Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 79

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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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79.

The small white bird that flew into the portico looked bewildered upon seeing Cheonhaerang. Cheonhaerang felt equally confused.

“What are you?”

Cheonhaerang extended his palm toward the bird and asked. The bird, glancing back and forth between his palm and him, soon perched on his hand.
Then, as if having made a decision, the bird nodded once and tapped the empty air.
At that moment, someone’s face materialized in the void.

“Huh?”

The face was extremely familiar to Cheonhaerang.

“Jade Emperor?”
[Cheonhaerang? What are you doing there?]
“Well, it’s my home, isn’t it?”

Cheonhaerang answered as if it were obvious. Hand Ogeong let out an exasperated breath at his response.
My home? Since when did that place become our home?
Hand Ogeong knew from the start that Cheonhaerang had no home of his own.
Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered right now.

[What about the princess?]
“She’s sleeping right now. She’s been quite exhausted lately.”
[Why?]

His voice carried confusion. From that tone, Cheonhaerang realized his sister hadn’t told Hand Ogeong much.
Especially not about what happened with the Evil Spirit’s manifestation.
Cheonhaerang hesitated for a moment. Since his sister hadn’t mentioned it, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to bring it up first.
He decided to deflect instead.

“Well, you know how things are. She’s been going to school every night. I’m worried the manifestation might move again.”
[I see….]

Hand Ogeong answered quietly, his expression thoughtful.
After a moment, as if his contemplation had concluded, Hand Ogeong spoke.

[Then tell the princess when she wakes up.]

With those words, Hand Ogeong’s face that had been shimmering in the empty air vanished. In Cheonhaerang’s palm remained only a small white bird.
Whether it was the Jade Emperor’s preference or his sister’s, I couldn’t tell. But the bird was so adorable I wanted to bite it.
So I just needed to stay with this bird until my sister woke up?
Cheonhaerang carefully stroked the bird’s head. The bird nuzzled affectionately against his finger.
Its feathers were incredibly soft, and the bird was absolutely precious. Cheonhaerang was instantly captivated by it.

“So, will you play with me until my sister wakes up?”

* * *

Cheonhaerang gazed contentedly at the white bird pecking at grains of rice on the dining table.
The bird that had been fluttering about restlessly before was now eating the food he provided with docile composure.

“What?”

At the sound of her voice, Cheonhaerang tore his gaze from the bird and looked at Jiho.
Jiho stared back and forth between Cheonhaerang and the bird with a bewildered expression. Cheonhaerang grinned widely and gestured toward her.
Following his gesture, Jiho sat across from him. Then she looked at the bird.
The white bird pecking at rice grains was incredibly white and incredibly small.
Sensing the gaze of a stranger, the bird lifted its head. Then it looked at her.
When their eyes met, the bird tilted its head. In that instant, Jiho’s heart ached with such intensity it was almost painful.
She had never seen such an adorable creature before.
The bird soon refocused on eating the rice grains.
Jiho barely restrained her hand from reaching out toward the bird. The urge was overwhelmingly strong.
She wanted to pet it.

“It’s cute, right?”

At Cheonhaerang’s question, Jiho could only agree emphatically.

“Yeah. Completely. Really cute.”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the White Bird.
Cheonhaerang’s gaze was now entirely fixed on me. The White Bird was cute in his eyes, but I was cuter.
However, I was too distracted by the White Bird to notice this.

“Where did this White Bird come from?”
“It’s a messenger from the Jade Emperor.”
“…A messenger from the Jade Emperor?”

Something this cute? The question implied disbelief.
Is this the Jade Emperor’s taste? I recalled the Jade Emperor.
Objectively speaking, the Jade Emperor was handsome. His refined features and the cute White Bird made a beautiful picture together.
But was the Jade Emperor’s taste really for cute things…?
I wasn’t sure. To be honest, it suited Cheonhaerang better than the Jade Emperor.
I lifted my gaze. My eyes met Cheonhaerang’s, who was resting his chin on his hand.
At some point, his eyes had been directed toward me.
My heart trembled for a moment. I now understood that this was what excitement felt like.
I thought I had grown accustomed to it, but this sudden trembling still caught me off guard.
I quickly lowered my eyes. Still feeling his gaze upon me, I spoke to Cheonhaerang.

“Is something the matter?”
“I don’t know the details, but it seems she has something to report to you. She asked me to tell you when you wake up. So I’ve been keeping it entertained until then.”
“When did the princess arrive?”
“About an hour ago? She also said we’d skip training today. Now we can just play among ourselves.”

So Cheonhaerang and I played without a care in the world.
Until Yeonhwa woke up in the afternoon, accompanied by the sound of rain.

Yeonhwa, who had fallen into an unconscious sleep, blinked her drowsy eyes and checked the time.
Time had already slipped into the afternoon.
Perhaps because she hadn’t stirred and had slept deeply, her mind felt clear and the fatigue that had weighed on her body seemed to have vanished.
Yeonhwa stretched and got out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom in her room.
After awakening her relaxed body with cold water and washing thoroughly, Yeonhwa changed into fresh clothes and left her room.
Rain was still pattering against the window.

“Oh, did you sleep well?”
“Did you rest well?”

Cheonhaerang and I greeted her from the dining table. Yeonhwa smiled and spoke.

“Yes. Were you having fun?”

As Yeonhwa approached them, she noticed something in Jiho’s hands on the dining table.
Jiho was stroking it. The small white bird looked familiar.
It was a messenger sent by Hand Ogeong.
The bird’s round black eyes met Yeonhwa’s gaze. In an instant, it fluttered its wings and flew toward her with a chirping sound.
Yeonhwa instinctively reached out both hands. The bird settled safely on her palm and nuzzled its face against her hand affectionately.
Yeonhwa’s lips curved into a smile without her noticing that Cheonhaerang and Jiho were watching her. She stroked the bird gently.
Watching Yeonhwa like this, Cheonhaerang and Jiho exchanged a knowing glance. It was now certain whose preference the bird represented.
It was Yeonhwa’s preference.

“By the way, when did it arrive?”
“This morning. Right after you went in.”
“Then you should have woken me. Why didn’t you?”
“The Jade Emperor asked me to tell you when you woke up.”
“….”

Yeonhwa closed her mouth. Her heart tickled strangely.
But she deliberately ignored that feeling and tapped the bird’s head lightly.

“Then could you call Hand Ogeong for me?”

The bird flew up with a chirp and tapped the empty air. Then a face appeared large in the void.
It was Hand Ogeong’s face, looking as though he had been waiting all along.
Hand Ogeong opened his mouth to speak to Yeonhwa but closed it immediately. He had noticed the people behind her.
Hand Ogeong looked at Yeonhwa again. Reading the meaning in his eyes, Yeonhwa nodded.

“You can speak. We’ve decided to tell everything from now on without hiding anything.”
[…Does that include the fact that I’m here?]
“Yes.”

He knew they would eventually find out, but it was sooner than expected.
Still, there must be her reasons for this. After organizing his thoughts, Hand Ogeong opened his mouth.

[Then I’ll report to you. Eul of the Heavenly Realm has been killing other members of the Heavenly Realm.]
“….”

With Hand Ogeong’s words, a chill settled over the room.
Tap, tap. Only the sound of rain drumming against the window echoed quietly through the silence.
Cheonhaerang and Jiho couldn’t comprehend Hand Ogeong’s meaning, but Yeonhwa grasped it immediately upon hearing those words.
She sensed that Hand Ogeong harbored the same conclusion as she did.
It was Cheonhaerang who broke the silence first.

“Why? Why would Eul kill another member of the Heavenly Realm?”

Hand Ogeong’s gaze, which had been fixed on Yeonhwa, shifted toward Cheonhaerang.
Hand Ogeong spoke matter-of-factly.

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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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