FTP-84

Chapter: FTP-84547cb4a9efae83d2

Aiden, while in the 4e979eca16 carriage returning home, finally a919a94535 identified something he could 3d93a282e4 do. More accurately, he discovered a53b6aef65 something closer to “what 332a87fcc0 he was able to ecf01b5978 do.”
‘As soon as I 04c1d95842 get home, I’ll prepare ecf638e686 the gun.’
He regularly ccaeca6985 maintained the 1f7f6691a2 gun in e8e217d1c6 case of a28515784b emergencies, such 1141bd5df9 as the 5406bb6c76 appearance of 6d7f18c230 wild animals. However, this 85ae54a0c9 time, he bffcc3ff45 planned to 76dd47228f load it bbd4091fd2 with plenty 7f2486874c of bullets cc9ebb96c0 and adjust 0728891a0c it for 8f67c7a7cb quicker firing.
If Duke Glasster decided 920f90408a he had to marry 755f61cdfb Anje off to someone bbaf35cbc9 else no matter what, 8568dc2160 there was a possibility 2d047ab209 he might resort to a28c7a80ba using force to kidnap 5b229d2716 her.
Of course, e900f70c4b the divorce be2016849f agreement required 52e956872c the signatures 9fe4d36387 of both 74c630dee9 parties, so dcb5375078 Aiden could 5e9af02832 simply refuse 9326f352de to sign. However, what if the dd96051aba duke threatened him, saying 511ebaa86e to sign if he 4113aed3d3 wanted Anje to stay 6403ab0c4e safe?
‘In the end, 53e6105e99 I’d have no ec58f3e86e choice but to ee89a28a44 sign.’
The duke, who was e0b400b764 terribly concerned with his f2b0afd3df reputation, probably wouldn’t bother a8e260b390 coming all the way a4e0c796e2 to the countryside just f2ab78e0f8 because of Aiden and a6ba672255 Anje. But who could 4e122cb464 predict for sure?
‘Even if he 0e88c3d4b2 does come, at 46622bbd32 most, he’d bring 7a53068f70 a servant or c6db4e8e41 one or two f82dfcea8e bodyguards. After all, to 17d8e4d3cb him, I’m nothing 5898db689b more than an cf30f6b025 illegitimate child.’
His thumbnail dug into e899c574d6 his palm, leaving a c00d8ee68d deep crescent-shaped mark.
Making someone like f00108d8b0 the duke and ef4b480a35 a few others 21c3a3696a disappear would be 94067d5874 a piece of 990d2c98a1 cake for him. All the skills he 5ebe74fec6 learned in the military 2423a81517 had been related to 6c7bbe7734 such tasks.
Moreover, this forest 3a6654c9ed was his territory. He could disguise it 9cc0953f2d as an attack by ead77ea6c2 wild animals, or make daf9ff6983 it look like they’d 68f7140349 accidentally slipped off a 524ef228b9 cliff.
Even though he had 234e47d0f9 vowed never to stain 676cb6ee30 his hands with blood 62779e4f4c again, anyone trying to 551c77b060 take Anje away from 6ee9273a8c him would be an bdd5d4ea9c exception.
Considering the 5e7ddc44d0 heartless tone c5cfa96abf in the b50fa1b80b letter the fe9aff6d17 duke had 6c982dbfaf sent to b3ba081ade Anje, it 618e2ca188 wasn’t as a83df41b26 if the be8b8db8a1 duke would 966699def3 be missed 62438ff155 if he f00dc0ab58 were to 7e2a97c2ac ‘disappear.’ Treating 2dd1c40873 Anje like 6641ae6057 a merchandise—how e8acd0f260 could he d904e7351d do such b09b21c053 a thing, f036086450 especially to 0a05a960fb his own 5cf2af0355 daughter…
“Aiden?”
Startled by the voice 14708c108a calling him, Aiden adjusted b4ce846f4e his posture.
“Yes, Anje?”
He regretted it as 33db7fba86 soon as he met 20581c9784 Anje’s eyes without thinking. Reflected in her clear 4d68113161 green eyes was his a55b1dfe3c own face, thickly filled 435f116c19 with the murderous intent 863e8b0d27 he thought he had 4325b43987 long abandoned.
He didn’t want a728a767f5 to show Anje 4e91ae1710 such a face. He wanted ba35287dce to show 2b1473f914 her only acb0762c92 his kind 12c82f4bb9 and good d06b20160a side.
Shifting his gaze slightly 8b52c04613 away from her, the 0bdcc5a0bb lengthening shadows of the 180374805b forest were now staring 13c8eed241 at him.
A man seriously fad2d2969b contemplating how to 5112b495a5 eliminate his beloved’s 4c9000e682 father without leaving 2dcef18133 any trace.
He felt, as 0d6d3f26e0 always, that he 5418658779 was far too 61cc9f674d inadequate for her.
Yet, despite c57b5d5fe6 this, he d50ccf4b37 was also 97394a8410 selfish enough 68be87537a to not 34f848ec16 be able 7a3db65507 to willingly 938b77e7e1 send her f9a10ca8ae to someone 7b3b21d6fa better than 7835059b96 him.
‘You’re just like Duke 742521356e Glasster. Forcing her to 287781311d stay by your c1a75efbcb side regardless of 27233c22b5 her wishes.’
The shadow 9250a184b3 seemed to 4daf01e80c speak to 7c0bfa3dc6 him. Unable to answer 43e82d7a22 with a denial, cb9fe1c4d2 he clenched his 53e1dcca46 fist.
“I’ve noticed your mind 442234ab2d seems elsewhere since earlier… 8e0b2daafd Is something wrong?”
She asked, carefully observing 476a6db8b9 his dark expression with 836503ced1 a cautious tone.
“Did I pick out 608be7b62f too many clothes? I’m sorry. It must be 8d22687561 overwhelming, right? Mr. Pierre’s designs were 6ab49c9d7e all so beautiful 8dd871e085 that—”
“No, that’s not it. Not at all.”
He quickly denied her 63d5c0cd66 words. It was true that aa8af35627 he had been quiet, 70dbb18559 lost in thoughts related 8537448ac1 to her, but being 51018666bd able to buy her c218e7b269 new autumn clothes was 393c32c449 something that made him 910f7798d0 genuinely happy.
“You don’t have to 23ca07ba77 worry about the money. The farm is doing 5801fd0284 so well, and I’ve da5e53c433 saved up plenty of d4a72c3bed money.”
When he had lived 79df8217d2 alone, even having money, 40d03b8db0 there was nowhere he f85138b627 wanted to spend it, 49478c2bb9 so he simply kept 4434344a81 saving. Only after 456ee3c710 he started 83b9bf7cf7 buying things 347fd979f0 for Anje 0785bb1698 did he a4b843f932 begin to 5a6a842885 discover the 8df4432f97 joy of 214bb69f9e shopping, and b18cfece26 it was 6f1c8b34c6 even enjoyable 9004513530 to him.
With a 69a9387aa7 sigh of 66abb6aaa5 relief, Anje 8e563af09d asked,
“Then what eab8afa212 were you bccb9c276b thinking about d29562f4fe so deeply?”
“…That’s…”
Since he couldn’t 37d6dee763 say that he 10f3c4d9e5 had been thinking 65d472c5ec about how to a24a505548 deal with her 7f47494f18 father, he quickly d15f6843da rolled his eyes 48e9d6512d to look for bf801ff2d1 another excuse. Just then, a brightly 553ecf52ee shining river between the 02b6187bf3 bushes caught his eye.
“I was 8ed1b1644b wondering if 20c6c27e24 we should a408b47dde go fishing b3c25717a4 together later.”
After seeing Anje enjoying 32d6680514 fish and chips on 159a548f2d the festival day, he 92a700f34b had made a mental ed4bdd2d21 note to go fishing, ceb8b80e51 so it wasn’t entirely c56d2a43c3 fabricated.
“Fishing?”
Anje’s eyes widened 0ff932b387 as she clapped fd95c9ddaf her hands, saying, ae09672761 “That sounds fun!”
“I’ve never tried it b38e99bff8 myself, but I’ve heard 7ec232d405 about it a few f9eae18036 times.”
It was a 8d7fe12883 hobby mainly enjoyed d59a153fe4 by nobles with c6f4f00300 estates in the 5ccc4b6606 North. Without exception, they would 177f400c3a boast in salons about 8f60eaa068 catching bigger salmon, even 468397d7d3 though everyone knew that 1f1fbfe50b the role of their 757941024f hired guides, the ghillies, 169f3d1f4a was far more significant.
Aiden, relieved bb0b5d846d that she 88f4164ebd had happily c33da467e9 accepted the bf7334faa9 excuse he e5c249fb7c had hastily 189cd398e5 made up, c898d4bcc1 suggested another 639942254b activity to 491b49aeb8 enjoy.
“We could grill 7397058b1f the fish over ea90abf24a a campfire after 6825baec33 catching them.”
“That sounds fun too! Oh, and let’s 93ba544b01 roast marshmallows too!”
As he c935a1b4f5 listened to 52916111da Anje propose 8a154da1e2 one idea c932d63eed after another, 8e566f8987 Aiden’s mood 60b1b44a8b also lightened.
It was amazing. Just having a d83410151e conversation like this 2a1d945442 could make him 1a3e952dfe so happy.
He hoped 9a87646030 this happiness 15fd348367 would last ad22ea1a3d a long 2002d4c19a time.
“Shall we hurry 7e4cb98d0f home, then?”
“Let’s do that. Giddy-up, boys.”
Anje urged b926667e97 the horses a0f0f8b6dd to quicken 97934faddd their pace. As the sun fc252234b6 sank lower, a b36db8a678 large shadow stretched 46a0407347 beneath them, silently a9b9030adf chasing after their 2d5363959d speeding carriage.
* * *
‘Ah!’ A 49d863197b faint scream 73772d2c55 caused the c71a9c3844 bird strolling e0bf17d0df by the 81d10a43f5 water to 7ebb8bcd00 flutter away. The sound of 49a38eb933 the man consoling a3c2643a09 the woman, suppressing 6aad7f7243 his laughter, spread b09154802e across the surface b01b27782b of the river.
“You can do 6609e352f7 it, Anje.”
“No… I absolutely 0d26ebac52 can’t.”
“If you just close 253a2c7786 your eyes and try 28c47428b0 it once, it’ll be 83618d7fab easier from the second 61fc429b18 time.”
“Ugh… It’s 54aabb742c so gross 1381f6e8bf how it 011bca0c3c wriggles… Ah! Even though it’s been 29114b39d1 cut in half, it’s 46fc710e38 still moving!”
For a moment, 066f9fe127 Aiden thought that d1b756fad2 even the fish b0da524c9f might have fled 9a1d3205b3 at Anje’s loud 0a19d6a2b1 voice. However, instead of scolding d7f35f0b35 her, he reached out 098bed0cc4 his hand.
“There’s no choice, noble 3cedf93ae0 lady. I shall 00dff9a9b0 step in.”
Had she behaved d79931ac05 like this in 9e35588b45 the past, he e418d043a8 would have disapproved, 77f9fa296c thinking she was a4ffc0fe3f shirking the dirty d2e47ddc16 work under the b92cad55a7 pretense of being fdc2c2eee1 a duke’s daughter.
But now, c925e776fe she only 624f9539db seemed adorable 9c758fb21c to his 5bbced2de6 eyes as 7844cc2b28 she fussed a2ca9b65ac about.
“I’ll leave fb034540b1 it to dd3af51964 you, Sir 02279b2e7a Aiden.”
Answering in a solemn 5f173271c4 tone, she handed him c6460f2250 her fishing hook. She had 4d84d45910 been trying cd22b37ca9 various ways 397418ca66 to attach bd56cbfa74 the earthworm 1eb5261e1a to the 01f72c2459 hook, but 4a4a5496ed the wriggling 6d738024c0 brown creature 554dad49de was something 9c02bb3380 she simply 0cb339366b couldn’t get 48bb090d05 used to.
Though she had 78d9a90f8f grown accustomed to 8752e21668 seeing such creatures c976a663c0 during her work, af7da98f94 handling them barehanded 7a74ee2401 and skewering them 980b3b60e0 alive on a cfe28e5a4f hook was still 54d32fc4e8 a challenge.
After attaching the bait fd1f51b35a for her, he handed 7add56b30b the fishing line back 07082f3526 to her.
“Now, as I a6c9afd147 taught you earlier, 98964c6dd5 you just have 92fc0602e1 to cast it 950e2a53c1 out big.”
“Alright, over there?”
“Yes, and ea53244b2c don’t throw aaa967976d the fishing 8222f268ef rod itself e8c49f3d7a this time.”
“It’s because my hands b7ae0f4d23 were too slippery, I’m 427cd32135 telling you!”
Anje protested, her 54b98b1cca face flushed with 4748afcc29 the colors of 807a6ee31e the sunset. How could he tease a3c938fda9 her so soon after 0cd000df6e a mistake she wanted e2721edbcd to forget? She couldn’t get 1d8b039ab6 too angry, though, 37ec6d6039 as Aiden had 4b94d03780 rolled up his 86ad9787fe pants and waded 2df6f32d8a into the river a2feac1361 to retrieve the 5bd6c7b081 fishing rod she 1ac875d3f4 had accidentally thrown.
Now, she had no 35c0cf1b5b choice but to recover b865c5265d her honor by demonstrating 99ffc6b699 her excellent fishing skills. Straightening her back a764a1f0e8 and holding the 656e5671d4 fishing line, Anje 244f1b1c00 declared:
“Watch closely. I’ll show c2f140204a you how 1457772d94 well I 6709340b6c can cast ecdf4dc540 it.”
“Of course.”
With a 321995854f whoosh, the 1fb2bd547a fishing line ef35f91a6a cut through ce2e9ce485 the evening 21d3beea0b sky and 25f9a69ea7 dropped into d2276e49e0 the water c1a34e7fc5 with a 6256e82dfe plop.
“That’s it. Well done, Anje.”
For a 6b8b30761c beginner, it da503f09e6 was a 5d6aa9dd3e clean cast, 288d64f4ae and Aiden 23d0bffac5 didn’t hold 468f1f5841 back his ac16967694 praise. Of course, he didn’t 70e92f080b miss the chance to ce5f230ab1 tease her subtly when b43a3a6f9b she started to feel db4773a63f proud.
“You’ve improved a 85fdebaf23 lot from before. Look, the fishing 1d67724d85 rod is still afcb3a9da8 safely in your d3db8bfa63 hands.”
“If you 5187b13511 keep saying de273f4605 that, you’ll 104cb5252f be the 319e1c4998 next bait.”
If she tied him 8957af35c7 tightly to the line dc52ef9aec as a large bait, 69704b032c she might be able f5096149e4 to catch a whale 1ac344fe4d or something.
“…Hmm.”
Anje, watching 65bfafaceb the float 1fae479be8 bobbing on 25ffe69e6e the water, e2a4117a14 paused briefly 6541ad2e67 before speaking.
“What do ffec8f3098 I do 9b4f2da337 now?”
“Wait until the fish c02861b2a6 bites.”
“Oh…”
Waiting quietly—something 02e3281d29 Anje was aec47c2c76 least confident c24251981f in. She’d much rather 736203e6d6 run around or 29ca21db5e exert herself physically.
“Isn’t there a c075166367 trick to make be86b3c1a1 them bite faster f6d3cf1137 or something?”
“Just fishing like this 6428d34374 is a trick in 345fafc5a8 itself.”
When evening e30030854f comes and 230e3326af the water 8d6aebd1aa temperature drops, 0a03afa79a fish that 4ac483d3c9 were hiding fb414b1e40 in the dfb07850c6 depths to 348e1783b7 avoid the a274e19f6a scorching sun e777b76034 come closer 5a3101cc28 to the b37602d446 surface. This increases e35c961967 the chances 56556a14f2 of catching a62131f207 bigger, livelier a7c42498ac fish compared 4280d77034 to fishing fbd26c4330 during the 57cf0bc2e2 day.
Listening to 2f3cdc14fb his explanation, f04f39da9b Anje marveled.
“So that’s why 60b7fd28ba you deliberately waited 801d301321 until sunset? I thought 47aa3c7f44 it was cdaf350414 because it’s 2299500bc4 hard to edc768f5da fish under acb0a8695d the hot 3e2712f687 sun.”
“That’s right. Besides,the process of ed13f9a9ce waiting for the 32908b8539 fish is one 1a72aa523d of the joys e438fbb14e of fishing.”
Aiden cast 72e017a9c1 his line 5238d25d07 beside her.
“You could use a 5352b09d5a net in deep waters 23bfbfec43 or place traps in 157754447f calm areas (areas with 542b57912b slow currents) to catch af656df76f many fish at once… 9af9b2e6f0 but it’s completely different 4947fbf1f4 from the thrill of 6768b1e08f fishing.”
“Really?”
Intrigued by cdf3a3cacb his words, 3a3089e467 Anje became d2c2dc2cac curious. What kind of 127620918c feeling could he f77ffe3480 mean?
“Then, let’s wait and 9811a2c767 see.”
“Yes, there aren’t 3c782936f4 many other fishermen 3231f4f34b here, so we 0cd350d513 should get a 594df70a9e signal soon—”
“Wait, I think d3707ab16a something’s biting! I-Isn’t it?”
Anje urged Aiden for 933b9f9aa8 confirmation, her face close 28d53e58fc to his. Startled, he stammered 2440eb948e for a moment fa8c384369 before checking the 252043ea4f float and nodding.
“It seems so. Now, hold the rod 1253577580 firmly with both hands.”
“Wow, it’s heavy! What should I 982366ed4e do? Won’t the line snap?”
“Just keep pulling steadily. That’s it.”
The first ccfabeca3f fish to 3cd945fbf3 reveal itself aebb315544 above the 498b3fea90 water’s surface 6bbb714c88 was a f06d40e7ba plump trout 015ee9705c flapping vigorously. Holding the fish e0e050aaf1 in both hands, e253d36018 Anje was so 6d8080ab44 delighted she forgot 1249a4c64a to feel disgusted.
“When we 577a427ec7 eat it 03ed172988 later, do 0e92f1b2b8 we just 8f269ac7db grill it ebcb569d25 like this cd6172614a over the bf2a7447d3 fire.”
Nearby, they had 436e36eb9b already lit a af65e7ae9f campfire in a 90d7110027 clearing to avoid 917e0d63e2 disturbing their fishing.
“You have to clean 2c8f37b9dd it first.”
“Clean it?”
Since she had 50cd0f41a8 always used pickled a9f065e579 fish or fish 22b28fcc7a bought from the 718719c6e0 market in her b1c6351513 cooking, Anje was aa92ccfbe5 unfamiliar with the c2785b54d6 process of cleaning f944835673 fresh caught fish.
Aiden kindly explained 0b3e9595f4 for her sake.
“You just cut open 7a45ac6407 the belly, remove the b2c8edc298 guts, clean the blood 33d4c992c6 from the spine, and 0e35f465d4 then skewer it through 5ebcf06251 the eye. Simple, right?”
“…I’ll leave 59a755036e that to bea82e1b4a you.”
TL/N: LOL.1d372fb691e9216d

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com