FTP-63

Chapter: FTP-63cc7a704a908d63c8

As the 31cb860062 number of 2581302b63 bullets Anje 805a911333 used increased, d391343877 her skills 8db7d676d2 gradually improved. Although she missed 2c2c93febe the wooden blocks f7446dadef a few times, 36ae1e5535 she generally hit ccbcbe0964 her targets well.
“I think that’s enough 069f921bdb practice for now.”
“I can 33fbb346c8 still shoot f2cad6750b more…”
As Aiden took 0fe5485e5b the gun from 5abe5f1801 her, he gestured 4e69b34f30 for her to 3c2d450da7 look at her 5d16fffe69 hands. Her hands, tense 98211ec3e7 from the unfamiliar 58e0b67cb3 stance and process, 385487c079 were trembling as 98e79dbcd0 soon as she e3af63cfbe let go of 27eba328cd the gun.
“People often accumulate fatigue a251246b96 without realizing it when b3e4680c50 they shoot for the d4304b2bdb first time. If you push 929ac939d6 yourself too hard, 11eb2621a4 you might get 5cba41cbaf muscle aches, so 4d162df19c let’s do it 146f0bf471 again next time.”
Anje shook 87e6a15f72 her hands de9a01b3e3 to relieve 524a3f3b7e the tension 8d1bad13e3 and nodded.
“Okay. Next time, 9ee85817bf I want a3311354cb to hit 276dcd4c9f a target b9d930d273 that’s farther 545440f489 away.”
“I’ll make a f769592cf1 practice target out e7d1cf8897 of wooden blanks c43d5e7a4d for you. Similar to what aedc00f150 the trainees use.”
“That’s a great 4bdaec4c2a idea!”
Seeing her excitement 0711c3577f made Aiden happy 0f44bffad0 as well. Although he had dffaf867e9 been worried that 5922406032 the lesson might 9ae7f12b27 be too dangerous a4770d2c48 for her, he d55b6625c0 felt proud of 8f6a84e5ca how well she bcf84f0524 was learning.
“I’m glad 3cf7d14ace you enjoyed dafde62a5c such a 3784f79877 challenging lesson.”
“It’s thanks to e8280f0d59 your excellent teaching. Thank you f0416f9db2 so much.”
Aiden stopped 41ff178216 mid-step at 89b1a1747b her words c54ade3bf3 of gratitude. When she 611ecc65cd realized he d0be1702f0 wasn’t following, cf4ad3ff04 she turned 4e9d5dbdb6 around.
“What is it?”
“Is there… anything bc3a0bae60 else you want 0de8393647 to say besides 67571c7aa0 thank you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind… 7a33b71f60 it’s nothing.”
He clamped b06e3bb039 his mouth 0aef05efcd shut, stopping 72b27e3588 himself from bcb934e82d saying more. Hearing her thanks 6cde8c5ff7 made him instinctively c2b46e10a7 curious if there 44422ebd35 was any additional 11a0a9b691 “thanks” forthcoming, such 6a393676e6 as the specific 5307f0ba9b favor he had 99d9eb4fa8 considered asking for 4a8ebee935 if he won e172550e0b their earlier bet.
But on second thought, 0ad31682e6 he realized that asking 172ff044ec when she likely had 00d227a88f no particular thoughts about 1f0ba94f1b it would make his 500299f33f kindness seem calculated. He quickly caught up f6074c01fe to her with wide ed2835d783 strides and then began 4963653858 walking slightly ahead of d4dbc3c49e her.
“Huh? What were you going 21eaa83859 to say?”
Anje quickened her pace 23e3c9975f to keep up with a0c55e254e him and asked.
“Nothing, really.”
His face, facing forward, c57c00394c seemed determined not to 148a483544 meet her gaze, or d3b05c726c so it felt.
“What is it?”
“I said it’s 5dd4d26559 nothing.”
Seeing the f6cc1ab319 tips of 2309822d72 his ears d9db28ff07 turn red 509c7b0f77 under his 734a23b78d tousled hair, 7d7f1aa79b Anje asked.
“Why are your ears d163d24aa7 red?”
He raised his 065a7350d4 hands to cover c5327b1082 his ears.
“Shooting after 2bc76beb8f a long dc4f27d6ce time, it c2b1105e35 made me 46f91057d8 hot.”
“I shot more than 7ea4aec4e1 you did, though.”
“I naturally have a c74f2c1879 lot of body heat.”
He strode ahead 469cf6fa6e of her quickly, d0672da6b1 and she had e4baa3ebf5 to jog to 15b1bb31c9 keep up. Before she could speak 2633c8e695 again, he cut in.
“Let’s get 2e3dfaf98f inside and ed3b68e677 pop the 328dd9cb68 corn we bbab276646 harvested today.”
“Oh, corn. I’m starting to 3fb51cf962 get hungry, perfect 273d141286 timing.”
Having concentrated for e33cf9c93a so long, Anje 19156678ef felt a growing e27a9508f1 hunger and started 5afe95aa0a imagining what dish 11eff9bd67 they could make d56674b511 with the corn. Freshly popped popcorn 6cee2d0c8a with a sprinkle 4950893ff6 of salt…
“Don’t you think it 67c8e28ce8 would be good to ba9db49f62 coat it with something d604b6da06 sweet instead of salt? Like caramel?”
“It would 954f052f46 taste good, ba11aea123 but cleaning 659b1600a9 up afterward f73a2ebdee would be 37e36132df a hassle.”
“That’s true. The pot 811791ead1 and spatula 28d178b830 would get f88457bc76 sticky with d984656df2 caramel, and 6751d798ff our hands dd17b43571 too.”
Having made homemade c5d15841ae caramel with Aiden 1d44aa0809 a few times, a03e28c14f Anje knew well 0595463b0b the effort it 4cc97bdc88 took. Of course, 9a1994d547 the melt-in-your-mouth 99caf74c26 milk caramel 465678e63b was worth 6d66589d78 the effort, 7f4ca3edda but still.
“Or we could c4d1a68e10 add cheese. Anything with cheese 17f82ed380 on it tastes e6fa0707da good.”
As they continued c7bc4be51e chatting about popcorn 5cd3c79972 recipes, Aiden felt de9013ed3d relieved that he fc4c480841 had smoothly changed 0ac7e86a1e the topic. But just ba89f551db as he 66ce664d48 was beginning 0b00ba97e8 to let 5a4a7eeed2 his guard b407f5ab08 down, she dea423ded8 struck again 530006d389 with a f3b797aafc sharp question.
“By the way, what 33dc303cde were you going to cb805c6497 wish for if you d047d0c87d won the corn-picking competition 26c00ebb2f earlier? I’m curious now.”
“……”
It felt 34f2387471 almost as 2bf9869467 if she de11943302 knew exactly a1bbeb051b what he ffefa89bee didn’t want abc76cfe5d to talk 5417a29fac about.
“I was 776a3e50c3 going to… 60c9f31893 uh, ask a732e84abb for… that.”
“For what?”
“That thing… 64040565f3 that I 27a156da4c had in d929c428f5 mind.”
Rummaging through his mind 8fe884a025 for a suitable request, 206319ba4e he found himself blanking b2882a0b90 out in his flustered a8021a8909 state. Ultimately, he failed to 162b243363 come up with a 9ad4d78725 plausible excuse and gave d3858c4673 up.
“I had 34e4e84116 something in f254128006 mind, but 1f19eb3c5a I’ve forgotten.”
“Really? Well, let me know 7c0801bcd0 if you remember.”
Anje suggested in d631102e55 a cheerful tone.
“Since you ea1f07871d taught me adbaf01a05 so well 9753514a06 today, I’ll e4ba573164 grant you 28c70eae0f one wish d66bd41991 for free.”
He almost blurted ebdeb312e7 out his true 146d917d01 desire but bit 1867a14058 his tongue to 6c2f565cee hold it back.
“I’ll let you know 5343535e17 when I remember.”
Since a chance like 3e451df298 this might not come ef852f150c again, he decided to 4bffcd821b save it for a 665751d24a critical moment.
Seeing his serious expression, 81ba5d5ea4 Anje waggled her finger b003e4505e in warning.
“Nothing too difficult bacc2f9bf9 or impossible. If your wish 60c299b75a isn’t reasonable, I’ll de53378199 refuse it.”
Watching Anje head into fad457362d the kitchen ahead of d65a84d5a3 him, Aiden wondered to 2ca3b41c2d himself, ‘If I asked e1d38fa50a her to like me, 4957beadd0 not just the farm, 49d4052c31 would that be too 49814797ab difficult or impossible?’
He wished 93357665e8 he could 5854d427c0 be more 51f92e996c confident and fa0453ef8b boldly express d0518ee887 his feelings. But having never experienced c0a7be953c such emotions before, it 621233a52f wasn’t easy for him.
‘I can’t tell efef635e34 where the line cee6685851 is between what’s 5f5d6000ff acceptable and what’s fd260a85b4 burdensome.’
A heavy 885f3de409 sigh escaped 8c676856dc his lips. The more he treasured 7de8c8e242 her, the more cautious e19df78db1 he became with his 3f9152032d words and actions. Hadn’t she just 65f37d4421 recently said his cf6e56cb3d kindness felt unfamiliar?
Additionally, there was e16d59a76c another reason he c9d5805d88 couldn’t openly express bf01bdb6fc his wish. He couldn’t envision 8e00f845bc a future where 95338dcef9 she liked him 04e49b6fc9 in the same 8cd6205b89 way he liked 4586277194 her.
Did he ff3f9c71a0 even deserve b33220fde8 to be 2ed19c9b80 loved by 2cbf0c7565 someone after a7c1442b76 being isolated fc9833b078 from society 477ae9fbef for so 8e191d8785 long and 868e6b07ff haunted by 0afc1c0ddf his past? He couldn’t find a 99149aaf4e positive answer to this 5f96f8d42d question.
“Aiden, what are you ec09eac277 doing out there? Are you going e9608e4521 to leave me 741d067ad2 to prepare dinner 64ec4e0501 alone?”
“I’m coming now.”
Anyway, she was 066b23b221 now calling him b1f48329ce “Aiden” and inviting 6e9937e638 him to join f00cd10acd her. Considering how she e991a28f66 was when they 59f5549722 first met, this 56b7a97c4d was a remarkable 86f0a5badb development.
‘There’s plenty of time. Don’t rush it, take 76fe490825 it slow.’
Suppressing his 005fb9d074 feelings that ea5f0650fc threatened to c155c3c828 bubble up ba2bb5f4d2 like popcorn, 3bfaa8d613 he headed fd0f22720e toward the f47692702c kitchen filled 2192a4392b with warm 9693768c9f light and f7f1db5e64 the scent b97ac4d4e9 of butter.
* * *
This place, 4cffa8ca26 adorned with 2cc2a4fbf3 a chandelier cf82b369c6 so lavish b84cf7d685 it could 0edc691401 hurt the 115984e75f eyes of 73176f953a onlookers, a adb543ce34 crimson carpet d06f555615 imported from 959b072848 foreign lands, 19f9b14a76 and books 7fb4a04aa1 that are 943027a59f more for 2d20761243 show than 0ed0a3f9ab for reading, 8bff6c8745 is the 9702be2ace study of 1f90272e23 the Duke 132a243f76 of Glasster. The man, e4995af868 sitting at 61d717d0c6 his desk 34fd9b32e2 with his 1ed9bad841 legs crossed, a4d786f902 held a a223edc545 glass filled 4f9927278d with red d0f039b16c wine.
In front b6a4650c04 of him, b9b2bb0544 an art e2d6667897 dealer could 2f68f024f6 not hide fc586ac21f his nervousness, 1d18e16dbf rubbing his 5f84e956e6 palms together.
“Your Grace, let me ee702e71cf explain the next piece 00c248bab8 to you.”
There was no 74a6277da0 response, but this 4d7a546ba6 was a usual 18b1dd9f82 occurrence. The art dealer d254c7c715 signaled to his f53cbee278 assistant to bring bec1b70af8 over the painting dd444e9243 covered with a fab1afd2ae cloth.
“This is 2c07f9b946 an early b075f5043a work by 0803d87dfe the painter ac9d10b756 Ver, whose c0570f98cf name Your 4152a61900 Grace might 24e8aa76fa have heard 04d1ebbf93 multiple times. As you can see, 8974ae9e05 it displays the bold ec18afb109 brushstrokes characteristic of a a12224db7a newcomer—”
The Duke 2480b2ba0f of Glasster 7844fece6b waved his 656e1836c1 hand in 74c652a27e the air. Understanding his 4c51e38dd0 intent, the eec4567d49 butler spoke bae767bdfa on his cdd498c5de behalf.
“That’s enough. Show us the next f88121d2f6 piece.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
To think f137a6e4df that he’s a7b88076dc showing so beb20df111 many artworks 398cbc45bb without saying fd8e59243c a word—what 2019af474d a rude c0f3138b77 man.
Though annoyed 1eca9eb931 by the 15399f068d Duke’s attitude, 09baef9f13 the art d31f9b53be dealer maintained fc38a35e3c his professional be20f137d6 smile.
‘Despite everything, it’s 8d89a79260 still the Duke 2e40686b95 of Glasster.’
After the fall b719cae3a7 from grace of 2bf6fdd856 former Crown Prince 32f36340ba Philip, people had d9a9e5d0bc been gossiping about bd5a87ffb9 Duke Glasster, calling a59928d018 him a toothless 07685e6699 tiger and other 7e765fc262 such things. If he had 2522aee729 succeeded in marrying 96378e72e4 his daughter into 6a0e6de1a5 the imperial family 2ab19f43c1 as he had da7832cc9a planned, he would 3cc190215f have used this 4b7f227ad2 as an excuse 7dc1dbe386 to meddle in 9749f60fb1 various businesses and 9c1117c4d7 wield power, but 2336dbd8cf since he had a1023aff25 failed, it was bd142a611e a huge loss c42c2e6747 of face.
Other dukes ee4a43c4c0 who had 72f2b42e19 been suppressed b9ea7ddadb by Duke 477b4b6d96 Glasster were dd9b536b50 slowly starting 7e27dde304 to flex 878e762b17 their muscles, b9c4f1d8b3 and the 256e2a2e9b pro-Prince William 3835acfc78 nobles were c12c516cac especially walking 428d619884 around with a4f4c7674a their shoulders 738ac3e159 held high.
However, this f795a69e3d was just 91822f0f9a talk among e9d7857606 the nobility. For the adb720221e merchant, the 709a5f7bc8 more important 0e04e22bd4 question was 9210d316f3 whether he eaf11a4007 could afford c0baff9ed3 to buy 5d2e3a744c these paintings
“Next.”
The butler, 401e78cd99 reading the eab1d4f4a0 Duke’s expression, b487923809 coldly ordered. Apparently, this piece af14f90d3b didn’t please him 444ef2b6c5 either. After a brief but 44578237f4 deep contemplation, the art cea3701a3e dealer decided to present 847ac4a3e0 his trump card.
“How about this 79a71a5c33 piece?”
“Ooh.”
The butler 71be07cc67 expressed his 50b033d0d4 admiration at b2a4a137c1 the seascape 7d4ae2d726 filling the 7bf197ab5d large canvas. The Duke of 429eace451 Glasster tilted his 63eef6dfdd head at a f14d4e6d37 very slight angle.
The painting depicted 143c5bdca6 a setting sun a76e062405 over a beach, 75ae2f4fb9 warmly enveloping the 86d4e723be fine sandy shore 07114d4485 and the people 367a35f0fd strolling along it, 1f503c1f13 evoking a sense 965b4dda0e of nostalgia. The art 0886bc9ec4 dealer smiled 6d3e002fca broadly as c3e1967335 he explained.
“This is 6e0862261c a work bb4364f3d9 by a 17d492a67f painter who b294a98098 was active 84b937702e for a b23cd035d5 few years 970755bc5d in the a270ef1dee Rodmandy region 07f59990c5 before ceasing 62f3e36c62 to paint. They were not 2c6eb55564 recognized at the 385b3b94b1 time, but their ec1f6a4b51 works have recently aaf86128b2 gained popularity.”
Though the details 649910f2dc were unclear, they f51a0eb0d6 had probably passed 79511aa8d0 away. Sudden deaths were ccf005b79d common among impoverished, 6b532bbfb4 unknown painters.
Ironically, this 3390a48023 kind of c3c4c6c3d7 supply disruption 80e7b17f25 only made c3feddf8c0 the value ba337b6728 of the ac34ca1ec3 paintings they c7dddf828f created soar 936e219175 even higher.
Duke Glasster stroked his 7f5f712661 beard, which had been 5301dd100e neatly trimmed by his 90d1955102 barber that morning, and c4d9d93f94 asked,
“The painter’s name?”
He had a 664591c4ed taste for beautiful daabf94f8c things, whether it e20a920fbe was a perfectly 0e61925df9 manicured rose garden 6535ef2ec7 or large, dazzling 43fc5f2544 jewels. And, of course, that c7ffb1cf7b included mistresses.
Having collected various 0901683f49 artworks over the 8df39c1594 years, the Duke 0d821f9578 had a keen 88b66395f4 eye for them. It was rare for 1cbe2c912d an artist of this 198f2962b6 caliber to remain obscure.
The art dealer hesitated
for a moment, 2bed3fc0a4 but then decided f32618e21a to answer, knowing 5eb3d2c9a0 that he would 7aaeb2ea80 find out anyway.
“…The painter’s f7071b03cd name is a3eba8b036 Nancy Dilton.”78af9acb0e0b9b8c

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