“Besides, how on earth did it leak that I was trying to go to the North…?”
Everything was confusing. Joel pondered his next move carefully.
While he needed to investigate further, it seemed highly likely that he wouldn’t be able to move to the North, where surveillance had tightened.
If so, what if he hid in the South—where surveillance was relatively lax—and then crossed the northern border once the Crown Prince’s interest faded?
As Joel agonized until his small head felt feverish, he suddenly noticed Becky was still just holding her sandwich.
“Why aren’t you eating? Do you not like ham?”
Even in the midst of worrying about his own future, Joel asked out of concern for Becky.
Perhaps because he had been hungry for so long himself, he found himself strangely bothered whenever he saw a child starving.
There was no way she hated ham.
Should he give her the jar of honey-preserved peaches?
But he loved those dearly and was intentionally saving them.
He liked Becky, but honestly, it felt a bit wasteful to just hand them over.
Seeing Joel look dejected, Becky waved her hands in a flurry of surprise.
“N-no, it’s not that, My Lord. I just… I wanted to share it with my younger brother at home….”
“Ah. If that’s the case, then go ahead and eat. I’ll give you another one for your brother. You’re hungry.”
Watching Becky maturely look after her brother reminded Joel of Robert, who had taken care of him at Lord Bennett’s estate.
In terms of appearance and her clever nature, she resembled Robert in many ways. Joel spoke to the hesitating Becky in a gentle voice. “I said, eat up. If it gets dry and stale, it won’t taste good.”
“Thank you.”
Despite being ravenously hungry, Becky did not forget to thank Joel first.
She then began to eat the sandwich with a poised posture, showing no signs of rushing. In some ways, she seemed more dignified than Joel himself.
While Becky devoured the sandwich—which was as large as her face—Joel returned to contemplating how to navigate his bleak future.
Given the circumstances, it might have been a stroke of luck that he had accidentally come to the Southeast, far from the North.
If he had gone to the North as planned, his clumsy self would have been caught long ago.
After much deliberation, Joel decided it would be best to hide in the South for the time being.
He needed to stay here for a few days to make specific plans and gather the things he would need while living in hiding.
“Becky, where do you live?”
“Pardon? I live in that cottage over there.”
Becky pointed to the top of the opposite hill.
Sure enough, there stood a shabby cottage.
Next to it was a wide pasture marked by stakes, where herds of goats and cattle were grazing.
It seemed Becky’s family was involved in the dairy industry.
“Do you think I could stay at your house for a few days?”
“What…? I-I’ll have to ask my mother first. But I don’t think she’ll allow it….”
“Don’t worry, I’ll pay handsomely for the stay. Is your father home?”
His funds weren’t exactly overflowing, but he had more than enough to pay for a few days’ stay in a humble commoner’s house.
When Joel asked confidently, Becky shook her head and said, “No. My father works as a miner, so he only comes home once every few months.”
“Hmm. Is that so? But why work as a miner when you have all that livestock?”
“Ah… those aren’t ours. My brother works as a herder.”
“Aha.”
Joel nodded.
Indeed, if the family were wealthy enough to raise several head of livestock, the girl wouldn’t be so thin.
“Then let’s head to your house for now.”
“Yes. Oh, My Lord. May I ask your name?”
“Me? I’m Jo—”
Joel, who almost answered “Joel,” barely remembered his status as a fugitive and shut his mouth.
He blurted out the first name that came to mind.
“I-I’m Robert.”
“Robert? Wow, my brother’s name is Robert too! You can call him Rob.”
Becky clapped her hands in delight.
Joel gave an awkward laugh, thinking he should have said “Abe” instead.
Noticing Joel was preparing to leave, Jack the mule approached the wagon.
Joel reattached the wagon straps to the mule’s shoulders—which he had loosened for rest—and said to Becky, “You get in the wagon, too.”
“Wait, just a moment.”
Becky scurried off into the bushes.
A moment later, she emerged from the thicket, struggling to carry a large water jar.
Startled, Joel immediately ran to her and took the jar from her hands.
“Good heavens, you brought this all by yourself? What is your mother doing?”
“Mother is… busy. You didn’t have to help… but thank you.”
A shadow of worry returned to Becky’s face at the mention of her mother.
For whatever reason, it seemed she didn’t have a good relationship with her mother.
Joel loaded the water jar into a corner of the wagon and climbed in with Becky.
Fortunately, despite its shabby appearance, the sturdy wagon was spacious enough to hold one more person.
Thanks to the mule, Joel and Becky reached the cottage at the top of the hill without much effort.
While passing the pasture, a boy working near the fence spotted Becky and called out happily, “Sister!”
The boy, who looked about ten years old, had brown hair and freckles across the bridge of his nose—a perfect match for Becky’s appearance.
Becky, sitting beside Joel, waved back.
“Rob!”
“Who’s that with you?”
“A guest! It’s almost lunchtime, so finish up and come home!”
“Okay!”
Becky and Rob seemed to have a very close relationship.
Joel watched them exchange loud greetings with an envious gaze.
Being an only child, Joel had always wanted a cute younger sibling since he was little.
Finally arriving at the cottage, Joel was unloading the water jar from the wagon when a woman pushed open the cottage door and stepped out.
“Becky!”
The woman, who appeared to be Becky’s mother, was quite plump, unlike the scrawny Becky.
Three young sons who peeked out from behind her were also chubby like their mother, and their clothing was much better than Becky’s or Rob’s.
Joel didn’t show it outwardly, but he inwardly found the stark difference in their attire very strange.
The woman approached with an irritable expression and snapped, “Becky, I told you not to wander off when doing errands!”
“I’m sorry…”
Becky apologized in a shrinking voice.
After glaring at Becky with disapproval, the woman turned to Joel and asked in a confrontational tone.
“And who are you?”
“Mother, this person is a nobleman.”
Becky stepped in for Joel, who was momentarily speechless from the absurdity of the situation.
“A nobleman?” the woman muttered back.
She looked Joel up and down from head to toe and said to herself, loud enough to be heard, “He doesn’t look like much of one.”
It was incredibly rude behavior, but Joel decided to overlook her insolence for Becky’s sake.
“I am a passing traveler. If it’s alright, I’d like to stay here for about five days.”
“It’s not alright.”
She cut him off before he could even finish his sentence, tilting her nose up.
However, when Joel said, “What if I give you one silver coin for the five-day stay?” her eyes lit up with greed.
“Then it’s fine,” she said, accepting Joel’s offer.
The mother’s name was Nora.
Nora, who didn’t share a single resemblance with Becky, began to act a bit more cautiously after Joel held out the silver coin, perhaps thinking he really was a noble.
Guided by Becky, Joel unpacked his things in a corner of the shabby but neatly kept cottage.
Lunchtime arrived quickly. Joel sat down to eat at the same table as Becky’s family.
The meal Madame Nora served consisted of a single potato, a thin soup with nothing in it but a few chunks of turnip, and sour buttermilk left over from making butter.
Joel felt bewildered at being served such a pathetic meal.
Even the tenants on Lord Bennett’s estate—where harvests were poorer than in the South—had never been seen starving to this extent.
Given that it wasn’t even summer yet (when wheat usually becomes scarce), the lack of bread on the table suggested their situation was truly dire.
For the sake of Becky’s family, Joel willingly decided to bring out the rye bread and ham he had received from the farmhouse.
When he brought the ham and rye bread from the wagon and suggested they eat it together during his stay, the stingy Madame Nora’s face instantly brightened.
She sliced a piece of ham and placed it on Joel’s plate first.
Next was Madame Nora’s own plate.
Joel raised an eyebrow in question when he saw that the slice of ham on her plate was noticeably thicker than his.
However, Madame Nora ignored him, bypassed Becky and Rob entirely, and placed a large, thick slice of ham on each of her three chubby sons’ plates.
Joel’s expression turned to one of disbelief.
Come to think of it, only his, Becky’s, and Rob’s cups contained buttermilk.
The other four had proper milk in theirs.
Appalled, Joel questioned Madame Nora.
“Wait. What are you doing? Why aren’t you giving any ham to Becky and Rob?”
“Those children don’t really like ham,” Madame Nora retorted in a sharp voice.
But it was an impossible claim, seeing as Rob and Becky couldn’t hide the ravenous hunger in their eyes.
Joel no longer hid his displeasure, but Madame Nora stood her ground with a look that said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’
