Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 11

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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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Episode 11
“It was the Queen’s birthday celebration two years ago. The Crown Prince—just a little thing then—went to East Mountain to pick flowers for his mother with his own hands. He was human when he left, but when he came back, he’d become a shadow creature.”
“You didn’t witness the moment of transformation?”
“No, I missed that part. Anyway, the boy didn’t even realize what he’d become. He was approaching the Queen to give her the bouquet when all the lights in the banquet hall went out at once. After that… it was horrific.”
“….”
Everyone must have been paralyzed with terror and lost their minds. Many surely died. Those with unwavering resolve or the supernatural creatures with extraordinary power might have endured long enough to merely go mad, but most wouldn’t have survived the ordeal.
“Do you remember who died and who went mad that day?”
Seok-ran scratched her ear with her front paw before continuing.
“I don’t know. Shadow creatures terrify me too. The moment the lights went out, I bolted and didn’t see much of anything.”
“I see.”
“But one thing’s certain—the Queen lost consciousness and collapsed that day. The King also lost his mind.”
“…So neither of them died, at least.”
That made sense. Since the King and Queen survived, the Crown Prince remained the Crown Prince.
“Anyway, the Crown Prince was originally expected to become a sage ruler because he was such a prodigy, but everything changed that day. They even altered his title.”
“They changed his title?”
“The boy was originally called the Great Prince Hyo-eon, not the Great Prince of Black Noon. They said he’d become a king who would illuminate the realm, but it all ended in a single day. I felt rather sorry for him.”
Changing a prince’s title was extraordinarily rare, suggesting the incident had caused immense damage.
Seok-ran proceeded to share more details. The incident came to be called the Black Noon, and it became forbidden to speak of in the Royal Palace. The Crown Prince’s new title, Great Prince of Black Noon, was derived from the name of that very event.
After the Black Noon, the King—who had governed with benevolence—transformed into a ruthless tyrant and came to despise the Crown Prince, whom he had once loved dearly.
While it was certain that the Crown Prince was the cause of the Black Noon, whether he had orchestrated it deliberately or whether it was an accident brought about by a curse remained unresolved, so he wasn’t executed.
Initially, public sentiment had been sympathetic toward the Crown Prince, but as time passed, increasingly sinister rumors about him spread. The Queen remained in a comatose state, and the court officials were attempting to depose the Crown Prince and make Wan-eon the new Crown Prince.
“Who is Wan-eon? Didn’t you say the King has no other children besides the Crown Prince?”
“Technically, he’s the King’s nephew, but his background is rather complicated.”
After hearing the entire account of Wan-eon, I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘The Crown Prince… his name was Cheon Gyeol-u, wasn’t it? His situation is just as tangled as Se-ru-hwa’s, truly.’
Since I’d decided to live as the Crown Princess for the time being, it seemed I’d need to straighten out the Crown Prince’s complicated life to make my own existence more bearable.
‘There’s so much to do.’
Even as I thought about how busy things would become, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction. When I lived in Sang Ra Palace, I had nothing to do. In the first place, my wretched body left me with nothing but treatment and rest. Too frail to even play properly, reading books or watching my parents work had been my greatest pleasures.
‘But here, I can actually do something myself.’
In the Heavenly Realm, I was always the child being cared for, but here, I am the adult.
‘I’m 209 years old and a deity! I should be the one looking after young, fragile humans like the Crown Prince.’
I resolved to take action willingly.
“Seok-ran, wait—what is your name anyway?”
“Yelp! The Heavenly Realm’s princess is asking even a shadow creature for her name—what an honor!”
“Never mind the honor. So what’s your name?”
“It’s Seok-ran. I have no family name.”
“Good, Seok-ran. I need you to investigate a few things for me. You’re familiar with the Royal Palace, so you should be able to do this well, right?”
“Of course! What would you like to know?”
“First, find out who suffered what damage during that ‘Black Noon’ two years ago. Then investigate whether there have been any shadow creature victims since that day.”
“Hmm… I’ll try my best.”
“And find out who wants to keep the Crown Prince alive.”
“Huh? You want me to find out who’s on the Crown Prince’s side?”
“Yes.”
Among them, there must be someone who killed Se-ru-hwa.
Those who wanted to execute the Crown Prince hoped he would kill Se-ru-hwa in the Bridal Chamber after the wedding ceremony. So there was no reason to strike at Se-ru-hwa the night before the ceremony.
The Empire itself wouldn’t bother to kill the imperial princess they went through the trouble of sending to Yun Kingdom before the wedding ceremony even took place, simply because they found her inconvenient to dispose of. If the Crown Prince killed Se-ru-hwa, the culprit would be obvious and the matter would end cleanly. But if she were struck down, wouldn’t things become complicated?
‘So those who would go to such lengths to kill Se-ru-hwa before the wedding ceremony would be….’
Someone who wants to nullify the wedding itself. Someone who wants to prevent the Crown Prince’s execution.
‘The most likely possibility would be someone trying to save the Crown Prince.’
No matter how much people call the Crown Prince a ghost or how his father has given up on him, there must be some faction supporting him, right?
‘The culprit is among the Crown Prince’s people.’
Before meeting the Crown Prince, I had planned to simply throw them into the Eight Great Hells, but if they were desperately trying to save the Crown Prince in any way possible, someone with genuine care for him….
I’m a bit conflicted. I need to straighten out the Crown Prince’s life too. Even if the murderer of Se-ru-hwa, they might be the Crown Prince’s only support base.
‘…Right, I’ll decide how to handle the culprit after I find them. I have the Heavenly Eye after all.’
It could turn out they’re not from the Crown Prince’s faction at all, but from a completely different force.
I just need to know the candidates. The rest will be resolved once I look into it myself with the Heavenly Eye.
‘Nothing can hide before the Heavenly Eye.’
The Jade Emperor, my mother, who distinguishes merit from fault and dispenses rewards and punishments, sees through the life history of all who meet her gaze. The Yama King, my father, who governs karma extending into the next life and presides over death, sees through the karma of all who meet his gaze.
So my eyes, which inherited the full power of both parents, could see both the life lived and the karma of the afterlife of anyone I faced. When I concentrated and looked at someone, I could see everything—their lifespan, the merits and faults they accumulated, and the karma that would influence their next life.
‘People who receive my gaze feel as though they’re being judged.’
That’s why the maid I looked at while preparing for the wedding ceremony burst into tears. She said that when subjected to the Heavenly Eye, it felt like waiting for judgment while stripped bare from head to toe.
‘Once I find out who the culprit is, I’ll examine them with the Heavenly Eye and decide what to do.’
I explained my purpose to Seok-ran and entrusted her with the investigation.
“Ack, understood. I’ll investigate everything.”
“How long will it take?”
“Just give me two months.”
“That’s too long. Finish it within a week.”
“Screech! That’s impossible! Even if I’m a thousand-year-old fox, how am I supposed to find all that out in just a week by myself!”
“If you can’t do it alone, recruit trustworthy associates. Of course, if word of my business leaks out, I’ll exterminate you immediately.”
An-si, who had been sitting quietly beside me, shook her fist menacingly.
“Should such a thing occur, this An-si shall personally slay that fox.”
“Eek….”
Seok-ran broke into a cold sweat, rolled her eyes, and suddenly raised her front paws.
“I’ll use my younger sibling! My younger sibling’s mouth is tight!”
“Really? Then a week works?”
“Screech, no matter what, a week is impossible! Give me a month!”
“Ten days.”
“…It’s really impossible. Even without a single day of rest, it’ll take at least three weeks.”
“This is a crossroads between being exterminated or not, and you wanted to rest? Are you sleepy in a situation like this?”
“Eek, screech, if I work without sleeping I’ll really die! Please have mercy! Two weeks! Just give me two weeks!”
“Fine, I’ll give you two weeks. That’s quite generous of me.”
“…Thank you, squeak….”
“Then start immediately. We don’t have time to waste.”
Seok-ran sniffled and departed.
“The young princess doesn’t sound like a child…. So scary….”
I suppressed a smile, inwardly relieved by her reaction.
‘I was just imitating what Mother used to do… and it actually works? She said I don’t sound like a child!’
When Mother assigned work, she’d taught me that if a minister proposed a deadline, I should counter with an absurdly unrealistic one. That way, I could discern the truly feasible deadline rather than an inflated estimate. The ministers, she’d said with a gentle smile, needed to be squeezed to their limits in their duties—only then would the people prosper….
‘Mother smiled like that and the ministers couldn’t move a muscle. I wonder if I looked similar to that fox just now?’
I fought back the urge to let my lips curl upward in satisfaction. An adult shouldn’t get swept up in such trivial victories.
‘Anyway, that matter is settled for now. Next is…’
The fact that I’d survived would become a significant headache for those who’d intended to eliminate both the Crown Prince and me together.
‘But either way, they can’t act openly.’
This marriage was, on the surface, merely a standard diplomatic union between kingdoms. The Crown Prince and I were merely nine and eleven years old, after all.
‘They’ll probably wait and observe for now until they find another pretext. They might scheme behind the scenes, but assassination attempts pose little problem for me.’
In the meantime, I needed to stabilize the Crown Prince’s and my position.
‘I’m called the Crown Princess in name, but in reality, I receive no treatment befitting that title.’
The Crown Princess’s influence was heavily dependent on the Crown Prince’s standing. And the fastest means to restore his position now was….
‘Didn’t they say the Queen had fallen into a coma because of the Crown Prince?’
A coma meant her spirit was wandering the River of Three Paths. Returning from there was no simple matter. Coincidentally, however, it was something I’d done countless times before.
‘All right, let me save the Crown Prince’s mother first.’
And while I’m at it, I’ll save Se-ru-hwa’s mother too.
By the time I’d finished planning, morning had fully arrived. The Crown Prince was still asleep in the Bridal Chamber.
‘He must have been exhausted. Understandably so.’
An eleven-year-old child standing at the crossroads between life and death would be.
After letting him sleep, I bathed and changed clothes with An-si’s assistance, and the area outside my door grew suddenly chaotic.
The main gate burst open without warning. Attendants carrying straw mats filed in, followed by servants with water buckets and cleaning rags.
‘How amusing.’
Look at those aprons. They’d come dressed as if to say, “We’re here to dispose of the corpse,” plain as day.
The group that rushed in froze in shock upon seeing me standing on the veranda, as if they’d glimpsed a ghost.
“Oh my goodness!”
“Heavens!”
Among those who gasped and collapsed in fright, only one servant showed relief. Looking more closely, her face seemed familiar.
‘Isn’t that the one from yesterday?’
When I looked with my celestial sight, it was the servant who’d fled after crying—was her name Ja-myeong?
I studied that servant carefully before speaking.
“You’ve come to help prepare for my morning greeting to my parents, haven’t you?”
The morning after a wedding, it was customary to pay respects to one’s parents. In a normal marriage, these servants would indeed be here to assist with those preparations.
Pointing out that this marriage was nothing but a web of conspiracy would serve me poorly.
‘It’s far better to emphasize that this is a proper diplomatic union.’
If I’m perceived as anything other than a normal Crown Princess, I’m the only one who loses.
The people who had startled at my question offered no response. I asked again.
“You all came to help me prepare for my reception, didn’t you?”
You actually came to dispose of that corpse, so why are you still alive? —they’d find it difficult to say such a thing. Surely you humans wouldn’t reject such a convenient excuse being handed to you on a silver platter?

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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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