The Sweet Alpha Crown Prince Loves Me So Much Chapter 136

Chapter 136

The decision to travel by carriage was born of Adrian’s tender heart wanting to show Carl the changes in the Lindbergh Kingdom, which accounted for seventy percent of the reason, and his ulterior motive of wanting to shower him with affection without caring about prying eyes, which made up the other thirty.

Holding his soft hand, and while at it, stealing a kiss from his soft lips. Or perhaps sharing things like curiosity about Carl Lindbergh’s past life or their future together.

However, due to an unexpected interloper, Adrian’s dream was shattered to pieces.

“From here to here is the Humphrey archipelago. It’s famous for its dry weather, high skies, and a desert that meets the sea.”

“Wow.”

Grand Duke Balvenie, who was sitting with his legs crossed in the spacious carriage, spread out a map.

“The food being relatively spicy and pungent is a drawback, but you could say the scenery makes up for everything.”

Carl Lindbergh’s eyes sparkled brightly.

His earlier awkwardness when Balvenie, having passed through the magic circle, had suddenly asked to hitch a ride was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m good with spicy food!”

“Oh, is that so? Then I recommend a stew made with goat meat and plenty of spices.”

“A stew!”

Balvenie looked down fondly at the top of Carl Lindbergh’s head as he chattered excitedly, saying his mouth was already watering.

Completely engrossed in Grand Duke Balvenie’s tales of adventure, which spanned the entire continent and sometimes even crossed the seas by ship, Carl acted for a moment as if he had forgotten Adrian’s existence.

Adrian crossed his arms and soothed his seething insides.

“Where else, where else have you been?”

“Let’s see… Ah, yes. I heard you like dishes made with rice, so here, a place called Geolli in the central region, is quite famous for its rice.”

Balvenie, having noticed Adrian’s blatant displeasure, didn’t even glance his way.

The man’s forehead had been scrunched up since Balvenie got into the carriage, yet he couldn’t say a word as his mate was having such a good time, just suffering in silence.

He suppressed a smirk with a cough.

The Grand Duke usually had little interest in anyone other than Duke Hendrick, but gently teasing his nephew was a different kind of fun.

As he shifted his gaze toward the hand pointing at the central grain belt where a large river flowed, Carl Lindbergh gasped at a familiar name written there.

“Geo-Geolli?”

“Yes, the name is unusual, but they say the alcohol brewed from rice is very famous. They add yeast to glutinous rice and…”

It was called ‘Makgeolli.’

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but Carl made a strange face, dumbfounded that it actually existed.

“ Daebak ^[1] Means ‘wow’ in Korean. .”

Is this how kimchi and soju end up making an appearance too?

That would be amazing, but he didn’t get his hopes up.

At the word daebak that slipped out unwittingly, Adrian and Balvenie asked in unison, “Hm?”

“It’s nothing. Ah, by any chance, do they not export it? I’d love to try it.”

“Shall I procure a few bottles for you?”

“That would be absolutely amazing!”

“No, don’t permit it, Uncle.”

Adrian issued a stern warning to Carl, who, despite not being a good drinker, always got excited at the mere mention of alcohol.

Carl, about to ask why, quickly deflated. Come to think of it, he had a prior conviction. A conviction for nearly drowning in a vat of alcohol.

At his crestfallen expression, Balvenie tutted and said to Adrian, “You can just let him have a taste by your side.”

Adrian sighed. It wasn’t that he wanted to ban alcohol entirely, but even now, just the thought of it brought back vivid memories of that bathtub full of wine and the feeling of his heart dropping.

“Mhmm, I’ll really just have a taste. I’m curious. ‘Makgeolli,’ made fresh from rice—isn’t that fascinating?”

“You have to learn to drink, you know. If you keep stopping him, he’ll get drunk on just champagne later on.”

Adrian pressed a hand to his forehead, looking back and forth between Carl Lindbergh, who was clasping his hands with teary eyes, and Balvenie, who was nagging on top of that, saying it would be a disaster if he got drunk on the alcohol served for entertainment at official gatherings.

For a moment, an image of Carl Lindbergh from his past life appeared in Adrian’s mind.

Back then, he had black hair, black eyes. A plain appearance, he had said. I have no idea what a plain appearance means, but it would have been cute in its own way.

“I want to share it with you. Hm? Let’s drink it together.”

At the way Carl looked up at him, a vein bulged on Adrian’s forearm.

A round, white Javanese sparrow searches for an oak barrel filled with alcohol. Then, drunk, it stumbles around as it pleases, pouring out its loneliness, and perhaps someone, finding that sight endearing, would have borne his child. Kind and lonely Carl Lindbergh would have become a good father who did his best for his family.

Ah, this is infuriating.

The reality was just a man, worn down by life, tilting a lonely glass, but Adrian, who had no way of knowing this, was completely turned inside out.

“We’ll see how you behave.”

Peeved by his own wild delusions, Adrian said sulkily.

As Carl looked bewildered at Adrian’s sudden mood swing, Balvenie let out a hearty laugh.

‘They say you can fool bloodlines, but you can’t fool your secondary gender.’

That damn instinct to be swept up in jealousy dozens of times a day once you have a mate eats away at you.

Balvenie hoped that the two, who were to become family, would build more ordinary memories instead of encountering incidents and accidents. Things like breaking down all the walls in their hearts by sharing experiences, no matter how small.

A Crown Prince and a Prince. Given their statuses, the very word ‘ordinary’ was absurd, but still.

“Carl Lindbergh, Adrian Heineken. After the Empress gives birth, His Majesty the Emperor has decided to grant you two an official sabbatical.”

Carl, who had been patting the back of Adrian’s hand, widened his eyes.

“A sabbatical?”

“Yes.”

Watching them tilt their heads, Balvenie stroked his chin.

“His Majesty the Emperor is still hale and hearty, and Her Majesty the Empress will be returning soon, so he wished for the two of you to spend some quality time together, using the time before you begin your formal lessons as the Crown Princess.”

“Quality time,” Adrian muttered.

It was true. Because of various people, they hadn’t had much time to properly spend together.

At the instantaneous change in Adrian’s complexion, Balvenie folded the map neatly and handed it to Carl.

“Travel broadens the horizons and enriches the heart. Even if you can’t go far, try to visit the surrounding countries.”

Travel. At the word that tickled his heart, Carl’s face shone with joy.

The Jeon Woo-young of the past was poor and had no time to spare. Every outing he made was for Jae-young, and even after becoming Carl Lindbergh, he had been unable to leave the imperial palace or the castle for various reasons. So, this was, in effect, his first trip.

Ah, the short journey he had taken to break up with Adrian couldn’t be counted as a trip.

‘It wasn’t particularly enjoyable, and if anything, I only have bad memories of it.’

Adrian squeezed Carl’s hand.

It was his first time leaving the imperial palace for reasons other than work as well. And with the person he loved most, no less.

Carl Lindbergh gave Adrian a bashful smile.

Adrian, who had kissed that radiant face without realizing it, also smiled, touching the corner of his own lips.

Just then, the Grand Duke lightly tapped the carriage ceiling, and the coachman slowly reduced speed before coming to a complete stop.

The carriage had already reached the main road leading from the royal capital to the castle.

Balvenie dismounted the carriage, switched to a horse, and put on a solemn expression.

“The opportunity to travel without a pretext is rare. So, use it preciously.”

With a mischievous smile, Balvenie spurred his horse on and galloped ahead.

Adrian thought that his uncle, who didn’t share a single drop of blood with his father, resembled him in some way.

“Wow!”

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

From beyond the railing of the open carriage, the people of Lindbergh chanted Carl Lindbergh’s name.

“You should wave.”

Adrian took the hands of Carl, who kept trying to hide his face, and waved them for him, wearing the perfect face of a crown prince and a benevolent smile.

When he pointedly wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the waving Carl Lindbergh, who was like a string puppet, some blushed and others shouted.

They’re in their prime.

His Highness the Crown Prince of the Empire is dashing, but His Highness the Prince’s beauty doesn’t fall behind.

If anything, the two of them shine even brighter together!

At the people’s murmurs, which he heard clearly, Carl Lindbergh blinked his eyes, not knowing where to put himself.

Looking down from the sky and marching while making eye contact were worlds apart. Carl’s face kept changing colors, showing just how flustered he was.

Adrian’s shoulders shook with laughter as he remembered Carl’s dumbfounded expression when the carriage roof, which he thought would start moving again after Balvenie got off, had suddenly folded back, exposing him and Adrian to the outside.

“Ah, this is so embarrassing.”

“Straighten your back and smile. Everyone is looking at you.”

Following Adrian’s lead, Carl straightened his back and smiled, baring his teeth in a wide grin.

The corners of his mouth trembled.

In truth, he didn’t even know if this was a situation where he deserved to be cheered like this.

He was a prince who had once been at the center of tyranny, sucking the lifeblood of the people. And even that, he couldn’t handle alone, so he brought in foreign powers, ultimately suffering the humiliation of having the kingdom downgraded to a principality.

Yet the people revered Carl Lindbergh as if he were a hero.

In the middle of waving, Carl Lindbergh eventually covered his face with both hands.

“Adrian, c-can I borrow your shoulder?”

“As much as you want.”

Carl, leaning on Adrian’s shoulder to hide his flushed face, looked to others as if he were simply being shy.

Oh my, how cute.

His Highness the Crown Prince is supporting him so reliably.

The people cheered even louder and chased after the carriage.

Regardless of human affairs, nature had welcomed spring, and thanks to that, spring flowers were in full bloom everywhere.

The roads, except for the central avenue, were still under repair, and houses cobbled together with mud and straw remained here and there, but the royal capital of Lindbergh was taking on the appearance of a proper capital of a nation.

“Carl, look over there.”

Adrian called to him, tapping him on the waist.

Where he lifted his head to look, there was a group of children who had come out holding the hands of adults.

There were many orphans in Lindbergh.

This was because many people had been dragged away to substitute for unpaid tenancy fees with labor, people whose fates became unknown after they entrusted their children to relatives and went into exile, and those who died of illness due to the absurdly insufficient supplies and medicine.

The children imitated the adults and waved their hands.

They had the same bewildered expressions as Carl Lindbergh.

“They’ve all gotten so chubby. How cute.”

When Adrian raised a hand towards them, the children burst into giggles and made a fuss, hiding between the adults’ legs.

The corners of Carl Lindbergh’s eyes were moist. And yet, his lips twitched upwards.

It was somewhat unseemly for a grown man to cry, but it was fine to cry for joy.

And there was someone patting his shoulder.

He hadn’t done anything himself; it was all with the help of others. And it was Leia Lindbergh who had actually been covered in blood.

Why were the people so welcoming of Carl Lindbergh’s presence?

To Carl, who was wiping away his tears awkwardly with a full heart, Adrian whispered.

“Thank you for being the one to open the floodgates to Lindbergh’s new history, which may have had a humble beginning but whose end may be great, Carl Lindbergh.”

Ah, so that’s what it is.

The Lindbergh castle, which had been far in the distance, was now right before their eyes.

• 1. Means ‘wow’ in Korean.