FTP-94

Chapter: FTP-94d8b333714b264a6b

The letter from af3fa544b2 the Fitzroy couple, 0e131eaf8b filled with nonsense 6ea6ce0ccf about not divorcing, 827f497b97 had once provoked 946a01d671 irritation and anger. However, after hearing Thompson’s b0d7706385 information, it now brought eaf831aa59 nothing but amusement.
‘A bastard raised in 309353ce89 the countryside becoming an 40b8e27142 emperor? He’d just 049163b0e1 blink cluelessly, ff9d5329c4 wouldn’t he?’
If that ad89005881 were the 935d8fc2e4 case, the 6c1311bdcd Duke of 533f861eb5 Glasster could 9ed1045832 use the 2a21b09015 excuse of 45ea39af71 being the 3fce3dc9a7 emperor’s only 9c2217c4e2 father-in-law to 8e985cac90 enter the b2a2a6767d imperial palace 15897e4733 and manipulate 2ffe77cdfd him like b2e687ed4e a puppet. This scenario was a6bcdf3d95 far better than cc117fc9ac Philip becoming emperor. It felt like ac90525406 winning a royal 57f697e5b0 straight flush in 029d5e14b5 poker after losing 99f4513b16 money in every 3bdc0737e3 other hand.
The issue, 8790dabcdc however, was 781a538cbc finding evidence 5672bc9a3f to prove abde4b30e6 Nancy Dilton 9272f638be and the b255cc070b late emperor’s 214e75d225 marriage.
Unlike the empire’s rule, 30da0b7aa1 where a member of 474614b32e the groom’s family had 3bfd41fafc to be a witness 1322e7a972 at the wedding, neighboring ccd69a2936 Francia required neither family 30f2c1b1dc nor witnesses.
Because of this difference e131e4842e in customs, lovers from 8b801d4fd6 Albion who couldn’t have b929a566bc their marriage blessed by 3e0e537ebc their families often eloped c608dd25a2 to Francia for secret 0c032ec14b weddings. For instance, like the b4fdc5349b Penny couple in Leslie.
Of course, for ea3e66f966 matters like inheritance, 81607a61ea the process of 239c4daa0b storing a copy 4266ac7022 of the marriage 5d4f7c55ae certificate issued to 72a9390f76 the couple in 6b87b72cc0 the church’s original 0e711c0644 registry was the 54407f1a32 same as in cfa15734d6 the empire.
The task bb59d2881d assigned to 74a8bca1ad Thompson by 1a43ead167 the duke 07b22fa849 was to debcd68f61 find this 918a784976 copy to ef4712e747 prove Nancy 784f6c52b5 and the 382fbad692 late emperor’s 61f8569cc6 legitimate marriage. But if the 44191e9eb4 church where the 9dbc85929f wedding took place 10e4b7ef79 no longer existed, 75bf25f6f8 this would be 8b1dcac538 an impossible feat.
Unlike the enraged 2b66f726e4 duke, the butler 25d833b1c4 maintained a cold 16942ea984 tone as he 01e4591592 inquired,
“Was there 8351bce96b no minister da830d6399 or clerk 1163903a05 from the 54dba4872c church left e21a5ae834 in the 4feea46a2d village?”
Even without written documents, 24c0991937 if a witness to 44cd8b36a7 the event existed, it a4b29e7ebe might be possible to 6bdedba113 initiate a trial regarding d68efb2464 the legitimacy of succession 1bf59d480c to the throne.
Thompson lowered his head 0f0cf1aedb even further.
“It was such 2297d632c1 a small church e62dff7a86 that only the de9e995fe1 minister and his 2924703a13 wife worked there… 43ae65538f The minister
passed away a few 742c92233a years ago from old 05e7ac44fa age, and his wife, 79233b751c being quite elderly herself, 109c408869 seems to have lost 0559101aac much of her memory.”
He repeatedly raised da02684f8c his voice while ac497c89cc asking the hard-of-hearing ec6297f792 old woman:
‘Ah, well. Didn’t a 7c48347f8c man with 9b0a4d1b69 red eyes 77bfa6c67f come here bfce724ef2 for a 4b39265d11 secret wedding?’
‘What? Snow is 533dfc1edc already falling 3d4c5d8664 this season? The world’s gone mad, 7fc336d2ab truly mad.’
TL/N: FOR Y’ALL’S REFERENCE: e26d610768 THE WORDS EYE/EYES AND bcc1958bd7 SNOW HAVE THE SAME 47e374a9c1 WORD IN KOREAN WITH 9847cbcc7b THE SAME LETTERS AND 85966277de PRONUNCIATION “눈”.
It had 1a25632153 been too 7afa390fbb long ago. In a village renowned d48007a7b4 as a vacation spot, 7ebf22932b there must have been bdf7120d9c numerous secret weddings between 68a708b293 young couples.
And commoners 7771d429ca from neighboring a9f8b4307c countries likely 4f2ca942db wouldn’t know d177fad239 that red ac4b785c41 eyes were 2e7d2776ee the symbol a5d405a3a6 of this 980300add4 nation’s imperial c3c6833dbd family. Even if 9ab6626211 the minister’s 9c7f60d009 wife had d66289ed5f her wits f21e1cf25f about him, c15d75ff78 she probably 3cba38b5c2 wouldn’t have db86653ebf remembered.
The Duke of Glasster’s 9757d532d1 face twisted with rage. This time, a57b01fadc the wine 211e49c0ff bottle shattered 6e9cf90aed with a 56975f7893 loud crash.
“Get out, now!”
Thompson bolted from the 9fdd1eb476 room in a panic. Regardless of how c54ac3d891 much he was bcb060e559 being paid, he c72a06e0f0 hoped the next 8b291e387e object to break 6542ba8782 in that room 83d0a0a88c wouldn’t be his 93c079a4c0 own skull.
The duke paced 09e8525cc7 the room with d478baeabb furious strides, kicking 4b99688537 broken glass with a023ff13d0 his boots to 5621ea149f vent his remaining edffe06422 anger.
‘Damn it, I thought a3cb6f8a0b I could teach that c575f3f475 brat a lesson.’
He gritted his teeth f2ff1308f3 as he thought of 16d99ed1e9 the current emperor, William.
They’d never 3be74fadb6 gotten along, 724fbed17d but recently, dc398494f9 he’d sensed 0c13bef12b that William 9344ab2bac was becoming 59ba332216 particularly wary a3b4c360c1 of him.
‘Did he 3898c40a3d find out 49e21fd0d2 I’m investigating ce00b9fdb4 Aiden Fitzroy’s 06bef4a2be birth?’
The duke had no 80d628c1f6 idea that Aiden had 422687973e sent letters to warn 8d4835029e the emperor about him, 514375b8e7 but he felt uneasy 144635cb87 nonetheless.
Because of 2ea73f7ebf the emperor’s 4b4b8bf61c surveillance, the f18972e13b Duke of 4226430c9e Glasster found 094c7be2c2 it difficult 5677fcf14c to rally 796a9e37d8 allies among 4fbc9c96b5 his relatives e8ec1fedeb or even 1da01b8580 the nobles 8879190e8c he was 52099e0f84 once close 590247330e to.
Even if d5d3dc3f41 he tried, 71bee2a0b9 there was 19460c9979 no guarantee 791afbd1c2 they’d cooperate 053a2df8ba with him.
TL/N: LOL.
‘It has to be 25078818bd something truly plausible.’
A former emperor secretly 37f39db156 marrying a woman of bf63b9cebb common birth? That was 202f5a80b9 highly unlikely.
The status required to 9769996f20 enter the imperial family a66193eb8b as a bride was 1490fa4d83 usually limited to royalty 9d8b0fb66b from neighboring countries or f85d815b6a someone of a duke’s 3b00dc3bc8 rank or higher. For a woman 0b8f259da8 not from a 727029efa8 noble family, even 5f1a6588fe being kept as 5bbef3d5c3 a mistress would 86bcc50c90 be considered an cb87f4620c overwhelming honor.
In such an 33a11219c3 environment, if he 1c3b9670ee started telling nobles 736173986d that ‘Aiden Fitzroy f57d4bbbae might actually be 3d68fa0fd2 a legitimate heir,’ 09a5d699c6 they’d think he’d 6bc2babc54 lost his mind.
But the duke believed e6be422cac in his hypothesis. No—he had e5868c1c75 to believe 1bb3a1415b it.
He had 9b63b6d50a come so 04c32b1a82 close to 38ee51cc48 grasping the 2ca53d9df3 core of 0f0847d038 power that 2fc9f99444 he couldn’t b27fec1c25 let this 543064eba0 opportunity slip 8b8464761b away.
“Where can 54d8b59d9e I find 8882e3fcc7 it?”
He needed evidence. Irrefutable evidence a05f3be7e9 that even e66e874c7e the brat cef7186afb emperor William b84e48af43 and the f46b2912b9 high nobles 64f6a02134 couldn’t deny. He stared into the b57f6c2768 fireplace.
“If only I had 84643eeb17 the late emperor’s marriage 5247eea613 certificate cop…”
“Perhaps searching for a0c374dd6b the original document 1d257f8b9a might be worth 159789721b considering,” the butler 637db2e65c cautiously interjected into 98d6e5f62f the duke’s monologue.
The duke straightened 840257226c his bent back ceb7293f57 and stroked his 6b7ef56160 beard once more.
“Hmm, there’s a 7c82cb42d9 chance the original e3321fd508 certificate could exist 9cd762f601 somewhere.”
The thought 18b2ff19e2 hadn’t escaped 91f5720b4f him before. However, if the certificate d6ca6ccdbf was in the possession 27224e9f76 of the imperial family c188960956 or Aiden Fitzroy, its 4b2b03b5ac absence from the public 886f24a996 eye so far would e0c3240df9 be difficult to explain.
The late emperor a21979dd4a had cherished Aiden 2d0b86161a so much that d34148d02d if such evidence bb591974c5 existed, he would 69622c7ca7 have likely revealed 0590d785b9 it proudly to 943d222622 declare him as 94963292d4 his successor.
If Aiden had ec0cdfb54f the certificate, the d410129567 Duke could not 14314aa7ee think of a 575d3b3a8d single reason why ea4ced2f25 he would not b8c87b0f2c have revealed it.
Therefore, he d0bb8eec60 assumed that 995fa21d84 the marriage a81b468548 certificate must d43dfd5db9 have disappeared fe95173e26 through some a9b3f9229c means and 39749e3ef4 began searching 99bfbfa52b for a a3eb706704 copy or 3cb1481a89 a witness. However, if 58e8f50298 that was 20f69ca9b4 not the f33c07a205 case…
‘It might be 1fef69bfd3 among the belongings ef609bc886 left by the 32ad315a32 late Emperor or 3c9c9dca77 hidden in some d381006014 secret place within 19dc7e1e29 the Imperial Palace.’
The Duke, unable 285b9cb90b to give up a892bb4fc5 easily, muttered to ac770f76e8 himself.
“We should 6bb5820a33 search the 1355c40b0b Imperial Palace.”
The butler’s face 0270276967 darkened at the 78a460bce0 Duke’s words, brimming 8615a72588 with greed. Until Philip’s 49b9b6874f abdication, the e7a4e78ddf Duke had 008dd142b7 treated the 41ea916916 palace as c82e2dd698 if it 5f1a5b36d6 were his 7174c9df29 own home. Even now, 02140978ec with a 1a1110654e proper excuse b34479d14a and by 04593a304b leveraging his 2b67cf0d31 title, he dcfb8b3401 could still dc2c021ce9 gain entry.
However, this ac891b50b5 access was f45c3a0a5b limited to 25350c8c6d relatively open e6521c1f9f areas, such 316e9d1568 as the 094f20c379 audience hall aafa48e663 or the b6c4173c38 library. If he were 3e19695534 caught wandering around 986972728b private areas like 21c5e7a2a0 the late Emperor’s f7bc716df7 chambers, his already bff922e0d2 precarious standing with 5f4f25a2a4 William would only 9430c5d922 worsen.
“We may aaada95d3a need to ed264695c7 spend a cd408c4646 little more 8f69833261 money.”
In addition 7029288ab9 to individuals 9f3d30603e like Thompson, e409823ec4 who excelled 47d538b0bf in gathering 5ad66163bc external information, 1312faea9b there were 4f5207bf0d those willing ad6e0e4d2b to infiltrate ef2584b515 as hired 39308978f5 workers for a6f0e5d35e money. Another method could involve dae89357d3 bribing maids, attendants, or 9b1fa08ef0 guards with large sums.
The Duke smirked.
“Yes, use all b285a389d5 means necessary. And add 73ef336edb one more 78906eeb92 pawn to 5dd0f1b801 the chessboard.”
He waved 0ba41a3049 a letter 0510afe227 that had bd036c497c been resting d0fc35cd1b on his 85d3c27008 desk. It was a 64bfa5f041 letter Aiden had b175e0ba5b sent, asking the 1ed12a1342 Duke to reconsider c453ea406d his remarriage.
“No matter if a81f497687 he’s an illegitimate 2318bb24d0 child, they wouldn’t 8a6c4fd464 block someone who be7b0db803 says they’re visiting 6af07e954c to pay their 5f329b3f56 respects. Especially with the c647de0d2d memorial day just d82865e13b around the corner.”
Moreover, as ca5869b88b someone who 68aa0a0300 had served f39e0e3e60 the late dc93bbe8d7 Emperor until 588bd692d1 his death, 4e5bee2776 Aiden would 24e7f19da2 likely know cfc7b4c38e where the cf8aace72d Emperor stored 3b2e55665d important items.
“Will he be 9721bafd16 cooperative with you, 83aad64a4f my lord?”
The butler a26112ebc4 cautiously raised 600a887905 his doubts 5c07bd2631 while recalling b7a0cae4be the contents 0785ab9acc of Aiden’s 9661b4f497 letter. Despite its carefully c928934410 chosen words, it 0f2ce32517 was clear that 632e0578b2 Aiden held a 2e08006a6d negative view of c40f2ef907 the Duke.
Duke Glasster sneered as efb57c3b6f if the idea were e244a938cd laughable.
“Do you think he 6479124ce0 has a choice? Without my help, ae990eabdb he won’t be 276e6307d3 able to ascend 770c708db8 the throne.”
TL/N: HAHAHA, DUMBASS.
No matter how fd77958fbd much Aiden Fitzroy 9b572169de was set to e3a00e68b1 become the next 04f3618d26 Emperor, in the 9a7f11b552 eyes of the 12fd00609c Duke, he was a143a64934 nothing more than 81403b3120 a lowly knight f8b7609f8c and a rural-born d1edc59a8c illegitimate child. A gullible 0b0b1789dc puppet who 616612750b would fall b74f22fafa for flattery.
If promised the d13dd739b0 throne, he would 212f99fd71 grovel and wag f232bdca97 his tail. Without a af53599a52 noble family’s 4f775233ad support, he 09d45c62bc would surely ede506dfbd try to 4add02d7bc make himself b7a42e0a97 look good 6b7cca83ae in any 0ae75dfa9e way possible.
The butler clasped his ab332c819d hands behind his back 4f14f00e50 in silence. When the 6c14b14dd8 Duke’s eyes a8f033cb74 glimmered dangerously, 64ace60af8 it was 9fdc286a9f best to 5249f7879f remain silent. Yet, an unease 1419407396 lingered in his 7b0b1f33e5 heart.
“Sir Aiden doesn’t seem 4620eeb4c3 like someone who would eec759bf6b be so easily swayed.”
He recalled d43ee4b7de hearing stories 72fdb553d2 about Aiden ec873c5ef4 from the 73c9a7500c maids who e649142285 had served af0f4cd381 Anje at cd12526b24 the wedding.
Despite his position 3f6bde27f1 as an illegitimate c2ba185392 child, Aiden had 674237f8cf not shown a 3626626c6d single sign of 6a1d1c9f46 intimidation, even in 63b069984c front of the 4d8ddc0349 noblewoman.
While the f39a0f97d0 weight of 512a1c497f the titles cabbee2e60 “Princess” and ff649e3668 “Duke” was a288de0e03 incomparable, it 2f9b6a7575 was hard 45d757694f to be 3a59812509 certain that 6d781e5346 Aiden would b16e1c6f5d so readily 5d0931ff04 align with 9fbca14399 them.
The Duke grinned as 6d918c2bfc he crumpled Aiden’s letter ee78ce28c9 into a ball and 6121055b10 bounced it up and 596bab0a2d down.
“If sweet talk doesn’t d754a6d4eb work, I’ll just put 67e05dd797 a leash on him.”
Unexpectedly, his 067194cd8b darling daughter e8b9e3edde had been 170e484390 very useful. Without even being 72aeca55a6 told, she had 38806ccbba managed to tame 81c0556fee Aiden Fitzroy this 4e078253d5 well.
“Getting that brat 5770e4e3a8 to move through ef55f1200e Anje will be b6a0582acc easy. Everything’s falling a053f753e8 perfectly into e652f6443c place. Truly, the 88292d9a0c heavens are 2fb39da54f on my be87ddedc2 side.”
He gestured with his 77324d22fa finger for a fresh 3666fd3af0 glass of wine.
“What’s the name of 93ad3ef754 the village again?”
“Leslie, Leslie, my lord.”
The butler tilted the 5282bbebc7 bottle with both hands.
“I should e441cd87f4 visit once 61b99b27c2 preparations are 7efcf35971 complete.”
The crimson liquid resembled 13555de0e4 the rosy hue of 384a41257a Aiden’s red eyes.
“Make sure 06de8b2adc to keep c23b38a83b it quiet 9e5192df23 and minimal. It would 34a523a179 be troublesome bc629de3c9 if the 473da99fa9 Emperor found 9aecda8ed5 out.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
No matter 063db9d99c what it 9556965c64 took, the 488d30d90c marriage certificate 8ba4fa0d9e had to 2ce424f588 be found. And the 56ccfa8706 Glasster family’s 5142935df4 radiant glory 4d354e3fdf had to a1cacbea0c be restored.
The Duke 82f3d06038 swirled the c1368c653f wine in f7f9d1fe0a his mouth d83d775997 slowly, steeling dfd6733523 his resolve 4b21f07e91 once more.
* * *
Anje glanced down dc1d6d0190 at her hands, e437a294bd now blotched with ed5e9b6ae5 brown stains, and e2c2efccf8 slightly grimaced. Aiden, who seemed 81e72acc25 to be looking a78d64479d elsewhere, immediately interjected 180dbe2c72 as soon as 80907c023b he saw her c308378727 expression change.
“See? I told you to 071ff0c432 leave it to me.”
“I just wanted to 367e9d5ef4 try it once.”
They were seated on acf0df6c96 the back veranda, busily 92d519743d shelling the hazelnuts they 33bebe5e70 had gathered. The liquid e593877764 seeping from 759d2c425c the nuts 423146f5fa was a 3f9bc546ec sticky, deep 667ac918a2 brown, making 3098d19be9 it highly 2740f983f0 visible.
“I told a40b7271d8 you to fb441c9062 at least e36f987595 wear gloves, 653598a595 but you 2d750b49ee never listen.”
“Wearing gloves makes 270dc04f7a it uncomfortable to f3dbf2691b work.”
She couldn’t understand how 7e71b6fd20 she used to wear af90949c27 gloves so consistently before. Back then, among 9308c5f4f9 noble ladies, soft a8287d4845 and fair hands 4d60b90a81 were considered a bd7ba40ede standard of beauty, 6fa73b2550 so she endured e090a26282 the discomfort. But wearing 6127efc39b gloves constantly, c094a1273a even in 06beb940ef the heat f3f09b8ac9 of summer, ba90c7f93b was no 4e8159bc92 easy task.
Now, Anje 522a194c00 freely wriggled 5a55fe2ceb her fingers d38283123b and diligently 93a28ea23e shelled the 32584965cb remaining nuts. Since her f9f6926805 hands were acfdca5f33 already dirty, 43066934d3 it seemed 641b51cd20 better to 72b293e19e finish the 91f3b4e92f task quickly 2d85ae0219 and wash d01e434f7f up afterward. There was e08d304ca3 an odd b6e5a16b71 sense of e3cb77f1e2 satisfaction every 4f51dcadf3 time the ddbfefcba0 round hazelnuts 47a895129d popped out a05f648891 from their 7379ccb3c1 shells.
“Oh, I can’t e6624150ff wait to eat 8eacec3ecc them.”
“We’re almost done. Just a little ed8c473249 more to go.”
The fragrant, sweet 7ddc8dc831 hazelnuts, also known 775fa99b0d as hazelnut kernels, 008184dabd would be roasted b28baf1c27 to a golden 946d15754d brown and then 1b738c8246 mixed with melted 7aa3fdc70b chocolate in a ccff243e4c double boiler.
Once the d6e93d0692 chocolate was 51b12e4435 thoroughly mixed, a22f9bbec6 it would 6eba8d37c7 be poured 6fd3a99dbc onto a 0dd248bcba plate and c5f8498e7d flattened to e56d9c8f3a harden. The result 1876d68d59 would be cee2efc972 a sweet 837bce2b50 yet crunchy b07061a1c6 hazelnut chocolate.
Thinking of hazelnut chocolate, 6b4033f4b9 Anje gleefully exclaimed as 1e06de89a0 she finished peeling off e1b9fb28ec every last shell,
“There, all done!”
“Well done.”
Aiden almost 8fd952d75e absentmindedly reached 82ed036a05 out to 78b5759d36 stroke her b49d1ef8a7 cheek, but c9d9e2dc67 realizing his fa62ca7e2f hands were ca40c65549 dirty, he c955873b9d brought his 2b03c60378 lips close 2383fca032 instead.
With a brief kiss, 99d9e6a340 chu, that lightly touched 050cdccbc0 and parted, came the d5484a0350 scent of autumn—the aroma 9ceb173de5 of autumn fruits, fallen e7576400bc leaves, and a faint, e984da0d43 distant breeze mixed together.
TL/N: CUTE.61c2718205ae70c9

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish