Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 237

Sehwa looked at me, seemingly embarrassed, and quietly asked in a slightly solemn voice.

“Have you… perhaps heard something?”

“Sehwa, even if that were true, would your own brother tell such a thing to his younger sister?”

“……”

Sehwa’s face flushed red at my words.

‘Oops, was I too blunt?’

But Crown Prince, did you perhaps fail to manage your image in front of Sehwa?

‘Judging by her reaction, it seems they’re having a healthy relationship.’

In the first place, the Crown Prince’s romance within the palace isn’t some secret affair between just the two of them.

There are naturally many eyes watching the Crown Prince, so no matter how much he tells the surrounding palace staff to leave, the very act of having time alone is a signal.

It might be possible to prevent rumors from spreading if his close aides are tight-lipped, but the fact that a man and woman are engaging in romantic activities while someone is watching is… difficult if you’re not used to it.

‘Actually, I don’t think the Crown Prince is used to it either.’

If he had been the Crown Prince since birth, he might have been used to it, but the current Crown Prince was appointed after he had matured to some extent, so he didn’t like it when even the palace staff who had been with him since childhood got too close.

That’s why he used to keep the palace staff at a distance when he and I went for walks.

‘Well, I’m still a child, so I need a guardian. I can’t really do anything about someone following me.’

Of course, I also often ran away when I wanted to be alone since I was young. The palace maids would scream that the Princess was missing.

I’ve gotten used to having people follow me, but if I were dating like the Crown Prince, it would be a bit much to have Soi following me around.

‘In many ways, dating itself would be impossible.’

Anyway, putting myself in his shoes, I’ve been refraining from interfering when the Crown Prince and Sehwa are together.

Even though I unintentionally get used as a cover sometimes.

‘Even if it’s a child, if a third party is involved between a couple who have already confirmed their feelings for each other, it’s an obstacle.’

Actually, I’m not really a child.

If my presence delays their progress, I’d be the most troubled, not anyone else.

I patted Sehwa’s hand, who seemed at a loss for words, and said,

“Have fun together. You can even make history.”

“……”

“Please fasten your seatbelt, Princess.”

Soi, who was behind her, put on the brakes instead of Sehwa, who had lost her words.

“You can’t make history anyway. If my brother were that kind of person, he would have had several concubines already.”

“Please just send her quickly.”

“Tch. Alright.”

I feel like giving her some spending money to have fun, but she probably doesn’t need it since she’s going out with the Crown Prince.

Actually, I give her money and gifts under various pretexts anyway.

So, I decided to give her something else that wasn’t related to going out.

“It’s still far from quitting time anyway, so I’ll give you an excuse to leave work early. Soi, bring that out.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Since we had already talked about it, Soi quickly brought out what I had asked for.

“?”

“These are medical books that came from abroad through Gai [a merchant guild] this time, and records of medicinal herbs made by the children of Siyoungwon [a medical institution].”

“Ah.”

Sehwa’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the books and reached out for the ones Soi handed her.

Is it just my imagination that she looks more lively than when we were talking about the Crown Prince earlier?

“This is a new medical book.”

“Yeah. I heard they got it while trading red ginseng these days. It’s not as much as before, but they’re still actively collecting medical books and herbs.”

Gai, who runs the merchant guild, was originally looking for rare medical books and herbs to treat my illness, so there was no need for that since Sehwa appeared and cured me.

But rumors had already spread that he was looking for rare medical books and herbs, and he must have thought that it wouldn’t hurt to collect them, or that I would still need them, so Gai was still collecting medical books.

“Thank you, Princess. I will take it to the royal clinic and study it. Ah, but……”

Sehwa, who was checking the medical books, looked puzzled.

“Where are the records made by Siyoungwon?”

“Yeah. Aren’t they together?”

When I turned my head towards Soi at Sehwa’s question, Soi replied with an indifferent face.

“I apologize, Princess. It seems there was a mistake and they were not delivered.”

“Are they in Siyoungwon?”

“I apologize. They may have been collected in the Princess’s private residence.”

“So you’re saying they’re either in the private residence or Siyoungwon? But that’s troublesome. The end of the year is approaching, so we need to organize things in the private residence. It would be good to check and bring them before then. They might burn useless paper.”

When I said that, Sehwa blinked as if she had realized something.

“Sehwa, you said you don’t have any other urgent matters today, right? Would you like to leave work early and stop by my private residence to check? They’re probably in Siyoungwon, but just in case.”

It means that the data is in Siyoungwon, so you can pick it up later. Sehwa lives near Siyoungwon, after all.

“It’s not like it’s confidential data, so it’s okay to take it home for a while. I’ll talk to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Yes, yes. Princess.”

What’s so urgent about records about medicinal herbs? This was just an excuse.

An excuse to leave the palace quickly to run an errand for the Princess.

I whispered to Sehwa in a small voice.

“Since you’re going out together, have fun. Just not to the point of getting sick.”

“Yes. Princess.”

Sehwa, who was looking at me with a complex expression, seemed to remember something and asked.

“It’s getting colder these days, so please be careful not to catch a cold when you go out, Princess.”

“That… Soi will take care of it.”

“Princess……”

Soi, don’t look at me with such longing eyes.

***

Sehwa hugged the medical book she received from the Princess and left the Princess’s residence.

‘The Princess seems to want me to be with His Highness the Crown Prince.’

It wasn’t strange that everyone around her was worried since His Highness the Crown Prince still didn’t have a concubine.

But if they knew who she was, wouldn’t even the kind Princess avoid her?

‘When that time comes, I might not even be allowed to be by the Crown Prince’s side.’

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay by the Crown Prince’s side as ‘Doctor Sehwa’.

‘But…….’

If she did, she would have to live in fear of her identity being revealed for the rest of her life.

Besides, if there were those who falsely accused her father of treason and were living happily, she couldn’t allow them to live comfortably.

And more than anything, she didn’t want to deceive them forever.

‘I could have deceived them comfortably if they were just greedy power-hungry people.’

The Crown Prince and Princess Suyeong were always kind to Sehwa.

No, they seemed to be like that to everyone, not just Sehwa.

Of course, the Crown Prince and the Princess made their subordinates do a lot of work to the point where they might resent them, but they were by no means unreasonable or scary superiors.

‘At least they’re working so hard that they’re worried about their health…….’

If the boss just plays around and makes others work, you get pissed off, but if you work together to the point of dying, you don’t curse.

In a way, it was an ideal image of rulers governing the people.

And the fact that she was constantly deceiving them tormented Sehwa.

At the time, Sehwa believed that her father was not a traitor.

But now that time has passed and she has become a doctor and seen many people, she couldn’t be sure. Was the image of her father that Sehwa remembered at the time really her father’s true self?

Sehwa had seen many people who showed a different side to their family and to the outside world.

What should she do if her father had really plotted treason, even if it was just in case?

‘But…….’

If her father was really a traitor, there would be no way to find her younger sibling.

Her younger sibling, Sucheon, who she didn’t know whether was dead or alive.

If she was alive, how would she be living?

Thanks to the newspaper created by the Princess, she could post an announcement to find her younger sibling, but if she tried to find Sucheon, it would only reveal that Sucheon was the child of a fugitive traitor.

‘Of course, I’m using other methods…….’

Since that method was not a direct means, it was uncertain how effective it would be.

So, to find her younger sibling, she had to at least confirm whether her father had really committed treason.

If he was falsely accused, it was her duty as a child to clear his name, and if not…….

“Oh? Doctor, are you already done with your pulse check and leaving?”

“Ah. Cheonho.”

When she raised her head at the familiar voice, she saw a handsome face.

It was Cheonho, who always came to deliver news from Siyoungwon around this time.

There were many times when the time he came to see the Princess overlapped, so they would have tea together, but today their times seemed to be completely different.

“What’s with all the luggage again? Shall I carry it for you?”

“It’s not that heavy, so it’s okay. More than that, you seem to be a bit late today, shouldn’t you go see the Princess quickly?”

But Cheonho shook his head and lifted the several books in Sehwa’s hand.

It was actually a bit heavy, so it was a welcome thing.

“It’s not like there’s anything urgent, and if I go quickly, she’ll just make me work.”

“Haha.”

Sehwa, who suddenly remembered that the Princess knew about her outing, carefully asked Cheonho.

“Is the Princess going out today too?”

“I don’t know of any plans for that, but she’s always spontaneous, so I don’t know.”

“Oh dear. You’re having a hard time.”

“Still, I think this is a good place to work.”

“That’s true.”

Perhaps because they had both experienced harsh lives, there was something they could relate to even without saying anything.

And Cheonho, who was well aware that the Crown Prince didn’t like that fact very much, slowly distanced himself.

“Why are you doing that?”

“It’s annoying if someone sees us.”

“Oh, come on. What kind of misunderstanding would there be from being with a kid like you?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince misunderstands.”

“……”

For some reason, just like when she was with Princess Suyeong earlier, Sehwa was the only one who was embarrassed because of the Crown Prince.

‘I’ll have to ask him about it later.’

Why is the embarrassment always my responsibility?

Sehwa, who was suppressing her embarrassment, suddenly realized that she didn’t know exactly how old Cheonho was.

Even though they had never had a deep conversation, she knew simple personal information from what she had heard around her.

How old was he?

“Come to think of it, how old are you now, Cheonho?”

“Me? I’m sixteen now.”

“No way! You’re so big?!”

“No, why are you suddenly picking a fight…….”