Christopher showed no remorse, no emotions to the woman he had killed. He simply called in the mid wife and Sebastian into the room.

"Clean up this mess," he said to the midwife to which she bowed in acknowledgment and promptly went to work. He then turned to Sebastian and continued, "Move on to the next phase of the plan. We will do the performance tonight."

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed and left to begin the plan.

Finally, Christopher turned to the hooded man who was here for the entire conversation. "You know what to do."

The hooded man took the baby from Christopher's hand and with his finger, he drew out a magic circle, one of his own magical formulation. The baby's physical appearance began to slowly change to something horrid, something gruesome. Its skin turned pale and its bones became misshapen. By the end of it, the baby no longer looked like anything resembling a normal baby.

The hours passed and a bell rang through the village. The bell was only used in emergencies so the villagers quickly came out of their homes to see what was happening.

Christopher took center stage as he held the mutated crying baby and spoke loudly in a textured tone, "My people, a great tragedy has befallen us. Our great village has been experiencing hard ships these past few years. Our waters have been poisoned, our crops have wilted, livestock died, our entire way of life have been deteriorated over the years. I have worked tirelessly to figure out what was going on and today, I hold the answer in my hands.

He unwrapped the blanket covering the baby and showcased it for all to see.

Gasps surrounded the area as the villagers laid eyes on the horrendous creature in Christopher's hand. Silence filled the area allowing only for the sound of the crying baby.

Christopher looked around at the expressions of the villagers before continuing: "I was just as shocked as you are all but please believe me when I say all our misfortunes have simply been a prelude to the coming of this creature. Some of you may not believe me right away but I've brought someone to substantiate my claims."

Just then, a hooded man walked up. He slowly pulled down his hood, revealing a bald man with a distinct cross on his forehead.

"A clergyman of the church!" Whispers quickly circulated around.

The clergyman held out his hand for silence.

"People of Crottish Village, my name is Ingram of the holy church. I was sent here to verify the existence of this unholy creature. It is as village head Christopher said, this child is a creature born of misfortune. As you all know, every year, demonic forces attack our lands and their demonic essence pollutes our environment. Normally, this is not a problem as the light of providence which shines on our holy kingdom is able to purify the demonic essence before it has any lasting effects. However, strong demonic essence buries itself in the heart of man's deepest sins until it manifests into new life." His eyes suddenly widened, turning increasingly fierce as he grabbed the baby by the neck and shoved it in the face of the crowd before shouting: "This is a result of allowing sin into your hearts! This is a cursed child and the birth of a cursed child brings about misfortune and plagues."

These villagers spent most of their lives here and never experienced the outside world. They could never guess what the clergyman was saying was true or not but, in this place, the word of the church was as good as fact. The tales of cursed children were told everywhere and even these villagers have heard the stories from traveling merchants. Thus, with the claim from both the village head as well as the clergyman, the villagers went into an uproar.

"KILL IT!"

"BURN IT WITH FIRE!"

"My parents died because our livestock died suddenly! Feed that monster to the animals!"

Insults and threats were hurled towards the innocent baby and all the while, a smile of delight crept up on Christopher's face. All of his misdeeds were scapegoated to another and he was now seen as someone who was actually trying to help the village instead. "These villagers… are truly stupid!"

Ingram held out his hands once more and the area quieted down.

"I understand what most of you are feeling but the church condones the killing of the innocent as does the goddess of life and birth. Though this child is a cursed child born of the essence of demons and the sin of man, it is still an innocent. To kill this child here may instead, cause more misfortune to this village."

"Then what should we do?" An impatient voice of an elderly asked.

"Do not fret, the church has sent me here to not only verify the existence of the cursed child, but to also erect a small shrine which shall counteract and protect the village from the effects of the cursed child."

Hearing that, many of the villagers let out a sigh of relief.

"As for the child, as a clergyman of the church, it is my duty to raise the child and bring him up under the light of god."

No one had any disputes.

Christopher then stepped up and spoke out: "While you are all here, I have also recently received news of the recent war against the demon army. Though we have won, it was with heavy cost and lives of our own. As such, I would also like to commemorate the brave heroes from our village who had given their life in the recent war and a certain man who has brought honor to not just our village, but to the kingdoms of man."

Christopher gave a speech which went well into the night. He talked of the bravery of Harris Hill who had given his life to head into enemy lines to turn the tides of battle, essentially saving millions of lives. The villagers were saddened yet filled with pride that such a man came from their village. Then came the unfortunate news that his wife, Lana Hill, who had just tonight given birth to their only child, had passed as well. Their now orphaned child had no other family and thus, it was with great pride that Christopher announced the child will be adopted into the Hunts family.

The villagers all cheered, thinking it was rightly deserved that the child of a hero should be adopted into a family of nobility. Yet, not one questioned why Christopher did not show the orphaned baby nor where the cursed child came from. This was a rural village with a one tract mind, believing in the nobles, in the church, and in the fact that the gods all had plans for them. Questions were reserved for those born under the providence of light and whom the gods smile upon.

The villagers no longer blamed the village head for the bad things occurring around the village as it would all be attributed to the existence of the cursed child.

Christopher and his family claimed all the treasures that were to be rewarded to the Hill family as their own and he was allowed back into the Hunts family with all the privileges of before. He had to give the Child of God emblem to the family but it was acceptable as not only did he gain quite a bit of wealth; the use of the emblem was still available to him if he so chose. In order to keep his new found and respected image, he also used a portion of his wealth to fix major problems around the village, even reducing the taxes.

Christopher became a beloved figure who would be praised whenever he walked the streets.

As for the orphaned child of the hero, the villagers only heard that the child was born prematurely and could not yet make an appearance in public.

For the last step of his plan, Christopher made a trip to the city to visit a high class brothel he had frequented many times especially when he was kicked out of the exiled from the Hunts family. There was a certain lady there who had always managed to attract his attention despite not being the number one beauty in the building. Over the years, she was the only one he visited but as his coins ran out, he visited her less and less.

High class brothels were not just for show and even at his peak, he never had the money to outright buy her from the brothel. If one wasn't careful, even nobles could lose great amounts of money spending their time here. The last time he visited, she was already bulging slightly at the stomach and when he saw her again, it would seem a baby was ready to pop out right away.

When the lady saw him, she was instantly infuriated and pointed at him.

"Ah, you dare come back after you did this to me!"

She came towards him and play hit him in the chest.

Of course, she wasn't really mad at him, not about her bulging stomach at least. As a courtesan there was always a chance to get pregnant and though she would always take special medicine for it there was always a chance to conceive a child. As for the father, it was hard to tell but seeing as he was her main client when she became pregnant, it was more than likely for him to be the father.

"Ha-ha, don't be mad, I'm here now aren't I?"

He took her by the arms and kissed her passionately. Her face became flustered and she gently fell into his arms.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I've missed you. I thought that you stop wanting to see me when I became pregnant." Her fingers flirtatiously ran along his chest. "It's been so lonely. The only clients I've had since you've left are those perverts who get off pregnant women. They are seriously so annoying to deal with."

She gently pushed him down onto the bed and crawled up on top of him.

"I've missed you as well."

She slowly undressed, revealing soft supple skin and as her hands slipped down his pants, he took her close and the two engaged in joyous activity.

After a bit, the two were panting profusely and enjoying the comfort of each other's company.

"I'm going to take you out of this place." It was something men who were still in ecstasy of pleasure would say.

"Mn, I can't wait for that day."

"Why wait? Get dressed," Christopher said with a smile.

"Eh?" She was confused. It was quite a common occurrence for men to say words like 'I want to bring you out' or 'Just wait until I get enough money, then we'll be together forever!'

Who didn't want to believe their prince charming would come and take them away from this place, but believing in such a fairy tale would only lead to heartbreak. Most of the men who say such words would simply visit the same courtesan a few more times before getting bored and moving on to the next new and playful thing. Only the really new girls could believe such words.

Even if there were men who were true to their intentions, most simply could not afford to do so. Most courtesans belonged to the brothel and the only way to free them of their work would be to buy off their contract. They also lived in the brothel and were, of course, paid to do their job but most of their pay went to rent, foods, birth control, etc., all of which were provided by the brothel. Being an average courtesan meant you were likely to never be able to pay off your own contract and you can only work until you were no longer deemed adequate by the brothel and thrown on to the streets.

Only the best of the best courtesans could pay off their contracts but by that point, all they know is how to please their customers and they would likely not find any better work outside the brothel so most stay as well.

The brothel Christopher stayed at was a fairly high classed one and the contract of any girl in this place was something lower class nobles could not afford to spend.

The women were not so foolish to believe Christopher's words even if she liked him more than most of her other clients. Still, since he was her main client and she hadn't seen him for a while, she decided to humour him. She got dressed and followed him through the brothel.

They soon reached the front desk where the beautiful and voluptuous manager looked up with a smile.

"Sir Christopher, it's nice to see you again." She bowed courteously before turning to the woman and asked, “Margret, what are you doing here? Your next client is already waiting for you." She pointed towards a balding and chubby man from across the room who stared back at Margret with lecherous eyes and a lick of his lips.

"Ugh, him again. Not only does he smell bad he is also too rough!" Margret complained.

"Margret! Be careful not to raise such nonsense out loud!" The manager reprimanded.

"Yea…I know…" She went over to Christopher's ear and whispered, "Remember to visit me often." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning and walking towards the balding man but a hand quickly caught her arm.

"Where are you going? I already said I'm here to take you out today."

"Ah, but…" She wanted to ask Christopher to stop playing around but when she looked him in the eyes it looked as if he was completely serious.

"Sir, do you mean-"

"Take out Margret's contract. I'm going to buy her out of the contract today!"

His proclamation attracted everyone's attention around the lobby.

Whispers quickly spread with many of the other female courtesans actually laughing.

"Ha-ha, another one of these 'chivalrous' men trying to rescue their princess from this place." a sarcastic laugh rang sharply which brought about a few chuckles.

"I remember the last noble who tried to pull something like this. He was acting like his pockets were lined with gold until he saw how much the contract was. He ran like a peasant who just heard the church was serving supper!" Laughter fully erupted and Margret was red with embarrassment.

However, Christopher was undisturbed and waited for the manager to present the contract. The moment he saw the amount the contract was stated for, he merely scoffed and said, "Is that all?"

He called for Sebastian and told him take out the amount. Sebastian complied and retrieved a several sacks of gold from the carriage and placed them all on the table.

The entire room fell to silence and both Margret and the manager were staring at the piles of gold with their jaws dropped.

"So, can I take her?" He said smugly.

"O-Of course…" The manager tried to regain her composure but it was clear she was still quite affected by what happened.

Christopher took Margret by the hand and proudly exited the building. He led her to the Hunt's carriage which had surprised her again as she knew that he had been exiled by his family. Sebastian soon came out and began to drive off, back to the Hunt's family territory.

As the reality of the situation began to take hold, tears fell down and she cried into his chest. During her early days when she was young and had first started out in the brothel, she would dream about her prince would come and whisk her away from this place. As the years dragged on, her childish dreams faded and her heart callused which protected her from developing too much of an emotional attachment to any one client. However, for the first time, her heart warmed and she let out everything she had held back because her once childish dreams had finally come true.

He caressed her softly and only when she was a bit more stable, did he finally lay it out his plan. He detailed her on what has went on, about the war, about the man known as Harris Hill, his achievements, and the reason he needed her. He left out certain details for obvious reason like the fact that he had killed Lana Hill and simply said she died due to complications and that the child also perished during the birth. They had covered everything up so everyone believes that the Hunt's family had already adopted the hero's orphaned baby.

"I need both you and the baby in order for this plan to succeed. You'll help me out, right?" He said softly, his breath touching her neck as his hands slide down her legs.

"B-but what if we're caught." Her voice became somewhat agitated as her breathing quickened.

"It won't as long you play your part perfectly. The villagers have already turned to my side and my family will cover any holes in the story. You will be the adopted mother of the hero's child and we will both raise that child lovingly."

He kissed her deeply and in the heat of the moment, they once again engaged in steamy fun. The carriage rocked all along the way back.

A month’s time goes by and the new born baby boy was paraded around the village. The child was instantly the jewel to everyone's eye. All seemed well as smiles were present everywhere. As time would go on, the child would grow into a healthy young boy admired by all the villagers and would eventually head off to the main city to experience all the best the Hunts family as well as the Child of God emblem would provide for him.

Yet, for all the happiness that came from this village, there was one who would grow up to be the scorn of hate and misery.

…

Six years past and the village had transformed dramatically to the point where everyone's lives had changed. The streets were clean, peddlers came to sell their wares, and many people were attracted to come and settle down in this place as they heard good things about it.

Christopher, who was once the village head, had returned to his family but was still appointed as village head. Ever since that day six years ago, he had made steady improvements towards the lives of the villagers which improved everyone's quality of life. Despite the high taxes, most of the people in the village sang praise of Christopher's name. In their eyes, Christopher was a benevolent lord who cared about his people.

There has also been development regarding the hero's son, Lucas, who had turned six this year. The Hunt's family gave the child the best of everything from teacher's who were retired legendary adventurers, to giving the child anything he wanted. However, from the rumours, even though the child grew up in such a manner befitting a first class noble, he was still humble and tried his best in everything he did.

Everyone casually said he was likely to be the next hero of the human realm, much like his father was.

However, opposite of the amazing life Lucas led, another child was currently weakly walking around the streets of Crottish village. His walk was staggered and his face drooped to one side. Horrendous lumps plagued his body and if it wasn't for the fact that most knew he was a human; everyone would have thought he was born a monster. Though, it didn't stop them from treating him like one.

Ken lived his life under the care of the clergyman who provided him with nothing but a leaky roof over his head, two meals a day of rice and water, cold water to clean himself, and a single set of moldy rags to keep him warm at night.

On the outside, the clergyman was a respected person of the church, amiable and benevolent to others. Yet, behind closed doors, his words turned to fists and the person receiving those words were Ken himself. His only purpose was to keep Ken alive as the scapegoat for the village head who could do anything he wanted and blame it on Ken whenever something bad happens.

Every time the clergy man showed up, he would do what had to be done while muttering some words.

~"Four more years…Three more years…. Two more months…."

He had been counting down the years and the year Ken turned six the clergyman had reached the final day, he simply stopped showing up.

Ken grew up malnourished, barely able to speak or had any understanding of words besides those used to insult him while he was being beat. However, even he knew that the day the clergyman stopped showing up, he would starve and so, he traveled out of the hut he had stayed. The moment he stepped out; the scorn of the villagers immediately reached his ears.

"Monster!" they shouted, disgusted by his figure. They would shield their children's eyes from seeing the hideous abomination. The clergyman had always kept him inside so his appearance wasn't seen too often. Now that he was out, many of the villagers didn't know how to react and simply retreated away.

Ken seemed oblivious of the treatment of others and merely went to look for his next meal. His stomach growled as the aroma from the food stalls hit him but he was quickly stopped by several rough looking men.

"Don't even think about it, monster." They held ladles, sticks, whatever they could find to hold as a weapon and pointed it towards the young boy.

Ken could do nothing as he carried on all the way to the village's garbage dump. There, old and discarded food scraps rotted and devoured by flies and maggots. It was enough for anyone to retch but Ken's stomach grumbled.

He grabbed a fistful of what could only be described as a mash of rotten food and garbage and just before he stuffed it into his mouth, a girl’s voice sounded behind him.

"Hey!"

Ken turned around to see a charming little girl in twin tales looking straight at him. Even with his dim eyes, he could see that this girl was different from the villagers here. Here, they looked at him with scorn and prejudice but this girl looked at him with innocence and tenderness.

"Are you hungry?" She took out four steaming pork buns wrapped in a velvet handkerchief.

Ken looked at the steaming buns for a moment and then back at the little girl who nodded with a smile. His hands shook slightly as he took the bun in hand. It was warm. He took a bite and with it, tears rolled down his face. Since as early as he could remember, he had never tasted something as delicious as this that he couldn't control his hands. The four buns disappeared in a flash.

When he looked up next, the girl was simply smiling and he felt something he had never felt before. He wasn't sure what it was but it made him feel good.

"My name is Sharon, I'm new here. What's your name?"

At that moment, Ken didn't know what to say. He never got the opportunity to speak and his vocabulary was non-existence. Still, he knew enough to know what she wanted and remembering the words the clergyman spoke to him, he said, ~"K-K-Ke…n"

"Sharon!" A figure in the distance yelled out.

"Oh, father is calling me. I'll see you later, Ken." She waved goodbye.

That day was the day everything changed for Ken and a friend was made, but it didn't last long for destiny had other plans.