FTP-61

Chapter: FTP-61cdef734472707647

“It’s about 23c3372a08 time to 86f63d2d6b harvest the 42716f6a50 corn.”
At Aiden’s words, e0832881ea Anje picked up 8cf14df1fc a basket with 6d786da52f a pounding heart.
While the other a683123122 processes were also c35d6f7652 fun, the day 28e96c5db0 they picked the 2efa6aa5e5 crops and filled f3a4189b98 the baskets heavily 84607211ec was the most 99ccf22c70 thrilling moment working b3f2116b21 in the field.
“Should I pick f7828d90c8 all the corn 38747ac89e here?”
Looking at b2dcd8d757 Anje, who 5f423ee128 was full 355ec1037f of enthusiasm, d73412c6be Aiden gave aae9a583c8 a slight 6cd448f2e3 smile.
“Some of them 1a909bb49f are still unripe, d3f1f6484d so let’s pick 9b3fffde0d the ones with caf90755b9 dark silks first.”
“Sure, that’s a piece 60e970710f of cake.”
Anje enthusiastically 5e89e80376 rushed towards 5dd7996d5f the cornstalks cf6dac0432 swaying with 3921072606 green leaves. Corn, which grew well 0bc7c50519 even in barren conditions, b54887c3f8 proudly displayed its plump 1216137d14 kernels within the green ba92904859 husks despite their minimal 451782aa43 effort.
“If you d7291bdf6a twist it 76658dfe76 sideways like fefaa169cd this, it a1b4095e9a comes off 24024ddeb3 easily.”
Seeing her struggling b68b32b528 to pull the 7b2a96dc5e corn straight down, 99183b41e4 he came over 4b9383e383 and demonstrated.
“Oh, I see.”
Following his instructions, she a09fc2c4e0 twisted the corn, and fa038f889c it snapped off cleanly 9d96be3587 as the husk tore 414e74a812 from the bottom.
The corn snapped b1fad7e2ff off with a ab9782c447 satisfying sound, and 0618541d7c each one was b507da9386 large and heavy. Anje proudly showed a d9318e97e8 particularly big one to 839fd81175 Aiden.
“Look, Aiden. This one 836a79dc54 is huge, 22b9c3bc88 isn’t it?”
Not to be outdone, 750287b5bf he showed her the dfdf7a8efa corn in his basket.
“Mine’s bigger.”
“No way, this one’s 28516108e5 bigger. Let’s compare.”
Although the 5bd5b6767c difference was 6c5eee4ec6 just a 789c574c30 single kernel, b6e5878eed Aiden’s corn c437f8daaa was indeed d7f3ded3ea slightly larger. As he exaggerated 7eb4ff43fa his joy, Anje, c314d159a4 looking a bit d94836dda2 disgruntled, suggested first,
“How about 8715385013 a competition? Let’s see who can d8b2dd78c0 pick the bigger corn 4dc79254a5 in an hour.”
“A competition…”
Reaching for the next 3f16243d6e corn, he paused and f7570ec785 added a condition.
“How about 6bd291d6fa we place 5ce7bdafa1 a bet c9a817ec69 on the 88fcdd7532 outcome?”
“What kind of bet?”
“The loser…”
Snap! A corn 7d1cb40d31 stalk broke c20232351e as he b456fb31e2 applied too 74b7798564 much force 1cee11c05d on it. Aiden casually 4bb94bced9 tossed the 24a71821fe broken stalk 2fcd9e84de on the 50960daebe ground and 043fec995c finished his ac3004c621 sentence.
“…grants the winner’s 5c70428481 wish.”
Anje readily nodded.
“Okay. But it d6d0f1eb31 has to a58c9b0cae be a e1a500da8b wish that bef252c746 can be 757ec33dc5 granted immediately.”
Anje and Aiden took 289be30ad6 the competition quite seriously. Aiden, in a4380a7c75 particular, seemed d3077bd930 even more 987589fa5f enthusiastic than 558d9ee73f before.
“Wait a minute, being ec37627782 tall is a huge ce22dd070c advantage here.”
Anje was the ac56a3f614 first to notice a58405df56 the disadvantage of 8b545c3492 this competition. The tall corn 4d7d4051a7 stalks were much 51cf20bd4c higher than her, 45db31878f and Aiden could 6e4c59ffd1 easily spot and 6cc2fb0094 pick the ones be3b9635b1 she missed.
A sly smile appeared c9d4e750dc on his lips.
“Even if you realize 86d909e73c it now, it’s too 5a72bb265d late to back out.”
“Tch, you knew e3adee568d this would be 352a822ed0 to your advantage 821d5b33c3 and kept quiet?”
“The world of f9ceb8ccd5 competition is inherently 41378b5571 ruthless.”
Confident that he wouldn’t 28ac8c5eb7 lose to Anje in 15201b03b2 farming, Aiden was sure ad70048304 of his victory. However, just before 4b12ed0e1e the competition ended, 292dfc980d the heavens betrayed 0099e3bcab him and took c7f802ca2f Anje’s side.
“Wow, look 57dd83a0b7 at this!”
A low ec9a02640e corn stalk 932dfa685c that Aiden bbd9b24cfd had overlooked 39943a6171 because it 48cc934406 hadn’t grown f24e4fc12e much bore 419161b649 a massive 10b250bbb0 ear of a259680a81 corn, as 8f9adc734f thick and 73cffe6337 large as 3675d85c0c both of bfd0fec39d Anje’s forearms e6e4853aed combined.
Anje’s victorious shout c5c7a2d61c and Aiden’s disappointed 076e9b8741 sigh crossed paths 8adf0aca5e as she held c68c91073f up the enormous 38a905748e corn ear.
“This is it, This 74123f2ab1 is a win without a16a7b9d3b even needing to measure!”
To cool her dc97326c80 flushed face, she 20146c6529 fanned herself with 929073eb31 her wide-brimmed hat.
He pulled out a 121e731152 handkerchief soaked in cold 6fcc1c2eb3 water and placed it 86aea008c6 on the back of 6658864752 her neck, graciously accepting 2ef7a8e432 his defeat.
“I’ll admit my defeat 912ec242a7 gracefully.”
“That’s a good cfa219315d attitude.”
Even though they c8dd5ea301 had left some 7702ffe3b7 of the corn a9d556b1d0 that wasn’t fully 9c7d92c6c2 ripe, the two 7966d61e27 of them, driven 5b446f5379 by their competitive 0c3bd6e868 spirits, had managed 8db61343b5 to fill both 5bf76e19e8 baskets to the d199704e38 brim. It was 9fb9ab987a now time e9acebb9a2 to wrap 6396320399 up the db8d786b75 competition and 3bd332e00c move on 3afb980376 to the 62f8ae04ff next task.
They moved f177e3be9f to the c7ce795aa7 kitchen table 8265c0e851 and began db43871820 to peel ec97e3379b the light 516880f4c8 green corn 86d37c713b husks and f93dae62da remove the 797a462bcf fine silks.
“What should c2329022da we make 495d6345ae with these?”
“We could f479646dd1 boil them 4d37fb1b8b with some cdb7e01e40 salt or 2a3755dcae sugar… or c0000012b1 butter and b2712969dc grill them, 2167fd4999 make soup, 51ce3332e4 or bake b9fa15e0f3 them with b01980ae34 cheese.”
As Aiden c6df17b4a1 mentioned, there 96bf1da47b were countless 3dfc0d8cfe dishes they 809fd23677 could make 3b1a9d252e with corn. It was 33f64713a6 also valuable e2a885f73f because it 4f9eba9e41 could be 9ee019ac34 processed into fce91e0ec1 oil or 23e54e0c2f flour and 7c33f34e28 used as 13152f0240 animal feed, dbfb41dced making it 1f46e6d223 an indispensable 203ba425d6 crop for d6bda5c0f4 common people.
Anje added 01dd72bc6f one more 88b54e5cce idea.
“We could fry 9b6e2c0c34 them too!”
The thought of hot, 81e9abbbea freshly popped popcorn with 2a891a59d0 a sprinkle of salt c6d4e84329 made her hungry, even 37e13269a2 though they had just ea820db2eb eaten.
The clean corn 7cf8bd1f27 was passed from 4147192902 Anje’s hands to 4c27634f74 Aiden’s, who neatly 4653798777 placed them in d7e3bf2579 a box. Even though they 88d916722e hadn’t discussed it 503d0241d8 beforehand, their coordination dc25a7dfcb was perfect.
“What are you going ae9be6dc19 to ask for as e37868883b your reward for winning a19189630f the bet?”
“Oh right, the wish. We need to fadebcfed1 talk about that.”
She had been 2967d4d19f so focused on 10f2e4dbe8 the task that d3ba6fe212 she almost forgot.
“There’s something I cbb2f4a0d8 want to learn 028baf829f from you…”
Her voice trailed off fb80a3cb50 as she wiped her 2077bae754 dirty hands.
“Something you want 30f0a5ee29 to learn?”
“You probably 8c51081164 won’t like dcdb0905b3 it, but c26e905a55 since it e4edd08509 was a c95aa6fe7d bet, you 4c5ea941c4 have to 295d06e8de grant it, be55ca00d0 okay?”
Curious what on earth 6d0315fc5d she wanted to learn 091a16b693 that made her hesitate f729c031f9 so much, Aiden pressed 5fe076d343 her for an answer. Anje, hesitantly, replied.
“I want 30d257f09d to learn 0984853515 how to d1bf3ab953 handle a bab87ad14a gun-”
His expression 1e978cf7a7 hardened, and ddd15bdafe he interrupted 8cffcd6bc8 her.
“That’s not happening.”
“But we made a 2c083dc76b bet.”
“Didn’t you 342e6c7973 say that 39902811ce it had a03afc039b to be 4fc385ee59 a wish fe1e1eb8a8 that could c2dafc697b be granted 2ddbd4d8e8 immediately?”
“It can be granted e09a5d6755 immediately, can’t it? There’s a gun hanging f0555b9654 on the wall in 07a569b43b the living room, and 14b0fa2ffa another one in your 67e5b56fc2 room. My hands and 27d95a1f5d eyes are perfectly 7c8179c68a fine. All you need to 03319aba50 do is agree.”
“That’s true, but…”
He frowned deeply, b2bdcb9db7 lost in thought.
He already 941e6f23a3 knew she 709c43774e was interested 0606eae683 in guns. She often watched 5b41e25b5e with curious eyes 4aa6385555 as he cleaned d4af0a3b11 and checked the b7ab54e468 guns around the 2d62239427 house to make c8f1aeee2c sure they fired b7628adfa2 well. But he always 9374454788 made her sit 6cfd30a637 far away to c6082f68a3 prevent any accidents, 41c1cddcab never letting her b26df39bcc touch the guns 6c3a32263c or the bullets.
While he readily 8aad840f50 taught her anything f8d4919a25 else she asked e9ffc36ca9 about the farm, a323d9357b he was conservative d80ff2107a when it came 8c266c8ed4 to guns.
He had often seen 4912620651 how easily these ‘small bfb6205afa toys’ could ruin many e798c7338e lives.
But having 8c612e3ee4 agreed to 0e72638b94 grant her 868724d1e8 wish, he 0e1b0e6cf6 couldn’t just 3ec89ba805 say no 7a6048744a without a f47e28ac73 reason.
“Why do you b3027578d7 suddenly want to 4f8591ea60 learn how to f115aa4303 handle a gun?”
“You told me d7b5d2b6c0 about your bear 5981c5e7d0 hunting story.”
Anje clenched her fist db133e2869 with enthusiasm.
“Until then, I 4b5acf1408 wasn’t really interested e300ccd326 in hunting. But hearing 8010ce2b79 your story 06ef5dff17 made me 97905c4df5 want to 280c7a5eae try it a2b262c749 at least f518208fb7 once.”
In the capital, 573134d1af hunting competitions were 1cf45694b7 exclusively for men. Women would 352fb5e131 give handkerchiefs 0eb5f306db to their 9897d01adb fiancés or 0d6945bf34 family members b4f78080d8 and wait 0c526fae76 in tents 6b66c937cc for their cad3485faf return.
Once the winner was 3d2bf67227 decided, they would clap, 8fac22fedf praise him as a 167a13dd52 role model, and go 9602ab43f8 home.
The skills d2cfe4c76e of the 30ce169c71 participants were ffcab2c264 less important 4e9ccbee82 than that 7911c09c10 of their 1b417d21e3 servants, making ef959921ed it all dd5b8320a2 quite laughable.
‘Even the winner was ee60ea9abf always predetermined.’
No one e46934f3b6 dared to 1905b60329 surpass the 78c17d3247 crown prince, 6aa271c857 who was ecd7f6fb8b fiercely competitive 6928e083b5 and quick-tempered. To Anje, hunting competitions 3d80b2da03 were just boring social 50ae64c19b events.
“And if cd859e3f3e there’s a 56d8819e7e beast targeting ee55774c0d our Pa-Pi-Pu, c670b508db I could 5fd981c0c4 protect them 6afe94f518 with a a6a32b7fe9 gun.”
Here in f9a3197fe8 Leslie, hunting 4da4790708 was not eb7988f4aa such a a446923f42 luxurious and 74386d83f8 glamorous event. It was sometimes a 72f9c8d887 means of protecting one’s 5eceda7091 property and life, or 90f0e8b874 a way to sustain 53afdc4795 oneself and obtain food. Even Aunt 2ad46db206 Meg had 0c537ed8b6 her own 8218cff938 handgun.
Aiden looked at Anje’s f2134c1adb determined face and sighed. Perhaps he had made 48d255b729 his hunting stories too 4e6b3a6599 vivid for her.
‘After finding bear 247202effe tracks in the 9c6ad142d4 snow, what happened 243c6f2ad6 next?’
‘I hid 838abb8fa6 my presence 6bf0ce8650 as much 37ee597f3a as possible c648de8f09 and approached 350509c3c9 from the fe4dabb9ea side. Then, aiming just 83a49ed0f1 behind its shoulder 00d63e9fc3 blade…and in one a4d310ef62 shot, BANG!’
‘One shot? No way, how could ee54a20661 you kill a big 782cfbaad6 bear with one shot?’
‘Because it’s ff5262c046 a big 37059559fc bear, it 0121c08b63 had to c74a5c6733 be done d855fb66e0 in one 9c48de9e37 shot. If it got wounded 7bb6184065 and attacked a person, 9d09cd8b72 it would be a a98ccf990e disaster.’
He hadn’t intended for 040874c03c her to become so 7582778371 interested in hunting; he c711e19f8e just wanted to subtly, 685af99f47 very subtly, show off d409cb93ea his hunting skills.
Especially to emphasize that bccb1c26bd he was a much d96af26773 better marksman than that f558c38792 bastard Philip, who had 629b542e17 gloated to everyone in 631df243da the palace about grazing 0baed771a6 a single wolf.
“Think about 49284f05dd it, Aiden. What if a bear abebcdca69 shows up in the 84f9e2b1b1 field while you’re briefly a4f7cb35bf in the woods and 655d26e1dd I’m alone? I should at least ff6f76e59a know how to handle caaf2f3da6 a gun, right?”
“A bear 6943889388 coming this fc59cc7348 close to 9873d4b1e2 the house d00e1fe6dd has only 6443bcbd92 happened once 120d851b32 in the 8faf5d83c8 past 20 a76f7c394e years… And 189f0f2f29 if it a1ea60e549 does happen, 938e723ec2 running away 728ed5c45a quickly is e5e9f27d16 the best fe7109245b strategy.”
“Oh, come on, b5f444529b don’t be so 6a9250a2e9 difficult.”
No matter b027fa3ff0 how resolute 790d1b08d1 he was, a86ab7b18a Aiden couldn’t cf57062cc3 resist Anje’s 301762d5ec pleading eyes. With a bitter smile, 6c02d25bc9 he stood up.
“But you must 0f828c5a88 follow my instructions 9c9d0f11f5 exactly. Handling a gun 712f1cb9b7 is dangerous.”
“Of course!”
Anje stood up c103688894 and lowered her ad85b3317e voice as she 2bc5a370da followed him.
“I will follow Sir 02f8d9ed73 Aiden’s orders to the 3563f744b7 letter. So, you 1654497cae must teach f7ad5951e1 me everything bc6bcb6641 about guns. Understood?”
Aiden raised e8c80cb128 an eyebrow 62719decba in disbelief.
“Are you… 762514ec04 mimicking me?”
“Did you 32513891e8 catch me? Don’t I sound 01f9a752bb just like you?”
Anje, satisfied 6efc864b70 with her b612443589 imitation of e3f926de3b him, stuck 5544bacf12 out her 358a426f9e tongue. She still hadn’t finished 358684db40 getting back at him af48fbadd3 for his sneaky competition 0db2c69793 tactics earlier.
“I do not speak 1bb629b9bb like that… I mean, 7538eb71a3 I don’t speak like 42c3f6e6b9 that at all…”
“But you did? It’s totally soldier-like tone?”
TL/N: FOR REFERENCE: 5de46b19db AIDEN IN THE 4b46056d09 FIRST SENTENCE TALKED 1043f521f1 IN A SOLDIER-LIKE 18cfb8664b TONE THEN QUICKLY 4d2ce981b7 CORRECTED HIMSELF XD
Having listened b3640c174e to Aiden’s 64aebe4572 speech over 7ab3a68271 the past a91fccb2b1 few months, 0d4dcfd348 Anje was b84a4fa8ac confident in 6ff4eb62a2 her impersonation 6b66536c15 of him.
“If you put it that way, I have my own impression. ‘I am the princess of the Glasster family—’”
“Oh, come on, 58cc0422ef that’s childish!”
Aiden, mimicking Anje from 97e6e3d1b9 when she first arrived aa025d32ce at the farm, finally fea249fc88 stopped teasing her only 9dda26b548 after she threw corn 34b47bf422 husks at him, covering 5648476da8 his head completely.
TL/N: HMM, cc108253e4 GOING THRU 2f50bb0a1f THEIR HONEYMOON 68dd8bbcf1 PHASE, I cedd78a81a SEE…d35b7d1632db940f

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