* * *
“I… I always knew a day like this would come.”
Just before being escorted away by the soldiers, Joel spoke in a quiet, reciting murmur.
Watching Joel’s shockingly calm and brazen attitude, the Crown Prince felt a chill run down his spine.
The true face of the person known as Joel Bennett, finally revealed, was utterly loathsome.
Swept away by the shock of betrayal, the Crown Prince was so hollowed out that he couldn’t even bring himself to grab Joel and demand an explanation one last time.
From then on, the process of uncovering the crimes conspired by Joel and Count Lucas proceeded at lightning speed under the Emperor’s leadership.
Soldiers sent by the Emperor arrested Count Lucas, and both he and his stepson, Joel, were dragged to the interrogation room in the dungeon.
Whether it was out of fear of the dungeon’s atmosphere, dread of being tortured, or the belief that cooperating with the investigation would lighten his sentence—Joel confessed to his crimes without resistance.
For the investigator, who had worried that Joel would use his dim wits to spin a web of nonsensical lies instead of confessing, it was a stroke of luck.
The truth revealed through Joel’s mouth was exactly as everyone had expected.
Having spent a night with the Crown Prince by chance, Joel had become so greedy for the position of Crown Princess that he came up with the wicked scheme of a pregnancy fraud.
He had meticulously planned the act, bribing his own physician and the Chief Imperial Physician, finally succeeding in deceiving the Imperial Family and reaching an engagement with the Crown Prince.
“My goodness, Joel. Even if you adored His Highness, how could you carry out such a vulgar trick?”
Upon hearing Joel’s confession, Count Lucas initially acted as if he never dreamed his stepson would commit such a massive deed.
Joel also testified that he had no choice but to deceive his stepfather, as the Count certainly would have stopped him if he knew the truth.
“Count, you. Did you truly not know?”
“I… I trusted my stepson. My son is innocent and isn’t even good at lying. Don’t you also find it hard to believe right now that my son plotted this huge affair all by himself? I am in the same position as you.”
“There is evidence right here that you sent an aphrodisiac to be mixed into His Highness’s tea, yet you intend to keep lying!”
However, since evidence of the conspiracy between Count Lucas and Joel existed, the investigator shouted while thrusting the bundle of letters between the Count and Joel right under Lord Bennett’s chin.
Only then did Count Lucas stammer out a confession.
“A-actually, I did find out later that Joel had planned such a huge thing. But by then, Joel was already engaged to His Highness! After questioning Joel and learning the truth, I naturally intended to inform His Majesty, but Joel threatened to kill himself if I did… I had no choice!”
Thus, it was concluded that Joel had led and committed all the crimes.
Although Count Lucas had actively cooperated, it was ruled that he had done so under the manipulation of his stepson’s threats and pleas, leaving room for him to escape the death penalty.
On the day the truth was revealed, the Emperor personally stood before the people and declared the engagement between the Crown Prince and Joel null and void.
The scandal Joel committed—too embarrassing to even speak of—spread throughout the country. The celebration was, of course, canceled, and the streets of the capital, which had been buzzing with festival preparations, became as silent as if doused with cold water.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince refused all requests for visits and remained holed up in his library.
The reason he never once visited Joel while he was being interrogated in prison was that he felt he wouldn’t be able to hold back from pouring out accusations if he saw Joel’s shameless face.
He was in a state of immense shock after realizing the true nature of the one he had loved.
The child he had cherished so dearly had vanished, yet the object of his mourning had never even existed in the first place.
The sense of loss and emptiness was beyond expression, and even after four days, it did not fade in the slightest.
During those four days in the library, the Crown Prince ground his teeth, constantly replaying the final image of Joel shamelessly saying he knew this day would come.
According to the investigator’s report, Joel didn’t even seem to understand the magnitude of the crime he had committed.
It was reported that during the interrogation, he had even asked if what he did was really that wrong—it was so absurd it made one laugh.
After finishing the investigation, the official reported every detail of Joel’s misdeeds to the Emperor and the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince accepted the report exactly as it was.
In the past, when he was infatuated with Joel, his reason had been clouded, making him see Joel as nothing but lovely.
Now that he had come to his senses, his own past innocence felt pathetic.
Come to think of it, hadn’t Joel bullied him relentlessly for three years during their time at the Imperial School?
On the night that was originally scheduled for the announcement of the marriage amidst the blessings of many, the Crown Prince, unable to contain his rage, went down to the dungeon.
At that time, Joel, trapped behind bars, was lying on the dirt floor trying to sleep.
Seeing the Crown Prince storm in, huffing like an angry bull, Joel turned his back and stayed lying down.
He looked quite pitiful, huddled on the straw.
Perhaps he had suffered mentally during the investigation, as the shirt he was wearing looked quite loose on him.
Seeing Joel like that, the Crown Prince felt a simultaneous impulse: to open the cell door and carry Joel up to a warm bedroom, and to condemn him, asking if he regretted his actions even a little now that he had lost everything and fallen into such a miserable state.
The Crown Prince conflicted briefly between pity and resentment toward Joel, but the weight of the resentment was far greater.
“The investigator reports that you asked if you had truly committed such a great crime? Setting aside your craftiness, your ignorance is simply staggering.”
He threw the accusation out of resentment, but Joel still offered no reaction.
The Crown Prince glared intensely at the small, hunched back.
“My father hopes to have your head cut off and hung on the city walls, but I think differently. It isn’t right to place all the blame on your foolish self. Are you not an idiot who doesn’t even realize the weight of the sins you’ve committed? Therefore, the responsibility for this matter should be shared by your biological father, who raised you as a spoiled brat, and your stepfather, who treated you too softly.”
“Neither of them did anything wrong. This was brought about solely by my greed and foolishness. I led both the planning and the execution, so please let me take the responsibility.”
Joel, who had remained silent the whole time, finally spoke in a terribly cracked voice. However, there was still no apology to the Crown Prince.
Carlyle, who thought he couldn’t be disappointed in Joel any further, found himself deeply disappointed once again.
“…During the past three months, did you never feel sorry for me as you watched me being happy? Not even the slightest bit of guilt?”
Joel gave no answer to the Crown Prince’s desperate question.
Because of that brazen attitude, the Crown Prince realized that the symptoms of anxiety Joel had shown over the past few days had not stemmed from guilt.
Selfish Joel had simply been afraid and anxious that his crime would be discovered.
“I knew what kind of person you were from the start… but I didn’t know you were this bottomless.”
The Crown Prince spoke with a hollow laugh.
As he left the dungeon, the Crown Prince wiped away the last of his lingering attachments to Joel.
He had thought that no matter how selfish and ill-tempered Joel was by nature, he would at least know how to feel a minimum of regret and reflection.
But Joel didn’t possess even a fingernail’s worth of conscience.
Feeling empty as if a hole had been pierced through his chest, the Crown Prince barely maintained his composure, muttering to himself that it was a relief that the possibility of taking Joel as a partner had vanished forever.
Deceiving the Imperial Family was a grave crime that could, depending on the case, result in a death sentence.
Given the nature of the matter, the Emperor intended to execute Joel and hang his head on the city walls as an example.
The Crown Prince, who had no intention of forgiving Joel, tried not to care what punishment he received, but he was bothered by the approaching anniversary of his late mother’s death.
His mother, who had been merciful and gentle during her life, would certainly not want such a harsh punishment as death to be handed down to Joel.
The Crown Prince had always respected her, and he didn’t want to have blood on his hands at this time near her anniversary.
That was why he went to the Emperor to plead for Joel’s life.
After an argument that lasted all night, the one who finally surrendered was the Emperor.
“Fine, then there is one condition. I have received portraits of foreign princesses and Omega princes; marry one of them within this year. If there is no one among them you like, you may marry Young Master Benjamin. If you do that, I will not sentence Joel to death. And I will not interfere if you take Joel as a concubine later once things have quieted down.”
The condition the Emperor set in exchange for sparing Joel from execution was utterly out of the blue.
The Crown Prince immediately showed his displeasure.
* * *
