TLBVBF 05

“Five days alive, five days dead.”

A corrupted land said to take a full ten days of nonstop travel for the living to reach.

But there wasn’t enough food in the carriage to survive ten days.

I’m hungry…

Baeksa clasped her hands tightly together against the cold.

Of course, the carriage carried a coachman, escort guards, and enough food for Baeksa to eat at least something.

But in her previous life, Baeksa had barely been allowed to eat during the journey.

“That? She’s just an abandoned princess anyway. No need to treat her properly.”

“Just give her enough so she doesn’t starve to death. Anything more is waste.”

Faint memories of the guards’ conversations from before her death surfaced.

Baeksa lowered her gaze, holding her empty stomach. Her fingertips trembled from hunger.

Of course, she wouldn’t be allowed to starve to death here.

If she died inside this carriage, it would be recorded not as a death in the southern lands, but as a death within the empire’s territory.

And then the emperor would be punished by heaven for killing his own child.

So the guards would never let her die of starvation.

But…

Baeksa curled her small body tighter, shoulders hunched.

I’m already hungry…

Outside, the guards were sharing food among themselves.

The smell of cooking drifted into the carriage. The savory scent made Baeksa flinch.

Unable to bear it, the child peeked through the carriage window.

The guards were eating rice balls, still steaming hot.

Baeksa gripped the window frame tightly and watched.

Then—

As if sensing her gaze, one of the guards looked toward her carriage.

For a brief moment, a small hope rose in her heart.

Maybe they would share some food with her.

But—

“So the princess is hungry?”

“What princess? She was exiled. She’s just a snake woman now. No need to care about a dying beast.”

Laughter erupted.

Startled, Baeksa clenched the window frame so hard her palm hurt.

And then—

A rice ball was thrown in her direction.

It didn’t even come close, falling short and rolling onto the dirt.

Useless, inedible.

The guards laughed even harder.

“Eat it if you want!”

“Yeah, go on, pick it up!”

Baeksa’s gaze drifted to the dirt-covered rice ball.

A small impulse rose within her.

Should I go out and eat it?

If she transformed into her snake form, maybe it would still be edible.

But while she hesitated—

“Is she actually going to pick it up?”

“Hah! That’s a princess?”

The mocking laughter echoed again.

Startled, Baeksa snapped back to her senses and slid down from her seat, covering her ears with both hands.

Her pale face burned red.

She pressed her ears as tightly as she could, but the laughter didn’t stop.

It soaked into her like cold rain, slowly drenching her spirit.

Hungry. Lonely. Afraid.

Finally, she shut her eyes tightly.

At least then, she wouldn’t have to see anything.

Covering her ears and closing her eyes, Baeksa whispered through trembling breath.

I wish we would arrive soon.

In her previous life, she had once thought differently on this road.

That it would be better to eat almost nothing, as long as the carriage moved slowly.

But not anymore.

I want to get there quickly.

She just wanted this time to pass.

Grrr—

Baeksa clutched her small stomach.

The carriage traveled for ten full days.

Without a single proper rest.

As if everyone wanted to get rid of the “burden princess” as quickly as possible.

All Baeksa received during that time was one rice ball.

The only reason she survived on that was because she was a snake beastfolk.

Any other race would have died of starvation long ago.

Meanwhile, the guards ate well every day, and no one held them accountable.

Eventually, the carriage neared its destination—the southern corrupted lands.

At the moment Baeksa tried to steady her racing heart—

Creak.

The carriage stopped.

Voices of the guards murmuring could be heard.

Through the window, a blizzard raged outside.

We’re here?

Bang!

Before she could even think, the door was violently opened.

“We’ve arrived. Get out.”

The same guard who had once thrown her a rice ball roughly grabbed Baeksa and pulled her out.

“Eek!”

She had no time to resist before being dragged into the freezing wind.

Ah—so cold…!

The wind slapped her small face painfully.

“From here on, you go alone.”

The guard sneered.

Baeksa finally opened her eyes and looked ahead.

The border of the corrupted land.

Beyond it lay the territory of Suzaku. The guards had no intention of crossing further.

Instead—

Srrrng.

Swords were drawn.

A chilling metallic sound echoed above her head.

A sound she had heard before.

No—she had heard it countless times in the imperial palace in her past life.

Baeksa slowly lifted her head.

A long silver blade glinted coldly in the wind, pointing directly at her neck.

The guards advanced step by step, forcing her backward so she couldn’t escape.

Baeksa’s eyes trembled wildly.

“I… slowly…”

Her voice shook.

“Could I go… slowly?”

“Slowly? You, a criminal? Don’t be shameless.”

They gave her no time to prepare.

Shivering in the cold, Baeksa was forced to step forward into the corrupted land.

She couldn’t even look back.

Behind her was a blade colder and sharper than the blizzard itself.

All of this—she had experienced before.

Then why… do I feel like crying?

She had chosen to accept her fate without trying anymore.

And yet—

The moment Baeksa stepped into the corrupted land, she heard the sound of swords being withdrawn behind her.

After five steps, she faintly heard the carriage preparing to leave in haste.

Still, she couldn’t look back.

If she did, she felt like she would cry.

Step by step, she walked forward.

Around fifteen steps later, when the sounds of the carriage and guards could no longer be heard, she finally turned around.

Far away, she saw them preparing to depart.

Her frozen feet ached. Her pounding chest hurt.

Her fingertips went numb as she realized—

Did I… want to live?

She had decided there was no way to survive anyway, so it would be better to be abandoned early.

That was what she had chosen.

And yet…

Tears welled up.

Idiot…

She told herself not to expect anything.

So why did she end up hoping anyway?

But hope wasn’t something she could control.

Like a lotus blooming on muddy water, it grew beyond her will.

All she could do was accept it.

A single tear fell from Baeksa’s eye.