Crown Prince’s Ex-Boyfriend

“Irillin!”

“Oh, here you are, Irillin! Did you have a good time at the competition?”

The Marquis and Marchioness who found me, ran to the entrance of the banquet hall and greeted me.

On the other hand, they did not pay attention to Sith, who was behind me.

“Yes, I participated well. But besides me, Sith…”

“How good do you think you will do?”

“Aren’t you hungry? There are refreshments over there. Please have some.”

Oh! I want to talk about Sith, so why are you talking about something else?!

Sith is distorted because they have no other concerns besides Irillin!

That crooked guy is going to kill me! Because of you!

Ugh…I don’t know…

I’m going to run away anyway, so there’s no need to appeal to Sith’s talent again.

So I turned around.

“But should you be focusing on His Highness the Emperor and not me?”

The founding party was an event in which all influential people from around the capital gathered at the imperial palace to commemorate the auspicious day.

Teenagers like Sith and I didn’t care if we left in the middle, but the circumstances of the Marquis and the Marchioness in the current situation would be different.

Upon pointing this out, the Marquis and the Marchioness cleared their throats as if they had come to their senses belatedly, and turned around.

These nobles are also very good, parents running up to you although this is formal occasions.

“Hmm, the children of the Heather family. Did you attend an art contest?”

The Emperor looked at me and asked as if the Marquis and Marchioness had mentioned me.

The Emperor closely resembled the Crown Prince, as depicted in the novel.

The momentum that made you look up at him, the eyes that seemed to have no emotions, the dark black hair, and the red eyes.

“Yes, that is right, your majesty. It was a very precious and valuable experience.”

I held up a copy of my writing and responded as politely as possible.

The prince might already hate me, so I was trying to save myself.

People were shocked.

“That ‘Irillin Heather’ is being polite!”

“I guess the rumors of her being admitted to Dr. Saint’s hospital are true.”

No matter how rude Irillin is, people are going crazy while coveting(?) it.

No matter if it is the prince’s father, I have to be a little normal to a person who is an Emperor!

“A meaningful experience on a meaningful day.”

It was the end of our conversation when the Emperor, who had uttered it as if tossing it, stared at me.

After that, his head turned to his son next to him.

Not the Crown Prince, but the Second Prince.

The emperor did not like the crown prince very much. The reason was simple.

Because the prince was born to a maid.

To the emperor, the prince was a symbol of his desires that he could not overcome.

Even though, the reason he placed the Crown Prince above the Second Prince was simply because another son hadn’t been born for a long time.

When the Second Prince was born to the empress, the Crown Prince had already secured his position.

The emperor was unable to dethrone the crown prince despite the opposition of public opinion. He had no reason for it.

Later, when the emperor was unable to find a reason in the end, tried to kill the Crown Prince and give the Second Prince power, the crown prince’s power had already grown too much.

In the end, the emperor meets the same fate as Irillin.

The end of those who stand up to ‘Gong’ is miserable…

‘That’s why, if I don’t want to die, I’ll work hard and befriend at the crown prince right now.’

Perhaps because we were in the same situation, the Emperor’s actions made me feel frustrated.

Even in the midst of this, the Emperor was looking at the side, not the Crown prince.

This time, for some reason, he wasn’t looking at the prince’s side, but in a sense this may be more dangerous.

Why?

Because what the Emperor was looking at was Vin Ortega, whom the prince, the incarnation of jealousy, loved.

“They say you practice swordsmanship so hard these days.”

“I am trying hard not to become a nuisance to Your Majesty and the Crown Prince.”

I was very nervous and was watching the prince, but luckily his jealousy wasn’t noticed by his father and the prince looked aloof.

He had been standing still, like a shadow without a presence. This sight seemed very familiar.

The person concerned said nothing was wrong, but Vin kept giving the prince a look of pity.

Because of that, the prince, who was far from being depressed, seemed rather struggling to hide the twitching corners of his mouth.

“…?”

Why, are you looking like that? The day where something big happens and no one is even aware of it.

Today was just such a day.

The day when the Crown Prince couldn’t manage his expression, and the Emperor for some reason noticed something.

The prince’s raised mouth was raised, the change unconsciously sensed by the gaze on him.

I had remembered that minor incident which occurred today that no one noticed.

That today is the day <The Crown Prince’s Lover> begins.

<The Crown Prince’s Lover> begins with the young Vin and the Crown Prince’s separation.

The Emperor and the Duke of Ortega, who noticed the relationship between Vin and the Crown Prince, forcibly separated the two.

Of course, the Crown Prince did not want to give in, but the emperor created a reason for him to do so.

He sent the crown prince to the war against the northern empire, Serom.

Sending a 13-year-old child to the battlefield was practically the same as telling him to die.

The emperor intended to use this opportunity to remove the crown prince who had tarnished the honor of the imperial family. Putting the second prince on top of the crown prince was a bonus.

However, seven years later, the crown prince steadfastly survived and returns to the Abert Empire again.

Then, after a lot of breathtaking flirting, he finally achieved a love that he couldn’t achieve 7 years ago.

Although they will break up today, the ordeal that will befall the prince and Vin today can be said to be the cornerstone for their happy ending.

The more you force them apart, the more affectionate they will feel.

Ah, the ordeal is about to begin.

“Little Duke of Ortega, you’ve been hanging out with the Crown Prince a lot lately, right?”

Even though they obviously didn’t know each other, the Emperor’s question somehow sounded aggressive.

At that moment, I noticed two people who flinched very slightly.

However, as if there was nothing to tell at all, Vin, who had erased that expression, answered with a graceful tone.

“Yes, we have a deep friendship as close friends.”

“For a close friend, You stick around to the point of being too close.”

“How does His Majesty know that? Since when did he take so much interest in me?”

The prince interrupted the conversation between Vin and the emperor in a rather blunt tone.

However, as he said that, it seemed like he was trying to protect Vin.

The quick-witted emperor did not miss this.

“You act like a man who just wants to protect his lover. Don’t you have any awareness as the Crown Prince who will have to shoulder the Abert Empire in the future? You should feel ashamed!”

“…”

The prince’s expression became calmer than before.

Even the crown prince, who acted as if there was no one who could defeat me, was pitiful like a withered flower in front of the emperor.

He was only 13 years old.

He had long given up on gaining affection, but it was a time when the walls in his heart were not yet strong enough to avoid being hurt by his parents who rejected him.

All he could do was get out of this situation.

Now that you are powerless, it is time to hold your breath and find a weapon to fight against the Emperor, rather than commit a clumsy defiance.[T/n: She’s referring to the prince]

Bang! Vin looked anxiously at the back of the prince who had rushed out after closing the door.

Should he go after him? If he did, the emperor would be more suspicious. He must be worried about that.

“Remember that life becomes easier when you choose the right person to protect. I’m saying this because the little duke’s talent is a waste.”

“……I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“It means don’t forget, Sebastian.”

Sebastian was the name of the second prince.

Calling the prince only by title as if he had forgotten his name, he called the prince by his full name.[T/n: I’m not sure if this is a correct sentence.]

Vin must have felt the same sentiment as me, so his expression hardened.

At the same time, the subtle trembling of his lips showed that he had something to say.

However, he never opened his mouth.

It seemed that it was because the Duke of Ortega’s people, who were sending him unspoken pressure from afar.

“It’s embarrassing. To think that the little Duke of Ortega, who will carry Ortega’s future is misunderstood in such a way.”

As soon as the emperor turned his attention away from Vin, the Duke of Ortega’s people rushed at him and scolded fiercely.

I was a little embarrassed. Even though I was right by his side, they didn’t care as if they wanted me to hear everything.

Are there no walls between our families?

“Even now, stay away from His Highness and stay close to His Highness the Prince. The Ortega’s are faithful servants of His Majesty the Emperor. Do you understand?”

Ortega is a faction that supports the prince, so as a little duke you must follow. That is what it meant.

Vin nodded helplessly.

“……Yes.”

To surrender unconditionally.

That was Vin’s survival strategy to survive Ortega’s pressure.

“Dalian.”

A few hours later, the prince, who had returned, perhaps having regained his composure, uttered these words to me.

…Is he some kind of sparring monster?

Why does everyone say ‘Dalian, Dalian!’ when they see me? I can’t help but cry.

“Are you going to do it?”

“….”

“No…A banquet is being held. Are you going to leave and spar all of a sudden?”

“How is it all of a sudden? I always planned this, Hurry up and put on your protective gear.”

The prince was right.

In the Albert Empire, whose people love swordsmanship, there was a setting to strengthen friendship by sparring instead of dancing at a banquet.

That’s why I always have protective gear ready to wear at any time in a corner of the banquet hall, and I…

I picked up a tree branch.

Would I dare point a tree branch at the Crown Prince even at such an official event?

As I was thinking about this problem, I saw the prince standing in front of me with all his protective equipment.

He, too, was holding a branch in his hand instead of a sword.

Wow…how smart.

Did you prepare in case I would find issue with it?