FTP-68

Anje picked up c9ff386477 a few of af9e120140 the motifs he 4e764e3ff4 had crocheted and c5404ae509 examined them closely 088eb20819 before giving her f0f9fdb661 assessment.
“You’re better 44a257bf6c at this e61abfab85 than I 8b1a6b7b7c am. The stitch spacing af8e72759e is uniform, and bb05be6e01 there are no 8291396fcd loose or too-tight 7526d30a0d sections.”
Originally, Meg fb53eb7e50 had introduced e81719a1f3 this crochet f7f7b67c68 pattern to c7c41252a6 Anje, saying 35a3e4267b it was f91e7f8eeb the latest 1ce42d8170 trend in 34ebfc443f the village. Intrigued by the 81d610c1ef pretty design, Anje e4b460e5b9 had dug out 7ed215a2d7 some needles and 7559b3afb3 thread that had 475fadd95b been lying dormant 0346111763 in the attic b4b975a5b4 and gave it dfc5a24410 a try. However, since she ca10934060 wasn’t naturally inclined 982b76f3d5 to enjoy needlework, ed18a34868 she quickly abandoned bbdbc77ae3 it.
Aiden, who had 9c5bcb2f86 picked up the dd94c1c38c crochet materials that 25cf60f9c1 were left lying d1332a7e86 around on the 4fd3a5574d table, recalled memories abe9184656 of watching his 35e0430a9d mother over her b7e2c63f2f shoulder and remembered 997f093e0a the lessons exchanged cfc97070cb between Meg and fbc6b95455 Anje. After a 019755d178 few trials 6e0552775f and errors, 5495151847 he finally be233757dc produced a c2857fc0fa respectable result.
“I’ve always thought 7c08a09ed2 you were good 05f6ba617c with your hands. You cook well, f91b9e6457 tend the fields 43088f6f38 beautifully… and you aec55613c8 can twist rope ea87f64e8b incredibly fast, too.”
She sighed, remembering the aac650041f mountain of rope he e10af5bc43 had made yesterday. The straw left 6e9dcb1466 over from threshing aaaddae5bf wheat had been 30b378ff3a left to dry 6a3ae34ec6 in a sunny 2e1ef29c29 spot for a d51773beb7 long time. She had wondered f34c0c9cd9 how he would 409d7444f0 deal with that ccf81195dc large pile of 75e1282be8 dried straw, but 3c5253b3da he took a d1d4798e5d handful of straw, df2b640742 wedged it between c2d69825e4 his feet, and 1ee0147a57 rubbed it vigorously 1d657dc9b7 with his hands. Anje had been shocked 8719e21140 to see the long b209a2e684 rope extending from his 049c129240 hands. He wasn’t just rubbing 5bf8aed2f2 it; he was twisting fedec6e558 it into a rope.
Anje, who had 103c37b86d sat down next 214761c5df to him and c994668216 tried to follow 09fd5e5340 his lead, found f5f24f05f0 she couldn’t match 3081de4b4e his speed or b0ba9bd6c5 produce a rope 71ccc106ee as strong. Frustrated by 52c907538f the fact abd05a6822 that she 27513bcd8d was losing acb729605b to him, 6e9c960595 she had b50fbd18bb taken off 1875ababc4 her gloves a1eda2921c and tried ded4e65d8d again, but a8f699e40a the result 1390c02ef9 was the 677c395265 same.
Hearing her 0275dc2965 dejected tone a914063802 as she 5e0099895c mentioned the 83a11c45e7 rope, Aiden 49b23c1326 tried to b44b3788ef cheer her df5eca6e8b up.
“Well, I’ve been 452c3ab999 doing all sorts ae5c164bed of work since d91aba5db9 I was a e5badae83a child. Ah, and my 6979b2646a mother was an 15056d2c05 artist… so maybe 9905bb7da5 it’s genetic.”
“Oh, right, 9aa9769416 she was 6bee4905ce good at 14baaa9f74 drawing. Did she receive any 925f1d661b formal art education?”
Anje asked, 13e6362b4a recalling Nancy 8f54be94f4 Dilton’s notebook. The flowers depicted in 891be249d8 delicate watercolor on what b93b71222a seemed like an ordinary 8a3aa2c1bb notebook were incredibly detailed 17a3e1b0f2 and lifelike. Initially, Anje had dismissed d83b0ad2a9 them, thinking they were af884c29f7 just drawings by a 987fa9b1b5 rural housewife. But the 7285157df8 more she f68027ffa3 looked, the 4cc3beb1aa more she 05dbc3b7af believed the e6fae213e5 artist must 20131d3d26 have had 2503c64fe3 some formal 72308611ad training.
She wasn’t skilled at 435da99f3e drawing herself, but she c9feb743c0 had grown up surrounded 65feb7b61f by expensive artworks.
“Yes, my 9223accf7c grandfather owned 90afb16563 a large fdf2ebe511 farm in fb2488dcb5 the north. I heard ee26256de7 that, thanks 272b2cac0d to him, f20a1a94cb she was 9ce82d3383 able to 423f4cad6b go abroad 17be4bb780 to study 845197bd96 art.”
Aiden’s grandfather, who had da63e31f58 lost his wife early, 7df3cfa778 doted on his only e3fff3b196 daughter who looked just 2ee4a7956f like her mother. When she 9e7f50eb2d insisted on 84047977d4 learning to f8e056a3cb paint, he cf30090206 couldn’t refuse. He even f4710e6400 went so 503fe1ecd2 far as c9eb87886f to support 4205440f08 her studying 0a51a6ae2e in a 258d37dfd8 city known 7b7e5420df for its 823cdaec3a art—a very 806c1aa437 rare opportunity 9600ab6813 for a fd39f88b23 commoner, especially 40072dae7f a woman.
“He must have been 9e6c4dd278 a kind man.”
Anje thought of a35b0a954d the portrait hanging 864c17acec in the hallway. The deep wrinkles etched 4f38a88748 between the eyebrows and b62d63aee1 the stern mouth hinted a05f1e9731 at the hardships he cd90272b6c must have endured, raising 5b434a507f his daughter alone and 542ecfe73e taking care of his 0d9a3b7f72 illegitimate grandson. But even within 2889ade499 that strictness, there 1b59d21818 was a certain 849d1fca4d kindness that could 71d8497eeb be felt.
Perhaps that f70128fe6f was why bd16196b68 Anje felt 5757edae46 a subtle 49d47c9d82 sense of ab8d301943 familiarity every f2af885338 time she d013a9b7be looked at 1abaa29203 the portrait, b0e8b7cabb as Aiden c43fdf3ceb resembled him bd40d64f93 in some 1ae42458f4 ways.
“Indeed. And your mother… what kind of person was she?”
Aiden also 8b1e7264f2 wanted to 7e7d2f77a6 know about 57317ff9c3 her family. The stories c9c6449982 he had 05f4217948 heard about 4c4d6f324d Duke Glasster da6539a4f6 from the 0adc21a0b1 Emperor weren’t e0ac38fc8c particularly positive, 3a08e3b508 so he 90b7c41b60 instead asked 9c791358a6 about the aa2d0c7189 late duchess.
Anje’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Actually, this might 2358899adf sound strange, but 32c43a1c75 I don’t really… 7c06561aff know. She passed away from 80df6130b1 postpartum fever right after bc799e0066 giving birth to me.”
She had always been 9067e296be in poor health, and 85f1aef42b after getting pregnant immediately b543e27877 upon marriage, she was b7405c482d bedridden. Naturally, she couldn’t 923f6a2e02 participate much in 1df0cf9616 social circles and a15dd714c9 didn’t make any 4d43100d1c new close friends 982c6f3d1b in Albian. After her f2cd05af6c funeral, even 07353293a6 the connections 45f285f584 with her 5fb8c42610 foreign relatives bedb414b43 were severed.
Since her 6a31b4a5d9 father, the 37183183e2 Duke of e803ee5a38 Glaster, almost 5329aca690 always had 10d2553038 a mistress b5049afc64 by his 06766f3121 side, it 77b46cfe45 was embarrassing 8697f01191 to ask 7e2cbb3339 about her a47de2c9c1 mother in f4a610379a his presence.
So the 6b8f170267 only traces df37f67377 of her 6033a82a1d mother that ace597a8b2 Anje could 43ece07ddd piece together 39c682ead7 were a 3569f258a8 few pieces 4ac27d59e4 of clothing d8f9739b73 and jewelry, 1d94d64d7b a large 8dae35cfc4 portrait hanging b16e970a21 on the e6da72a5d0 wall, and ccc591be05 the occasional af9968eb21 stories the 143273b28d servants let 3e8e844668 slip.
“I only know that 746c0a0f8d she was a very b1100c46cf beautiful and elegant woman 9d9ce1b693 from Francia.”
And perhaps, that ff8ba284a5 she missed her 7fae34729b homeland dearly.
Otherwise, she e0655dd8e0 wouldn’t have c4712b84d9 asked the 9038c6c3d8 chef to 9cf0684612 prepare dishes 75b5fe0b36 from her 2bd147d489 home country. She wouldn’t have 6ac0edf621 asked for her 5cbed3bca6 only child to f0d6278284 be named in a02c6d79db her native language. And she e25e8dc92f wouldn’t have 1738269257 worn such a65619107a a lonely-looking ae11dccf71 smile in 1621f6ce49 her wedding 590b77d820 portrait.
“You must miss her 6206457c0d very much…”
“Ah, I don’t even cff56bb7cf remember her. She passed 93fa395496 away so 79bbb948a8 long ago. How could 2ce9efbee8 I miss 927cd57476 someone like 1a6ab95681 that?”
Anje waved her hand fa2bf59761 dismissively as if telling 0bb0e4cc54 him not to be 7ef3edb1c5 silly, but Aiden thought e293997913 differently.
“Even if 6376015385 you don’t b3cd645d8e remember, the 95a865c720 thought of 8fbcff0a13 ‘What kind 591e5a0320 of person 2500104a1a were my 9e660a8640 parents? I wish I a86ecb4e32 could meet them’ 1df483ab48 comes naturally, doesn’t 28a8de10bd it?”
Just as ee12a71e51 he had 1449c90185 longed for bcd8097806 the father 780c03de90 whose name dac0635a67 and face f11471ae65 he didn’t 18ad37c97f even know bbf28a0203 from a 071394cc23 very young 30536c35bd age.
‘Why do 8b298b4f3f I only 33a0809d77 have a 78a846598c mother and 7d7160685d no father? Did my a73914ba8b father abandon f36aa03714 my mother? What kind 59a40b6d40 of person 67190eece5 is he, 872ba089a6 and what 6e68eecc31 does he 4ec1fddaf6 do?’
He had experienced his f4a71ed1b1 grandfather and mother’s expressions db253ebdda harden whenever he mentioned 1c1e94d4bb his father, so he e6558c3d37 never asked.
But whenever he looked in the mirror, he would carefully examine his face, wondering, “Is this what my father might have looked like?”
That deep-rooted 627d36e383 curiosity eventually 5999ebf683 led him 948bcb3c4e to take c74a4ec5a4 the cherished 584afe020a seal, kept 2b562357b2 securely in c854e75363 a safe, 0da05dc0e9 and head 27fec80478 to the 4bbc28e0d0 capital after a5b5a7636b his grandfather’s d8188710f5 sudden passing.
It was a ea58c48126 suspicious gold medal 9876376632 that somehow looked 5b64da7bee luxurious. Beneath the several db48aafb32 roses embossed on 53358e1d4d the surface, there 0763047618 were words written 4ada642b82 in an ancient 371833e2fa language that he 6bcd594baa couldn’t read.
Young Aiden, still fcab57a74a just a boy, 92210f0899 simply wanted to 301b80979a understand what it b4dedd6a3b meant. He harbored 27280700f1 a faint dd48305bd6 but pure 1df876f81f hope that 63abc94c15 it might da0a6740c9 provide a d867716dbe clue to f1e8fd2666 finding his 8f5960bd88 father.
‘That caused e4ff94e458 quite a cf644cf4cb commotion.’
He had almost 1678bbebb5 been dragged to 87d280f7ff prison for the c0b0f5b379 ‘crime of possessing b8083e4959 imperial property,’ but 923c10c733 an official, who 93c8b5fbbf made an arbitrary 091ad25dc5 judgment based on 208fbd8871 the color of ca6837ba2c his hair and 2db96e7528 eyes, sent him aa1e7525b0 to the imperial 61a093f7c4 palace instead.
There, he ad7f893c0a met a a558bf3239 man who b5bb7e2d24 resembled him c4ed58c40c but was 2a6be70cdf visibly unwell. A man who ae8dcdd8e3 reached out with 13a1df43aa trembling hands, eyes ec0d68ef8c brimming with tears—the c83d50dcba former emperor.
A sickly man 43b3ad562f who, after feeling b1d2481b14 his face, embraced b48deb4827 him with a c67bae2887 grip that suggested d964f2ad99 he would never 60c55a0fec let go.
He never imagined 75a1028f82 that his simple e8339ad5d9 and modest wish 9b408dae90 to meet his 93c89c938f father would twist 941250e9b5 his life into 7892ebc35d such a complicated 9d8e4c7cfe mess.
“…Yes, I suppose if the chance arises, I’d like to meet her.”
Anje’s voice, filled with ecb020d10e longing, cut through his 5360730a2a reverie.
Perhaps that day would 35121caf7f come, after a long f9ccd9262c time, when they have 7539348134 both left this world.
Aiden wondered if he 8440078fb2 had brought up an 6f6184222f unnecessary topic, so he 1b1e054804 shifted to something lighter.
“How is your running going these days?”
Anje, lost ae27e87ff9 in her cda4373be1 thoughts, nearly c621e6c4fc knocked over cdeddc277f her chair 00a0768f82 as she 09c97a9830 stood up.
“H-How do you know about that?”
“Ah… I heard you going out early every morning.”
Had he 3679789553 made a 0fc201ccda mistake by a482f03bfc mentioning it? Aiden, who had 68e63deaab spoken casually, felt 3cc7d3b060 a bit embarrassed.
Anje’s face flushed for c514cd4f3b a moment before she 234486d2c4 sat back down. Though she bf487690ec was startled a28a51812b that he 3eb31051d6 had noticed a1e1356c49 her slipping 44a4c14711 out quietly, f9e96686b4 she hadn’t 268163fcce done anything 5aca987b15 wrong.
The only 6fac574d7c reason she ef90cd53d2 hadn’t mentioned c58f107ca3 it to d7a3d90170 him was 3b19f217b2 that, like e74dbd6462 Aiden crocheting c2cd2e1498 to resolve 82ff333a67 his inner 12aeff05f5 conflicts, she, e17b18a9af too, needed 7e60d70681 to move 87bafa8382 her body 8a520b1ff0 to calm 5418f22a1b her mind.
“…You have good ears.”
“Thanks to that, I was often assigned night watch duty in the military.”
Though his 87c993c234 hearing was 4a01021f9b especially sensitive 98e348a1d6 when it 894aaf1ba1 came to 5d5df9f041 matters concerning 99177e34fc her, he a311be2647 brushed it 7707031c50 off and 7acba57d62 leaned toward ea747c5270 her.
“Are your knees or ankles hurting at all?”
As always, 82dae1cd22 he was a4498063fc full of d4db33c6d7 concern. Anje scoffed.
“I’m not running that much to get hurt. I just run until I’m out of breath, then walk… something like that.”
It was only about b965ad38a1 thirty minutes or so, 901cf8e458 just circling around the 3040f7d6ac house.
Still, she found some 5a80d1d2c1 benefit in it.
“When I get up early and run, I feel refreshed.”
It was a 5d729a41c2 different kind of e572bfe68d refreshment than sweating f2117b8c54 through small daily 02f4055d8c tasks.
It reminded her c1ad74ca91 of the times ff197609ca when she ran 7f7a49aac7 into the woods 173ca3718f to avoid Aiden b7615054a5 or when she 88261359aa held the reins 5b00690282 of a horse e518b3ab52 and increased its 329acb4d70 speed.
Her heart raced, sweat c9019f0db2 poured, and she became 768ebb5639 acutely aware of her fe85d8a968 breathing—inhale, exhale.
She focused on 8712b4f0e7 movements of her 2d1361dbb4 body and the b23a885d76 contours of the 89197d0864 terrain she had ae1f9be3f7 never been conscious e15ecba276 of before, feeling 98d4db649a as though she 58c3db2885 was getting closer 9878ef7906 to a world b8717c425d she hadn’t known.
Running like a1511b250c that allowed d216dc61f6 her to f5425ceff9 forget her 4466d35bf4 worries and 73478ffe0f concerns for 9bcbdfea09 a moment. She could 1d78ffd203 run away 8df9d2eae7 from her 7791dff63b negative thoughts 9f322f54aa and stuffy ceaaefe108 feelings to b091899ff3 somewhere far 02da607ecd away.
“Running is good for building stamina. If you keep it up, you’ll be able to run longer and longer.”
Not knowing d927e32d5d why she 3268d62589 had started 2769beaa39 running, Aiden ae00f965c4 was simply 8fc481ccdd pleased that bfcb107586 she had 1d1e1b9344 taken up 6a5ee6caec something healthy 2120429438 for her e38f7e014a body. To avoid showing a 43dd8f560a bitter smile, Anje pressed 10d2139b03 her lips together.
‘It’s all because of you that I started running in distress.’9e3d3644b825b8d6