Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 167

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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 167
“Hello, class representative. What an unexpected place to meet.”
I greeted Je-gal Pyo with casual composure as I walked in, and the boys startled visibly.
“Who are you?”
“What’s a girl doing here…?”
“S-s-Se-ru-hwa?”
Je-gal Pyo called out my name in shock, his voice wavering. His face cycled through white, then pale, then red—he seemed both surprised and embarrassed at being caught in this situation.
“Y-yes, how did you… how are you here…?”
“I’m on patrol in the city today. I was patrolling when I noticed the class representative—who should be at the Wrestling Tournament Grounds—heading into a secluded place with some suspicious friends. I got curious and followed.”
As I shrugged and explained, the Bulky Boy interjected with a frown.
“You seem to be a Seongsul Academy cadet, but this is Sipseungji’s internal matter. Don’t meddle unnecessarily and get lost.”
“Yeah, I was planning to at first, but watching this made me feel sick.”
“What?”
“Seeing multiple people bully one kid disgusted me. When you see something filthy, it’s natural to want to clean it up, right? So I couldn’t help but get involved.”
“What is this girl spouting―”
“Hey, shut up!”
The Bulky Boy flushed with anger and started toward me, but the boy with the dot near his eye blocked his path.
“Why!”
“Just look at that hair! A female Seongsul Academy cadet with silver hair at that age—don’t you know who that is? It’s that Crown Princess everyone’s been talking about!”
Jeom-bak-i held back the temperamental Bulky Boy and spoke in a low, urgent voice.
“Crown Princess? That Pyeong Kingdom shaman Crown Princess? This girl? No way. It’s probably just another silver-haired person.”
“Pyo just called her Se-ru-hwa! That’s the Crown Princess’s name!”
I heard every word, you fools.
[Princess, shall I rip out their tongues for daring to speak so rudely to you?]
[An-si, you know you can’t. Don’t ask.]
[I won’t take their heads.]
[Humans are fragile. Even without taking their heads, they’ll die if you rip out their tongues.]
[I’ll extract them carefully so they don’t die. I’ll do it so secretly no one finds out!]
[That’s not how it works.]
This chick has been in the Mortal Realm so long that the pretense of being a non-blood relative is fading. Why is that? Has resentment been building from all this human impersonation?
While I pondered this, the boy with the soft, gentle impression stepped forward.
“Yunryeonhwaso! We greet the Crown Princess!”
I hadn’t heard that greeting in a while. As I stared at him, Yu-deul-i smoothly continued with a smile.
“Crown Princess, we are truly sorry to show you such an unsightly scene. At first glance, it must seem as though we are bullying an innocent junior, and your misunderstanding is understandable.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes, a misunderstanding. We didn’t come to bully Je-gal Pyo—we came to help him. Our Pyo has a slight problem… he’s a sorcerer but can’t accumulate demonic energy at all.”
Yu-deul-i watched my reaction with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be hoping I’d be surprised.
“…The junior has been too embarrassed to reveal this fact until now, but surely a sorcerer unable to accumulate demonic energy is a serious problem, isn’t it? As we train together, you should certainly know―”
“I already know.”
“I’ll explain for our shy Pyo instead, yes?”
“I already know. Je-gal Pyo told me directly.”
“…You mean Je-gal Pyo told you that himself?”
“Yes.”
“Ha, haha, I, I see. Our junior is quite bold… without a shred of shame.”
Yu-deul-i ground his teeth at Je-gal Pyo before quickly rearranging his face into a smile.
“Since you understand the situation, it should be easier to clear up the misunderstanding. You see, our Je-gal Pyo enrolled at Seongsul Academy as a sorcerer, but without spiritual power, that would be quite the problem, wouldn’t it? So we seniors, having accumulated spiritual power, came willingly to share it with our adorable junior.”
“That didn’t look like such a generous gesture.”
“Ah, that was just a joke, a joke. It’s been so long since we’ve seen our cute youngest junior that we were reluctant to hand over the spiritual power right away, so we played a little prank.”
The wispy Yu-deul-i wrapped his arm around Je-gal Pyo’s shoulder in a friendly manner and added,
“Je-gal Pyo knew we were joking and played along, didn’t you, Je-gal Pyo?”
Je-gal Pyo’s body stiffened slightly, but looking up at Yu-deul-i, he soon let his head drop weakly.
“Y, yes, senior. Se, Se, Se-ru-hwa cadet, it’s nothing serious, so it’s, it’s okay….”
Nothing serious, my foot. A sigh nearly escaped me. If Je-gal Pyo continued to cover for his seniors like this, it would be difficult to pursue the matter on principle….
So what. I was originally a princess of the Heavenly Realm and the Crown Princess of this nation in the Mortal Realm.
‘This is when status is useful.’
Having high status meant I didn’t need to worry about consequences when speaking bluntly. They were the ones who should worry about the fallout, not me.
I deliberately lifted my chin arrogantly and spoke.
“I don’t care what you think.”
“Pardon?”
“Regardless of what you say, what I saw was not a joke. So….”
I pointed to the dirt ground and continued.
“Prostrate yourselves right now, confess your wrongdoing honestly, and beg Je-gal Pyo for forgiveness. Then I’ll end this matter here.”
“…!”
“If you refuse, I’ll leave this place, order an investigation, determine the facts, and punish you myself.”
Yu-deul-i stiffened. Jeom-bak-i paled, and the Bulky Boy’s face flushed red and blue before he suddenly shouted.
“Crown Princess, why are you treating us like villains? The villain is that one! Je-gal Pyo is―”
“Be quiet!”
Yu-deul-i urgently cut off the Bulky Boy’s outburst, cleared his throat, and opened his mouth with a forced smile.
“Your Highness, how did you perceive us just now?”
“As cowardly things who lack the courage to properly object to the master who demanded you share spiritual power, so instead you vent your frustration on a defenseless junior.”
“…I beg your pardon, Crown Princess, but you are misunderstanding us.”
“You just said it was a joke, so how is that a misunderstanding?”
“You’re misunderstanding the junior as an innocent victim and us as cruel perpetrators who merely torment that junior. Your Highness doesn’t know what circumstances exist between us, so you’re jumping to that conclusion.”
Yu-deul-i cast a cold gaze at Je-gal Pyo and added,
“Je-gal Pyo understands this well, which is why he hopes you’ll overlook this matter and move on. Isn’t that right, Je-gal Pyo? Do you want an apology from us?”
Je-gal Pyo’s face turned ashen as he shook his head vigorously. I furrowed my brow and replied.
“I already told you I don’t need your opinions. The same goes for Je-gal Pyo. Even if he wants to overlook this, I have no intention of letting it slide.”
“….”
“Tell me about these circumstances you mention. If you can’t convince me, you’ll have to make a choice—confess everything here, or face a proper investigation outside.”
At my warning, Yu-deul-i fell silent for a moment before opening his mouth.
“…The truth is, we’re the victims. We’ve endured having our spiritual power drained by the favored disciple, forced by our master’s orders―”
“I’ve already heard that excuse. You’re complaining to the wrong priest about favoritism you should be taking up with your biased master. What gives you the nerve to be so confident about it?”
“Because it was Je-gal Pyo who engineered that favoritism!”
Yu-deul-i’s face twisted as he began pouring out his grievances with genuine indignation.
“At first, he pretended to be a runaway child with nothing, so our master took pity and took him in! But then that bastard started probing around, noticed our master’s circumstances were difficult, and figured he could be useful. Suddenly he revealed his true family background and started throwing money around!”
“Throwing money around?”
“He renovated the entire Palace Hall where we stay, sent food supplies and shamanic materials in endless streams, and showered our master with gifts. That’s when our master’s attitude changed! Even when that bastard killed a demon beast our master had trained for years, our master couldn’t even get angry! He pressured our master with money! How is that not engineering favoritism!”
“So your master was swayed by Je-gal Pyo’s family wealth and had no choice but to squeeze your spiritual power?”
“Exactly!”
“If that claim is true, this is serious indeed. A master—and one affiliated with Sipseungji no less—blinded by money and exploiting his disciples. I’ll summon the leader of Sipseungji to hold him accountable and determine the facts and proper punishment.”
“…What?”
“Sipseungji calls the leader of each sacred ground a Land Master, and ten Land Masters take turns serving as the Grand Land Master, correct? If misconduct like this occurred within the sect and they didn’t know about it, the Grand Land Master bears responsibility. I’ll report this to the King and open an official investigation.”
“W-wait, just a moment, Crown Princess. That’s too, too much….”
“You said you were wronged, didn’t you? I’m offering to personally right that wrong for you. Shouldn’t you be grateful instead of breaking into a cold sweat?”
Yu-deul-i’s pupils trembled uncontrollably. I merely lifted the corners of my mouth in a smile.
“Or does it seem to you that this isn’t actually that serious of a matter?”
“Th-that’s, that’s right. An investigation wouldn’t be necessary for something like….”
“Then what were you just pleading with me about? Misconduct is misconduct, but not misconduct serious enough to warrant punishment? What in the world are you even saying?”
“N-not misconduct in that sense! I just meant that if we simply drive out that bastard who manipulated our master with money, that would be enough!”
“Punish only the one who gave the bribe and let the one who accepted it go free? You don’t even understand what you’re saying right now.”
I let out a scoff and gestured with my chin.
“Your story doesn’t hold together at all. You’re done here. Je-gal Pyo.”
“Wh-what?”
“Now tell your side of the story.”
“I, I, I, th-that is….”
Je-gal Pyo stammered. I crossed my arms and continued.
“I can’t open an investigation hearing only one side. Or is everything they said true? Did you invest your family’s money to manipulate your master according to your wishes?”
I posed the question knowing that couldn’t possibly be the case. Given Je-gal Pyo’s character, wasn’t it more likely that he’d simply noticed the senior disciples’ quarters were dilapidated and his master’s circumstances were tight, so he’d asked his parents to make a donation?
The master, grateful for that, had started favoring the boy without restraint, and as a result, Je-gal Pyo had become disliked among the other disciples.
But what came from Je-gal Pyo’s hesitant lips was entirely different from my assumption.

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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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