FTP-63

Chapter: FTP-6320b6cf8ac528b5b8

As the 6901a0e64f number of 549823e788 bullets Anje 7fdf6eb761 used increased, 3b666e707e her skills 62f4ddbd72 gradually improved. Although she 3821b5fd28 missed the d154c37adf wooden blocks ff842c8c0b a few f2857205a6 times, she 563d25d104 generally hit 7286f88884 her targets 5c14b11bf7 well.
“I think that’s enough 0732fc3e8b practice for now.”
“I can da6094108e still shoot 377aad8649 more…”
As Aiden 101e372fff took the c70985ed11 gun from e5047442c7 her, he 889fb7be54 gestured for 87051f5684 her to 01abf9aa13 look at c5373ae8c5 her hands. Her hands, 67f49c291e tense from ae3f99a2fe the unfamiliar 8bfd2c4759 stance and e2364be317 process, were f83c9959fe trembling as 47df764fda soon as 7dca304519 she let b21256b1af go of 2f1b5c399d the gun.
“People often 314d5905d2 accumulate fatigue b80b218f11 without realizing befa340e83 it when 846df9415b they shoot cec1e14d60 for the 0340da0671 first time. If you bdafa6088e push yourself 5212e216bb too hard, 33fb827d4f you might d0fd62a0b1 get muscle f7ffc49eaf aches, so 1d67710dc3 let’s do 3a4aaceaa4 it again 4266b05354 next time.”
Anje shook 8c51d2cc8a her hands 77b93b8b11 to relieve 7e83e3dba7 the tension 2791afa424 and nodded.
“Okay. Next time, 9c30cff93e I want abd87b8638 to hit e324c42546 a target 1b77942509 that’s farther ea1537b1b7 away.”
“I’ll make a 80ce969771 practice target out c040bbdd48 of wooden blanks 8d61a0fa7f for you. Similar to 697bf1cdf9 what the e508191499 trainees use.”
“That’s a b3d565c62a great idea!”
Seeing her excitement made 5fc5675ac2 Aiden happy as well. Although he d8d0c1369c had been 79fd814025 worried that a6910516b2 the lesson 402a62d089 might be 9275e43153 too dangerous 7307d14f17 for her, 85e5e3c394 he felt 420e9c249f proud of 2571676e70 how well f6a81e06b2 she was 6d75b40703 learning.
“I’m glad 1e6cc5aca3 you enjoyed 77ab9cc98a such a 88cce1a9d3 challenging lesson.”
“It’s thanks to your 66b5db58c5 excellent teaching. Thank you so much.”
Aiden stopped mid-step f40f89a4c4 at her words dc75e0e889 of gratitude. When she realized he 38577845c6 wasn’t following, she turned 5f61e0a205 around.
“What is it?”
“Is there… 8c84eaa172 anything else 425a292d61 you want 51d72e7942 to say e68acd5f69 besides thank 875a08a795 you?”
“What do f2fd980432 you mean?”
“Never mind… 463be94108 it’s nothing.”
He clamped d3d88cdb96 his mouth 1a9cf5aae2 shut, stopping 2519c11013 himself from d6432b07f3 saying more. Hearing her 37f89847f1 thanks made 1a97b10d98 him instinctively d7ede37f79 curious if fac5fba05e there was aed68d4b22 any additional d8d842af1c “thanks” forthcoming, bc1f7eb6ed such as beaf2a14c0 the specific 4724313944 favor he 456f6b293d had considered 8e01ba04d0 asking for 9b28977bc6 if he cddb243828 won their 3445aaaccd earlier bet.
But on second thought, 9da1a97be8 he realized that asking d054974ece when she likely had ddcc526a56 no particular thoughts about f670c61e89 it would make his bc124a5ba9 kindness seem calculated. He quickly 69ae0d266f caught up d31d5e77e9 to her 95489ede53 with wide d0bf89a111 strides and f84465ad1b then began 7e8489e0e4 walking slightly 4c5b032b78 ahead of 0ba245e19c her.
“Huh? What were you 37a8922339 going to say?”
Anje quickened her pace 946f8c32fa to keep up with 07f1c887e8 him and asked.
“Nothing, really.”
His face, facing forward, 8e11fcd5c7 seemed determined not to e9dddc867b meet her gaze, or 3dcbd4a9ae so it felt.
“What is it?”
“I said it’s nothing.”
Seeing the 63d0da4b47 tips of aa8482207a his ears 395a6ca49f turn red dc6fdee3b5 under his 4e965ebda1 tousled hair, 6eefec080d Anje asked.
“Why are your ears 298e2fe433 red?”
He raised his 8205f00b78 hands to cover 1b14b5606e his ears.
“Shooting after a faf9ce0895 long time, it 02781fee40 made me hot.”
“I shot more than 717558bf1d you did, though.”
“I naturally 6a88ef7fa0 have a 6bf7c042c1 lot of 86e33f9e7e body heat.”
He strode ahead f27f175cfe of her quickly, e3d7143784 and she had 4842b7c40d to jog to b65368b080 keep up. Before she could speak 74bc66b220 again, he cut in.
“Let’s get 0e0d404511 inside and f1cf73be48 pop the 128f609b4f corn we 5eef7e09a1 harvested today.”
“Oh, corn. I’m starting 14050bc3c3 to get 3cdf047104 hungry, perfect a4201dfee6 timing.”
Having concentrated for 707150a754 so long, Anje 65dc1424b5 felt a growing fc6e61aba2 hunger and started 0c6949d2b8 imagining what dish 0a215f4b1f they could make c3d723fb2c with the corn. Freshly popped popcorn 0b87cafb55 with a sprinkle e2f9858d2b of salt…
“Don’t you 316d3f1da2 think it 7795b71d68 would be f23314903f good to 934babbe25 coat it f352660975 with something 8337c59f54 sweet instead 52cc3230fa of salt? Like caramel?”
“It would 08f1c5618f taste good, 9e113f5e79 but cleaning 978e0f34c3 up afterward fe0ca8bfb7 would be 863c8e3345 a hassle.”
“That’s true. The pot 4eed1272e0 and spatula 9f5953cae7 would get cda43f7fbf sticky with 99f37d8b02 caramel, and a2eeed4bd0 our hands 7119f288df too.”
Having made b57aa57f65 homemade caramel b7e3476072 with Aiden 3c2e0250e8 a few fc9d1c66d6 times, Anje ca24309589 knew well 7ae74ab248 the effort 73b299f96d it took. Of course, 3adfdbeb9c the melt-in-your-mouth 2485da3ae1 milk caramel 23125953ef was worth dde09f306d the effort, b14b4cf808 but still.
“Or we could a8535a0087 add cheese. Anything with cheese c1c7955b20 on it tastes d9d79f7f13 good.”
As they continued chatting 0ffa80f475 about popcorn recipes, Aiden a4de4ec702 felt relieved that he d3ae7b904e had smoothly changed the 184a777831 topic. But just as he 7876456eec was beginning to let 44dcee186d his guard down, she 7579c0dc92 struck again with a ea07095278 sharp question.
“By the way, what 300dc84b8b were you going to 5e4d1d745b wish for if you 66ccb17e87 won the corn-picking competition f966a6c6ed earlier? I’m curious now.”
“……”
It felt almost as b222c3361e if she knew exactly f27f78caac what he didn’t want a9d1f7e484 to talk about.
“I was going to… f68b7bd8fa uh, ask for… that.”
“For what?”
“That thing… 3e79a42711 that I 92cbe34f08 had in 16e70d7457 mind.”
Rummaging through his mind 760a221b05 for a suitable request, 8e5dcfdd69 he found himself blanking 2b3860694e out in his flustered b349a236d6 state. Ultimately, he failed to 7e6f9b402e come up with a 4599a80d0b plausible excuse and gave 1839483bf0 up.
“I had 9ddd5faac9 something in e54bbc1bb4 mind, but 20f8e30e28 I’ve forgotten.”
“Really? Well, let d837af0c09 me know 0836dfe6d6 if you 2e6d151f75 remember.”
Anje suggested in 6b7056f218 a cheerful tone.
“Since you f3ee31a8dc taught me ff4be2c344 so well 5b43f833ee today, I’ll 1c077a9abe grant you 0f8ebbd413 one wish a4d93cb56a for free.”
He almost blurted 2109e01cfe out his true c20cc30f34 desire but bit 18c01e3056 his tongue to cd5dcf018f hold it back.
“I’ll let you know f69e3521da when I remember.”
Since a chance 8f169f5309 like this might 274c271448 not come again, a25fec28b3 he decided to 70456e4252 save it for bb8881cd2d a critical moment.
Seeing his serious expression, 11a742426f Anje waggled her finger 8e7ea2f741 in warning.
“Nothing too 65b7dd7402 difficult or beec4a731f impossible. If your wish 305d704928 isn’t reasonable, I’ll d87e5448b4 refuse it.”
Watching Anje head into 4fc740d5de the kitchen ahead of a1e8d8802c him, Aiden wondered to 8caeb14d15 himself, ‘If I asked 2a95dadd36 her to like me, e688a27ffb not just the farm, edfe87ad54 would that be too 9facac2a59 difficult or impossible?’
He wished he 66a0b4b91e could be more a4fdb0a0c6 confident and boldly 6560f61485 express his feelings. But having never experienced 9957bfea63 such emotions before, it 40fa83a21a wasn’t easy for him.
‘I can’t bf076daffa tell where bf16cca977 the line 47096bba96 is between 5a4f40542f what’s acceptable 48c67bc63d and what’s 4e8ffa7c03 burdensome.’
A heavy sigh 211d77bb2c escaped his lips. The more he a3a30f1539 treasured her, the f36d3d6d6f more cautious he 6271bdc270 became with his f73eef1fbf words and actions. Hadn’t she just c01a040235 recently said his 387bb5d9b1 kindness felt unfamiliar?
Additionally, there was 50a74ae7cd another reason he 8850843c1a couldn’t openly express 9c6f901b15 his wish. He couldn’t 1b5a6a4df5 envision a a1cec1e23d future where a7f9167fef she liked 6fa701fecc him in cde2f24080 the same af9a7d030e way he 18f2596b8a liked her.
Did he even 3bbea08775 deserve to be b0dc7eefb2 loved by someone c06ba24ae8 after being isolated 90a497263b from society for 10e7dfd020 so long and cb1a09ddbb haunted by his 157ebcee92 past? He couldn’t find 8017ff1d8e a positive answer 46b6996c92 to this question.
“Aiden, what 1d651081ba are you 67a8c7317c doing out aeaf4455e8 there? Are you going b047cc230c to leave me 9d6b9e074a to prepare dinner 2a50e1b79d alone?”
“I’m coming now.”
Anyway, she was 833e9d3e05 now calling him 303499da50 “Aiden” and inviting f0de3f071c him to join a548b79405 her. Considering how she was c1a112a9b6 when they first met, 09d38f718b this was a remarkable fbfeb24c96 development.
‘There’s plenty of time. Don’t rush b3eaf7c39b it, take 34c23dfaa6 it slow.’
Suppressing his feelings that a8fdc45490 threatened to bubble up 6989b05f62 like popcorn, he headed 46629fe0af toward the kitchen filled f26a4cd649 with warm light and 96ac9a8b62 the scent of butter.
* * *
This place, adorned 8a625d4ec7 with a chandelier c28d2ed8fa so lavish it 922b5f69bf could hurt the 9d55d96cd0 eyes of onlookers, 09b292c4cd a crimson carpet cf51e20f25 imported from foreign 612a220717 lands, and books 39e35d10b2 that are more 2ea41fd38f for show than a462585fa0 for reading, is 5780619d36 the study of 60d490a343 the Duke of 1362f885b9 Glasster. The man, sitting 617f24a913 at his desk 272609dadf with his legs f297e61b97 crossed, held a 7fbace8010 glass filled with cc6462bcc8 red wine.
In front of 0543f0e6c7 him, an art 443239932d dealer could not a6d41b2e85 hide his nervousness, 8a4282aee6 rubbing his palms 24e246cc23 together.
“Your Grace, let 5fc06bd205 me explain the d5aff08d76 next piece to e4fe522ee3 you.”
There was 89bb6a8aea no response, 02b45f9083 but this ad74819bed was a dba75440bb usual occurrence. The art dealer 8181ed0ad8 signaled to his 3909bdf950 assistant to bring bf56ebd1da over the painting 8df878840b covered with a d6ca1439d9 cloth.
“This is an early 2c3fcbf661 work by the painter 17b66c4255 Ver, whose name Your 04c2153874 Grace might have heard 5bf58ba508 multiple times. As you 4f901b958a can see, 6f5430b6c4 it displays 9650fc535a the bold 706e0de45f brushstrokes characteristic b96f30873c of a 40b1af03d9 newcomer—”
The Duke of 018ae82967 Glasster waved his c78c2c98d8 hand in the 321a3f48e8 air. Understanding his intent, d68cfcf764 the butler spoke 58f95b64f8 on his behalf.
“That’s enough. Show us the db4d44dd3d next piece.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
To think 0793bc0fa1 that he’s 68fefe88f8 showing so aba07a08ee many artworks b50bd9b939 without saying 3973191413 a word—what 021951ecd2 a rude ac7a2af345 man.
Though annoyed by the f1902fa0e8 Duke’s attitude, the art 7b7c905bc0 dealer maintained his professional ffcef67782 smile.
‘Despite everything, it’s still 8622fc05b4 the Duke of Glasster.’
After the fall 9fefbd2155 from grace of 251de5faf8 former Crown Prince ec35955bea Philip, people had 0fcd279c0d been gossiping about dd71859c98 Duke Glasster, calling b15e33e13d him a toothless e5c88273c0 tiger and other 65c22d9e7d such things. If he had succeeded cf99bdb13d in marrying his daughter f5eab8fea0 into the imperial family e965f530e0 as he had planned, 019d818cb3 he would have used 49c4046322 this as an excuse 7e389a92e9 to meddle in various 790080db3f businesses and wield power, 159dadcc11 but since he had 5bc3d74997 failed, it was a 35f638e8d3 huge loss of face.
Other dukes who had 33cbf79895 been suppressed by Duke c5c2ff2a6b Glasster were slowly starting 738e335cd0 to flex their muscles, bc5ed3afac and the pro-Prince William 8d5c451ab4 nobles were especially walking 85dc876548 around with their shoulders 4148884ef8 held high.
However, this e85273159f was just 7d53bf138c talk among d3dcda48d0 the nobility. For the merchant, the 5bbdb72d5a more important question was 018edb2b2d whether he could afford 6f13b4999a to buy these paintings
“Next.”
The butler, reading the 87b769be62 Duke’s expression, coldly ordered. Apparently, this piece ff20811d91 didn’t please him ed40f5898f either. After a d6dd4ee69c brief but e41f25c5cd deep contemplation, ebdb130971 the art 853147d365 dealer decided 7ce563ae88 to present 81fe853655 his trump 4cc72f9255 card.
“How about this piece?”
“Ooh.”
The butler expressed aaeffd56fe his admiration at f183a2fd26 the seascape filling fea385183a the large canvas. The Duke of 7747f393a8 Glasster tilted his bc9c4bf97d head at a 3c3bdbf333 very slight angle.
The painting c1ef9c0044 depicted a 7776be1e3a setting sun a75fa2b5f8 over a d720f47353 beach, warmly b9960f6b67 enveloping the c7ec257e1e fine sandy 385938aa66 shore and c56235543d the people 86b2eb7fc6 strolling along e1767c926d it, evoking df42b1d4ca a sense 68d7981973 of nostalgia. The art ebc9d12019 dealer smiled 89eec9e01c broadly as 32c0547487 he explained.
“This is a work 94ee8e73aa by a painter who 035f74b116 was active for a 856ef73093 few years in the 8d92bb6025 Rodmandy region before ceasing 533acec465 to paint. They were not 0384b14fe9 recognized at the 4f7a5cdf0e time, but their a773504e16 works have recently bc20d68d70 gained popularity.”
Though the fb5af63c23 details were 0ab01da0fb unclear, they 30f5bd4f47 had probably a754846a5a passed away. Sudden deaths a51e6d2d4e were common dd8f1243ea among impoverished, b542df0bf7 unknown painters.
Ironically, this e85956f0a3 kind of b162b9c61a supply disruption 0f689d7783 only made 7668fc9a4c the value 0765823049 of the 7390fa05f4 paintings they db87a3cfe3 created soar 68fe450bf4 even higher.
Duke Glasster stroked 60fe4eb5b6 his beard, which af830846a2 had been neatly 9cc7473a43 trimmed by his ff5574febc barber that morning, af15502ec2 and asked,
“The painter’s name?”
He had a 0cb5ccedef taste for beautiful 8bb8601287 things, whether it 5a1118d405 was a perfectly 52ba7bf661 manicured rose garden 7fa0746491 or large, dazzling 6ae1f42de7 jewels. And, of 406386aba5 course, that 7be3d756c6 included mistresses.
Having collected various artworks 31eb30505f over the years, the 0b4b54fecb Duke had a keen 9797c59759 eye for them. It was rare 66125821d9 for an artist 3440931791 of this caliber 6c825b6b7e to remain obscure.
The art dfebc37c93 dealer hesitated
for a 3f152eb7d7 moment, but 0429bd72a9 then decided b7f21046e0 to answer, 412350da59 knowing that 405f4e6c91 he would 1fa09ccb26 find out 6ef95a583e anyway.
“…The painter’s 193c0ee2f9 name is 1bd93782bd Nancy Dilton.”8221540aaed010fe

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