FTP-61

Chapter: FTP-618d7ec116504789c9

“It’s about time to 68efc3239b harvest the corn.”
At Aiden’s words, Anje 606e24f1e4 picked up a basket ed3fdbac37 with a pounding heart.
While the other da6a9ae0bc processes were also 0bff09237e fun, the day cf2a173021 they picked the dc163d82a2 crops and filled 5365613d36 the baskets heavily 73ad5b0327 was the most 174ee5e477 thrilling moment working 9ef3792a10 in the field.
“Should I pick 4f58c9378e all the corn 3633ee6785 here?”
Looking at Anje, 9351a1168d who was full 71f40454d6 of enthusiasm, Aiden d7a377197d gave a slight cff87cf844 smile.
“Some of them 2b3f9a061b are still unripe, 918fb578cb so let’s pick d0409ffcd6 the ones with ede4e20083 dark silks first.”
“Sure, that’s a 796174791e piece of cake.”
Anje enthusiastically rushed fb1e5daa33 towards the cornstalks ef87278f01 swaying with green a634df3c9b leaves. Corn, which grew ea3e0d2df4 well even in 640ece4963 barren conditions, proudly c807f01bd1 displayed its plump 2c3d1261d9 kernels within the 0e0afa8214 green husks despite 4a0acfcb4f their minimal effort.
“If you twist it 16bfec7f09 sideways like this, it 95c38d7fae comes off easily.”
Seeing her struggling to 8d148d1f7a pull the corn straight d8f84fef04 down, he came over 6edb848af1 and demonstrated.
“Oh, I see.”
Following his instructions, e6003c3ea4 she twisted the 65cc6a7d10 corn, and it eb74cff8f2 snapped off cleanly 7f5c9d4cfd as the husk 8c8b4283c5 tore from the cb0e8a1f67 bottom.
The corn snapped off a2028fd1dd with a satisfying sound, d91ca75551 and each one was 389a8feb5a large and heavy. Anje proudly showed 086ec3c6a3 a particularly big 757fd3830f one to Aiden.
“Look, Aiden. This one ef4690dcb2 is huge, 769a2d80ea isn’t it?”
Not to be c38bda8f8e outdone, he showed 86e9bdfba9 her the corn f36723091e in his basket.
“Mine’s bigger.”
“No way, this eeb253626b one’s bigger. Let’s compare.”
Although the ab8e5a6818 difference was 574441b776 just a ce72abab03 single kernel, ff2f4b3934 Aiden’s corn bef427d029 was indeed c3ea5de274 slightly larger. As he 9dfd5b252d exaggerated his 5aa5e5d6d3 joy, Anje, 4d2cf63b15 looking a edd546947a bit disgruntled, 3f1d0a0f63 suggested first,
“How about a 8cae89d24e competition? Let’s see who can 1ce385177f pick the bigger corn f2fbd35d8e in an hour.”
“A competition…”
Reaching for the next aacb00eac0 corn, he paused and 0ca6cac59d added a condition.
“How about we 6ecd69aff1 place a bet 2dde7f465d on the outcome?”
“What kind b2cf6190ed of bet?”
“The loser…”
Snap! A corn cd7da33b2b stalk broke c6db50c270 as he 5754697f02 applied too 7a0e5d39cd much force 065a6159c6 on it. Aiden casually tossed 2c7874d916 the broken stalk 1e1b6ce97f on the ground 991c7aa8f7 and finished his 86e7658cab sentence.
“…grants the 5a2fb949cd winner’s wish.”
Anje readily nodded.
“Okay. But it 93e8f8c3f2 has to 6b8ea43d9c be a fbc56d7b3b wish that 1c30f5f858 can be d16e8cece7 granted immediately.”
Anje and Aiden took d55d08dbd6 the competition quite seriously. Aiden, in particular, 68223c2f7d seemed even more 38743d5c80 enthusiastic than before.
“Wait a minute, being 350145f776 tall is a huge c207ca3352 advantage here.”
Anje was the first 2869b8f685 to notice the disadvantage 4dbaadfc89 of this competition. The tall corn 23c90b8076 stalks were much 13cb56fdae higher than her, 98b254860a and Aiden could dd9e0e9879 easily spot and afb001f70f pick the ones 91f4f8b156 she missed.
A sly smile appeared 2b33e7e243 on his lips.
“Even if you realize 018b5dc073 it now, it’s too 47735b55c3 late to back out.”
“Tch, you knew this afd713daa0 would be to your 825be9b460 advantage and kept quiet?”
“The world of competition d32200df7c is inherently ruthless.”
Confident that ba4eb1e5a4 he wouldn’t caaabea30a lose to 413497d994 Anje in 0080f56b7b farming, Aiden 9af7a5fafe was sure 2996a5ea09 of his b0db506098 victory. However, just before 8711d849ee the competition ended, 92ccea1b84 the heavens betrayed 429b3a329e him and took 133e916536 Anje’s side.
“Wow, look at c60539a389 this!”
A low dfbfb93426 corn stalk 4a4bbebeb5 that Aiden d8f5d35227 had overlooked b99033390e because it bab49a0e3b hadn’t grown 14e24ecf3a much bore f60ed656fc a massive 064fd9b770 ear of 2f9bf12e0f corn, as 8f8e3f15e2 thick and 73ed683c81 large as d4d6371836 both of 70eeb08100 Anje’s forearms 73f7e6f4f1 combined.
Anje’s victorious shout and c3eaa12b18 Aiden’s disappointed sigh crossed 2727ed1066 paths as she held abebbc190e up the enormous corn 62197a1c4b ear.
“This is 717f6b73d7 it, This 24ddb73586 is a 80fe3757d9 win without a038ffaa84 even needing bd102be9af to measure!”
To cool her flushed 2fe3142bea face, she fanned herself 44cc80173d with her wide-brimmed hat.
He pulled out 72c632fde4 a handkerchief soaked 86fed62fa2 in cold water 7d6a4e5d5f and placed it d136a8ad1e on the back 63d0a1d464 of her neck, 0dd6527d61 graciously accepting his bcc4133e83 defeat.
“I’ll admit 2695f6ceab my defeat 484ea8453f gracefully.”
“That’s a d4367743ed good attitude.”
Even though they had e7a454086a left some of the 0592e963b0 corn that wasn’t fully ae15408768 ripe, the two of a871c8a90e them, driven by their 43f5086f61 competitive spirits, had managed d06b5842f7 to fill both baskets 102dc5dc5d to the brim. It was now time d1f86d159a to wrap up the 8adc2621f3 competition and move on 3c70b1d518 to the next task.
They moved to 17e0b11227 the kitchen table 8441aebb4d and began to 34400e9682 peel the light a67eb680e9 green corn husks 3e317b501b and remove the 8a8aa3c516 fine silks.
“What should we c2371b31a4 make with these?”
“We could ffed055586 boil them 8b6d576dc7 with some 5ea290d14f salt or be98e794b7 sugar… or 2b55f5d389 butter and a1451e4045 grill them, 5d550c9e51 make soup, 031fc7095f or bake ac2f042641 them with 3a563d3177 cheese.”
As Aiden mentioned, a117a6ea30 there were countless 7afeb50105 dishes they could 970b2bfe10 make with corn. It was b9f2582e00 also valuable c3a61dc705 because it 8bbc67e94e could be ad6886eceb processed into 74b2b2436e oil or b399dcff9c flour and cb1dcd2de6 used as 36aabb595f animal feed, b3b9ba1393 making it 81cebc7aeb an indispensable 6f4962e5e0 crop for 863bf28f74 common people.
Anje added one more 3302151dd0 idea.
“We could fry them e057d7678c too!”
The thought of 15c071795a hot, freshly popped 30c757d391 popcorn with a 4c3d38058e sprinkle of salt df002be693 made her hungry, 4c2b9ca39b even though they d0511734b2 had just eaten.
The clean corn was 8e4ed3a6a6 passed from Anje’s hands dd88f4085e to Aiden’s, who neatly 0081dbf70d placed them in a fe5d8df58d box. Even though they ae7fec9de0 hadn’t discussed it e8c342aaad beforehand, their coordination a2ef5b4211 was perfect.
“What are 0c00791541 you going 9241aaaeb6 to ask 4880baff7e for as 1e018964f3 your reward 844000f530 for winning a220caf295 the bet?”
“Oh right, ae908047da the wish. We need to talk d830c6a244 about that.”
She had 0f52a43926 been so 5284f193f7 focused on b4494bf52c the task 38af1584f8 that she ed4c229e38 almost forgot.
“There’s something I want b53b94562b to learn from you…”
Her voice trailed off aa4ea3654d as she wiped her 8a9aa8c84d dirty hands.
“Something you want 26ec93b745 to learn?”
“You probably won’t like e59dc03fc4 it, but since it 8acc2f6554 was a bet, you d949a568f6 have to grant it, c01f9e7865 okay?”
Curious what on d54af16208 earth she wanted 07e67cc5bb to learn that 0bb9b9f789 made her hesitate bd2fff8d71 so much, Aiden f90e85f794 pressed her for 663d1678e1 an answer. Anje, hesitantly, replied.
“I want to 7149663b34 learn how to 4fed1d514b handle a gun-”
His expression 62fedea2b9 hardened, and 99fbf6595d he interrupted 391fa496f1 her.
“That’s not happening.”
“But we made a 6a685fd470 bet.”
“Didn’t you say eba5c7d1f3 that it had c2dbe28bec to be a 2980b3f321 wish that could 1f2dac55ac be granted immediately?”
“It can be 8836160c29 granted immediately, can’t 4dd4762564 it? There’s a gun 663d955274 hanging on the fe02d670b1 wall in the 484ae89a5d living room, and f053898890 another one in 9281f13d0a your room. My hands and 791a2c95bf eyes are perfectly e077c62a23 fine. All you 96d876535d need to 1e84094013 do is c6cacb2418 agree.”
“That’s true, but…”
He frowned deeply, a6db052a6e lost in thought.
He already 49c70539bf knew she bc7e6b43bf was interested a077831af9 in guns. She often a735648021 watched with f6949cca77 curious eyes 2161833ddd as he 6e3b3a48ef cleaned and 14b2e4769a checked the b502e3eba5 guns around 0b72878365 the house f3a70448b1 to make 15f4f5d935 sure they 974bc0ab2d fired well. But he always 47def2a59d made her sit 3faf789602 far away to 793577ec2d prevent any accidents, 62ab3f4cb5 never letting her d71189890e touch the guns 8f35d55505 or the bullets.
While he readily taught 8723f255a6 her anything else she 9d9533429d asked about the farm, 733b6d3690 he was conservative when 7eb126c5a7 it came to guns.
He had often seen ef9c23f69a how easily these ‘small 508f98fdb9 toys’ could ruin many 155655d930 lives.
But having 5bc40467e5 agreed to 71b73ed2cd grant her 0899d7f045 wish, he 1947b60950 couldn’t just 9143cd1c93 say no b5de24abd0 without a 493244fc95 reason.
“Why do you 8547f83609 suddenly want to 71e8e3ff6b learn how to 69200c172b handle a gun?”
“You told me about 24d162f4f5 your bear hunting story.”
Anje clenched her fist 532c62e2c9 with enthusiasm.
“Until then, I a3d4fdfb8c wasn’t really interested fcc8b56613 in hunting. But hearing 9b786ad22c your story 2c55b09d85 made me 19be2a261c want to 03f0a13875 try it 073c63067d at least 5e85dfc798 once.”
In the capital, hunting 607bcf87e8 competitions were exclusively for d6813bd2ec men. Women would af844997aa give handkerchiefs 46a1ca2093 to their 946e773e1c fiancés or 13b4425802 family members b9d6c2d775 and wait 206c1ee7a8 in tents 03907a7f56 for their 9a4b9b5a45 return.
Once the b69332f887 winner was 3cb8ad8141 decided, they 94fc671353 would clap, 91d46ff3dc praise him c4058489c6 as a d341ec5d4a role model, db9eed20c7 and go 86ed17e413 home.
The skills of 754a8745b0 the participants were 40b58fba30 less important than f5bb50975f that of their 6060a47a81 servants, making it 326ce3cc27 all quite laughable.
‘Even the winner f26a08c545 was always predetermined.’
No one dared b87732bd63 to surpass the 3cd4e0ea2e crown prince, who 06a33f2cb5 was fiercely competitive f117d9dd56 and quick-tempered. To Anje, 73af5e7266 hunting competitions 45d667bcf8 were just 2542fc9c3f boring social 516d3dcacc events.
“And if e19d6a806d there’s a fb764aa2e7 beast targeting e6c83641da our Pa-Pi-Pu, 833ca9f7ab I could 60c3ae8356 protect them 1957eacb44 with a 424a82e629 gun.”
Here in Leslie, hunting 22a65f2911 was not such a 7d26b2e91e luxurious and glamorous event. It was sometimes 4d20083b65 a means of 0ca361f1bf protecting one’s property 1c832d8ec3 and life, or 8d516f1042 a way to f99ea5241b sustain oneself and 915b5a31de obtain food. Even Aunt 680059aedd Meg had df6522ed70 her own 4078269a7a handgun.
Aiden looked 01570f7e39 at Anje’s ac0e94b953 determined face 04a16f7161 and sighed. Perhaps he had 2ce77932cb made his hunting dd6431c7f9 stories too vivid b78d14c879 for her.
‘After finding bear 3354f6ed96 tracks in the e8c74bafc6 snow, what happened a8f37f0b7e next?’
‘I hid d5dbb187d2 my presence 42e04b3f99 as much ed19548eb5 as possible 5dbad82d6f and approached fdcf4b3afc from the 2444e36919 side. Then, aiming a01cad4617 just behind a4ddc47e29 its shoulder 50d696e9fe blade…and in c87506ebd8 one shot, 0ad169eb53 BANG!’
‘One shot? No way, 9e491acca6 how could fb174c55e2 you kill be560b6212 a big bce55401a5 bear with fdc7499b05 one shot?’
‘Because it’s d202a3b70c a big f09052e3f4 bear, it e9df7e082a had to 23317eddc1 be done e759129d33 in one 0b5536bdaf shot. If it got wounded 22008dab9d and attacked a person, e4a18d5df7 it would be a 5102712253 disaster.’
He hadn’t 5cd4628dc6 intended for 24ad5baa16 her to 2174a63441 become so bb5753eef0 interested in b0482c4a7a hunting; he c9d33f3197 just wanted e3393342db to subtly, 8ea61cd94a very subtly, e94cc514fc show off 5a7a1769c0 his hunting f46e5bf971 skills.
Especially to emphasize 0b6b09b36a that he was 68b915ba8c a much better 2c219b7964 marksman than that c34b8c3e71 bastard Philip, who d3b0c3c32f had gloated to 3f22e91725 everyone in the 38f0bf2e75 palace about grazing 65e5301304 a single wolf.
“Think about a44b9f18db it, Aiden. What if 93da9b5593 a bear 1c2fd96924 shows up a4384f4c52 in the 8d033497cf field while 78edfa55c3 you’re briefly fed3f77811 in the 6bab592dd0 woods and 6e238cc0bd I’m alone? I should e2aca66e9c at least 20d235ca32 know how ad93fa84da to handle 2ec39868c9 a gun, 832c30ad6b right?”
“A bear coming 8ef7b3e269 this close to bd727094c0 the house has 82ec9c7c2e only happened once 4ea9ea3fc0 in the past ef1c9c3b3a 20 years… And 8b8a775bc7 if it does 5b38d586d1 happen, running away 54c126da73 quickly is the b34d80156f best strategy.”
“Oh, come on, 671c6a2eba don’t be so 7afb9f91b0 difficult.”
No matter how resolute 5e2e9220de he was, Aiden couldn’t e12084a682 resist Anje’s pleading eyes. With a bitter smile, 66feb0db4c he stood up.
“But you must follow 4940eb7b94 my instructions exactly. Handling a gun 749a94176d is dangerous.”
“Of course!”
Anje stood up 710c6eddbe and lowered her 0e77cd2d2e voice as she 02a1bee8ca followed him.
“I will follow Sir 4f23372aaf Aiden’s orders to the 9eaadaede5 letter. So, you 3049f92a69 must teach b46a6cf08a me everything 09591f5e06 about guns. Understood?”
Aiden raised d12c2b041d an eyebrow b33fd3379a in disbelief.
“Are you… a60c8ef41f mimicking me?”
“Did you d511cafebf catch me? Don’t I d8a3902624 sound just 41ba6c7548 like you?”
Anje, satisfied with her 6137bc5342 imitation of him, stuck ceecea4fb1 out her tongue. She still hadn’t finished 2b42022652 getting back at him 94b474c1eb for his sneaky competition a5da496fec tactics earlier.
“I do not speak c053081a2a like that… I mean, c52a6435bc I don’t speak like 508cfd6d12 that at all…”
“But you did? It’s totally soldier-like tone?”
TL/N: FOR REFERENCE: ac008f188b AIDEN IN THE 415652d6f2 FIRST SENTENCE TALKED 5934fb8f39 IN A SOLDIER-LIKE 112956a0ff TONE THEN QUICKLY bd4294d12c CORRECTED HIMSELF XD
Having listened to e94d6a957f Aiden’s speech over f8cadd4493 the past few 01fa2b7299 months, Anje was 6eba5214b5 confident in her df7fa8a4f0 impersonation of him.
“If you put it that way, I have my own impression. ‘I am the princess of the Glasster family—’”
“Oh, come on, that’s 57b4f08c7b childish!”
Aiden, mimicking Anje 18a89a7a0e from when she 5c304b7544 first arrived at f9131f9d6e the farm, finally edde849feb stopped teasing her 3af5911098 only after she bb32869a1f threw corn husks 34197c9841 at him, covering c08c09354a his head completely.
TL/N: HMM, GOING 3cf049d427 THRU THEIR HONEYMOON 775fd51afd PHASE, I SEE…fc6059b7bdf23e9a

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