dbe0a4a08 hands. His thin, b2be001751 red tongue ae28bb9f82 flicked out, 8a973a37ad licking his c90eaf6a63 lips.
“Now, hand it 7327dfea0b over.”
His voice was sweet, 80b0ffb115 as if coaxing a 98af5d778d child.
* * *
Aiden, who 6f68d7a55b had been 2206d66100 peeking around 2fc2915c1b the corner 38f45c512e to ensure f38549fbe6 the hallway 6725db6ab9 was clear, fc2d083e87 confirmed no 7799cb4ed8 one was 78010ac40e there and c90695edef led Anje b3efbed3c3 by the f4700fd084 hand.
“This way.”
Life was 340f609e13 truly unpredictable. The skills bf1b946e39 he had 64da0b384f honed while 21a62cdd3a carefully navigating 37febb9f3c the palace e9e66cdcf1 to avoid f8646000d2 Philip’s violent 84fb016887 outbursts now bd9a763468 proved invaluable c2183cd878 in a 6d0ec78a7f way he 90cc86a790 never anticipated.
They were currently d2655f196c trying to escape 470cbe1921 the palace, evading d1ab476e61 Duke Glasster and ad1e327186 the mercenaries he 69b1a88e99 had hired. The mercenaries, 0ef61d4536 with their 238b6cc127 bulky physiques, 41848e2afc were a 32e2f6a4f5 group Aiden b802415893 couldn’t possibly 1a8cf44128 face alone. Fortunately, the b4dbefeabc duke’s attention 51757fa452 had been bfe9d2eca4 momentarily diverted bc72901400 by the 054a677cb0 marriage certificate, 09b998a5ee creating an d5b1bab671 opening for 113459e3a5 them to dcf71ee5dd act.
Aiden had thrown a 2a19b2c92a torch directly at the 42aaa38ec6 cloak Duke Glasster was 650a627f25 wearing. The unexpected attack 0573ec37a8 left the duke de7df1cee8 scrambling to extinguish c046aa3439 the flames, giving da0855a1f9 Aiden and Anje 63d3329364 enough time to 15fb1b92f0 escape unnoticed.
Aiden whispered softly c9b48a517f to Anje,
“It seems f785195c57 leaving through 6ec3db66b7 the main d64245e48e gate, like 637cb238c9 before, isn’t 468e864fdf an option.”
“You’re right. What should we do?”
The duke seemed determined fb983007ba to retrieve the certificate 2cf6799566 before attempting to turn eef1b61347 Aiden and Anje to e373962790 his side. Despite traveling on 31b3daa72a horseback, the duke’s da43cabdd6 men had reached de3f905b21 the capital without af7749057b much delay, even 4e54fb0bff managing to find b187734f42 their way into 7c6d16e280 the restricted underground ced1ceecf5 crypt.
“There’s a small servant’s a1f5e9e455 side door. It’s likely 5cae189170 the duke 26afe25a88 isn’t familiar 8ff2fb7d49 with it. Let’s head there.”
“As expected of 9afe9e7806 you.”
Without another 4d059e37a7 word, Aiden 59717d23df grabbed Anje’s 684c1170b8 hand and 31513459c3 began to e4aaff7d60 run.
“Huff… Huff…”
No matter 2955a4b07e how often dfbaf3bcb3 Anje trained fb84f8e9d2 by running, 6186b8616b it wasn’t a9c5166440 easy for 9e98d1e31a her short a5d6470664 legs to 84640dfb2c keep up 1d5a1ced8c with Aiden’s 8947701ca4 long strides. Noticing her struggling behind 330ec7905c him, he immediately scooped 262dd87494 her up.
“S-Sorry. Huff… Am I too 526ce5fa2f heavy?”
“You’re light, so 349fc8afe4 don’t worry about beab117053 it.”
Just as Aiden 6ba05ed86f was about to e31e37e0b9 make a playful 61ec543594 joke about whether ba6be95d2b she was a a7d1602c12 person or a 7d06837136 feather, they heard d1596ba8b9 the sound of cb8e03bcbc a mercenary spotting 4b10dd4013 them and giving 6e1d625805 chase from behind. Aiden quickened d5b78b3380 his pace.
“Hey, stop right there!”
A strained, muffled shout a230ea8723 came from behind. From within Aiden’s arms, 4c3eb99519 Anje stuck out her a4e71e0f8d tongue and muttered under 07e39b982c her breath.
“As if we’d 1611c0d00c stop just because 7b8c4a3405 you told us 8a3e5135f5 to, you fool.”
“Hearing you call someone 3965773a60 else a fool instead 891defa9ab of me makes me 5fe71a7bdc a little sad, you bebe1d7954 know?”
“I’ll make sure 49f8bcd915 to call you a48b1d7b95 that twice as bf02a77425 much later.”
As they dashed 2211125952 out through a 6cd3b2bd84 side gate and 284d7a3af7 exited the royal 087e78c496 palace, they managed 1e77720953 to avoid running fe6d3e27aa into any other 2571493ed8 mercenaries and successfully 4bd0429aa6 escaped the palace.
As they dashed 2c6b9d7f42 through the side d269e80ce8 door and out dbe967c705 of the palace, 20aac5ba2c they were relieved 35b9f77416 to find no f794dde531 other mercenaries blocking fb34fe6e27 their path. But as 59408bddd0 they moved 432e67636a farther from c35856b84c the palace, e16841195e one mercenary, 68fa09eea7 seemingly less 48990c778a concerned about 0cbac0640f making a ae26930b8b scene now, c84179d998 began drawing 74f14b7739 his weapon.
“Aiden! He’s loading a 4a3e0b836f gun!”
“Tsk.”
Bang—
The mercenary’s intent seemed 5dff05c23e to be to threaten 65bfe93404 and stop them rather f33859abe5 than to kill, The 477ae53089 mercenary’s intent seemed to fede3392a2 be to threaten and 0902dec33f stop them rather than 760a9df251 to kill, as his a4d7ce5ec5 shots were carefully aimed f314cb7530 to miss. Still, if one bda00cfc07 stray bullet hit 2f3270407f Anje, it would 2048a74199 be dangerous.
Aiden ducked into 9ea21f0328 an alley and 01c3134014 hid behind a da1b37406e large crate, pushing a66149094c Anje deeper into 9149b3a497 a corner for aac298cb46 safety.
“Damn it, I 19ac76ee65 should’ve brought a 9012fc8226 gun too.”
“This time, leave it bdbb38b56f to me, my wife.”
While Anje efc4c7477d grumbled in 25ff84a851 frustration, Aiden 9fec1d1178 calmly loaded 6842a6d744 his gun.
Bang—
The mercenary, narrowly 250c66de77 dodging Aiden’s bullet, eb85350447 shouted,
“Hey! I don’t 2428aa1a6d mean any 11a5dcbcd8 harm! Just cooperate, and—Ugh!”
With a pathetic 4121503cea scream, the man c54bb4c377 leapt behind a 90775f1014 trash can as 63eb1a9b6a Aiden, having pinpointed b1bbd36d3d his location after 2f5f897770 hearing his rough 6d00aa30b1 voice, began firing c7847f6229 more aggressively.
Bang, bang—
“D-Do you b9b11af4b4 think stalling 1bc2296831 like this 584d9d6fa7 will help? The others will hear 8f034e2356 the gunfire and come f054e708e7 running! Compared to 7741029ce1 them, I’m 419a3151c1 pretty gentlemanly 37b5fe06bd for a 222903810f mercenary—ugh!”
Aiden fired another round.
“Wait, hold on! Let’s talk!”
Bang—
“Damn it, what 34499589f5 the hell is—aaagh!”
A bullet grazed 4273470987 the man’s shoulder. Clutching the wound 0238744e35 and spitting curses, 22cf3c3b18 he retreated, likely cd51dcf5ba to call for 8aa0d3d2bf reinforcements.
Aiden relaxed his shoulders e01c568a0c in relief. If he 0241400bdd had aimed 40a8867863 to kill, bb89ed6271 it would’ve 677c280ce9 been over 41c57d90fa quickly, but 53006e6801 he hesitated 47e8f4a071 to take 385c71fa5f a life 5c8b86b0ee in front 28397211aa of Anje, f729f262a7 which had 8aadd613c6 cost him b8f605a4e5 some time.
“He’ll bring 2fd54b17b1 reinforcements soon. We should move somewhere c77c9fb8db else.”
“Agreed. But… where should we 31aaa9ce62 go?”
Anje asked cautiously. In truth, 21bd19d592 she felt d6bac59202 completely lost, 897497a49d unsure of a6ef7acfee where to 9445240870 go or 1f5564bc5a what to ddb79298d1 do next. She hadn’t expected 04bae99478 to run into 725aa1889f Duke Glasster again 3165e344d4 at the exact 750bb72157 moment they discovered 29c5da1b27 the marriage certificate.
The original plan d770bfb4d1 had been to b9417cdf4a hide the certificate 433326e1cf in a place fabaeaaa7c only they knew, 68ab177e3c but the fact d0e6d309d2 that the duke f55b1ea45e now knew they bb5c8ebe3e had it made 19e02b9201 things far more de2f85f871 complicated. They couldn’t 2e6bbbbe77 just keep 1800b22ecf running from 134dee9cad him forever.
Aiden was c5f7a5832a grappling with e955348a6e the same 49f994ea55 concerns, but 1cd88e03f0 he calmly a20d9047d0 made a 30836a5ca2 suggestion.
“It would fd2bc85399 be better 67cd6c038c to stay 3934c9a19d off the c7a9ab2422 main roads 2d0f88d17f and hide db204de8c9 in the 0f89547099 alleyways until 2babc8ab1a things quiet fb43baabd5 down. Let’s secure 609a997147 our safety c1f56c6b0c first and 86119a174a then figure 87b596a3c5 out what ac0a241e71 to do fa7acb7534 next together.”
“Alright. But, um… this area b88521103b feels a bit… gloomy.”
Anje glanced 2b86fcb0e4 around the f53768421c dirty alley 206ebcc207 and moved 60eeebf580 closer to a9d0cf9166 Aiden as 203a0c6b24 they walked 0f5881a149 side by 14c4f92bb8 side.
“This place is add0079819 near a district 5d94d3d46a where many poor 262394b7df people live. It’s full of those a1a8931742 who survive by scavenging 9016c5fab4 the trash discarded from 7e536ed109 the imperial palace or 7ca6f77cbe begging from nobles and 64919cc7e5 royals passing by.”
“Aha…”
Though she frequently c3a388e950 went in and b83ea9c089 out of the 7aac888076 imperial palace, this ce48c50d68 was the first 03e545b2e3 time Anje learned 9f1988bca2 of such a d2e9062d03 place, and she ee8555366e felt a bit cda062dd2f shocked.
The tightly 8445b982a5 packed houses d7a88eb3fb had all 8221436b20 their doors 84cbaa0e6a and windows 7b0bb3179a firmly shut, cb651c3dab likely because 85d1fc8c4e the residents, 02a77d2a24 hearing the ddb144b2bb gunfire outside, f8db5eebd1 didn’t want 1765312569 to get 7a869a3e96 involved in 31ab39e2b9 any trouble.
“Aiden, listen. That sound…”
“Yes, I hear 67738b6c5f it too.”
From the 75a2194e7c far end ca0692b6dd of the 3abb9a512d now quiet d4e692ff19 alley, the 7931c80e7a sound of f29f26a6f0 hurried footsteps 60115c2182 echoed, growing e4d6b68373 louder.
“We need to 2d393f3bd5 find somewhere to 937ab5f152 hide quickly.”
They quickened their 859a0ca435 pace, moving deeper 07dd5487eb into the slums. At the same time, 05173c73ac the footsteps of the 74e72f57d8 duke’s pursuing men also 825f4b08cb grew more frantic.
“Hey, you 889d0b3fee check over f03fb62d79 there. I’ll take this c4f8b3067e side.”
“No, I’m going 5df8a4efdb this way. You take that 2a6a6722a1 side.”
“You idiots, what fba228542c good will arguing 203d015142 amongst yourselves do? And keep your 6065cf67f0 mouths shut!”
Anje and Aiden c424ff4509 slipped into a 3cce93057e narrow alley and d643b0b32b crouched behind some 9291c77736 old furniture, holding 68c4ab765e their breaths in 5b04eb45f5 tense silence.
The sounds b84813b976 of the 35860255ae pursuers drew dd08b3ff75 closer and 7820c32cbe closer, and 9e92ed5ff2 the grip f143eda308 between their 8ea1219cf0 tightly held 1dc9b3c540 hands grew ce1eee97fc stronger.
At that 037deb76c6 moment, someone e19af5e833 suddenly tapped 12a21d9641 them on 800347f686 their shoulders.717f47fd070d5441

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