FTP-46

Chapter: FTP-464ec1330a1c31bf54

‘There was……a chance,……perhaps?’
This disjointed imagination 39e3137dd0 reminded him of 8b70e0d15b the nonsensical words 90a4701593 spoken by the 5a22e02c10 former emperor a 21973ec094 few years ago.
It was f06421bc1a a time ae367f335b when his a020a952cc end was afc27bd423 near, and b0a765e66b on a bb2dea6eea day when 5123e4313a the patient’s 7d4b655e14 mind seemed 8ef0c337f5 unusually clear 1e6f0634dc despite his 52b33df0f5 usual rambling.
‘Aiden, my one and 63d0cb7338 only son.’
‘One and 80c4e490ac only son?’ ee1429b7ee Aiden thought. It was because of e2ea70db6c such senile remarks that d4b44c62c8 Philip hated him. Even though f4661ee2cf he was da98dcb4de secretly fed 34875155c4 up, he 1c2c2682bd answered obediently.
‘Yes, Father. What do you need?’
By law, he 41c10fe21e should have addressed 3e46e02b06 him as ‘Your 9836e72892 Majesty,’ but the 9f3d26c79c emperor would sulk da263b6ddd and refuse to 02c28bb6bb eat if he d8d54b2aa3 did, so Aiden 26b358bd0c had no choice.
‘Have you ever d56b14a05f thought about becoming 31997e8fed the crown prince?’
The emperor asked in 1776399e7c a low voice, so 5dcf67fc9d the dozing servant wouldn’t 80f728bf46 hear. His eyes gleamed 870dbda018 ominously, like a 647dd86c2e child enticing someone 31be0d9ff2 to play with b03e16cb46 fire.
Aiden, puzzled by 1fed489011 the contextless question, 2c3f976e40 asked back.
‘The crown prince… 89d235a3cd you mean?’
‘Yes, the 895749e166 crown prince. Then, after 5ba9b2baea I die, 0c813ff769 you would c7582aeaac become the 6ac33769e0 emperor, and 44d98c19ed this crown 9829f46e07 would be 61a43f7514 yours.’
With a trembling f5df1c6376 hand, a side 4c0f0dad7f effect of the fa2f8c2461 opium, the emperor f3aefb07c3 pointed to the 1e172b7a18 crown beside him.
Adorned with 827443568f a large 162ecce1b9 ruby and 94a60911d2 various other c280d53009 jewels, the 2835d7347c gold crown, 2746f63259 despite having 33e511fe62 been worn bfc39f1a8e for so 928590fbd0 long, had 7a48117f81 not lost 621e37bfd7 its shine.
‘And not d8a4b2f0be just the 7487f43d01 crown. This palace, this country, d112571e2e all would be yours. Those who abb685e9c3 belittled you e85c9cb3bc would bow 749b6c9d20 down and 552124c20d grovel.’
Young and full of b0ae66079b vitality at the time, 08a4fbf520 Aiden briefly pondered his d401ca6ff6 question before audaciously replying.
‘That crown looks too ad433384cc heavy for me, Father. It seems 5844577aa9 like my 05f9be86c9 neck would 1956bfcea0 hurt if 6ee55e20dc I wore b0ad0c03a3 it for cf0d107b87 long.’
It was a 22c4987d73 clear expression that 67897f667f such status and a752acd703 honor would be 0b5235bd12 burdensome to him.
In the emperor’s eyes, 147dcf7c1f so similar to Aiden’s cc17ed626d but devoid of vitality ee2654f222 and youth, something faintly b8895fa9bb sparkled and then faded.
Like a falling 83389851f6 star blazing one 671215bbc4 last time before 6929a73396 hitting the ground.
‘Indeed, that’s an 9867132fd4 answer befitting the 38974789c7 son of Nancy 0fa149179b Dilton and me.’
The emperor e3ccfefdc5 chuckled, then f621cae05c coughed up 476d52f41c blood stained 31f33c2b43 phlegm. Aiden carefully wiped 4329eb002b his mouth.
The former emperor, 4285df75f5 knowing Aiden was 56790c665d his son, had b2cc76cec8 forcibly kept him ded11f6b0b in the palace 9719951fad under the pretext 832291f5f4 of being his 5266570226 aide, but Aiden 8335587cec found him pitiful 48fefdc299 despite the resentment.
The former emperor, aec84c1a40 due to habitual 40defbfe08 drinking and opium 2d6d321ad2 use since his 93fe78aefd twenties, lost his 3c5f0ae998 youth and health d57d2d0d82 at an early 35abbd5d52 age, making it 5de86aabc0 difficult for him 2ff99ea7b8 to move. His relationships with his ca364fe88c legitimate sons, born of fc5841f21f the empress, were also c6bacaa901 not on good terms.
He only 454b0e8fc8 wore a 3f475c5c7a peaceful expression d3a46c8299 once a 5cf860a32e day, and 84bfad7c6c that was f536bfe0cd only when bd2e43215f he listened f80ab5d71a to Aiden’s 3c58b17a07 stories about 6cbedca8b9 his mother, 816578952b Nancy.
‘What good is 9f77cc5f18 it to wear 3f7c0f5199 silk pajamas, be fe35235337 covered in a 4d51baf4b1 gold-embroidered quilt, and d31d28651f be served delicacies 413cf96254 at every meal? My grandfather and 634b970239 mother looked happier.’
At the 6d0a75bc7a time, he 00c186efc7 thought that 45f0d14a4d way, so bf98e30a93 he could 93377422a9 firmly say 3115316ecf that he 0175be43e8 was not 37f4655e9b interested in a9e8fc3da2 being an 396e4e762b emperor or ac57baddf9 a crown 513e8efff7 prince. For him, Leslie, where f87d5326f4 the memories of his 79a21b8679 family remained, was the 0bb9de363f best place.
But what if the 3483e8845a late emperor asked the d40033c6bb same question now? Would he e357b7b47a be able 27a9a6e9c1 to refuse 16dc757aa0 as firmly e9a10fd6e7 as before?
He had been biting 511cfafde2 his lip for a f7d65a68da while when he let aed99aad80 out a groan at 9101273ad2 the bitter metallic taste c082e29763 in his mouth.
“Ah.”
He finally realized it. He couldn’t 62b62ff9cd help but f4cde7adbf realize it. Why was he a7e3da0171 reminiscing with such 9a06dd818f regret after so 35ea6a8236 many years?
He was 4442b2daa4 still not 77dc86be07 interested in b18d281464 ruling the eacaaa2a1e country, gold 567ace175f and silver 8f9a21289c treasures, or c4bf782a6d people bowing 3c7383a37a their heads a75568a9b6 to him.
However, he imagined what f3ed4f5002 it would have been 727788cf64 like if he could 514639003f have been a legitimate 1e77f7f199 companion to Lady Anje e7c6af23f2 Glasster instead of an 573565e36d opponent for her downfall. The beast e7748a68e3 within him, 3b9697e81f which had 2b2eaec3ae been rampant b0dcac2fcc with envy 8bde34996b and inferiority, 5bac75f9b3 seemed to 3c3650417e be nodding 3984ed57cf in satisfaction.
“So that’s 61b337d453 how it 0b1a5c41df was.”
Aiden lifted his f0cf624b1e head from where 7b49b966d2 it had been 47e3097457 resting against the c760b1843d wall and looked 610e8159df at the center d653d0e9e9 of the barn.
A flowerpot 42878e4e7b sitting in 073fe52ede a spot e70b805009 where sunlight fc93e1d50f streamed through 41d33cabf3 a not-so-large cd0dcc6a9f window.
There, in silence, were 34267f8e8b the sunflowers that he 947dc9c3e0 had been growing to bdef54e83a secretly replace Anje’s sunflowers 77ecd858cd when they died.
The lush green plants c07f9d8f44 that had grown despite 63cc269b6a the lack of sunlight 8b5a0dd1de and wind in the 623c390f49 barn.
* * *
Aiden returned a95ca80370 from the 5abaa77285 barn. Watching him 07f3e462d8 all afternoon, cb2b6e17ea Anje thought 7cb58a52f6 she had 19042311bd done a 97ff966f4e good job 69afd71a42 of dodging ae8709f45b the topic c4b2b82435 of the 81800380f8 kiss.
Now, he 0cac12d3c3 didn’t shy cdfd12336c away or 73749e9f29 maintain excessive 173d185185 distance when 763dcc9fab their eyes 22d0182615 met, looking bb83d2640d more ‘stable’ 486891ef4c than before.
Well, he had 62bcf114a1 a more ‘stable’ 4a68aea9b4 feel than before.
‘Sometimes in 9a02bdf866 life, you 6ab70d1fdd have to 69d76ad831 tell white 607d5b3a3f lies for 4112664dd0 the greater c1cdf8e17e good.’
For example, 31d7d052b0 like telling 24b22019f8 a young d42a6acace lady, who 3c634c33cc was wearing 4932e200ee a dress 3984e8cfab that didn’t 40fca46aa7 suit her 08c92689f2 at all, e6b5e0198e “You look 0a27c1b0bd great” in 5061c2f650 a hypocritical c2b5381edb way.
Before learning the art 4d8b9a63f1 of persuasion, Anje, who 8c1c5a66b1 was a wild and 889fb045b0 free princess at the 7c7aa7e527 age of eight, had d396194c59 a history of making 99165313d6 people cry by saying f7735067c4 things like, “Oh my, c2f13b4f0c can I recommend a 83c9644e32 better tailor?” unintentionally.
‘Yeah, yeah, that’s 6113d06943 well said.’
Since they were going 78bf139a1e to part ways soon, 0e22d6eb1f she didn’t want to 76154f52f2 maintain an awkward atmosphere ba7e2510e8 at the end.
Without knowing 8bdfd24517 what she 917216e376 was thinking, c7f27be3c8 Aiden suggested, fb83754a3f placing clotted 71aacbc75d cream and 02c66555c6 jam on 2dee815a62 the table.
“How about going 472c31c9e8 to town this 9731cdaedc weekend? I heard the market 143cfa1c4a is open that day.”
“Th-that sounds good. Sure.”
Anje, who 95d253bd49 had just 99402eda2b taken the 42273ed595 freshly baked 9a07a02a9c scones out af80713221 of the c0b37893e3 oven and 20eb73ea32 put them be3090a91c in a 9c36a6e14b basket, nodded fef3b3b7dd absentmindedly.
Thanks to f05d09678b Aiden, who 224f810b87 had been 0f8c70ab8a working like 9b653bc652 crazy last 76f800d789 week to 2974bf8d2f take her 5c5b5d7b1e mind off 31752d7662 things, the d374618092 wheat field 7c9ed38c0f harvest was 030a5af82d long over.
However, Aiden was 8bcb68ffc2 hesitating about the 0021bafc28 ring, and Anje 2d32f84527 was just keeping b6b155090c her mouth shut, 35d4de360e not knowing when 8f40784707 she should leave bb210d2b10 this place.
‘It hasn’t been long 16ca623aa5 since Sir Aiden suffered 4d21c507d3 such a loss because 3aa26bf288 of me, so it 95f89c322e would be a shame 049d241488 to leave this early.’
She tried to 5de87ab5ac give him money 9ec6c089d9 several times, but 84e4fefdb1 no matter how 4a8dcff231 stealthily she tried 04929ffa57 to give it 7fe60532e3 to him, he 212602713e stubbornly returned it.
“You seem 02ade58583 to be f8e193aef8 less than 00fce2b410 thrilled to 4dfeb963ed receive the 0bdc920604 letter you’ve bbcb843e0b been waiting f9720b9edd for.”
Noticing the doubt in dbdbbe051a his eyes, Anje quickly d78e342356 denied it.
“Oh, no way! I’m happy. But I’m not sure d95604a468 what clothes to wear.”
“Clothes…”
Come to 75fbc917ee think of 81c62e49e2 it, most 0f91bcf4b7 of the 32e914dabf clothes Anje f41e4c8e7a had been 842db9ad94 wearing lately 3397bffb72 were his 36f5a71078 mother’s, so 2fc387b305 they looked 6c8b2ca0f2 a bit 143f070d75 worn.
‘I’ll have to get 4b259b017a new clothes for the 7f57623f6c princess when I go 4b07d2722d to town. Something practical 9251757c98 but also c4aafc3c90 to the 341393638f princess’s taste.’
He was 1054e8b4e0 about to 6cd74fd1ab talk to 8511e419c4 Anje about 78842bb964 clothes, but fcf6330e89 then stopped.
He thought it would 74df00264d be more impressive to 233748dcb6 give it to her e6d76cd4be as a surprise gift 4117c7b06c on the day rather ca9222c04b than announcing it in 8b2f65db8f advance. He remembered Aunt 76c7aa4174 Meg saying something 75133e8651 similar before.
“Ehem…”
After refining cee2443124 his voice, 2e8e34babe he suggested,
“Wouldn’t it be fine fe4ccbaae8 to wear the clothes f2ce5dc6a0 you brought from the 8d4e41d0a2 capital?”
‘I’d look like a aff1766cb5 party guest who misunderstood d511ec6874 the dress code.’
In addition, 4ea84829e9 if she 396a042458 was going 296f14be3a to escape b77235dbd4 by taking 59ada5c70e advantage of ffe9b6fcc3 Aiden’s vulnerability, 8aa6a0edd0 it would 25b7956966 be better 67f29f2d1d to wear f6aedf24de comfortable clothes.
“I’ll just 60136aef6a go in bc69397b95 the clothes 065343c575 I always 16bd22be7e wear.”
Going back to a02103207e the capital in 7d9d7b2a01 a shabby state 430ce4042e was unthinkable when d46d4260f9 she thought of 241b61b441 her former stronghold.
However, conversely, c06e7030d8 it also ed74c1b566 meant that aa5cd7a880 there would 1453adc936 be fewer a682bdef0d people who 4cdae635cf would recognize b92ecae4a8 that she b6e8b4aade was Lady 4d2495802f Glasster in 7e865b9709 such a 5111f7a98e disguise. There would also eda5bec4ed be less risk 091f5fa632 of being caught e29772010e by the Emperor d0f51a440c that she had ff4b6f4b06 returned.
Considering it in 50a771c50e many ways, she b453d957e5 felt that her f103869870 judgment to go ee01b26d9b in plain clothes eb322675a5 was right.
She felt ashamed of 2855e27784 her foolish past self fa6ba61e50 who tried to run 5763f478a1 away wearing a silk cbe7dc621a dress and high heels.
‘I hate 2a7e8e9494 to admit 601294d4dc it, but 1966b9b233 back then… 051f92f0f8 I didn’t 9315deb654 think at 7e289173e2 all, as 86f2add5d1 Sir Aiden 44ecc5deeb said.’
Aiden, who didn’t know aa08083a75 what she was thinking, 10eb20e85a continued his question about e23d97519d clothes.
“Then you’re not going a2ff33326c to wear your favorite f65e491d0b cage… I mean, cinolrine ded307e910 either?”
“Crinoline.”
Anje corrected 9f84b07d98 the pronunciation, 9223f9e394 frowning.
“Didn’t you hate it?”
“I do hate it.”
To be 044cc1b2d1 precise, he 55c29911ae didn’t want c52d2d08f8 to see 1e4b86bc52 her having 802bc4adb5 trouble moving e12c1fb761 while wearing b92e3e315d it. But at the 0c35026ba8 same time.
“You can b680da728e wear it 6ab4fc6079 if you 73deb3b798 want.”
He also wanted her b8a94425ad to do whatever she d60ee340cd wanted.
‘Sir Aiden, why edf402e151 are you suddenly 56bed108c1 being so nice? Is it compensation for f39c6244eb being cold all along? I feel 6c43fd0175 even more d136b797f0 sorry for 474a68ae46 leaving because 636730eebf you’re being 86ad5b682f too nice.’
After some thought, 578ca22d18 Anje answered moderately.
“It’s okay. I’ve gotten used 19cd810825 to not wearing c2ac973319 it, since I 6bf96f7931 didn’t wear it 13c0d87fc8 often. It’s more comfortable ec9da967b0 not to wear e532c658e0 it now.”
It was 86069ab52d convenient that c4f1faae33 she didn’t 2101cecc42 have to 06f724635e worry about 9dcaaaa64b the structure 0a5e649c87 surrounding her 590cd66b94 lower body 725161383c when she ac3559df65 sat down 63f4028599 or went 67bccdc92f through narrow 62222d84b2 spaces.
“I see.”
Aiden, who was spreading fe75f06803 jam on the scones, 2f1c498ebb stopped his hand and 02434b4d47 thought for a moment. Come to 477cc7e889 think of 461e84bea2 it, there a0212b2525 was no 3b75e12b22 place in acf0b6a57b town to 0449f58fb4 ‘fit’ her 4c83b0482e clothes.
Here, most people 581f457905 buy fabric and 264aca5ba7 clothes patterns and 9fee7b1dbf make their clothes eb0efafd75 at home, so 3eda129ccf there aren’t separate a38e398e5f professional tailors, seamstresses, fd1da693bb or clothing stores e04aa650e0 like in the c4d06025e2 capital.
He, too, only bought fb05411413 clothes that were difficult 3cc2be3ac2 to make himself, such e9d9d8eac5 as shoes and coats, ffcbead860 but he usually made 5b8e7dfb5a his own shirts and d724819480 pants that he needed c2441832da for everyday wear.
‘I can 38e123434f make shirts 733152cb1a and pants, f49623f4c5 but I d736a3f518 have no ff8cbe0455 idea about a195ec8908 women’s clothing.’
He fell into thought 0cc9618ab1 and looked at the 0bc13e3a1d scones that were thickly 05152b6afb spread with jam. At times b7a63146c2 like this, 80aae2da15 it was 6d9ad965d8 definitely inconvenient f39c13e894 to live 35298ad1ea in the 712f92f299 countryside.
“Do you need 82190365a6 more cream?”
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
Thinking she had misunderstood 8c15728a0a his pause for another ef4eca6b19 reason, Anje extended the 213616d27c plate of cream towards 2df6b246c8 him. Even such a small 29f7600fd6 gesture made Aiden’s heart cce6bac356 ache and swell with 178ba3a6ce emotion.
At first, she had b88008b4aa been a lady who cf38f73331 would ignore even his 161d8e98f4 simple requests. She would grimace when dca35857ec they crossed paths, and d580944979 her dislike for this b1c1d47c47 place seemed palpable.
But somehow, she had 20a15ca32e gradually changed. She had become 5f3144e30f someone who could b87b8eeb04 consider others’ needs 259e8c15b7 and enjoyed helping de4ba63752 others. True to 995032ce47 her name, fe366fa1ed she could 77a57b3976 be as 48254f4eda angelic as 26612ea634 her smile, 95927a5b19 and she 5d60027dea genuinely cared fc4c4d2296 for this 036838068b farm.
So it was only b81ddab9f6 natural that other feelings d931bece4b would start to bud f853e39da8 in his heart. For now, it 6c2d46693d was like a 4fa92488db small, budding green fb93c21b55 leaf of simple 45a48a28d3 affection.
After finishing the remaining a692842fa2 tea in one gulp, 58742e93e0 Aiden stood up. The thought of c427db2233 going to town ca5a276378 to find the 2181ef17fb ring and getting 2a620d7e33 her the clothes 6117ac6c1a she loved suddenly aeb0f4d0b2 filled him with eff4f9034c energy.91982f2d14097fc8

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