The Sweet Alpha Crown Prince Loves Me So Much

[TL/N: 마수 will be translated as demon beasts or demons for short. 마물 will be translated as monsters.]

“Why? Because of me?”

Lulu started to nod, then shook her head. 

“I don’t know if it’s because of you, but something about him has changed.”

“How has he changed?”

“He used to be like a sharply honed sword, needing to cut down anything that caught his eye, needing to possess whatever he desired, even if it meant taking it by force.”

Lulu frowned, as if recalling a distant memory, but her words painted a picture of Adrian Heineken that Carl Lindbergh didn’t recognize.

“The future I saw for Adrian Heineken had only one path. But it’s already been disrupted, ever since he didn’t force young lord Hendrick to become an omega.”

“Force him?”

“Yes.”

Whether Carl was shocked or not, Lulu just tilted her head, fiddling with her earlobe.

“But when I see him these days, he’s so gentle. It’s making my head spin. Maybe I was wrong about something all along.”

“Wait, the future you saw, it was Adrian… forcing Belfry to become an omega?”

“Well, it was forceful, but since Belfry Hendrick had been harboring unrequited feelings for the Crown Prince for so long, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Or at least, that’s how it was in my visions.”

Lulu slapped her own mouth, as if embarrassed by what she just said.

Carl, unable to hide his shock, muttered, “Adrian almost became a criminal.”

Lulu, who caught even his quietest murmur, glared at him.

“It wouldn’t have been a crime! It would have happened during an unexpected rut, what else could he do? And he would have regretted it so much afterwards!”

Carl clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Of course, he would have regretted it. How could you compare having feelings for someone to just offering your body up like that?”

Even Carl, who had an omega’s body, was still hesitant because he couldn’t handle it yet. For Belfry, a beta who’d remained by the Crown Prince’s side as a friend, it would have been a complete disaster.

“But what else could he have done? He couldn’t control himself, and there weren’t any suitable omegas around.”

Lulu teared up, lamenting how the Crown Prince wouldn’t have found peace after doing such a thing to his childhood friend.

“It was unavoidable. Besides, it was destined to be a happy ending anyway.”

Lulu began to sob, claiming she was now anxious because she couldn’t see the Crown Prince’s future. 

Carl patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“Don’t worry. What’s done is done. I’m going to stay by Adrian’s side and make sure he’s happy, whether we end up like soup or bread.”

Lulu abruptly lifted her head.

Carl Lindbergh flashed her a smile. 

“The future you saw might be broken, but I promise to make him happy as long as I’m with him.”

Dazzled by Carl’s confident declaration, Lulu scrunched up her face.

“Since things turned out this way, why don’t you focus on finding your own happiness instead of just worrying about Adrian’s happy future?”

At Carl’s words, Lulu straightened up and swatted his hand away, embarrassed for finding a moment of solace in their conversation.

“That’s what I was planning to do anyway.”

Elizabeth, who’d been sniffing the ground, perked up and turned towards the Imperial Palace.

It seemed like it was dinner time.

Holding Elizabeth’s leash, Carl turned to leave, then looked back at Lulu.

“Ah, how do you know when love begins?”

Lulu, who had secretly enjoyed their unexpectedly pleasant conversation and was surprised by her own feelings, puffed out her cheeks.

“Are you stupid? There’s no right answer to love! You just do it.”

Carl nodded and turned away again.

As he walked back to the Imperial Palace, half-dragged by Elizabeth, a subtle smile played on his lips.

While the Empire was busy preparing for Lindbergh, Kitchener paced restlessly in a corner of the Parman Royal Palace.

Something should have happened by now, but Mugicha was just being leisurely about it. 

Kitchener had urged him to send troops into Lindbergh and recapture the castle before Heineken could make a move. However, Mugicha flatly refused in that dreadful voice of his.

〈I will take care of everything. You just focus on taking over Lindbergh when the time comes. Don’t forget who gave you the Queen of Lindbergh. Thanks to me, you got to enjoy being the power behind the throne for a while, didn’t you? And who was it that made the King waste away?〉

Mugicha had hit a nerve, reminding Kitchener that he would have lived out his days as a mediocre nobleman if not for him. 

Ultimately, Kitchener had been silenced and sent back to his quarters, which were no better than a prison.

Deprived of sunlight in Parman, Kitchener had become as pale as a plant kept in the dark.

Parman, with its small territory, relied on an intricate network of underground tunnels, like an ant colony, to access water and mine magic stones for a meager existence. The food was absolutely terrible.

Wearing clothes made of rough fabric was irritating, and it frustrated him that he was surrounded by no one who could satisfy his surging alpha desires.

Whenever he faced the lifeless Mugicha, he felt like he was confronting the Grim Reaper from legends, and any desire to make demands withered away.

Kitchener gritted his teeth, remembering the humiliation of watching Mugicha, who supposedly survived solely on magic stones, shamelessly taking a woman on the throne, completely unfazed.

The image of the Queen he’d left behind in Lindbergh, her body as smooth as silk, and the ample hips of the concubines filled his mind, and he recalled the shame of having to endure it all while drooling with desire.

And within his heart, he nurtured a burning hatred for a certain someone.

“That arrogant Carl Lindbergh.”

The foolish prince, whom he’d thought he’d completely manipulated, had suddenly betrayed him and brought the Heineken Empire into the picture.

Kitchener’s plan had been to send Leia Lindbergh to the remote countryside, rendering her useless as a Dominant Alpha, unable to utilize her pheromones. He would then take the opportunity to mate with Carl Lindbergh and produce an heir.

He’d figured he could make do with Carl Lindbergh, even if the prince lacked the Queen’s allure.

Kitchener slammed his foot against the floor in frustration.

The floor of the palace vibrated at regular intervals, accompanied by the disturbing sounds of monsters thrashing about.

“What good is being a Dominant if they’re nothing but beasts driven by instinct?”

Right now, he might be lying on this cold stone floor, but in a few months, the luxurious castle of Lindbergh would be his again. When Parman, with its legion of monsters, overran the Empire, Kitchener would make Carl Lindbergh pay for this humiliation.

Kitchener ground his teeth, clinging to his sweet, impossible dreams.

The Mibari Forest was abuzz with an unseasonal monster hunt.

This was because a pack of several dozen monsters had attacked a village located on the border of the Mibari Forest, where half of Heineken’s troops stationed in the Lindbergh Kingdom were situated, and the outskirts of Lindbergh.

It was a significant incident that resulted in the deaths of five soldiers and two laborers, with ten others injured.

The laborers, who had just discovered a vein of magic stones and begun excavating, were urgently evacuated. The makeshift knight order, led by James, the eldest son of Count Hoegaarden, barely had time to wipe the blood from their swords.

Each time a blade pierced a monster’s flesh, a shrill shriek echoed through the air.

“This is the stuff of nightmares.”

The knights muttered, disgusted.

Nearly twenty monster corpses were piled up in a clearing a short distance from the village.

“These monsters don’t look naturally occurring, sir.”

One of the knights, examining a body closely, voiced his observation, and James nodded in agreement.

Each of the ten monsters had a distinct and grotesque appearance. One had a mouth that split open to its ears, another had limbs seemingly belonging to different creatures, while yet another sported both bird feathers and an amphibian tail. These monsters, appearing to be cobbled together from different species, seemed like creatures that shouldn’t exist in any natural food chain.

James rubbed his cold fingertips together and activated his communication device.

A blue light flickered briefly, and then Count Bourbon’s voice came through from the other side.

“Oh, James Hoegaarden. Has the monster horde been subdued?”

James gave a brief nod before getting straight to the point.

“Count Bourbon, you were right. It seems Parman has been not only controlling monsters but also modifying them.”

“Modifying them?”

Count Bourbon, who had been watching other knights swiftly surround the monsters with magic stones through another communication device, let out a humorless chuckle.

“Their insides are as ugly as their outsides.”

“Who? The King of Parman?”

No one knew what the King of Parman looked like, so how could Count Bourbon know he was ugly?

“No, the country itself. The entire nation is shrouded in gloom. Of course a rat hole like that would be up to something like this.”

“Ahh.”

As James nodded in understanding, Count Bourbon relayed the Emperor’s orders.

“The Crown Prince and Princess Leia Lindbergh, along with their entourage, will be heading that way soon. His Majesty has instructed us to inform the Crown Prince of everything, including the extent of the damage, but to keep it from Prince Carl Lindbergh for the time being.”

James, while nodding, couldn’t help but express his concern.

“He’ll be quite shocked when he finds out later.”

Count Bourbon smiled faintly.

“We’re just trying to protect his delicate heart for a while. He’s not used to seeing blood. He’ll find out eventually, but His Majesty is worried that he might be frightened.”

James Hoegaarden nodded again.

He had never met the prince before. 

When James arrived in Lindbergh, the prince had already left for Heineken. And even when various incidents occurred in Heineken, James had been too busy overseeing the magic stone excavation in the Mochu Mountains.

Rumors circulated about the prince being as delicate as he was beautiful, constantly shielded and protected by the Crown Prince.

“Perhaps it would be better to leave him in Heineken. If he’s that fragile, he might just hinder the Crown Prince by coming here.”

Count Bourbon shook his head at James’ words.

“It’s fine. His Majesty has his reasons for sending him. You just focus on guarding the border like you’ve been doing, and report anything to both me and the Crown Prince immediately. Oh, and if you find any magic stones in those monsters, send them all to Prince Carl Lindbergh.”

“Does the Prince know something about them?”

James asked, and Count Bourbon gave an enigmatic smile.