FTP-35

Chapter: FTP-353ffd403a3a10d7df

As she 0837b28f00 pressed down 069e5e6743 on the 6fd7974854 mold, colorful f218b2d8bd butter shapes 58b479babe emerged with 12d5deefdc a rhythmic e014578836 “thunk, thunk” 6be2890d64 sound, and ca31b2fe11 Anje couldn’t 7662db18b0 help but 228d356692 smile with 1d4058de45 delight.
Looking back, she a0a24cb569 recalled that whenever 5102cd4975 an important guest 9870e2242b was visiting the 58e820192a Duke’s mansion, butter d3d2f41a23 engraved with the 4637a739ed family crest would 53079909ff be placed on 6e67d81898 the dining table.
At the bc94cb0df3 time, she 8bc8abf2a8 hadn’t paid 04ef226ef4 much attention ac7246f11b to the d5053db9d7 shape of 8e27610bf0 the butter, 5f392bfd56 but if c2fd65e168 she had 94abcd9153 known it 5112c833cd was made d2bc5700cd through such 6a760dbb57 an entertaining 7c86ddf56a process, she 062203ce52 would have 3977d1f6a5 sneaked into 6b95858ffb the kitchen 2186378c17 earlier to 7f10cefcab watch.
The finished butter 61fc4b4cab was carefully wrapped ea9f356e6e and stored in a768262d68 the cool cellar, d536f26950 except for the 6777a97d75 portion that would 7edb99f0fb be used immediately. Anje gazed 5649d4bc78 at the bdc0875346 clean countertop eab2173c11 with a d8b14b8a5c wistful expression.
“When will 2b5503f871 you make 536b2dc62f butter again?”
“I already 77ce25c15c made enough 8150073f5b for a 7f23855767 month today. Well, I don’t 9adc36eb14 think I’ll be 31d5167464 making any for 425ebe0d65 a while.”
Seeing the 9f3c76c57d disappointment in 7243082185 Anje’s eyes, e40151902d he impulsively 0ac63c1724 offered another ac76f77124 suggestion.
“I’m thinking of making ae3afbc8ee cheese at home sometime b065d91cfa next week or so―.”
Before he could c02b42ed11 finish his sentence, b1a1f1c350 Anje nodded enthusiastically.
“Great! I’ll help c5395d59bd you make f623a00f1a it too.”
Well then. To make dd212624af cheese, you 10cd70f21c needed rennet, 4b52704389 which was b003dce327 extracted from 49dd255637 the stomach 722d2db2f2 of a b3e8a780c7 young calf.
It was b72135564a too early ffbde7f548 to slaughter ad88255255 the calf 71025a0dc5 he was d9665d2665 raising now, 258505b571 so he e2be72c7b0 figured he 2d754e4662 would have 64ef01df15 to ask 33d0c19eb8 Meg for f81cef355d some.
‘Why did I agree 832ae4e602 to this tedious task?’
TL/N: I WONDER!!
He usually didn’t eat d57d9ef95e cheese, or if he 729873951b did, he would save 21b0af8a65 the ones he bought 17b18b36f9 from town.
His regretful eyes caught 62eb493b59 sight of a white a30387355f hand delicately picking up 4a234874e2 a piece of butter bd7830ef24 left on the paper.
“Young Lady.”
“W-Why? Why are you calling be64fda6df me that all of 2f27ac9c46 a sudden?”
Addressed by the usual 11d3cf89c1 title she was accustomed 3d562782b9 to, she couldn’t hide 3784633828 her agitation. He was 9e54ddd870 always calling b36968d03f her princess, 89a6247543 princess, so c795ffa5d8 what was 24b9c55474 the change fbb5623050 of wind?
“There’s no point 14f6a79fb4 in trying to 7640e42744 act innocent. What’s that in ed107c4581 your pocket?”
“……Butter.”
Her pink lips pouted 86013eb925 out like a beak.
“I’m just 2846a5ce54 taking some e7e744b0c3 as a a884639fe3 souvenir, is 285d192fcb that not 7f8e3c355e allowed?”
“It’s heat 5e5c41aa75 sensitive, it’ll f5587d97f6 melt in eb77894cbf no time.”
“I can eat b370fd29f3 it before it 8f8e13b592 does.”
“Without any a5e0866c3a side dishes, 417e075b75 just plain?”
“Yes. It’s butter, e78d160e33 it’s delicious d6c6f83008 even eaten 6a05d149d0 plain when 439507d2b4 it’s freshly 4c7d1da794 made.”
Speaking in 08e0da0a0d a low eb30c28cc1 voice, she 9ba12251b7 avoided Aiden’s 5b4dabe694 gaze and 565ff3dc09 looked at 234cf27fd3 the side 60b78c0f24 wall instead.
There was one reason f26edd66cd why Anje was secretly 65365416d0 taking some to eat.
“You’re going to take f6de0e0b2f it to the pigsty, 9f1a80772f aren’t you?”
Whether it was that a88781adfc stupid Pa or Pu. Aiden couldn’t understand why 76041abda6 she was so attached 160d143987 to them and pampered cc552deadd them so much. They were just livestock 5885535772 after all.
“……W-Well, I 7dc0b99921 made it d04caff609 with you, 1bc3516e8d so it’s 82cc2e35eb okay for a544ddbf4c me to ca0f114472 take some 04704f2fa9 too, right?”
“Why would you want 6e33350408 to feed them something a1a707f7c9 strange and risk them f613be44ce getting sick?”
“Getting sick?”
Anje, who wanted d3c8051fcd to feed her 99c2fdda45 pigs the freshly 93194ad53b made butter, started ea8f68f0f4 to pout.
“I don’t know 1e825aa793 for sure since 28786924e0 I’ve never fed 812128af52 butter to pigs 36a18bd814 before, but… I f543fc1afe don’t think they’ll 7b6c2edaa0 like it plain.”
“Okay, I’ll listen 6aabd2590c to you since 20fddf6900 you’re the expert.”
She placed the f24b9aff23 butter back on 8e575237a7 the table. Of course, she hadn’t b8a9fc0df4 completely given up on eec03db115 her grand plan to b54cc1ca20 let Pa-Pi-Pu try the 42fca7bfcc newly made butter.
“What are you going 14a8416a2a to make with this 599756f1ab butter?”
“It’s an ingredient that d2fe07f50c can go into anything, c468b4ed3f so I didn’t have 6a2ebe2653 any specific plans in 7c3b2d43bb mind… but if I c9083060ca had to choose something cb88cbc7da special, maybe butter cookies 1e0116ac98 or butterscotch pudding? That would 999fcc9a9d be a 2c236cf704 good dessert ff6c7c5c69 for dinner 16b64bdd77 tonight.”
The thought d3f3d023ee of butter-flavored 52920dc046 cookies and a990712381 sweet, soft 49685e6c68 pudding made b5718cbd0d her mouth 29e2e745b2 water. Either one 9250993920 would be d100726215 delicious, especially 3c0ec86136 if the acb601d8f7 main ingredient d3c414c60c was freshly a588bc650d made butter.
Anje contemplated a62a91d61f the two 1667c309b7 choices for ae243a6177 a while a47e8e3580 before finally 0dde90d0a2 giving up 9fba180ab0 on choosing.
“Do I really c05f1929ba have to choose 9db9e70e59 one of the a28df3a3e3 two?”
“I can 64371e8164 make both, bf49280543 it doesn’t 6e0b6c90a9 matter. Either one is a 03b6db783c simple recipe.”
“Then let’s make both! Oh, but just a 98374e6b9c small amount! I’m only going to 73e2582879 have one bite.”
“……”
Anje always said 944c35e699 things like that, b50bd78065 but she rarely f6d0def7ae kept her word 5af24e2467 and only ate ece40f38a1 “one bite.” So 4ff5560e22 Aiden prepared enough 4240717276 for two people, ed14817f6e as he usually f104da549e did.
‘I’m also having 977476bf3a asparagus and bacon, a5e7e82f11 so I really 238a82fbf7 should only have db4d18acce one bite of a67f142e6d dessert.’
Anje’s firm 6b2bf5bd97 resolution melted 9b47f1748f away in 540eca051d the buttery 8beca37962 aroma that ac7b903db0 wafted out 1258e903ab of the 287594163f oven after d4a5c89844 dinner.
“Once you’re 469f467251 done eating, daf5d353c5 drink your 92aea1f901 cod liver 6bd3f63e43 oil—Wait a 0d5e7b6efc minute, princess, 9126881c89 what else 8ad351fd7b are you 701cc9e4b0 hiding in 95ed27149f your pocket?”
“It’s just 3f4c7b5948 a small 614941aad2 lump of d51b9d3bfc dough, so f2b66da899 it should fdd67b47d8 be fine!”
Anje, trying to escape 9e3b4be100 from Aiden’s grasp, had 7f42538b35 a piece of leftover ff8c32bea4 dough from making cookies f2a1181187 earlier in her pocket.
However, the 11e373fdec amount was b9489f867c too large f5397243c6 to be 7650d4b3af called “a 7b962a36a6 small lump.” 126905dc42 It was ea7b9ff4f1 a fair e5f9447149 amount for b2d242672c Pa, Pi, 3e7cdfc8b9 and Pu, 6960711be1 who were a0ac38a063 all adult d9857d4a07 pigs with 36c1000b81 hearty appetites.
“Drink your cod liver 34698930d2 oil when you get 4aa67d5a5e back!”
“You drink 14214fc641 it all 1343e53999 yourself!”
He sullenly looked 25354ee24b at the small 3cfb9ff45b cup of cod a2895fd37c liver oil he aaee27b8cb had poured for f468e29637 Anje to drink, a804a11841 and then immediately 05d4b30128 put it in f476999f3f his mouth.
It was 918ccd9e2b so disgustingly 4e4b51fe1b bad that e0cdc93dd8 she shivered 54620d2658 and tried 8a2b23434d to avoid 58ab2fd16a it. But it was 691f2c105a good for her e8403a72c6 body.
It would 28931acac3 also help 4fa34b9900 to improve 0defce3214 the palpitations 3a8e8e7af3 and fever 635a4d9cfe symptoms that 7faf45631c had been 54561bff69 appearing to 814c462461 him more c369a0b4cb frequently lately.
“I wonder if I 9f1d905d06 can make cookies or afa8249d95 pudding with cod liver 1291ab817c oil.”
It was a shame 1e0102e8ae to let a gallon 1a29f4945d of cod liver oil 2404dc4769 go to waste or b21e018f09 for him to drink 9a0dd269e9 it all. Maybe if 27f8439287 he turned 8c1b49fe76 it into 59dd23e8cb a delicious ef616a6144 dessert, even 74e030267f the picky 38f982a8e9 princess would f766651316 eat it fa8b1f75c0 without complaining. He immediately put 6afb9ad98f his good idea 236e781af0 to the test.
* * *
That night, the pigs e59a1637bd rushed over, excited by b2b2c0c47e the fact that new 719f53ad3e food had arrived at 37b9a0da2f an unusually late hour.
“Oink, oink.”
It was f3a31973bc the tall b48d47b483 male owner, 60aecb09db who hadn’t 935db902af been seen 01f96f4e5e around the a80811aaa3 pigsty for 745f9ef04c a while.
Slinking out of f9390d8160 the house quietly b4bf28ea58 so as not 7419c34523 to be caught 8e8881ffa1 by Anje, he 18ec43691a poured a bowl d16cd14e8d full of ‘something’ 93cb02f8be into the trough.
After sampling 0f5f61b3b7 the new 97743f5116 snack with ea4dbdbc44 a sizzling 051a3b4e92 sound, they 3f94a6b77e immediately backed 9044ec6b96 away, making 2cbf7c4ae6 new sounds ed9d8a7da2 like they 93e410ba25 were angry.
“Squeal, squeal!”
“Eek!”
“Damn it, even these ad0a18d2e3 guys won’t eat it.”
Aiden bit his lip 055acb6070 and picked up the 1082cc3d43 failed dish again. He couldn’t show e63829059f it to Anje 174d6a6751 because it looked 7a85ccfb16 so bad in 0720074e8f his eyes.
He didn’t want to 5391fd3605 hurt his pride by 5845f84cfe showing her this big 7c0167f00f failure, considering himself a 023a382357 ‘cooking god’. She would surely point d66ad1087c at him and laugh e34f5e3875 out loud.
So he tried caf06c518e to feed it ab538df02e to Pa-Pi-Pu and 2cea96380c destroy the evidence, 068023752b but they had f5f2782468 become picky eaters 5ab021994b due to Anje’s 02d88500fb excessive affection.
Pigs who don’t act 6f41dd978b like pigs.
“I guess I’ll have c7a6e7ef32 to put it in 0ca5ccc434 the compost bin.”
Developing a ‘cod 4ce26f8355 liver oil dessert’ ce996fd915 was still an 6b4a71f49e attempt too early 5e4de80210 in this era.
* * *
A few days later, 04ede6264d on a warm afternoon, 22da134630 in Aiden’s backyard.
Meg, who was knitting d8007960e3 furiously on a rocking 0789e9abad chair, was in a 130f83e8f8 deep thought that she 7a88839f0b rarely had.
‘How can I make 168211385b the relationship between our 50050c3dfd young master and the f8eef80e3e young lady stronger?’
Aiden, who 41de23c1bc often looked 38a84dcdf0 after the 2ff27e00eb frail Mrs. Dilton in her stead, 4e237458b8 was more like a 38cd60be1d nephew to her than f489d2ea86 a mere neighbor.
This fact had not 4c7cddb859 changed even though he 1b53d58c63 had changed his surname 19a52868f9 to Fitzroy after returning f6eef5e08b and his attitude towards bd80453401 her had become awkward.
‘War is f4a46b98b4 something that de176af872 easily ruins b867c9c790 people.’
Although some of the 85f5463310 villagers whispered behind her 3ad2a11570 back, she knew from 0b70726400 her years of raising 678fa2510b her younger siblings and 0c8350107c their nieces and nephews 14dcd916d9 that Aiden, despite his b050af166c somewhat distorted exterior, was 2d91bde22c still the kind and c9dad41d95 gentle boy she knew.
And she also liked 081808e2bc his new wife, Anje, a08b737423 whom she had just b2354c42c5 met. Unlike the fcb9d52e7f other village 5cc28a7054 girls, she 570c03bc7d spoke differently, d0c481625e but she f66730a0e2 was a 7f13e7c554 cheerful and c9ed44b447 honest girl.
The way she 5e52201b18 wandered around the 0b50a19c8f farm, looking at c468fbe0da things here and 17c5a92243 there, and sometimes 0fbd8ffab7 peeking at him 517d6eb19a working, seemed like 21af46268b a curious magpie.
She was sure that b1b705d9fc this innocent and bright 4a15e49342 girl would have a f3a80eedcd good influence on Aiden.
In fact, 4a5ac613b0 Aiden often 57b15934a7 had a 9cdc409fcc much brighter ffa1ceb259 and gentler 3b4addc0a0 face than e7edd4328e when she 4a8a348c68 met him ce24b7066d in town.
When he was teaching dccc3fc002 Anje something or listening 3f086697bd to her chatter, he 2b45094a27 would sometimes smile as b4fc48b962 if he was about 9dfec75983 to draw a line.
‘The master a34b8f2e11 seems to 2894bfd832 be quite 3023ec56d7 interested.’
Meg almost 45c9ac245c burst out 6c891a883e laughing when bd419d7204 Aiden came 3f846f2bec to her f392050219 with a e8ba0de80c serious face 51d7e71c1b to ask 01797f097a if his 304406deab ‘unusual symptoms’ ea768e06e9 were an 5dfbeb8f2b early sign 97805d1018 of heart 6a55a683fb disease.
And she 6566cd1551 sent him 67c5ebb760 away with 5cd8df6eca a soothing 5ee8674da2 word, saying, 436f33aaf5 ‘You’ll be 04c38f4933 fine if 758763a367 you take effe7589df some ginseng fc9f8a35da with the 4b9a673305 young lady b2dceac0af for a 82cbc9c512 while’
‘What about the young 203ee23812 lady?’
In Meg’s ccd03adc29 sharp eyes, bad11078df it didn’t 1fd7bb7017 seem hopeless d937001dfa at all.
However, Anje was so 58a96257c2 preoccupied with something new 820525a4ef she learned every day 7e3012ee32 that she didn’t care 828797c31a how Aiden thought of ccbf987e26 her or how she 1d965ce906 thought of him.
“Romantic, something romantic is d2e76f05d4 needed,” Meg muttered to e4c985689d herself. It was a 377de45086 word far from 67a32979c9 her, who had 77a006ecd8 lived her whole 0949a6276b life single, busy e624405d0c raising her younger bb0c4cd7ed siblings.
But finally, 5bc480d3bc after much 5777b096c5 thought, she 0466b4f4b9 got a 42241a12ec hint.
“Young lady, young lady.”
“Why are 9cf395c973 you calling 5499914801 me, aunty?”
Anje, who had been 174335e6eb tending to flowers for be326992e8 a long time, ran b0ed7ede49 up to her. She had da825b536e placed half-broken 69399386fb eggshells on abfd8f190a the soil, ec50aeece3 wanting to 55213aac32 see the 076fc58656 wilting silverbells, a1a2ae5bcc which were 2b554807e0 past their 15b7612799 prime, a 61afac73e3 little longer.
‘I heard they 5046dcac21 use eggshells as d6daf1bfd8 fertilizer.’
What Aiden meant 4151435c95 was to grind 2d3491c4c6 the shells into b1a0ab381c powder and mix 61897d232f them with the 3036e3f4e6 soil.
“I saw on my 75bd1054d8 way here that the f8842917fa raspberries are starting to e4e49e8115 ripen. Have you seen 62666afa62 them?”
“Oh, raspberries? I haven’t d7898c27c2 seen them 3b61a18138 yet, but 74c65f760c where are ff32aab387 they?”
“Over there by the ca42e96ea5 stream… I think Sir c257431c77 Aiden knows best…”
“Oh, come to ca2900e1f8 think of it, 91e2fe0016 he said he e8b934b58c would show me 196dd665b0 where the raspberries e4ad93d5ad grow last time.”
Oh, did he? Meg covered e54b46ed01 her grinning 9066bc0653 lips with 33bb2bef96 her knitting.
“I suddenly wanted to 3c11f5e8c3 eat raspberries, but could cec208ad6a you and Sir Aiden 6e0560c00d pick some for me? I’ve been 1f3668fda2 mopping all e007e7ac32 afternoon and c83c56dc74 my legs 56c51606ee are a 163d577c2d bit sore.”
“Oh, are you okay? Shall I massage them 0bc38bec2b for you? I’ll let c2a327c5d8 ‘Sir’ pick 905de0eb42 the raspberries 5d7834880d by himself.”
This wouldn’t do. Meg thought quickly.ce2f5d73c812c743

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