Hiding That The Damn Prince Is An Omega

Vol-2: {A reunion that I hoped for but didn't want} Chapter 6

“…..Your Highness, Your Highness the Prince.”
“Um…”

Étienne, lost in his sleep, frowned at the voice calling him. He turned to avoid Ben's voice. But Ben didn't give up.

“Get up. Your highness"
"Little bit more…..”
“Even if you prepare from now on, it will be late. Wake up.”
Ben urged Etienne in a stern voice.

Instead of opening his eyes, Étienne slipped into the covers. Then Ben lifted the blanket.

"Wait…..woah!"

When the blanket that had been keeping him warm was gone, he felt a chill. Étienne grumbled in an annoyed voice.

“Go to bed, wake up.”

Ben forced Etienne to his feet. Normally, he would have left him until he opened his eyes, but today he couldn't.

“You should go to the triumphal ceremony.”
“Ah…..”

Ben's voice made Etienne growl in pain. His head throbbed from the hangover, and his body felt as heavy as wet cotton.

"Water, please…...”
“Here it is.”
As soon as Étienne finished speaking, Ben held out a glass of water. Ben, who had been serving Etienne for over ten years, was used to taking care of him when he was sick with alcohol.

“I am dying.”

Etienne emptied the water glass in one gulp and let out a long breath. He didn't even seem to have drunk much, but he was strangely bloated in his stomach.

“You drank too much yesterday.”

Ben, who was handed an empty cup, opened his mouth with a worried face. Perhaps because of his hangover, Etienne's face was haggard.

“At this point, you might be diagnosed with alcohol poisoning,” he said.
"Cut down on your drinking.”
“Maybe already addicted.”

He said in Etienne's half-assured tone. Lately he's been drinking almost every day.

He didn't drink as much as he did yesterday, but at some point it became a habit to drink before going to bed.

Otherwise, I can't sleep.

“You won’t be drinking from now on.”
Ben put on a determined expression. He had been forced to tolerate Etienne's drinking of him until now, but he was not going to do that anymore.

“What if I order you to let me drink?”
“Then I will go to jail for disobeying orders.”
"What?"
“I am not kidding. Your Highness, have you forgotten the physician's warning? He said it would be dangerous to become more dependent on alcohol here.”
“I had to, but….”

Etienne slurred his words, avoiding Ben's gaze. The court physician in charge of Etienne has been advising him to cut back on his drinking lately. But Étienne didn't even listen by ear.

“You drank too much yesterday again when you couldn’t manage it enough…What the hell are you trying to do?”
Ben looked at Etienne with a face full of worry.

“I can’t stop drinking. I don’t drink because I want to.”
“I’m not asking you to stop drinking at all. It means to control the quantity.”
"Ha….”

Etienne pressed his temples with a troubled look at Ben's stubborn words. Ben's behavior now has crossed the line for anyone to see. If anyone else had done this, he would have been angry and punished, but it was Ben.

Étienne couldn't be angry with Ben. It was because he knew that he was like that because he genuinely cared about him. In this hellish imperial palace, Ben was Etienne's only side and only loyalist.

“…..I will try.”

Eventually, Etienne took a step back. He wasn't sure, but he felt like he should try to ease Ben's worries.

“Good idea. I will work hard to help Your Highness.”

Upon hearing the answer he wanted from Etienne, Ben smiled broadly like a child.

“Now then, shall we get ready to go to the triumphal ceremony? This is not the time, it is still too late.”
“I don’t want to go…..”
Étienne muttered in a low voice. Then Ben forced him to his feet.

“Even if you don’t want to go, you have to go. Come on, let's go to the bathroom. I will attend to your bath."
"Okay."

Etienne replied with a resigned face. His steps toward the bathroom were unusually heavy.