Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 68

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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 68
Father’s face contorted miserably. Tears welled up in his dark eyes and fell like heavy raindrops. He opened his mouth blankly, closed it, opened it slightly again, then shut it without uttering a word.
‘…I misspoke.’
My chest tightened. I bit my lip.
Still, I won’t take it back. I’m that angry. This can never happen again.
I stubbornly turned away from Father, who stood there biting his lip and crying.
Mother, who had been holding her forehead beside me, released a deep sigh and opened her mouth.
“Hwan, you should step outside for a moment.”
“….”
“Hwan.”
“….”
Father slowly released his grip on my hand, turned around, and headed toward the door. I continued staring at the wall, my eyes glistening.
Soon came the soft click of the door closing. Then the mattress sagged as Mother sat down on the bed.
“Sang Ra-hee-yo.”
“….”
“Look at me.”
“….”
“I’m sorry we broke our promise. But we didn’t give you that medicine without careful thought.”
“….”
“While you were recovering, we reviewed and refined the ‘straw god’ plan. In this situation, it’s the only possibility we have.”
“….”
“Sang Ra-hee-yo.”
“….”
“Your mother and father have found a way for you not to die.”
My head turned without my realizing it. I had intended to keep my head turned until they promised never to give me medicine made by shortening their own lifespans again.
But I couldn’t help being intrigued. After all, I didn’t truly want to just… die.
Still, suspicion lingered, so I opened my eyes narrowly and looked at Mother.
“…You’re not talking about a method that shortens your and Father’s lifespans, are you?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re both liars.”
“I’m telling the truth. The reason we made you take that medicine this time was… because time was running short, and it seemed you wouldn’t be able to decide for yourself.”
“Decide? About what?”
“Whether to use… the method that keeps you from dying, or not.”
Mother swallowed hard and continued quietly.
“It’s your life, so you must choose. But because of the aftereffects of this seal, you would need to sleep for at least ten more years.”
“T-ten years of sleep?”
“Your body was badly damaged. You need that much rest to recover. You’ve experienced this before, haven’t you?”
“That may be true, but….”
“So… to give you time to think and choose, I would need to wake you immediately, but the only thing I could think of was that medicine.”
“…It’s not the first time I’ve slept for ten years. Did you really shorten your lifespans just for that?”
“It’s not merely a matter of time for you, is it?”
“Pardon?”
“Ten years for you now—it’s entirely different from the ten years you once slept through carelessly. Ten years of a god versus ten years of a mortal. Isn’t that so?”
“….”
My words caught in my throat. The moment I heard that ten years of sleep were necessary for recovery, rejection surged through me first. If I surrendered to ten years of slumber like this, I would have to abandon my life as Se-ru-hwa.
That was fundamentally different from Sang Ra-hee-yo simply sleeping for ten years.
Mother smiled faintly.
“We understand how precious your time in the Mortal Realm is to you. That’s why we wanted to protect it.”
“But still, how could you and Father shorten your own lifespans for something so trivial….”
“It’s not trivial. How could the time you spend growing healthy and happy possibly be trivial?”
“….”
“Besides, how long do you think your parents’ lifespans are? This much won’t even be noticeable.”
“But it’s not infinite, is it?”
“Sang Ra-hee-yo, nothing in this world is infinite. You know that, don’t you?”
Mother gently stroked my head, then carefully lifted me into her arms.
“Come here, now.”
Cradling me, Mother rose from the bed and approached the table—the very table where she and Father had been speaking so gravely moments before. Upon it lay a silk-wrapped scroll, unfurled and waiting.
Mother seated me so I could see the scroll clearly.
“This is….”
“The second ‘Straw God’ plan—the method by which you won’t die.”
“…!”
“Read it, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me.”
I immediately focused on the characters inscribed upon the scroll. And before long, I understood why Mother and Father had shortened their own lifespans to awaken me.
The second ‘Straw God’ plan.
Princess Cheonmyeong’s divine power is divided among seven Straw Gods. Next, Princess Cheonmyeong is cast into an endless sleep, and together with the Straw Gods, all are sealed in one place.
By sealing the divine power completely within the divine body, the divine power distributed among the Straw Gods cannot return to Princess Cheonmyeong. By sealing not only the divine power but Princess Cheonmyeong herself, her breath cannot cease from the loss of divinity.
Furthermore, by casting Princess Cheonmyeong into an unending sleep, she cannot feel the passage of time during the long sealing, sparing her from suffering or exhaustion. The seal is then maintained until a new cure or method is found.
Additionally, a search continues for an entity with the qualifications to become a true god—one capable of governing the same concept as the Straw Gods and receiving a portion of Princess Cheonmyeong’s divine power. Through this, Princess Cheonmyeong’s lifespan continues to extend as long as the seal is prolonged.
The method itself was remarkably simple. There was nothing difficult to understand. I simply didn’t want to understand it.
‘…Until a cure is found or a true god appears to replace the Straw Gods, I will… sleep eternally.’
If I merely slept, my body would continue to deteriorate. But if I sleep with my divine power divided among the Straw Gods, my body won’t worsen further. By sealing not just the divine power but myself as well, I can be prevented from dying. It wasn’t a difficult plan, and there were no points of failure. Rather, it was simple and certain.
‘All I have to do is sleep a long sleep with no knowing when I’ll wake.’
When the Heavenly Realm speaks of a “long” sleep, just how vast a span of time would that be?
‘Five hundred years? A thousand? Perhaps thousands of years.’
It might even be after Mother and Father’s lifespans have ended.
Of course, according to that plan, for me it would be merely the blink of an eye. I wouldn’t feel the passage of time while sleeping.
Indeed, this is why it’s called a “method of not dying” rather than a “method of healing.”
‘So that’s why… they said I had to decide.’
I stared blankly at the scroll for a long time.
The Mortal Realm, the Crown Prince, Unyeon Hall, the humans. My life as Se-ru-hwa. If I sleep, I can only abandon it all. Because human time is short. Because they cannot wait for me.
An-si, Mother, Father, Sang Ra Palace, the gods, the immortals. When I awoke from this endless sleep, could there be any guarantee that Mother, Father, and An-si would still be alive?
Would a cure even be discovered? There are seven straw-grasping gods, but how much time would it take for seven gods to be born?
If I awakened alone in a future where I knew no one, would that hold any meaning? But if I simply lived out my days and died, would I regret it in my final moment? Would I wish I’d lived longer?
Did I want to live? Or did I want to be remembered?
Death and a sleep like death. Today, living on borrowed time, and tomorrow, uncertain when I would wake.
My thoughts tangled together in a chaotic knot.
I felt dizzy and nauseous.
As I covered my mouth with my hand, Mother, who had been watching, spoke.
“Sang Ra-hee-yo.”
“…Yes.”
“I know this isn’t an easy decision. That’s why your father and I wanted to give you time. Time to think carefully and understand.”
“How much time do I have?”
“It depends on how careful you are.”
“Roughly speaking?”
“About ten years should be fine.”
“…Mother and Father, you cut a thousand years from your lifespans?”
“Well… the medicine’s efficacy improved, so it’s not quite a thousand years. Don’t worry too much.”
Mother laughed awkwardly. That was the face of someone who would never reveal the exact number. Father might slip up if I coaxed him with aegyo, but Mother wouldn’t fall for that.
‘…What would be the point of finding out how much Mother and Father’s lifespans were shortened after I finished the medicine anyway?’
I was staring blankly at the table when Mother rose and approached me. She lifted me up and set me back on the bed, then pulled the blanket up to cover me.
“I’m sorry for burdening you with such difficult thoughts. Rest a bit more.”
“…”
“Whatever decision you make, your father and I are fine with it. You can think about it for as long as you need. You still have ten years, so take your time.”
Mother’s hand swept gently across my eyelids.
“For now, sleep a little longer.”
Sleep poured over me again, as if by deception. I closed my eyes and fled from all my worries.
* * *
I opened my eyes in the middle of the night. A pale blue moonlight pierced through the window, casting the shadow of window bars on the wall in an intricate pattern.
I stared blankly at that complex shadow for a moment, then pushed back the blanket and rose from the bed.
“Ugh…”
The moment my bare feet touched the floor, a sharp pain shot up from my soles to the crown of my head.
‘Ah, that’s right. My body was like this.’

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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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