CPBF 5

Chapter: 5

“What are you thinking?”

“Your Highness.”

The crown prince, his black hair soaked with water, sat back-to-back with Bin and asked.

“Just… thinking about something else.”

“So, what kind of ‘something else’?”

“I’ve been thinking that Irilin has been acting strangely lately.”

Snap. The strangely warm excitement that had been emanating from the crown prince vanished.

It wasn’t a misunderstanding. The faint smile that had been lingering on the crown prince’s face disappeared.

“You think she’s doing it to get your attention.”

“That’s what I thought, but… there’s something off. Strange as it sounds, it doesn’t feel like the Irilin I know.”

“That’s really a strange thing to say.”

The crown prince muttered in a low, almost growling voice and brushed off his hips as he stood up.

“Why worry about someone else? There’s absolutely no need for that.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m not telling you.”

Bin asked as the crown prince suddenly moved, but he was just being petulant. In truth, he had no destination. He was simply trying to draw Bin’s attention.

‘Follow me.’

The crown prince hoped Bin would follow as he walked, but there was no sound behind him.

Finally, he turned his head.

“Don’t follow me.”

Then, as if remembering something, he added while turning around.

“Oh, and about her… don’t bother thinking about it. Just don’t.”

The first statement was really saying, “please follow me,” and the latter was the truth as it was.

Yet still, there was no sound of someone following.

“Tch.”

Disappointed, the crown prince thought he should at least hope Bin would follow the latter advice.

However, unfortunately, the 13-year-old crown prince didn’t yet know something.

The more you try to suppress something, the more you want to break free.

The moment you decide not to care, it’s the moment it comes to mind even more.

Crunch.

My teeth gritted.

I’m in a very bad mood right now.

There are two reasons.

One, yesterday Sis gave me a sense of frustration with the word “No,” and the other reason…

“You only have two months left until graduation! I hope you know you don’t have time to be sentimental. That also means you only have two months to prepare for your graduation exams!”

It’s because of the graduation exams.

You have to get above a certain score to graduate safely, and failing even a single subject will result in repeating the year.

Every subject was worrying, but the biggest problem was the swordsmanship exam.

You have to wield a sword to take the exam, and you have to take the exam to get a score.

In other words, you have to pick up a sword no matter what!

What kind of cruel joke of fate is this? Why did Irilin choose swordsmanship as an elective…!?

No, thinking about it, it’s all my fault that the characters in The Crown Prince’s Lover all have a strong connection to swordsmanship.

…Because my sister, too lazy to do research, decided to use the knowledge I learned secondhand through her as material for the novel.

“What are you doing? Not going to pick up your sword?”

“…”

Bin, who couldn’t possibly know that the swordsmanship she practiced was inspired by me, hurriedly urged me with his usual indifferent gaze.

Ah… I really don’t want to lift it.

I don’t want to see with my own eyes that I could lift a sword perfectly in a body that’s not my real one.

If I saw it, I might think things I shouldn’t.

I don’t want to go back to my original body…

“I’m not feeling well today either…”

“Where does it hurt?”

“My stomach feels a little off.”

“Really?”

“Mm…”

What’s gotten into him? Taking interest in Irilin’s matters…?

I answered awkwardly, nervously, and Bin smiled, his eyes softly folding.

When a smile appeared in his usually indifferent eyes, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

But suddenly, Bin’s folded eyes returned to normal.

A chilly feeling swept over me.

“I saw you finish a whole bag of cookies in one bite before class. Were you really hungry?”

His tone was slightly mocking, as if he was certain I was lying.

I had seen a similar scene in the novel.

Whenever Bin smiled like this, countless extras would be swept aside.

…Am I going to be like that now?

“Uh, um. I ate that and my stomach felt off…”

“What about when you skipped class yesterday? Where did it hurt then?”

“My stomach then too…”

“But your stomach felt off, yet you had dinner at the Marquis’ house perfectly fine that day, right?”

“What? How do you know that?”

“Have you forgotten how close our families are? Even if I don’t want to hear news about you, I end up knowing. Every single day, endlessly.”

Damn. Even if I hear that, I try to forget. Why does he care so much about my matters?

As if reading my mind, Bin added immediately.

“Lately, I’ve heard endlessly about how abnormally big your appetite has grown, how your mischief has decreased—but don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t care. I’m only trying to detect potential threats around me as someone of the Ortega household.”

“What threat could I possibly be to you?”

“A huge one. Tied by the rope of marriage, you can never leave me. If you want to avoid something like that in the future, I need to know and be prepared.”

The crown prince’s actions against Irilin were partly due to this attitude of Bin’s.

Despite hating it, he always wanted to keep Irilin in his sight.

Even if it was solely out of fear for his own safety, it was enough to stir the crown prince’s jealousy.

“I won’t do it anymore…”

“I’ve heard that a hundred times by now. I don’t believe a word you say anymore.”

So that’s why he didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t like him.

Probably forever. Damn.

I wish he’d stop caring… or at least, leave me alone!

“You’re lying even now. You’re not sick, can wield a sword, but you’re avoiding me instead. Why?”

“…Avoiding you isn’t a threat to you.”

“It is. I get anxious when someone I don’t expect does something. And…”

Bin gestured toward the other students sparring.

“Falling behind is also a huge threat.”

“If you want to spar, just switch partners.”

“That won’t do.”

“Why not?”

“There’s no one better than you.”

At this stage, before reaching her second growth, Irilin could beat all the boys in her class.

She had worked tirelessly to walk the same path as Bin.

But there was one person she couldn’t defeat.

The crown prince.

Among classmates, none could match his skill.

His sparring partner had been the swordsmanship teacher, and sometimes the prince even pushed the teacher to the edge with his exceptional skill.

“Why not spar with His Highness? He’s better than you.”

“That won’t do either.”

“Why?”

“How could I dare wield a sword against His Highness?”

“….”

At this point in the story, the relationship with the crown prince should not be revealed. To make such a revealing statement…

But Bin quickly added a justification.

“As a loyal subject, I cannot commit such impious acts.”

“Ah, of course…”

“Anyway.”

This time, Bin didn’t gesture but used his eyes to indicate the sword sheathed neatly in my scabbard.

Then he lifted his gaze to meet mine.

His deep blue eyes were like a calm lake, yet staring into them made me feel like I could be suffocated.

“Pick up the sword, Irilin Heder.”

I swallowed hard without realizing it. It was the weight of his command.

From a mere 13-year-old.

There was an undeniable gravity in Bin’s words.

‘It’s me asking, not someone else. You have to do it. Always have, haven’t you?’

As if asking, pressing down.

Since childhood, Bin had sacrificed so much, yet with Irilin he revealed his desires purely.

She would grant anything Bin wanted.

Even life itself.

So it’s understandable that such a situation wouldn’t be tolerated.

If the dog wagging its tail yesterday suddenly bit, anyone would react like Bin.

But here, there’s no dog.

Neither I nor Irilin are dogs. Irilin may have acted somewhat like one, but now that I’m inside her body, I refuse to see her treated like one.

“No.”

“What?”

“Don’t order me around, Bin Ortega. I’m not your dog.”

The expression reflected in Bin’s eyes was firm.

Closed lips, clear water-like eyes shining without a tremble.

Bin looked startled at my un-Irilin-like reaction.

After a moment, he spoke.

“…I never thought that.”

“I think so. You keep forcing me even when I say no.”

“Forcing…”

Bin muttered the word, a stunned, dazed look on his face.

It must feel strange, being on the opposite side of what Irilin usually did.

Then Bin remained motionless for a while.

But it didn’t last long.

A far more shocking sound reached him.

“Ugh!”

Though not loud, Bin immediately turned toward the source.

There, he saw the crown prince and the swordsmanship teacher.

“Are you alright, Your Highness? I apologize. I attacked too aggressively just now.”

“…No, it’s my fault for not focusing during sparring.”

The answer was clearly directed at the swordsmanship teacher, but the crown prince’s red eyes were not on him.

They were on me and Bin.

…Could it be jealousy? We only talked.