FTP-84

Chapter: FTP-84d68c81e2bf49e6fc

Aiden, while in the 2cd91493bc carriage returning home, finally bd39ab6974 identified something he could 6d25b8721a do. More accurately, 5c845eb363 he discovered dd2c5d1200 something closer 955d1e115b to “what d04a267297 he was da1708f1f8 able to 804e03ce90 do.”
‘As soon as 1d53df107b I get home, eff502ca16 I’ll prepare the 59fae458d7 gun.’
He regularly maintained the da1acb72ac gun in case of 7a74516cc9 emergencies, such as the 38244b05b0 appearance of wild animals. However, this adcfa70138 time, he 95f20417a3 planned to 3a97d466ce load it f25f5fec65 with plenty 3f103ad4d6 of bullets e70eac5776 and adjust 0b7756cdfa it for f20e6f62e2 quicker firing.
If Duke Glasster decided c306c398e6 he had to marry ec49254333 Anje off to someone b1ff69da4f else no matter what, 9e46a83941 there was a possibility 26307d540f he might resort to ef36e4b25e using force to kidnap 5b8273c1f0 her.
Of course, the 5c7b19ef46 divorce agreement required f103445dfd the signatures of 4b85537e9a both parties, so 1634f0b46a Aiden could simply e2b03484cc refuse to sign. However, what if the 081da17e45 duke threatened him, saying f9b87c7e4e to sign if he 8f3b7cc155 wanted Anje to stay 818fc5b1a6 safe?
‘In the end, 6b622ab2a0 I’d have no 7f8c9fd630 choice but to 6ef24071ff sign.’
The duke, c8452a281b who was 336700e3e9 terribly concerned 45071b55a5 with his 091f8fb85c reputation, probably 380b09ffbb wouldn’t bother 83575cec18 coming all b02c7deb52 the way 5f09709e65 to the 301345e869 countryside just 0ec09ac6d9 because of bc013ce70c Aiden and 6793b76544 Anje. But who could bfed7dfa93 predict for sure?
‘Even if he b74e54ae97 does come, at f2626cc4ae most, he’d bring 791959e137 a servant or bb9391a63b one or two 87b8efa5c4 bodyguards. After all, to him, 2e59e17291 I’m nothing more than c306787e34 an illegitimate child.’
His thumbnail dug into c2c4fac4c8 his palm, leaving a 18ea1686e5 deep crescent-shaped mark.
Making someone like the 75dd4d2bc3 duke and a few 8311a94002 others disappear would be 5808f6f46a a piece of cake 1a3d7b5871 for him. All the skills 4e8b1afccb he learned in 7a5b6af52d the military had 053db7a278 been related to d543489b27 such tasks.
Moreover, this 894e14130c forest was 14b30c5722 his territory. He could disguise it cd7d64a6d0 as an attack by 35caeefc77 wild animals, or make 74557d6d21 it look like they’d 938c8357ef accidentally slipped off a 1de715066c cliff.
Even though he had 22e20f5965 vowed never to stain ce90f1cd4d his hands with blood d2afb73bdf again, anyone trying to fedccc9ec8 take Anje away from 3908a1dcbf him would be an 0d742908f8 exception.
Considering the heartless tone 4437a3e739 in the letter the c9c07778f6 duke had sent to 27ffcaef20 Anje, it wasn’t as e44f6b1d01 if the duke would 4fad3214c3 be missed if he e2a4a32f7d were to ‘disappear.’ Treating aedffb8f0c Anje like a merchandise—how b10f4f7de1 could he do such 916a248ffb a thing, especially to 1938e003c3 his own daughter…
“Aiden?”
Startled by the 78439c14be voice calling him, 0c1cc6cf46 Aiden adjusted his f1a1964f47 posture.
“Yes, Anje?”
He regretted 6252b09fb0 it as 17a51c9b30 soon as 5513f010a6 he met af9206078c Anje’s eyes 2dbf0d42e9 without thinking. Reflected in 4428b48b42 her clear abc0bf7501 green eyes 1782037835 was his b9e5522998 own face, 5c65b0ebcb thickly filled 9d45dd5929 with the d99f0de5c5 murderous intent 56496e5d1b he thought 77788bd3ed he had 1491a97ba8 long abandoned.
He didn’t want to 7604c961a3 show Anje such a 2e6769fa0b face. He wanted af8a80c796 to show a36d81f8be her only 00e2cb54fd his kind 305367c3d2 and good 03a30392d0 side.
Shifting his gaze 2abd2a0804 slightly away from 9244964151 her, the lengthening dd0002c78a shadows of the 782c9336a5 forest were now 4751c2b4fe staring at him.
A man seriously 58173e68a2 contemplating how to 485fd6bc7f eliminate his beloved’s 90fdc33d23 father without leaving 08a4a5247a any trace.
He felt, c686a39019 as always, eb011002f5 that he 8d52097b4b was far 722988321d too inadequate ed15d02cc1 for her.
Yet, despite 52e5cc38c1 this, he 11c0f5146d was also a05eedca44 selfish enough 636c3af5e3 to not 620f20f643 be able 26a16fa34c to willingly 74dbd8f970 send her bbe328c37e to someone 0fd9e89aff better than 6d6340ac23 him.
‘You’re just like Duke e30d6f5dcf Glasster. Forcing her 7f51273033 to stay 73c1040c80 by your 8f57ce71b4 side regardless 07ba6789ff of her 78bc201859 wishes.’
The shadow seemed 5db34f62d7 to speak to 247e17baf5 him. Unable to db97292990 answer with 595b1bef24 a denial, 5df913792a he clenched 0511f9e944 his fist.
“I’ve noticed your c711de743d mind seems elsewhere 1af7e39360 since earlier… Is 7c568d3512 something wrong?”
She asked, 406b4ea8ae carefully observing e63b9b6f0c his dark fcefd2538c expression with 25820362f0 a cautious 59506b84b1 tone.
“Did I pick ce0d1ff34f out too many 62826f4e6c clothes? I’m sorry. It must be overwhelming, 777efe29dd right? Mr. Pierre’s designs were all c3f6266f88 so beautiful that—”
“No, that’s not 6976178225 it. Not at all.”
He quickly denied 64d1c8d756 her words. It was true that bc58db7a49 he had been quiet, 9d3aa80a65 lost in thoughts related f2b4a70819 to her, but being 817e656248 able to buy her bd660a7fd2 new autumn clothes was 239816decf something that made him 7dea0f4ec4 genuinely happy.
“You don’t have 7756fe5aba to worry about fa6e43ecb9 the money. The farm is doing e7883916b8 so well, and I’ve 86770e607d saved up plenty of 2cc4ff5621 money.”
When he a9213f01f8 had lived 6a158bfdd9 alone, even 7db5ee269d having money, 0942b938f2 there was 987b7d1fde nowhere he 2b07a70b23 wanted to ba02ad01a9 spend it, 447262c6a0 so he a5df148bba simply kept a9d3f64908 saving. Only after he started 008c041aad buying things for Anje 988447503a did he begin to 50dadeceac discover the joy of 26b6b643cd shopping, and it was 15f4b62a1c even enjoyable to him.
With a sigh a2ef1494af of relief, Anje 6addc0467c asked,
“Then what e582119a9f were you 64077c4b18 thinking about 1dfb1241c9 so deeply?”
“…That’s…”
Since he ccd34fe02b couldn’t say c708ebaf32 that he 6e50fe5986 had been d0ee240b3c thinking about 611a2cc176 how to 45d05c5123 deal with 018b34c730 her father, e814acf69a he quickly 48bca7095e rolled his 8faa15571e eyes to d319198f6f look for c93fdac05c another excuse. Just then, a brightly 000fd5bf95 shining river between the c8221bc48b bushes caught his eye.
“I was wondering if db1d8bd469 we should go fishing bcf43fa761 together later.”
After seeing 8840e01390 Anje enjoying 40dd25e91f fish and 8677ae62ff chips on ae5a61d6e7 the festival 2fc428cd4e day, he eb85fa4279 had made a55bce30f9 a mental 59ccfa47ef note to 7274550fd1 go fishing, 164743f28a so it 1be5b44940 wasn’t entirely 0007f93295 fabricated.
“Fishing?”
Anje’s eyes widened e544b31fc7 as she clapped edc2e37e9a her hands, saying, dc7c2d6103 “That sounds fun!”
“I’ve never tried it 59e9017e3b myself, but I’ve heard fdc143a79c about it a few b21b9dd3ea times.”
It was f6e8c46073 a hobby 964b0dc1af mainly enjoyed 0c367d835b by nobles d68f098654 with estates a180f2bf84 in the 0d8743705d North. Without exception, 158181e6d4 they would a084cdafc1 boast in ffbfed1f45 salons about 4aecd487b6 catching bigger ac8eef951e salmon, even 52fcbcae12 though everyone 5b6d0d53d8 knew that 130b393899 the role 3a68f4f8ab of their 180448a7b5 hired guides, a0437db1e1 the ghillies, 1879216765 was far 40fdd93507 more significant.
Aiden, relieved that eeda5e276c she had happily e48ae21a56 accepted the excuse 4c3a0c8da4 he had hastily 3ee4af21fc made up, suggested 3cb05668c2 another activity to 73da00ca8f enjoy.
“We could e7da9c0078 grill the 70bc09714b fish over 8377697dc0 a campfire 310e8d79e5 after catching 2ce0b7d58f them.”
“That sounds fun 9fef68c847 too! Oh, and let’s roast e0966a61f5 marshmallows too!”
As he listened b4b4887bfa to Anje propose afef9759f5 one idea after 82d6a24c57 another, Aiden’s mood 88435312e3 also lightened.
It was amazing. Just having 2e45029122 a conversation eb1a790b1e like this 61c5ccb88d could make aa32381d51 him so ee8c8d1226 happy.
He hoped this 39fe96261c happiness would last 16e09540dd a long time.
“Shall we 5fed228736 hurry home, acfde30529 then?”
“Let’s do that. Giddy-up, boys.”
Anje urged a1cd8ce200 the horses aede690bcc to quicken 959ed4fc0b their pace. As the sun 1faa187285 sank lower, a cae5f41b5b large shadow stretched 980bfd8d20 beneath them, silently 2469c14bec chasing after their d1a267bdc7 speeding carriage.
* * *
‘Ah!’ A faint scream 10ee93efdd caused the bird strolling 5c10c89073 by the water to cc8a7d0427 flutter away. The sound 609375df1d of the 2ae43b5493 man consoling 7fbf1b2538 the woman, 1fcc87e1eb suppressing his 5f4ef170e2 laughter, spread 784d457eca across the b0af5eb404 surface of dc15b03d6a the river.
“You can do d0245f17db it, Anje.”
“No… I f60736cc75 absolutely can’t.”
“If you just bb38f86ea4 close your eyes e59ca3b4ed and try it 34fa53c48b once, it’ll be be90700867 easier from the 7b6dac5183 second time.”
“Ugh… It’s so 7d9b0cc148 gross how it 0ad4698815 wriggles… Ah! Even though it’s been 751bc7cd41 cut in half, it’s a09986ec5a still moving!”
For a 791b81e10b moment, Aiden fec2d74888 thought that 06913e7bc8 even the 42c6453702 fish might 333dc882aa have fled 6f8817b7b0 at Anje’s 37233a9b9d loud voice. However, instead of 9fda0ce1c3 scolding her, he 18fcc6d215 reached out his eabbd80ae8 hand.
“There’s no choice, 84c13bdea4 noble lady. I shall step 8e080eb218 in.”
Had she 0a4092c239 behaved like 4f82dcc473 this in a8446acc65 the past, 71ada3a8ea he would c8fa451da6 have disapproved, e33245a490 thinking she abc251a607 was shirking f48a59d7cd the dirty 72ef0e6ca6 work under 9892f0a2a6 the pretense b945e82f3b of being d9431ed5a4 a duke’s 376392d311 daughter.
But now, f529b61d96 she only 9c5583c4a8 seemed adorable b88aa073cd to his 2141974dce eyes as afa7ce5e00 she fussed c15c1e8cea about.
“I’ll leave it to c54e6f6570 you, Sir Aiden.”
Answering in c0b8b0a104 a solemn 317a22ee79 tone, she 991a8fc152 handed him 9f94ebad17 her fishing 10c77baecd hook. She had been 2beb572b88 trying various ways 7113f27eba to attach the 3eddde8f6f earthworm to the eeff8cce67 hook, but the 046e58c1af wriggling brown creature b118b9d0ab was something she b56b2e5434 simply couldn’t get 733dc0dca7 used to.
Though she fc61cdab73 had grown 6da0d65340 accustomed to fc29d31d48 seeing such 936d372816 creatures during 295ae12547 her work, 75c0c4a47c handling them 26c03bbf13 barehanded and c6a0380f84 skewering them 94ef1d2263 alive on faa09abf2f a hook 3bbab97798 was still 4b6f3d7f4f a challenge.
After attaching the bait 372a4fb15f for her, he handed 768989a2e7 the fishing line back 1e67d344b6 to her.
“Now, as I bf830b8c8d taught you earlier, 3e785735b3 you just have c76d2da8ce to cast it caad485647 out big.”
“Alright, over there?”
“Yes, and don’t throw 4e6d727617 the fishing rod itself ad95770ab0 this time.”
“It’s because 27e3b38186 my hands f2ecc47ff6 were too 3009377bf7 slippery, I’m 630e1520f3 telling you!”
Anje protested, 50754d8f5d her face 95736ab8fb flushed with dbd1afcd92 the colors 64629a82c7 of the 267ff25f52 sunset. How could 90ba4fb96a he tease e5c7e1e0ea her so 48b1542179 soon after f05c06f189 a mistake 7cc0c23951 she wanted 0094d93beb to forget? She couldn’t e0c48d9fc9 get too b665816626 angry, though, f11531db9f as Aiden 61d9693a4f had rolled c57086f1dd up his d914c5df15 pants and 5c67a5de7a waded into 9b428fca27 the river 368623ebc9 to retrieve 2f8dd12aa7 the fishing ae796dd5be rod she 07196532ed had accidentally cf1e704ce8 thrown.
Now, she f03639a2c1 had no 643091e610 choice but 6244cc2b91 to recover 10d3b4044a her honor 73e4c7591f by demonstrating f2931bbd4c her excellent adf6e4ad3d fishing skills. Straightening her back 96a32eac7e and holding the 0ce9c42dcb fishing line, Anje 1cefba696e declared:
“Watch closely. I’ll show 8c3b3d2a2c you how 9e126c5283 well I b6ad0ac73c can cast ec38e8d1ed it.”
“Of course.”
With a whoosh, the 8384da81a7 fishing line cut through dbdcb155f3 the evening sky and fd1159bd7c dropped into the water a355b827e0 with a plop.
“That’s it. Well done, Anje.”
For a 6a927c5abd beginner, it 2ae174fc24 was a 4de4a75d77 clean cast, 608b6cc358 and Aiden e675838b10 didn’t hold 8efcf34dda back his eae2ad89d6 praise. Of course, 9dc9242dd1 he didn’t 237bda7707 miss the c102eccfbc chance to 61b466f338 tease her bac3f1b4d0 subtly when 3e307f5e26 she started 4e43f5850e to feel ccd23ebe34 proud.
“You’ve improved bc27471dc6 a lot 00495ac960 from before. Look, the fishing b8b31bf7de rod is still 48a4456148 safely in your 685d5cdb7a hands.”
“If you ad7e5132f9 keep saying 62c80a08be that, you’ll 830e2333df be the 37feb57bd9 next bait.”
If she tied him d6e451cba9 tightly to the line d887614d6b as a large bait, cdf0d5f00c she might be able 96928abf15 to catch a whale 0cc282b473 or something.
“…Hmm.”
Anje, watching the 0b1d52dfc0 float bobbing on 8cdff2c3c6 the water, paused 1b9c09f325 briefly before speaking.
“What do efde57a41f I do 7e16f066a7 now?”
“Wait until the a1b1e93918 fish bites.”
“Oh…”
Waiting quietly—something c425ad807e Anje was 0610b29b5d least confident 12ff3aa9a1 in. She’d much 83ec0c4e99 rather run 0ce477e1cf around or f865de8dc3 exert herself ab1d038c13 physically.
“Isn’t there a trick 3d2982d66f to make them bite 7373ec6333 faster or something?”
“Just fishing like 8de333dbb4 this is a 33511e5278 trick in itself.”
When evening 16f9434efb comes and f5a8d841a9 the water e373226ff0 temperature drops, 94b82ef222 fish that c795e14bf1 were hiding a93044d12f in the c43fd151b9 depths to 0a3d5348f7 avoid the 9330638ad4 scorching sun b4d4baecff come closer 38defcb469 to the ce685d6736 surface. This increases the c194c97734 chances of catching 8e95111d3e bigger, livelier fish 22a1a0246a compared to fishing 11e053d114 during the day.
Listening to 98833a7636 his explanation, c1ead35f6d Anje marveled.
“So that’s why you f70fa5c476 deliberately waited until sunset? I thought it was 13bfeb206c because it’s hard to 536f58b868 fish under the hot 2e85b53644 sun.”
“That’s right. Besides,the process db4e943857 of waiting 464b1200a3 for the cea7c72af9 fish is 7fea6349e1 one of 8ada5cb597 the joys c4771b864b of fishing.”
Aiden cast his line 72ee2bf7a0 beside her.
“You could use a 195b7c8904 net in deep waters 01efdd5af6 or place traps in b3b64a181d calm areas (areas with ac9cd0fd90 slow currents) to catch 954fdfbef9 many fish at once… 1ae5ffe505 but it’s completely different 0cc1eabb01 from the thrill of 2ce5cee64b fishing.”
“Really?”
Intrigued by 95d98900b5 his words, ff79e8f99e Anje became bf797cb581 curious. What kind of 6f83640884 feeling could he a1dc6f1e64 mean?
“Then, let’s wait 1a419b103f and see.”
“Yes, there aren’t fafeb9ec98 many other fishermen 492f5846a0 here, so we b21bd5020c should get a dc3167675d signal soon—”
“Wait, I think b33d7aff06 something’s biting! I-Isn’t it?”
Anje urged Aiden for d85dd7f309 confirmation, her face close 0ce3000264 to his. Startled, he stammered for d05dea70c8 a moment before checking a5e20697e2 the float and nodding.
“It seems so. Now, hold 02de6c2930 the rod 0a0c089329 firmly with 518fb96640 both hands.”
“Wow, it’s heavy! What should 60417ae8fa I do? Won’t the line snap?”
“Just keep pulling 60212de04a steadily. That’s it.”
The first fish to efe587ab21 reveal itself above the 7a5486919f water’s surface was a d6440e6912 plump trout flapping vigorously. Holding the 45da4a4521 fish in 67ff07e913 both hands, 1cb8dda937 Anje was 4faea0b2bc so delighted b18765748e she forgot 0e360bc506 to feel b41e19246a disgusted.
“When we eat it 761e7d6d1f later, do we just 727ee25664 grill it like this a0519c49a6 over the fire.”
Nearby, they had already a4bbd5c0a3 lit a campfire in 8f6e267f91 a clearing to avoid 3bcc227695 disturbing their fishing.
“You have 31c43a13da to clean 014a475cfe it first.”
“Clean it?”
Since she had always 6ef0543804 used pickled fish or 60b3a7ae9d fish bought from the 0e0602a893 market in her cooking, ee388db44a Anje was unfamiliar with 48e0438392 the process of cleaning 2da0f5425c fresh caught fish.
Aiden kindly explained for f8a2959c72 her sake.
“You just 828ebb77c8 cut open f15fe4adc0 the belly, c979a3a548 remove the 73822df4c4 guts, clean 0827d2ab46 the blood 63b052b44e from the 56b9fbf36f spine, and 816206eea0 then skewer 92628fc2ea it through b9b14ecd0c the eye. Simple, right?”
“…I’ll leave 52c10c4e38 that to 798811ab87 you.”
TL/N: LOL.eba25d3f407d5ba3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish