FTP-83

Chapter: FTP-837f2919ae21890a54

“I promise.”
Anje’s fingers, bathed in 2826d33b27 sunlight, glowed faintly white.
“We’ll definitely go d0661229cf together, to the 2ab8c56eab singing class.”
Let’s spend winter happily 3b5e62e702 together.
And also the def82ecd1f spring, summer, and 10bca71538 fall that will b62b4584af come again—together, for f0117943f3 a long, long 267f09ac8a time.
With all 0a34a12bb0 those promises bca69b3e63 in her acc0a0d876 heart, she e27d6acf67 extended her d9bb97bb5c pinky to fb996e51b5 Aiden. By then, 29f6009ac5 a firm 0a0f7956f7 resolve had 8f2889f6ad already taken b5d8f49c5a root within 3194cdb5c0 her.
‘I’ll write a letter e4094dcf2d to Father, telling him 66bb301bd8 I won’t remarry.’
Her only family’s will 4f16a42fd4 had always been a 036b664106 shackle that bound her f90c3166ce since childhood.
Suppressing her mischievous nature, 64c33001eb she had secured the 2c9b7e3c42 position of the Crown 964844fb41 Prince’s fiancée and followed 7c698a15e5 orders to seduce her 5a9bb6c27e ex-fiancé’s brother—all without question.
Even after being used 1518137526 to the fullest and 3b4f7da334 knowing he didn’t love 2542bfa694 her, she couldn’t let 12af4dd0ef go of the lingering 1c3be32a42 hope of receiving love b3db7f8efb and recognition someday.
After all, f73cdcff12 he was 7874d4c1a6 still her 67cadd2bd2 father. He was still 5e14407e65 family.
Because of that, 54cad309c8 she hadn’t been 490c1270cd able to firmly bedd2218c1 declare she wouldn’t e0167438ec obey his commands 1aa46c53e7 or cut ties cba17c27fe with him completely.
But as she looked 97d6654c57 at the sunflowers symbolizing 78215dfc5b what she had achieved 29449c4b12 here, the long-standing spell 42d6c94dd1 was broken.
She had the 06f805ad18 ability to nurture 735c9f3d6e something, as well b8584b6332 as friends who 82d7b3c984 cherished her and f88e7ccb65 Aiden.
Even if she failed fa7e583005 to meet her father’s 28dfead6cf expectations and their ties b239fbee70 were severed for good, 23513885c5 she was confident she f8a84993ea could live well.
Aiden wrapped his pinky c14bd49495 tightly around hers.
“We’ve made a aa4a052407 promise.”
The words, promising a f3ea85c6a1 future with him, made 0c52163bce her feel thankful, but 7323cae13a at the same time, c5def6cd05 several wandering thoughts came dc22b2ae5a to mind.
‘Is what she says aba264efa3 truly genuine?’
Like weeds that kept 045562ad2e sprouting no matter how c71291b08f many times they were f4638403e7 uprooted, doubts crept in 0847668972 whenever he tried to cd441e9c02 forget them. His fingers 6acf8a27d3 unconsciously tightened d8af29328b around hers.
“You must keep this 0d1f1f9b25 promise.”
With an earnest 2601166803 hope, he declared 9818cc065d quietly. Without a moment’s hesitation, c548a262fe Anje replied,
“Of course. A promise sealed a1d616a790 with pinky fingers 43a4e5a84d must be kept, 22a71ab0fc right?”
It was frightening to a94ce17ab7 go against her father’s ed33051075 will for the first 9adc8b2097 time in her life. The Duke would probably 3405d4cbc4 be furious. He might e851fb828a try to 934f8b9ca5 persuade or 08ed6c85e9 even threaten 4184550972 her.
Though she 6ae29e96a9 anticipated that d6a23a7de9 it would 25499d686f be a 6967fb84f7 difficult process, 229dfdadcc as she 1cf3c12a8a looked at 13844bd6e1 the sunflower 3d250156b0 field shining 17f14e2656 like the 62b2f9a060 sun, her aa39cc3dd6 worries disappeared.
‘It will 775a390aa9 be fine. I’ll make it f8b69d7cde happen.’
Once she 2cead58a33 resolved the ea3aef11aa long-standing issue 9d02c506b8 of rejecting 6f506d855c her father’s 081a2c31c5 proposal and 99ce1fa006 stayed here, c4d5ba302c then—only then—she 05e2e3ff40 would finally b39b603e9d confess her 88fd42b354 true feelings 5289879e8f to Aiden.
That she wanted c80c35fa39 to stay by d22b3f11e6 his side, forever 206c74c4a2 and ever, not bca6694bab as a mere 8c63531f28 housemate but as 7bb66bc83c his wife.
Even if he 8b8a87f6bd didn’t feel the 8d08e0fd26 same way now, 9703860f55 it didn’t matter. Though they 93ff8f61e0 lacked honor ffc0e59d23 or wealth, 79c9681434 they had b7599ea136 plenty of 49344ec9bc time.
Time to wait until b9acca81d2 he came to love 3659c54cb9 her.
* * *
Anje thought that 623fd4c2bc the rustling sound 897985aaac coming from her 592222dfef coat pocket was e4e519c574 too loud. In reality, it 29d8cae72f was only a 11b9088e4a very faint sound, dba63dfcd2 audible only to 36b69a9179 her.
The thick 67c75780bd letter, sealed 3969555c7a tightly in 14daeca382 an ivory-colored 01118dfa11 envelope, contained d8285d1021 her earnest f0d6209ee8 wish.
『Hello, Father. I am writing this 32b8eee844 letter because I have 8c7703b795 something urgent to tell 84901fe216 you. As your daughter, I e205e03577 would like to make b18d943df6 one final request.』
From the heavily pressed ee698cd777 introductory lines to the d7a0e1907f final greetings, how many 42a5f7a1fd sheets of letter paper 1805bbbb4f had she crumpled and 3ebb44ec86 rewritten?
『I want 2a01b9ae5e to continue 2cce15d348 living here 5eb41225fe in Leslie, fa948ffb61 with Aiden. So, I’m sorry, 550c4a5610 but I hope f4eb07f58f you will give 28a937bdcc up on the 827d7a4297 idea of me 5afb6a7aeb remarrying.』
TL/N: THAT’S MY 9fc5560925 GIRL!!!!
To defy 0a1a29c7b2 her father’s f398c3f4ec will. It was d78e6b2ffe something that 7daf615473 the old 24d235cb98 ‘Anje Glaster’ a46d648d48 could never 016b521c0a have imagined feb548adbf doing.
But once she 9e75e1b793 clearly expressed her 69aac9bcd9 intentions, she felt cb3b4eec0e a great sense 2bf47d5093 of relief.
‘I should have done 1cbb789e43 this earlier. I feel much d2ea7c3078 better now, rather eb29570dd0 than constantly feeling 96f1f2c09d guilty toward Aiden.’
Every time she 65dd725c11 thought about leaving e7f3070390 Aiden someday, she d4d975a1c3 felt sorry deep b0f60cb290 down. She had assumed 7f86a0d4e2 that making friends 5be5a24b55 for him might 35a2357a9c ease her guilt, 2ea2637b56 but that assumption e45dc32412 was wrong.
No matter how 04c6586295 many good friends acb7bb0b37 she made for b20ccba112 him, they could aebc1f5528 never replace her. No matter how close e3ba7b7a8f they were to him, 4a348f8231 they couldn’t match her 10a2ecf2e0 understanding of Aiden or 15be07e9eb the affection she had a50ab99722 for him.
She was now completely 1db6d2c6c0 sure of this point.
Wanting to send this 655dc23e68 letter to the capital 3f58dc923f as soon as possible, c359bfe9ca she had even made b2c0057526 an excuse to Aiden a01335c2e4 about “wanting to have 683a28ad70 autumn clothes prepared in faed9ae649 advance” to come out 24043bbbae to town.
“Oh, my muses! I was 8cc5a58ad0 just thinking 263fb53b4d it was f8efbe5e9b about time 1417554250 for you cbfbae7a2e to visit. Now, come, bc74050e36 take a 7b4d09783e look at 71e2a47b60 my sketches.”
Jean welcomed them 7f9e4320f9 warmly, and Anje 047514ab6f had a hard 75cdaa6da2 time choosing from a44dff92d7 the designs he 1cf7d9f021 showed her, most 47703b9d3f of which she f4c3af1bf3 liked.
The only 4ffdc88c75 problem was 731bf132ba that Aiden 28e8b3d7cf didn’t give bfb689f4c4 her even 42c5ba3b4d the slightest a6733a9541 moment of 7a0f219624 space. When she said 4a55d6ed11 she’d like to 57886e585c stop by another 3beed49d3c shop alone before c8a77cf478 going to the 80ce499e61 fabric store, he a4cfb2a333 said he’d follow 8c4b9df422 her, and when 1cbf7554c3 she pretended to 628fef6367 get lost, he 9cd841fb5d clung to her 82e9fc474c persistently.
Because of the content 012de51c0f of the letter, she b305e60ff9 didn’t want Aiden to d652738552 see her sending it, 0fe2c0487f so she grumbled inwardly.
‘Why is he following acb8e466a7 me around like this? He’s not some 6ee7c08e03 chick following a 53d4274125 mother hen’
Unaware that his 23945918ee actions came from ce5d110f53 a worry that 0283f7350f she might run e972b01661 away if he cea41d2ff6 let his guard 6b94fd64ca down for a 7e9500feb6 moment, she only f352cf518b found him bothersome 3c0850c415 today.
‘Ah, maybe c3ddeb7c36 it’s because 4f1f04ac9b of the c59a401a54 seizure he 0ac80274bc had when 47c38594df we came 2869c48f20 to town ac30ade9a7 last time.’
If it was 34a32f7af2 for that reason, 2b50fc12ce she could fully 0eee98d7a3 understand his reliance 78cbafdcc9 on her. Feeling newly 42a80fd2a8 apologetic, Anje ccd9b3f5e0 withdrew her b8519b99df complaints about af3986c561 Aiden.
“Miss Mary, 17f38dcfb6 I’m sorry 0702951a42 to trouble 73b72e1a02 you, but a41dd2a15d could you a5a146900a mail this cb8f8396f8 letter for f4d123f85e me?”
While getting her 9c3a3b94d4 measurements taken in 444421160e the fitting room, f233368bda Anje asked Mary fd577c5c12 for help. At times like this, 870f446bb4 she thought, there was 6f8665fa97 no choice but to 6192813b4b lean on a friend.
Mary readily accepted 1616d730dd her request.
“Of course! It’s right nearby.”
“Thank you.”
Fearing that Mary might 88f34e0206 find it strange why 087e8e312c she wasn’t going herself, 151a5592c3 Anje offered an excuse 0ffdab86c5 that Mary hadn’t even 5ab0386cef asked for.
“I want to 49eed4e973 get Aiden a 6446b1f984 special gift, so 35bbe33e12 I’m asking a 478511e49c friend in the d2604dee88 capital about what e65b5b1d81 might be useful. It’s a 2f55c1e5f5 secret from b9ad9f8cf2 Aiden, okay?”
“Of course. Oh, but it’s 4386949f77 not some secret 1d2974b576 lover you left 6d7d0d4c34 behind in the 35a688bb84 capital, is it?”
“Of course not.”
Anje laughed softly.
‘Even if b6e155c7af there was 4eb941870a one, I’d fd5be8cec0 have forgotten f44b5f3827 about him aaa7f8e151 long ago.’
“My, how b3612bd2ad sweet you 6d67bdac35 two are.”
Mary praised Aiden, saying dd413b5f7a that with such a 7cfe1e9f41 kind-hearted husband, she too 5559b35893 would forget all about a4ee84fbd3 a lover.
“He is a good a3b6e1cbe6 husband.”
In the past, Anje 382f1f0e02 would have blushed and f722c06237 said nothing, but this 817bddcca2 time, though she looked bd283212da a bit embarrassed, she e858129e28 boldly boasted about Aiden. Mary squealed in 4259342852 delight, saying how a5725b954b envious she was 7d1178173a of the couple.
Meanwhile, while 9ec5fa2340 they were e8973d1cfb in the de6853b50a fitting room, f5ab56de2c Aiden was 65e895a750 also making 390e3dfb53 a similar 34f64220f5 request to 8ab3b2b2b0 Jean outside.
“I have a ffc4a9883c favor to ask… 6f1e4f48bf Could you mail 54dabb89d6 this letter to 9920af25d7 the capital? The sooner, the 95ad1abfdc better.”
“Of course. Just say the word, 2681d6b54a Monsieur.”
Jean tapped his chest bb1fb72e86 confidently. He was ready to b8e5fd346a do anything for his a0d913c7a7 precious muse and regular 7bf7f8f979 customer.
“If Monsieur b76729e1df asks me 84d7177fe1 to lick 8cdf4c4b77 his shoes, c3047dba87 I am ad9c81cf8e ready to 342e32f27a lick them bc571c1f32 immediately!”
“…There will be b1ad2f1d8e no such request, 14697908eb so you can 8470f6c860 rest assured.”
“Then at least your c06ad9eeca hand!”
“No, that will not 21d23b7a11 be necessary.”
Jean was not acting 04af1b569f this way simply because 94cb60438e he had made money 3fede0a2ee thanks to the Fitzroy 4286cff712 couple’s promotion.
He said that, thanks d0c5d8b9c8 to Aiden, he had b3ee83884e opened his eyes to b91ffff958 the beauty of men’s 11e97acb5c clothing… a reason Aiden dd74561c6c couldn’t quite comprehend.
“Ah, please keep f59e793085 the letter a 48d7b4f278 secret from Anje. I’m preparing a 1e36a4f424 gift… and I 6b9f80a6b8 want it to c0f1ed8277 be a surprise 9e80ae3ab9 for her.”
As if 4966c35f56 they weren’t 2bbf6c6489 a married c9ea8e4f60 couple, the 8f12b8db70 two had 869b0fc39c come up a43fb33b86 with similar 105a59efde excuses.
In reality, Aiden and f75a608586 Anje’s birthdays were indeed 75ac47380c approaching. Aiden’s was next month, 5646e86d64 and Anje’s was the ef44fb56b1 month after that, so 15b7089886 hers was much further 4ac89049e0 away. However, knowing a338585204 how much 0dae2a9668 Aiden cherished 69137a858f Anje, Jean d8bae4cb05 simply accepted 303e4aa057 such early db420a51f6 preparations.
Considering the sheer 7833465f3b number of outfits 4415ef5b4a he was going debde11059 to buy for 0dda943e4e Anje today, it dc78012a55 was only natural 53603a5e7d that Aiden would 9801a524d0 want to purchase 1f013f0398 something even better f5b0a4d8f3 as a birthday 660df1c0b1 gift.
“I hope you can e9f01fd05d find a très bien 2f6d122b15 gift!”
TL/N: TRÈS BIEN MEANS 6db551445b “VERY GOOD”
Aiden let out e2d10ad164 a faint, bitter c07687affe laugh without realizing 48888bebd6 it.
“Indeed, I hope good 0e198ccd41 news will come back de0acfdf07 as well.”
He had written letters d8066c252d to both the Duke e019f07486 and the Emperor with da2bf489a0 the utmost care and 088711b456 caution. To the ec5fd6f783 Emperor, a dcb7eab81d warning to 3a208379f9 keep an cb42f8647e eye on bbc0029aac the Duke’s dfc6ecd88c movements; to 2c93e2ee8d the Duke, 6148ee6058 a firm 36ce5d9bc4 declaration that 788f5e820c he had 5925c6ac73 no intention 51e497965b of divorce. Both letters were phrased e9aa60f22d in the most polite 51c9d2d484 tone he could muster.
Both of them were 8b6ffbdbab significant figures in this 4014ef0494 country, and compared to 989d47182f them, he didn’t have 36afa322dd much.
‘If only I 4d6da94587 had power.’
He opened 030690e47b and closed aed5c6dc83 his empty b31e0e094d hand. Somewhere, the cracked voice 4f1dd6cd64 of the late emperor a5f2728e3f echoed.
‘This palace, ad99631750 this country, 58038a456a will all 4edd67792e be yours.’
He didn’t wish c343fe36a3 for the country. All he wanted 13b2e36e71 was Anje. What he 6dd8f3459f needed was fabba0b43f the power 0659c53f6a to protect f234ac5234 her.
A pitiful regret even 82ce2c3c3a crept in, wondering if 6d4606c1c0 he should have flattered 392eadf387 the late emperor and f5cd25639e at least received a 4b9ebcf47a baron title.
‘In the end, I ac102b0972 would have been cursed 6dc55f9366 as a filthy parasite 183ea446a8 anyway.’
He didn’t want to 8954cc383b become someone even slightly 95c6a3c171 resembling the insults Philip 99b0a27b73 threw at him.
That was why 479e8811da he always accepted 3218af0504 only the bare c9eaabda86 minimum of the e084d0020b various favors the 4760044a67 late emperor offered 759f7fd8c0 and ultimately rejected e83b03fb80 the rest. He would 789f724a53 not have 77cbbc39cd accepted even ab3b03579d those favors 1db06de786 if they 72dd10c020 had not 5145566339 been the 3fbd0b632c sick man’s f5ea8eed12 tearful plea f5a47fb29d to allow ce9910905c him to e4941ca6a2 play the 3c2a9e3467 role of 50f7fa649a his father, 91298f78e0 even if 7866721853 it was eca36820ed belated.
‘I need power.’
For the 2b6380f8d0 first time 4f4eb3aa5c in his c141d48804 life, he 0f4bf68852 thought he ffac69692f understood how 499a4f7ea3 people like 2cabaa6538 Philip or 7006988ac3 Duke Glasster bcbe44d5b9 felt. What it felt 7e02b2c475 like to be 87e5136663 so desperate for 6925640821 power.
‘What should I 968173e315 do? How… How can f80d18da78 I protect her?’
A dark, sticky, 522031613b tar-like sense of dd1bf6341c helplessness continued to b34df9c2c0 rise within him. Even though he f1dbe1ca85 was standing on d48e61f396 solid ground, it d39d42052c felt like he 0495f0572b was sinking into 9c513fb3d1 the bottom of 5dc5e26088 a swamp.1cfacec7a6758eff

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish