* * *
“Mmh… Mmm…”
Inside the carriage headed to Sir Bennet’s estate, Joel was wrapped around the crown prince, exchanging deep, heated kisses—and feeling more convinced than ever that changing the plan had been the right decision.
Joel had been eagerly exploring the crown prince’s tongue with his own for some time.
Straddling the crown prince’s lap like a monkey clinging to a tree, he had his arms tightly wrapped around him.
The crown prince’s large hand slipped beneath Joel’s shirt, gently caressing his waist.
Joel shivered at the intimate touch.
Wanting to return the favor and give the prince a similar thrill, Joel traced his hand along the broad expanse of the man’s back—but his movements felt clumsy and awkward.
That frustrated Joel to no end.
Just that morning, Joel had been coldly pushing the crown prince away…
So how had his attitude changed so drastically in just half a day?
The turning point came just before they departed.
Up until the moment the carriages were set to leave, Joel had remained firm in his resolve: he was going to help the crown prince get together with Benjamin.
Finding out that the prince hadn’t spent the night with Benjamin made Joel feel strangely generous.
So generous, in fact, that he thought—maybe—he could let Benjamin ride with him in the carriage.
So Joel kicked Benjamin out of his own carriage and climbed in instead.
Benjamin’s knight, Felix, protested, of course.
But no ordinary knight could win against Joel’s shamelessness and utter lack of decency.
In the end, Benjamin lost his carriage to Joel.
But just as Joel settled in and waited for the journey to begin…
The door suddenly swung open.
And of course, the only person who would dare open the door to a carriage Joel was in—was the crown prince.
Despite Joel’s protests, the prince scooped him up like he weighed nothing and carried him back to the same carriage they’d ridden yesterday.
Joel’s resistance melted away the moment the prince released his pheromones.
Benjamin seized the opportunity and jumped back into his own carriage, visibly relieved.
And so, for the second day in a row, Joel found himself riding with the crown prince.
The prince, now in the carriage, let Joel—still dazed from the pheromones—lean against him.
“Say my name,” the crown prince murmured.
“No.”
Joel, half-limp and melted against him, shook his head.
The crown prince felt a flicker of irritation.
He tried to be patient with Joel.
He really did.
But Joel kept pushing him away, and it was getting harder to remain calm.
“Why not? You said it just fine yesterday.”
“Because… I don’t want to be on a first-name basis with you, Your Highness.”
It was a direct rejection—a declaration that he didn’t want to get any closer.
The crown prince went still.
He couldn’t understand this strange attitude—Joel wasn’t exactly pushing him away, but he wasn’t pulling him in either.
“I heard Benjamin mention earlier… Something about you trying to get the two of us into the same carriage?”
Joel pouted at the reminder.
He was annoyed again by how hopeless Benjamin could be.
‘Idiot. If I gave you the chance, you should’ve grabbed it.’
Joel had gone out of his way to give up his seat, but Benjamin’s hesitation had ruined the whole grand plan.
“Joel, do you want me to date Benjamin?”
“…Yes.”
Joel hesitated for about three seconds before answering.
The crown prince scoffed, clearly amused. “Doesn’t sound like it.”
That teasing tone rubbed Joel the wrong way.
“I told you—I’m not interested in Benjamin. Right now, the only one I care about is you. And Joel… You want me too, don’t you?”
When the crown prince said, “You want me too,” his voice was filled with confidence—more than ever before.
And no wonder.
Because without realizing it, Joel had been tightly holding his hand.
Startled, Joel tried to pull away, but the prince gripped his hand even tighter.
“Then why do you keep pushing me away? Even though you clearly want me?”
“Because…”
‘Because I’m going to leave anyway.’
Joel swallowed the rest of the sentence, keeping it locked inside.
Although Joel had impulsively joined the inspection out of jealousy, his plan was to flee to a faraway land once it was over.
Still, escape would only be possible after the inspection concluded.
So in the meantime, he hoped he could maintain a good relationship with the Crown Prince—at least until then.
As he was muttering to himself in his head, a sudden thought flashed through Joel’s mind.
‘Why hadn’t he thought of dating the Crown Prince for just one month?’
Either way, he had no choice but to stay close to the Crown Prince until the inspection ended.
If that was the case, there was really no need to push him away—at least not during this trip.
As Joel carefully retraced his thoughts, he realized something crucial: the moment he had convinced himself he was over the Crown Prince was actually when he first started pushing him away.
Now that he thought about it, he had once believed he had completely given up on his feelings.
That was why he had rejected the proposal in the sitting room, and even considered matching the Crown Prince with Benjamin.
But in truth, Joel still had feelings for him.
All that talk about being over the Crown Prince—it had just been a way to justify things to himself.
To be blunt, Joel had only tried to give up on the Crown Prince after experiencing a tragic life in his past life and finally realizing his place.
It wasn’t that he had stopped liking him.
Joel decided to admit it—he hadn’t let go of his feelings for the Crown Prince.
And even if he still planned to run away afterward, just for this one-month inspection, he wanted to be close to him.
If he could be sure their relationship would only last during the inspection and end cleanly once they returned to the capital, then he wouldn’t have anything to worry about.
‘He should’ve just asked the Crown Prince to date for one month when he proposed. Why hadn’t he thought of something that clever sooner?’
Joel really thought he was an idiot.
“Your Highness, would you consider being in a good relationship with me… for just one month?”
“What?”
But the moment he asked, the Crown Prince’s expression turned sour.
Joel, who just seconds ago thought his idea was brilliant, was flustered.
“N-No, I mean… I’ll be honest. I do have feelings for Your Highness. But I don’t want to accept your proposal right now. Since we’ll be stuck together for the next month anyway, I thought we could try dating just during the inspection, and then… decide slowly afterward—”
“But you’ve wanted to marry me for the past three years, haven’t you?”
The Crown Prince cut in, disbelief evident in his voice.
To be honest, Joel did want to accept the proposal.
But he wasn’t Crown Princess material. He had no desire to return to that thorny life in the palace.
Without hesitation, he began making excuses.
“That was back when I was young and didn’t know better. I had no idea how heavy the responsibilities of a Crown Princess were. And to be honest, I’m not really smart enough to be one, am I?”
The Crown Prince didn’t even offer a half-hearted, “That’s not true, you are smart.”
Joel felt a pang of disappointment—but it wasn’t like he hadn’t been called stupid his whole life, so he continued explaining his thoughts.
“Besides, do you really think His Majesty the Emperor would ever approve of someone like me marrying you?”
At that sharp question, the Crown Prince’s expression darkened slightly.
But Joel wasn’t hurt by the fact that the Emperor didn’t want to accept him.
He’d already been hurt enough by that in his previous life to be numb to it now.
“If you get pregnant, my father won’t be able to object anymore.”
Joel was momentarily speechless at the Crown Prince’s proposed “solution,” which he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He was acting like Joel had already agreed to bear a child.
When Joel stared at him in disbelief, the Crown Prince added shamelessly,
“If you become the Crown Princess, bearing an heir is your duty anyway.”
“Who said I wanted to have a child? I don’t want that.”
‘Sorry, baby. But you know I’m not talking about you. I’m doing this to protect you.’
Joel silently apologized to the child in his womb and continued to make excuses to the Crown Prince.
“And honestly, Your Highness and I don’t really suit each other. I’m not sure how long these good feelings would last… That’s why I thought we could just try being together for a month and then decide.”
‘Just one month. Just until the inspection ends.’
Joel held up a single finger to his cheek and made his cutest expression.
But the Crown Prince’s face was as hard as ever.
‘I guess this really won’t work’, Joel thought, just as the smile he’d forced onto his lips began to falter.
* * *
