Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 257

A tearing scream accompanied the sight of ‘it’ changing direction.

There was no doubt that it had found prey that seemed easier than the large Cheonho [a skilled warrior] wielding a blade.

And now, excluding me and Cheonho, the only prey that would catch ‘that’s’ eye here were my palace maids who had just called out to me.

The moment I realized that, I felt the blood drain from my body.

“Ah, no!”

“Ongju [a princess], run the other way!”

It happened in an instant.

Cheonho, while shouting that to me, threw a stone at the tiger.

“Kkeuheong!!”

The tiger’s angry roar echoed in my ears, likely hitting something.

I, who had been frozen, started running wildly as if struck by lightning at that roar.

The spine-chilling sound coming from behind was hard to guess what it was.

‘No, I have to run.’

Suppressing the urge to look back, I ran like crazy.

If I stayed by Cheonho’s side, I would only be a hindrance; it was better to disappear quickly.

Fortunately, I was a little more used to tiger roars than other people in this era.

Of course, this was the first time my life was threatened like this, but that’s why I could run with all my might.

I was worried about Cheonho left behind, but there was no way I could help Cheonho by looking back now.

‘I need to call someone else quickly.’

Fortunately, if I went in this direction, there was a place where the Ikwi soldiers [elite palace guards] trained.

It was a place where they practiced archery, so I often visited and was familiar with it.

“Heok! No!”

At the same time as Cheonho’s voice came from far behind, I realized.

‘This feels like the tiger is heading towards me…….’

Animals, no, animals are indeed ghostly at recognizing and targeting weak individuals.

I might not have been so noticeable when I was behind Cheonho, but not now.

Besides, the color of my clothes was so flashy that it would be easy to spot.

While having unnecessarily cold thoughts, a roar was heard from afar.

“Eureureong!!”

“Kkyaaaak!!!”

I screamed because my legs were so weak I felt like I would collapse. What would change if it was already following me?

If anyone was left in the Ikwi soldiers’ training ground, I could ask for help.

No, even if I just went to the main gate, there would be someone guarding the gate. Anyone would be better than the palace maids.

‘Is Cheonho safe?’

I couldn’t even turn around because I kept hearing growling sounds from behind.

Fortunately, soon the noise of several people and weapons clashing, screams, and other sounds were heard from afar.

And at the same time, the main gate appeared, and the voices of the Ikwi soldiers were heard.

“Ongju!”

“What’s going on?”

Those who were hesitating because they couldn’t easily leave their posts, as a commotion seemed to have broken out in the distance, rushed to me when they saw me.

Perhaps relieved to see someone I knew, I staggered and barely managed to walk, preventing my knees from buckling.

Sensing that the atmosphere was unusual, their gazes were focused on me.

I was so out of breath that I couldn’t speak properly, but I pointed in the direction I had run from with my finger and barely squeezed out a voice.

“Ti, tiger!”

“Yes?”

“A tiger, came out!”

“!!”

The eyes of those who had been tense changed at my words.

“Get the bows and arrows!”

“Yes!”

The faces of some Ikwi soldiers who were training showed tension.

In a way, it was natural. No one among those who served the Crown Prince now was unaware of the late Crown Prince Seongwon’s incident.

Although he had not protected the Crown Prince and had suffered severe injuries, Yeon Seon-o, the Jwasesa [a high-ranking military official] who had single-handedly caught a tiger to protect the Crown Prince, was literally a legend within the Ikwi Guard.

And because of that incident, there were more people selected based on skill than ever before within the Ikwi Guard protecting the current Crown Prince.

Of course, thanks to that, they had to endure being driven harder than any previous Ikwi Guard, hearing things like, ‘Shouldn’t you be at least as good as Yeon Seon-o, the Jwasesa?’ or ‘No matter how much you show off, you can’t catch a tiger like Yeon Seon-o, the Jwasesa,’ until it was practically ingrained in their ears.

Thanks to this, Yeon Seon-o was both an object of envy and hatred for the Ikwi Guard members.

But now that a tiger had really appeared, they seemed to be filled with the thought that they had to catch it, even if it meant dying, along with their tension.

“Cheonho is in danger now!!”

“Yes?”

“Cheonho was, blocking the tiger alone…….”

“What?”

“That young one?”

Most of them knew Cheonho from the previous incident, so they exchanged glances with surprised faces, and several of them grabbed their weapons and stepped forward.

“We’ll go and see, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, Ongju. Please go inside quickly.”

“…….”

Although I was worried about Cheonho, I couldn’t complain and ask them to do more when they were all risking their lives to run.

I nodded and, with support, got up.

‘Judging from the commotion earlier, people from that side must have come to help. Cheonho, the others, will they be safe?’

I was in a safe place, but my body trembled even more when I tried to stay still.

Will they be okay? They will be, right?

Everyone was busy, but I was even more confused because I had nothing to do.

‘Besides, there aren’t that many people.’

This side also sent news and ran out to call soldiers, but there weren’t that many people in the Ikwi Guard in the first place.

Of course, having a large number of people didn’t necessarily mean it would be helpful.

I looked around anxiously and found my bow.

Everyone was so distracted by the sudden situation that they didn’t seem to care much about what I was doing.

‘Found it.’

I often practiced archery here with the Crown Prince, so the bow I used was also kept here.

Usually, someone else would take it out for me, but I knew where it was, so it didn’t take long to find.

‘It was only recently that I started using a slightly larger bow.’

When I was small, I had no choice but to use a toy-like bow because my arms were short, but anyway, I had been shooting bows for a relatively long time.

Of course, I wasn’t skilled enough to hit a moving tiger, but I felt more at ease than being empty-handed.

‘Well, a bow is better than anything else.’

Even if I swung a sword, I wouldn’t even be able to leave a scratch on the tiger.

“Someone’s coming over there!”

One of those guarding near the gate, perhaps thinking that a tiger might run out, shouted, and everyone’s attention was focused on one place.

Along with the Ikwi Guard members who had gone earlier, a familiar person was running over.

“Ongju! Are you safe?”

“Cheonho!”

Holding the bow tightly, I ran to Cheonho.

Seeing him running, it seemed that his limbs were fortunately intact…….

“You, your arm is hurt?! By the tiger?? What about other places?”

When I grabbed Cheonho’s arm, which was bleeding, Cheonho made a crying sound.

“Ouch, ouch. No, no, fortunately, it only grazed me, so the clothes are torn. This is from rolling on the ground.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If not…… I’d be in the afterlife by now…….”

Slap.

I lightly slapped his cheek with both hands as if clapping.

“Ouch. That hurts…….”

Hmm. Looking at the scratches on his face, it seemed like it would hurt, but he really seemed fine from the way he was talking.

“What happened to the tiger? Are the others safe?”

“Yes, others had already witnessed the tiger coming in, and soldiers arrived right away, as they were chasing it, so fortunately, they drove it away.”

“Drove it away?”

“Yes. A crowd of people came and shot arrows, and it seemed like it wouldn’t work, so it ran away. I don’t know where it is now, but they’ll probably chase it into the mountains or catch it.”

“Hoo. I see.”

I relaxed and let my shoulders droop.

Other Ikwi Guard members who were listening to the conversation around me also seemed to feel the same way, as they all let out sighs of relief.

Cheonho also looked around and tilted his head as if he had noticed the bow I was holding.

“But did Ongju come out with a bow to catch it too?”

At Cheonho’s words, I became slightly embarrassed and subtly hid the bow I was holding.

Being in the safest place and holding a clumsy weapon was, after all, a bit embarrassing.

“Well, rather than catching it. Just in case……. I guess you could say I wouldn’t want to be defeated without even resisting, no matter who the opponent is.”

“Haha. Ongju is that kind of person.”

Not only Cheonho but also others nodded, smiling as if they agreed.

It was good that the tense atmosphere had eased…….

“I’ll remember all your faces.”

“No, we weren’t teasing you?!”

“That’s right. We were just admiring you!”

One of the Ikwi Guard members came to see Cheonho’s injury and laughed awkwardly as if he had been poked.

The atmosphere seemed to have lightened a bit, but when a “waa-” sound was heard from afar, everyone’s faces hardened again.

“Did they catch it?”

“It might be a hedgehog by now.”

It would be nice if that were the case.

“There are many from the Chakho Guards [tiger hunting unit] in the palace these days. If it’s someone seeing a tiger for the first time, they might be surprised and unable to move, but there’s no need to worry about that.”

“Really?”

Increasing the proportion of those with practical experience after the incident with the late Crown Prince Seongwon was not limited to the Ikwi Guard.

“Strictly trained soldiers move reflexively when ordered.”

“Yeah…….”

Perhaps thinking that I didn’t look very relieved, Cheonho said lightly on purpose.

“I saw my uncle among the people chasing the tiger earlier. It’ll be okay.”

“Ek.”

No, his own uncle is chasing the tiger right now, so why is he saying such carefree things?

If I pointed that out, it would be like blabbing, so I just glared at him silently, and Cheonho smiled lightly, looking at the Ikwi Guard members who were still tense.

“If anything happens to Ongju, we might die for other reasons, not because of the tiger, you know?”

“You really say everything.”

But at those words, the Ikwi Guard members around him also smiled and nodded.

“Hahahaha.”

“But that’s right.”

“Ongju must be safe.”

“You must have been surprised, so please go inside and rest.”

“…….”

Hmm. If I’m standing here with a bow, it’ll be on their minds.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes.”

“After they catch the tiger, they’ll probably come to escort Ongju soon.”

“You can’t move easily now, so please wait inside.”

“Okay.”

I went up the stairs to enter the building, following the advice of those around me.

And suddenly, I felt the strange swaying of a tree branch and turned my head, feeling like my heart had stopped.

“Th, there!”

“!”