Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 17

“Your brother is keeping an eye on your residence and Royal Concubine Yun’s. He told me to let him know if anything seems off.”

“Hmph.”

Somehow, Grand Prince Gyeongwon caught me, and I couldn’t escape… I ended up sitting on his lap while he explained what had happened that day.

‘Does he actually think I know something?’

I felt frustrated and wanted to confide in someone. Since I conveniently couldn’t speak properly, he probably decided to use me as a sounding board.

Thanks to him, I also learned that Sowoon was the internal collaborator who provided information to Grand Prince Gyeongwon. Apparently, a friend from her days as a court lady trainee was assigned to this residence.

“And that guy… when Gyeongeon-gun [a noble title] was taking away the dead animal carcasses again, I couldn’t stand it and ended up….”

“Sigh.”

I shook my head and patted his shoulder.

It could be seen as the Crown Prince making an unreasonable request to a child, or it could mean that the Crown Prince didn’t have much power.

‘Anyway, he cares about me quite a bit.’

Indeed, my savior.

“My brother is also disappointed in me….”

“Shush!”

“Oh my, how can you treat your older brother like that….”

I covered his mouth, which was descending into self-deprecation, and he glared at me, ungrateful.

“…Now that I think about it, it wasn’t that you couldn’t speak. His Majesty was very worried that you still couldn’t speak.”

“Hmph.”

Shut up.

When I turned my head away, Grand Prince Gyeongwon let out an exaggerated laugh.

“This little one dares to treat her older brother like this.”

“Ewoo.”

Then, as if he didn’t like it, he started to poke at my cheeks.

He seemed to like the texture of my cheeks, and the playful touch continued without stopping. So, I reached out and pulled on Grand Prince Gyeongwon’s cheek.

‘It’s soft.’

Is it because he’s a child too? It had a glutinous rice cake-like texture.

We silently poked at each other’s cheeks, and giggles started to escape. The small giggles soon turned into unstoppable laughter.

Just as we were chuckling, someone’s voice made us both stop.

“…Grand Prince Gyeongwon?”

“!!”

Turning around, Royal Concubine Seon and my sister were standing at the door, their faces clearly trying to suppress laughter.

Grand Prince Gyeongwon’s face, which was always calm, was flushed red.

And Royal Concubine Seon’s face, looking at Grand Prince Gyeongwon, was brighter than ever.

***

After that day, Royal Concubine Seon took care of me and my sister more openly than before.

My sister also seemed to sense something and continued to build a relationship with Royal Concubine Seon.

And whether Royal Consort Yeong said anything or not, she let me roam around more than before, and she spoke in a more affectionate tone whenever the King visited.

Naturally, Royal Consort Yeong showed an even sharper reaction.

“Royal Concubine Suk is clearly ignoring me to act this way.”

“How can you say such scary things?”

“I will be watching to see how long you can hold your head up high.”

Fortunately, Gyeongeon-gun was also under house arrest, so we didn’t have to run into him.

Thanks to that, nothing happened in the residence for a while, but the external situation was not the same.

Whenever the court ladies of Chwiyeongdang encountered our residence’s court ladies, they would pick fights and engage in power struggles. Naturally, the court ladies on our side, whose mistress had a lower rank, often suffered in silence, unable to say anything even when they felt wronged.

‘How long is this going to last?’

If Royal Consort Yeong becomes the Queen, it will only get worse.

One day, when I was sighing, unsuitably for my young age…

“It’s been a while, little sister.”

“Ooe.”

I was taking a pleasant stroll for once, but I ran into Gyeongeon-gun after a long time.

His grinning face made me take a step back with a reluctant expression, and that, in turn, seemed to displease him, as his expression hardened and he reached out to me.

“Kyaa!”

I tried to hide behind the court ladies, but he grabbed the back of my neck in an instant.

“If you avoid your older brother like this, His Majesty will misunderstand me.”

“Uueueup!!”

Moreover, he covered my mouth to prevent me from screaming, and when he picked me up, it didn’t bode well.

The court ladies of Chwiyeongdang, perhaps sensing the dangerous atmosphere as I did, tried to stop Gyeongeon-gun.

“Lord. If the superiors find out that you are treating the Princess Baby like this….”

“Don’t be noisy. Do you think I’m going to kill her?”

“Ha, but Lord.”

The court ladies hesitated and stepped back at those words, their expressions hardening… It was ominous.

I struggled with all my might to escape from Gyeongeon-gun’s arms.

And my desperate struggles fortunately paid off.

“Ack!”

I don’t know what I hit, but with Gyeongeon-gun’s painful scream, I became free and ran away without looking back.

When I thought I had created some distance and turned around, Gyeongeon-gun was not coming to catch me but was sitting down, trembling.

And our court ladies, who had been pale and at a loss until just now, were also biting their lips tightly behind me, trembling.

“Ah, Princess Baby. I will hold you and serve you.”

“Okay.”

That would be faster than me running, right?

As I returned to the residence in the arms of the court ladies, I shook off the unpleasant feeling.

‘Something touched me, but could it be….’

Recalling Gyeongeon-gun’s limp appearance, I could only sigh.

It seems I’m smoothly accumulating resentment and bad relationships again.

It’s best not to get involved with such a crazy bastard and not provoke him, but no matter how I think about it, it’s already too late.

“Hoo.”

“Don’t worry too much, Princess Baby.”

“That’s right. Who would say anything about what a young baby did? Especially since Lord Gyeongeon-gun treated you so violently, you couldn’t help but be surprised.”

It’s not that I’m worried about who will say something, but I’m worried about what that vicious mother and son will do.

‘I’d rather they do it to me.’

They mainly harass my powerless sister and the court ladies.

But I’m scared to obediently put up with it because I don’t know what that guy will do.

Even after returning, such worries continued for a long time.

“You seem very surprised. You keep looking listless.”

“You’ve had your meal, so shall we go out to the veranda for some air before going in?”

“Okay.”

Perhaps worried about me being constantly gloomy, or perhaps worried about getting caught by superiors, the court ladies took me to the veranda to comfort me.

“But where did you go?”

“I brought some sweet rice drink [Sikhye] for the Princess Baby. Princess Baby, it’s sweet rice drink.”

“Oh.”

“It’s a secret from Madam.”

“Okay.”

One of the court ladies, whose face I was now familiar with, brought a bowl of sweet rice drink on a small table and handed it to me.

“You too, you only brought one bowl of sweet rice drink? You should have brought some snacks for the Princess Baby.”

“I brought the sweet rice drink, so you guys bring some snacks. It would be nice if you secretly brought some for us to eat too.”

Giggles spread at the whispering voices.

Originally, it wouldn’t be right to do this in front of the mistress, but perhaps because my sister came from the ranks of favored court ladies, the court ladies would moderately overlook such minor deviations.

It seemed that internal solidarity was strengthened because there were external forces harassing us.

‘I thought they would dislike her because she was originally a court lady, but is it smoother than I thought because it’s a class-based society?’

Maybe there are such people, but I just haven’t seen them?

“Okay. We’ll go and come back, so take good care of the Princess Baby.”

“Princess Baby, we’ll be back soon with something delicious.”

“Okay.”

The day was gradually getting darker, and I didn’t want to move, so I nodded.

‘It’s not like I have anything to do if I go into the room.’

I miss my smartphone. I miss the internet.

As I sighed and reached out towards the porcelain bowl containing the sweet rice drink, the court lady who brought the sweet rice drink grabbed the bowl, placed it in my hand, and let go.

‘It’s a bit heavy for me to hold?’

The porcelain bowl itself is heavy, but it’s even heavier when it’s filled with liquid.

As it was held in the hands of a young baby who still had difficulty balancing delicately, the sweet rice drink spilled onto the small table before it could even reach my mouth.

“Oh my, what should we do?”

“Uung?”

No, you should feed it to me. How can you put it in a baby’s hand?

Rather than being angry, I stared blankly in disbelief, and the court lady smiled awkwardly and avoided my gaze.

“I’m sorry, Princess Baby. Did your clothes get wet? Oh my. I’ll bring something to wipe it up and a new sweet rice drink, so please stay here for a moment? I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

Even though it’s getting dark like this, you’re leaving a child alone?

Even though it’s inside the residence, how do you know where I’ll go alone?

‘Am I usually too well-behaved, so they’re raising me too comfortably?’

They shouldn’t raise other kids like this.

Well, it’s not like there are many opportunities to raise a baby in the palace.

Since the nanny who used to raise me was kicked out, and a new nanny was never assigned, it was understandable that everyone was flustered.

“Sigh.”

It was when I was sighing, feeling unpleasant because my hands were sticky with sweet rice drink, and pushing the small table away.

Flap flap-

A faint flapping sound and faint footsteps were heard intermittently.

‘What… is it?’

Perhaps because I was alone in the dark, I felt a little chill down my spine.

As if fanning my anxiety, the unidentified sound was getting louder and louder.

It wasn’t difficult to realize that the sound was approaching where I was.

And the shadow, as if knowing I was there, spoke to me as soon as it revealed itself.

“What brings you here alone?”

“!”

The owner of that unwelcome voice smiled at me.

The guy who should never be here was in front of me.

‘The security has been a bit lax lately, but this openly? And at such an opportune time?’

Naturally, the face of the court lady who had fearlessly left me alone just now came to mind.

I have to realize once again that there is no one to trust in this world.

But now is not the time to be thinking about other things.

Originally, I, being short, would have had to look up, but now I was sitting on the veranda, so I was looking down at Gyeongeon-gun. Thanks to that, I could see at a glance that he was holding something ominous in his hand.

The identity of the flapping sound I had been hearing since earlier seemed to be that.

The bird, still alive, was wriggling in Gyeongeon-gun’s hand, leaving a long streak on the ground.

It smelled fishy.

“Do you know how presumptuous you were just now? I even had to call a doctor because of you… Damn it!!”

Ah, indeed… It’s your own fault, but it seems like the blood has rushed to your head.

“Yes, I know that your birth is lowly, so your behavior is also vulgar. So, shouldn’t your half-blooded older brother correct your vulgarity?”

Like a scene from a horror movie, Gyeongeon-gun slowly approached where I was.

“I was foolish to try to punish someone as lowly as you with my own hands. You will soon pay the price for that presumptuousness. Today, instead, I have brought a gift suitable for your lowly self, so be grateful for this older brother’s generosity.”

“!!”

Then he threw what he was holding towards me.

Thud!! Flap! Flap……!

What Gyeongeon-gun was holding brushed past my face, hit the lattice door, made a terrible sound, and then soon became silent.

Gyeongeon-gun, seeing me frozen in surprise, chuckled, suppressing his voice as much as possible.

“Serves you right. You acted so fearlessly, but now you know what’s scary?”

He was clearly a crazy bastard himself.

Does he have the confidence to do this and get away with it?

“You and your lowly mother don’t know your place. How dare you act like a princess, even though you were born lowly. Surely you don’t think that you, born with a lowly nature, are the same status as me?”

And he stopped laughing and added, flashing his eyes.

“Soon, I will make you like that too.”

Then he laughed again, cackling as he approached, looking like a demon.

‘Seriously, this crazy bastard?? I’ve been listening and listening, but now you’re even making personal attacks and threats? You’re not born from the main wife either.’

Seeing that, my hand naturally clenched.

I then realized that I had been holding the porcelain bowl containing the sweet rice drink tightly since earlier.

Did I grab it without realizing it in surprise?

And at the same time as recognizing that fact, my hand, which had momentarily lost its reason, moved instinctively.

Clang-!!

“Ack!!!”

Clatter!!