Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 22

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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 22
The Yama King hoisted the Chief Celestial Maiden like a sack of grain and was about to bolt from the room like a raging beast when the Jade Emperor, setting down her letter, called out his name sharply.
“Hwon!”
The Yama King flinched and turned to face the Jade Emperor, who clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“If you charge in with that kind of fury, that poor child who’s just become a celestial maiden will be left in pieces. Do you intend to kill her and then drown the corpse?”
“….”
“Control your temper.”
“…I apologize. I lost my composure worrying about what situation Sang Ra-hee-yo might be in right now.”
The Yama King set down the Chief Celestial Maiden with a trembling sigh. The Jade Emperor exhaled heavily.
“Hwon, I’m also anxious and uneasy. Sang Ra-hee-yo in the Mortal Realm? And in such a fragile human body at that….”
“Exactly! Suryeo, we don’t know what hardships Sang Ra-hee-yo might be enduring. Perhaps that’s why she’s suffering so!”
The Yama King paced frantically across the chamber, his words pouring out in a torrent.
“Our precious princess, who has eaten only the finest delicacies and worn only the most exquisite garments, in the Mortal Realm? She might be afflicted by corrupting malevolent energies. Who knows what vile and wicked creatures might be laying hands on our Sang Ra-hee-yo…!”
A thick, dark murderous aura billowed from the Yama King like roiling storm clouds. If anyone had dared touch Sang Ra-hee-yo, he would tear them to shreds and boil them in the Scalding Hell for eight thousand years.
The Jade Emperor shielded the trembling Chief Celestial Maiden with her divine power against the Yama King’s overwhelming presence and spoke.
“But Hwon, our daughter is more clever and virtuous than anyone.”
“Of course. There couldn’t possibly exist a child as intelligent, wise, pure, lovely, beautiful, brilliant, virtuous, dignified, and adorable as our princess anywhere from the heavens to the depths of the earth.”
“Yes, and this is something Sang Ra-hee-yo chose and did of her own accord. It wasn’t a kidnapping, nor was it an accident.”
“….”
“I was surprised too, but… we read that letter together. Do you truly believe Sang Ra-hee-yo did this thoughtlessly, without considering how much we would worry?”
“….”
“If you trust Sang Ra-hee-yo, then before you overturn everything and drag her back, you should understand why she took this action and support her.”
The Jade Emperor smiled bitterly.
“How can we call ourselves parents if we couldn’t even give her a healthy body, and now we won’t support what she wishes to do?”
“…Suryeo.”
“Hwon, if Sang Ra-hee-yo wishes it, I want to let her do whatever she desires. Isn’t this her first act of rebellion—from a child who never complained despite her ailing body?”
The Jade Emperor carefully folded the letter and placed it in an envelope, adding softly.
“Of course, we should still check whether there’s anything daring to obstruct what our Sang Ra-hee-yo is trying to do.”
“…!”
“Isn’t it also a parent’s duty to remove any stones from the path our child must walk and smooth the way ahead?”
The Jade Emperor smiled gently, her demeanor suggesting she would crush anything that dared trouble her daughter.
“Our dear daughter should do everything she wishes and walk only a path of flowers.”
The Yama King nodded vigorously.
“Absolutely right! Of course! You are truly remarkable!”
The celestial maidens watching couldn’t help but recall that these two were the most notoriously indulgent couple in all the Heavenly Realm and Underworld combined. Though the Jade Emperor appeared somewhat more composed than the Yama King, their methods differed only in style—the result regarding Princess Cheonmyeong was identical: utterly unreasonable.
‘Honestly, if the princess were even slightly spoiled, there would be cries of anguish throughout both realms.’
‘Since the princess herself directly prevents most of the excessive behavior these two display….’
‘We’re truly fortunate that our princess is so wise, affectionate, thoughtful, and loving!’
The celestial maidens remained oblivious to the fact that they themselves were equally indulgent.
“So here’s the thing.”
The Jade Emperor turned her gaze toward the Chief Celestial Maiden.
“Before we search for the princess, tell me everything you know first. Start with the child she left in your care.”
* * *
The date was set for when I would treat the Queen alongside Seol Deung-hwa. The last day of this month. It was quite a generous timeline. I had made excuses about needing to select an auspicious day, pushing the date back as far as possible, and it had paid off.
‘The new moon is when yin energy runs strongest, making it genuinely an auspicious day for traveling to the Afterlife.’
Until then, I planned to meet with Seol Deung-hwa daily to refine my revenge strategy and teach her my method of dying and returning to life.
‘I should also practice manipulating darkness with the Crown Prince.’
In my remaining free time, I would eat well, sleep well, and take frequent walks. I wanted to grow healthy and strong.
‘Once I’m more accustomed to this body, I’ll learn martial arts too!’
But the very next day, something unexpected happened.
“Seven people became unable to work overnight?”
“Yes, my lady. Four have taken ill, and three have broken legs or arms….”
Kim Sang-gung explained hesitantly. Seven of the Nains assigned to the Crown Princess’s Palace had suddenly been injured or fallen ill during the night.
“I apologize, my lady. I will find replacements immediately. I cannot fathom how this came to pass….”
I rubbed the back of my neck, then waved my hand dismissively.
“No, it’s fine. I think I know the cause.”
“My lady?”
It was obviously heavenly punishment. It seemed seven people had applied to serve in the Crown Princess’s Palace with impure intentions toward me.
‘Of course, there would be the Left Prime Minister’s lackeys, I still haven’t found who orchestrated Seol Deung-hwa’s assassination attempt, and there are probably those who find my mixed Xue Tribe blood or imperial origins distasteful….’
Come to think of it, it was probably thanks to Kim Sang-gung’s capable management that it stopped at seven.
‘But what were they planning to do on their very first day of assignment that they received such severe heavenly punishment?’
They hadn’t even acted on their wicked thoughts yet, only harbored them—did these fragile humans receive such harsh punishment for mere intention? Either way, I couldn’t let this slide.
“Kim Sang-gung, can you gather all the Nains currently assigned to the Crown Princess’s Palace and those newly assigned—everyone—in the courtyard right now?”
“It is possible, my lady, but may I ask what this is about?”
“I’ve decided I need to personally select the people who will serve me.”
Before doing anything else, I needed to put my own household in order.
* * *
About thirty Nains gathered in the front courtyard of Unyeon Hall.
‘Surprisingly few. Well, I shouldn’t compare it to Sang-ra Palace.’
Sang-ra Palace employed roughly five thousand immortals, and just among the celestial maidens who worked directly under me, there were over a thousand. Honestly, I was surprised it was so few compared to what I’d expected, but I didn’t let it show.
‘Still, since the number is small, the verification will be quick, and I can examine them more thoroughly.’
Wait—out of this small number, seven harbored impure intentions?
‘Now I understand why Seol Deung-hwa’s future was filled with such ominous signs.’
As I stepped onto the main veranda, Kim Sang-gung raised her voice.
“Attention all! The Crown Princess’s lady has arrived!”
“Clouds and mist ascend to the heavens! We pay our respects to the Crown Princess, your highness.”
The Nains cried out words they had never heard before, bowing in unison.
What does that even mean?
Noticing my confusion, Kim Sang-gung explained from beside me.
“It is the formal greeting offered when receiving the Crown Princess’s lady in Yun Kingdom, my lady.”
“A greeting?”
“In the Yun Kingdom, the dragon playing among clouds symbolizes His Majesty the King, and the sky filled with clouds where the dragon plays symbolizes Her Majesty the Queen.”
Kim Sang-gung pointed to the cloud and dragon patterns carved into the decorative ceiling above as she continued.
“Accordingly, the Crown Prince, still on earth, is called the ‘Dormant Dragon,’ and the Crown Princess, who will become clouds in the future, is called ‘Cloud Mist’ in the sense of becoming the sky for the Crown Prince.”
“Ah, so Cloud Mist Hall means wishing for the Crown Princess to safely bloom into clouds and become the Crown Prince’s sky.”
“Precisely correct.”
Kim Sang-gung looked at me with surprise before adding in a tone tinged with admiration.
“You are truly remarkable, my lady. Though the Yun Kingdom and Pyeong Kingdom use the same celestial language, there are subtle differences, and the characters are different too… You seem far more fluent than a child born and raised in Yun.”
That was only natural—the celestial language used by mortals in the Mortal Realm originally derived from the Heavenly Realm. In ancient times, the Primordial Grandmother had bestowed the language and writing of heaven upon humans. Even with some transformation over the ages, as a deity, the speech of the Yun Kingdom and Pyeong Kingdom sounded equally natural to me. The same applied to languages of other nations. This was why gods could understand the origins of any human nation.
‘Come to think of it, since Se-ru-hwa is originally from Pyeong, many people will likely find this remarkable in the future.’
I hesitated briefly, but decided to proceed with shameless audacity.
“I studied diligently from childhood.”
It wasn’t beyond human capability, and any ordinary nine-year-old receiving intensive early education could achieve such fluency, couldn’t they?
“Truly impressive, my lady.”
Kim Sang-gung looked at me with the expression of a grandmother who had just realized her granddaughter was a prodigy. Feeling somewhat burdened, I quickly shifted my gaze toward the Nains. They were all still bowing.
“All of you, raise your heads and look at me.”
At my command, the Nains hesitantly lifted their heads one by one. Once I confirmed that most eyes were fixed upon me, I opened the Heavenly Eye.
‘Originally a power for observing one human deeply.’
When gazing upon many people, though I couldn’t see details, I could verify multiple individuals at once.
“…!”
“Kyah!”
“Ugh….”
Despite the impact being distributed among some thirty people, humans staggered and faltered in various places.
‘Humans are certainly weaker than celestial beings.’
I quickly closed the Heavenly Eye before chaos could erupt. A slight dizziness washed over me from the torrent of information that had flooded in. As I closed my eyes and massaged my temples, An-si asked worriedly through our mental connection.
[Are you alright, my lady?]
[Yes, well, this much is nothing.]
[But if you had done such a thing with your original body, you would have been bedridden for a week!]
[This body is healthy, so it’s fine.]
[…Setting aside that body, An-si is concerned about the Princess’s jade form left in the Heavenly Realm. Are you truly certain it’s alright?]
It probably isn’t fine at all. The reason I remain unharmed while exerting power in the Mortal Realm is because all the burden falls upon my original body. But then again… that body wasn’t destined to live long anyway.
‘Perhaps my original body in the Heavenly Realm will reach the end of its lifespan before this one?’
When my original body, bearing the burden, finally dies, this body will not escape unscathed either.
‘How much longer can I live? I’m not even certain of that. Divine lifespans aren’t recorded in the Underworld’s registers.’
Still, living in this body would surely grant me a longer existence than constantly moving that fragile form, wouldn’t it? When the very end draws near, I’ll need to return to the heavens and spend time with Mother and Father.
‘Yes, for that, I should check on my Heavenly Realm body’s condition from time to time.’
I concealed my true thoughts and spoke differently to An-si.
[That body will be sleeping, so even if I strain it, it will recover quickly.]

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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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