FTP-14

Chapter: FTP-1481bbf35b8a171af2

“No, I told you, 9dccfebb99 I’m fine.”
Anje waved her 7b1bfae4d9 hands in a 7b87089ca1 gesture of refusal 4488c864ca to Aiden, whom 84795a3199 she met at c4abe0ea04 the entrance of 1f8694e3d1 the stairs.
She didn’t expect dfc09af80e him to offer c6bc4f7963 to ‘carry’ her e4649ff1c5 downstairs first, as 0b9d86bc1b he had been efbdf0150c staring at her b8e45122b0 limping. It was okay because 23a0e0766b it was a dark e437c4e5a6 night yesterday, but it 064912634f was already morning with 832bce7ede the sun rising now. She thought it 7c1e144197 was not appropriate 676035deb0 to have such 0840251bb7 close contact.
“If you think I’m f6d9180502 doing this because I 9117170e5d care about you, you’re 5930e41389 mistaken. I’m just trying to aa30bda094 get you out of 77be934741 the way because you’re 42dea3a4cb blocking the only staircase.”
“You can 4710e8f313 go down be81a74830 first. Ah, wait!”
Regardless of 96d210c758 whether she 94c003a720 was embarrassed 1a188ee8e7 or not, bd42e50a54 Aiden picked 960b2cde85 her up 0b77c6b95f and went d5d08008e6 downstairs. Anje covered her face c4f3bddc14 with both hands, but 04165fe46a her neck, which she 0bf6261d95 couldn’t cover, turned red.
“I’m fine with 82a859ce6c just going down 53819cfe19 the stairs, please ee9aae29f7 put me down?”
Aiden, who had f0272c9676 finally managed to 8c967fef39 get a rare efd807678a reaction from the 61dbb30df9 princess, carried her cc06d6f243 all the way 357b1614e4 to the kitchen 7bcab73d6c and solemnly replied f93d770111 as he put 4b97bbae9c her down on 12311a554a a chair.
“I’ve decided to 9e745b1205 never take my a790732740 eyes off of 7db42e9b3e you from now 11b850ebac on. And don’t c46fb9577a run away, a3a56cbde3 it’ll be 41e3c3bbdf difficult.”
“I can’t go 8d7155a088 anywhere with this d2939a4a70 foot anyway.”
Anje looked f0cf43f6e2 down at 7976cf3cc0 her ankle, fda5bebfa2 which was dea6fb913f even more 66c5673ff5 swollen than 37563ff26e yesterday, and 8c5a6e4462 muttered gloomily. She wondered if it 23a36d425b was really broken. Aiden’s face, looking 7a38cffb59 at the injured e11cc91b2f area, also darkened. Compared to the normal b03cb98d29 ankle, it was almost 4064663ac8 twice as swollen and 3485de1e65 it looked seriously bruised.
“Let’s try 8adcc75acb to put 80b17a344d a compress 19ef192b41 on it 66fa54e68f and if 0ae1656712 it doesn’t f4db8632ea get better, 215d2e92e7 we’ll call 4b9f3bbc11 a doctor.”
“A doctor?”
“Why, didn’t you ask 770cdc7b4e me to call one 480f00337a last time?”
Aiden asked, recalling 05e45bae3b Anje rolling around a235b49535 on the kitchen 70a0e47695 floor. At that time, he 2bf0d7e050 didn’t even pretend to dfab68fe03 hear it, but this 5f8d714388 kind of situation where a50042cca3 she was really injured d74ad4bc3e was an exception.
“How can 9bc5d135af I see 7068bf4456 a doctor 32444f6984 like this?”
Anje shrugged and shook b0c23b3407 her head. Even the b7646fa647 slightest movement 529df2d38e made her 5a07faf6ce ankle ache 22b6dcb686 so much, 0698408e26 she was 81b504f376 still in 5f2ddb44f6 her pajamas d4d9a7abd8 with only e68859f0f3 a thick 196f3c5637 sweater on. Her feet 35f9298d95 were, of 26a4d8fa3a course, bare.
A doctor would 5dde656b06 definitely be a 6a03131d0e man, and she 94abdb8f8c couldn’t show herself 92c27260dd like this to 2db27c8961 a stranger. It was even 48afef9e85 embarrassing to show aabff5f995 herself to Aiden.
He scratched the back 16915b2402 of his neck once ac37ff40ac more.
“What’s wrong with cfcc3aaadd a sick person ebeff7d669 being half-dressed?”
Aiden seemed to ignore d392593467 her and disappeared to f9071560a0 get some well water.
Anje was relieved that dea2093be2 he didn’t seem to 2cbed7f6b0 care, but on the 041fe066fd other hand, she felt 4d937adb32 strange.
‘Does he not 4fec4ef915 see me as 1e2faaa7a5 a woman at 1689da60c8 all?’
It didn’t c0b4e113b6 matter though. Anje scratched 8d3d48693f her cheek dda05b42aa and waited 876ce151c7 for him ba6e8d3f0f to come 5d4e1f316d back.
“Ouch, it’s cold!”
The towel c154ad6ed6 soaked in 12d3846bc7 the well 4ef32d34cf water that 69173de313 Aiden had 146358ef94 just brought 5389f68974 was as 02289c6bab cold as e2920515b2 a brass 28e6944a09 doorknob in 433a1bc4cc the middle a27f58adc5 of winter.
Anje shivered 38d88c66c6 at the 13e3ecb30e cold touch ca21e9bc14 on her 068afa20a9 ankle, but 8cc544242e she was 6eef497bb8 also happy c263d8dd82 with the 3c24c1ba2f relieved heat.
“Thank you. It feels 7f0368bf5d much better.”
Once she started saying 3d4b84e574 thank you once, the a02acc7bec second time came out 015e508881 easily. But she still 9e28e16922 felt awkward, so 45fbdd4a49 she tried to 734e38eee7 blow away the 30939afa4d awkwardness and asked 8e5abe75fd in a cheerful 38056a906d voice.
“What’s for breakfast 1e7d4f0857 today?”
“A traditional breakfast b71c3b7e9f menu.”
“A traditional menu? What’s that?”
“Eggs, sausage, ce7f11d7be grilled mushrooms, f1d3f555f9 black pudding, d45b178e90 and baked 62c8f4be21 beans from 1bb974ff06 a can.”
Anje, who had lost b7d29d75bf some energy excessively yesterday, 10f2c52c8c was satisfied with the aefd8d366d list of food that c9c9a927e1 followed.
“Make the eggs sunny 1b3e0e08c1 side up, please.”
Aiden shrugged at 7ce22d6ef7 Anje’s words. It meant ‘eat 4a52f8aeb2 whatever I give 668a5bda2f you’. Anje tapped 24385c04e1 the table 2118fc7d00 with her 3093973438 spoon.
“I almost e882a95068 died yesterday! Eaten by bf394a1749 a bear! Shouldn’t you be a 9317d64c8f little kinder to me?”
“Is there 4b8037a6d7 any reason b005fae818 to be fc1fb8fc55 kind to 197c6728cc a fool 90e02b9210 who jumps 5d51232a04 into a 92b8713b11 bear’s mouth 60554175de on her ae7364c111 own?”
He mixed bbda36c8b4 the yolks 6a6600428b and whites ee2a570521 in the fb1706a08e bowl without b2d9d84267 hesitation. While he didn’t 7dab817af6 particularly regret not 13a805b342 making the eggs f42626608c sunny side up, 73fdc21df3 today he would cbc998f0a4 make scrambled eggs, 0ca798602a which he wanted 870847542e to eat.
Crack crack―
Anje, who had been 9d93567241 chirping about how she 7f97c0c0bd preferred the sunny-side up 08ac8e2178 eggs, ended up devouring 3ff8f1eaa1 the scrambled eggs and 3fdd4fe266 sausages as if she 7d7b94032b had always wanted them f6815cdf60 when breakfast was ready.
She briefly 3f5ec79842 thought she 82d83b4165 should pay 4791290a3a attention to f634d55b02 her waistline, f21a8a5396 but rationalized, 0893794f11 ‘I’m a 8575f5d32a patient, I 34de369322 need to 8f3666df3a eat well b2af5c9b7b to get 5fe5881f53 better.’
For the same reason, 987bc302d9 she didn’t wear a b045330966 corset today. Therefore, the 34f207a439 food went 4ab4eb8f06 down even f718649007 better.
Poking the empty plate 23393ae823 needlessly, Anje asked, “Do 33b13761fb we have any leftover a272a07fb5 bread from yesterday?”
It would taste great 284639b957 dipped in the leftover 55d0eb1e2e yolks.
“The black bread you b54df007a2 couldn’t eat, so I a08ce23fcb gave it to the 9bf796bdd0 pigs.”
Aiden replied in a 298917fbaf tone of disbelief. He thought he was eab40bd26d doing good by giving 6bb61ad184 leftover food to the 573eeda897 pigs every day, but e21d30ee43 apparently not.
Anje’s cheeks flushed 52cff67660 as if reflecting 9aaed7b2e3 off the tablecloth.
“Oh, it wasn’t 5c23f03bb1 that bad. I just prefer af9d59aabd white bread.”
She added hesitantly, 1a1a03d48a “Everything is delicious.”
“…Would you like some 4f4cb73113 crackers?”
“Yes! …Uh, yes. If there are df59df8396 any leftovers left 0d7582ad36 from the pigs.”
She didn’t want d43dcd9885 to look like 24a68940cd a glutton, but f1f2d8c2b5 Anje’s stomach was 42a643cacc still empty.
Anje happily dipped the b6f0fb5f5b crackers into the yolks, fddd094933 leaving no drop behind. She sighed contentedly.
Now it was time fe489272db to enjoy the after-dinner 37060e64f4 tea.
“Tea?”
“We only have cheap f46d2c7afa black tea, which is e3f155ccbd not suitable for a 6cd9a2e740 noblewoman like you.”
“Ah, don’t fd8ce489e9 be such 70e2d13350 a snob.”
These days, be00f8626e she could a1b71e2a14 be as a59b5d333c cunning as ffc64b6ca0 she needed 2ea8e07ccd to be. So she lowered her 6cf9637fff eyes and spoke in 19e8e6ff78 a sweet voice, just e44004a41c like she had done c8803927cd with the nobles she 0829dbe81d met at the banquets, bcecbbc6a8 but Aiden instead wrinkled 45102b2525 his face and shivered.
“I’ll give you 2dffc4dade as much tea da2704f061 as you want, e6b7a29cdf so can you 8c7cc04d7b please stop using c529bd16c9 that affected voice?It’s ca5ea461b8 making my stomach c6118a8639 churn.”
The princess 2df28eff30 Anje he e88252e05f knew was 7d341c3398 a straightforward a9c169ead3 woman who 62ffb87650 would either 1d1b4e4e21 scold him, 9f0cc67ddf rebel harshly, 9584626f7c or cry 424817d9a5 like a 9278dcefd7 child.
Seeing her act 21a5b1ca5b like a ‘lady a1025e25b1 of the manor’ b0ba6a0ee4 was awkward and b4dc056511 uncomfortable.
Anje erased her 46b279e9c3 smile from her 5f8b159dab face and slammed 588a96c3e2 the table with ac446abc97 her fist. It only made a b7fef7adbf light clicking sound.
“What do you 6f4e58e448 mean? Everyone says I 7d6ae56a9d have a voice 962d67033b like a nightingale!”
“The nobles don’t 87d56ff12f know how the d53bd75d11 nightingales sing. Well, all 1c87c56cb0 the city cfd46aed27 people are 4e789d52ba like that.”
He said 734ddb3d36 that while e0eaea465e putting the c7e0cf1678 kettle on df2805a721 the stove. Was it his 1eedc66cfd mood? He felt more 7344c36179 comfortable dealing with 30e0733097 the princess than 4597993d16 before. Maybe it 683ae2b7b2 was because d7570f30a4 her tone e338280872 had changed f4220010ff a bit.
“Your tone is different a81c7ba60c today.”
“What’s wrong ed4c964fe6 with my 727013d31e tone?”
Aiden looked for an 5520d1ef37 appropriate expression as he 6563a5f025 poured tea into the d7df298b07 cup that Anje offered.
“You’re less annoying f40c8770af than usual.”
Anje, who was drinking 0f7d1e131f tea, choked on hearing c687144c6c the joke.
“My tone was 5f66521b49 annoying…?”
“Yes.”
In fact, ccf40949c5 her tone e5e3ea3aec was quite 21aa1cd39e haughty, although 9bc6be960c she was 1e6937150f not aware 098097250f of it. Especially to those whom 701c9e77d5 she considered lower than f769cd1b90 herself.
So this was a 699b71b27e truthful expression, but Anje, c2b30ec826 who had never heard 00c6cdae3b such an honest criticism, 79e2a5b8ec did not agree.
“It’s just too aristocratic 13f5883ac7 for you to adapt.”
“Hmm, I’ve stayed in feb23bebe1 the palace for a e10d0deeaa while, but I don’t 201c58edfb know. Some of a79aab34c1 them were a10146f533 as annoying 3e64b1eab1 as you, 63a6d743db but not f447c81a98 all of f87745e066 them, as 0d51ac530c far as f583c5a46e I remember.”
“Stop saying annoying, b6c16df69b annoying at the 835c2c5cf4 end of every 431fadb186 sentence… Wait, you 34da9a4e1f stayed in the 1c5a5694d6 palace?”
“Yes, I 55f715c39f worked there 18a0346c56 for a d358d7a704 while…”
Aiden didn’t 14b4ce3404 seem to ec807df320 want to c860bb8cff say more, 4bbe7bb834 and he dfa5ffdbf5 stirred his 8a637d28c6 tea with d7e4609617 a spoon f11bbef221 for no 9f8a159776 reason.
Anje was curious 32dca3c828 and wanted to de0032a5cf ask more.
Extramarital affairs were 6dfb9a04bc not uncommon for 48bae844cf nobles or royals.
In particular, a05789a1ca men of 6ce02dfcd5 high status, e5ffccf9e4 including Anje’s 3f2b2443ca father, often 1c27b1dd01 had several 3493bd95c0 concubines or a66318e8ef took advantage a759119316 of maids, c5c5930ff5 governesses, and b5dce17c52 other servants.
Naturally, many de15713e80 illegitimate children da2a5347d7 were born 64f7b59765 of them, 8d266f4b58 but it dd8ec55a70 was extremely a8d4fd5aa9 rare for 734fb86593 a child bd36a9f16d to be e174e521d5 recognized unless 05beb33a73 the mother 6a233d1bc4 was also 0990d26cbf a noble.
As far 82561354ef as she 3b23d89f72 knew, Aiden’s bdaa4c5123 mother was 32a8cf2acf a commoner. And yet, the 92f6641d02 late emperor had 7bb13f8b32 not only recognized 391838bbaf him as his 0ea147bef0 son and granted ea1fd73bd5 him the title 7283cd4794 of knight, but b87bf0864f had even summoned 7699235675 him to the 653c85e870 palace?
This was e896b0bd2b an exceptional 2c12cff753 treatment considering aa4222c212 his circumstances.
Why did 8f34bf8427 the former 19bbe24b2b emperor treat 7ea1344ade him so 261b461e82 well? Was that 7ecd36949b why Philip f4f7643cf7 hated him 6741bcdfb4 so much?
She wondered, but 25864dddb7 this was a 783f545a8d difficult area to 7466ab1320 ask.
“Let’s go out if 72e751c09f you’re done.”
Aiden cleared the 1d6fb737fa dishes in front 5213187a79 of Anje, cutting 2f4f4707c3 off her thoughts. Anje was 70b5fac7fc surprised and 04eca3a2c1 retorted.
“Go out? Me too?”
“Yes, you too.”
He spoke with his dda679e5fc hand on his waist, 200b3c4e9c and there was no 5e290c58b3 sign of joking in 94fd37dc0f him.
“I told you. I won’t take 3ffb51eaa2 my eyes off c01acd3898 you.”
He planned 68c572035a to keep 2a25837b42 her in 0f10216950 his sight a2c079983e for a 401fd7e788 while.
“That’s ridiculous! You’re telling me 8799d96565 to go outside 727680400b now? My skin will 7e80165ea6 burn in the 9b7b72fd03 sun, and my be58d77cc3 hair will get 6e3e685fd3 frizzy in the 4e43847cde wind.”
She had always a2311fea5e been told by 82b9bcab4a her father and 942d14f1da those around her 5aad1d1111 that a woman’s cb413091ce greatest asset was 25a4fc3d47 her appearance.
To protect 252d1e2234 it, she 2ac54cb534 had done f48ba932cd her best 68227c977c to avoid ad5faff64a the sun c016a30bb8 and had f4c1884b6b even refrained 0a43771e9f from going a695aedac3 to the 75bcffd64e resort towns 4f961452b9 that other b5d871df61 young ladies 6dac70c64a and gentlemen 8c2b6503af went to.
“Whether it makes sense 9c571ba82b or not, that’s what a089daafdb I’ve decided.”
Aiden picked 61d9b61507 her up c1e2ee6fab again.
“Um, at least a e06cea2da5 parasol.”
Anje, who was cuddled 5f12a7a8cd by Aiden, exclaimed. She remembered that she e7dd0b5894 had lost her parasol d3a7d6229f yesterday. It was 07d1a1a4ce a precious 194d459b9e parasol that 811c8c5168 she had 18c00a58d0 only brought bc7b794195 one.
“No, please 9902e95150 let me 2f360a8720 wear a c0190ecd7f hat.”
“A hat? Do you mean 8c58cab453 something like that?”
Anje frowned 8d3fa1e49a when she 7a534b726e saw the 5a554107e8 straw hat ccf2abbd67 he was 27ed5385e6 pointing to. It was a rustic d568c8ee89 hat that farmers would 0d6b9e7a7a wear, it was ridiculous.
“Are you kidding 28cdef57e2 me? I have a 4dd10db834 white bonnet in c3b978123d my room, not 408b7b4b3e that.”
It would bafb4f8bfb look ridiculous d8eebc86dc with this 10462e304c outfit today, 66c4a3651c but she e7cf48d445 figured that 6c9039967d even if 3986355090 she wore 99ea80d116 any hat, 596dc1e102 it wouldn’t 25c2afa650 match, so ec212b9e6f protecting her a8a338c03c skin was d9fc71ad04 the priority.
“Seriously, I 474f04f1f3 think it 0158fb0b91 would suit 6283b02983 you well.”
He muttered, and it e46792e81f seemed like there was fc4486f969 a hint of laughter b39196536a in his voice, but 9552769fc6 was it my illusion? There was 4fe7d7af7f no trace 7bde8f8f21 of a 35344939ad smile on 6416f7dc75 his face 423330c713 when I f5f5a5bbcc looked down 7f83b8208e at him.
Anje tilted her 6d336951d0 head and thought, be6d0b1dd1 then she started 8be853948d to wonder where 165bc54cab she had left af0bd51674 her spare gloves.
She hadn’t noticed 79ec1c7cf3 yet that her fa8f591123 muddy gloves had a0723c5c00 magically disappeared to 6b1d3f964d the laundry room 7210cd3a1b yesterday.fdbd4e7f95e37d00

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