The Five-Year-Old Baby Princess Rules the Palace - Chapter 2
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#2. Princess, Can You See Me?
Had she drowned to death? Why was her entire body soaking wet like that?
Eunhye, barely suppressing the suffocating fear that overwhelmed her, held her breath and nodded as if she saw nothing.
Then she lowered her gaze again and spoke with a voice filled with considerable dignity.
“I understand. I look forward to working with you as well. You may go now.”
Lady Park smiled at Eunhye as if she had done very well, then looked back at This Servant and nodded lightly for her to leave.
This Servant bowed to Eunhye once more, then began walking toward the door with proper backward steps.
But then, the boy who had been riding on the servant’s back suddenly jumped down! And he was approaching Eunhye with a strange limping gait!
“Huh!”
At the sight of the boy approaching her with an eerie manner that seemed like dragging or limping his leg, Eunhye bit down hard on her trembling jaw and clenched her fists tightly.
Then she called out loudly to Lady Park who was standing beside her.
“Nanny!”
“Yes! Yes, Princess, do you have any special orders?”
As the startled Lady Park quickly bowed and answered, Eunhye hurriedly lay down on the thick silk cushion behind her and squeezed her eyes shut.
“I want to sleep.”
At that moment, This Servant, who was about to cross the threshold, looked up with surprised eyes at Eunhye lying down.
“…?”
“Shh!”
When Lady Park glared at her, the startled This Servant quickly pulled her neck in like a turtle and hurried out the door.
After confirming that both the paper door and the room door were closed, Lady Park finally rushed to Eunhye and bent down.
“Princess, are you feeling unwell anywhere!”
Behind Lady Park’s shoulder as she carefully touched Eunhye’s forehead with a worried face, the boy with sunken black eyes peeked his head out!
Eunhye, who had slightly opened her eyes, swallowed hard at the goosebumps covering her entire body and squeezed her eyes shut again.
“No, I’m just sleepy.”
Then, a terrible voice like metal scraping against metal reached Eunhye’s ears.
[Princess, can you see me?]
“Princess, are you alright?”
Though both the nanny’s and the ghost boy’s voices reached her simultaneously through the darkness behind her closed eyes, Eunhye couldn’t open her eyes.
Those terrifyingly frightening sunken black eyes that seemed to be right in front of her face…!
Lady Park, with a shocked expression, tightly grasped Eunhye’s cold hands as she trembled like an aspen leaf on the bedding.
“Princess, I shall call the royal physician!”
At Lady Park’s words about calling the physician, Eunhye answered while deliberately yawning loudly with her eyes tightly shut.
“Yaaawn, no, I’m fine. I think it’s because I woke up too early today. I want to sleep a bit, so nanny, please go out too.”
Lady Park looked around the room with a stern expression, though she could see nothing.
You wicked thing! Get out of here immediately!
Surely, she had seen something from that kitchen servant earlier.
My poor Princess…!
Lady Park’s hands trembled unknowingly as she opened the chest to take out a silk blanket. But knowing that if she too showed fear, the young Princess would be even more frightened, Lady Park covered her with the blanket with gentle hands and spoke in a soothing tone.
“Of course. You’ve been awake since before the hour of the Rabbit (5 AM) preparing for morning greetings, so you must be very tired. I shall quickly cover you with a blanket, so please sleep for just one period.”
At Lady Park’s words, Eunhye waved her small hands while keeping her eyes tightly shut.
“Yes, that sounds good. I’ll sleep just a little, so please go out.”
Eunhye yawned long as if she were very tired. If she didn’t do that, it felt like a scream would burst out.
“Yes, Princess. I will be standing guard outside the door, so please call me anytime.”
“Mm.”
Eunhye’s jaw trembled finely as she answered, knowing from the chill she still felt that the ghost boy was still nearby. At Eunhye’s appearance, Lady Park squeezed her eyes shut and opened them.
Some wicked thing is still in the room.
Lady Park, who had carefully covered Eunhye up to her chest with the blanket, asked again with a voice full of worry and concern.
“Princess, shall I stay by your side at least until you fall asleep?”
Though her small jaw trembled and even her complexion had turned pale, the young mistress shook her head with her eyes tightly shut.
“No, I’m fine. Nanny, please go out and attend to your work.”
Oh, what shall I do with our Princess.
Why did heaven make such a lovely Princess see wicked things?
Lady Park tightly grasped the small hands that had become cold as ice.
“Then please rest. I will return shortly.”
At the sound of Lady Park getting up, Eunhye pulled the soft silk blanket up to cover even her head. Lady Park looked at her with sad eyes, bowed slightly, then quietly stepped backward toward the door.
The fingertips of Eunhye, who was clutching the blanket pulled up to her head, trembled finely. Eunhye’s small chest was also rising and falling greatly as she kept her eyes tightly shut.
Has that ghost boy left now?
Since I said I was sleeping, he must have followed This Servant outside, right?
Eunhye’s small heart pounded with hope, and the blanket inside seemed to grow hot from her breathing with her eyes tightly shut.
After some time passed, Eunhye carefully opened her eyes slightly and slowly looked around.
Since there were sometimes very wicked ghosts that would stick their faces inside the blanket, Eunhye cautiously looked around and, relieved that there was nothing beside her, slowly lowered the blanket she had been clutching below her face.
Eunhye took a deep breath at the coolness of the outside air rushing into her nose and blinked while looking at the ceiling.
‘Thank goodness. He must have followed This Servant outside.’
Eunhye let out a long sigh of relief and turned her head toward the door while lying down!
Ah…!
He was there.
In the very spot where Lady Park had been standing! A boy with a dark blue face and frightening eyes was standing there looking at her!
Eunhye, shocked enough to scream, held her breath and pretended nothing was wrong as she turned to lie on the opposite side.
‘I’m scared…! What should I do?’
Hot tears immediately welled up in Eunhye’s eyes as she looked at the flower painting on the folding screen.
‘Mother, I’m scared.’
Her small, chubby hands tightly grasped the blanket that had been lowered to her chest. Hot tears that burst from her tightly shut eyes flowed down along the corners of her eyes.
[Why are you crying?]
Gasp!
The sudden sound like scraping metal. Eunhye was so startled that she stopped breathing altogether.
[Are you really Princess? But why are you such a coward?]
Eunhye’s lips and small chin tip trembled as she kept her eyes tightly shut.
[Strange. Can’t you hear me? I thought you definitely saw me earlier? Princess, you can see me, right?]
The sound came clearly as if whispering directly in her ear, and though Eunhye shuddered with goosebumps all over her body, she did not open her tightly shut eyes.
But then, the presence of the ghost boy beside her suddenly moved far away, and she heard an annoyed muttering.
[Huh? Where is sister going now?]
And then the boy’s presence gradually moved away…
Some time passed.
Eunhye, who had been lying on her side with her eyes closed, slowly opened them. She rolled her eyes around to sense the surroundings. The cold chill had faded, so it seemed the ghost boy from before had gone far away.
Sister? Then was the ghost boy the younger brother of that kitchen servant?
Though she didn’t know why he had become a ghost riding on his sister’s back, this ghost boy seemed unable to stray far from his sister.
Barely calming her pounding heart, Eunhye slowly sat up and looked around the room once more.
He really left. Thank goodness.
Eunhye sat blinking her frightened eyes, then swallowed nervously as she recalled the voice that had spoken to her just moments ago.
The spine-chilling voice like metal scraping against metal had echoed as if speaking from inside a cave.
A cave… why would a child’s voice have such an echo?
As Eunhye pondered various thoughts, she pursed her lips and looked toward the door.
Though he had disappeared following the servant who had moved away for now, she didn’t know when or how the ghost boy might appear.
As long as This Servant was at her quarters in the Pantry of the Separate Palace, that ghost could appear again at any time.
He might come back very soon.
Eunhye hurriedly pushed away the blanket and jumped up. She felt like she needed to quickly escape to somewhere that ghost couldn’t find her.
Or would it be better to go to Mother and ask her to take This Servant away again? No, then Mother would be sad again, wouldn’t she?
The chubby back of Eunhye’s clenched fists became rigidly tense.
Let’s get out of here first. We don’t know when that water ghost might come back. Let’s go somewhere far from my quarters and think about what to do.
Eunhye turned her eyes away from the door and looked up at the window frame above the bookcase attached to the right wall.
If I climb up there, I should be able to push the window frame open. Let’s go out that way for now.
Having made her decision, Eunhye stood up and walked to the front of the long bookcase placed beneath the window frame. However, even if she climbed on top of the bookcase, her height wouldn’t be enough to reach and open the window frame.
Then… As Eunhye looked around, she spotted a mirror stand placed next to the writing desk.
Ah! That’s it!
If I put the mirror stand on top of the bookcase and stand on it, I should be able to open the window frame.
Eunhye struggled to lift the mirror stand next to the writing desk and headed toward the bookcase. Even while doing so, she moved her steps carefully, worried that the sound of her movements might be heard outside the door.
Finally reaching the front of the bookcase, Eunhye struggled to lift the mirror stand and barely managed to place it on top of the bookcase, then looked toward the door. Fortunately, there seemed to be no signs of anyone hearing anything from outside.
[Are you really the Princess? You can see me, right?]
It felt like that spine-chilling voice would reach her ears again at any moment.
Eunhye struggled with her short legs, grunting as she climbed up onto the bookcase, then stretched both arms upward.
As expected, her arm length was hopelessly insufficient to push open the window frame.
Eunhye let out a small sigh as if she had expected this, then pulled the mirror stand she had placed beside her closer and put her small sock-covered foot on it. It was a precarious sight, as the mirror stand could slide off the bookcase and fall at any moment.
But once both feet were on top of the mirror stand, Eunhye smiled with satisfaction as her hands reached the window frame.
“Got it.”
Standing on tiptoes on the mirror stand and putting strength into both arms to push the window frame, the window finally moved forward slightly.
Eunhye pushed her body through that small gap with all her might.
Hngh!
Then her small body got stuck in the middle of the opened window frame gap, and oh my!
She ended up in the ridiculous position of dangling from the middle of the window frame.
Her face turning bright red, Eunhye put a little more strength into her arms and shoulders and leaned her body forward. Then, her small head and shoulders tilted downward!
“Whoa whoa whoa!”
Thud!
A bundle of bright pink silk skirt fell with a plop into the pile of yellow plum blossoms blooming abundantly in the flower garden beneath the window frame.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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