Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 14

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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 14
I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw the palanquin bearer who had died without even closing his eyes.
“I should at least offer prayers for their souls.”
“Your Highness, but you didn’t kill these people. Is there truly a need for that?”
“They died because of me.”
As the Princess of the Underworld, if I offer prayers for their souls, it will work in my favor when they face judgment in the Afterlife. I’ll accumulate some karma for it, but these humans who died caught up in my affairs deserve at least this much blessing.
“Your Highness, these people didn’t die because of you—they died because of those assassins!”
“Logically speaking, that’s true, but emotionally it doesn’t feel that way. If I don’t compensate them somehow, they’ll feel even more wronged, won’t they?”
“…Your Highness is excessively merciful.”
“Of course I should be merciful. I’m a deity standing at a height incomparably above these fragile humans. The greater the god, the more carefully they must observe those below them.”
“In any case, let me treat your wounds first.”
An-si shook her head and pulled me close, singing softly. A phoenix’s song has the effect of calming the mind, purifying corruption, and aiding the body’s healing.
The bleeding wounds gradually closed. An-si examined the scars that had vanished without a trace and exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Outwardly you are fully healed, but to be safe, I shall treat you once more with phoenix song tomorrow.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I offered prayers for the dead palanquin bearers in the name of Princess Cheonmyeong, then approached the assassins’ corpses.
‘Now, let’s find out who sent these people.’
It had only been a few hours since word spread that I had survived the night. How did someone respond so quickly? Was there some reason they had to kill me as soon as possible?
I approached the assassin’s body and performed a soul summoning. Normally, Underworld Messengers use red decree papers to raise spirits, but as a princess of the Afterlife like myself, I could do it bare-handed.
‘Even if I’m a half-baked deity who can’t properly wield divine power, the authority of my title is not half-baked.’
The assassin’s name was written clearly on the life thread fluttering where it had been severed.
“Kim Mak-jo, Kim Mak-jo, Kim Mak-jo.”
Three soft calls of his name.
“By the command of Princess Cheonmyeong Sang Ra-hee-yo, arise.”
A translucent spirit rose from the corpse. The dead man looked down at his own body in confusion, then gasped in terror when his eyes met mine.
“Ahhhhh!”
There was no reason to explain the situation to an assassin. I ignored the startled man and pulled out the Eight Trigrams Bells, summoning my karma ledger through the bell connected to the treasure vault.
“W-what are you trying to do!”
“An-si, hold that one down for me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
An-si leaped forward with surprising speed and slammed the assassin’s spirit to the ground.
“I-I’m dead, how is this… how can…ugh.”
“Quiet.”
With her small hands, An-si strangled the much larger assassin’s throat, forcing his mouth shut.
“Gack… guh…”
The suffocating assassin—or rather, the assassin’s ghost—rolled his eyes and foamed at the mouth. Since he was a spirit, it didn’t really matter, but it looked rather like torture.
‘An-si is certainly rough for a phoenix.’
She had been an ordinary phoenix who disliked killing at first. An-si became like this purely because of me. Becoming my phoenix meant she experienced quite a few traumatic incidents protecting me.
‘An-si is sensitive about situations like this.’
So even though she seemed violent, I didn’t stop her. She needed to vent her anger this way.
Using Karma Mirror to examine the assassin who had been subdued, I could quickly discern who had given them orders. Karma Mirror works by rewinding through the memories of the dead from just before death, so the answer practically leaped out at me.
‘That uniform… an Eunuch? He couldn’t have orchestrated this alone. There must be someone pulling strings behind even that Eunuch.’
I committed the face of the Eunuch who had commanded the assassin to memory and withdrew the Karma Mirror.
“An-si, that’s enough.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
An-si released her grip from the assassin’s throat.
“Cough, cough, damn it…”
“You…”
I was about to speak to the gasping ghost when a sudden, piercing chill washed over me.
‘An Underworld Messenger? Why are they arriving so quickly?’
I snapped my mouth shut in alarm and retreated toward the Bamboo Grove.
“Your Highness?”
“Come here, Underworld Messenger! We need to hide!”
“Pardon? So hastily? But why must we hide, Your Highness?”
“Because they’ll discover my escape! Hurry!”
“Yes…”
An-si approached reluctantly, dragging her feet.
This blasted coward—was she actually hoping my escape would be exposed and I’d be dragged back to the Palace?
“Why aren’t you coming faster?”
I glared at her, and the moment An-si reluctantly concealed herself in the Bamboo Grove, a swarm of Underworld Messengers tore through the air and materialized.
“Ugh, seriously, because of that bastard we don’t even get a moment’s rest.”
“What can we do? He didn’t cause some ordinary incident. For a while, we’ll have to watch ourselves and work overtime on top of everything else.”
“That wretch actually dared to grab the Princess without recognizing her? Tch, even eight thousand years rolling through the Eight Great Hells wouldn’t be enough punishment for him.”
“Actually, considering the magnitude of the incident he caused, we’re lucky it ended like this.”
“That’s true. When I first heard about it, I was prepared for the entire Northeast Division to be boiled in the Immortal-Exclusive Hot Spring Hell for years.”
“We should be grateful it’s only this much, so we’ll just have to keep our heads down for a while. Let’s get to work quickly.”
The Underworld Messengers, who had been chattering among themselves, dispersed to their respective corpses.
Come to think of it, that sounds like the story of the Underworld Messenger who got caught trying to hit Se-ru-hwa.
‘Because they’re being punished, they seem to be working harder than usual out of caution.’
The dead only need to be collected within three days of death. So I’d wondered why the usually sluggish Underworld Messengers had arrived so unusually quickly.
The scattered Underworld Messengers produced their summons tablets and called forth the ghosts from their assigned corpses.
“Huh, what? Why is this one already awake?”
An Underworld Messenger who discovered their assigned spirit was already conscious looked flustered and questioned the ghost.
“Kim Mak-jo, what’s going on? Who summoned you?”
That fool better not say anything unnecessary!
‘He wouldn’t have heard the summoning incantation, so he won’t know my identity anyway…’
Just please, let this pass without incident. Please.
As I watched anxiously, the assassin who had still been holding his throat gasped and opened his mouth.
“W-when I came to my senses, there was a target—no, a child in front of me, and I believe that child must have summoned me!”
“A child? How on earth?”
An Underworld Messenger tending to another deceased soul nearby interjected.
“Seems like that one must have been a shaman who knew how to perform an initial soul-calling ritual, or some kind of supernatural being.”
“But there’s no trace of a ritual having been performed. Something feels off….”
“Hey, we’re swamped here—what are you doing interrogating them? Just take them. We’ll sort it out later.”
“Fair point.”
The Underworld Messengers materialized in a rush, swept up the deceased souls, and vanished just as suddenly.
Once they had completely disappeared, I exhaled in relief.
“I thought we were done for….”
An-si shot back with a pout. “It would have been better to be discovered and sent home than to suffer like this.”
I looked up at An-si in surprise.
“Suffer? Does it look like I’m suffering right now?”
“You’re being treated disrespectfully in this squalid place, entrusting tasks to fox demons instead of immortals, and some king or other dares to summon and dismiss the Princess! You’ve even been attacked by assassins and wounded! Of course you’re suffering!”
An-si had apparently been holding back a lot, and the complaints came pouring out. I listened quietly, then replied.
“But I haven’t taken any medicine.”
“…What?”
“I woke up today without taking any medicine at all. And I haven’t vomited once, haven’t collapsed, haven’t had a nosebleed.”
An-si stared down at me as though she’d been struck on the back of the head with a hammer.
I took a step forward.
“Look, An-si.”
Gathering up my voluminous skirts in my hands, I stepped into the Bamboo Grove. One step, then another. Gradually faster. I ran down the path with all my strength. The sound of wind brushing past my ears filled my senses.
I ran until my breath came in gasps, then stopped and turned to look back. An-si was staring at me as though witnessing something beyond her imagination. I shrugged my shoulders and broke into a radiant smile.
“See? I ran!”
“….”
“Normally I had to be careful just walking, but with this body, I can run!”
An-si’s mouth fell open in shock before she clamped it shut. I approached her, chattering excitedly.
“As I grow stronger, I’ll be able to run even better, won’t I? The fact that I’m only this winded and haven’t collapsed means I’ll be able to do so many other things later!”
My cheeks burned warm—and not just from the exertion. I cupped my face in both hands.
“Like horseback riding, archery, playing the flute… all those things I had to give up because I ran out of breath.”
“…!”
“You know, An-si? Yesterday I tasted food deliciously for the first time. I slept soundly without waking in the night, and when I woke up, nothing hurt.”
“…Your Highness….”
“My body feels so light, as though it might float away. I’ve never felt anything like this in my entire life.”
“Your Highness.”
An-si’s eyes reddened as she pressed her lips together. I shrugged.
“This is a healthy body. Living in such a body, whatever humans do doesn’t concern me. None of this feels like suffering to me at all.”
“Waahhh, Your Highness…!”
An-si burst into tears, making strange sobbing sounds as she suddenly wrapped her arms around me.
“Your Highness, this An-si, *sob*, as your phoenix, *wail*, didn’t understand Your Highness’s heart, *sob*, this foolish An-si deserves to *hiccup* die…!”
“Don’t cry, and don’t you dare die.”
I held An-si close and patted her back as I spoke.
“Anyway, that’s why I don’t want to go home now. I want to live as long as possible in this body. Will you help me?”
“Yes, yes, Your Highness…! An-si was foolish! I shall do my utmost to assist you, Your Highness, *sob*, *wail*…!”
I had quite the time calming An-si, who had launched into an all-out wailing fit.
* * *
The moment I arrived at the Guest House, I told the Soldier that I’d encountered assassins in the Bamboo Grove. The startled Soldier rushed off, and I immediately faced the Pyeong Empire Envoys.
The Imperial Envoy showed no sign of alarm—he’d already heard I hadn’t died. The head of the envoy delegation looked down at me as though observing something filthy and strange, then arrogantly stroked his beard as he spoke.
“The Crown Princess is now beyond the pale, so you cannot meet with Seol Deung-hwa.”
He’d heard the news that I hadn’t died, but apparently not that I’d received a royal edict from the King. Without a word, I withdrew the edict and held it out to him.
“…?”
The tip of the Imperial Envoy’s beard trembled as he read through the document in bewilderment.
Of course it would. A royal edict bearing the King’s seal so clearly couldn’t be ignored, even by an imperial envoy. Though the Pyeong Empire was larger than our kingdom, we were still an equal ally, not a vassal state.
The Imperial Envoy reluctantly stepped aside for me.
“Very well then. However, Crown Princess.”
“What?”
“Even if you are young, you cannot be entirely ignorant of the situation unfolding. Do not attempt anything futile. You must not follow Seol Deung-hwa’s suggestions.”
He was telling me not to run away with Seol Deung-hwa.
“I understand.”
I gave a brief reply and turned away, sticking my tongue out at him.
Right, I won’t run away. But I’m getting Seol Deung-hwa out of here!

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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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