* * *
The carriage soon left the capital and entered a forest path.
They rode through the secluded woods for a long while, but there was no sign of the road ending.
Eventually, Joel’s group stopped the carriage for a late lunch in the forest.
They had brought water, potatoes, and white bread from the imperial palace, but it wasn’t nearly enough for a proper meal.
Captain Abe of the knights offered to go hunting and disappeared into the woods with some of his men.
While the knights were away hunting, the others stayed behind to gather firewood and start a fire.
No one, not even the crown prince, expected the proud and self-centered Joel—whose arrogance was well known—to join in on the tedious task of collecting firewood.
But to everyone’s surprise, Joel diligently gathered a bundle of branches.
He handed the armful to Robert.
“Joel—no, Lord Joel. These are oleander branches.”
“What’s oleander?”
“…To put it simply, it’s poisonous wood.”
“So I can’t use it?”
“Of course not…”
As it turns out, being eager doesn’t necessarily mean being helpful.
Back when they stayed at Lord Bennet’s estate, Joel had already been told not to use certain woods for kindling.
How did he still not know what oleander was?
Robert was baffled but kept his composure and did his part.
First, he discarded the branches Joel had gathered, then checked Joel for any signs of poisoning, and finally led him to a nearby stream to wash his hands.
By the time the crown prince’s party managed to get a fire going and sat around it for warmth, the knights returned triumphantly with their game.
They had caught four plump pigeons.
Skilled in the ways of camping, the knights efficiently cleaned and roasted the birds.
Each person received a baked potato and half a pigeon.
While the roast pigeon was decent enough for Robert and the knights, Benjamin—who had grown up pampered and had never been camping before—found it hard to stomach.
The musty smell of the roasted meat made Benjamin visibly queasy.
Felix, the escort knight watching him with concern, asked in a worried tone,
“Lord Benjamin. If the pigeon is too much for you, you can just eat the potato. Would you like mine as well?”
“Mm, thanks. Then… would you eat the pigeon for me?”
Benjamin replied in a quiet voice, glancing around to make sure the knights who had worked hard to prepare the food weren’t offended.
Joel, too, stood still holding his pigeon without taking a bite.
The crown prince, watching him, tried to reassure him, saying that they’d reach Viscount Spencer’s estate soon and have real food there.
But Joel, looking sulky, took only Robert with him and disappeared into the woods.
“Joel, can’t you just eat it? People will talk if you’re so picky—Joel?”
Robert, who had been trying to reason with Joel while sitting on a large rock, was cut off mid-sentence, his eyes going wide in shock.
Joel had suddenly chomped down on the pigeon leg like someone who hadn’t eaten in days.
In truth, Joel had been starving ever since the smell of roasting pigeon hit his nose.
If not for Count Lucas’s strict training, Joel might have attacked the food before it was even fully cooked.
Count Lucas had kept Joel on a strict diet under the guise of “weight control,” while also rigorously training him to maintain composure around food.
From Joel’s perspective, the training had been nothing short of cruel.
Lucas would seat Joel at a grand table full of rich foods and only allow him to eat a bit of potato and a slice of apple.
According to Lucas, gluttony was unbecoming of nobility.
If Joel so much as glanced at the main dish in the center of the table, he’d be harshly scolded on the spot.
While Isaac, Lucas’s biological son, devoured the delicious dishes across the table, Joel had to act as if none of it interested him.
After three years of surviving mostly on potatoes and apples, roasted pigeon now seemed as appetizing as any gourmet meal prepared by palace chefs.
And the truth was, back when he stayed at Lord Bennet’s estate, Joel used to catch wild birds and roast them for lunch—so he had no real aversion to hunting or eating game.
He just couldn’t bear to show such hunger in front of the crown prince, so he forced himself to walk away.
Robert stared in awe as Joel devoured his half of the pigeon, leaving nothing but bones in mere seconds.
Now that his portion was gone, Joel’s eyes were fixed intently on Robert’s untouched pigeon.
Without thinking, Robert held it out to him.
“Um, Joel… want mine too?”
“Thanks.”
Joel accepted the cold pigeon without hesitation and started tearing into the meat hungrily.
Robert couldn’t hide his disbelief as he watched.
“Were you… starving or something?”
“Something like that.”
“They starved you? In that rich count’s estate? Why?”
“They said I couldn’t gain weight.”
“What’s so wrong with a little weight gain? But you’re not even touching the potatoes. You used to love roasted potatoes, didn’t you?”
Robert was Joel’s childhood friend.
They had been very close growing up.
In fact, Robert—who had no noble connections—only became a palace physician thanks to Joel pulling strings for him.
Back when they stayed at Bennet’s estate, Joel and Robert would run around the mountains and fields every day.
When lunchtime came, they would build a small fire and roast potatoes, just like they were doing now.
As far as Robert could recall, Joel had an obsession with roasted potatoes.
He could eat more than ten in one sitting.
Joel stared at the potato he had set on the ground, his eyes unreadable.
After a long silence, he muttered,
“…Yeah. I did. But not anymore. You can have mine.”
“Huh? Uh… okay. But why don’t you like them now?”
“Just… something happened.”
Robert still found it odd, but Joel’s expression looked so sad that he couldn’t bring himself to ask further.
After finishing their late lunch in the forest, Joel’s party hurried back into the carriage.
They pushed the horses as fast as they could, but by the time they reached their destination—Viscount Spencer’s estate—it was nearly midnight.
Although the estate wasn’t far from the capital, it was nestled deep within the forest, making it quite remote.
Having just inherited the title and receiving his first-ever visit from royalty, Viscount Spencer was overjoyed and welcomed the crown prince and his entourage with honor.
The estate wasn’t particularly large, and visitors were rare, so there were only three guest rooms available.
Naturally, the knights, Felix (Benjamin’s escort), and Robert shared one room; Benjamin had a room to himself; and Joel was placed in a room with the crown prince.
If Joel had been awake during this arrangement, he would’ve surely caused a scene.
He might have even insisted that the crown prince, Robert, and Benjamin squeeze onto the tiny bed in that order while he took the floor.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince had anticipated this and hadn’t forgotten to use his pheromones to lull Joel into a deep sleep.
Cradling Joel in his arms as he got out of the carriage, the Crown Prince signaled with his eyes to assign the rooms, and everyone understood.
They quietly disappeared to their respective rooms, careful not to wake Joel.
Holding the peacefully sleeping Joel, the Crown Prince headed toward the bedroom reserved for him on the top floor.
Once he laid Joel down on the bed, he hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not he should bathe him.
Technically, since they had spent the entire day in the carriage, there wasn’t a real need to wash up.
But it felt like a shame to miss the opportunity to see Joel’s bare body.
Of course, such a thought was anything but gentlemanly and didn’t suit the upright nature of the Crown Prince himself.
And yet, the way he looked down at the innocently sleeping Joel was no longer noble—it carried the sly air of a back-alley delinquent.
Eventually, he rationalized to himself that surely Joel would want to be clean even while asleep, and he began carefully undressing him.
He had unbuttoned about five of Joel’s shirt buttons when, all of a sudden, Joel slowly opened his eyes.
“…Your Highness?”
Joel blinked blankly, looking around.
He was certain he’d been sleeping soundly in a rocking carriage—why was it suddenly so quiet?
The Crown Prince smiled awkwardly, like someone caught red-handed.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
“Where are we?”
“This is Viscount Spencer’s estate. We’ll stay here tonight and depart in the morning.”
Joel nodded vaguely.
“Ah…” So they had managed to reach today’s destination after all.
* * *
