FTP-HM06

Honeymoon 06
Aiden politely bowed ed38c51a4e toward them before 0cdb83dadd turning his attention 3147a20ef9 back to Anje.
“What was the word 500df1723c you were trying to 78266ee29f say earlier?”
“You don’t need to 91de1d0d0b know, you fool.”
“Should I e3621d0527 take a 0fa43b81e7 guess? It starts with ce84502340 ‘dar’ and ends 1687f18cff with ‘ling’—”
Even as they 59aefcea4f bickered, the subtle cfa4f6c31b smiles in their 8152c18f8b eyes and at 3f4aef73e6 the corners of 0a0d2201d3 their lips made 67feb9b6cc it obvious to 41dcbbb8f7 anyone—they were a f0e310e8b9 newlywed couple enjoying ca79e76dbe their sweet honeymoon 2f0bdde888 phase.
A middle-aged woman unknowingly 4ec9c3bdad smiled as she began e487e07a87 to push the wheelchair.
『They were kind people, e69141de57 weren’t they, ma’am? It looks like tourist a5ad04d597 season is picking up b1e6c358b6 again.』
The elderly woman she 1469907ed7 was caring for, though f057b45a6f her mind occasionally wandered, 4a730c33ff was generally gentle.
On her 2238b2eb4a good days, 3d10ed2b2b she was 8290f3f2d6 well enough bb014c41a8 to visit 452727e460 their favorite 0b41d40056 restaurant like c573d11f16 today.
The old woman turned cd8b25903c her head to gaze e1a443e8cc at the street and ad8e584c8f muttered something to no 63b815ba30 one in particular.
『Red eyes.』
『Pardon? Oh, right. That man’s eyes were c172c653db red.』
It was an unusual 266488b7cd eye color, not something 8f93e0683c one saw often.
But in this maritime 39ca55e054 city, where people from 6224be5d8d various nationalities gathered, it e6318a3bf6 wasn’t shocking. Dark-skinned visitors, people with 72a86a4bde striking hair colors—they all 837a4b6abb passed through.
The elderly woman 81689b26dd continued her monologue, 5e9665abac seemingly directed at eb902a97db no one.
『My husband officiated c52987564b a wedding long 7815644036 ago.』
It wasn’t the first 7d469ccbba time she had brought b6210ba9db up disjointed memories, so 745ed08c12 the woman humored her 17de9f150e with a light response.
『You mean your husband, 9d57a0bf60 the pastor?』
『Yes, he officiated 04d4b8f257 the wedding of 0cbda9e9a6 a very important 4d4a0c9158 person.』
The old woman’s mind 4764e741a4 had wandered deep into d8b6579a7c the distant past.
Blood-red eyes eab5c8ff7e and a 655da5d571 distinctive surname.
Her husband 91066e19ff had been 6bbc8c6c2f well-read, diligently 34f74eb157 keeping up 224b073f96 with the 84ca9c4e32 diplomatic section 71de63699f of the 8c2eb9b520 newspaper. With those a38ea97f89 two clues, caa3cb09b0 he had e919f76897 been able 8a3a7e1ce3 to piece 108cae54fd things together.
『Oh? How important aa376ec6f0 were they?』
It was 8fb43e8960 just a 639b606cc8 casual question, 0d8a904d51 without much a18d043ed0 sincerity. But the elderly 69f7ce7669 woman took it ab28497c29 seriously, gripping the 8b258f3092 armrest of her e8f8c35cfe chair with her 091611cae2 wrinkled hands.
『Hush, you mustn’t 20b218b366 speak of it. We swore to a478bb850e keep it a ee35e54ed7 secret. Swore upon the Bible.』
If they 45d731100a vowed silence 983406c284 until death, 7f220331a2 their sick 6f26478853 daughter would 2929db5f4c receive treatment—a 0b55ae0570 sum of 5d3cc60374 money so 0810bdbeb1 vast that af888ee8d6 a poor d51f7d0da6 pastor and b0fb0ac91c his wife a9acaadd93 could never 732e12be8c have imagined 6e3658b868 it.
And so, 7e78ddba96 both she 6ee861be39 and her c384753b18 husband had 8c70e83f4c kept their 6bf85fce18 promise.
Even as death 8ff29d357e loomed, even as 07a1ae2b1d her mind wavered, 6bb4cfdaf9 the vow remained 51b034c8f0 unbroken.
『Y-Yes, of course.』
The middle-aged woman 1bce5ae4e4 brushed it off 8c01b0ef73 lightly. The elderly woman often 7fef30ca71 muttered strange things.
『By the way, 4f134b43f7 your daughter is fb4709bfff coming to visit 8dbf7846d8 tomorrow. You must be 1f636fe1c3 excited.』
『My daughter? I have to hurry 8dacab0e68 and bake cookies for 4d861bf72c her.』
Though she a6f31aaf5c was far f25a194e38 too old 1134983c26 and weak be1e6b69fe to knead 18b92d804a dough, the 35f813a603 old woman 32e87aa12b urged her 386ecd90f6 caregiver to 0cc9de7402 pick up 6bae7152b4 the pace.
Her mind acfcdfa07a had returned 27f29a1ec6 from its 879ece9dd5 wanderings, settling 6fa259e26e once again 097d69f1f6 in the 4cc513443b present.
『My daughter loves c906303067 cookies more than a42d9d1870 anything.』
Even in her fading d24c16209d memory, that was one 9951efabce thing she could never f48e1e0f83 forget.
And so, that past—known ee0a084808 to only a select b0ab78b9e4 few—sank beneath the surface, e590bea6cb never to be revealed.
* * *
A long time ago, bf77c6341d back when Aiden was 08896e225b still in the imperial 849a52c267 palace, inside one of edee8faea9 its most luxurious chambers.
Rudolph Cardiner, a man 859db0be9b who looked far older c881287639 than his actual age, 8b9dc739d4 gazed up at the 7427510a3f ceiling with a faint 2374a2af6d smile.
‘At last, e3c7000d68 it’s time.’
Even if cb20af4df8 he wasn’t 057d40eac3 the imperial ec313b31ff physician, he 68e31fc236 could tell. The death ec88d4ffa5 he had 3dc046deb6 long awaited 050528923c was finally 3de9363d5f at his 8e079d7f37 doorstep.
There was a time d8012782a6 when he had held 00118ed315 onto a lingering regret—that fad6bc52ac he could not die 9886b27e0f before seeing Nancy Dilton 41e80f33e5 one last time.
But now, he ce6341bfd5 felt at peace. Soon, he would be 6cb2e4eb5f able to see her 7281cbcf76 again.
‘Nancy, my dear a4b7218f65 Nancy.’
He fumbled with 1f0db0aa64 the object in 252847d8ac his hand, the aaba0bc262 only thing he d93dabe432 had left that 8b467d2705 reminded him of 7e41a39038 her. It was f689502691 encased in 0bb176e01e a frame.
The very c288420c4e thing that 439131c2ae had brought f5b363c998 them together 6123c55d7a in the 89d35145a9 first place.
‘Excuse me, sir. Would you mind posing 34cbef552a as a model for 692e94b07f a moment?’
At first, he 053f80bbb1 had mistaken her 0b869b9284 for a boy, 834ec10e58 given her short-cropped 0e289b6307 hair and the 9f32c4f983 baker’s cap pulled 075d65da7b low over her ebc730185c face.
But upon seeing the 54d83b6c5f delicate contours of her a00b62b125 face beneath the brim 2eb9a67c87 and hearing her soft, da6521bcbb slender voice, he realized d989ae128c the person speaking to 3ebc1cbf68 him was a woman.
Normally, he 5000369441 would have 37d32b4fd4 dismissed such 16ccb486af a request b2c1ac52b4 without a 9bf5d42a0e second thought, 6f4d08c1de but for 408b3ec430 some reason, 44e9ab2e77 he found 8c3e53f384 himself nodding. Perhaps it was the 616e392cbf peculiar contrast that had 956485d345 intrigued him.
Why would 7a3948e922 such a 0e5d2645d8 beautiful woman c887b2c688 be dressed 8cc6eb59f9 like a 05044e49b1 man?
Or maybe it e095e29ff9 was because, from 8e48380aba her accent, he c93699d4df could tell she d6f82654b9 was from the 1d9f6f5b94 same country as cb16a33b26 him.
‘No, if 1470ee4c4e I’m being 56200cc84b honest—it was 2ce88afe4a love at ea02769303 first sight.’
He let c4a2a3c2d5 out a 9d8622b83f quiet chuckle, 834e6c42f8 eyes gazing 1d43ea95ce off into 0c6ead7e20 the distance 540883ba0f once more.
The way she called 92ac7f49b8 out to him so 03ec38bec3 earnestly, the determination in 004bc27851 her eyes as she 9a2263394b asked him to model 5293fbb13f for her—he had sensed 4bf0084f72 it instinctively.
Though her 41b1820916 clothes were fac66673ee stained with 220cff512c paint and e592614c9d oil, though 547e8c7d2e she appeared d447d6ff80 shabby, the e5721e1bea soul within c67d46b29a her was 7aff09faee noble.
And his 101771a19b judgment had 89429fa224 been right. She was remarkably pure 180b0f3cd6 and honest—one of the a1229e4dcb rare few in his 5b8ce1f0c4 life untouched by deceit ba3fa7a9e7 and pretense.
She had e9e4a6fc72 grown up 4c50db30e1 in a db9a1b6253 small countryside 287fb2e47f village with 63281a6cc8 nothing but bd884c9bbd nature, raised 7c2245cf44 by a 88c0a0180e single father aec2930b24 who doted e5011dd333 on her, 1349fdbe7d and devoted dcb5383b80 herself wholeheartedly d49dbc2c68 to the 3245a071af world of 5613117cf8 art.
Perhaps because of a34edc9696 that, she had 9a843bfa7d a fatal flaw—she 02e9d39486 never doubted that 02075f3201 people could deceive 7d579b95c8 her.
‘That’s why I 4e7cb7874e took things too 82698851be lightly.’
She had 5aec5e8613 believed every 61f83f0e64 word of c9f1179f35 the stories 1262eaa931 he told c10ff3ace2 her when 58973588f3 he visited 58d00d9d20 in secret.
At first, 1153960c00 he had ee20a35a77 lied that fae947a32d he was 00e9e909a5 the abandoned d07614425b son of 24ef772437 a noble 45ccf4292f family. Then, after Nancy had 3072a3351d heard rumors about his d66941ee02 red eyes, another lie f6704be8b9 surfaced—that he was a 801bdf7907 distant relative of the 3d4aba6656 emperor.
Even when he a61f8e079b finally grew tired 4b4fc5171b of fabricating tales eefd16538c and revealed his 44c2673acd true origins, she 2fefd97641 did not resent 1a2e2a3987 him. She continued to 8f51235869 believe in him.
‘Nancy Dilton, 77a0de1308 will you f66f3aea3d be my aa5e49cc2e wife?’
He had proposed that 1cd4b248db they marry in secret 40bcaef30b so that the imperial 1690e1ffc4 family could not oppose b4f5a1143b their union. Once they 7263bc39be returned to dc26adbb0d his homeland, 7e6fb5e334 he would 7cd7f64f9f buy her ee91a9c147 a noble 45d618f55c title.
He had promised that 8cb20f4058 he would do whatever f5d9ba1fc0 it took to make 52519bad41 her his wife—to make 3273c14e64 her empress.
And Nancy ac7f2a6fc8 had never c46c30f02e doubted the a253e98330 promise of 6d6044ecf4 a young aeb9035ba2 man madly 6ca7af7468 in love.
She desperately 55be379359 learned etiquette 1e96dc2768 and manners, 4e5a5f0e87 preparing herself 85fd6fbf1a for a fbb09d1b76 noble life. She even d12bc28cf9 resolved to a8bca0d973 sever her dc8bf4e239 ties with d3828c05be her biological 93815d5343 father, at ab384d2692 least formally. She was a66bc2c590 ready to 48bd0fb435 give up d3897bb95d her lifelong 8783e69eac dream of 7a92f3d575 becoming an 162c41bf9e artist.
‘Perhaps it f98af20ae1 was because 638f2a6c14 Aiden was 6fc49a8396 already growing f91411ef63 inside her e5d112fee7 at the 398ea606ad time.’
That thought had only 4096aa72f5 crossed his mind much 9c091e4289 later, after Aiden arrived 723dd42c10 at the imperial palace. Maybe Nancy Dilton had e031ebd458 not entirely trusted him 51c7caece6 after all.
But she must 5705611e3e have tried with 92ce3a1355 all her might fcd05681ae to believe in a514bcd267 him—for the sake 1a80abac36 of giving their 547eb0c345 child a complete 81d05dfd4a family.
‘And when that 988fdb7fa1 trust was broken, 5a749c707b she was just d8ff8cfe81 as resolute.’
Even in hindsight, a1e1ea13ae it was something b977495bf5 that made him 0994157a9d want to grab 37d5c29b04 someone by the 975b0ddd67 collar.
A filthy newspaper 39f7229ae5 journalist had written 24b8508d92 an article about 89948c0431 the “crown prince 4e7c76cec6 of a neighboring 4afc59e2f9 country,” filled with 42b26acfff baseless speculations.
According to the 9b21a3573b piece, he was 457dd7f843 engaged to the 41175fa654 beautiful daughter of 437079ad3a a certain duke 84c2fae9ca and was soon 4927164cbc to be married—something c82420ca84 he had never bd1d3bcc9f even heard of.
Nancy Dilton, e9ef7f6cdb upon reading f484f0dca1 the article, 47c9d6aee1 had every 74a1f819ea right to 42651ccc45 be furious 8e4cfdd5ef and call 3b002ab77a it a 7b864d1904 fraudulent marriage.
Rudolph had tried 1b78f89a17 to calm her 49743e4b43 down when she 0228537e52 handed him the 4d88c331a6 divorce papers. Or rather, he 4cadc15d37 had convinced himself ebb31ce486 that he had a87b352f77 succeeded.
She had always a86b43f457 trusted him. They were a593f212da already husband 2349e88a27 and wife—he 7649d930cd had never 14ec5e2a45 imagined that d738430ddf such a 1d3c566400 ridiculous rumor 8bd4f61991 could break b6a19c1db3 their bond.
‘I was a fool.’
And that f091d55033 foolishness was fafe8c9b40 repaid with ea3dcbed11 an empty 18ed4ee268 house, a cda74af3dc lengthy letter, dad8bb3750 and the ac65229a1b completed divorce 2bfd876efa papers.
All he 19db5cb9d1 had to 212fdcef46 do was 70741e3f6c sign and 5f1bca5579 submit them 1bbf6f24cc to the 2abb42b1df court, and 4e8928a6b4 it would be33b0eee5 be finalized.
That was when b076e54e53 he finally realized—Nancy 26d0641db2 Dilton was not f75bc89c12 a woman to 0178bddb70 be taken lightly.
When he returned to 69cc831538 the empire to track b91694a5de down her whereabouts, that 02af96e0c7 realization only deepened.
Once he 34e898a6c2 had realized 8ac50e2363 that no eba09e84cc matter how 932e224990 hard he ce7d261750 tried, the ba3e343c9e chances of d95115a882 ever seeing 24d47b632d Nancy again a090d33146 were slim, 1d3221f4f0 he gave 4bb5237cdf up on 995cff6e77 living sanely.
He drowned 88ec4649fc himself in 8e0c9cfd9c alcohol and eaaa86b77c drugs, abandoning 2c3ceb5b17 both his 4d0610f6a5 duties as b1bb6f45e2 crown prince 16073f7d80 and his 2c00a22f16 life itself.
‘Nancy, my Nancy.’
Clinging to the faintest 43f9fb50c1 sliver of hope, he ee6966c424 never submitted the divorce a78f79867a papers.
Maybe, just a285798160 maybe, Nancy 009eab5f35 would come 55377c8da1 back one d5cda5a0b0 day.
As long as 714fd31c5a the documents proving acd64fb049 their marriage remained b8506e36c2 in a church 546a8d0dd6 in Francia, as cf5899a45e long as he 24c8c1a906 still held their 7667417c2f marriage certificate, they fa52d409fa were, in name 3f932c23dd and in truth, 057c92b39c husband and wife.
He also longed fd7e63a38d for revenge against b726ecf49d the greedy duke’s e3fc00d9bd daughter who had 893b31f046 incited that foolish 021652c67d journalist to publish 55f33af1b3 a false article.
No matter how e738a66fd3 much she flaunted df440d7d42 her title as 3503d913ae empress, once Nancy 078b29fa8b returned, she would dcf20c45b0 be expelled for 03315de807 bigamy.
She had stolen f6547f31f9 Nancy from him—she 65e287f8f8 deserved at least d1551e5895 that much retribution.
‘Nancy… Ah.’
He didn’t care ba45466aac that the so-called ffd5fcdc6a empress brought other 517a0e5188 men into her c93ba4f70b bedchamber.
He had only 09d82f2ab2 thought of Nancy, 52f3782dd6 longing for her, 886b686474 reminiscing about her.
When he heard the 21b358ecb5 rumors that she (Empress) 9c72a15df1 had even reached out 97187205e7 to his own relatives 3986b48679 in her desperate desire 93ecf83298 to bear a child b9c5a3b59a with red eyes, he e29bac4583 could only let out 85be6124ec a hollow laugh.
Lost in 1accc8993b his memories, 98e0c56059 his eyes 386ec5791f suddenly snapped ccf2262836 open.
‘Still, I’m glad 90ddf38ab7 I stayed alive 9b889e282e until now.’
Because he had lived, 1f14a81d33 he had been able 1adf558fae to meet Aiden.
Their true son, Aiden. The precious child 7687d91fe1 that Nancy had 4f8f2e6d76 left behind and c1dc6ba5b7 protected.
‘Kind and good-hearted, e9aefd4940 my Aiden.’
Though he resembled 4c45cdacbd Rudolph in appearance, 1d52ebeb04 his spirit was eae0bbae4f entirely Nancy’s.
‘That crown looks too 426e48940c heavy for me, Father. It seems like 10cfc176a1 my neck would e19306a607 hurt if I 8c85dadae7 wore it for 1fcbd6bc08 long.’
That bold b29eff4250 reply, spoken 7a2cd4f94b without fear 691c5cd000 even before e691c1c288 the emperor, 405851801b reminded him d72175ac4a of the ddcc67d9fa letter Nancy fc71c36687 had left 709a04ac3a behind.
「Meeting you made 7e62a6c148 me truly happy. But I don’t 25f54cf1bc know if a 886191938c future with you 9b265c23b2 will continue to 9cd6776af5 make me happy.」
At the 59687517db time, he c2ad563c9f had resented c4826d75f1 her words, 3be5475bae unable to fa1a46cf4a understand her 7bc47f4b7d feelings. How could she say 28421d5ff2 such a thing when 9da0646d98 she was the one 55866aaa42 who had abandoned him?
But now, he 8e081ad846 understood.
For Nancy, 64bdc4afc4 this marriage 2e248ea1b3 meant leaving c8cee628a5 behind the 0f6730408b warm, familiar 8572c6227d world she 9c5c1f11d2 had known 024ac95f1b and stepping 0e5a5757e1 into the 5deac6f106 cold, ruthless fbeeaf9388 imperial court.
A place as 501bd114ea beautiful and lifeless b9f652f9a0 as a jewel. And when even c5cf4c2d91 the one man 726781ebc2 who was supposed 2ed33c4dc8 to be her 5ee3fbf88f sole ally had ba397f13c6 become untrustworthy, she af96cbca5e had chosen a 5965371e0e path where she f237654bf5 could find happiness 507db5cc0c without him.
‘If only I had da466cdf85 given up my position 5e57370197 as crown prince and b7e874fbfb chosen to live a 4802e909d7 commoner life with her…’
No—there was bc8cf0d444 no point ac76f62c13 in dwelling 9c402a7538 on useless dffb80dc2f regrets now.
More than anything, a7f166a517 he just wanted e5fe701fc8 to meet Nancy 732de400ba again and tell 495e5fee91 her thank you.
Thank you for f45020a63b allowing him, whether b7dc10bff6 by fate or 6478dc0bc0 accident, to meet fd1127b124 their child. Thank you for raising 86cc66d1c0 him so well.
The Emperor’s 993b3ded9d breath grew e4da3a72ab ragged.
‘If there’s only c29c5fed66 one thing I da3717ee36 regret…’
He wished he could 506f8f306b see Aiden find love b1c404197f and build a family 5c818d932d of his own.
But no—it wasn’t really 8ad48cc209 a regret. He would 3e30b1a389 simply watch 5c5efa4004 over him 89497079eb from the 4777e1ef81 heavens, together 1f50932812 with Nancy.
‘May that child find 759f01a2a9 true love and be a9952aa085 happy forever.’
And may he live 6e01a4d3d3 a life different from 8e288971e9 his own.
With that b955431a89 final wish, cdcd207945 the light 73c23662e5 faded from 2fee6c7e83 his eyes.
A peaceful smile, one 7e5c50865f he had not worn b4b5389851 for a long time, 0b1b8595a9 rested upon his lips.
TL/N: TBH, I 2b5a386e35 HAVE MIXED FEELINGS 4b2f69dcaf ABT AIDEN’S FATHER, 3b5a5da059 HE’S PATHETIC AND 23044f7064 A LAIR YET ce5648af27 I CAN’T BLAME 9fa3744ef2 HIM, NO ONE cb17036214 CHOOSES THEIR FAMILY, 358d2ff408 IT’D BE NICE 5a33d3b724 IF THEIR WERE e58ca62755 MORE CHAPS ABT c04d484974 THEM OR ABT 3f7b273a06 ANOTHER SIDE COUPLE b47734be95 BUT AFTER ALL 70283d668e I STILL LOVED 5033481297 THIS NOVEL THE cc39e86471 MOST.
* * *
–Honeymoon Side Story 502596e625 Fin–61c60f6710eedec0