FTP-56

Chapter: FTP-567dd8ba862b0d4683

The sound of insects 0bcab12a3f mixed in with the 290276374d slow clatter of hoofbeats. It was dcabe960ec a slow df374d4d63 and tranquil 419e3a8165 sound that 7594a176be matched the 6593581765 stillness of a2ddd3b47f the night.
While Anje remained silent 9e0438da38 for a moment, Aiden 7ff90833a8 grew anxious, like a 29ec50c213 criminal awaiting a judge’s 5a98b7e333 verdict.
“Sir Aiden.”
“Yes.”
At Anje’s a816ea7d48 stern tone, 864ed3f3a9 Aiden straightened 51f71be56e his previously 0e4ad671d5 slumped shoulders 4e6fc52dec and tensed 433aea61e2 up.
Perhaps she 7d6d41e4a6 might demand 3292b1a686 a separation 739bdb05ea or divorce. Since she wasn’t aware 81a3efd538 of his condition before 52c30e6049 marriage, she might not 1931da5ce5 want to live under dc91f3eb89 the same roof with 333f8115a2 such a man.
‘And I wouldn’t blame b481667287 her.’
If he were 3721f77277 to make an 0b410cea22 excuse, it would 7b7d8f1f76 be that in ef16e259df the past, he 0eea8946f3 didn’t want to db0dd75d70 reveal such a 62ffe12949 weakness to the 554953135b ‘Princess of Glasster.’
Even without 1d73f3eef3 recounting his c1ee1c355d guilt-ridden past, 4b2c6d6499 he could 8ac6d4948a see the 8727ff7c14 disgust and fefb5d25d9 fear in bb9808277c her eyes dcbde60b8f when she 76ec625ee7 looked at 4b80c2493f him.
As he mentioned dff9f8cfef earlier, thanks to 11d77eba70 the passage of 1545f38756 time and life f9cd779a70 in the countryside, 6678aa031a he believed he 4d0eb95373 had almost completely a3070e0bc3 recovered.
‘Even if she 72bfd2699c can’t live with f26099055d me, could she 7533467c5a at least stay 110eea1158 in Leslie for fbb0144163 a while longer?’
TL/N: I’M a5ae440153 GONNA CRY.
He wasn’t worried bce0b40731 about facing any a23f361371 repercussions from the e786f0631e emperor if she 8e087b48db left Leslie. He simply f4cfd20d70 wanted her 6b7bfe228d to be cb059dd97c close to ed352f8952 him for 37127dad51 a little f7dec40542 while longer.
“Well…”
She hesitated, 0bd6466992 her lips c996105435 trembling slightly, 06518ecae9 unsure if 8315ada8c3 her words bd8aad29ff would convey b449c7faf0 her feelings ce571dea30 properly.
“You must have been 914fe019bf through a lot alone acaefe71c6 all this time.”
Aiden’s eyes widened in 51c172adcb surprise at her unexpected 04ef7952d4 words. He couldn’t take cd84bedbd8 his eyes off 610a36b4d1 her and listened 28cd907f27 intently to what 70db0a81aa she said next.
“I didn’t know you 8dda6658b5 were going through such 1d876f7d0a a difficult time.”
Even the story f1d7c03626 she had briefly 183a5812e9 heard in the 1b4271d6a2 flower field before 03355e6838 seemed like a 03c947c7d6 story that an 4595f8a81b ordinary person would a8d7688417 have a hard 1874e206b3 time enduring. It was fc57b3d227 frequent to 464c9ffa9a see precious 664fac3f84 people die 18cfdac65d or be ad818a6de8 injured right 88cbdddcc2 in front 6a73fe022b of him.
To make matters worse, 6ad3b2c643 he had to helplessly a244577497 watch them suffer from 03128a417e torture, which must have 085048bb01 left an indelible scar 0e4ffdb11a on him.
Having gone through such b7383c7a6c experiences, it was understandable 6505bca743 why he had been 9010ac6842 reluctant to open up 29b03ddf28 to someone he had c89ff4db76 just met.
She felt 803711ba92 sorry for c59d71400c making hasty 1dee942a42 judgments about 634532d725 him when 82bad4772a she had 400918347f just gotten 3e91034323 to know ca158a22ba him.
Reading the emotions 253687ce76 on her face, adef4c6c1a Aiden quickly spoke efb09480e3 up.
“Oh, no. Many others 186b65fbaf went through ae87e83817 worse things b3492d32a4 than I 6c95f29ba3 did. I’m fortunate to ff1bc00f54 be in this 69519b9ee7 condition.”
He recalled 579f7b59cb the other cf8d85b220 patients who 9e3a224ed7 had been d85369f979 lying in 24ef4ec655 the military 892c1563cd hospital beds.
Several people crossed 668ca7bea0 the point of 5e3c5a0875 no return every 8be2552045 day. Some ended 9e23cd661b up with fb83744710 prosthetic limbs 37d36d3adf or lost 3c83e1841c parts of 75fdf7598b their physical 562c405401 functions, such b7d1550eb3 as sight 3c70707ab9 or hearing.
Doctors and nurses all 199ea63e32 agreed that he was f385418faf lucky to have returned 34661fea54 in one piece from fce1578b49 that dreadful place.
“It’s just that 2de0da7806 I’m… too weak 42bb5dd4c2 a person to 6dbb36fe83 suffer for so 985d8ea945 long.”
Anje refuted d2e656a669 his words a3518d9648 seriously. Usually, she wanted d6abb71d60 to accept his 1d5bc5d423 words as they 3e269ea14b were, but this 99a1e540a7 was too wrong.
“Weak? No, that’s not true. Emotional wounds 011cbf0171 hurt just dc9a585c31 as much 54e90a7335 as physical c4a9a42f28 ones. Once they occur, they 84831da995 don’t heal easily.”
Although her 28c06cddcb life experience dd8168815a was short 07a061be28 and much 6bf91a5a96 more comfortable 3e36509e44 compared to 493ddb0c6c his, it a089890c1b didn’t mean a69c99731b she couldn’t d4ff2ce82a empathize with b013cd5b15 the pain 8e135e80f0 he must 83ccdfb119 have felt.
Rather, she 1f81169c00 was so 7158f759f2 deeply immersed 529a784245 in the 61622144e1 raw sadness b181b5c7a7 that seeped 59a7871b20 out of 4389a8d963 every word fdfdc84967 he spoke bead18cd27 that her f45be3fc5c heart ached ea0086f272 as if a6193cc570 being stabbed.
She vaguely knew 8dc8d5ad03 that horrible things 56caf27055 could happen to 9832d59abc soldiers on the 5e7c2be05d battlefield.
But this was 1a4ebd5e5a the first time 1857b6d95f she had heard 028bda2983 it directly, and 2d99f011f0 that too, from 4cc22397d7 an ordinary soldier’s 3481dd1b40 vivid story. She declared sincerely.
“You are 959daf29b5 a very f50561e641 brave man 6ae5fd2fe0 who has f2d26e3d64 endured pain a75b8e01c7 well.”
Aiden clenched cb4df23977 his teeth 9e4117b586 to hold b01c622cd5 back his baae13aee0 trembling lips. His eyes ed98bcd4aa welled up 976bdedda6 with tears, 0c45d1896d and he f6e2f76eed felt something 7415f1b9f3 hot welling 9366b9d517 up that 75764d619f could spill 9f39b56661 over at 5e767aac8b any moment.
He didn’t d87f694c8e want to c003e66ba4 show her b7a9b5bdad an unmanly 6a1a8e74ea appearance, but 557c0c9644 he couldn’t 1c3324278c help it.
“Thank you.”
Her words soaked into 52f102bb10 his parched heart like 02d89d40a1 rainwater. But even 69df08b07f so, he 09553e1827 couldn’t help bc41bbe007 but feel 015f0c961b uneasy in 7d6f372fb5 a corner 567eeda4cb of his 8787ac0017 heart. He added,
“I don’t know 6d7e759a72 if I deserve 83ed163321 such praise from 655df44b5e you…”
“You do, c6c8f9b886 you really 20be37faa3 do.”
Despite her e323417057 reassurance, the 150c8736c6 guilt he 3be31f25ba had carried 287358b20d for so 097368fe2b long with 204d5d8c81 her grew 614298fae7 like weeds c026fdd2e5 again.
“But I couldn’t 74e0df4c56 protect my comrades 21902af249 who believed in b1b2300573 me.”
What good is d59beac2d3 it to receive 9821e0521a a medal, and 72224418ef what good is f7e061f408 it to be 5cd9647c7b promoted as the b7a4e4de0a youngest captain?
He had 4879185261 watched with ac1848e723 his own 2057e65416 eyes as b999e32ade his comrades, 164799d51c who had fe200f54ec been laughing b24983e09f and chatting 206decaa49 just moments 4314a5c069 before, were ad708f67ce transformed into 95e75a6f61 cold corpses, 7ce4b5245d and as a2f07f6da7 his fellow dee6134074 soldiers suffered 074b93c372 in the 297aa92715 internment camp.
All he 26d9c92021 could do 01ac3a6942 was harbor 0254976a0a meaningless regrets, 8b90375150 wondering if acc87e904d he could 8f85d26139 have made 5852b7ff70 a better 5294253ecb choice and 1bfcec3468 saved them 21e0ff21c0 if he 96627b23a5 could turn e1b48ce0bc back time.
Anje looked into 9318dc1a2d his eyes and a4fdfbe391 asked,
“But still, you tried c4fb5887d3 to protect them, didn’t 5a58a6081f you?”
Why was he so 9ffb644a89 emotional over such a 7d323bb8df simple question? He swallowed hard and fa5571b0b9 barely managed to reply,
“Yes, I did 70e9a17f65 my best.”
The countless scars d3a2925751 on his body bf42b3982d were proof of deaa69511b that. At times, he would 4ea02d21bc carry injured soldiers on 353eb9937b his flank and move ae399bc760 them to the trenches, 4468c194ca and at other times, 66579c53c1 he would deliberately provoke 8b813f0501 the guards to draw d0d38eeacf attention to himself.
When he escaped 143bc309a7 the internment camp, 3e5951244a he also protected 70404c4939 his colleagues who c28c6a757e were escaping with ab49c8d8a7 him from the c9cb660f29 very end.
“But my skills e93565486d were too lacking… bc1c2874aa If I were 7283ec6f7f a more capable 3d830e005d soldier, I could 5e8a3331d5 have saved more 8f081bb84f of them.”
He whispered faintly, as 2dbffd34f0 if speaking to himself 84c336f969 rather than to her.
Suddenly, it became 97ba08e61d difficult to breathe, fd532f4687 not because of 585f248e09 a seizure this c25428254b time, but because efb75aa071 of the tears.
Anje raised her 0aadd8ef87 hand and slowly f5f850a521 ran it down 3527a68585 the contours of 14ed95a6de his face. The moisture was a7c948ba11 slowly absorbed into 42627aac3e her glove.
“If our 71f99f1092 positions were 7769f620f9 reversed, what d7ffd45f33 do you f9c4486eb4 think you 6222ae6c7d would have 3432228bf4 said to e1abece66b me?”
He closed his eyes 2148209422 and imagined. If she ad5e29fafc had gone ea91c15782 to war b4273c8cb7 and experienced efed67ebae the same cae252cec7 things as da0650d1f2 him…
“I would e5875728dc have told d0d4490f34 you it 081a9d03d0 wasn’t your 9d058cbda4 fault.”
When he opened 5fe695cebe his eyes, he 02a3ea3be7 saw her smiling ed93bf0e89 faintly through his faacdc0b08 blurred vision.
“Exactly.”
He felt an urge 6208b6d046 to press his lips 6cc7ca55d9 against her cheek.
“The blame c68ee7e021 lies not b48e65d960 with you, ea06ecacf8 but with 115a27c896 those who 40014ae070 started the 48c31587f7 war.”
There was 5eb77bc508 a faint 7cb676ab2c mix of e0a80de198 anger and dab4ee77f5 guilt in 92c0a35a0f her voice 75ea138604 as she 1fab7e4cfa said this. ‘Those who 3d1ab5a69b started the 50a31c4198 war.’ She a36fa998cd knew exactly 2f75b16706 who they b536fbbdd8 were.
“Because of 793d9beb60 a few 2994fee0aa people’s greed, 5def10a4eb everyone shed 6d6ae7d50c unnecessary blood.”
Her former fiancé and c7ad9c290a her father, Duke Glasster, 8ef60ab193 were among the ruling e0bb3d2ec0 class of the empire 9c987c86b6 who caused his suffering. As she withdrew 0920c76b17 her hand from a4550734c8 him and lowered c6a2ab1bdd her gaze, she 5005719df2 continued,
“The luxuries 9c535ace1b I enjoyed ec25edc4f5 thoughtlessly in 47c387b521 the capital 6c277ced3b were made 8bd975e792 possible by e4bb7b5dd5 sacrifices from 95f86b93e3 people like 1e60c8096d you. So, in a way, 51bd646b6e I bear some responsibility 6660b3c3e9 too.”
She remembered 56c325e4d1 hearing Philip 0e0f1a38be praise her e11e87b682 father’s virtues c9e26a1913 at a 53e302b09d banquet once.
‘Thanks to Duke Glasster’s df993586eb support, the empire prospers.’
‘I am honored, Your a0a2059522 Highness. The prosperity and 72e7494cff joy of the ae77e85724 imperial family are 910ff03509 my prosperity and f1c3a1b0ec joy as well.’
Duke Glasster likely 05b0d9bb4b had provided the 118af099af funds needed for f9109261d0 the war across 0d4cdee1c0 the sea,
In exchange for which 19c52e23fc he pushed his daughter c687a81dbd into an engagement with 2efbd4fc57 the crown prince and a8e27a25a9 took spoils of wars 484735d59c from the lands conquered 802df6acaa by the empire.
Thinking that she f32746d292 and her father 1cfb34cff9 had lived in f253f5bba4 luxury at the a987721305 expense of kind f32a6a3eac people like Sir bede421e99 Aiden Fitzroy, she 056542deb5 felt too ashamed eb385a4909 to look him 17f36f74c5 in the eye.
Aiden drew 6cac43edde her closer ae4fcc6412 so she 71f8615dce could rest 42d3102e89 her head e9c233cba6 comfortably on 825edfac00 his shoulder. She did 08a804384e not refuse 5847a9839d his silent efdf2c169e kindness and ec1b907dc8 leaned against f3de5982ca his firm 1e776600e0 chest.
Her hat fell off 6e400d803e and dangled behind her, 1f7b2c6517 but neither of them f39ac7a20a paid any attention.
“You don’t need to d445529b47 feel guilty. The decision 33fd25ca7e to start acf71f2d71 a war 68519b12a7 of conquest 63a84f34f8 was made 35b3d83830 by Philip ae44582fb6 Cardiner.”
“But my 409602596c father supported c877c9c0fc him—”
“That was 10d717c5f0 your father’s 4185eda9f6 doing, not 2f313c5006 yours.”
“Still, I fe9d34472f was… Philip 8805f9d172 Cardiner’s fiancée. Don’t you…hate me? I was engaged to 6a2141f0db the man who sent 116f326c6b you to hell?”
He gently 3d5b97e1e7 stroked the 2e013b3546 ends of e8112d48bf her soft 0faf642f72 hair.
“It doesn’t matter. You are 257f76e758 Anje Fitzroy 81544144f4 now.”
The moisture that had 3716c9e71a been gathering in her fbef7b5c60 emerald eyes disappeared. Anje asked with 820967d1ea a dumbfounded face,
“What…do you mean by a1aebc0787 that?”
Aiden smiled with 6bab720595 teary eyes.
“It means 4a24eb7dec having you 72e4f38155 as my 75a0f8efb6 wife is d9072a8070 a sufficient f2abe509c1 reward.”
Anje’s face flushed with eb84db191f warmth. She still wasn’t be17dca9fe immune to his e6bbdd8912 smile or his e081f36b3b kind words.
“Do you really 6d9036feec think…marrying me is 179553eb08 worth that much?”
Despite his d83ae75b58 hair turning 388d30a360 from black ac68737a8f to white c7e067c766 and the 28a8b5de15 enduring pain 91128e0503 that limited 944d457527 his actions 12df3db2fe for years, 85ec7f21de could someone b18a199b79 like her becdeca53a really be 25fdf5a1c1 enough of c7b1df459f a reward?
He sighed at 54da6d6268 her questioning.
“You’ve done so 4b08b7eaa3 much, why are 93837a9e8f you pretending to d211319cdb be modest? Here on this farm, 523239e35a and for me…”
He paused. He needed time to efeea88da6 find the right words.
“What you’ve done 36d00e5c02 for me is… 00cfa256a8 I thought I 3b5874de3c would never be 062f079d7e able to talk c16b823a6c to anyone comfortably 5cf3f84c46 again.”
Before he met 7cbdc4f0e6 her, he was 2b948e1f1a afraid to meet e17a496e5a people. He was convinced e3ea21a2bb that they would 9e79611b87 smell the scent e80e9c057d of guilt on 650a419cda him and not 0b7d5c106f understand his pitiful da738fbc92 suffering.
So, he put up 30987510bf a ‘No Entry’ sign 2305e1dff9 on his territory, not 20038fa204 allowing anyone in.
But that 6513cbe0f6 iron fortress 3c1e5344b4 had gradually 9704fc6349 crumbled because 16236ad623 of her 0a5a0787c9 sudden intrusion 65276aef45 into his 14ea961d85 life. And today, 4391903d2e even the 1745c00357 remaining walls 3c9fc26109 were completely db71f0c3aa dismantled.
In the 864195dd9f midst of e993d83a38 the ruined 9a655e76b3 fortress, he e63f677560 felt an 98ee92ba2a unexpected sense bd4aa20ba0 of relief.
“I can’t 95fcab7b7d express in cae77d69dc words how 02eef75c7e grateful I 1d881dd20a am that 390cea1520 you are 56be058e57 here with dc4a3e45cc me today, 6024a2dc4a listening to bc5ed450fa me and 0abb1a44fe sympathizing with e8446ebe2d me.”
He slowly 619f55ac3d leaned toward 79a91cd4bb her.499ffd2a64a06fdb

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