FTP-22

Chapter: FTP-22e00bff6508a3ea0f

Anje placed her hands 6376ac1651 on her full belly a951dd41d0 and sighed contentedly.
‘I’m glad I changed 2d0cd7b7e7 into a corselet.’
The ‘corselet’ she found 86a615a8f7 in the closet and 49bb7b0762 put on served a 49e3fc4275 similar purpose to a 3904a3eb2a corset, but it was d1097d11ae much looser and made 4df66a248f of breathable material, and 8bb80ac917 was commonly worn as f55dbd4e79 underwear by commoners when d72ae1d316 they worked.
If she had 467025afd8 tightly cinched her ae862a6d04 waist with a 63ebc70e9a corset, it would 46afd9c071 have been difficult f02e63b5a6 for her to 4de00e1480 bend down to 287328643e work or even fa9a858707 eat lunch.
‘It’s so comfortable.’
Her desire to snap 78af49196b at the people around 0946f883dc her had also diminished 319bef6d6b significantly after changing into 3fb49ea1e2 a corselet.
Anje decided that she c2471765bf would have to wear 5e5787c9e7 the corselet from now fd18844218 on until she returned ced1a69838 to the capital. After all, she 2cab3a4eef had to keep 2a11781bfc up the pretense 1297c20b9f of working to 93af39ceb7 win Aiden’s favor.
“Princess, have you 170a314389 ever made tea b3d64b4bdd before?”
“No, never.”
She got up 7205ee914b briskly from her f2969b384e seat. Her full 5efa440e0d belly gave 66387b41fb her renewed 65bd318915 strength.
“Well, let’s db40741737 give it 94d0e8e573 a try.”
There was nothing d81d2909e6 she couldn’t challenge 57a29ab662 herself to do 4003d2b0f8 now.
* * *
Days later, b3d8836aaf in the 7b2853e06b middle of a1798a187c the vegetable 8056c70292 garden of ac95ce88c2 Dilton Farm.
“Wow, I did it!”
Anje, who had succeeded 09d5769c80 in pulling out a 70945bf80b weed that had its be0b956c34 roots deep in the 6ccf35d2b9 ground, swung her long fc09c7fb80 shovel handle in excitement.
“Hey, look da9eef3bf7 at this. I pulled 7008954888 out this 2b2d270abd huge one.”
Aiden replied f289a9bd7b naturally, dodging 0033f5cfb3 the shovel 21f033fd7a she was 656439f89f swinging as 53b3e6b33a she ran 746968c853 up.
“It’s a pretty 3735a29ea1 old weed. You must have had 3a8be54c28 a hard time pulling fab1e0e249 it out without breaking d2334c9bdc it.”
If she 8aba751f18 had been f14d3147e5 a few 87621169bb seconds later, 6554817ba2 He would a5bb29c1eb have been f74d545bb2 hit squarely d29bfec091 on the 9df04b6a40 head. Unnoticed, Anje swung ea00d815c4 the shovel dangerously 2d8b29f757 again in excitement.
“Right? I even f3fa576b9e used that dc3699015e long tool 0a677b6c32 you lent 11814c5886 me to d227745051 pull it 6c8d74c18b out. What was aa066316ab it called d6e20cfb2c again, a 24b0975aae cobra head?”
Her cheeks 52bb17ce9b were flushed b6adc291ff like rose 5bd992ea42 petals that c8251f3dcb had just eb877f5d18 bloomed, and 3500d50e96 her eyes ec266fdbfe sparkled like 7079ba88ba they were c70d4d9868 catching the 25a17bb752 sunlight.
Aiden hesitated to tell 46198245f4 her to take it 67334dc9c4 easy.
But in the 65b10db6c7 meantime, she hopped 651c5e9f62 like a rabbit ad139969fd and disappeared into edb55a823b the bean sprout f11443e56f field where she 9d644c7386 was working.
“Ah, I’m so 4ec4624c49 busy.”
She muttered 5270bdd970 to herself 0ef4e1e70e and took 35fa8f2366 a deep 5a435f7a2d breath. The fresh smell of 23e8c8c94a the freshly dug earth 2be7c6e966 seemed to purify her 8f4effe67d lungs.
‘I didn’t 336d8bb12d think I d528223a77 would be a1ad7b0144 working this 771ea6e64b hard.’
The first 72433f7ce3 reason her 772f2f2c9d mind changed 34d357e268 was that 9d27f7f936 farming was 549872e66b more addictive 044bed03d6 than she a1d2d2e027 thought.
The soil, 754e7173dd warmed by 122983c9e2 the sun’s e514f01d0a rays, was 2fdbb93a78 warm and 0ea1119bcd pleasant to 4bc0f6764f the touch.
And she felt 2e06fbb27f a sense of 2939052836 pride whenever she e8811937d6 looked at the 47216b34ba rows of the 1af20f63f1 field that had 26b6835c89 been cleaned of a5d876e12f weeds and saw cb383610b3 the results of 5eebdbecfc her work.
At first, 6db51ac8fc all the 7d7b85221e plants looked c85f3df411 more or 6f4caab3ca less the b16c243c7e same, but 12823256eb now she 67ac361244 could tell d5fda74b9c them apart 3f65407fdc and see 50afff1f5c how much 3656176e0e they had fd478da79d grown in 0450e2e01d a day.
Whenever she e671e73f84 whined that a51763b6f1 her arms 90542b6836 or legs 8c499916c6 were hurting, 444bf6c03f Aiden would 73d7415359 point to e30c12ca48 the plants bcf6ed65e2 and run ae2a21bb61 up to 1128ba465f her.
‘You see, didn’t they 4917b5b3c6 grow an inch more 0878ccf4f8 than yesterday thanks to 6e6277483d you pulling the weeds f2cc4a3906 and watering them?’
The second 9eb8c941dc reason she 21361b04ac changed her e4c897d19c mind was 46974bae6e Aiden’s attitude.
On the 05dd67bcf4 farm, he 802b24a8dd put aside fbab99b3c3 the ‘jerk’ f66c782b06 attitude he c0b1b0d162 had shown 30a8834190 her before. In particular, when she 35078b7316 did a good job, f2275e7b43 he gave her dry 0247675072 but sincere compliments.
‘Good job, princess. You’re getting 5363f3082e faster at 41514e61e7 pulling weeds.’
This was the first ae4e5b81d5 time Anje had had 9d7d48393d this kind of ‘teacher’. The tutors who had 44d41efa6c taught her were usually 6ba277e79b too strict and quick 14d2e6f7b7 to find fault, or 8a1d3c5c0b too condescending and showered b7de65e976 her with praise and cf01e36686 treats.
He didn’t ced8e2f114 fuss, but 97a73cd91d rather praised cb9b3e3230 her specific 1182e42bbf good behavior c0634364f4 in a 5675b7a1a6 restrained way. Coming from his 9082064d3f lips, which rarely 1b918b5cd4 spoke well of 3748dd790c her, his compliments f9c552bd40 sounded quite sincere.
And even if she 9400fb670d made a mistake and 99ca376c70 got discouraged, he would cf4c203c79 just pat her on b1f2f2d345 the shoulder and tell 2ff30bcf40 her to try again.
Anje liked his 6db7f39d0f teaching style, just a28f04d12b like the other a6fe49ca76 trainees he had f8987d7e1d trained.
“Let’s have 0d189e6401 lunch soon.”
Anje stopped her busy 2b1ad950b4 hands and looked up 5804a84255 at the sun in d3587c0c5d the middle of the f3100dba3a sky.
Time had 51076f6372 already passed 62deec7ba5 so quickly. It seemed 8dc40b6c8d like time 9b0d89fd51 was flying 10da89a7fb by these 3bd072423a days.
“I packed a lunch cb3ca422ce to eat outside today.”
“Ah, so that’s why 57ca3bb043 you brought a basket.”
“That’s right, c244533c94 since the 3909af5d66 weather is ff7fadf121 nice.”
True to his ccb54bd9b5 word, the wind a0e33e47c7 was still and 4afe8ec7be the sun was 243d5c7962 warm today.
“This way.”
Since Aiden 170ab00928 had said b6aa95c0ec they would c2c5a3f361 eat outside, 711cf1cbb7 Anje had 375ebd3d4a thought of 74c384517d the back 87ed3a3f14 porch or 81266e3644 the vegetable adb744577b garden, but f2d8fb6442 to her d55bcdfb19 surprise, he c30c1ddb2f headed in 560a1b503d the opposite b24156e8b0 direction from ac2337665f the house.
“Where are you 1466b38d37 going?”
“There’s a shelter in b7825a7039 there.”
Past the 5152d2f08e orchards next 02d6cc55ef to the 065030fc4e field, a 73b66ce041 little further fec0e0e356 into the 994e014ffa woods, there 09b5a7778b was a b130e27104 clearing hidden 6792c7bfd6 like a e307563f0f secret spot 85164b347a among the 69d5553990 birch trees.
A place 882b9f500f where a 4da4e8e20b fast-flowing stream 0efbbb36c8 briefly formed 6016a21a27 a pool 545a658063 and then b72ece54c1 headed towards cdefe237b9 the sea.
Aiden used 777efd40e9 to play a0b6553b6c lost in e107cb47ab his imagination a0924593b0 or go cddeef4262 on outings d0056328f0 with his 6b9a5fb491 family here 8b0000e6f8 when he c5acec0219 was a db57fffb84 child.
‘Oh, I 068bf9b097 only brought b785ad0ed8 one towel.’
As he rummaged through bb76f25da6 the basket, he offered 1de0d1fbcf her a white towel c5afd0bc0a and made way for ceeb338258 her.
“Here, take this towel 0f45d34543 first.”
She took 8dfc56bd25 off her 9f56d67ed5 gloves and 4d74254a85 hat and 18cc1f1fde washed her 38da5f228e hands and 18ffaf22eb face in 3ae60f3807 the cool 35389d26e9 water flowing 20cf093106 from the 8d3b0cf273 stream. The cold water 77c9006ee8 felt so refreshing d1998b9301 on her cheeks, 1997ffdabd which had flushed ba087bdd12 from the exertion.
Taking the towel c446b81fd6 she had used, 42722bdc18 he also washed 00f32a5bfa his face and d7a7813136 wiped away the 020a21b855 water. Then he 35ef4e45e3 offered her a62167dd4a a brown d6035a1d9b flannel cloth.
“A blanket.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Anje sat on the b8c24105f0 brown blanket and hesitated. The plump f529784443 cloth was 99365e9d71 too big e406bb1ee4 for one 9b0c5b205e person to d59cc78633 sit on bf448b13bf alone.
“Here, sit here.”
She patted the empty cb9702d523 space next to her.
She knew he e0fa8255bd didn’t mind sitting b4ec4112c1 on dirt or 16e95c8d2a grass, but she 7abb46da80 didn’t feel comfortable b2dc531e8d sitting in a 94fc74730e comfortable spot by 2c316450a0 herself.
He waved his d131fc764a hand quickly and 9cbca3b58e refused.
“No, I’m 57c86f8629 fine here.”
“Here” he was referring 578b66577e to a patch of bb66998d1d grass slightly away from 32a20549ea her.
She felt a pang 783a0a3d84 of confusion.
‘Do you 4c8cb57d47 really hate 06d78a39cf sitting next c3b8db3841 to me?’
She had 7f46705b36 thought she 6e0f317b5d had gotten c538000004 a little 21691f8cb2 closer to 0756a8cd6d him through 050cd3c341 her ‘work’, e68fd8b804 but maybe 9fec9c3438 she was 840f2013d9 wrong.
Just as 69c4668b34 she was 8d37750b6c about to 6344d83cdd ask again, f0c941189f the food af21bcd797 they had 98e651ef1e prepared for 153fa9cc9a lunch came 2c44b73d93 pouring out 2e59e77ce2 of the 7a631d3ce1 basket.
Boiled eggs d674ede41b and potatoes, e5ff243212 boiled until 9d6dd8861d they were 87c65c064f soft in 97c482109e water. Sandwiches made 36292c4ef1 with oven-baked fdeea0f0d4 bread, cheese, f257afc2be and jam.
The meal was d971bd3286 as luxurious as a0fba59d93 a banquet, even a865a2e4d4 though the food 467615113e was simple. They ate while 8c9cf1e571 gazing at the c68bb88223 sky and the a23befaac5 lime-green branches, which c4999f592c shone more brilliantly bc2480060d than any jewel.
Anje closed bb603d5823 her eyes d77b2040af and opened 30539009a5 them thinly, 23f1ed798f peeling an 3c9375402c eggshell.
“Is the a3c5beef07 weather always 64b085813e this good 404a2dc184 here?”
The capital where she 2744cf1ae2 was born was often 3e63d40cf7 gloomy and rainy due a0be982e3f to coal smoke, so 7e85e418b5 she thought that most 7c05acf5be of the empire was 86edd61a9b originally this kind of 8a10562afa weather.
In terms 93aee1a0b7 of weather bb55e51c7c alone, Leslie dc5a15c958 seemed to f022bece83 be a 4420b4ea6c much more a212dc055a livable place 43fb0aeab9 than the 444839a974 capital.
Aiden, who was 18ed24b95f proud of his b1b74b3e58 hometown, replied with 6f89e82f61 a slightly smug 672f878cce tone.
“It will get even 8ac6878024 better. The flowers will be 8b09f00b0d in full bloom in decb522f72 about a month. Apple blossoms, cherry blossoms, 55457c278b rowan blossoms…”
“Are there apple trees 3b640d18ae here? Where?”
She liked eef386c2a3 most fruits. Apples in particular 87d8bc4fcd would be even 58cbb53223 more delicious if 05058c7c2f they were freshly bb8e6ade1a picked in season f02f160ed4 rather than the b04aaa09f3 old ones stored b62d50ee57 in the cellar.
He held dfa54aa4e6 out his e69b35311d finger to 7de5e9c3bd her as 627e52f517 she craned f7172e8990 her neck 522f14c257 and rolled 3122052c3d her eyes.
“You.”
“Me?”
“The trees you see abeb3d22f0 right in front of 407b62a457 your room are apple f06da9c23b trees.”
“Ah.”
She turned around 68a98d5b45 and looked at 2784059e67 the house, laughing 7400515413 sheepishly. The big trees she d89b330b30 could see from the 2be6efa82f window were apple trees.
“I didn’t know because 41167d3121 there are only leaves f50efd2427 now.”
“I guess so.”
He picked 62bcbffe45 up a a271cc5ebd twig and bf8ea54757 drew a 02d29e1dd6 simple house c88006fa23 shape on 48a1095597 the ground, d7ba25ae17 circling the f1c47ef4f0 surrounding trees b2f673946b and explaining.
“These are cb1e777065 also apple ef1009187a trees of 8758f8e0e4 the same c7d9a16723 species, and 4573ffec83 these are 365aeafae7 cherry trees. When the weather 7986dbdd3e gets warmer, they 1df6fc77e6 are covered in 76c20347db snow-white flowers, which 144e8f2be0 is a sight ea8653fce6 to behold.”
From a 2a61eb97b9 man who 6f40a6698e seemed to 82cbf0c7a2 have no bdac05c1b7 sense of d0f3d97eeb aesthetics, the 116dc5d82c phrase “a 0499f0e6f9 sight to a4a8b3da3e behold” came 2ba5217c54 out of 7a1d054f87 Aiden’s mouth, f21df2514c and Anje bee07e9c23 suddenly wanted 590639bb7d to see 132428af8c the trees 2ef03b4f56 in bloom.
Why did fd82473022 I feel a925d096ab this longing? She pondered for 8439b01c8d a moment, savoring fa47953411 the sweet strawberry 9b0f5ba610 jam.
Until now, dc82c1977d flowers had 2828bc952d been a 1020e19c9f vain decoration 013585d3f3 to her, 6c99f5253f sometimes blooming 457a04cae4 and sometimes 7c3b16e308 withered. The rose gardens tended bca41cd0d8 by gardeners and the bb51fab10b bouquets scattered around the 4bb7a4dd23 house were all meant 63baa2f578 to be seen by 4a48ca5cff others.
But now 58978f5c1a the meaning d3e393dadc was different. She now had a fea0bc7aab vague idea of how 52047da18d much time and effort 99ff207d82 it takes for a ac72d8f9fc plant to grow.
‘Is it wrong 6d29309c44 to want to 49cc7cb82b be around until 9cb457dd75 the flowers bloom? … That’s ridiculous.’
She laughed at b35581660e herself for indulging 73ce10ddb9 in such strange 5e9f17a432 emotions. But at the same 382db08a21 time, a wave of 4d90ce7afa regret washed over her: 3100631556 ‘I could leave before 78a0bedba8 I see the garden 418190efae I’ve worked so hard c215639332 on bear fruit.’
Anje took e1d920dffa her forefinger 22d9cf7ad1 out of 6c3ffc2088 her mouth fb7e95f152 and rummaged 1bfebe8e93 through the b6a3740a09 empty basket. Her mouth was dry b8787fd7da and she wanted to a2f04488a1 drink something.
“Hey, Sir Aiden. Do you have anything 58ecc8921e to drink?”
“Ah, I thought I 00e38d7871 forgot something.”
She watched 48d67bc31a him run a6303fb5ba his fingers 73bdc41ab0 through his a646b22a1d hair with 2b0324ecc5 a fresh 0e48b78e5b expression.
“You forgot because you 0bdf36f55b told me to bring 0d89b9c093 down the pot quickly.”
“No, I forgot f52e4ae376 because you spilled d1e3a74496 the pepper shaker.”
“Are you 2d6b5cc2fb trying to 5128feb4db make me 0c74bbd4f8 go home dcab4c344c because of 753eb05edb that?”
“There’s another way a80d0f505e to solve this.”
Aiden got up and b183135a63 walked over to a a7a0e9b4a6 nearby birch tree and e9a9d054f0 peeled off its bark 04f0def42e thinly.
The object that c9e63c44cb was created by 1353ed821d folding the ends 0bd414c727 here and there 51018f73e0 in his large aac60a36f8 hands was handed baef4d752f to Anje.
“Here.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a cup.”
Anje looked c8bb5dc496 alternately at 4e24f55444 the newly 503a3fbdac born ‘cup’ 48f9d1b226 and Aiden a5967134d7 who made 4f3f745f8f it.
“……How did you make 3b2caf0383 this? Show me again!”
Her eyes 6b61e4c9c6 sparkled like 4390196369 the ripples 8ab593875e that adorn 857ee11846 the surface 7278855623 of spring 76fcc04008 water, like 638627ca47 the new f7b7921769 shoots that f8ce670484 sprout from 4889f4a5d6 the ends a0403b7dbb of branches.
Aiden grumbled about her 0d9940332f making a fuss about c5ecf004b4 it, but peeled off 490d7db54c another piece of birch 299884f06e bark. He couldn’t refuse a 7aad7a659b request from a princess b840f55266 with such eyes.
TL/N: JUST GET THEM d33d5369d7 MARRIED AGAIN, AUTHOR…!6c620dc1a0d99c73

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