As the wagons rolled down the cobble again, an awkward air filled their insides. Not a word was spoken, and yet a lot was said. Some were drowning in confusion while others struggled to comprehend what they'd been through during their brief stop in that small settlement. Riding along with the hero's group, however, there was one person who wasn't too keen on keeping quiet.

Glaring at the hero, whom she knew to have been blessed by Hestia, Elicia couldn't help but feel slightly frustrated. A blessed of the gods who barely ever came to the church of that very god, in her eyes, it was akin to spitting on their idols or their god itself. As the spectre of her past self took over, she turned her body towards the hazy-eyed hero.

"Rudiea Hilton, right?" She asked, tapping his shoulder.

Lifting his head a little, Rudy gave her a nod.

"I saw you on the day that you were blessed, but never again. Thought you're too good to show your face in the church after getting the greatest title that there is?" Twisting her lips quite a bit, Elicia stared daggers at him.

"Uhmm…" At a loss for words, the hero's gaze wandered. "We were busy dealing with monsters and–"

"Whatever, I don't care enough to hear your excuses," rolling her eyes, Elicia shifted her attention to Freya instead. "Besides, who can blame you when your mother is an unbeliever?"

Narrowing her eyes, Freya lifted her chin and stared angrily at the priestess.

"So what? The gods never gave me reason enough to trust them, so why would I pray at all?"

"How about we knock this conversation off?" Glyea advised from the coach window as the commotion was distracting her from the road after all.

It wasn't long before silence took hold of the carriage once more, but yet again, instead of letting it linger, someone decided to break it for no reason at all. Sitting beside Rudy, Audrey had been meaning to ask him whether he had managed to gather any proof of Custer's blackmail since he'd spent the night with him inside the women's tent. But instead of a verbal answer, he unintentionally responded with a tenseness in his upper body.

"What's wrong?" She whispered, but not a word came out of his mouth.

As it all happened, Freya had been watching her stepdaughter resting her head on her son's shoulder. Her hand was just placed on his thighs as she'd asked that question, and that gesture was just enough to make her speak up.

"Audrey, can you give him some space?" Freya complained, wearing pure unfiltered contempt on her face.

"Uhhh~!" Gritting her teeth, the fox-girl turned her eyes to her stepmother. "What's wrong with you?"

"What?!"

"Yeah! What's wrong with you!" Getting her head off Rudy's shoulder, Audrey sat upright, and although the hero grabbed her hand in warning to have her calm down, she said exactly what everyone had been thinking for quite a while. "Why can't you mind your own business with that merchant boy? Huh?! Leave Rudy and me alone, we've decided to date each other already!"

"WHAT?!" The word echoed through every lip, and then came the deafening silence. A lot had been said in a matter of a few seconds, and to soak it all in, the girls needed a moment. The very first to realize what Audrey meant was Freya, as the fear of her stepdaughter knowing what was going on between her and Custer had gripped her heart.

"Y-you are his sister! Of course, you two can't do this!" Turning her gaze to Rudy, she tried to talk some sense into them. "You're not in on this with her, are you?! Tell me!"

"I–" Before the hero could speak even a word, Audrey placed a hand on his mouth and hushed him.

"Don't try to pressure him! We have decided already! You worry about yourself and that Playboy you've been screwing around with!"

"AUDREY!" Though fear and anxiety had crippled her body, Freya's trembling lips still managed to scream. "Don't talk nonsense! You have no clue–"

"Just admit it at this point," chiming into the conversation, Charlotte placed a hand on her shoulder. "Like it's no secret now, and if you keep defending yourself, it only makes you look like an even greater asshole than you already are."

'Wait wait wait, what's going on?!' Being the only one unaware of certain interactions between her group, Roxanne was freaking out of her mind as the situation appeared to be getting worse with each passing moment. 'And since when did these two start dating?!'

"What did I say about the commotion?!" Yet another scream was stacked onto the pile as Glyea complained from the front of the wagon.

Even so, the fox-girl was done holding back.

"We saw you sucking him off, you cow!"

"W-what, what are you talking about?!" Letting out a nervous laugh, Freya quickly glanced at Rudy, who seemed just as shocked to hear the truth so plainly. "Don't talk nonsense now, Audrey! As if–"

"Oh for the love of…" Scoffing at her sister's denial, Charlotte covered Freya's mouth with her hand. "Our family is messed up, and you're screwing the merchant boy, that's the gist of it all. Let's just admit it and move on!"

Slowly removing her hand, Charlotte shook her head with a look of pure disappointment reflecting from her eyes.

"Besides, let her date him if that's what they want. They're not blood related, and secondly, Rudy and her both need someone to take their load off and help with that accursed ability so that they can level up. This way, at least they can handle it without relying on some outsider. Not to mention, you're in no place to criticize anyone here."

"I…" Freya's lips parted, but for a moment, and the next thing she knew, her shame took over. Lowering her head with a sudden ache in her stomach, she looked away from all and, with a heavy sigh, spoke once again. "Do what you want. We're all messed up as is, I guess."

Though she'd made peace with the secret being out and the fact that her stepdaughter and son were dating, it would be a long time before she could escape the shame, especially since everyone was staring at her with judging eyes.

'Fuck…' And that was the abrupt end of their conversation.

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