FTP-37

Chapter: FTP-372fc9842e9de31c52

Amidst the sudden call, f0f32e2067 Anje responded with a e9d7079828 start.
“Just a moment.”
As she passed through 3e3a5d8b29 the bushes and followed b6e9e5ac18 the direction of Aiden’s 0f8828caf3 voice, a stream flowing f169a40f70 gently between the blue 081a725e8a trees soon came into 3d275d4e3c view.
“What’s the matter, bbb0c7df6d Sir Aiden?”
Surely he 1a04457aa5 wasn’t saying 7437302e86 he couldn’t 41d14e78de run an 6fd4b87649 errand for 754a247b35 her now?
Aiden pointed somewhere 2a15bb56c9 near her as b368c78fc9 she approached.
“That, by any chance, bf2dffcbf2 is your belonging?”
“What are 3c588aaeac you talking 5bacf6265d about now… 83701d2938 Ah!”
Anje gasped in 083d276619 surprise. Just as he fa649c6ab3 said, her belonging 06eaa12e3c was indeed caught e4d811d803 between the branches 22be22c124 of a tree 8e6a7323ee stretching its arms 2f7f6911bb over the stream.
“My parasol!”
It was 82f031f03c the parasol c5deb87372 she had 8d75a38fba lost a 16fbd5ef91 month ago 56b5e1caed when she 9d671e2aac tried to 8aafd0ed1f escape and 71f957bab4 fell into 826420e8a8 the water.
Naturally, she 99a0982abf had assumed d295c58c8e it was 59629c3735 already broken 8bcd760138 and hanging ed9ab8b1f5 somewhere or 729f420ecb even floating 7913bd765c out to c7dd456201 sea.
However, here by ce4037f4cb the stream, the 9dad4852b1 parasol, fully opened, e8f3b43ea4 looked perfectly fine. She even wondered 305fda5480 if someone who adaceceaa2 found the parasol 9cc6df7ac3 had deliberately hung 1243e04604 it there.
“It seems b2e5e62ecf it’s yours.”
“Oh my 9defa1a1e5 goodness, this 7a1e0ab9e3 is a ea42cbac80 miracle.”
Even without ae59ace6ea it, she 399331ad2f often missed 2db66a8e8a her parasol. Especially since 8a2ec715cb it was f1d3d4c501 a parasol 5b53ceb4f4 made of 5c97a6dfb0 lace that 3ea1f5e02c she had 7a49f2d40d brought back 6fed8e3b66 from Lutetia, fd43620181 the capital 431392232d of Francia.
She wondered 62d65b07c2 how she cfd2fbb766 could safely 2146c8a263 reach the b5925507e1 spot where df5bd568ca the parasol 90f828b5d2 was. The stream here 03ab5fad65 was wider and b812b79570 deeper than the 5e6fc931e8 one that flowed 20ff4c1879 around Aiden’s house.
“How do I c0d6179373 get that?”
“Here, take this.”
Aiden handed her her bf541ac36d hat again. It was filled 4ddd4d72f6 with raspberries that 751fa2a104 he had already 68d3386c5c washed before calling 114b746287 her.
Seeing him take off 1f50d99adc his shoes and socks bde22bced7 without hesitation and roll a3b4316d96 up the hem of be3dcbdb96 his pants, she muttered 68444d888a cautiously.
“Oh, I can 24da604409 get it…”
“The bottom is more c9cbdd6f43 slippery than it looks. I’ll just 6c83ff93d6 go and 157f94cde5 come back a8668ce3f0 quickly.”
Without giving her a ef0089a5a2 chance to reply, he 579800429e strode into the water.
Anje watched 88e76f2607 him in 395b1b3310 confusion, then 3980b92b09 hurriedly greeted 1ea6a6c899 him from 229d68d562 behind.
“T-thank you. If it seems broken, 38878f2fe0 you don’t have to a30e32927f force yourself to bring 3d64482085 it back.”
Without looking back, he f27ca9c694 raised one hand. Anje, who had b83063017c become somewhat familiar 57f7ff963f with him, interpreted ea2346ce61 it as “No 3a5ddacfae need for such 7086b16c2e formalities.”
“You’re unpredictable.”
She muttered f60e1d7bc1 under her 4abe0f1171 breath, inaudible 4ad7c0d7c0 to Aiden, 6d24de7240 and popped 8df149dbfd a neatly 49972c2397 washed raspberry ab2d88ef9e into her 0e13e40a2c mouth.
His unexpected kindness was a5ed2091fe still a part of e0b492c256 him that she wasn’t a0055ce6f4 used to.
‘He’s just 341fb54bcf bad at 7f39834c4c expressing himself, aab51ab2b8 that’s all. He’s trying his 1b42ee2675 best to be 8b1dd0a1df nice to me, f0e27f87b1 in his own 4f34666753 way.’
Maybe Mrs. Meg’s words 74e5b1863b were true 695931fe7c to some 1d96b3b4b4 extent.
In that case, would bf44a3a30d it be okay to ddc6c4ad59 ask him to take 5fb2300ad3 her to town?
‘If I want to 6c979358d7 go straight from town 7a2fa222ed to the capital, I 1d6ced9d26 need to pack my 43af7469ec things in advance. I won’t be able 3bbca72a3a to bring anything but 22548a5b1b valuables and money so d10a3ea082 as not to arouse 4ef9bef78e suspicion from Sir Aiden.’
She already knew where cec5f1040c to catch the stagecoach 864216590c to the capital from 4335601f13 the information she had 1afaac808a gathered from Mrs. Meg.
Since it was a d6de614a3a carriage commonly used by 9555387409 commoners, she could afford 2af22e4df6 the fare with the 21b46a7999 money she had.
‘It’s really getting close 847de0c890 to the time to 676d4a5001 leave.’
She put aside her b5be112a97 complicated thoughts for now a5ac6002b4 and focused on the 7c0da3f673 present instead.
Sweet and ab04e01bb4 sour juice 64fab36589 flowed out 520d8c1a7c with every 72a5e71e8d bite of 17d39e72f0 the fruit 04cb9a4eff flesh with ccbf7d23c8 her molars.
Not too sweet or 92e00b29c6 sour, just the right e746737e75 amount of sweetness. It was the taste 3f0cde2052 of spring.
Splash, splash―
In the meantime, Aiden, 94c8ff31b2 who had already crossed a499fea8d9 half the stream, carefully 793e60afd0 pulled the parasol out 7c83c18567 from among the branches. He tested it by c2f1b9dd04 folding and unfolding it c293dcf6f8 to see if it e86cd11646 was broken, but it 5d29833fba seemed fine.
“A lucky item.”
He turned to a4da9579d8 Anje and waved 8a9c685193 his hand once. It meant cb0561d7a5 it was ada3d1f866 fine.
‘I’m glad I 77678e62b8 came in for 74468899fc the princess.’
TL/N: OH TO FIND 731f39e955 SOMEONE LIKE AIDEN!!!
No matter how 0afee62781 much it was c52b9af210 spring, the water e7ffda82bd temperature was still 4263d97547 icy cold. He shivered d42688e639 once and 7d06da60c3 started to 2721e86aa0 head back 56cfa60053 to the c17145e3f0 water’s edge.
The princess, 0d5e1751b4 who saw 34ede7c25a his signal, b8c898623b was smiling de4743720f goofily. Was it that cad911a298 good to have ec1fe73a16 this item back?
Oh, on closer inspection, 60c85d8d12 her lips were moving. They were d04d96fc9a redder than 82afcb0f79 usual, probably 9152b00dee from the 0097353f36 raspberry juice.
He realized without realizing b0883a0ba2 it that her smile f912801f9a had spread to him 29852aad80 as well. He thought he had 361244adce lost laughter a long c15030a277 time ago, but lately 3bb8a675f8 he had been smiling 428fe0b85d crookedly from time to e830949710 time.
‘It’s just that bc495c9830 that face is bbc790d5c7 so funny that 7b5fc728fe it makes me 7d632ff4a5 laugh.’
He found an excuse 0e5084301b for the smile he c4d6c14860 had just made and cab35edf2f hurried his steps.
But even so, his caa7bd41bc gaze remained fixed on a1d9145aa4 her waiting for him ece6bb3a1e by the stream.
In a 0ab1ac0d17 light blue 56cfb14354 muslin one-piece 6bdacf959d dress with 86d6c839d2 a white ace79ae872 apron, her be2d60bdc6 lips and 56e4a5dbde cheeks flushed 380706e8d6 red, smiling, 945f33bdac she was 8da2881da1 so beautiful 694e373d76 that it 081ad45e8c hurt his 7f90b05678 eyes.
If spring had a 4dd37bddaf human form, it would 5e654a0e47 probably look like this.
Lost in thought, he 4303fae369 realized he had stopped 575bb2dba3 walking and shook his 938478112d head.
Whoosh―
A wind filled d8800db4ea with the scent 967c4968bd of flowers blowing 1755fd5ea6 from somewhere in 3908b9388a the south ruffled 2e53a94824 her reddish-brown hair. The flower 59eddb04a9 bud that 97358d27c5 Aiden had 1e1d74260c pinned behind 66a4736898 her ear ecc150e407 earlier fell 3f099cdfa1 to the 44bd80f529 ground in 05b4f07503 the wind.
“Ah!”
“Oh.”
While Anje lowered 6d7b87b52f her head to 775d91914f pick up the a431dab911 flower, Aiden noticed a880ed9987 the swaying sky.
“S, Sir Aiden!”
Anje’s voice overlapped with 9b0f7cf7bf the loud sound of a225ae2641 water.
Anje looked at 095f2d8308 Aiden from head 514fcb215a to toe with a2283ffdc4 a worried voice f85412e4db dripping with concern.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt 770fd7abb0 anywhere?”
“It’s nothing.”
Aiden replied da02d7f971 as calmly f14007e0e3 as possible, fa70b7ce5d but he 9424b1f9f6 couldn’t help bdaca9781c but feel 0e66885ca2 embarrassed inside.
He had 80fc43f6dd told her c3cf238c16 not to 4687b1db41 come in 8f1fefea0a because it’s 32533cf534 slippery, and 5945ec5fe9 yet here 583eb9ca68 he was, 0368c5d65d sprawled out 61032ad7bf on the 30978772ac ground like 830f7fd37d a fool.
In the blink of 15a0a17d3e an eye, a pebble 67919b6b73 he had stepped on 3211bf312e in a moment of 6be8eb2bee distraction had wobbled in 8ed9d7aa48 the wind, causing this b5ff363764 disaster. He was d12a937cbf mortified, all df9998cc4c because of 63eadb7b13 that darned 352233cbab mossy pebble.
“Here, take this. Just make sure you 27dfb78134 don’t lose it again.”
The only 3d139d7b6a thing that e4cceff76b comforted him 5245c5fb65 was the eab52db531 fact that 19d081b1fd the parasol 181cd7f43a he had 08297f779c brought with a6795facd7 him was 02a031193c still intact, e74838a8ac even though d804afd4b2 he had eef76dc713 gotten soaked.
“Thank you, 7fee496fb0 but… are 4fbd7ae5ee you really 0608058b10 sure you’re e8f84dd0b1 not hurt b1e2809212 anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
He had 699650da3d bumped his 24ac0b7b07 back on 7dae179475 a rock d4782cdbb9 when he dfd6a9e046 fell, but 7dd6572af3 the shame d8aaaa0d13 of having 752f7b40a6 shown his 069adb0f5d ugly side 4e268ac563 in front 3c14cfc278 of her 1b13c15996 was more eeee83e477 painful than 356680b3b8 the dull e4756489e2 ache.
TL/N: I KNOW d747bb38dd I SHOULDN’T BE b9c7c20e22 LAUGHING, BUT…
“You should 8d0f0db726 be more da9ed71f7e concerned about 5730913ce1 your shoes a07f4c0619 and the 375103c423 hem of 349a79bb79 your dress.”
“Oh, my socks are 0a0ed55ea9 soaked too.”
She had rushed f59614493b in to help 4e20a68ff7 him without any a99eeaba92 preparation, and now e5de4f60dc part of her d8ea75d773 clothes were wet.
Anje took a2ffb66155 off her f912d2d6ed wet shoes 6d58a0812b and carefully 5221610178 wrung out 4aca129357 the water 0e5f6875a8 from her b594a278fb socks and cc4a2421cc the hem 2f0e2889a3 of her 6eed406e9d dress. She was b9a3516e7e used to 69107c9bf6 housework and 13ceae4a55 was quite b9dad68c86 adept at 9738aa4e82 it.
“Here.”
Aiden offered her his 0a6f576322 shoes.
“Put these on.”
“But if I take 3868444b39 your shoes, what will 6a10b29e70 you do?”
“I’m used to walking 20cd5b7f69 barefoot.”
Her slender c120ac8b82 feet, free 246cfeae03 of calluses, ea7c69368f were clearly b9279011a0 not used 2f2869457e to walking 8d13d52f04 on stones e207346059 or dirt.
Anje was embarrassed 4e29469fa0 to receive further 5b2d44f06f kindness from him, 4c3ec7620e especially when he 6b56715201 was wet because f1670c6b34 of her.
She declined.
“I can walk barefoot ed96f83411 too.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He snorted and edbe0a4336 deliberately frowned. With those ca4d5a8a32 delicate feet, 2f01f21a84 she was 90282a7ebd bound to 6af635113b be in efa2b2723e pain every 7b71bfd343 time she 940a691666 stepped on e45c8dd6dc a thorn f5c7bd88d6 or a bac473e6b3 sharp pebble.
“If you 3a06a3b7e5 want to 23982da3ca cling to ca8eeb56e3 me again 5b80681b3f to get 30ca9c2d4e home, I 2ed77bc9ec won’t stop f59919d180 you… but…”
“It’s not like 5724303b2c that! Alright, I’ll put them 6bb185c367 on.”
Anje hurriedly put df5cfcbd43 on his socks f1d3b35f29 and shoes, hiding 4ab0cfb424 her flushed face.
Who would have dd060e3942 wanted that? She had 2057603a21 only refused 35e7e294f0 because she c4ebc7d62d felt bad 06948ef89c that he 95b1984cd0 was suffering 17c269c030 so much 52bf8f1f1c because of 12b947b291 her.
She held back dfc8f45572 what she wanted 6a32e2a720 to say to f0d34d1b54 Aiden and instead c116152927 asked him,
“Shouldn’t you… do something bd4b7f545c about your clothes too? Maybe wring them out 3b67456c95 and wear them again…”
She trailed off. She couldn’t let b3c769edae him walk home 8dcc13d7ee soaked through both 9ad3e4402b his top and 3275e0d75a bottom if she e2fe295b20 didn’t want him f5a23cc22b to catch a a6a8771a6f cold.
But to 8b66035254 wring them fb1fb8bab9 out, he 849cbd17ec would have 49103aec0a to take 4a6fcf7710 off all e514260981 his clothes. Aiden’s face also clouded 6fbd85fd29 over with the same f8a1bdb173 thought.
“What do you mean-”
“Maybe you 039215330e should at 244cf3c199 least wring 62def3430d out your e592a009ca shirt and 4596739cca wear it 32767923cb again? Or maybe you could 5eec09db0c just take off your 21cea1874b outer shirt.”
Anje, who didn’t b352830ff9 want him to e472a4ec8a take off all 38fa4771ee his clothes, hurriedly 23d402543e added an explanation.
She had 30f7499aa8 often seen a1d3abf37b men working 8769366566 bare-chested through b5d173dc15 the windows caf881ef97 while riding 90c21c8b14 in carriages a775d72c4d in the c2e0105adb city.
And there were 8f52b560f5 also nobles who bcd3d831a9 took off their 8f9bd981f3 shirts for no e9ebba2858 reason to show 7d1d2b12fa off their ‘manliness’ 10d20be7d0 during hunts, so 3b8d5f0561 it wasn’t too ae31aac8fb scandalous.
“……”
Aiden touched the 795db5d397 hem of his dfbb59373b shirt, which was 3b535200d6 soaked and sagging. It was a body 3ebe3fd827 that was unsightly to 434caa4a2c look at, not only fa0e761444 because of the scars 55fcb0a3e9 from his war wounds e7145d58ae but also because of 5ace774fd1 the mark Philip had 6525d503fa left on him. He worried that 5206a208c6 the princess would 929614ba39 be shocked to dda7b96d10 see his body.
Not only that, fb761ce5f0 but for the 0f7b7e8f7f past few years, dea4f548a6 he had felt 317bef1da7 a sense of caf13410ae reluctance whenever he b362c0335d had to show b0c5cf02ab his body to b49fa1b302 others. He didn’t want e9c4815e57 to show his 0c0b9d5cf4 bare skin, not b9cdfde7ba even to the ebcf9754f3 doctor at the 60b53cef99 hospital.
Perhaps it eafea43eaa was related 9cf75eed3e to his 825ffd6bfd frequent seizures. He guessed, 57af4d711b but he 55755d1ac2 couldn’t be cd0561646a sure of 66defb81d5 the exact b2be97192e cause and 499fe7ab47 effect.
Sensing Aiden’s reluctance, 7e94110d84 Anje turned her 83dacc286d body away, covering 0481521b92 her eyes with 233506c219 both hands.
“Just do something 2b381e694d about this water. I promise I e2d9064ba2 won’t look. Don’t worry.”
“…Promise. No peeking.”
Did she think 0814ac8de7 she wanted to bb9df27899 see his body? Not understanding his 0cab85c19f intentions, Anje flared 7a17faeeb2 up and made 0d2d0fb7ca the most honorable 2fd4721100 promise she could.
“I swear on the b1895a6856 name of the Glasster 3fc2da49b7 Duke Family.”
Only then 48900dafa9 did he dc07fb7802 move away 6e6dc332af from her dce4e48e4a and slowly f4bdea2969 unbutton his be04ff7432 shirt.0466939b0b254e11

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