The Childhood Friend Teases the Princess

Who says childhood sweethearts are bound to fall in love? The childhood friend is sour, and the boy next door has turned out to be a brute. When we meet, we do nothing but hit and kick each other. I’m the third daughter of a general’s household. At twelve, I entered the prince’s residence, putting away my playfulness, hiding my schemes, and pretending to be weak while secretly sharpening my knives. He’s domineering and calculating, yet he keeps provoking me again and again. I don’t love him, and I don’t know who loves me. I only know that the person I love hurts me over and over, yet I keep flying into the flames like a moth. If love is out of reach, then so be it. I’ll let go and stop holding on. But who could have guessed that after escaping one day, we’d be drawn into countless new entanglements? If you love me, why keep it locked in your heart instead of saying so?