Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 256

“Yes. How did it go?”

“Don’t worry. He’s foolish and greedy, so it will go as you intended, Elder.”

The man who had been so encouraging to Moon-won at the drinking party earlier revealed his true colors in front of the Elder.

“His actions and behavior are vulgar, so it’s best to cut him off quickly.”

“Still, he had a knack for making money, so you favored him. But lately, he’s been acting arrogantly, as if he’s a big shot just because he earned a bit of money.”

“He’s been working quite diligently, but his biggest flaw is that he doesn’t properly understand his place.”

“Besides, didn’t he ruin things this time with his recklessness? We can’t promote someone like that.”

Knowing that no one was around, the two men looked around again just to be sure.

“You connected him well with those hunters, right?”

“Yes. They’ve had a subtle acquaintance for a while, so they’ll move as we want without us having to say anything else.”

“From now on, we know nothing about what he does. We should just put in a little more effort to get closer to the Princess.”

“Yes.”

“But after finally getting acquainted with the Princess, who would have thought that one person would become unusable due to selling stolen goods…”

“Wasn’t it Jung Moon-won who recommended him? Birds of a feather flock together.”

“Tsk.”

Why did he have to mess with the Princess again and get delivered straight to the police station?

“He won’t say anything unnecessary, will he?”

“He’s not stupid enough not to know that going to jail for theft and dealing stolen goods is safer.”

The Elder emptied his glass, lamenting that things weren’t going as he had hoped.

“There’s an easier and more comfortable way, but we can’t go that route…”

“You still can’t reach that person?”

“Yes. But I think I will be able to contact them soon.”

The two men smiled wryly.

***

Soon after, another message came from the private residence.

“What is it this time?”

“We’re not sure what it is, but it certainly seems to be for the Princess.”

“Hmm.”

What’s going on these days?

I was already spending quite a bit of time organizing the antiques coming into the arcade, and now this.

Before my eyes were old books and artifacts that I had been looking for.

‘What is all this all of a sudden…?’

As I wondered, other servants cautiously offered their guesses.

“Could it be that… that person sent it as an apology?”

“No way.”

“Or is it possible that someone who used that person as a broker wanted to improve their relationship with the Princess?”

“If that were the case, wouldn’t they have come in person…?”

Or maybe this is a sign of cutting ties.

To say that they have nothing to do with the guy who tried to swindle Young-sun.

“Hmm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. We decided to accept anonymous gifts, and it’s not right to return them… but I still don’t like it.”

At my words, Soi and Chun-ho also looked strange.

“I thought you’d like it since old books are hard to find, but it’s unexpected.”

“That’s what the sender must have thought too…”

But if it’s books of all things, I feel even more uneasy.

Of course, if they’re genuine, the books are innocent.

“Speaking of which, does ‘that guy’ still loiter around the house?”

I called a servant when Young-sun wasn’t looking and asked, and he clenched his fist and nodded.

“Yes. He’s quite persistent and still appears around here from time to time. Of course, we give him a beating and chase him away each time.”

“Hmm…”

It was a relief that there were many strong people in the house.

In the past, gambling addicts kept coming, and we had to forcibly isolate them, so it seems we’ll continue to need strong people.

‘I shouldn’t let Chun-ho leave my side when I go out.’

Guys who get dumped by women want to lash out and blame others, whether it’s their fault or not.

Young-sun clearly had more to say but still seemed to be hesitating about something.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but I didn’t want to push Young-sun too much.

***

“Are you alright?”

“…I’m fine.”

Whenever Moon-won went near the Princess’s residence, the Princess’s servants would appear and block him, so he hadn’t been able to meet Young-sun again since their last parting to clear up the misunderstanding.

‘What does a young Princess know about relationships between men and women?’

It was true that Young-sun was shocked that day, but he was sure that if he persuaded her well, she would come back to him.

But whether it was because she was influenced by the Princess, Young-sun kept hiding behind the Princess and didn’t show up.

“Interfering…”

Gritting his teeth.

He didn’t know how many times he had been caught near there and beaten by the Princess’s servants.

‘I’m suffering like this, but why doesn’t Young-sun ever show up?’

He thought she would forgive him if he acted like he couldn’t win.

It was all because of the Princess.

If it weren’t for the Princess, he would be holding Young-sun in his arms and lost in sweet dreams.

Why did she interfere in a fight between a man and a woman so tactlessly?

She hadn’t married even at that age because she hadn’t grown into a strange poison [likely referring to becoming an embittered spinster], so she must have been jealous that someone she used to order around was getting married first.

He and Young-sun hadn’t formally discussed it in the past, but their parents had arranged their engagement, and even now, Young-sun’s parents welcomed him with open arms.

‘If the Princess disappears… Young-sun will come back to me.’

She was old now, and it was a big flaw that she knew too much and wasn’t obedient, but Young-sun was still a rare beauty.

Thanks to that, she had quite a few admirers around her when she was a girl.

‘There were many days when I couldn’t sleep, feeling wronged at the thought that she might belong to another man.’

If he could get Young-sun and gain the Princess’s trust, it would be killing two birds with one stone.

Even if Young-sun was intelligent, she was still a woman and had very short thoughts. It would be good for Young-sun if he did well.

After all, learning to read was useless for a woman.

Just because he said something slightly annoying at a drinking party, she rashly broke off the marriage and even inflicted harm on him….

“It’s all… because of the Princess.”

Watching Jung Moon-won muttering to himself, the hunters shared glances.

‘He’s crazy.’

‘He’s crazy.’

Well, he must be crazy to be doing this.

‘We just need to get paid.’

There weren’t many tigers near the capital.

That was because the government had been actively hunting tigers.

So, to lure tigers to the desired location, they needed animal blood over several days.

They had been with him to some extent, but they had no intention of going to more dangerous places with him.

‘We can’t die like dogs with a madman.’

The hunters clicked their tongues as they watched Moon-won kill the chickens they had caught and sprinkle blood on the path to the palace.

They were doing it for money, but he was out of his mind.

‘He doesn’t want the tigers to go into the palace, does he?’

If that was the case, it might be better for them to secretly get rid of him and report it.

They refused to get caught up in such a clumsy rebellion.

***

“Princess, let’s go inside early today.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

At my question, Soi hesitated and opened her mouth.

“Recently, there have been people who have heard tigers roaring.”

“Tigers? Inside the palace?”

Suddenly, I remembered someone’s self-made drama from the past. But this must be a different situation.

“The sound of tigers on a winter night, people must be terrified.”

“Yes. The days are short and the sun sets quickly, so it’s even worse. The palace maids are all reluctant to go outside after dark.”

“Well, I want to walk a little today. I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes.”

At my words, Soi and the palace maids stepped back, and Chun-ho quietly followed behind.

“The Princess has taken revenge for you, but are you still not satisfied?”

“I guess it’s not enough. Those kinds of guys don’t realize they’re wrong, so they blame the victims instead.”

“Is that so?”

Anyway, it was always the victims who had a hard time.

Besides, judging from Young-sun’s attitude, there seemed to be something more she wasn’t revealing, but I couldn’t press her about it.

As I was walking with those thoughts, the surroundings were silent.

“Is it because it’s winter? It’s quiet around here.”

It was a long time since I had taken a walk, but something felt strange today.

‘The birds are usually noisy….’

As I looked around, it started to snow.

Chun-ho seemed concerned about the snow and urged me again.

“Princess. It’s snowing, so let’s go inside quickly.”

“Okay.”

When I had something to think about and took a walk like today, it wasn’t uncommon for only Chun-ho to follow me instead of the usual long line of attendants.

But today, something felt particularly different from usual.

“Shh.”

“?”

Chun-ho suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him. It was an impolite act that would never happen normally, but this wasn’t the time to argue about it.

“What is it?”

“Don’t make a sound and slowly….”

“?”

Chun-ho was strangely blocking my view, but it wasn’t difficult to know what Chun-ho was hiding.

Because it was so big that even Chun-ho’s large body couldn’t hide it.

I wanted to deny what I was seeing.

“Why? Why is something like that here….”

Something… sounds like growling…?

I could see Chun-ho’s hand on the hilt of his sword.

My body stiffened without me realizing it.

Chun-ho had permission from the Crown Prince to carry a sword, but he had never drawn his sword in front of me.

But the fact that he was trying to draw his sword meant….

“Stay close to me.”

“Okay.”

Hugging Chun-ho’s back as if clinging to him, I looked around.

‘First of all, it’s not on this side, right?’

There was no guarantee that ‘it’… was just one.

For now, thankfully, there was nothing else in sight.

No, what’s so fortunate about that.

What is that? Is it real? Is it real??

I couldn’t see it properly because of Chun-ho, but I could definitely see the tail.

It was unrealistically too much, but if it wasn’t an illusion, it seemed like it was a tiger.

‘Are you crazy….’

There are records of tigers invading royal palaces or government offices during the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897], but like this?

It’s not even the early days of the dynasty!

Besides, there have been frequent tiger hunts because of Crown Prince Seongwon’s incident?

But that wasn’t important right now.

The fact that it came down here from the mountains meant it was hungry.

And animals prefer small and weak individuals as prey.

If Chun-ho and I are here, it will definitely attack me….

No, I don’t mean it should attack Chun-ho.

‘Where are Soi… and the other palace maids?’

Even inside the palace, they weren’t too far away from me and Chun-ho.

But it’s not good to shout and provoke it unnecessarily in a confrontation like this.

Chun-ho slowly backed away, creating distance.

It was then.

“Princess….”

“Kyaaak!!”

“!”