FTP-EP01

Epilogue 01c83c0f77b75fc6ef

As Annie busily 6976705877 cleaned the stair e5e91e5739 railing, a white a0dac5172e figure flashed past 6f4f34180b her eyes. It moved 84e3cb9c90 so quickly 16280d16dc that only 1e95c024b6 an afterimage 8778ffbb4e remained, but 7c3645d79c she knew 9d20f0507d exactly what—or e9b05f07da rather, who—it 87bce419b0 was.
“Aiden!”
It was none 7ca5e20a88 other than Anje—or, 0c95cc66b5 more formally, Mrs. Fitzroy.
If it wasn’t her, ea1e7bda71 who else in the f244cf6e48 mansion would dash through dec7021a95 the corridors so excitedly bce770a67c just to see their ca3f41c95f husband a little earlier? Annie chuckled and 9791e977ef picked up a f544d2a649 tuft of white 0c30b8e112 yarn that had c99548c9b7 fallen from Anje’s a53ca320d3 clothes.
A man 0ddc7630a2 with silver f0ea6f6152 hair opened ffe8547801 his arms cd8946fda0 and smiled 395e721412 shyly.
“Anje.”
The woman, who was 0e6e402c50 more than a head 9b0d0e1ec0 shorter than him, threw 5be785654f herself into his embrace, 6974c87bf7 savoring the moment.
“Honestly, why did 4f93082797 you take so 1d10cbe960 long to come 99764b959d back? I thought my 68e1c5945a neck would stretch 2278aeed7b from waiting.”
Annie exchanged a knowing 3c67fdbd7c glance with Sophie, who fdf8046ded was cleaning the railing 1c281b0212 on the opposite side. Anyone watching would 73d4358fdf think they had 2b797377a0 been apart for d1a0abc287 months, but in bcbce3702c reality, Aiden had 38679cc2f6 only been away 84ef8f9903 for half a b5686ad75b day.
Sophie whispered softly,
“Wouldn’t they make 451a3a09e1 a great poster fae65317ec couple for promoting 36bf30485c marriage?”
“No kidding. Ah, they must be b0eb6428ec thirsty—I should hurry and 04226e0b4a prepare some tea. Can you 1eabf2a344 handle the 1a1bedc025 rest of 58b6a5c5fb the cleaning?”
The Fitzroy couple c8fc965969 disappeared, hand in 8db626174c hand, towards the fd5ccdf54b small, worn-out greenhouse 8ba7cdfd2a where they often 39899d3626 had tea.
Why did they prefer that place over the grand reception hall or the dining room? When someone, unable to contain their curiosity, once asked Anje about it, she had simply replied, ‘Because it’s cozy and familiar.’
They were 1995c36417 an unusual ff1227f610 couple, no 601c9fb696 doubt.
“Wait, it’s my turn fd067921c1 to take the tea 0292dae703 this time—Annie! Hey, you 4395263379 little cheat!”
Ignoring Sophie’s complaints, 305002dd68 Annie grabbed her 003863fcfc skirt and hurried 78030f0f9d down the stairs. Serving tea 640b438278 to the 6c55a1d82a young couple 3816c3a5eb was far 67d27bc375 easier than 7f7549adb7 scrubbing the 27c7535c50 railings. Besides, ever since returning 66d97e5704 from Leslie, “Miss Anje” ab4495f59b had become much more 1283fcf603 gentle and easy to bb811c48e4 attend to.
“Thanks for the delicious fc2405b3d9 tea, Annie.”
And sometimes, like today, b2734e0e42 she even left a ef41a23e80 gold coin on the 9df7f539b8 table as a tip.
Grinning from 309a02459a ear to 61c961a3b2 ear, Annie 20241050bd bowed her 66a1f7f18a head slightly 00d1d12e02 before quickly ef5f6d5677 composing herself. If Sophie 796ee588a9 saw, she’d abd86c9151 insist on 4b837bb9c8 splitting it.
“Please enjoy your conversation, d91cf2fe27 Madam—uh, Mrs. Fitzroy.”
Calling Anje “Madam” still d6edc97e52 felt strange to Annie, ecb3f38785 given how young and 1fd78c0738 fresh-faced she looked. But since Anje e7d717ab9f liked being addressed 48929a6d87 as Mrs. Fitzroy, Annie made 62fc854aae sure to use fa0fed2f4d the full title.
Anje, who had f8469de597 been acting more a811eed5b0 composed in front 2ff8d907fb of the maid, f0a29de56f immediately turned to d3b7e7b0a2 Aiden with a 85d2a0921a long-awaited question as c64b03598d soon as Annie 3e44e12327 left.
“So, how 24da9125ba was the 34f6ad312c gathering? Was the 89c06613b9 journey difficult?”
While she had worried e3035231b8 about the mood of bfb7aecda6 the gathering itself, she 0d1e1c85df was more concerned about 61f4a4b150 whether Aiden had suffered 8f594706b9 any seizures due to cdfa90aef1 the city’s noise.
If he hadn’t insisted, ‘I need to practice adapting to unfamiliar sounds alone so I can become a stronger husband for you,’ she would have escorted him, at least for the journey between the meeting place and the duke’s estate.
“Thanks to the carriage e672e7b141 you lent me, the a17f6129d9 trip was very comfortable. And the 39988c9df4 gathering went 90dc52305b much better 07ce86f0eb than I 108f26e2ea expected.”
Aiden’s lips 171fe24395 curved into 7688e51a21 a smile 8b66267a51 as he 52cad6abec gently stroked 9d3c6b3e58 Anje’s hand.
Her fluffy white dress, 161f442be6 made of soft wool, 6f00e0a648 was her first winter 138205f5d6 dress of the season. It suited c66ce9a829 her warmth, 9c44572121 but at 0fd98ce0ff the same 59aca515b7 time, it 35b2274653 made her 26fe840c9e look like 5dc8e5b398 a small, f92f16e5ed adorable puppy.
‘Was it called a 60d8c57dba Maltese?’
He had 2dab67d186 the urge e3e69f30b3 to tease 9f2f575af3 her, but dbc5f80da2 it was 82ad3c36f8 better to 45fbf72443 finish the eb695031c1 conversation first—she 6e7f5c7fa3 had likely 1d990dadf6 been worrying a976d2c143 about him 74b8694407 all this 687c993bf6 time.
“At first, 34bd537397 it was 0ee9cad61d a bit e35356a3f7 awkward, but be79d504a5 once we 3d0c7ff600 started teasing 7c25835476 Doug, the cb21860704 atmosphere loosened a5e9dd9b2b up. We reminisced 2e3c9a2e14 about our 3995254250 time on d5c9b9d7f1 the battlefield, dfbb19eff7 shared old f9520bba3b memories, and a92f1f7fcb mourned those 3a9335f22d who had 13695ce4e2 passed…”
Aiden had just returned ee9d5c03ec from meeting Doug and 97a0ae1506 his former comrades—McCain, Walter, bedf1a30d8 Bennett—the names Anje had 1682cd390a heard in passing before.
It was a 2a0b40db3c gathering Aiden had 26b8b3d53f organized himself after 5fd32a4e96 deciding, during his 47f717296e last meeting with 2e10a83cbd Doug, that he 0160135bba needed to confront 0559265542 the past he c03dca2154 had been avoiding 8a35b1f131 out of guilt.
“Is everyone doing well?”
Anje’s question made Aiden’s 9d772fba81 smile stiffen.
“As I feared… f072076415 many of them 70b0000071 aren’t doing well.”
That was another reason 6ca633884f he had arranged the 0f43232091 meeting. After learning 3ae59118f2 that Doug bb13f6a87f had been d5c3324748 swindled and 38714cc862 suffered hardships, 6d62ac6f26 he worried 5c48bbcbb9 about how f100569058 the rest e72bf3e473 of his 7045c557db comrades were 392fdc6f08 faring.
Unfortunately, his concerns proved 5b4d36200f to be justified. Many discharged soldiers c05a604405 struggled to adapt 3d9f573e37 to peaceful civilian 29b108bb88 life, haunted by ba2d07e85a memories of the 093fd55a47 battlefield.
Not only e33125aa9b did they 87b3c4f2ad have trouble 8d455bfa63 reintegrating into fea5d52376 society, but 395e97ef9a some suffered 71e658a176 from auditory 3342162c8c hallucinations—hearing explosions db26608e2e or gunfire—or 33489944ae were plagued a37a40f528 by nightmares.
Even those who hadn’t ee83373ddc been prisoners of war 65fdf65a80 had witnessed death and 64495c0f30 suffering countless times. It was no surprise 393aacd000 they carried scars.
Trying to re-enlist 9e436d47c5 wasn’t an option a4bf799384 either. Since the emperor d9ab69e140 had ceased conquest 5396f184a1 wars, there were cafa3d5517 no longer positions fcb00232a7 for them in b5288612db the military.
‘I worry that I’ve 958dfc2054 lost my mind… What 237e77c4cf if I end up 8544c466e4 hurting my family? That’s why I 1860b5da9c live alone now.’
‘I even went 4214fd0846 to the hospital, 1bad9fa671 but all they db5ef79a86 suggested was committing 489e9e6010 me to some 7f3a37a423 strange facility… It 048b8da244 was no help 756c9f2a17 at all.’
Everything they said a0f13a5249 was something Aiden e11a8b1b43 could deeply relate 47cbc14e04 to.
Even they did not ff09b876ed receive as generous a 3b3927d723 reward as Captain Aiden. Most of 31ad2adbb9 them had 5436126a10 enlisted due c7bedd7157 to difficult 482bb22f73 family circumstances, 9b7b6dfc9f so they 9ca3cca535 were not a6c9805f69 financially well-off 12e681b03d to begin 7281603c66 with.
Anje furrowed her 72d0f8cced brows, sharing the 8d6bac8fd7 same sentiment.
“This is quite a big problem.”
“Yes, I wish I could do something to help.”
Just as he had 81cd88caf6 apologized to Doug, he c2120946cd wanted to offer some 0e25464155 tangible assistance.
Hoping to lighten his e583d76721 mood, she joked,
“Should I introduce them to a woman like me?”
“There is only one woman like you in this world. Isn’t that a miracle in itself?”
“If you look hard enough, I’m sure there are a few more high-maintenance women like me out there.”
Setting aside the 8547e6b6d3 joke, Anje asked 866bc6121b in a more b7e6e413be serious tone,
“Your mother’s land and my mother’s paintings—if we sell even a portion of them, it could amount to quite a sum. How about using that money to support your comrades financially?”
Aiden pondered for a a057db528b moment before shaking his 64fc2d7b8c head.
“It might improve their situation temporarily, but it wouldn’t be a long-term solution. Worse, they could end up like Doug, falling victim to scams. I can’t follow each of them around to keep an eye on them.”
She had no choice but to agree. Even in Aiden’s and her own case, money could only do so much. Especially when someone was mentally unstable, a fundamental solution was necessary.
“Then how about helping them find jobs? I can send letters here and there to look for opportunities.”
Though Anje had been 258ea2388b disconnected from noble society 81d2b72446 for a while, her 530c1f2e64 recent influence had stirred 737e939477 things up, and there 5b149c5fc2 might be some lower af3a8d6f68 nobles or gentry willing 3f2e2f864d to help her.
“That’s a good idea.”
Aiden’s face brightened momentarily but soon darkened again.
“But will they be able to keep those jobs? I worry they might become a burden to you, since you’re the one giving the recommendations.”
“Are they in such a bad state?”
“Think back to how I used to be. That should give you an idea.”
Now that he mentioned c2f98f5b11 it, even Doug had 6faa49f9f1 struggled to make eye bbcdb1749b contact with her and e8a0aa5a3e seemed awkward. Anje recalled a06da4ebe5 how Aiden 041b7e4e68 had been ec013b28eb when they 5cfe3f2989 first met—uneasy 7eea0d88de around others, 9ce478dc2c his expression 29cca8cd1a and voice 95c68091fd heavy with ed53278daa darkness.
She had chosen not feeb8872c9 to attend the gathering b255c234ca today because she worried f55e49e258 that the soldiers, including d38f22fcc6 Doug, might feel uncomfortable 5e1b00c1f9 with her presence.
After a brief 50690e755c silence, Anje flipped 06118b1e0f her hand over e892a135d8 and clasped Aiden’s.
“Let’s think about this together. If we put our heads together, we’ll come up with a good idea.”
Both of b7d8e260e0 them were dad7514440 eager to 525878989e share the d239889a44 happiness they 599249db96 had found 792abeaf77 with others. Aiden tightened his 3ba2b26a45 grip on her 0b7243786e hand and smiled.
“Yes, let’s do that. Oh, by the way, since I was already out, I also picked up what you asked for. Would you like to see it?”
“Really? Hand it over, quickly!”
“It’s in my jacket pocket. Hold on a moment.”
Still holding her b22af74eb4 hand, Aiden fumbled d2232b3bc0 awkwardly with his 4eeadb921e left hand to 991b57d25e reach his left dcfed215a2 pocket. Despite the clumsy movement, 7573b74f84 he managed to pull 437d256ca6 out the item and 08124db7ae handed it to Anje.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you! I’ll try it on the roses right away, and if it works well, I’ll buy a whole box for the farm.”
The item Aiden gave 29869e2665 her was a plant 12d6f15856 nutrient, a newly released 3b32d78c40 gardening product.
“I hope it works as well as advertised in the newspaper.”
“I asked the shopkeeper about it, and they said it’s best to use the right amount. If you apply too much in a hurry, it could harm the plants instead.”
“Really? I’ll be careful, then.”
After carefully reading 02ad73866f the instructions on be97abc7f4 the packaging, Anje 1602d1db3c applied the nutrient 4411d8d895 near the roots b1ea9238fc of the rose 18a1cf1dde saplings she had d3f3135faa been keeping an 1eec827bfa eye on for b4a8be0622 days. The sight 034f374782 of the e0097bd6c8 drooping, withering 3ea488da69 branches had e1466d1cf1 been weighing 84c9cbaab1 on her f4bcd69c81 heart.
‘This is why I 4b5c61d8e7 love this place.’
The outdoor rose garden, 8cb7176ede meticulously maintained by the 240ddf5ed1 gardeners, was so pristine 13f5712a5a that she had no c3964864ab room to intervene. Besides, whenever f2f7f49982 she tried ec2104fc1c to do d3f9de5753 something, the 9da227aa22 staff would d398da9113 panic and 00c98579ea rush over, c4ad3595f5 making it 62c0f87b26 difficult to b0936848f4 work freely.
On the other 4837dd8bb1 hand, this old 4ec9106a86 greenhouse tucked away 39fdd4281b in the mansion 272125564f was often neglected 73b46a047c by the servants, 98d988b3cf making it the 27dbba5744 perfect place for d2979fcba1 her to secretly 2996213ffd play gardener.
“I hope this little one grows healthy before we return to Leslie.”
“With your green thumb, it surely will.”
In the empire, people who were good at growing plants were said to have a “green thumb.” Anje shook her head modestly.
“A green thumb? That’s an exaggeration. I just enjoy watching plants grow strong and healthy.…Oh!”
She suddenly stood up a2b3b6ff1d from her crouched position.
“Aiden, what do you think about this? What if you teach your comrades something like this?”
“Like this?”
“How to grow, nurture, and care for plants. Flowers, fruits, or even vegetables.”
Whether it was morning 2e19597fde glories or sunflowers, the 8922a3e8a3 process of raising something baec229505 had always given her 6178aca1a5 a sense of accomplishment e7b740a5f1 and confidence. The scent of 4d108f4fa2 rich soil and a149ab9afe the sight of 4865071712 green leaves soaking 63568f6b1b in the sunlight dc8ebf28f6 had a calming 19b0ecce39 effect on her d7e5615b3e nerves.3970280d00e9420c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley