SLPWT 03

Chapter: 03

My mother’s jade-green eyes—the same color as mine—went wide with surprise. It was only natural. This had never happened before.

Remembering how Father had reacted, I hurriedly explained.

“I just want to play with her until she’s sent back to the mortal world.”

“…I see.”

“I’ll be playing with her, so don’t worry and go.”

As expected, the excuse that I wanted someone to play with worked perfectly. After personally seeing the child Ansi had brought, Mother repeatedly reminded me not to overexert myself before leaving for the Purple Tenuity Palace.

The silver-haired little girl I had met again was surrounded by curious celestial maidens.

“Her Highness the Princess said she wants to play with this child? Right after waking up?”

“My goodness, what blessings did this child accumulate in her past life…?”

“Little one, how did you end up meeting Her Highness?”

“What did Her Highness like about you?”

“Our precious Princess actually chose you…”

“Her Highness is frail, so you must be extra, extra careful while playing with her…”

What a commotion.

None of them meant any harm, but if this kept up, I wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation with the child.

She’s terrified. She’s practically turned pale.

I should calm her down first. If I sent the adults away and gave her something delicious to eat, she’d probably feel better.

I walked over to the celestial maidens and ordered,

“Everyone leave. Just bring in the refreshments.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The maidens quickly retreated and soon returned with a table overflowing with snacks.

“Have a wonderful time!”

With bright smiles, they set everything down and quietly withdrew.

Left alone, the child trembled like a frightened rabbit.

Her hair is so white that she looks even more like one.

Looking at her more carefully, her large, gentle eyes and tiny nose were adorable.

She looks just like this.

I looked back and forth between the jade rabbit rice cakes on the table and the silver-haired child.

The Jade Rabbit Rice Cakes were sweet glutinous rice cakes handmade by the Jade Rabbits who lived on the moon. They were my favorite snack. Their fluffy white rabbit shape and little candy eyes were simply too cute.

Though honestly, I can’t really tell the difference in taste.

My sense of taste was dull. I could only distinguish between bitter and sweet. It became even worse after taking pain medicine.

That was why my snacks were usually chosen for how pretty and colorful they looked.

The little girl couldn’t take her eyes off them even as she continued trembling.

She’s going to bore holes into those rice cakes with her stare.

Suppressing a laugh, I asked,

“What’s your name?”

“M-Me? M-My name?”

“Mm.”

“I-It’s… Lu… Lu… Luhua… Se Luhua.”

Her voice was so tiny it was like an ant crawling across the ground.

I pointed at the Jade Rabbit Rice Cake that resembled her the most.

“I see. Luhua, would you like to try this?”

“…Huh?”

“It’s called a Jade Rabbit Rice Cake. It should be delicious.”

Well, I couldn’t really tell, but there was no way the snacks served to me would taste bad.

“Go ahead. Try it.”

After I urged her again, Luhua hesitated before carefully accepting the rice cake with both hands.

The chopsticks were right beside it, but I guess she was too overwhelmed to notice them. Or maybe she still wasn’t used to using them.

Though… that rice cake completely fills her hands. Her hands are really tiny.

Luhua examined the rice cake from every angle before taking a cautious little bite from one edge.

“…!”

Her eyes widened as she chewed.

Then she hurriedly opened her mouth for another bite.

The fist-sized rice cake gradually disappeared into her mouth.

Her cheeks puffed up pink like the strawberry-filled Jade Rabbit Rice Cake.

She’s eating it so happily.

“Is it good?”

With her mouth stuffed full, she nodded vigorously.

Feeling pleased, I slid another plate toward her.

“Have this one too.”

“Y-Yes…!”

“And this.”

Luhua eagerly accepted every snack I pushed toward her.

I think I finally understood what people meant when they said just watching someone eat made you feel full.

Resting my chin on my hand, I watched her.

Suddenly, the hand reaching for another cookie froze.

Sneaking glances at me, she timidly pushed a plate in my direction.

“Y-Your Highness should… eat too. I-I’ve been… the only one eating…”

Such a tiny child, yet so considerate.

Smiling, I waved my hand.

“I eat these all the time. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“B-But… let’s… l-let’s eat together.”

Her face looked like she’d summoned every ounce of courage she had to push the plate toward me.

She was so cute that I eventually picked up a few pieces and ate them as well.

Once we had cleaned every plate on the table, Luhua finally seemed much more relaxed.

To help her digest, I took her outside into my garden.

The garden of Sangra Palace had been designed by my parents as a miniature version of the entire world since I rarely got to leave the palace.

Even immortals often stood there in awe the first time they saw it.

She’ll probably love it too.

I led Luhua on a walk through the garden.

Tiny mountains and valleys, forests and grasslands, deserts and snowy fields stretched before us.

Jade Rabbits, baby white deer, young Haetae, and countless other divine beast cubs ran around happily.

On one side was a miniature sea filled with real seawater, along with a river flowing into it.

A baby Azure Dragon played across the water beside a little Black Tortoise, while young White Cranes and Azure Cranes drank peacefully at the riverbank.

“Wow…”

Oh.

She likes it.

She really likes it.

Luhua gasped in wonder everywhere we went.

She’s adorable.

The little girl stood there with her mouth hanging open, unable to look away from the sight of a melon-sized Jade Rabbit playing happily with a pumpkin-sized baby White Tiger.

Proudly, I smiled.

“You can pet them.”

“R-Really?”

“Mm. They won’t bite. They’re all good children.”

Perhaps she was still frightened.

Her tiny hand twitched, but she couldn’t bring herself to reach out.

In the end, I demonstrated first.

Stretching out my hand, I clicked my tongue softly.

The baby White Tiger toddled over and rubbed its head affectionately against my palm.

Only then did Luhua gather her courage and gently stroke its fur.

I thought her hands were small…

But looking at them now… they’re not much smaller than mine.

Does that mean I look about the same size as this little kid?

I’m two hundred and nine years old.

I really am tiny…

I finally understood why nobody treated me like an adult despite my being over two hundred years old.

The realization left me unexpectedly depressed.

By then, perhaps because she’d finally relaxed, Luhua started talking.

“M-My… my name… it means ‘Tear Flower.'”

“‘Tear Flower’? That’s an unusual name.”

“M-My mom… gave it to me. M-My mom actually…”

Luhua wasn’t good at speaking.

She hadn’t received much education either, so there were many things she didn’t understand.

She explained everything as best she could, but quite a bit of it was difficult to follow.

In the end, I had no choice but to occasionally consult my Karma Mirror.

The Karma Mirror was the mirror used in the Underworld to judge sinners, showing everything the deceased had done during their lifetime.

Father had even given me a palm-sized Karma Mirror as a gift to entertain myself whenever I was bored.

Listening to her story while watching the scenes reflected in the mirror, I finally understood why she didn’t want to return to the mortal world.

How could such a young child have such a tragic fate?

Now I understood what she meant when she said she’d simply die again if she went back.

Even though she still has so much lifespan left…

I quietly looked at the thread of her life.

Faint black characters appeared across the pale thread as though written in ink.

Se Luhua, 9, 101

Thanks to the power of the King of the Underworld that I had inherited from Father, I could read what was written on the life threads of humans.

The first part was their name.

The first number was their current age.

The last number was the lifespan Heaven had assigned them.

In other words, if no one interfered and everything followed its natural course, this child should live to be over a hundred years old.

But she died after only nine years.

And even if she’s revived, she’ll die again very soon.

Demons.

Evil spirits.

Corrupted gods.

Existences that had strayed from the natural order.

Collectively known as the Unclean.

Humans entangled with such beings rarely lived out their natural lifespan.

Unless they possessed the strength to overcome those beings themselves or received help from powerful gods or immortals, they died young regardless of how much life Heaven had originally granted them.

Se Luhua was one of those unfortunate cases.

Worse still…

She wasn’t entangled with just one of them.

I couldn’t see the future.

But as the Jade Emperor’s daughter, I could read fragments of Heaven’s will.

The omens surrounding this child’s future were even more dangerous than a destiny of dying by violent murder.

At this rate, even if she miraculously survived this time, she wouldn’t make it to ten years old—let alone one hundred and one.

Watching her happily pet the baby White Tiger with a bright smile made my heart ache.

Even if I want to help… without a proper reason, I’d be going against the laws established by Heaven and Earth.

Just because someone caught my attention didn’t mean I could casually bring the dead back to life.

There had to be a valid reason.

The most I could normally do was ask Grandmother of the Underworld, who cared for dead children in the Western Heaven Flower Garden, to look after this child until she reincarnated.

…Wait.

A brilliant idea suddenly flashed through my mind.

What if I held onto her life thread and went down to the mortal world myself?

The evil beings and ominous fate surrounding her meant nothing to me, Princess Cheonmyeong.

Even inside her body, I could easily live out her full natural lifespan.

For me, it would practically be a vacation.

I’d already wanted to leave home and experience life elsewhere.

This might be the perfect opportunity.

And in exchange for taking over her life…

I could give Se Luhua proper compensation.

That would give me a legitimate reason to help her.

What if I put her name on the Immortal Registry as compensation?

When a child’s name was entered into the Immortal Registry, they became an Immortal Child.

If they grew up safely, they would eventually become a true immortal.

I’ll make her an Immortal Child and let her grow up in Sangra Palace until she becomes a celestial maiden.

Then someday… she can see her mother again.

Despite all the hardships she’d endured, Se Luhua had very little attachment to the mortal world.

Except for one thing.

Her mother.

The biggest reason she didn’t want to be revived was because she couldn’t bear the thought of letting her mother watch her die a second time.

I crossed the River of Three Crossings so often that I understood exactly how she felt.

That’s why I want to help her even more.

Wouldn’t it be far better for her to become a celestial maiden and have another chance to reunite with her mother than simply die, forget everything, and be reincarnated?

Though if I really entered her body…

First, my real body would remain asleep inside Sangra Palace.

Just like when I wandered near death and fell into the River of Three Crossings, only my soul would leave, awakening inside her body in the mortal world.

…Then…

It wouldn’t hurt anymore, would it?

The burden caused by my divine powers would remain with my original body.

That meant while living as a human…

I wouldn’t feel any pain at all.

What does it feel like not to hurt?

I’d never had a healthy body before.

I didn’t know what that felt like.

To live somewhere other than this place… in a healthy body…

Could there be a better opportunity than this?

For me, it’d be the perfect vacation.

And for Mother and Father… it’d also be good practice for saying goodbye.

I’d be able to help that child without violating Heaven’s laws.

The more I thought about it, the more perfect the plan seemed.

Of course, there was one tiny problem.

My hopelessly overprotective parents would never allow it.

I didn’t hesitate for long.

I’ll just run away from home.

If I simply followed Luhua’s life thread down to the mortal world…

What could Mother and Father possibly do about it?