Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 6

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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 6
A familiar girl with golden hair braided with ribbons and wearing a colorful hanbok sat by the window with a vacant expression.
“Welcome.”
As I greeted her, iridescent wings covered in five-colored feathers fluttered behind An-si in confusion.
“You’re not human… You are the Princess, are you not?”
“Can’t you tell at a glance?”
“But Your Highness just now…”
“Just now what? Is there a problem?”
I cut off my sarcasm and asked back, and An-si stared at me blankly before her expression suddenly shifted as if she’d realized something.
“Is there a problem? Of course there is! Running away! Your Highness ran away! This An-si nearly fainted from shock!”
Good, that went over smoothly. When you’ve already run away, a little reckless behavior is nothing, right.
An-si rushed over with tears in her eyes and examined me thoroughly.
“Your Highness, what on earth is this state? A human! To place your noble soul in such a lowly mortal body—it’s utterly appalling! And what is this sack of a garment?”
“Did anyone find out I ran away?”
“It’s only a matter of time! If you don’t return soon, this An-si will be executed for failing to prevent your escape—”
“So no one found out. Besides you, no one knows yet, right?”
I cut off her lament and asked again, and An-si’s face fell as she closed her mouth. Phoenixes are poor liars, so silence is affirmation.
‘I won’t be discovered for a while.’
I collapse suddenly and sleep for long periods so often that everyone will think I’m asleep again if Xiao-hua keeps quiet. The letters I left behind—An-si must have found and disposed of them first.
“An-si, you completed all the tasks I assigned in the letter, didn’t you?”
An-si replied reluctantly, her lips pouting.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Did you guide Se-ru-hwa—I mean, Xiao-hua?”
“I entrusted her to the Chief Celestial Maiden.”
“And you brought that?”
“It’s right here.”
An-si let out a deep sigh and handed me what she’d retrieved from her bosom.
The Eight-Pearl Chime—a divine artifact with eight bronze bells hanging from branches that split into eight directions. I’d received it as a gift for my two-hundredth birthday, and I’d instructed An-si to bring it when she came down.
‘I have no intention of struggling in the Mortal Realm with nothing.’
This one item alone solves almost everything.
I tapped the third bell among the eight with my fingertip. A clear, tinkling sound rang out as smoke rose from the grooves of the bell, quickly forming an ornate gate the size of a washbasin. It was a passage connected to my treasure vault in Sang Ra Palace.
The eight bells of the Eight-Pearl Chime each served as passages connected to different places this way. Originally made as a pair—I kept one, and the other was divided so that each bell connected to a designated location.
‘My parents made this gift for me because I struggle with long walks.’
I tried to reach into the small gate and grunted before quickly giving up.
“An-si.”
“Yes?”
“Take this out for me. It’s heavy.”
“Goodness, you should have asked me from the start.”
An-si hurried over and retrieved what I was looking for from the gate connected to my treasure vault.
A crimson ceremonial robe adorned with intricate embroidery and decorated with crystals and pearls—woven from phoenix feathers, it was the most wedding-dress-like garment among all the clothes in my vault.
“Why are you looking for the Vermillion Robes?”
An-si asked, holding out the garment. I spread both arms wide.
“Dress me in it.”
“…? Understood, my lady.”
An-si tilted her head in confusion but obediently changed my clothes for me.
“Braid my hair too. And fetch a jade ornament and a phoenix crown from the treasury.”
“Yes, my lady.”
An-si skillfully braided my hair, arranged the jade ornament, and placed the phoenix crown upon my head. Upon seeing my completed appearance, she bounced excitedly and clapped her hands.
“Oh my, you look just like a little bride!”
“Really?”
“Yes! If only this were truly the Princess’s body, you’d be even more beautiful! But even as a human, you’re quite lovely, my lady.”
“Good, let’s go.”
As I walked forward confidently, the hem of my skirts felt unnecessarily voluminous and heavy.
‘This is why I never wore these gifted clothes properly and just stored them away. Though this body is healthy enough to move in them regardless…’
After a few steps, I stopped and looked up at An-si intently. Her face was split wide with a grin.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because the way you’re waddling along is just so incredibly adorable, my lady…”
Waddling. Waddling at two hundred and nine years old.
It was a shocking description, but I understood when I recalled how Se-ru-hwa walked through my garden.
‘Now I truly inhabit Se-ru-hwa’s child body. She was small and round like a rice cake, and her walk was rather endearing.’
I sighed softly and extended both hands toward An-si.
“Carry me.”
“Are you tired, my lady?”
“Yes, the dress is too heavy.”
An-si quickly scooped me up and asked.
“But where are we going?”
“The Wedding Ceremony Hall.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m getting married now.”
“What? Married? To whom, my lady?”
“To me and the human Crown Prince.”
An-si’s face went deathly pale.
“My lady, you mean to say you’re holding a wedding ceremony with a human? Do humans truly hold wedding ceremonies at such a young age?”
“I’m human now too. And the Crown Prince is young as well. Eleven years old, I think?”
“A wedding ceremony? As if running away wasn’t enough, now you’re rushing into marriage! The Heavenly Emperor will be furious! The Yama King will tear the Crown Prince to shreds! And then An-si will die for failing to stop you…!”
I reached out and gently patted An-si’s shoulders as she trembled with fear.
“Don’t worry, I’m not actually getting married.”
I have a plan for all of this.
* * *
The Wedding Ceremony Hall was situated directly in front of where I had been staying. I wasn’t familiar with the marriage customs of the Mortal Realm, but I’d heard that the procedures weren’t vastly different from those of the immortals.
‘It must be because of the procedures Cheongsil-Hongsil established.’
Therefore, today’s wedding ceremony had undoubtedly omitted most of the traditional steps. They’d cut everything else and gone straight to the Tongnaeyeon—the ritual where bride and groom take turns bowing and share a cup of wine.
Even the ceremonial table was barely presentable, and the Wedding Ceremony Hall itself looked so shabby for a royal marriage that it was hard to believe. The desolate autumn weather and scattered falling leaves only made the scene more pitiful.
Yet there were quite a number of guests. The King and Queen were absent, but the palace attendants and officials in court robes filled the space.
‘Rather than guests, they’re witnesses meant to prove that the Crown Prince married the Imperial Princess.’
A silver-haired woman sat alone in the seat of honor where the King and Queen should have been. She gripped her skirt so tightly it wrinkled, her face bowed as though she might faint at any moment.
‘Se-ru-hwa’s mother.’
Seol Deung-hwa. The mother of Se-ru-hwa, who was dragged along with the Pyeong Envoy Delegation like mere baggage without even a single attendant, and a concubine of the Pyeong Kingdom—she’d followed all the way here to care for her daughter personally.
Seol Deung-hwa had attempted to escape with Se-ru-hwa multiple times on the journey to the Yun Kingdom. Every attempt had failed.
‘That’s why she was confined to quarters far away from Se-ru-hwa as soon as they arrived at the palace.’
The Emperor wanted to kill Se-ru-hwa, yet he’d commanded that Seol Deung-hwa be brought back to Pyeong immediately after the ceremony. It was desire born of her legendary beauty rather than any affection.
‘Se-ru-hwa’s mother is… truly beautiful.’
Even in such a half-dazed state, her beauty couldn’t be hidden. For someone like me, accustomed to immortal maidens, it was enough to draw admiration—humans must find her far more breathtaking.
Members of the Pyeong Envoy Delegation watched Seol Deung-hwa from one side, their gazes sharp with surveillance.
“…Tell… my mother… I’m sorry….”
Xiao-hua’s parting words echoed in my mind.
‘There are too many eyes watching right now. I’ll meet with her separately after the ceremony.’
All the attendants assigned to me had apparently been taken away by heavenly punishment, so there wasn’t a single maid waiting for me in the Wedding Ceremony Hall.
Even so, this is far too careless. If Xiao-hua were in my position, she wouldn’t know what to do. Of course, it doesn’t matter to me.
“An-si.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“From now on, you’re my attendant who came with me from the Pyeong Empire. This wedding dress is something you prepared as well.”
“What? Can we really get away with something so… hastily arranged?”
“Yes, because everyone thinks I’ll die tonight anyway, so they won’t scrutinize the details.”
“Your Highness?”
“What are you doing? Support me.”
“Ah, understood, Your Highness.”
An-si, her face bewildered, supported me as we entered the Wedding Ceremony Hall. The moment the bride’s arrival was confirmed, the musicians began to play. I gazed toward them without particular thought, then was slightly startled.
‘Did I see that wrong?’
I wanted to look more carefully, but the situation made it impossible. The moment I entered, all the guests’ eyes focused on me.
“Is that wedding dress from Pyeong? It’s magnificent….”
“But I heard she was an unwanted child…?”
“There’s such nobility to her bearing. No matter what, she is still an Imperial Princess….”
“That silver hair is truly like snow. The exact same color as her mother’s….”
“This is unexpected….”
“Such an expensive-looking wedding dress—it seems Pyeong treated her better than anticipated….”
I felt wonder and confusion ripple through the murmurs. They’d expected an unremarkable child in an ill-fitting wedding dress, but instead I appeared in luxurious attire. The Xue Tribe’s distinctive silver hair must have seemed strange and fascinating to them as well.
‘A child who should have died from a blade wound appears unharmed—those connected to the culprit must find this unexpected too.’
I sat before the ceremonial table and spoke to An-si through heart-language in my mind.
[An-si.]
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“There seems to be a fox among the musicians. Look into it.”
“Pardon? You mean a fox demon is disguised as a human?”
“Don’t make it obvious. Just take a look.”
While my attention was drawn elsewhere, An-si seized the opportunity to glance toward the musicians and urgently sent me a telepathic message.
“Y-Your Majesty, there really is a fox demon among the musicians! And it’s the Thousand-Year Fox!”
The Thousand-Year Fox?
‘Quite the formidable creature.’
When a fox lives for a thousand years and cultivates the Way, it ascends to the heavens and becomes a Celestial Fox. If it simply lives as a demon without cultivating, it becomes a Thousand-Year Fox—a fox that has endured a millennium without enlightenment.
So what was such a creature doing hiding among humans? Was it scouting for prey to devour?
‘Wait… if this fox has been working as a musician in the palace all this time, it could be useful.’
“An-si, capture that one quietly later.”
“Without letting the humans notice?”
“Yes. Can you manage it?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t overextend yourself. The Thousand-Year Fox is quite dangerous.”
“Fear not, Your Majesty. I am your phoenix, after all. I shall bring it before you with its limbs cleanly severed.”
As we exchanged our silent conversation, a young groom in an azure wedding robe approached from the opposite side. The face-covering fan he carried was remarkably large and thick, and he wore gloves that concealed his skin entirely.
‘So that’s the Crown Prince.’

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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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