Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 50

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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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50.

“Please do try it, Your Majesty. It is a nectar tea that our family has newly cultivated, and its sweet taste should be quite pleasant for you to drink.”

Nectar tea. Hydrangea tea. I learned far too late that among the flower language of hydrangeas, there exists a meaning of betrayal.

Gihyeongrang had shown it openly from the very beginning. The innocent child simply knew nothing.
I gazed down at the tea that bore a yellowish-green hue. This was all a dream. Merely my memory.
So it was fine to drink it.
Besides, no matter how much I refused, this dream would unfold as it was meant to.
Yet I hesitated. The anguish of that day seemed to surge forth once more.
I steadied my wavering heart. The memory must flow forward.
Only then could I awaken.
I smiled brightly and bowed toward Gihyeongrang.

“Thank you, brother!”

The lukewarm tea slid down my throat. At first, a warm sensation spread through me.
It did not take long for that to transform into agony.

“Gasp…!”

A clot of blood rose through my throat and spilled from my lips. Suddenly, I looked at Gihyeongrang.
Gihyeongrang gazed at me with an expressionless face as I died, as though he had not been smiling so tenderly just moments before.
I felt my consciousness slowly fading.
Amid the agony that felt as though my entire body would burst apart, I heard Gihyeongrang’s voice, serene beyond measure.

“Your Majesty, shall I tell you something?”

My body was collapsing to the side.

“Trust is not something given so easily.”

The last thing I saw was Gihyeongrang smiling.
And when I opened my eyes, I was in Cheongyeokgyeong.

* * *

It wasn’t easy. Being a shaman wasn’t enough, and now I found myself inexplicably taking on the role of a teacher—something that was never meant to be my fate.
The break time didn’t feel like ten minutes at all, but rather one minute. I was swamped just adapting and learning administrative duties, yet I still had to teach classes.
But what good was teaching diligently when half the students were listening and half were sleeping?
When I asked a colleague whether students really dozed off that much during class, she laughed and said it was especially bad during math and Korean history.
The Jade Emperor wouldn’t care whether the students slept or not, but I found it difficult to ignore the children nodding off.
As someone who had been a model student, I couldn’t understand it. Besides, wasn’t the history of the Human Realm fascinating?
It was a history of upheaval across this land. Peaceful times could be counted on one’s fingers.
So that’s how Evil Spirits were born. Thinking such thoughts, I stopped walking.
Class 2-7. Eul of the Heavenly Realm. This was Yueul’s class.
I took a deep breath and entered the classroom.
Though I didn’t know Yueul’s face, I could find him easily. I was someone who had even seen through Gihyeongrang’s perfect disguise technique.
As soon as I looked around the classroom, I spotted Yueul immediately.
He had the typical appearance of a model student that wouldn’t arouse anyone’s suspicion.
When Yueul’s eyes met mine, he smiled gently.
I tried to calm my rapidly racing heart and greeted the class.

“Hello, everyone. From today on, I’ll be teaching you Korean history. My name is Jeong Yerim.”

As soon as the introduction ended, a flood of chatter from the lively students came pouring toward me.
Starting with “Teacher, you’re so pretty,” followed by “Do you have a boyfriend?” and “Are you married?”—most of it was personal gossip unrelated to class.

“Alright, quiet down. I don’t have a boyfriend and I’m not married.”
“Really? Why not?”
“Who knows. Why wouldn’t I?”

I responded casually while opening the textbook to check where Class 7 had left off. I was about to mention what I would be teaching.

“Then what about your first love?”

My gaze lifted from the book. Someone had raised their hand—the one asking the question.
When I looked at them, the student lowered their hand.
It was Yueul.
No, not Yueul. Not Eul of the Heavenly Realm.
Why did I mistake him for Eul? There’s no way that man could be Eul.

“Since this is our first class, could you tell us about your first love, teacher?”

At the man’s words, all the children cheered. In this situation, Yerim couldn’t act rashly.
She gazed at the man intently and spoke.

“My first love is dead.”

What? Confused questions erupted from the children in various directions. It was an answer they had never anticipated.
However, Yerim paid no attention to the children’s reactions. Instead, she extended her power toward the ground and continued speaking.

“So, teacher, have you completely forgotten your first love?”

The man questioned her again. Yerim swallowed back a laugh threatening to burst forth.

“Could you ever become lovers with Gihyeongrang again?”

The Jade Emperor’s nonsense from last night flashed through her mind.
Yerim answered.

“Yes. I’ve forgotten. Completely.”
“You’re lying.”
“What?”

That was the moment. In an instant, the surroundings turned pitch black.
A dense, sinister energy that pricked the skin filled the space.
Immediately after, transparent silk flew toward Yerim. It was her own extended power returning as a counterattack.
Yerim reached out her hand.
Slash!
A blade materialized in her hand, severing the silk.
Watching the silk fall limply to the ground with soft thuds, the man’s lips curved upward.

“We see each other often, Yerim.”
“Indeed. I didn’t expect you to walk to your own death.”
“Death? Whose? Mine?”
“Yes. Yours.”
“Ha ha. Our Yerim tells quite an amusing story.”
“I doubt it would be entertaining.”

With Yerim’s words, a blue chain wrapped around Gihyeongrang’s arm with a sharp sound.
Had it been from the beginning, or had something changed at some point?
The one who had invaded this Altered Space was Cheonuyhua.

“It’s been a while, Gihyeongrang.”

It was truly a voice I hadn’t heard in ages. Gihyeongrang turned his head.
Sharing the same blood and wielding the same power meant one could not easily perceive the other’s presence.
Just as it was with Cheonuyhua, so it was with him. If Cheonuyhua deliberately concealed her aura, it would not be easy for him to detect it.
Gihyeongrang let out a laugh that was almost a sigh, his gaze fixed on Cheonuyhua. His eyes held a chill as sharp as a blade.

“I merely came to meet an old lover, yet there’s an uninvited guest.”
“The uninvited guest would be you.”

Whoosh—chains lashed out, attempting to engulf him. He severed the chains coiling around his arm with ease and soared upward.
Clang! Snap! The chains shattered in his hands. Yet the chains seemed endless.

“For such a noble princess to resort to parlor tricks—how amusing.”

With those words, Gihyeongrang snapped his fingers together. With a sharp crack, flames erupted across the chains.
The fire consumed the chains rapidly, flowing toward Yeonhwa. Without hesitation, she released the chains and spoke.

“Parlor tricks are still an ability.”

In that moment of bewilderment, Gihyeongrang felt a thin thread coiling around his body.
And a sharp blade pressing against his back.
While his attention was fixed on Cheonuyhua, Yerim had unleashed her power, piercing through his defenses with precision.
The taut thread dug into his flesh as if it would tear him apart at any moment, and the blade against his back seemed ready to pierce through his chest in an instant.

“Oh my, Yerim. You’re going to hurt my feelings like this.”

Gihyeongrang spoke in a dejected tone. Yet his eyes gleamed with an unfathomable madness.

“I told you. I hate you enough to kill you.”
“Is that so? Are you truly certain?”

With those words, a black mass erupted from the ground. There was no time to evade. The black mass swallowed Yerim in an instant.
Clang!
Yeonhwa’s crescent blade and Gihyeongrang’s sword clashed. Between them, the black mass dispersed like mist.

“It seems you have quite a few parlor tricks yourself.”

A voice as cold as frost cut through the air.
Gihyeongrang met those golden eyes and smirked, his lips curling upward. His own irises were beginning to glow with that same golden light.

“I too must work hard to catch up with you, Sister. Wouldn’t you agree?”

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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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