Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 109

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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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Chapter 109
“Worried? You’re worried about me?”
You sent me away to die, and now you come with this? You weren’t worried at all about marrying off a nine-year-old girl? This is ridiculous.
I barely swallowed those bitter words.
My incredulous feelings must have leaked through in my counter-question, yet the Imperial Envoy didn’t seem particularly surprised.
“Please do not misunderstand. The late Emperor sent the Princess to this kingdom of his own will. The current Emperor holds different views. He opposed this marriage from the very beginning. The late Emperor was simply too stubborn for him to refuse. Though he did not show it openly, he truly lamented the situation.”
His words flowed like a well-rehearsed speech. The way he offered reasons difficult to refute suggested he’d prepared everything in advance.
‘So he wants to blame everything on the dead late Emperor, and claim the current Emperor bears no responsibility since he opposed it from the start.’
I found it deeply unsatisfying. He wants to inherit the Emperor’s power intact but shirk the resentment the Emperor created? How grandiose—wanting to extract only the sweet marrow while discarding the bone.
Those who ascend to high positions should bear corresponding responsibility.
‘If he truly wanted to appease the resentment, he should first show an attitude of apologizing and compensating, whether justified or not.’
Any ruler must be capable of taking responsibility, even for mistakes not their own. They were given power precisely to shoulder responsibility and resolve such matters. That is the duty of those in high station.
Just like the Crown Prince when he faced the Right Prime Minister.
“Even if it wasn’t intentional, irreversible things happened because of me. I don’t wish to flee from that responsibility.”
I couldn’t help but compare them.
My expression must have twisted involuntarily, for the toad-like man attempted a sympathetic look.
“…The Emperor cherished the Princess greatly during his time as Crown Prince, but it seems he doesn’t remember due to her young age at the time.”
“Right, I don’t remember anything at all.”
Even when I heard Seok-juk mention it before, I’d already considered this—in Se-ru-hwa’s brief life as seen through karma, my only memory of the Crown Prince of Pyeong was watching him collapse while reading a eulogy at a memorial service.
‘And that was only watching from a corner, one-sidedly. We never even exchanged words or made eye contact.’
There was an insurmountable wall between the Crown Prince, the legitimate eldest son born of the Empress, and the unwanted eleventh princess born of a concubine from an ethnic minority—little better than a hostage. So what? He cherished me greatly?
‘Se-ru-hwa barely managed to eat properly in the Imperial Palace!’
As I listened, anger began to rise.
I fixed my gaze on the Ping Envoy and tilted my head.
“Since I truly remember nothing at all, could you tell me specifically how the Crown Prince—or rather, the current Emperor—cherished me?”
“That is….”
The Envoy began to sweat. He hadn’t anticipated me questioning him so directly.
Perhaps he thought the ‘Se-ru-hwa’ known in Pyeong—a girl who’d never received proper education and spoke haltingly—could be coaxed into compliance with vague platitudes.
When I glared at him with narrowed eyes, the Envoy wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and forced a smile.
“…How could a mere servant like myself know of the deep affection shared between the two of you within the palace walls? What is certain is that the Emperor truly cherishes you, Your Highness.”
The Envoy quickly commanded the officials behind him.
“You there! Present the gifts to the Princess at once!”
“Yes, sir.”
While An-si and Kim Sang-gung watched with sharp eyes, all manner of gold and jewels were spread before me.
The toad-like man spoke with pride.
“Behold these gifts. They are more precious and fine than those presented to the King of Yun. The Emperor, yearning for his distant sister in a foreign land, personally selected these gifts with care.”
I could pull out far more magnificent treasures from just one display case in the Sang Ra Palace Treasure Vault. Yet seeing Kim Sang-gung’s eyes widen beside me suggested these were quite lavish by human standards.
I gazed down at the glittering objects without particular interest and pondered.
‘What is he scheming with all this groundwork?’
The Pyeong Empire had sought to eliminate ‘Se-ru-hwa’ because they had brutally subjugated the Xuezu. It was inevitable that a princess who grew up and came to understand her origins would harbor resentment.
‘She probably didn’t like that Se-ru-hwa was half-Xuezu either. She’d be uneasy about special abilities manifesting.’
But this wasn’t a situation that would flip like a palm just because the Emperor changed.
‘Se-ru-hwa’s origins are an unchangeable fact. Unless the Pyeong Empire apologizes for conquering the Xuezu and offers reparations while completely changing perceptions of them.’
Through frequent contact with Seol Deung-hwa and Seok-juk, who were busy rescuing Xuezu survivors, I knew well enough. There was no sign whatsoever that the Empire’s treatment of the Xuezu would change. So Pyeong would still want to kill Se-ru-hwa and be done with it.
‘What on earth is this scheme? Could it be related to Doo-eok-sini? At least there’s no demon disguised as a human in the envoy delegation…’
Let me hear what their intention is first.
I gazed at the brilliantly stacked gifts, then deliberately softened my voice.
“…I don’t know how things were before, but it does seem certain that Your Majesty thinks of me now.”
“Indeed!”
The Imperial Envoy immediately took the bait I’d casually cast.
“His Imperial Majesty truly cherishes and loves the Imperial Princess. He sent us as envoys right after ascending the throne and completing the empress’s investiture.”
“Hmm…”
“So… he plans to hold a grand funeral for the Honored Concubine Seol.”
The toad added this with an expression of deliberate sympathy.
“You’ve already heard, haven’t you? That the Imperial Princess’s mother passed away together with the late Emperor.”
“…”
I pressed my lips firmly shut.
The Pyeong Envoy Delegation arrived at Unryong Palace on the 17th of November, four days ago. They rested according to protocol, had an audience with the King, and finally came to meet me.
The false news of Seol Deung-hwa’s death had already been conveyed to me through the King.
‘Because of that news, people around me have been watching my expression and being careful lately.’
Everyone assumed I would be terribly sad about suddenly losing my mother.
‘…But it’s not true, and I’m sorry about that.’
It would seem strange if I went about normally in the midst of this, so I’ve been staying locked in my room as much as possible.
‘We decided to make it look like Seol Deung-hwa saw the Emperor suffer a heart attack and chose to end her life.’
In reality, Seol Deung-hwa poisoned the Emperor and faked her death, but we deliberately made it appear accidental. If Seol Deung-hwa became a criminal who assassinated the Emperor, Se-ru-hwa’s position would be endangered.
‘Whether it was an accident or not, the Emperor died, and since she couldn’t prevent it from beside him, I assumed they wouldn’t give Seol Deung-hwa a proper funeral, and indeed they just said they threw the body out into the fields.’
But now they’re saying they’ll hold a grand funeral belatedly? When Seol Deung-hwa has escaped and there’s no body left?
I concealed my suspicion and put on a melancholy expression, and the Pyeong Envoy continued.
“So His Majesty wishes for the Imperial Princess to attend the Honored Concubine Seol’s funeral in person.”
“…!”
“His Majesty greatly misses and worries about you. So please return to Pyeong, observe the mourning period, and show your departed mother and brother, the Emperor, that you are doing well.”
I struggled to keep my lips from twisting.
Ah, so this was the purpose. To summon me to the Pyeong Imperial Palace. All that nonsense about how the Crown Prince cherished me and such was for this proposal.
‘If they just asked me to attend the funeral, I would naturally refuse.’
They sent me to die, and I survived without dying. Now they’re telling me to come back. No matter how young a child is, they wouldn’t go back willingly in such circumstances. And they can’t forcibly drag back the Crown Princess of a nation.
Knowing this themselves, the current Emperor spoke of how he was different from the late Emperor and such, bringing gifts wrapped up in bundles.
As I remained silent for a long time, Kim Sang-gung fidgeted and watched me carefully. The toad was also sneaking glances at my expression.
Only Black Phoenix sat with her head bowed, seemingly lost in thought.
‘That chick looks like she’s dozing off.’
Well, this talk of humans would be utterly boring to Black Phoenix. She doesn’t know about the relationship between Doo-eok-sini and Pyeong, or that my purpose is to defeat Doo-eok-sini and raise my status.
I turned my gaze away from An-si and looked back at the toad.
“His Majesty the Emperor said he cherishes me, didn’t he?”
“Yes, so….”
“Then tell him to send my mother’s body here.”
“Your Highness?”
“If he truly cherishes me that much, he should allow me to conduct my mother’s funeral myself.”
“That, that is… His Majesty would conduct it more grandly, in a formal manner….”
“This is the first request your beloved younger sister is making of her older brother. Not anything else, but a request regarding my mother’s funeral. If His Majesty truly treasures me, surely he’ll grant me this much, won’t he?”
“Ha-na….”
“If you won’t even grant me this request, then I can’t believe His Majesty’s words that he cherishes me. I honestly don’t remember a single moment spent with my older brother.”
“….”
The toad fell silent, his mouth closing as he sank into thought. I continued speaking calmly.
“You’ve already seen that I’m doing well, haven’t you? Report what you saw. Oh, and I’ll write a letter for His Majesty too, so bring that to him.”
“A letter, Your Highness? His Majesty wishes to see you in person….”
“If someone wants to see me, they should come themselves. Why should I be summoned? I have no desire to see him whatsoever.”
“…Your Highness?”
Oops, I let my irritation slip and spoke too bluntly.
I cleared my throat and continued.
“Since he misses me so much, I’ll even include a portrait of myself with the letter. Will that do?”
“….”
This time, the man seemed utterly flabbergasted, rendered speechless.
What could he do about it? Before I was a Crown Princess, I was the Princess of the Pyeong Empire. Would he really start a war over an imperial princess who married into another kingdom being a bit insolent?
‘At worst, he’d attempt an assassination. But that’s something I’d face anyway, given my Xuezu heritage.’
Come to think of it, this situation was rather interesting—a member of the imperial family with a grudge against the court had become the Crown Princess of an allied nation and was now solidifying her position.
And once these envoys report back, they’ll learn that I’ve become a shaman helping the Gwae-ryeok-nan-sin of the Yun Kingdom. Won’t they grow anxious, wondering if my Xuezu special abilities have awakened?
‘Wow, they must really want to kill me. Is that why they’re trying to summon 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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