Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 274

“Since he was someone you cherished enough to call a sworn brother, perhaps he didn’t want you to get involved?”

“I dare say, even now that I’m old and not as impressive as I was in my prime, I still have the strength to take down a wounded tiger. So, imagine how I was back then. If Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik had truly been plotting treason, he would never have let me go.”

“……”

“I have no family or dependents. If someone were planning a rebellion, who would be more suitable than me?”

At those words, the Crown Prince looked puzzled.

“No family or dependents? I thought you were the uncle of Cheon-ho.”

Se-hwa, who had been listening intently to the conversation, flinched without realizing it.

‘Cheon-ho’s uncle was Father’s subordinate, a sworn brother?’

Even as Se-hwa was shaken, the voices of the two men continued.

As if he had expected this question, the man answered without hesitation.

“Actually, Cheon-ho is not my biological nephew. I took him in after I left the military, at the request of an acquaintance from my days in the barracks.”

“……”

“At first, I only intended to look after him temporarily, but unfortunately, my acquaintance suddenly passed away from an illness. I grew fond of him while taking care of him, and since the child had no other guardian, I ended up raising him. From the beginning, I simply had him call me uncle for convenience, and since I am not married, it felt awkward to call him my son, so I continued to have him call me uncle.”

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable explanation, but the Crown Prince didn’t seem entirely convinced.

It was clear to anyone that this was a way of distancing Cheon-ho from the matter, just in case.

However, the Crown Prince didn’t bother to point that out.

Cheon-ho was a child taken in by Princess Su-yeong, and the Crown Prince knew very well that the process was truly coincidental.

Wasn’t he the one who had fearlessly jumped in to save Sia when she was kidnapped?

Moreover, it was the Crown Prince himself who had allowed him to enter the palace, so neither of them wanted to create unnecessary gossip.

Besides, he wasn’t keen on separating the child who had risked his life to confront a tiger to protect the Princess from the already eventful life of the Princess.

‘Whether it’s true or not…’

Frankly, they didn’t look like blood relatives, so it wasn’t unbelievable.

Of course, that didn’t mean there were no doubts at all, but the Crown Prince decided to trust the character of the boy named Cheon-ho, whom he had observed.

At least it was clear that Cheon-ho wanted to protect the Princess.

“Cheon-ho has gained the trust of me and His Majesty by protecting the Princess and catching the tiger this time. The same goes for you.”

“I am honored.”

“You have proven your skills and gained trust, so you must have known that you have a high chance of succeeding in the future. Are you willing to throw all that away because you believe Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik is innocent?”

“That is correct.”

“Even at the risk of your life and your nephew’s life?”

Cheon-ho’s uncle seemed to flinch slightly at the word “nephew,” but soon nodded.

“I also do not wish to risk the life of the nephew I have raised, but it is an undeniable fact.”

Judging by his words, he seemed confident.

“Then, do you have any evidence to prove his innocence?”

“The ones who accused Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik were originally not on good terms with him. The accident that led to my departure also had circumstances that suggested it was their fault, but there was no evidence, so I couldn’t do anything. If you investigate those who were in the Northern Military Camp at the time, other witnesses will come forward.”

“Just because they weren’t on good terms doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

Even if they were conspiring together, it doesn’t mean they necessarily had to be on good terms with each other, and it’s possible to pretend to be at odds with each other to those who don’t know.

“However, just before I left, some of my colleagues who worked with me happened to find evidence that they had been secretly embezzling public funds for a long time.”

At those words, the Crown Prince’s eyes changed for the first time.

“!”

“They saw them secretly hiding the evidence and even confirmed the evidence, so they said that if they reported all the facts along with the evidence to Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik, they would be punished. Considering the Grand Scholar’s character, we thought he wouldn’t let it go. Thanks to those friends, we were able to leave feeling relieved, thinking that they would also be punished soon.”

“……”

“At the time, I foolishly wanted to live freely for a while after leaving the military camp, so I stayed away from rumors and focused on hunting. I never imagined that such an absurd thing would happen in the meantime.”

His face was filled with resentment as he said that.

“Isn’t it possible that you are making these malicious accusations because you were not on good terms with them?”

“I didn’t have any major conflicts with them until the accident that killed someone in the military camp. Besides, although someone died due to their mistake, I know that the weight of an accident caused by a mistake is different from falsely accusing a superior of treason and killing him.”

“……”

“How could I risk my life like this because of what happened back then? I am just resentful that I didn’t even imagine that such unscrupulous villains would dare to do such a terrible thing.”

The man took a breath and continued.

“If you call and investigate those who were in the Northern Military Camp at the time, you will know. Even the subordinates knew that they were not very trustworthy among themselves and always collected each other’s weaknesses.”

At those words, the Crown Prince’s eyes flashed.

“Collect each other’s weaknesses, you say.”

“Yes. I heard that my colleagues found out about their embezzlement because of that.”

“The weaknesses they collected from each other were evidence of embezzlement?”

“Wouldn’t that be the case?”

“……”

The Crown Prince was lost in thought after hearing the man’s words.

And Se-hwa, who was eavesdropping, also covered her mouth without realizing it.

Perhaps that was the cause, the thought flashed through her mind.

The Crown Prince seemed to have the same thought and clicked his tongue lightly.

“What a pity. There might have been evidence of treason among those pieces of evidence. Besides, you have never confirmed it.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

The man, who was born a warrior and not very familiar with documents, looked a little embarrassed for the first time at the Crown Prince’s words.

“……Okay. But just knowing the contents of those pieces of evidence is meaningless. I can’t even prove that what you’re saying is true.”

“Oh, perhaps some of the evidence from that time might still be left.”

“What?”

“At the time, I advised my colleagues to hide some of the evidence in advance, just in case. They said it was a good idea and would do so.”

“Is that true?!”

The Crown Prince’s expression changed.

“Yes, I thought it would be better to take out some of the evidence before reporting it to Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik……”

“Then! No, but you don’t even know where the evidence is.”

The Crown Prince cut off Kim Hwe-yeop’s words with a voice that had sunk as if disappointed again.

But his words were not over yet.

“But one of those friends is still alive.”

“What?”

“I haven’t met him yet, but I found out where that friend is through an acquaintance.”

Kim Hwe-yeop recalled the former Chakhogun [military unit] colleagues he had met after a long time, having heard from Cheon-ho recently.

He had been looking for those friends since his Chakhogun days.

He had been asking around through acquaintances to find out if there were any survivors among those who had been in the Northern Military Camp at the time, or if anyone remembered what had happened.

And recently, he heard news about one of the friends he was looking for through a Chakhogun acquaintance.

“……But even if he still remembers the contents of the evidence, would that really be helpful?”

“There was a very cautious and timid friend, so he would never have shown all the evidence to Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik at once. The important thing is that he might have hidden it somewhere, and more than anything, he might know something more than I do.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Hwe-yeop swallowed hard, as if he had gained hope from the Crown Prince’s fierce reaction earlier.

Although he had been cold throughout, it seemed clear that the Crown Prince wanted to clear Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik’s name.

Indeed, it was only after he entered the palace that he learned that Lady Kim Sun-ik and the Crown Prince were in talks for marriage at the time, but the treason incident occurred and disrupted the Crown Prince’s marriage.

So, he thought that the Crown Prince might have negative feelings about Grand Scholar Kim Sun-ik because of that, but the Crown Prince seemed to want to know the truth.

“If there are those pieces of evidence, would it help clear the Grand Scholar’s name?”

“Perhaps it could.”

“!”

At the Crown Prince’s words, the man slammed his forehead on the floor once again with a determined face.

He had vaguely thought that this fact might be helpful, but he couldn’t bear it when he heard such hopeful words from the Crown Prince’s mouth.

“I…… I will bring him! If I go, I will definitely find that friend. No, I will bring him! More than anything, if he knows that Your Highness is helping, that friend will not run away and will come forward.”

“……”

The Crown Prince had a complicated expression at the man’s blind attitude, but the Crown Prince had no intention of missing this opportunity either.