Five days alive, five days dead.
A tainted land that took ten full days of travel for the living to reach.
But inside the carriage, there wasn’t enough food to last ten days.
‘I’m hungry…’
Baeksa clasped her hands tightly together in the cold.
Of course, the carriage carried food—enough for the coachman, the guards, and just barely enough for Baeksa to eat a little.
But in her previous life, she had hardly been given anything to eat during the journey.
‘That one? She’s a discarded imperial princess anyway. No need to treat her properly.’
‘Just give her enough so she doesn’t starve to death. Anything more is a waste.’
Fragments of the guards’ conversation from before her death surfaced faintly in her mind.
Holding her empty stomach, Baeksa lowered her gaze. Perhaps from hunger, her fingertips trembled faintly.
Of course, she wouldn’t starve to death here.
If she died in this carriage, it would mean she died on Haeseo’s land, not in the southern territories.
And then the emperor would be guilty of killing his own child—and face divine punishment.
The guards wouldn’t let her die of starvation.
‘But still…’
Baeksa curled her small body tightly inward, rounding her shoulders.
‘I’m already so hungry…’
Outside, the guards were sharing food among themselves.
The smell of cooking rice drifted into the carriage. At that savory scent, Baeksa’s body flinched.
Unable to bear the hunger, she glanced through the carriage window at the guards eating.
They were forming rice balls, still hot enough to burn, and eating their fill.
Baeksa gripped the window frame tightly as she watched.
And then—
As if sensing her envious gaze, one of the guards looked toward the carriage.
In that moment, a small hope bloomed within the girl.
Maybe… just maybe, they would share some of their food with her.
But—
“Looks like the princess is hungry.”
“Princess? What princess! She’s been cast out—just a snake wench now. A dying beast. No need to bother with her.”
Loud laughter erupted.
Startled by the noise, the child clenched the window frame so tightly her palms nearly bruised.
The next moment—
The guards deliberately tossed a rice ball toward the carriage.
It didn’t even reach it, falling limply halfway and rolling in the dirt.
Seeing the filthy, ruined food, they burst into laughter again.
“If you want it, eat it!”
“Yeah, go pick it up!”
Baeksa’s gaze drifted, almost involuntarily, to the dirt-covered rice ball.
And for a moment, a small impulse stirred in her heart.
‘Should I go out and eat it?’
If she ate it in her snake form, it might be… manageable.
But as she hesitated—
“Looks like she really is going to pick it up!”
“Haha! And that’s supposed to be a princess!”
Startled back to her senses, the girl slid off her seat and clamped her hands over her ears.
Her pale face burned red.
Even pressing her ears as hard as she could, the guards’ laughter wouldn’t stop.
That cruel sound seeped into her like a cold drizzle, slowly soaking the hem of her clothes.
Amid the hunger, loneliness, and fear, the child made a choice—
She shut her eyes tightly.
At least then, she wouldn’t have to see anything.
Covering her ears, eyes closed, Baeksa muttered as cold sweat trickled down her skin:
‘I hope we arrive soon…’
In her previous life, she had thought the opposite during this journey.
She had wished the carriage would go just a little slower—even if she ate almost nothing.
But not anymore.
‘I want to get there quickly.’
She just wanted this time to pass.
Growl.
Baeksa clutched her empty stomach with her small hands.
The carriage traveled for ten full days.
It didn’t stop, not even once.
As if everyone wanted to get rid of this burdensome princess as quickly as possible, they drove on relentlessly.
During that time, Baeksa was given only a single rice ball.
The only reason she was still alive after eating so little was because she was a snake shapeshifter.
Any other kind would have surely starved to death.
Meanwhile, the guards ate their fill—but no one would ever blame or hold them accountable.
The carriage was nearing its destination—the southern lands.
As Baeksa clenched her hands tightly, trying to calm her racing heart—
Creaaak.
The carriage came to a stop, and the guards’ murmurs rose outside.
Through the window, she glimpsed a raging snowstorm.
‘Have we arrived?’
Before she could even think—
Bang!
The carriage door was flung open.
“We’re here. Get down.”
The guard who had once brought her a rice ball roughly dragged her out.
“Ah!”
Without even resisting, Baeksa was pulled into the biting cold and cutting wind.
‘It’s so cold…!’
The fierce wind lashed painfully against her small cheeks.
“From here on, you’ll have to go on alone.”
The guard sneered.
Only then did Baeksa lift her head and look ahead.
The boundary between the outside world and the polluted southern lands.
Beyond it lay the territory of the Vermilion Bird.
The guards had no intention of going any further.
Instead—
Shing.
They drew their swords.
A chilling metallic sound rang above the child’s small head.
It was a sound she had heard before.
No—in her previous life, she had heard it countless times in the imperial palace.
As Baeksa slowly raised her head, she saw a long, gleaming silver blade.
Its sharp edge was aimed precisely at her throat.
They stepped forward, closing in, leaving her no path to retreat.
Baeksa’s eyes trembled helplessly.
Shaking, she stumbled backward, trying to put distance between herself and the blade.
“P-please… slowly…”
Her voice quivered faintly.
“Couldn’t I… go slowly?”
“A criminal asking us to wait? You’ve got no shame!”
They gave her no time to prepare herself.
In the end, trembling in the cold, Baeksa stepped forward into the tainted land.
She couldn’t look back.
Behind her were blades colder and sharper than the storm itself.
Even this… she had experienced once before.
‘Then why… do I feel like crying?’
She had already decided to stop trying, to stop being used, and simply accept her fate.
And yet—
As she stepped into the tainted land, she heard the sound of swords being sheathed behind her.
After five steps, she faintly heard the carriage preparing to leave.
Even so, Baeksa didn’t turn around.
If she did, she felt like she would cry again.
She took another step.
After about fifteen steps—when the sounds of the carriage and guards had completely faded—
Only then did she turn back.
In the distance, she could just make out the figures preparing to depart.
Her frozen feet ached, and her pounding heart hurt.
Realizing that, her fingertips tingled painfully as she clasped her hands together.
‘Maybe… I wanted to live.’
No matter what she did, there had been no way to survive.
So she had decided it would be better to be abandoned sooner.
But in truth—
Her chest tightened.
‘How foolish…’
She had told herself not to expect anything.
So why had she hoped?
But hope was not something she could control.
Like a lotus blooming quietly in the mud, it grew regardless of her will.
And so, the only thing the child could do…
…was accept it all.
A single tear fell from Baeksa’s eye.