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Chapter 23
The lights were out, but even though it was well past bedtime for a young boy like Friedrich, he couldn’t fall asleep.
His guilt weighed too heavily on him.
He might as well have been the one who personally dragged Joachim Rommel into the princess’s bed.
He was the one who had pushed Her Highness into accepting Joachim’s offer to become her consort — an offer she had firmly refused until the end.
‘…Useless brat.’
Friedrich loathed his own body. What had he done wrong for God to curse him with such a fate?
‘Why did the Duke have to be the one to find out?’
It was a cruel twist of fate.
After Her Highness had been dragged away by her followers, Friedrich had stayed where he was, not realizing how much time was passing, waiting for her to return.
‘She said she’d be back soon…’
Then the bell had tolled — midnight. He knew what that meant.
Thankfully, the pillar had hidden his body well enough that no one saw him transform.
But once he had turned into a child again, panic set in.
He hadn’t planned for this; he was supposed to return to Princess René’s palace long before midnight.
‘I need to hide somewhere—’
“Oh my, look over there.”
He heard a familiar voice just as he was getting up.
A group of young noble ladies were walking toward him, their tone friendly and curious.
“Well, what’s a little lord doing here all alone?”
…It was the same group of ladies who had followed the princess earlier.
Where was Her Highness, and why were these women still here?
“Was there such a handsome boy among the nobles of Stade?”
“Really, he’s adorable. Whose son are you, little one?”
“Did you lose your parents? He looks like he’s about to cry.”
“No, those sparkling eyes just look teary. Such pretty eyes, though.”
“Shall we help you find your mother and father? What house are you from?”
Friedrich stood there, caught between confusion and dread, unable to respond.
Then suddenly, a small gasp came from behind the women.
“Oh my, Duke Rommel!”
“My goodness, we heard you’d been unwell! You look so pale, so thin—”
“I was shocked when I heard you even missed Count Brock’s birthday party. Are you feeling better now?”
“I’m fine,” came the calm reply.
Of all people—it had to be Joachim Rommel.
The man who had feigned frailty to earn the princess’s pity.
The very last person Friedrich wanted to meet.
“And who is that child?”
“Oh, we just found him here by himself,” one lady said brightly. “He must’ve lost his parents. We were just about to help him find them.”
“I see.” Joachim’s gaze lingered on Friedrich.
Friedrich lowered his head at once, trying to hide his face.
“There’s no need for that,” Joachim said smoothly.
“He’s my relative.”
“Your relative? Oh, well, that would explain it! He certainly has the looks for it.”
The ladies accepted the explanation without question and soon walked away, leaving Friedrich alone with Joachim in the quiet corridor.
“Well then, I’ll be going—”
There was nothing to gain from staying near this man.
But just as he turned to leave, Joachim grabbed his wrist.
A chill shot up Friedrich’s spine.
In Kiel Palace, every time someone had grabbed him like that, something terrible followed.
Instinctively, he yanked his hand free and glared sharply.
Joachim only smiled, intrigued.
“I wasn’t sure, but I thought so.”
He leaned close, meeting Friedrich’s eyes.
“You’re Prince Friedrich, aren’t you?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“No need to deny it. You look exactly like him — those amethyst eyes, that delicate face.”
The realization that Joachim had studied his face in such detail made Friedrich’s skin crawl.
Seeing his disgust, Joachim chuckled.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I only examined your features for educational purposes — since Her Highness apparently prefers your face to mine.”
“You can’t just change your face, you know.”
“Perhaps not, but I can imitate what she likes.”
Then, without warning, Joachim cupped Friedrich’s cheek in his hand.
Friedrich’s expression twisted in clear disgust.
“Let go.”
“What is it — a curse that turns you into a child after midnight?”
“What…!”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Touchy reaction.”
Joachim’s smirk deepened.
“Actually, I was watching since you arrived with Her Highness. When midnight passed, the prince sitting behind that pillar disappeared — and out came this little boy.”
“…”
“So that’s why the Kingdom of Kiel kept you so hidden. Not protection — concealment. How pitiful.”
Friedrich’s glare sharpened — he knew that wasn’t pity, but mockery.
Joachim, however, looked entirely unbothered, even smug.
The cursed prince of a defeated nation.
The princess who dared to hide that truth and still plan to marry him.
Now that Joachim knew, he thought he held the upper hand.
“Don’t even think about using my secret to threaten Her Highness,” Friedrich said coldly.
“If you do, I’ll kill you — and then myself.”
“How romantic. I would’ve preferred to hear that from Her Highness, though.”
“Lunatic.”
“Now, now, mind your language. I’m still older than you, after all — in more ways than one.”
“Get lost.”
Friedrich shot him a look of pure contempt and turned to leave—
but Joachim suddenly reached out again, trying to pull him into an embrace.
Friedrich reacted instantly. He caught Joachim’s wrist, twisted it—
Crack.
“Ugh…!”
“I told you to—”
Before he could finish, Joachim clutched at his trouser leg from the floor.
Friedrich frowned, watching as the duke slowly got back up.
“Well, this is embarrassing. Losing to a child.”
“What are you trying to pull?”
“What do you think?”
Despite the pain etched on his face, Joachim smiled thinly.
“I’m taking you to your guardian — who must be desperate to find you right now.”
…And that was how things had ended up like this.
Friedrich glared at Joachim, who now slept peacefully beside him.
Even with a bed this wide, lying three across meant that if he shifted wrong, Joachim’s breath might touch his skin.
The thought alone made his stomach turn. He edged closer toward René instead.
His nose brushed her back, the faint rose scent of her hair filling his senses.
Finally, Friedrich’s face relaxed as he began to drift off—
“Mmm…”
Suddenly, an arm snaked around his waist from behind and pulled him back.
He found himself pressed against Joachim again, the man’s overpowering musk invading his nose.
Friedrich stiffened, twisting silently to free himself.
“Let go.”
“Mmm…”
“Stop pretending to be asleep.”
“Mmmm…”
Joachim only murmured incoherently, feigning sleep — utterly shameless.
Friedrich wanted nothing more than to wrench his arm away —
but if he did, he might wake Her Highness.
She was a light sleeper; even his small movements might have already stirred her.
So he stayed still, forced to endure the entire night in that miserable position.
Our first night sleeping together went… smoother than expected, I suppose.
Though it was a little noisy beside me — apparently Joachim isn’t a quiet sleeper.
‘Well, at least it didn’t wake me up.’
I yawned and opened my eyes — and froze at the sight before me.
‘…Huh?’
Friedrich, now back in his adult form, was fast asleep — in Joachim’s arms.
I blinked several times, but there was no mistaking it: two grown men, wrapped around each other.
Why… are they sleeping like that?
There’s no way that position just happened by accident.
‘Wait… is that why Joachim was so insistent about becoming my consort?’
What if… I was the third wheel here?
As I pondered that absurd but strangely plausible theory, Friedrich slowly opened his eyes.
