When morning came, Leon woke up almost suffocating. Even though the night was supposed to be cold, to him, it felt too hot to bear. So he growled, pushed Noel aside on Roberta, and managed to slip past the sleeping Beatrice. As he stood, he could see one of the elves' elders, an old grandma, sitting by the flame cooking their breakfast.
As she saw him wake up and stand, she giggled and looked toward him. "Aren't you a lucky one?"
Hearing her, Leon scratched his head with an annoyed face and walked past her, heading toward the nearby stream. "If getting kicked out makes me lucky, then I don't know what bad luck is."
As Leon disappeared, Roberta opened her eyes and silently sat up. As she looked down, both Noel and Beatrice were still fast asleep, so she pushed them closer to each other so they would stay warm, and then approached the campfire.
The two must've been exhausted a lot, so she didn't want to wake them up so early. "Are you sure you don't need to sleep more? You've been awake for a while, right?"
"Mind your own business, grandma."
An hour later, they had already finished breakfast and were already on the move again. Their next goal was to cross the mountain range and reach Hearthfill's village. The mountain path itself wasn't deadly or hazardous, but what made it perilous was the countless monsters inhabiting it.
"Roberta." As Roberta walked in front of everyone to scan the road for monsters, Noel approached her with a worried face. "Do you have a moment?"
Roberta looked at her, turned forward, and kept walking. "What is it?"
"When your contract ends, what will you do?" Hearing that question, Roberta had to think about it for a few seconds. "Don't misunderstand me, as much as I like the power Leon gives me, I'm not going to spend the rest of my life as his slave."
"Then you'll leave us?" Noel was a bit sad. At this moment, what Leon needed the most were powerful allies to protect him. They might've escaped for now, but that is certainly just because his brothers are busy fighting among each other. Once a true heir is elected, that heir will definitely try to eliminate everyone else, including Leon.
In this situation, losing Roberta could very well be a death sentence.
"Are you thinking about Leon's safety? I'm certain that his brothers didn't send another assassin after us because they've already figured out that I aligned myself with Leon. You are right. When I leave, he'll be an easy target." She smiled. "But I never said I'm leaving."
"What?" As Noel looked at her, Roberta puffed her chest. "Once the slavery contract ends, I'll sign a permanent maid contract with him. I'll grind loyalty normally and get my skill upgraded again." She approached her. "A Permanent, Royal Maid Contract. With all of its bells and whistles."
Noel's eyes opened wide. "You! I won't let you get so close to him." As she glared at her, Roberta laughed. "We'll see who gets to him first."
The two glared at each other for a second, and then Beatrice approached them. "What are you two arguing about?" Leon was all the way back guarding their rear, so he couldn't hear them.
"I was asking if she'll stay with us after her contract ends, and it seems she wants to sign a Permanent Royal Maid Contract with Leon." Noel shook her head. "I can't believe she is really going after him."
Beatrice stared at them with a puzzled face. "Aren't we all? We slept with him yesterday, so one of us could already be pregnant."
The two immediately stared at her, dumbfounded. For a second, they couldn't even breathe. After a short moment of awkward silence, Roberta tapped Beatrice's shoulder. "My sweet, innocent child. That isn't what sleeping with someone means."
She reached and whispered in her ear. "When a man and a woman... so you take his... after... and then..." Beatrice's face turned bright red as she fell silent and almost started tearing.
"That! Isn't..." She mumbled, "... true! I don't believe it! That isn't how babies are made, you nasty witch!" She pushed Roberta aside and rushed back to the elves, and they gave her the very same answer.
Watching her panic, Noel and Roberta couldn't help but smile as they walked in the front. "How did she survive until now?" Roberta shook her head, and Noel shrugged. "Even I can't believe it."
Leon, who was in the back, heard the commotion and approached after making sure there were no monsters nearby. "What is going on? Did Roberta spot a monster?" He asked the old lady who was walking near the back with the kids, and she looked at him with a smile. "No, no, it's nothing that important."
"Really?" He threw a glance forward and saw Beatrice tearing with a bright red face. He was silent for a second, and then shouted with a calm tone. "Everyone! Stop!"
At that moment, everyone stopped and looked at him as he walked past them toward Beatrice. "Leon, what is it?" Noel approached him and he gave her one look, smiled, and then turned back toward Beatrice.
"No one is going anywhere until I make sure she is fine." He approached her and patted her on the shoulder. "Look at me. Are you okay? What did happen?"
She was on the verge of crying, but still wiped her eyes and shook her head. "No, nothing. I'm fine. I just... learned something new." Following her gaze, he immediately knew it was Roberta. "Hey! Roberta, what did you tell her to make her cry like this? I appreciate it if you keep the unsavory parts of the underworld out of her head. Not everyone needs to know what goes on there."
Roberta shrugged with a smile. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I should keep those for myself. I won't do it again, so can we move? Staying still here is a death sentence. We'll attract monsters."
Hearing that, Leon sighed and comforted Beatrice for a few seconds before heading back to his post in the back. As everyone started moving again, Noel approached Roberta.
"Why do I feel like he misunderstood something?" As she asked, Roberta shook her head. "He did misunderstand, yes. And as he said, even you probably shouldn't learn about what goes on the underworld."
Noel looked at her with a somber face. "Crime, human trafficking, and the fact that nobles are the ones controlling all of that. I know enough."
Hearing that, Roberta burst into laughter. "Oh, my sweet, innocent child. You're as ignorant about that as Beatrice was just now... as Leon said, you probably should stay like that."
Her face then looked a bit dark. "Even so... I'm sure his brothers will bring all of that darkness on us soon. That's why we'd better hurry and get out of his father's domain and seek protection somewhere else."
Before that day could end, they could already see Hearthfill village from the mountain's peak. If they kept moving at the same speed, they should reach it a bit after dusk.