Joel was sitting before a grand dining table.
The table was overflowing with all sorts of delicacies served on silver platters.
Roast turkey stuffed with assorted fillings, suckling pig glistening with sizzling fat, roast veal shank garnished with raspberries, egg pies, fried fish…
Witnessing such a magnificent sight, Joel felt a sudden surge of hunger.
After eating nothing but rye bread and ham for two weeks, facing such delicious food after so long made his heart pound with excitement.
‘What should I do? What should I eat first?’
Just as Joel was hovering his fork, unsure where to start, he suddenly snapped his eyes open.
“Ah….”
Faced with the shabby reality unfolding before him, he couldn’t help but let his shoulders slump in disappointment.
He had been sleeping in the cottage, huddled with Becky’s family.
The cramped hut didn’t even have separate rooms; they all had to sleep together on the floor.
At the very least, the soft sofa belonged to Joel since he had paid for his stay.
Considering the sofa usually belonged to Becky’s father, John, the thought of lying on it made his skin crawl, but the alternative was sleeping on the dirt floor covered in straw.
Joel had no choice but to swallow his pride and seek sleep on the sofa.
As if smelling of booze and filth wasn’t enough, John, lying on the floor, snored like a freight train.
Joel glared at him irritably.
That sound was the sole reason he had been forcibly dragged out of his happy dream.
John’s snoring was loud and thunderous, comparable to the trumpets of a military band.
It felt like his eardrums were about to burst.
He was staying at Becky’s house to save his strength for the long journey ahead and to make the silver he paid worth it, but at this rate, he felt it would be better to sleep in a field with his mule.
Though he had two days left in his stay, Joel decided he should leave as soon as the sun rose.
Regardless, he had already sent Becky’s younger brother, Rob, on errands to gather all the necessary supplies.
After much deliberation over the past three days, Joel had decided to head South, build a modest hut, and live in hiding.
Of course, his ultimate plan to cross the border remained unchanged.
However, to do that, he felt he needed to endure about six months in the southern countryside until the watchful eyes grew weary; then, he would sneak back to Lord Bennett’s estate to re-equip himself.
Naturally, the fact that he had never farmed in his life was a major concern.
Still, the South was warm and the land fertile, so he hoped things would work out somehow.
He might not live in luxury while in hiding, but he wouldn’t starve to death.
And Joel was confident in his ability to endure hunger.
Lying with his back to John, Joel tossed and turned a few times before sitting up again.
Between the loud snoring and John’s foul body odor, sleep felt impossible.
Feeling desperate for fresh air, Joel quietly slipped out of the sleeping quarters.
“Even his name is John. How unlucky.”
The yard was bright with moonlight.
Joel crouched in a corner of the yard, grumbling.
The fact that Becky’s father shared a name with that devil wasn’t the only similarity.
He even resembled the devil John in his loathsomeness.
He barked at Rob several times a day to get him alcohol on credit and kept casting lewd glances at Becky, who was busy with housework—even though she was his own biological daughter.
Joel worried deeply about the siblings’ future, even while his own path remained dark.
His mind a tangled mess, Joel pulled out the piece of the cloak hidden in his tunic and buried his face in it.
Sadly, he could no longer feel the Crown Prince’s pheromones on the fabric.
Nevertheless, unable to let go, Joel rubbed his cheek against the soft fur, trying desperately to catch a hint of bergamot.
The Crown Prince… I wonder if he’s doing well?
Thinking of the Crown Prince’s frantic face when he realized Joel had disappeared on the way to Lord Bennett’s estate made his heart heavy.
Since the entire North had been turned upside down, the Prince was undoubtedly not doing well.
Joel swore to God he didn’t want to confuse or hurt the Crown Prince.
He hadn’t expected his disappearance to have such a profound impact.
‘If I had just faced him and said a proper goodbye before leaving, would he have accepted the breakup more easily?’
Joel felt a wave of regret.
If security in the North was that tight, by now everyone surely knew he hadn’t crossed the border.
The mercenary named Jack might have been caught.
In that case, his biological father would also be worried about his safety; the thought made his head ache.
“…But, I really can’t go back now.”
Joel muttered gloomily.
He was entering his fourth month of pregnancy.
Though it didn’t show through his clothes yet, he could feel his lower abdomen beginning to protrude slightly.
If he returned to the Crown Prince in this state, his pregnancy would be discovered.
Furthermore, after tasting a peaceful life, he didn’t have the courage to return to the capital, which felt like a path of thorns.
Joel contemplated whether he should go to the Lord’s Manor in Versa before leaving and leave a letter for the Crown Prince, telling him he was doing well and asking him not to look for him.
There were two possible outcomes to leaving that letter, and the odds were fifty-fifty.
One was that the Crown Prince would realize his firm intention to separate and accept it.
The other was that the fact he had stayed in the southeastern port city of Versa would be revealed, and the search would concentrate on the Southeast.
Joel crouched on the ground until dawn, agonizing over it, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find an answer.
As morning came, Becky’s house was a flurry of activity.
More accurately, only Becky and Rob were busy.
While Becky and Rob hauled hay for the livestock in the pasture, Nora woke her husband—who had been sleeping in—and headed to the back of the cottage.
Before nagging her husband, she craned her neck to check what the guest was doing.
Fortunately, the guest named Robert didn’t seem to notice their suspicious behavior at all, idly lounging with his mule in the pasture.
Relieved, Nora turned back to her husband.
Her husband, reeking of alcohol, was pathetically dozing off while standing up.
She doubted whether he had properly concluded the deal, despite his grand promises to speak with the tavern owner yesterday.
“Dear, dear. Pull yourself together. So, how did that business go?”
“Ah, why wake a man at the crack of dawn for that?”
John yawned widely, scratching his backside. It was a sight so unsightly it made her eyes narrow.
“Dear!”
“Good grief, woman and her temper. It’s finished. The tavern owner just happened to be looking for a prostitute for a ship leaving at the end of this month; he was grinning ear to ear and said he’d send a carriage tonight. Ah, that’s why I got this drink from that stingy fellow.”
John let out a loud burp.
Nora was instantly annoyed, but hearing the deal was settled, she calmed her excitement and asked calmly.
“Good, I’m glad he accepted the offer. So, how much did he say he’d pay?”
Her eyes gleamed with greed as they discussed money.
John shrugged and said in a triumphant tone.
“He agreed to waive my remaining debt and interest at the tavern. I don’t have to do that dog-awful mining work anymore.”
“What? Is that all?”
At Nora’s disappointed question, John replied as if she were being absurd.
“What do you mean ‘is that all’? It’s twenty gold coins. That’s plenty for a male Omega’s price.”
Since Manifested individuals were rare among commoners, male Omega prostitutes were naturally unpopular.
And while twenty gold coins was a massive sum—equivalent to three years of their income—Nora couldn’t hide her disappointment.
Looking back at Robert lounging in the pasture, her disappointment grew.
Robert was stunningly beautiful, even without any adornment.
For a face like that, she should have gotten at least ten more gold coins.
She was furious at her husband’s incompetence, but remembering she had one more matter to attend to, she forced a smile.
“Fine. You’re right. You worked hard. Oh, and a marriage proposal came in for Becky.”
“Huh? Is she already old enough to marry?”
“Goodness, you’re so indifferent. Our daughter is already seventeen, and you’re asking if she’s old enough?”
John scratched the back of his head sheepishly at Nora’s scolding.
Nora quickly spoke before her husband’s drunkenness could fade.
“The suitor is Smith from the lower village.”
“Smith, Smith… you don’t mean Hunchback Smith, do you? Isn’t that man forty by now?”
“He’s only thirty-five, dear. What are you talking about? You’re still drunk. Anyway, the young man is smitten with our Becky and has offered three gold coins as a dowry.”
In reality, Hunchback Smith was forty-three, but Nora, blinded by the thought of pocketing the dowry, lied shamelessly.
In fact, she had already finished negotiations to receive six gold coins from Hunchback Smith.
John, who had been skeptical, looked excited upon hearing they would receive three gold coins as a bride-price.
To his wife, who whispered, “The Lord’s permission has already been granted. I just need your approval,” he replied indifferently, “Well… you handle the household matters. Can I go back in and sleep now?”
The irresponsible John’s mind was filled only with the desire to lie back down.
Nora smiled wickedly to herself, catering to her husband’s whims. “Of course, of course. Go in and rest.”
It was a double win—selling off her hated stepdaughter for a high price.
With the dowry from Hunchback Smith, she could buy her sons sturdy leather shoes and have several summer outfits made for them.
She returned to the cottage behind her husband with a light heart.
