Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 7

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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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7.

A sharp, pungent scent tickled my nose.
The school nurse who had handed Cheonhaerang the medicine insisted I rest comfortably during lunch break, though there was no real need, and stepped away from the infirmary bed.
I couldn’t forget the peculiar glint in the nurse’s eyes as she looked between me and Cheonhaerang. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why she’d looked at me that way.
In any case, thanks to the nurse’s unnecessary consideration, Cheonhaerang and I were left alone in the infirmary.
Cheonhaerang kept her promise to show me around the school, guiding me as we made our way to the infirmary.
So at least I’d come to know what was on each floor of the main building. The Principal’s Office was located in the New Building, which connected to the main building.

“I’m sorry, Jiho. I promise I’ll give you a proper tour tomorrow.”

Cheonhaerang apologized to me as I leisurely looked around the infirmary.
Though I’d unexpectedly received an apology from her, I answered calmly.

“No, it’s fine.”

Cheonhaerang, watching me quietly, soon smiled softly and took my hand.
Haeryeong, who had been quietly watching Jiho, soon smiled softly and took her hand.

“Huh?”
“Huh?”

Feeling the soft mattress beneath my back, I blinked blankly. I could see Cheonhaerang’s face, smiling tenderly.
Feeling the soft mattress against his back, Jiho blinked blankly. He could see Haerang’s face smiling tenderly.

“You’ve been tired since this morning, haven’t you? Rest easy, Jiho.”

A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Why did Cheonhaerang look at me with such eyes? It was merely a reunion after a long time, so why was she being so tender?
Was it because of our childhood?
What could such a fleeting moment—barely an instant—have meant to her?
Many words swirled in my mouth, but since I couldn’t voice any of them, I simply closed my eyes quietly.
A breeze drifted through the open window, brushing gently past me.
It was as tender as Cheonhaerang’s voice.
It was a gentle breeze, as warm as Haerang’s voice.

* * *

Ryujiho was leisurely eating lunch when I noticed a message from Cheonhaerang and let out a hollow laugh.
Among everyone in this school, only Cheonhaerang could wield the Board Director’s authority so freely. And for such an absurd reason, no less.

Sister. Jiho’s been tired since this morning, so I’m letting her skip afternoon classes. Me too.

Jiho was the one who was tired, so why was Cheonhaerang skipping as well?
I found it ridiculous. Yet I had to acknowledge that Jiho was indeed exhausted. After all that work since morning.
Cheonhaerang had put in considerable effort too, even if not quite the same ordeal.

‘There will likely be many more absences ahead.’

That creature who had detected Ryujiho’s existence and laid a trap in this school would now begin moving in earnest.
Sunhwa High School.
This school had existed since the days when the peninsula was divided into three kingdoms, locked in fierce battles before unification.
Through countless transformations across the long ages, the school had always remained here.
It was also part of the barrier that protected this place.
The barrier I had maintained all this time, having descended to the mortal realm under the Supreme Deity’s command.
A barrier that had stood firm for over fifteen hundred years had shattered.
That creature desired the being sleeping here. The criminal who sought to disrupt the balance of the mortal realm had also shattered the peace of the Heavenly Realm.
Did Father truly not foresee this outcome?
As the first to be born carrying the Supreme Deity’s blood, I had observed him closely for ages, yet I could never fully comprehend his heart.

‘Well… I don’t particularly care to know anyway.’

Understanding it wouldn’t help me much. What mattered more was reinforcing the barrier and preparing for that creature’s invasion.
To do that, I needed to eat well. Though I’m not human, even a celestial maiden runs on food.
I soon returned my focus entirely to my lunch.

* * *

Tap. Tap.
The blinds rattled against the window, swayed by the wind blowing through the glass.
Jiho had fallen into a deep sleep, her breathing soft and steady.
Worried the sound of the blinds might wake her, Cheonhaerang closed the window. Complete silence now settled over the infirmary.
Seated in a chair, Cheonhaerang gazed quietly at the sleeping Jiho. Her delicate, youthful face still looked adorable and beautiful.
Cheonhaerang reached out and gently caressed her cheek. It was soft and supple.
Soon after, he withdrew his hand, but his gaze remained fixed on her.
He found joy simply in looking at Jiho like this. It was always when he saw her that Cheonhaerang realized he possessed such feelings.
A child of the Baekho Clan who had dwelled in Qingyu Palace, the Residence of the Queen Mother of the West.
He had never imagined that the girl who had merely irritated him at first would grow so large in his heart.
As Cheonhaerang reminisced about the past he had shared with Jiho, he imagined the future while picturing her young face.
A future so distant that it belonged to Jiho and their child.

‘I hope she has a daughter who looks like Jiho. Well, a son would be fine too. Any child who resembles Jiho would be lovely, whether boy or girl.’

Cheonhaerang was already drinking the broth before the rice cake was even given out—getting ahead of himself entirely.
It had only been a day since he’d reunited with Jiho, yet Cheonhaerang had already been making future plans with her for a long time.
Jiho, blissfully unaware of what Cheonhaerang was thinking, simply slept soundly with soft snores.

* * *

Jiho blinked blankly. A reddish hue hung over the ceiling above her.

‘Red…?’

“…!”

Her mind snapped awake. Jiho bolted upright and looked around.
Unless her eyes were deceiving her, this was definitely the infirmary. The cushioned seat confirmed it.
She’d fallen asleep during lunch period, but now Jiho hurriedly pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time.
If her eyes weren’t playing tricks, it was definitely past 6 o’clock. Past 6.

‘How long did I sleep?’

She’d already missed all of the afternoon classes.
Even if it ended here, she’d become a delinquent student who’d skipped school on her first day as a transfer student.

‘Wait, why didn’t the princess wake me up?’

I found Cheonhaerang. He was very close to me.
I discovered him sleeping in the chair right beside the bed, his head slightly bowed, and I opened my mouth to wake him, but soon closed it again.
The crimson glow of sunset stretched long across his sleeping face.
My heart felt as though it stopped for a moment. He was indeed devastatingly handsome.
At this point, I couldn’t deny it. Whether then or now, I loved the prince’s face.
Even as a child, I was so captivated by the prince’s face that I lingered around him constantly.
He was quite prickly back then. But at some point, he began to smile for me.
The prince doesn’t know how moved I was when he first smiled at me.
He smiled for me often after that. He still smiles often now.

‘From now on, he won’t smile for me anymore….’

Thinking that made my mouth taste bitter. In that moment, his long eyelashes fluttered.
Soon I met his brilliantly gleaming golden eyes.
Eyes I could never have seen in Yerim, the ordinary fairy she was in Cheongyeokgyeong.
I felt as though I was being drawn into those radiant golden eyes.

“Ah. Jiho, did you sleep well?”

The corners of his eyes crinkled softly, and his gentle voice pierced my ears. I nodded blankly.

“Yeah….”
“That’s good. I already told the teachers about your afternoon classes, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Yeah….”
“Then let’s go, Jiho. I’ll take you home.”
“Yeah… yeah? Where to?”
“Home, of course.”
“You’re going to take me all the way to my house?”
“Why? Is that a problem? I was worried after what happened this morning….”
“Um….”

I rolled my eyes around.
It was sudden. I couldn’t decide whether it was okay to reveal that house to Cheonhaerang.

‘…Maybe I should let Yerim see it instead?’

That way, I wouldn’t be the one telling him, and the arrows of resentment might be directed at Yerim instead of me.
I calculated Yerim’s work hours and the time it took to get from school to my house in my head, when a sudden thought occurred to me.

‘Will Yerim even be able to recognize the princess?’

I only remembered her face from childhood and photographs, and since the princess now appeared as a man, I hadn’t recognized her at first glance.

‘What if Yerim doesn’t recognize her?’

My worries multiplied.
My desire to inform her of the princess’s whereabouts and return to the Heavenly Realm as soon as possible clashed with my reluctance to speak of finding the princess myself.
As a Servant of the Patriarch, it was right to report it.
But now we weren’t friends anymore….

“Jiho?”

My heart felt as though it were being squeezed. I forced myself to open my mouth.

“…Yes, then. Let’s go together.”

At my response, Cheonhaerang broke into a radiant smile. Watching his smile, I swallowed down something that had risen in my throat.

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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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