* * *
The next day, Lowell still felt under the weather, but his fever had completely subsided.
Sitting up in bed, he spooned potato soup into his mouth.
He missed beef and vegetable porridge, but he didn’t complain and diligently moved his spoon.
“Good thing your fever went down quickly.”
“That’s what I told you. It was nothing serious.”
Lowell scratched his cheek, feeling embarrassed that he’d come down with a fever after just one round of sex.
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Well, it’s because I didn’t mark you.”
Lowell’s mood was dampened by yet another failed attempt at imprinting. Until now, he had convinced himself that he simply hadn’t wanted to do it.
‘But this time, I definitely wanted it. I don’t think my feelings for Felix are any less than his for me. So why can’t I imprint him?’
Seeing Lowell looking dejected, Felix handed him some freshly sliced fruit.
“You can’t force emotions to change at will.”
Felix’s matter-of-fact response only made Lowell more frustrated.
He’d openly expressed how much he loved him during their time together, but since Felix had no recollection of it, he still wasn’t sure of Lowell’s feelings.
‘But in this situation, I can’t just blurt out that I love him too. Then again, Felix has never told me he loves me while fully conscious either.’
Lowell sighed inwardly as he took a bite of the apple.
Since there was no way to resolve his frustration, it was probably best to change the subject.
“I’m almost fully recovered now, so tell me—how did things go with the alliance?”
“You’re not completely recovered yet.”
Felix spoke firmly, but Lowell remained unmoved.
“Listening to a story won’t make me relapse.”
Felix tapped his finger against the table for a moment before finally deciding to speak.
“Fine. There are things I need to tell you anyway.”
Hearing things I need to tell you, Lowell paused mid-chew and gave Felix a curious look.
Once the room was cleared of everyone except for his trusted knights, Felix took a sip of apple tea and began.
“I formed an alliance with the crown prince.”
It was an expected outcome, but hearing that the discussion had gone smoothly made Lowell breathe a small sigh of relief.
“The prince claims that the emperor, along with a few nobles, has been attempting to use dark magic to resurrect someone. The nobles pretending to be on the emperor’s side are actually trying to drive him mad and turn him into their puppet.”
“That’s… a disturbing story.”
Lowell feigned surprise, but inwardly, he was evaluating the crown prince’s intelligence.
So far, he was doing well.
‘He still doesn’t know that the one they’re trying to resurrect is Felix’s mother, or that they plan to use Felix as a sacrifice to summon the Demon King.’
In the original storyline, the ritual failed, and Felix—upon seeing a monstrous figure resembling his mother—went berserk.
Instead of being controlled by the nobles, he ended up using the emperor as a sacrifice to summon and fuse with the Demon King.
‘I was hoping that if Felix stayed away from the capital, they’d change their target. But it seems the emperor is still obsessed with him.’
Lowell found the emperor utterly pathetic.
He spewed curses instead of blessings at the one he loved, yet now that she was dead, he was desperately trying to bring her back.
It was disgusting.
“There’s a major ritual planned for the end of the year. We intend to stop it before it can happen. I was hesitant because of the baby’s birth, but for the empire’s future, this must be done.”
Felix was right.
That time of year would be close to the due date.
If it were up to Lowell, he’d rather keep Felix in Nix, far away from the capital, where he would be safe.
But with the emperor relentlessly scheming, there was no doubt he would try to drag Felix into the ritual by any means necessary.
The best course of action was to figure out his plans in advance and sabotage the ritual altogether.
‘The original timeline failed, but this time, Felix is siding with the crown prince. If I use the information I have wisely, our chances of success will increase. I just need to make sure Felix never sees that monster in his mother’s form.’
Lowell maintained a calm expression, even as his mind raced.
“It should be fine. The baby isn’t due until early next year, after all.”
“True.”
Felix hesitated for a moment before speaking again, his tone as if he were about to broach a particularly difficult topic.
“And… the crown prince has requested that we shelter his mate in Nix. They need medical treatment for now and should arrive sometime next week.”
“Ah, I see… Wait. What?”
Lost in thought, Lowell had given an automatic response—only to jolt in surprise as the words registered.
Felix’s expression suggested he wasn’t thrilled about the situation either.
“It’s his attendant, Robin. It seems one of the noble houses targeting the crown prince’s fiancé caught on and attacked them. He asked us to hide them while he deals with the situation. It’s annoying—especially since we just got rid of one troublesome guest, and now another one’s coming.”
Felix didn’t want to bring in another guest.
He wanted Lowell to feel at ease in Nix.
But now that they had formed an alliance, rejecting the request wasn’t an option.
Lowell, however, saw this as a promising sign.
‘The crown prince wouldn’t entrust Robin to someone he didn’t trust. I don’t know the exact reason, but this means he believes in Felix. Their alliance won’t fall apart anytime soon.’
Soothing his startled heart, Lowell placed his hand over Felix’s, his grip firm.
“I don’t mind. If they’re on your side, then there’s nothing to be uncomfortable about.”
“That’s a relief.”
Felix placed the last piece of apple into Lowell’s mouth.
“By the way, I noticed you don’t call me ‘Your Grace’ anymore.”
Felix tilted his head slightly, as if the thought had only just occurred to him—but he couldn’t quite hide his delight.
Lowell burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking.
Felix didn’t know why he was laughing, but he found the sound pleasant.
“You asked me to call you by your name. Should I go back to calling you ‘Your Grace’ instead?”
Wiping tears from his eyes, Lowell teased.
Felix, momentarily surprised at his own request, quickly accepted it.
Hearing Lowell say his name warmed something deep in his chest.
“No. I prefer it this way.”
“Me too.”
Lowell smiled sweetly, his fingers curling tightly around Felix’s.
“I like it when you call me by my name, too.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. Say it often.”
“I will, Lowell.”
The way Felix said his name sounded softer than usual.
Whether it was because of the affection in his voice or simply because it was Felix, Lowell wasn’t sure.
“Are you going to rest more?”
“No, I’m going to read.”
Lowell retrieved the book he had left by his bedside.
It was about imprinting.
He had no intention of telling Felix, but he wanted to figure out how imprinting worked.
‘I need to understand why I can’t do it.’
* * *
