Lin Hwa’s eyes had already rolled back. In her mind, I’m already the enemy who ruined her love.

She firmly believes that since I ruined her love, it’s only fair that I should have my love ruined too. She’s so convinced of the perfection of her own logic that there’s no room for me to persuade her.

In the end, I stopped arguing with Lin Hwa and went to visit my parents around dinnertime when they would be eating.

After all, our parents were our guardians and the ones who could break Lin Hwa’s stubbornness, as well as the final decision-makers in our family.

“Have you eaten?”

Was it because I had publicly declared my love for the 13th Prince? As soon as I entered the room, my mother took my hand and asked worriedly.

“A little.”

Although I had finished a whole bowl, I lied slightly.

“I couldn’t eat much because I had no appetite.”

“Is it because of the Prince?”

“Yes.”

I spoke as weakly as possible, then put effort into looking pitiful as I looked back and forth between my parents.

Father avoided my gaze, and Mother’s eyes were brimming with tears. I weakened my voice even more and continued.

“Mother, Father. Please reject this marriage proposal. If you say I have a fiancé, even His Majesty won’t be able to push further. His Majesty knows that I’m a woman in men’s clothing. So I couldn’t use the excuse of a fiancé. But Lin Hwa’s situation is different, isn’t it?”

However, their reactions were not good at all. Father kept avoiding my gaze, and Mother just wiped her eyes with a handkerchief without saying she would do as I asked.

Could it be? Earlier when they sent Lin Hwa and me out saying they would discuss it. Did they decide to accept the marriage proposal? It couldn’t be.

“Mother? Father?”

I called out to my parents, pretending to sob.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

After a long while, Father finally spoke.

“Lin Hwa is already in despair because of Sun An. Are you saying we should make her lose the person she loves again?”

I was so dumbfounded that I forgot to pretend to be pitiful and immediately retorted.

“No, Father. We all know that Lin Hwa dislikes the 13th Prince. Just yesterday, Lin Hwa was trying to kill me whenever Sun An was mentioned. Even now, if Sun An’s engagement were suddenly canceled, she would immediately ask for a proposal to be sent, regardless of reputation or anything else. So why are you saying this when you know?”

Father glanced at Mother as if seeking help. Had they already come to a definite agreement between them? Seeing that look, Mother lowered her handkerchief, gripped it tightly, and continued Father’s words.

“We couldn’t say anything when we saw you trying to match Sun An with another woman. In fact, we only found out after everything was settled, so we couldn’t even try to stop it…”

“So?”

“We couldn’t do anything for Lin Hwa with Sun An, but if we show opposition to His Majesty by creating a fake fiancé for you this time, Lin Hwa will think she’s being discriminated against.”

“That’s nonsense. Mother, you said you only found out after everything was settled with Lin Hwa. But now we know beforehand and have the ability to prevent it, don’t we?”

“You knew Lin Hwa loved Sun An, yet you deliberately matched him with the 9th Princess.”

I was at a loss for words and couldn’t respond immediately.

I know that even if Lin Hwa and Sun An’s engagement had proceeded, it would have ended up broken, and that Lin Hwa’s future husband will have a good marriage with her. That’s why I matched Sun An with the 9th Princess.

However, to my family who doesn’t know this, it must seem like I did something heartless without considering my sister. It was clear that my parents had decided to take Lin Hwa’s side this time because of this.

Father sighed and lightly patted my shoulder.

“I know you’re upset. But you deliberately drove a wedge between Lin Hwa and Sun An earlier. Now, if we were to use Lin Hwa’s name for your sake, how do you think she would feel?”

“I asked Sun An first, Father! But Sun An said he didn’t want to marry Lin Hwa!”

“What does it matter if Sun An dislikes Lin Hwa? Marriage arrangements are for parents to handle anyway. We were planning to propose to the Sun family. If they had refused, Lin Hwa would have accepted it even if she didn’t like it. She’s stubborn, but she knows when to yield. But you stepped in and ruined everything before we could even make the proposal, that’s why Lin Hwa feels so wronged.”

“Is your idea of fairness that both Lin Hwa and I lose our loves? Because Lin Hwa lost her love, I should lose mine too? Doesn’t Lin Hwa tell you why I tried to match Sun An with the 9th Princess? The 9th Princess wanted to marry me. Do you think I wanted to arrange my own marriage?”

“We heard about that. But it didn’t have to be Sun An. You have many male friends your age.”

Father was firm. Mother also seemed to think this was my fault, as she frowned and said,

“Or you should have told your mother or father. Don’t you think we could have found a suitable young man using all our connections?”

“If I had told you then, you would have worried! And among my friends, Sun An is the only one with a good family background, handsome appearance, excellent scholarship, and impeccable behavior that matches mine. I had to bring someone who would satisfy the 9th Princess, His Majesty the Emperor, and Her Majesty the Empress!”

“Even if we worried, you should have told us and dealt with it. Because of this, the relationship between you sisters has been damaged.”

What relationship between me and Lin Hwa! The sisterly affection only sprouted after Lin Hwa got married in my previous life!

I clenched my fists in anger. But it was useless. Mother, who wanted Lin Hwa and me to get along, pleaded,

“If you marry the 13th Prince, this incident will completely tear you sisters apart. In this world, besides your parents, you two are each other’s closest blood relatives. You’re the only ones who can truly help each other no matter what happens. Half the world is men. Sun An and the 13th Prince are just two of them. But you sisters are the only two of each other in the world.”

“…”

I understand why my parents are acting like this. They feel guilty towards Lin Hwa, just as they feel guilty about dressing me as a man.

In the past, they mostly felt sorry for me.

But after Lin Hwa insisted on wanting to attend the same academy as me and was forcibly stopped, causing her to be bedridden for months, they feel almost equally sorry for her.

Because they realized that Lin Hwa’s thirst for knowledge and ambition for success are much higher than mine. To my eyes, she’s like a wild foal of a sister, but to my parents, she’s a miraculous child.

“I understand what you’re saying, Mother and Father. If Lin Hwa can’t have something, I can’t have it either. If I can’t have something, you’ll prevent Lin Hwa from having it too. We’re the only sisters in the world, so we should compete fiercely against each other. Is that what you mean?”

“Yo Hwa!”

Mother cried out my name in surprise, and Father also shouted.

“What kind of language is this!”

“It’s the language of a child whose parents only favor one sister.”

“Yo Yo Hwa!”

Even when scolded, I kept my mouth shut and didn’t apologize, standing firm. Father rubbed his forehead and waved his hand.

“Enough. Get out. You provoked Lin Hwa first and now you think you’ve done nothing wrong. What can we say? And neither you nor Lin Hwa need to come pay respects for a while. I don’t want to see either of you. You’re both so selfish, only thinking about yourselves!”

As I was walking out of the main hall, I encountered Lin Hwa walking towards me with her close maid. It seemed Lin Hwa was also curious about our parents’ decision.

However, upon seeing my angry expression, Lin Hwa seemed to guess the result and approached me with a genuine smile for the first time in a long while, saying,

“It seems your precious disciple is going to become my husband. Judging by how red your face is. Right?”

I responded with sarcasm.

“Wow, you’re lucky to have such good parents, Lin Hwa. It seems your parents’ idea of fairness is to make sure I can’t have what you can’t have.”

As I turned my back, I heard Lin Hwa’s indignant voice.

“How nice it must be for someone who’s been favored all their life. Getting so angry and huffing over something like this.”

“Favored all my life? Who’s talking about whom?”

Lin Hwa snorted and turned away. It seems she was conscious of her maid’s presence and couldn’t pour out everything in her heart.

I too, perhaps because I had been constantly nervous, felt pain where the inkstone had hit me earlier and my stomach churned. Unable to retort further, I returned to my quarters and collapsed face-down on the bed.

Although I lay on the bed, there was no way I could sleep. In the end, I spent the whole night wide awake, pondering ways to overcome this predicament.

And the next day, after dawn broke, I dressed more neatly than usual and went to Wolmugung.

I wondered what I would do if the door was locked and they wouldn’t let me in today, but fortunately, the door was open this time.

The room where we have our lessons was also open, and when I opened the door, I saw my disciple sitting at his desk, resting his chin on his hand.

Glancing at me, my disciple smiled kindly as if nothing had happened a few days ago and asked,

“Teacher. Is your headache feeling better?”

Instead of answering, I approached my disciple and, putting on the most pitiful and desperate expression I could muster, pleaded,

“Your Highness. Please don’t marry my sister.”

“!”

The Emperor sent a eunuch to our house yesterday to broach the subject of marriage.

He would have naturally conveyed that message to the 13th Prince who lives closer. After all, even though parents arrange marriages, he is still the one getting married.

As I expected. It seemed the 13th Prince had already heard about it, as he didn’t look surprised and just stared at me blankly. Then, when our eyes met, he smiled lightly and refused.

“I couldn’t refuse marriage with you, my teacher. It’s the same. I can’t refuse a marriage proposal with your sister either.”

“If Your Highness and I speak to him together…”

“Would that work?”

“!”

I was dumbfounded. This wretched disciple. He got angry at me before and told me to cancel our marriage. If he thought it wouldn’t work, why did he make such a demand of me?

Momentarily at a loss for words due to the absurdity, my disciple delivered one final sharp remark.

“And I don’t mind marrying your sister.”

“Why? Your Highness doesn’t like my sister…”

In my previous life, my disciple wasn’t just indifferent to Lin Hwa, but to my entire family.

“I don’t like her. But I don’t dislike her either. Most arranged marriages are like this.”

“!”

“Anyone would be at least less frivolous than you, Teacher. Isn’t that right?”

With things having come to this point, I had no choice. I finally played my last card that I had agonized over all night.

“I love Your Highness.”

The 13th Prince didn’t even blink, smiling and speaking in a soothing tone.

“Even if you say that, it doesn’t change anything.”

With a look that seemed to say, ‘Is that the best you can come up with after all your thinking?’

“I’ll submit my resignation. I can’t bear to live watching Your Highness marry my sister.”

But my continued words elicited a slight reaction from the 13th Prince. He looked at me as if asking if I was serious. I didn’t avoid his gaze and put on a resolute expression.

I’m serious. Originally, I was planning to hold out as long as I could and then flee. But once I become close to the Emperor, even fleeing won’t be easy. And the 13th Prince won’t look kindly on me once I become close to the Emperor.

If that’s the case, rather than holding out and dying when the Emperor is deposed, it’s better to leave now. Although my future is uncertain without any foundation laid, I can’t stay here knowing I’ll die.

Could he see this determination in my eyes? The 13th Prince looked at me intently and then asked with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

“Do you like this disciple that much?”

“I do.”

“To the point where you don’t want to live if I marry another woman?”

“Yes.”

“Then die.”

“!”