A few days had passed since Rudy was forced to wear his chastity. The girls were surprisingly holding up well, but for him, being around them was torture enough. His cage–unlike theirs would dig into his balls and send a sharp pain through his groin every time he got even a little hard. Thus, with his legs now bent inward to provide some comfort, he walked somewhat strangely, but the girls no longer questioned why, for they were afraid that they might get an answer that they wouldn't like.

Audrey, on the other hand, was actively trying to be as clingy as possible. Her charm was razor enough, but sticking to her stepbrother with an even shorter skirt than before, she'd been trying to give him a hint, but the young hero was simply not picking them up. Even being alone in his room late into the night, she played board games with Rudy and took every chance to sit as close to him as possible. What she failed to realize, however, was that she was to him what Rudy was to Roxanne–a one-sided affection with no way for them to progress further.

Having noticed her advances, Charlotte had been keeping a close eye on the girl–even though she herself had given up on pursuing her nephew. Roxanne was much the same, except she wasn't looking for anyone even now.

"Gods, do we have to take all of this?" Loading the carriage brought to the inn by Zephyr, Roxanne was already tired of their plans to visit the capital. "I don't even want to go there."

Of course, she had more pressing matters in mind than finding a boyfriend. Her family lived in the capital after all, the very same, that had abandoned her long ago. The docking of her personal items and a few supplies was painful enough, knowing where she was going, but the thought of being summoned by the sages was something else entirely.

"Just because they're called sages doesn't mean that they're wise, and right now I feel like we're making a pretty dumb move by heading over there."

"But what can we do?" Charlotte asked, and sure enough, Roxanne had no answer.

Somewhat more optimistic about the visit, Rudy bit through the hurt and chimed in on the conversation while barely being able to load another box of food into the cart.

"Maybe they will let us in the academy," everyone's eyes turned to him as he spoke. Resting the wooden box on the back of the carriage, he flipped around to curious glances directed at him. "What? It's a possibility!"

Fanning her hand, Roxanne scoffed at the idea. Charlotte simply shook her head and continued with the docking, and Audrey was genuinely lost as to what she was supposed to feel. Cutting into the middle of the silent storm, Aura stepped out from the inn with Freya in her tow. The two were conversing about something, but they'd instantly gone quiet the moment everyone glanced at them.

"Leave some room in the carriage for her, she insists on accompanying Rudy," letting out a sigh, Aura began walking past everyone. "And before anyone says anything, it's her idea, not mine–so go complain to her if you wish."

"Mom?!" Baffled by the news, Rudy rushed to his mother. Standing in front of her, he glanced up into her eyes with a look of pure confusion. "What are you talking about? It's dangerous on the road! We can't take you with us!"

"I–"

"He's right, Freya! Unlike me, you're just a civilian," Charlotte interjected before the mother could breathe a word.

Narrowing her gaze, Freya lifted her head and glared at her demi-human sister. Shifting her head slightly forward, she gave one last non-verbal warning for her to back off before she takes away their adventuring privileges again.

"This is non-negotiable. Either I come with you to make sure nothing bad happens to my son, or none of you are going anywhere."

Returning her sister's glare with glaring of her own, Charlotte couldn't help but wonder why Freya had been so overprotective of her son lately. But then another thought crossed her mind–one that was better off being kept to herself.

"Are you accompanying us, or that boy?" She asked, and everyone but Rudy went as still as silence.

Freya first assumed that she was talking about Rudy, but as Charlotte looked over at Cecilia and then back at her, a sudden look of worry overshadowed her concern for her son.

"What are you implying?" She muttered, all the while Rudy glanced between the two like a lost puppy.

"Nothing," lowering her shoulders with her eyes focused on her nephew, Charlotte decided that the truth wasn't worth the chaos at the moment. "Get your stuff in the carriage quickly, we need to cross the forest before it's dark."

Walking away from the scene, Charlotte left an ominous feeling lingering in the air. Freya's heart had sunk to the feeling that the girls, or at least her sister, knew about what had happened between her and Custer.

'Does she know? There's no way he told her, right?!' Staring into nothing, she thought back to the last time she'd talked to Custer about what had happened. An apology and a promise not to repeat that mistake were shared between the two. 'Did he tell her because he wants to blackmail me or something to repeat what happened? N-no, why would he tell her first if that's the case?!'

Shaking her head, she lifted her chin, and while looking at Charlotte's back, she wondered.

'Does that mean she saw us?' Once more, her heart sank, but now it was too late–as backing away now would only make her seem more suspicious.

Reluctantly loading her bags, Freya kept to herself for the rest of the time spent in preparations. And once Zephyr had shown up with Glyea, Okio, and his vampiric subordinate, she made sure to keep her distance, and at last their multi-week-long journey began. Who knows what might happen on the road? Perhaps nothing at all, but someone else would fall? Or maybe Freya herself would fall further into the Fiend's lap, that too… willingly.

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