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Chapter 5
Five days alive, five days dead.
A polluted land that, according to rumor, took a total of ten days to reach—five days for the living and five days for the dead.
However, there was not enough food in the carriage to last ten days.
I’m hungry…
Baeksa clasped her hands tightly together against the cold.
Of course, the carriage carried enough food for the coachman, the escort warriors, and for Baeksa to eat to some extent.
But in her previous life, Baeksa had barely been allowed to eat during the journey.
“Her? She’s a discarded imperial princess anyway. There’s no need to treat her with respect.”
“As long as we give her enough not to starve to death, that’s enough. Anything more is a waste.”
The conversation she had overheard from the escort warriors before her death resurfaced faintly in her mind.
Holding her empty stomach, Baeksa lowered her gaze. Perhaps because she had gone so long without food, her fingertips trembled slightly.
Of course, she would not starve to death here.
If she died inside this carriage, it would mean she had died on the territory of Haeseoguk rather than in the Southern Land.
If that happened, the Emperor would bear the sin of killing his own child and invite heavenly punishment.
The escort warriors would never allow Baeksa to starve to death.
But…
Baeksa curled her small body into itself and rounded her shoulders.
I’m already hungry…
Outside, the escort warriors were sharing food among themselves.
The smell of cooking rice drifted into the carriage. At that savory scent, Baeksa’s body flinched.
Unable to endure her hunger, the child peeked through the carriage window at the escort warriors eating their meal.
They were making rice balls so hot they could burn the hands and eating as much as they wanted.
Baeksa watched them while gripping the window frame tightly with both hands.
Then, at that moment—
Perhaps sensing her envious gaze, one of the escort warriors looked toward the carriage where Baeksa sat.
For an instant, the girl unknowingly allowed herself a small hope.
Maybe they would share some of their food with her.
But—
“It seems the imperial princess is hungry.”
“Imperial princess? What imperial princess! She’s been cast out. She’s just a snake girl now. A beast that’s going to die soon. No need to bother with her.”
Loud laughter erupted.
Startled by the laughter, the child gripped the window frame so hard that her palms hurt.
Then, the next moment—
The escort warriors deliberately tossed a rice ball in the direction of Baeksa’s carriage.
The rice ball didn’t even reach the carriage. It fell limply midway and rolled across the dirt.
Seeing how filthy it had become—so filthy that it was hardly edible anymore—the escort warriors burst into laughter once again.
“If you want it, eat it!”
“That’s right, go pick it up and eat it!”
Baeksa’s gaze instinctively turned toward the dirt-covered rice ball.
At that moment, a small impulse arose within her heart.
Should I go out and eat it?
If I eat it in my snake form, maybe it won’t be so bad.
But while Baeksa hesitated, another burst of mocking laughter came from above her small head.
“That girl really looks like she’s going to pick it up and eat it!”
“Hahaha! And she’s supposed to be an imperial princess!”
Hearing that, the startled girl came to her senses. She slid down from her seat and covered her ears with both hands.
Her pale face burned red.
Press.
She covered her ears as tightly as she could, but the escort warriors’ laughter showed no sign of stopping.
The cruel laughter seemed to soak slowly into the hem of Baeksa’s clothes like a cold drizzle.
Surrounded by hunger, loneliness, and fear, the choice the child made was to squeeze her eyes shut.
At least then, she would not have to see anything for the moment.
Covering her ears and closing her eyes, Baeksa felt cold sweat running down her skin as she murmured,
I hope we arrive soon.
In her previous life, she had thought differently while traveling this road.
Even if she only got a tiny amount of food—or none at all—she had wished the carriage would move a little more slowly.
But not anymore.
I want to get there quickly.
I want this time to pass as soon as possible.
Grrr…
Baeksa clutched her hungry stomach with her small hands.
The carriage traveled for ten full days.
They barely rested even once along the way.
As though everyone desperately wanted to dispose of this burdensome imperial princess as quickly as possible, they all worked tirelessly.
During that time, Baeksa received only a single rice ball.
The only reason she was still alive after eating so little was because she was a snake beast-person.
Had she been any other beast-person, she would surely have died from hunger.
Meanwhile, the escort warriors ate their fill every day, yet there was no one who would blame them or hold them accountable.
The carriage was finally nearing its destination—the Southern Land.
Just as Baeksa painfully clenched her palms in an effort to calm her racing heart—
Creeeak.
The carriage came to a stop, and she heard the escort warriors murmuring outside.
Through the window, she caught sight of a fierce snowstorm raging beyond.
Have we arrived?
Bang!
Before the child could even finish wondering, the carriage door was thrown open.
“We’ve arrived. Get out.”
The escort warrior who had once brought her the rice ball roughly dragged her out of the carriage.
“Eek!”
Unable even to resist, Baeksa was pulled into the savage cold and cutting wind.
Ah, it’s cold…!
The fierce wind whipped against her tiny cheeks mercilessly.
“From here on, you’ll have to go by yourself.”
The escort warrior spoke with a mocking tone.
Only then did Baeksa open her eyes and look through the snowstorm.
The polluted land—the border between the Southern Land and the outside world.
Once one crossed this boundary, Suzaku’s territory began immediately beyond it.
The escort warriors clearly had no intention of following her into the polluted land.
Instead—
Shing.
The escort warriors drew their swords and pointed them at the child.
A chilling metallic sound echoed above her tiny head.
It was a sound she had heard before.
No—during her previous life in the imperial palace, it had been a sound she heard countless times.
As Baeksa slowly lifted her head, she saw a long silver sword gleaming in the cold light.
Its blue-tinted blade was aimed directly at her throat.
To ensure she could neither flee nor retreat, the escort warriors advanced slowly toward her, one step at a time.
Baeksa’s eyes trembled helplessly.
Shivering, she backed away from the sword-bearing warriors and spoke.
“S-slowly…”
Her voice shook faintly.
“Could I… go slowly…?”
“You dare ask us to wait when you’re a criminal? Have you no shame?”
They gave Baeksa no time to prepare herself.
In the end, trembling from the cold, the child stepped into the polluted land.
She could not look back.
Behind her stood blades colder and harsher than the snowstorm itself.
Even that was something she had experienced once before.
Then why… do I feel like crying?
Even though she herself had decided to stop struggling, stop being used, and simply accept her fate.
The moment Baeksa stepped into the polluted land, she heard the swords being sheathed behind her.
After five steps, she faintly heard the carriage that had brought her here beginning to withdraw.
Even so, Baeksa could not turn around.
If she looked back, she felt she would cry again.
The child took another step forward.
After about fifteen steps—when she could no longer hear the carriage or the escort warriors—she finally turned around.
Far away, she could vaguely see the people who had brought her here preparing to leave.
Her frozen feet ached from the cold, and her constantly pounding heart hurt as well.
The moment she realized that, her fingertips tingled painfully.
Clasping her hands together, Baeksa thought,
Maybe… I wanted to live after all.
No matter what she did, there had been no way to survive.
So she had told herself it was better to be abandoned sooner rather than later.
That was what she had decided, but in truth…
A lump rose in her throat.
Tears suddenly welled up.
How foolish…
After telling herself not to expect anything, how could she still end up hoping?
But a hopeful heart was not something Baeksa could control.
Like a lotus blooming beautifully from the mud, it grew regardless of her will.
And so, the only thing the child could do was accept everything that had happened.
A single tear fell from Baeksa’s eye.
Plop.
