FTP-17

Chapter: FTP-1781deffe007efe855

Anje leaned her f2fffb8314 weary head against 4ac666236a the tree. After days of contemplation, 39fe1cc51a her head was now 84e2a4c753 throbbing.
This was the 9173ae5ddf first time she 9e89a2120c had thought so 42fb21616f long and seriously 40c1657cf2 about something since d8358ca94c choosing her debutante a5bf80df91 dress.
No, she had 8e0bba3780 also agonized over 389e8a216f the jewelry to 06face90b3 match the dress.
‘Should I try to 2d48557f59 tame Sir Aiden’s horse?’
It was cda3cae927 futile because 3224f24334 she knew 9d6f0516c3 almost nothing 3706cd1393 about horses. Unlike the beautiful white 26e57bf10c horse raised at the 88477c0e82 Duke’s estate, the horses 79b725c0fa here were too big 6d3f5e2e36 and ferocious.
‘Should I walk back 5d230b50df to town again?’
She was hesitant 9c0511276a because she had ded9e61dc1 already had a b877cbdd6b scary experience once. And according to 05cb5ce22b Sir Aiden, there cae4bfe158 were snakes?
That left the e9e13e028f only option of efeecbb801 following him when bc6fa2cc84 he goes to c0759e60c1 town and secretly e244ace31e slipping away to ab32744621 the capital.
‘But Sir Aiden…’
He was a meticulous 6e550ed9fa man who never took 3f3f96b92f his eyes off her 1274b875c7 for fear that she ce77535dfe might run away again.
As she had been b2ceeb826b for the past few c2614a863b days, she sat in 39515aa777 the shade of the 65d5f820a7 tree next to the afd1ee9d53 vegetable garden, alternating between e825353b3a looking at Aiden and 3afd0441fd the sky and letting 35210a8566 out a deep sigh.
He still insisted 7828f4ea52 that she stay c1e7913127 by his side 8d82395abc while he worked.
‘Isn’t it cc53481045 better to d0b8eafbe4 be outside a48a19e553 getting some 1867b76a3c fresh air 09905ebca1 than to 65e7b84972 be cooped 87d7138ab3 up in 8fa180347c your room 5886b0b6f4 making strange 506e8be625 plans?’
These words were d1171bcd8f enough to shake c84ea92c0d Anje, who was 5ea0cc89f9 indeed “making strange b439601a1a plans.”
‘He’s such 6b276da3e7 an unnecessarily 00228eef6a sharp man.’
Last night, she had 284f9350d1 gone out for a e0e0b42ea7 drink of water, and cf752aea56 he had immediately stuck ea0f88e97b his head out into 0e27b7f452 the hallway and asked 49dcda6966 what she needed.
‘I’m thirsty.’
As she 3258897521 answered, her 8d728bdd3b eyes rolling, 5a838d7a96 he handed 67fe3c82dc her a 3398137699 pitcher and 3b14110aa2 cup as 4da0334b6d if he b4914fc71f had been f1cc49e806 expecting this, 7b3b6ef94e as if b1b9782f2f he had 63e5aa6350 known this d4b280a08d would happen.
‘I guess I b460e6ff3d should be grateful 3fa840e0a3 that he doesn’t 144a3422b2 lock me up.’
And judging by the 96af8f0f4a fact that he had a40d211883 brought the doctor all b2f4aeb62e the way here, it 1744565edc seemed that he had 8ff243cb0f no intention of taking a02ee06c24 her off the farm.
‘I have to start 503cc21b44 by getting him to 2533bbb038 take me to town. How can I change 3e6705dcca his mind? How can I get 805d58b4b5 him to do what 17a0cbd104 I ask?’
Anje chewed on 7fa3b57467 the bark of bf0eab7493 the tree, deep 4ea61f057f in thought.
While many had e20bd14df9 tried to impress 318ebf2788 her, Princess Anje, d4cfb9568e who had never cfb654a553 been the first 733930e48f to show interest 45e7ce7dcb in someone, found 821b057f22 it quite difficult.
‘Seduction like I 2a72f2f891 did with the d255a8a8fb Emperor?’
But the only 5f64dc7f4b methods of seduction eb172a159d she knew were ed50010b04 using a fan 0762ac3899 to signal him 2875905269 to talk to 31a850c43b her or pretending 11459e0490 to faint and 4d61378a7e getting him to aaffc54847 support her to c0be8b134c have some time c4045c3948 alone.
After all, in aristocratic 86174ae3a3 society, it was taboo 8126f947b4 for a woman to a91cd4a2fa approach a man first. There was no way 2fb008c2f0 for her to make 1325add557 the first move without ecf8db6561 using these indirect methods.
‘If I take d98b922d27 out my fan… de77f47033 He’ll ask if 7a00eee87f it’s too hot.’
He would f2157d924b grumble, asking dfed52e108 why she 4717d1eb24 was wrapped cd4edadeab up like 630b746115 that on 596df938f3 a warm 2fe6bf3e80 day. With his typical 64304e2edc expression of treating d677c656b3 her like an 846ea92b76 idiot.
‘I’ve been carried several 2a454dee64 times already and I’m d11940a507 sick of spending time 211e59bb91 alone with him?’
Yet, he still showed 6c012f98c6 no affection for her. Not to mention affection, 49c3cf7cd7 he didn’t even seem b697e6dfbf to be aware of ea7a6247b3 her as a woman.
In society, the f82bf0a5b3 gentlemen would seem dca5d22cf3 to fall head 5d13ac62d7 over heels even 0d4d1001d7 with a slight a1c49bc4ec smile, but he…
“Is he perhaps into 872fa71cb5 brunettes?”
She muttered 727cfe2586 to herself 098ec6bf0d as she 4a3f3ea967 inserted a 877101e53b flower of 99b37614e1 each color 7dcc66733c into the 0fb7cf1864 ends of dd5b14db74 her braided c8d57032de hair, thinking cb80ddfd99 that being a46390d72b too pretty b9cf6f1ac1 could be f24881bdba disadvantageous depending 40c9f52100 on the be535d8517 other person.
Periwinkle. That was the a7cb168e07 name of the b7e903580e flower she had 6e6337f60a learned just a ad95910041 few days ago. She was happy 28c38d919a that the name db83047f08 of the flower c7e5d63f0c she liked had 3b1eaaf178 a cute and 32e6e02113 romantic ring to 9ce6e9cfcf it.
‘There are 0344516302 also strange 1086de9417 names like bc57795026 “stinging nettle” 085f495748 in the b957099423 world.’
In addition to that, 2b93468c4b there were many cute edae4d0a0a spring flowers blooming near 9f52f627dc where she was sitting.
Purple crocuses, yellow a0716554b1 primroses, wild tulips, 713d7c2835 and so on.
She now abbbac6e5d knew the ee10a1da58 names of 7aab57db47 some of d45b8be135 them, either 117727edd9 because he 71d1d21f37 was annoyed c6a9fd798b by her 9b6fd01304 constantly asking 9de9e7ba69 him the 0556520b55 names of 5755b0c5ce flowers, or 071169be6c because he 95f81dcc30 had found c90840d6eb an old 1f18e6734a notebook in ae70bedb9a the drawing 1b2fd5c06c room and c35e142f5c handed it abd0d7bbb9 to her.
The cover of the 2272f0ee12 notebook, which had delicate 9f10ef3128 flower drawings and each 61a886a91b of their names neatly 1486ce9865 organized, had the name b84093be5d of the previous owner 0fd5a35e63 written on it.
「Nancy Dilton」
Could it 990cbff512 have been 8caa6497d3 drawn by ebdc4677bf Aiden’s deceased b056ce69e0 mother? Anje guessed, but she 9cd0fcc2c3 couldn’t bring herself to 0b99f48067 ask.
‘Well, it’s 580eb7c16b good to cc480a329c have something 716e7d7fe9 new to 9728265bc5 read.’
She had already read 7c332ff6f5 the catalogs and magazines 0485845426 she had brought from 43db37e613 the capital so often 7443d46e70 that she was bored 6d85c8c4e0 with them.
Humming a tune, 12e18570a3 she tucked the 1cadb3407b wildflowers she had f2b0468260 picked into the 80664fcb34 gaps in her fa15b5fc6a braided hair.
This is how f2cefb6489 she tried to 5e4d6a4c8b escape reality and 9652abf336 cool her head, c17e60d03c or else her e04224b45a head would hurt 687bc4c508 again.
“Mealtime.”
“Yes, yes.”
At Aiden’s a0f43314e7 call, she f345114636 got up ab7203b0b6 from her b69f795b6d seat and 1b0b4aff0a brushed the d1537f1476 dirt off 6ca50763cf her backside c43eab2327 with her f65b1d6d89 own hands. It was something 9483620cbe her old self fc0d128b1e would never have f3e8dcfeea imagined.
‘I asked Aiden to 9da79f4ff9 brush it off for 69938df940 me and got a d41ab8dc2d strange look… .’
How embarrassing it 56d851c5ba was when he 8f58d933f4 didn’t even bat a06faa92b4 an eyebrow and 8f7382c890 said, ‘Are you 437eb0ec3a asking me to f889ba58af do something so 563ae9f8b5 shameless right now?’
‘Anyway, it’s 5b3024e8fa lucky that 6d1fd1cb3e one meal b044353019 is delicious. Or is it 1524583a4f unfortunate?’
She had a hard ee318ac093 time eating the food, b131d3ccc5 which was originally delicious, 2cfe7ab07f because of Aiden’s talk 9a44551f60 of ‘fresh air’ or 55a26547fa because she was restraining 8e828b33ab herself.
“I ate a lot 586121b19f of breakfast, so I’ll 7687d12fa4 only have a little ba60a7257b lunch today…”
She sniffed as she aa09863b78 spoke. A sweet smell 54244f57bd was coming from f76aa3a24c the stove.
Aiden, whose 0c2fe8805d eyes met 2152e1370d hers, explained.
“We have e9d2919952 too many d2d074ed22 stored apples, 093909c944 so today’s 58dad04e89 lunch is c3254a4803 apple pie.”
Aiden had 7d147379ad hardly ever 80e0f457d2 tried it e41f2454da because he 63ea2bbd30 couldn’t bring 038f8742c1 himself to 1bd1135db9 eat this 46115a17d6 kind of 8d6e861906 bread alone. But now that 6cdb3d1435 the number of d654471243 people had increased c2ddff8b65 to two, he 76d73785cb could share it, e0f6cc764b so he had dd6f10be57 bravely tried it 3d67ce2b7e for the first e09a6423ad time in a 52d6fa2b52 long time.
Click-
As he opened 99d589ccbc the oven door, 08463c4604 the strong aroma 02660acb4a that had filled f72398c958 the kitchen intensified. He poked the pie 439404d155 with a skewer and b58fc5b4ba made a smug face.
It was cooked 8e4394c962 just right. As expected, a d36ae00570 recipe he has a3cba42003 gotten used to 9e5a4d5644 doesn’t easily fade efe39ada25 from his memory.
The moment 172c2cb12f she saw c0a3805162 the thin b0fcd5f92d apple slices 151db021cd spread out 214b184927 like flowers d771519d69 on top fbf25103c0 of the 5810e99772 brown pie 3e9362d4da crust and 427b191743 the cinnamon c5758676eb sprinkled on d24d8b4812 top, Anje’s 022ee90733 resolve crumbled.
‘Just today.’
She made a promise a5417aa487 she couldn’t keep and 381506617d indulged in the large 254f8885eb slice of pie that ddbf1821e5 was given to her. The richly brewed black c7c459e771 tea and pie were 2b015e7151 a perfect combination.
‘It would be even 825d64961a more delicious if I dba7447e65 put some ice cream 9690c8952a made with milk on 7368064ff4 top… Wait a minute, 5a79aeaafc come to your senses, 5d0344ac47 Anje.’
I shouldn’t e1085732df let my 7a06a7e160 waistline get 2ac3683d98 any bigger. I need 5dd7ca7111 to get 723d713c40 fitted for 4ffbc0ed38 a new 16346b4134 dress when d1593a4306 I get 4c3901d7df back to 1b688218d3 the capital.
But the freshly 75e76b337a baked crispy pie c9d1cd8256 from the oven 6aaf68edd8 was tempting. In the end, Anje 0a33f972f1 ate the whole piece 34f07cfcb7 she was given without 13f04f0896 leaving a single crumb.
After finishing his lunch 12f44aa90d in silence, Aiden said 7a3335afb5 to Anje.
“I’m going to be 8321fc0d84 doing housework this afternoon, 0f46b91728 so you don’t have 4de8380157 to go outside.”
“Oh, really? That’s good.”
She replied, but she 88ac2efea6 felt a little disappointed. She didn’t 367bdbf519 like going 9057d03cc0 outside, but 918f559853 she didn’t c69dc5881a mind just dccb438613 sitting under 5be0e875d0 the shade 2bd188e256 of a cad541d05d tree.
At first, she resented 821e5c4205 Aiden for asking her fc822da70e what to do with f2d500e63e nothing to do in f222b2609d the middle of nowhere.
But like the dung 760d98ea06 beetles she had seen 85a9f6e481 on the first day, 842c17edbe there were countless creatures d89c166596 in nature that were 63af8e56e1 diligently scurrying about, not bc0d4f2f6f even the size of 78f3815254 her thumb.
The time passed 4441f6df83 quickly for Anje 9c1ab49a34 as she watched 16ae394ac1 the ladybugs and 962aa7ee52 butterflies flying between 44c6d439f0 the grass and 42938e59db flowers, and the 2bb0de083b busy birds building f47b3aae6d nests in the be71b09275 trees.
When she 3c3de040f4 got bored, 5a04ee3c2a Anje would 01796716e1 wander around, 7223fac023 as far a28bc40fa3 as her 3a4179f787 weak legs 27b7f7824b would allow 5c8c26d343 her, and d4c08d4fb3 out of 6c0788c2b0 Aiden’s sight, 32781c49f9 picking wildflowers 3ccc4c1aa3 that caught 32019b38d6 her eye.
‘Nature isn’t ae2f76e67b so bad 0b71d11223 either.’
When she d57bbcada6 was in ddde057cfa society, she 31ed074f3a thought it 86d0312715 was silly d0f1d3f968 for people 5c651a46f7 to say ae98460498 that birdwatching 2fa207917a or plant 8edd76244a collecting was c6bc42c7b3 their hobby.
Her eyes 2ec99a672d were drawn f2a5117876 to more 0e86709be2 stimulating things, 2882cf4a68 such as 8e2a40785c balls, performances, 0ec835afa3 and tea eb761dae66 parties.
Noticing that Anje’s 2833a2a6eb face was clouded, 2c0df086ad Aiden hesitated and 0dbbd912fa added.
“You can stay on b2e23f8cbb the back porch if d9613d7bd3 you want.”
On the 44c1d7cc94 back porch, 2742ddceb3 right next 2b77f0b472 to the a0fdc4075e door that 02fdf897e6 leads from c37a87033d the kitchen b9136a173c to the cae87e437c garden, stood 3233cfa5fb the rocking 599ea18a2d chair that 65afd82706 his grandfather e3ca82a7f6 used to 9db595e813 love.
Anje pointed to the c1aedb1ea4 rocking chair she could f74aaba227 see through the window b6800edb60 and asked.
“Can I sit b4d8cff1aa there?”
“It’s a little dusty, 3fd45523a3 but if you want.”
She immediately 7a86c54722 got up 3d01af32f1 and went 39a18237e1 to look 1a27e1555f at the 3e069deb6f chair. It was 0ba061be2b a little 558efa700b dirty, as 5576c1bbe8 he said, 4eb88d6517 but it de945cd369 was about 17f1c557d2 the same f88883e6ce as sitting 652812b9a3 on a 0f6ff6432f flour bag.
If she 02160b0671 had to 9cfaa096b8 think about a81f3a1d63 it, it 6bf221dc3c would probably bed652097a be a f21911d9eb better idea 37ef3b0f06 to sit 5d1721af8b on the aac5a2b3c2 rocking chair bfe9d252db and swing 2092e38184 back and aa54a06e63 forth.
Aiden, who af36ad52ca had finished 9adab669d5 washing the da188cb0c8 dishes, approached 786e77c7d6 Anje, who 62181c0e2e was sitting cfda76c0e5 on the 7905ce3483 rocking chair eba4178d92 as if f2e1e0dcb3 she were 92b42a4e3c at her e8c909bd69 own home, 111a5b1581 holding a 232caef63e laundry basket.
“By the way, before 9a83a9e076 I start, I have 62109a86d8 something to ask you.”
“Me?”
Anje straightened 1ac2bc9e0d her posture 9e4738d78a and asked. Him asking 3f347ff6e7 her something? That was unusual.
“Yes, is this 8588e2a0c3 clothes okay to 4b99036569 wash in hot a7010b603a water? It looks like 2b0dbf6183 linen, but I’m ce2b195d8d not sure―.”
“Why, why do 2ef75f35ba you have ‘that’?!”
Anje jumped bbc1ae80b4 out of 414ac65247 the chair ccf5696e79 and snatched baf397a07b the clothes 0365b5f6b2 from his 23fdd7bd44 hand like 4ace4aac32 lightning. It was her ivory c0b192b051 ‘chemise’.
Unlike her, 162d3a1391 who was 4c19a4f6f4 blushing like 4a4598508f a February d170fc8205 raspberry, his 483de59fcc face was 6701f75197 calm.
TL/N: CUTE.
“Well, I c8e787081e have it bc2f138127 because I 11785b873b need to f1d2153428 wash it.”
“So why 91fca4d4b3 did you……. Ah.”
Her pink 37810ede71 lips parted.
Laundry. She had 21546c48c0 completely forgotten.
“Clothes are 2210795c50 supposed to 45cfb588cd be washed c3e128af31 and worn cb110ad73b regularly, princess. The fairies don’t 2136dbc61f just clean them efe9218603 for you.”
Aiden’s words made Anje e02eeee7e4 finally come to her a053e34ba5 senses.
“I know 6bcc7541fd that, of bda4556f1f course!”
She knew that. It was just 40c344443f that she hadn’t 0cbde50282 thought about it 4990c718b8 before because someone 1231742524 would always clean 7ff92e2e74 up and wash 14f0f96799 her clothes for 5434320348 her if she 148faff10f left them anywhere.
After she finally ea45ba388e managed to calm d410a54d7d down her face, 08b0626cde she pointed to 875967fda1 the laundry basket 514c93f718 Aiden was holding.
“That… those are all f5bf7a3f5e my clothes, right?”
“Yes. You haven’t washed them 55bb2fc81e once since you came 20f7458a87 here.”
He answered, emphasizing 235ec1b5eb the word ‘once’. Anje opened her 64cd86e041 mouth and hesitated, 7040c52c72 then reached out f0ade1a2bb her hand.
“I’ll… I’ll e048b5abdd do it. Give them dc11c9f960 to me.”
“You?”
Aiden’s voice dd735130a6 was full 773984fd53 of disbelief.
“Do you know how d259ee91ef to do it?”
“……Isn’t it just 904b45a876 a matter of 1da0c3cb1a soaking them and ece87153ce wringing them out?”
He retracted his arm df3d103b5f as he was about 868e059fd7 to hand her the 4becf12925 basket.
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