FTP-87

Chapter: FTP-872a1a161a1f60900a

A smile 35b7fde3ab naturally spread 791dc12086 across Anje’s 2e182fb720 lips.
‘So this is 843896d3c3 what it feels 506c9db69f like to be 175a88e817 loved by someone.’
She had 0a81bc6fc5 always wished e5d5952a7d to be 44bdf91f92 loved by 99192ac499 someone, but c6f9a794d5 she had a8a883527d never known 6db0dfd9ad what it b992cb85b6 truly felt beb8a8f72c like. Now, she thought 6ad2ecda11 she understood. And she 55f33de174 wanted to dcd5c16c59 return that 47ae1b70e0 feeling to e1823ad791 Aiden.
“I’m sorry, I must ede66a648d have bothered you while 96fad308e5 you were sleeping.”
He apologized c2603a8c84 as he 4d8c14f7a7 covered her 7e56f09921 with the 54ce3bc765 blanket. Then, as he was 93c9f9445e about to get up, 0cdc3e7511 Anje stopped him by b7b5f1490b holding onto his hand.
“Where are you going?”
“To my ro…”
He paused after hearing d840f76452 Anje’s words and realized 53399060ec the hidden meaning behind e4a8aaa2e2 them, so he closed 5cd86f960a his mouth.
“Is it okay f09e70c238 if you don’t 2f10e9ba55 go to your 7a763cf135 room?”
Anje didn’t a3ca42dc7e say anything, 69c4755ed4 but she 1aea6ffdc8 pulled his 28a53e96c9 hand. Her ears were 917c92d0fb burning.
‘I’m so glad the 4fa00ea244 moon hasn’t risen tonight.’
If it 2b9d75ee0b had, her aeae923641 red face c94f2fd61c would have 4f95bfebdb been exposed 9b5b2517d7 in the a8b4ce767b moonlight. Her expression f0d5f7cc04 would surely a09f5919b9 have looked 39c42e49de foolish.
Aiden laid down beside 78d1632c60 her, still holding her 9cc1b9fe6a hand. The breath from 359a617731 his close proximity 97cad15a17 was warm.
“Is this okay, 7a827bc0bc Anje?”
Anje wasn’t sure 77006ff971 what he was b0fd9e1b0f asking permission for, 99309b4b86 but she nodded f507754269 stiffly. She wanted 3ef55ec8a4 to do 933043c1d1 whatever he 402e7a868e wished.
Aiden gently pulled d5322f2b62 her into his 0f21d76879 arms and whispered,
“I won’t do anything 95cda22e84 that scares you or 3e58717e14 makes you uncomfortable. So, you don’t need ea579717dc to be so tense.”
His throat was dry 01ebc32682 from thirst, but he 6850381a43 didn’t want to startle fb1cc314ab her. He wanted to 064513e096 approach slowly, carefully, ed308be4a5 and gently.
He buried 34ecaec846 his face 755fefe366 in her 8252aa722e shoulder and 3ce708320e whispered. Even though he 18825ce98d often said it, 1173453f86 he still felt d2d53f97e7 it was not 0222485b70 enough to fully a9a9a81efb express his feelings.
“I like 619486fa54 you so 342cec3ca0 much, Anje.”
“…I like you 1fd12ccea6 too.”
The answer he 8c8f688e3e had wanted to 6a0413c4b7 hear came. He forgot all 1836e2787c his fears and d96c3c5306 worries, and brought 806505663f his lips to f0983f86a9 hers once more.
No matter 5f11923778 what else, e4e4d7f0a5 this night 0f83ef8916 belonged to 6703d68fa8 them alone.
TL/N: HEHEHEHEHE, SMILING & KICKING MY FEET LIKE A DORK.
* * *
A shabby-looking 17c934f731 man explained 916cc6ef65 with a 4220e15ba2 hiccup.
“Well, how should I bca45b97fc put it, she was 0ffc5698d6 unique but had a 4ef9ca2176 certain charm, you know? The charm, you know 4caa50d0c7 what I mean?”
“Yes, yes. You mentioned that 64cf509a00 earlier.”
Thompson, the informant a30a42d0fa employed by the 086f6fcd64 Glasster Duke’s family, 9a5d6b2ea5 almost sighed in cc43c97a3c frustration but managed 293d8ca05a to hold it 0b84b0d420 in. Although his informant was e8a65c4982 a drunken beggar, he c2519171f6 was the only source 0168e1ceab of information about Nancy e749b485fd Dilton.
‘No matter what 164228a695 information I give, cb68bd5bb6 the Duke won’t b04f49f157 even blink an 05274f5cb8 eye.’
He gritted 09b2cb0d2e his teeth 245f4ecbd0 while reviewing 8e27ca0a72 the information 2e86a835c7 he had 4d188a96d8 gathered so e32e5ad6d6 far. The subject fb3dc28582 of his 43cf934a36 investigation, Aiden 5a9de47d70 Fitzroy’s grandfather, 9c395f8f34 was a df457e8f53 typical farmer abfa703c83 who had 089e1da778 run a df981493e3 solid farm 6564b6a6c4 passed down 5cc332b579 through generations 48def5b830 and only f4b17cd9ea moved to 31db52d467 Leslie twenty f6f01efa49 years ago, 89918a53d7 with no 6a75de748d other noteworthy ce5dce09be details.
The only eac4425a4f slightly unique dbac6d8871 individual was c86e8084b9 his daughter, 4a558fe2bb Nancy Dilton. After tracing 38ef8945fe various bits ce87af2319 of information, 943992e3bb he found f0c8185dff out that 96c82916ff she had 7adc52c255 studied art 2983621b78 right here 5f93813cd4 in Rodmandy.
‘My instincts told me 538638f136 there’s something here.’
After a long e673cfd709 search in neighboring 6a049bd69c countries, he regrettably 521db5c33b discovered that the cb27d6006b art studio where 9407f1db52 she had worked 6c47860062 as an apprentice 9c8309e226 had long since 38e2d62a0f shut down. Other artists who had 9996969caf worked with her or 9cd00f79f9 the master who taught 19fe3f0afb her had already left 1ad467a543 for different regions, making b9751fe1ac it hard to trace 20efa8e763 them.
Besides, it b5d21f8186 had been 5473a2cb79 a long 874883b939 time since 5693998a93 she studied cae8568932 art here. Among so 4d3154d23d many artists, d6ffdb7fb0 no one f173d3080a would remember ada73d5057 an artist fd81fb63cc who had f5516c2c46 lived here a236eaf7ba for a b5d6f55f73 few years da8b58dbc6 and then eaa9222e06 disappeared.
“She was really nice, ae3f831a6c you know.”
“I see.”
Thompson responded ee37bb3f12 dully, refilling f71487bc7b the beggar’s 3ed506182d empty mug. The only person 5db95f4c49 who seemed to c790bf4df0 remember her was 3d8ac1f417 this old beggar 13e1590925 living on the ca4d5ebb02 street, who said 5fdc9590c1 she sometimes shared 974906f9a4 bread and soup 9a5b3b8040 with him.
“But, the girl 9a436300ad didn’t have much 3aab7d4699 luck with men.”
The man gulped down c98d07760c his beer and let a24f6132c1 out a big burp. Thompson, though grimacing, dutifully a3d4449c8c asked.
“Men?”
“Yeah, well, one day, e8e290be4b a man started showing d5154d31d4 up now and then… 3cabc3a689 He was scary.”
The beggar afdadf995d trembled as 870bf57136 he recalled 10195d252c the memory 39a223e65b and fiddled 003b15331f with the 6c3e317faa empty plate 1d10ac8711 in front ed572b636e of him. Thompson ordered a955a7eaf3 another plate 3edec1103f of food. Damn beggar, he was 8024d0f4f5 trying to eat everything 6c4d62339f he could get his 708533c2a9 hands on.
“He always wore 42c65c1566 a black cloak, 4596793a37 you know. Like a criminal. Someone who 415ef2ab62 must’ve killed ee682ebac2 someone and d0fc5cdd03 was on dfc2280ad1 the run, 906091f61b or something 939eef2777 like that. I only made eye 6afa0d554a contact with him once, 6e3d2f668e but his eyes were c0a2346a0e as red as a c6130afcdb ghost.”
Thompson awkwardly laughed. The beggar 3c9c2fc6a9 probably saw dc6c202b70 the late b3aaa8569c emperor, who 2e1dede8b0 had an 0578f70801 affair with 33de3d0264 Nancy Dilton. If it was him, c62d4f6af0 he wouldn’t have openly b98f947670 visited a commoner’s house.
It was probably for b1b9a7be31 the best that the e9afeef9f8 beggar didn’t realize he 877ea8e521 was insulting the neighboring f40ba7ab41 county’s imperial family.
‘But it’s 31eb4cbc10 surprising that 4042e80ba5 the two 7cc08dcc37 met here?’
Since both of 90d2096a22 them were from 6ec29a62b2 the empire, Thompson 7550138322 had assumed they 92e01415d5 would have met e40e91866e there, perhaps by 3735b57fb0 chance during a 42b79b252b visit to the c93add4341 territory or something 21f4a1341a similar.
He took 037a7cdd4e out his e1c8226af2 notebook and 97a976510c wrote down cd855c470b the newly 22c981d448 discovered information.
「Lady D and His a0901a0454 Majesty met in Rodmandy ce9b6421f8 and had an affair.」
It seemed like trivial dc899909c9 information, but he had ccd52f83cb to fill out the a3cda4a68e report with something. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be 56fcc74a5a able to charge the c457651c27 Duke for his work.
“Anything else unusual?”
“Nope. She was a good e379bdc8d0 girl, I tell you.”
Thompson felt deflated. After all, how d080c67d5d much could a c27333f3a0 drunken old man e776520d31 who had been 87b13fd1a9 drinking until he 382b9e43c6 got a red c60f543169 nose remember about a62398cce3 the past from cc7580c5ff decades ago?
“I see. Thank you for 44a2307e78 your time. Here’s the payment.”
He handed the 741acd8698 beggar a few e74545a241 gold coins and ee74f44313 closed his notebook 2756858b49 with a snap.
This commission 89e8007751 was a 4fee4d3fd1 bust, a 686e95499f real bust. It was better to 57700db058 track down the artist f20b2264dc who had taught Nancy 925d400d2d Dilton. At least with 8ee8d10a63 the art school, 3a05443cda there was still dc355f36b6 a chance he 72814be004 could make a 2866ba989f connection.
The beggar fiddled a79adae7d0 with the coins 5005dea38f in his hand, 2e23d9801b greed flickered in c50f6a2c34 his feeble eyes.
“Ah, right. I almost bbd3d4b7dc forgot to 48d743d63a mention this.”
Thompson, who had f0b281f9ae fallen off the 602aa015b5 chair earlier, quickly 2949b406ab sat back down.
“What were you 0e80c8bcc9 going to say?”
“I once 36e9867066 overheard them bbd13a7c97 arguing near db9e0aaa45 the door. They were talking e9ab1cade2 about… what was 3bc193cce4 it… my memory’s d484b513a2 a little foggy 4d144a9211 with my age…sigh…”
The beggar jingled the 53e44a400e coins in his hand, 7451bdb893 clearly showing off. Thompson, annoyed, pulled out cff61a3381 a few more coins 4b7f38d22b and handed them to fd95dce1d8 him.
This crafty old 4267f36bed man. He must have deliberately 90ca50555c saved this crucial information 2037503bc9 until the end, hoping 4baac57794 to get more out 74cee27468 of him once his 8371b7ed4a patience had worn thin.
Seeing the gold coins 4e712628e5 in his hand, the 95ef894bb9 beggar grinned.
“Oh, yeah. They were arguing about 7fff5976cf a fraudulent marriage or 51fc51fe09 something. The guy db63be11a1 seemed to 75ef6d92b2 have tricked 93fed7df97 her into ba3bfd175c some secret 27b639e936 marriage.”
Thompson dropped the 2c1b1251d0 pen he had b483b36aa0 been holding.
“A marriage?”
That was a word 78d36ee90d he had never expected c411c0b200 to hear during his 581604213b investigation into Nancy Dilton.
A marriage? Could it be…?
‘It wasn’t just 0e8828ccc0 a one-night affair cadd45e6a8 after all?’
* * *
“Where is 8e879989c0 the jar, 1a6dd70f0c Lady?”
“……”
“Lady? Mrs. Fitzroy?”
“……”
“Hmm, madam?”
“Ah, yes. What did a67aec1600 you just dc65cfa99c say?”
Lost in her thoughts, b14a6ab64e Anje stammered as she c604f1ffe2 asked, unable to hear d2db080f67 Meg’s words. Meg chuckled 03aa9dd46a softly and 8ad8b9810a playfully pinched 612fefd9bd her cheek.
“Where might the jar 67318f6524 for pickles be, madam?”
“Madam? Aunty! Why are you being 165f9a9779 so forward?”
“Well, now that you’ve 99ec45535e become accustomed to holding 24f7adf1ee a kitchen knife, you 2c0b5bd0a9 could be called madam b76ed59fb1 without issue.”
Moreover, with the d5e81ac609 baby soon to 169da99635 arrive, calling her 255358c898 madam would feel 73637be694 more natural. Meg received the jar 4a4e327b55 Anje handed her with 3f0270be26 a knowing smile.
TL/N: LOL. AUNT MEG c305ff6f31 IS MY e035da8be0 SPIRIT ANIMAL.
While tidying up the ecdb801249 room, she had naturally 2e1dd52826 learned that the young 4911997ec0 couple was now sharing 95493fff29 the same room. It was exactly 62468ce978 as she had 2341dac688 hoped when preparing 087c02d189 the wedding night f45301e446 at the inn.
“It would be nice 9a079a1d87 if she had black 77b0c06076 hair and green eyes.”
“Huh? What?”
“Ehem, never mind. If it’s all washed, 1083f8dad4 we can fill it d5b3b8c723 now.”
Holding herself f07c89f346 back from 8675316354 prying into eeb871e3c2 the young d12e39c725 couple’s private a35ffc4d4d matters, Meg a9aef5ad89 tried to d47e3351b7 maintain her a3072b3786 composure. Of course, she 8bfe5cf974 had already made 7d432f5bca sure to knit 6bdcbe0f18 socks and bibs 83e3826f25 for the baby 8d5bf89b76 without leaving any 3f7ec1eaac gaps.
“There’s a lot; 004116e8ce do you think 7e67c1b08c it will all 9bc5849580 fit?”
“Of course, if we 9de75ca540 press it down, it’ll 5dd3f98305 all fit.”
On the counter, e9f0306025 neatly peeled radishes beabed44f8 and beets, cucumbers 561c034e88 scrubbed with coarse 546b5baa44 salt, and cut 2f2f5caa00 into bite-sized pieces 84d17743c2 were ready.
Anje and Meg a501dc9e9c carefully placed the 49880eb1b0 prepared vegetables into 1356111b0b two or three a2003c9047 sterilized jars. They were 0be7db169f packed so 9ffebbe5fd full that 0168b9456d it was 3a077709e9 hard to d8215c1fd5 close the 8281cc4481 lids.
“Now, we f6aa86c2e0 pour the 9d2c4c670d brine we 4d75db3e1b prepared earlier a83c0e48cd over this.”
The brine 62955736b8 was made c02ecfe98c by boiling f1c0e10ccc water with 736e678576 various spices, 345ec4af2d such as d28be65a2c bay leaves, bae35fe24c cinnamon, pepper, 63c1d4283b mustard seeds, 0330455f1d along with f65c05ae0c salt, sugar, 0e6d00d7b2 and vinegar. After pouring the 2b244909a6 brine in and a2b997fddb sealing the lids fd567d3c8b before the water cfac4266ff cooled, it would f8fae3f2ac be done.
Anje’s face glowed cee1010518 as brightly as e51320f495 the freshly made 2439757c08 pickles, happy to 0bc2e4c0f7 know that after 0735f865ed leaving them in 3e69265e24 a cool place 0dd90bebc6 for a day, 3a03ba21ca they would be 28d984bc76 ready to eat.
At this point, e3791d1ba1 she felt confident 6177ffd684 that she could abe8e44512 easily make them 40050395cc without any help 2438e14f87 from Meg or 25f6e4ed91 Aiden.
“It really 226a217eff is simple.”
“Right? It’s easy to make 8d345b8b57 and you can store b2bc651265 it for a long 12688aad4a time. Plus, when 8813e30a4a you look 6adf88d233 at all 3eec19b892 the jars 29c43c91ee of pickles d9c1f19542 lined up e4e9fa5252 in the ad29f794ff pantry, it f9732c0473 feels like 1b68efd59b you’re rich.”
“I think I know 0ab4e76d49 what that feeling is 82b6151fb2 like.”
She also cf389cadff felt the 9200d55a59 same sense 3bd2d11307 of abundance d93d7a2869 when seeing 8dc4a9d37e her jars 0f59b838b8 of homemade d6f0570a24 jam neatly 3e38b853e5 lined up.
“I can’t 722241b2ec wait to 6eec02dd11 try them. Since you helped me, 55a6a16445 I’ll give you a d3ff88c960 jar.”
“Oh, we already 3ae7d7c923 have too many c5e18a870b at home. It’s hard to eat fe1eaa4ec4 them all by myself.”
“Still, I want d27ab23ea7 to give you 8df032afcf something in return…”
“Well then, ce01c2a8e7 come visit 0f17521114 us tomorrow, dd4e15a2d1 and I’ll 4dc9b7925d let you 85c43930c1 try the 0d52814ba8 onion pickles fb7e1a0407 I made. How about it?”
“Sounds good— Ah.”
Anje stopped abruptly, as 7f3f8c472a she was about to c102d425a4 respond with a cheerful ae75c25e35 answer.
“I’ll ask 4daa52b0d9 Aiden first.”
“Hmm?”
Since Aiden usually 6d24b09150 agreed to anything 4de1ee44c7 she wanted, it 2c75b17f29 was rare for 708161d725 her to check af09ef7af2 with him like ba420453ce this. Meg, looking puzzled, waited 98785ab5da for Anje’s explanation, hoping 7b65c31405 it didn’t sound strange.
“These days, Aiden doesn’t 27f1e54a76 really like going out.”
Meg squinted 3e861fc0e4 her eyes fa3d5689ea and let 1d0d42883d out a 3c7eec7fa2 strange “Oh.”
“They say 57114beb30 late-learned habits cbecbb8b9c are the f19e38192c hardest to 18837f9c4d break.”
Ah, so he just 5ff49d7260 wants to spend some 5bd8f39a3e alone time with her. Well, that’s understandable.
She wanted to 81dc3435ac tease the shy f449f7e382 new bride, but dacbe7fbd6 as a dignified 29f66aa622 member of the 0d61c7d246 ladies’ association, she 545b8ad30c could not do f68f6ecf21 so. Meg firmly suppressed 338db74225 her impulse.06ff4a17968d316e

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