Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 281

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m sure that’s the case.”

Cheonho said it so casually, but for some reason, I felt strange listening to it.

It was a ticklish, odd feeling.

“Well, anyway, the Kitten is definitely getting chubby. Is it because life is too easy? Should I have a crow take it away for a bit?”

“Wouldn’t that be a bit much…?”

Cheonho smiled ambiguously.

“Its mother must have been a stray. Living in the palace, there are no threats and it’s too comfortable, so the Kitten is just lazing around.”

“Still, now that the Kitten is bigger, it even fights with the crows, doesn’t it?”

“True.”

When it was a kitten, its life was unilaterally threatened, but after becoming a chubby cat, it could stand up to the crows, which was a great improvement.

‘Of course, being fat isn’t good.’

Anyway, if the two of them fight and get hurt, it’s only troublesome for me, so I’ve been keeping them apart. But maybe I should teach the Kitten a little awareness?

“This is a tough world, so I need to raise it strong.”

I can’t protect it forever, so it needs to be strong to survive.

This educational policy applied equally to raising people and raising animals.

“The Ongju’s [Princess’s] educational policy seems a bit unique.”

“It’s not like I’m going to be responsible for it for the rest of its life, so of course.”

“Ah, but isn’t the Kitten being raised by the Ongju?”

“Well, it was originally the Crown Prince’s cat’s baby, but for some reason, it took a liking to me, so I ended up raising it in my quarters.”

“That’s quite amazing.”

Looking at Cheonho, who was just agreeing, I was reminded of something.

“Oh, now that I think about it, wasn’t it you who gave me the opportunity to raise it?”

“Pardon?”

“Back then… you lifted me up to get the kitten down from the tree when it was being targeted by a crow, right?”

“Yes? Ah, yes…”

Cheonho seemed to remember when I said that.

“Now that I think about it, it wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like a long time ago.”

“What’s with that old man’s tone?”

“Besides, compared to then, the Ongju has grown a lot…”

Well, I have grown a lot.

But I couldn’t help but lament with a sullen face.

“Hmm. But I still need to grow taller.”

“Why?”

“Being too small isn’t good.”

“Whether the Ongju is tall or short, you are still the Ongju. Do you need to worry about such things?”

“But if my body is small, it’s hard to fight back in an emergency. My arms are short, and my legs are short.”

Saying that, I lifted the Kitten I was holding high into the sky.

The Kitten resisted, but unfortunately, due to the direction, the cat’s soft paws couldn’t hit me and just flailed in the air.

It didn’t even seem to have the will to resist in the first place.

“And it doesn’t have much strength.”

“Hmm. For someone who caught a tiger to say such unconvincing things.”

“I didn’t catch it. Cheonho caught it.”

When I stated the truth, Cheonho surprisingly shook his head.

“Actually, in the mountains, it’s as good as half-caught. Either way, in that state, it probably wouldn’t have been able to hunt properly and would have starved to death.”

“No, starve to death? What are you talking about?”

Cheonho said defensively as I pouted.

“It would have taken some time, though. Well, it’s more likely to have taken a wrong turn and slipped or fallen to its death before starving. There’s no guarantee that tigers won’t fight each other either. There’s a disadvantage that the fur might be damaged and not fetch a good price, but actually, in the long run, it’s not bad.”

“Hee… How do you know that? Do you monitor tigers from afar?”

“If you have good eyes, you can see it, but I’m not that good.”

There are so many amazing people in the world…

In my past life, I could see amazing people all over the world on the internet, but now I can’t, so it’s a bit disappointing.

“Hmm, but aren’t archery skills like mine common? I feel like it wouldn’t be that useful outside?”

“Don’t say such ridiculous things, Ongju. Your archery skills alone are already excellent enough.”

“Oh, really? Do you think I could survive outside without starving?”

Cheonho chuckled at what I said and replied.

“Yes. You could catch and sell flying birds and not starve.”

“Oh, that’s a relief, but now that I think about it, I can’t butcher animals…”

Honestly, I was raised too delicately for that.

And the bigger the animal, the stronger the smell of blood and fish, and I wasn’t confident I could handle that.

In my past life, I had cut meat bought from the butcher to cook, but butchering… I had no experience.

‘Well, most people in that era probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to do it, would they?’

Cheonho, who was listening to me, sighed and smiled again.

“You shouldn’t do such things; you’re too precious. Your hands will get rough. And what if you accidentally get hurt?”

If I get hurt, I get hurt…

But if I said that, the palace maids behind me would be scarier than Cheonho, so I decided to watch my words.

“Hey. But it’s a shame if I can’t eat what I caught.”

“Then I can take care of the aftermath for you. Why would the Ongju worry about such things?”

“No, you never know what might happen in life, so it’s good to know, right? Until now, I was a child, so I couldn’t even think about doing anything, but now I think I can.”

“…”

Cheonho was silent for a moment, as if he was having trouble answering my words.

Now that not growing up is a thing of the past, I don’t take it too seriously, but those around me are still careful and try not to bring it up.

I know that no one believes me even if I emphasize that I’m okay, so I don’t bother to clear up the misunderstanding and patted Cheonho’s shoulder, changing the subject.

“Come to think of it, Cheonho, you said you can cook too, right?”

I vaguely remembered hearing that before.

Cheonho nodded, recalling the memory.

“Hunters are generally experts in meat dishes…”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Of course, if we’re hungry, we also gather greens and pick mushrooms.”

“Hahaha.”

“Just in case, don’t try to imitate that, Ongju. You’ll get into big trouble if you try to do that with half-baked knowledge. I’ve seen a lot of people like that in the mountains.”

“Okay. I’ll eat what you give me.”

Still carrying the Kitten and exercising my arms, I repeated the question.

“Ah. So Cheonho, are you good at cooking?”

“…In conclusion, it’s true that I can cook, but wouldn’t it be a bit much to say that I can cook in front of the Ongju, who grew up eating different levels of court cuisine?”

“Cheonho, you won’t starve anywhere with the way you talk.”

“That’s the only thing I learned from my uncle.”

“…Cheonho, you seem to have learned a lot from your uncle.”

“Well, he was the only family I had for a long time.”

“…He must be precious.”

“Haha. It’s embarrassing.”

I couldn’t possibly not know what a single guardian means to a child.

Even if I can live alone now.

‘In my case, even if I become independent, it doesn’t seem like I’ll ever be alone.’

I didn’t want the atmosphere to drop, so I blurted out anything again.

“By the way, if I run away, I won’t have any problems eating if I take Cheonho with me.”

“Um…”

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

Cheonho’s reaction was a little different from before when I said something similar, when he said he would run away with me.

“Ah, have I gotten too heavy now, so you can’t run with me?”

“Pardon? I’m not heavy at all?”

“Really? Should I test it out?”

Cheonho, who had been confident, suddenly turned serious and shook his head.

“Pardon? No, no. Now is not a good time.”

“Why?”

“Why, well…”

Cheonho looked a little embarrassed, so I felt a little strange.

“Come to think of it, why do you try so hard to protect me, Cheonho?”

“Well…?”

“What do you mean, ‘well’?”

That wasn’t a very satisfying answer.

“Um. I guess I just wanted to.”

Cheonho said that and ended up stroking the Kitten’s head in my hand.

Perhaps because of Cheonho, the Kitten, who had been quiet, started struggling again, so I had to give up my strength training and carry a heavy cat.

***

Kim Hoeyeop, who thought he would have to wait at least a few days, prepared to leave willingly at the Crown Prince’s call, which came sooner than expected.

‘I should leave a letter for Cheonho.’

He knew that Cheonho was staying at the palace, but he occasionally visited his home, so it would be fine.

If he had time, he would have left a more proper letter, but he couldn’t properly explain the situation because he was leaving in a hurry.

Of course, the real situation was not something to be left in a letter, and it seemed that the Crown Prince thought well of Cheonho, so he would probably convey the situation so that he wouldn’t worry too much.

‘Cheonho has saved the Ongju before, so even if something happens to me, he will take good care of her.’

The Suyeong Ongju was famous for taking care of her people.

The only thing he could leave in the letter to Cheonho was that he was leaving to do other work by order of the Crown Prince, so don’t do anything reckless while he was gone and take care of himself.

Before leaving, Kim Hoeyeop unexpectedly went back to the palace and was able to meet the Crown Prince again.

“I will trust your words, so go to Hamgyeong-do [a province in North Korea] and bring back evidence.”

“!”

It was content that had already been conveyed to some extent, but hearing it directly from the Crown Prince made his body naturally tense.

“However, I will not send you alone.”

“I don’t mind. No, it’s better that way. It will be easier to prove my innocence that way.”

“You will know about Seong Gyeom Sabok [a type of royal guard], and a civil official with the necessary investigation authority will accompany you in case of emergency.”

That meant that it was possible to collect evidence in earnest.

The Crown Prince even gave him travel expenses and some kind of connection that he would need along the way.

Kim Hoeyeop received the things that the woman next to the Crown Prince came and handed him, and bowed his head in gratitude.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince! Thank you!”

“And before you leave, I have one question to ask you.”

“Yes. Please ask.”

“Have you ever met the children of Minister Kim Seon-ik?”