Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 100

I was born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine. (In this context, a concubine is a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife.)

‘Sia, our Sia.’

Someone was hugging me and calling my name.

There’s only one person who calls me that.

Crown Prince Seongwon…….

That’s right. That was his voice.

I couldn’t even recall his voice after that fake tiger incident…….

“Wake up!”

“!”

When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar face was looking down at me.

What, who?

“Are you awake?”

“Ah……?”

Blinking a few times, I remembered the last thing I remembered before losing consciousness and shuddered.

“Ah, I, I have to run……!”

“It’s okay, calm down.”

“???”

Only then did I look around, and I was in another unfamiliar room.

“Where…… is this?”

“Um. First, would you like some water?”

“……No.”

The memories from just before were too vivid to drink something from a stranger.

I carefully observed the person in front of me.

He was quite large, but his face still looked young.

Other than that…… he was handsome, and the calluses on his hands suggested he had trained in martial arts.

“It’s natural to be wary, but I’m really not a strange person. I just found you collapsed in the mountains and brought you here. You seemed to be in bad shape, so I brought you to the nearest inn.”

“Why were you in the mountains?”

“Well, actually, I saw the constables [police officers] rushing off earlier and went to see what was going on. I heard that a child had been kidnapped, so I chased after the kidnapper…….”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

“This might sound strange, but are you perhaps that kidnapped child?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a relief. I was wondering what I would have done if you weren’t.”

“Ah, I need to contact my…… home.”

“Ah, the people working at this inn said they recognized you and would send word.”

“Huh??”

In that case, this is…… one of my franchise inns?

Did the kids from Siyoungwon [orphanage/training center] recognize me?

“Yes. So your family will be here soon to find you.”

Strictly speaking, not family…… but they must all be very worried right now.

‘Ugh. I hope they haven’t contacted the palace yet? That would be a disaster!’

If the Crown Prince or the King found out, it would be a major catastrophe.

I, who had fallen into a light panic, realized one thing.

“Ah? Then I guess you went into the mountains because of me. Thank you for helping me. You saved my life.”

“No, I just brought someone who was collapsed. Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe.”

With those words, the boy gently stroked my head.

Hmm, there are only three people in this world who can dare to stroke my head, but I’ll forgive you.

‘Ah, is that why I had a dream about Crown Prince Seongwon earlier?’

Recalling what happened earlier made my body tremble. What on earth happened?

Besides, what happened to the person who was chasing me?

“I know you’re wary, but you should at least drink some water. Shall I call someone?”

“No, it’s okay.”

I crawled out through the open door.

Then, a woman who was chopping vegetables looked at me and ran over, teary-eyed.

Good. A familiar face.

It was one of the kids who had been in Siyoungwon for quite a while. She was probably a few years older than me.

“Ah, Young Miss!”

“Wow. Long time no see.”

“Oh my. I was so worried. They said they brought a child who had collapsed in the mountains, and when I saw it was you, I was so shocked.”

“Um. I was just unlucky.”

“Someone as good as you being unlucky? Something must be wrong.”

“Hahaha.”

The woman brought me water and put her hand on my forehead.

“You don’t have a fever, do you? Are you hungry? Wait a moment. I’m making chicken porridge for you.”

“Has your cooking improved a lot?”

“Of course.”

It definitely felt less tense now that there was someone I knew.

It was the first time I had been this nervous since that damned Gyeong-eon was placed in confinement.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“Oh my, the chicken porridge will be done soon, eat before you go.”

The boy who saved me shook his head with a strangely warm smile.

“It’s okay. My uncle is waiting for me. I saw that she woke up, so I should go. Take care, Young Miss!”

“Ah? Ah, thank you!!”

The boy smiled with a neat face and disappeared in an instant.

He saved someone and left so coolly that I was almost disappointed.

“I should have at least asked his name before sending him away.”

“I should have asked too, I was too out of it to remember. But why were you in such a place, Young Miss?”

“It was an accident…….”

Um. I wonder when news will reach me through Siyoungwon.

I’ve gotten used to the era without smartphones, but it’s still inconvenient.

Fortunately, Soyi and Seong Gyeom-sabok found me soon after, and I was able to return to the palace before sunset.

“Young Miss, I…… thought my heart was going to drop.”

“Soyi, were you very surprised? It’s okay. Don’t cry.”

“Huhu. I, I thought something had happened to you…….”

It took even longer to soothe Soyi, that’s how quickly the two found me.

Seong Gyeom-sabok, who heard from Soyi that I had been kidnapped, was about to go to the police station again to report the kidnapping of a royal family member, but fortunately, the franchise inn nearby had already sent word of my whereabouts.

‘The kids are smart too.’

Instead of going directly to Siyoungwon to deliver the news, they seemed to have a system in place to pass the story on to the nearest inn.

There was a side effect that many children knew that I had collapsed in the mountains, but thanks to that, Seong Gyeom-sabok received the news quickly.

In Soyi’s words, Seong Gyeom-sabok was so furious after hearing that I had been kidnapped that he looked like he was going to kill someone, and he blamed himself in a heavy voice.

“It is my fault for not serving you properly, Young Miss.”

“No, it’s just that the police constables didn’t do their job properly.”

There was such a big jar, shouldn’t they have opened it and poked around?

‘Come to think of it, that’s a bit strange.’

I naturally thought it was okay because I had checked everything.

At best, I expected to find hidden genuine antiques, but I didn’t think there would be someone there.

‘Hmm.’

Was it really just a mistake……?

I soothed Seong Gyeom-sabok well and sent him back, and after thoroughly silencing Soyi and the inn’s children, I returned to the palace.

Of course, I stopped by my private residence to tidy up my clothes, so no one in the palace knew about this.

The police station knew that a young child had been kidnapped in connection with the fake antique case, but they didn’t know it was me, and they told the police station that the kidnapped child had returned safely, so the case seemed to be quietly covered up.

But lying quietly in bed, I couldn’t easily fall asleep thinking about a few things.

‘What I overheard back then…… might be something important.’

The words I properly understood were ‘Dabang Valley Gibang [a type of Korean courtesan house],’ ‘Nineteenth,’ and ‘Crown Prince.’ They were words with no connection at all, but even if I didn’t know the Gibang, the word ‘Crown Prince’ was a word I couldn’t ignore.

If they were guys who forged and sold antiques and didn’t hesitate to kidnap or kill young children like me if necessary…….

‘Come to think of it, those guys definitely said, ‘If anything gets in the way of our grand plan, we have to get rid of it all.’

‘Crown Prince’ and a ‘grand plan’ that requires even killing young children…….

When these words are combined, I can only think of words like treason.

“Haa.”

Until now, I thought this world was in a novel, but I started to think that maybe it was something else.

‘Could it be a historical drama world?’

Treason didn’t really happen in the novel, but if it’s a historical drama, treason happens at least once, even if it’s adapted.

Anyway, it’s clear that it’s different from the novel, but if only big events are happening similarly, doesn’t that mean someone else might be plotting treason again?

Gyeong-eon is dead, so who else is plotting treason?

‘Ah, I really wanted to live comfortably.’

It’s been a long time since I couldn’t sleep because of anxiety about the future.

***

And the next morning, I decided to live with a more forward-looking mindset.

‘Right, even without Gyeong-eon, someone is plotting treason like this, so other things will happen too. The female lead will appear, my illness will be cured, and I will marry the male lead…… the Crown Prince and live happily.’

Treason? The main character is the Crown Prince, so there’s no way treason will succeed.

I didn’t think the ending would change when the world was going this far.

‘Then, of course, the Crown Prince will live? The female lead and the male lead will get married and live happily ever after?’

Because the ending is a promised happy ending.

That’s why people should read novels with happy endings, not bad endings.

Even if a happy ending is planned, I’m this anxious, so if I reincarnated into a novel with a bad ending, I’d probably end up with emotional instability even if I survived.

However, it’s good that this novel has a happy ending, but there was one problem.

‘But that’s not me.’

In the original story, I was just an extra with one or two lines who should have died a long time ago.

Can I survive?

I looked at Gai, who was serving my meal, and thought of Gai and Soyi.

Songbi didn’t seem to be mentioned in the original story, but the ending for Gai and Soyi in the original story was definitely not good.

Soyi dies when she was young, and Gai dedicates his life to avenging his younger sibling and eventually succeeds…… but the novel doesn’t show how Gai lives the rest of his life.

Even if he was satisfied with stabbing the enemy in the back, what happened to Gai after that?

Could he have held a memorial service for his younger sibling with the enemy’s corpse in front of the grave, and enjoyed his life happily?

Gai in the novel was an assistant to the main character, but outwardly he was Gyeong-eon’s man.

He did it to avenge his dead sibling, but he became a close aide to Hong Suk-won, or rather, Youngbin, who has now been deposed, and helped to form illegal wealth accumulation. He also trampled on others according to orders to gain the trust of Youngbin and Gyeong-eon.

‘I think he probably tried to pay for his sins.’

He got the price for harming his sibling from Gyeong-eon, so I thought he would try to pay for his own sins.

“Gai…….”

“Did you call me, Princess? What’s wrong?”

“Um. No, I guess it’s because I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t seen Gai often. I just feel good to have Gai by my side after a long time.”

“Oh my, Princess. What’s going on? Hehehe. I’m so happy that you said that, I don’t know what to do.”

“You know that I’m always grateful to Gai, right?”

“Of course.”

I said that and hugged Gai tightly.

Considering that I’m sixteen years old, it was a bit embarrassing, but it’s okay since I look like seven years old.

Gai seemed a little embarrassed, but he lightly patted my back when he realized that only Gai and I were in the room right now.

When I think about it, it was so rare to have such close skinship [physical contact].

It’s partly because I don’t have many blood relatives, but the royal family’s laws are so strict that everyone can’t dare to touch the body of a royal family member, and even if they are children, they can’t easily act spoiled.

‘Is that why the Crown Prince is so lonely?’

I’m a child for once, so I should be cute to him at least until the female lead comes.

“Oh my, Princess. If you do this, Songbi will be jealous.”

“Um? I should give Songbi a hug too.”

Fortunately, Gai and Songbi don’t know about what happened yesterday. Thanks to Youngseon’s good handling, Songbi only knew that I was late because I was too engrossed in sightseeing.

Soyi will know to keep her mouth shut because she doesn’t know what will happen if I get caught being kidnapped in front of her eyes.

The more I think about it, the more retainers I have.

If treason happens, will these people be safe?

“Oh, I guess I can’t not do what I can do.”

“Is that…… so?”

“I think I have to go out again.”

“Yes?”

There is no evidence and the basis is weak, but I think treason is going to happen.