Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 183

Born as the Daughter of a Lowly Concubine 183

Given Sehwa’s position, it wasn’t surprising she was waiting outside a private room, a fact she accepted with a sigh.

Song Naegwan’s presence confirmed the Crown Prince was inside.

“Do you know someone?”

“Ah… there’s no need to show me to a seat. You can go now.”

Sehwa dismissed the girl who had been guiding her and quietly asked Song Naegwan,

“Is His Highness the Crown Prince here?”

“Shh, shh. Earlier, His Highness read the novel ‘Flower Rain’ [‘Hwau’ in Korean, a romantic novel], and was intrigued to learn there was a play based on it, so he came to see it himself.”

“Ah…”

‘Flower Rain’ was a novel written with the Crown Prince as the male lead from the very beginning.

If the Crown Prince had read it, it wasn’t strange that he’d want to see the adaptation.

“Did you only just find out about the novel?”

“No, His Highness has heard rumors about it for some time. However, he’s been busy and hadn’t had a chance to read it properly. Recently, due to his injury, physical activities have been postponed. With more free time, he remembered the book and finally read it.”

“Ah…”

Sehwa swallowed a sigh and nodded.

***

The Crown Prince was a busy man, and when he had free time, he usually preferred to spend it with people.

Mostly, that person was his only younger sister.

It sounded like an excuse, but the truth was, besides his sister, the other people around the Crown Prince were individuals he was obligated to meet, even if he didn’t particularly want to.

However, recently, Princess Suyeong’s sleeping patterns had become erratic, making visits difficult.

Though disappointed, the Crown Prince, being an adult, decided against disturbing his sick sister’s rest and instead chose to read a new novel.

It was a new novel, but one he had ordered someone to retrieve for him before leaving Gangmu.

It was a popular novel, so obtaining it wasn’t difficult, but he had been so busy and the rumors surrounding it were so persistent that he hadn’t dared to touch it.

After finally reading the novel, the Crown Prince was shocked in several ways.

‘No way, have some of the Gyuanggak [Royal Library] scholars been smiling at me like that all this time…’

Not only the Gyuanggak scholars but also the young officials who enjoyed novels—in fact, people of all ages—had been looking at the Crown Prince and Sehwa with knowing eyes, and the Crown Prince only understood the reason after reading the novel.

His face flushed red.

Realizing his feelings was embarrassing enough, but becoming aware that others were aware of them was even more so.

It was mortifying that someone was so interested in his love life.

‘They say the author of ‘Flower Rain’ and ‘Flower Shadow’ is the same person.’

If you combined the contents of the two novels that were the talk of the town, Sehwa and himself were strangely reminiscent of the characters.

The Crown Prince wasn’t sure if this was self-consciousness or mere delusion, and he lacked the confidence to make an objective judgment.

If he asked Song Naegwan or Moon Sang-gung [a high-ranking court lady], they would have given him a clear answer, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask, fearing they were also secretly laughing at him.

Consequently, after reading the novel, he couldn’t bring himself to summon Sehwa in front of others.

From the time he returned from Gangwon-do until now, he had naturally entrusted Sehwa with taking his pulse, but now he worried that those around him would perceive it as driven by personal interest!

Kings were said to be shameless, but he was still only the Crown Prince, and couldn’t be so brazen.

‘Rather, Sia might be more brazen than me.’

Was it possible she knew all of this and was doing it on purpose?

He couldn’t dismiss the suspicion. It seemed an exaggeration to think she had even predicted the relationship between the Crown Prince and Sehwa.

In Siwolgak, which such a brazen Sia had painstakingly created, the content the Crown Prince had already seen in the novel was being faithfully performed as a play.

‘Ha…’

And of course, while watching the play, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but think of Sehwa.

Why did even the actress’s lines remind him of Sehwa’s *mal-tu* [manner of speaking]?

If someone who knew the truth heard it, they would have immediately recognized it was because she was the original author.

Unfortunately, no one by the Crown Prince’s side knew that fact.

In the first place, he had dismissed even those who had accompanied him and was blankly watching the performance alone, so how would anyone know what the Crown Prince was thinking?

Perhaps it was because he kept thinking about her even though he knew it wasn’t the right situation, but now it truly seemed like he could hear Sehwa’s voice.

‘Even so, this is becoming a bit of an obsession…’

The Crown Prince, lamenting his thoughts, suddenly turned his gaze from the stage, realizing the voice was coming from behind him, not from the performance.

In fact, the play’s content was almost identical to the book, and it seemed like the ending he had witnessed upon his arrival was being repeated, so it wouldn’t be a great loss if he missed a bit.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, that is…”

Next to Song Naegwan, who stood before the private room, was indeed the person he had been thinking about until just now.

“Sehwa?”

“I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’m sorry.”

Sehwa also looked slightly embarrassed. The Crown Prince was flustered by the unexpected encounter but was overcome by the urge not to let Sehwa leave.

“…No, don’t worry about it. If you’re comfortable with it… would you like to come in too?”

“Is… is it really alright?”

After confirming no one was nearby, Sehwa cautiously entered.

If she hadn’t met Ongju Jaga [Princess Jaga], she couldn’t have imagined looking down at the stage from a place like this. Now, she was not only naturally watching the stage but doing so in the company of His Highness the Crown Prince.

‘Life is truly unpredictable.’

As she approached the railing, she could see the scene where the male lead of *Hwau* (Flower Rain), the Crown Prince, realizes that the woman he was drawn to was his first love.

It wasn’t Sehwa’s intention, but as the author of the original novel and the woman who almost became the Crown Princess, mirroring the novel’s plot, she couldn’t help but feel her face burning.

“Sehwa? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. It just feels hotter inside now that I’ve come in from outside.”

“You don’t have to be so formal, even in a place like this. It’s more bothersome if someone overhears us.”

“Yes.”

“The play currently being performed is based on the novel ‘Flower Rain,’ which is a sequel to ‘Flower Shadow.’ I also read it belatedly a while ago. Did you happen to read the contents…?”

“…Yes.”

Did she just read it?

From beginning to end, the novel was born from Sehwa’s hands.

Sehwa avoided eye contact, her embarrassment filled with various meanings, but the Crown Prince was also avoiding Sehwa’s gaze with his own embarrassment, so neither was fully aware of the other’s state.

After the two silently watched the stage for a while, the Crown Prince spoke first.

“I didn’t remain unmarried for that, for that reason.”

“Yes? Ah.”

Sehwa’s face turned red without her realizing it.

It was an unexpected remark, but Sehwa realized the Crown Prince was referring to the contents of ‘Flower Rain.’

The male lead of ‘Flower Rain’ couldn’t forget his first love and refused to marry a woman he didn’t desire as the Crown Princess.

There were political reasons, but it was certain that the Crown Prince in the novel loved the girl who was about to become his Crown Princess.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I certainly have someone who was about to become the Crown Princess, just like in that novel…”

This was also something she didn’t really want to hear.

Sehwa, knowing it was disrespectful, dared to interrupt the Crown Prince and stood up.

“I don’t know why you’re telling me that. I think it would be better for me to leave now.”

“Wa, wait a moment…”

“I’m not familiar with the law, but I know it’s not appropriate for His Highness the Crown Prince to be seen like this.”

Sehwa, who was about to get up and leave, had no choice but to stop at the Crown Prince’s words.

Sehwa was also aware of the strange atmosphere recently.

“The novel said so. If you keep thinking about someone and want to see their smiling face, that’s affection.”

“Your Highness.”

The moment Sehwa, flustered by hearing the Crown Prince recite lines from the novel she wrote, called out to him,

A crashing sound and a small scream echoed from the stage they were looking down at.

Other audience members were also startled, and a commotion began to spread.

“?”

“…It seems someone got hurt.”

Sehwa, after looking down, said this and rushed out like the wind.

“…So you’re just leaving like this?”

The Crown Prince, dumbfounded, followed Sehwa.

“No, Your, no, where are you going!”

Song Naegwan’s pitiful voice was heard from behind, but the Crown Prince pretended not to hear it.

The place where Sehwa, who ran down the stairs, headed was behind the stage.

“What happened?”

“Ah. Doctor! Please come this way.”

The actors and workers recognized Sehwa and their eyes lit up. Naturally guided to the injured, Sehwa quickly checked the condition of the two leading actors who had collapsed.

“Are both of them hurt?”

“Doctor.”

Sehwa ordered people to bring the necessary treatment supplies and asked them to take care of the aftermath.

“What happened?”

“Yes? Ah, sometimes there are overly enthusiastic audience members who rush the actors, so we temporarily widened the stage to the side and even put up a fence in the front, but it was flimsy and collapsed.”

Earlier, someone jumped over the fence in front of the stage, and at the same time, the actors, surprised by this, lost their footing, and part of the temporarily installed stage collapsed, injuring the leading actors who were exiting.

“Ugh…!”

“This won’t work. I can’t move in this state.”

The two leading actors made a pained face at Sehwa’s words.

“That can’t be. It’s the finale now…!”

“How are you going to act when you can’t even stand properly? Especially if you’ve hurt your bones or joints, it could become chronic if you’re not careful. Are you going to perform in the finale today and be unable to do anything else in the future?”

“That’s true, but…”

Sehwa spoke sternly but inwardly clicked her tongue.

A leg-injured patient who doesn’t listen. Just the Crown Prince alone was overwhelming.

It was unfortunate for the audience, but it seemed this play would have to end here.

Unexpectedly, the actors refuted Sehwa.

“But we can’t end the play like this.”

“That’s right. High-ranking people can come back and see it again, but among the audience on the first floor, there are people who barely saved enough money to come and see the play with a big heart! It’s difficult for people who came from far away to see the next play. Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“…”

Sehwa couldn’t think of anything to say to their words.

Whatever the case, Sehwa knew the lives of the common people very well. Even if there were more wealthy people than before, there were still more people in the world who couldn’t even imagine coming to such a luxurious place.

How could she tell them they were unlucky today, so come back next time?

“Anyway, the stage has to be reorganized. In the meantime, can’t we find someone to jump in as a substitute?”

“We don’t have that many people, and everyone is busy with the end of the year and preparing for other stages, so they’re not here.”

This doesn’t work, that doesn’t work, what are we supposed to do?

“That’s right, Doctor Sehwa!”

“??”

“D, Doctor, you know all the lines! The last part doesn’t require a lot of acting, so just for a moment! Can’t you stand on stage for a moment??”

Saying that, the male lead actor pitifully grabbed Sehwa’s hand.

“No, that’s a bit…”

“Just a moment.”

A hand suddenly intervened, pushing away the male actor’s hand holding Sehwa’s.

Sehwa recognized the owner of the suddenly appearing hand and her face hardened in embarrassment.