Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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23.

‘…No, that’s not it.’

Upon further reflection, I hadn’t heard it directly from Cheonhaerang’s own lips. Perhaps it was entirely Yeonhwa’s will.
What on earth had transpired between Cheonhaerang and Yeonhwa yesterday?
The looming question gave me pause, and finally compelled me to ask Yeonhwa.

“…Your Highness. Forgive my presumption, but I must ask one thing.”
“Speak.”
“Is returning to the Heavenly Realm truly Your Highness’s will?”

No answer came. Only her gaze, fixed upon me in silence.
I forced myself to meet her eyes without flinching, yet inwardly I regretted asking. My heart raced with tension, beating rapidly.
I had encountered the Supreme Deity once when I was very young, yet I had never felt this nervous. Of course, that could have been because I was too young then.
I tried to calm my thundering heart. So I thought of something sad.
Such as, what would become of my relationship with Cheonhaerang once we returned to the Heavenly Realm.
The pounding ceased instantly. Instead, a hollow ache seized my heart.
It was in that moment. A firm, crystalline voice pierced through my ears.

“Does Yeonhwa’s will matter in this?”

Yeonhwa spoke as though stating an obvious truth.

“This is the will of His Majesty and myself. The will of a child who cannot even discern right from wrong is unnecessary.”
“….”
“Is it not so, young White Tiger?”

The Supreme Deity and his first bloodline.
Under their will, the young White Tiger could say nothing.
Even if Yeonhwa’s demeanor had changed in an instant.
The young White Tiger could no longer defy the Supreme Deity’s command.
Perhaps it should have been this way from the beginning. I should have obeyed the Supreme Deity’s command first, rather than be swayed by personal sentiment.
But.
And yet….

“Jiho.”

Over the Young Man’s affectionate voice calling my name, a cool woman’s voice overlapped.

“Now you shall prepare for Princess Yeonhwa’s departure.”

With my head bowed, I closed my eyes firmly as if steeling myself and answered.

“…I shall obey your command, Your Highness.”

* * *

This is strange.
Could this merely be coincidence?
My hands moved reflexively through the problem, but my mind was elsewhere entirely.

“Since Teacher Kim Jeonghyeon is unwell, I’ve agreed to take over your class for the time being.”

A teacher with an unfamiliar face entered during homeroom and said that. From what I gathered, he was the vice homeroom teacher.
The sudden absence of my homeroom teacher.
And it was a human I had found unsettling.
Today that human didn’t come to school, and Cheonhaerang decided to return to the Heavenly Realm.
Could this be mere coincidence?
But if it wasn’t coincidence, then that human must be connected to Cheonhaerang.
That inexplicable sense of déjà vu I felt when I first saw that human.

‘Could it be…!’

I set down the mechanical pencil I’d been holding with a sharp tap and bolted from my seat without thinking.

“So, you’ll solve it? Let’s see your name… Ryujiho?”
“…Yes?”

I lifted my head with a bewildered expression. As the eyes of my classmates turned toward me, I spotted the teacher standing at the podium.
Right, it was class time now.
It should have been math with my homeroom teacher, but due to his absence, a math teacher from another grade came instead.

“Come up front and solve it.”
“Yes? Oh, yes…”

I found myself at the blackboard before I could fully process what was happening.
Regretting how I hadn’t paid close attention to the teacher’s lessons in the past, I stepped forward.
Feeling the sharp gazes of my classmates boring into my back, I looked up at the blackboard.
It wasn’t such a difficult problem. It was one I had solved while reviewing beforehand.
I began writing out the solution on the blackboard with chalk, tap tap, working through each step.
Once I had derived the answer, I let out a small sigh and set down the chalk.

“Everyone, let’s give her a hand. You solved that very well, Ryujiho. That’s the correct answer.”

Though there was no real need for it, the obedient students dutifully applauded along with the teacher’s words.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I hurried back to my seat.

“That was quite a difficult problem. You’re good at math, Jiho. But why is your class ranked last in mathematics? Your homeroom teacher teaches math, and you even have the top student in the entire school in this class.”
“Oh, teacher!”

Whiny voices echoed through the classroom. But I wasn’t paying attention.
Even though I had just regretted not listening properly to the teacher, I quickly found myself slipping back into thoughts completely unrelated to the lesson.

“Is Yeonhwa’s opinion necessary for this?”

“This is the will of His Majesty and myself. We have no need for the opinion of a child who cannot even exercise proper judgment.”

Princess Yeonhwa’s words filled my mind.

A child who cannot even exercise proper judgment.
Perhaps she had described me that way because I had recklessly run away to the Human Realm.
But no matter how much I thought about it, it seemed the reason for my running away was because of that man.
There was definitely something between that man and Cheonhaerang.
And perhaps that something had finally exploded.
Princess Yeonhwa would know this well.
Knowing this, she was ignoring Cheonhaerang’s wishes and trying to send him back to the Heavenly Realm.
Faced with Princess Yeonhwa’s bombshell declaration, I hadn’t been able to ask a single thing I was actually curious about.
I swallowed the sigh that was threatening to burst out. No matter how much I thought about it, the answer was already determined.

“Now you must prepare for Princess Yeonhwa’s departure.”

Following Princess Yeonhwa’s orders, I had to tell Yerim the truth in order to prepare for this.
That Cheonhaerang was Princess Yeonhwa. To apologize for deceiving her.

‘…Will I get in trouble for this?’

I should have been thrilled about returning to the Heavenly Realm, yet worry consumed me entirely.
I was also anxious about Cheonhaerang, who still hadn’t contacted me.
What could have happened to him? Had Yeonhwa taken his phone?
It was precisely when I was lost in such turmoil that something tapped against the back of my hand.
Snapping from my thoughts, I watched as the tapping ceased. My eyes widened.
Jet-black feathers cloaked in darkness. Three legs.
I casually glanced around, feigning indifference. The fact that no one among all these people had noticed was confirmation enough—this was indeed that creature.
This was the Divine Raven, the Three-Legged Crow.
If my suspicion was correct, Cheonhaerang had sent this three-legged crow.
After all, only the Supreme Deity and those of his bloodline could command the three-legged crow, aside from the Queen Mother of the West.
Was Cheonhaerang imprisoned somewhere? Was that why he sent this crow?
Then was it Yeonhwa who had imprisoned him?
The cold, serene image of the princess flickered through my mind again. Seeing her face, it seemed entirely plausible.
She was the princess most suited to succeed the Supreme Deity.
Yet Yeonhwa was here at this school, and the Supreme Deity had not designated any of his daughters as his successor.

‘Come to think of it…’

My thoughts drifted toward this school.
Seonhwa High School, founded by a celestial maiden.
Board Director Cheonuyhua was the Supreme Deity’s first bloodline.
There was a significant age gap between Suho and Yeonhwa.
Thus, it was Yeonhwa who had stood by the Supreme Deity’s side the longest.
If Yeonhwa had founded this school…
Why had she established it in the Human Realm, and why was she personally guarding it?
My prolonged contemplation was cut short as the three-legged crow tapped against my hand once more.
I quickly turned my gaze to the crow.
Displeased that I had been distracted, the three-legged crow regarded me tersely before delivering its master’s message as instructed.
When the crow’s black beak tapped against my problem set, characters suddenly appeared across the blank page.

[Quite a shock, wasn’t it, Jiho? I’m sorry. I’ll be there soon.]

It felt as though I could hear Cheonhaerang’s gentle voice.
The three-legged crow tapped my hand once more as if its task was complete, then departed.
Watching the crow soar through the window toward the blue sky, I felt an inexplicable sensation churning within me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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