FTP-97

Chapter: FTP-9710dec82998624930

The Duke 49a5afe3e1 was left ac66814af7 speechless, his 78f7204462 mouth opening 9cdc7b8d40 and closing c5b43179e6 without a da5d7ff6d2 word, before 1660ee1de2 he finally e7fe6d4226 managed to ed0c2b339d stand up 707172270b with the 1912cf24c2 help of 9ce88ec6c3 his attendants 1c43a1de43 and shouted,
“Y-You! Do you know who 5e0e559121 I am?”
Aiden lowered his gaze 27b11f471e and, squeezing out an 00ffe288b6 innocent tone, asked,
“Who are e02dd590c7 you to 2d2886fb8a be so f33f13b23d confident? I thought you were 639a3e2bcf just some ruffian who d5a851f0cf lost his way and cf743b3566 dared to act violently b3bf3f417e toward my wife.”
“I-I am none other f05f3e27c0 than the—the Duke of 81efbd81d1 Glasster!”
“Aha.”
Feigning surprise, b5c0f2be38 Aiden tilted 036d75e415 his head 2cc9a7e555 and leaned c74eaa2fcb down to 6df5190b87 whisper to 6f0f16282d Anje.
“I’d like to pretend 83e83264ea I don’t believe him, 95e4dc7a3b but his manner of 55369985d9 speech is just too e09b0fb069 similar to how you b8efb1e4ef used to talk.”
Anje jabbed him in 9c91495e72 the side. Even at a time 446aedb847 like this, he was 5c5615fc56 teasing her. It was just so c0ce1c0d9d typical of him.
After erasing the a109f61a68 gentle smile he 21d1ab7568 had shown her, 4c0e02a1a1 Aiden’s tone turned df0169bc60 cold.
“Is that so? My wife’s father, f212282ed0 no less. I can’t very 06e657db4c well leave such cac55cf539 an esteemed guest 92ed2615ce out here on a7f787ada1 the street. Please, let us dc229e1db5 move to the 533b9eb825 drawing room.”
Anje looked up at 4991026062 Aiden with uneasy eyes.
‘Is it really d8b27c5b64 okay to let cf5c9ab71d my father into 33f40b479e the house?’
He caught the 0af3dbebd4 flicker of anxiety 3f912d05a2 in her green df218396ef eyes but merely b155e765eb reached out to b8f9c1f57c smooth her disheveled acdfbddebc hair.
Though he, 60d5e31733 too, felt 0c3575a86f unsettled and 542fc41947 tense, he f1f41e91ca made sure 45842fc904 not to 497588f970 show it.
‘Did he come cbd6fc0daf to discuss her c9c74277ca remarriage?’
Having been late 4ac8c283ec to notice the 48c86d1695 duke’s carriage while aaabf2be14 searching for Anje 7db918bd68 in the back 8745454512 of the house,
Aiden had 5d289a5036 no idea fd1c843ef2 what had 78d27dd539 transpired between 2427cd4cf1 them. All he knew 6c948df747 was that the dcb973bc51 duke was glaring befa08afd8 at her with f211d71342 hostility, and that 02acff624a she appeared equally 50c4455953 uncomfortable. That was enough for 5f59f3224b him to intervene.
‘No matter what, I e7f9a9c345 won’t back down just 0c49f7ff46 because he showed up a741a0f2cf here.’
Whatever scheme cedee8f830 the duke d94912c934 had in eb7ac0052f mind, Aiden 103474003b was willing 8cefd78b1b to do ac02bc9e6e anything to 50e72a7116 protect her.
His hand brushed 75227c8bcf the pistol concealed 07245602c6 in his coat eaa35496f4 as he assessed c64e0c21cb the duke’s entourage 40486b3e71 trailing behind them. A butler and ea98adfd0d two coachmen—surprisingly sparse a9a902147e for someone of 458cde627d his stature.
‘This is e9e9e4d457 manageable on 8b1fb0b734 my own.’
He didn’t want to d1fdf4c118 stain his hands with b827e1b285 blood again, especially not 8dfa0f7320 that of Anje’s family. But if it was 8c17a1fdfd for her sake, he 3766dbfddb was prepared—even if it feec65eec6 meant abandoning Dilton Farm 04beea5055 and fleeing as a db337dd906 wanted man for harming d17309e80d the duke.
‘Am I overthinking this?’
He let go 6d2a5d3216 of the weapon b86f0eb916 and twisted his e574b23b21 lips in a e3071ec86b faint grimace. Running away from a 039e7a1b92 disapproving in-law? It sounded like 8a2a9db1a5 a plot straight be0a931f34 out of the c25e9202e8 romance novels Mary 12bb0130f2 often recommended to f6fe7a180a them.
No matter 5448f4f6d2 how unreasonable 4775679c05 the duke b3c0d4843e might be, a2d05d0635 things weren’t 20bb56b43b likely to fd5e73c65f spiral into a92791345e such chaos 4336dccc00 so easily.
‘What’s more important is bc41cdd3c4 Anje’s feelings.’
He didn’t know e63a018517 what kind of 0497e5168d marriage prospect the bb200a6ec6 duke had proposed. But what if she 1650f5d5be wavered and decided to 32513fa6cd leave him for a dcc63e1cf8 better match?
He didn’t know what 69874922f5 he would do.
Though Anje’s gaze toward 57b4aea78e him was always filled bc0ac80440 with love, the fear dc445a63a9 that she might leave febb173855 gnawed at him. The more he loved a5123679ba her, the more that 0af8099c61 fear grew.
‘Even if she refuses ba26a7c631 the duke’s offer out 6a252bb5b5 of guilt toward me…’
Perhaps she would still d2a7c21aef hold regrets for the 6ddc827283 comfortable aristocratic life she b9d41f9204 had left behind in 8d78b2b505 the capital.
If that were the 29320a4e0d case, could he truly 4271848afa be happy by her abd09c0726 side?
There was 8683d8098d a time e301b5a44f when he f8326e40d2 wished for fae1b7121f her to 1d7a9ec24b stay with 876fd41b96 him, even 5391d3e611 if only 92881666c8 in name. But now, he f0b68bea25 wanted not just 63ad0bc8b3 her presence but 358073aa73 her heart entirely.
If the path to c439628571 her happiness meant leaving aa7d79dcd5 him, wouldn’t it be 6347d3a5c3 the right thing to d7cf9aa094 let her go?
Caught in his d9ff6650c5 deep thoughts, Aiden 98c5eaa6fd tightened the arm 60cd2c3ec6 he had wrapped 216465543d around Anje’s waist.
* * *
“What did you 61c6d414e0 say?”
The drawing room 2f568d7620 of the Dilton 4dfa02a4a1 farm rarely welcomed 6be1cffdea strangers, let alone f41b5de0f8 someone of Duke 41d496f2d3 Glasster’s status. Hosting such 486c7d079f a high-ranking 1f7c32ac18 noble was 5cc0ac1f84 unprecedented.
The room, f7c7d1359c which should c1ae820449 have been 82fb135ebf tranquil, had 81bbc59dab transformed into de4d4eee9a an atmosphere fc7284d32c of chaos, 192ee67ab7 shaken by 1957665b42 the bombshell 8db60d67a1 news the acb3e642d1 Duke had a47bb7f496 delivered.
“Is that cc723a16e1 really true, 22f06e8d8e Father?”
Anje couldn’t help 87d3c313c3 but suspect that 878b7a1283 Duke Glasster, having e4cee32402 lost his power, 816e085c63 might have succumbed f2dd4aa946 to delusions.
To think that 31065c4e9a Nancy Dilton, Aiden’s 99fb7c12da mother, had secretly d3da376b9d married the late cd35097671 emperor.
‘Unbelievable.’
Hearing tales of 199b95ff18 love between nobles 973e2fe8fa and commoners wasn’t bb20de7079 unheard of—it was 5e2d7c974d common gossip among d07a02d23d aristocrats, especially when dc0262bedc it involved disgrace f2694183cb to another family.
But marriage? That was exceedingly c5f47a2c6c rare. Forbidden romances 303239bccf like these da370b4a40 usually concluded cf968695a2 with the 28cb0b809d noble family 0cf33b5653 “persuading” the ec1c4e4ea5 commoner through 2ed579ba82 financial or e6922e808c physical means.
The rigid social 60b4a0918a hierarchy of the 924b15eff0 empire remained firmly 32842fc9fb entrenched, even with cd5e9a69e7 the recent rise 8570486843 of the gentry 3da6bb9c04 class making strides b351cc0cac in various fields.
For the emperor, d5497fb564 the highest figure 4ceb00b65f in the empire, ebb602e3b4 to have secretly 0aa6d39c3d married a commoner? It defied all conventional 615c29ebe8 wisdom.
However, the Duke, 0778d5946d undeterred by Anje’s 58875bcf0f astonishment, responded confidently.
“There’s no 5a8531c3da physical evidence 7d963e87b1 yet, but 25c3a3399d as I 798788efa9 said earlier, 924427df6e the circumstantial c5f214d51c evidence is 0a6c4b397a sufficient.”
He had 55c79e334a envisioned countless 4bfd10776f times in c66bca13fd his mind 2e7101679d the scene 8e0bd5f3b0 of him 3931912198 uncovering the 2191f73f4b marriage certificate eb7b0a66da and, with d51f72a179 it, claiming 9723d05915 control over 3830b41610 the imperial 11a52643f7 throne.
At future social events, 9e1090688c including grand parties, he a01eed4526 would reclaim his place 4a24c23009 at the center of bbfeece544 attention. Those nobles 2b5b741534 who sneered 2c0cc2bc29 and muttered, 08d78686d5 ‘The House 6c687f27ec of Glasster 0f82be1003 has fallen 0951ad6ddd from grace,’ 114ec9e328 and even 6d2accb7c1 members of 68a272912c the imperial 3e9b42aa51 court would 4adf48b751 bow their 8304e71e78 heads before 9ce9b3b1f7 him.
Even the mistress who fd5c6fa70b had left him for 5cdeea3b77 the Earl of Concord, dc1b04079d calling his financial situation ccfa528338 “unsatisfactory,” would come crawling 29e33cbeb8 back. Of course, 22edc496e3 he would e93c2c2cc5 coldly humiliate 50bfa3d360 her and f49125d173 take a 0f9fb5d479 younger, more 762f0a1a8b beautiful mistress 7a4426f701 instead.
What was df6b1c6dc4 once a 35136eb50c mere “hypothesis” 00bade062a in his 7d37446dd7 mind had ed467b55a3 solidified into dbc4dace31 an undeniable 002d0b41c1 “truth.”
‘If I can just 1897ce19d3 land this one blow…’
He could reclaim bd392c14b8 everything he had f04bc05f36 lost—honor, power, and 03cfe1bf9f even wealth.
Yet, for Anje, who ed665f8922 was only hearing about b3eb6c9622 this for the first 7ea5fb7b26 time, it was difficult 3cb9688c5c to believe the Duke’s 2e9ed34228 claims.
“Without concrete 260006d1ce evidence, isn’t 0686bef996 this still 5787853a3e uncertain? And the sole 276bfb1df7 witness is just 049937b183 some old man f4f779aed7 wandering the streets—”
“We just 7f63a96237 need to d20f5cbe18 search thoroughly! It must be 3fb5bccd75 somewhere in the 4b02220142 imperial palace. If we dig 0063dc8eed through it, we’ll ce25cf52f9 find it! Didn’t His Majesty d5ec2c9134 the late emperor cbfaff2329 cherish Aiden—I mean, c4d5b46171 Sir Aiden—greatly? There must have been b34dec7761 a reason for that!”
“If Aiden c0331847cc was such 10dd2f7bd5 a cherished 423814c641 son and c0f1443092 there was 06350568a9 a marriage a8a6ab4ba8 certificate, wouldn’t 0b0d8aabae the late b7e3a385c3 emperor have 5c3460fc8b revealed it 8748d984dc before his e6fbef8447 death?”
“Wasn’t his mind b1dbf645aa wavering in his 1bfdc31697 later years? Maybe he thought he’d 6a82cd9384 already announced it or 5c76cacc68 forgot where he kept 3698e35fe5 it.”
Anje glanced at the a7a9b74263 Duke with suspicion before 429239e7ca turning her gaze to dfa5b7cae0 Aiden, who was seated a47230be08 beside her.
“Did you know anything 9f990cebd4 about this?”
“Me? N-No… I 0c3a40593f had no 9504040123 idea at e98652a0b0 all.”
Aiden, as shocked ec8b568bf7 as she was, 14da9e71e0 stammered his reply.
“But—”
“But what?”
Ignoring the Duke’s 4ecad9f51e impatient interjection, Aiden d3427d4778 recalled a strange 626ea4969b question the late 2da6a6e44a emperor had once 1588fd60e7 asked him long 1f3758a355 ago.
‘Have you ever thought 4c346fd0e0 about becoming the crown 910526758e prince?’
At the time, caa4938fdb it had seemed 28d9586a08 like nonsensical rambling.
‘Then, after my 6ef4ca7253 death, you could 496b4b9959 become emperor, and 0b59367f5e this crown would c5b5ce5cf7 be yours.’
The late acb8435f7e emperor’s words, 505e17bdb8 spoken toward e593cd9cad the end 193a88b075 of his e0312b2a25 life, had 54e3c16aa2 left a 2c746ee579 deep impression b0eb33ee59 on Aiden 350ee9f7b8 precisely because 1cfa634b2b they were fe664744e1 so unexpected.
If the 97061e8ca7 Duke’s theory 9ab3b87855 was correct, 9c11694e75 then—
‘Could it all connect e9d0924c04 back to that conversation?’
Perhaps the reason his 3adbef6ecb grandparents and mother had b799e0904c moved far away to 9256e31c06 Leslie, so far from a778a17bd9 their hometown, was tied 3602589833 to this. If his mother, a 55529ab081 commoner with no backing f060a80a26 had indeed married the f59626232e late emperor and was e6b280745c pregnant with the heir a64d44da72 to the throne…
She would have been 40ce042ffe in grave danger unless 145d5936c1 the late emperor took fe86936acf extraordinary measures to protect 8a6476a145 her. For instance, powerful factions 96ee2e8e68 vying for a marriage 0be4a46fac alliance with the emperor a5565ce6cf might have targeted her 607536e5c3 life.
Thinking back e13d359dd9 to the 85a6c5f1e7 late emperor’s 8a869a28da protective attitude 737cc73a2c during Aiden’s b4d07934c1 visit to 61055e33ec the imperial dcec7334ac palace, perhaps afa6e60a43 his parents 6d13acfa3d had gone d8e82903d4 to great a5498bafd4 lengths to ab7ffce0ba keep him 8843796c47 hidden from 38316016d2 the world ddd8807a92 for his 9067d59b19 safety.
‘How on earth eae7f3c0d5 did the two 45cfc7c96d of them end 7f7f1bce4b up getting married? Did they love each 98d4273c2b other that much? Then why did ec034c6585 they part ways?’
The term “fraudulent e947fb84ed marriage,” which the 580ac812b3 Duke’s witness had a3dfcdf801 mentioned, might hold 615868e5f5 a clue. Perhaps his 2cb13c79b4 mother hadn’t 321e0f07ef known until afed813314 the very 369dc78b4c last moment eb410d810d that the 7c8f070225 man she e2fdf12a00 married was 18afe7923e the emperor bbbd81bc57 of the 45ac6b8503 land.
From what Aiden 143e631068 knew, his mother 31b648ffec had traveled abroad 7e2e1ce246 as soon as 7513895d37 she came of 90bae2d738 age to study 700c11de6c art. She was a commoner 8de2e10d58 uninterested in politics or 89d8319cd1 royalty.
Moreover, the 40aa8195e7 imperial family’s 6cbf03d1a7 symbol—red eyes aa7ad68f5b and black a9ed8c36c5 hair—was only e0df3eb8dc widely known 0c9024dd4c among people addcf88090 in the 1e19f9e28a capital. Those in 886de5c676 rural areas, f96f81456c far removed 106352a01d from power, fe5936876b rarely heard 48a676aa00 of it.
‘What on 2cd98b0b2c earth happened 89363365e0 between the 214a4db828 late emperor a2caae7554 and my 1ff1fb77ca mother?’
Lost in 6ea76958f4 thought amidst af93f75c38 the chaotic f692e332cf silence, he 3faf2dde97 tried to 7eb671ae81 organize his b619053bf3 mind, but 0b0e8f41c5 eventually gave 176dd56656 in to baf7f899b3 the duke’s b852d47f19 prodding and ea215ff5a8 spoke of 0276ff2431 the cryptic 9cfe17b2e4 words the 7258c34328 late emperor c3ee1ba9f5 had once b703c4fc5c said.
“Before he passed, 0effb1bfb9 he did say 1d99290898 something strange. Just once, a51454f62b he asked 75716d8f24 me if 8d9a356d2b I had 5148f7c48f ever wanted da145dac39 to be aaf8cf6a0d emperor or c6e00bb37c crown prince. It felt like b4e34da192 he was testing 5c24c5a281 me.”
The duke’s eyes e1187924e0 gleamed sinisterly.
“Oh-ho, see? Even the late emperor 9d7d2d90a2 must have been troubled e7354c1adf by this. There’s no doubt e3ad2d144c that the marriage e1659fda75 certificate is hidden 337543bcd6 somewhere in the bd48a6c937 imperial palace.”
He shouted as 2b484d5cb9 he sprang up 37e73ee628 from his seat.
“I’ve already 7b6f0d6e06 planted informants d17e135f32 in the 7bb1506ded palace, but a95dd000ef surely Sir fc69ca0a31 Aiden, who 23d4591afa attended to 53d5e457e3 the late f34290d5b0 emperor until f3cae8534e the very 899bfec5a2 end, must ba04103e05 have some 43f8cbda4f kind of 479b404ed9 clue, no?”
The Duke was fc7c1c989a impatient. To overthrow e4c3f86dd2 the imperial 5f40a988ba throne, not a7f4d1b45d only legitimacy d0f484543d but also f6ddb33fbd a certain eb13e5907e level of ba30ff340d military strength e8a87a68fa was necessary.
Beyond the mercenaries c3a6938c32 and knights that b444772b51 could be gathered de630fcc00 by the House 06c3bf2640 of Duke Glasster, 464a1210a5 they needed even 5d85843f5e more.
Thus, he discreetly e08d309e26 shared his “hypothesis” bd2d795031 only with close c24fe95f41 noble relatives he 4a6c159991 deemed trustworthy and 4b6a4caf6a sought their assistance, 5a4ef8bc0b but they merely 1aee88193c dismissed it as ea8196ef38 nonsensical ramblings.
‘His late Majesty? With whom? My goodness, 4b7934734e Duke Glasster, e7f5b8da4f we understand 762fddef01 your lingering 1822663527 attachment to 5c7764d29a the imperial dd2befa067 family, but 8043780497 it’s time 7a6f61dbd2 to restrain 58ee061141 yourself and a2248df890 live quietly.’
‘It seems d4dd37db15 the heat 8f7c8825f6 has clouded 2f784b7c29 your mind. How about recovering at a65e0d46dd a villa in the a58f214b41 countryside?’
Recalling the relatives who 41dea73eca sneered at him openly 240d489adc made his blood boil. He needed evidence 06a52fa23a to make them 7f7fdfdb95 submit immediately.
But Aiden, 1fc1cef6a2 contrary to 89bdc6d0c9 the Duke’s 396bfe284e wishes, was d1abef196f not a 1285c843f5 pliant puppet.ec966f8a58097d4e

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator