Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 172

“Princess Jaga is truly… amazing.”

Just thinking about her made you feel good.

However, regardless of Sehwa’s intentions, Seongji, who was handing her a sweet treat, said something unexpected.

“That’s right. I heard Princess Jaga was the one who found the Crown Prince and Doctor Sehwa.”

“Pardon?”

“I heard she somehow learned about the tiger hunt nearby and had the hunters check the traps they had set. Thanks to that, they found the Crown Prince and Sehwa.”

“She’s really… quite extraordinary.”

Suddenly, what the Crown Prince had said the day before came to mind.

‘What kind of child do you think she is? She will definitely find us.’

Indeed, like siblings, he knew his younger sister well.

‘Then… could that also be true?’

“But I heard they found Cheonho as well. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Ah. So that’s why he was together.”

Sehwa nodded, recalling Cheonho with people dressed as hunters, distinctly different from the military officers she saw the day before.

She was too out of it the day before to even think about confirming such things.

“I should go and deliver the news about Sehwa to Princess Jaga and the people at the Crown Prince’s palace. Sehwa, you should rest a bit more.”

“No, I think I can get up now…”

“If you say you’re okay, you might be summoned to the royal court right away for questioning.”

“Ah…”

Even though she had been in the royal clinic for quite some time, she still wasn’t used to going to the royal court.

Especially not for questioning, rather than for a medical examination.

Seongji chuckled at Sehwa’s grimace.

“Don’t worry. You can’t go to the royal court in your current state anyway. Oh, I changed Sehwa’s clothes from the day before, cleaned them up a bit, and applied some medicine. As you know, everyone is very particular about hygiene.”

“Ah, haha. Thank you.”

With her whole body in such a state, she was grateful for even that much.

“And don’t worry, I’m keeping the medicinal herbs that were in the bag Sehwa brought safe and sound.”

“Ah, but…”

“Princess Jaga’s people are taking turns guarding them so that no one else can touch them.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Sehwa relax and release the tension in her body.

“Everyone was so touched that you managed to bring the medicinal herbs without damaging them even in that situation.”

What did it mean that Sehwa’s clothes were tattered, but the bag she had and the herbs inside were intact?

“Anyway, rest assured and get some more rest. There are even soldiers outside for Sehwa’s safety.”

“…Pardon?”

What on earth was going on?

Seongji left the room, leaving Sehwa in a daze.

As she lay blankly in the warm room, she heard a child’s voice from outside.

It was the now-familiar voice of Princess Jaga.

“How is Sehwa?”

“She woke up, ate, took her medicine, and is resting again. Her condition isn’t bad, so you don’t need to worry. Would you like to go in?”

“If I go in while she’s resting, it’ll only make her uncomfortable. Never mind.”

“Yes.”

The worried voice was so cute that she couldn’t help but smile.

And at the same time, what the Crown Prince had said the day before came to mind.

‘That child… is truly ruthless.’

‘How ruthless… she’s the type who would swallow even poisoned food… if necessary.’

Surely, that couldn’t be true.

Wasn’t Princess Jaga only about 6 or 7 years old at the time?

But it didn’t seem like the Crown Prince would lie in such a situation.

Still feeling weary, Sehwa closed her eyes.

She felt relieved because it seemed like most of the situation had been taken care of while she was unconscious.

She didn’t want to even look at the mountains for a while.

***

“I just came back, and Sehwa has opened her eyes.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

When the Crown Prince smiled brightly at the news from the Princess, small hands began to punish him.

“You’re laughing? You’re laughing?”

“Ouch, ouch, it hurts. Sia…”

His left foot was wrapped in bandages and immobilized, but his body was bruised all over from jumping off the horse and falling into the pit.

If he took off his shirt, it would probably be quite colorful.

It was true that it hurt, but the Crown Prince, who was exaggerating in front of his younger sister, had to be silent again at Sia’s sharp voice.

“A Crown Prince should act like a Crown Prince and stay quietly in the back. Why did you jump in so dangerously?”

“……”

“What do you think the Royal Guards are for? Why do you bring escorts?”

Everything she said was right, so the Crown Prince didn’t argue and just quietly shut his mouth.

“…I know. Why did I do that?”

“I don’t know where your mind is. Ugh.”

“……”

At the Princess’s words, the people next to them turned their heads, trying to hold back their laughter.

No matter how mentally mature she was, how could she talk like that?

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be!”

A small child raised her voice.

Who in the world could raise their voice to the Crown Prince of a nation like this, but the person who had worried her all day the day before had no choice but to stay still because he was guilty.

‘Crown Prince Seongwon also ended up like that during martial arts training, and I even went missing, so Sia must have been very surprised.’

Knowing her feelings well, he couldn’t say a word and was being scolded like this the whole time.

“Sia. If your brother is hurt, shouldn’t you be a little nicer…”

“No way.”

“Okay…”

It seemed like this little sister wouldn’t easily let go of her anger.

‘When I came back the day before, she ran to me crying.’

But the moment he pointed that out, it was obvious that his sister’s anger would last even longer, so the Crown Prince wisely kept his mouth shut. He was the one who made his sister, who rarely cried, cry, so he was guilty.

Besides, the people who found him were ultimately the people Sia had sent, so he had nothing more to say.

“Listen to Eunuch Song and Court Lady Moon and rest quietly.”

“Okay, okay.”

Since he couldn’t move anyway because of his foot, she told him to stay still.

As the Crown Prince watched Sia leave with a huff, Eunuch Song and Court Lady Moon, who were taking care of him, gave him a sharp look.

“…I said I was wrong.”

“How could we dare say anything to Your Highness?”

“We are just grateful that Princess Jaga is speaking for us.”

As expected, the people who eat palace food only get better at passive-aggression.

He could only sigh next to them, and it was as uncomfortable as sitting on pins and needles.

‘Sia is at least cute…’

But if he said these words, Sia would likely beat him up severely later for their share as well, so the Crown Prince decided to keep his mouth shut. She may be a child, but her hands are so strong.

“I will go brew some medicine.”

“Okay.”

As if sensing that the Crown Prince wanted to be alone, they both quietly left the room.

Of course, they would be waiting in front of the door.

Left alone in the room, the Crown Prince recalled the events of the day before. He would have to properly report this to Father.

‘Father must have been very… surprised.’

The incident with Crown Prince Seongwon was everyone’s sore spot, but he had brought it up again.

‘Assassination. Is someone targeting me?’

He had experienced the threat of poisoning as a child and had been living with heightened senses of danger, but he had never thought of such a thing.

Since when had Joseon become such a lawless place? The fact that he couldn’t think of anyone who would target him was also a problem.

‘Even if I die now, there’s no one who can guarantee to receive the next throne. Could it really be that those who lost property due to the abolition of the slavery system, as I heard from Sia, targeted me?’

It was something he couldn’t figure out even if he worried about it now. The Crown Prince sighed and recalled the last memory of the previous night.

He was a little embarrassed, but he remembered losing consciousness while leaning on Sehwa in the pit.

And someone had held him and taken him out of the pit.

A familiar voice that soothed him, saying, ‘It will be alright. Your Highness.’

‘Was it… not my brother?’

Wasn’t the person who was reflected in his vision, blurred by the fever, his brother?

He hadn’t told Sia, but he had had some doubts about his brother’s death before.

At first, of course, like everyone else, he didn’t doubt the death of his brother, Crown Prince Seongwon.

He was just sad about the death of his beloved brother, and then he became suspicious of people due to Sia’s poisoning incident, and he began to feel that something was wrong as he received different education from when he was just a Grand Prince and worked with the King, seeing the actual work.

The attitude of the King, who was surprisingly indifferent to the tomb of Crown Prince Seongwon, whom he had cherished so much, was also like that.

The private property of the Crown Prince, which was distributed to the Crown Prince’s close aides, was also like that.

Feeling doubtful, he had people investigate this and that.

He also confirmed the fact that there was nothing in the urn of the Crown Prince, who was cremated for the reason that he had been attacked by a tiger.

‘I just thought it might be my delusion.’

He thought that if he were alive, he might come back someday.

But if the person he met the day before was really his brother….

‘Really, he might not come back.’

Maybe it’s just someone with a similar voice. The Crown Prince somehow felt like he had been recognized by his brother.

***

“I heard Cheonho made a great contribution this time.”

“What contribution? The hunters called in by Princess Jaga found them.”

“He brought the Crown Prince back with him.”

Compared to the praise pouring in from me and those around me, Cheonho himself was indifferent.

“I’m just glad His Highness is safe.”

“…Yeah.”