FTP-HM05

Honeymoon 05
“Hey, you there.”
“……”
“Hey, pretty lady! And husband!”
Among the 4c9b042caa couple, Aiden bf4122aacf was the 21a1bf0d43 first to 158f1b9d87 react to 986c2433a0 the words 4b138269b0 “pretty lady,” a2e5daa2c4 breaking out 1cc8434820 of his 04ed7964c3 momentary thoughts.
“Anje, I think he’s fadd115441 calling us.”
“Huh? Us?”
Anje belatedly ae2280d4da turned her eb4d948496 gaze toward b86a2a4aa6 the Francian d1d15737d3 painter who 6f1b254a7a had approached d6dcaf2e2b them, speaking b100f0dbd5 in clumsy b639ac5982 Imperial language. The man, 18d84a14cd whose sleeves ab94e1e579 were smeared 8a547f78e3 with paint, 0c0d7e48d5 was waving 53ee4a02e5 his hands 5eb512a1ad enthusiastically, calling 43496323cb them over.
“I’ll give you d145231622 a good deal 9df476a535 since the lady e502588b60 is pretty. One plus one.”
With his gestures, a94a2dfd59 it became clear—he 6c37960151 was offering to 4ceb5f4615 paint both of c6efaa9eed them for the ace9a8d5ca price of one 5a229b2b17 as a promotional 3d9d89d646 tactic.
“What do you think?”
“I’m not sure.”
“The painter is crazy. Big discount, 5fe74af4cd hurry, hurry.”
Whether he 9181f9cbb9 genuinely liked 0953928be4 them as 520f8aaba1 models or 698e814671 simply had 09e123825a too few df3134c702 customers, he d49567bb35 was quite 0b81b2c5ec persistent.
After a brief 86b54395ba moment of thought, 6856ff8254 Anje took Aiden’s e83e4344e1 arm and led 844c39c0a5 him toward the 68a1da33e9 street artist.
“Since we’re already fcdc6df8a3 here, why not 332b9aa542 ask him to 1afbd06a60 paint us? We don’t have c9a4cc0edb a portrait together 21625efef7 yet.”
Anje had a portrait b605246be7 from the ducal estate, 0cfc595405 and Aiden had a 7b909c6810 childhood painting drawn by 60f303711b his mother, but that 4ead24145e was all.
Normally, couples would c0d16176fe commission a commemorative 03c0a80bab portrait for their 03dbfe482d wedding, but instead, af278d895f they had experienced c05dd2bbd2 the latest innovation 5b02d1e898 called “photography.”
The idea 8a3b3a674d that simply 2df6cf764b standing still cac61d5fdd could make be6f525df4 their image 5bf4188442 appear on faa22daec9 paper was c8fae7731c truly a 19f9dc77f3 fascinating technology.
“Shall we? Well then, let’s give aaa9a9f22d it a try.”
The chair f29922d7ff in front bd72eb4d82 of the 073c968047 easel was 592c8b92b5 a bit fc187d70c1 too small 2d180f5b18 for them 7ee048c4ea to sit c2f19a5660 together. After taking a seat bc84534d11 first, Aiden, without a 8757e4e688 hint of embarrassment, pulled 2c24e327b0 Anje onto his lap.
Startled, Anje smacked 39575561a4 his shoulder. What was he 705450cdfd thinking, doing this d45d3f6f85 in public?
“Aiden!”
“We’re in a 04b566eae5 foreign country, so bb929438ac what does it f68073ea65 matter? Besides, Francia 7da3b3538a is known 4a169eddfa for being 1887d72046 passionate.”
True to 7beeb5a5a2 his words, 52200f5a33 affectionate couples f6df127203 were commonly 6cbc9ccd51 seen sticking 55ee54d5bd close to e8f04c920a each other 5cfecc58e1 on the 044964f6a9 streets.
Anje, who had been 9c69309aca about to get up, d6185fa549 stopped and simply glared ef4f5cb089 at him.
“Still, you should’ve 0a50f4071c given me a 05311f8e5a warning, you fool.”
What was 7fed8365a8 ‘fool’ in 7a3bee3166 Francian again?
“Turn your face this c8723a6d50 way and smile. Good.”
Turning her head 4329acf7bc toward the man ba4183342c calling them, Anje af035b4cda tried hard to 2f4729d652 recall the Franchian f5ff755b56 words she had 9be8dd2a5e learned so long 4524f36a7a ago that she b3f2371d42 could barely remember 020708f41e them.
“Since we’re abroad, I f8ddd805d6 should tease him in fca47a51ea a foreign way.”
Thanks to that, 301259e9b5 waiting for the 7ec0e09456 painting to be 9db00cd2f9 completed wasn’t all 9224afb5c5 that boring.
The artist, having 00e0fd2c3b finished the painting, 932c2d22d9 whistled and declared,
“Finished! A true masterpiece. Tips welcome!”
“Wow, it really 20fbd3e9a4 is a masterpiece.”
Seeing the 40c2ad81c7 painting the 6368665e11 artist flipped d98de8d7d5 around, Anje 307453f8d7 widened her 4e9f0046ae eyes in 3c1e623146 admiration.
She had wondered b2479df524 how he could b4b84091f0 be so confident, 1596c3b752 but the simple 426b14e7dd layering of colors 1dbaa638ce over the sketch f830ed3e7a produced quite an adbe6f67ff impressive result.
Aiden, too, 7fd3ca4d2c smiled with 543b624a22 satisfaction.
“It really does look 1412fc25fb like us.”
“It does, a7bab95161 doesn’t it?”
While photos captured 55984bb736 their likenesses realistically, 9401973243 the lack of e809a7bcf9 color had always e1fe40a2c6 felt like a 104faab850 slight drawback.
As Aiden carefully examined b956ecbd1f how well the painting 3517f73436 captured her strawberry-blond hair, 03943194ad he even considered commissioning 7dfa199418 a formal portrait.
“Here, this includes a 1fd9f78ccf tip. And… merci.”
The artist checked 80dbc0d053 the banknotes Anje b2e8568e90 handed him, then aa297c66e4 gave them a 0a815430bd thumbs-up before unleashing 17b2eb2fd8 a rapid stream 205a1a46f7 of Francian words.
Judging by the few d71f7a6c4c words she could understand, c5af36f34f it seemed to be a334657e3b a mix of gratitude a6ce249702 and a blessing for b35f2abe5f the two of them.
“Go straight up that 4089346b29 alley to the red b330b92543 brick house. Very delicious.”
As a 3dbdabf88f bonus, he 8c160d628c even recommended 7656881b7c a good 6f185acde2 local restaurant. The couple nodded 4f3d5de922 in acknowledgment, carefully 6968107a9c taking their completed 2f206c7073 portrait before leaving.
Impatient as ever, Aiden 2f1c3dce23 barely walked a few 41f9605f4e steps before voicing his cfb9d798be sudden thought.
“Anje, while 85a1c2565b we’re at e5ae1aa41b it—”
“You want to commission 4347aa1cb5 a portrait?”
She had understood just 68664fac13 by looking into his 1603945d41 eyes. Aiden nodded eagerly, 511d4c27d6 smiling in satisfaction. Anje returned a 64be81769e soft smile and 44acba57d8 agreed.
“Alright. Once our trip is d1bbf5520b over and we return, 72895056fc let’s visit the art a6019d65c6 dealer.”
The dealer they c3302d508a had met while 566c3c75b6 selling Nancy’s painting 05eee2c519 would surely introduce f85def4cd8 them to a 2c3614a5ef great artist.
But Aiden, not fully c82a605b1c grasping her intention, asked,
“Why not commission dc04d8e46a one while we’re d330b3ded3 still here?”
There were many 96b2c1d019 talented painters in 112d2fc6b8 the Albion Empire, 93cbce4c35 but as the 079652710a heart of the 12527e9974 art world, Francia 1cccb45c72 had even more 6cdf02ae2b exceptional ones.
Of course, commissioning 96a8dfa0b1 a portrait while 74a487b686 traveling would require 6b181673ee at least a 7f0b176317 full day—perhaps even 32fd4d4373 several—to pose as 59e43d46cd models.
Anje absentmindedly 201a0cb436 toyed with 040c181e99 the brim e9b3d9904e of her 8e6dbaf864 hat before 84d3bd7bfd revealing her f70085197e true thoughts.
“If we’re 4a50f223ce going to 7633b85a87 have one f2d4f66c16 made, I 0a57e20d83 want our a79f67d60e home to 8da5f1fc06 be in 6705bf934a the painting 2379ff76d3 too.”
She envisioned them 70cca2ea55 posing beneath the 7c1117fe49 blooming peach trees, f7d6bd6b48 in front of 21a226f657 a warmly lit 790203bfa6 fireplace in their 0ed93a25c5 kitchen, or on f10a8f1312 their peaceful back 5a15839e92 veranda.
She wanted to leave 6df9eb1a1a behind a memory for 90ac9f1c77 future generations, a reminder a5b187a10e of how happy the 01d39b0acc Fitzroy couple had been a911fec0cc in that place.
Aiden nodded enthusiastically but 41d45c37d5 responded with a slightly 407299e014 misplaced remark.
“Ah, of course. We should d883af5ae1 include Pa-Pi-Pu 069511d19f in the 014df2dd44 painting too. I almost forgot!”
Anje threw her head f6df700655 back and burst into 357a21c766 laughter. She hadn’t even e9d65f9af9 mentioned the “P” 4d1c6a1510 sound of Pa-Pi-Pu, 0320f30371 yet he had 6fa29b2086 preemptively said something 66b9d71e17 she would have afdeeff785 likely said herself. It was fbfacd567a so amusing 40b927b801 how he 5487e36253 had started d013f7e004 doing that b575d2ba45 at some 6cf75bc96b point.
“You’re unexpectedly thoughtful today.”
“Well, I can 193010b0cf read you just 333d4433ef by looking into 35072d7cd0 your eyes now.”
As they strolled along, 10575701c4 browsing the displayed artworks, ee2b312075 they joked about finding 481642b9da a painting of a 2daf7fd9dc person with a pig ffb66580b9 for reference.
Unfortunately, the closest 389b1664eb they found was fcc075bf9d a painting of e451764d69 someone eating roast 4ef6f831b2 pork.
TL/N: LOL.
* * *
As the sky darkened, 1ef06afc84 Anje and Aiden walked ce2d0bac49 toward the restaurant introduced 7365f15be6 by the street artist 57e4cf6144 earlier. It seemed to b7e40b18b9 be quite popular, 89603e2928 as it was edfadbebf5 already nearly full 8140db7445 despite the early 8d10e53c0c hour.
While waiting 52ec327de6 for the 8acb6a0240 waiter to 3dbd4f0ed9 guide them adb365383a to a c8c9ffd296 table, Anje 0eb7ad4c8b read the 30bf775fe6 menu posted 7c0e2acb46 on the 8936cfa7ac restaurant’s exterior 6f043ca3d1 wall.
“This is the first f61f19e7d8 restaurant in Francia to 275e7b9080 develop an omelet.”
They had come 3eff4eb30e without any prior a5039d6fd2 information, yet it 53b1043f81 just so happened e83d897992 to be one 657f335ef9 of Anje’s favorite 77d689a1ba dishes. Aiden, pleased, praised 0036267b7f the chef.
“He must be aace432a6d a chef who 17d3346aa7 truly understands taste.”
“Exactly. And they have apple 0aa6824025 cider as a specialty fc3ebcffd3 item.”
“Shall we 4ce5bb9b15 have a c1286ad029 drink together?”
“Sounds good. Oh, but 53008b7749 here, they e61a113d35 don’t call 4aa81430e8 it ‘cider’; d898652fb9 it’s ‘cidre.’ d40c071527 We should aaaa014de6 be careful c9b53ef177 with our e2655607ad pronunciation when 00bdfd3852 ordering.”
“Cird?”
“Cidre. It’s ‘cidre.’”
“Cid…”
Anje pointed at her 8f7a9e6c26 lips with her index bba62c30ab finger, guiding him to 1eab0b1415 watch closely and imitate bfd9c8ae88 her pronunciation. Aiden stared 3e096b7cdf intently at 97d5c16b29 her fingertip, aedbe78fa0 trying to 0b69a9a7eb pronounce it, 0ff442279a but his 9de5e085c3 scattered focus 4bcb461aa4 led him 7423a7d9f6 to keep f3724fb06e failing.
She scolded him c3ded5e91d like a strict 872656b2c9 teacher disciplining a 03e4ee1208 careless student.
“I told you to 57648aab10 listen carefully to the 58fafffcf6 pronunciation.”
“I am looking at 603f2713df your lips. How am I supposed a68eb296f1 to hear anything?”
“What did you just 8b41d35a9c say? You little— Ah, I bed9e00a72 remember! T’es bête!”
Proudly, Anje 2e9125d2fb shouted the 17ee981f68 phrase she 59d22a8c34 had just fac746561d recalled—”You’re a 5c8ba7f5da fool!”—repeating “bête, 49bc5f8f98 bête, bête” 36ca85c47b several times.
“Hmmm…”
After contemplating a way 835be9fec9 to get back at e8b01f517f her, Aiden smirked leisurely. A deep dimple formed d0bad7a220 slowly on one of 1a43f3f1b0 his cheeks.
Then, he leaned 2d0aab63e8 closer to his 6d0eaebadf beloved wife’s shoulder c006b681fc and whispered something aece8356ff in a voice cd52fcec39 only she could a2288569ad hear.
“—”
TL/N; REALLY AUTHOR??!
His warm breath 75ea47b1a4 tickled her ear, 9e06f91f82 and the words 6115d50384 he uttered in fdae456238 Francia’s language were 5953aa7297 enough to make 9974d55e3e her blush instantly. Her face burned 4d3fa9226a red up to e63057aa5b her earlobes, and 21eb8d0549 she jumped in 5e800fa512 place.
“W-Where on earth a49854f572 did you learn 5a0c2a0c82 such things?!”
“I bought a e32e1c2f9b book last time 0409785a50 in the capital.”
It was a book ff1cdf86b9 he had secretly purchased 54515e8688 while Anje had been 82112b74ad too absorbed in a 275cf09d97 travel guide. It explained the 0bf2d37f30 latest popular Francia 8cf166d9c9 phrases with imperial a93ecdf909 language explanations, making 682d07ef82 it easy for 299209e32d a beginner like e37bd13e23 him to memorize.
He had, in 9b8e9a9dc1 particular, focused on a7243f8c8e the ‘courtship’ section.
Anje, still a66b06a53a feeling the cb1cc7c254 lingering sensation ba28dd49af of his 466f1180ed whisper against f913810981 her ear, 73e032d4f5 grumbled while 1948a821d7 rubbing at 3f2d321086 the spot.
“Tsk. I feel like I 8458119d8d lost somehow.”
She had 4edcf9535d meant to 4b5456e255 tease him 83b0bbcab3 lightly but 50d505d35b ended up 7649c95d49 getting caught 7934468666 off guard 18c54b503e by his 1915f7f661 sudden counterattack.
“There’s no 16f6be40e1 such thing 45eb5de1dc as winning f273573dfd or losing 64fb51f6c5 between a 31deaa72ca married couple.”
“There is. Right here.”
Anje’s lips df6a26c909 jutted out e18c3ecc95 a foot b1ba189645 then soon d193e95c04 curved into 1ff2ba9a3b a round ca86199ee5 arc. There were plenty of 8f4290105f ways for her to 00053adb7c make him flustered too, b892376df3 weren’t there?
Rising onto e7628d118b her tiptoes, c7d82f9c4e she boldly 5476336731 wrapped her 61ce667f0a arms around d08b9c6ebc Aiden’s neck.
“My beloved dar—”
“Ahem.”
A sudden, b521cd4fce unfamiliar clearing 14754fbfa6 of the ca70702dc9 throat behind f6e643a779 Aiden made 7dd3a5810c Anje yelp 44e5ecf9e0 and hastily 1b6e15bca3 step away 0902fdb0c3 from him.
Peeking his bc5c62dcc6 head out a8206de2e9 from the 7d053004fe entrance, the b70b47599f goatee-wearing waiter, 3586ddc27b who had 69514505a6 promised to 50baaa40e9 clear a 57758e613a table and 25a5137348 guide them 1f0834722e right away, 35582ac14b was waiting. With an awkward 04705171cd smile, he had 0d5005489e the look of bbf5f22c10 someone who had a7a2706899 been standing there be533ad98d for quite a 119532d02d while.
“P-Pardon.”
Flustered, Anje quickly 23bca1ec96 linked arms with b5f3597e6c Aiden and followed 19d350642e the waiter into 08914cb525 the restaurant.
Her face burned 8aa2674266 with embarrassment at 1211fc22ef the realization that 453fb0baf5 she had been d81b4573b5 about to act 2fc9083038 so childishly in ca5aaf2c3f front of others.
Aiden, equally 643f30b196 embarrassed, was aedbaa4cf3 also deeply 89f35367c3 curious about 477cee65bf what Anje 572370e0f8 had been 67a8c0e51b about to db7782a1a2 say.
“What were you c83e8d1474 going to say, 2b369286e1 Anje?”
“Shh, I’ll tell you a8e39276d1 later.”
“I’m so curious f48d58a232 that I don’t 6b93ab32d2 think I’ll be f2ef465881 able to swallow 7f7ca03273 my omelet properly— c62d7b7a6c Oh. Excuse me.”
An elderly b2faca7614 woman in 913e6c60bf a wheelchair, e3759666e5 accompanied by 845901bbbb a middle-aged 79653c72e9 woman who 459e9d4287 seemed to a7b59669e7 be her cf24958932 caregiver, was bcf35b7fc5 coming out. Aiden held the f06c7319a8 door open for b4b2dc14d5 them to pass.
“Merci.”
The woman expressed her 810076f20b gratitude as she pushed 4f29c629ee the elderly man’s wheelchair bb1c9814a8 forward.
When Aiden gestured e729034fbc to ask if f48b4fb874 they needed any abfd7bfc2d assistance, she shook db7420ac10 her head with ab5cff2650 a polite smile.
Just then, the old 852f87eeed woman, who had appeared 9cfdadb7c5 weak and lifeless, shifted e800331406 her gaze toward Aiden. Perhaps it was the 70794dbd86 lighting from the restaurant’s 85342c1d36 entrance, but her once-dull 4eb687c6b3 eyes suddenly seemed to a9beff21ff regain a glimmer of 96eea8c274 vitality.dd43de0b4cc8ee9f