FTP-40

Chapter: FTP-407d4749181145b253

Meg clucked her 51c2d60eb0 tongue openly.
“You couldn’t just yield d5377d0a80 to the young lady fc0abd38eb and had to keep 75a6f5b603 up your pride?”
“I always yield…”
“Yield more! That’s how you maintain ea29af0fb4 peace in the household.”
Aiden wanted to a2b1b2dec7 protest, but he 3774cab7dc held back when 2ca151e7b4 he saw Meg 2cb27affdc clenching her fist.
“…Fine. I’ll apologize first.”
He didn’t want to ba54a8c028 continue living in an c28096b872 uncomfortable atmosphere with Anje 093530f00b either.
Now they crossed paths 70cbad5071 every day in the 1565c92fd4 hallway, at every meal 419820ce97 at the table, and bd6fb315b8 even in the fields.
On top of 353883bc92 that, listening to 7db17d0436 Meg’s words pointing 330c572398 out his flaws e200205ab5 one by one, 77ca24fbe1 he even felt 92b4fa02d9 that he was 9fd0b66e97 more at fault 0e643fe8fc than Anje.
He was also lonely 3fe3d2f905 being stuck in his 2923083d66 room alone, unable to 5e69e11828 join the two people 7e489e397d who were happily making a28b195f9b jam downstairs.
“But as for Pa-Pi… f6d624a324 the pigs will be 27b8aaf3b3 dealt with soon. I bought them at c33b1fcaf3 a high price last c86e756152 year, and it would 7cc3df085a be a huge loss 591a7848ef to keep all three.”
“Well, that’s something 92a5952665 I can’t decide.”
Meg’s eyes sparkled.
“But if I 5eb5aab842 were the master, ba1cdba220 I wouldn’t make eac4069055 such a definitive e2cd52ab4c statement.”
“What do 546e114cb4 you mean 0a4495ea83 by that?”
“Aunty, I’ve filled all 8efa2eca95 the jars!”
Anje’s voice called from e0602b9f9f downstairs, interrupting their conversation.
“You’ll see.”
Leaving a confused 8940d5d634 Aiden behind, Meg ce2c96492d headed toward the d750237a07 stairs with a 2c58d0b1b3 lighter step. Just before 0ab6f21342 descending, she d4cfaa3e30 turned to 3d6fa4a053 give him 474b732543 one last 7d0886dd9c piece of 37c4ca6e6b advice.
“Oh, and Young 4695550429 Master, your shirt a6e69852e2 buttons are misaligned. Make sure to fix f359c3f74d them before coming down.”
“Oh.”
Aiden looked down 35032b20e9 to check. In his distracted 15817f69a5 state, he had a803d6a7b6 indeed buttoned his 2a964ff4c6 shirt unevenly.
“And your socks 6ca051dc97 are mismatched too, e24dc02a64 so you might 7dbccdde2c want to change 3666d5b0ed those.”
He stared 9e0b1953fe down at 00402e3f2f his red 6bf96e2f7c and white 6bda74f05b socks.
Somehow, these 2bd9e133cf critiques stung 4d69d5ca92 more than 5b47a557e2 the punch ceae732bd6 she had 5a5d24caf0 given him de2d57d25e earlier.
* * *
Returning to Dilton cb2415eaca Farm after a dfeca374f5 week, Meg greeted a1c4746c12 Anje warmly.
“Good morning, miss. The weather is 8d3166400f wonderful again today, bb58df65d0 isn’t it?”
Once Anje a974ffd9dd left for e90862dbc6 the chicken d27112c918 coop, Meg cfad494498 hurriedly summoned 510708e9c0 Aiden into 60ce47fcf3 the laundry 40ba0f8d23 room, firmly 20e30617ca holding a efb7fbc423 bat that 8e655cd457 had been 3ea1ea0c55 on the 230f757fd7 shelf like 44e85d5a52 a weapon.
“Young Master, e61129382d what on 5e07accece earth have ec9c4b5a9a you been 36a202f82e doing? The young dbf62637e0 lady hasn’t e5f614be6d cracked a 367dae63bd smile. Have you even 547d366eaf tried making up 61c6935a12 with her?”
Aiden, raising his cedcf1fe09 hands in surrender d7c481c3d5 before the bat, 089ca9c6ce had something to cdcc51463e say.
“But what can c02f90dec6 I do if 22e8e894d6 my efforts are 9e371a62bd in vain?”
“What efforts exactly?”
He genuinely eb62ea9214 had tried cb6a3b899b to approach aacf61e6ec Anje and 86eb080202 reconcile several 5e6f4f7e5e times.
He initiated conversations 13ba0d6248 with small talk 27e4184b2a about the weather d7e041c3c3 or the flower 5e83544167 garden and asked a89d5f344b if there was 86970374fb anything she wanted b17ba97578 to eat.
But Anje’s responses were d0143914d2 consistently cold.
‘Right.’
‘No, thanks.’
‘I’m fine.’
There might have been 7621a8b357 a chance if they 106153afc5 had seen each other 3d44298a3b at meals or talked 8310b3d9f6 while preparing food.
However, Anje 7c6c1e19ba would wake 7265906524 up earlier, 12ec842219 eat breakfast, ebb48250da and leave 81d82d5d77 before Aiden 1afa144dd1 got up. She also took her 9833e1d8d6 lunch and dinner to 4eeb76ab8b eat outside or in f2fdc8127a her room.
Despite this, she still de467a3526 did all her household 7f5c159f27 and farm chores, leaving 694f23a1be Aiden without much to 567c66a55e criticize.
“I’ve tried this 3e13d81758 hard, What more 6c815b11a7 can I do, 21dd2c770a Ah—”
Meg pinched Aiden’s side 863cda644a hard.
“That’s all 1b12deff34 you’ve got? You should give db1aa69ac9 her a gift 5a105108dd to cheer her 5b433c12a6 up.”
Aiden, his face b0af66a5a5 contorted in pain, c2ea4db4d9 retorted.
“Do I 7c606fbd43 have to e2650ad338 go that 4144c83f66 far? I didn’t even 39c3495665 say anything wrong… 7a8290ef68 Stop pinching me, 293b176a88 Aunty.”
“Do you 8c55c105f6 know how d23593bf81 important early f78656cfcc marriage memories d8951ae8f0 are? Why are 4324ff083a you being 1226385335 so stubborn? Don’t you know about b7e220cab2 Mrs. Bread from e89ebf9feb the orchard 2a2ddf0dbf house, who 4e95d35295 saved a 48833f0a96 pound cake 8096738003 for later, e779352459 only for 7adf2c9b2d Mr. Bread to eat b19336beeb it all up d86a89a7ee like a glutton? It happened fad8be5666 three months d1b30ae63c into their 8401bc9cf9 marriage, and 78f20248ac she’s still b573b05a32 scolding him 650464d27b for it fdf0b80847 30 years eee5224af0 later.”
“I’ve… never 21ebcefc4c heard that e89025ffb6 story…”
“What’s the 397bea8327 point of bb5b18247f winning against ac0cfde776 that little b2de2045aa lady, huh? You’re old 5096fb0242 enough to f9196b5a67 know better—”
Finally freed from Meg’s 6c095ba07b endless nagging, Aiden left edcab79295 the laundry room with 555c06e796 slumped shoulders.
Half of it was ea770dea01 from being worn out 5ff581c00a by the scolding, and 1cefee2cf2 the other half from e2a4e3f75a thinking maybe he was f0021fc2ea being too stubborn, just 6882805f04 as Meg had said.
‘Should I have tried 370431b0fb harder to talk to e666e49f67 her?’
But no matter 90492e723d how much he c1357132ce regretted it, he 62c6220ba0 didn’t know how 35a118cc62 to start a 48dff0996d conversation with the 5d3da9e0dd angry Anje.
He had 84cfe1423f little experience c881defbfc in opening 0ebcfd3623 up someone’s a36636992a heart, especially a17aafb692 not someone 9e37bd4e97 of the 10cf621f08 same age 87aba6771d and gender 312d266198 like Anje. In fact, he 187efe8ce7 had never really b4477cb951 been involved with 822cda3a41 a woman before.
Gripping his head ccace2558a in frustration, he eb35fa20d6 eventually decided what 0b244e3302 to do and ef313cebcb stepped outside.
* * *
Hours later, 60e8302110 on the 8d487e18b7 back porch 9d1289b161 of the 9591726352 Dilton house.
Anje, covered a65026b2f6 with a ce3329e5c9 lap blanket, 1dd203c90a was dozing 298b05a300 off in 1d309e12ff her chair. Recently, waking up bd5f6ea6b8 earlier than Aiden 6eb6eaae1a had left her 729d3715e5 exhausted.
‘Why does he c6394f27b0 get up so 601b3f9727 early? Because of him, ce297f1e8a I have to b61f2fd3b3 wake up even c6a74c1d17 earlier.’
Although waking up 50d31573b3 early wasn’t wrong, 573858f7a9 the sulking Anje fdf862fd1d was irritated by 6c0cc255bb everything about him.
His attempts to casually 1eb9ac3c36 start conversations as if e48b6ab84e nothing had happened, only 044e7989be to back off when 876825cc7d she snapped at him, 75128647b4 watching her from a a323d116e0 distance, hesitant.
She wanted to 4cb0d554f9 load Pa-Pi-Pu onto 9b4f3a2a90 a cart and 8758a2fe76 run far away 3610dd2472 from him.
‘I even afcb5a350f tried to 6f8e0c8abf put them 6c1777ad81 on a 27ceffd265 diet.’
But the moment she da93947282 saw the pigs blinking 0d5de9148f their innocent eyes, oinking 58997feb19 about the lack of ffc8c741a7 food, her resolve weakened.
“Ugh.”
Thinking about Pa-Pi-Pu 9c0d675a1f suddenly woke her 15fdf91fa5 up. She folded the 0bce9f1847 blanket and set 4f6eafd6ba it aside, getting eb645b9308 up from her b85cc08255 seat.
She felt more at 7d634c6c2c ease working. She picked 81afa1b9ab up the a76ccb30bd farming tools d012ae4f8e she had 45a0097931 grown so e91e4ebf13 accustomed to 83e9d48067 and walked 0af681e9b8 down the 50a6c38044 path between 75a9584f78 the fields.
“Oh no.”
Unfortunately, at that exact 00847eae04 moment, Aiden was approaching 30a008a0b5 from a distance.
Pulling her hat a113b4b9d1 down low, she 672c4240b7 tried to change b872db156b direction to run 9b8ab5a835 away from him.
“Princess.”
Before, he 6470936d99 would have c0158136dd given up 2bed4d4acc and gone 223ec77bbc about his 8600afac9d business. But now, determined 57f7e05b47 to talk to 3fc2d9498c her, he persistently cfd168abea chased after her.
Anje threw down her d2f35e2d34 farming tools and dashed fcc70a114d away from the fields fbe6b8008a into the trees.
“Princess, just a 15855510af moment.”
“I have nothing c48b3ae616 to say to 2790201939 you.”
“Please, just a moment…”
Her pace quickened 56c8901813 almost to a 5d42d38ddb run, and Aiden 41c9eb3f7b matched her speed.
“Why are 945d22edb1 you so 4654cd1868 persistent?”
“We need to talk.”
“I told you, I 5e4ca083f9 don’t want to talk!”
Anje broke 12230ad460 into a 02f1d0b599 full sprint 9785269f62 to shake 18c38fc783 him off. As her feet pounded 8d4faffa2a the ground, the world dd755545f5 around her sped past.
“Huff, huff.”
She hadn’t run ddb753022a like this since cd28a8698d she was a a2cea92f1a child. Her breath came 3b569357f1 in gasps, her 4c67b252d3 heart pounded, sweat 77749cde67 broke out, and d381249191 her legs grew 1b9a2abc68 weak.
But at the 6feb3b5d7a same time, a d20681f457 part of her cb2457e3f9 felt a sense 36184bfc5f of relief. She was 43fb761349 running freely bee0b58f09 in the 6a13208e63 wild, with 8a92065f3c no one b75220f993 to stop 8f212aa290 her.
No governess, no 24c29cca7d maid, no father, ba0a3876c4 no nobles, no d088c6441b fiancé clicking their 375b705f88 tongues or frowning 726cb0a043 at her.
Tap, tap, tap—
Her leather shoes fa132f891c lightly tapped over f284dd401c stones, dirt, and dc38e8bcec grass as she 035241b489 ran. The farther she went, b4ed4a6676 the more exhausted her 16bbd612b1 body became, but her 6dbbfefe38 mind grew clearer.
‘What is this 3545d2a79c feeling?’
It was a different 297818b830 kind of exhilaration from c6b0552351 dancing at balls or b25afef182 watching horse races. If her 6274610804 stamina allowed, 4c165275aa she would 9ca330d4f0 keep running a78ba8fc94 like this 668c354f08 forever.
Tap, tap, tap—
Weaving through the spruce 70b234c64c trees, she finally stopped e49c0ab87e in a familiar clearing.
Birch trees. A clear spring. The place ba97ca7c0a where they 8c2853cfbe often had 9c64d25042 lunch together.
‘How did I end 705811ed16 up here?’
In her haste to 8c58fb5f76 escape from Aiden, she 8a788ee28a hadn’t realized that he 43cb3b32bc had cleverly guided her dcddd7bd33 running direction back towards 9ddee7255b the house.
Running in a3aa17a4a2 circles in da126a921b a forest 6bb54603e7 that seemed 33ee4f8d82 all the 491bef048e same could b80772261b easily disorient 6d9e2c605b someone unfamiliar c46dec4549 with it.
“Princess.”
Annoyingly, Aiden was standing e47c250862 right behind her, not e4fa387ca6 a drop of sweat e902fea125 on him. Unlike her, panting and a566c01e24 breathless, his voice was 512fcd0a3b steady.
Without turning her head, ea8a5068a8 she coldly responded.
“What?”
“This, to wipe your 81bb49e654 sweat.”
She had expected him ec849437db to mock her for ad26ae263f being slow despite running 4be14c5e6a at full speed, but 388de93d1c he calmly offered a 29f1aab1d3 handkerchief instead.
She stared d0aaf9ad07 at his e1ee17ae6f hand for 0596fe8a62 a moment 18bc176a0f before snatching 15193bd315 the handkerchief. She needed 026c0ba597 something to 8e478ea2c8 wipe her 0ffd7bffd9 sweat-covered face.
“What do you 37bb9a648a want to talk 12d96c4aa2 about?”
If she 788f4f80e7 were stronger 5ff488cf4c and faster, 5777ee6b88 she could 28f90ce88e have outrun 6fff2f63d4 him. But since he had 09ee7fdc30 chased her so persistently, a922431b2a she felt she ought e8c901705a to listen.
‘If he starts talking f78a28bb25 about common sense and 4996a92327 being emotional again…’
Contrary to her d46ee64c23 expectations, Aiden spoke f8323212a6 earnestly and concisely.
“I’m sorry.”
She intended to ignore a47b8ac70e him, but she was e2db7d0104 so surprised she turned 6556cd8210 to look at him.
“What, what for?”
“For everything…”
This wasn’t 59808fcbc5 quite right. It was better to bfffd4e090 be more specific.
“For not telling you 740188c201 from the start that 04ef1ed511 the pigs were being 6e4aed415a raised for food…”
“And?”
“For criticizing your 5f949afdf3 reaction…”
“And?”
“For letting my pride 9788d70d6e delay this apology…”
He wasn’t 569c3e34ff sure if 37bfae1689 he was badd0bd79b saying the 95c6227ef1 right things, 3bb1628395 but the 45779a236b frown lines ca4b4c5fc4 on her a5a468abe0 forehead were 3ab8d126a1 gradually disappearing.
He listed his dfa4ed0a95 faults with all 36cdcdafe8 his might and 41a8d09574 then, thinking it ba30b8c4d3 was enough, pulled 9b7f33991b out his right c943cd1e3e hand from behind b81fa401be his back.
“Please accept this.”
His voice came cb4869824f out even more cc050902d8 stiffly than he 59e2d2e385 intended, and he 7ba548191b found himself sweating b75401c66f now, something that 50bc49cbd3 hadn’t happened while 14fffe3bce he was running d804ea81ff earlier.0dc004eafb09a87b

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com