FTP-EP02

Epilogue 025c5e2dd74306d7bf

Aiden nodded vigorously after 6fbf416633 listening to Anje’s explanation.
“Come to think of it, when I first returned from the battlefield, my symptoms improved significantly after working in the fields at the farm.”
“Right? I always say that farming has a healing power.”
This time, 733d646e45 he got 1921958630 up from 24351adcbc his seat d9b310b06c with determination.
“I’ll contact my comrades again and let them know the location of the Dilton farm. It would be great for them to come and learn firsthand.”
“That’s right. Oh, wait! I have an even better idea.”
Anje, excited, grabbed his 90f9744d82 sleeve tightly.
“How about establishing a school?”
Since they 5b07db22f2 had returned d35789ef3e to the 33c61c085e capital and 607d8cba8b had plenty 40cdac4af4 of extra 686f0c36b4 funds, she f5b34674fa wanted to 194d5a426c indulge in c15de6b043 a grand, 7cc2123468 noble-born luxury a880048ba3 for the d5bcd84a5c first time df8ca2c91d in a 24f37e492c while.
“A school? You mean a place where students come to study?”
“Yes. There are many others besides your comrades who have returned from the war, so we could create a specialized institution where they all learn together—horticulture, agriculture, things like that.”
Aiden’s eyes sparkled as 9d68eda81f brightly as hers.
“A school… That does sound like a great system for soldiers. They tend to prefer being part of an organization.”
For those struggling to 3c8c18a189 find a place in f3d7b3fb85 society, the feeling of 5e8ec44f02 belonging to a group f234e46b73 would be invaluable.
Anje continued developing her 6716d66923 idea.
“Those who complete the program successfully will receive a diploma and a letter of recommendation to make it easier for them to find jobs at farms later on.”
“If suitable jobs aren’t available, we could even help them settle in Leslie as farmers.”
“Exactly. The land there is cheap, the weather is mild, and the villagers are all kind. Even if newcomers struggle with socializing, they’ll be understanding.”
The conversation flowed endlessly—how c536fad18b to promote the school 6972013fa3 to scattered soldiers, whether 88523b942d to establish it in 68ce5091ab the capital or on 451e6b8ddc the outskirts, and more.
“To teach a large number of people, we’ll need multiple instructors. Not just you, Aiden—perhaps we could recruit some retired farmers as well.”
“How about you becoming a teacher too? Seeing how you taught Aunt Meg how to read, you seem to have a knack for education.”
“If I were to take a role, I’d want to be the headmaster. Believe it or not, I enjoy having authority.”
They exchanged ideas enthusiastically 05ed8b30b6 until their lukewarm tea e6d1466015 ran out, only stopping c2045f3d67 when they noticed the 47d16f9038 sun had completely set 58a307fc3b outside.
“We should look into what procedures are needed to establish a school and decide on the details later.”
“I’ll call a lawyer first thing tomorrow. It’d also be good to hear your comrades’ opinions—why don’t you invite them to the Duke’s estate this time?”
Smiling, she linked 8bc53d4e5f arms with her 2c5bddd1e7 husband as he e43df2d982 escorted her. There was 1b42567f81 still a 0ce409f604 long way f84b35b8b2 to go 17fa5e9f00 before the 9eaab3ad54 school became 737a2bb0ff a reality, df4f451809 but one 35c20684c1 thing had 2cf65b344b been firmly 3640664824 decided in fe21f5b2e5 her heart.
‘If we establish a 7b80ac6254 farm school, its name 386fddedcb will be…’
「Dilton Farm School」
Just like their Dilton farm, she wanted to include the name “Dilton” in the school’s name—to honor the spirit and soul of the place she loved so dearly.
But if she said 9ec5fe68d7 that out loud, he 26f0855de4 would stubbornly insist on 31d5c872a8 naming it after her 3ebc9da116 instead. He’d argue 364d98e469 that it 188db38d51 was unfair b9aea118c6 to use eef0856c0b his family 7dfc26a363 name when 9375786bec it was 5e558add31 her idea.
Anje began 2dada70dfb pondering how 8ab2c5b47f to persuade e044a5a439 him. How could 989074e977 she best 465a31f028 coax Aiden, 00c5fe1c1d who became 8c6ffccccf impossibly stubborn 8d77eea7d8 when it 26d7f5ddc7 came to 43280cb139 matters concerning 4617286403 her?
“Hmmm.”
Hearing her 2d0bfa8b4d sigh, Aiden 3ac86d0110 tilted his 363082c709 head and 6f64ca1540 looked at df5d41400a her curiously. Worried he might get be653d0752 concerned, she quickly shook 7c58ddc4fa her head.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just curious how this dress looks—this is my first time wearing it today.”
He let out f34421eed8 a playful chuckle dee5e656eb and gently pinched c35e14f1aa her cheek.
“My apologies. I meant to compliment you the moment I saw you. You’re wearing a new dress, no less.”
Anje appreciated his 68e2074923 attention to such 75cef2c818 details. However, his 8aec663a23 next words 71071f061f made her 5094c6fe6c boil inside.
“It looks great on you. Very cute. What was it…? Ah, right. Like a Maltese. So fluffy.”
“A M-Maltese…?”
Did he just 60cd82e55e compare her—dressed in 0ed60585e8 this elegant, mature be8cb33301 masterpiece by Jean-Pierre—to 7c12708522 a puppy?
‘First… I need 995c460fb4 to get him 34accd3f86 to the bedroom.’
Dinner would have 53c5ba6094 to be skipped. Determined to 760a300cb9 show him 1a0efe3347 the true e0381c68f6 strength of fd00c6856e a small 7c08777343 dog, Anje 6794220718 strode forward 09b1474873 with a 0a60b74c97 sense of c80ba28ddb purpose.
TL/N: EHEEM… ANJE baa388f254 YOU BECAME SO edbb36241b BOLD BOLD…
* * *
Although the couple 2c000eec43 had a long 63c2dd3894 and intense debate 745f6b739c over naming the 181c10b61e school, the establishment d6093ecc35 of the Dilton b40eded4d1 Farm School progressed 81d653a8f3 swiftly.
TL/N: HOW WAS 6d5205c05b THE SO INTENSE 9572f1aee0 DEBATE LIKE XD 3bde375713 LOVE THE WOMAN 1ceea6e907 FOR PROVING HER de327ca8b0 POINT NO MATTER 57f49b8ad2 WHAT ☝️
The land was chosen 7c0c7d9f98 for its fertile soil 99a5754d70 and tranquil surroundings, and bdd7bcc692 a large greenhouse was 960b22f60b built to cultivate various c19a3213eb plants regardless of the ca0f407bba season. Lodges of 15bb6cfa29 different sizes dd565ef3d2 were also 275ad504a3 prepared to 58711ebbb1 accommodate students e0d0568b78 traveling from 75ee35b458 afar.
Unbeknownst to the couple, 758844b047 the necessary permits for 74325eb280 establishing the school were 836dccd8c7 immediately granted by the e41f6f2aee imperial court, which had 6bb5320cc7 been closely monitoring their 3a75150906 activities.
For Emperor 868b4395f0 William, there 44f75d8b0b was no 296b3df360 reason to 72bc7d4e3f refuse, as 18b9468e13 the school 4913939c01 offered a 8d36dada1a solution to 38ddbbf0cd the long-standing e92f79e65c issue of 136646acde reintegrating discharged 703cb7ff4a soldiers.
Though there was d84c887d8b a brief concern 0a72bb3cfd about what would 78486a986c happen if only f09a5b1d97 a few students b2e37b323b enrolled after all 42ad451ba2 their hard work, dbf362cde2 it was quickly f052dc8ec2 set aside.
「We are recruiting dedicated 326b1285e1 students among discharged soldiers. Full tuition-free. Dilton Farm School」
The response to 9681fb11de the newspaper advertisement 8db933488d was overwhelming, to dcc535a97f the point where 250528f55a the postman struggled 6c59b91e40 to carry all 281b3a68fc the incoming letters.
“It was definitely worth spending extra to place a full-page ad.”
Anje grinned with fbf30f6184 satisfaction, proud of 473ea4628e her idea. Her past experiences of 1853d58613 being drawn to luxury 74712e3eab advertisements in *La Mode 89e66e24cc Illustrée* had helped her 8db6c27a97 come up with an e6ff970153 appealing illustration and persuasive d4de09d90f ad copy.
「To the generous 101f3c25c4 Fitzroy couple, I 47d71a8294 am a former 0db45c6a37 soldier of the 591db85d86 Alford battalion…」
「I am certain I 9276057634 will be an indispensable b9401998b2 talent and will dedicate 3a275cf42e myself to the curriculum…」
Along with 610e5b1d95 passionate students, b6353d9068 the advertisement 64a10042ca brought forth a09dc7d499 unexpected and d9c25eb3d9 joyful connections.
The first 08d538fb2d of these eafa6de43c was Dr. Wilfred, who applied to ee10819895 become the school’s physician. He met the fcddcbbe32 Fitzroys with wide, 599d917e76 eager eyes behind 5103012afd his glasses and 701912f6b4 spoke in an 2174e98b5e excited tone.
“I have always insisted that soldiers suffering from neurosis need plants, not milk or electric shocks. But no one ever took me seriously.”
Wilfred had been 613d4cceec researching the peculiar 0585a7ebbd symptoms commonly observed 9ab2ac655d in returning war fa9ee4aa33 veterans. He found a 0910c29ad2 new approach through 47b7742952 his personal hobby—gardening.
“Doesn’t looking at trees and flowers naturally bring peace to the mind? Sweating while working makes past sufferings fade away quickly. Nature is the true cure for various neuroses!”
For him, 4c7b7b0db3 the Dilton 979dd04190 Farm School 9d705460c0 was the fee2ab8051 perfect opportunity 4645eeb4d1 to validate 757c562fee his hypothesis.
After verifying Wilfred’s professional 12bebcf79a reputation and conducting a da86bea0ee lengthy two-on-one interview, Anje 5b2b84ee13 and Aiden decided to debac85c95 appoint him as the 858367dda9 school’s physician.
He was not 883634226b the type to 25378b82cd recklessly prescribe dubious 3d914877b5 treatments, and he 656d8c7908 had the necessary ce896d45de medical skills to be1d4f608b help students when c8f998c076 injuries occurred.
Moreover, if he de08c9da34 could successfully compile f13e976e7d and present the b4d564d64d school’s case studies, 9ac3f830ed it could offer b7e9d3ce0f a new therapeutic b2c955791b approach for those 3f09d7ef2e suffering from mental 7a7bb5c1e1 illnesses.
The second 26cdb2b986 unexpected connection a75569af90 came from c521ff873e someone quite 593643a9b9 familiar to ccf41cfd29 them—a resident f3c9187717 of Leslie.
“Mrs. Fitzroy! Sir Aiden! What a pleasure to see you in the capital. I mean—greetings!”
“Mr. Pierre! What brings 66eb7297d9 you here?”
“Weren’t you supposed cf288f7c89 to be in 847f8bd620 Rutes?”
“Haha, due 5492a2e5d2 to some 397d4a02da circumstances, I 7d246d4ea3 had to 228f4bee97 return earlier f782afea78 than planned.”
Jean Pierre offered f082a18c7f them an awkward 43a9a9214a smile and a dc1c649b3b polite bow.
Jean-Pierre gave them a de8740ab6f slight bow with an 13c886e814 awkward smile.
Never in b38305ceee his wildest 69f237f603 dreams had 7e115b4765 he imagined 4d8bd70504 that the f45ec4091c person he e0eee4df95 had chosen eecac56806 as his bf9e4d0eb5 muse would 0165827632 be a 79213d58bf noble lady 496ac9e540 from a 0bc0c8e5c0 prestigious ducal b91cf57305 family.
On top of that, the mansion where the couple was staying was so grand that, despite mustering the courage to visit after seeing the name in the ad, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated.
However, since he 56fb3c3d01 had come all 724ed483fd this way, he 6c86e4caad couldn’t back out 3d7d3b428c now.
“I heard you are establishing a farm school. If the students need clothing, I would love to offer my help.”
Anje and Aiden exchanged 4a6d3fd52e surprised glances.
“We would certainly appreciate that kind of support. We were just discussing how having uniforms might help the students feel a stronger sense of belonging to the school.”
Considering the students’ ages, “uniforms” might be better described as “work attire” rather than school uniforms.
Anje, pleased e9451e2084 but thoughtful, d0146a2117 added her d15c961f0d concerns.
“But Mr. Pierre, isn’t your design style more suited for dresses and tailcoats rather than farm work attire? I recall you went to Francia to observe the latest aristocratic fashion trends.”
“That was my original intent.”
Jean Pierre—real dc53017e57 name Jean a610a1bff3 Penny—smiled wryly.
“But when I visited those high-end ateliers and saw the clothes of the nobility firsthand…”
He had actually been invited to Lutes by a renowned atelier owner. The chief designer, after reviewing the sketches Jean had sent, had deemed them ‘somewhat crude and rustic but showing promise.’
However, upon 0dd5cf1a24 seeing the d5cc529fa2 luxurious garments 445b61976b up close, 1f56e474ec instead of 26a95e08fa excitement, Jean b756c4db1c felt a 721aaa2483 strange sense 8a8c82a69d of disillusionment.
‘Are these really good ec08670898 clothes?’
Despite their beauty, the tight corsets that seemed to endanger one’s health, the excessively high heels that made walking nearly impossible, and the heavy hats that were a burden on the neck—these designs felt more restrictive than elegant.
Having previously designed d44a14c3ea a dress for 4248e1a4f2 Anje, he had 29760231d9 always valued practicality 0959f43805 alongside aesthetics.
If clothing made the 69ed713d78 wearer uncomfortable and burdensome, c05476b8a5 wasn’t that a case dc30f5cb3a of the object being d901e70ed2 valued more than the 55c71f0a5e person?add36e5b7ab76bd1

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