Houdel originally wanted to tell Claude and little Majiya, but in the end, he swallowed back the words. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, he just felt it wouldn't help. Rather than making them worry with him, it was better not to say anything at all.
So he forced a smile, waved his hand, "It's nothing."
"The porridge is almost ready."
"I'm not hungry," Houdel dashed into the tent, collapsing heavily onto the blanket.
In the small camp, everyone was going about as usual, fetching water, preparing breakfast, airing out blankets, grilling boots, everything was peaceful.
But Houdel's heart couldn't calm down; the bad news brought by fellow townsfolk was like a heavy stone—no, two heavy stones pressing on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe and leaving him no mind for other things.
Although Houdel mostly didn't believe his fellow townsfolk's words, he inevitably felt affected.