* * *
“Alright, let’s do that.”
Just a second ago, the Crown Prince had been visibly annoyed.
But suddenly, he changed his tune and agreed to Joel’s proposal without hesitation.
His stiff expression softened into the usual gentle one.
“W-What? Really?”
Joel was so shocked by the sudden shift that he even stuttered.
“Yes.”
“You mean it? Once we return to the capital, if I say I want to stop seeing you, you’ll really let me go?”
“I said yes, didn’t I?”
Now the Crown Prince was even smiling.
But something about that smile didn’t feel warm or kind—it felt arrogant, even condescending.
“But… why?”
“I’m agreeing to what you asked, so why are you interrogating me like this? Aren’t you happy?”
Seeing Joel still wary, the Crown Prince finally softened his tone and explained his change of heart.
“The more I listened, the more your argument made sense. We’ll use this inspection as a chance to get to know each other. If it doesn’t work out, we part ways cleanly. Being cautious isn’t a bad thing.”
He really sounded like he’d been convinced by Joel’s reasoning.
But Joel sensed something fishy in that overly smooth response.
Still, since the Crown Prince had agreed to let him go if he asked to end things, Joel didn’t have any real reason to be wary.
He stared at the Crown Prince suspiciously, debating whether to press further.
The Crown Prince looked down at Joel and smiled arrogantly once more.
‘Truthfully, he didn’t like Joel’s suggestion at all.’
It actually offended him.
He’d proposed multiple times.
He had made it clear he wanted to start a serious relationship with the intention of marriage.
But Joel was responding as if he were doing him a favor by “trying it out” for a month—completely disregarding his sincerity.
Joel had even chased after him for the past three years.
Until now, the Crown Prince had always been the one in control of their relationship.
But suddenly, the situation flipped, and it looked like he was the one clinging to Joel.
That bruised his pride.
But he quickly recovered his usual arrogant smile.
‘Because he didn’t believe for a second that Joel would actually break things off.’
‘If he really thought about it, it was as obvious as the sun rising in the east tomorrow: Joel was never going to give him up. Even after returning from the inspection tour, Joel would probably say they should break up—only to stay curled up in the Crown Prince’s bedroom like nothing had changed. He could already picture it clearly.’
And regardless of the past, at this moment, the one feeling more desperate was undeniably the Crown Prince himself.
This was no time for pride, not when Joel was acting like, “Fine, I’ll give you one month.”
So, the Crown Prince gladly accepted Joel’s proposal.
‘Let it be made clear here: even if Joel asked to break up, the Crown Prince had no intention of letting go.’
He planned to come up with every excuse and reason—“You broke my vow of pre-marital chastity,” or “I’m not ready to part with you yet”—just to keep Joel by his side.
And honestly, judging by how obsessed Joel had been so far, the Prince probably wouldn’t even need to try that hard.
“Once the inspection’s over and we return to the capital, we’ll see whether you still want to leave or not.”
That’s what the Crown Prince was thinking as he gazed at Joel’s pretty face.
That’s when Joel, who had finally let go of all doubt, promptly climbed onto his lap.
Caught off guard by Joel’s boldness, the Crown Prince was momentarily stunned.
But he quickly smiled and wrapped his arms around Joel’s waist.
‘The prickly little cat who’d been rejecting him for the past two months didn’t push away his kiss this time.’
Their first kiss in two months was dizzyingly sweet.
And so, the long kiss began.
Clinging to the Crown Prince’s neck and exchanging tongues, Joel felt like he might pass out from sheer happiness.
He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of doing this sooner—it felt almost unfair.
He held tightly to the Crown Prince’s firm body, kissing him desperately and hungrily, exploring every part of his lips.
He nipped at the Prince’s soft lips, tangled his hot tongue with his own, and yet couldn’t quite believe he was allowed to do this—that he was kissing the Crown Prince like this.
Joel was so focused, so lost in the kiss, that he couldn’t remember ever being this absorbed in anything in his life.
“Mmm…”
Kissing the Prince so blissfully, Joel suddenly realized he hadn’t done the most important thing yet.
So, subtly, he left a trace of his pheromones on the Prince.
It was his way of saying, “You’re mine.”
As the Prince—just as engrossed in the kiss—tightened his grip on Joel’s waist, it seemed like he was about to lay Joel down onto the seat.
“W-Wait.”
Joel hurriedly broke the kiss and stopped him.
His face had gone completely pale with fear.
Seeing this, the Prince stiffened too, mistakenly thinking Joel was afraid of going further.
“I’m sorry,” Joel apologized reflexively at the sight of the Prince’s hardened expression.
Apologizing had become a habit for Joel.
‘Over the past three years, there had been countless occasions at social events where he’d had to apologize after upsetting the Crown Prince.’
“It’s not you who should apologize. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry, Joel.”
The Prince muttered bitterly. Joel realized he was referring to that night in the forest when he went into rut.
“The night… that night…”
The Prince couldn’t finish his sentence, weighed down by guilt.
Joel felt more awkward than ever.
The Prince had completely misunderstood, thinking Joel’s fear came from that night.
But in truth, Joel hadn’t been traumatized by it—not even close.
The real reason he didn’t want to go further was because of the baby growing inside him.
But to deny the Prince’s assumption, he’d need to come up with a reasonable excuse for refusing intimacy—and Joel’s mind was completely blank.
‘There was no way he could just tell the truth about being pregnant.’
Joel felt trapped and guilty.
After watching the Prince carefully for a moment, he finally opened his mouth.
“Um, Your Highness… I think I’d be happy just… kissing, like we did earlier.”
He said it as a way to get through the moment, but it only made things worse.
The Prince buried his face in his hands, looking as if he were thinking, “What the hell am I doing to this kid?”
Thankfully, just then, the carriage came to a stop.
The Crown Prince called out loudly to the knight captain, Abe, who was driving the carriage.
“What’s going on?”
“Your Highness, we’re almost at the edge of the Sharplif Forest. It’s about time for lunch.”
Hearing Abe’s voice from beyond the carriage wall, Joel’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘They had set off early in the morning—and it was already lunchtime? Had they really been kissing for that long? It hadn’t felt like it at all.’
Joel genuinely thought so.
To him, it had felt like maybe 30 or 40 minutes, tops.
When he turned to the Crown Prince with wide, incredulous eyes, the Prince looked just as surprised. He turned to Abe and asked in disbelief:
“It’s already that late?”
“What do you mean ‘already’? We’ve been delayed quite a bit because of the rough forest road. It’s already 2 p.m., Your Highness. Anyway, please disembark slowly. We’ll get lunch ready.”
“…Understood.”
The Crown Prince turned to Joel and said, “Let’s get out.”
But his handsome face was still clouded with worry, and Joel could tell he was still consumed by guilt.
Grabbing his arm, Joel gently said, “Your Highness, really… it’s okay. Please don’t worry so much.”
But the Prince’s heavy expression didn’t lift in the slightest.
After a moment of hesitation, Joel kissed him softly on the cheek.
Only then did the Crown Prince give a faint smile, and Joel sighed in relief, feeling his little trick had worked.
After getting off the carriage with the Prince, Joel let him walk ahead and quietly approached Benjamin.
“Hey, Ben.”
“Huh? Wh-What?”
Benjamin turned pale at the sound of Joel’s voice.
And no wonder—every time Joel had called for him in the past 24 hours, it had spelled nothing but trouble.
The first time, he had almost been crushed to death and forced onto the journey.
The second time, Joel had nearly stolen the carriage he was riding in.
Benjamin was terrified of what bizarre favor might come next. His hands were shaking.
“Can I borrow you for a second? I have something to ask.”
Joel leaned in and whispered in Benjamin’s ear.
Benjamin desperately wanted to say he didn’t have time and run for it—but there was no way he had the nerve to refuse Joel.
All he could do was nod.
* * *
