FTP-97

Chapter: FTP-97b1e94a216b48e459

The Duke was left e6519182fb speechless, his mouth opening 7dbbacafb0 and closing without a 7dcf43bff6 word, before he finally 0bac8dc9b2 managed to stand up 2e5ab9f759 with the help of def9f213ba his attendants and shouted,
“Y-You! Do you know who 5d65447aee I am?”
Aiden lowered his 36e026a7b3 gaze and, squeezing b5ede016ff out an innocent fc639222a7 tone, asked,
“Who are you to db2906e086 be so confident? I thought you were e2b23d4c4e just some ruffian who f44435d752 lost his way and 614057a11f dared to act violently a4f9fc3473 toward my wife.”
“I-I am none ad726e895a other than the—the 83c144f4a7 Duke of Glasster!”
“Aha.”
Feigning surprise, Aiden 5838fccc8e tilted his head 1ba77fef48 and leaned down 72ac7b8a97 to whisper to e958f5ac98 Anje.
“I’d like to pretend efd655a2fb I don’t believe him, 5c9fd11da3 but his manner of c2cf78b02a speech is just too 0b9f3367c3 similar to how you aec002c7a9 used to talk.”
Anje jabbed him 896aabadc1 in the side. Even at 6e4a20986a a time 2ebf2582c1 like this, 7fe6883748 he was 2c1e2880f0 teasing her. It was just so e5856f26e1 typical of him.
After erasing the e997a8233f gentle smile he 2742f4ad58 had shown her, 57e95b9d56 Aiden’s tone turned e8d8eff832 cold.
“Is that so? My wife’s 10f29b9d49 father, no 5f5e1615dd less. I can’t very well aeca89e31f leave such an esteemed cb07d08136 guest out here on e9751c928f the street. Please, let us move 5620b876e4 to the drawing room.”
Anje looked fa2b684653 up at 18c9523148 Aiden with d38ada91c3 uneasy eyes.
‘Is it really 92f7173951 okay to let dc517e2b91 my father into 748018b8dc the house?’
He caught the flicker 907a2c4689 of anxiety in her 74f6353670 green eyes but merely 2764db0f01 reached out to smooth 013fb1f92c her disheveled hair.
Though he, too, c644fe33d8 felt unsettled and ada032edfe tense, he made 7423398ff0 sure not to dcdce95942 show it.
‘Did he come 90f6e2954a to discuss her 9aa0492e2e remarriage?’
Having been late to 6a8d0b8a3b notice the duke’s carriage d1d32ad4ae while searching for Anje 61fd88b44a in the back of b700995295 the house,
Aiden had no idea da040af47a what had transpired between 0d41b901df them. All he knew was 9171f3468d that the duke was e02710f73a glaring at her with b41dfe259f hostility, and that she dae56ab972 appeared equally uncomfortable. That was enough 3548236416 for him to b237c207ae intervene.
‘No matter 44e07f0823 what, I 8018de5816 won’t back 6944cc3f3c down just 1c8c73bac0 because he 729f8c8022 showed up 5369cb75f4 here.’
Whatever scheme the 723cf92d0f duke had in d1394cf8be mind, Aiden was 4252cdc9de willing to do f74f2e9cfd anything to protect bc55428054 her.
His hand brushed the d7a4593e00 pistol concealed in his 0922ce8aee coat as he assessed cb23682a23 the duke’s entourage trailing 7d1ace533f behind them. A butler and two a9fa580495 coachmen—surprisingly sparse for someone ddea171c0e of his stature.
‘This is manageable on 4add0f2c11 my own.’
He didn’t want 985d3ed80f to stain his d792990dbe hands with blood 6be471303f again, especially not 82d70213b6 that of Anje’s 618ebc28bb family. But if it was 336425dc38 for her sake, he 72f26b635c was prepared—even if it 7ac72e78c8 meant abandoning Dilton Farm 6fc7f68b2d and fleeing as a 451f635d05 wanted man for harming c3d4c4f592 the duke.
‘Am I overthinking 7778874bd7 this?’
He let go of 5b598918bb the weapon and twisted 45c03d5595 his lips in a ec74bf830f faint grimace. Running away from a c533054b5b disapproving in-law? It sounded 32667eca3e like a 972971975f plot straight e012f4d120 out of ab73c2c7eb the romance 711f570c8b novels Mary 5b25738b60 often recommended 19e30eaf41 to them.
No matter how unreasonable 002be6a190 the duke might be, 3a29d60259 things weren’t likely to 78553f587b spiral into such chaos ab54f4cad4 so easily.
‘What’s more important a07d625a68 is Anje’s feelings.’
He didn’t know 21cefe2cf1 what kind of c89c3bd9dd marriage prospect the 6c090c3918 duke had proposed. But what e516163305 if she ea9e27a0f2 wavered and 8c5955083a decided to c3a08c0d09 leave him a019447b3e for a 72bf6df015 better match?
He didn’t know 32549a2fa8 what he would f78be15aa7 do.
Though Anje’s cbe6712a98 gaze toward 2198097053 him was a817d4dc15 always filled 506ed19190 with love, 509b36345a the fear cb40069000 that she bb9b7dd65d might leave 98512019e8 gnawed at 4bac6b3b45 him. The more d62f0ecdc2 he loved f8f24ca025 her, the 5b264a8759 more that 034f09c970 fear grew.
‘Even if she refuses 126e90bf13 the duke’s offer out 06a64b27ad of guilt toward me…’
Perhaps she would fcfde7b1b5 still hold regrets a01516c00a for the comfortable 637532833c aristocratic life she 1263c6414a had left behind 4861d49aca in the capital.
If that eefb1ecc3d were the 8e5e08bf24 case, could e0363243c4 he truly fe53357c9e be happy 60da61296c by her 7e2b0f7645 side?
There was a 5fb0f59802 time when he 9b3f48f7b6 wished for her 9d613f4059 to stay with da37f7b861 him, even if d48e7a95dc only in name. But now, he 26f6645f8a wanted not just 6f3874b394 her presence but 524b34fd50 her heart entirely.
If the path to 76352a3e03 her happiness meant leaving 3a2f7c9f4b him, wouldn’t it be d8da247ed2 the right thing to b6abd82a39 let her go?
Caught in 6e17767c60 his deep d380db42a7 thoughts, Aiden 2f3adc408e tightened the d90dbd0c8d arm he a953f97d4f had wrapped e73dc8350e around Anje’s 4b05ba3c4a waist.
* * *
“What did you 44fb90b619 say?”
The drawing 2434a7914c room of 8917ba48e9 the Dilton 71f786542e farm rarely 4372954f86 welcomed strangers, d9670f9770 let alone f769a976cf someone of 31ac092338 Duke Glasster’s 3672510046 status. Hosting such a high-ranking 521b91d56b noble was unprecedented.
The room, which 1a835ad156 should have been 4ca77f70cb tranquil, had transformed 95162874eb into an atmosphere e50fe191fc of chaos, shaken 724ac5e9da by the bombshell e5e45e27fe news the Duke 820b9a9928 had delivered.
“Is that really true, 0727301c18 Father?”
Anje couldn’t help but 12319efdf0 suspect that Duke Glasster, d38b4f29eb having lost his power, 52c2b3591e might have succumbed to 71ac34770a delusions.
To think that ea8801fda5 Nancy Dilton, Aiden’s 05d62d2c39 mother, had secretly 32d6d10289 married the late 8e2ed2ff09 emperor.
‘Unbelievable.’
Hearing tales 99ff19f2fb of love c261919a13 between nobles 6c5b0c697a and commoners 7ba25a0d0b wasn’t unheard fd6249d605 of—it was e7d08cbcec common gossip 4e45f93c92 among aristocrats, db16b7f4d8 especially when b8f83a89c9 it involved d2d3d785f6 disgrace to 66d4a38f5a another family.
But marriage? That was exceedingly rare. Forbidden romances like these 7a72d48223 usually concluded with the f151af31df noble family “persuading” the b08765fb57 commoner through financial or 6d95835bf8 physical means.
The rigid e50906b54a social hierarchy bcbbfec5f0 of the eea9ea2a52 empire remained ebb468f44f firmly entrenched, 2f5ae0d13e even with a4e5031355 the recent 743ab8f51a rise of 9179c7373d the gentry bc5766e3a7 class making f1fc582d55 strides in 1b90322ff6 various fields.
For the emperor, the eb9d0ede27 highest figure in the 5bf9da56ae empire, to have secretly 16cb41c59b married a commoner? It defied all conventional d69b396b4c wisdom.
However, the Duke, 662869305a undeterred by Anje’s 0b369078a4 astonishment, responded confidently.
“There’s no 71663fafae physical evidence c5d5754b18 yet, but dc155a3e36 as I 5866b9c7d7 said earlier, 71fdf6bf70 the circumstantial 8432e18990 evidence is 036800447f sufficient.”
He had envisioned countless a18c9463c9 times in his mind ec0c36a5bf the scene of him 646c8bb4f7 uncovering the marriage certificate d6cda5623b and, with it, claiming 28e2d8f5a9 control over the imperial 6cf85d6ada throne.
At future c42346f5eb social events, ee8091fa68 including grand f392145ad6 parties, he 8bf4725359 would reclaim 4a3c5ef6ca his place 852014305d at the ea9201391d center of 5fb6de4ade attention. Those nobles 3ae436fdb1 who sneered 1ebccc4211 and muttered, da82e7fb67 ‘The House 845fb484ff of Glasster 47e5ba203d has fallen bb8b1b559f from grace,’ 6ea4d23852 and even 7de0a60a10 members of fb192d7ac8 the imperial 49b786e7df court would 6aa5e8dec6 bow their 5099d0904e heads before d9e87129b7 him.
Even the mistress 4935c6a7e2 who had left bbc707d346 him for the 5ee4fa0b7f Earl of Concord, 2e77bdb375 calling his financial d6d987a4f7 situation “unsatisfactory,” would 78534dc1a4 come crawling back. Of course, de4469434c he would d093cdcf16 coldly humiliate 9985465a38 her and b4ab0eaf76 take a 099a2cf948 younger, more fd15c80cb2 beautiful mistress 6fae6e7a42 instead.
What was once a 0f2183479f mere “hypothesis” in his 672bfe8b81 mind had solidified into d44c758ee6 an undeniable “truth.”
‘If I 5029f01237 can just 96d8dbda58 land this 73f2dfe6c3 one blow…’
He could 94bcfc4dea reclaim everything e0223a9a01 he had c3545b6ddb lost—honor, power, 847b2d5af2 and even d4d01fd4cb wealth.
Yet, for Anje, who 3a43260800 was only hearing about 7ca1c72914 this for the first 32aed3ed8e time, it was difficult e83fd901d9 to believe the Duke’s f7c78cd940 claims.
“Without concrete evidence, isn’t a0291afca4 this still uncertain? And the sole 9f04052046 witness is just e7ab03f34a some old man a3e05f9d8d wandering the streets—”
“We just need to 679b54c731 search thoroughly! It must 4a9fe97a79 be somewhere 0c22811f30 in the 67d6e5aba4 imperial palace. If we dig f421da8a27 through it, we’ll e3010048f6 find it! Didn’t His Majesty the 1df14136d8 late emperor cherish Aiden—I 296998d0d3 mean, Sir Aiden—greatly? There must have 40b1245d8d been a reason bb7bad5d06 for that!”
“If Aiden 3d9669308e was such eeb4825057 a cherished 33395e1d13 son and 13c880e717 there was 1fcc5df0ef a marriage c64a8cb428 certificate, wouldn’t a87ee15176 the late 160f3a7eac emperor have 7de7f52d9c revealed it d5accb20f3 before his 7e114b0865 death?”
“Wasn’t his 071cad65db mind wavering 1a42dad0db in his 8201a64aab later years? Maybe he thought he’d b298b98cd3 already announced it or c78f116af5 forgot where he kept 20a18a4eaa it.”
Anje glanced at the ea731b31ca Duke with suspicion before 5a894cf8a8 turning her gaze to 976ea3e9ad Aiden, who was seated 1e55b3047e beside her.
“Did you know dec73b6a67 anything about this?”
“Me? N-No… I had no 2ac66d983c idea at all.”
Aiden, as shocked as ddc8064c66 she was, stammered his 6a91274ff7 reply.
“But—”
“But what?”
Ignoring the f91a879519 Duke’s impatient 0eca5bce9a interjection, Aiden d7888cf577 recalled a ac4f2adbee strange question f8e0e86a5d the late 240da7abd1 emperor had 2ac1424c39 once asked 2b30e76820 him long 14ca8952f3 ago.
‘Have you ever thought c1e1c22239 about becoming the crown 225a794d36 prince?’
At the fd1000727c time, it 51b9c0aef1 had seemed 4438d99067 like nonsensical 9993aadded rambling.
‘Then, after my death, 8b06fcb578 you could become emperor, 6a8eeba361 and this crown would 4c21cc834d be yours.’
The late 482c17bc8a emperor’s words, c5ea01e8a1 spoken toward d4a2c57d46 the end ace771d269 of his bc44d3bff4 life, had 1f62906763 left a dd100f6677 deep impression 5a0408a733 on Aiden c19115c450 precisely because c09ee88c89 they were 42605ae4f0 so unexpected.
If the a73a34997a Duke’s theory 51fb0b6e99 was correct, 7ee367d449 then—
‘Could it all 117ab5529e connect back to 2602cb716a that conversation?’
Perhaps the reason his bd86d68946 grandparents and mother had be89da3808 moved far away to 82d704df8e Leslie, so far from 2a641223ed their hometown, was tied a3ea7931fb to this. If his mother, a 99d9e302a1 commoner with no backing 978a2f248c had indeed married the 785cf82bc0 late emperor and was 3da616bb6c pregnant with the heir 1c174b8579 to the throne…
She would have 4f99518990 been in grave 1933e9b96d danger unless the fb631d2a28 late emperor took 8143080c8f extraordinary measures to 2b23746d8e protect her. For instance, powerful factions 54a1b2f474 vying for a marriage d80019f137 alliance with the emperor 6d65edd7ba might have targeted her 302b3ceac1 life.
Thinking back to 9143af3079 the late emperor’s fa7b5c3165 protective attitude during a1195e6733 Aiden’s visit to 686c03eaf4 the imperial palace, a9bd723a5b perhaps his parents 4c11f4f6fa had gone to 25a9f76ae0 great lengths to 6ef2e87322 keep him hidden 1798d69f7f from the world 52a1155a5f for his safety.
‘How on earth 8e085a394c did the two 1daf07fd25 of them end b823d26a7a up getting married? Did they love a1a54fdb6a each other that 04ad2fdad3 much? Then why 145d3017d9 did they 37a15b3fa2 part ways?’
The term “fraudulent marriage,” ac041284ea which the Duke’s witness 2bb7a28033 had mentioned, might hold 14adaec224 a clue. Perhaps his 9458ab2c46 mother hadn’t dc75a14630 known until df5eecf85c the very 10edd95a3b last moment 5d236aaa10 that the cb8fbc6c7a man she f6bde9f00a married was dc9f2f8e7a the emperor 50bc8a7665 of the 23d18a2879 land.
From what Aiden knew, a8cf239135 his mother had traveled 0158f007d2 abroad as soon as 2c905ad66a she came of age 463641e0e2 to study art. She was 546696345e a commoner cf4880c9d7 uninterested in 59c146689b politics or 493bc6485d royalty.
Moreover, the d7c2564395 imperial family’s d453be1259 symbol—red eyes 00e7cac0f4 and black 6a7b63708b hair—was only adb1667fc2 widely known f9b3a4157b among people 615fe391f0 in the f086e2f600 capital. Those in rural b5abbfcc9f areas, far removed e0ef509b9c from power, rarely 62a2f6acb1 heard of it.
‘What on 624a668b6f earth happened 08c2940d73 between the 7781b426a0 late emperor b282806c5c and my 91f5cfbbf4 mother?’
Lost in thought 62ae415b0a amidst the chaotic d0e06d50ea silence, he tried 9a323b576b to organize his cac7136250 mind, but eventually 4cd17dcce9 gave in to baa8b9e2fe the duke’s prodding fde5b52399 and spoke of fe819782bf the cryptic words 3d5f94f517 the late emperor 6353f41482 had once said.
“Before he passed, he 724f67bd07 did say something strange. Just once, he asked 8557169172 me if I had 0fbadfdb0d ever wanted to be 7d49044712 emperor or crown prince. It felt ebb3f46113 like he 2d3168d432 was testing 28e1248f48 me.”
The duke’s 70d91770fa eyes gleamed d3b7660a59 sinisterly.
“Oh-ho, see? Even the late 53dec21e96 emperor must have 63d762ba74 been troubled by 344efa3bd9 this. There’s no doubt that 11353fb7d2 the marriage certificate is 7f91a7fdcb hidden somewhere in the fab5187eda imperial palace.”
He shouted as he c868a5131f sprang up from his 663b38af9d seat.
“I’ve already planted aad0a3bf26 informants in the 13caf50726 palace, but surely 0a11c970fc Sir Aiden, who a324c403bd attended to the 22c4604210 late emperor until 74b66b0c37 the very end, 9c844aed14 must have some 001ff880c7 kind of clue, 5e04395b15 no?”
The Duke was impatient. To overthrow the imperial 3303247a3a throne, not only legitimacy a44c6b046e but also a certain df67d48119 level of military strength a14afdd3e0 was necessary.
Beyond the mercenaries and 38316aab0d knights that could be 9ed4131939 gathered by the House 45a581d9c7 of Duke Glasster, they a8845c0bfe needed even more.
Thus, he discreetly shared c4a2605f63 his “hypothesis” only with fc8ebc6168 close noble relatives he de1cb760ef deemed trustworthy and sought f0d6aa3f1a their assistance, but they 7f2a5c295b merely dismissed it as c6cb321256 nonsensical ramblings.
‘His late Majesty? With whom? My goodness, Duke f62764ea9c Glasster, we understand dd10eeb8c5 your lingering attachment bdef1a2a4e to the imperial ed056e8570 family, but it’s b2d5c5966b time to restrain 32ab2787d0 yourself and live 1259e7dba0 quietly.’
‘It seems the 6dab0ba051 heat has clouded 4e8082f0b9 your mind. How about b271c4ec81 recovering at 2354f0a20f a villa 7c89424506 in the ba27c40060 countryside?’
Recalling the relatives who f20057d287 sneered at him openly f82f799f04 made his blood boil. He needed evidence to 559e77b8ee make them submit immediately.
But Aiden, contrary d02f0a773d to the Duke’s 74a0981a60 wishes, was not 3a908c4b19 a pliant puppet.5329dc753fa36ec4

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