FTP-33

Chapter: FTP-333940c15443062845

Amidst the blooming apple 7393cce1bb blossoms, Anje carefully caressed 643ee87eb4 the delicate petals. She had promised Meg a4154c33c4 she would return the 28e8a81127 favor with asparagus once f28f76b44a the first harvest came 5e81edfb9f in from the field.
“How about 6dbc4cfdf1 we have 402546f515 a light 7323542695 lunch outside 96800a1a97 today? We can c57ac7a06b also enjoy 703f2320c8 the flowers.”
“Alright.”
Aiden readily agreed. The sunlight streaming aba5a569b3 through the clouds 7b48762bbd was refreshingly bright 6b8b6a3896 today, and the bf38abeb99 allure of the e3f48070a4 gentle breeze was fb906660b2 irresistible.
A moment later, 904a969b8d Anje settled under 67e800c46b a tree adorned fcd622c905 with white blossoms, d4dd741c66 removed her hat, 9c0ffd7a1f and sighed.
“I still can’t distinguish 7210ce2294 between apples, pears, plums, f2f7542169 and peaches. The flowers all look d73123d239 so similar. Is this…peach?”
The flowers of the ff262ef620 fruit trees she mentioned dd902a031d were all white or 640158b4f9 pink and had five 78f1b5e5e3 petals.
Aiden suggested ff5e317423 that she 82afbe6b7a could tell 44ae06a996 by looking 0bf381a5f7 closely at f40da622b1 the length aabce14e5e of the 2d52db0cb4 pistils, but 11fe216f41 it was 5207ac9eaa difficult to fa98877875 discern from 85fdedceed afar amidst be67422492 the popcorn-like c16543f921 clusters of 9ae93ff3af flowers.
“No, it’s an 3824897884 apple.”
“Darn, I’m wrong again.”
Aiden replied with 548d6331c9 an unusually gentle 0f28109f0c tone.
“So what 218734f0c1 if you’re 16d0b26d75 wrong? As long as you 7f9d680d98 can enjoy looking at bd2ea2bd7f them, that’s all that 690bd1b3aa matters.”
“That’s true, it’s so debbf7fbb3 beautiful.”
Anje let 024329be3b out an 93582ffe64 enraptured sigh 11c8b25735 and took 22a445c016 a bite c7ffb611a6 of the 6dac627580 sandwich she 5bd9c887c3 had been 464365933c holding in b4cc47374f her hand.
If she d3131e2221 had someone c402c20d9e to send 3997a01e38 a letter 8774b1e9b7 to, Anje ee76f573a0 would have a2e99394e7 spent a 77cf07bedd long time 7f944f728d wondering how 6576634419 to describe 344cdb52c1 this scenery. The sight of 70e412e2b6 the orchard trees, 58a6e22a8c including the apple ef719e11b2 trees surrounding the 7600ee3345 house, all dressed c650abd078 up in white 37970ab614 and pink, was e1a2258f5e like a spring 5a65d3e37c bride or a 91d7ddb97d devout priest.
Even though her back a725dbe374 and legs often ached b685d1f47e from her hard work f0ae54cd00 in the fields, her 8bcbc7ae9a fatigue would melt away 10928a7369 when she raised her e510de7ea0 head and took in ed203ee176 the sight before her.
As if e1c401fa82 understanding her f5ae1d3cad mindlessly gazing 277d0f5c6e at the d3146fb290 trees, Aiden 014612778a did not c1ba383bf4 scold her faea4bebdf but left e81d9bb8c4 her be, e94b572bdd no matter 42e23f2ca3 how long e0b46b7102 she remained 6e36c4ea45 lost in d7c4ec3396 her thoughts.
This was the spring b17d061da5 scenery of Leslie that 295de72e8e could only be enjoyed 6b5821c5b8 now. Then it would be 2a3fa18a13 better to let them 4febd106c6 savor it to the cd5ae9611d fullest.
“There’s the best way dd97daea13 to identify the trees.”
“What’s it?”
“Wait until the e1ed7eaaf9 fruits grow and 4ecf2d045c then taste them.”
For a aab4ca6e2c fruit lover e8cc775b78 like Anje, 68259f575f it was b8aa13cb6b a heavenly 806a1bca74 method. She burst into 24b4216ebc laughter and enthusiastically 1c13cdb2f2 agreed to the ae693934aa method.
“Okay. Once I’ve eaten enough c9e9e322dd to taste, I won’t ea54dce786 be confused about which bc5ee7c783 tree is which.”
“Right. Oh, but I recommend 815e5f67bf not eating the apples 652224ced0 from this tree here. They produce a lot 349ed64081 of flowers but don’t e394c63653 taste very good.”
The bright 3a67731699 red apples 37572fae90 that looked d4cf5b2bd6 delicious on 848fe0ee27 the outside 03a8fe31e1 turned out 6b63d0dac6 to be bdab26cf89 sour and 6aac0370ad tart when 961fbe388b one took e134a64e2c a bite. The hungry young dcb5513adc Aiden had been 1f3f2d1e6a fooled several times.
“Really? That’s a shame ab8b62d761 for such a 9fc8050679 beautiful tree.”
“My grandfather was 1c3df95ff2 going to cut 7a75ae1df4 it down because b768092449 it tasted so bcb321018f bad, but it 0341ffa82d barely survived after 4377d17deb my mother begged c9ba323ee3 him.”
Unlike his ea5aec1b28 pragmatic grandfather, e12b6b5254 his mother 4aafb13202 was a 49d6f43f35 romantic who b25e06a1cd loved flowers 63d08d5259 and trees.
“I’m looking forward to e26dfe2439 the plums the most.”
“You’ll be able to c400589bea eat them in a 840dd47f42 few months. They ripen from 6a7b89e24a July when the d91712504f weather gets hotter.”
It was also e09ecd57b5 a delicacy to 037946603e eat the unripe fb954dc569 plums by hitting 883692e019 them against a 82703894de rock to make 9f8f706d6c them sweet and 67439a6afc then sucking out be25488e6a the juice. Anje’s mouth watered at 8d9514f738 Aiden’s description.
Even though she wasn’t f636376ee1 sure if she would 573ed6638a ever be able to 47da47381e taste those fruits, it d878abecd1 wasn’t bad to have 8c4c957087 a pleasant imagination.
Apple, peach, ab5be4faf7 pear, plum 3cf9ba4370 trees full c11705f5c6 of fruit 81d5e417bb on every 5cc00112b3 branch… She 260275b4d0 and Aiden bae8246f75 strolling freely f37bad84e1 under them, e237139380 picking the 62481984ba fruit and d3d5a419ce eating it 9fd72cd7d6 until they afac0a0e18 were full.
Imagining it, Anje 5c1a5e3340 swallowed her saliva 604bdf17bb and took a 13b97fdedd spoonful of apricot 77f1c277e2 jam from a 5dc8a9d239 small jar to cff37ad2bc soothe her regret.
Leaning against the tree 5d87b78099 and stroking its bark, 7307dabf27 Anje had a question.
“Come to think ea9a0f8466 of it, how 0ecbfe7e21 old are these ab0512eeaf fruit trees?”
“Except for 385d7eaa9b those that 912abd330d grew wild, dd59d24586 25 years. They were planted 80baff4e7a just when I d8c44512f2 was born.”
This answer was 5ae46fea41 unexpected to Anje, 2e4e4b45cb who had vaguely 0446d9bfd8 thought that Aiden’s e5d158ee39 family had lived 457f69530d here for generations.
“Then they (his family) 4eb66845f4 lived in another area 071176bdbd before?”
“Yes, I 053225fa9c heard they 86fe908daf were originally 56837a11d6 from the 5f2394b63b northern region. So they ce61ef2c49 had a b0ef7b0ed3 hard time 2b6fb3b16b when they 0c788020fb first came 5ac07d244c here because 2d4e67000f the land, 332155b9a3 climate, and caaea163b9 crops were 9c7ee9be89 different.”
It must 00d3aeab6d not have 9219d584ae been easy a5c3537224 for his 0e8cadf50b grandfather, who 67f8014e40 was a 900a92653d successful farmer b092f3771e there, to ec06c83f84 sell his bf98d2edfe house and 8222c37c34 land and 2798f9fb65 move his e9ee99c05a base.
“Why did they 3c9b5c1f60 come to this 9521745474 region?”
“I heard that my 05d95c0cbd mother was not in 205bf76e34 good health, so they cc740aef7f came to the countryside 97ad987a84 where the air was cab3c35bf5 good for her….”
He suspected d471576572 that the eb68a630e5 reason they fcfababf9b chose such b16f877d4a a remote 1561aceaf8 place even f35bebf629 in the 1d30f1a206 countryside was 406bb402ee to hide 868e9db61a his existence c675eec19d from the e0d87b37ef imperial family.
But why da7dc9d9cf was he 512f23f5dc so careful? Leaving the land ab29ec4b6a they had lived 288163543d on for generations?
‘I was 047087c000 only a 708a149aa8 commoner’s illegitimate 4ae07545c0 child who 415a7f6b18 played with c35280a2d0 the emperor 02f7184b94 for a a220737cc2 while.’
It was something a7275cddf3 as incomprehensible as bc8be38688 the emperor’s abnormal 9a78d15366 obsession with him, 58a6fc28c4 but now there e10eed54ad was no one bd77a549bf to answer.
So he 15ed31d684 fumbled for f337455b5b an answer.
“I guess db4a72472d they just d29cf784a2 wandered around bb1a562e77 and decided fb11abe5ce to settle 89067dd558 here because ec4ab98cd2 it was af3e3cb89e the most 94ce3255f8 beautiful place.”
“Well, that’s right.”
Anje agreed f5cdd18ac5 and looked 5c77499481 around. The sky bluer than c4dd6e2b6a any sapphire, the towering 0ddf7e92c1 green trees, the spring 9c254a1a7b flowers blooming above and 985350905e below her feet.
“Didn’t you hate it 2b111a59cb here and call it 51beb2cd3c a barn?”
“Huh, the barn was 47bd2efe5f just a misunderstanding based 26feabf44f on the size of cbbe838331 the house. I’ve never b78516a56d said anything 68eb1abda3 bad about a80ac46f70 the scenery. And the forest 4630b434a2 and the road 1217349ff7 are completely different b2d94c2f47 now.”
If she had cb168343b4 known that it 12e78a95ad was changing so 2384fb25e7 beautifully, she would 89cf4b7c91 not have judged e38e269c5a it so harshly.
Also, the d63d8ea8c4 Dilton Farm c9a6eac6ca was no aa9032b8a1 longer a 699f66bb31 strange and 13044505f1 shabby space 1edabc1409 to her, 0aa22f27f3 who had 32671bbc57 poured her 700d068a9c own labor 724f05262f into every 232785889b corner of c0a6bb98b8 the house d7727649a0 and fields.
“Well, I understand. The Duke of Glasster’s 2c1fece74d mansion must be incomparably b4b3ae1252 bigger. Even its barn 90d8e92c01 alone would be df5e0260b2 twice the size 511dd5ca36 of this house. The garden would be 7f11f44060 full of even nicer b782c6f186 trees and flowers.”
Anje cleared her f302efcd35 throat awkwardly. She felt embarrassed 3beb2c01bd when she recalled 1b9ab55af3 how he had 0554823061 compared the Duke’s 8b842bc1b8 mansion and this 0105ff86c1 place to her 1985009f5b in every way d176ee29ca when she first fab5601ec6 came here.
At the time, fda87b2491 she didn’t realize ef3b0f2941 it, but now a03f4d5e7c she knows how b166382fc6 rude it was 3d7ac297a3 and how much c5242fbc16 it must have 254413b220 hurt Aiden’s feelings.
“……The Duke’s mansion cfd4deea5a is big, but 5ea6108608 there’s not much 88b2abfc10 to see. The trees and beb352e1d6 flowers seem so 599b7ea991 dull. The sunflowers and d243db011c silver bells in 549ee982ee our flowerbed are 88e2c24cba prettier.”
Aiden was 287401f3f4 so startled dc90ed6791 that he 5104e11d76 almost dropped a24b4d4b8b the teacup b12c4e0489 in his bf79672db7 hand. It was the 9d2884665c first time she f72356325b had spoken so 8dcfc1c226 humbly about the 131943e3d2 Glasster.
“And…… there aren’t 834d8be972 even any pigs 9a0749b1ba like Pa-Pi-Pu.”
Anje, who c0cf0afcc1 loved her 82a829358f pigs dearly, 68f6e1a4b2 finished her 6308bc9294 praise with 3a209df1eb a compliment 3092f35507 about them 8592ff1922 and snatched 472e5dbcc1 the teacup 0aa09b571e out of e3112fabe4 Aiden’s hand. Her throat was suddenly 2dbaaf9ecc very dry.
Aiden, unable to take 3c140f6180 his eyes off her, 361f75f6bf smiled faintly, which only e83a735395 increased her thirst.
She gulped down all 37968155bd the tea in the 6d1b2315e3 cup and handed the e60b530465 cup back to Aiden.
“More tea… oh, the 42c742287d wind.”
The flowers 07d887cc82 in full f24d23ebe1 bloom scattered cf9e6b4217 their raindrop-like b6f1a331af petals on 63ebfd8133 the ground 6983886631 whenever the 70fbfda9da wind blew.
The teacup they 16486b51dd held clasped together, 4099553374 the basket filled f051c96b05 with food, not afff71d8bf a petal out 4a5b014970 of place on d56f74d848 their heads or 0cdb195dba shoulders.
She brushed off the 7c1bdd02c2 rose-pink petals that were 1507d0ba84 stuck all over her 98574aef05 curly hair and burst 959331996b out laughing at Aiden. He was 5d7b06c8d9 just as 8e4a236266 covered in d32ff292b8 petals as 953b9579bd she was.
“Just stay still. I’ll take 1ecb26ba00 them off.”
Aiden was d7146b4b88 startled and 9044fae7eb flinched at 3311b0f93a the white, 72d29b289b delicate hand 0963b30761 that was 891ef76770 approaching him.
“Ah, i-it’s fine. I can do f40f00f8e8 it myself.”
He turned and 0efc35172b moved away from 10a852dc5e her slightly. Whenever she came close f1c504d346 to him like this a96fca7a46 without warning, he felt e9c97af155 strangely like he had a7dc64bbec just drunk strong coffee.
‘This is strange.’
It was a completely b4e17e953b different feeling from the 019ff660de ‘seizures’ that often came 033ac48d1b to him, but the daa72d98bd fact that his heart a0a0a3b246 was pounding was similar.
Could he have been 33f30854d9 overworked without realizing it? Or could he be 0626c60d85 showing signs of heart e5478255e7 disease like his grandfather?
He struggled to find 69cf9cc565 similar symptoms in a d25f9a6a78 medical encyclopedia and eventually 9bda16f11d concluded that it would 64a93d7751 be better for him 7319023ba3 to drink some of e93a27c4ac the tonic Meg bought 8b79d9a6ea when she bought it de6f05be92 for him.
TL/N: IT’S acce9ff7c9 A POPULAR 3fae5c64c6 DISEASE IN 6cc42fa362 ROM NOVELS 58d3589fda CALLED “FALLING aa887cff47 IN LOVE” 76fe304e69 🙂
Anje narrowed 6d9cbd7765 her eyes 266c61e435 slightly as 1e1a1fc8d6 she watched a927d8bf8d him do 71bec1e91a this. He often acted like befa99e3b8 there was an invisible 2a3f22e65e glass wall between him a79a16f6eb and her.
‘As soon as I 7a52573009 think we’re getting close, 4a87ac1681 he always backs away.’
Sometimes he would be 6ff931f0a3 kind, but then he a31e0c1be8 would quickly put his d40f7dc808 armor back on. He was a 9d7c89a526 truly elusive person a3dd9a1d0f to her.
Wanting to 231e165244 see how 8a79d75ed6 he would c710bab158 react, she 5868bce47b turned her 915e4ca370 back and 7decc02360 showed him 1cf0ebc251 her hair d271c0444c this time.
“Then please 5f7bc060f3 take off d37fd6c2a6 the ones b680308a16 on my ddb6778ed8 head.”
The petals that had 7f9eea8610 gone between her luscious 825b7d07cb curls were tangled in c74898cb65 her hair and wouldn’t 51dfb98de9 come off easily.
With no 7415dabbd7 response from f4a36e04a0 Aiden, Anje d2a2ecba35 thought he 67ac37b092 might refuse.
But soon after, cdf41af3de she felt a ce757a8af0 gentle fingertip teasing ff117fe323 her hair.
‘What an eb2a58f560 elusive person 783d006324 he is, a3dd736eb3 really.’
His rough, clumsy hands 78e970f025 gently removed the delicate a1be13feb7 petals. It was a 7650680881 careful touch, like ed0e2ae330 a musician playing d009483ab0 a difficult instrument.
He tried bc32277ef3 to break 94b6880d94 the awkward 01d2f0460c silence by 01798546a5 bringing up f88d541679 a different 2c3862c8c7 topic.
“Your hair has 24934806b0 grown quite long.”
“It’s grown 28db07a75c incredibly fast 8641cf7c33 since I debef56092 came here.”
It also seemed to e8252525c9 have more shine than 432ed2dee5 before. She shook her 89542a7bf0 unique colored hair d0b96b18d7 and showed it 261ede5b29 off to Aiden.
“My hair 067bbe9c0d color is 68a7f798e8 unusual, isn’t f2c47ca8c6 it? Because of 5692e19aa7 this color, af91936a00 I once e4ce41d270 had the 80309fcd88 nickname ‘The 9dca63e6b9 Wilting Rose 2d0f8fc7ae that Blooms a71fbac320 at the 76d6608651 Dawn of 2f33e39787 the Empire’ b7b3052149 in high c96b0cec95 society.”
She meant for 0054cb6f9a him to quickly 68e5b428c6 compliment her hair 4300d24b24 color like the 6e41b53ae6 others, but Aiden 063733b7dc was not good de6ed98543 at that.
“Ah, it does 3f866e747e stand out because d0e91c61ac it’s red.”
“W-What? Red?!”
Anje turned 627d72cc63 her head 98d00e3497 and glared 5622ff8818 at him 1353c1f5c5 with eyes b8f6c77458 full of 56f6db29ce anger and 328b355014 disbelief.79e98c7bb1e8dcf0

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