SLPWT 28

Chapter: 28

“These peaches… they’re incredible. They’re so sweet, yet so refreshingly tangy. Just as Madam said, they’re truly precious.”

The Crown Prince exclaimed in admiration and finished an entire large peach in no time.

He’s at the age where he should eat well and grow quickly.

The boy, who usually sat quietly in his black dragon robe with a solemn expression, looked much more like someone his age now that he was dressed in martial attire, juice from the peach dripping down as he ate.

I held out the peach in my own hand.

“Your Highness, have this one too.”

“You should eat it yourself, Madam.”

“I’ve already had plenty before. I brought these for you.”

When I practically forced it into his hands, the Crown Prince tilted his head slightly before slicing off the top of the Heavenly Peach with his silver dagger.

“Madam.”

“Yes?”

As I opened my mouth to answer, he gently popped a small piece of the Heavenly Peach into it.

A rich sweetness spread through my mouth.

The corners of the boy’s eyes curved into a beautiful smile.

“How could I be the only one eating when we’re together?”

The painted palace eaves behind his warm smile, the deep blue sky above us, the fragrance of peaches…

For some reason, I felt strangely soft inside.

I couldn’t really explain what that feeling was.

Silently, I chewed the peach.

…It’s unbelievably sweet.

My original body really must have had something wrong with its sense of taste.

Eating a Heavenly Peach with a healthy body tasted far richer than I remembered.

It’s delicious.

Back then, I had loved eating them because they made it feel as though my pain and exhaustion disappeared.

Now I didn’t feel that sensation.

Well, of course not.

I wasn’t tired or in pain anymore.

Even without that feeling…

…it’s still this sweet.

That alone was enough.

The peach slice had been rather large, so I spent a while chewing before swallowing it.

The Crown Prince cut an even smaller piece than before and slipped it into my mouth.

“Your hands and feet are so tiny, Madam. Even your mouth is small. You are going to grow bigger eventually… aren’t you?”

He just had to hit me where it hurts.

The years I had spent in the Heavenly Realm, unable to grow at all while trapped in a child’s body, flashed through my mind, and I instinctively felt choked up.

“I-I’m going to grow really big now!”

“You should finish chewing before you speak.”

He wiped the corner of my mouth with a handkerchief.

…I’m being treated like a little kid by an actual child again.

My sense of dignity was taking a serious hit.

Is it because I’m around a child that I keep acting like one too? Pull yourself together. You’re 209 years old!

I hurriedly swallowed the peach and declared solemnly,

“Your Highness, please teach me archery too.”

“Madam is still too young…”

“But I heard Your Highness started learning when you were four.”

“That was with a toy bow. If it’s a toy bow, I still have the one I used, so I can certainly—”

“I don’t want a toy. I want to learn with a real bow.”

“That is still too early for you. You can learn once you’ve grown a little more.”

“But Your Highness received a real bow when you were eight! I’m nine. I’m a whole year older than you were back then!”

I argued proudly.

The corners of the Crown Prince’s lips lifted.

“However, Madam is much smaller than I was at eight.”

“How can you be so sure? That was when you were little!”

“Then… would you mind standing up for a moment?”

I immediately got to my feet and stood as straight as I could.

The Crown Prince picked up the black horn bow that had been beside him and stood it upright next to me.

He’s comparing my height to the bow.

I glanced sideways.

The tip of the bow almost reached above my head.

Quietly, I rose onto my tiptoes.

My skirt is long. He won’t notice.

“Pfft…”

The Crown Prince made a strange noise before covering his mouth with one hand, his shoulders trembling.

He’s trying not to laugh, isn’t he?

“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

He quickly lowered his hand, compared the bow with my height once more, then shook his head.

“You’re at least a handspan shorter than I was at eight. With your build, handling a horn bow would be difficult. Let’s begin with a toy bow.”

“Ugh…”

I wanted to learn right now.

Doing things like this was exactly why I’d come down to the mortal world!

I put on the saddest expression I could manage and looked up at him pleadingly.

“I really can’t…?”

Whenever I looked at my parents or the heavenly maidens like this, they always gave in immediately.

The Crown Prince merely flinched and looked away.

“…Even if you make that face, no means no. A bow is a weapon. You could get hurt.”

“…”

“Please don’t look at me like that. Once you’ve grown another handspan or so, it’ll be fine…”

He looked completely flustered, yet remained stubbornly firm.

He’s not giving in.

I sighed in defeat.

“I want to become an adult already.”

“So do I.”

“Then… even if it’s just the toy bow… I’ll learn with that. You can teach me that much, right, Your Highness?”

“Of course. I’ll have to find wherever I put the bow I used as a child.”

The Crown Prince smiled brightly.

From that day onward, archery practice was added to both of our daily schedules.

The days flew by in the blink of an eye, and at last the promised evening of the month’s final day arrived.

Holding Seol Deunghwa’s hand, I headed toward the Queen’s Palace.

As soon as the enormous plaque bearing the grand calligraphy of Unso Hall the official name of the Queen’s Palace—came into view, the hand clasping mine began to tremble violently.

“Are you nervous?”

I whispered.

She looked down at me and quietly answered,

“Yes. Even though I don’t actually have much to do… I’m still shaking.”

“If you’re really nervous, pray that everything goes well.”

“Huh? To whom?”

“To Princess Cheonmyeong. She’s a compassionate but incredibly powerful goddess. If you pray to her, she’ll definitely grant your wish.”

Seol Deunghwa blinked before letting out a small laugh.

Keeping a perfectly straight face, I urged her on.

“I’m serious. It’ll definitely work.”

“But didn’t you say we shouldn’t casually speak your title?”

“Normally, yes. But it’s fine when you’re praying.”

“Hmm… then…”

As she stepped through the gates of the Queen’s Palace, she quietly began praying.

“I pray, I pray, to Princess Cheonmyeong.”

The front courtyard was illuminated as brightly as daytime by bonfires and the palace guards carrying torches.

Still tense, Seol Deunghwa continued her prayer as she walked between them.

“…Though it may appear that I am deceiving others, I harbor no evil intent. I seek only to save a life, to save both myself and my pitiful daughter. Surely Princess Cheonmyeong already knows the whole story…”

The King, who had been pacing anxiously before the stone steps, glared at us with bloodshot eyes.

Seol Deunghwa squeezed my hand tightly, swallowed hard, and bowed deeply.

“If the Queen does not awaken, I will not spare either of you.”

The King barked harshly before jerking his chin toward the entrance.

“Go inside.”

We removed our shoes and entered the Queen’s Palace.

Since I had insisted that having anyone else present would interfere with the ability being used, every palace maid had been dismissed.

The vast palace hall was eerily silent.

As we headed toward the royal bedchamber, Seol Deunghwa finished her prayer.

“…Please allow us to save Her Majesty the Queen safely, and protect us so that no evil may occur. I pray, I pray, to Princess Cheonmyeong.”

“I accept your prayer. I shall protect things according to your wish.”

I answered immediately.

Seol Deunghwa burst into a quiet laugh.

Looks like she’d finally relaxed.

Deliberately putting on a solemn voice, I replied,

“Ahem! A deity has answered your prayer, and instead of showing gratitude, you dare laugh?”

She covered her mouth, swallowing her laughter, then whispered with a smile still lingering in her voice,

“Thank you very much, Princess.”

“Hmph. Very well. Just don’t forget my kindness from now on.”

Her complexion noticeably improved as she opened the door to the royal bedchamber.

At my request—disguised as one of Seol Deunghwa’s requests—multiple folding screens had been arranged around the Queen’s bed to shield the area.

Once we stepped behind the screens, I finally saw the Queen lying on the bed in her sleeping robes.

So this is the first time I’ve actually seen her face.

They had apparently summoned physicians, Taoist priests, and even shamans.

Considering she’d been asleep for two full years, she was in remarkably good condition.

Her complexion was pale, and she’d grown somewhat thinner, but there were no signs of bedsores, and her breathing remained steady.

After checking her breathing with my finger, I stood up.

Seol Deunghwa, looking tense again, stammered slightly.

“Sh-Shall we begin?”

“Yeah. You remember what I explained before, right?”

“Yes.”

What I was about to do was the same thing my father always did whenever he came to rescue me.

No… actually, it’ll be much easier than that.

I had been practically dead every time.

The Queen is clearly still breathing.

Ordinarily, the dead crossed the River of Three Paths with the grim reaper assigned to them before entering King Yama’s realm.

If it was discovered there that they weren’t actually dead for some reason, entry would be denied and they would be sent back.

If their lifeline still remained, they could simply grab it and return to the world of the living.

Otherwise, if the mistake had been made by the underworld itself or due to some accident, the grim reaper would personally escort them back.

The real problem lay with souls that entered the underworld on their own, without a grim reaper.

Because…

Outside King Yama’s realm, the underworld barely had anything resembling roads.

Why do you think I always stayed rooted to the bank of the River of Three Paths, waiting for Father?

Without a guide, you can’t even find the entrance to King Yama’s realm in the first place.

At least the riverbank had the River of Three Paths itself as a landmark.

But if you wandered even a little too far from it, you’d become hopelessly lost almost instantly.

Not only would you be unable to find your way back to the world of the living—you wouldn’t even be able to find the river again.

If you were especially unlucky, you’d be devoured by the monsters or ghosts that roamed the underworld.

Outside King Yama’s realm, the underworld was literally a demonic wasteland.

There are generally three situations where someone enters the underworld without a guide and becomes lost.

First, someone dies but doesn’t wait for the grim reaper and walks into the underworld on their own.

Second, a living human physically enters the underworld.

And the third… the final possibility…

The person isn’t actually dead.

Only their soul has left their body and fallen into the underworld.

That’s exactly the Queen’s condition.

The same thing that kept happening to me.

When someone suffers overwhelming shock, mistakenly believes they’ve died, or endures unbearable pain and suffering, their soul can leave their body even though they aren’t dead.

Father called this “lost soul.”

The soul of a living person instinctively tries to return to its body.

That’s why most people don’t remain unconscious long enough to fall into a coma.

However, if the shock or pain is too severe, the yin energy they unconsciously release can open a gate to the underworld, causing them to fall all the way in.

When that happens, they regain awareness without knowing where they are or how to return to their own body.

That… is what a coma really is.