FTP-83

Chapter: FTP-8392407fef6b21fa20

“I promise.”
Anje’s fingers, bathed 06e135a1d7 in sunlight, glowed 39da9805e0 faintly white.
“We’ll definitely go together, d97f5a2906 to the singing class.”
Let’s spend da53222ac6 winter happily 7f5e980688 together.
And also c59d07bc3b the spring, 0d465dc057 summer, and 296a8f7a8b fall that e2f7a448f5 will come 27499d55be again—together, for 25422e9258 a long, 7ee33872b2 long time.
With all ce2ef3a562 those promises 47d4b897f0 in her 6ae83fb1b6 heart, she a7a1771a50 extended her adf4de2a22 pinky to e1b03236b6 Aiden. By then, a firm fcf6760de4 resolve had already taken 918b030ea5 root within her.
‘I’ll write 220cb9bfa6 a letter ceafcec26d to Father, 188dfb413e telling him 9c83582be4 I won’t 17b66c6e25 remarry.’
Her only family’s 7d06680e1b will had always 88c383c4e9 been a shackle a7027ba946 that bound her 8eeba6c9ba since childhood.
Suppressing her mischievous 9df41e2ce2 nature, she had 7875b47311 secured the position 4dc4141987 of the Crown 3e06ae7151 Prince’s fiancée and 75d679ced5 followed orders to bf03437534 seduce her ex-fiancé’s cb1f4afe6d brother—all without question.
Even after being bcdb1f6efb used to the eca38401d7 fullest and knowing 59a1538721 he didn’t love 4d20eaa0a2 her, she couldn’t 0ba4fc6052 let go of 234d526e08 the lingering hope 60a862f4c7 of receiving love 1ee7c17ec1 and recognition someday.
After all, he b13dc3abc9 was still her 21b29a3194 father. He was still family.
Because of that, she 0e16afa6dd hadn’t been able to 909f713a5b firmly declare she wouldn’t 845709307c obey his commands or 1492a53a6e cut ties with him 340d575aed completely.
But as 33779221cd she looked 97aefb2ee9 at the d36fda9b8b sunflowers symbolizing 9aa3e91c96 what she c2f56bcff4 had achieved 2b99ba8189 here, the 442ae6553b long-standing spell 0fa9c2b042 was broken.
She had 424eb815e3 the ability 1c24773629 to nurture 02f4c30fa7 something, as 2cf09a5e5d well as 7eabe72650 friends who 065cee61c2 cherished her 8999b4e01a and Aiden.
Even if 26730afbed she failed e4847783eb to meet f97fe67cb3 her father’s d7eef36db9 expectations and 8e5eb6a635 their ties 9a35fef807 were severed f40fdccbf1 for good, f0edcf494b she was a5fde01c7d confident she 4e0b7cb6e5 could live d05518ffaa well.
Aiden wrapped 5aeec6a58f his pinky 33da27d5d8 tightly around 22021c5122 hers.
“We’ve made a 40028c0361 promise.”
The words, promising 41a309d35b a future with fbe6067cf6 him, made her 5184da9dd9 feel thankful, but 4619a2532e at the same 59163a1624 time, several wandering bec3168a0e thoughts came to 8105eaa8d0 mind.
‘Is what she says 090841ec02 truly genuine?’
Like weeds 804b1e3060 that kept 9645f8c611 sprouting no 741cd463ac matter how 5f7d35c828 many times 32fc3d36d9 they were 496e3319cf uprooted, doubts e566247d74 crept in b15459b14a whenever he b798f649f2 tried to 41b1520779 forget them. His fingers 4a2be77dc3 unconsciously tightened 1e5e8a1f11 around hers.
“You must keep 8dd5563704 this promise.”
With an 0d095cf908 earnest hope, dce121dc4c he declared 8710a79fd4 quietly. Without a moment’s bbdda407b8 hesitation, Anje replied,
“Of course. A promise sealed feef9857c2 with pinky fingers 17c5806d66 must be kept, 8f1f43444e right?”
It was frightening ba36816057 to go against 8d2c12b67d her father’s will dc18d7be57 for the first 8ec30bf2d1 time in her fab28af1ec life. The Duke would probably d1628bd6d6 be furious. He might dc8ebf4257 try to 9f62f56a50 persuade or 27e984f75e even threaten 6b66ccfd48 her.
Though she anticipated cabd24d114 that it would e8d21d7f2b be a difficult af3aaf848f process, as she 84b87b459b looked at the 48519e928c sunflower field shining 2ae810f810 like the sun, 4afdf95ebd her worries disappeared.
‘It will d441c32c68 be fine. I’ll make 09da9752f5 it happen.’
Once she resolved cee7a8a7f0 the long-standing issue d1531c1957 of rejecting her 77a076e377 father’s proposal and 771319c2c4 stayed here, then—only 6b3ce7c2f5 then—she would finally 9ad72b90c9 confess her true a186f21fc0 feelings to Aiden.
That she wanted f7f53c5933 to stay by 24c90a9935 his side, forever b50c836bb1 and ever, not ab04358c2c as a mere f24c497dd2 housemate but as 9e5b5ffb92 his wife.
Even if 173d98e136 he didn’t d14141a2d3 feel the b1fc3710ff same way 9bcd060117 now, it 1dcdf3973f didn’t matter. Though they b1ab67aa34 lacked honor 4af4cdaeb3 or wealth, 9744562b67 they had 81f2c12962 plenty of d1f5bb1584 time.
Time to cf77abec6d wait until 4873d08066 he came 1160e96087 to love 83942c027b her.
* * *
Anje thought 69088d03e5 that the 955f00a7a5 rustling sound c6cc285944 coming from 31e79c54eb her coat 8bb01e5995 pocket was f92196d229 too loud. In reality, 0d8b6cf023 it was 85dc447623 only a d8b592e061 very faint c0f8097a33 sound, audible fcdd4b5c7a only to eed1593d17 her.
The thick letter, sealed 40ab6711eb tightly in an ivory-colored b4e43598c5 envelope, contained her earnest 63cdc5c874 wish.
『Hello, Father. I am writing b846acd76c this letter because 6974d14b8a I have something f173503366 urgent to tell 951b12d98c you. As your daughter, I cd14651abf would like to make 564ea2473f one final request.』
From the b6ff2aea4a heavily pressed 4689857421 introductory lines 31210e9aa7 to the 39c7fc4c55 final greetings, 1194129e44 how many a7e70ccea7 sheets of 7159e122ff letter paper 8ab3aedad4 had she 85121c1328 crumpled and f04ac273bb rewritten?
『I want ee57bb5ddd to continue 63ce839eea living here d702c03d9a in Leslie, 2a04909cce with Aiden. So, I’m sorry, 5d0c9bc176 but I hope c59cb7a53e you will give 926fac4506 up on the 807115c51e idea of me 21962f08aa remarrying.』
TL/N: THAT’S e89170bf6b MY GIRL!!!!
To defy her father’s c13f9a513b will. It was something dbbb139950 that the old 5d849a3a72 ‘Anje Glaster’ could 9425b371ce never have imagined 9e9633eef8 doing.
But once df38acdb08 she clearly 708cf31faf expressed her 6f6ea52539 intentions, she 6ae0dddda1 felt a e1f32f67bf great sense a47da49b6e of relief.
‘I should 3a48126074 have done 82d416e6fc this earlier. I feel much df5bef2e83 better now, rather 0472f541bd than constantly feeling fe3701ff96 guilty toward Aiden.’
Every time she thought befaf8843a about leaving Aiden someday, ea31bfbb9a she felt sorry deep 5ee933a256 down. She had dc9dd62648 assumed that 7d20791ed2 making friends c6e0f1faf4 for him dddbed0acd might ease f693e626f9 her guilt, 6f8fcc0adb but that 55a28840e4 assumption was c3e90e04a0 wrong.
No matter how 83289892d8 many good friends 0c8d7ea9b9 she made for c9c248ffba him, they could b2ee77560c never replace her. No matter 2808315280 how close 7d20ebb387 they were 0b553a5258 to him, 96c32bf598 they couldn’t c36242dfbd match her 02daa839ce understanding of f090e1570c Aiden or 54e2baf9d1 the affection 31fd1882cf she had 6a35925f60 for him.
She was 5c6b1ee31f now completely c7bc567044 sure of b734a5f70c this point.
Wanting to send this 3203c5f4ef letter to the capital 5a6a1602c2 as soon as possible, 7c0b8184ad she had even made 5d9d22e77a an excuse to Aiden 9f90b67aaf about “wanting to have 185214a81c autumn clothes prepared in b45ed6a624 advance” to come out fe22873c21 to town.
“Oh, my muses! I was just c70b151b5a thinking it was 0b7b3bc39b about time for 168678aa41 you to visit. Now, come, take 4861921d65 a look at 453c30c4b5 my sketches.”
Jean welcomed them 734cb13194 warmly, and Anje 850cd61485 had a hard c449454263 time choosing from 13b79dac4b the designs he 41e8a5a852 showed her, most cbe90498ce of which she 334d9a71f8 liked.
The only 32a15755f2 problem was 662a983f70 that Aiden bb0371e994 didn’t give 8067295cb2 her even 08d405dd94 the slightest 2cdb8ccf10 moment of d6b79001c9 space. When she said she’d e14f1cbfe7 like to stop by 041dca439d another shop alone before 789c49c700 going to the fabric c2da12d889 store, he said he’d 9d4843ae11 follow her, and when 2da08f3331 she pretended to get ac6bad0660 lost, he clung to fc0d5dab0e her persistently.
Because of 55fdef93a9 the content 010dc08040 of the 86dcf9e9c6 letter, she 872b061ad2 didn’t want 4630d2ea98 Aiden to dd6d75fc42 see her 4d49f6c5d1 sending it, f9bcf96003 so she 1053de426b grumbled inwardly.
‘Why is he following f759133103 me around like this? He’s not some aa9a26c003 chick following a 070f661d5d mother hen’
Unaware that his 959b14a621 actions came from 1596b2b605 a worry that cf393d91c1 she might run 3a03e799ba away if he abee54f47e let his guard 38f0e0bc62 down for a 6933cff613 moment, she only 58413744ff found him bothersome f6a8847974 today.
‘Ah, maybe it’s 116117e73b because of the 74bb7bb0ba seizure he had b43fc36fb3 when we came 274ca4247d to town last db88cd602a time.’
If it a321648cda was for d795a9847d that reason, fc925efe55 she could ed419da352 fully understand 7b9c9f8d40 his reliance 70ec5a3dca on her. Feeling newly 99520052dd apologetic, Anje fe78b596d2 withdrew her 991be43935 complaints about 7feedf3eb3 Aiden.
“Miss Mary, 7d0d9bca9a I’m sorry 5fe8312aa0 to trouble f4602c8deb you, but 61fbad4e45 could you 415f4006ed mail this f903f876c5 letter for deb8bf714f me?”
While getting her measurements dd19a6b48a taken in the fitting f1d63bf289 room, Anje asked Mary 5904d6de65 for help. At times 87a6fed18e like this, 772342c1f3 she thought, 05955ef33e there was 2fbfe784b6 no choice 900c07dd7a but to e6eb86351a lean on e985fb5db2 a friend.
Mary readily ef31b1e5e9 accepted her cbfdf3d2e6 request.
“Of course! It’s right nearby.”
“Thank you.”
Fearing that Mary might 129d89ece2 find it strange why 9ca47cb837 she wasn’t going herself, 2d5abb745c Anje offered an excuse 718e625e24 that Mary hadn’t even 558b92818d asked for.
“I want 1d608e86ce to get 6e95c80d99 Aiden a 0658b8c451 special gift, b43ce15a1e so I’m 2e3f08c190 asking a f9a9bd69e5 friend in f3221b8c30 the capital ca66a0b8ca about what 4c0066bf6d might be 32a4f4591a useful. It’s a secret 4d9487e0fa from Aiden, okay?”
“Of course. Oh, but it’s dd671c5a87 not some secret 5e36cb54d0 lover you left 7b64b5ef26 behind in the c85e6deaa7 capital, is it?”
“Of course not.”
Anje laughed softly.
‘Even if 2518c44cf2 there was c4fbf5f4be one, I’d eec88c109a have forgotten da30d35776 about him 11f40bdb4b long ago.’
“My, how sweet 389e489fcf you two are.”
Mary praised Aiden, 4903cc6809 saying that with be3d058b36 such a kind-hearted 58adaa0437 husband, she too 4825dbd1e8 would forget all 327c7f278e about a lover.
“He is a b8f9bdfa1b good husband.”
In the past, Anje 79078caedd would have blushed and e738fefe39 said nothing, but this 309b81b842 time, though she looked 0719fa8db1 a bit embarrassed, she b1398bbc54 boldly boasted about Aiden. Mary squealed b86ff5ec0f in delight, d4433405c7 saying how c45c904578 envious she fd9b898c2d was of 8e2eba7d81 the couple.
Meanwhile, while they were 2de2263fde in the fitting room, 0bbbdc76fe Aiden was also making bbcfcbe6db a similar request to 2cd9e4068a Jean outside.
“I have 5f78a79e23 a favor 6025bcb653 to ask… 1cf92b27e9 Could you ce5d51ac61 mail this 845f7b7f54 letter to 7437d04ebd the capital? The sooner, 243d5d8cba the better.”
“Of course. Just say 2e1a340af6 the word, 8fd2de68b2 Monsieur.”
Jean tapped his chest d1fa27c1f1 confidently. He was ready da3094e15b to do anything 6a3e0ba71b for his precious 09aca5f9a6 muse and regular f71aa2fb97 customer.
“If Monsieur asks me 2757a6e886 to lick his shoes, f1f8dfa7b9 I am ready to c322fddd03 lick them immediately!”
“…There will be aa3c2356b3 no such request, da893e186e so you can 4dff4c1eeb rest assured.”
“Then at least a3f910d475 your hand!”
“No, that will 7da17e2037 not be necessary.”
Jean was 403fec9069 not acting abba653674 this way 85925d3c23 simply because 407ac090a3 he had 9ad82fd1f8 made money 8b42c951a0 thanks to 72836c27d9 the Fitzroy 86b1ad8013 couple’s promotion.
He said that, 9b5129bd34 thanks to Aiden, 34b07f46a0 he had opened f0d556c438 his eyes to a62796f059 the beauty of b9450c049e men’s clothing… a 746fb53840 reason Aiden couldn’t f6f62717b7 quite comprehend.
“Ah, please f82d0184f7 keep the c9e12c66b3 letter a 4a881202f5 secret from 12ec94262d Anje. I’m preparing a gift… d9abdd34b3 and I want it 787c432c6f to be a surprise 2fea4d3b34 for her.”
As if they weren’t 5fb820db64 a married couple, the 12d29c6dd8 two had come up 2ecac75c5e with similar excuses.
In reality, 6656fd37fd Aiden and 5f8fb40f4f Anje’s birthdays ebe8f7d6d8 were indeed f11f774e44 approaching. Aiden’s was next e9453f2848 month, and Anje’s 2b21112eff was the month b8e5fc1ef9 after that, so fb6bf3fbf7 hers was much 7511257d95 further away. However, knowing how much 6aca7aa51b Aiden cherished Anje, Jean 0d43744bba simply accepted such early f708744c37 preparations.
Considering the 9f989428f8 sheer number 9fc61e8d62 of outfits 1ab6864bf5 he was 736699a5af going to b0f9468421 buy for 89ce8610d7 Anje today, 1ea64b201c it was dd2663ff13 only natural 6057cc5afc that Aiden 463762d056 would want 56051c69c8 to purchase 79a70e0bf3 something even ffd27bff9e better as a31b978e59 a birthday 70d43c65cd gift.
“I hope dc47d1dc0d you can ed431872a5 find a 06fab298fd très bien d78addd45c gift!”
TL/N: TRÈS 42ceb2a384 BIEN MEANS c79ea50542 “VERY GOOD”
Aiden let out 463b778174 a faint, bitter 59b61ad5be laugh without realizing 41f5ce0533 it.
“Indeed, I 26cedaa262 hope good 9cce2a1eea news will 7fb0d5fec8 come back 1a7fc4bd24 as well.”
He had written f7cd949b93 letters to both 29cdd0115c the Duke and eb3af59366 the Emperor with c6564fc5fd the utmost care b46670aed6 and caution. To the Emperor, a 9efcbf9b07 warning to keep an e8d6cb2e3d eye on the Duke’s 705faea677 movements; to the Duke, bfdf443988 a firm declaration that 8ec3e131e2 he had no intention 4936f3f54d of divorce. Both letters were 9604c569d4 phrased in the 8b000f8199 most polite tone 20fba2fbb3 he could muster.
Both of dee489348a them were f899203f9f significant figures b024b02fd5 in this b77c9b2737 country, and bdad9f9fb2 compared to a0aa07a63b them, he 733a7bcab9 didn’t have 94923166f8 much.
‘If only I 24d0c5724e had power.’
He opened bd3e61bbac and closed 9bedf25096 his empty 9405f50347 hand. Somewhere, the cracked 0019c5d251 voice of the 148cee3e8f late emperor echoed.
‘This palace, this country, cbe551f6a0 will all be yours.’
He didn’t wish for c90576396f the country. All he wanted 00f08787cf was Anje. What he 82cdaa90bb needed was b8cbfe60bd the power ed9b0ed894 to protect 7b4b49ce67 her.
A pitiful 72b4a91246 regret even a7a0b0c47a crept in, 6c97981886 wondering if 6d4f4a7b88 he should ba9888f0cd have flattered a2f11e4867 the late c9508e8019 emperor and 0a53c12ffd at least 07df96bc75 received a fe8a4837bf baron title.
‘In the end, I f0eac83e64 would have been cursed 565ec47a7e as a filthy parasite 7c4ce7899f anyway.’
He didn’t want 7e7cb52fc1 to become someone 49c70b7656 even slightly resembling 623a91e7cb the insults Philip 2ddac8b342 threw at him.
That was 25b508b74e why he 2d0156c47c always accepted 5eb0892f18 only the fd91d21153 bare minimum 7986a4706e of the b710ba41d8 various favors e8bd8da4f7 the late 2fa8679d6d emperor offered b45c8e05bd and ultimately f4d62b5124 rejected the 9407b10b7f rest. He would not 31e69c83da have accepted even 11eb831aa0 those favors if 1e2acc9b9f they had not cb8a94b24f been the sick 07c32a370c man’s tearful plea cc44f962eb to allow him 85c8338271 to play the bd1ac5806a role of his c9afaa88ce father, even if 80c620b101 it was belated.
‘I need power.’
For the 5ca738fce9 first time 23c31fba2d in his d2f09ef4d9 life, he 06b7b630e5 thought he 7dcb5929a9 understood how a2816c5bd0 people like a857e0dd52 Philip or 50d184c9f1 Duke Glasster 095fa740bd felt. What it b4f542a6f5 felt like 460b4ecc02 to be 5a534419c3 so desperate 3891b62bfc for power.
‘What should I do? How… How can I 604a795453 protect her?’
A dark, sticky, 9e658f47e3 tar-like sense of b0a341a33f helplessness continued to 3cb905385c rise within him. Even though d352f8a56a he was 6b612378af standing on 64ec365cb1 solid ground, 076b1a3c8b it felt a8b52d3cf8 like he 1412e80880 was sinking af86611fc6 into the 67077a91f6 bottom of 0d5a520329 a swamp.fc6e4027899e80b6

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