CPBF 16

Chapter: 16

Then the carriage would race madly toward its destination, and when the people released at Heather’s house arrived long after the carriage…

I would have already gotten off the carriage and be in the northern kingdom of Serom.

By then, the war with Serom would have broken out, and the borders would be closed.

The war with Serom would last seven years.

During that time, even if the Crown Prince and Vin tried to meet me, it would be impossible.

Truly, a perfect plan! A plan like this is exactly what you need to feel like you’ve possessed a novel.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

Ah, I can see people leaving the banquet hall.

Now, shall I go get on the carriage too?

“Why aren’t you causing trouble today?”

“W-Whoa!”

I was walking toward the door when someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Sys standing there.

Her face looked unusually different from normal.

“If it were the usual you, you’d be clinging to Vin and interfering with the Crown Prince, so why aren’t you?”

According to the original story, that’s exactly what I should have done.

But even though I had decided to run away, I didn’t want to follow the story and get caught up in annoying trouble.

Sys seemed to sense this “normal” judgment and felt something was off.

“Just…”

“…Just?”

“Yeah. Just like that. Can you let go now? I need to get going.”

I was about to escape anyway, so making excuses was too bothersome.

Of course, Sys, who had no thought of respecting my feelings, didn’t relent.

“There’s no such thing as ‘just.’ Speak properly.”

“Why is it so important? You don’t really care about my business either, so why are you like this?”

“Because you keep acting strange. You act like you’re not yourself.”

“….”

So perceptive.

Until now, people suspected mental illness, but nobody thought her true identity could be Irilin herself…

Could I have suspected another person was inside my sister if she suddenly changed?

No. I definitely wouldn’t have. Just as Irilin’s parents did, I would have thought her mind had simply gone strange.

“You’re not Irilin, are you?”

It was spoken with certainty.

Not suspicion, but a conclusion drawn carefully from all the circumstances.

“Did you secretly drink without the adults knowing? What nonsense.”

Though it was the correct answer, I had no intention of admitting it willingly.

She wasn’t Irilin.

That one sentence, which shook the very foundation of this world, could cause enormous repercussions.

No matter how doomed the connection, if I spoke it lightly, the consequences could reach me too.

“There’s more than one strange thing—your suddenly changed attitude, your actions… and even your swordsmanship. You’ve never once defeated the Crown Prince.”

“Guess that was only true until now.”

“You never have and never will beat the Crown Prince.”

“How do you know that? Who are you?”

“And you—who are you? Say that first.”

“Who else? Me. Irilin Heather. Someone not kind enough to quietly listen to your nonsense. Got it? Can I go now?”

I shook off Sys’s hand gripping my shoulder and stood by the banquet hall door.

Behind me, Sys spoke again.

“Tell me tomorrow, okay? I’m begging you.”

I didn’t answer.

Not only did I not intend to, but there wouldn’t even be a tomorrow for us.

“Found it!”

In the novel, the place to send off the carriage was described only as “the hill with the tallest tree in the palace,” so finding it took longer than expected.

Luckily, there was still time before sending off the carriage—if I had been late, my life would have been ruined forever.

Whoosh—! Bang—! The fireworks bursting in the sky conveniently masked my secret footsteps.

The guards watching the carriage, too excited to do their duty, were staring blankly at the sky. I whispered from behind them.

“All that Melhona.”

That way, they wouldn’t notice me and might wander all the way to the melon fields far away.

Turning my eyes from the guards rushing down the hill, I approached the carriage.

And I said,

“Takebae watsumida.”

It was a spell I cast for myself.

Since there was no one in the carriage, I had no choice but to become the delivery person.

Crash—! The carriage door broke open more easily than expected.

It seemed decorative, not built to be sturdy inside.

But then…

“…What was that?”

Someone must have heard the noise because they were coming this way.

And the voice and presence belonged to someone extremely familiar…

Hmm, seems like this happened before too.

Why do I keep running into them like this?

“Vin!”

I dashed past the broken carriage toward Vin.

Damn it. I thought it was just one of the slow guards, but it was Vin…!

Now that I think about it, there was a scene where Ortega’s people caught the Crown Prince and Vin, sitting alone in the hill looking pitiful. That hill must have been this hill.

“Irilin…? What are you doing here?”

“I-I wanted to see the fireworks from up high…! It looks higher there. Let’s go watch from there!”

I pulled Vin’s arm, making sure he couldn’t see the carriage behind me.

Since I hadn’t done things like this lately, Vin looked dazed the entire time I led him.

I could have used ‘All that Melhona’ on him too, but I couldn’t.

Vin would later learn the secret spell, and he would realize what had happened to him.

I couldn’t risk completely twisting the story.

I had to gently coax him down the hill.

“But are you okay?”

I pointed to Vin’s swollen cheeks.

I’d said it just to change the subject, but seeing the bruises made me genuinely worried.

According to the novel, Ortega had hit him. How painful must it have been for a full-grown man to hit with all his strength…

I had been so focused on surviving, I ignored the pain this child was enduring.

Despite his mature words and thoughts, he was still a delicate 13-year-old, just like any other child.

I shouldn’t have left him. I should have helped him at least a little. A useless regret churned in my chest.

“I’m fine.”

Normally he’d have said, “It’s none of your business.”

But today, the prickly hedgehog seemed to have had all his spines pulled out.

If unacknowledged by his parents, he acts like the world is over—he must have been deeply hurt.

“You’re not fine. You don’t have to lie.”

Knowing how deep his wounds ran, and thinking this was our last meeting, I overstepped.

Not as Irilin Heather, but as Baek Mona.

“…It’s snow.”

Vin suddenly looked up at the sky.

Was he changing the subject? I wasn’t the type to dig into someone else’s wounds, so I agreed.

“Really. It’s still autumn, yet it’s snowing already.”

“They say snow falls in Serom from early autumn. Right now there must be a blizzard there.”

“W-Wow…! The people in Serom must be so lucky…”

Damn it! I’m about to be one of them—what’s lucky about that!

I hadn’t expected a blizzard at this time of year…

I hope I don’t freeze to death before reaching Serom…

“Don’t be naive. It means it’s cold enough for snow in autumn. How unpleasant for them.”

“Mm…”

I’m so sensitive to cold… And Irilin’s body has even less fat, so she must feel it worse…!

Ugh, never mind. The jewelry I brought from home can fetch a good price, so I can buy warm clothes as soon as I arrive.

For now, just focus on the good.

I no longer feel the fear of death, and I can live my own life as Baek Mona, not as Irilin.

Thinking this, my heart felt lighter. Even the falling snow seemed beautiful as it was.

“Still… it’s pretty.”

I held snow in my hands and smiled slightly.

Vin, who had been silently watching me, turned his head.

His cheeks and ears were the same color, probably from the cold.

A faint voice came from the unseen face.

“…Yeah. I didn’t realize until now.”

“Why didn’t you notice how pretty the snow is?”

“I didn’t care.”

“Do you care now?”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

Vin’s head turned back toward me.

His eyes, when he looked at me again, were noticeably softer.

The usual boredom and disdain that lingered in them seemed gone.

…Did Ortega hitting him really leave such a deep impact?

“…You’re right.”

Vin paused, sighed, and then sank to the ground.

I sat down next to him and asked,

“My words? Which words?”

“Actually… I’m not okay.”

“….”

“It hurts, it’s hard. I feel like the guilt will consume me.”

Feeling guilty for disappointing his parents, I guessed.

But really, Vin shouldn’t feel guilty—Ortega should. What’s wrong with liking someone that he beats a child?

I clenched my fist without realizing. The copy I held in my hand crumpled slightly.

I smoothed it out, looking at Vin.

His blue eyes, which had been looking at the copy, now looked softly at me.

“Don’t feel guilty. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You say that without even knowing why I feel guilty.”

Vin poked my nose with his finger, faintly smiling.

…What? Why do I feel teased?