The time they spent in the coffee house was cut short as they rode a carriage towards the hut's location.
Lucian was slightly nervous as well. Something that came out of someone's story is going to appear in front of him later. Plus, it had some sort of relation to him. As for what it was, only his mother knows.
Eugene was considerate enough to console his 'lover' by simply caressing and drawing circles on Lucian's waist. This really helped Lucian stay at ease.
The whole ride was quiet. Perhaps because the two alphas were tense and the beta was literally snoring at the moment.
"You think it'll be fine, Eugene?" Lucian asked in a whisper, leaning closer to Eugene's ear so that he could hear him clearly.
Eugene planted a swift and soft kiss on Lucian's nose after taking a peek at the sleeping man. "Of course. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you—"
"The both of us. Nothing bad should happen to me or to you," Lucian immediately corrected the blonde Marquis.
Eugene chuckled. "Yes, the both of us." His fingers gently tucked Lucian's stray black hair in his ear. "You're so protective of me. I like it."
"I had to. You don't know how to take care of yourself properly," Lucian retorted, rolling his eyes at him. Nonetheless, he leaned his head on the older alpha's shoulder comfortably. "I'm still feeling nervous, but it's manageable, I think."
"Just don't think too much about it and try to relax. You can sleep, too," Eugene proposed while planting small kisses on Lucian's cheeks and forehead.
If Oscar wakes up at this moment, he will probably be fed up with too much dog food. It was better for him to continue sleeping.
Lucian simply gave up trying to control Eugene's actions of peppering him with touches and kisses. It was probably his way of coaxing Lucian. For Lucian, it was simply adorable of him to try everything just to make him feel fine. He appreciated it.
And so, during the long ride, Lucian would take short naps while leaning on Eugene's shoulder. Sometimes, Eugene would be the one to sleep on Lucian's shoulder. They were literally taking turns taking care of each other. These series of actions helped Lucian forget about the matter at hand.
He was having fun with Eugene's company.
However, Lucian soon noticed that the road they were traveling on had fewer houses by the road. The longer they go on, the lesser the trees and plants in the vicinity were. It was exactly like what Oscar told them back in the coffee house.
It was as if people flew away from this place in hopes of escaping a disaster. It was literally like a horror movie's setting!
Eugene held Lucian's hand, bringing enough warmth for the younger man to look at him. "You're getting agitated again. Calm down. Your mother survived in this place without a scratch, so there won't be any problem, okay?"
Lucian pursed his lips and did not respond to Eugene's assurance.
He was scared for a different reason. And that reason was because Cheng Ge has always been scared of horror movies since he was a child. Now, seeing this barren land brought back bitter memories of when his childhood friends would force him to watch horror films with them.
If someone hates horror movies in the whole world, then it would be him. And if no one hates horror movies in the whole world, then he's probably good as dead.
Of course, Cheng Ge didn't have the guts to tell Eugene that. His image as an almighty alpha in front of his lover should stay as it is, okay?
Still, his body language states otherwise. Lucian scooted closer to Eugene, almost burying his face in the man's chest just so that his eyes wouldn't play tricks on him while looking out of the window. His fingers even anchored themselves on Eugene's coat to seek support.
As much as Eugene loved this physical contact with Lucian, he knew that something was really off with how Lucian acted right now. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked with an inquisitive gaze directed at Lucian.
The bronze-skinned alpha couldn't help but throw an offended glare at Eugene. 'Am I being too obvious about being scared of supernatural things?!'
The blonde noble had to bear with Lucian's heated gaze for a while before the carriage finally came to a halt. When both of them looked out the window, there was no hut in sight.
"I know you're both excited about the hut, but it's a place where carriages can't travel smoothly. We'll have to walk," Oscar, who just woke up at the right time, said with a casual smile. He dusted off the dust that had accumulated in his suit after falling asleep the whole ride before he got out of the carriage.
Eugene followed after him. Instead of simply going forward, he waited for Lucian first. And just like what they did before, Eugene held out his hand for Lucian to reach, assisting him in getting out of the carriage like a prince charming.
Oscar raised an eyebrow as he saw Eugene's gentlemanly stunt. He remembered his lovesick self in Eugene. Oscar was like that when he was courting Alice, too.
Lucian seemed to notice Oscar's eyes on them, so he subtly nudged Eugene to tone down his antics.
Eugene shrugged with a nonchalant expression. Alas, no one can stop him from doing whatever he wants.
Then the three gentlemen proceeded to walk towards the rocky road. There were lots of dead rocks, and the soil was quite dry to the point of cracks appearing there.
"Has there been drought in this area?" Eugene couldn't help but ask after observing the unhealthy environment. With this kind of soil quality, it was only expected that plants wouldn't be able to live long in this barren land!
"Yes. It was one of the wealthiest lands before, but after being hit by an intense drought, people started to vacate this area to find healthier places for their survival. Soon enough, no one was left behind," Oscar said with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Joe Carter only lived here after everyone evacuated, though," he added.
Lucian and Eugene nodded in understanding. Indeed, there was no use in staying in such a land if it only brought you harm and nothing of a benefit. As a businessman, Lucian agreed that it was a logical decision to leave.
Thankfully, the walk only lasted for five minutes. They stopped in front of a small, dilapidated hut. It was almost on the verge of crashing down, so Lucian was slightly hesitant to step forward.
Eugene took this as a cue to speak. "Sir, should we really go inside? It doesn't seem to be safe," Eugene pointed out the hut's structure with his slender hand.
"Ah, of course not. I won't risk your life for such a thing. The secret lies here..." Oscar winked at them as he squatted in front of the doorsteps, raising the blackened carpet with a serious face. He then threw it aside with a cough. "Damn, that was too dusty!"
Lucian and Eugene simply watched with bated breath. The surface was slightly different from what they expected, aside from the scattered bugs hiding there.
If one would take a closer look at it, they would easily notice that the front doorsteps actually seemed to have a handle, like a door.
"Is there something underground?" Lucian asked out of curiosity. It's usually like this, right?
Oscar stood up from his previous squat with a shake in the head. "I don't know. I was simply told to show you this once I found you."
"Uhm, what am I supposed to do with it?" Lucian awkwardly fiddled with his cufflinks. Why was his mother so trusting of her son, anyway? It's not like Cheng Ge was left behind with something significant by Elizabeth Montague! He seriously had no idea what to do with it right now.
Oscar seemed to sense Lucian's predicament as he placed his hands on his waist. "Well, you can just come back here once you figure it out. I really thought you knew about it since it seemed like you knew about the parasites as well."
"What? So it's really parasites?" Lucian was stunned at Oscar's casual remark.
"Why, didn't you already know?" Oscar asked back with raised eyebrows.
"Well, it was just a hypothesis before," Eugene said with a small smile. "So it's like this, huh?" His gaze shifted from Oscar to the hut. "What else do you know about this disease, sir?"
Oscar squinted his eyes at them. "I still can't believe that it was just a coincidence that you are aware of this problem. Anyway, as of now, there's nothing else important to mention aside from the contamination of blood."
Lucian tilted his head as a sudden thought came into his mind. "But sir, if you were tasked by my mother to spread the word about it, how come there are still those who got sick?"
Eugene nodded in agreement to Lucian's inquiry.
"Ah, that..." Oscar winced as if he just remembered a painful memory. His ears were slightly red from embarrassment. "When I told them about that as a warning, they all shut me out, saying that a non-native like me shouldn't meddle in their business. No matter how I tried persuading them, they only looked at me with doubtful gazes as if I were turning crazy. Alas, Joe Carter couldn't be used as an example for others."
Oscar then gestured at the area. "He lives in this barren land, couldn't go to travel, and is not that known to everyone since he spent less time here on the border because he was a traveler."
"Are you still doing it? Until now?" Eugene asked after giving it some thought. Supposedly, if Oscar truly informed them of these parasites, then someone would probably doubt that it's true after seeing the increasing cases of sick people, right? Then how come no one has come to this conclusion just yet?
Oscar scoffed in contempt. "The media had a hand on it. What can I and Alice do against the press?"
Eugene's eyes widened in realization. 'Papirus!'