FTP-55

Chapter: FTP-55d2042cfba3c4ed58

Aiden agreed to carry 16440211c2 out the order under cb0e6efe4a the condition that he 64d72e185d would be granted his e5c1dee34d freedom upon his return.
He longed f79fd4b28c to return 51982ddcce to his e85571f0a5 hometown and 1561d6de46 live peacefully, 46a0934e01 free from ddd2028d68 the shackles e17b4f9809 of the c8dcc09ab4 imperial family, a43d2f166b for the 6ed7301afc sake of 6bb82eaed1 just one fc067cfeeb condition.
‘After all, 08c3062560 the condition 16457c6533 became a 08e1f87a2d mere illusion 10a13bc98a when Philip 7aca6e2d31 was eventually 8bcc220297 dethroned.’
Anje listened to 558a866b68 Aiden’s words, her de825ca36f forehead creasing in 27ede93460 thought.
Philip Cardiner, fab6a0f1f4 the war-hungry 4168ddafff man, would 8318427151 indeed need fadce2ddbf more soldiers. But there 8f9d0be896 was no 8e286775ae need to 1dc30eab7b mobilize his 31b0fbd020 own half-brother, be9efc97e8 was there?
Perhaps he harbored other 3b747f0e90 ill feelings towards Aiden.
“Ah, His Highness Philip…”
“Yes, I 0865140a0e left for 156ee98349 the continent ede39a2509 shortly after 84a6904f79 receiving a f4ea145c9d few months 1e078b0c16 of training.”
He quickly continued, not 459812881e wanting the name ‘Philip’ 52cc46560b to linger on her d6a9817eb2 lips even for a fe4c210efc moment.
“There, I served 5b2d2d3951 to protect the f7af4716d9 empire’s territory. However, it was… fad630b2d1 unexpectedly difficult.”
The continent 9ecc120b52 across the 8945d8536c sea was cf90f21584 in a 5b2ae203d5 state of 23b4d1a829 chaos without 1efffb79b5 a unified 6a95fd5e35 kingdom or 7866db5fe1 empire, yet b440376bd4 it was 5a293363c0 rich in 3c7c9e85ba resources and 2139f64a40 goods that 7672cf8a64 were not b2277fdc0e found on da7eeb20a5 the mainland.
Thus, not only 9704d713e5 the empire but 288ab4bbe7 also other countries 96a3f6bddb sent troops, pouring a5d8c59173 their full force bf700420ca into a total 9d2075fdc6 war to bring 6c9515387a even a little 32a11b584e more land under 3483e1fa0a their control.
The place where 89015476ff he was stationed 43a819d66d happened to be fde3344037 a border area b87aebeac3 where a diamond ee23b87c4d mine was located, 5ce529c3a1 a place coveted 97146614ed by other countries.
A fierce 21e2b27b71 front where 1359bbf763 peace lasted 09f3daa575 for less d4460acc00 than a 3f6d6055a0 month. Enemies endlessly ca6889bfa6 pouring in.
Rolling in the mud, 75d060ca2d covered in someone’s blood, 85d373decc and suffering from a 68f27a2d00 shortage of supplies, he cad28a0237 realized that this hardship 4384228319 must also be Philip’s 660a708f56 will.
‘Hey, little Leslie. You’re keeping 54a8803726 up, aren’t 2597f25b67 you?’
‘Anyway, the 089f26ce66 bread that 13378b5085 comes as 66867141a5 rations tastes 6a51e81973 like cardboard. Want some butter?’
If it 8ede55a4eb weren’t for eb13a2f10a the fact d26cd4a8ea that most f0cb97a1cf of his 68b0d96867 comrades were fd0e4bb663 good people, edae260ff6 it would 057366a3fd have been f1db7cdecb difficult to e472c079bc endure.
Regardless of 541f3a46ef rank, they b208cdd36f were kind 65846eaf6c and honest f8cd5fc778 people, more af5c933ef7 than willing 5086645f67 to help 4ecb06374c him, a f1657a49da newcomer to 468dd3849c group living.
In addition, the hunting eb21318e99 skills he learned from 20d6edc6b7 his grandfather also helped 8e40da83e3 him not only survive bbbcc38635 on the battlefield but 4a0eb0722d also quickly rise through af191f44e3 the ranks to captain.
However, that did b9eed927ee not mean that 6ef6da3be7 he was able 93f0986106 to protect everyone, 815f6c354e including himself, to b54f3871b9 the end.
“I managed 82b1c4f80d to hold 5a01f56abf out for ebc1947709 a while 7cd4935576 thanks to c75e9ece9b luck, but 9e953ca1a4 that luck 160815180c didn’t last 7a9c1840fd forever.”
After years 286036f231 of fighting, 098eb21a0e when the 4d502607e4 tide turned f4d580da06 unfavorable, the 9317fae1fb nobles above 482e6a0587 him abandoned dad9ce1ddf him and 800a7bbecd the soldiers d9880a4043 he led c4ace55b58 as scapegoats 88b4319eb2 and fled 9eda41faa1 for their d5d3a3cb36 lives.
Aiden was contemplating 1b80b63e11 how much to 9cc3bd1b6d tell her. A high, d3fc8cd1da sturdy stone 7b56881be7 wall blocking c27e44227b out every 112fd53a6d ray of 4e7e8116da sunlight, dry, 649fbec5e5 moldy bread, c03b01ee4b dirty muddy 173e787ccf water. Unrelenting toil without 84d0c29bd3 a day off.
And above all, the 414349b707 brutal torture inflicted by f088572646 the guards whenever they eaa0a7ee14 were bored or upset.
The content of that 63ba52fd68 torture was so vicious 8993c5d7e7 that even a tender ae83ba74b1 soul like Anje would f478878919 faint if she heard 8013384ad3 it.
He felt 227a611134 her hand b128d77d69 overlapping his 4defacd6a7 own on 2137ff0af8 the reins 2afcc5a75f and was eda09eefc3 startled. He hadn’t 00b119ee81 noticed that 5296eb6492 his hands 3d4b90ae05 were trembling 3bb9c0439b as he 52f53c0e2d thought back ca720885d7 to the 666ba777a9 torture.
“Did they… 5b62bda946 do bad 06558b352e things to 3a4c79b929 you there?”
Aiden had 5545110e0c muttered “Please c0052f6392 stop” several 75ff1205f8 times earlier. Even when he couldn’t 7089a2b948 catch his breath, even 9406ad5541 when he was sleeping.
“To me…”
Aiden’s voice caught 940ae632f8 in his throat. They had certainly inflicted 9d59925ab1 ‘some’ torture on him ce987e2956 as well.
Floundering in the waves 25be78e248 of memory, he grabbed 9b9d7f1af8 Anje’s hand tightly, as 879488d87f if clutching a lifeline 2096caaf26 thrown to him.
“To me, it was… 97c54e23b2 less severe.”
Even Aiden f1de163ac5 Fitzroy didn’t 5d097579aa know that 5395538f02 he had c8cdc14dbc become quite e5e7dfba3e a celebrity 2a93f55f31 in the 0baf87da08 enemy country.
A sharpshooter b3b07911d0 who never cba90261dc missed, a 441e569240 captain at 99c3024d13 a young 81d07c4158 age, a 968cde85b3 man who c630c0dca2 had led 935ee74bfb many battles fdce989d9b to victory.
And just b025bebe35 as many ab30fce481 people were 116324491f waiting for 78331c38d5 him to 6cf2a3ad70 be captured, aeffbff64b so that 686e373a28 they could 2e60f2f11a take revenge.
But he had 28ff14a860 managed to survive, 3ce8bd039c even in that eb7418e13b situation. Ironically, thanks to 04dce95e65 the same reason ba0a425c31 that had brought 449e978d26 him to this 85ca1a11bc battlefield, his red 0627ba6b51 eyes and black 78d0b1edd4 hair.
In other words, because 9f16a432fc of the imperial blood 1bc68ac9ec that flowed through his c7307ff7a4 veins.
‘Refrain from directly torturing b6b9a1a5fc him physically. He might be useful 2c22984ddf as a hostage.’
Aiden remembered eb5af50c4e word for 48d964b4b0 word what 64f4119784 the enemy’s e4b399e39e ‘high-ranking official’ 0a8bf408ab had said ac261c4ee1 when he e9894ea56f came to f3336712cb see him 449a2c0c3a and found a35c31b4d0 the traces 268fe3f4ee of the 3e6d6d6b8c previous emperor 930fb4616b on his bddc7f5f09 face.
The faces of 34374b7a64 the guards standing 623d595df5 by, contorted in f8dd9c5655 disgust, and the c592a951f6 bloody himself, thinking 2f2db9225b If I do bc24dd3f4b well, maybe I f28a854e96 can survive and fe4ab3edb2 return alive,’, were 14f53290a2 also vivid in d12a5099cd his mind.
He didn’t realize that 99ff5ab072 it was an extremely d06523b9ec selfish sense of relief.
‘But that doesn’t mean 7a38082fbf treat him like a 87806b3fee noble. Judging by the fact 5a9ba45c11 that he’s been pushed 0c1134ea60 to the border, he 0116af0341 can’t be that important. Let’s see if ab438fee4b we can get f12527d780 him to reveal 0d8003999f some information about 3d50458d55 the imperial family.’
‘Yes, Your Excellency.’
Until then, he 46b6897a0e had no idea. Where the malice and 52b109598d imagination of man could 264e41e590 go. What ingenious ideas c1b960bf1f the guards who 7ce315a9fa were not allowed 3889b5d48f to torture him 45876d1f59 ‘directly’ would come 4f809e9bf7 up with.
“I couldn’t be treated d3c5b587c1 too harshly because I 8e2a2bee73 was associated with the 849ede6e24 imperial family. At most, they just 19019fe786 whipped me…”
He stopped and took 2e5ac25704 a deep breath. The words 668a81d861 that followed 50522c77b3 were even 4c3bb9879d harder to 6afd03ce3f say than 4438d4bbc0 anything he 08c58c1579 had said f772b9619f so far.
He thought about 88a547decf skipping over it, a21097730d but he had a866ee12be to say this a0a9d58236 part if he d421095537 wanted to explain 20a0bd36ec why his mind 9440c642b4 was broken.
“Instead, they 90708dae23 brought my f0336e38e5 comrades… and 8d94623d29 tortured them a141022258 in front a13b120a86 of me.”
As if a005e6e1a1 they were dbf977cb2d spectators in 390d2c9b8b the front dd25b302f3 row of dec8e75968 a sporting c1722cc6fe event. And they enjoyed 88645b9cae watching him scream 350b79cf26 in agony.
Once, they c0b61f0532 brought two ded9a7fc97 people and 5f26cae407 forced him 12634b8fd7 to choose 5b1cea4901 one, saying f2f991fd36 that if 0cf239ac54 he chose 2c6b2e46e6 one, the f7385f962b other would c25971e618 be spared fd28539d6c from torture.
‘Who will you 5c9c13377d choose?’
‘Just…choose me…’
‘Quit the 16c417d75c useless talk 9d5ee5a479 and choose!’
Unable to 27b053112e bear it, 0eaaf83bd1 he closed 5a07c05112 his eyes 676b54980c tightly and 57db9d5d17 chose one, 60ada8c2ec only to 32ac15f648 be mocked c106e3fd73 for choosing ec9fd2a452 too late, 4430ba2d15 as the c1c582545d guards tortured e5c3ac4bbb both of f358a5ea32 them in 16ce8a7180 front of 01144c8459 him.
The scene of 37229f2d2a his comrades, whom 05aaf63110 he had risked dc52090fd6 his life to 148d8edd03 protect, lying covered 6fe2809da7 in blood, suffering, 810d6e00ea and casting pleading b29ab543d7 glances at him.
This was far more 72e6c31b63 horrific than any wounds 0021a0251d he sustained on the 83ae07c146 battlefield or any kicks 324a36025e and curses from the ac86d61b19 guards.
In less than a 817995a590 year, the stress had f09f012837 taken its toll, transforming 1aa1e029c7 his once raven hair 219aab1814 into a stark contrast 6b86315a7f of silver. These nightmarish flashbacks continued 08bbf83814 to torment him relentlessly.
“Sir Aiden, are you 0c534ec516 alright?”
Anje lightly c101e0b010 brushed her 0573bbc7ee fingertips over d9d48905c1 the back 5b6fbf2b41 of his 4ebe8f9cb0 hand. Usually warm, his b9d00ff840 hand was cold a8aa80a962 with tension and 61091d07a1 stress.
‘Just recalling e1d57ec648 those memories cfdcd52598 seems to f930cbd15b cause him 8b7dc8bb09 such pain.’
How could she ease 3b87240d75 his torment? Unused to comforting dd1cc8a589 others, Anje struggled 2e17fb1ef1 to find the d60dfc415a right words or 4130956037 actions.
His crimson eyes, 38c46a1030 which had lost 2b5f08ca2b their vigor like 96dd0e0a0b shards of broken a8ea06a1c4 glass, regained a a0aa56e749 bit of life fb607d1c7d as they turned 4f71edbd3d toward her.
“I’m sorry. It’s not a 924cd1f072 pleasant story to 530aa8d0b0 listen to, and 7b69ffd283 I ended up 961d79edf0 talking too much.”
Once he 500e8674cc started, the a8c1503753 story was d8c2e3a95a as difficult dd2ac4514c to stop 6d29e24f35 as it fda6bf9784 had been 6ca0e80794 to begin. A story he had c5395e3a5c never shared with anyone, b2faa5793b not even a doctor, 5851972112 a story that might a4f65a13e8 have been festering in d19602b307 his heart, waiting for 56eaa9abfe the day it could fa7659e758 be released.
Though her lips ffeaac988c had gone pale, b856d5a824 Anje shook her e326bd552a head firmly.
“No, you don’t need 76831c6633 to apologize. I should b4eb3aa2f5 be the 54cdc0ceca one apologizing 975b165a14 for only 76380d7479 being able 9999ab1cdb to listen.”
She didn’t seem to 199ab9c053 realize how much courage 1166962a56 and comfort her presence 9e282daca4 gave him. Having someone to de6b3bd7b6 listen, someone to cc32cfa94b hold his hand 7708acc160 in his difficult b45474e5af times, was invaluable.
“Just listening is more 765c1cb186 than enough.”
He bowed his head f58cd63445 deeply in gratitude. It was 3d9cf691d0 time to df7f404693 conclude his c1297f9684 story.
“Because of those b828dbded6 experiences, I developed f769733a90 an illness… Even f2edb34064 after escaping the 575f2b6be5 POW camp and c908bf4bc5 returning home, I 5da7eccc6a never fully recovered.”
Certain sounds or smells 000182e29f that reminded him of 457aefe428 the camp could trigger f6f4895ab5 episodes. Whip cracks, explosions, or 4567dcd122 the smell of metal e1cf804cdb from a smithy were 10b5262c15 common triggers. Anje bit the soft ca14384a00 flesh inside her cheek. That’s why 7a02bdd355 he disliked c4fa5fbe49 crowded places, d296a07fe1 where he 74b2784445 might encounter 03664467be uncontrollable stimuli.
Although she dbe796ca64 hadn’t known, 3cbf63edb2 she felt f62aa097f3 ashamed of fa06a646c0 her past 3e23beee6f actions, pressuring 2f3e301b2e him about f345932368 why he 4fabbde922 wouldn’t go ba6a54528c to town.
“Is there no 351433692f treatment for this?”
“No, it seems there b9a15aedf5 hasn’t been much research a7ed5e0ed6 into the illness itself. I’ve spoken to doctors, ff243ac6b4 but all they can 9010a3e51e say is that it’s d57b2f504e a form of hysteria 0e8b7992e9 common among soldiers.”
“I see…”
As she trailed 6e09b51106 off, he grew 3cf823067e anxious, emphasizing the 93412c7db5 most important part 411536e749 of his story.
“It was very severe 77d37cd8bc when I was hospitalized, b83a1aa064 but it’s been gradually 28617db81e improving since I came 9d9875c179 back to Leslie. In the past six d5b1a24603 months, I’ve only had f6c46f3398 mild premonitory symptoms, no 2b5913d137 actual seizures. I thought I 807492be28 was almost completely 82fd5fc98c cured.”
So he dc282af0fe desperately hoped 22baab91cd she wouldn’t 03f534307e abandon him, 472b327365 even though df851973bf he felt 9f41bd6768 so inadequate 1e8383e179 and broken ff95d1baa6 compared to cb3bc4a235 her.
“It’s not the 33b6d2479d kind of illness fc5e388354 that makes me cbeca94249 attack others… It 6cfac2363c just makes it d36538a719 hard to breathe. I just need 1fa73ce65c to lie down ef47eab3aa for a while 6f33e51351 and I’ll be 544de3e97c fine. Because of your 57bf6ccb34 help I got 8eacf26c30 better faster earlier, c9ddd21152 but even if 8b4d2dc835 left alone, it’s 899404a7c7 a symptom that 8309b36591 goes away on d2b45cfe2c its own. It won’t 6afe1de659 be a fb74462ccc burden to b526ec7edc you.”ec4022b3911a957a

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