* * *
Joel thought the Crown Prince would never come back.
But to his surprise, the Crown Prince was persistent.
Every single morning, he would come knocking at the count’s estate.
At the time, Count Lucas had just returned from a trip and, wearing a grin that nearly split his face, pushed Joel out the door, urging him to go meet the prince.
But each time, Joel firmly refused.
Count Lucas grew increasingly anxious, afraid the Crown Prince would lose interest.
But when Joel said sternly, “See? This is what happens when we do it my way. His Highness keeps clinging. But this is just the beginning. We have to keep him desperate if we want him to fall for real,” the count seemed convinced and backed off.
The Count also informed Joel that a rumor had spread widely through the capital: the Crown Prince had been attacked by an assassin.
According to the rumor, the prince had been struck in the head with something like a blunt weapon, which had caused him to suffer partial memory loss.
The Emperor, furious that someone dared attempt the life of his only son, swore to hunt down the perpetrator and have them executed.
But then, the Crown Prince himself ordered the investigation to be stopped, so it couldn’t go any further.
It was only then that Joel started to piece things together.
The Crown Prince had lost his memory—what luck.
Relieved, Joel found himself being cautiously asked by Count Lucas, “Joel, weren’t you there at the time? Do you remember anything about the assassin?”
Clearly, the count wanted a chance to earn some merit.
But with so much to hide, Joel feigned ignorance to the best of his ability.
After a month of Joel refusing to meet him, the Crown Prince eventually stopped coming to the estate.
And another month passed after the imperial graduation party—making it two months since the attack.
By then, even the attempted assassination had quieted down.
Then one day, Joel suddenly received an urgent summons from the Crown Prince and was dragged to the imperial palace.
‘Why did things have to get so complicated?’
Joel sighed in frustration.
He had worked so hard to let go of his feelings for the prince, ready to leave for some far-off land with a clean break.
If things were going to turn out like this, the prince might as well have gotten him pregnant in their past life.
‘Why… just why…?’
He didn’t even have the strength left to fight the people at the palace or his adoptive father anymore.
If he could, he’d grab both the Crown Prince and the gods by the collars and shake them hard while demanding an explanation.
“What on earth is this summons about?”
Sitting in the drawing room of the Crown Prince’s palace, Joel grumbled silently as memories of the past came rushing back.
He never wanted to set foot in this place again.
But with Count Lucas pestering him from the crack of dawn to go right away, he had no choice but to be dragged along.
He was somewhat curious why the Crown Prince had summoned him, and he also needed to confirm whether or not he was pregnant.
Still, if he hadn’t had those reasons, Joel would never have come of his own will.
He arrived at the palace earlier than the appointed time in order to secretly meet with Robert, a royal physician and longtime friend.
Among all the doctors Joel knew, Robert was the most tight-lipped.
And though he could be a little slow sometimes, Robert was smart.
If he gave a diagnosis, Joel trusted it completely.
After a long wait, Joel finally received the answer—he was pregnant.
But he wasn’t shaken at all.
By then, he had fully come to terms with having the child.
Not once had he ever resented the baby.
If the child resembled the Crown Prince, he would surely be lovable.
The only reason Joel ever considered an abortion was because he worried that the baby might prefer not to be born at all.
The truth was, he desperately wanted to make this child—who would carry both his and his most beloved person’s blood—happy.
That’s why Joel decided to flee far away and give birth alone.
It was a selfish decision, and he felt sorry for the child, but he was determined never to tell the baby who the father was.
Better to grow up loved and treated like a person in a distant land, than be raised in the palace as an unloved imperial child.
He couldn’t offer the same luxurious life as the palace, but with the annual salary he had secured in a foreign territory, he could easily support himself, the child, and even the child’s biological father if necessary.
‘Don’t worry, little one. I’ll make sure you’re happy.’
Joel gently caressed his still-flat belly.
“Still… the response from the steward I sent to the father’s estate is way too late.”
The new worry gave him a headache.
It had been two and a half months now, and not even a single letter had come back from the steward.
The man had warned it might take a month or two even if things went smoothly, but this was too long.
‘Please don’t tell me something’s gone wrong with the inheritance…’
Joel trailed off, yawning loudly.
Lately, he found himself exhausted after even the smallest bit of stress—most likely due to the pregnancy.
His head kept nodding forward involuntarily.
As he leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes, Wycombe said anxiously from behind, “Master, if His Highness sees you like this…”
Joel didn’t want to make Wycombe worry, but he couldn’t fight it anymore.
His eyes fluttered shut. His eyelids were just too heavy.
When Joel finally woke from his deep sleep, the Crown Prince was sitting across from him, quietly drinking tea.
They were the only two in the spacious drawing room.
Seeing that Joel had woken, the Crown Prince set his teacup down with a graceful motion.
“You’re awake.”
Joel hastily straightened up, fixing his disheveled hair.
He felt annoyed—if the Crown Prince was going to let him sleep, he could have just left him alone, but sitting there watching him like that?
It was embarrassing.
…Honestly, he was just worried he might’ve looked foolish sleeping like that.
“You summon me and then keep me waiting like this? What kind of manners are those?”
“Sorry. I meant to come earlier, but the Duke of Melfis kept holding me up. Did you wait long?”
“You think it was just a little wait?”
“I apologize.”
Even though Joel was deliberately picking irritating words, the Crown Prince apologized without resistance. A Crown Prince, of all people.
He had this infuriating knack for leaving others with nothing to say.
Joel especially disliked that about him.
…Or rather, he liked it.
Back in his past life, when they lived together in the Crown Prince’s palace, the prince would always accept Joel’s complaints and outbursts with that same attitude.
For a while, Joel even let himself believe the illusion—that maybe, just maybe, he was someone truly special to the Crown Prince.
Of course, after being abandoned by him, Joel no longer entertained such fantasies.
The prince was just… well-mannered. That was all.
Still, Joel had thought only Benjamin was with him, but apparently the Duke of Melfis had come along as well.
The duke was set to become the Crown Prince’s father-in-law.
What had they been talking about so late into the night?
Maybe something like, ‘When should the wedding be? What kind of ceremonial attire would look best?’
Laughing it up with his future consort Benjamin and future father-in-law, all while leaving Joel to wait alone?
That thought soured Joel’s mood more than anything.
Seeing Joel pouting with his lips stuck out, the Crown Prince misunderstood the reason behind his anger and began to speak in a coaxing tone.
“You must be upset that I kept you waiting. But as a sign of remorse, I waited here until you woke up. So how about letting it go?”
“…When did you get here?”
“Four fifteen.”
Joel glanced at the clock on the wall.
Their appointment had been at 3 o’clock.
Joel had arrived at 3:10.
And now it was 7.
If the Crown Prince had really arrived at 4:15, then he’d waited more than twice as long as Joel had been late. Joel felt a flicker of his anger fade.
“No one asked you to wait.”
“That’s true. Then what should I do to make you forgive me?”
The Crown Prince leaned in slightly as he spoke, his tone as generous as if he were ready to grant Joel anything he wanted.
A soft smile curled on his lips, like he found Joel absolutely adorable.
In their previous life, whenever Joel sulked like this, the Crown Prince would coax him in the same way—offering to grant a wish.
And Joel would usually ask for a kiss on the cheek.
Now, reminiscing on what had become memories only he could remember, Joel was suddenly seized with a strong urge to do the same thing again.
“That’s enough. Just tell me why you called me here.”
But he couldn’t.
Not anymore.
He was no longer a candidate for Crown Princess.
He had no right to ask the Crown Prince for a kiss on the cheek.
Avoiding his gaze, Joel replied coldly.
It was a desperate attempt to keep his emotional distance from the Crown Prince, who had suddenly started acting all warm and familiar again.
But even with all his coaxing, Joel wouldn’t budge, and in the end, the Crown Prince gave up and straightened his posture.
* * *
