The pattern on the ceiling was familiar. Joel blinked his eyes open and closed.
His head felt so foggy that he couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality.
How long had he been like that?
Suddenly, the surroundings became noisy with the sound of a thud and clatter.
However, the external sounds felt muffled, as if his head were underwater.
Because his ringing ears hurt, Joel slowly blinked again.
All of a sudden, a face lunged into his view. It was the Crown Prince, the person he loved so much.
Joel stared blankly as the Prince’s mouth moved urgently, speaking to him.
“…el, Joel! Are you awake?”
The Crown Prince was shouting something. Joel was simply happy to see him again, so he reached out with both arms to embrace him.
As he struggled to reach out, the Crown Prince immediately lowered his body and held him.
Joel felt at ease as the familiar scent of the Prince surrounded him.
While being held in the Prince’s arms, Joel wondered why seeing his face felt so incredibly welcoming…
…That’s right, that bastard preacher John. As soon as he thought of John, the things he had experienced rushed back into his mind all at once. Joel felt himself snap wide awake.
“Your—Your Highness! Are you okay? preacher John, that damned bastard…!”
Joel immediately began to make a fuss with a raspy voice, but the Crown Prince calmed him with a gentle tone.
“Calm down, everything is okay now. It’s all over,” he said, tucking him back into the bed.
Even though the Crown Prince said it was okay, Joel couldn’t shake his anxiety.
He held the Prince’s hand tightly and looked around. First of all, this was his own bedroom.
Then, did the Crown Prince and himself safely return to Sir Bennet’s mansion?
Just as Joel was about to ask, the sound of people arguing outside the bedroom door reached his ears.
Hearing that Joel had regained consciousness, people had rushed over only to be blocked by Abe, the Knight Commander, and were now bickering with him.
Joel recognized his father’s voice shouting loudly.
“Please, just give me a few seconds! I just want to see my son’s face for a moment and then I’ll leave!”
When Joel looked back at the Crown Prince with eyes demanding an explanation, the Prince spoke in a calm voice.
“It’s already been two days since we were rescued from John’s underground mansion. Everyone is anxious to see you. Of course, you probably want to see your father right away… but the situation is moving quite hectically. I wanted to have just a moment alone with you first. Would that be alright?”
Joel was scared by the mention of the situation moving quickly, fearing something related to John had happened.
However, the Crown Prince quickly added;
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about John anymore. When I say things are moving fast, I mean the aftermath.” Joel was able to relax at that.
“During the two days you were unconscious, the story of your adventure in that dangerous underground mansion spread quickly. Everyone has learned how brave and wise you were. They are all relieved that you returned safely.”
The Crown Prince took Joel’s hand—who still looked dazed—and kissed the back of it.
“Joel, you saved me. I don’t know how I can ever repay this debt…”
As the Crown Prince looked at him with eyes full of gratitude, Joel felt his heart grow heavy.
To begin with, this wasn’t something he deserved praise for.
Joel avoided the Prince’s eyes and slowly slipped his hand out of his grip.
“…You don’t have to be that grateful.”
The Crown Prince didn’t remember the past life, so he knew nothing, but actually, Joel was the one who was indebted first. If the Crown Prince hadn’t sacrificed his soul to turn back time, Joel would have closed his eyes forever in that snowfield.
Anyway, since he said it was over, things seemed to have concluded completely.
Joel felt it was a true relief that the Crown Prince was unharmed.
However, as soon as he felt relieved, another worry popped up.
What would happen to his father now?
Since he had deceived the Crown Prince and even kidnapped him, he surely wouldn’t escape a harsh punishment.
Thinking that the Crown Prince might give his father a slightly lighter sentence if he considered Joel’s effort in carrying the Prince up the stairs, Joel spoke in a small, crawling voice.
“U-um, Your Highness. I heard that my father gave you sleeping pills and dragged you to the basement…”
“Ah. You’re worried about how the demon John used brainwashing magic to turn your father and the people of the estate into puppets. But you can rest easy; Sir Bennet won’t be punished. On the contrary, your father showed superhuman strength at the end to overcome the brainwashing on his own and returned to the underground mansion leading Count Gray’s private soldiers. He deserves to be rewarded for that merit.”
The Crown Prince said with a wink.
However, Joel didn’t understand the Prince’s intention to cover up Sir Bennet’s fault at all, and tactlessly tried to ask again.
“But, my father wasn’t brainwashed, he did it voluntar—”
“Shh, if others hear, they might misunderstand.”
The Crown Prince said, gently covering Joel’s mouth.
Truly, the Prince worried about how Joel could survive this harsh world being so naive and honest.
Unable to contain his surging affection, he kissed Joel’s flushed cheek.
Only then did Joel understand the Prince’s meaning and nodded with an embarrassed face.
“…Yes.”
However, even after learning his father wouldn’t face punishment, Joel’s gloomy face didn’t brighten up.
Even if the Crown Prince forgave his father, it was still his father who had led the Prince into a death trap, so he couldn’t help but feel guilty.
As Joel remained dejected, the Crown Prince spoke in a teasing tone to make him feel better.
“By the way, you’ve been sleeping the whole time, so you probably haven’t heard about Sir Bennet’s heroic deeds?”
“Huh? Heroic deeds? My father?”
Joel asked back in disbelief, and felt even more absurd after hearing the Prince’s story.
So, the story went back to when Sir Bennet led the soldiers to raid the underground mansion.
According to the testimony of the soldiers Joel had met at the mansion, they were searching the house when they suddenly ran into Sir Bennet.
Sir Bennet tried to explain the situation to one of the soldiers, but he was so frantic that he just rambled, “The Crown Prince! My son! Follow me right now!”
When the flustered soldier couldn’t easily understand him, the frustrated Sir Bennet grabbed two soldiers by their collars—one in each hand—and sprinted toward the basement.
Thanks to that, the surrounding soldiers had to chase after Sir Bennet in a hurry without even having time to report to their commander.
“My father… ran while carrying two soldiers?”
And armed ones at that? Joel asked back with a look of disbelief.
Considering the weight of an adult male plus the weight of armor, it must have been incredibly heavy.
Was that even possible?
“Yes, according to the testimony, two armed soldiers were lifted up like feathers and carried off… It was said to be quite a sight. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see it myself.”
The Crown Prince answered in a dreamy voice. Indeed, as he said, it must have been a spectacle.
Anyway, Joel, feeling a bit better thanks to the Prince’s joke, decided to ask what he had been curious about.
“Your Highness, was that John guy really a demon?”
From the appearance he saw at the end and the things he did, Joel guessed he was a demon, but it was still fascinating that he was a real one.
Demons were beings that only appeared in legends—like nymphs or dragons.
“It’s likely safe to say so. The soldiers searching the underground mansion saw John’s true form with their own eyes. They said the wrinkled skin and the wings on his back were exactly like the hideous descriptions of demons passed down in legends. The floor was soaked with the blue blood John spilled. Ah, and they said a silver dagger was stuck in his back. That would be your work, Joel?”
At the Prince’s praising attitude, Joel replied humbly, “Well… it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
In reality, he had just stuck a knife into the back of a demon that was already severely injured and vomiting blood.
But the Crown Prince acted as if Joel had won a one-on-one duel with a demon, fiddling with Joel’s arm and muttering.
How did you do such a thing with such a frail arm…”
“It—it really wasn’t a big deal. Oh, right. And actually, that dagger is yours. I was dragged to the underground mansion so suddenly that I didn’t have time to pack a weapon… so I borrowed it for a bit. It looked expensive at a glance; I’m sorry for using it recklessly.”
The dagger had elaborate carvings on the handle and was decorated with various rare jewels, looking like something worth a fortune.
He had been too busy escaping to think about retrieving such a precious sword after stabbing it into the demon’s back.
Did they find it safely?
To Joel, who was belatedly worrying if the dagger was ruined, the Crown Prince told him something unexpected.
“No, rather, it’s a good thing you used that dagger. If you had used any other weapon, you wouldn’t have even left a scratch on the demon’s skin.”
“What? Why?”
“They say ordinary weapons can’t wound a demon’s body. That dagger is a holy relic. It’s an object said to have been handed over by an angel from heaven along with a revelation from God to the first Emperor during the founding battles 700 years ago.”
No wonder.
There was a reason why the blade, which he thought was too dull to be helpful, sank so easily into the demon’s flesh. Joel nodded his head.
“Aha.”
Anyway, the Crown Prince was safe and his father wouldn’t be punished, so it seemed the major worries were resolved.
Joel asked the Prince in a light tone.
“Then, Your Highness, that John guy is definitely dead, right?”
He asked thinking the answer would obviously be yes, but for some reason, the Crown Prince’s reply was delayed. Joel watched anxiously as the Prince’s lips parted.
After hesitating for a long time, the Crown Prince finally spoke.
“Well… demons are not beings that die that easily, so it’s currently difficult to confirm whether he is dead or not. That’s why I’ve been so busy.”
“Wh-what?”
The demon Joel last saw was definitely dying from a stab in the back. So why couldn’t it be confirmed?
Joel asked back, almost as if demanding an answer.
