The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c95
Ryan closely observed Hendrick’s face. He hadn’t noticed before, but now he could see that Hendrick was clearly tense.
“Hendrick, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
His expression was definitely not one Ryan had seen when Hendrick explained the situation earlier. Why was he like this? As Ryan looked at him questioningly, Hendrick let out a long sigh and held Ryan’s hand as he placed one knee on the floor.
“Huh? Hey, what are you doing?”
He did this in the hall earlier too. What’s going on now? Startled by the sudden action, Ryan tried to make Hendrick stand up, but stopped short as Hendrick kissed the back of his hand.
That wasn’t all. Before he knew it, a small silk box had appeared in Hendrick’s other hand.
Somehow, Ryan had an idea of what was inside.
‘So that’s why he personally went to call the royal physician, saying he would do it himself.’
Seriously. Ryan didn’t understand why Hendrick had been acting so cute since earlier. It made his heart flutter uncontrollably.
That’s when it happened.
Hendrick kissed the back of Ryan’s hand again before releasing it and opening the box lid. As expected, inside was a pair of rings.
“……”
While Ryan’s gaze remained fixed there, Hendrick took one out and looked up.
“Ryan, I’ll propose to you properly again. Please accept me.”
He wasn’t asking Ryan to marry him, but to accept him. Not just anyone, but the heir who would inherit the throne in the future.
“Please.”
Moreover, he was earnestly wishing for it, so how could Ryan refuse?
Ryan opened his mouth to answer. But for some reason, no words came out. Taking a deep breath, he parted his lips again, but felt something welling up from deep within and had to close them.
In the end, Ryan just nodded. If he didn’t, it felt like the emotions he had been holding back would be exposed. Then, he carefully extended his hand forward.
“Thank you, Ryan.”
With a face full of joy, Hendrick preciously held the hand that had come before him.
Then, he slipped the ring he was holding onto Ryan’s ring finger. The feeling of it encircling his finger felt strangely fulfilling, and Ryan couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“Give me that.”
When Ryan gestured towards the remaining ring with his eyes, Hendrick’s expression brightened even more. From the box he willingly offered, Ryan reached out and took the other ring, just as Hendrick had done.
He slid the golden ring onto Hendrick’s larger, firmer finger. To think that such a small thing could make his heart pound like crazy.
“Haa……”
Ryan was startled to realize that he had sighed. But it wasn’t him, it was Hendrick.
“Haha… Sorry. I was a bit nervous.”
He was nervous? Hendrick laughed awkwardly, as if he knew Ryan was looking at him with those eyes.
“I wanted to do this in a more romantic atmosphere. But I really couldn’t wait any longer. I didn’t want to let today pass.”
“That’s unlike you.”
“Is that so.”
Seeing a different side of Hendrick that he had never seen before in all the time he had known him, Ryan honestly expressed the feeling he had experienced many times today.
“You know, you’re really cute.”
As soon as the words were out, Hendrick faltered. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open, a look completely different from the prince’s image Ryan had seen until now.
“What? What did you say?”
Seeing his disbelieving face, Ryan interlocked their strong hands.
“Why are you asking so nervously? Of course I have to marry you. We love each other, don’t we?”
As if it was only natural, Ryan said he loved Hendrick, and Hendrick blankly looked up at his omega who said it as if it was the proper thing.
That look was so cute that the corners of Ryan’s mouth turned up.
“Ah……”
“And stop apologizing.”
After all, the one who should be sorry was Ryan himself.
“Okay. I will. So please accept me.”
“What are you saying? Asking me to accept you.”
Even though Ryan had already accepted him, why was Hendrick talking like this, making him want to kiss him? Giggling, Ryan slowly stroked his hand.
“I should be the one thanking you. For not getting angry.”
“Getting angry? Me? At you?”
Looking at Hendrick react as if he had never even considered it, Ryan felt the slight anxiety he had been suppressing wash away like it was being cleansed.
“Yes… I lied to you.”
And not just anything, but about the child. Not only that, but he had also tried to hide the truth from Hendrick and run away.
Because of that, there had been some difficult situations, so if he thought about it, Ryan was almost like a troublemaker to Hendrick.
“And during the coming-of-age party too. I shouldn’t have done that…..”
“Ryan.”
As he spoke more and more, Ryan began to wonder if it was really okay to let it go like this. Shouldn’t he apologize properly? Just as those thoughts were creeping in, the hand holding his tightened.
Ryan came to his senses with a start and looked up. Hendrick was gazing at him with affectionate eyes.
“I don’t regret what happened then. Well… Of course, I am sorry for making you flustered, but.”
“Even after I did such a thing?”
“That was just an accident. As I said, it was Liam Seiden who led you to act that way in the first place.”
Come to think of it, why did Liam go that far?
‘Well, it seemed to be because of his younger brother.’
But was there really a need to go this far? The thought that had momentarily drifted elsewhere was caught as Hendrick’s voice reached his ears.
“But thanks to what happened then, I realized how I felt.”
“What, so you’re saying it was physical?”
“Physical?! There’s no way that’s true.”
As if he had never felt that way even for a moment, Hendrick firmly shook his head and spoke earnestly.
“I had been paying attention to you for a long time, but I just didn’t realize it.”
“You mean you had feelings for me for a long time?”
“Ah……”
This time, Hendrick showed a lot of agitation. He probably thought that the words he had blurted out were a mistake. It seemed like it was the first time since Ryan had known him.
“Since when?”
But it was strange. Why did he feel a sudden surge of playfulness? Of course, he was also genuinely curious. However, seeing Hendrick like this, not knowing what to do, was a rare experience, wasn’t it?
The prince, who was always mature and rarely showed any change in his expression, was blushing and averting his gaze.
“Hmm? Hendrick. Tell me. Since when? You said you were sorry. Then let me know.”
Ryan urged him, swinging their interlocked hands back and forth. He tilted his head this way and that to make eye contact with Hendrick.
Before he knew it, a playful smile had formed on his lips, and his eyes sparkled. Seeing that face that had brightened for the first time in a while, Hendrick’s heart melted helplessly.
“Ha……”
As if surrendering, Hendrick let out a deep sigh. Ryan was convinced that he would get the answer he wanted.
“It was probably when you were 14.”
“When I was 14?”
No idea comes to mind. What happened then? Ryan tried to recall his hazy memories.
The most memorable thing was the moment of his first awakening and heat cycle. He was tricked by Liam’s coaxing and wandered into a forbidden area, and it came without him realizing it.
Suddenly, he remembered what Liam had said.
‘He said Hendrick wouldn’t be there to help me like before.’
If it was an incident related to him that was difficult for Ryan, there was nothing other than going to the forbidden area at that time.
And it was also the only thing Hendrick could have smoothed over. But as far as Ryan could remember, it was a situation Hendrick didn’t know about at all.
‘Could it be……’
It couldn’t be related to what happened then, could it?
“When exactly?”
“You won’t be surprised, right?”
When Hendrick turned the question back on him, Ryan willingly nodded. His heart was beating even faster than before.
“I heard by chance that you had gone there. It was late and the sun was about to set, but you were nowhere to be seen, so I thought I should go look for you.”
All of Ryan’s attention was focused on the words Hendrick was finally revealing.
“Then I heard the sound of a small cat crying, and when I followed it, there you were.”
“Ah……”
Come to think of it, he had forgotten about the existence of the cat. Even though he was curious about how it was with Hendrick, he had never thought to ask, but it seemed there was a hidden truth like this.
“So it was you who moved me then?”
Hendrick nodded.
“Actually, your pheromones made my heart waver. At that time, I thought I was just mesmerized. But that doesn’t mean I had any other intentions. I swear!”
Then he held Ryan’s hands tightly, asking him to believe him. Ryan’s gaze was drawn to the feeling of their fingers interlocking with the same rings, then returned to his alpha.
“So it was thanks to you that I got away without being punished then.”
“Why would you be punished when you didn’t do anything wrong?”
“That was a place I shouldn’t have entered.”
Since he had carelessly entered such an area, it would have been a problem. But Hendrick firmly denied it.
“Even then, it wasn’t your fault. Liam Seiden was trying to make things difficult for you. This time too.”
“Hmm……”
That’s right. Come to think of it, he really had a bad relationship with Liam. Of course, the Ryan of the past didn’t have a very good personality either.
“So it was since then?”
The important thing was Hendrick’s feelings, not Liam. When Ryan asked in a subtle tone, agitation mixed into Hendrick’s firm face again.
“That’s too much, Hendrick. You ignored me despite that.”
“No, Ryan. That’s… I didn’t know at that time either.”
“Hmm… You’re saying that. You didn’t know?”
“I’m sorry. Really. What should I do? Hmm? What can I do to make you forgive me?”
This was serious. It was getting fun to see Hendrick not knowing what to do. For a while, Ryan enjoyed watching Hendrick get flustered as he complained playfully.