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Chapter: 22
The King of the Underworld scooped up the Head Court Fairy as though she were a piece of luggage and was about to dash out like a raging tiger.
The Jade Emperor set down the letter and sharply called his name.
“Hwon!”
The King of the Underworld froze and turned around. The Jade Emperor clicked her tongue.
“If you rush over there in that state, do you really think that child, who has only just begun blending into the mortal world, will be fine? Are you planning to kill her first and then pour water over the corpse?”
“……”
“Calm your temper.”
“…My apologies. I lost my reason because I couldn’t stop worrying about what kind of situation Huiyo might be in.”
Breathing heavily, the King of the Underworld gently set the Head Court Fairy back down. The Jade Emperor sighed.
“Hwon, I am just as overwhelmed and anxious. Huiyo in the mortal world? And in the fragile body of a human…”
“Exactly! Suryeo, we have no idea what hardships Huiyo might be suffering! That could even be why she’s in pain!”
The King of the Underworld paced frantically around the room.
“Our precious, noble princess is in the mortal realm! She may already be tainted by foul energy and lying sick. Who knows what lowly, vile creatures might dare lay a hand on our Huiyo…!”
Dark killing intent billowed from his entire body like storm clouds.
If anyone had dared touch Huiyo, whoever it was, he looked ready to tear them into tiny pieces and boil them in the Hell of Scalding Water for eight thousand years.
The Jade Emperor shielded the trembling Head Court Fairy with divine power before speaking.
“But, Hwon, our daughter is wiser and kinder than anyone.”
“Of course she is. There isn’t another child anywhere between heaven and the depths of the earth who is as intelligent, wise, pure, lovable, beautiful, gifted, kind, mature, and adorable as our princess.”
“Yes. And this was something Huiyo decided and did of her own free will. She wasn’t kidnapped, nor was it an accident.”
“……”
“I was shocked too… but we both read the same letter. Did it seem like Huiyo acted without thinking? Like she never once considered how worried we’d be?”
“……”
“If we truly trust Huiyo, then before overturning the world to drag her home, we should first understand why she chose to do this.”
The Jade Emperor smiled bitterly.
“We couldn’t even give her a healthy body. If we can’t even support what our child wishes to do, then what kind of parents are we?”
“…Suryeo.”
“Hwon, if Huiyo truly wants something, then I want her to pursue it freely. Isn’t this the first act of rebellion from a child who never once complained despite living in constant pain?”
As she carefully folded the letter and returned it to its envelope, she added gently,
“Of course… we should still make sure there isn’t anyone foolish enough to interfere with what our Huiyo is trying to accomplish.”
“…!”
“If there are stones lying in the path our daughter intends to walk, isn’t it the duty of parents to pull them out by the roots and smooth the road beforehand?”
The Jade Emperor smiled serenely, though her expression suggested she would crush anything that dared stand in front of her daughter.
“Our precious girl should be able to do everything she wants… and walk only on a road covered in flowers.”
The King of the Underworld nodded vigorously.
“Exactly! Naturally! As expected of my wife!”
Watching them, the fairies were once again reminded that these two were the greatest doting parents in all of Heaven and the Underworld.
The Jade Emperor appeared calmer than the King of the Underworld, but when it came to Princess Cheonmyeong, the two were exactly alike. Their methods differed, but in the end, neither of them cared about consequences.
Honestly, if Her Highness had been even a slightly spoiled child, there would have been endless wailing throughout Heaven and the Underworld.
Princess Huiyo is the one who usually stops the two of them from going overboard…
Thank goodness our princess is so wise, kind, considerate, and lovable!
The fairies failed to realize they themselves were just as hopelessly devoted.
“Now then.”
The Jade Emperor turned toward the Head Court Fairy.
“Before we go searching for the princess, tell me everything you know. Start with the child the princess left in your care.”
The day to treat the Queen together with Seoldeunghwa had finally been decided.
The last day of this month.
There was still plenty of time.
It had been worth telling Seoldeunghwa to delay the date as much as possible under the excuse that an auspicious day had to be selected.
The last day of the month is when yin energy is strongest. It’s genuinely the best day to visit the underworld.
Until then, I planned to meet Seoldeunghwa every day to refine our revenge plan while teaching her my method of “dying and coming back to life.”
I should also practice controlling darkness with the Crown Prince.
As for the rest of my free time, I’d eat well, sleep well, and go on plenty of walks.
I wanted to grow up healthy and strong.
Once I get more used to this body, I should even learn martial arts!
However, the first thing I ended up dealing with the next day was something completely unexpected.
“Seven people became unable to work overnight?”
“Yes… Four have fallen seriously ill, while three suffered broken legs or broken arms…”
Court Lady Kim explained anxiously.
During the night, seven maids assigned to the Crown Princess’s palace had suddenly either become ill or been injured.
“I sincerely apologize, Your Highness. I’ll immediately find replacements. I have no idea how something like this could have happened…”
I rubbed the back of my neck before waving my hand dismissively.
“No, it’s fine. I think I know the reason.”
“Pardon?”
It was obviously divine punishment.
Apparently seven humans had entered the Crown Princess’s Palace harboring impure intentions toward me.
Well, some were probably the Left State Councilor’s spies, we still haven’t found whoever ordered Ruhwa’s assassination, and there are probably people who simply hate me because I’m half Seol Tribe or because I’m from the Empire…
Thinking about it that way, perhaps it was only seven because Court Lady Kim had done such an excellent job screening people.
Still… what were they planning to do on their very first day to get struck by divine punishment immediately?
Maybe they had only entertained evil thoughts without actually acting, but because humans were so fragile, the punishment hit them much harder.
Either way, I couldn’t leave things as they were.
“Court Lady Kim, can you gather every maid currently assigned here, along with the new ones who’ll be assigned later, into the front courtyard?”
“I can, but may I ask why?”
“I’ve decided I should personally choose the people who’ll become my own.”
Before worrying about anything else…
I needed to clean up my own house first.
About thirty maids gathered in the front courtyard of Unyeondang.
That’s surprisingly few. Well… I shouldn’t compare it to Sangra Palace.
There had been roughly five thousand immortals working in Sangra Palace.
Even the fairies who worked directly under me numbered over a thousand.
Honestly, the number was much smaller than I’d expected, but I kept that to myself.
At least there aren’t many. It’ll be quick to check everyone, and I can examine them more carefully.
Wait.
Out of this tiny group, seven people had malicious intentions?
No wonder Ruhwa’s future was filled with signs of disaster.
As I stepped onto the wooden veranda, Court Lady Kim raised her voice.
“Attention! Her Highness the Crown Princess has arrived!”
“Unyeon Hwaso (雲煙化霄)! We pay our respects to Her Highness the Crown Princess!”
All the maids bowed deeply in unison while shouting a phrase I’d never heard before.
What did that mean?
Seeing my puzzled expression, Court Lady Kim explained quietly.
“It is the formal greeting used in Un whenever one greets the Crown Princess.”
“A greeting?”
“In the Kingdom of Un, the dragon soaring through the clouds symbolizes His Majesty the King, while the cloud-filled heavens through which the dragon travels symbolize Her Majesty the Queen.”
She pointed toward the painted dragons and clouds decorating the ceiling.
“Accordingly, His Highness the Crown Prince is called the ‘Hidden Dragon,’ who still remains upon the earth, while Her Highness the Crown Princess is called ‘Unyeon’—the smoke that will one day become clouds.”
“Oh… so ‘Unyeon Hwaso’ means wishing that the Crown Princess safely rises into the clouds and becomes the sky of the Crown Prince.”
“Exactly.”
Court Lady Kim stared at me in surprise before adding admiringly,
“Your Highness is truly brilliant. Although both Un and Pyeong use the same Heavenly Language, there are subtle differences, and even the written characters differ. Yet Your Highness speaks it more naturally than children born and raised here in Un.”
Well, of course.
The Heavenly Language used by humans in the mortal world originally came from Heaven.
Long ago, Grandmother Mago had taught humanity the language and writing of the heavens.
Even though it had changed over countless years, to a god like me, the language of Un and the language of Pyeong sounded equally natural.
The same went for every other country’s language.
That was why gods could understand humans from every nation.
Come to think of it, since Se Ruhwa is originally from Pyeong, people will probably keep finding this strange.
I considered it briefly before deciding to bluff.
“I studied very hard ever since I was little.”
It wasn’t anything beyond human capability.
Even an ordinary nine-year-old could manage it with intensive early education.
“Amazing, Your Highness.”
Court Lady Kim looked at me like a grandmother who had just discovered her granddaughter was a genius.
Feeling slightly burdened by that expression, I quickly turned toward the maids.
They were still bowing.
“Raise your heads and look at me.”
At my command, they hesitated before slowly lifting their heads one by one.
Once I confirmed that nearly all their eyes were on me…
I opened the Eye of Heavenly Fate.
Normally it’s a power used to examine one person in great detail.
But when I looked at many people at once, I couldn’t inspect each one deeply, yet I could still examine everyone simultaneously.
“…!”
“Ah!”
“Ugh…”
Even though the backlash was divided among thirty people, many staggered where they stood.
Humans really are much weaker than immortals.
Before the situation became chaotic, I immediately closed the Eye of Heavenly Fate.
The flood of information that had rushed into my mind in that brief instant left me slightly dizzy.
As I closed my eyes and gently massaged my temples, Ansi asked through telepathy with concern.
[Are you all right, Your Highness?]
[Yeah. This much is manageable.]
[But if you had attempted something like this with your original body, you would have been bedridden for an entire week!]
[This body is healthy, so I’m fine.]
[…,Setting this body aside, Ansi is worried about Your Highness’s true body that remains in Heaven. Is it truly all right?]
Probably not.
The only reason I remained unharmed after using divine power in the mortal world was because the entire burden was being transferred to my original body.
But…
That body wasn’t destined to live very long anyway.
It’ll probably reach the end of its lifespan before this body does.
Still, once my original body carrying all that burden died…
This body wouldn’t remain safe either.
I wonder how much longer I’ll live.
I didn’t know.
The lifespans of gods weren’t recorded even in the ledgers of the Underworld.
Still, living in this body should let me survive much longer than constantly moving that fragile glass-like body.
If the very end truly approached, I’d have to return to Heaven and spend my remaining time with Mother and Father.
Hmm… I should probably check on my heavenly body from time to time.
Hiding my true thoughts, I answered Ansi instead.
[That body is asleep. Even if I push it a little, it’ll recover quickly.]
