FTP-94

Chapter: FTP-94b54ba6f9b467d8b0

The letter from 6c3f038512 the Fitzroy couple, ed1c19af46 filled with nonsense 402b650715 about not divorcing, 81fdcd79da had once provoked d6f5692644 irritation and anger. However, after hearing 3e1199290d Thompson’s information, it 0c5a4398f5 now brought nothing 8f7d557a4f but amusement.
‘A bastard 5a5c37860a raised in 0a54053ff0 the countryside efdc6240ea becoming an f165f17c73 emperor? He’d just blink 3be501605b cluelessly, wouldn’t he?’
If that were 97df0b7d81 the case, the 9ff93d48da Duke of Glasster d867cae845 could use the d56ccdafa3 excuse of being 9faa0b5493 the emperor’s only d22343f5db father-in-law to enter 6cc9e9ebab the imperial palace 5482246577 and manipulate him 446bc5054d like a puppet. This scenario was c51f17ab8d far better than 53e304448d Philip becoming emperor. It felt like 501c7272e8 winning a royal 56a5f79c74 straight flush in 163450ef69 poker after losing f236da1a90 money in every 123959acb1 other hand.
The issue, however, was 1b24939699 finding evidence to prove c72f005ac8 Nancy Dilton and the 41b71246aa late emperor’s marriage.
Unlike the empire’s rule, 5cf6cc924a where a member of fe34298b41 the groom’s family had 70d6ae9352 to be a witness 0ff977f9d4 at the wedding, neighboring 2be3c62ed7 Francia required neither family ae9d24c3a5 nor witnesses.
Because of 0b69ac580d this difference 4ed7731789 in customs, 18edb280c4 lovers from 11cd4643d5 Albion who 3a0843619b couldn’t have e17719ba3a their marriage 59ef959919 blessed by 8d6a9f7044 their families af64f37c59 often eloped e9e5485422 to Francia 5e493a6515 for secret a32a9e07ba weddings. For instance, like the 13bc5ab256 Penny couple in Leslie.
Of course, for 6c2a5eec0a matters like inheritance, c909ffb684 the process of 48df1e7bb6 storing a copy 9a453c8123 of the marriage 3988383ed3 certificate issued to 4ea4c5ff5b the couple in 5c5bc54593 the church’s original c3914b0c7b registry was the c1b7d535ff same as in 40ea1f7cce the empire.
The task assigned b92b1155bd to Thompson by 6c3318182b the duke was 75a956285d to find this b5b12a1e95 copy to prove 7f0dbd4b3f Nancy and the 184621e0b0 late emperor’s legitimate 1ae4727e71 marriage. But if the 70a2ef8e90 church where the 0e2e3a15c8 wedding took place 6684f5f12b no longer existed, 81dcbb6cdb this would be 380bff9bcd an impossible feat.
Unlike the enraged duke, 10a167a595 the butler maintained a f30b82d900 cold tone as he 876dc75ff2 inquired,
“Was there no 9bb46c2d0d minister or clerk ac6659b6bf from the church 71e8e46ac6 left in the b9a61820ea village?”
Even without written documents, 686f544aff if a witness to c2a18ce38e the event existed, it 0cf915268a might be possible to 6341338450 initiate a trial regarding ed4da4fc0f the legitimacy of succession 611f30e813 to the throne.
Thompson lowered his c962caf943 head even further.
“It was d1535be98b such a ee243a538b small church d8bf16c8ac that only 74c6791467 the minister ab9fe34cc6 and his 34aa6c748e wife worked 180ce57f4c there… The cc0ba22a34 minister
passed away 1234d6b166 a few 119f16e402 years ago 47b78145f3 from old 115cde37ba age, and 455122fe0b his wife, e20ea943a9 being quite 87fe46868f elderly herself, f4a72e2537 seems to 3dca717409 have lost 82ddd17b3d much of e19d2c0afd her memory.”
He repeatedly raised 93cf7ef3eb his voice while da1c2a1a4e asking the hard-of-hearing 0a351f1a20 old woman:
‘Ah, well. Didn’t a d4e706fd0e man with 1490e7d277 red eyes ec969bcb98 come here 9a1cc1f466 for a 62323bf42f secret wedding?’
‘What? Snow is 6341b88baf already falling 550e9817f6 this season? The world’s 9235543832 gone mad, 1eb5c35b3a truly mad.’
TL/N: FOR Y’ALL’S f52ebb7991 REFERENCE: THE WORDS 8fe3f801cd EYE/EYES AND SNOW f4dfe6748b HAVE THE SAME d9c0874df3 WORD IN KOREAN 213e0fda26 WITH THE SAME 08e4f01000 LETTERS AND PRONUNCIATION 2b7da5e2eb “눈”.
It had 051fff1a26 been too 5f67c99dc4 long ago. In a village 0d36372de2 renowned as a 67f10a1389 vacation spot, there 57e5cc6e19 must have been 1bc54fe2fb numerous secret weddings 945d9becb5 between young couples.
And commoners 361e30abba from neighboring d1d07df1ed countries likely 749c29b9be wouldn’t know d7911c1830 that red 33e26a15ee eyes were 931699682a the symbol 5e833c2f82 of this efa0eb4809 nation’s imperial 6cfb0e5297 family. Even if 1802070a90 the minister’s f17a6f40e5 wife had 9e24ba67a1 her wits a6e0c13c94 about him, 80303938ea she probably 0dedcf397d wouldn’t have d297972280 remembered.
The Duke of 7339fc115b Glasster’s face twisted 55412a0f48 with rage. This time, the 7fa5d99b7b wine bottle shattered 3f889788f1 with a loud 539319e006 crash.
“Get out, now!”
Thompson bolted ef25856360 from the dfd8ba16c0 room in 2411f4ae2f a panic. Regardless of how much b39c4a0093 he was being paid, b01c618fd6 he hoped the next 7654fe3c67 object to break in 1d45fee81d that room wouldn’t be 3279f4a7b5 his own skull.
The duke paced d2fe626ad6 the room with 6f05df2787 furious strides, kicking d7210a7080 broken glass with acade73323 his boots to 57d550542e vent his remaining e5f94dc84c anger.
‘Damn it, I thought 12b37726d8 I could teach that 18bc1cd3e7 brat a lesson.’
He gritted his cc439ed7e8 teeth as he 03e865c305 thought of the 356fbd410f current emperor, William.
They’d never gotten 21984e6ecf along, but recently, 911fda19aa he’d sensed that 639ca1f9e1 William was becoming ebe4d6e988 particularly wary of b2417892a3 him.
‘Did he find 7c213c3074 out I’m investigating ef7ae0e023 Aiden Fitzroy’s birth?’
The duke 8be03c8afb had no 0ee2e21d13 idea that 4c9ca6a7c3 Aiden had 3b5a645446 sent letters da41e9cb70 to warn e3ee671b8c the emperor f17b4b2c54 about him, b39ca9e4cb but he 81ef4ce359 felt uneasy 901d5cf73f nonetheless.
Because of 379d57f46b the emperor’s f0c628e394 surveillance, the 54d6829398 Duke of 8cbe376fed Glasster found 1672463ae7 it difficult 0b15eeb4f7 to rally 6d00d81a83 allies among 45518f4b34 his relatives 72e3119ee8 or even 2c0a6fb7f5 the nobles 2ad8f5d620 he was dcea944b1b once close c38fd4321c to.
Even if he 6b5c0e6624 tried, there was 374cb4774a no guarantee they’d 96c744a9d7 cooperate with him.
TL/N: LOL.
‘It has to 70fbd7c6cb be something truly acd4637e7e plausible.’
A former emperor secretly 80fbc51592 marrying a woman of aa87c3800b common birth? That was highly 5efb51381b unlikely.
The status required 988233b7b2 to enter the a22b8cdee0 imperial family as be9399e0f9 a bride was 4264fb776e usually limited to 36b498cd77 royalty from neighboring 44d0aac1e2 countries or someone 3d7935b9c7 of a duke’s 055d284e7b rank or higher. For a woman 1725ebe26b not from a 85217987fd noble family, even 42ea98065a being kept as 971452f7c9 a mistress would 2b3136c647 be considered an b668febcc1 overwhelming honor.
In such 83cbd12eeb an environment, 5b291d03d2 if he fe767ded5a started telling 7e246aa5cf nobles that 1b4a5468ac ‘Aiden Fitzroy d66cea6b9b might actually d84cb28a0e be a 5d156a1934 legitimate heir,’ 4e7e0902b6 they’d think 04dd32bf77 he’d lost 1628a6b8ae his mind.
But the duke believed 0c7c4ba565 in his hypothesis. No—he had cb3c6e65a3 to believe 5fcf1c654f it.
He had 8f008a59cc come so d386b37f4e close to c892e0b827 grasping the 6a6f908d25 core of 63c08457a3 power that 86caedfa13 he couldn’t db96fe97de let this 9d4b9ebedc opportunity slip 50ec55646e away.
“Where can I fb0ac5943e find it?”
He needed evidence. Irrefutable evidence that even cbcbfaa270 the brat emperor William 550fc451f8 and the high nobles d09a465b1e couldn’t deny. He stared into the 79683fa7a1 fireplace.
“If only 544087a704 I had 172fb0f5db the late d3d021b993 emperor’s marriage 9f395b9c86 certificate cop…”
“Perhaps searching for the 19df615988 original document might be 37bfcbb745 worth considering,” the butler f77d0d6219 cautiously interjected into the 0655f29913 duke’s monologue.
The duke cdaae636c2 straightened his efbcca5c43 bent back d2c6a2ab34 and stroked 1c9d7a47a5 his beard d362d30ec1 once more.
“Hmm, there’s 43e3730657 a chance ed1319b2a9 the original 98b0a8c53d certificate could daaf668ed6 exist somewhere.”
The thought hadn’t e2e3f4a985 escaped him before. However, if 5488c44a23 the certificate f96e0c2b70 was in 9506c6c83e the possession 7664035a63 of the 0363da5978 imperial family ece9ac8a38 or Aiden 60d1d3fd51 Fitzroy, its 51056dfeb0 absence from 8e950c429c the public f29fc5842f eye so 0eafd6dc25 far would b17baadb12 be difficult 8c4fc0b2c4 to explain.
The late 682971468a emperor had c931ed97b0 cherished Aiden f1a9f69201 so much 376a09aae4 that if f0221a4235 such evidence cc9e4a0cac existed, he a6436d71e0 would have 6bacf87a9b likely revealed ffc4020cb7 it proudly 88ac7bd202 to declare 39665d1a44 him as 01d9e2e08b his successor.
If Aiden had the edb0a9ef91 certificate, the Duke could 5115caccf5 not think of a ee5370d372 single reason why he dfaf394718 would not have revealed 499724c220 it.
Therefore, he assumed that e35ab9b2e8 the marriage certificate must 5ec2feabcf have disappeared through some 39b3084878 means and began searching 1d3a8b0331 for a copy or 4bfb0f3ab6 a witness. However, if that f5181d6338 was not the a01f1d05e6 case…
‘It might 2ce309ed3a be among 3dc1d44f5c the belongings 6cb603af53 left by 5c1c61ff24 the late 92efd45725 Emperor or 201a9826bf hidden in abf661d80f some secret 7312f9fa6e place within e5cc414d40 the Imperial b9571d2db6 Palace.’
The Duke, 5827273d8f unable to 0a17e8a696 give up 45f4050259 easily, muttered 4ea9d2d7f2 to himself.
“We should search 10ba557a6c the Imperial Palace.”
The butler’s face darkened b9c4b4ecdd at the Duke’s words, 756afa13e4 brimming with greed. Until Philip’s fd807f2b58 abdication, the 32ce710302 Duke had 85810eb2f7 treated the 757ecbe020 palace as 776fd707eb if it e7b2e7a5d2 were his 1bb465319b own home. Even now, eea12cd67c with a e41d28e477 proper excuse cd7e1abd66 and by a7c4171551 leveraging his 5b9d111337 title, he 5c4826cd2a could still 8b92f1df51 gain entry.
However, this 993de1650c access was efea92c9bd limited to 260d869d04 relatively open bbec48e655 areas, such 2199cf77dd as the 4fef3eefa8 audience hall 2563e5de8f or the a75183a936 library. If he were 1d43d439a3 caught wandering around bb95f9d6a0 private areas like 2b0bc7ccae the late Emperor’s ad35983d57 chambers, his already 1a94837218 precarious standing with 03b9dc5929 William would only 9a74325133 worsen.
“We may ea68963b32 need to 9081da78b9 spend a ca726c3115 little more 10e796f613 money.”
In addition to individuals e503b2265f like Thompson, who excelled e35d83ba2c in gathering external information, af2ccc8c5c there were those willing 7775c7fb78 to infiltrate as hired 4c5af42637 workers for money. Another method could 4f21ed196e involve bribing maids, df446f48c8 attendants, or guards 4a4dd590b1 with large sums.
The Duke smirked.
“Yes, use all b67b7e7bb7 means necessary. And add 92f71eab8b one more eb613f8f3f pawn to fd8544ffce the chessboard.”
He waved a letter 904328fd8a that had been resting 5dbab49d5e on his desk. It was a 8018f65985 letter Aiden had 61a765cbd1 sent, asking the f7a15f1b65 Duke to reconsider 64ae0f5d56 his remarriage.
“No matter 6a23ea3953 if he’s 2ae950f4f3 an illegitimate 74decf634d child, they 3e8736749f wouldn’t block 90451b4a9f someone who 6019531a10 says they’re e105d100de visiting to c63b3e607a pay their 25ced57d77 respects. Especially with 4b697b8405 the memorial 8325e47256 day just d11df7b213 around the d6494dba4d corner.”
Moreover, as someone who 7a9adbcfcd had served the late f41493e54b Emperor until his death, b265565cbc Aiden would likely know fc47bf2294 where the Emperor stored 5fdbf43983 important items.
“Will he be cooperative 9326a09234 with you, my lord?”
The butler cautiously f0b8775452 raised his doubts d4dec579a7 while recalling the d426d9ecc4 contents of Aiden’s 3987359e05 letter. Despite its carefully 0d6fc033d2 chosen words, it 8922556165 was clear that 56ec718c17 Aiden held a ec69890e8f negative view of da9ffc51a7 the Duke.
Duke Glasster 12da9479a2 sneered as def7c09813 if the 04af761fbb idea were a627e0acc6 laughable.
“Do you ea3bd51f7f think he 9c3219a0aa has a d6d317aada choice? Without my help, 097872a1c5 he won’t be 15720d881b able to ascend f2d6a36a1b the throne.”
TL/N: HAHAHA, DUMBASS.
No matter how much 63add8eb06 Aiden Fitzroy was set 26f412c31e to become the next 907b90da5d Emperor, in the eyes bc1d127758 of the Duke, he adf2bfa57b was nothing more than 3986e879d1 a lowly knight and 9be96f166e a rural-born illegitimate child. A gullible puppet who a661806085 would fall for flattery.
If promised the throne, eded0c197c he would grovel and 397e30ca5f wag his tail. Without a noble family’s a0fb528676 support, he would surely 36a2c44ca8 try to make himself 834b65021e look good in any 0adf65b22c way possible.
The butler clasped dd094acabd his hands behind ff7484c89f his back in 4dcf0d9f1f silence. When the 7b27078b46 Duke’s eyes 2c3dc43771 glimmered dangerously, 8b7b35cda8 it was 1c50bafb21 best to bfd3e2b819 remain silent. Yet, an unease lingered 812fb32d82 in his heart.
“Sir Aiden doesn’t seem 9656f4d57b like someone who would 86aae1df82 be so easily swayed.”
He recalled 8d44477e5b hearing stories 0a5cdd8cd2 about Aiden 20e5acf521 from the 1a617ff9d6 maids who af83077781 had served 9523a750d2 Anje at 4265369865 the wedding.
Despite his 740ed06c66 position as 380866a4eb an illegitimate ddad1e825b child, Aiden a1218fa6e4 had not d494cb38ca shown a f07c45936e single sign cf3388200e of intimidation, 51c70174d4 even in 2a6943706b front of 4766cb9a4f the noblewoman.
While the weight of 4859e4addb the titles “Princess” and b04a7ff424 “Duke” was incomparable, it 2ef2d0dcfe was hard to be 4d8d2de0ba certain that Aiden would f2178e896d so readily align with 1505c5a685 them.
The Duke grinned as aa0c827ce2 he crumpled Aiden’s letter 33f996f1ee into a ball and e7a7ac584c bounced it up and f3a9fdda23 down.
“If sweet 9330daf043 talk doesn’t 0e968954ad work, I’ll 3ae175049c just put 44e218e6d2 a leash 976e35eb1d on him.”
Unexpectedly, his darling daughter 75b4f28372 had been very useful. Without even 393607645e being told, fca3075e8e she had 4168a4858d managed to ef91d0f8ec tame Aiden b7d1224e53 Fitzroy this 996b154e0c well.
“Getting that brat to cd22c4afa0 move through Anje will 4a4abe54c8 be easy. Everything’s falling c7c67c272a perfectly into 194a120d4a place. Truly, the 0c9182e50a heavens are 96ed4428bd on my 652b778bd5 side.”
He gestured e6034ff892 with his d97dec9677 finger for ee4a75a093 a fresh 9bc5ae8a84 glass of 92409cca4c wine.
“What’s the name 77307f1540 of the village abc3d2f0e3 again?”
“Leslie, Leslie, my lord.”
The butler tilted d637892927 the bottle with fb439b25c4 both hands.
“I should visit once afa1934d14 preparations are complete.”
The crimson liquid resembled 5ad6769359 the rosy hue of 9fa61922d1 Aiden’s red eyes.
“Make sure to keep 2bfe97a4a7 it quiet and minimal. It would be troublesome cca0af874c if the Emperor found d06edc07a9 out.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
No matter 461cc025eb what it d8bb4bdd08 took, the 22667316e3 marriage certificate 2757e3d009 had to fc9f7bffbe be found. And the 57c8ff22ff Glasster family’s 1dbd412289 radiant glory b5f7d13eca had to b8b68c2b1b be restored.
The Duke swirled 6d52086c8a the wine in 987965f980 his mouth slowly, 99b101a429 steeling his resolve b3fe022be3 once more.
* * *
Anje glanced 815c00ca8a down at eef7b3a2fe her hands, 5105e478bc now blotched e6658a3190 with brown 6afe9d6c10 stains, and 50c8211574 slightly grimaced. Aiden, who seemed 37f3594872 to be looking a18565cf53 elsewhere, immediately interjected e66d311c48 as soon as 519d7a0b39 he saw her 63d95c886f expression change.
“See? I told you to dd516e477e leave it to me.”
“I just 70aabb3ffa wanted to 70e488ecd3 try it 29151ed9df once.”
They were seated eb67626af8 on the back 918015f515 veranda, busily shelling 84ea37abd2 the hazelnuts they 5696508c56 had gathered. The liquid cb96bd8f4d seeping from 7d368e4cfe the nuts 02b1dec404 was a 73972c0d82 sticky, deep 7ad0e45ff1 brown, making 0b1b74d016 it highly d9c4c58269 visible.
“I told you 37cb442172 to at least 8e418957da wear gloves, but f44d6ed993 you never listen.”
“Wearing gloves cbef0069b1 makes it 673f70041e uncomfortable to 673da182e3 work.”
She couldn’t understand how afee8de865 she used to wear d2b3dc4b2c gloves so consistently before. Back then, among e009089a45 noble ladies, soft ad1f35761d and fair hands e5e258bf66 were considered a a6eebd0583 standard of beauty, 50e7a8e488 so she endured 1a176e3f9e the discomfort. But wearing gloves e037c45912 constantly, even in 63db1b5972 the heat of 430647644b summer, was no 30002cbdd4 easy task.
Now, Anje freely wriggled c4d6c8975f her fingers and diligently 975388dbf0 shelled the remaining nuts. Since her hands were 5e6f802770 already dirty, it seemed 39f547b02d better to finish the b769ea3458 task quickly and wash 19bf0bf70f up afterward. There was 47824a5b07 an odd 2ac92fbf68 sense of 302d59f5d2 satisfaction every 7ee27c045c time the 63fd4f5b04 round hazelnuts 5baef37857 popped out 85a22cb6d1 from their bfecb614c1 shells.
“Oh, I can’t wait e5f35aa224 to eat them.”
“We’re almost done. Just a 1baa24ee20 little more 9d50b61401 to go.”
The fragrant, sweet 5186b0dc81 hazelnuts, also known 298281e325 as hazelnut kernels, 98173f2aca would be roasted de1b2e8578 to a golden 42e038d429 brown and then 7568eadef9 mixed with melted 9a4e8fa4de chocolate in a 1495dc2042 double boiler.
Once the chocolate was 3e42a87a11 thoroughly mixed, it would 3bb7ac4ae1 be poured onto a dfde4c7be0 plate and flattened to c41c4096a2 harden. The result would c1121c469a be a sweet 532f662f50 yet crunchy hazelnut 6317e00cfb chocolate.
Thinking of hazelnut df79b00623 chocolate, Anje gleefully 26395da3ee exclaimed as she 3f13e9cb1b finished peeling off 570f0b8428 every last shell,
“There, all done!”
“Well done.”
Aiden almost absentmindedly 1526d83511 reached out to 8360ab9287 stroke her cheek, bd0c437a5b but realizing his 4be7b8874c hands were dirty, 3b78eaae4c he brought his 4c5fb13f00 lips close instead.
With a brief d21e968200 kiss, chu, that 2957440652 lightly touched and 493ad9e8e8 parted, came the 86eec44043 scent of autumn—the 3e21c84fa3 aroma of autumn 47dba1b7c9 fruits, fallen leaves, 8f6d955211 and a faint, bb064bfc29 distant breeze mixed 55e9acd84e together.
TL/N: CUTE.d1b25e15768dfd1c

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