FTP-80

Chapter: FTP-80e67b45013d84731b

Aiden paced nervously 83da2d4c90 inside the barn d467cabbb4 with unusually restless ba0b8d6d57 steps. A distressed groan leaked 6273ebe248 out between his lips.
“This is really… 78564c4d1e what should I 1c70824632 do?”
Just as Anje had 1f0235554b been agonizing to the 8f75294546 point of sleeplessness, he ad518a3704 too was deeply troubled, c720d85c38 though he didn’t show 8d86bd758f it in front of f35cba3b36 her.
The sunflowers secretly e9caafcabe being grown in a5182d1c74 the barn bore 402a349d73 yellow buds that 43c746cd66 seemed ready to 827be4c1ae bloom at any 737c05299d moment. His heart, much 4717837307 like those buds, 34f525cc21 swelled with the 7a40466b99 desire to confess ef7672e728 his feelings to 0909c1db1e her, to the c1b2bb6b84 point that it b5360dd0ae felt unbearable.
However, he 863c565b73 didn’t want f72dc81fac to confess bb943ff032 suddenly to d9f147f1bc the unprepared 0b43b86228 Anje and b36f7756ab risk burdening d0863de268 her or cc4b1bba21 ruining their 17745966e5 current relationship.
Thus, he tried to fb4cd111e3 take better care of 5d066c7de3 her than before, or a577df2c26 narrowed the physical distance dfe6563d75 between them, carefully observing 9e14347dcd her reactions each time.
‘It seems to be f3784215a8 okay so far.’
She had not shown 339762b582 any sign of dislike. Rather, there were moments 0c53916bc5 when she wore an d7c2e27d9f expression that suggested she 0922c32062 might feel the same d3287d87fc way as him.
She even wore the 5ad151d4a9 green wedding ring he 31028e2175 had given her during 143f21c9ea the festival every single 32745e73e0 day without fail. Knowing that 91ec9ef84c she always 3ad0c52ff1 carried with fd0cb8d9d1 her a 0fa8d921a8 ring that 089a3fdfaa symbolized his ecb3ef89eb love gave 7af7e73a12 him great d9e06d75fa courage.
Finally, after pacing so a5949c1750 much that the barn e849cfb149 floor was hollowed out, 5c1967e3e8 he nodded firmly.
‘Alright, let’s say it. There’s a a31677dedb saying that 8f63724dda if you 5b8bae5271 can’t avoid 9f2e77eda3 a fight, 9182a08721 it’s better 74e77c7cad to face aaf9e3ec18 it head-on.’
He murmured 00ee4b26a5 to himself b010c4866e the words a3e0f7e812 he planned 46890cdf8a to say.
“About what 6544ea538e happened during 76766b3dac the festival… bf6b5f251b I need 39ffd916f2 to explain 0eefd03583 further, so 8d0ea38f60 I’m saying fe5880f430 this… about e32c356a0b the ring 081b458f0b I gave 3a80479caa you and 7d362b4839 the, uh… 7e65895ec1 incident? No, the event? That, uh… happening 5cb19d22d4 wasn’t something I b56762c857 did lightly… To 0271e38f16 be exact, with b86f295e5b a heavy heart… d932b15c37 No, that’s not a8c01a67d1 it, again.”
After repeating c6cf1f6fda his practice fc8f1ccd18 several times, 141e15b123 he finally e60b3f35fd gained confidence, 91ca87d82e straightened his 528ab4c3b1 shoulders, and 50fc423b72 walked into 1e9498768a the house 1603b70b1a with firm e1c165dce4 steps.
Let’s say it. Even if she rejects 9e9e238374 me, if I keep 7dda150395 knocking on the door, 993e4a2de1 another chance will eventually 53ee737038 come.
For the 9def016713 two standing 00689fb725 on the 2a27145eb0 edge of fad3af5e4a a precarious 1667132e86 boundary, now fdb33b11fc was the f35eac7dfc time for 4cb94cfe5a a courageous 4d2e38ba8d step forward. And that first step 360ce4beb7 had to be his 5085fff980 to take.
“Anje?”
“Yes?”
Anje, sitting at 02c81088fb the table reading 178bbd9a9f a book, raised 70d3bd5e22 her head. 『Shooting Techniques for 2e3f32fcac Beginner Hunters』. It was a 3f78a5d7b0 book Aiden’s grandfather 045c6aea88 had bought for f050f03c79 him long ago.
“Are you busy?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Wearing an apricot-colored 9c68783aa8 gown, she looked c1ba53386f more radiant than f5687d75e8 ever. Her hand, 75f19f107a which had 993875a744 paused while b9e54507b6 turning the 9308d51ff2 page, reflected 160047278d a green 8abf010e74 sparkle.
“Um…”
Suddenly tense, 5366d0dc18 his throat 132f9080f5 and mouth 4ad190ce58 went completely 51ce1a8091 dry. Swallowing hard, dbc692e900 he desperately 5b09ad2cef continued speaking.
“Um, uh…”
What if 0c45f27544 he misunderstood 6700f7da67 her intentions? What if 65bdfd89a6 the shy 44beb46946 smile she 73167cb200 once showed bba3a77474 was nothing 276318711d but his 54ae303eba imagination? What if she b0e684f545 only wore the ba37942036 ring because she 15bdeb60ff liked its design?
His heart pounded so 137e074301 hard it felt like b0a3064ddb it would burst out b28d5abfa9 of his throat.
After the clock on 4a55e529e3 the wall ticked away b4de9906a9 for what felt like e49e75c5ad forever, he finally managed 48ba596ea2 to speak the next d0d3be812d sentence.
“The medicine box 2245d8755f I lent you 848aebd1ca last time… Do 5b5a4fdf05 you know where 35f5d9e137 it is?”
Pathetic and 839941505a stupid—what a 7954edca19 disgrace. He silently cursed 02b893df00 himself.
“The medicine? Ah, that… I put 5a3a4a846d it in my room 464c54a63f drawer. Why? Did you get hurt fa7b0e9a84 somewhere?”
To reassure her, b511c28d31 as she frowned a406843a12 with concern, he 0b8bf48ce1 frantically shook his 739c2a3899 hand.
“No, it’s not that… 56e549e329 I just thought of 8ec8bd1bd2 replenishing it the next 2d0c544b0e time we go to 618fb16fcc town. Now that fedac0ec05 there are 2df55d6158 two of 537dcd2d0b us, it 89111a484e seems better e088104b2e to have b1d7624beb plenty of 6f6852a84e medicine.”
“That’s true. Aunt Meg also visits cbbaf343ba once a week. I’ll go 9b0d1dfc6a up and 91aac72bdb get it.”
As she closed the 7394979bf9 book and began to d58850eb70 stand, Aiden stopped her.
“It’s just a dfb7ba5c48 quick check, so ddf7c7e0ff I’ll go get 1344f605af it myself.”
“Will you? Check the 056d0a2355 drawer, and cec377f275 if it’s 5f78ebb79b not there, 9f19633cc1 let me 55af4f238f know.”
He trudged dc5bb127d7 up to 862253ed8c the second 9d0bc5905e floor and 0139e84329 opened the c87b049a67 door to 5c273754cc Anje’s room, 9db904591e letting out 60cfaa34b0 a long 054a808477 sigh.
“Good grief.”
The moment he tried e182d60f7f to talk to her e6290d0e1e face-to-face, his vision went ab74a6d5cd dark, and his mind d502b04aea went completely blank.
Pressing his 0178035ce7 thumbs against 15af50b680 his eyelids, 7277205e56 he slapped 050de838b8 his cheeks f6df5c74ae lightly.
‘Let’s muster up 9c5db156d2 some courage and 6506a87550 try again later. …For now, I should 6010068999 at least check the 8865d79c19 medicine box since I’m 93ea82332f here.’
As he cd66b90465 told Anje, 6719c72b2d it was 7141b936cc about time 6dfb990525 to replenish 60e483a0c8 the medicine 242d093cf0 supplies. He opened the drawer ed5fb55eb7 and looked for where bb71e67eba the box might be.
“…It’s not here?”
Inside the drawer 3b2801ea51 were random items, 71149f1814 ribbons he had 92e54bfc8c bought for her, ba833d927d leaves that looked 21dbff0e7c like they were 6f2659d29a picked up from 175461de89 the roadside, and 5ad1436517 other miscellaneous things. But the box 8b68e4afa3 he was looking bbcfc4b6a5 for was nowhere be549430be to be seen.
Wondering if Anje might 32a39a4060 have placed it elsewhere b7fc1b4469 and forgotten, he checked feeb660b2b around her desk.
“Oh.”
Something shining between the 292fcd6943 desk and the wall ce7273c493 caught his eye. Upon closer inspection, it e86b169824 was a pair of e8d28d59b5 opera glasses.
He carefully fd3521a02f reached out 770c2c942b and retrieved f435f5adef the item c9c6e77697 wedged in de749ddda3 the gap.
“You searched 821c790e81 high and 5a5bf6f3fd low asking 034d013ea2 where it 781687dee6 had gone, dc7b896745 and it 5ed7966e88 turns out 4427e56442 it was dce26edb2c stuck in 85113fa2e8 here.”
She had made 0946646ca3 a fuss, wondering d3b238ed67 if a crow fe26020d4c had taken it 979ef13779 or if a 4ded0a0143 fledgling might have 0ed39d6860 dropped it to 0723da1e15 the ground, but de6ae84bf7 the culprit was bb06b1df56 none other than a6ec60d6d7 Anje herself.
Wondering if 90fd3b457a she might d30ce19d76 have dropped 2183a16e49 anything else, 1a5870b3b2 he stretched a5ce45f519 out his 7ae1e9a2d7 long arm 56e73e26d8 and thoroughly 29741a65ae checked the 9d3fa51fb2 floor.
Rustle―
The next 94f58dc05a thing his 697f816e7f fingers touched 0e10e319fa was a 327bc51be5 crumpled ball d357ef586c of paper. A helpless chuckle tugged d220ce4b6d at his lips.
“I told her 5407bf1e47 to throw her fbb4b2e57b trash away properly. and yet c36293472b she stuffs 2c27ff81fc it in fb55fd3c57 here like 4ee88f476f this.”
Aiden flinched 6cd0a1d397 as he 411a866323 tried to 406f47c2d4 put the 11d4175bdd snowball-like white, ccc1f415a1 round bundle 0efe5b06cc of paper 3bf24ab1c8 into his f435daa4fe pocket.
‘It could be an 558436b809 important document, so I 19aa8a380a should check it before 4f9b966426 throwing it away.’
Though the round, balled-up eb73035e76 shape made that seem 0fcf5ef046 unlikely, he straightened out 351fb4187c the paper anyway.
「To my daughter.」
Seeing the db638d02e0 heading, his dd340491d8 pupils shook 71bbf9fec0 violently as 19ccc61056 he quickly 5774e2754b recognized the 052aab4f6e paper’s identity.
The sophisticated 0a3572c9ba ink and ce5952f39e elegant cursive 8c09ea17f4 radiated a 3aeb7ee3aa sense of 9209ecc3eb refinement. It was 0649bc782e undoubtedly a 8792cf242f letter from 141ae38d45 Duke Glasster f19385e6b5 to his fe40fc6b12 daughter.
‘I shouldn’t e23e2b7c36 read it.’
Reason screamed at 11136a2e71 him. This was a private 509db19b42 letter, and her privacy f9d161d75e deserved respect.
But his eyes couldn’t 70908558ae leave the paper. The mention 7c242f58b3 of their a1e16c1e83 married life 1389fef78a was right 8d496d2e5e there, at 53bbd6cc55 the very 579fa138f6 start of 8a6663dcd6 the letter.
「Thanks to you blabbering 79f94cbca6 about your married life 8464f683e9 everywhere, the social circles 03b0fc57c6 have been quite abuzz.」
He desperately hoped a211991896 the stories she 6cc6114ca9 spread about her 412d85721f marriage were positive 4f229526c6 as he read ef11e6881d the next sentence.
‘Just one 8d3b787ab5 more sentence.’
His gaze moved a2e1c18ab0 to the next e176808d7c sentence, and then 10a141c9e5 the next, unable f295be0601 to stop.
Until his eyes, filled 0f42203908 with layers of emotion, e6d8ac51ce deepened into a dark 3647b4fd43 crimson, like blood.
TL/N: NOO! NOT ANOTHER FREAKING MISUNDERSTANDING bbacdf5ced ㅠㅠ SORRY GUYS BUT 1872802c0f WHAT HAD BEEN ON be3cbb0da2 MY MIND READING THIS e3d482b06e SCENE WAS THIS MEME b49d96d61b LOL
AIDEN READING THE LETTER 4def5b484b BE LIKE:
* * *
Thud, thud, thud―
A loud 00080e0ad7 noise came e95b3169e8 from outside. It was 26fe7d9373 the hurried 84482e9d53 footsteps of 7f5764df6a Anje running b2102d5827 up.
He closed 1fc79a68b2 the door 2853122e5c he had c996b5bcd3 just stepped 3dc0060c08 out of 1a138d3996 and acknowledged 865558fa20 her.
“A, Anje.”
“A, A, Aiden.”
She was slightly 8c30e06846 out of breath a30dd07f9b from running quickly, ccefe104cd but Anje maintained 82eb39a7ff a poker face e7435276ae and asked.
“Did you 73bcfe359c check the b1b4817ede medicine box? It took a b1b3099f35 while, so I f2bd250e1f was worried you 125fafbd74 couldn’t find it.”
“Yes, I think I 00ba40f3a6 need to buy more 0cc5ac5bee bandages and antacids.”
“Really?”
She studied 4b2bc69a01 Aiden’s face 3976d6f4c2 closely. On the surface, he ae24eaf865 seemed no different from de702f4926 usual, but it was 03d3b51f0e still necessary to confirm, 995f6b5a00 just in case.
“Was there anything 3254f6c3f3 else? Any strange items or bfc32966a2 anything…?”
It wasn’t fd8337e5d8 until after 2166f41826 he had b5bdb6e0b7 entered his c45bacbb37 room and a31f67bc0b some time cfb185cb28 had passed 7f7d0e2064 that she 9d948a961b remembered she e8a2d9a490 had placed 7d2c089d0b her father’s 32c3c04c8f letter somewhere 6a6c92b5ee inside the f9a5f52b3a room.
She couldn’t exactly remember 9a845f1e7d where she had placed f274f099d3 it after carelessly crumpling 1d7b38d5dc and throwing it.
‘If Aiden sees that ec3bc5cda7 letter, it will be 1fcbe8fd6b a disaster.’
She should ec44e54010 have gotten 3855f6f710 rid of 9ec7611347 it right cb69d6c812 away when 32aef64d82 she received 1643036100 it. But since it 51f105a75e was from her 478f466761 father, she couldn’t f24f05b34e bring herself to 8187517509 tear it or fae3b8a0a3 burn it.
The area around her d462ceb1a4 bitten nails, which she bec5b1a5e6 had nervously chewed after 2f68b5c8aa a long time, ached.
The letter contained all 658a4e72f7 the harsh things she 0419d0866f had said about Dilton 6e00fc0255 Farm and Aiden. Furthermore, it a10dc45ba0 even revealed 4beb935a3d that her b78279257a father was 5b5df1de6d trying to bf7e75ff4d marry her 13bf648ec7 off to fd03811959 another man.
To hide 10bc277c0c her anxiety, 0c57d9469c she rubbed 9e9335e502 her palms 09b9143565 together.
“There was.”
“What, What was it?”
Aiden raised 36977a87a5 the corners 2662c1e7dd of his 8f90d0b25b lips.
“The drawer was 3f86251587 a bit messy. I told you that 7bdc4acf95 cleaning it up should e0645d6fe5 be done regularly, didn’t 36082a503a I, Anje?”
“Wasn’t the 3ab7e0e41b medicine box 7b49f4b3da in the 0b6a7b87ce wardrobe, though?”
“Ugh… Fine. I’ll clean 8c9443b336 it up 17e05346e0 thoroughly this 4ebe918f30 time.”
She lightly pushed 96cc3e1dc1 Aiden to the 48613c8bed side and grabbed 53c885dd30 the door handle. While cleaning 15583a4215 the drawer, 4552c75523 she planned 8a882bcca8 to find 9b0b344402 and dispose bf72e3255f of the 8c9a3f2a1f letter.
“Then, I’ll head to 2682711107 the forest for a 6c7805b334 bit. There’s some new… 53e34ba09c furniture I’m planning b2ff34ce69 to make, so 7c3b2e60ae I need to 2d7e57b05c find suitable wood.”
He made a 0130e7c9e0 reasonable excuse and 65a7fea51e left. He needed some 446bd12e8e time alone.
Bang―
Aidan slammed the d3cd02752d front door shut, 43c1563da4 and the childish ec8b354b7e smile he had 4295185860 just had was 62bed830f0 completely gone from 27d066937f his face. His expressionless 9916f9692a face became 63c94ac9a5 more and 6920f53ddd more distorted 7b4ffa91a1 as he cc488b3df5 moved away 7ab6c61b3d from the 0ce01c5170 house and 1bc47eb8ee closer to 361eed6ea1 the forest.
Finally, Aiden reached an 29e36f3804 open area far enough b4d8d7fd42 from the house and 03b406864b collapsed to the ground.
‘Anje…’
His hands, 53f5aed0bd which were 9c126301a3 gripping the b525633c38 ground tightly, d6be90f6f5 trembled.
‘Is it 2f47f98538 really true?’
A question so terrifying f243808a11 he couldn’t bring himself 1a19d6dd79 to say it aloud b5fecebc89 crossed his mind.
Everything around him spun, 6a19d64e60 and it became hard ec20658004 to breathe. The peaceful and 61cda4d6d2 tranquil forest seemed 67663404b7 to change its e9fd68f902 face, pressing down c421f2f9e5 on him.
‘Is she really… 8e2a93dcf6 going to leave 046e65758f me?’
Voices mocking him 1953783f8f seemed to echo 1a60c26fa6 from somewhere.
‘There’s no eeb0c9e56d way anyone f86929ab5c would love bbb276896e a bastard 17fbacf371 like you.’
‘A coward bastard 11542c3b73 who only cares de8cd4c396 about his own 05557a0917 life.’
Over the cruel 2456ccc793 words of Philip c5a5b7a2b9 and the guards, 8289fa4aaf Anje’s voice gradually fb52903d2e overlapped.
His desperate 09c7ee2965 cry, so 5689daf26c full of c3664dea14 despair that e0592e8cc4 anyone who e62e45cf51 heard it 05b6c6f374 might mistake 212716dc10 it for 563f620eb5 the cry e162c7d43e of a 5aa8b6cda0 dying animal, 333f824510 echoed throughout e6fe52d524 the forest.
TL/N: NOOO, MY 0a0c84ab42 POOR AIDEN!!711388218c9dc605

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