Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 21

“So, are you saying that Royal Prince Gyeong-eon has tormented the Princess before?”

It was an act of betraying the master she had followed, but perhaps she was moved by my charm [a personal appeal or charisma], or perhaps she thought she had an opportunity. The court lady revealed things that no one else had dared to.

In front of the Queen Consort and my sister, no, my birth mother.

“How could such a miserable thing happen…….”

My sister, with a pale face, hugged me tightly and trembled.

“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

“How could this lowly one dare to speak falsely?”

With those words, the court lady rolled up her sleeves and revealed the things she had suffered from Royal Prince Gyeong-eon.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere in the room froze coldly.

“But why have you kept your mouth shut until now?”

“This lowly one has a younger sister who came to the palace with me. He threatened that if I didn’t obey him, he wouldn’t leave her alone.”

It meant that the court ladies were in a position where they couldn’t easily go against their superiors, and her younger sister was being held hostage.

But looking at Royal Prince Gyeong-eon’s personality, it seemed likely that her sister would eventually be assigned to Chwiyeongdang [a specific palace building or residence] and be harassed together.

‘Even though she is a half-sister, he does that to me, who is still his sister, so if it’s a powerless court lady, of course…… Ah, come to think of it, there was such a story in a novel I read before.’

There was a court lady who took revenge on the evil prince who was aiming for the position of crown prince in the novel, and her situation was similar.

‘The prince abused and killed the court lady’s only younger sister, and she held a grudge and joined hands with the protagonist.’

She was an intense cider character [a character who delivers satisfying revenge or justice] who was in charge of the climax of the novel.

While sharpening her knife for revenge, she outwardly served the enemy as a loyal subordinate, collecting evidence of treason. In the end, she pretended to help the fleeing prince escape, lured him to her sister’s grave, and stabbed him in the back in front of it, decorating the climax of the cider. She was an impressive supporting character.

Thanks to that, the protagonist couple didn’t have to get their hands dirty in dealing with the villain.

‘It was no joke when she killed that bastard in front of the grave.　Keu, I was expecting to see that scene in a video if it was made into a drama, but I was disappointed when they said it might not come out if the contents were changed during the adaptation. It doesn’t matter since I can’t see it anymore anyway. Come to think of it, that court lady’s name was…… what was it?’

I remembered it as a name like a seashell.

While I was rummaging through my memories, the Queen Consort, who had been lost in thought for a while, opened her mouth.

“What is your name?”

“I am called Jo Gae-yi.”

Oh, that’s right. It was Jo Gae-yi!

I clapped my knees without realizing it, and my sister, who was holding me, tilted her head as if curious. But I didn’t have the luxury to pay attention to my sister.

‘Huh? Is her name also Jo Gae-yi here?’

No, I’m sure I heard that Gae-yi was a common name in the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897]. Maybe it’s just the same name.

But for some reason, an unknown sense of unease suddenly struck me.

Why was the title Grand Prince Yeongwon familiar?

As I rummaged through my memories, I trembled in surprise at the fact that suddenly came to mind.

“Kyaak!!”

“Princess? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Is the Princess perhaps too surprised from earlier?”

“Ah…… Uuuuung.”

At the worried voices of my sister and Royal Concubine Seon, no, the Queen Consort, I shook my head for now.

The Queen Consort, misunderstanding something, smiled kindly and soothed me.

“I am taking her to investigate something. Don’t worry.”

“Uuuung?”

I blinked, not knowing what she meant. The court lady, Jo Gae-yi, who was about to be led out by the court ladies, looked at me, smiled faintly, and bowed her head.

‘Will it be okay? It’ll be okay, right?’

From the Queen Consort’s point of view, a card that could surely send Royal Concubine Yeong and Royal Prince Gyeong-eon away had rolled in on its own. Jo Gae-yi didn’t seem to have any loyalty to Royal Prince Gyeong-eon, let alone good feelings, so she would naturally be cooperative. Jo Gae-yi’s credibility was guaranteed by my attitude, so it couldn’t be better than this.

‘Rather, I should be more worried about whether Royal Concubine Yeong will do something harmful.’

I wonder if the Queen Consort can prepare well.

There were few people who, while being pressured by their superiors and exposed to violence themselves, and even with their sister’s safety threatened, could not ignore the danger to a young baby.

I hope she’s safe.

***

I didn’t hear the details of what happened after that.

But thanks to Jo Gae-yi’s testimony, Royal Concubine Yeong, who seemed to be living quietly in her residence, was demoted to Royal Concubine Suk-won [a lower rank for royal concubines], and the entry of outsiders into the residence of Royal Prince Gyeong-eon’s mother and son was prohibited.

On the other hand, my sister was promoted to the rank of Royal Noble Consort (Suk-ui, 淑儀) of the second rank in no time, making it a truly rapid promotion.

The person who treated me like a thorn in her side and tormented me was gone, and her rank had risen.

The atmosphere in our residence, which had been stiff for a while due to the ominous events, became harmonious as if a warm breeze was blowing.

But even though everything was going well, I wasn’t comfortable.

‘Surely not, right?’

The character arrangement in the past timeline of the novel , which has become a bit blurry now…… It was too similar to here.

‘No, no, that can’t be. But what if, what if it’s real?? No, but is that really possible?’

As I was groaning with unanswered worries, the Crown Prince and Grand Prince Yeongwon, who had called me to the back garden for refreshments, looked at my face with puzzled expressions.

“Why does our Sia look so serious? I even brought Sia’s favorite white rice cake.”

“Uung.”

As I grabbed the rice cake that the Crown Prince was offering and mumbled, Grand Prince Yeongwon, who was next to me, started nagging as expected.

“How can you receive what His Highness the Crown Prince gives you so carelessly with your mouth?”

“Eo ae-ah eo-ssai-ju-eu ah-ah? (Don’t you know how old I am?)”

“What on earth are you saying?”

I stared intently at Grand Prince Yeongwon, who was sighing like an adult, and grabbed his arm.

“Why.”

“Name, what?”

“……How can you suddenly ask your older brother what his name is?”

Unlike Grand Prince Yeongwon, who had a sulky face, the Crown Prince stroked my head as if he was amazed.

“Sia already knows that Grand Prince Yeongwon has a separate name. Usually, people would think that Yeongwon is his name. Are you very interested?”

“Hmm. Someone must have taught her.”

Even though he was a little grumpy, Grand Prince Yeongwon hugged me as if he didn’t dislike it.

No, tell me your name.

“Name.”

“…….”

The Crown Prince, who was smiling as he watched Grand Prince Yeongwon, who was just fiddling with the plate without telling me, shook his head and opened his mouth.

“Grand Prince Yeongwon’s name is ‘Hwa’. Yi-hwa. It’s a pretty name, isn’t it?”

“Hyeong-niim [term of endearment for older brother].”

“And for your information, this older brother is ‘Hye’, Yi Hye. You’ll remember your big brother’s name too, right?”

“……Uung.”

What should I do? It seems to be real…….

The male protagonist’s name in the novel was ‘Yi-hwa’, which was easy to remember.

When the male lead’s name came out in the novel, I scoffed that it was a more straightforward title than I thought, but now I couldn’t laugh.

“Aish.”

“Even sighing now. What’s wrong, Sia?”

“Nothing-to-yah.”

I slammed the Sikhye [sweet rice beverage] in front of me down after chugging it all in one shot and thought.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t use medieval Korean and just understood what they were saying.’

Was it not reincarnation but book possession?

***

“The parents, who told their older brother to take good care of his younger sister, gave him a plate of strawberries to eat together at night and left the house.”

Grand Prince Yeongwon interjected at my words.

“……How can you leave young siblings alone? And only a plate of strawberries.”

“You’re an idiot. The common people aren’t that rich. They have to work to make a living, so they can’t help it.”

“Is, is that so?”

“That’s right.”

Unlike Grand Prince Yeongwon, who couldn’t grasp the feeling, the Crown Prince nodded as if he knew something.

I know. I know that the Crown Prince sometimes goes out on secret missions.

‘He sneaks out with only his close bodyguards.’

The court ladies in our residence saw it. Aish, you should go a little more secretly. Tsk, tsk.

“The older brother left his younger sister to play alone and concentrated on studying alone. But from behind, the younger sister kept calling him.”

“Huum.”

“’Oppa [term of endearment for older brother], Oppa, can I eat the strawberries first?’ And because it was disturbing his studying, the older brother readily allowed it, saying, ‘Okay. Eat it.’”

“Hmm. He’s a good older brother.”

But why are you acting like that?

“But a little later, she called again from behind. ‘Oppa, can I eat just one of Oppa’s strawberries?’”

“Okay. Eat it.”

“Why are you answering…… Anyway. When the older brother told her to eat it, the younger sister asked again a little later. ‘Oppa, can I eat one more strawberry?’”

“…….”

“And she kept asking and asking, ‘Oppa, can I eat a strawberry?’ And again after a while, ‘Oppa, can I eat the last strawberry left?’”

As it was repeated up to that point, Grand Prince Yeongwon’s face began to harden as he felt something strange.

“The angry older brother shouted, ‘Okay, you eat it all!’ and turned around. And there…….”

“There?”

“A ghost with a bloody mouth was crunching on the last remaining finger of the younger sister…….”

Waggling my fingers, I widened my eyes and smiled at Grand Prince Yeongwon as I brought my face closer to him.

“’I ate well, Oppa.’ and…….”

“Hiiiik!!”

The Crown Prince laughed as he patted the back of Grand Prince Yeongwon, who was shuddering and clinging to him.

“Sia, where did you hear such a scary story?”

“Secret.”

I heard it in my previous life.

‘In some ways, this side is more horror-like.’

Even more so in that it’s reality.

“Were you scared?”

“……I’m not scared. I was just surprised because you suddenly brought your face close.”

Well, he was at an age where he couldn’t be honest.

“How can you, a mere six-year-old child, be so fearless?”

“Isn’t Grand Prince Yeongwon, who is now twelve years old, a little too scared?”

“Wh, what did you say?”

“Stop it. If you get so serious, it’s like being teased by your six-year-old sister.”

“Hyeong-nim [term of endearment for older brother]!”

The Crown Prince smiled kindly as he stopped Grand Prince Yeongwon, who was getting angry.

I told him a scary story because he was complaining that it was hot, and it seemed to have worked quite well.

‘Well, the clothes are hot.’

Give me short sleeves, short sleeves.

He can’t even roll up his sleeves because decorum is important.

Of course, when it’s hot, the court ladies fan him from the side, but I feel a little sorry about that too.

Besides, right now, we’re having a comfortable conversation with the court people gone so we can spend time intimately with our brothers, so there’s no one to fan us.

I flopped down on the table, using my young age as a shield.

“Why is Sia so lazy again?”

“I’m going to die because it’s hot.”

I raised and lowered my hand listlessly while lying down, and a rebuke came from the side.

“What are you doing being so rude to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Hehe. It’s our youngest’s privilege.”

The Crown Prince lightly lifted me up, who had become quite heavy now, and held me in his arms.

No, it’s hot, this person.

“Isn’t Sia this arrogant because you spoil her so much, Hyung-nim?”

“Uung. Crown Prince Orabeoni [term of endearment for older brother], look. If Orabeoni isn’t here, he bullies Sia like this?”

“Wh, what?”

“Aigo, stop it. I know how well you two get along when I’m not here.”