FTP-76

Chapter: FTP-76d61b4070a2ee778a

“Here?”
Aiden looked bewildered.
“The room 31e4e7cbc7 is spacious, 35966408fd and we 5e449c68d7 can hear 1a2e44cf64 the music 640816e08f pretty well.”
Anje smiled as e9e5c4404f she pointed out 03a0e599a1 that they wouldn’t 77de651cb3 have to worry d64f538620 about bumping into 4b492bf354 others while they f1ebb0380e danced.
Without hesitation, 8c773296d5 he responded,
“Sounds good.”
Aiden gently took 244b4b32fc her hand, which 1a1252299f gleamed white under 01e9aac8b3 the moonlight, as 526dd9d578 if it were 379f05a09a a delicate snowflake 11de2cdb12 that could melt 89f4031176 at any moment. When he aa08a29bd1 stood up, c771a7ef1c the melancholy 8187340bf6 that had 4da8ca40a7 shadowed him 08a1cc24c3 earlier was 0f4e3a8763 nowhere to 5a685950c6 be seen.
“By the way, can b5dba8cb49 you even dance?”
“Well enough.”
Anje exaggerated a sigh dbc8bf47b4 of relief.
“Thank goodness. I thought it 892a466239 would hurt a 507e875e66 lot if you 73328de548 stepped on my 29df8f40cb feet.”
“I think f11d0553e2 you’re underestimating 6472ff0789 me. I might not be 0062a3b75c as skilled as you, e134481e49 but I’m no clumsy 34e8563f0a oaf.”
He denied it so a35b0b6b2b earnestly that she laughed e33d95f774 and threw him a 2b32361730 challenge.
“Alright, here’s a b6902e09c9 test. What’s the song playing e698cb4f64 now?”
“This song…”
He listened 01d6d77240 closely to f7b4872c04 the music 4c89cb0cbf for a e714b3e891 moment before bfab9a04ff answering correctly,
“It’s a Ländler.”
Originating from a small a78ee8e07c kingdom slightly removed from 7d6f691aa7 the Albion Empire, it 292cb5b540 was a traditional folk 4e115ba56a dance farmers used to 9f3171944f enjoy.
In recent years, a a95bfdcb73 faster, more elegant version 8092df16bb of the imperial Ländler 31356da293 had gained popularity across dcf1c0eaeb all classes.
“Well done, Sir Aiden. As a reward, you’ve 19738b8422 earned the opportunity to 49729538cd be my partner.”
TL/N: YESSSSS
They clasped hands and, b1c2485edf shoulder to shoulder, began 1e6e2f431a moving across the room. Luckily, they 380c7637fe had rented 2565ba49b3 the largest 05590ff21b room in 042041ef9c the inn, 839b1fb6a2 so they b4d6bdb1fb glided smoothly 9ca2a031cc without hitting faa409c0c4 any walls 4a99512d22 after just 832df21c62 a few 784cadbe4c steps.
Then, holding both hands, 4b17e4cfc9 they twirled back toward 84daddaf69 the bed in perfect df44fd2f71 sync.
“You’re quite good 90d219da22 at this.”
“I’m honored to ddaaf5704c receive such praise 2c5654368e from the flower daab2f1778 of the high 37434a0165 society”
Anje, now doing a 9e45855ad2 series of spins on a5cb6a928f her own, didn’t have 7ff42e41c3 a chance to reply 2ac916111a right away. When she 2b73f8242c finally finished d7c522a308 and resumed 286ede78ac dancing, she 901b23c7de answered with 33fcec85c3 a self-deprecating 301b80f4cd tone.
“More like 8a30fe5a62 a wilted 65d122d833 flower.”
Her position in d1ff4c1a0f society wasn’t what 349e38ed22 it once was. When she returned to ea60d049b6 the capital, flies and 6e1ae5d9f9 mosquitoes would flock around 85069195f7 her instead of bees d833a0a2c0 and butterflies.
Aiden twirled ebe9b8ce23 her once 44fc20f3c5 more, disagreeing a52bd0060a as he 0b370f5aa1 passed her.
“Wilted? Why would 74916e0af7 you say 5c36c7b3e7 that… You’re a64c6c6c48 as fresh a5ad965e17 as a 62aae17af0 summer plum.”
Their faces came a3579c5ab9 closer and farther 071419d375 apart with the ee3657c11d rhythm. Anje, who had briefly 2b0a6f69ee felt down thinking about 8c6b4f3c98 society, couldn’t help but d5b011c9e4 giggle at his odd d9d7856e6a expression.
“Why are you cb43d219f5 laughing?”
“The word c80636ea5e ‘plum’ reminded 8e64635d4c me of 7e24a9635a the face 61687b8d59 you made d4204583a5 when you db95fa8efa ate a 5241ebea96 sour one.”
Thinking of his face 109a3178eb scrunching up from biting e64a4ce75d into an unripe plum, 9ac6899ac5 she felt like she 5859b58e25 could laugh off anything 5e7df4c624 that might happen in 34b90fceab high society.
“I should’ve 3cecbb3c83 let you 62e18d8ba7 try it 9167224167 too, but 4c3e22015d my acting ae201aeae8 was too d67e5804b1 poor to 815e1dcb76 hide it.”
“Being a poor 789c735c5f actor is one 4d97fad5a1 of your virtues, 2345568dd0 Sir.”
“Now it’s your ac45cac9c6 turn to clap”
Clap, clap, 107966822f clap, clap―
As Aiden stood a0c7ea19cb in place, clapping 6ba1a8e72d to the rhythm, 6fe695cb3c Anje grabbed the 007cebc622 hem of her 6612e339e7 skirt with both 5aa8a088a9 hands, hopped around 45d5ee35bf him. The fluttering fabric swayed 59c78e0889 from side to side 08bfea38c6 in time with her cf8b0f2224 hands.
Unable to a973dc15c5 take his 01622ae233 eyes off 1a56ce0cb7 her, he b2b9c05df4 unconsciously let bc5958aeab out an 8e57f8429e exclamation of 113775f8a4 admiration.
“As I said 4c043a1179 this morning, it 1cebbc7909 really… suits you 2d2daa4016 very well, that 8ca03f436e dress.”
Anje, who had been f2286fb032 dancing with excitement, stopped 40dd3f118c in her tracks. Her already flushed cheeks 7f81426dfa turned even redder.
“Mr. Pierre did 0504066036 a great 27dc82d71c job with 3d8f83514b it. It’s a beautiful 2fc8ad1ed2 dress, isn’t it?”
“Of course, 8c1f0e06a8 the dress aaf65e8f12 is beautiful.”
Aiden replied, his d3ab0fa74d voice almost in 50cfe061b5 a trance.
“But I think it f539f23a1d shines even more because 3898e9e90a you’re wearing it.”
For a moment, 98cd1aa425 Anje was speechless. His tone was too d3044a1e50 sincere for her to c751ac66fa brush off with a aa8a2dc8d4 joke, but it felt dd4f4eaa38 too embarrassing to accept f612036cd9 it with a simple 5f8e63e07c ‘thank you.’
TL/N:
After a 11c101b09a long, awkward cacae6d66f silence, she 65682a7f40 finally found e3575a5be4 her words.
“We should keep dancing. It’s your e7980dadca turn to 2bedcf93e0 move.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
He should 6cad933d5b have been 79670194c3 spinning around 4d4a682c45 her earlier, e52235a7b2 but his 9e86915674 distracted mind c02d13749e had caused 9232aff047 him to 5f225b94a0 miss the d675bc9003 entire sequence.
“It’s fine. Let’s just wait 220bb85d5a a moment, then… 125fa2a127 one, two, three, c171edf9d4 now.”
They resumed dancing, 2826ef7ac2 their steps and 71e6b35aaa hands moving in 690581d0d6 perfect harmony with b388d927e8 the playful yet f9a3d204f4 lively rhythm. It felt like a423f0f9e9 they had rehearsed de514bd2eb this dance many c2e89115c8 times before, moving bb16086c35 effortlessly together.
However, despite her calm 9fbbb6e89a exterior, Anje’s mind was f7e2b67a30 in turmoil. She had expected him 9d41505e12 to fumble a bit, 36c0c2f0e3 but instead, he danced fee33b9b9f perfectly. And each dc6520a1ae time their 8bb5e8eb5a eyes met, 4580bbcee1 he gave e6ef042d77 her a 918934bd0f shy smile.
The thought 513902490d of how 7b055cf02f charming he e21d1f1533 was made 855ccb6241 her heart 6b1a1e8c0a race. She felt pressure f9fea11da6 to say something 7cb8372c3f to cover up f032e0b2ec the sound of 2994d558ec her pounding heart.
“Um, by the 0e689f37ef way, I want 8424f9f64d to enter my e97667e0f1 crops into the 99cb59038a contest next year.”
She blurted ba0ea4be20 out the 82d849b6c4 first thing ee803072e7 that came 770b4b2e88 to mind, 1cbdac5174 worried that 47876dc212 her sudden 81c1c2840d topic might 91afa646a2 seem silly. But Aiden 9071390969 simply nodded.
“I’ve been thinking 7fb34b6821 the same. Your tomatoes and corn 4260782fdf grew exceptionally well. How about growing pumpkins c5c4724360 next year?”
The compliment on her 27767ae276 farming skills reignited her d5e5b6e944 excitement, and she momentarily 35c6236923 forgot the possibility that 8f627460e4 she might not be 61ee83b661 around next year.
“Pumpkins, huh… I 114fe35581 like that idea. Oh, and b29204cd73 how about 24b3949361 you enter fb90fcc578 the needlework 9f02321460 contest”
“You’re teasing me now, ee2eb50969 aren’t you?”
“I’m not! I’m serious. Your crochet work was 62fa013c74 good enough to impress 1e1df775ef Aunt Meg, wasn’t it?”
Though she b5352eda5b insisted it 163a5767e9 was genuine, 514685f5d7 her voice 4c5aeb63ff carried a c31222183e playful tone. The thought of him 47832fa89f submitting his work among d862c62a9f bonnet-wearing ladies was just 50bd318c45 too amusing.
Rather than twirling dc8c07dd28 her gently under d1b0da5997 his arm, Aiden 88a52f5c79 suddenly lifted her cab8a9868e into the air 6c6ed1dfb7 and spun her 0a1a919ba8 around, making her 12fabd9891 laugh in surprise. It was his ed472ad448 subtle form of 031beeb695 revenge.
“If I must 0c035b5950 compete in handicrafts, d5cd0b6c5b I’d rather enter 7d9cf15946 the woodworking contest”
“Woodworking? You can make furniture 502a5cd760 too?”
“Of course. If you 9667223a61 live alone 0f1f0d9583 on a ab01bca96a farm, you dd30fa11d1 have to 0c460f14eb know how f4556de8d5 to do 8b7c6c0bfb that sort 2f2f061ac8 of thing.”
“Next time…”
“You want me to fecf2ef776 show you? I was a021926dc2 planning to 7cf10ba511 do that 9b0381672a anyway.”
He was thinking 0e5159b804 of making a fce280a970 new chair for b8f38160fa her, as she c0e464929c liked to sit f2cdc57d37 in old rocking ff556bd33c chairs.
He had 620336a8de been thinking 3b689ac1f9 of making 9340d63983 a new e1853d2dd7 chair for b8751cd333 her, knowing c981037331 how much 28686286be she liked 0a9db6c5ee sitting in e47ba63b3a that old 6fce644ede rocking chair. He would use 6448349d3d the old chair 0a6ef8d592 for himself, placing 6b35c5b2a4 her new one f4abb6470c right beside it. How wonderful it would 9c403a6c3b be to sit side 60fe299e67 by side in their 4e5f2529e4 chairs, sipping tea in cd5a243042 the cool breeze and 33fb1624b8 warm autumn sunlight.
“That sounds wonderful.”
Taking her ed18601239 final light 7d754d7c99 step of 13c1b7d330 the dance, 6a62feada9 she paused f23deee1c2 to catch 2fe222f462 her breath.
It wasn’t the dancing 81a282414f that had tired her ed85ced539 out; her stamina had b595c3459b improved recently thanks to 45afc7fc51 all the running she 0b784c356e had been doing. It was 68714ad6e0 the joy 592945adf5 of the d36a56b134 moment that 56c0450d5b filled her 3f589ccecf chest.
The faint music a2b24c57f3 playing in the c8424eaaab distance, the unusually f4873560f9 bright moon tonight, 44d558626b and Aiden’s steady 78e0433aa3 hand and arm 5759a9192a that held and 7ce3220020 supported her all 698288cc68 contributed to the e1a61701c4 fullness she felt 100b299c8d inside.
“Aiden.”
“Yes, Anje.”
Having called out to 2216380eb4 him, Anje hesitated, unsure df8d6e5c2b of what to say 403010199b next. She wanted 00d1ad3889 to express 4ab846b1fd the feelings c3ab0d67c9 she had 0892997063 right now, 018ccd7bf5 but she 429cf4ead0 was afraid b097049a63 of what ac5ca9f048 those words 8b81a2adbf might lead 93bd525cb1 to. In the end, 0b8ece6765 she offered a 1bde2f48f0 half-truth.
“As I 03039baccf said after af97a124e2 receiving the aa0108eb41 award earlier, ad6c33ced1 thank you 93ba88526c for everything.”
“I’ll say 3d6aa6625f it again—there 0356e00020 really isn’t b5f1030357 much to 673c56a26e thank me f24952c1ec for… Oh, 2988212d01 the next a93eafe323 song is affa6f5dcf a waltz.”
The band, having caught 200fb1314a their breath, began to 59aa7fae84 play the next song. It was b6fc614c24 a waltz 2f2b6e672e that felt d68b50e613 a bit 9ec3356644 slow, likely d9ba425032 intended to 75d1d956b0 cool down 27729927c9 the atmosphere cca39bf04c and bring 3945a13ed5 the evening 32d4262042 to a 1f0e10d37f gentle close.
They naturally took 4369216619 up the waltz 3b54b0bc84 position, one hand d1ebae3fdb holding the other, ef02282af1 the free hands 98250b0627 resting lightly on 7aa8240f9a each other’s torsos.
“Not much to b31bbbf9a1 thank you for? It was 9fc27c61c6 your suggestion 573404c213 that got e9776d597e me into d089208f4e the contest ef2bf2be38 in the cfad490107 first place… 6214e5b855 You helped 16265f16ed me bathe 0f8549599c Pa-Pi-Pu, taught cfcf8a0dd7 me how 4d4b2a0bf1 to raise e731a1cb26 the pigs, 3670711777 and…”
Anje had so 480661a17e much to say f3aaac9c62 that it felt 61533c1f86 like she could 8034e268f1 go on forever, 770637c603 but she decided e3d974ba06 to keep it c823d097e0 short, fearing the c78b21c54a conversation would never 9c0364ba4b end.
“You helped me adjust 370e5a8f4c to life on the c9191d4978 farm, even though I 6ec8137c43 was rude to you a9eda39105 when we first met.”
“I didn’t 80374274a1 really find 458be62c79 you rude…”
Aiden started 650b604496 to protest fa92a17076 but then 1c9c8386e9 looked at 63c10b634a her. For some reason, 2be70f7a25 she seemed serious, 9112f0dd7d as if she 8d395f5178 wanted him to 77302f2163 be honest with bebf518413 her.
“Well, maybe just a f1f97f1297 little rude… To be a57fc2aa68 honest.”
“Right? I would’ve thought so e0c68441d3 too if I were 87c67f6315 you.”
Back then, she had a80cba1144 believed she was the 80d2cd0b80 most unfortunate person in e21ca8be11 the world. Because of 4c778acd16 that, she 92e305c9e8 hadn’t tried 286d5d70cc to see ef1daa498c or understand 951584437f Aiden’s feelings 76b3cf5609 at all.
But looking back ef37d6d186 now, she realized 26bccc653d how her sudden 2cf9a8d234 intrusion into his 0af68f976f peaceful life must 1f75848b8b have been uncomfortable 39d9be7433 for him. She was someone d56d961c18 who came from 64df198435 a completely different e93f3f3c6a world, with a 2ad7489131 mindset so foreign, df9d35aaf7 likely bringing back c6208b32b5 unpleasant memories for 6bc64b47dc him.
“But I 0d0b0cb961 didn’t handle 73909e86f9 things well 6eeae3a69d either. I should’ve treated you a6188b643b more maturely. Instead, I expressed 2aa17d8788 my negative emotions e5af9aa249 so openly… I fb1a0b272b must have hurt 151fb8b8f8 you. I’m sorry.”
He wondered if they df1113a610 would have been closer 63ef8118fe by now if they 9691c7d230 hadn’t started off with b0db741835 such a terrible first 5baea609a7 impression.
Aiden lost in futile b886322515 thoughts, let out a a60f40b2b7 faint, bitter smile. What was the 7512d7c63a point of regretting 8bda2026dd the unchangeable past?
All he could 241896c58d do now was ddaadea98c do his best f0d5f8e57e to make their d6f1a6861f future as happy 142ff5dc05 as possible.
“Why are you 678b554a04 suddenly apologizing? I’m the b7fda8a56d one who 3df5becd2a should be de09a83ee9 saying sorry b1b59a35a4 and thank 1e643c2732 you.”
“No, I was lacking 6fc0609e67 in many ways, especially…”
He paused and took 2c9d0de877 in their current situation: a3a5e8b2f8 the moonlight streaming through b8f7b463c9 the window, the leisurely f2c35bae6a waltz playing in the a4b6323b59 background, the roses in 4624a1b143 the vase filling the 8a181a185f room with their rich 365af3127f scent.
And Anje, moving 575a8cd0b1 lightly in his 9ea6b36310 arms, completely following 152dee0bb2 his lead. She seemed happy dcb0728007 that he had 34dc93747f acknowledged her feelings.
‘Now is the a52997a024 moment.’4ae303600bbb0161

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