* * *
There it was. Instinctively finding the entrance he needed to enter, the Crown Prince pushed the head of his member inside without a moment’s hesitation.
[N-no! Ahhht! Y-Your Highness! Please, not a knot… Hhaaakt!]
Pleas and resistance were useless.
The firm head finally forced its way past the tightly closed entrance to the womb.
An immense shock assaulted Joel’s lower abdomen.
Instantly, Joel’s eyes rolled back into his head.
Unable to withstand the impact on his womb, he lost consciousness on the spot.
And by the time Joel came to, an enormous amount of seed was already pouring into his womb.
The Crown Prince had indeed knotted him.
The narrow entrance to his womb was tightly locked with the Prince’s member, making resistance impossible.
Even trying to move a single finger brought waves of horrific pain.
[Caleil, you son of a biiitch—!]
Feeling his belly bulging, Joel cursed the Crown Prince’s name in rage.
It was a name he had never dared to speak aloud in either his past or present life.
Had the Prince been in his right mind, he would have been furious at the disrespect, but now, he was nothing more than a rut-crazed beast, busily planting kisses on Joel’s shoulder and muttering about how good it felt.
In truth, at that moment, he was incapable of thinking about anything other than filling Joel’s belly with his seed.
The time spent knotted was terrifyingly long.
By the time Joel’s face was a mess of tears and snot, the Crown Prince, breathing heavily, finally pulled his member out with a shluck.
Following an alpha’s instinct to confirm the knot had been successful, he laid Joel on his back and began pressing kisses to his swollen belly.
Joel stared blankly at the night sky in disbelief. He was so drained he couldn’t move a finger.
When the Prince had turned him over moments ago, his belly, full of the Prince’s seed, had sloshed and moved—the sensation was still vivid, and the memory was so terrifying he felt like he might die.
He was pretty sure the Prince hadn’t knotted him in his past life.
Like this, pregnancy was absolutely certain.
In his past life, Joel, consumed by his desire to have the Crown Prince, had desperately wished to get pregnant.
Back then, he’d harbored a vague expectation that having a child would lead to a happy ending with the Prince forever.
But Joel’s tragic death had forced him to mature.
Thanks to that, he realized how foolish that thought had been.
First of all, back then, Joel had never once considered the happiness of the child to be born.
Would the Crown Prince’s heir truly want a foolish omega like Joel for a mother?
Clearly, the Emperor would loathe the child simply for having Joel’s blood.
In his past life, the Emperor had actually tried to kill his own grandchild.
Secondly, there was no guarantee the Crown Prince himself would be happy married to Joel.
Of course, he had been happy during the short month they spent together in his past life, but that was all it was—a very brief period.
The Crown Prince was inherently discerning and preferred those with the knowledge and refinement to engage in sophisticated conversation.
To someone like him, an omega like Joel would have been nothing more than a passing curiosity.
Joel’s merits were only his pheromones and his looks; in the long run, choosing Joel as a partner would only become a lifelong stain.
……And now, looking back, Joel couldn’t even be sure if the Crown Prince had been truly happy then.
The image of the Prince abandoning him and turning away surfaced in his mind, making tears well up in Joel’s beautifully shaped eyes.
Back then, the Prince hadn’t even asked Joel for an explanation.
Instead, he had looked as if he’d expected it.
So, while he treated Joel well on the surface, deep down, he still hadn’t trusted him.
Joel no longer had the confidence to love such a cold-hearted partner forever.
Perhaps it would be happier if this child was never born.
Just as Joel closed his eyes in resignation, thinking this—
[Joel…?]
The Crown Prince called his name in a clear voice, as if he had finally come to his senses.
The thought that instantly flashed through Joel’s mind was that he must not be found out to have been knotted.
The Crown Prince was highly likely to strongly oppose an abortion.
If that happened, Joel would have to go to the imperial palace and repeat a life of being scorned and used.
His calculations made in that brief instant—not that he had time to deliberate—Joel acted with lightning speed.
He immediately grabbed the nearest rock and brought it down on the Crown Prince’s head.
[Ugh.]
The Prince groaned lowly and collapsed on top of Joel.
Only then did Joel realize what he had done and was seized with terror.
But the deed was done, and now his only option was to run.
Joel pushed the rock-like body off him, grabbed his almost tattered clothes, and fled in a panic.
The Lucas family coachman waiting for Joel in the forest was greatly alarmed upon seeing Joel’s disheveled state, as if he’d been assaulted.
But when Joel coolly ordered him to depart, he had no choice but to obey.
Before leaving the academy, Joel didn’t forget to have an attendant he always kept by his side contact the guards to report that the Crown Prince had been attacked.
Naturally, Joel fabricated it as if he himself was a witness.
Inside the carriage returning to the count’s estate, Joel held his swollen belly—full with the crown prince’s semen—and cried a little.
He’d already been knotted, so there was nothing to do but wait for the bulge to go down.
At least it was winter, and his thick cloak kept it hidden.
A small mercy.
His distended belly hardly went down, even after he arrived at the estate, sent all the servants away, and shut himself alone in the bath.
Joel felt the tears he’d barely held back start to spill over again.
“Carlyle, I didn’t think you were like that… you crazy bastard.”
And that damn suppressant bottle—why wouldn’t the cap open?
That’s what caused this whole mess.
Soaking in the hot water, Joel bit back curse after curse.
After washing up, he shouted at the servants not to come near his room and threw himself into bed, blanket pulled over his head.
It was a stroke of luck that Count Lucas had taken his wife and son abroad for the New Year holiday.
If not, the news of Joel’s pregnancy would’ve been out in the open by now.
As he lay under the blanket, sobbing in frustration over his absurd situation, the bedroom door suddenly burst open.
“Didn’t I say not to come in—Your Highness?”
Lowering the blanket just enough to uncover his nose, Joel froze mid-tantrum, mouth agape.
It was none other than the Crown Prince who had barged in.
Behind the flung-open door, Joel could see the tense faces of the estate staff peeking in anxiously.
“Close the door.”
The prince’s cold command was instantly obeyed.
His head wrapped in bandages, the Crown Prince looked like a wreck—still wearing the disheveled clothes from when they’d rolled around in the forest.
The traces of their encounter were obvious; he must’ve come straight here after only receiving basic first aid.
Once the door closed, the prince rushed to Joel’s side and grabbed his hand.
“Joel, I’m so sorry. I made a mistake—”
“A mistake? What mistake?”
Joel decided to pretend nothing had happened.
Thankfully, the thick blanket was doing a fine job of hiding his swollen belly.
An Alpha in rut usually blacks out—so it wasn’t a completely hopeless bluff.
As expected, the prince faltered, clearly confused.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Back in the forest, when I… forced myself on—”
Joel immediately cut him off.
“What the hell are you talking about? Nothing happened between us.”
Even though he’d ended up carrying the prince’s child, that didn’t change his decision—he was leaving.
If he got dragged to the palace now, he’d be used by his adoptive father and looked down on by everyone for the rest of his life.
Joel had had enough of playing the villain.
Living next to someone who’d never love him, constantly begging for scraps of affection?
That thought alone was unbearable.
Whether he kept the baby or not, he just wanted to get far, far away.
“But… you clearly… and you look like—”
“Oh sure. His Highness the Crown Prince did try to force himself on me. But right before you got my pants off, I cracked your head with a rock and ran. So yeah—nothing happened. Don’t worry.”
The prince tilted his head.
Something felt off, but the bump on his head seemed to back up Joel’s version of events, leaving him unsure.
Joel didn’t waste the moment of hesitation.
“Get out. I don’t want to see a hypocrite like you ever again.”
“Joel, wait—”
“We’re done. Whatever feelings I had for you? They’re all gone after today. You act so noble, and then you try to force yourself on me? Hah. Don’t even look at me again.”
Joel forcefully shook off the large hand gripping his own.
When the prince still didn’t move, Joel threatened to go public—to tell every newspaper that the Crown Prince had tried to rape him.
Of course, that kind of threat wouldn’t have worked on someone like the prince.
But when he saw the raw, resentful tears in Joel’s eyes, he couldn’t stay.
With a defeated whisper—“I’m sorry. I’ll come back… I’ll explain everything.”—he finally turned and left the room.
Only then did Joel finally exhale and clutch at his chest.
* * *
