Timothy opened his eyes and saw Lucia beside him.

He grinned.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Lucia played with Timothy's lips with her finger. "Nothing happened between us Prince Timothy. I'm still a virtuous woman you know."

"I did not say anything." Timothy shrugged. "And you think I would forget if something did happen? I'll remember it for all eternity"

"Oh really?" Lucia laughed. "Then sorry to burst your bubble, but you still have to wait a long time for that." She went closer and put a kiss on his cheek.

"You're saying that but you're also teasing me. You are cruel Lucia Vanadis"

Lucia chuckled. She punched him on his arm "I'm not teasing you. Showing affection and teasing are two different things"

Lucia then stood up and grabbed Timothy's arm. "Come on, it's already late in the morning. We need to help around to earn our keep. You've woken up late twice in a row now. It will be bad for your reputation if you maintain this habit."

Timothy grunted and Lucia was still pulling his arm. "Can't we cuddle for a while? Just a few more minutes?"

Lucia stopped and sighed "Just a few minutes?"

"I'm not promising anything but I'll try." Timothy smiled mischievously. He then grabbed Lucia into his arms. "And I know you want it too" he whispered.

Lucia replied with a giggle.

***************************************************************************

The few minutes turned into an hour and it was really late in the morning when Timothy and Lucia went outside. The villagers were already doing their chores and Tim felt embarrassed.

"I'll help those women grind the wheat" Lucia pointed to the women grinding wheat with mortar and pestle in one of the houses.

"You know how to?" Timothy was surprised. Being the second Princess of Vanadis, surely Lucia didn't have to grind her own wheat.

"I have experience. I often give medicines to the women recovering from childbirth in Holm. The medicines come from ground herbs." She explained.

"Okay then. But what if I miss you?" He smirked.

She tiptoed and whispered, "Then you'll have to endure rooster prince"

After giving Timothy a playful smile, Lucia left and Timothy was left alone. He looked around but the men of the village were all missing.

Someone tugged on the hem of his clothes. Timothy looked and saw the boy from yesterday smiling at him. He estimated the boy to be about ten years old. Timothy felt nostalgic. The boy's smile reminds him of his younger self.

"Mister Theo, will you join the hunt?" he asked.

Timothy squatted and faced the boy. He remembered the boy's name to be Conrad. "Conrad, right? There is a hunt Conrad?"

"Yes!" Conrad exclaimed happily. "Samuel arranged a hunt for today. We will have meat again"

Timothy doesn't understand. He informed Samuel yesterday that the Wismarines were searching for them. Why would Samuel arrange a hunt now? The Wismarines could attack the villagers.

"Where is Samuel, Conrad? I need to talk to him."

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Conrad pointed to the stream. "He's fishing. So, are you coming or not?"

Timothy shook his head "I'm sorry Conrad, but I can't. Take me to Samuel"

Conrad nodded and let Timothy to the village chief. The old man was standing beside the stream with a fishing rod.

"Thank you Conrad" Timothy patted the boy's head.

"Welcome" Conrad smiled "I'll go then" Conrad then left.

Timothy started walking towards Samuel. But before he could talk, Samuel did.

"I know why you came here Your Highness. It's because of the hunt right?" Samuel turned to him.

"Yes. I know it's none of my business, but shouldn't you cancel the hunt?" Timothy walked towards the stream. It was small that one could mistake it for a canal.

"It is your business Your Highness. These people and I are still your subjects." Samuel said. He pulled the fishing rod but the hook was empty. "Regarding the hunt, we don't have a choice"

"You don't have a choice? Why?"

Samuel made a long sigh. "This land is barren Your Highness" he started "At first we thought that we could make a village here. I mean it is a plain with a stream so it should be habitable, right?"

Timothy nodded. The land doesn't look barren. Samuel then continued his explanation.

"But it's true, the land is barren. We made a mistake trying to settle here. Now I know why this land had remained uninhabited for so long. It's not just because of the remote location, it's also because nothing grows here. We tried to plant but nothing grows except grass and weeds. We tried to fish, but the stream is dead. I am yet to catch fish from this stream. The only way to live here is to hunt. We are running out of food, Your Highness. The food we ate last night was going bad so we had no choice but to cook it all."

Timothy understood their situation. He felt guilty because he thought at first that the village had enough food and they could spend a few more days. Turns out, the village was starving.

"I'm sorry for adding to your troubles. Now you have two more mouths to feed" Timothy said.

Samuel smiled. "Think nothing of it, Your Highness. It is our duty to serve the Royal Family."

"I feel guiltier when you say it like that. They don't even know our identities." Timothy said. "By the way, do you have plans to relocate? You said it yourself, this land is barren."

"Not for now. The villagers chose to live here because they are afraid. Most, if not all of them had seen the horrors of war, Prince Timothy. The Tulosan invasion took something from everyone. That's why we are trying to make this work despite the hardships we face."

So it's because of the useless war with Tulosa again, Timothy thought. Wars really are dreadful when they involve the civilians.

"I understand Samuel. But I must tell you that I cannot join the hunt. The Wismarines are looking for me. So can you let me help you fish instead?"

Samuel smiled "Of course. As a matter of fact, I brought an extra fishing pole"

Timothy and Samuel fished all morning. They talked and Timothy learned many things about Samuel. The old man talked about his experiences in the palace. Unlike before, Timothy can now believe his description of King Leopold.

In the end, they failed to catch a single fish. The stream really was dead. It was afternoon when Timothy met Lucia again.

"Tim, I saw their food supplies" Lucia said with a sad expression.

"I know. Samuel revealed their situation to me. But this is their choice, Lucia. They would rather live in a barren land rather than face the effects of war again." Timothy consoled her. He knew that Lucia had a kind heart. She felt pity for the villagers.

"I understand. But Tim…" Suddenly, Lucia's face shows signs of surprise "Is that?" she pointed at the distance.

Timothy looked at the direction Lucia was pointing at. His heart skipped a beat. There were men on horseback approaching the village. His first reaction was to run with Lucia. But just as he was to grab her hand, he saw Bisham at the front.

"It's my guards!" he exclaimed.

After Timothy's guards arrived, the villagers surrounded them. Samuel was also there. Timothy and Lucia approached the guards.

"Thank the Omniscient both of you are safe. Escanor and I waited for you at the end of the forest until dark. We turned around and that's when we met your guards." Bisham immediately dismounted and knelt.

"We are lucky we found this village Bisham." Timothy said. But then he noticed that Erik was missing. "Where is Erik?" he asked.

The guards didn't answer Timothy. Some of them tried to open their mouths, but nobody answered in the end. It was Bisham who revealed what happened.

Timothy closed his eyes. It was smart, he must admit. Letting himself get captured and threatening his own life will surely deter Braun from continuing the chase. But Timothy did not wish for this. Although Erik will be safe at the palace, he's still a hostage. Timothy's friend gave up freedom for him. To that, Timothy felt touched and sad at the same time.

"Tim.." Lucia held his arm

"Don't worry, Erik will be safe. My father will also set him free if I leave Castonia. He can't keep the son of Marquis Connel forever."

Lucia nodded. "Okay. So, are we leaving today?"

Timothy then remembered the villagers who are watching them. He turned around and as expected, all of them were shocked. He needs to say something to them. He needs to apologize for hiding their identities and thank them for the hospitality. Timothy looked at Samuel. The old man smiled as if urging him to do so.

But before Timothy could say the first word, a cry of help can be heard at the distance.