"I'm not too sure about that, Guillaume. Why would Alban try to help me escape his own family's estate?" Reni asked the burly cow as he continued cleaning the kitchen.

  "Maybe because he's a decent guy who has sort of been in your shoes before. He probably realizes how shitty your situation is and he wants to do something about it?" Guillaume responded to the confused hyena.

  It was a few days after Reni came home from the hospital, and only yesterday he was well enough to begin working around the estate again.

  "I... I don't know about that. I mean... he's not a slave anymore. He's a La Croix now."

  "Sure, he may be married to one of them. But that doesn't mean he can't empathize with you. I'm sure he's more than aware of how insane his daughter is. And just because he's married to a noble, doesn't change how this country see's him. He's still a slave to them. An if he wasn't, he would still be a man in Dyaxis. He won't be able to open a bank account on his own. He wont be able to own any property. And he won't be able to get an education. Sure, things might be changing in the next few years with everything going on. But a change in his own personal circumstances doesn't mean that he'll turn his back on people who are in a similar situation or worse." Guillaume explained.

  "I don't care. I don't trust him." Reni replied bluntly while looking at Guillaume.

  "Well, do you trust me?"

  "What does that have to do with anything?"

  "Just... think about it. I'm not a slave and I literally work for Odette. Do you trust me?"

  "I need to check on the baby, Guillaume." Reni said as he finished cleaning the kitchen.

  "Reni? Do you?" Guillaume asked with concern.

  "No. I don't." Reni answered as he left the room, leaving Guillaume to stir in his emotions.

  About every thirty minutes or so, Reni would stop whatever he was working on and check on the baby in her room, ensuring her mouth was fed, her diapers were cleaned, and that she was loved. He had never taken care of a baby before, and he figured Odette would have hired a nanny with experience to take care of her. To say he was confused when Odette told him yesterday that he would be responsible for her was more than an understatement. Luckily for him, he was able to go out to shop for supplies at the nearby market, where he met a few shopkeepers who gave him advice on infant care. Though he struggled the first day, he finally felt like he was beginning to get the hang of things.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  As Reni entered the baby's room, he was greeted by the high-pitched sounds of delightful squealing coming from his daughter's crib.

  "Who is making all that noise, huh?" He asked as he made his way over to see his daughter smiling at him.

  "Is that you? You know better than that." Reni said jokingly as he picked up his daughter. She wriggled in his arms as he gently rocked her, trying to calm her down.

  "Hey now. Everything's alright, you don't have to—" He said before he was interrupted by a sudden, sharp pain followed by intense growling.

  "Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go." He repeated frantically as he struggled to get control of his rooting daughter. After getting her loose, his ears were suddenly assaulted by a sharp, frantic wailing that to Reni meant one thing. He swiftly made his way to the kitchen with his hungry and frustrated daughter, managed to find one of her baby bottles in the ice box, and began feeding her.

  "You were really hungry, huh?" He said playfully as she devoured the bottle.

  "Hey, Reni?"

  Surprised, Reni turned around to see Engle standing in the doorway.

  "Odette wants to see you. Like now."

  "Sure, let me just put the baby back in her room and..."

  "You can take the kid in there too."

  "Oh... okay." Reni replied as he and Engle made their way to Odette's room. As they arrived, Engle knocked on the door.

  "I brought Reni and the kid. Is there anything else you need?"

  "That will be all, Engle. You can come in, Reni." Odette said as Engle headed off.

  Reni slowly opened the door and entered the room to see Odette writing at her desk.

  "It took you long enough." She said as she turned towards Reni.

  "Sorry, I was taking care of Esperance and—"

  "Who the fuck is Esperance?"

  Reni looked at his daughter and then back to her.

  "The baby."

  "I don't recall naming her. Did you name her?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes and stared into Reni's soul.

  "Y-Yes."

  "Let me make one thing clear. If I haven't already: She is MY daughter, not yours. And I will decide when she gets a name. If she gets a name. And what the name is. Understand?"

  "Yes."

  "Good. Now leave her on the bed and go do something." Odette said as she pointed to the bed.

  Reni hesitated at first but eventually approached Odette's bed, placed his daughter on it, and left the room.

  "Hey, Reni?" Guillaume asked as he stood in front of Reni just outside Odette's room.

  "Yeah?" Reni responded unenthusiastically.

  "Can we talk?"

  Reni walked around him and began heading towards his room. "About what?"

  "About us." Guillaume answered as he followed Reni.

  "There's nothing to talk about."

  "Then why did you say you don't trust me?" Guillaume asked right before Reni stopped at his door.

  "Just forget about it." Reni said as he tried to open his door before Guillaume shut it.

  "No. You need to tell me, Reni." Guillaume said as he placed his hand on the wall and leaned closer.

  "Just leave me alone!" Reni exclaimed.

  "Just tell me!" Guillaume pressed.

  "Fine. You want to know so bad?" Reni asked as he grew more frustrated by the minute.

  "Yes!"

  "It's because you sat there and just watched." He said as his eyes locked with Guillaume.

  "What?"

  "You heard me." Reni growled.

  "I don't really know what you're talking about?"

  "You stood there and let her rape me, Guillaume."

  "What?"

  "You sat there and fucking watched." Reni said as tears fell down his face.

  "Reni, I... I just didn't know what to do."

  "Well, how about you just leave me the fuck alone." Reni replied as he entered his room and shut the door in Guillaume's face.