The late afternoon sun stimulated a sense of spring drowsiness.
Having filled himself with sweet tea and snacks, Joel began to nod off.
A breeze blowing through the slightly ajar window softly tickled his downy cheeks, and his pale blond hair shimmered as if melting into the sunlight.
Of course, no matter how pleasant the spring sun was, only Joel was dozing off peacefully.
Benjamin, consumed with worry for Joel, had barely touched his teacup.
The kind Benjamin asked Becky to lower the curtains for the sleeping Joel.
“I’m sorry I’m late for the tea party—”
The Crown Prince, who arrived late, was about to offer a bright greeting but immediately fell silent upon seeing Joel dozing.
The Prince motioned to stop Benjamin, who was about to rise and offer his respects, and exchanged a light nod with him.
Benjamin watched with a smile as the Crown Prince, disregarding his dignity, approached on his tiptoes with stealthy steps.
Even as the Prince carefully sat beside him, Joel remained fast asleep, breathing softly.
“He must have been very tired,” the Crown Prince whispered, stroking Joel’s cheek.
Joel was always lovely, but he looked particularly endearing when he was sleeping so peacefully.
It was perhaps because sleep was the only time those sharp, cat-like eyes finally softened.
Seeing the happy Crown Prince, the quick-witted Benjamin decided it was time to withdraw.
Before leaving, Benjamin did not forget to warn the Prince about the disrespectful rumors circulating in high society.
The Crown Prince, who seemed to have already encountered such rumors, didn’t appear particularly surprised.
Benjamin offered a polite bow to the Prince, his face still marked with concern, and took his leave.
Once Benjamin was gone, the Crown Prince gently picked Joel up.
He felt uneasy letting the pregnant Joel sleep on the sofa.
Watching this, Becky quickly touched the bookshelf to open the door to the secret bedroom.
The Prince walked into the dimly lit secret room while holding Joel.
The Crown Prince carefully laid Joel on the bed and lay down beside him.
It was a perfectly happy nap time.
Joel’s skin always carried a soft scent of milk; perhaps that was why, despite no longer being a child, he always felt like one to the Prince.
As the Prince, unable to overcome his surging affection, kept fiddling with Joel’s soft cheeks, Joel’s eyelids flickered as if tickled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
“…Your Highness?”
The dazed blue eyes began to sparkle with joy upon discovering the Crown Prince.
The Prince could feel how much Joel loved him just by meeting his gaze.
He still found it hard to believe that Joel had truly intended to leave him behind and flee.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
The Crown Prince closed Joel’s eyes with his hand and soothed him, saying, “We still have time, so don’t worry and sleep more.”
However, the eyelids trapped under his hand continued to blink repeatedly, forcing the Prince to finally remove his hand.
“Why won’t you sleep more?”
Joel’s eyes were as clear as if he hadn’t been sleeping at all.
The Crown Prince couldn’t stop himself from laughing as he looked into those pretty eyes staring back at him.
Seeing the smile on the Prince’s face, Joel beamed as well.
“But… the baby keeps moving so much that I can’t sleep.”
Joel stretched and burrowed into the Crown Prince’s embrace.
The Prince naturally pulled Joel close as he clung to his neck like a spoiled child.
Every one of Joel’s small actions showed how much love he had received while growing up under Lord Bennett.
One thing the Crown Prince had realized while living with Joel was that Joel was very accustomed to receiving expressions of affection.
Had Count Lucas not intervened in his life, Joel could have lived forever as a bright and cheerful boy.
Feeling a pang of sympathy, the Prince kissed his cheek dearly.
“The baby was quiet last night, but I suppose they’re playing since it’s daytime.”
Joel felt shy at the touch of the Crown Prince’s hand stroking his lower stomach.
Resting his cheek against the Prince’s chest, a long-forgotten curiosity flashed through his mind.
“Your Highness, Your Highness. Did you move a lot in Her Majesty the Empress’s womb, too?”
The Crown Prince was taken aback by the random question, but seeing how serious Joel looked, he quickly provided an answer.
“Probably not. According to my mother, I had almost no fetal movement for the full ten months, so she had to call the imperial physician several times a day to check my condition.”
Hearing this, Joel hunched his shoulders as if disappointed.
“Ah…”
“What is it?” the Prince asked worriedly, but Joel clamped his mouth shut.
He refused to open up no matter how much he was coaxed.
After a long while of being wheedled, the Prince finally heard the reason for Joel’s sudden gloom.
“…I moved around a lot when I was in my mother’s womb.”
“And so?”
“The baby is still at night but active during the day. Since they stay still for half the day, they seem to take after Your Highness for that half… but what if they take after me for the other half?”
The Crown Prince burst into a hearty laugh.
It was only natural for a child to take after both parents.
However, Joel genuinely seemed to hope the baby wouldn’t resemble him, so the Prince wiped the laughter from his face and gently wrapped his arm around Joel’s shoulder.
“Joel, if our child takes after you, they will grow up to be a magnificent beauty, so what on earth are you worried about? I actually hope the baby takes after you a lot.”
Despite the Prince’s comfort, Joel’s dark expression didn’t brighten.
He considered arguing with the Prince—who was trying so hard to soothe him—by saying, “I mean, what if they take after my brain and not my face?” but he decided against it. He didn’t want to break this peaceful atmosphere.
Joel could feel the Crown Prince’s pheromones surrounding him.
His mate’s pheromones softly calmed his depressed heart.
The worry about the child that had felt like a heavy stone pressing on his chest soon vanished.
Come to think of it, there was no way the child the demon John coveted enough to trade for the Crown Prince would be a fool like himself.
And even if the child was born a bit slow like him, the smart Crown Prince and the numerous imperial scholars would surely educate the child well.
He couldn’t run away now anyway, so Joel decided to think positively.
Perhaps because his tension had relaxed, his eyelids grew heavy again.
“You can sleep. You must be tired from dealing with visitors. Rest.”
The Crown Prince spoke while gently stroking Joel’s rounded forehead.
Joel could no longer resist the encroaching sleep.
Soon, the sound of peaceful, rhythmic breathing filled the secret bedroom.
The Prince kissed the cheek of the Joel, who looked as lovely and tranquil as a sleeping baby angel, once more.
“Discussion has been stalled due to the absence of the only witness to the demon John, Young Master Joel, but I am glad we finally have time for a talk. I am truly sorry for rushing you when you must be exhausted from your long journey. However, this is such a critical matter…”
The Archbishop, dressed in his white formal robes, spoke in a dignified tone.
In the large conference hall, four people sat at the table: the Crown Prince, Joel, the Archbishop, and Marquis Langston, whom the Emperor trusted most.
Joel asked the elderly Archbishop calmly:
“I’m alright. Archbishop, what do you need me to tell you?”
“To summarize the situation so far, it is presumed that the demon John was fatally wounded by the Young Master and fled in a state near annihilation. However, it is difficult to believe that the demon John suffered a fatal blow from Young Master Joel’s attack alone. The Crown Prince’s sword is certainly a holy relic, but while it could dispatch lower-class spirits, it shouldn’t be able to annihilate a demon with the supernatural powers of John’s level.”
Marquis Langston, listening beside the Archbishop, added, “Considering he hid the evidence of Count Lucas’s rebellion for 25 years, the demon John must have been an entity of immense power. Evading the Imperial family’s pursuit for that long is otherwise impossible.”
Joel looked up at the Crown Prince with an anxious gaze.
They had coordinated their stories the day before in preparation for this meeting.
Since there was no way the Emperor would appreciate the fact that the Crown Prince had offered up his soul to save Joel, they had agreed to keep the fact that time had been turned back a secret.
Joel intended to insist that he had struck the demon with the power of the holy relic as they had discussed, but as he met the Archbishop’s piercing, keen eyes, he had a premonition that deceiving him would not be easy.
