Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 275

‘Can I trust him?’

He had already proven himself when he was brought in as an East Palace guard after catching the tiger, so his skills were certainly beyond question.

Besides, if he harbored any rebellious intentions, he would have harmed the Crown Prince by now. Instead, Lee Ja was foolishly risking his own life to speak up.

He might not be the sharpest, but if he had earned the trust of such a loyal subordinate, Kim Seon-ik’s life wouldn’t have been lived in vain.

“Do you truly only seek to clear Kim Seon-ik’s name?”

“That is correct, Your Highness.”

“Even if clearing Kim Seon-ik’s name brings you no personal benefit?”

“If I were acting for my own gain, how could I dare make such a request?”

Indeed, it would be far wiser for him to simply remain silent and diligently serve in the palace.

Even as these thoughts crossed his mind, the Crown Prince continued his interrogation.

“But what if the investigation reveals that the accusations are true, and he was indeed one of the masterminds behind the treason?”

“Since I have dared to disturb Your Highness’s peace of mind, I implore you to behead this foolish one. However…”

He had readily offered his own life, but a sudden hesitation followed.

“However?”

When the Crown Prince pressed him for clarification, the man took a deep breath and bowed his head to the ground once more, pleading.

“That foolish nephew of mine is completely uninvolved, so if you would simply allow him to live, unaware of any of this, I would never forget your grace, even in death.”

“Are you saying that Cheon-ho knows nothing about this?”

“He is entirely innocent. He is merely a pitiful fellow who lost his parents at a young age and became an orphan. His uncle, who raised him, is the only connection he has to this.”

The Crown Prince sighed.

In truth, there was little reason to newly suspect Cheon-ho.

He had been given several opportunities to join the Crown Prince’s side, yet he seemed hesitant and remained loyal to the Princess, hadn’t he?

He even risked his life to confront the tiger to protect the Princess this time as well.

Of course, things might change if his only uncle were to be implicated.

‘If Lee Ja were also a remnant of the rebels, he could have tried to harm me instead of doing this. But he’s risking his life like this….’

He might have overheard Sung Gyeom-sabok’s report and seen it as an opportunity, but if he valued his own life, he wouldn’t step forward so confidently in the matter of someone still branded a traitor.

The Crown Prince composed himself and looked down at the man.

“The investigation was already planned, so there was no need for you to come forward like this.”

“Your Highness.”

The sight of the dark-skinned man looking up with such a moved expression wasn’t particularly appealing, so the Crown Prince waved his hand dismissively.

“But I cannot allow you to remain here any longer.”

He couldn’t keep a traitor’s sworn brother in the palace, could he?

“I was prepared for that, Your Highness.”

“You will remain under house arrest for a while.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…I may summon you for further questioning, so await my call.”

“…! Yes, Your Highness!”

The man, his face alight with anticipation, bowed deeply and departed.

And the direction he took to leave the East Palace was, coincidentally, or perhaps naturally, towards Se-hwa’s quarters.

The man, noticing someone concealed in the shadows, exclaimed in surprise.

“Who’s there!”

“Ah.”

Se-hwa, startled by the unexpected turn of events, hurriedly stepped forward.

The man, who looked ready to pounce, stopped short as he recognized Se-hwa approaching without any attempt to flee.

“It’s, it’s me. Crown Prince, I mean, Se-hwa.”

“Se-hwa? What brings you here at this late hour?”

He had already checked her pulse earlier today, and there was no other medical reason for her visit, so the Crown Prince looked puzzled at Se-hwa’s presence.

“You may leave now.” The Crown Prince said to Lee Ja.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The man bowed respectfully to Se-hwa as well and departed.

Se-hwa was in a complicated state of mind.

‘My father’s sworn brother….’

Even Se-hwa, his own child, had never heard of this, so she couldn’t determine if it was true or not.

Ji-hwa, being so young at the time, couldn’t have known about events that transpired while her father was stationed at the Northern Military Camp.

The letters he occasionally sent only contained inquiries about the family’s well-being; he wasn’t the type of father to share such details with his young daughter.

‘My memories are fading now, but after my mother passed away, I only remember him as a stern, but loving person.’

Still, he was her only father.

He never discouraged Se-hwa from pursuing her studies or medicine.

Perhaps it was because she was lost in thought about the past, but the Crown Prince, noticing Se-hwa’s troubled expression, asked with concern.

“Why do you look so troubled? Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing, Your Highness.”

“That’s a relief, but… yes. What brings you here? You’re not one to visit without a reason.”

“I apologize for intruding on your time when you must be busy. However…”

Se-hwa, hesitant about how to broach the subject, decided to ask what was on her mind first.

“May I ask who that man from earlier was?”

“Did you happen to overhear our conversation?”

“I am sorry, Your Highness…”

There was no point in concealing it, so Se-hwa confessed honestly. If they questioned the guards outside about her arrival, they would know immediately.

“Your Highness… what are you planning to do?”

“My intentions remain unchanged. If there is guilt, they must be punished accordingly, and if there is injustice, it must be rectified.”

“Then, if guilt is found, will Cheon-ho’s uncle be punished?”

At Se-hwa’s words, the Crown Prince smiled.

“I have no desire to punish someone who was unaware of the treason. I… do not relish bloodshed.”

“Then, what about the children of the rebels… are you saying…?”

Hesitantly, Se-hwa had no choice but to ask.

The Crown Prince smiled a little awkwardly and replied.

“It’s difficult to argue that the system of guilt by association [punishing relatives for the crimes of their family members] is inherently wrong when it comes to treason… but Kim Seon-ik’s children were very young at the time and had been separated from their father for a long time. There is no way they were involved in that matter. Moreover, I met them directly at that time. I know better than anyone that they have nothing to do with the treason.”

“Your Highness.”

“I am not so cruel as to enjoy punishing someone who is innocent. Especially when that person was someone I thought I might marry in the future….”

The Crown Prince’s face, etched with a slightly pained expression, looked so pitiful that Se-hwa thought she might have felt jealous if he were making that expression while thinking of another woman.

“If I say this, will you be a little jealous?”

Se-hwa tentatively grabbed the Crown Prince’s sleeve.

Ordinarily, it was an impudent act that a mere physician should not commit, but the Crown Prince looked at Se-hwa and smiled kindly.

“Se-hwa? What’s wrong?”

‘I have to tell him.’

Se-hwa recalled the day she had run away.

During the Gwan-deung play [a traditional lantern festival], amidst the bustling crowds, Se-hwa and the Crown Prince, having left their younger siblings to rest, were opening up to each other more comfortably than before.

As she went to release a sky lantern with the Crown Prince, what shattered Ji-hwa’s burgeoning dream, the thought that it might be okay to be with this person, was the familiar voice of a servant from her household.

Wondering if she was mistaken, Ji-hwa paused and soon realized she had not misheard.

‘Young lady! It’s a disaster!’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘T, the house is in chaos… you must flee! Master, well!’

The servant, never imagining that Ji-hwa, who usually showed no interest in men, would be with one, spoke carelessly, assuming the Crown Prince beside her was merely a passerby.

‘What are you talking about? What happened to my father?’

‘Oh dear, you must run away! If you are captured, you will become a government slave, no, I don’t know what will happen.’

Perhaps when the servant came to find Ji-hwa, the Crown Prince must have overheard the conversation as well.

‘I apologize, Your Highness. I, I have an urgent matter at home, so I must leave for a while….’

‘…I understand.’

But the Crown Prince did not stop Ji-hwa from fleeing with her nanny.

Rather, when Se-hwa glanced back, the boy, shaking his head despite the eunuch’s protests, looked at her as if urging, “Why aren’t you leaving quickly?”

That boy from that time had grown into such a handsome man and reunited with her, so how could she not be moved?

‘I thought it was a broken relationship.’

She had never imagined that they would meet again and end up like this.

Perhaps it would truly end like this, but Se-hwa resolved to tell the Crown Prince everything as she had initially planned.

There was a sense of unease that she might be burdening him, but she couldn’t perpetuate this false relationship.

Perhaps spurred by the conversation with that man earlier, Se-hwa, after ensuring that no one was nearby, steeled herself and spoke.

“I have something to tell Your Highness. May I speak with you alone for a moment?”

“To me?”

“Yes. Right now.”

The Crown Prince, taken aback by Se-hwa’s sudden words, was silent for a moment before saying something unexpected.

“Don’t tell me you’ve finally decided to become my wife….”

“No, I have not.”

At Se-hwa’s firm denial, those guarding the Crown Prince’s back shook their heads with regretful sighs, “Ah….”

In particular, Song Nae-gwan’s face looked very pitiful; he had been worried sick because she had been alone with some guy just now, and now what again?

‘She wasn’t usually like this….’