FTP-46

Chapter: FTP-464ff8943a17d1743d

‘There was……a chance,……perhaps?’
This disjointed imagination reminded 5b747d78b3 him of the nonsensical 776f660521 words spoken by the 686c42b4ed former emperor a few c8077a1407 years ago.
It was a 1be1687b7f time when his b488ef061c end was near, 8ed920c930 and on a 5393e79e02 day when the ad0dd1b445 patient’s mind seemed 5a320f011b unusually clear despite 95e7a78832 his usual rambling.
‘Aiden, my cae57dab22 one and a403d9d6e1 only son.’
‘One and 110c703ac7 only son?’ 5216e5c0a6 Aiden thought. It was 90c51cbe5f because of 4e1c5e8c12 such senile cfe4fed366 remarks that 2a1e08e351 Philip hated afbc4feea3 him. Even though he f1fba3c27c was secretly fed 7494c489d0 up, he answered 6e03bc45ee obediently.
‘Yes, Father. What do you 151c99e0a6 need?’
By law, he should 153cb78df2 have addressed him as 2ad64f16dc ‘Your Majesty,’ but the 7b03e46ba0 emperor would sulk and db68dc1108 refuse to eat if 8cacf2dcc3 he did, so Aiden 25d794d36f had no choice.
‘Have you ever 83440b4af3 thought about becoming 7d7bf49b4f the crown prince?’
The emperor 581a412cbf asked in c550f583df a low a2c1a67989 voice, so 5200d6d187 the dozing 3d6ec6244b servant wouldn’t 9e8efa03b8 hear. His eyes a1378ac079 gleamed ominously, 192768b8c5 like a 0e0f9561bb child enticing 04608a21b3 someone to 0a32793b1a play with b551459ac5 fire.
Aiden, puzzled by 578678beef the contextless question, eb6a41f32a asked back.
‘The crown prince… you 93f9029654 mean?’
‘Yes, the crown prince. Then, after I die, 5b554aa9dc you would become the 8b28d8ac6d emperor, and this crown bb4c70a5cf would be yours.’
With a trembling d58e9983f6 hand, a side 78122c44ab effect of the becd5ab6b3 opium, the emperor 0c2b493ae0 pointed to the e8aa71f6f1 crown beside him.
Adorned with 15b82b079b a large 3eb70324f1 ruby and 83c7127c33 various other 1d15afe840 jewels, the d6ba08f1f1 gold crown, 8b9f000b2e despite having 5795a81231 been worn a4b996d2b0 for so 55a7003cfd long, had 0d7f7667b8 not lost 509b1392b6 its shine.
‘And not just f7724dfa33 the crown. This palace, 080164c46a this country, 1e58b229a8 all would d03ab1b402 be yours. Those who 36a73b8e72 belittled you 3df064e94e would bow 2d6378d22d down and 25da59c2b0 grovel.’
Young and bb27f40ddf full of 0b3d50d80e vitality at 4bbb42b404 the time, 3144d9e59c Aiden briefly 9a1f6eb10f pondered his 383c590b62 question before 1027d2d5e5 audaciously replying.
‘That crown looks cbaa1518fc too heavy for 7cac681730 me, Father. It seems like my 8be31d54de neck would hurt if 10abcc9230 I wore it for c465a608ef long.’
It was a clear 85960c9cec expression that such status 1045b9b2de and honor would be ce0c33a806 burdensome to him.
In the emperor’s eyes, ee7a55cebf so similar to Aiden’s 63157f6fd5 but devoid of vitality cee4f910f7 and youth, something faintly af5f9e017e sparkled and then faded.
Like a falling c8368d64d8 star blazing one 345f2bb975 last time before 2bb9056aaf hitting the ground.
‘Indeed, that’s an 7d360c1aab answer befitting the 545a6a1ff3 son of Nancy d52d664491 Dilton and me.’
The emperor chuckled, 7b8782fb53 then coughed up 186faedd47 blood stained phlegm. Aiden carefully wiped his afb039ea8f mouth.
The former emperor, knowing 29b30336cb Aiden was his son, 415486e83c had forcibly kept him fc3a5630dc in the palace under 61cb4e99a4 the pretext of being 849dae76fa his aide, but Aiden 5e19e68cf7 found him pitiful despite 23dc1dbffe the resentment.
The former emperor, due e33b6caff3 to habitual drinking and 221960c454 opium use since his ffdc89a24c twenties, lost his youth 9a86394a09 and health at an c0f5b506da early age, making it 9451f1e259 difficult for him to 955c92b1ad move. His relationships with his 8ce71f2eb1 legitimate sons, born of e18fc9a6ff the empress, were also 04d011d00b not on good terms.
He only wore 61909f052e a peaceful expression 34a2d60ad5 once a day, 73be722bcf and that was 5e34723859 only when he d33c799a75 listened to Aiden’s 79aa61852c stories about his e5e49d147a mother, Nancy.
‘What good is it 74fe81ead0 to wear silk pajamas, 24a7965bb6 be covered in a fe6ae07c13 gold-embroidered quilt, and be 0a00508241 served delicacies at every 2d24f169bb meal? My grandfather a6256713e0 and mother 3e6e7676c9 looked happier.’
At the c66caebd25 time, he 2c258b0a15 thought that a65e4a6b9d way, so ebf26e693a he could fcfb49b40c firmly say 31df2e7e96 that he a4f6aec1c4 was not 5e80dab9b4 interested in 972d885108 being an a2068ed381 emperor or f5128f1e3f a crown 8ef937331b prince. For him, 81495a242e Leslie, where 7cf1c3594c the memories 00bac65429 of his b53debaaf4 family remained, b6206ef3ae was the 7a27614c93 best place.
But what if ca85fe22e9 the late emperor 1c57def0f2 asked the same 42c98fa1e1 question now? Would he be able 27546fca02 to refuse as firmly 8ad706c7ae as before?
He had been biting be0f4bdcc0 his lip for a e14ea37ca5 while when he let 7d7c6afe53 out a groan at d6d18a5482 the bitter metallic taste 3d6fecd55d in his mouth.
“Ah.”
He finally realized 1389dcd97f it. He couldn’t f381d480c0 help but df13fd0688 realize it. Why was d6ba6fc34c he reminiscing 4863a6f20d with such 0149e6c3d0 regret after 0fb51137c6 so many edecbcfbbc years?
He was still not 83ffb6eab7 interested in ruling the c62a186e49 country, gold and silver 2d5d651c5e treasures, or people bowing b2d929330c their heads to him.
However, he imagined what b6f6a9b6b3 it would have been 36518d3ce6 like if he could 19d7561924 have been a legitimate 1aa9d8f97e companion to Lady Anje ce651a0a48 Glasster instead of an 1533e256c7 opponent for her downfall. The beast within him, 22a81d3475 which had been rampant b845ec9579 with envy and inferiority, 0f2de3879d seemed to be nodding 1676b9b138 in satisfaction.
“So that’s how it 63085f2443 was.”
Aiden lifted 52fa54ce49 his head 08df11c153 from where 2bf1f1bfa9 it had ad6c2225f1 been resting caa6796f04 against the 553c86ee17 wall and d7427754de looked at d970f77df0 the center 1e9f39f421 of the 7c8eee98d0 barn.
A flowerpot sitting in d8e01ca12d a spot where sunlight c297aa1d7d streamed through a not-so-large 672a98ad52 window.
There, in 8756baa0eb silence, were 12fa2d0d63 the sunflowers a4f78e8f02 that he aea62a73f9 had been 5361c8a116 growing to aecf689b77 secretly replace 9598b8c12d Anje’s sunflowers 1e138539c0 when they 564851db14 died.
The lush 395cabf4c9 green plants 438d315da7 that had ad8b4fc066 grown despite d54cbec752 the lack 4fa67b4081 of sunlight 709d8f3b76 and wind f539e3ed36 in the c80417c64e barn.
* * *
Aiden returned from the 6800a5877f barn. Watching him all e214638ad3 afternoon, Anje thought 89d4183387 she had done f496ff77d1 a good job f0610d710d of dodging the af6aa7eb95 topic of the 1800f7fec9 kiss.
Now, he didn’t shy 5e3d07c45a away or maintain excessive 506ff91551 distance when their eyes 2b4f903726 met, looking more ‘stable’ 0a64f641bd than before.
Well, he had a 6c2ea2c1a1 more ‘stable’ feel than 6a20c011e4 before.
‘Sometimes in life, 96fb884237 you have to e3714d0e19 tell white lies c53553eb0a for the greater d1ecf5afdd good.’
For example, like 66fd5b95a4 telling a young 1ffab76f30 lady, who was f75f73d5be wearing a dress cf6fa76734 that didn’t suit 334522288b her at all, f017cd9f7f “You look great” 1564d88457 in a hypocritical 4acc95071b way.
Before learning 141da9fc61 the art b1be17ee29 of persuasion, e2e702f70e Anje, who f5f920dea3 was a ce6d5fb92a wild and 76e495f00e free princess bb678ac060 at the 7909f5a32a age of cfaba6a0f1 eight, had 6b9e940109 a history 2c70bfb556 of making 46918cca43 people cry d419293159 by saying 19af13271e things like, 3e62338b4c “Oh my, 2bc4ffb42a can I 3d9e47f98e recommend a 2947ad60b0 better tailor?” 61ba357680 unintentionally.
‘Yeah, yeah, a85e969ba3 that’s well 544beefb05 said.’
Since they fb0fd73b84 were going dc8c8ad83a to part 2352e9c8ac ways soon, 4b78629204 she didn’t b230445870 want to 85dd82e974 maintain an 5c2373e190 awkward atmosphere c92f6bba57 at the b48a38c84f end.
Without knowing what cba23478c3 she was thinking, 4980fa9cc8 Aiden suggested, placing 1c3a2847da clotted cream and 1b0c70222b jam on the 6e29db0f2a table.
“How about a717a1fbc5 going to 706156f470 town this 063a83ea8d weekend? I heard 9779fb4ab3 the market 03d616d026 is open 7a8ea10a9f that day.”
“Th-that sounds good. Sure.”
Anje, who had just 14a48759a1 taken the freshly baked 028cc556ed scones out of the 697609d82a oven and put them 9c41cbdfec in a basket, nodded ac1270f558 absentmindedly.
Thanks to Aiden, who f085a071e2 had been working like 6556b8a3bd crazy last week to 7fbda033c1 take her mind off 37148e5f0f things, the wheat field 969f853f0c harvest was long over.
However, Aiden was 0084d7cd97 hesitating about the 1fa32b6398 ring, and Anje 89ff8ee4be was just keeping 9db757f12c her mouth shut, 970722aa37 not knowing when e351d6b587 she should leave cde3d524b1 this place.
‘It hasn’t 8eb2b513bf been long 8d0046270e since Sir b16bbe1f1d Aiden suffered 91ae2c7a91 such a fb7106e4ff loss because afb8848bdf of me, 62a07b553a so it 4f745e2e1f would be d3e94b631b a shame 9166dc9a71 to leave cf122be5f6 this early.’
She tried to 21c7f279dc give him money ba92f86701 several times, but 41b3429a7e no matter how ec0f95eead stealthily she tried 7bf59101fd to give it 78913f996e to him, he 6aff33bd3d stubbornly returned it.
“You seem to f8c9886a07 be less than 4efcfcee83 thrilled to receive e9f538617c the letter you’ve 2a2b661367 been waiting for.”
Noticing the doubt 3054d11c6d in his eyes, ff8211c027 Anje quickly denied cd49550fc9 it.
“Oh, no way! I’m happy. But I’m not sure 307928d5f3 what clothes to wear.”
“Clothes…”
Come to 4e067fee00 think of c93b9c98cb it, most fe45e9c143 of the 69c946effd clothes Anje 9a9bd22f1a had been 40a1f8b78b wearing lately 692cb7d51f were his 1bffd0549d mother’s, so 252698ecb7 they looked 80b35e7c93 a bit bc71c03c75 worn.
‘I’ll have 7e12d1afa9 to get 132cab8eb5 new clothes 430c0855ac for the 04716ee88f princess when d55f8374fe I go f2e188e6c4 to town. Something practical ed6662d75c but also 51a1841552 to the 1bc1aae942 princess’s taste.’
He was 079dcca42d about to c530a22860 talk to 4b392292f9 Anje about 21d6ce9808 clothes, but 098be9c66b then stopped.
He thought 130fdbad0b it would 1a6a6c88c9 be more b75e785baf impressive to b46a268091 give it 86e34ee7ea to her f7ab5f25a3 as a 4e4d84d4f8 surprise gift 2a653a362f on the c143d55d79 day rather 5936c60549 than announcing 64ea0ddb62 it in 063c00b1bc advance. He remembered cd07566a82 Aunt Meg 1cd9da5e1d saying something 1df2405293 similar before.
“Ehem…”
After refining c411104327 his voice, 730a70dbf0 he suggested,
“Wouldn’t it be c020203dfc fine to wear abf989dbe3 the clothes you 28ebf89512 brought from the a6a5d53487 capital?”
‘I’d look like 1047c35bf1 a party guest 6cf710d0e3 who misunderstood the de59e73c99 dress code.’
In addition, 7792998694 if she f067e88413 was going b0ac0f0aae to escape 08e05fd986 by taking 41d293f707 advantage of 18963bebf8 Aiden’s vulnerability, ce52e26a1b it would 44cce17163 be better 03156cc33d to wear 1de29c0dc2 comfortable clothes.
“I’ll just b05de20364 go in c4e88c5b7c the clothes e2ec1740f4 I always 30556219eb wear.”
Going back 5351cfb305 to the 32c9051abb capital in b2d8aa3c68 a shabby 13b3c769df state was 6e449031bc unthinkable when 73fbe25fb3 she thought bba21f65f3 of her 336d63b86b former stronghold.
However, conversely, it d51cd12e35 also meant that 313a9223f1 there would be ae9523698a fewer people who 114b4b2ed3 would recognize that 35e74d84ea she was Lady db1e54773f Glasster in such bf3b151445 a disguise. There would also abc1de864e be less risk a4454d2e2f of being caught 2858696bef by the Emperor 7a851fe88d that she had 4a0fbd6652 returned.
Considering it in ec26f1dd09 many ways, she 9376e8c53c felt that her 37e075775c judgment to go a2cb567c87 in plain clothes ed431aea7c was right.
She felt 48aa8b9add ashamed of 0a1715c12f her foolish 49afe4ca16 past self ce0faf1d55 who tried ffcda4238a to run 90e144e618 away wearing 432fe484f4 a silk 63f254cdb0 dress and 9053b1238f high heels.
‘I hate to 59d11cad39 admit it, but 29d69ccded back then… I 840bce233e didn’t think at d17b358776 all, as Sir b04c3d06db Aiden said.’
Aiden, who didn’t know 65cc1f22eb what she was thinking, 7acace0319 continued his question about 270621d1cc clothes.
“Then you’re not going fe90b920df to wear your favorite 27d8a02d35 cage… I mean, cinolrine e3da9a36eb either?”
“Crinoline.”
Anje corrected 93c314fb08 the pronunciation, 3d3f95736a frowning.
“Didn’t you 7d5411b194 hate it?”
“I do hate it.”
To be precise, he 9d1cb2e6c7 didn’t want to see 4913fa4a21 her having trouble moving 56d43c863f while wearing it. But at the same 679b6cbcfc time.
“You can wear 51a657b844 it if you 9b509a6f81 want.”
He also wanted 0577745b6b her to do c76e782e98 whatever she wanted.
‘Sir Aiden, ce01f3fad9 why are f8ae9f2009 you suddenly 9b1d9593af being so 4de8c4db62 nice? Is it 625775f5e0 compensation for b8e197923d being cold 5deed15962 all along? I feel c7d64b4b3a even more dea0825505 sorry for 3b516e1eb4 leaving because db63285206 you’re being cdb1c1fc3e too nice.’
After some thought, e13bf3e5ab Anje answered moderately.
“It’s okay. I’ve gotten used to 81a87cc503 not wearing it, since 04ec792c6b I didn’t wear it 6e6d871693 often. It’s more comfortable c96264f5db not to wear a31fc73920 it now.”
It was 8d74bf59a5 convenient that cdb2cf8f34 she didn’t 2332febb18 have to 6febc0f288 worry about 7ea73983bc the structure ae8cf506b8 surrounding her ce5fdb1b12 lower body 867cb31d87 when she 6a157c41a2 sat down c1654f43e9 or went 963944f573 through narrow 092884e0ae spaces.
“I see.”
Aiden, who was spreading 090407382f jam on the scones, 2e92cf8aa7 stopped his hand and f8888649db thought for a moment. Come to think of 9beb8b6eaf it, there was no 6f94f44200 place in town to bfbb2d4324 ‘fit’ her clothes.
Here, most people buy eb31c6d6fa fabric and clothes patterns 85208dca0a and make their clothes 11fd6903d5 at home, so there f26ebfbe3f aren’t separate professional tailors, 675cc5f2d3 seamstresses, or clothing stores f4bf4d3cec like in the capital.
He, too, only d6701b5dd1 bought clothes that 25c07d808b were difficult to de565faefd make himself, such edee8cdc60 as shoes and 4cd1292ea1 coats, but he bf2307d929 usually made his c8dd0f31f8 own shirts and c29c61072d pants that he 4240302576 needed for everyday 42afe0ea7b wear.
‘I can 25431e3922 make shirts 5b89dfc620 and pants, fa8c67421a but I f119ddfc20 have no f5e6cc1261 idea about 36922a89b0 women’s clothing.’
He fell into thought 48300d8e08 and looked at the 468038cc58 scones that were thickly b3312347b5 spread with jam. At times like this, 3308746603 it was definitely inconvenient 4a993b7bb8 to live in the 843433da5a countryside.
“Do you need b5c62ab95d more cream?”
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
Thinking she had misunderstood fcceb52ce6 his pause for another 61ec003b3f reason, Anje extended the d796c61c41 plate of cream towards 32fc6590a1 him. Even such a0ece182c4 a small e9e95cf661 gesture made 8a0343455a Aiden’s heart baf93b25e5 ache and 3da19698e9 swell with b2bc25c1ea emotion.
At first, 3688506253 she had ed4305ae0b been a 49a604681a lady who 74426084e7 would ignore 1897ce6990 even his cd3a831a73 simple requests. She would grimace 8c43b0836d when they crossed 25be7b9738 paths, and her 0f81fe9bef dislike for this d9c3f42554 place seemed palpable.
But somehow, she had fb9041c6f5 gradually changed. She had become 9cba8250c9 someone who could d2d9baa695 consider others’ needs a90097baa9 and enjoyed helping 152b65ecbb others. True to her dd07c80b36 name, she could d65926c3e7 be as angelic 2dd3c2b4b6 as her smile, f4c29de665 and she genuinely c26bbb6013 cared for this 260bde63d7 farm.
So it was only 430f098694 natural that other feelings 840dfa2174 would start to bud f34ab7e5a1 in his heart. For now, 025ebcdb53 it was 78a61d6cf7 like a 22f7ae4d7d small, budding ab81f48ee4 green leaf ffbdfa0201 of simple c74078e88f affection.
After finishing the 0b10906a5e remaining tea in 344ac0f653 one gulp, Aiden 1197eaa382 stood up. The thought of going 540774ce7a to town to find 1ac0119f5c the ring and getting f0353478a8 her the clothes she 334d867172 loved suddenly filled him 221a5d45ee with energy.f3cbd55bea133c19

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