The Sweet Alpha Crown Prince Loves Me So Much

During the sweet time when two people were confirming each other’s feelings, there was a person walking through hell alone.

Thomas Lancaster.

He was the only commoner noble, carrying both pride and burden.

The Lancaster surname was a privilege granted directly by the emperor, the sole privilege of the hereditary nobility.

The western territory, although small in scale, had a river and mountains running through the central part of the territory, attracting many people engaged in farming and livestock.

However, being located at the outskirts of the archipelago, as young people moved towards the center of the archipelago, the population gradually decreased, leading to a problem of declining commerce.

After inheriting the territory, Thomas was gaining momentum as commoners who supported him immigrated to the territory and it gradually became lively.

Thomas granted the right to move to people who had made a living through fishing by placing waterways near the river, and started maritime trade.

Since the merchant group of Grand Duke Balvenie almost monopolized all the commercial rights, Emperor Glenn was pleased to see the decentralization of commerce leading to the provinces.

And at this crucial moment, when they were about to embark on the shipbuilding business.

Of all things.

“They touched the prince of Lindbergh!”

When Thomas slammed the table, the aide flinched.

“The Emperor recognized him as the next Crown Princess this morning! Do you realize the weight of a single word spoken by him?”

The aide tightly closed his eyes.

The young and vigorous lord never forgot his position as a commoner and was always attentive to everything.

That was why he was known for not raising his voice to those beneath him…

The fact that he was screaming and shouting in anger meant that the matter was very serious.

“Even if the Imperial Knights were to chase us right now and are ordered to kill everyone involved, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”

The Emperor’s sword was fair to everyone.

It didn’t matter if they were nobles or commoners; the same applied to all.

Everyone received punishment equal to the weight of their crimes. 

And among them, the heaviest were rape and murder.

In the case of murder where the perpetrator acknowledges their crime, there was a possibility of avoiding the death penalty through extenuating circumstances, but in cases of rape, regardless of the reason, execution was carried out even for attempted crimes.

Thomas blamed himself for his negligence. 

He regretted not being more cautious, not tightening his grip on the reins of power more firmly.

The five young men who were now imprisoned were the successors of those who kept their standings and had been in this territory since their great-grandfathers’ time.

Although a beta and a commoner, they had a large amount of property and a wide network of connections, so Thomas could not easily touch them.

Furthermore, they had enthusiastically welcomed the new lord outwardly and actively supported him, so there had been no need to make any overt movements until now.

He had also received a lot of help in various ways.

If the Crown Prince were to kill all of them, the bereaved families who could not curse the Crown Prince would turn their arrows of resentment on him for not actively intervening.

The aide stammeringly asked his lord, who was tearing at his hair and sighing continuously.

“Could it be just a strong suspicion or a false testimony?”

The Crown Prince had been holed up in the guest room more splendid than the lord’s chamber, refusing to come out, insisting that his prospective mate be allowed to rest.

The aide thought that since no one had seen it firsthand, perhaps they could somehow talk the Crown Prince into it.

He didn’t know exactly what happened inside that house, but according to the villagers, Mahle entered the house in the morning, and the Crown Prince arrived only in the afternoon.

So, at least it can be said that the Crown Prince did not witness the incident firsthand.

And if the Crown Prince had personally seen what was happening, Mahle would have already been dead.

Even the most just and upright Alpha would see red if something happened to his Omega.

The aide, who had learned everything from books, stammered as he spoke. Thomas glared at him with bloodshot eyes, thinking that he had made a mistake in choosing him as his aide-de-camp.

“Even false testimony is a serious offense, so if you consider it, we can ask for leniency…”

“Enough with the nonsense.”

“Yes?”

Shocked by his superior’s harsh words, the aide looked dumbfounded.

“We have their suspicion, and the Crown Prince will have proof.”

Thomas gritted his teeth.

“How do you think the Crown Prince found his omega in one go? By following his scent? That’s just like a story straight out of a novel. The Crown Prince must have a magic tool that can accurately know the physical condition of his mate.”

“D-Do such magic tools exist?”

“He has been hailed as a genius since childhood in handling magic stones and magic formulas! Is there anything that person can’t create? That thing he carries around his neck. The prince must have something similar. He sensed the danger the prince felt and came here!”

The aide’s memory was hazy.

He was so distracted that he didn’t have time to check for any magical tools.

“Moreover, even if it’s just a false testimony, do you think the Emperor will simply overlook it? Dozens of people have witnessed those bastards causing trouble. If we make a mistake, even the villages who kept quiet will be dragged under collective punishment.”

When they interrogated those bastards who were thrown into prison, they even confessed everything without hesitation.

There was no need for the prince to make a testimony.

Thomas furrowed his brow.

Once such an unfortunate incident spreads within the noble society, nobody would view this territory favorably.

It was possible that the gap between the commoners and the nobles, which had been slowly narrowing for decades, could widen again, and even the possibility of commoners entering politics might be closed off.

“Like a butterfly effect…”

Thomas murmured softly.

“H-How can we handle this? Now we have to bear the Crown Prince’s personal grudge as well.”

The aide, now grasping the situation, asked tremblingly.

Thomas shook his head.

It was the greatest crisis in his life.

Carl Lindbergh felt suffocated.

It wasn’t the type of suffocation that was stifling or unpleasant.

After realizing his own feelings, he decided to take the first step and reveal one secret to Adrian. Adrian’s silence brought both unease and anticipation.

“I didn’t know I could have a child with a man until I met you.”

“… Because you thought you were a beta?”

Carl pulled his face away from Adrian’s chest and looked up at him.

“You knew?”

Adrian wanted to swallow Carl’s surprised eyes, which resembled a rabbit, in one bite.

“It just happened.”

“Well, anyway, at first, I was shocked, then I was afraid, and then more complicated thoughts came to me.”

“Do you think I’m following your pheromones like a dog?”

The metaphor of ‘like a dog’ made Carl frown, finding it unpleasant.

From Adrian’s perspective, it might have been ‘just a thing,’ but from Carl’s perspective, it must have been quite frightening. Because he thought so, Adrian purposely tried to smile to reassure Carl.

“Uh, I’ve been thinking about it ever since before we went to Lindbergh, until we came back to Heineken. It was the first time I had ever smelled someone else’s pheromones, and it was also the first time I felt how it could change my body…”

Carl Lindbergh’s view of love was quite old-fashioned.

Whether they were introduced by someone or happened to meet by chance, after meeting two or three more times and naturally becoming familiar with each other, and if their feelings connect, they would hold hands and even exchange kisses.

A gentle love, when, if things got deeper, they would continue to deepen, and if not, they would peacefully part ways.

For him, his meeting with Adrian Heineken was neither natural nor a gradual process of getting used to each other.

“Do you know the feeling of blazing like fire and suddenly turning into ashes?”

Adrian realized that the fear Carl was talking about was different from the fear mentioned by Duke Hendrick.

And his heart swelled with joy.

“If I understood correctly, what you’re afraid of is not the relationship itself, but the fear that it will cool off when the love that started awkwardly due to the influence of magic comes to an end. Am I right?”

Carl nodded, his cheeks turning red, and Adrian swallowed hard, wanting to kiss him.

“I couldn’t even imagine such a thing. It’s one thing to have a romantic relationship, but the idea that a child could be the result made it even more frightening.”

Adrian recalled the expression ‘pulling a radish out of his nose’ used by Belfry.

Yes, it’s scary for anyone if suddenly asked to pull a radish out of their nose.

“We’re still young, so let’s take it slow when it comes to having a child.”

“Is that okay, though?”

Carl’s eyes widened again.

“Wasn’t the reason you suggested a royal marriage because you needed an heir quickly?”

Because Her Majesty is pregnant, and if she has a son, you’ll have to keep an eye on him, right?

No, Adrian was already the crown prince, and the imperial family does not have that kind of atmosphere.

Carl, who was confused, rambled on.

Adrian shook his head and walked back to the bed, almost carrying Carl.

He couldn’t wait to silence those chattering lips.

His imagination was excessive, too excessive.

Wasn’t he relatively rational until he realized he was an omega?

After giving his own cold assessment of Lindbergh, pulling Adrian in was an appropriate action.

“Is it really because there’s no omega as good as me in the world?”

Instead of climbing on top of Carl after laying him on the fluffy bed, Adrian rested his arm on the side and spoke while caressing Carl’s face gently.

“I just wanted to keep you by my side.”

“Why?”

Adrian slowly stroked Carl’s face.

Carl closed his lips when he was touched by his hand brimming with affection and with no desire.

“You might not like it if I talk about pheromones again, but…”

Carl shook his head.

Adrian leaned closer, whispering into Carl’s ear.

“Your scent is so good that I didn’t want anyone else to smell it except for me.”

Pheromones were nothing but a fuse.

A starting point where they could recognize each other’s existence and hold it in their hearts.

For the first time since becoming Carl Lindbergh, he discovered the relationship between pheromones and affection, and his small lips opened and he stuck his tongue out to meet his.

Adrian, who easily recognized it as silent permission, responded by pressing their lips together.

It was their first kiss as lovers.