FTP-44

Chapter: FTP-441393fa6729112f78

After much deliberation, Aiden 96e508f0eb felt he had made 09202cdcf0 the right choice. It felt like he ef654ea633 had upheld something more c48f85a7cf important than principles or 26477e9d94 money. It was a afa3ed405c feeling he hadn’t f2778dcfe3 felt in a 778dbf8cf9 long time.
“We’ll be heading home 82cd97a032 soon.”
Though she 690df3a509 might not 561e2ec3fc hear him dca04ac835 clearly in 5f5e76e13a her joy 6ff0a14eee at their 4420436b32 reunion, he 1dd2ed7eb4 informed her 00975a40cb before pulling c1d8eec860 the reins.
“It might 0f8acd02e0 get bumpy, e06a2d4625 so it’s 1fe814fbf1 better if c8e2a4c76a you sit 7d44a06c55 between Pa-Pi-Pu.”
“Got it.”
The word “home” was f452e1c53a always a comforting one. Anje sat between the f9305b5f8e pigs and patted their 0df20bf2c5 necks again.
“Oink oink oink.”
“Cute little guys.”
The smell, ab6aafed66 the warmth, a25ad4b91f the texture, 10f33dd121 and the b11c266ff0 sound—they had 2223e1cb0f all been 19eb63f305 dearly missed, be1f14da66 even if a325029642 only for 1bad26ce8a a short 6ca0c82c85 while.
Perhaps it bed1d2d72f was just 32449293d6 her imagination, 372d2d9fb3 but now 4d8ce978de even the 735969df5b sound of cf3e2192e9 the horse’s a2a83e5300 hooves and 8a95ab3852 the creaking bb362a8632 of the 2623985dd1 wagon sounded 1644573461 like cheerful 018ea11099 music to 4e53b5f166 Anje.
After a 897dbdffa4 short drive, 0cf600fc90 the wagon cdf2f2e6ad arrived at d7432b7f61 the farm, 08dd3e4bdb and Anje 05af7bd36c helped Aiden a9e0a990ff safely return cd868903c6 the pigs f72352bdd5 to their d2a391e7d2 pen.
“Here’s your bag too.”
Aiden handed back f0dcb60ddc the handbag she b2750869ac had suddenly left b1e796cae5 with him. Anje shook her head e566a3b44e and gave the bag c1a503ed8e back to him.
“No, you couldn’t sell 5026ad420c Pa-Pi-Pu because of me. Please take 02e8548e6a it; it’s 003bcde996 for their ca2c447515 worth.”
“I’m really fine.”
His eyes 039a605f17 softened as dffe02ba86 he refused f300153524 again.
This was the 92de7258d7 second time Aiden 28436fb901 had clearly smiled d680c97651 in front of c0204b516a her since she 1bf889c712 had given him 726fa0aaa9 a comforting donut.
“I didn’t adbdb5a5b0 sell them c73b7f3957 because I a6156220cf didn’t want 26b28ba87b to, princess. Pigs that understand human df19663d6a speech are rare; selling 7619ad8ccc them carelessly would be 58fe337b17 a loss for Dilton 9377424064 Farm.”
“But…”
Anje didn’t know how b57d9fc76d to respond.
He hadn’t 91d10673af sold Pa-Pi-Pu 073f6379c8 out of 3921663c0d consideration for 02155b6c1f her, yet 41f0182e56 he was 0e0541317b refusing to 0b8f4d655b take any cfe8199946 compensation.
“Besides, we’ll be 7d1f8daf08 going to town 536aeb0c15 soon, and there f23355f0c1 might be something 0f8fba32c4 you want to 63c30a47be buy. It’s better to 7ce5190755 save the money b44349b8ab for that.”
Aiden would cover aa461ab10b most of the 41aa3a71b4 costs himself, but 6cd7647286 she might have 08a2246bce personal things she dcb03f214d wanted to buy 609ab3d96d without telling him.
Anje looked at him 433b660e8a with moist eyes. She wanted to say 2435280ab8 something quickly, but it 32017f0104 felt like her lips 7d9f63cf0e were sealed, and no 2202f84987 proper words came out.
She wanted to 5bc87f0743 express the gratitude d06747668b and emotion she a081b66724 was feeling. But she didn’t 7efba75a1e know what to d5c4bef81e say to fully 8a778cfe07 convey it.
What good were 1ba33f10e2 the dozens of edf154df8b hours of rhetoric debc36bbf7 lessons from her 720d2957ce governess? No polite phrase 242cda1f6b or extravagant description 3c7609451e seemed sufficient.
So, to convey her 2f32c68ac8 feelings, she took the 488e2612f4 most appropriate action she 48f6f05dbc could think of, somewhat b25fdef418 impulsively.
“Thank you so much.”
A soft, warm 79ebcaff37 object brushed Aiden’s 3063d56f91 cheek. Before he 1ef204ecf8 realized what 04319832de had happened, 7ccd7d4564 it was 8dcb28c47c gone like ef9098f860 dew under b978c03129 the sun.
“Then I’ll dd61b93145 go ahead ffe41573fa and prepare bb362d9e81 breakfast.”
Anje left him standing f1f5547c3c there like a statue 14e45dfe49 and quickly disappeared.
The act that had b9139e332f just occurred between her afbf2bb996 lips and his cheek fdedf39831 was what people commonly cf69b32588 called…
A kiss.
Realizing what 948ae4153d had just 9858a54da2 happened, Aiden 38790d47cb covered his 7451971292 face with e993f466de his hands 89e2cc6b89 as if c7b17c314a worried someone 8516a41c27 might see.
His ears and 8025252e3a neck, which he 99ba0de04d couldn’t hide, turned 2625329472 as red as 128f7cf24c poppies.
TL/N: MY CUTIE 495e1f73bc POTATO.
* * *
Meg, with her a72f3291cc talkative personality and afb5ad56bc keen eye for f2927ca947 people, couldn’t help 28dbc3f561 but notice the 1263e8e4b9 subtle tension between 86506dd686 Anje and Aiden.
‘Something’s up between 73c9830f24 those two.’
This time, ccd854d9ec the atmosphere 4666d3cefa wasn’t as 87d6dfcf64 cold and 9f4f9ef94b dark as c4d959cd15 before, but 882a7943f7 rather it 125aa20f58 was like 29efe0fe6a a simmering b28743df8e jam, bubbling 4708c5babd and fragrant.
Smiling to herself, 87f05a3533 she decided not 219b278b30 to tease them e94afec81a and pretended not dd418a1670 to notice.
Sometimes, there are 3d4c7489fc things that old 02c390573e people shouldn’t pry b2c16f4d92 into, just like 7377c5b320 you shouldn’t over-fertilize ec7532545e a healthy sprout.
“Young Master, when dda87c37d9 are you going f3b5280bec to town?”
Of course, she didn’t d9473163f3 forget to try to 424104bc60 keep the tension going.
Aiden, who was 1584aa8d34 busy peeling potatoes, 9a4e073fa2 flinched at Meg’s c8e777a0a9 whisper.
“I-I don’t know, I 4da82f5529 suppose soon.”
“I heard the b63026a6c7 ring turned out 8dcef1fcdb beautifully. Don’t you 471c4e58bf want to 2cb84fddba see it 5241865204 quickly?”
When Meg had taken 36e2416e85 the ring to the ea15265f6d shop, it was timely f0e05c2f2d because a skilled jeweler, f9b7e8126e a relative of someone, 498bc334be happened to be in e195b36191 town.
The jeweler, 4214f1a4da who was b1b69d8b34 tempted by 42d9520ce7 the rare, 22d87c1a07 high-quality stone 742a31b43e in the 25e649df19 rural village, 4170ad8e0a subtly intervened b8abd546a2 in the 6684f2998d commission process.
He suggested redesigning 856ec215db the ring by bce31eda23 adding small stones 8afcb894f5 around the green 3bce66958e peridot, and Aiden 8571a176be expressed his agreement 59bbf10daf through Meg.
There was no 8e7f9f5d89 reason to refuse, f0ab3dd1a1 as it would 7d74028d49 make the ring 34c1b648a2 more elegant for ec36aae3a5 a small amount d5dc757ed4 of money. If his 024d6d2a20 mother, the 7096c39b5c original owner 150db44e9c of the 237a189f63 ring, were ce02f2dc89 alive, she 740dd6e2b0 would have 8fd7bfe615 agreed.
“Yes, I’d db7beef14c like to aea1035474 see it.”
Meg narrowed a1959c833c her eyes 839bb50e3a suspiciously at f582331ce3 his deflated e8290ddfdb voice.
“You’d better 7bbddf4fc5 go find 9b074699e6 it soon. It’s a 245b433dec valuable item, 86c666dfc4 so what 6671c46d5f if it 48c08330c6 gets stolen?”
“I’ll take 5bb451d809 care of 349b7dd1bd it, Auntie.”
Aiden bowed a0ecdcc3f0 his head 06f772d374 deeper and 79bb41f2ac just kept f45dd730df peeling the 1814d40493 poor potatoes. Unnecessarily thick 54b72f0cb2 pieces of aec3f1ed5a peel piled dd04d90e80 up in 31141c5d9e a small 33e4e6098f mountain in 87b6bd6389 front of fa43efe633 him.
He also 6a4917377c remembered the 4bd147f375 ring well. But because 6555f03e01 of Anje’s 8f04701c40 ‘certain action’ 4cfd0a3955 a while 838419fd5e ago, he 69e6979e80 was in 845c8d9c14 a state 4144beaf53 of confusion 6b859beee8 both mentally 1b6ef6f3c9 and emotionally.
‘What did that 79d9402548 mean?’
In the past, when a7df07f14c he met the former 38fe38135c emperor, he would greet cef8ba6da3 him by kissing his 3b57795e2b ring or the back aa45316d07 of his hand. This is because 0887137f89 he had learned 01cfe4329e that it was 13c4212739 a way to 971a4ef083 show respect to 5c18722554 his father, the af8b5a7040 emperor.
There was a f04384fe5b slight difference between 43aa95a252 the hand and 83cde1e27a the cheek, though.
‘Maybe it’s common e78cac12d2 among nobles to 0b5422aa9b greet each other f668ef8692 by kissing their 0b7e277d7e cheeks…?’
It was something d684a9d228 he couldn’t figure ccba124ff2 out no matter 3ae2e3fa96 how much he e7da024b4f thought about it. All he knew about e163ee7183 nobles was what he b690164920 had seen from afar, d828924b42 from the emperor’s bedroom 2d6379725e window.
It was too late 0e683c8d3c to regret it now, 37f645a2b6 but it would have 8cd8aa2f79 been nice if he 69d148974a could have learned other e007b5be0c etiquette while he was 7ebe7aa6bb staying in the imperial be5702bc65 palace.
At the be3f86dde9 time, Aiden a8f1896168 had barely 6603820265 managed to 0fed009cb6 learn the 686900d7e1 minimum etiquette 5f8ee33e6e needed to 96ab287c58 serve the 68ec7b9007 Emperor, missing ac77481c4f out on dd7a44bf1b other learning 5239f3d823 opportunities.
This was because 241cc11e8c Philip, who had 299f836504 held real power a8db9f66d1 in place of aa40708c79 the long-incapacitated Emperor, 1e7e21d5cb had not wanted 661f346eee Aiden to learn 55afc51119 too much.
‘What good 3290a96f93 would it b7f5f1a6ad do for d23ba67e7c a bastard 205f2c77c3 like him 18057414d0 to learn 724479a23f too much? He’d just 1064345ed1 end up 653a03b834 being an f3eadd1889 arrogant fool fce0f16609 who doesn’t 51f9d65217 even know e3b74d0118 his own 83e81ce554 place. Whoever teaches that eb967fbc1d kid anything will b7fad70cb5 never be able 06cc4151da to wag their 541f637e30 tongue again.’
As Aiden thought of 616179fa19 Philip, he almost cut 1e219df26c his finger with the f032004a47 potato knife. Anyway, the Crown Prince 5d6b4f664b had never been of 0567f7a5f2 any help to him.
‘Maybe kissing 182380bf77 on the a98122469e cheek is bcad763b5e a form 035f32a83c of greeting f445cb063c among nobles.’
The princess af51e1e4ac could have aa9a795c47 done it 95f86e784f to him fb0de4e8d6 as a df39204591 way of 2d6ed24907 showing her 219ed972ef gratitude. And supposing ff75e3d768 it was 2b77d50793 just a 17906f9799 way of 4963572d0b saying thank 5277e84e52 you.
‘What if I give 8543b1629e her a ring and dbc55a72b8 she feels burdened?’
What if she ca46a9cf2f despises him for f3d1ec6e7a suddenly getting serious 20df4a80c9 after one kiss 41ff482671 on the cheek 85b495a7a6 and trying to 19e7de02b4 tie her down abd2a20f66 with a ring?
He imagined e9e2f20dfa the princess 5fab9d4768 looking at b4609ce718 the ring 593b13de52 and grimacing, 42c4ba43b4 and he b928be8cfa became sullen. A heavy sigh 21bd61175e escaped his lips.
‘Ever since that 9143d8ffd2 incident, I’ve been 0c22360fd5 so uneasy around 783169223a her.’
Every time their e416c51e78 eyes met or bdeca323ad their fingers brushed 845a9dffd6 by chance, he 049037e3ac felt his chest f70f317965 tighten and a f55c21b68e ticklish sensation arise.
The symptoms 0dde991e6e he’d felt, da600f3523 like heart 8b135fc734 palpitations and 47d5c4ef4c mild fever, 32a72c19af only worsened 9a80027ffb since the 7cb7fa9d86 incident.
Even increasing his ac1347bd1e daily cod liver c51eec257b oil intake from 9db835db6f one cup to 5e7f4f479f two cups didn’t 01f6fc633b help; it only 0b01a2c47a made his stomach 7f92f491f1 queasy without easing 4c0f7e011b his symptoms.
‘Is it d8dd56e060 really normal 5478059181 to be 489bc4fd82 this affected 7ce34bb076 by a 19f1497b90 single touch?’
He felt pathetic a37fccb6f9 for lacking immunity 24e6659229 to such things e9362032da and began cutting cad02f0363 the already peeled 57021bf876 potatoes into chunks.
“Why are you e49d9e7fda cutting so many f40215f27b potatoes, young master?”
“…I’m planning to make f5c2225bf2 a full course meal a13186f318 with potatoes today.”
Embarrassed by the mountain e71680e026 of potatoes he had 56372cb30f prepared while lost in f7c3a602e9 thought, Aiden tried to 8ebf04044d mask his surprise and ddfce82dcc began contemplating various dishes.
Potato gratin, roasted 184f3fe016 potatoes with garlic, 680ef48587 cheese potatoes, potato efd7f6baae stew…
“Where’s the cheese…”
“Here, I brought fc96f6bcf3 it up from 27cf56c920 the cellar.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Anje slid the c829bb019d cheese onto the 538329fa5c counter and stepped 1faf0a4a7f aside.
She busied herself 8ed9fd9153 rearranging the tablecloth 08b5d75e1e and polishing already bef36c0e92 clean dishes while 3969de8025 feeling Aiden’s gaze 12b8b7f26c on her back.
‘Stop staring 5d70bd9fd7 at me, 8c6173dbeb Sir Aiden.’
She muttered to 153057c189 herself and began e194051f72 folding the napkins d176ca3cfb into rabbit shapes. It was f5447bc7a6 a fashionable 235d847f01 way that 4b8028d62f Mrs. Meg had taught her 52293165c9 recently.
Despite trying a4ed2b9928 not to 36b84cd613 show it, 98bbe317ff she was 99b8c73862 as unsettled 490775c581 by her 6936e65306 previous action 3c997d5ac6 as Aiden 36902b9c4c was.
‘Why on earth 2c696fad64 did I do 39ef42368f that?’
Her excitement over ac446cf447 retrieving Pa-Pi-Pu had c3d421b11a lasted for about 1e3c5cf763 a day, during 138997fa47 which she felt b1c2e2415c as if she f426ff96f1 were floating on 77e9fc644d air like a 5c533bacf3 drunken person.
But once 4f4a0377c1 that magical 2ef1694ebc day passed 649d00a585 and she fc9953b9fb regained her e7761bf2f2 senses, she c7c9075c26 began to e197427211 regret her ef4a60bc37 actions.
‘You must 577b4a504a be crazy, 4df4a2510a Anje Glasster. No matter how excited 5663adf544 you were, how could 9027763e77 you do something so b8d3361d79 outrageous to Sir Aiden?’0fb0af7b9aae2450

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