Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 140
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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 140
Everything unfolded exactly as I’d anticipated, and the satisfaction was exquisite.
I lifted the corners of my mouth as I slowly raised the darkened wing-garment. Above it, I could see a transparent silhouette lifting a bow.
* * *
‘…This is, this is really high.’
Yun Ra-sa tried her best not to look down. She could have done a handstand on top of a tree, but now that those treetops were far beneath her feet as she ascended into the sky, she had to admit it was genuinely terrifying.
‘Standing on something like this is so unstable.’
Even a real wooden plank would have frightened her, but standing on cloth fashioned to resemble a plank—created from divine power—made her heart pound violently.
‘If she makes a mistake or my foot slips, I’ll just fall straight down and die.’
But she wasn’t the type to show such weakness, so she maintained an unbothered facade in front of the others.
She was terrified.
Yun Ra-sa gripped the bow tighter with trembling hands. Her training and experience allowed her body to move despite the fear that gripped her.
‘…Think about your time at Cheonsal Gate, Yun Ra-sa. This is nothing.’
A place where orphans were gathered and raised as assassins. A place where fewer than half the children survived to the end. A place where the child who shared rice balls with you yesterday became a corpse the next day.
Though Baekui-bang had eliminated it and it no longer existed, the memories from that place would never fade. As she recalled those days stained with blood, pain, and death, her trembling hands quickly steadied.
‘That’s right, this is… just a game.’
The girl’s eyes turned cold as she drew the composite bow. She nocked the arrow and drew the bowstring taut.
The instructor’s back with spread wings was right nearby. Unaware of Yun Ra-sa’s presence, he stared intently downward.
Yun Ra-sa, who habitually aimed for the head, hesitated for a moment.
‘He’s being way too careless. I can’t actually kill the instructor.’
The girl, who had already killed before, sensed it instinctively. Her target’s attention was completely focused elsewhere. If she released now, he would die or be severely injured.
‘Not the head, somewhere else.’
She subtly adjusted her aim. She considered shooting his thigh, but since it wasn’t a typical vital area of the human body, it seemed less lethal—so instead she aimed for the wings.
‘Those wings are probably made of divine power like Se-ru-hwa’s wing-garment, right? Then it should be fine even if I hit them? Besides, if he’s an instructor, getting hit by a student’s arrow shouldn’t be a problem, right?’
She took a short breath and released the bowstring. The sound of the release echoed as the arrow flew with a sharp whistle, piercing through the glowing white wings.
‘Suc…!’
Just as she was about to celebrate a direct hit, the arrow that had passed through the wings was suddenly caught in a white hand. He spun around and unleashed a spinning kick with tremendous force.
His reaction speed was extraordinary. Catching the flying arrow and turning to kick the archer who had shot it happened almost simultaneously.
The girl couldn’t react at all.
“Ugh!”
Yun Ra-sa took the full force of the kick to her ribs, and her vision went white from the impact that felt like her insides were rupturing. Unable to withstand the force, her light body was sent flying through the air. Whether from the shock or because her time had run out, her invisibility spell shattered as well.
“Ah, damn.”
Heo Gye-gyo’s fiercely widened eyes confirmed Yun Ra-sa’s form flying through the air, and he released his power.
‘I was way too careless.’
Heo Gye-gyo threw down the arrow he’d caught and quickly moved to intercept the falling Yun Ra-sa. The girl was already unconscious from that single blow.
‘Tch….’
When he flapped his wings, pain erupted from where the arrow had struck. He descended to the ground, carrying the unconscious Yun Ra-sa.
“Yun Ra-sa!”
“Y-y-Yun Ra-sa!”
As Heo Gye-gyo landed within the outpost, Se-ru-hwa and Je-gal Pyo, their faces drained of color, came rushing over. Yi Yeon-jo, too occupied holding back the Bean Soldiers to see anything, spun around without hesitation to ask.
“Ugh, cough—why is everyone looking at me like that?”
“The attack is over.”
With Heo Gye-gyo’s declaration, smoke erupted in successive bursts, and the soldiers reverted to their bean forms.
“You answered correctly, Plum Blossom Class Team One. You’ve passed the first attack.”
As he lowered the unconscious Yun Ra-sa onto the bear pelt spread across the outpost, the children worried more than they rejoiced.
“Y-y-Yun Ra-sa, is she…?”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Well…”
Heo Gye-gyo offered an awkward smile.
“You all performed so well that I counterattacked too forcefully. Still, she shouldn’t be seriously injured. Se-ru-hwa can treat her, and she’ll recover quickly after some rest. I’m sorry.”
“Ah…”
“D-d-did we r-r-really do well?”
Se-ru-hwa quickly gathered her divine power in her hands and extended them toward Yun Ra-sa. Je-gal Pyo asked with wide, round eyes. Heo Gye-gyo nodded with a smile.
“Yes, you did very well.”
“…!”
Je-gal Pyo trembled silently with joy. Yi Yeon-jo, who had collapsed to catch his breath, let out a quiet laugh. Se-ru-hwa, treating Yun Ra-sa, released a sigh of relief.
Heo Gye-gyo’s gaze lingered on Se-ru-hwa for a moment before turning away.
“…You’ve all worked hard, Team One. There won’t be any more attacks for the rest of the night, so get some proper rest. If anything goes wrong, send a distress signal.”
Se-ru-hwa’s voice caught the boy as he turned to leave.
“Wait a moment, Instructor.”
“Hmm? Do you have a question?”
Se-ru-hwa, who had risen from Yun Ra-sa’s side and approached, extended her hand as she spoke.
“You’re injured too, Instructor.”
“Oh, I’m fine—”
“You’re bleeding. How is that fine? Sit here.”
The silver-haired girl seized his sleeve and pulled him along without hesitation. Though her strength was faint, Heo Gye-gyo allowed himself to be drawn, his expression turning awkward.
“Se-ru-hwa, I appreciate the thought, but my wings are rather unusual. Ordinary medicine won’t heal them.”
“I know.”
“…What?”
Before he could even ask what she meant, Se-ru-hwa seated him on the bear pelt and brought her hands, wrapped in a pale jade glow, to his wings.
It felt like sinking into warm water. Heo Gye-gyo instinctively drew his wings back.
“Hold still.”
Se-ru-hwa chided him with a sidelong glance, then touched the bleeding wounds with a careful expression. As her divine power seeped in, the pierced wounds visibly closed before his eyes.
“…!”
“All done.”
The silver-haired girl stepped back with a satisfied expression.
How?
His hand shot out reflexively. Heo Gye-gyo seized Se-ru-hwa by the collar and pulled her toward him. His sharp, verdant eyes glared at the startled girl. A menacing voice emerged, completely unlike his usual gentle tone.
“How?”
“Cough, cough—what?”
“How did you do that?!”
“I just… treated it?”
“Don’t talk nonsense! My wings are…!”
They bore the mark of divine blood, which repelled all other spiritual forces. Originally, nothing—no curse, no technique, no healing art—could affect these wings!
Heo Gye-gyo swallowed the words he’d been about to hurl. Se-ru-hwa’s hand had come to rest against his own, which gripped his collar.
“Um, Instructor, could you… let go?”
Only then did Heo Gye-gyo realize what he was doing. He startled violently and released his grip, stepping back from Se-ru-hwa.
The girl smoothed her crumpled front while catching her breath. The boy watched from a distance, then wiped his face with a dry hand and muttered.
“Sorry. I was just… startled.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’m sorry. And… thank you for healing it.”
With his face still covered, Heo Gye-gyo left his apology and gratitude behind as he fled the scene.
His heart thundered with an emotion he couldn’t name—fear or elation. An unexpected hope, one he’d both anticipated and tried not to anticipate, had suddenly materialized before his eyes.
‘How did she heal it? How? Is this even possible, let alone extraordinary? What is she?’
Could Se-ru-hwa truly lift his curse? If so, should he win her favor and ask? Should he earn some merit and demand it as payment? Or should he prostrate himself and beg her to help?
‘Is that why you came to break the curse?’
Heo Gye-gyo stopped in his tracks, standing alone in the forest.
If—if she really could break the curse, then what? Could he escape that fate? Did he deserve to live a normal life?
His head felt like it might split open.
He had come seeking Se-ru-hwa himself, arriving at the Jagyogapsa and Seongsul Academy, yet he wanted to rage at her for appearing before him.
He still didn’t like it.
* * *
The moment Heo Gye-gyo left, everyone collapsed in place.
“Oh, oh, so there are no more attacks today, right?”
“Right, I told everyone to rest well.”
I answered Je-gal Pyo, and Yi Yeon-jo examined me from beside him.
“Your Highness, no, Se-ru-hwa. Are you okay? The Instructor suddenly….”
“Oh, I’m fine. He seemed startled. It was nothing serious.”
My heart nearly stopped. I’d only tried to heal him because I felt sorry seeing blood drip from his wings because of us, but it ended up looking suspicious.
‘The part dense with divine blood repelling other spiritual forces is common knowledge, so that shouldn’t be a problem… but ignoring that repulsion and healing him anyway—that was the issue.’
My divine power is the divine power of the ‘Princess Cheonmyeong,’ who possesses the highest rank. Even Father and Mother cannot claim perfect superiority over my divine power, so it was natural that the traces of Utouri, the war god, could not resist me.
‘Still, it would be difficult for Heo Gye-gyo to suspect I’m Princess Cheonmyeong… and besides, I can just say that the divine power I use as a Shaman is borrowed from Princess Cheonmyeong’s high-ranking divine power.’
Still, I’ll need to be more careful going forward.
‘But why is Heo Gye-gyo reacting so intensely? He could be surprised, but there’s no reason to be angry.’
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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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