Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 14

“Youngbin, what brings you here?”

It wasn’t just me who noticed Youngbin; the arm holding me tightened.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. How could I stop Prince Gyeong-eon when he misses you so much?”

“Is that so, Prince Gyeong-eon?”

“Yes, Father.”

Prince Gyeong-eon, bowing neatly, showed no trace of the cruelty I had witnessed. To an unknowing observer, he seemed like a docile and polite boy.

‘He’s good at acting.’

As I watched with a strange admiration, I felt a sharp gaze.

‘Wow, she’s looking this way.’

She’s staring with incredibly sharp eyes.

Youngbin’s gaze, glaring at me from behind my father’s back, stings.

It’s definitely not my fault, but I don’t expect her to like me since she might lose favor because of me.

‘Why doesn’t she do something about her son?’

She seemed to be aiming for the Queen’s position, having given birth to the King’s second son, but how could she succeed when her son is like that?

‘Looking at the atmosphere, it seems like a concubine can still become Queen here.’

Wasn’t it after Sukjong’s reign and Jang Hee-bin [a famous royal concubine during the Joseon Dynasty] that it was forbidden to make a concubine the Queen?

The most important thing for a concubine to become Queen was her child. Youngbin had a son, so she seemed to meet that requirement.

‘It’s better for my sister not to even think about it.’

If she got caught in the middle, she would be crushed like a shrimp between whales.

But if that woman becomes Queen, things might get tough for both me and my sister.

‘Let’s avoid this spot for now.’

With that decision, I tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible, but as my father moved, our eyes eventually met. Youngbin smiled sweetly at me.

“I will prepare Chwiyeongdang [Youngbin’s residence]. I will also order snacks to be prepared for the Princess.”

“Heeing…!”

“……”

With a spine-chilling sensation, I pretended to tremble and clutched the hem of the royal robe.

‘She’s not going to drag me away, is she? If she’s going, go alone! Ah, no! If I hold on, she might take me with her?’

I started to struggle to get down, fearing that I would be dragged back to Chwiyeongdang again.

“Eeuu!”

“Oh, why are you so scared again? It’s okay.”

It’s not okay. Just let me down…….

But contrary to my wishes, my father didn’t let me go.

‘This guy is so clueless, it’s frustrating.’

“I’m sorry, Youngbin. I have things to take care of today, so I don’t plan on visiting the concubine’s quarters.”

“Your Majesty is busy attending to state affairs, and I was short-sighted. With a woman’s limited perspective, I simply wished for you to rest a little more comfortably, so please don’t mind it.”

Youngbin’s gaze was directed at me as she said that.

“Then I will take the Princess to the concubine’s quarters.”

“I think I should soothe her and send her back, so you don’t have to worry, Youngbin.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Youngbin and Prince Gyeong-eon did not hide their disappointment, but they bowed obediently with smiling faces until the end.

‘They’re probably grinding their teeth so hard it’s making a sound.’

With anxious eyes, I glanced back, nestled in my father’s arms.

‘Ah, no. She’s glaring.’

‘Hey, just go. You don’t have to take me!’

“Heuaaeng.”

“What’s wrong again? What’s bothering you?”

“Euu.”

Unable to tear at my hair, I banged my head against his shoulder.

But my father misinterpreted my intentions.

“Hehe. So, you like being with your father?”

“Heuaaa.”

‘No, don’t find it cute. I’m serious here.’

This guy doesn’t care because it doesn’t matter to him, but I’m the one who’s going to be exhausted from provoking her like this.

“Heeing.”

“I don’t know why you’re upset again.”

“Sigh.”

As anxious as I was, I felt relaxed being held comfortably, and my body soon became languid.

It seemed that my body, which had been running around busily, automatically wanted to rest when it found a stable support.

‘Well, it’s not like I can do anything by worrying about it right now… Let’s just sleep.’

And a few days later.

Songbi and the other maids who had followed me around that day were dragged to Chwiyeongdang and beaten for being rude to Youngbin.

‘So, she’s taking it out like this.’

It seemed they were targeted for being behind me that day.

She can’t dare to touch the maids who directly serve the King, so she’s picking on the easy targets.

“Your Ladyship, we are wronged!”

“It’s not your fault. She’s warning me because it seems I’m receiving His Majesty’s favor.”

My sister bit her lip as she looked at the wounds of Songbi and the maids who were complaining about their unfair treatment. I couldn’t help but quietly stay by Songbi’s side, worried.

“Oh, don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt much, Little Princess.”

“Eueung……”

Everyone comforted me, even while groaning in pain, as my expression seemed gloomy.

“Now that the Queen’s Palace is empty, she’s acting like she has to straighten out the inner court, showing off her power like this. What will happen to us if she really becomes the Queen?”

“Can’t you lower your voice? What if someone hears you?”

Maid Min gave a warning to the maid’s sorrowful voice, but she couldn’t help but feel upset.

“Even if that’s the case, what can I do?”

“Your Majesty often comes to see the Princess. Why don’t you try to capture His Majesty’s heart?”

It was a common suggestion from the maids in the residence, but my sister calmly shook her head.

As far as I knew, that attitude never changed, and honestly, even I found it amazing that I was born.

“As you said, His Majesty only comes to see the Princess, so don’t have vain thoughts and make sure to call a physician to get proper treatment.”

“Yes, Your Ladyship.”

The maid seemed disappointed but soon closed her mouth.

For a while, the atmosphere in the residence became gloomy because of that incident.

Seeing that, I couldn’t feel good either, so my body naturally drooped.

“Sigh.”

“Why are you sighing like that, Little Princess?”

If I were a real baby, I would do something cluelessly cute to lighten the mood, but that wasn’t something anyone could do.

The maids, who had shrunk back in fear of being beaten next, gossiped quietly by my side, a safe zone.

“If the Princess could speak, wouldn’t she tell His Majesty about this?”

“Don’t say that. Even if she’s a Princess, her future will be difficult if she’s disliked by the next Queen. She’ll have to get married later, but it’s difficult for His Majesty to take care of her meticulously. That’s why Her Ladyship can’t do anything rashly either.”

“Did you see the Chwiyeongdang maids already acting like they belong to the Queen’s Palace, strutting around? How can you stand to see that?”

“I wouldn’t want to be the Queen’s head maid even if they offered. Do you know how fierce the atmosphere is there? Everyone is subtly avoiding it.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you know? You really have no sense. How are you going to live in this palace like that?”

“What is it?”

“If you look closely at the Chwiyeongdang maids, haven’t you seen bruises or injuries on their bodies here and there?”

“What? Who’s hitting them?”

“Well, everyone is keeping their mouths shut right now, so I don’t know who’s hitting them, but you’ll naturally find out soon enough……”

Saying that, everyone turned their gaze to me, who was standing still.

“Even our quiet Princess cries and screams when she gets involved with them. How long have we been assigned here? I still haven’t heard our Princess cry once.”

“Ah, I heard that story too. The rumors are widespread. That’s why people who were involved with them are so happy that they’re being mistreated because of the Princess.”

The maids, whose tongues had loosened because they were in front of a baby who couldn’t even speak yet, were quite helpful in gathering information.

As expected, Chwiyeongdang didn’t have a good reputation. Of course, it didn’t seem to reach the King’s ears.

‘It’s no wonder it’s not good.’

Looking at Prince Gyeong-eon hitting his younger brother, Prince Gyeongwon, or assaulting the maids, it seemed likely that the ominous rumors were the work of the still young Prince Gyeong-eon. Of course, there was no guarantee that his mother, Youngbin, didn’t have a similar personality.

‘This is really a big problem.’

It would be difficult for Prince Gyeongwon to easily tell the King.

Even though he was still young, he was quite mature. If Youngbin was expected to be the next Queen, and Prince Gyeongwon, the son of Consort Seon, who could be considered a rival, made remarks slandering Youngbin, it would be easy to face a backlash, no matter how true it was.

‘It’s a bit much for me to say anything.’

How much would they believe the words of a two-year-old who can’t even speak properly yet?

They would probably say I had a scary dream.

Anyway, thinking that Youngbin would become the Queen as it is, the future looked bleak.

What should I do?

“Sigh.”

As I sighed, the maids who were gossiping focused their attention on me again.

“Has the Princess been bored lately because she’s been inside too much?”

“Shall we go for a walk, Princess?”

“Would that be okay?”

“If the Princess is with us, they won’t be able to do anything rashly.”

The maids started preparing to go out and continued gossiping.

The topic was about the animal carcasses that had been found from time to time. It seemed quiet for a while, but recently, dead animal carcasses were found near the pond again.

‘Is this some kind of sorcery used in the concubine’s quarters?’

It’s only natural to want to gain power by gaining favor.

My sister seemed to be an exception, though.

A concubine whom the King often visits cannot be easily ignored, but my sister didn’t seem to have any intention of gaining favor, and that’s probably why the King didn’t spend the night here.

I don’t really want to force my sister either.

Then, as a result, does that mean I have to gain the King’s favor for the sake of the future?

‘Wow, I can’t do that.’

Still, I’m doing business filial piety [performing actions to please one’s parents] to my father, but even so, is this too much……?

As I came outside and started walking while thinking about this and that, I felt refreshed.

‘As expected, people need to walk around in the sunlight.’

It was an extremely sound thought, but I retracted that opinion in less than a few minutes.

‘As expected, it’s dangerous outside the blanket.’

I’m so unlucky. How long have I been out here to run into that crazy bastard?

Prince Gyeong-eon smiled at me with the eyes of a wildcat who had found prey.

“Oh, isn’t that my sister? It’s been a while, so this brother will play with you.”

“Ueuuu.”

As I stepped back and shook my head, the maids behind me shielded me appropriately.

“Prince Gyeong-eon, the Princess is still too young to play with you.”

“How dare a mere maid talk back to a prince?”

But there’s no answer when you push with status.

They were already suffering from the Chwiyeongdang palace people, so everyone was trying to stay as quiet as possible without going around, but they were caught at the wrong time.

I thought it would be okay if I came out with them, but to run into Prince Gyeong-eon of all people.

The palace people tried to stop him, but they were not enough to stop Prince Gyeong-eon’s rough behavior.

“How dare you block my way!”

Prince Gyeong-eon dragged me out from behind the maids, and even those who followed him were taken aback.

“Kyaak-“

“It’s noisy. I’m trying to correct my sister’s habits, so don’t follow me. Yes, don’t bother them and stop those things.”

“Yes, yes. Your Excellency.”

He even stopped me from screaming and started dragging me away!

Although I’ve been running around well lately, my body, which is only two years old, was dragged away helplessly.

“Eueup!”

I tried to resist with all my might, but I couldn’t do anything to a guy who was determined to drag me away.

The palace people who were supposed to protect me were horrified by the sight, but they couldn’t disobey Prince Gyeong-eon’s words and seemed to hesitate for a moment. The common assumption that even if this guy’s personality is eccentric, he wouldn’t do anything to me, who is not even a palace maid, was clouding the maids’ judgment.

‘But this guy is not a sensible guy.’

If he had common sense, he wouldn’t forcibly drag a young child like this. Even his own younger sister, who is also a princess.

And unlike our palace people, who didn’t know what was going on, the faces of the palace people who followed Prince Gyeong-eon became even darker, as if they had a premonition of something.

‘No…….’

Eventually, one of the palace people who followed me looked around and ran in a different direction. The rest tried to chase me, but they couldn’t follow because they seemed to be tied up by Prince Gyeong-eon’s palace people.

In the meantime, the place where I was helplessly dragged by Prince Gyeong-eon was the back garden.

‘Isn’t this where I escaped last time?’

I escaped so that the Crown Prince and Prince Gyeongwon could spend more time together, but unintentionally witnessed animal abuse and violence by rank…….

‘Isn’t this the pond from that time?’

Recalling the scenery I saw that day made my spine tingle.

One of the Chwiyeongdang palace people, who seemed to have followed us that day, turned pale and knelt in front of Prince Gyeong-eon.

“Your Excellency, please reconsider.”

“Are you really a Chwiyeongdang palace person? How dare you disobey my words like this!”

“Your Excellency, please……”

The face of the palace person who stood in front of Prince Gyeong-eon without fear was pale, but it was somehow familiar.

‘Isn’t this the palace person who had her hair grabbed when she tried to stop Prince Gyeong-eon from bullying me before?’

I didn’t notice when the palace people were following us in droves, but I remembered when I saw her like this.

Prince Gyeong-eon seemed to be in a bad mood and threw me away, whom he had dragged all the way here, and approached the palace person.

The palace person, who was flinching back as Prince Gyeong-eon approached, realized that the back was a pond and could no longer retreat.

“Ha. Now that I see it, the thing I need to educate first was right next to me.”

And he raised his hand.

It was a confrontation between a still young boy and an adult woman, but perhaps because of the difference in status, the palace person could not resist and cowered.