Became Pregnant With the Demon King’s Child

"You must’ve had a rough idea already, haven’t you?"

The Crown Prince leaned back against the sofa with a smug air as he returned the question.
"There’s a big difference between assuming something and hearing it directly. But since I know how wise Your Highness is, I won’t say any more."
Lowell had just politely said, If you don’t understand that difference, then you’re too stupid to be worth explaining it to.

The Crown Prince raised one eyebrow and soon let out a crisp laugh.
"You were pretending to be polite, but now you’re not even hiding your disrespect. What, is it because Felix is beside you that you think I can’t do anything to you?"
"Antaios!"

Before Lowell could respond, Felix’s low voice echoed through the room. The Crown Prince, whose name had been called, looked at Felix’s sunken expression and seemed to sink into thought. Robin, seated beside him, was squirming nervously.
He despises the Emperor, but in times like this, he really resembles him.
Lowell, on the other hand, didn’t find the situation particularly scary or uncomfortable. The Crown Prince was poking at him to watch Felix’s reaction—just like the Emperor had done during the banquet. It wasn’t as violent, but it was just as twisted.

"As a comrade from the war, let me say this one last thing. If you continue threatening Lowell, we won’t be able to maintain an alliance based on trust."
But Felix had no intention of backing down easily. He warned that if this continued, what they had wouldn’t be a cooperation—but a relationship built on blackmail, primed for betrayal at any moment.
"Yeah. For someone like me, I’ve been awfully patient. Turns out friendship forged on the battlefield is more useful than I thought. If I’ve offended you, I apologize—Lowell Clarke."

"I also apologize if my words came off as rude, depending on how they were heard. I was on edge because it seemed Your Highness still hadn’t withdrawn your suspicion of Felix."
"You two make a perfect pair, even fighting for each other’s sake."
The Crown Prince meant it as a joke, but Felix’s ears flushed red. The fingers clutching Lowell twitched. A man who showed no reaction to most things became an emotional young fool whenever Lowell was involved. Feeling that affectionate grip, Lowell smiled inwardly.

"To be clear, the one I suspected wasn’t Felix—it was you, Lowell Clarke."
But with the Crown Prince’s next words, that smile vanished.
"Don’t take it the wrong way, so let me be more precise. It’s not you personally I’m suspicious of—it’s the Clarke family. I thought I needed to verify something. On my way back to the capital, I got information saying the Clarke family is one of the noble factions preparing that ritual. From a very reliable source."

The implication being that the Clarke family, while pretending to be loyal to the Emperor, was secretly one of the noble houses aiming to control the royal family using black magic. Lowell covered his mouth with one finger.
If I don’t remember it, that must mean they weren’t the ringleaders. In the original story, it said many noble houses were purged. The Clarke family must’ve been among them.
With that new piece of information, Lowell could finally make sense of the Crown Prince’s hostility toward him. It had felt excessive, even if the man blamed him for Robin’s near-drowning—but this explanation made it clear.
"It’s already known that I’m somewhat close with Felix, so it wouldn’t be strange if that family tried to use you. That’s why I needed to check. That’s the reason I came here."

"So you thought Lowell deliberately approached me?"
Felix asked, his voice laced with anger he didn’t even bother to hide—forgetting that he too had once doubted the same thing.
"I didn’t go so far as to think it was a planned meeting. But I figured the Clarke family might try to use him. From what I heard, Lowell wasn’t particularly smart. So I thought, maybe he’s being used as a pawn without even knowing it."

Despite calling someone standing right in front of him an idiot, the Crown Prince showed no shame at all.
"Lowell’s plenty clever."
Felix cut in quickly, worried that Lowell might’ve been offended. But Lowell just scratched his head and muttered, You didn’t have to defend me like that.

"Yeah. Now that I’ve met him, he doesn’t seem like an idiot. I even tried probing about his family earlier, but he didn’t react at all. That makes me think he barely keeps in touch with them."
"That’s right. Since coming to Nyx, I haven’t contacted them even once—and I don’t plan to. As Your Highness said, my family has treated me like I don’t exist for so long that I came to see myself as someone without a family."
"And judging by how devoted you are, it doesn’t seem like you’d betray Felix, either."

The Crown Prince’s eyes swept over Lowell from head to toe. He seemed to be hinting at just how deep Lowell’s feelings for Felix ran—but Felix didn’t pick up on it.
"Are your suspicions cleared now?"
"Yeah. You know I can’t rest until I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ll leave for the capital in two days."

"You’re not leaving right away?"
Robin, who had stayed ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) quiet thinking it wasn’t his place to speak, asked nervously.
"What, do you want me gone that badly?"

"No. I asked because I’m genuinely concerned. You know that."
Robin sounded genuinely hurt, but the Crown Prince just cut him off coldly, as if to say, How would I know what’s really in your heart? Lowell found it a bit funny that someone like the Crown Prince—who always acted like he could read people’s minds—still acted that way with Robin.
"I need to match the timing with my shadow’s arrival. Leaving in two days is the safest option."

"While you’re in Nyx, you’ll need to keep your identity completely hidden. Two knights have already figured it out."
"I would’ve only placed the most trustworthy people by this one’s side. I’m not worried about their silence."
"There’s always a chance—however small."

Felix’s voice was firm, and the Crown Prince nodded knowingly.
"I’ll keep it hidden for the next two days, don’t worry. Felix, I’m betting my life on this too."
And it was indeed something worth betting one’s life on.

One wrong move, and it would look like he was staging a coup. Of course he has to take it seriously.
Lowell didn’t trust the Crown Prince’s twisted personality—but he did trust that, for all his looseness, he handled critical moments with perfection.
"I know. That’s why we’re in the same boat now."

"So since we’ve fought already, can we call this the calm after the storm?"
"It was a one-sided fight, but I’d like to think so."
"Good. Then let’s agree not to touch each other’s weaknesses—for the sake of this peace."

At that, Felix’s gaze shifted to Lowell, and the Crown Prince’s gaze shifted to Robin. Robin looked confused by the sudden scrutiny.
"If there’s nothing more to say, I’ll take Lowell back to the tower. He must be exhausted from all this."
Felix rose to end the conversation. Throughout the exchange, he’d kept checking Lowell’s complexion—and it seemed Lowell had finally hit his limit.

"Robin, who got doused with cold water, should rest too."
As the Crown Prince stood, he suddenly spoke as if something had occurred to him.
"Are you busy tomorrow?"

"Same as usual."
Felix answered while lifting Lowell into his arms, his expression asking Why are you even asking that? The Crown Prince shook his head slightly and continued.
"Then how about a sparring match, for old times’ sake? No magic—just swords. We used to do that often on the battlefield, didn’t we?"

"A sparring match?"
"Yeah. As long as I don’t use sword aura, no one will recognize me."
After a brief silence, Felix finally said, "Understood. I’ll prepare."

Then he turned and left the study without another word.
Is it okay to leave the two of them alone like that?
Lowell wondered about the etiquette of dealing with the Crown Prince, then decided not to overthink it.

He was the one who acted rudely first, and Felix put up with a lot today. I’m sure he’ll understand this much.
Still, one thing bothered him.
"Why did you agree to a spar?"

It was just a training match, like any other. He had no reason to refuse—but no obligation to accept, either.
"To blow off steam."
Blow off steam? That was a word that didn’t suit Felix at all.

"Blow off steam?"
"Even if there was a reason, I still can’t forgive him for putting his hand on your neck."
Felix adjusted his hold on Lowell.

"That’s what I’m taking out on him. Aside from sword aura, my swordsmanship is better."
He straightened his neck and shoulders like a man showing off in front of someone he liked. Of course, it wasn’t just bravado—his confidence was real.