4: The night is still young

'I wish I were taller. It would make dragging dead bodies around so much easier for me.'

Sweat dripped off Sui's face as she dragged the dead body behind her toward the cliff; she needed to throw it off.

Sui had done this too many times to count, and now she knew the way to the disposal ground by heart.

'I remember the first time I had to come here with my trainer after my nanny died. I cried all the way here and even begged the teacher not to dispose of the body.'

There had been a time in Sui's life when she had been innocent and ignorant of the world. However, ignorance and innocence did not last long in Imperial Harem.

'3…2…1…THROW.'

The tall body of the dead Concubine hit the rocks below in seconds and got crushed. The crunching sound had become a familiar melody to Sui by now.

"I don't know what you did to deserve this death, but may your soul live in peace. And if there is a life after death, let's never meet again."

Sui clapped her hands together before standing back on her feet and heading toward Imperial Castle.

The day was over, and dinner was over by the time she returned.

No leftovers were left, and no one bothered to save any food for Sui, leaving her starving.

"This is unfair. My stomach is killing me. I did not even get to eat breakfast or lunch either."

Sui complained in the space but did not dare take the food to make something for her.

It was unlikely, but if someone saw her sneaking out food, they could and would accuse her of stealing to make themselves seem better in their superior's eyes.

It would gain the complainer momentary praise but ruin Sui's entire month because of the punishment she would receive.

"Alright, time to go to my secret place. It's good that I was prepared for such a situation."

Sui snuck out of the servant's quarters (not hard to do when your roommate did not bother to keep tabs on you) and headed toward the medical garden in the back of the servant's quarters.

There was a time when this place used to be the medical hall, but then they shifted it toward the military and scholar's side when the palace expanded.

The medical field was abandoned, and the plants ran wild without care.

Luckily, many medicines required fruits as an ingredient, so Sui had a food source during challenging days.

The moon shone brightly in the sky, showing Sui where she needed to go to eat delicious fruits. 

The tree was in full bloom, and there were hardly any fruits left on its branch, but Sui did not need much to sustain herself.

She carefully climbed the tree until she could reach the first branch with fruit and quickly grabbed it.

Sharp teeth broke apart the fruit's skin and sunk into the bitter nectar.

'Don't think about the taste of this raw fruit! All you need to do is swallow this so you are not too hungry tomorrow. You can do this, Sui.'

The servant cheered herself as she bit the fruit again and tried hard to swallow. But without water, the fruit threatened to come back up her food pipe.

"It is a crime to take anything from the imperial palace without permission. Shall I behead for your crimes?"

'Oh fuck! Oh shit! What the hell do I do now? I am going to die.'

Sui's body froze where she was on the tree branch, and the fruit slipped from her hand, falling to the ground.

"Looks like we'll have to add loitering to your list of crimes as well. Why don't you come down now, and then we can talk?"

Sui felt her grip on reality weakening, and her brain slowly worked again to make her realize that the speaker was the Imperial Princess.

"P-Princess Yunjin, t-this slave greets you. I-I made a mistake."

Sui was quick to apologize and made a horrified face after she had been found out. She was sure that today would be her last day.

'Shit! Why did she have to show up now? How do I get the princess to let me live? Would acting cute work? I doubt it because the princess is not known to be forgiving.'

Every time Sui looked at the princess, her body froze. So, she devised a solution: not to look at the princess.

"So, you know that you made a mistake, huh? Then, why don't you come down? My sword is missing the taste of blood, and I am certain yours will be delicious."

Sui's body shuddered at these words.

'Fuck! There is no way I am coming down now. I do not want to die. But not going down is not an option either.'

Even if Sui wanted to go down, her legs refused to work properly.

"What's wrong? Are you not going to come down?"

'Well, acting innocent and ignorant it is.'

"I-I am sorry, princess, but I-I cannot move my legs properly. C-Can you give me a minute?"

Sui asked, causing the princess to sigh.

"Looks like you are having a problem coming down. I will help you out in that case."

The princess promised, and before Suit knew it, the princess broke the branch she was on, and she fell.

Before Sui could hit the ground, the princess caught her by the back of her clothes and held her up like a newborn puppy.

'I-I was caught. The princess is much taller and stronger than she first appears. No wonder the soldiers don't want to fight or train with her.'

Sui sighed in relief, but that relief did not last long before she was dropped to the ground.

'Bastard. If you caught me, then let me down gently! Even I have my dignity that I need to defend.'

Sui fumed inside her mind, but she could not express her emotions.

Especially not with the way the princess looked at her with laser-focused eyes that showed no emotions.

But the worst part about this interaction had to be the slight, amused smirk on the princess's face. 

Looking at it made Sui feel scared.