CPBF 6

Chapter: 6

Well, of course, that’s what makes a duke a duke.

If he doesn’t get jealous over the smallest things, he can’t really be called a duke. Exactly. That’s how it is.

I stifled a pleased smile and called out:

“Sir! I’m leaving early today.”

It’s nice to watch the two of them bickering over love from nearby, but first, I need to escape and survive.

Because the jealousy that’s cute now could very well kill me in the future.

As soon as I left early and returned home, I headed straight for the marquis’s garden.

Filled with forget-me-nots, a symbol of the Heather family, it was the perfect place to sort out my thoughts.

“There are too many obstacles… and I can’t see any sign of this being resolved.”

The most urgent problem right now was the crown prince’s jealousy.

This was the ultimate reason I might die…

If I even talk to Vin, the crown prince’s jealousy will flare up just like before. So to avoid that, I shouldn’t interact with Vin at all.

But that’s easier said than done.

While at the academy, I have no choice but to be around Vin. The same goes at home.

Why? Because we’re betrothed!

Since we’re promised to each other, no matter how much I try to avoid him, I’m bound to run into Vin eventually.

“Ah… maybe I should call off the engagement…”

I ran a little mental simulation:

“Mother! Father! I want to break off my engagement with Vin.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I don’t like Vin anymore.”

“Hmm… Alright… calm down for now and talk to Dr. Saint about it.”

Yeah… that’s definitely impossible.

Damn it! I can’t call off the engagement, and I can’t make Sis enter the art competition either!

What can I do?

“Maybe I should just run away and hide in some mountain…”

Right now, since there’s no clear path, this seems like the plan with the highest chance of survival.

I thought about gathering funds to escape instead of doing anything reckless. And just then…

A familiar voice reached me.

“I’m going to enter the Foundation Day Art Competition.”

It was Sis, her fragile voice not yet changed by puberty.

A homebody who spends all day in her room—what’s she doing in the garden?

No, wait… what did she just say?

She’s going to enter the competition? She refused when I suggested it before.

Crunch, crunch. There were multiple soft steps in the grass.

One step was lighter than the others.

I quickly hid behind a large tree and listened closely.

“If I win the prize, I have something I want to spend it on.”

“And what would that be?”

Through the branches, I caught sight of another face—somehow familiar.

It was the maid serving beside Sis.

The expression on Sis’s face was unusually relaxed. There was no trace of her usual hostility.

“I want to use it to cure your mother’s illness. The treatment is ridiculously expensive, and you said you can’t afford it.”

“Eh? Why give me that much money instead of keeping it for yourself…? Three million gold, wasn’t it? That’s enough to buy a house.”

Three million gold!

It was the same amount Vin and the crown prince had taken as travel funds in the novel.

With that much money, I could escape easily—and then some.

The more things go wrong, the more I feel tempted to run away…

Maybe I should enter the competition too. I inherited some of my sister’s writing talent.

“You were there for me when my family hurt me, Anna. I want to do the same for you.”

“Oh… Master!”

The maid, touched, sobbed a little and collapsed into Sis’s arms.

After a while, she raised her head and spoke.

“Master, I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I like you. Your kind heart and your mature attitude for your age… they’ve stolen my heart.”

“Anna… I’m sorry. I can’t like you. I…”

Ah, I know what’s coming next.

Sis Heather is a side character in The Crown Prince’s Lover, and this means…

He’s gay.

But as far as I know, this isn’t the right timing for him to say that.

Sis won’t realize his sexual orientation until after he falls in love with Vin, when he turns 21.

Something’s off.

Did he confess to the maid in the original story?

I don’t think so, but maybe it was a skipped scene.

But the age he realizes his orientation was never skipped.

I still remember the part when Sis fell for Vin:

┌Had I ever felt this kind of fluttering before? No. Absolutely not.

It was the first time in 21 years. Yet he wasn’t confused by his feelings.

At that age, he wasn’t too young to recognize them. He realized immediately:

I’ve fallen in love with Vin Ortega. That’s why I never cared for any other woman.┘

What the heck happened? Did I somehow influence Sis without realizing it…?

I was too confused to even breathe.

Then—

“Irilin! There you are!”

My maid, Wendy, called loudly, echoing across the garden.

Wait, I’m hiding here…

This is bad.

“Irilin?”

Sis looked around, searching for me.

His blue eyes, wandering and unable to locate me, finally focused on my position thanks to the maid.

I stepped out awkwardly from behind the tree, smiling sheepishly.

“H-ha… haha… Wendy. Couldn’t you have called more quietly?”

“I-I’m so sorry, Miss! I didn’t mean to be rude. Please forgive me!”

“Enough. Just tell me why you were looking for me.”

I felt Sis’s piercing gaze burn into me, so I hurried Wendy along.

Her face looked like she had come back from the dead, overwhelmed with relief.

“Master Ortega is here! He wants to see you!”

“What? Vin? Me? Why?”

Unless it was a matter between families, Vin wouldn’t come to the Heather estate first.

But if he specifically requested me, then it isn’t about family matters.

Why would the guy who always avoids me like a creepy insect come looking for me?

I don’t remember this happening in the novel…

“Irilin.”

Sis approached me, his face far darker than usual.

“You’ve heard.”

His low, calm voice was undercut by a murderous glare in his eyes.

It was almost blatantly obvious.

“Your Highness. Please kill Irilin.”

A line from the novel that stuck in my head.

This is dangerous. I could die before I even turn 20.

I have no reason, but my instincts screamed it.

“How much did you hear?”

“…Everything.”

I answered honestly.

There’s no point lying to Sis—he’s sharp and has always been sensitive to his parents’ eyes.

“…Everything?”

Sis muttered weakly and lowered his head.

His hands trembled as he clutched his pants.

…Is he afraid?

If so, what exactly is he afraid of?

That I know his secret? Or that I might spread it around?

Either way, I need to relieve his worry.

That’s the only way to calm his murderous intent.

“Just know this: I have no intention of telling anyone what I overheard…”

“Let’s deal with the person first.”

Sis nodded toward Wendy, then addressed his maid behind him.

“Anna, I’ll come back for you later.”

“Yes… Master.”

Even Wendy ran off to inform the young marquis, leaving us alone on the bench.

A heavy tension hung in the air.

Sis spoke first:

“…Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“What did you expect me to say?”

“Nothing. I thought you’d mock me.”

“I don’t do that.”

“You’re saying that now, but you’ll tell your parents everything.”

The murderous gleam in his blue eyes deepened.

From that, I understood:

His greatest fear is having his parents find out.

“I won’t say anything. What’s the fun in gossiping? Loving someone is perfectly natural, even if it’s another man. Right?”

I’d watched my sister suffer when our father discovered her novels.

Yet I hadn’t comforted her once—just because it was embarrassing.

Even though we fought and bickered, at that moment I wished I had held her hand. But it was too late; she had already disappeared.

Since then, I’ve carried these words in my heart, for if I ever meet my sister again:

“I know you’re not wrong. If your parents say you are, it’s their mistake, not yours.”

Simple words, but my sister must have longed to hear them.

I never could, but maybe through Sis, that feeling is finally being relieved a little.

“…If you think that way, keep your promise.”

With those words, Sis stood, turned away, and left the bench.

Through the tree branches, I glimpsed his face. Gone was the usual hatred.

‘…Did that comfort him?’