Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 20

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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 20
I felt suffocated and constrained.
Having lived a life wanting for nothing, I had never needed to lie—I could simply take whatever I desired without obligation or consequence. The only falsehood I had ever told with any frequency was “I’m not in pain.”
‘Yet I cannot simply declare myself Princess Cheonmyeong to Seol Deung-hwa as I did.’
She wasn’t of the Xue Tribe, so she would struggle to believe me. The risk of my disappearance being discovered would only grow.
The Crown Prince, for all his maturity, was merely eleven years old—I couldn’t predict how much he would truly comprehend, nor could I foresee his reaction.
‘…It’s impossible now. I’ll tell him later. At least after he’s grown a bit more.’
Now I finally understood why adults always deferred with “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”
‘I despised those adults for doing this… and now I’m doing the very same thing. Perhaps this is what it truly means to become an adult.’
I exhaled silently and opened my mouth to speak.
“Your Highness, you are aware that my mother is of the Xue Tribe, are you not?”
“Yes, I learned of it after the marriage was arranged.”
“Because she is of the Xue Tribe, my mother knows many things that ordinary people do not.”
The lie flowed from my lips with surprising ease, despite my inexperience with deception. Observing how naturally I’ve managed such things since becoming Se-ru-hwa, perhaps I possess an unexpected talent for falsehood.
“I met with her at the Guest House just now. When I mentioned Your Highness’s darkness, she explained what it truly is.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Yes, even if other matters were difficult, this deserved the truth.
Even if revealing this heavenly secret accumulated karmic debt upon me, I could not bear to deceive him about something so fundamental to his existence. I was a deity great enough to shoulder such a burden.
“My lady, what did you just say?”
“I’ve discovered the truth about Your Highness’s darkness.”
I took a brief, steadying breath and continued.
“Your Highness is an Umbrals.”
“An Umbrals…? What is that? How can it be treated?”
“An Umbrals is not a disease. An Umbrals is….”
I explained methodically to the Crown Prince, whose gaze held such desperate urgency, what an Umbrals truly was. With each word, the color drained from his face.
“…That is all I know.”
As my explanation concluded, the boy stared at me with a face as pale as blank parchment.
“In other words, I am the first human to become an Umbrals?”
“You didn’t become infected—you became one. An Umbrals is formed when darkness fallen from the night sky merges with a living being. Before that merger, it is nothing at all.”
The Crown Prince gazed down at his own hands, murmuring softly.
“Not human, but an Umbrals… Then that day….”
The Crown Prince’s face contorted.
‘He’s remembering the day he became an Umbrals.’
The sun had begun to set. The glow of dusk seeping through the window painted the boy’s cheeks crimson—as though stained with blood.
‘It must be a terrible memory.’
The day when people around him died and went mad because of him, the day his own parents fell. It happened two years ago, when the Crown Prince was barely Se-ru-hwa’s age.
As I watched with a pang of sympathy, darkness rippled beneath the Crown Prince. It spread like ink bleeding across paper, swiftly consuming the sunset and drowning everything in pitch black.
‘Oh no….’
Already unstable, and now with twilight hastening the darkness, his power was spiraling out of control. From within the blackness came the Crown Prince’s desperate voice.
“My lady, then… do you know why a person becomes an Umbrals?”
“I… I’m not sure about that.”
I’d heard that there was no particular reason for the emergence of Twilight Darkness—it simply happened when one was in the right place at the right time as the night sky’s shadows fell. Bad luck, in other words.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that outright to someone asking so earnestly, especially when I didn’t fully understand it myself.
“Then, is there a way for one to return to normal from Twilight Darkness? Do you happen to know?”
“…I’ve heard there has never been such a case until now.”
“Ah…”
The Crown Prince’s despair deepened the darkness around us. Now I couldn’t even see my own body properly. The anxiety and fear that the shadows stirred began creeping up my spine, and the intensity of it suggested he was terrified. Very terrified indeed.
‘Of course he would be. For him, Twilight Darkness must be like my illness.’
I knew what it felt like when hope bloomed only to wither away. I understood the helpless terror that such despair could summon.
‘It must feel endless and infinitely frightening.’
It’s difficult to escape such fear alone.
I had my parents, An-si, and so many others who always held me steady.
‘But this child has no one.’
So even if only in name, I—as his Lady—had to be there for him.
‘It’s not difficult for me, after all.’
I rose in the darkness and took a step toward the Crown Prince. The shadows that consumed everything around us tried to bury me.
‘Begone, shadow.’
Did it not know who I was?
I let a hint of Princess Cheonmyeong’s authority shine through and brushed away the darkness clinging to me.
‘He should be around here.’
My fingertips, groping through the darkness, touched the soft, downy cheek of a child.
Found him.
“Your Highness.”
“…!”
Only then did the Crown Prince seem to realize that I was the one spreading the darkness. He pushed my hand away and scrambled backward, and an urgent voice came from beyond the shadows.
“Damn it! Are you alright, Lady?”
My goodness. He can curse? I never would have guessed.
Startled, my thoughts tumbled straight out of my mouth.
“You know how to curse, Your Highness?”
“Is that what matters right now?”
The Crown Prince shouted indignantly and made rustling sounds. It seemed he was trying to leave the room, so I quickly reached out my arm.
“Your Highness, wait—ah!”
In my haste, I stepped on the hem of my skirt. My body, pitching forward, suddenly stopped against something solid.
“…Hah.”
The Crown Prince, who had drawn close without my noticing, caught me in his arms. Even as he’d tried to leave, he’d been watching out for me.
His reflexes are remarkably sharp. Is it because of the Twilight Darkness?
“Be careful.”
“Oh… thank you.”
Once I’d steadied myself, the Crown Prince helped support me with a soft sigh. He then tried to move away, but I quickly grasped his arm to stop him.
“Your Highness, don’t go. I’m fine, truly.”
“The darkness is growing deeper. At times like this, I must be alone.”
“No, that’s exactly when you shouldn’t be alone.”
I despised being alone when I was suffering. Solitude only bred endless rumination, which in turn nurtured my own fears. That’s why, despite her busy schedule, I felt both apologetic and grateful that my mother always remained by my bedside.
Like my mother, I’d always had someone who would speak to me before I could sink into dark thoughts. So I had to be there for him now, especially in moments like these.
“Being alone only makes it scarier. So let’s stay together.”
I whimpered and tugged at the Crown Prince’s arm. Given the difference in our builds, I was practically clinging to him.
The Crown Prince stood motionless, saying nothing. I grasped his sleeve with both hands and shook it gently.
“We promised to practice together, didn’t we?”
I felt his gaze upon me. The absolute darkness that had consumed my vision suddenly seemed to ripple.
“…Why do you go to such lengths to help me, my Lady?”
“And why did Your Highness try to save me?”
“That is…”
The Crown Prince trailed off. I smiled softly.
“I think your reasons are probably similar to mine.”
You ended up becoming my husband by chance, and you pitied this young girl condemned to death, so you tried to save me however you could. My reasons aren’t so different from that.
“And besides, I’m the Crown Princess now. If Your Highness thrives, then I thrive as well.”
“Do you truly understand what it means to live as my Crown Princess?”
“That’s precisely why I’m doing this.”
I pulled the Crown Prince down to sit beside me. Even in the pitch darkness, I could sense the boy finally surrendering, allowing himself to be drawn to my side.
“Your Highness, I made a promise to the King.”
“What? To Father King? What promise did you make?”
The Crown Prince asked in startled surprise.
Unable to discern where his face was in the darkness, I gazed vaguely ahead as I answered.
“I promised to awaken the Queen.”
“…!”
“I believe it’s possible with the Xue Tribe’s abilities. Together with my mother, I will heal the Queen.”
“…You can… awaken… Mother?”
Each word from the Crown Prince trembled. I nodded into the absolute darkness.
“Yes, I will awaken her. I can do it.”
“…”
“Then many things will change, won’t they? The King will likely bestow great rewards upon me.”
“…”
“And if I receive praise, your position will improve as well. After all, husband and wife are one body.”
“…”
“So you must do your part too. Practice diligently to control this darkness. Just as you succeeded on our wedding night.”
“…”
“Even if you can’t reverse becoming a creature of darkness, if you can learn to control your power yourself, that will be enough. You could live like ordinary people.”
“…”
“Actually, it might be even better! Wielding such darkness with such mastery is far more formidable than any supernatural strength.”
“…”
“Your Highness?”
The Crown Prince remained silent. The darkness was so thick that I couldn’t discern his expression or even whether he was listening. Frustrated, I released my grip on his arm and searched for his hand instead.
‘He’s wearing gloves.’
The sensation through the fabric told me nothing of his state. These gloves—forced upon him by the Eunuch—needed to come off. Wearing them wouldn’t help him practice controlling the darkness anyway.
‘It’s frustrating just to look at.’
I caught the edge of the glove between my fingertips and pulled.
“…!”
The moment his bare skin was exposed, the Crown Prince’s hand jerked away. I quickly seized it with both hands before he could escape.
At eleven years old, he was already quite large for his age, while my body was smaller and younger still—our hands differed noticeably in size. It took both my hands to hold his securely. The Crown Prince was certainly taller than most children his age.
I held his trembling hand, which shook as though gripped by fear, and spoke.
“Your Highness, the darkness spreads even with the gloves on. There’s no point wearing something that doesn’t help.”
“B-but if bare skin touches, it’s dangerous…”
“You already know I’m unaffected.”
“…But men and women should not be so familiar. For unrelated people to hold hands so carelessly is…”
“Isn’t that rule an exception for married couples?”
“….”
Faced with my successive rebuttals, the Crown Prince fell silent and abandoned his attempt to withdraw his hand.
“Let’s practice controlling the darkness together during the day, holding hands. I think daytime will be easier to manage than night.”
“….”
“Once Your Highness can control the darkness during daylight, we can increase the staff in the East Palace. The gardens are in disrepair and the pavilions are in terrible condition. How are you managing here?”
“….”
“Your Highness.”
I held his bare hand in both of mine, fidgeting slightly as I called to him again.
“Crown Prince, you’re listening, aren’t you?”

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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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