Upon hearing the news that the Crown Prince had returned from the Kingdom of Palain, Sir Bennett rushed to meet him immediately.
Having heard directly from his son that he intended to settle in the Kingdom of Palain, Sir Bennett firmly believed that the Crown Prince must have brought his son back with him.
However, the returning Crown Prince looked even more devastated than when he had left the capital.
When Sir Bennett heard that Joel could not be found even in the Kingdom of Palain, he collapsed on the spot.
The situation where he could not even confirm the life or death of his beloved son had persisted for over a month.
Sir Bennett was in a state of extreme physical exhaustion due to severe neurasthenia.
The Crown Prince personally carried the fallen Sir Bennett to his bedroom.
In Sir Bennett’s room, the physician Robert and the butler Wickham were waiting.
Robert quickly examined Sir Bennett and diagnosed that he had simply fainted from the shock.
“Sir Bennett’s complexion looks even worse than before.”
“I am sorry. As Your Highness commanded, I have stayed by Sir Bennett’s side and done my best to restore his health, but his worries were so deep…”
The Crown Prince was taking special care of Sir Bennett, Joel’s only remaining family.
As Robert trailed off with a face full of guilt, the Crown Prince, who was sitting in a chair rubbing his brow as if exhausted, waved his hand and replied.
“It is not your fault. We cannot expect Sir Bennett’s condition to improve until Joel returns safely.”
Since he could not leave the fallen Sir Bennett alone, the Crown Prince stayed by his side while sending Abe to find out if there had been any progress in the search.
Although he pretended to be calm on the outside, the Crown Prince’s heart was also in tatters.
He, too, was suffering from extreme nervous exhaustion.
He was incredibly fatigued because he hadn’t been able to sleep properly, but he had no desire to sleep at all.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Joel wandering through the woods or the snow, crying out his name, causing his heart to thud frantically.
One experience of facing Joel’s cold, stiff body in the snow was enough.
If he experienced the same thing twice, he would go mad.
The Crown Prince waited anxiously for Abe to return.
Fortunately, Sir Bennett regained consciousness before long. Opening his eyes, Sir Bennett raised a trembling hand to grab the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness… has something truly happened to my poor son…?”
As tears welled up in Sir Bennett’s wrinkled eyes, the old butler Wickham, who was standing by him, offered words of comfort.
“Master, the young master will surely be fine. He is such a clever person.”
Wickham had been reduced to a homeless wanderer after the fall of Count Lucas’s family, but fortunately, even in the midst of the chaos, the Crown Prince had not forgotten the contents of Joel’s letter.
Thanks to this, Wickham had escaped vagrancy and was serving Sir Bennett once again.
Hearing Wickham’s comfort, Sir Bennett asked, “Is that so, Wickham?” his eyes shining with desperate hope.
However, the Crown Prince, who knew all too well that Joel was far from “clever,” could only feel more distressed.
“Yo-Your Highness!”
While he was burying his face in his hands, worrying about Joel’s safety, Abe, who had gone to check for news, burst through the door.
“News just arrived via carrier pigeon! It is said that traces of someone believed to be Master Joel were spotted in Bertha, a port village in the southeast.”
“What?”
The Crown Prince immediately brightened and asked for more.
“About two weeks ago, a male Omega visited the home of a couple named John and Nora and asked to stay for a few days. He used the alias ‘Robert,’ but according to the testimony of John and Nora, his appearance matched the portrait of Master Joel in the missing person flyers.”
“If it’s Robert…”
Muttering softly, the Crown Prince turned his head to look at the physician, Robert.
Not only the Crown Prince, but Abe, Sir Bennett, and even the butler Wickham were all staring at him.
Finding himself the center of everyone’s attention, Robert felt somewhat embarrassed and stood awkwardly, scratching his head.
Abe continued to quickly recite the report from the Lord of Bertha.
When he reached the part where the couple had tried to sell Joel as a male prostitute, both the Crown Prince and Sir Bennett lost their composure and jumped up in a panic.
However, they managed to regain their reason after hearing that Joel had instructed a mule to attack them and successfully escaped.
Beside Sir Bennett, who was breathing a sigh of relief, the old butler Wickham said with a similarly relieved face, “See, Master? Didn’t I tell you our young master is a clever person?”
“Coincidentally, around the time Master Joel first went missing, there was testimony that a commoner near Count Grey’s territory sold a mule to a strange man. Putting all these circumstances together, that Omega who stayed in Bertha is definitely Master Joel.”
“We leave for the South immediately. Do not lift the alert in the North just in case, but concentrate all available forces on the search in the South.”
The Crown Prince, regaining his vigor for the first time in a while, gave the command while putting on his cloak.
Abe looked worriedly at the Crown Prince, who was preparing for another long journey with an exhausted face.
“Your Highness, it has only been a couple of hours since you returned to the country. Since we have a clue to Master Joel’s whereabouts, why don’t you leave the subsequent search to me and move after resting at the Imperial Palace?”
“I appreciate the concern, but I decline. I am perfectly fine.”
The Crown Prince, receiving his sword from an attendant, staggered while trying to fasten the scabbard to his waist.
For someone insisting he was fine, his complexion was quite poor.
Abe was deeply concerned about the Crown Prince’s pale face, but since he wasn’t in a mood to be stopped, Abe had no choice but to bow his head and say, “Yes, sir.”
“And, Your Highness.”
“Is there still more to report?”
“Well… His Majesty the Emperor is urging the execution of Count Lucas.”
As the Emperor saw signs of his health deteriorating again, he was rushing the execution of Count Lucas.
The Crown Prince could not be unaware of his father’s earnest desire to see his political rival’s head roll before he died, but he shook his head firmly.
“The Count can never be executed until Joel returns. That poor child suffered under that man’s shadow as his adoptive father for three long years. I must make sure Joel sees that man receive his punishment.”
At the Crown Prince’s words, Abe wanted to point out, “His Majesty the Emperor suffered for 25 years,” but knowing what kind of abuse Joel had endured from Count Lucas, he decided to stay quiet.
After returning from the Baron’s castle, Joel felt he had navigated the crisis well and was relieved.
However, the next evening, Rob returned from working at the barn and told Joel that the Baron had invited him again.
“So, he said he would send a carriage and that I should come to the castle alone, without you two.”
The superficial purpose of the sudden invitation seemed to be that the Baron wanted to consider hiring Joel as a tutor.
However, Joel clearly remembered the Baron saying he didn’t need a tutor.
The young Rob nodded his head with an innocent face, saying, “Yes,” but the mature Becky spoke up with a dark expression, as if sensing an uneasy omen.
“Master, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but the Baron seems to have other intentions. How about we give up on staying here and leave tonight?”
“Well…”
Joel looked out the window at the already dark night.
“Sister, why are you like that? Wouldn’t it be easier for Master to work as a tutor than to operate a loom until his hands are blistered?”
“Be quiet, Rob. If you don’t know, stay out of it.”
Becky stepped hard on her innocent brother’s foot under the table.
Joel, who was no less oblivious and innocent than Rob, actually saw exactly what kind of danger was facing him.
However, unlike Becky, who was visibly tense, Joel didn’t feel particularly threatened by the Baron’s interest.
In his womb was the Imperial grandchild, and the Crown Prince had declared him the future Crown Princess and put up a massive reward.
If worst came to worst, he could simply reveal his identity.
However, if they fled prematurely and encountered a bear or a wolf in the forest, no amount of threats would work on them.
Joel, who had his own source of confidence, shook his head at Becky’s strong insistence on leaving.
“But we lost our ham and have already planted half the peas and oats. Let’s try to stay here at least until we can trade the linen you wove for money.”
“But, Master… then are you going to accept the Baron’s summons just like this?”
“Becky, I know what you’re worried about. I am a noble, after all, so even the Baron won’t be able to do anything terrible to me so easily.”
Soothing the still-anxious Becky, Joel took a large scoop of soup and put it into her bowl.
