Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 166

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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 166
‘I’ve finally found the last concept.’
It should have been a joyful and satisfying moment, but the bitterness from my recent realization overshadowed the happiness.
‘…I need to make up for this as quickly as possible. It seems I’ll need to go to the Border where Heuk-yeon is, but I can’t find a good excuse to be away for that long.’
It takes at least three or four days to reach the Border. An-si could fly there in less than a day, but my fragile human body couldn’t withstand the speed of Black Phoenix’s full-power flight.
‘If I collapse the moment we arrive, what a burden that would be on Heuk-yeon. Is there another way?’
A good idea came to me after a moment of thought.
‘I could ask An-si to move one of the Eight Pillar Order bells to where Heuk-yeon is staying!’
All eight bells of the Eight Pillar Order are currently connected to various locations, but I mainly use the Treasure Vault bell, and the others aren’t needed urgently. Being human in the Mortal Realm makes this even more true. So moving one shouldn’t be a problem.
‘The ones at Jami Palace, Yama Palace, and the Sang-ra Palace Treasure Vault are out of the question, and the Pantao Garden one needs to be maintained for Seok-ran’s repairs, and the one at Seogu Cave in the Afterlife can’t be moved carelessly, so the most suitable one is….’
The bell I left at my private palace in the Underworld would be perfect. I won’t have reason to go there for a while.
‘Good, then I’ll ask An-si as soon as I get back today. And while exploring this new concept of improvement, I should research whether it can be applied to the Eight Pillar Order and the brain inspection modifications… Huh?’
While I was deep in thought about my future tasks, a slate-blue robe hem brushed past the corner of my vision.
‘A Seongsul Academy uniform?’
I lifted my head and recognized the familiar figure of a boy. It wasn’t Choi Hwang-hae returning from patrol.
‘It’s the class leader?’
Je-gal Pyo was crossing through the clearing where a pansori performance was in progress, surrounded by unfamiliar boys. With so many spectators and me crouching down, he didn’t seem to notice me. Why was he here when he should be helping Sa Young-jun with the wrestling tournament preparations?
‘And something seems off. Why does he look so intimidated?’
Je-gal Pyo, with his shoulders hunched up, looked extremely tense at first glance. In contrast, the boys surrounding him were snickering with triumphant expressions.
‘This doesn’t look good.’
I quietly got up and followed Je-gal Pyo and the boys. They weaved through the crowded festival and headed toward a desolate alley.
‘It feels less like they have a destination and more like they’re looking for a place without people.’
Even more suspicious. I narrowed my eyes and looked at the alley the boys had entered, then quietly sent out my spiritual sense.
[An-si, are you nearby?]
[Yes, Princess! Is there something you wish me to do?]
[Come here and hide my presence with a breeze, would you? So the humans don’t notice.]
[Understood!]
A bird the size of a fist flew down from the thatched roof of a nearby building and perched on my shoulder.
[You were in quite a tiny form.]
[There were so many humans that I made myself as small as possible. Here we go!]
As An-si puffed out her feathered chest and fluttered her colorful wings, I felt a gentle breeze begin to swirl softly around me.
[Done!]
[Thank you.]
I stepped confidently into the shadowed alley. As I walked along the narrow path between stone walls, the festive atmosphere grew increasingly distant.
Before long, a crumbling abandoned mansion came into view, and beyond the barely-standing earthen wall, I could see the boys surrounding Je-gal Pyo in the mansion’s courtyard.
“So you struggled so hard to enter Seongsul Academy, and now you’re being punished? How pathetic, Pyo.”
“Ha, the thought that a classmate like you is from Sipseungji makes me ashamed on your behalf.”
“Come on, surely our Pyo has some conscience—he wouldn’t go around bragging that he’s from Sipseungji, right? Isn’t that right, Pyo?”
“Our Pyo isn’t the type to not know his place, so he must have hidden it well.”
“That’s right! Our Pyo, who entered Seongsul Academy as the Sipseungji representative with such confidence alongside his friends, and who even defied his master’s wishes and ran away—his situation can’t possibly be the same as theirs!”
I pressed myself against the earthen wall and peered inside, my brows furrowing.
‘These guys seem to be from Sipseungji like Je-gal Pyo… but what are they doing right now?’
Were they really harassing Je-gal Pyo—who couldn’t properly use sorcery—for managing to enter Seongsul Academy when they couldn’t?
‘What kind of petty, pathetic nonsense is this?’
Yet the other Sipseungji students who had enrolled at Seongsul Academy with Je-gal Pyo always praised him for consistently ranking first in written exams.
‘Sipseungji is supposedly the largest organization among the Gwae-ryeok-nan-sin groups, so they have strange characters like these too?’
As I watched in disbelief, Je-gal Pyo didn’t offer a single word of protest, just hung his head low. A large boy tapped Je-gal Pyo’s shoulder repeatedly, sneering.
“Pyo, Pyo, how are you even attending Seongsul Academy without any spiritual energy? Doesn’t anyone around you say anything?”
“Haha, our Pyo has a sharp mind at least. He’s probably getting by with clever thinking.”
“If he were that smart, he should have gone to Seong-hak Academy instead. Why did he insist on entering Seongsul Academy? Our Pyo’s smart, but he’s really foolish.”
“Smart yet foolish—truly, our senior is remarkable!”
“Since our senior is so remarkable, Master must be taking good care of him, right? This time too, Master told us to share the spiritual energy we’ve painstakingly accumulated with Pyo.”
“Right, again, again. No matter how carefully we save it, by now our Pyo’s spiritual energy must be completely depleted. Master really cherishes and loves our senior.”
“Only Master loves him? We cherish and love our senior too. That’s why we came all this way ourselves to share the spiritual energy we’ve built up. You’re grateful, aren’t you, Pyo?”
“When that bastard ran off saying he’d go to Seongsul Academy, I thought we’d never have to share again. But it just got more troublesome. We had to come all the way here to share our spiritual energy.”
What was all this? These weren’t just fellow Sipseungji members—they were Je-gal Pyo’s senior brothers, and they’d come to share spiritual energy with him?
‘No wonder Je-gal Pyo followed them here so obediently.’
But this was absolutely nothing like a heartwarming exchange between senior and junior brothers.
‘He mentioned before that he couldn’t accumulate spiritual energy and received it from his senior brothers. So it was like this?’
In any case, since Je-gal Pyo needed to receive spiritual energy and had followed them here, it was awkward to interfere directly. As I hesitated and watched, one of the boys grabbed Je-gal Pyo by the collar.
“You bastard, aren’t you ashamed? Sucking on other people’s spiritual energy like a parasite while calling yourself a sorcerer!”
“Hey, hey, let go. If he were ashamed, he would’ve left Sipseungji long ago. Our Pyo is someone for whom living off others’ spiritual energy is natural—truly a remarkable person.”
“Well, what can we do? He doesn’t know how to refuse, and Master insists we show consideration among senior and junior brothers, so we have to squeeze out our lifeblood spiritual energy and feed it to him.”
“Damn it. This sucks.”
The large boy released Je-gal Pyo’s collar as if discarding trash. Je-gal Pyo, who had remained silent until then, finally trembled and protested weakly.
“S-senior, I d-d-did refuse… I c-c-clearly told M-M-Master that I was f-f-fine now…”
“Stop spouting nonsense. If you’d refused properly, would we have come all the way here to share our spiritual energy?”
“B-b-but I c-clearly…”
“Shut up, before I really kill you.”
“Just accept the spiritual energy quietly, Pyo. Suck it up from your seniors like a filthy mosquito.”
“Who wants to go first?”
“It’s better to take the beating first anyway. I’ll go first.”
One boy grabbed Je-gal Pyo’s arm roughly. Je-gal Pyo shook his head and tried to pull his arm away.
“N-n-no, really, it’s f-f-fine, seniors, you d-don’t have to share your spiritual energy…!”
“Why can’t you say that clearly to Master? Ah, you want to act nice, act sorry, but you still want to receive the spiritual energy, so you’re doing this?”
“N-n-no, senior! I d-d-definitely told him! I c-c-clearly told M-M-Master that I d-d-don’t w-w-want spiritual energy anymore!”
“Oh, you c-c-clearly d-d-don’t w-w-want it anymore, you s-s-said?”
“Yeah, yeah, our Pyo definitely said it, right? But what can we do—since he stammers, Master probably didn’t understand.”
“Our Pyo can’t even accumulate spiritual energy, so he’s stupid, and his tongue is broken too. Yet Master still adores him—that’s truly remarkable. What’s the secret? Ah, is it because your rich parents donate a lot of money?”
“…!”
Je-gal Pyo couldn’t continue and lowered his head, his face flushed crimson. I could see tears pooling in droplets behind the boy’s glasses.
‘…It seems the accumulated resentment runs far deeper than ordinary.’
If this master figure’s misguided favoritism had forced the senior disciples to continuously share their vital energy with Je-gal Pyo until now… I understand why they’ve come to despise him. I can see why Je-gal Pyo shrinks back without proper rebuttal.
‘But no matter the circumstances, this behavior is far too base and petty. I simply cannot overlook it.’
I’d intended to observe further, wary of stepping in without understanding the full situation, but now I had to intervene.
[An-si, withdraw the wind.]
[Wouldn’t it be better to take their necks as well, my lord? The sight of them is unbearable.]
[…That, I must ask you to endure.]
An-si, perched on my shoulder, puffed out her beak in displeasure and withdrew the concealing wind she’d been maintaining. I soothed the ruffled young Black Phoenix and set her atop the earthen wall, then stepped into the courtyard of the abandoned mansion.

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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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