Alive for five days, dead for another five.

That was what people said about the contaminated land—a place so distant that even the living had to travel ten full days to reach it.

Yet the carriage carried nowhere near enough food to last ten days.

‘I’m hungry…’

Baeksa clasped her cold hands together.

Of course, the carriage held the coachman, the escort knights, and enough food for Baeksa to eat if they allowed her to.

But in her previous life, she had barely eaten anything during the journey.

“That? She’s a discarded princess anyway. There’s no need to treat her with respect.”

“As long as she doesn’t starve to death, that’s enough. Anything more would be a waste.”

The conversations she had overheard inside the carriage before her death resurfaced faintly in her memory.

Holding her empty stomach, Baeksa lowered her eyes.

Perhaps because she had gone so long without food, her fingertips trembled.

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

If she died inside the carriage, then she would have died on Haeseo’s soil—not in the Southern Lands.

In that case, the Emperor would receive heavenly punishment for causing his own child’s death.

The escort knights would never let Baeksa starve to death.

‘But…’

Curling her tiny body into a tight ball, Baeksa wrapped her arms around herself.

‘I’m already so hungry…’

Outside, the escort knights were sharing a meal among themselves.

The aroma of freshly cooked rice drifted into the carriage.

The rich, comforting scent made Baeksa’s body flinch.

Unable to endure her hunger any longer, she cautiously peeked through the carriage window.

The knights were happily eating steaming hot rice balls.

Gripping the window frame tightly, Baeksa silently watched them.

Then—

Perhaps one of them noticed her longing gaze.

One of the escort knights turned toward the carriage.

For just a moment…

A tiny hope bloomed inside the little girl.

Maybe… they’ll share some with me.

But—

“It looks like the princess is hungry.”

“What princess? She was thrown out. She’s just a snake girl now. She’s an animal that’s going to die soon anyway, so who cares?”

The men burst into loud laughter.

Startled, Baeksa gripped the window frame so tightly that her palms hurt.

Then, the next moment—

As if to mock her, one of the knights threw a rice ball toward the carriage.

It didn’t even come close.

The rice ball fell pathetically halfway, rolling across the dirt until it was completely covered in mud.

The pitiful sight made the escort knights roar with laughter again.

“If you want it, eat it!”

“That’s right! Go pick it up!”

Without realizing it, Baeksa’s eyes drifted toward the dirt-covered rice ball.

At that moment, a small temptation arose within her.

‘Should I go get it?’

If I eat it in my snake form… maybe it won’t be so bad.

But while she hesitated, another burst of mocking laughter rang out above her.

“Look! She really is thinking about picking it up!”

“Hahaha! And they called that a princess!”

The little girl snapped back to her senses.

Sliding down from the carriage seat, she covered both ears tightly with her hands.

Her pale face burned bright red.

She pressed her hands over her ears with all her strength.

Even so…

The knights’ laughter refused to stop.

It slowly soaked into her like a cold drizzle, clinging to the edges of her clothes.

Surrounded by hunger, loneliness, and fear…

The only thing the child could do was squeeze her eyes shut.

At least then…

She wouldn’t have to see any of it.

Covering her ears and closing her eyes, Baeksa felt cold sweat running down her face.

“I hope we arrive soon.”

In her previous life, she had wished for something entirely different during this journey.

She hadn’t cared if she barely ate.

She had only hoped the carriage would move a little more slowly.

But not anymore.

‘I want to get there quickly.’

I want this to end as soon as possible.

Growl…

Baeksa held her rumbling stomach with both hands.

The carriage traveled for ten full days.

It hardly stopped to rest.

Everyone seemed eager to dispose of this burdensome princess as quickly as possible.

During those ten days…

Baeksa received only a single rice ball.

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

Had she belonged to any other race, she surely would have starved to death.

Meanwhile, the escort knights ate their fill every day.

No one would ever blame them.

No one would ever hold them accountable.

At last, the carriage neared its destination—the Southern Lands.

Just as Baeksa squeezed her aching hands together, trying to calm her pounding heart—

Screech.

The carriage came to a stop.

Outside, she heard the escort knights murmuring among themselves.

Through the window, she caught a glimpse of a fierce snowstorm raging outside.

‘Have we arrived?’

Bang!

Before she could even finish the thought, the carriage door was flung open.

“We’re here. Get out.”

The very knight who had once tossed her the rice ball roughly grabbed her by the arm.

“Eek!”

Unable to resist, Baeksa was dragged out into the freezing wind.

‘Ah… it’s so cold!’

A violent gust slammed into her tiny cheeks like countless knives.

“From here on, you’ll have to continue on your own.”

The knight spoke with open mockery.

Only then did Baeksa open her eyes and look ahead.

The boundary between the outside world and the contaminated Southern Lands.

Beyond this border lay the territory of the Suzaku Clan.

The escort knights had no intention of entering the contaminated land themselves.

Instead—

Shing!

The knights drew their swords.

The sharp metallic sound echoed above the little girl’s head.

It was a sound she had heard once before.

No…

It was a sound she had grown sick of hearing throughout her previous life in the imperial palace.

As Baeksa slowly raised her head, she saw long silver blades.

Each one was pointed directly at her throat.

To make sure she couldn’t run away or retreat, the knights slowly advanced toward her one step at a time.

Baeksa’s eyes trembled helplessly.

Shivering violently, she stumbled backward from the drawn swords and spoke in a trembling voice.

“C-Could you…”

Her tiny voice quivered.

“…let me go… a little more slowly?”

“You’re a criminal. And you expect us to wait for you? Have you no shame?”

They gave her no time to prepare herself.

In the end, trembling from the cold, the child stepped into the contaminated land.

She couldn’t even look back.

Behind her, the swords were colder and more merciless than the blizzard itself.

Even this…

She had experienced once before.

‘Then why… do I still want to cry?’

She had been the one who decided to stop struggling.

The one who decided to accept her fate instead of being used again.

Yet…

The moment Baeksa took her first step into the contaminated land, she heard the knights sheathe their swords behind her.

Five steps later…

She could faintly hear the carriage preparing to leave.

Even then…

She couldn’t turn around.

She felt that if she looked back…

She would start crying again.

The child took another step.

After walking about fifteen steps—far enough that she could no longer hear the carriage or the knights—

She finally looked back.

In the distance, she could just make out the people who had brought her here preparing to depart.

Her frozen feet ached.

Her pounding heart hurt.

The realization made her fingertips go numb.

Clasping her hands together, Baeksa thought,

‘Maybe… I really wanted to live.’

She had convinced herself that there was no way to survive anyway.

That if death was inevitable, she might as well be abandoned sooner.

That was what she had believed.

But the truth was…

Her chest tightened.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

‘How foolish…’

She had promised herself she wouldn’t expect anything.

So why had she hoped?

But hope…

Was never something Baeksa could control.

It was like a lotus blooming quietly from muddy water—

Growing regardless of her own wishes.

And so…

The only thing the child could do…

Was accept everything that had happened.

A single tear slipped from Baeksa’s eye…

And fell silently onto the frozen ground.