The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c53
Just before leaving the tea house, Ryan asked the owner where he could catch a horse carriage.
‘If you follow this road straight and then turn right when you see the bakery, you’ll see it after walking for just 5 minutes!’
The owner kindly explained the location. It didn’t sound too complicated or far, so Ryan set off feeling lighthearted, but before he knew it, 20 minutes had passed.
Ryan’s face was filled with bewilderment.
“Where on earth am I?”
He had definitely followed the road the owner told him, turning right when he saw the bakery. After that he just went straight, but at some point he found himself amidst a landscape of densely packed houses on a hill.
Thinking he shouldn’t go any further, he stopped for now. He looked around. That’s when he noticed some people he hadn’t seen before.
Even Ryan, oblivious to such things, could read the atmosphere.
Shabby clothes, faces that looked like they hadn’t been washed in who knows how long, hungry eyes staring at him. They definitely weren’t just passers-by who happened to be going the same way.
It was obvious at a glance they were a gang of vagrants aiming to rob him.
Ryan turned around, trying to act as casual as possible. He tried to walk slowly to put some distance between himself and the people who had been following him.
“Oho, where are you going in such a hurry?”
“Yeah. Stand right there, pretty boy. Let’s have a little chat!”
The vagrants threw out the words casually, as if they had noticed his intent.
‘Not a chance!’
Ryan’s pace gradually quickened.
“Hey, you there! Stop! We said stand there for a moment!”
What kind of fool would stop when told to.
Clicking his tongue, he focused solely on increasing his speed. He had the sense that entering the village clustered on the hillside would be dangerous.
It was from the experience of someone who had once been in a similar situation.
You could easily get lost in the maze-like alleys, and if you weren’t careful, you could run into an even worse group than the ones chasing him.
The problem was he couldn’t go back the way he came either. The vagrants were blocking that path.
“He’s pretty nimble.”
“Hey, hey, don’t mess around. You’ll scare him.”
Looks like Ryan was the only desperate one. Their snickers and jokes from behind reached him loud and clear.
“Hey, young master! Don’t go that way!”
“That’s right, it’s dangerous.”
“You need to turn right.”
Ryan desperately tried to ignore their words that sounded like they were herding him. It was hard to figure out where he was running to.
He was just running with all his might, thinking only of getting away somehow.
Huff. Hah. Hah.
His body, not used to intense movement, rapidly lost stamina before long.
‘Where do I go…’
As he moved his eyes around busily, he spotted a restaurant with a crooked sign. Even vagrants wouldn’t dare act up in a restaurant.
Just as Ryan, done calculating, was hurriedly turning in that direction-
“Hey young master! That place has been out of business for ages.”
The timely advice rang out from behind as if they knew where he was going. Of course, he didn’t believe their words.
But the result wasn’t good. Before he even reached the door, he discovered a notice saying they were closed for business.
“See? What did we tell you?”
The snickering voices got even closer. Ryan glared at the closed door then clenched his teeth. Then he looked around once more.
Other than the closed restaurant, it was all residential, and the windows and doors were all tightly locked. Moreover, not a single resident peeped out despite this commotion.
‘Just my luck.’
He couldn’t believe the trials that befell him after escaping Hendrick. He’d rather have sat in the tea house and waited for them to call a carriage.
“Oh dear, looks like you’re quite tired from running. You can’t even speak.”
While he was agonizing, the vagrants reached a close distance. Ryan spun around to look at them.
“The young master’s glare is scary.”
“You don’t have to look at us like that. Do you think we’re bad people or something?”
He wasn’t going to believe that after they chased him down while mocking him. Ryan took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and squared his shoulders.
In any case, there was no one here to help him now. If he had to resolve this situation wisely on his own, he couldn’t show that he was scared.
“Oh yeah? Then why did you chase after me?”
At Ryan’s arrogant tone, the vagrants looked at each other. Then the man with a scar under his chin stepped forward.
“We just wanted to tell you that you were going towards a dangerous place.”
“Dangerous place?”
“That’s right. Over there is a slum, so if you go in by mistake it’ll be big trouble.”
“Then you chased me all the way here because?”
“That’s because we were worried you might take the wrong path. We had no other intentions. You look like a young master raised preciously, so you’d be the perfect target for some rough treatment.”
Unlike earlier, his way of speaking became polite. Did Ryan really misunderstand? He carefully looked over the people in front of him.
They say not to judge people by appearance, but no matter how he looked at it, their eyes were suspicious. Especially the one in the back – the way he kept looking around definitely looked like he was keeping watch.
“Yeah? Then since I need to return to the busy streets, just tell me which way to go.”
“Oh… Instead of that, why don’t you rest for a bit before going? You look very tired.”
The man shook a water bottle, saying he happened to have a drink. The blue liquid sloshing around seemed even more dubious. Ryan shook his head and deliberately raised his chin higher.
“No, I can’t do that. I need to get back right away and find my companions.”
“Hm?”
The man tilted his head as if asking what that meant.
“My companions are waiting so I have to return immediately. So if you’re not going to tell me, step aside now.”
As soon as Ryan finished speaking, the vagrants behind the man all burst out laughing at once. The one who laughed the loudest patted the shoulder of the man who had been talking to Ryan and stepped forward.
“What kind of nonsense is this naive young master saying.”
The bastard who approached in an instant took out something glinting. Ryan glanced at the blade thrust in front of him.
‘Thought so.’
Their motive was too obvious, but the hope he held out just in case was shattered. The bastard grinned and let his nasty gaze travel slowly from top to bottom.
“You’re an omega, right?”
And the words that suddenly popped out didn’t feel the least bit polite.
“Huh?”
“Now, now, don’t act so coy, young master. We’re not those kinds of people.”
When Ryan scowled fiercely, the man who had been watching the situation stepped in to mediate. He winked at the bastard holding the knife then this time showed his palms to Ryan as if to reassure him.
“Look here, young master. We also don’t want trouble by harming a noble. Especially if you have companions.”
Spouting those words well even though he didn’t believe it at all, the man smiled again as if to reassure him.
“It’s just that it’s really hard for us to make a living, so we were wondering if an affluent person like you could provide some material assistance. What do you think?”
As expected, what they wanted was to tell him to give them money. But Ryan wasn’t that naive either. Would they really let him go even if he emptied his pockets for them?
The problem was there was nowhere to run from here now. At some point, the bastards had surrounded him as if blocking his retreat.
It was the worst situation.
‘What do I do.’
Ryan blinked, trying to stay calm. If there was no other way, he needed to pretend to go along with it as much as possible.
And the best method was returning to town safely, even if it meant handing over everything he had.
‘Ryan, if you ever meet bandits, it’s okay to throw away everything you have. What’s important is saving your life.’
Catherine had said that jokingly before he left. Back then, he had just laughed it off lightly, but who knew it would lead to a situation like this.
Anyway, following her wise advice, he took out his silk purse. The eyes of the bastards in front of him glinted at that.
“Here.”
When he extended his arm, the bastard holding the knife quickly snatched the purse.
“Wow…”
The bastard who opened it to check inside exclaimed. Not missing that moment, this time he took out the brooch attached to his clothes.
“I am Ryan Fitzroy.”
Ryan showed the coat of arms engraved on the brooch.
“The youngest son of Earl Fitzroy, and an old friend of Prince Hendrick. This will be proof of that.”
The first to show interest was the man. The bastard who had widened his eyes in surprise rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb, closely examining Ryan’s face and the brooch.
The delicate and beautiful craftsmanship, the coat of arms on its surface felt extraordinary even to his uncultured eye.
“Seems the noble young master has a proposal for us?”
“That’s right, escort me safely to the hotel. Then I’ll give you an even greater reward than what I just gave you.”
At the haughty tone he spoke with while slightly raising his chin, the bastards exchanged glances with each other.
“It wouldn’t be a bad deal for you folks either. The one waiting there right now is none other than my fiancé, Prince Hendrick.”