Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 42

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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 42
[Well done! Is the arsonist human?]
[Yes! It appears to be a human with some martial arts training!]
[Capture them carefully!]
[Don’t worry! I’ll break their legs clean off and drag them back!]
The voice grew fainter as An-si seemed to chase the arsonist into the distance.
‘This isn’t enough to feel at ease.’
I set down my spoon and rose to my feet.
“Your Majesty, please wait a moment.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll be back shortly. Please wait for me.”
I made a vague excuse and left, heading toward the kitchen attached to Unyeon Hall. I had sent most of the palace servants away, and those remaining were eating in other rooms, so the kitchen stood empty.
I approached the stove. Above the large cauldron, on a stone platform built into the wall, sat a water vessel for the Stove Goddess.
“Stove Goddess.”
At my call, a figure no larger than my palm appeared, wearing a flame-patterned skirt with an apron over it. She was the Stove Goddess, the divine spirit who protected this kitchen. The small woman hovering above the water vessel bowed respectfully to me.
[The attendant of the Stove God, the divine spirit Stove Goddess of Unyeon Hall, greets Princess Cheonmyeong.]
Even among divine beings, there is hierarchy. At the highest level are the ‘Gods’—those who oversee and govern their respective domains. Mother, Father, Samshin Grandmother, Cheongsil-Hongsil, and Gamun-jang the Fate Goddess are all Gods. I am an exceptional case among the Gods, possessing neither domain nor authority, yet holding divine rank due to my innate status and spiritual power.
‘Divine Immortals’ serve under the Gods and handle more specialized or detailed duties. Gangrim, the Flower Keeper, the Imperial Envoys, and Gamun-jang’s sisters who did not become Fate Goddesses are Divine Immortals.
‘Immortals’ are the officials working under Divine Immortals and the general inhabitants of the Celestial Realm. Essentially, any being living in the Celestial Realm, excluding Gods and Divine Immortals, is classified as an Immortal.
Between Divine Immortals and Immortals exists another category: ‘Divine Spirits’—beings who oversee not the Celestial Realm but specific regions of the Mortal Realm.
‘For example, most mountains have their own Mountain Spirits.’
The Stove Goddess was a Divine Spirit under the Stove God, who governed fire and kitchens, protecting kitchens in the Mortal Realm.
“You recognized me immediately. Did the Stove God tell you something?”
[Yes. The Stove God summoned me and commanded that I serve you well, as you are living a human life here, Princess. It is an honor to serve you, Princess.]
“Good. Someone may try to set fire to this place today, so guard it well—”
[Do you mean that one?]
The Stove Goddess suddenly cut me off and pointed behind me.
‘Has an arsonist really come to Unyeon Hall too?’
I had prepared for the possibility, but had they truly come to burn this place down?
The moment I spun around in shock, I realized that whoever was behind this—whether the Left Prime Minister or someone else—was no ordinary human. Standing in the doorway like a stone monument was not a common arsonist, but a massive man completely engulfed in roaring flames.
This was not human.
[A Fire Ghost…!]
The Stove Goddess murmured in a trembling voice.
Fire Ghosts that set blazes vary in power according to their size. Ordinarily they are no larger than a palm, and such creatures can be easily handled by a Divine Spirit like the Stove Goddess of comparable size. But this Fire Ghost was far larger than a human. At that scale, it was less a minor ghost and more a minor deity.
‘At least it’s not a named ghost like an Earth Ghost…’
Still, it was beyond what the Stove Goddess could defeat.
‘Controlling a minor deity of that caliber isn’t easy. This isn’t the work of an ordinary sorcerer.’
Moreover, a human arsonist came to Jamnyong Hall, but a Fire Ghost to Unyeon Hall? Setting aside the difference in power, the methods are completely different.
‘Are the masterminds different?’
Just as the one who sent the blade at Se-ru-hwa differed from the one who sent assassins after the wedding.
[I’ll hold them off for as long as I can! Your Highness, please escape in the meantime!]
The Stove Goddess’s resolute cry jolted me awake. I watched as the massive Fire Ghost bent at the waist and began entering through the doorway.
“Do what you can to hold them back, but protect yourself!”
I shouted the command to the Stove Goddess and bolted from the Kitchen.
Cheoyong’s protective charm perfectly blocked attacks laden with murderous intent and curses, but it was vulnerable to accidents like this. However, the Vermillion Bird Robe didn’t burn in fire, so as long as I put it on, I could navigate through the flames without issue.
‘First, I need to get the palace staff and the Crown Prince out, then put on the Vermillion Bird Robe and prepare for what comes next…!’
A sinister premonition suddenly pierced my mind. Following my instinct, I turned my head toward the Main Veranda.
Another Fire Ghost was crossing the courtyard in front of Unyeon Hall, approaching slowly. It was slightly smaller than the towering Fire Ghost that had entered the Kitchen, but still as large as a human. Everywhere the Fire Ghost stepped, blackened footprints were left behind.
‘Two of them?’
If there were two Fire Ghosts instead of one, there could easily be more. Seized by instinct, I looked across the Main Veranda toward the Sitting Room where the Crown Prince and I had been dining. Beyond the window screens, shadows of flames flickered and danced.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘The little Crown Prince!’
I ran frantically and threw the door open. A wave of heat rushed out. Flames that had climbed through the window were billowing inside.
Fortunately, the room was empty. The Crown Prince must have left his seat when the fire started. Instead, perched on the windowsill was a boy-sized Fire Ghost, its ash-covered face devoid of eyes, nose, or mouth, staring at me intently.
Just as ordinary humans cannot see ghosts, they also cannot see Fire Ghosts. The ghosts know this well. If I let such ghosts discover that I ‘can see’ them, I would become a target. I avoided meeting its gaze and pretended ignorance as I quietly closed the door.
‘Where did he go?’
Standing on the Main Veranda, I looked around frantically, then turned my attention toward the back room where the palace staff would have gathered.
‘I need to evacuate them!’
I rushed toward that direction, and just then the door burst open, revealing Kim Sang-gung and the Nains with ashen faces. Through the open doorway, flames flickered. The crackling sound of burning wood and the heat poured out onto the Main Veranda.
“Crown Princess!”
“Crown Princess, there’s a fire! You must evacuate immediately!”
“Fire! Fire!”
While the Nains screamed, I shouted a question to Kim Sang-gung, who remained relatively composed.
“Is everyone out?”
“Yes, Crown Princess!”
“Get out of Unyeon Hall quickly!”
“You must leave as well, Crown Princess!”
“Have you seen the Crown Prince?”
“You haven’t found him? He arrived just now and informed us of the fire, then went to search for you, Crown Princess!”
Our paths had crossed? No, compared to Sang-ra Palace, Unyeon Hall was tiny—how could we have missed each other?
“Understood! Get to safety now!”
“Crown Princess! You must leave with us! Crown Princess!”
Ignoring Kim Sang-gung’s frantic pleas, I ran swiftly. Since the Crown Prince wasn’t in the Kitchen or the back room, he likely went toward the area behind the Sitting Room, beyond the Main Veranda.
‘My Bedroom is in that direction.’
Did he go that far looking for me? Out of concern for me?
‘This little brat, honestly—who should be worrying about whom!’
As I headed back toward the Sitting Room, I saw a Fire Ghost undulating and dancing beyond the window screens. Following the Fire Ghost’s gestures, flames climbed up the pillars. The fire spread along the beams, scattering embers into the corridor. The smell of burning wood filled the air. The superheated air shimmered.
‘Unyeon Hall is burning.’
Se-ru-hwa’s home, the space I had carefully cultivated over the past month, my sanctuary.
My teeth clenched. I was not accustomed to having my things destroyed.
‘If I ever catch whoever did this.’
The fire had spread through the corridor, making it difficult to cross to the bedroom without protection. Just as I reached into my robe to retrieve the Eight Pillar Order, the Crown Prince burst from the bedroom beyond the flickering flames.
“Your Highness!”
“My Lady!”
The Crown Prince called out to me with a pale face, then his expression flushed red in the firelight as he surveyed the area around me. The boy’s eyes blazed with a mixture of rage and fear.
“Stay exactly where you are!”
“What?”
I hesitated to don the Eight Pillar Order in front of the Crown Prince, clutching it uncertainly, but he moved without hesitation. He strode boldly into the corridor where the Fire Ghost had danced its destructive path.
“Your Highness, it’s dangerous—!”
I gasped in alarm, my mouth falling open before freezing in place.
His expression had turned cold and composed. As the Crown Prince advanced, darkness bloomed vast and terrible behind him, swallowing the corridor. Wherever the darkness spread, the flames weakened and extinguished. Consumed.
Ah, of course.
‘The darkness of Eodukseo-ni devours the light nearby.’
The flames were the very source of light. As the darkness that consumed light seized the passage, the Crown Prince’s domain expanded.
He walked through the extinguished flames. The darkness spread, engulfing even the sitting room where the Fire Ghost’s dance had unfolded. The boy Fire Ghost burst forth in panic.
The Crown Prince, approaching me, suddenly turned his head and fixed his gaze directly upon the Fire Ghost.
‘He can see spirits too. Is it because he became Eodukseo-ni?’
The Fire Ghost, meeting the Crown Prince’s eyes, flinched in surprise. Then darkness clung to the burning spirit’s body like a spider’s web.
“Kyieeeek!”
The Fire Ghost shrieked in terror, a sound torn from its very being, then spun around and fled in panic. It stumbled and fell repeatedly but did not stop.
The Crown Prince abandoned pursuit and rushed toward me. The darkness that had preceded him wrapped around my vicinity and extinguished the flames, yet it did not consume the light near me.
“My Lady! Are you unharmed?”

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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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