The journey back to the capital was leisurely.
To ensure the pregnant Joel could rest comfortably, the Crown Prince avoided camping whenever possible, choosing instead to stay at the castles of local lords, even if it delayed their return.
Joel was welcomed with hospitality wherever they went.
It was only natural, as he was the precious figure destined to become the Crown Princess and was already carrying the imperial heir.
Stories of how Joel had stripped the title of a noble who cruelly exploited his people were spreading rapidly.
Consequently, while the nobility feared Joel might find fault with them, they were simultaneously anxious to meet the man who had defeated a demon.
By now, Joel’s belly had rounded enough to be noticeable through his clothes.
Occasionally, some gossips found the fact that Joel had fled while pregnant to be suspicious.
Since this cast doubt on the future Crown Princess’s virtue, no one dared to voice such suspicions aloud, but rumors have a way of spreading in an instant.
Fortunately, the quick-witted Crown Prince had already prepared an appropriate excuse.
He pinned everything on Count Lucas, sternly declaring that he would crack down on any false rumors regarding Joel.
Since the investigation results stating Count Lucas had sold his soul to a demon to cover up a rebellion were widely known, the Crown Prince’s explanation—that the Count, facing execution, had hidden the pregnant Joel to blackmail the Imperial Family—seemed quite persuasive.
Most importantly, the nobles who actually met Joel had to admit he was far too innocent and pure to ever act out a charade of carrying the imperial heir while actually pregnant with another man’s child.
Thus, any lingering spark of doubt toward Joel quickly flickered out.
Joel regained his strength rapidly, eating well and living with a peaceful mind.
His belly grew larger by the day.
As the weight increased, so did his sense of responsibility for the child; whenever he had a spare moment, he asked the Crown Prince about common knowledge and imperial etiquette to prepare himself.
The morning after staying at the seventh lord’s castle, the Crown Prince received word from Abe that the carriage was ready and headed to the room where Joel was resting.
“We should be heading out soon.”
Even when he spoke while leaning against the doorway, Joel, sitting at the desk, gave no response.
He was staring intently at a piece of paper, his forehead creased in a deep frown.
The elegant handwriting on that paper belonged to the Crown Prince.
Three days ago, at Joel’s request, the Crown Prince had written down ancient characters for him. Joel was now spending his free time trying to memorize them.
It had been a week since Joel began studying like this whenever he had a moment.
Having spent three years in the Imperial Academy with Joel, the Crown Prince—who had never seen him so dedicated to academics—still hadn’t adjusted to this new sight.
Since they had shared classes, the Crown Prince knew exactly how Joel had spent his academy days.
Over those three years, if you asked what Joel did during lectures, the answer was usually “sleep.”
Nodding off forward was considered polite.
At times, he would lean his head back and sleep with his mouth wide open.
Chuckling as he recalled the sight of the drowsy Joel, the Crown Prince belatedly realized that if Joel had spent all his lecture time sleeping, he himself had spent all his time watching Joel sleep.
“Your Highness? What are you doing there?”
Joel, finally noticing the Crown Prince, asked with wide eyes.
Snapping out of his thoughts, the Crown Prince gave an awkward smile.
“…Ah. The preparations for departure are finished, so I came to get you.”
“Oh, just a moment. Let me look at this just one more time.”
Joel hurriedly turned back to the paper.
He ducked his head so low it looked as if he might dive right into the page.
Shaking his head, the Crown Prince approached Joel, who was muttering dejectedly, “That’s strange, why won’t it stick in my head…?”
“Ancient language isn’t a particularly important subject. Why are you so obsessed with learning it? You shouldn’t overexert yourself while pregnant, so let’s stop here and get going.”
The Crown Prince spoke as he wrapped his hand gently around Joel’s shoulder.
His tone was brimming with affection and tenderness.
Joel put the paper down as told, but his lingering gaze remained fixed on it.
“Well, it’s just…”
In truth, Joel still hadn’t shaken the feeling of being a fool when he had stared at the compass during his escape.
That was why he was so fixated on mastering the ancient language.
Of course, he couldn’t reveal those circumstances to the Crown Prince.
He likely already thought Joel was a bit slow; if he found out Joel had wandered lost because he couldn’t interpret the ancient characters on a compass, he would look even more pathetic.
“Oh, Joel. What’s that?”
The Crown Prince suddenly pointed toward the window.
Taking advantage of the moment Joel looked away, the Crown Prince lightning-fast flipped the paper, which had been upside down.
“What? There’s nothing there.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. A bird must have flown by.”
“What was that about…?”
Turning back to the paper, Joel realized the characters had suddenly become even more unfamiliar and his shoulders slumped.
He had been looking at this for three days, yet the ancient language didn’t feel the least bit familiar.
Instead of being memorized, it felt new every time he saw it.
“It’s not just the alphabet; I have to memorize words, too… but no matter how much I look, I just can’t remember them. If I’m struggling this much just to learn the characters, what on earth am I going to do?”
The Crown Prince had witnessed Joel failing to distinguish the top from the bottom of the paper at least ten times now.
However, instead of pointing it out, he gently coaxed him up.
“The ancient language isn’t important at all, so don’t be so disappointed. There have even been kings who were illiterate until the day they died; it’s no great disaster if you don’t know something like ancient script. A subordinate will handle tedious tasks like deciphering ancient languages, so you should focus on taking care of your health.”
“Really? Was there truly a king who couldn’t read or write his whole life?”
“Of course. Haven’t you heard of King George the Great? It’s a famous story.”
“Hmm…”
Joel felt a bit more spirited after hearing the Crown Prince’s consolation.
He carefully folded the paper, tucked it into his clothes, and headed toward the carriage leaning on the Crown Prince for support.
Finally, the carriage departed.
After briefly waving back to the cheering citizens, the Crown Prince immediately closed the carriage curtains.
He carefully helped Joel lie down and then lay down beside him.
Joel felt the Crown Prince’s pheromones fill the carriage and slowly closed his eyes.
He felt quite exhausted, perhaps because he had studied so hard since early morning.
As soon as he relaxed, the Crown Prince’s hand began to stealthily undo his shirt buttons, prompting Joel to give the back of his hand a sharp smack.
“Ouch…”
The sound was loud, but it hadn’t been a particularly hard hit.
Nevertheless, the Crown Prince pretended to be in pain, rubbing his nose against Joel’s shoulder.
“Don’t act like a child.”
Joel firmly pushed the Crown Prince’s forehead away.
Initially, he had felt sorry for the pining Prince and let him have his way, but after an incident where the carriage hit a rock and jolted, he had become exceptionally cautious.
Joel still felt a chill down his spine when he thought of that moment.
Abe, worried about the situation inside the carriage, had knocked on the door asking, “Your Highness, Young Master! Is everything alright?” Joel, who had been undressed at the time, had to scramble to put his clothes back on.
Fortunately, it hadn’t been an emergency, and it was settled by him simply shouting that they were fine.
However, realizing that if the carriage had actually overturned, he would have been exposed to everyone naked and entangled with the Crown Prince, Joel was now desperately defending his clothing.
After a short scuffle, the Crown Prince was forced to give up on undressing Joel.
“Ha. I’ll have to give that bastard Abe a kick in the shins later.”
“Go ahead if you like.”
Since it wasn’t Becky or Rob getting kicked, and the annoying Abe taking a hit or two didn’t bother him, Joel responded with a shrug.
Though he gave up on making Joel naked, it didn’t mean the Crown Prince had completely withdrawn his ulterior motives.
Despite his hand being swatted painfully by Joel, he didn’t give up and finally managed to slide his hand inside Joel’s shirt.
“How is our child doing?”
The Crown Prince asked as he caressed Joel’s swollen belly.
“…Where exactly would the baby in my stomach go?”
The Crown Prince’s smile deepened at the prickly response.
Seeing the Prince enjoying himself so much, Joel could only endure his embarrassment and allow the Prince to stroke his belly to his heart’s content.
