* * *
“Yeah. It’s the Crown Prince’s child.”
Joel admitted it without resistance.
He could have lied and said it was someone else’s, but lying never came naturally to him.
Besides, Robert was sharp.
If Joel tried to deny it and Robert started getting suspicious, he might run straight to the Crown Prince and blurt out that Joel was pregnant.
That would just make everything messier.
Better to be honest and ask for help than try to deceive him.
Hearing Joel’s confession, Robert turned pale.
“What?! Then why the hell did you lie and say you weren’t pregnant? Are you crazy?!”
“Robert. Think about it. Do you really think the Emperor would ever accept someone like me as the Crown Princess Consort? He’d rather kill me. Or force me to lose the baby.”
“Come on, even so—it’s his own grandchild! How could he possibly—”
Joel simply looked at Robert in silence.
There was a time when Joel had believed that too.
That everything would be fine if he married the Crown Prince.
That even the Emperor, who disliked him, would accept him as family once he gave birth to a royal child.
Back in his past life, when he lied about being pregnant and was allowed to stay in the Crown Prince’s palace, the Crown Prince didn’t let him leave the premises even once.
He never gave a reason for that, but Joel, naïve as he was, thought ‘Wow, he must really care about me!’ and was just happy about it.
It wasn’t until later that he realized why the Crown Prince had been so overprotective.
About a week into his stay, Joel was summoned to join the Emperor for tea.
It was the first time the Emperor had shown even a hint of warmth since learning of Joel’s supposed pregnancy.
Joel, determined to win the Emperor over, had rushed to meet him.
But just as he lifted the teacup the Emperor’s attendant had served him—
“What do you think you’re doing!”
The Crown Prince had burst into the room, shouting as he slapped the teacup from Joel’s hands.
Joel stared, dumbfounded, at the shattered teacup lying against the wall.
“Y-Your Highness, what in the world…”
Joel was the only one who looked shocked.
The Emperor had already dropped his smile and was glaring at the Crown Prince with a cold expression.
The Crown Prince gently helped the stunned Joel to his feet and shielded him behind his back.
“The child Joel carries… is mine, Father. Please, keep that in mind.”
Only after hearing those words did Joel finally understand what the Emperor had been planning.
‘So that’s it. There’s no way he’d ever accept someone like me as his son’s spouse. Honestly, I probably would’ve done the same if I were him… No point in holding a grudge.’
A bitter smile crept onto Joel’s lips as he recalled that moment from his past life.
Thanks to the Crown Prince assigning him guards, he had managed to stay safe—but even then, he had narrowly avoided death or miscarriage several times.
Looking back now, it was clear that—despite how much the Crown Prince had despised him—he allowed Joel to stay at the palace purely to protect the unborn child.
The Emperor’s cruelty wasn’t without cause.
Ultimately, it was Joel’s own past actions that had brought it upon himself.
So there was no one else to blame.
Regardless, the Emperor’s ruthlessness hadn’t changed in this life either.
Joel was determined to protect this innocent child no matter what it took.
But Robert was resolute in his own way.
He wanted to help Joel—he truly did—but getting involved could very well mean death, and that terrified him.
And to be fair, from a rational standpoint, Joel’s fear that the Emperor would have him killed because he was pregnant did sound a little paranoid.
Looking away from Joel’s desperate eyes, Robert finally spoke.
“…I’m sorry, Joel. But I still think the Crown Prince needs to know the truth. I know I owe your father for paying my tuition and you for helping me become a royal physician, but… damn it. I don’t want to die.”
“Bobby.”
Joel called his name like a plea, but Robert kept his head turned.
Joel was at a loss.
Without Robert’s help, his escape plan was doomed to fail.
“…Hyung.”
The word finally slipped from Joel’s lips, and Robert looked at him, stunned.
“Are you serious? You boss me around like a servant and now I’m ‘hyung’?”
Seriously?
Just a while ago, he was threatening to tear my mouth open… Robert muttered to himself in disbelief.
Joel’s shamelessness was almost impressive.
And yet—he couldn’t deny it.
Hearing Joel call him “hyung” softened his heart.
They had grown up together on Lord Bennet’s estate, practically like real brothers.
Joel might now be an adult and adopted into a powerful noble family with a lofty status, but in Robert’s eyes, he was still the snot-nosed kid he used to take care of.
Just to be clear, Robert was three years older than Joel.
“This is insane…”
“Hyung, please. I’m begging you. I’m not lying. This isn’t just some paranoid delusion. If the Emperor finds out I’m pregnant, he really will try to kill me.”
“…Sigh. Okay, Joel. Let’s say you manage to hide the pregnancy from the Crown Prince. Then what? What’s your plan after that?”
“I have everything figured out.”
Robert gave him a skeptical look.
The day Joel had gone for the check-up at the palace, he had said he didn’t plan on aborting the child.
“So you’re not going to tell the Crown Prince, and you’re not going to get rid of the baby, either—what, are you planning to just run away on your own? With that foolish head of yours?”
“I’m going to run away. After the inspection is over and we go back. I promise I won’t cause you any trouble. I swear.”
“Joel!”
“I already figured out my escape route. I can’t tell you the details, but the lord of that place has agreed to hire me as a tutor. So, once I’m gone, everything will be fine.”
Robert still thought Joel was planning something absolutely ridiculous, but when Joel’s voice started to tremble, saying “I don’t want to live in the capital being looked down on anymore. You know better than anyone what my life has been like there…”, Robert couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.
He didn’t know everything Joel had gone through, but as a gynecologist serving in the Imperial Palace, Robert had heard rumors about Joel circulating in high society.
The capital’s nobles treated Joel as someone they could mock freely.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every noble in the capital thought of Joel as promiscuous, arrogant, and dumber than a five-year-old.
Everything Joel did was the subject of gossip, and for the past three years, he had been mocked almost daily.
Living such a life of contempt wouldn’t be easy for anyone.
Maybe Joel had wanted to leave long ago but ended up getting pregnant at the worst possible time, which tied him down.
As for Joel’s claim that the Emperor would kill him—that was still hard to believe.
But the part about not wanting to live under constant ridicule anymore—that Robert could understand.
“…Fine. Alright. But listen carefully. This is the last time. If the Crown Prince questions me again, I’ll spill everything. So you’d better be careful from now on.”
“Thank you.”
When Robert reluctantly agreed, Joel threw his arms around him in joy.
Sure, threatening to spill everything the next time was a bit petty, but—at least it was something.
“Robert, then let’s go eat.”
“No need. I figured you wouldn’t be able to eat comfortably next to the Crown Prince, so I volunteered to bring your meal. I packed a basket.”
Robert lifted a basket as he replied.
He found a rock suitable to use as a table and started unpacking the contents: sandwiches with marinated beef, a large roasted smoked turkey leg and seasoned grilled chicken drumsticks, juicy ham drizzled with syrup, several types of well-baked white bread, fresh plums, and even a sweet pumpkin pie…
Joel’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t bring any potato dishes—figured you didn’t really like them.”
“Thanks. But… why did you bring so much? If I take all of this, what’s the Crown Prince going to eat?”
“The Crown Prince packed this for you himself. I just halved it—this is only part of what he prepared. And don’t worry about there not being enough. Viscount Spencer brought a ton of food. Said the four knights needed to eat heartily.”
Of course, all the best-looking and most delicious parts had ended up in Joel’s share.
The Crown Prince, who seemed to assume Joel had the same small appetite as other nobles, personally selected the dishes he thought might appeal to Joel from what Spencer had brought—and handed the basket to Robert with care, hoping Joel would at least eat something.
* * *
