Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 252

“Really?”

At Cheonho’s sullen voice, the men shook their heads in unison.

“No, it wasn’t us!”

“No, what did we even do….”

While the men were vehemently denying it, the children were just as resolute.

“But it disappeared after you guys passed by!”

“Come on, it wasn’t us. Besides, there were so many people at the arcade today. Why would you think we took it?”

As the men approached the children while talking, the children became intimidated and clung to Cheonho, protesting in small voices.

“B-But….”

“They look scary….”

“……”

At the children’s words, those nearby who had been listening to the conversation burst into laughter, coughing and chuckling.

It seemed that the children had concluded that the menacing-looking men who happened to pass by when their things disappeared were definitely the culprits.

‘Hmm. They seem to be scared, but not really.’

Well, that’s how kids are, I guess.

Listening from the side, I first soothed the children.

“Kids, even if someone looks scary, they might not have done anything bad.”

“Really?”

“We’re not kids, you know?”

“Yeah. Kids are younger than us.”

What are these kids saying?

I casually brushed off the protests of the children, who were about the same size as I was before my growth spurt, and focused on having a productive conversation.

“Right. There are many people who do bad things with kind faces. Especially when it comes to scamming and lying to people, it’s often those with decent-looking faces.”

“Why?”

“Would you believe what that man is saying, or what this *hyung* [older brother/male friend] is saying?”

“……!”

After glancing at the men’s faces and then at Cheonho’s face, the children seemed to have an epiphany and quickly distanced themselves from Cheonho.

Cheonho grumbled in a slightly resentful tone, as if he was dumbfounded.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“No, I was just giving an example.”

Kids need to know that the world is a tough place.

The children whispered among themselves and then cautiously asked me.

“Then, do pretty people like you also do bad things?”

“Hmm… they might.”

The children looked confused but seemed to accept it, and they quieted down.

“So, you shouldn’t suspect or trust people based on their looks alone.”

“Yes.”

Even though they’re like this, they listen well… but if I say that, those men over there would feel wronged.

“Okay. So, tell me what happened. Everyone looks like they’re dying of curiosity.”

“But then shouldn’t we not trust you either….”

“It’s commendable that you learn quickly, but I think having a conversation should be the priority. Where are your guardians?”

At my words, the children all shook their heads.

“They’re busy right now.”

“Okay.”

Thankfully, it seems they do have guardians.

‘If they were children without guardians, they would have gone to Siyoungwon [an orphanage or welfare center].’

Judging by their appearance, they were quite neat and not children wandering the streets.

“Let’s go inside and talk. If we stay here, we’ll be blocking the way.”

“Okay.”

Whether it was persuasion or something else, the children followed me inside.

“Should the men come with us too?”

“Hmm. It’s unfair to leave like this, so let’s do that.”

With Cheonho’s invitation, the *Chakhogun* [Royal Guard] men also obediently followed us inside.

It’s hard to communicate properly with children. Judging by how wary they are of people, it would be troublesome to figure out what they’re saying, but as expected, children are still children, so it was surprisingly easy.

Not that I intended it.

“Give the children drinks and snacks that they can eat, according to the number of people.”

“Yes.”

“!!”

When the fruit syrup drinks and snacks came out, the children’s eyes sparkled as they looked at me.

“C-Can we really eat this?”

“Isn’t this expensive?”

Well, it’s probably a bit pricey.

“I’m buying, so you can eat it.”

“Wow!!”

The eyes of the children, who had been a little wary, quickly lit up when the snacks were placed in front of them, and they began to send me gazes filled with infinite goodwill.

‘Yeah. Kids are just kids….’

The children, who were initially a bit hesitant, started gobbling up the snacks as soon as one of them reached out, without any reservations.

“Hmm. You shouldn’t accept things from strangers so easily.”

“It’s hard to take that seriously coming from the person who bought it for us….”

That’s true.

The men also got some snacks and chuckled at the conversation between Cheonho and me.

“Hooah. Delicious.”

“Really.”

The children, who had been eating the snacks and drinks like they were in a battle, soon collapsed around me like satisfied cats.

I was worried that the children’s wariness had dropped to the floor.

‘I should make sure the children at Siyoungwon are educated more thoroughly.’

Thanks to the heightened security after the big incident in the past (*Princess Kidnapping Incident*), child abduction cases haven’t been happening these days, but you never know when something like that might happen again.

“Are you all done eating?”

“Yes!”

“Can’t we eat more?”

“Be quiet, you idiot!”

There was a child who wanted to eat more snacks without any tact, but they were soon suppressed by the other children.

“So, can we hear what happened now?”

“Yes. Well….”

While some children were still hesitant, others had their guard down completely in front of the snacks they had tasted for the first time.

“Wow. Um, miss. Are you rich?”

The child approached me and whispered in a small voice.

‘Me… rich?’

It was a question I had never heard since being reborn as a princess, but there was only one answer, so I nodded firmly.

“I am rich.”

“Wow, really? How did you become rich?”

“Hmm. I had money at home. I had people helping me. And I was lucky.”

At my words, Soi interjected.

“If you say it like that, there’s room for misunderstanding.”

“It’s all true. I couldn’t have made this much money without the initial capital. If I said I became rich through my own strength and effort alone, that would just be a lie.”

While we were bickering, the children seemed to be talking among themselves.

“Then, can we tell her?”

“I guess so.”

I don’t know what being rich has to do with it, but the children whispered among themselves again and then one of them approached me as if they had made up their mind and whispered.

“Um, this is a secret.”

“A secret?”

When I asked again, the children started bickering again.

“Hey, are you really going to tell her that?”

“No, if she’s rich, she probably won’t want what we have.”

I can see that you have a wrong perception of what a rich person is.

‘Usually, rich people are more greedy.’

I’ll have to teach them later.

“Okay. I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I made the children promise me several times, and after having the former *Chakhogun* [Royal Guard] men step back a bit, I was finally able to continue the conversation with the children.

“I heard that the princess made this arcade.”

“Is that right?”

“Actually, we came here because we wanted to give the princess something she would like.”

“???”

What is this about?

As I tilted my head, the child started rambling as if they couldn’t organize their thoughts, but I was able to grasp the content somehow.

Combining the children’s words, they said that they had come to Seoul from different regions.

They were even from Siyoungwon [an orphanage or welfare center] or children who had studied under Siyoungwon teachers.

“For a while, we’re not busy with farming, and we were told to come to Hanyang [old name for Seoul] and work and study during the winter with our older siblings.”

“My sister also said that if we came to Seoul from Siyoungwon, they would teach us and give us food, so I came with her.”

“Ah.”

I had told them to send talented children to Seoul from before.

They say send horses to Jeju and people to Seoul.

Whether it’s studying or something else, Seoul is a good place to shine if you have talent.

‘Besides, there are many regions with poor harvests this year, so I allowed them to send many children this time, thinking it would be okay.’

The operation was running on its own to some extent even without my instructions, and since many people had left Siyoungwon for the provinces, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to bring people from the provinces to fill the spots.

Since Siyoungwon is more abundant in the Seoul headquarters than in the provincial branches, it would be relatively easy to feed the children.

“Of course, we’re studying too!”

“We’re also helping with work little by little. We all came here with permission.”

“This kid isn’t from another region, they lived here, so they know the way well.”

“We wanted to come to Siyoung Park or the arcade since we came to Seoul. It’s famous among the children.”

“Ah….”

No wonder the children were properly calling me Princess. It was because they were children taught by Siyoungwon teachers.

By the way, what have I unintentionally created?

‘They’re looking for it like they’re on a school trip to E-land or Lotte World [Korean theme parks]. Ah, but it’s similar, isn’t it?’

I don’t know about here, but Siyoung Park was just that. They made something similar in the provincial branches, but there was a difference in scale.

Now that I’ve confirmed the children’s identities, I moved on to the next step.

“So, what did you lose here?”

“Actually, we were leaving a gift here.”

“A gift?”

That was an unexpected word.

“For whom?”

“For the princess!”

“……Huh? M-Me… I mean, for the princess?”

“Yes! Everyone said that we were able to avoid starvation thanks to the princess.”

“Our house had a bad harvest this year, so there wasn’t much to eat, but the princess gave us food through Siyoungwon, so we didn’t starve.”

“Us too.”

“We too.”

“…….”

I didn’t think much of it when I said I couldn’t let people starve, but hearing these words from the people involved made me feel strange.

Everyone is a mess because they’re kids.