*Ching*
The bell chimes softly in the air as the princess moves toward Sui.
With every step, the princess made the sound clear until Sui could no longer deny her fate.
'I am going to die! But if I am going to die, then I do not want to go without leaving a mark.'
"Bastard! Just let me goddam live."
Sui whispered just loud enough for herself to hear, but the princess stopped right before her.
The amused smile on her face looked even bigger than before.
"Oh! You are much more amusing than I first realized. This is not my first time seeing you, right? You look too familiar to me. You were there during the morning as well, right? Did you clean up the mess I left behind?"
The princess leaned closer to Sui's face to look at her.
'Please don't remember my face. The moon is not bright enough tonight for you to remember me. Don't remember me tomorrow.'
"Look at my face. I want to make sure I remember your face."
"Ah, shit…I said that out loud, didn't I?"
The clearing fell silent before Sui began to count the time left for her head. She even closed her eyes so that she would not have to see the blow coming.
"Hehehe, are you scared of me? Do you want to run away? I might allow you to do that if you play with me."
The princess asked while leaning closer to Sui's face.
All Sui could see in her vision was the princess's beautiful face and cold eyes.
"The rules are simple - if you can run away from me tonight, you win. But if I can catch you, you will be mine to do what I want. Now, run!"
The princess ordered, and Sui's terrified legs finally began to work.
She took off before the princess could say anything, but she did manage to make out the princess's delighted smile.
'Run! I need to get away before I get killed.'
Sui's shoes did not properly cover her foot, so she ran as fast as possible to get away.
Small pebbles got stuck in her feet, causing Sui to bleed, but she was not even paying attention to her small injuries.
The adrenaline kept her going, and Sui's heart beat fast in her chest.
A small metallic pin passed her face just wide enough not to hit her even if she moved around.
"This fucking princess has gone mad! That pin would have hit me if I trailed off course. She is herding me around like prey."
And the worst thing was, it was working.
Sui could not even imagine going off course right now.
Despite her great stamina, Sui needed time to rest and recover. Her chest felt tight and on the verge of collapsing.
"I…*huff*...need to rest…"
Sui looked down, her hands on her knees, and she instantly noticed the footprints she was leaving.
Stones, dirt, and other unknown things had stuck to her bleeding feet.
'Looks like this is the end for me. If the princess does not kill me, then infection surely would. I don't even have enough strength to clean these wounds up.'
Sui struggled back on her feet and tried to walk.
That was a complete failure, so Sui resorted to the second-best thing she could do: Crawl her way to safety.
Luckily, Sui could get into a small hollow tree trunk.
'I never thought I would ever thank my small frame for anything, but here I am. If I survive this, I swear I will find a way to leave the Imperial Harem.'
Sui promised herself before she fell asleep.
The sky that had been clear a few minutes ago turned cold and gloomy.
Bright, shining eyes could be seen as the imperial princess walked through it.
"Ahhh, where did my cute little rabbit run to? The prints lead me all the way here."
The princess entered the forest and stopped once she noticed the trail disappearing.
The sudden downpour also caused the blood to be washed away.
"Ah, here you are. I finally found you, my cute rabbit."
Sui was lucky to be unconscious because she did not have to feel the pain of being grabbed by the princess and pulled out of her hidden place.
The rain cleaned up Sui's wounds while the princess dragged her to her quarters.
"Imperial Princess Yunjin, where were you? Do you know how worried this servant was for you…. Why do you have blood on your arms? And are you carrying something in it?"
The nanny asked cautiously, only for the princess to take her hands off Sui and put her down.
"Nanny, I caught a rabbit. It is mine now, so can you ensure she survives the night?"
If anyone had seen the imperial princess talking right now, they would have thought of her as a harmless young girl.
But the nanny knew better than to think such foolish thoughts.
'It looks like the Imperial Princess has found a new obsession. I pity the poor rabbit, but at least it will die a peaceful death…'
"Princess, that is not a rabbit in your arms but a human. And the poor girl looks injured as well. What happened?"
The nanny asked as she tried to take the young-looking child from the princess's arms.
She immediately backed away when she noticed the glare being aimed her way by the princess.
"Don't touch her, nanny. I will not share my rabbit with anyone. It's mine!"
The princess sounded adamant, and the nanny knew there was no way to reason with her.
"Princess Yunjin, this child will die if we do not get her medical attention. You can keep holding her if you want to, but please, let us treat her."
The nanny pleaded, not expecting her plea to work.
But by some miracle, the princess seemed to stop and relent when she heard the nanny's words.
"Save her life! The rabbit cannot die that easily, so save her life. I hope my nanny will not disappoint me so easily."
The princess did not ask; she made demands.
And the demands she made needed to be followed by her maids and nanny if they wanted to live.