By Zephyria 
“Noah… you…….”
For the first time, ripples appeared in the purple eyes that had always known only how to look down on people arrogantly. Really… how could the person who would become the Monarch of a country be so transparent? Adrian Pearson was the kind of person who treated people like sugar dolls made to his liking, but also had the ridiculous desire for those sugar dolls to sincerely love him. He was a deceptive human being who didn’t even think of giving his sincerity, but only coveted the sincerity of others.
“I was so worried, I, I, Your Highness…!”
I burrowed into the Crown Prince’s arms with an overwhelmed, almost ecstatic voice, burying my forehead in his collar. It was to hide my expression. Back when I had skills, I could easily shed tears that weren’t genuine, but after breaking free from the System’s control, even the effects of the items I had and my skills became useless. Maybe it was because I wasn’t truly worried, but no matter how hard I tried, only a thin stream of tears trickled down my cheek; a full-blown sob was impossible.
Still, it wasn’t difficult to fake a tearful voice, so I figured I could manage to imitate a foolish young man deeply in love.
This artificial scene I was staging was originally an event in the original story. According to the original timeline, the strange phenomenon of monsters swarming from all over the place would occur much later, after Allen had his engagement ceremony with the Crown Prince. Even then, the Crown Prince personally tried to resolve the situation, and at the banquet announcing the Crown Prince’s return, the original Allen shed copious tears, warmly and affectionately welcoming the Crown Prince. Only after seeing Allen, who was sobbing that he couldn’t live another day without him, did the Crown Prince decide to hasten their formal marriage.
Well… that was the original story, and I hadn’t even had a formal engagement yet, so merely copying one event wouldn’t immediately lead to a wedding. Still, wouldn’t it help to advance the situation that had been stagnantly maintaining the position of ‘prospective Crown Princess’ for several years?
I didn’t know how the god wearing Allen’s skin would try to interfere and hinder me. I had to somehow quickly grab his hand and march down the aisle while maintaining the other Love interest’s feelings in their current state. What wouldn’t I do for that?
“……”
The Crown Prince slowly patted my trembling shoulders and remained silent for a moment. I wanted to see what kind of expression he was making, but I decided not to risk it since I couldn’t force out any more tears. I took a deep breath, panting softly as if trying to hold back tears.
“I’m sorry. It’s a joyous day, but I shouldn’t be like this, but…”
“……”
“Oh, my… Seeing you, I just can’t help it… I can’t help it…”
The gentle hand patting my shoulder seemed to gain strength. He muttered in a low voice, like a beast that had been holding back for a long time.
“What is there to be sorry for?”
“Your Highness…”
“It is only that the one who will become my consort in the future has welcomed this person so fervently. Is it not so?”
The Crown Prince’s voice wasn’t very loud, but everyone was holding their breath, focusing all their attention on my every move, so his words successfully reached their ears. It was around that time that I quickly pretended to wipe away my tears with both hands and lifted my head from his arms.
“I missed you. Thinking of Your Highness being in that distant and dangerous frontier, I couldn’t sleep soundly for a single day…”
A blatant lie. Except for when Allen barged into my room and provoked me before disappearing, I had been living very peacefully for the past few months. I was more worried about Carlisle or Andrew, who were in less dangerous places.
“How can you only say such… pleasant things? If that’s a talent, it’s a very great one.”
The Crown Prince, who had quickly regained his composure, muttered resentfully. But seeing him clenching my arm painfully, it must have worked. It must have worked one hundred percent.
“I have no choice.”
Just as I was inwardly sneering, thinking, ‘See, I told you so,’ the Crown Prince, after glancing around at the nobles who were bowing to him, suddenly spat out that he had no choice…
“Y-Your Highness? Why are you suddenly doing this…!”
He suddenly slung me over his shoulder as if kidnapping me. There’s a limit to being crazy…!
“Everyone with ears must have heard. The future Crown Princess has said that she yearned for this person. As a husband, I cannot simply ignore that sentiment. I will go to fulfill my duty, so everyone, please enjoy the banquet for a long time.”
“……!”
It wasn’t just me who was in shock. Everyone was surprised, merely gaping like goldfish, but no one dared to object to his words. I, dangling from the Crown Prince’s shoulder, merely felt a throbbing pain in the back of my head. Wasn’t this supposed to be a purely romantic and touching event…? His declaration to fulfill his duty sounded more erotic than romantic to anyone you asked on the street.
“To stir up someone who was already holding back like this. My consort is indeed benevolent.”
The Crown Prince’s voice, as he nonchalantly walked away, ignoring the gazes around him with my body dangling over his shoulder, was filled with satisfaction. Ah… It worked as expected, but the problem was that it worked too well.
“Ugh… Your Highness, just a moment… I can’t… I can’t breathe…!”
As soon as we entered the bedroom, my lips were bitten painfully, as if I was being punished. The tender skin around my lips was scratched by his fiercely sharp canines. As I shook my head, pleading for air, a murderous aura flickered in the violet eyes that were close to my face. Anyway, pure romance seems to be a rare genre that’s hard to find in my life.
“After committing such a cute act in front of everyone, you weren’t prepared for this much?”
His words sounded angry, but his lower body, pressing against me fiercely, suggested the opposite. Or… was he just incredibly angry in a different way…?
“Ah…!”
I was caught off guard when my hair was suddenly grabbed. My scalp tingled. This time, tears welled up easily without any effort.
“Tell me. How many heat cycles did you go through while I was gone? I wasn’t here to relieve you, so how did you handle it? Huh?”
He really has terrible taste. I saw his informant planted in the mansion just this morning. He knows everything I’ve been doing in the mansion, but he still wants to hear me mention my heat cycle and see me embarrassed.
While he was away, I had gone through two heat cycles, and both times, I immediately took Suppressant as soon as I felt the signs, but due to someone’s crude prank, it had no effect, and my body was thrown into disarray. What the Crown Prince had been savoring for years was taken away by someone else in the meantime.
What would happen if I told him all these details? I had a childish thought for a moment, but I outwardly continued to sob quietly.
“Tell me quickly, huh? How did you do it? Were you able to get through your heat cycle without my pheromones?”
I don’t know if I got through it ‘safely’…, but I did get through it. With someone else’s pheromones. But I couldn’t tell him that.
“I, of course, took Suppressant. I took the medicine early and slept well, so I was fine…”
“That can’t be. I poured so much of my pheromones into you every time you were feverish. You’re telling me you were fine just by taking medicine? You never did anything shameful while thinking of me, really?”
I don’t know what he’s expecting. Did his informant give him false information or something? I don’t know. Since the lust that has captured the Crown Prince doesn’t seem to be based on anger, I have no choice but to play along for now.
“…Ugh, I don’t know.”
I fluttered my eyelashes and blushed. The Crown Prince looked like he was about to snap and once again parted my lips with his. His thick, long tongue filled my mouth, making my head spin. I hugged his shoulders tightly and subtly began to release my pheromones.
That’s when it happened.
“What is this?”
“A-Adrian…?”
He abruptly pushed me away, whom he had been kissing deeply, and asked in a murderous voice.
“Explain immediately. Why can I sense someone else’s pheromones on your body?”