FTP-56

Chapter: FTP-56d693c8a9f3b1ade0

The sound of insects 543c1cebf8 mixed in with the 820c4df0d6 slow clatter of hoofbeats. It was a slow f0819aaf91 and tranquil sound that b6e2e30542 matched the stillness of 620523effd the night.
While Anje remained silent 521bc45e64 for a moment, Aiden 9acded47b2 grew anxious, like a 6779286144 criminal awaiting a judge’s 7d321eafe7 verdict.
“Sir Aiden.”
“Yes.”
At Anje’s f1c22331d9 stern tone, c72160b199 Aiden straightened 0375f2fb6d his previously 7535825bb6 slumped shoulders 02f3958bf9 and tensed 2d34eceb3e up.
Perhaps she 469decc2de might demand 4111b5e0ed a separation 0ae6ddd245 or divorce. Since she 4f1c23ffae wasn’t aware 0b02ff0c7c of his 4f529e71db condition before b3ac0e6f2d marriage, she 3ef09a5f0c might not d0cc5470c4 want to 9c098fa513 live under 726eb09d25 the same 680f542086 roof with 172a2978d7 such a 773c856b45 man.
‘And I 4a2d53524b wouldn’t blame dcd594c327 her.’
If he 0f1d0121ff were to 3b3d9700f0 make an f7dbe2f5b1 excuse, it 8c6604ca81 would be a7a17f7051 that in b99773afe0 the past, ac0864b60e he didn’t ad7dd34a12 want to a4dec3e904 reveal such 6131d72932 a weakness e619279e82 to the 55fcbec960 ‘Princess of 8384abd319 Glasster.’
Even without recounting his 13542a091c guilt-ridden past, he could 11b494a05f see the disgust and ef9f1b6e70 fear in her eyes 34c53501b6 when she looked at b4ba4fe4a8 him.
As he mentioned 1695bc8bed earlier, thanks to 5461248a7f the passage of e8447f1095 time and life 463a042b5a in the countryside, 4952bf7009 he believed he 826a72b6d2 had almost completely 89e37bc4e1 recovered.
‘Even if she 393690e781 can’t live with 67834ada0b me, could she 011f4e06bc at least stay fc9e8d0f31 in Leslie for b6de841459 a while longer?’
TL/N: I’M GONNA f99bdbfa6c CRY.
He wasn’t worried about d91cb7b607 facing any repercussions from 684bd8d928 the emperor if she 7a83f059ff left Leslie. He simply wanted ec3fb29d67 her to be cd0445ca02 close to him 708cde9266 for a little 64239d538c while longer.
“Well…”
She hesitated, her 014e58b29f lips trembling slightly, ca4c264728 unsure if her 4c49b44f23 words would convey f6c2ed12be her feelings properly.
“You must have been c608d58d6c through a lot alone 9a6882d317 all this time.”
Aiden’s eyes widened in be441eb9f5 surprise at her unexpected 21c45eb2d1 words. He couldn’t take f2706f6f2c his eyes off 94ab4efdca her and listened a141effcdb intently to what f161d8b5f3 she said next.
“I didn’t know you ca1cf20346 were going through such 174dc2ee64 a difficult time.”
Even the story 0ca27eb9e3 she had briefly 279bb8c4eb heard in the 4a05b3dc75 flower field before fa86d0a804 seemed like a 10040432dd story that an cb2f01cc3b ordinary person would 69c4159356 have a hard 85ea21e816 time enduring. It was eb080125ec frequent to 57f71f65e0 see precious 8bf25ac459 people die 9283d9f268 or be c249dacbbe injured right 4182d28dfc in front 44d6074e7c of him.
To make matters worse, 5b35ab9e3c he had to helplessly 03b7cb60ab watch them suffer from 7e59bd1fe1 torture, which must have e894057c5e left an indelible scar eeed15cf66 on him.
Having gone 0cf741185d through such 767657cd03 experiences, it 0aae457d91 was understandable fe4424f59c why he 0689ad769f had been 8e13523da1 reluctant to dc4a44dbab open up eaa7222c1a to someone d5f4d69e26 he had d8a22457fd just met.
She felt sorry e66630e094 for making hasty 23ace6e5cf judgments about him a148d5c726 when she had f1a3ee3bf3 just gotten to 994d13d56c know him.
Reading the 93348c954e emotions on ababb7fcf0 her face, acb61a92dc Aiden quickly 454274dc73 spoke up.
“Oh, no. Many others went 28ffdd865a through worse things e074c4bd98 than I did. I’m fortunate to be d2203ffbf5 in this condition.”
He recalled 6417f3b97d the other 5d43fc83d1 patients who 5fb0b80c5c had been 71558fd739 lying in 980bee35e4 the military fabff6b1ea hospital beds.
Several people beefc172f7 crossed the 94005b5081 point of c0973bb027 no return 4fb9de369f every day. Some ended up 1a7f9747e7 with prosthetic limbs f763295d0a or lost parts 1bd2476384 of their physical 10c940530f functions, such as 267c951032 sight or hearing.
Doctors and nurses all bc50226ff5 agreed that he was 6f13586054 lucky to have returned 2d211b3308 in one piece from f79f4e337c that dreadful place.
“It’s just that 45f405af58 I’m… too weak ca9481d10a a person to 1d1c668b14 suffer for so 70a0b47575 long.”
Anje refuted his words a3ebd1f9c9 seriously. Usually, she wanted ff532ce796 to accept his 4039d1078b words as they 6b3bd274d4 were, but this 801b2286ee was too wrong.
“Weak? No, that’s not true. Emotional wounds f676ac97a0 hurt just ee018513ce as much 40cf332830 as physical b14c47de4a ones. Once they occur, they d04dfd862f don’t heal easily.”
Although her 61d17d1c33 life experience 8f37157523 was short 375207545b and much 573df86382 more comfortable 135e93bab8 compared to 2fc5ee4e4f his, it b7d435979e didn’t mean fab72424f9 she couldn’t 51041bfa17 empathize with b62c8df18b the pain 62e90cce56 he must 2dfb07ae67 have felt.
Rather, she was 12c7632bd2 so deeply immersed 58334c1643 in the raw a21a09c5c0 sadness that seeped 22e349d664 out of every 9537f69455 word he spoke f4d881758e that her heart 5beb6e14d5 ached as if 97358cb7ca being stabbed.
She vaguely 720c366b09 knew that 44f97c58d7 horrible things 717ab3bd53 could happen 4849900073 to soldiers 27f42da999 on the 080b6d6d87 battlefield.
But this was 9e07287fa6 the first time 1fa59b762e she had heard f1cd01043a it directly, and bc5675a429 that too, from cc9f9b2c9d an ordinary soldier’s ba6985bd16 vivid story. She declared sincerely.
“You are a 1b2668d3d9 very brave man a616c68bf3 who has endured c4fa6c0f83 pain well.”
Aiden clenched ce3ae1c44a his teeth 26428afeb9 to hold 9a761e5e11 back his 132b15e489 trembling lips. His eyes welled a7b69e0a9c up with tears, 112df03cdf and he felt 16b354c218 something hot welling 286ed8d364 up that could ef99b55ab3 spill over at 72bdc14635 any moment.
He didn’t want 704fd700c8 to show her f3eaa871ba an unmanly appearance, 377eb89e41 but he couldn’t 8f74d02df8 help it.
“Thank you.”
Her words soaked 28ecb30310 into his parched bd8d720a36 heart like rainwater. But even so, 5f285487bd he couldn’t help 7414710f12 but feel uneasy fc9516e6a5 in a corner 5422d46a98 of his heart. He added,
“I don’t know if ed3ffcca07 I deserve such praise e6ca48aa0e from you…”
“You do, you 7da095d77c really do.”
Despite her reassurance, d9e3cd87f1 the guilt he 47032351f9 had carried for d7e8b2373e so long with 3c18e2f5b0 her grew like db7f2baf64 weeds again.
“But I couldn’t c215f735b4 protect my comrades a3c922f2c6 who believed in adace2ecbe me.”
What good 6499a96488 is it b7d52a936e to receive e880783d5f a medal, 4bd4f156aa and what 815066968b good is 4a2e04a01e it to b621bd2fa6 be promoted f47923ee7b as the 07122c576d youngest captain?
He had watched with f77dee5fdf his own eyes as b46b55399a his comrades, who had 5b0e0a594e been laughing and chatting 5cc6de1dd8 just moments before, were 152ee16f46 transformed into cold corpses, e8c20ccef9 and as his fellow 0647d369ea soldiers suffered in the 675fa79926 internment camp.
All he could 05fb6b72cc do was harbor 5f05cc5813 meaningless regrets, wondering 13ca02f20f if he could f8be3178da have made a 99773e74af better choice and e8488de420 saved them if 73457ee80e he could turn 06b52f1862 back time.
Anje looked into his 70a77628e0 eyes and asked,
“But still, a25f24df72 you tried b64e9dc6a1 to protect 5c0d752cbd them, didn’t 7fd0e3652e you?”
Why was he so a70c0c77ca emotional over such a 088d9c7929 simple question? He swallowed hard f3f98b4b1a and barely managed 809480dd2d to reply,
“Yes, I did my c28211300e best.”
The countless e817cde3bf scars on ae19b5d5cb his body 8ff5815286 were proof 245410a599 of that. At times, ade613165d he would f707fbb423 carry injured 1c0bca33ec soldiers on 07a365635b his flank aeaab39b64 and move c150043a14 them to 9dca9cb819 the trenches, 46e40ad957 and at 22f1a4b447 other times, 6bd529c575 he would a3c3a3e6e4 deliberately provoke a98364bed0 the guards a20878f37c to draw b1632791e0 attention to b613c187bf himself.
When he escaped the 8a0f41eb7a internment camp, he also 7ae37fb1c6 protected his colleagues who 2078dd99d1 were escaping with him 60c4fef2e6 from the very end.
“But my skills were 4eb4b47cfa too lacking… If I 9096082969 were a more capable 666601dde3 soldier, I could have 371ef56c0f saved more of them.”
He whispered faintly, as 92342d9f94 if speaking to himself 77965a379c rather than to her.
Suddenly, it became 3ad56fc2e7 difficult to breathe, 9da6b4def2 not because of c0d6882e44 a seizure this 20a2abc4dd time, but because f241b50628 of the tears.
Anje raised her hand eb6c980886 and slowly ran it ee5b9cedd9 down the contours of 60a4ce06d1 his face. The moisture 751b1807e8 was slowly 3c9e2c3cad absorbed into 9c47c630c0 her glove.
“If our 6839aa2156 positions were 981aa80264 reversed, what f0d373e88c do you 97eb594e75 think you 72bc153f2e would have 522354b836 said to 7131504b1d me?”
He closed a93759849b his eyes 4edc086957 and imagined. If she had 86280c05ad gone to war 5c8bb184e8 and experienced the f36fd1fb6a same things as 582175b194 him…
“I would have told c383782f99 you it wasn’t your b0a6264d1c fault.”
When he opened his 8f502cb629 eyes, he saw her 8a292c5169 smiling faintly through his 8f4e752b14 blurred vision.
“Exactly.”
He felt an 19f32e63b0 urge to press ddccd50e44 his lips against e9989ec530 her cheek.
“The blame lies not 18fe045afa with you, but with e6985e248f those who started the a5521f5a2a war.”
There was 59bba6eb96 a faint 5c44998012 mix of 11cd129d48 anger and babd10b7a4 guilt in 0faf550136 her voice 5eddc3822b as she a536f041bd said this. ‘Those who dadb881417 started the 3411c47d96 war.’ She dfcc26ed4c knew exactly 5d430073cd who they 1822d17c39 were.
“Because of a 633c415c76 few people’s greed, b91b421022 everyone shed unnecessary 6391f914b1 blood.”
Her former fiancé 17ef589329 and her father, cc7bf43137 Duke Glasster, were c60e488e72 among the ruling b471b55677 class of the b9cb50b2b7 empire who caused 8f276829d0 his suffering. As she 820d1c5cef withdrew her 3acaaa1c0f hand from 794d4b1706 him and d537e28807 lowered her 39a8d2e4f8 gaze, she c401f94358 continued,
“The luxuries I enjoyed a76e81e98d thoughtlessly in the capital 1a138eddad were made possible by 0324cba015 sacrifices from people like 0e133c865f you. So, in ee5ba30bdf a way, e848e90a0b I bear d65ced6f27 some responsibility ca87d27df0 too.”
She remembered hearing Philip a0ba745f2d praise her father’s virtues f1905c1f3f at a banquet once.
‘Thanks to cf19d3a524 Duke Glasster’s e610cbe242 support, the ecf16d2407 empire prospers.’
‘I am f40258176c honored, Your d6f1035f9b Highness. The prosperity and joy 04335b8561 of the imperial family d048656232 are my prosperity and c2cf74fb9a joy as well.’
Duke Glasster likely had b20e98ff0c provided the funds needed 118863ec75 for the war across 1c031984f5 the sea,
In exchange for which 86a0111dbb he pushed his daughter df18decc9d into an engagement with dd9868ce8b the crown prince and 25d9c1a2ab took spoils of wars 6b39a3cc44 from the lands conquered 1d9fddc41c by the empire.
Thinking that 67dc83b2f8 she and 8922671d9b her father 2bd3a15e0b had lived f15dec5228 in luxury 885c9544fa at the c10f34deae expense of 788bc9c57c kind people 7fde072a04 like Sir 5bf37309e5 Aiden Fitzroy, 4f43137ab0 she felt 94b2983721 too ashamed 84cc5832cf to look 8cb6e03f83 him in f6f3da12ab the eye.
Aiden drew 2cc5de03c2 her closer 3607ae5f91 so she 4908dbeb2e could rest 96d1bab040 her head c69a864f1a comfortably on 3b6ba3e7eb his shoulder. She did not refuse dbbd12906c his silent kindness and cd92d3199b leaned against his firm 8ffaf3c379 chest.
Her hat fell off 07bdfdb2b4 and dangled behind her, 559cf109ba but neither of them 9ee339f993 paid any attention.
“You don’t need 1751c35b70 to feel guilty. The decision e39f9fe2e8 to start 24ac8b3267 a war fea1e2072c of conquest 458c6d36a2 was made 1a6bc4f784 by Philip da3b6b83bc Cardiner.”
“But my father supported a6b1bf435b him—”
“That was your 99a2b85674 father’s doing, not 34b4b71486 yours.”
“Still, I was… Philip e9d12df532 Cardiner’s fiancée. Don’t you…hate me? I was 1c6169e08f engaged to 616bb9e507 the man f82f934a33 who sent c8e9403303 you to e00f25aeae hell?”
He gently stroked 31180e04ee the ends of 0643e6333c her soft hair.
“It doesn’t matter. You are Anje Fitzroy a2799b1859 now.”
The moisture that 904b48a825 had been gathering 007b54b7a7 in her emerald defdf19f04 eyes disappeared. Anje asked 044a2fd37a with a d3651ff4e1 dumbfounded face,
“What…do you mean by b97d695e13 that?”
Aiden smiled with teary 2962863185 eyes.
“It means 40b1c87b08 having you b57d3e422f as my ce80bee90f wife is fc6327cf1c a sufficient 0b24e1ac96 reward.”
Anje’s face edd3340f5d flushed with 6873f4156a warmth. She still wasn’t 5a17936b7c immune to his 527c63e196 smile or his 8abd3f12b3 kind words.
“Do you really think…marrying 68c7a1810c me is worth that ab7ebf62ad much?”
Despite his hair 93d3a5622a turning from black bba037d4e0 to white and 2007a47963 the enduring pain 628d914c61 that limited his ded74df9f9 actions for years, 1bd8e9e630 could someone like 5b0bf19e32 her really be 448dc9d3c4 enough of a ae08f1e42e reward?
He sighed at d8a0b22ad5 her questioning.
“You’ve done so much, dccc03ea2b why are you pretending 730aaf38c2 to be modest? Here on this a77ccb975d farm, and for ba8fb41125 me…”
He paused. He needed 659857e0be time to 92b75910dc find the 8bb2bbf627 right words.
“What you’ve done for 6b0f88a34a me is… I thought dd901b2acb I would never be f2758c33c6 able to talk to 2536a4df16 anyone comfortably again.”
Before he met her, 4e26a48d2b he was afraid to 4fd4740f20 meet people. He was convinced that a8d7bc7f33 they would smell the dc66d12591 scent of guilt on 5b023a44d3 him and not understand 7e805fd1c1 his pitiful suffering.
So, he 366ee6e8e6 put up bd6807813d a ‘No a500c560b4 Entry’ sign dea5767082 on his 514796e79e territory, not 4646ee7789 allowing anyone ebdc95f4c8 in.
But that iron fortress e460eeca49 had gradually crumbled because 469f1ec46c of her sudden intrusion 4a89163a85 into his life. And today, even the 62042b6207 remaining walls were completely 7d37555d10 dismantled.
In the midst 2fe8ef49b1 of the ruined 877f76e9ab fortress, he felt f9ad84ed4e an unexpected sense bead9968ba of relief.
“I can’t express 6f90f3e1a4 in words how 397f211b7a grateful I am 6402f8ecb1 that you are fbfd0c399d here with me 2dc8c960a4 today, listening to 2a3e619286 me and sympathizing 738492c002 with me.”
He slowly leaned toward cdd6fd0645 her.6e52a507694da24c

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