A few days after Father Cedric's death, Rody began to notice that everything around him was gradually changing.

In the temple, he could no longer receive communion and holy water. The maid, Emma, who used to bring him black bread, now had a cold light in her eyes, making Rody feel terrified, as if an invisible scythe of death was hanging over his neck. When Rody fed the black bread, which he meticulously crushed with water, to a small rabbit he had caught, he found that the rabbit became extremely weak and on the brink of death in less than three days.

The male servant, Marcus, Emma's husband, often pretended to chop wood and followed Rody into the forest with an axe.

Rody could sense the sinister intent to kill.

Now, he must escape from Coro immediately, or his and his mother's lives would be in danger. He guessed that the reason they had not acted directly yet was they were waiting for Lotte's promotion to the Temple Knight in a ceremony. On that day, he believed he would be sent to the stake as a demonstration of loyalty to the God of Light and hatred for evil blasphemy.

Calculating the date of the ceremony, there was still over a month's time.

The slow-acting poison in the black bread should allow him to live until that day. Perhaps this slow-acting poison, which corroded the organs, might be the strongest evidence of his alleged evil blasphemy.

For several days, Rody pretended to be unwell, staying shut in his cabin.

Unexpectedly, Emma brought him baked long bread instead of black bread, perhaps worried that the poison in the bread would end his life prematurely.

Regardless of the type of bread, Rody dared not eat it, nor did he allow his mother to consume it. He didn't dare tell his mother the truth, fearing it would worry her even more. When she was not looking, Rody quietly prepared food and luggage, planning to escape from Coro some night without anyone noticing. As for his mother, too kind and not good at deception, he could only tell her at the last moment.

Only then could he ensure her safe escape.

"Son, what are you doing?" One day, Rody's mother was startled to see her beloved son setting up animal traps and nets at the door.

"Mom, be careful, but there will be no danger if you don't pull this down. If I don't come back when it's dark, remember to untie this rope and let the trap protect you, okay?" Rody repeatedly admonished, "Mom, you must be careful. I have no other way to protect you. You must pay attention to your safety!"

"Baby, mom will be careful. You also be safe when you go hunting and come back early, so mom doesn't worry," Rody's mother also admonished him a thousand times.

"I have a dagger and a small bow and arrow, it's okay. If I see a large wild animal, I'll climb up a tree," Rody paused, then said, "I wanted to make you a hand crossbow, but I failed. It can't be made well without good wood. Mom, I've thought about many things, but all failed. If I could use magic, you wouldn't have to eat wild vegetable soup and wheat buns every day. Mom, I..."

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"Rody, my dear, you are always the best in mom's heart. Baby, your health is the most important thing. Don't think too much. As long as I see you come back safely every night, mom is satisfied!" Rody's mother hugged her son, kissing his forehead, her only consolation for him.

"Mom, please don't worry about me." Rody comforted her in return, secretly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Rody dug a small hole in front of the door, destroying and burying all the failed items he had made. His mother, unaware of why her son was so intent on creating these self-defense tools, had a feeling that her beloved son was hiding something from her.

But he didn't say, keeping it quietly in his heart.

For her sensible treasure, the mother felt both comfort and pain.

If she wasn't a maid, if he wasn't an illegitimate child, if... other than silently watching him and feeling heartache for him, she had no other way to help him. She knew her beloved son worked very hard, harder than anyone in the world, but his cruel fate was also more than anyone else's.

After the Harvest Festival, the servant Marcus saw that Rody could go out hunting again and followed him from a distance with his axe.

And his wife, Emma, brought black bread again.

"Young Master, what game did you catch? Do you need help?" After following for a while, Marcus gradually approached and suddenly said in a loud voice, "If you give me a rabbit to

accompany my drink, I'm willing to help you carry the game back!"

"I'll give you a whole deer, no need for help," Rody would never let him come close, leaving the trapped deer and running away.

"No, I must help!" Marcus sneered, following closely.

Relying on his familiarity with the forest, Rody quickly maneuvered through it, changing his usual route and heading towards areas he rarely visited. Sure enough, Marcus misjudged the direction several times, allowing Rody to evade his pursuit in a thorny slope. When he saw Marcus with an axe, following his usual path, Rody couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Marcus kept calling out for Young Master, but when he didn't get a response and couldn't find him, he grumbled and went back.

Worried about Marcus ambushing somewhere, Rody dared not return home immediately.

He lay hidden in the thorns, not daring to move until it was nearly dark. Before he could move, Rody suddenly heard barking, sending chills down his spine. If he didn't find a place to hide, his life would be in danger that night. In desperation, Rody remembered a thorn-covered stone cave entrance halfway up the mountain, with a deep, slanting entrance that, if used for temporary refuge, should evade the hunting dogs' noses.

He usually avoided the cave, fearing it was a snake's den, but now, with his life hanging by a thread, he couldn't afford to hesitate.

Near the entrance, Rody took off his clothes, wrapped them around a large rock, and let it roll down the slope. He threw a piece of cooked meat in the opposite direction of the cave entrance, then used a small dagger to part the thorny bushes and cautiously entered, covering the entrance with thorns, and hanging the dagger inside the entrance.

Rody braced himself against the cave wall, silently engaging in a battle of endurance with Marcus.

"Ah ha, so Young Master, you are hiding here. Are you playing hide and seek with me? My young lord, it's getting dark, let's go back!" After a while, Marcus seemed to have discovered Rody's hiding place, arriving with his barking hunting dogs.

Rody remained silent, holding his breath.

"The beast, damn it, don't run so fast. If you make me fall down the valley, I'll slaughter you when I get back! What's this? Cooked meat? Has he already gone down the mountain from here? This cunning guy! Damn, really unbelievable! How can this waste be so smart... But you can hide today, you can't escape tomorrow! Beast, if you drag me into the thorns again, I'll slaughter you right away!" Marcus cursed, dragging the hunting dog away.

"Marcus, didn't find him?" This was the voice of the blacksmith, Hendel, who obviously hadn't forgotten the incident when Rody broke his eggs with a stone.

"Let's go back and drink for now. There will be plenty of opportunities later, we still have more than a month until the deadline..." Marcus's reply made Rody's heart tighten again, confirming that his previous estimations were not wrong.

Despite his arms being sore and stiff, and his body numb, Rody persisted in hiding in the cave for over half an hour before daring to relax. After repeatedly ensuring that Marcus and Hendel had gone back, Rody carefully climbed out, thinking about what excuse to give his mother for his late return. However, as soon as he relaxed, he began to slide down. The moss peeled off in large chunks, and Rody had no foothold. In his struggle, the wooden handle of the small dagger, bearing most of his weight, suddenly broke. Rody screamed as he fell into the seemingly bottomless pit.

The cave wall was bent and long. Rody slid down, not knowing how many turns he took or how long he slid, but still not reaching the bottom.

Finally, with a 'boom', he felt that the bottom of the cave was a pool of water. The first sensation Rody had when he crashed into the water was countless streams forcing their way into his nose and mouth, continuously drinking water.

Fortunately, he wasn't shattered into pieces and was still alive...

Rody instinctively struggled, using all his strength to finally float up, searching for a way to climb onto the rocks. He felt exhausted and sore all over, coughing violently for a while, then lay on the ground, sinking into a deep sleep.