Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 258

“It’s a tiger!”

“Fire!”

The moment I pointed at the tree, a shout to fire rang out, and arrows rained down on the tiger perched in the branches.

The tiger, seemingly unfazed by the arrows, didn’t flee. Instead, it leaped down.

“Huh.”

Why is it coming towards me?

I was about to head up the stairs when I realized the tiger was jumping down in my direction. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough to dodge.

Instead, I had a quick-thinking ride—no, subordinate.

“!”

Almost the instant the tiger came into view, I felt myself lifted into the air.

To be exact, something snatched me up by my arms and waist and began to run.

Of course, the culprit was Cheonho, who was right beside me.

Seeing the tiger land where I had just been standing, reality snapped back into focus.

“Huk.”

I felt the blood pounding in my veins. The throbbing was so intense it made my ears ring.

‘Am I… am I alive?’

The Royal Guard members became as frantic as I was disoriented.

“Protect the Princess!”

“Stop it!”

Even as I was half-carried by Cheonho, I could see the tiger still seemed to be chasing after me.

‘Why?’

Even if I looked like a tasty snack, there was no reason for it to pursue me this relentlessly, was there?

Cheonho seemed to have picked up on my question, mixed with my rising panic.

“Please go inside!”

“Ugh?!!”

“I’m sorry, Princess.”

While the others moved to block the tiger, Cheonho, biting his lip, pushed me towards the building.

“Huh?”

“That… it’s probably chasing me.”

“?”

With those words, Cheonho turned and ran towards the tiger. The bloodstains on Cheonho’s arm, which hadn’t yet been treated, were starkly visible.

“Ah.”

And thanks to that, I remembered something too.

Judging from what had happened earlier, Cheonho was probably injured during a one-on-one confrontation with the tiger.

Honestly, it was a miracle he’d come back alive, but he might have done more than just survive.

‘The smell of blood…….’

Even from a distance, I could see the tiger was wounded in several places. And some of those wounds were likely inflicted by Cheonho.

I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Cheonho about it, so I didn’t know the specifics, but…

Come to think of it, the sword Cheonho had been carrying was neither in his hand nor at his waist.

‘Don’t tell me he fought the tiger with a sword, not a gun, a bow, or a spear…?’

Was he crazy?

But if Cheonho had wounded the tiger earlier, it wasn’t surprising that the tiger was so enraged that it would charge into a place filled with people holding weapons.

It wouldn’t have been difficult for it to follow Cheonho’s scent of blood, either.

“Block it!”

“Damn it!!”

The Royal Guard members were struggling.

They could shoot arrows when it was far away, but now that it was so close, they were forced to try and fend it off with spears and daggers.

The problem was that there weren’t many weapons available to begin with.

‘If only there were more people…!’

Unfortunately, there weren’t many people here to start with. Some had even been knocked down during the tiger’s rampage, suffering broken bones or unconsciousness, so the situation looked grim.

‘If there’s anything I can do in case of an emergency… ah.’

I looked down at the bow still in my hand and bit my lip.

There were also arrows dropped by the flustered military officers around me.

‘The arrows I shoot are still too weak to be lethal against a tiger.’

How thick and tough is a tiger’s hide?

I’d heard since I was young that I had surprisingly good strength for someone of my status, but even compared to the military officers, my range was far shorter, and my strength would only be a tickle to the tiger.

Even now, it didn’t seem to have sustained many significant wounds despite the number of arrows that had been fired.

‘But…’

“Ugh!”

“Dangerous!”

There was no time to hesitate.

Besides, I didn’t want to stand idly by while someone else died.

‘Either way, if they can’t stop it here, I’ll die too.’

Clack-

I nocked an arrow on the bowstring.

Fortunately, the tiger was at roughly the same distance as the target I used for practice.

‘At this distance… I can hit it.’

There was no time to hesitate.

The tiger was lunging towards Cheonho, who had picked up a fallen Royal Guard member’s spear but hadn’t even managed to get a proper grip on it yet.

The tiger’s wide-open, red mouth was coming right at him.

‘I won’t let you die like this.’

Whoosh-

Thwack!

“Kkeuheoeong!!”

The tiger twisted its body in pain as the arrow I shot pierced the inside of its mouth.

And at the same time.

Stab!

Cheonho’s spear, seizing the opportunity, pierced the tiger’s lower jaw!

“N, now’s the time!”

Seeing the tiger fatally wounded, the others also grabbed spears and struggled to restrain the writhing beast.

It might have looked cruel to an outsider, but it was still a deadly threat to ordinary humans like me, so it wasn’t an excessive response.

“Heok, heok.”

Those who saw the tiger bleeding and faltering seemed to finally release their grips on their spears and back away.

“Is it over?”

“No, wait a minute. Something’s wrong….”

Those who were about to relax tensed up again at Cheonho’s warning.

‘What is it? Is it not over?’

I prepared for the worst, nocking another arrow, wondering if I should release the tension in my hand, and scanned our surroundings.

‘Other soldiers will hear the commotion and arrive soon…’

And I reflexively raised my bow, took a step back, and shouted.

“It’s coming!”

“!!”

And at the same time, I realized.

‘I… I can’t avoid it.’

The tiger was already looking directly at me and charging, so there was no way I could dodge this time.

‘Even if I die, I won’t die alone.’

I didn’t take my eyes off the tiger’s face as it lunged towards me until the very last moment, and then I released the drawn bowstring.

Swish!

Perhaps because I was resigned to my fate, the arrow, which I thought might miss, struck the tiger’s gleaming eye accurately, albeit clumsily.

‘Ah, that tiger already has one eye…’

It already had a fresh wound on one eye.

My arrow, aimed simply at the shining target, naturally hit the intact one.

“Kkeuheoeoeong!!”

The tiger, its vision now completely impaired, was still facing this way while thrashing, but my body, as I stepped backwards, was falling off the *gidan* [a raised platform that forms the base of a building] where I had been standing.

‘I should have learned some acrobatics.’

The palace’s foundation is a bit high, so it would hurt a bit if I fell, and the tiger would catch up quickly, but it would be better than facing the tiger head-on with my bare hands right now.

Anticipating the pain to come, I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut.

“?”

But unexpectedly, the expected pain didn’t arrive.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Cheonho’s face, who had already rushed over and caught me, etched with relief and embarrassment.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but there was no time, so Cheonho just ran away with me in his arms.

I was so out of it that I couldn’t process what was happening for a moment. Only later did my hands begin to tremble.

‘Am I alive right now?’

The answer was punctuated by the tiger’s roar, the one I had shot with an arrow.

“Keuheuheong!!”

Not only me, but everyone else was trembling at the tiger’s roar coming from right in front of them.

I flinched and grabbed Cheonho’s clothes.

“Ch, Cheonho, are you okay?”

“Shh.”

“?”

Following Cheonho’s gaze with a puzzled look, I saw the tiger, seemingly having heard my small voice, looking around as if searching for something while writhing in pain.

‘It probably can’t see anything now…’

Seeing it in pain didn’t make me feel good either.

We both would have been better off if you hadn’t come here.

Looking around, everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing, and those who were able to move were quietly retreating from the area where the tiger was rampaging.

‘Fortunately, the injured are being evacuated.’

There were people who had lost consciousness or were injured, so everyone was carrying someone, just like Cheonho.

In fact, Cheonho, being the youngest and most energetic, was carrying the lightest load in terms of weight.

Perhaps the weight of responsibility was the opposite.

‘What if they’re seriously injured…’

There weren’t that many people in the Royal Guard, so everyone knew each other’s faces.

While everyone was holding their breath and watching the tiger thrash, the tiger made the choice that everyone dreaded most.

‘Damn it.’

It seemed to have regained its bearings, even though it couldn’t see, and started to steady itself.

If someone with more strength had shot it, the arrow would have pierced its head, but my strength had been lacking.

‘I should have done more strength training.’

It seemed too late now, but I regretted relying only on my natural strength because I was always so busy.

Cheonho looked tense and couldn’t take his eyes off the tiger while holding me tightly.

If we moved rashly, it seemed like it would attack, but there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t get caught if we stayed here like this.

‘People need to come quickly.’

The tiger’s roar was so loud that the soldiers who had been chasing it earlier would surely arrive here soon.

Whether a lot of time had passed or not, the sun was already beginning to set. It was obvious that it would be even more difficult to catch it at night.

The silence was broken by an unexpected opportunity as the tension continued to mount.

“Caw- caw-”

“!”

The tiger, perhaps smelling the blood of the dead tiger, rushed towards the wall where a crow was perched.

“Keuheueung!!”

Bang!

The tiger, having slammed into the wall in an attempt to catch the crow, staggered once again.

And as if on cue, everyone started to move.

‘Uh, where are they going?’

Everyone ran towards the building unexpectedly.

“??”

“Princess, this way, inside!”

“The weapons are this way!”

“Injured people inside too!”

I finally understood; there were bows and other weapons stored inside the building.

The weapons they had been carrying had been used to fight the tiger earlier, so everyone was now empty-handed.

Some had already grabbed weapons and were watching the tiger, which was now raising its head.

“We don’t know when the soldiers will arrive, and even if we try to call for help, there’s a higher chance of someone being caught by the tiger on the way.”

“There are already many injured, and above all, protecting the Princess is our top priority.”

“!”

They pushed me and the injured, those who had lost consciousness and couldn’t fight, into a room with only one door, and everyone wore a determined expression.

“No, then I too…”

“If the Princess isn’t safe, we’re all as good as dead, even if we survive. Do you understand?”

“…….”

What could I say in this situation?

“Don’t worry. We won’t be easily defeated. The Princess has already half-caught it, and if we can’t catch a blind tiger, people will laugh and ask if we’re really members of the Crown Prince’s Royal Guard.”

“I’m not.”

“Hahaha. Then you have to go in too.”

With those words, Cheonho was suddenly pushed into the storage room.

“??”

“Young one, you’re being presumptuous. Stay there quietly.”

“W, wait a minute?”

“Take good care of the Princess.”

Before Cheonho could say anything, the door slammed shut.

Soon, there was a loud commotion outside, but no matter how hard Cheonho tried, the door wouldn’t budge because of the things piled against it.

“Ah, no, you have to let me out!”

“No, this…”

We were both overwhelmed with embarrassment and confusion.

When I couldn’t bear it any longer and started to cry, Cheonho noticed even in the dim light and stopped banging on the door to comfort me.

“It’ll, it’ll be okay. It’ll be okay…”

Even Cheonho’s voice was thick with tears as he spoke.

In fact, Cheonho was probably more frustrated than I was.

‘He wants to break down this door and go out right away, but he’s holding back because I might be in danger.’

Unlike me, who has no real strength, Cheonho could fight, and he must be desperate to join the battle.

But to the others, Cheonho is still too young.

‘…Cheonho is younger than me.’

I trembled, but I hugged Cheonho and tried to reassure him.

“Everyone will be safe. So let’s just wait. Okay?”

“……Yes.”

Still, the fact that we weren’t alone gave us both a small measure of comfort.

Outside, there were loud sounds of fighting and even creaking noises, as if the pillars were beginning to collapse.

How much time had passed?

Creak-

The door opened as the sounds outside finally faded into silence.