“Soldiers? You mean the Baron’s soldiers? They came here? Why did they take Rob?”
As a panicked Joel grabbed Becky’s shoulders and asked, she tearfully laid out a more detailed explanation.
“Sniff… I was selling linen with Rob at the market just a moment ago, when the Baron’s soldiers suddenly barged in, beat Rob up, and dragged him away roughly. It was those three men who took our ham before! They said… they said Rob stole from the barn and has to go to jail…”
“What? That’s ridiculous!”
A nature as upright as Rob’s committing theft—it was an utterly preposterous frame-up.
At Joel’s words, Becky nodded violently in agreement.
“Exactly! That’s what I’m saying! There’s no way my brother would ever do something like steal. And what on earth is there to steal from a barn anyway? When I asked the soldiers what was missing, they couldn’t even answer properly and just got angry, telling me to be quiet.”
“Ha… that toad bastard. So this is how he’s going to play it.”
Joel instinctively realized this was the Baron’s retaliation.
Since it didn’t look like Joel would submissively accept the proposal, the Baron had taken an innocent servant hostage to force him into submission.
Becky seemed to have reached the same conclusion, as she muttered resentfully through her streaming tears, “This is why… if we had just run away when I said so, none of this would have happened…”
“I… I’ll fix this.”
“How?”
Becky stared at her master, who was shining with a determined gaze, with an untrusting look.
She acknowledged that his heart was kind, but that was it.
Her master wasn’t particularly smart or eloquent, and he had nothing.
His family was ruined—with what power did he intend to resolve this situation?
“…No way, are you going to give your body to the Baron? Because of my brother? You can’t do that!”
“Of course not. Here, take this.”
Becky absentmindedly accepted the compass and map her master handed her.
While she was wondering if the plan was to sneak into the prison and rescue her brother, her master brought up something unexpected.
“I’m going to the Baron’s castle right now. You take the mule, go to any neighboring territory, reveal my identity, and request a rescue. If you tell them Joel Lucas is in trouble, they will help.”
“Master… Joel?”
“It’s my real name. Actually, the name ‘Robert’ I gave you was an alias. I was running away to avoid the capital’s surveillance.”
“Huh? Master, I don’t really understand what you’re saying…”
“That Omega young master in the missing person flyers you saw? That’s actually me.”
Upon hearing Joel’s words, Becky’s face went blank in a way that was uncharacteristic of her.
It was such a sudden revelation that she couldn’t comprehend it at first.
Finally grasping Joel’s meaning, Becky looked at her master with a bewildered expression.
“Th-then, Master is the one who was supposed to become the Crown Princess…?”
“Yes.”
Oh my god. Becky covered her mouth with both hands.
She had guessed he wasn’t just any high-ranking noble, but this was completely beyond her expectations.
It was hard to believe, but looking at Robert—no, Joel’s—stunning face, she found herself nodding.
‘True, with that level of beauty, he really could be the person to become the Crown Princess…’
To the dazed Becky, Joel said, “Go, quickly. We don’t have time to stand around. If I go and reveal my identity, the Baron will likely release your brother, but there’s a chance he won’t believe me.”
He pushed her toward the door.
Being shoved toward the exit, Becky suddenly stopped as if she had just remembered something.
“But, Master. Then your identity will be exposed. You might not be able to go to the Kingdom of Palain anymore.”
“That’s… it’s okay.”
Joel nodded with a face that looked anything but okay.
Becky didn’t want to put her master in a difficult spot, but she had to save her only flesh and blood, so she had no choice but to climb onto the mule’s back.
After sending Becky away, Joel immediately stormed into the Baron’s castle.
“How dare you people lock up my servant? Tell Baron Aster or whoever he is to come out right now!”
Joel grabbed the collar of the first servant he saw and shouted, causing a scene.
A passing captain of the guard clicked his tongue and pulled Joel away.
“If you’re going to go crazy, do it quietly. Is the Baron your friend?”
“I’m not the crazy one, you people are! Do you know who I am to wag your tongue like that? Bring that Baron fellow out here immediately!”
“I heard you were unusually fond of your servant, but you really have no manners. I suppose you need a proper lesson.”
Finally appearing at the landing of the stairs, the Baron began to descend while taunting Joel in a slick voice.
The captain of the guard, who had been scuffling with Joel, flinched and let go of Joel’s clothes, backing away.
“So, you were looking for me?”
“How arrogant. I just asked if you knew who I was to be acting this way—are your ears clogged? Do you really not know who I am? Ah, perhaps you’ve been so busy guzzling wine that you haven’t heard the news that has turned the whole country upside down?”
Joel pointed his finger at the Baron, venting his rage.
Seeing his fierce momentum, the Baron exchanged bewildered glances with the butler.
Joel proudly revealed his identity to them.
“I am Joel Lucas, the fiancé of the missing Crown Prince! Show some respect immediately!”
“Pffft, what on earth are you talking about? Since when did the Crown Prince get engaged?”
Upon hearing Joel’s words, the Baron immediately burst into a hollow laugh.
This was news to him.
Even if his territory was far from the capital, there was no way news of the Crown Prince’s engagement wouldn’t have reached him.
“The missing person flyers with my face on them have spread all over the North and the capital. And it seems the news is finally reaching the South as well. If you see those flyers, my identity will be proven. Why would I tell a lie that will be exposed so easily?”
“H-however… if you really are the Crown Prince’s fiancé as you say, why were you wandering around like a beggar with only two servants?”
Joel’s argument had a point, and the Baron, looking suspicious, questioned him.
“You don’t need to know my circumstances. Just go and bring my servant.”
“W-well, I never…”
The Baron wanted to dismiss Joel’s words as nonsense, but the Omega’s attitude was far too confident for comfort.
After a moment of conflict, he ordered the captain of the guard to confine Joel for the time being.
“Robert—no, Joel—no… anyway, how do I know if you’re lying? I will send someone to the neighboring territory to verify your words first. If it turns out you lied to me, you’d better be prepared.”
Joel glared at the Baron with all his might.
He had already expected that the man wouldn’t believe him easily.
However, the gazes of the people watching him had already become significantly more cautious, which was a positive sign.
To the captain of the guard, who was hesitantly calling out to him, Joel gave a haughty tilt of his chin.
“Lead the way.”
Moving along with the captain, Joel couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.
After bluffing as if he didn’t believe a word, the place the captain took Joel wasn’t a prison, but a guest room.
The captain, seeing Joel’s incredulous expression, said, “Please rest here. I will bring Master Joel’s servant shortly,” and tried to withdraw.
“Wait, come to think of it, you look familiar?”
Joel caught the captain as he tried to escape.
The captain, who had extorted ham from Joel the day after he moved to the territory, got scared and sputtered out any excuse.
“Pardon? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have a very common face, so perhaps you’ve mistaken me for someone else?”
“Is that so?”
Joel tilted his head, and when the captain pleaded, “Um, Master Joel. Didn’t you order me to bring your servant?” he obediently let go of the man’s arm.
A short while later, the captain of the guard let Rob into Joel’s room as promised.
Rob ran in crying, “Master!” and Joel held him close.
“I’m sorry, Rob. Becky told me they hit you. Are you alright where you were struck?”
Joel checked Rob’s body here and there with a worried face.
It seemed he had been shown to a doctor before being brought to the room, as the marks from the beating on his small body had been roughly treated.
Rob looked ashamed and gently pulled his hand away from Joel.
“I’m sorry. Because of me, even Master has to…”
“Master, can we go back to the hut now? Where is my sister?”
“I sent her to the neighboring territory. I told her to go to the nearest place, reveal my identity, and ask for help, so she’ll be back soon.”
“What?”
Rob’s eyes went wide as if he couldn’t understand.
Joel led him to the sofa in the room, sat him down, and carefully explained to him that he was indeed that “missing Omega young master.”
