Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 264

Cheon-ho’s expression darkened at the unexpected words.

“Has the identity of that person been revealed?”

“No. But it seems he was pretending to be a nobleman, surprisingly. Or maybe he really is one.”

“If that’s the case…”

“If he’s truly from a noble family, we could quickly identify him by investigating missing persons, but what do you think?”

Cheon-ho gave a negative answer to the Crown Prince’s question.

“It will be difficult to identify him.”

“Indeed.”

It wasn’t uncommon for hungry tigers to come down to villages during the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897].

However, due to the incident with Grand Prince Seongwon, the court had been relatively diligent in hunting tigers for several years. Recently, it was rare for tigers to appear in Hanyang [old name for Seoul, the capital city].

Yet, one has come all the way into the palace.

“It’s too coincidental to be a mere accident, and too absurd to be something someone planned. What do you think?”

“I believe it’s not something that could easily happen.”

Perhaps even if Cheon-ho didn’t say it himself, there would be warriors from the tiger-hunting corps around the Crown Prince, so the Crown Prince would also know.

“The wall where the tiger is presumed to have entered, which is adjacent to the forest, was collapsed. There’s a high possibility that someone inside colluded, so if this is a scheme, there’s only one target.”

The air around the Crown Prince turned cold.

“They’re targeting me. Whether it succeeds or fails, they have nothing to lose.”

“…Your Highness.”

Cheon-ho tensed up for no reason at the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. They’re not fools enough to think they can harm me with something like this. More precisely, they want to tarnish my reputation.”

“?”

When Cheon-ho looked confused, the Crown Prince smiled and dismissed those around him.

“?”

“Cheon-ho, you’re young, so you may not know much about the past, but I once heard that I couldn’t get married because of a tiger.”

The Crown Prince chuckled at Cheon-ho’s still puzzled expression.

“You’re a year younger than Sia, so it’s probably an old story that’s hard for you to know.”

“Is that… so?”

“But saying it like that makes me feel a bit old.”

However, the Crown Prince couldn’t deny the fact that he was indeed older compared to young children like Cheon-ho and Sia.

“Since we have this opportunity, let me briefly explain while I sort out my thoughts.”

The Crown Prince lightly explained the events involving Grand Prince Gyeong-eon, who received the poison.

“I knew that Princess Su-yeong wasn’t growing because of the poison, but I didn’t know about these things.”

Perhaps he had heard it when he was younger, but he didn’t remember it until now.

‘Now that I hear it, I think I heard it before? Maybe my sister knew it back then too.’

She was a candidate for the Crown Princess, so of course, she would have known.

But she’s not interested in superstitions, so she wouldn’t have cared.

“It’s true that my royal marriage was delayed because of that. Everyone really loves superstitions.”

“Is that so.”

He could only agree, but Cheon-ho also felt the same way.

Hunters also tend to like superstitions, but Cheon-ho was more strongly influenced by his sister, who instilled it in him while hitting him, so he didn’t really believe in superstitions.

‘If that was the situation, it makes sense that His Highness the Crown Prince would have wanted to bring my sister in as the Crown Princess.’

There were things he didn’t know back then, but as he got older, he started to see them little by little.

“After that, the family of the Crown Princess candidate, who was barely chosen, was suddenly revealed to be involved in treason, so the marriage was canceled again. That’s also why I haven’t gotten married yet.”

“Yes.”

Cheon-ho was aware that there were many rumors about the Crown Prince, who hadn’t married yet, even though he was at an age when most commoners would have married.

“And I also know that there are bad rumors about me because of that.”

“…”

“And this incident, even though it’s completely unrelated, can be guided in that direction depending on how the rumors are spread.”

“No, that’s…”

Cheon-ho was about to say that it was a bit of an overthinking, but he suddenly realized that his own family being framed for treason might be part of the same flow, so he closed his mouth.

If the Crown Prince’s thoughts were unfounded, then his own thoughts would also be unfounded.

“But there’s not much to worry about.”

“Yes?”

“Rather, Sia shot the tiger that invaded the palace with an arrow, and you caught the tiger, so how can there be room for such rumors?”

“Is that so?”

Then isn’t it a good thing?

“So, I’ll ask you again after a long time.”

“?”

“Are you still satisfied with being under Su-yeong Ongju [Princess Su-yeong]?”

“Yes?”

“Because of your great performance this time, everyone in the palace, not just the Royal Guard, knows about it now.”

Cheon-ho, who hadn’t thought that far, was momentarily speechless.

“Thanks to your amazing performance, everyone around me is making a fuss about bringing you over as soon as possible. They say, ‘How long are you going to waste talent on the Ongju’s childish games?'”

“I appreciate the high praise, but I don’t have such great ambitions.”

“I heard from Sia… Su-yeong Ongju that you also know how to write.”

“It’s just that the Ongju looks favorably upon me and overestimates me.”

“Regardless of the Ongju’s evaluation, it’s a fact that you are an outstanding talent objectively, isn’t it?”

“I’m too scared, so success is a bit frightening.”

“…The guy who fought a tiger is scared?”

“…Yes.”

He thought it sounded a bit absurd even to himself, so his answer was delayed, but when he thought about it, he confidently nodded, thinking that this and that were clearly different matters.

In fact, he couldn’t aspire to a government position right now.

‘If I make a mistake and my identity is revealed…’

If the fact that he was the son of a traitor was revealed, he wouldn’t receive the same treatment as now.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

The Crown Prince didn’t seem to completely believe Cheon-ho’s words, but he nodded as if he would let it go.

“I won’t force you if you don’t want to… but you’re still young, so think about it a bit more.”

“I’m sorry.”

Fortunately, the Crown Prince didn’t seem too upset even though his offer to recruit talent was rejected.

Rather, he gave a word of caution.

“To be honest, it’s a bit conscienceless to take you away right now. Sia must have been very surprised by this incident, so stay close to her for a while. A bodyguard who can stand up to a tiger is rare.”

Cheon-ho also smiled slightly at the Crown Prince’s slightly playful tone compared to before and replied.

“Yes.”

“She’ll hate it if I say I’ll increase the number of bodyguards. But I wouldn’t feel safe even if palace maids were attached to her.”

Cheon-ho recalled yesterday’s events upon hearing the Crown Prince’s words.

“It seems that the Ongju regards the palace maids as someone she needs to protect rather than be protected by.”

“…Is that so? That child originally had aspects that didn’t seem like a young child. The palace maids who are currently attending to the Ongju have been loyal for a long time, so they must have affection for her.”

Her biological mother passed away early, and she was raised almost entirely by palace maids, so it wouldn’t be strange for her to have affection for them, but…

‘Usually, wouldn’t they still regard them as someone who would protect them?’

Thinking about it, when dealing with the people of Siyeongwon [Princess’s residence], the Ongju had a strong feeling that she was the one who needed to protect them.

While Cheon-ho was lost in thought, the Crown Prince asked.

“How long do you think you can stay by Su-yeong Ongju’s side?”

“Yes?”

“Right now, people around you think it’s okay because you still have a strong impression of being a young child, but when she gets married and leaves the palace… the groom won’t be happy to have a young man like you by her side.”

“It doesn’t seem like the Ongju would care about such things.”

“Even if the Ongju doesn’t care, the groom will care. And if a conflict arises because of that, the Ongju will be in trouble.”

“That’s… true.”

“Well, think about it a bit more.”

“Yes. Your Highness.”

“And even though she looks like that, the Ongju might be anxious, so stay in the palace for a while. You need to treat your wounds, so that would be better.”

It was an unexpected suggestion, but Cheon-ho gratefully accepted it as he had no reason to refuse.

‘I’m worried about the Ongju anyway.’

Realistically speaking, staying in the palace meant no worries about heating, regular meals, and free treatment, so there was nothing bad about it.

Cheon-ho, who had barely escaped from the Crown Prince, realized that he had never thought about marriage.

Well, wouldn’t it be strange for the son of a runaway traitor to be obsessed with marriage?

The hunters he had seen around him didn’t get married on time, so he had never thought that he had to get married.

‘Of course, it’s not that they don’t get married.’

And after going to Seoul, he frequented Siyeongwon, so he was far from marriage.

It was a place where marriage wasn’t often talked about.

‘Everyone is busy with their studies and work, and the palace maids who can’t get married are at the top, so it seems like no one dares to urge them to get married.’

Above all, the Ongju was not married due to various circumstances.

Cheon-ho, who had witnessed the scene of someone being beaten for mistakenly uttering derogatory remarks such as ‘can’t even get married’ in Siyeongwon, realized the importance of keeping his mouth shut.

***

I took a walk once, lay back on the blanket, and fell asleep.

My body feels like it weighs a ton.

‘Growing up isn’t good for this…’

When I had a small body, I could run around saying, ‘Muscle pain? What’s that, is it edible?’

Just because my arms and legs got a little longer, I’m this tired.

‘Ah. Come to think of it, Father might come. What should I do?’

I had to get up because of the belatedly remembered fact, but I still didn’t want to move, so I just lay down.

Anyway, I’m a pitiful and unfortunate person who almost died encountering a tiger, right?

It didn’t seem like I would be punished for pretending to be a little sick.

I closed my eyes like that and lost consciousness, then opened my eyes again to find Songbi sitting next to me, dozing off.

‘Did Father come and go…’

If His Majesty the King were to come, she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep so peacefully.

Of course, the palace maids in our residence haven’t been able to sleep properly, so they must all be tired…

I was wondering whether to sleep again or drink some water when I heard whispering and giggling outside.

‘Ah, that’s the voice of the Daejeon Na-in [palace women].’

It seemed that Father had heard that I was asleep and sent something with the Na-in instead of coming himself.