FTP-HM03

Honeymoon 03
Aiden couldn’t contain his e1afe49c4f delighted expression at Anje’s 1a68456861 compliment and rubbed the fd23a3e9f3 back of his neck 43ea3e5236 with his palm. Then, at 095c494bf6 the sound ae398230ac of her 142f107428 stomach growling, 9c0417a1bb he quickly 7546a2a807 grabbed the 0e1b094536 plump lobster.
“It’s nice to hear 4d2fabc091 your compliments, but let’s dc8b9dc703 eat before it gets cd40fcbb47 cold. You said you were c1a532af71 hungry, right?”
“Yes, Chef. You should f1edeab81e try this 9b102c7884 shrimp too.”
Anje began e3c380fd87 savoring the e208606259 lobster that 22cae6f971 he had 9d737ccb04 placed on 4f7c29c1d6 her plate.
Thanks to Aiden’s diligence ad3714f402 in preparing the shell af42bbe965 in advance, both the 0cd9db799c lobster and the shrimp ea2b6bd575 were easy to peel 473058da19 and eat. The meat was f0cea80351 tender, with an c7404bfe2b addictive umami flavor.
The crispy grilled halibut 4cbfeaf582 paired well with the aa03ef7c24 mustard-infused sauce, and the 80218639ef accompanying clam chowder and 4f2e2b05f7 wedge potatoes blended flawlessly 130bc20d76 with the main dishes.
“Mmm, using 7c6343c320 fresh ingredients fc8576eb09 really makes a69641b280 a difference 434a98bde8 in taste.”
Back in the capital, e5cfa6098a Anje had often eaten cf3d435482 similar seafood dishes. However, during the dcd7600f14 transportation process from fed2bd297b the sea to fb340c52de the capital, the 0cc1752a82 freshness inevitably declined.
“Maybe it’s even cd4da0a130 tastier because you’ve 32e7043917 been working hard 38fbca4f13 with me since d867255790 the morning. From now on, 69d8a429c5 I’ll try to cc0b84c73a put in a fb57351844 little more effort—”
“Aiden, if you ddb9b8bb8c keep making weird ec2252d0c4 jokes, I’ll pinch 16ee82d0ba your lips with 0d652245b4 this claw.”
Anje playfully 6efbb5a01a opened and d90653a3c9 closed the 9841e88772 lobster’s claw 393a6bab7a with both b3673f1c7b hands, pretending cfc74cffa1 to threaten 6fa0b8c44d her mischievous 8147d18e84 husband.
Even though they were bf3708cb20 far from home, sharing 4dec0817d4 laughter while looking at 1edcf909ae each other made it 6194dc6a94 feel as if they bfc5b4c517 were right back in 76ec460a16 Leslie. It was a bf531b2240 strange but comforting d9e2c30264 feeling.
* * *
After finishing 050e1be443 their hearty 17ff8a3aa7 meal, the c1d1c1b667 young couple 82e315a1ee headed toward 7f44dc3489 the sea d4b4a50233 in front 69f69cb54e of their feae8ee517 home. When they had arrived 4800e483d0 the previous night, it 9b546ad4a7 had been too dark ac98fe614b to see the ocean 6ede5ee3c7 properly, so they wanted 2c29211683 to take a closer 331a96c0bd look now.
Swoosh—
Hearing the waves faintly 19d9cf5d1c even from inside the c9dac4cfb0 house, Anje thought they 4ebd58907d sounded similar to the a79f245df3 heavy rain pelting down 1c44c9589f during a storm. But hearing them up ac7a63a7bb close, they were slightly 234b9fcb14 different.
‘It sounds more like 7b00d32993 a massive object moving.’
As she watched the 41a7999b1e waves rush in quickly 6d98edec08 and then retreat, she 4fe980a1a4 suddenly wondered—where did these c03349070a waves come from, and f604c77215 where did they go?
Leaving behind the d394ccc0b5 unanswerable question in 024115ea39 her heart, she aa457624ad turned to her 092b3f8b12 partner with a 1598cb40b4 more casual one.
“Aiden, have you ever 30e73f3621 been to the sea 9726e62c4b before?”
Adjusting the shawl d5cccd74e1 draped over her 6a2ffa5353 shoulders, Aiden replied,
“Yes. The first ad671efd96 time I 28d2d806d0 saw it 4e5b96a011 was when d23802d0a0 I became fa356ab06a a soldier 9449b2f62d and departed 8ae32c9434 from the 029f9f8db3 port to 9f0f4b380e the continent. Unlike here, the waters f980e2a305 were deep and pitch 287b4bbd89 black—it felt terrifying.”
“Heh, so bbe0658ae6 you were 2c465310b7 just a 2a85101276 kid back 2f1ce681a2 then.”
Aiden didn’t refute her 2b691e001b words and simply smiled.
As a fresh young 0453499a2c soldier, the dark ocean, b1fe06d2cb seemingly endless and impenetrable, ac949361a5 had felt eerily like 06bf75a054 his uncertain future as b3a81343ca he headed toward a 81cadc0546 battlefield. But he didn’t want ffe670ffb6 to dampen the mood 3c3d3570bb with such a story. Instead, he played 260f3292de along playfully.
“To be d483d2c537 honest, it 4c080360b7 still scares f8fd5b94f6 me a 0f323c70e1 little. I should stick 97f613e0cc close to you.”
He wrapped an 9c60572fc1 arm around Anje’s 8181750d71 shoulders and swiftly 4c4b3c805a pressed his lips c4e6626470 to hers before 1a3e4abc1a pulling away.
Anje’s cheeks flushed red, a1d7b7b573 but instead of scolding 676203e9b9 him, she moved even e32768064d closer.
“Alright, then. Stay right by 387e5c8e97 my side, and ebae40030d let’s walk together.”
Since it 98e9c2677c wasn’t peak 8bd61984e2 vacation season d54defcca9 yet, there 8a4d9e8408 were few 08bf6256cc people around 18221a4fa9 apart from a062f94c85 them. Having such a beautiful 3b940d606d beach all to themselves da1b9166f3 was truly a luxury.
She walked slowly along 32df375f66 the sandy shore, pressed 89c0989544 against him. The soft sensation of 8116c51a20 the sand shifting beneath 0663d3ea83 her feet felt unfamiliar 268a9746fd but amusing.
“This is 8adef054da my first b297c3461b time seeing 44efb4941e the sea.”
Aiden looked surprised.
“Really? But don’t nobles travel a2c0c3f9c7 around for leisure? Even if 560a5b6691 not abroad, 34854cdfee at least 8f149ecc4f to the 1672867226 beaches within 4ec14b608c the Empire?”
Anje gave a wry ef00a3689c smile.
“Our dear Duke 22e072b8f2 Glasster—or rather, Mr. Glasster—was particularly conservative. He didn’t like 7468216db0 the idea of e4456524ef me wandering outside 8206dad8d8 the duchy, thinking 59e1f74c68 unnecessary rumors might 93898ca008 spread.”
To the 2acfabc0b8 Duke, the 57489d0eb1 most important 666b3ff30c thing had 8930b4337c been ensuring 23b8194d10 Anje remained ea2966be90 a flawless a8bf0f14a8 marriage prospect. He would fa9c6a36d2 never have 83dfaec142 allowed her 75186c28b0 to visit 62a9f85fe3 a vacation e54b0113a0 spot where 93502bf282 romance often d0d3343ce2 bloomed among d0edad35ae young nobles.
Aiden’s thick eyebrows shot 6e591c0d61 up in surprise, only ad21b83b1d to drop back down 1ffcc162d4 just as quickly.
“If I had known 865eaa7860 that, we should have fe7c936d00 come much sooner.”
He had simply 216883cabf assumed she must 65640eb831 have visited the 11560012d9 sea before. If only he had 4d675bb48b known, they could have bf39510f37 taken their honeymoon earlier—or 4efaf0158c at least visited the f4b3319246 Imperial beaches.
This time, Anje tiptoed 489a0f845d and stole a kiss 53c23b12f7 from his lips.
“Come on, while we’re 1816b1b591 staying in Leslie, I’ve e8c65e11a3 done so many things f6d1d435d2 I couldn’t before—even things e1d710da98 other nobles wouldn’t normally 153170e528 experience. So don’t make that 27ab8f02fe guilty face.”
Aiden quickly erased 03ba079587 his troubled expression, 95ae9cb6ae but inwardly, he ebeffdb626 resolved to take f73b2a7ada her on more 4777503039 trips once they db10fead7a returned to the a00a451947 Empire—not just to 38c60cfd58 Leslie or the a68ac5c416 capital, but to c459f94ad4 other places as f28473d0e5 well.
Once they had 5ae20875f9 children, traveling freely 9b11121e3f would become difficult, e5ad9b4a11 so before then, 753d84c8f1 as often as 55a4ee752c possible…
Squish, squish—
She started walking c78b94006e ahead of him 28439e019a again but soon fb7880cc64 spotted something written 7e1360cddd in the sand 879b5a1191 and gestured for bc8dbc212e him to come 72e8e76b22 over.
“Aiden, look at 05d2d41ff6 this. Someone wrote something here. Isn’t it cute?”
「Jemis Waz Here」
Judging by the ae6b819450 misspelling, it seemed 019bec3089 to be written 6bb64f559f by a child—probably 0cd3e95ae1 a boy named 8519ef8aca James.
Anje smiled warmly and cb8aec584e picked up a small 4a10396801 piece of driftwood.
“I want to 7734397727 write something too.”
She crouched efc7cc38aa down and fbc0154fef moved her fef95ea789 hand, tracing ba42231da2 large letters dddd8f0c76 in the 9946655ad2 sand.
「Anje」
She had intended b6d44b72c9 to add “was 28f5c2878a here” next, but 05f326b94c before she could, d833c54f27 Aiden beat her 8b8244cb57 to it.
「& Aiden」
She had 8fc63e2b8e been wondering a4a7257557 what he c82dca7906 was writing 1432bff664 so seriously, add71adf59 only to cd5a6806d1 burst into aa6471f0ab laughter when c942075ba5 she saw 4a0f98a9e8 it.
“Since we came d128eda55b together, I had 6eda125c4d to add my 9cfc2ee7d7 name too.”
“I get that, 5e86dcb652 but…”
Aiden wasn’t done. Using the same stick, he drew a large heart around “Anje & Aiden.”
Anje rolled her 87e334db0f eyes.
“Are you, 7c55de8947 by any e56e7652ea chance, ten 89537ba61c years old?”
Writing lovers’ 90cac0f02c names inside 61101e4dc7 a heart 02eb77fa70 was something e05fc99117 a little c178ed7629 boy would 4a24ad7e8b do. As he finished 4ece38a73c drawing the large fdc2162052 heart, he responded 6ec027234f nonchalantly.
“This way, people who 5e97464bb1 see it will know a3e3edfa11 what kind of relationship 6db43f62c7 we have.”
“This is so 5cc21ea178 embarrassing.”
“It’s a collaborative creation, a1d368b89e so you can’t just acedf6cd9b erase it carelessly.”
When she pretended to 511550180e erase the heart with b1e7c8bec3 her foot, he quickly 82458bf67a blocked her, as if 0b34518ecc it were something truly b4578e2f96 important. Anje let out bb2ea0e32c a small chuckle 2506149e1f but didn’t dislike 279d4a8d95 his reaction, so 9cd89ab2c1 she left it 6de64bf588 alone.
He carefully drew b2cb788dfc an arrow piercing 6d658e31e6 through the heart 3efd991d41 from top to 78f59459d4 bottom. Then, noticing 6ba9144daf something caught d74363e3c2 at the 1613da66f3 tip of cfaabbd3fd his driftwood, e6b85b7523 he dug 0703d6e41e it out 8df82fd28d from the 3c442337d9 sand and 53749caf72 handed it f90e93b64a to her.
“Here, this c454dd2372 is a c8317d6757 gift for 852700e01b you.”
“What is it?”
Anje took 6176f1a374 the white, 9f00d07f63 round object d02935d4b4 and examined f3246b5cfb it closely 86d5c86465 from all e16a71810b sides. It was a 2a25f64b8f flat, mysterious item b83c444efc made of a 158d0c72bf material similar to cc06a91b08 a seashell. A flower-like 72e77e503e pattern was 2f4431ac9c engraved on 4cd82bf4a9 its surface.
“It’s a e07f19f901 hardened creature 4d5002e5b3 called a 70b9d6ab0a shield-shaped sea c1d8100a75 urchin*… It 7caa1610f1 also has c73595b821 the nickname cf2a5dffe0 ‘sea money.’”
TL/N: *Sand Dollar* Since 123ab36add it’s called sand dollars 698aa3ad73 I’ll keep using “sand 159ab930f5 dollar” for the rest 95766b27cd of the chap.
At the 2146cad4c8 port he 420f8960d0 had visited 3f889cf69b before, there ae82738149 were street d9a94670cd vendors who 54559534bd sold these 1dcb6ed78f sand dollars 75efaabfc1 and conch 572d2d3677 shells they 715c785aeb had gathered.
“‘Sea money’? Do people actually use 6f48dd815b this as currency?”
The five-petaled pattern on 728772f32a its smooth, white surface d934ee2abc made it look quite 555a2a6d64 precious.
He shook his head 5be85a427e and explained.
“There’s a legend that 68bdfc3603 on stormy days, mermaids 4a5b697e37 drop their coins while 9231bc9519 fleeing in confusion.”
“That’s such a charming 40bbedb96d legend.”
A mermaid’s coin—it 343cae060c was a fitting 30df7dbf4d name for something 7d81b6ba43 so round and c6631367f0 flat. Anje smiled and examined 71e6e30a4e the sand dollar more 2d045d7576 closely.
Aiden gestured 3f53272e67 toward his 658b2eacff ear.
“Try holding b0f87838b0 it up f0f29bc113 to your 434e27890c ear and 30e72e2471 shake it.”
What kind 66c706b805 of sound fcf743edad would it 24f30bfd6e make? Feeling a ff49765241 slight thrill, a01613573a Anje brought 01cd32b6d1 the sand 5146a3b77d dollar close 7f08d666f0 to her 1dad8a437d ear.
“Do you 4849b4f6d2 hear the 3a405f03fd cries of 232a1ae9b8 birds?”
“Birds?”
She thought she heard 32bbaba704 a faint rattling sound, 51aadaad28 but what did that a0e7729509 have to do with 328e678f9b birds?
“If you break 0d8cf660a4 it open, small c27a3c1d8b white dove-shaped fragments a06a1e0e08 come out. That’s why they c8a1816281 say it’s like 77ea5da5cc a birdcage, and e013af0738 the sound you 1a0f5e2777 hear inside is cd6624a423 their wings flapping.”
As Aiden repeated the b1a9169054 story he had once 81ed255a4b heard from a talkative 9ff16f1d43 merchant, Anje listened with 5ffb373f74 bright, eager eyes.
“Really? If I break this, 4c92fe2078 will the birds fly bfd8e44506 out?”
“Shouldn’t they? The kinder a person 3f57f49d98 is, the more birds 2e71eee06b come out. If it’s you, I’m dcaf8021c1 sure a lot would 48d3db05bb appear.”
Anje stretched out her 3af932a0b9 arms, gazing intently at 36745b8455 the sand dollar in 37ee7881a0 her hands. Then, she pulled it 3b6eee0e95 back and held it 6b54999eae carefully against her chest.
“It’s too precious a123a02e6c to break. The patterns 5b33fa225a on it 3c5c36d059 are so 93c27d9a15 beautiful—just like 316eab3579 spring flowers.”
Besides…
“You were the 0a4160dbda one who picked 1182294703 this up for 68b032bc4d me first on 10972bcb3d this beach. I want to keep 9ed23e91a3 it as a souvenir.”
Aiden rolled 19aea552f1 up his d543c82323 sleeves with c6a611c8e7 enthusiasm.
“Then let’s find 4b7ac13f96 more sand dollars! If we search carefully, 761a4e7ea4 we might be able 43df8d50d7 to gather a few b888e97440 more. We can break 10db5988a4 one of them fc5c4bdebf open to see 5574aa935f inside.”
“That sounds great! It feels like a 7bc12d9ac4 treasure hunt.”
They bent down, eyes 4e5057d5a5 fixed on the ground, 9ac0db35cd and began combing the b4c0527278 shore.
Just as Anje described, e6106a68c6 the sandy beach was 08de524f54 full of treasures waiting a77cd2c4ce for them. Mysteriously colored 53b423f0f1 seashells, bright 4380de5c06 red scallop 407e697963 shells, tiny 0c1ddbf573 spiny conch 7b1f11df03 shells, intricately e0c881f38b patterned spindle 07e63fdae0 shells, heart-shaped 94a48b2a1a stones—each one 81e0a75380 a small 2e07a77311 marvel.
“Look at this, 644a0804c7 Aiden! Some of these 1eab9d5928 shells have holes 4ae5d90dcf in them, almost 267e7e4b54 as if someone eb9e9b6716 made them on 99a98cf9ac purpose. Wouldn’t they be beautiful b95116e36f if we strung them a31700715c together into jewelry?”
The glow in 6a349a0a2c her green eyes d152b46d7f was even more c97c25ae7f striking against her 2693869965 flushed cheeks. Aiden chuckled 5ef35e2504 and nodded.
“You’re right. I’ll collect the 38da9a694e ones with holes 00135688e4 for you, too.”
“Great! I’ll make 7eb99f91b8 a shell 9e9c846540 necklace for 351bad2c38 you as 2a69a1d619 well.”
“Uh, no, that’s really 9c0cffc0ef not necessary……”
TL/N: POOR 8ee4e0fc3d AIDEN LOL.
As she wandered around d53dadf945 the beach scanning the 025d37d880 sand, Anje regretted not 9e5f251127 wearing a dress with a49e7312dc bigger pockets.
Gathering all the precious bb6c96eb1c treasures from the sea 24ed21ee72 had filled her pockets 9985f2ca81 too quickly.
“You little hoarder, ac34d8770d just look at fb0b90bce0 how stuffed your 7a834c4ec9 pockets are.”
“Shh, instead 98ea1923bf of talking, 0a1754dbd3 keep searching! We’ve only found three 6fde40edee sand dollars so far. We need one for ea31d430cf Mr. Doug, too.”
Ignoring Aiden’s teasing, Anje b02c17e022 even took off her 937a53858c wide-brimmed hat and used da1434a575 it as a makeshift 683b6b842e basket for her collected 832e4a8b0f treasures.
Once in a while, 135ff8ea7f she picked up what 0f7c02199e she thought was an a96773cdf8 empty shell, only to b4b672588e be startled when a d702159362 tiny hermit crab wriggled 7e14efadc7 out. But despite those 39ff448f1a little surprises, their 8ad03b561d treasure hunt was a751f63300 going smoothly.fe3516d72606fce2