* * *
Benjamin was dragged behind a secluded tree by Joel.
Tense and on edge, he braced himself, worried Joel would once again spring some bizarre request on him, and waited anxiously for him to open his mouth.
“…I’m sorry.”
Thankfully, what Joel said wasn’t anything strange at all. Benjamin let out a small sigh of relief.
But even so, an apology from Joel brought its own sense of unease.
After all, Joel had never once apologized before—not when he drugged Benjamin’s tea, not when he tampered with his carriage wheels—all in an effort to steal the position of the Crown Prince’s partner.
Still worried, Benjamin asked cautiously,
“…Joel, what are you suddenly sorry about?”
“Just… everything.”
Joel’s vague answer startled Benjamin.
He nearly blurted out, “Did you put something in my food again?” but managed to keep his dignity intact at the last second.
Holding on to his noble bearing, he pressed for more clarity.
“Sorry, but could you be a little more direct? You’re starting to make me nervous.”
“I mean, I really messed with you a lot. I’m sorry for that.”
Joel had originally meant to come clean.
‘I’ve agreed to get along with the Crown Prince for a month. I’m sorry for getting in your way again.’
But when he actually stood in front of Benjamin, the words just wouldn’t come out.
He hesitated—was it really the right choice to confess everything?
In Joel’s eyes, the Crown Prince’s side had always belonged to Benjamin.
Just look at the graduation party—when Joel didn’t interfere even once, the position of the Crown Prince’s partner naturally fell back to Benjamin.
Given the Emperor’s preferences, unless some foreign royal family or an alpha-class omega from a prestigious family miraculously appeared out of nowhere, Benjamin was all but officially chosen as the Crown Princess.
Joel knew that. Benjamin must know that too.
He probably believed, deep down, that the Crown Princess seat was rightfully his.
So if Benjamin found out that Joel had started seeing the Crown Prince—even if only for a month—he would never be okay with it.
Whether it’s a day or a month, an affair is still an affair.
Who in their right mind would turn a blind eye to their lover cheating on them?
‘Yeah,’ Joel thought, ‘it’s just for a short time anyway. There’s no need to upset Benjamin over something that’ll be over soon.’
After some hesitation, Joel decided to keep his mouth shut.
Even though he had spent every moment with the Crown Prince since the trip began, and even though he had just rubbed his pheromones on him only minutes ago, Joel convinced himself—naively—that as long as he didn’t acknowledge it, no one would find out.
It was such a Joel-like kind of delusion.
“Oh, that. It’s fine, don’t worry about it. What’s with you today? This isn’t like you,” Benjamin said, laughing thoughtlessly.
That innocent, unsuspecting smile made Joel feel genuinely sorry for the first time.
He really had tormented Benjamin endlessly.
In fact, Joel hadn’t always been chosen as the Crown Prince’s partner at the parties.
Sometimes Benjamin had been selected.
But Joel had gone to great lengths to sabotage him—ruining his formalwear, slipping sleeping pills into his tea, even damaging the wheels of his carriage.
Because of all that, even when Benjamin had originally been picked, the position would inevitably end up falling to Joel.
Still, in this story, the protagonist was always Benjamin.
And Joel—he was just an obstacle, something standing in the way of the main character’s success.
Right now, the Crown Prince might be spouting nonsense about having no interest in Benjamin after hitting his head on a rock, but once Joel was gone, he’d naturally turn his attention back to Benjamin.
Joel believed that firmly.
As long as he disappeared, everything would fall back into place.
Looking at his smiling, clueless friend, Joel apologized silently.
‘Ben, I’m really sorry. Just let me be greedy for one more month with His Highness. After that, I’ll disappear. So… please don’t hate me too much.’
“…Still, Ben. In the end, the Crown Princess title will be yours.”
“…Huh?”
Joel had meant it as a kind gesture, born from his guilty conscience, but Benjamin’s face stiffened awkwardly at those words.
Joel found it strange.
Ever since they were seven, Benjamin had been seen as the future Crown Princess.
The biggest obstacle in his path had always been Joel.
Now that the one who always interfered was saying, ‘That position is yours,’ shouldn’t Benjamin be happy?
But—he didn’t look happy at all.
‘Why isn’t he happy?’
The faint confusion began to shift into a budding suspicion when someone called out,
“Young Master!”
It was Benjamin’s personal knight, Felix, approaching with a cloak in hand—presumably Benjamin’s.
Robert followed behind him and came straight up to Joel, saying, “Master Joel! We’ve been looking for you. It’s time to eat.”
Joel watched as Felix carefully draped the cloak over Benjamin’s shoulders.
“Young Master, it’s dangerous for you to be in a place like this.”
The ‘danger’ Felix spoke of clearly referred to Joel.
Offended by the knight’s rudeness, Benjamin called his name sharply, a warning in his tone.
“Felix.”
With Benjamin’s reprimand, Felix refrained from provoking Joel further, though he also didn’t bother to apologize.
Felix had always been wary of Joel, disapproving of how often Benjamin spent time with him.
And frankly, considering everything Joel had put Benjamin through during their time at the Royal Academy, Felix’s attitude wasn’t entirely unjustified.
Knowing this, Joel usually tried to tolerate Felix’s rudeness as best as he could.
“Young Master, it’s still cold out. Please dress warmly.”
“Ah, yeah… Thanks.”
Benjamin placed his hand lightly over Felix’s as he fastened the cloak.
Their hands brushed only for a moment before separating, but that brief touch made something in Joel’s chest twist unpleasantly.
He didn’t know exactly why—but for some reason, the two of them seemed… too close.
Before he realized it, Joel called out.
“Ben.”
“Hm?”
Benjamin, who was just about to leave with Felix, turned around with a mild expression.
Looking at his calm face, Joel hesitated.
Should he ask about Felix?
About whether there was something going on between them?
But that felt like an overreaction.
There was no way Benjamin would be involved with his own knight.
Just the suspicion itself would be a grave insult to Benjamin.
Joel opened his mouth to speak but faltered, lips parting without sound.
“…Joel, what is it?” Benjamin asked, confused.
“…Ah, it’s nothing.”
Startled by his own thoughts, Joel shook his head quickly.
Thinking it over again, he realized how absurd and irrational his suspicion had been.
It wasn’t like he saw them hugging or anything—just a fleeting brush of hands.
And here he was, jumping to conclusions.
‘From what he’d heard, Felix was seven years older than Benjamin and had been serving by his side since the day Benjamin was born. Considering how much time they had spent together, it was only natural that their relationship would be close—like real brothers.’
Joel quickly shook off his suspicions and waved to Benjamin as he left first.
Then, turning to Robert, who stood beside him, he said, “Let’s go too.”
But just as he was about to move, Robert grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Wait a second, Joel. We need to talk.”
“Huh?”
“I haven’t had the chance to ask before, so I’m only bringing it up now, but…”
Robert trailed off mid-sentence, glancing around anxiously to check if anyone might be eavesdropping.
Once satisfied they were alone, he lowered his voice and asked:
“Why did the Crown Prince try to confirm your pregnancy?”
“What?”
“Don’t tell me… that baby… it’s the Crown Prince’s?”
The abrupt question left Joel flustered.
Now that he thought about it, when he had left the drawing room that day, Robert had looked at him with eyes that clearly said we need to talk later.
Apparently, now was that “later.”
“Please, just tell me the truth. Lying about carrying a royal child—do you know that’s a capital offense? You could be executed and your head hung on the palace walls. Don’t you get that?”
“…I do.”
Even someone as stupid as Joel knew that. No—he knew it better than anyone.
Because in his previous life, he had almost met that exact fate.
The Emperor had planned to behead Joel for faking a pregnancy with a royal heir and display his head on the palace walls for a month.
Even with the powerful House of Lucas behind him, Joel wouldn’t have been able to escape such disgrace.
The Empire was an absolute monarchy, and the imperial family wielded near-absolute power.
* * *
