🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter: 05
The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Un had a terrifying rumor attached to his name.
People said he was a monster cursed from birth, that anyone who came near him either went mad or died.
Whether the rumor was actually true, or merely an excuse hiding other motives such as a struggle for the throne, Luhwa didn’t know the details. Whatever the truth was, the Kingdom of Un wanted a justification to replace the legitimate crown prince without suffering any political consequences.
Preferably, they wanted a reason strong enough to execute him publicly.
Meanwhile, in the Pyeong Empire, the Eleventh Princess, who carried the blood of the Snow Tribe, was considered a nuisance.
Her barbarian blood made the imperial family reluctant to treat her like a true princess. Yet openly killing her was also uncomfortable, since she was still the Emperor’s own daughter.
Leaving her alive was troublesome as well. If she ever learned what had happened to her mother’s people, she might grow to resent the imperial family.
“Seruhwa is half Snow Tribe. If the special abilities inherited by the Snow Tribe ever awaken in her, things will become troublesome.”
That was where the interests of the kingdom and the empire aligned.
Marry the Crown Prince to the princess.
Have the Crown Prince kill her.
Then accuse him of murdering an imperial princess and execute him for that crime.
The Kingdom of Un would gain the perfect excuse to eliminate the Crown Prince, while the Empire could dispose of the troublesome Eleventh Princess using someone else’s hands.
That was the real reason why nine-year-old Princess Seruhwa of Pyeong had been sent away to become the Crown Princess of Un.
“What an unbelievable fate.”
Although the young Luhwa didn’t know every detail, she had realized that she was going to die on the night of her wedding.
“The problem is… I was assassinated before the wedding could even happen.”
Which meant there was yet another force working behind the scenes that wanted her dead in a different way.
How many people could possibly want the life of an innocent nine-year-old child?
“First, I’ll survive the wedding. Then I’ll investigate who’s behind it.”
There were many things that needed to be done if she wanted to completely straighten out Seruhwa’s miserable life.
Running away and living in hiding was certainly an option.
But it was the worst possible one.
I am Princess Cheonmyeong, after all.
“If there are debts to settle, then I’ll settle them properly.”
She would take revenge on those who killed Luhwa.
She would also make Luhwa’s mother happy.
Only then could Sohwa, who had become a celestial spirit, truly let go of her lingering attachment to the mortal world.
And only then could she herself enjoy living as a human.
“First things first—I have to survive the wedding.”
Still…
Getting married at only nine years old.
The groom, the Crown Prince, seemed to be just a child as well. Besides, this wasn’t a proper marriage to begin with.
Even so, the thought left her feeling strangely unsettled.
And there was a more practical problem than simply feeling strange.
Once the bridal wine was shared during the wedding ceremony, regardless of the circumstances, the bond between husband and wife would be established.
“That’s the law established by the Red Thread and Blue Thread.”
The Red Thread and Blue Thread were twin gods who matched destined couples and tied together the threads of fate.
They were also the gods who governed marriage.
“If someone like me, a greater deity, becomes tied to Qinghong’s thread of fate… that little Crown Prince’s destiny will be completely ruined.”
She planned to live as the Crown Princess of Un for a while, cleanly resolve everything connected to “Seruhwa’s” life, and once this body had grown up, resign as Crown Princess and travel the world freely.
But if she simply disappeared after the wedding…
The Crown Prince might end up spending the rest of his life alone.
Forget remarriage—even falling in love with someone else would bring heavenly punishment or accumulate an enormous amount of karmic burden.
It didn’t matter whether he wanted it or not.
It didn’t matter whether they had ever truly lived as husband and wife.
It didn’t even matter if she herself gave him permission to remarry.
That was simply how it would be.
All because he would become “the human who shared the bridal wine with Princess Cheonmyeong.”
The name of Princess Cheonmyeong carried that much weight.
“I would feel far too guilty about that… I’d better take precautions in advance.”
While she was thinking about all this, the palace maids crowded around her, shoved her into a bathing tub, and began washing her.
“So, the noble Princess of Pyeong arrived without even a single maidservant, let alone a dowry…”
“We heard that Your Highness always lived frugally. It seems the rumors were true.”
“How fortunate for the Kingdom of Un to have such a modest Crown Princess.”
“We even prepared a modest wedding to suit Your Highness.”
The maids smiled brightly as they mocked her.
Their hands were rough and careless as they washed her.
It seemed every one of them already knew what kind of princess “Seruhwa” was and why this wedding was taking place.
Instead of pitying someone in such a situation, they chose to ridicule her.
Perhaps that was simply the nature of weak, foolish humans—by condemning another’s misfortune, they tried to distance themselves from it.
“How refreshing.”
Both this side of humanity…
And their rudeness toward her.
Everyone around her in Heaven had always served her with the utmost reverence.
Most people didn’t even dare meet her eyes.
If their fingertips accidentally brushed against hers, they would immediately kneel, trembling as they apologized for their disrespect.
Naturally, she had never once been treated like a sack of baggage.
If these women had been immortals, she would have punished them immediately.
“But they’re just weak humans. I’ll let this much slide. Besides, even if I don’t punish them…”
Since she remained silent, the maids grew even bolder.
“Your Highness may be small and rather thin, but don’t worry. We’ll do our best to make you look presentable.”
“There wasn’t a bridal robe that fit the princess, so we brought an old robe once worn by a princess who had already married and left the palace.”
“It’s a little old and plain, but someone as modest as Your Highness surely won’t mind.”
“These flashy ornaments probably don’t suit your taste. We’ll put them away.”
The ceremonial crown and ornamental pendants all disappeared into the sleeves of the maids.
All they left for her was an old red bridal robe that smelled musty.
Since the robe was far too large and kept slipping off her shoulders, one maid roughly wrapped a cord around her chest and pulled it tight.
“…!”
That hurts!
She could tolerate their insults.
She could even overlook their rudeness.
But she had no intention of enduring actual pain.
That’s enough.
She grabbed the maid’s hand before she could tighten the knot.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
“Let go. Step back.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said, step back.”
As she pushed the maid’s hand away, she added,
“All of you, leave. I’ll prepare for the wedding myself.”
The maid frowned in disbelief.
“The ceremony will begin very soon. We must hurry.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“It would be impossible for Your Highness to prepare alone. We…”
Luhwa quietly fixed her gaze upon the maid.
The maid abruptly swallowed the rest of her sentence and instinctively took a step backward.
Another maid beside her looked confused.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… uh…”
The Eyes of Heavenly Decree.
A power possessed by no one else.
An ability named after her own divine title.
Even immortals feared that gaze.
There was no way an ordinary human could withstand it.
“Even though I’m inside a human body, my eyes remain exactly as they were.”
As expected…
The maid’s face rapidly turned pale.
“Ah… ah…”
She staggered backward before collapsing to the floor, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
Luhwa withdrew the Heavenly Eyes at that point.
If she kept looking any longer, the woman would probably lose control of her bladder.
“Go.”
She gestured toward the door.
The maid nodded frantically through her tears.
“Y-Yes…! I’m sorry! Thank you! Thank you!”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Jamyung?”
The other maids hurried toward her in shock, but the maid called Jamyung scrambled to her feet and fled the room.
“W-What was that?”
“Why all of a sudden…?”
A faint sense of fear spread among the remaining maids after witnessing the bizarre scene.
Luhwa smiled at them.
“Aren’t you leaving too?”
…
“Leave. Now.”
She pointed toward the door.
One by one, the maids cautiously backed away before finally rushing out together.
“What just happened?”
“So even if she’s treated like garbage, an imperial princess is still an imperial princess? She suddenly felt… intimidating…”
“Intimidating? From that skinny little girl? You’re imagining things.”
“More importantly, she won’t be able to put that bridal robe on by herself. Is it really okay to leave her?”
“I don’t know. She told us to leave.”
“Why bother caring about a princess who’s going to die tomorrow anyway?”
“Let’s just enjoy watching her embarrass herself at the wedding later.”
Their mocking voices drifted back deliberately loud enough for her to hear.
“Humans really do ruin their own fates with their own mouths.”
She wasn’t so narrow-minded that a few immature insults from humans could anger her.
But just because she overlooked them…
Didn’t mean they would escape unharmed.
She had inherited the Jade Emperor’s power to judge merit and sin and dispense rewards and punishments.
In fact…
She had inherited so much of it that she couldn’t fully control it herself.
Which meant that whenever someone committed evil before her…
Or harbored malicious intentions toward her…
“Aaaah!”
“Hey! Why did you suddenly trip on flat ground?”
“Oh no! She lost a tooth— Gghk!”
“What’s wrong with you now? Does your stomach hurt?”
Even if she did absolutely nothing…
Heavenly punishment would descend automatically.
“She’s foaming at the mouth! Hurry, carry her!”
“Take her to the Royal Medical Hall!”
The hallway instantly descended into chaos.
“Is it because they’re powerless humans? The punishment comes immediately. Immortals and monsters usually take much longer.”
Well…
It was nothing more than reaping what they had sown.
Their sins weren’t grave enough to kill them.
Ignoring the commotion outside, Luhwa tried loosening the cord painfully constricting her chest.
She gave up almost immediately.
I’ve never even dressed myself before. How am I supposed to untie a knot like this?
After awkwardly tugging at it until it became slightly looser, she gathered up the dragging hem of the oversized robe and shuffled toward the window.
“Anshi should be arriving soon… Hmm?”
Halfway there, she noticed something.
Her steps felt astonishingly light.
Curious, she bounced up and down on the spot.
“I’m not even dizzy?”
Back in Heaven, even after taking medicine, moving around too vigorously would make her dizzy.
If she had jumped like this in her original body, she might even have thrown up.
“This body feels completely fine.”
She could feel her cheeks growing warm.
Unable to contain herself, she hopped several more times before clutching up her skirt and breaking into a run.
“Wow.”
Running…
Didn’t make her chest hurt.
“Woohoo!”
She couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
She felt as though she could fly.
She ran circles around the room several times.
Compared to her chamber in the Sangra Palace, the room was tiny.
But thanks to this small body, there was plenty of space to run around.
“My body is so light! It doesn’t hurt at all!”
If simply running indoors felt this wonderful…
What would it feel like to run outside beneath the open sky with the cool wind against her face?
“I’ve never really been able to run before!”
Overcome with excitement, she kept running until she caught the hem of her robe under her foot and pitched forward.
“Eek!”
She rolled across the floor with quite a bit of force.
Fortunately, the thick layers of her skirt acted like a cushion, so it hardly hurt.
“Did I get a nosebleed?”
She quickly touched her nose.
Nothing.
In her original body, a fall like that would have left blood pouring from either her nose or ears.
“I’m not bleeding!”
Wrapping herself tightly in the voluminous skirt, she began rolling happily across the floor.
“I’m not bleeding! I’m not hurt! This body is really sturdy!”
She rolled forward.
Rolled sideways.
Got tangled in the robe, flailed helplessly, toppled over again, and continued rolling.
“I’m not even nauseous! I’m unbelievably healthy!”
If she’d done this in her original body, she would already be lying there vomiting.
Her ears would be ringing too.
But this body…
Felt completely fine.
Absolutely fine.
“What do I do? I’m so happy!”
A grin spread uncontrollably across her face.
Filled with delight, she lay face down kicking her feet beneath the mountain of fabric.
Then an astonished voice came from the window.
“Y-Your Highness…?”
It was Anshi.
Luhwa immediately sprang to her feet, composed her expression, and turned toward the window.
