Chapter 55

Earlier that same day, on Lucas' end, he purposefully walked towards the food market in town.

His big frame, looking even bigger with all the things he carried quickly meandered around the stall until he reached the one where Monthe was barely preparing the ingredients for that day.

"Lucas! I thought you'd forgotten little me!" Monthe piped up as soon as he noticed the bearded man. As they stood together, one could easily see Lucas was smaller in frame and height compared to Monthe. 

Although it was not that noticeable among his brother as he was the biggest one, Lucas did also suffer from his bad nutrition while growing up. If he had not skipped meals as often as he did, then he would be as big as Monthe.

"I saw your brother with a woman. He finally settling down?" Monthe asked once he stored everything Lucas brought.

Lucas nodded. "Don't know when, but soon." Monthe was a bit gossipy, yet he was also asking the least talkative of the brothers. He was never going to get the whole information.

Monthe sighed as he took out some coins to pay Lucas. "To think we'd have the same preferences in women." 

Monthe hailed from another village called Green Hill Village. His family consisted of only his mother; his father having died of disease when he was young.

Despite having started working from very young, he was a jolly kid; everybody in the village liked him. And, as he grew up to be very big and strong, many ladies wanted him as a son-in-law.

However, he wasn't interested in any of the spoiled and thin girls those ladies had as daughters. No. He had his eyes set in Vieve, a young woman who was always mocked for being chubby.

When he started pursuing her, all those old ladies became even more vicious in their comments against Vieve.

He sincerely had no idea how Vieve accepted marrying him as she had always been doubtful of their relationship. Her parents, though, thanked him endlessly for not giving up on her; as their only daughter, they worried about her future.

After marrying, he discovered she could have very well defended herself due to her tough character.

'All they do is talk.' She had replied when he had asked her why she never talked back whenever she was mocked. 

Monthe learned she was very confident unlike what others believed. Unlike those other women who cared too much about what others would say, Vieve just lived her life however she liked.

She did confess she didn't believe him when he told her he wanted to marry her. 

It wouldn't have been the first time a guy told her that as a joke. 

After hearing that, he promised himself to give her a life to be proud of and brag about. After three years of marriage, they had a stall in the town's food market, farmland and a baby boy. 

Monthe never thought someone else would see the beauty in chubby women; especially someone like Ethan who always courted spoiled and skinny women.

He looked at Lucas and wondered what kind of woman would get his interest. 

"Right. Here. This is for the game, and a little something to congratulate your brother for his future marriage." Monthe clapped Lucas' hand and gave it a tight handshake. A sign to accept the money and say nothing about it. Lucas only nodded and put the coins in his pocket without looking at the amount. 

He was about to leave when he remembered something he wanted to ask. "You know someone who sells carts and horses?" 

Monthe instantly thought Lucas was asking on Ethan's behalf for his future wife. It was a hard question, though.

"No one around bothers with horses, preferring donkeys or oxen. Carts… well, that depends on how you want it, that's how expensive it'll be. The cheapest one should be around 15 coins if new."

"Hm." Lucas turned pensive. They could not afford anything at the moment. He had wanted to have a horse-pulled cart to take Isabelle around, having noticed she tired easily when walking.

"I'll ask around if someone in this town or another one can sell a horse at a low price." Monthe promised Lucas, who nodded in thanks and left with no other words.

Once alone, he pulled the money he was paid out and counted 15 coins. Lucas blinked. From experience, he knew the game he gave Monthe would earn him at most 8 or 9 coins.

That meant the rest was his gift to Ethan. 

Those numbers were worth saying Lucas should be the brother with more money among the others. Why then, had he not saved that much money throughout his life? 

The reason was, he was the one who paid for any repairs the house needed (which were always overcharged by the villagers who did those repairs), and who had to buy Felix's medicine, plus giving some money to Ethan to please the women he courted with those expensive gifts.

Fisting the coins, he immediately decided to give all his money to Isabelle. She knew how to spend money efficiently unlike them.

With no other things to do in town, he made his way to the town's exit. 

On the way back, he saw that woman Joseph used to court and ended up marrying another guy. She was accompanying a man around town; her head was lowered, but she readily replied when the man talked to her.

It was not a strange sight in villages and in town, so Lucas thought nothing of it and continued on his way.

He arrived home right on time to eat a very hearty meal.

He ate in a good mood and happily listened to the chatter around the table. Then, he witnessed what it meant to have extra lessons with Isabelle as Ethan was put to write nonstop. His own hand hurt on Ethan's behalf. 

However, he also itched to try. He tended to break the chalk whenever he used it, so he had to learn how to properly grab it. Sadly, he was not given the chance to practice his writing. He was put to solve math questions. 

452-176-84-20

Why was it so long?! His head hurt seeing the big numbers.

"Lend it! You have to lend the number!" Joseph exclaimed, having remembered that math lesson on subtractions. 

"Lend which one?" Ethan asked frowning. 

"Number beside?" Lucas proposed.

"So, after lending… 2 becomes 3?" Ethan asked confused. "3 minus 6..."

The three glared at the board, as if forcing the thing to give them the answer. At the side, Isabelle tried very hard not to laugh as she kept embroidering. She had finished two pillow cases and the brothers had not solved the question. 

In the end, Felix saved them. "If you lend, 2 becomes 12. Then, 12-6-4; zero doesn't count because it's zero… 5 became 4 after lending. 4-7, the number is small, so lend from 4. 14-7-8… it's not enough. Lend another one; 24-7-8-2 is 7. Finally, after lending, 4 became 2; and, 2-1 is 1. The result is 172." 

Isabelle smiled proudly at Felix and beckoned at him to get his reward. Happy, Felix went to cook dinner. 

The other brothers could only look on dejected. 

Then, it was all forgotten at dinner.

Knowing the issue between Isabelle and Joseph, Ethan decided to help a bit and have a talk with Joseph after their night lesson and before her bath.

Seeing Isabelle going into the house to get her things for her bath once the lesson was over, he approached Joseph while he boiled water for the bath. 

"I saw Milly at the market yesterday." Ethan began, leaned on the kitchen's threshold. It was a lie, yet Joseph didn't know that.

The third brother turned to look at his eldest brother. "You told Isabelle?" He defenseively asked.

"Is there something I need to tell her?" Ethan narrowed his eyes.

Joseph closed his mouth with a click, rubbed his face with his hand and loudly exhaled. "Knew she was bad news the moment I saw her days ago."

Ethan rose an eyebrow at the easy confession. "You saw her, too?" 

Joseph clicked his tongue and stared at the bubbling water. "I thought nothing when she approached. She's already married. Then, she goes and tells me she's having problems with her husband. That the man is cheating on her with a cousin of his. That she didn't like him." 

"She wants an affair?" Ethan frowned. After all, who didn't know Joseph had gotten involved with several married women? Joseph nodded. "Is she mad?" He asked in disbelief. "You told her about Isabelle?"

"I didn't." Joseph shook his head and rose his hand to stop whatever Ethan was about to say. "She's pregnant. It's not her husband's."

"And what? She wants to leave him and make you raise the kid?" Joseph's silence was all the answer Ethan needed. "Fuck, she's for real?"

Just when he thought Joseph got a nice girl, it turned out she was crazier than a goat. And both had seen their fair share of crazy women.

"What's your plan? You not telling Isabelle at least? You should tell her what's happening with this crazy woman before others come gossiping to harm you both."

"I was plannin' to do it yesterday, but she seemed like she really had things to say to you. And, you were just booted, so I let it slide. Let 'er comfort you a bit." Joseph shrugged.

Ethan couldn't believe it.

Isabelle and Joseph both let the matter simmer until that point. 

Ethan sighed while rubbing his brow. "Tell 'er. Today!" After his command, he left his brother to continue preparing Isabelle's bath and headed to the river to join his brothers in their washing. 

Joseph rolled his eyes at Ethan's leaving back.

He knew he had taken too long to air the matter with Isabelle. He was afraid of her reaction after knowing the mess he was involved in. Actually, he would also run away if a woman came to him with such a mess.

That's why he hadn't gone to Basin Town after meeting Milly that day at the market. She had even daringly proposed him to meet her at the market for as long as she stayed with her husband at town visiting the aforementioned cousin. 

She didn't even want to dissimulate an affair! To let everyone and their dog know they were seeing each other!

He poured the water with more strength than needed, and spilled it all around the tub. He gustily sighed and went to grab a broom to sweep the water out. Once done, he went to call Isabelle but received no reply. 

"Isabelle?" He called out again. Nothing. Frowning, he walked to the house and entered. "You here, Isabelle?" There was no reply.

He was about to look for her at the river, thinking she had gone there to wash with his brothers, but a soft noise stopped him. 

Walking past the partition, he found the culprit of the noise sound asleep. She was half laying on the bed, with her legs dangling out. The position she was in made her snore.

Joseph had no words to describe what he was feeling at that moment.

He only walked out of the house, filled a bucket with the bath water and picked a clothe.

He had experience in cleaning her while she was asleep, earned from when she was in her bleeding days. He expertly undressed her and started cleaning her body. She complained a bit at the movement, but didn't wake up.

His disbelief turned into pity. 

She must've been really tired to fall asleep so deeply. 

His pity, though, didn't stop him from leaving a few marks in her. "Look at ya. So pink and delicious after a good rub." He kissed and nipped her thigh as he lowered to clean her feet. "I could really take advantage of ya like this." He hoarsely whispered as his hand caressed from her calf up to her hips. 

Isabelle hummed and rolled to her side.

Joseph felt his cock rising as his eyes devoured the round and perky ass presented to him. He didn't hold back and grabbed it, spreading it to see what what was hidden in between the butt cheeks. 

"Shit..." He growled, staring at his prize.

He groped and rubbed, starting soft and increasing his strength until he heard her whine. Only then, he woke up from his lust-addled mind and sighed.

"Another time, then… I will eat that until you're crying from pleasure." He darkly promised before finishing his task.

By the time his brothers returned, Isabelle was dressed and tucked in the bed while he took care of his hard-on in the kitchen, submerged in the warm water. The feeling of her ass lingered in his hands, and he used it as fuel to seek his orgasm. 

Once down from his high, he prepared everything and went to sleep. 

He almost cursed when he found Ethan hugging Isabelle, but stopped himself from waking his brother to move him as he did remember they had only exchanged bath times. 

Grumbling a bit, he looked for a spot on the bed and quickly fell asleep.