Chloe Marshall felt that although this young man seemed simple-minded, a closer look revealed he wasn’t simple at all.

There was an indescribable strangeness about him.

"Thank you."

His room was little more than a small shack. The other room was slightly larger, but both were crudely constructed.

Inside the small shack was a custom-made wooden table and a bed.

The blanket on the bed was fairly clean.

He went out and quickly returned, holding two large buns made with wild vegetables. Chloe Marshall was starving and finished them in no time. After eating and drinking some water, she realized that simply having food was the greatest happiness imaginable.

"Where is this?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Are there any villages nearby?"

He just shook his head again.

"What’s your name?"

He finally spoke. "My name is Silly. What’s your name, Wife?"

Chloe Marshall froze. ’Silly—what kind of name is that?’

"My name is Chloe Marshall."

He just said, "Oh," and sat down, motionless.

"If you have work to do, go do it. I’ll rest here for a bit."

He quickly shook his head. "My mom said I don’t have to work anymore. I’m supposed to just watch my wife until she gives me a baby."

’Chloe had been planning to survey the area when he went out, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen. Was he going to watch her every single second?’

"You’re a grown man, and you still have to do everything your mom says? You say you want me to be your wife, but how are you supposed to protect me?"

Hearing the doubt in her voice, Silly lifted his chin and puffed out his chest. "I can!"

She lay there, completely drained of strength. The handcuffs and leg chains were a heavy burden. ’I’ll just have to wait and see,’ she thought, ’and find another chance to escape.’

Chloe Marshall must have been utterly exhausted, because she fell asleep.

When she woke up, the sky outside was already completely dark.

There was food and water on the table.

Silly was sitting on the stool, watching her.

It seemed that while she was sound asleep, he had been sitting there the whole time.

"This is for you. Hurry up and eat."

She picked up the bowl and ate with her head down. When she finished, he took the bowl away. He returned a moment later and shut the rickety door.

He said, "My mom said we have to consummate our marriage tonight."

Chloe Marshall tensed. "Do you know what that means?"

"Of course I do," he replied. "My mom told me. We both take off our clothes, you lie down, and I get on top of you. That’s how we consummate the marriage, and then we can have a baby."

Hearing this, an idea sparked in Chloe Marshall’s mind. She nodded. "Alright, let’s do it."

’She would wait until he was asleep, then make her escape.’

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and she quickly blew out the candle on the table.

She whispered in Silly’s ear, "How about we give each other a massage first?"

"A massage? What’s that?"

Chloe Marshall said, "You lie down on your stomach first."

He obediently lay down, and Chloe started massaging his back. He let out a few groans of pleasure. "Wow, this actually feels really good."

Chloe Marshall glanced at the shadows under the door and put on a seductive tone. "Want me to go faster?"

"Faster, faster."

After a couple of minutes, she said, "How about you give me a massage now?"

He quickly got up. "Okay."

Chloe Marshall lay on her stomach. His hands pressed lightly on her back; he was a surprisingly quick study.

"Oh, that feels so good," she moaned. "A little harder~~~"

Silly’s face flushed red. His body grew a little stiff as his hands quickly pounded and kneaded her back.

Outside, Silly’s Mom covered her mouth and scurried back to the main house. She whispered, "Look at our silly boy, he’s so blessed. He got such a beautiful wife, and they’re already consummating their marriage on the first night."

Silly’s Dad was also happy for his son.

Relieved, the two of them went to bed early.

Back in the shack, Chloe Marshall saw that the shadows by the door were gone. "Okay, you can stop now," she said.

Silly awkwardly removed his hands. "Wife, should we consummate our marriage now?"

Chloe Marshall nodded. "Okay."

She lay down and said to him, "You sleep on top, and I’ll sleep on the bottom. Are there any more blankets?"

"No, what do you need another blanket for?"

"I’m sleeping on the bottom."

Only then did he realize that the "bottom" she mentioned was not under his body, but on the floor.

"My mom said we have to take off our clothes and I have to be on top of you. That’s what consummating a marriage is. This isn’t it."

’For the sake of him having saved her, Chloe really didn’t want to just knock him unconscious.’

She had no choice but to compromise. "To consummate the marriage, only you need to take your clothes off. I don’t have to. I’m cold, can I please keep mine on?"

"I guess that’s fine. Let’s do it that way then."

He really did strip off every piece of clothing and just lay down on top of her.

Pressed down by his weight, Chloe Marshall was extremely uncomfortable and could barely breathe.

’Thank god he wasn’t very bright. Otherwise, she really would have been doomed tonight. It was a classic case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.’

In the middle of the night, he finally fell asleep.

She carefully wriggled sideways until his body slid off of hers. Then, she stealthily slipped out of bed.

To keep her leg chains from making a sound, she was incredibly careful, practically inching her way out the door.

It was bone-chillingly cold outside.

Dressed in only a thin nightgown, she shivered uncontrollably.

But she had to escape. If she didn’t, she might truly be trapped here for the rest of her life.

’In a godforsaken place like this, could Boss Ellsworth ever find me?’

Once outside the main gate, she began to walk. The chains on her ankles made it impossible to take proper strides, and she lost count of how many times she fell. She had no idea which direction she was headed.

Just as she was about to stop for a rest, her foot found empty air, and she plunged straight into a deep pit.

Something sharp pierced her leg. In the darkness, she couldn’t see what it was, but she feared it might be a blade.

It was pitch-black; she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. She looked up. The top of the pit was far above. Forcing herself to stand, she tried to climb out, only to find it was impossible.

At least the pit shielded her from the wind, making it much warmer.

Chloe Marshall was drenched in a cold sweat from the pain. For some reason, her thoughts turned to Zeke, then to Nora. But it was the thought of Boss Ellsworth that finally broke her. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed over her uninjured leg, sobbing.

「It was the fourth day of her disappearance.」

Zeke Marshall was on the verge of a breakdown. He and Ethan Ellsworth had launched a massive search, focusing on the sea and land around the borders of Harrowin.

But another day had passed with nothing to show for it. The search at sea had turned up empty.

There were no leads on land, either. They were, once again, at a dead end.

Ethan Ellsworth had pushed all his work aside. How could he possibly be in the mood to work at a time like this?

That evening, after grabbing a quick bite, the search party was preparing to rest before resuming their efforts. Just then, news arrived: a rope, identical to one found on the ship, had been discovered at the border between Grestin and Harrowin.

With this news, they could finally narrow their search to the land area between Harrowin and Grestin.

They coordinated with the police forces of both countries to implement strict screening of travelers at all train stations and airports.