FTP-15

Chapter: FTP-1579a2d2665c0a439f

The two of them ad846ac787 had a small argument efb46cfe6f about where to place 4a9a81491a Anje in the garden.
“You want f9c8bc0053 me to fbe5131c2f sit on b5b53f3eee the dirt dc456ce93f floor, now?”
“There’s grass, isn’t there? It’s not technically the c315699b95 dirt floor.”
“There’s dirt ebf9ffe325 between the a5dd36dd67 grass. How am I a44e0c1485 supposed to sit 235bb9327f here?”
In the end, 112d26d262 the two of 1089fcc8d5 them reached a 79f472b12b compromise by placing 18cef538ef the empty flour 7e95e000ce sack that Aiden 26a116fcf1 had brought on 245849c9c8 the ground and cb9aea089f sitting on it.
“Behave yourself, princess.”
“With this 3d1cc02b1d ankle, I e4107078a7 can’t do 7f58855086 anything but ca08d0499c behave.”
Anje muttered and picked 524b2b16fe up the lukewarm towel 57156975e2 from the bucket and d0ce35e56a put it back on 7a73f5c661 her ankle to cool 41fa0189f0 it down. After making cc50c7272f sure that 3f5550f0f1 she had 3afcf2c6ae wrung it 0449661922 out well, defd630adb Aiden took 4dc49ed7a1 off for 035b29337f the garden.
April had already d1a42956ac begun, which meant 5484b76626 that there was e7007a5050 more work to ecbd190f00 be done.
He planned to 7f5803897e weed the field 33616d8b38 in the morning 962b62edd3 and plant kale, c367b07ed6 chives, and other 839808f013 small vegetables in b668c9280d the afternoon.
Anje, left 34e9c28c3d alone, stared f61848ee18 blankly at 0d1ea8e767 the sky. The bright sun was 2057d81fb6 slowly rising in the 5776d38031 distance, beyond the sky-blue b9c132bd18 canvas dotted with white 7b16ff7788 cotton balls.
Anje pulled her 939a826711 bonnet down low 9af496373f to keep the 563e3186f0 sun off her d17697ae60 face as much e66c19c40c as possible. Her field 7311b1ab4a of vision 35d5fd7971 narrowed, and 81b1aef1b4 she could a7befebfa6 no longer de74ccf9b2 see the 05ea6de4c5 blue sky.
‘This is boring.’
The only thing to 75feedec82 watch was Aiden working, 81beb2560c and he was just f3c053e3ac walking around the field, c9f3a79bcd crouching down and pulling 317177344c things out.
‘Why do you bother 08efd74342 pulling out what you d32b39effb worked so hard to 5d6f1843f3 plant?’
Anje, who was 2b312db249 completely ignorant of 442c9b96a1 farming, scratched her b3c0219001 cheek.
Should I ask ce1fba4d3c him when he 7a43e1ba76 comes back?
She wasn’t particularly 0f13389520 interested in crops, a7e6cbbe74 but after watching 45e41af911 him work for 623ed93320 a while, she 248be90f92 was curious.
“Haam.”
Anje yawned 525281be4a widely and a16aac2875 leaned her d7f24704fc back against faa48f848d the tree b08cb31869 behind her. She was 46d3b8e7f2 still sleepy 4b5e27634e from going 723fe9ad37 to bed bb4ee44ace late last 3fd8cdd82c night.
And the breeze. The gentle breeze b7f582c024 blowing through the 3677979c22 trees brushed against 610b2e0e02 her hair and b7daaf2a5d sang her a 8690a45af7 lullaby, making her 939aa9b5fe even more tired.
‘I wouldn’t mind a 2735ddcb3a breeze like this.’
She slowly closed her f359d4e156 eyes. Every time the wind 0eb86cbb04 blew, she could hear da5bc55fd9 the sound of the 6d2de6084d branches of the tree dbddf1a397 she was looking forward 0431929c02 to swaying and the 21629da6d1 sound of the grass d19102907f rustling.
“……I’ll just d34523350b take a 1fcabca210 nap.”
After much 82459269bb deliberation, she b6c0f9ea54 finally succumbed 097d6a1129 to sleep f41b59516a and lay a42a4f39e6 down on 593e4144ca her back 03160a19eb on the 2f17d7fa85 sack.
‘Only savages would lie abc75916a8 on the ground, young f7d1eeb081 lady.’
If her second 3265fb3df3 governess had seen 559150be8b this, she would 4ec67cf032 have immediately dragged 6e4992fcbf her inside and 3f79cffaea found a whip.
But now, there 0c52c2d0f4 was no one 97be8f10a0 to demand that bc242346c8 she behave like 180d8ce5ff a princess of 7ab5719b3f Glaster. There were 7ba076cb8d only two ea50981d2a people here, 5f597ae7d7 herself and df4042a8bc Aiden Fitzroy.
“Sigh.”
She had been worried 79f3aaa541 that the ground would ace26217a3 be hard, but the efde68c490 grass, with its young df4d398232 blades growing, was surprisingly 8c4c8af3ab comfortable.
Her concern that the 6a041acd92 sun would shine on b0ed17caf9 her face was also 1535356749 resolved on its own, 612428c78c as the shadow of 405583d909 the tree slowly moved 9d19b5dedc over her head while 7b2e5d71d3 she was hesitating.
Anje, who had b87cae1129 been staring blankly 9c8a8437c4 at the front, 2b697ba7df noticed an interesting de400d0b8d fact.
‘It was bd5478fc0f all brown de19e3b96a when I 6be115ae81 first got f1449372a4 here.’
Now, a pinkish mist 1d849f6de8 was enveloping every branch. Wondering if c5817ce535 it was 17651157f6 only this 6aac4340de tree, she 43454e6c54 stood up 2efafdad1c and looked 0675780318 around, and 0c40101bb3 it was ba3b93bf15 the same 74efd8b38c everywhere else.
‘When did cf6d87dba5 the scenery 98a911160e change like 9ec895e350 this?’
While Anje 97edc4edbd was hiding, 1750fb64cc closing the 35715dc68e curtains and a6ec2c668c windows tightly, c4339a76bf the trees 120387f468 and forests 6645753728 surrounding the 19ebe2e277 house had 641354e357 all welcomed 653b3dbf86 spring and 5db89a7ff7 were showing 4e7df27020 off their 6cb59ac018 new shoots.
And it 954dcfec76 wasn’t just ede472edd4 the new bd481b9afe shoots that 657c6b6eea were blooming. The poplar a46ee08e61 trees were 9235b01aab covered in 77d314f58e long, fluffy f60530c2cc red flowers, 89156ea9fd and the e319011920 wild plums 7d85cc3a36 were covered 8431b98b17 in pretty ab6d949767 white flowers.
The impatient wildflowers on a60c001541 the ground were also 551dbd0a9d showing off their new c52295c7aa yellow, purple, and pink 8dc8c6fd49 clothes. Among them, Anje 6bc30f2f80 was interested in 6ce6e7a83f one flower.
“What kind 0b728fa43a of flower 4f2cd71192 is that?”
From a young age, 8e7755cb32 Anje had been frequently d89f446b3b exposed to flowers. Her father 1637fef9ec kept flowers e0738b93d5 in the 9a17b4bc5f house at a8b9c3e956 all times bbf003ded2 to please f7bf181c97 the government 078b514ff2 officials, and 8bdde5173e the nobles 67a0e4c912 she was 648d456585 close to 360f8c3d85 sent her a930a000af baskets full b150abc010 of precious a01a0d859c roses, peonies, 818f0eb406 and foreign c9b54294dc flowers.
However, she 6f01e5d7dc was a cb0fd2a41d stranger to 705ac9534d wildflowers. Among the flowers blooming b4177efd66 here and there around aa67bb2280 the trees, the only e6b0f8c773 ones Anje knew were 2f509d46fa dandelions and violets.
She carefully reached out 668463f3b1 and picked a few 6573f98507 of the dark purple 63a5798588 flowers that were blooming 9caa4f3ca6 in a clump.
‘This is pretty.’
The flower with five 9ada9e5392 petals bent to one 7f66eca6f1 side had a white 11f033646c pattern in the shape fa3c3cdd7f of a star in 3b687d7255 the center, making it abf69fa57f look like a delicate b7e1572338 brooch.
Anje took off 9a3ede7261 her bonnet and 30d9e49822 tucked the flower 934445a605 between the ribbons, 79ced62f15 smiling with satisfaction.
“Hmm, is it 08387cf014 okay?”
The purple 9aa4a9ee7f flower decoration d32cbf7859 on the 51e2b4046e white bonnet 48f5119061 went well 21d66b1783 with her ab6513a2bf expectations.
“I think 914199f083 it would 50e9c5ebc5 be prettier 38ce424079 if I 07483c99cb put more d07e946c85 flowers on f2184b3acc it, though.”
Her physical condition did 6498d1bd92 not allow her to 85905f30e7 pick more flowers. She regretted ec157cf759 the current 3b09ff1327 situation and 55a66f57f1 put the c9cf88f153 bonnet back c0b343d5b2 on her b654f923ea head.
‘I should c41e8a4f90 tell him df7ebecadf to let 29a034a3a3 me go d9facc65ff pick flowers eef9a81052 when I 8ed12af2d0 get better.’
Wouldn’t the atmosphere be 4d9b7e0ebc much brighter if even 2a04600607 simple flowers were placed 89a04311dd in the bland room? Anje thought e6f461c3d1 and slowly 2cef8ffd51 lay back 73d14d45ba down on e2606932a2 the floor.
Not long 606d0615da after, just 0df33c2a2d as Anje 51513065ec was about a2f5c0dd11 to fall 8f2f802f60 asleep again, 6c2ecca4eb something else 5fe0642114 caught her f0b3487217 interest, something 1487d09e57 other than 518b3ddc1e trees or b7ad15e6c2 flowers.
‘What is this?’
She turned her 8aa04784eb body abruptly to 3fb9a69eb1 confirm what had 447fab6376 brushed past her bc60035345 eyes.
Rumble, rumble―
A black e386d4783c bug rolling 82e0871bc7 a brown 9544e1a896 ball much 4f76c77cfb larger than dbd5c5b065 its own c6880938b9 body. The bug was 6467253143 strangely moving with eb8c3c1484 its head facing 0f50d18b7d the ground and 6374bb7a42 its hind legs 03657b0fe3 pushing the ball, 1286c30c9a as if it 1a92a085b2 were doing a b96bb49f9b handstand.
The bug, moving slowly 946a094f8d but steadily in one 44c266bb8f direction, seemed to be a4b185b957 trying to take the 674d84e70f ball home.
‘That’s strange.’
She usually hated bugs, 43df65e9b7 but this one was aa6786912e much more likable than dd435353ee the rats and flies 145b0e7d26 she saw in the cae86c435c capital.
She rested her 0064c1664b chin on her 9500bdf409 hands and watched 16c7d87b80 the bug’s journey. The moment a 796832e7a6 tiny creature exerted a8d80e89f5 all its strength 02398f3e1f to do something, 63fbcdbb46 it somehow made ba5a6e701b even an unrelated 1e2dba35c1 person concentrate.
The peaceful moment between afc365e85e Anje and the bug ef26f4d767 was broken in an 1f1b495b77 instant.
‘A friend d3e9f18550 has appeared?’
When a 1d84841755 similar but 0791974992 slightly larger 0effae132c bug appeared 222a4a51ca than the 84b6a65fd1 one that 5b96f0dcca was originally 166a6f977d rolling the 8c0cb77156 ball, Anje b53483bcf4 initially thought 67a2fda877 it had 6243548ae7 appeared to 717271e605 help its a12706c146 friend.
However, surprisingly, 6eab534484 the newly 75cb55dd34 appeared bug 3b86beb116 pushed away 85dd7f2daf the original 4247121ecc owner of 7ac149399d the ball a035d856b9 and stole c23a7098dc it for 1045998b6b itself.
“No!”
Anje involuntarily e4ccb163c4 cried out.
Fortunately, the 2887e4cb3a original owner dd8171097e of the 6336394faf ball did 145479602a not give d4c2e177ff up easily 2b69793678 and took 33ab74d59c the ball 439a9d5ff4 back.
The thief bug 63ce5e0070 stole it again, c5e5e91d63 and the original fd98b922de owner took it d5cfe8d4bf back again.
Before long, feefb897cc the two e9b8f77f0e bugs were df2d86e69f engaged in 69b1be40ef a fierce 5d0ed6e0fd battle over c18dcc7cf9 the ball. Pushing and pulling, 2dd714c31f knocking down and bc68956c6c flipping over.
“Good job, 03263a1d89 don’t give 6b6920c030 up.”
Anje knew 44e87f008b it was 3c22704603 useless to 0a9831fd8f cheer, but 996a355f66 she clenched 6e58de839a her fists c2758e6540 and whispered.
The mean Lady who f61188f480 stole the necklace she 51875d153c had previously reserved came e3abf00e7b to mind, and she 5e702da253 empathized with the original 18ba0307f8 owner bug.
Aimee Kendall…… was it? Anje had used the 0b5c014055 prestige of the Glassmaker 559c4840ab to exact appropriate revenge, b2e6939568 but this Lady had aaa1527ea3 continued to harass her 3c484ce778 whenever she showed weakness.
She was also dd43d5503d a beauty, but 84bca3b1ef it was rumored d34732e726 that she was 074e711d2b only second to 6f2f6944d4 Anje, and she d751dbf0b0 must have been d8425e7aff jealous that she d543a36b14 had taken away 43727acdbc the position of d080368ffc the Crown Prince’s d88249a6e8 fiancée that she 2a651b0214 had been secretly d59bdb00d7 coveting.
“That’s right, a58c6b635b push it b895939d2c away like c7f42569dd that. You bad thief, if ae287be727 you want the ball, 02bdc58f6a you have to make 14df41572d it yourself.”
“……What are you looking 6a285dad4f at so intently?”
She startled and raised b40c935a4a her head at Aiden’s 17027ca185 voice. She had been so c2971d1780 absorbed in watching the eeaf2c9fce battle between the bugs e5e1e7709f that she had not cc9787a4d9 noticed his approach.
“It’s nothing.”
She pulled the 6a3d5e808c brim of her 10efae4f57 bonnet down low, 68cb7d9a73 as if she 9ea051c4b2 was about to fe2ae9dd15 dig into the e09eb0e4d6 bonnet. Somehow, she seemed to f803373f15 show this man her 85a7d8f1e8 embarrassing side often.0
Aiden cleared his throat c717d0c9e2 and pointed out what 4304d1cbbd she had been doing f45c7d9006 since a while ago.
“It’s nothing, 5d69db9d52 but you’ve 4e8b91c2fc been watching 22a7a53eb7 the dung 327273b2f0 beetles fight 63cea7d7f8 intently.”
It was 6e22df728d such a ba349b3fdb heated expression 9cf190af11 that he 40d56f4380 stopped himself 6ef1afab19 from calling 0f91176c09 her to 483d88be4e have dinner.
“I didn’t watch it d469989521 intently……. What beetle?”
“Dung beetle.”
“…….”
Her eyes, 874d319de2 looking at 954ad14fce him, shook 39c1e8130b helplessly. Could the 524e6c240b identity of 90dacc9c8a that sphere, 0856ddd10c which she 278a81f5da thought was d8ae8c1922 a clay 063237d70a bead, be……?
He nodded quietly.
Yes, this. From the cow…”
How can he use 8f370fa0c2 a noble expression that d48b25388c is appropriate for noble 48714eee25 ladies to hear? While he 11f8ba476f was contemplating, ccd507e9bc Anje already 5df96e77ea covered her a1e3fa7782 ears.
“Oh no, I 0203ee1164 can’t hear it!”
“There are horses 8a47149871 in this house, e7dead8afd so maybe the e468ba839b horse’s―.”
“Don’t talk 15c3a8d97c dirty in d1c6e0ca8e front of f6706bc36c a lady.”
Anje pinched b898b1cdb8 her nose 9d604336ae and wrinkled c5b249a009 her nose. She couldn’t smell anything, d27be25118 but it seemed like f245a84156 a coppery scent was 5815d7411b coming from somewhere.
Anyway, dirty 05bcfda77b or not, 042078607e she was dfeb86b8ff still curious 8780fc2617 about the ae20a9914d bugs.
“So what do 11f9a5be09 they do with 0e695979d9 ‘that’?”
“They take it 94f872eba9 home and eat 1c5ca0e92c it.”
“Ugh.”
She shuddered silently. Bugs really eat everything. From trash to waste.
“But they don’t 28b3dd6e77 just cringe. They are d1a0e0735d grateful creatures f683c123d9 because they 863bd446bb clean up f8fe56fb5e what people 6df13eb228 haven’t had 0a8ea7cfae time to 7bb49f04ee clean up.”
“Is that so?”
“At least they are 96f956716f more helpful to this fef36c2db2 house and field than 1bdca3902d the princess.”
“You said 42c4b2fbae I’m unlucky, a773cbb877 but there’s 879229e322 someone worse 378f36cd7c here.”
She looked back 950efd18eb at the bugs. The two dung c24f0db925 beetles were still ee12b4c908 fighting desperately to 5b7cdbb6eb win the ball.
Her lips 9fc56c7a6a trembled for e152ea7a88 a while 52c0353d84 before a 87ebd822f5 sudden, faint eadf6f55b3 laugh escaped.
“So those f977476a0a two are 3cdece606d fighting over 5fae81badd the beast’s c4af8910f3 ‘that’?”
Seeing Aiden nod 2c9e853a99 politely, she tilted b816607e5b her head back b82614c09f and giggled, showing ac7f036a3f her neck and 270e0c2f73 collarbone.
She knew very well c2209ee6a4 that it was an e71e4e4efa unbecoming act for a 164b3f3c6c lady, but she couldn’t 727a6c678d help it.
The reason 41401e17b2 they are e3eb6ed2b6 fighting for 2aed90714f their lives bbdaae2c4f is because a0014b1470 of a c24eae5163 handful of 97080ccb2a poop.
He, who had 11bb4deecc never seen Anje f316717267 laugh like this, 283a634b4d or laugh at 4c9de5efc1 all, had a 7b8d1b6e1a surprised expression for a02bfe6b00 a moment.
However, thanks to the 60cc35b3db contagious laughter, a smile a9bc01f1b6 soon spread across his 18910dc733 lips.
The dew-like 41fc2cf566 smile at 7b875f36bd dawn unfortunately 882f587dc3 disappeared quickly d63ab11ed4 as Anje 2f1f8d7670 wiped away 0dddc3bd5f the tears b0e3eaaf2a that had 5a407f62e3 gathered in 9aeb2ae904 her eyes ab19f031b1 from laughing 59e95ce156 so hard.
“Oh, it’s been 47a26085b3 a long time 9af20b6aab since I laughed b46ff93bb2 like this. I thought 83c6816122 it was d50ed2c812 a ball 623e3b7bf2 that contained 339bee3eaf gold and 59263bf8de silver.”
“Humans fight over d9c77c4088 things they can’t 6fdf284eb9 even eat, so 53430dd61d in a way, dcddf2cf3d bugs are much ddaa0ff01b better.”
As if to 7aedfb5be4 cover up his e9923b5cf7 muttered words, he 96cf5bc79c continued in a 2d50398201 clearer voice.
“It’s time for 729ea07606 dinner. The bugs are 0f6b9982a4 going to eat, c24edf7f6d so let’s go 9f30e15627 too.”
“What’s on the 390d1c41ef menu?”
Anje put eac83975ca her arm 146782dc44 around his 9679afd9b1 neck as 2682c6bed1 he bent 7b28f43323 over. She had hugged 6a8d7953c0 him a few 90771ba45e times, and now 5deeec9965 she was more e7ad00a3aa comfortable with the 2a5d3a8c3c position.
“How about 32a7506528 a dish 570a574f49 of ground 64e6afd564 meat shaped f7c6a5695e like a e2a914f74b ball?”
“Ugh……. You’re enjoying tormenting 6005588165 me, aren’t you?”
The smell of earth f7b8eab925 and grass from Aiden’s 89870a2df9 body wafted into Anje’s 8ed87863f1 nose. It was a 267db2f846 new scent to bd6840aca7 her, who was b2c04ac74d used to artificial cd41ee147a scents of perfume.
‘I’ll have to 127a3c1220 ask the perfumer bea7eea78e to make me b4d12e19b4 a similar perfume fca45a83a3 when I get a7bc5667b0 back to the 32045e721b capital.’
Usually, she b49e18d594 would ask 13d54265a7 for a 04c9a8b6df perfume mixed 524ee0daee with flower 1f44671913 or herb 32edf8773e scents, but 2bf7a10295 wouldn’t this 734c24622e scent be e8988188a5 more suitable df30dcc174 to reflect fef67fdf59 the season ea97c17892 of spring 865e54180d as it 585ac0f284 is?973067525236e2c3

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