* * *
Since he had been personally waiting on Joel after the journey began, the Crown Prince inadvertently learned that Joel didn’t possess any expensive accessories.
The only piece of jewelry Joel wore was a single sapphire ring, which resembled his deep blue eyes, and even that was an imitation.
Although it was a fairly elaborate counterfeit, the Crown Prince, who was an expert in gemology, could tell it was a fake stone at a glance.
“I like jewels? Who said that?”
Joel immediately asked back, dumbfounded.
“Hmm? I just heard it in passing…”
“Who exactly? Was it the group of recessive Omegas?”
Joel interrogated the Crown Prince in a fierce tone.
In Joel’s position, who cared intensely about food but not an ounce about wealth, it was something he could take offense to, but even considering that, Joel’s reaction now was excessively sharp.
Joel was aware that he was being overly sensitive, but he couldn’t stop his words from coming out pointedly.
Joel was well aware of the many prejudices surrounding him.
The gossips of the capital always enjoyed rambling about how foolish and arrogant, how greedy and vulgar he was.
Joel was already greatly wronged by this, but ever since he received that contemptuous look from the Crown Prince during their first meeting, he had become pathologically sensitive about anyone daring to talk about him carelessly.
“Don’t judge me carelessly based only on rumors. I was aware of what the group of recessive Omegas were talking about me. If you believe the rumors they made up, do you also believe the one that says I’m promiscuous?”
The Crown Prince felt perplexed when Joel, taking his casually thrown question seriously, started genuinely arguing with him.
But before he could feel angry or attempt to protest the unfairness, his heart first sank because Joel’s light-colored, sea-blue eyes were flickering with anxiety.
The Crown Prince realized that he had touched on Joel’s inner wounds, although he didn’t quite understand Joel’s psychological state.
He quickly apologized and soothed Joel, saying, “Joel, of course, that’s not the case. I trust you. I only jumped to the conclusion that you would like jewelry because nobles usually do. I apologize if I offended you.”
“Please refrain from judging me before asking me directly in the future.”
“Yes, I will bear that in mind. I am truly sorry.”
Even after receiving a second apology from the Crown Prince, Joel’s unpleasant and anxious feeling only intensified rather than subsided.
He was afraid that the Crown Prince would grow tired of him like this and leave.
Joel, who was trying hard to calm his uneasy feelings, unconsciously stroked his lower abdomen slightly.
It was an action performed subconsciously to seek comfort.
Joel wasn’t even aware that he was doing it as he caressed his belly.
However, the Crown Prince, who was watching Joel, immediately narrowed his eyes.
The Crown Prince’s elegant eyes instantly shone with a chilling light.
Even after Joel’s hand quickly moved away from his lower abdomen, the look of suspicion in his eyes did not easily fade.
As the sun began to set, the Fourth Knight Order, led by Abe, prepared for the final campsite of their journey towards Baron Bennet’s estate.
Once the sleeping arrangements were ready, the Crown Prince naturally wrapped his arm around Joel’s shoulder and headed towards the largest tent.
It seemed that the option of not sharing a bed with Joel didn’t even exist for him.
Meanwhile, Joel did not dare to suggest sleeping somewhere else.
Ever since he lost his temper at the Crown Prince over something trivial, he had been busy keeping an eye on the Prince.
‘Is it okay to openly show Benjamin that I’m close with the Crown Prince?’
Just before entering the tent, Joel briefly glanced towards Benjamin’s direction.
Benjamin seemed preoccupied, happily chatting with his escort knight, regardless of whether the Crown Prince was sleeping with Joel or not.
Whether this should be considered a good thing or not, as Joel stood awkwardly, the Crown Prince gently applied pressure to the hand wrapped around his shoulder.
“Joel, what is it?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Joel mumbled and shook his head.
Although the thought of the Crown Prince needing a new mate was giving him a headache, when he thought about it, it seemed closer to a relief that Benjamin liked someone else.
Although he had resented and envied Benjamin because the Crown Prince treated him with respect, Benjamin was, after all, his only friend.
Honestly, Joel admitted he didn’t want to be hated by his only friend.
He suddenly realized that he liked Benjamin much more than he thought.
“You haven’t looked well all day today. Are you very worried about your father?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Then is it because of the mistake I made this afternoon?”
The Crown Prince asked in a cautious tone as he closed the tent entrance.
In truth, the Crown Prince was equally nervous, watching the other person’s reactions.
Joel, who was only troubled by the fact that he had gotten angry at the Crown Prince for a trivial reason, quickly shook his head, saying, “I’m not upset. You really don’t need to worry about me like this.”
“Not upset? Your eyes are drooping like this. Is your stomach perhaps bothering you? Like indigestion?”
The Crown Prince suddenly reached out and tried to touch Joel’s belly.
Startled, Joel immediately slapped his hand away and stepped back.
“Why, why are you suddenly touching my body?”
“Why are you making such a fuss about it between us?”
The Crown Prince cocked his head as if he didn’t understand Joel’s overreaction, but Joel steadfastly maintained his distance from the Crown Prince.
Although it wasn’t yet the time for the pregnancy to be visible, he couldn’t let his guard down.
“I’m going to go wash up.”
“Abe is scheduled to bring warm bath water here soon, so there’s no need to go to all that trouble.”
“Oh, I can just wash in the nearby stream…”
“The ice hasn’t melted yet, how will you wash in that cold water?”
The Crown Prince took off his vest, suggesting it was time to prepare for a bath.
By the looks of it, he intended to bathe with Joel once the water arrived.
Pale-faced, Joel tried to express his wish to wash separately, but before he could even part his lips, the Crown Prince preemptively said, “After all, I’m the one who waited on you during your bath last night,” in a brazen tone.
Joel recalled the incident from last night, where he had passed out while being fondled by the Crown Prince.
He had wondered why he felt so refreshed when he woke up that morning, and now he knew the Crown Prince had washed him last night.
Joel tried desperately to squeeze past the Crown Prince, who was blocking the tent entrance, but the Crown Prince calmly rolled up his shirt sleeves, blocking Joel’s way.
“Please let me out.”
“No.”
“Your Highness, I really don’t want to criticize you like this, but… are you a pervert? Why are you so desperate to take off my, my…”
‘Take off my clothes,’ those words were obviously too embarrassing to say out loud.
Towards Joel, who was stuttering and blushing, the Crown Prince argued in a dignified tone, “A pervert, you say? I’m only trying to help because I was worried you might still have trouble moving after last night. You shouldn’t misinterpret a person’s kindness like that. Hurry up and take off your shirt.”
But for a man unfairly accused of misinterpreting his kindness, the Crown Prince already had a noticeable bulge in his front.
It was outrageous, but Joel was too conventional to point that out.
Just then, Abe announced from outside the tent that he had brought the portable bathtub.
The portable bathtub with hot water was brought in, and the Crown Prince, holding onto the fleeing Joel, succeeded in stripping all his clothes off and placing him in the tub.
Inside the bathtub, Joel crouched down, his face miserable.
He felt like he would die of embarrassment being naked alone in front of the fully clothed Crown Prince.
In contrast to Joel, who couldn’t even breathe easily due to mortification, the Crown Prince hummed a happy tune as he rolled up his sleeves.
He began adding dried rose petals and various aromatic oils to the tub.
As the dried rose petals thickly covered the surface of the water, Joel was finally able to sit a little more comfortably.
Gently massaging the shoulders of Joel, who was starting to show signs of languor, the Crown Prince whispered in a tender voice.
“It can’t compare to your pheromones, but this is still a decent quality rose bath oil. I hope you like it.”
In truth, his back was aching and his hips were sore from riding in the carriage all day, and soaking in the warm water did help him relax.
The Crown Prince’s massage skills were even top-notch.
‘Oh well, let fate decide.’
Feeling resigned, Joel closed his eyes tightly and surrendered himself to the Crown Prince’s touch.
After the pleasant bath was over and he was wrapped in a soft towel, Joel was already nodding off.
The Crown Prince, who had claimed it was too early to bathe in the stream because of the surface ice, ironically went out and washed in the stream with the knights himself.
If Joel had known, he would have felt quite wronged.
However, at that moment, Joel was fast asleep on the soft bedding stuffed with lamb’s wool.
The Crown Prince smiled contentedly and lay down beside Joel, who was breathing soundly in his peaceful slumber.
* * *
