Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 283

“You’re heading out quite early today.”

“It’s been a while. I’m planning to stop by a few places. Why? Does your injury still hurt?”

“It’s not that. I was just wondering if you might be tired.”

“I’m fine. Sometimes, you know?”

In the past, Cheonho used to gather reports and bring them to me first thing in the morning, but recently, he’s been staying in the palace, so my schedule has inevitably been a bit delayed.

‘That’s why I came out early today.’

Even though I say early, it’s not like I came out at dawn. The sun has been up for quite a while, even though it’s still winter. Officials who have to come to work at dawn might wonder what’s so early about this time.

“Jeok-ah, slowly-”

Heeheeing!

I tried to calm Jeok-ah, who kept trying to go faster, and he got a little upset.

While I couldn’t go out, Jeok-ah couldn’t come out either, so he must have been stressed.

It’s not like the Saboksi [the Royal Horse Administration] isn’t giving him exercise.

Maybe he just likes being outside. I guess he got used to wandering around crowded places for years.

“Is it because I brought him out after a long time? He’s full of energy.”

“Haha. He must have been stuffy. But running outside in the winter isn’t really recommended, so please ask him to bear with it today.”

“Why don’t you tell him yourself?”

I don’t know if he’ll understand.

Cheonho looked a little weak at my words.

“Um… Actually, after I rode him once before, I think he dislikes me a little.”

“Why?”

“Maybe I was too heavy…”

Cheonho muttered a bit timidly. Well, he’s probably used to carrying only a child-sized me, so I guess Cheonho would have been heavy.

But I think the Crown Prince and Soi have ridden him too. Does Cheonho treat him roughly?

I should check later.

“Um. Do you think I’m getting a little heavy now too?”

Heeheeing-

I stroked his mane and asked, and he seemed to respond favorably.

“Yeah, yeah, not heavy, right? This much is easy for our Jeok-ah, right?”

Heeheeing-

‘Well, even if I grow up… I’d be about 2/3… the size of Cheonho, maybe.’

I don’t really know my weight or Cheonho’s weight, but roughly thinking about Cheonho’s height and muscles, he must be heavy.

‘Come to think of it, Cheonho isn’t just big, he has quite a bit of muscle.’

As I was thinking that and staring intently at Cheonho’s back, he turned his head, sensing my gaze.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Um. Just a little contemplation on the weight of muscles?”

“Why are you contemplating like an old man… I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

“Okay.”

Thanks to Jeok-ah, who ghostlike read my mind and stuck close to Cheonho, glaring at him, I was able to sit still and receive an apology.

“Our Jeok-ah is so smart.”

“I’m a little scared, though…”

Seeing Cheonho, who is so big, acting cute and out of character, made me chuckle.

“You fight tigers, but you’re scared of a horse?”

“How can I fight with Jeok-ah? The Ongju [Princess] will scold me.”

“Oh, is that how it works.”

As we were chatting, the smart Jeok-ah found his way on his own.

It’s been a while since we came this way, but it seemed like Jeok-ah remembered the destination depending on where he turned at the first fork.

“Smart Jeok-ah! Who did you take after to be so smart?”

“…Please stop it now.”

I guess my tension went up because I came out after a long time. Cheonho sighed softly as he watched Jeok-ah, who was becoming more and more proud with the continuous praise.

I was showering Jeok-ah with affection, and we soon arrived at Saga. It’s close to the palace anyway.

As I got off the horse, Cheonho, who was holding Jeok-ah’s reins, looked around with a dissatisfied expression.

“…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it just feels like someone is watching… Please be careful, just in case.”

“Um. That sto… no, that weird guy might still be around.”

What should I call a stalker in this era?

He’s a man obsessed after his engagement was broken off due to his own fault, so should I just call him a pervert?

While Cheonho was on guard, Soi and I quickly knocked on the door and went inside.

They knew roughly that I would be coming today, so the response was quick.

“Ongju-sama. You have arrived.”

“Ongju-sama!”

People popped out from everywhere, finding me and asking how I was.

“It’s been a while. How have you all been?”

“What could have happened to us, milady?”

“We were so surprised to hear what happened at the palace.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Um. I don’t dislike people worrying about me.

I calmed everyone down, saying I was fine, and went inside.

“Okay. Is everything alright at home? What about that guy from before?”

“Thanks to Ongju-sama, everyone is safe. He hasn’t shown up since what we told you before, so it seems he’s given up.”

“Don’t let your guard down. Maybe he’s just not showing up because it’s cold now, right?”

Originally, there are more weird guys when the weather gets warmer.

Youngsun nodded with a stiff face at my words.

“Yes. I will be careful.”

“Okay. What did you want to tell me?”

The reason I stopped by Saga first today was because I received a letter from Youngsun.

Of course, at first, it was to check on me because of the tiger in the palace, but in the letters she sent later, she said she had something to tell me honestly.

Because of that, Cheonho was guarding outside the room to prevent others from coming in, and only Soi, Youngsun, and I were in the room.

“Yes. Ongju-sama. Actually, there is a story I haven’t told Ongju-sama yet.”

I guess she was the one who told me not to say anything if I was in trouble.

‘Did her mind change because she thought I might die?’

The feeling when you think you can say it anytime is different from when you think something might happen to the person you want to tell.

“Don’t tell me it’s about that guy from back then?”

“It’s not unrelated…”

“Hmm.”

That meant it wasn’t about that guy.

But even though it wasn’t about that guy, Youngsun was trembling as if she was nervous.

‘If it’s something that makes her this nervous, it seems like there’s only one thing…’

Youngsun is someone who has nothing. Of course, she’s better off than other servants, but it wasn’t that simple.

‘It must be a family problem.’

If you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.

The guy who was supposed to be her fiancé is gone, so the only thing left is her family, so it must be something related to her parents.

As I was thinking, Youngsun slammed her head on the floor.

Thud!

“I hid something that might be a threat to Ongju-sama, so please listen to my words and punish me.”

“…Um. Just tell me first.”

Don’t do this because it’s scary, just tell me with words.

Youngsun, a little embarrassed by my sincere advice, cautiously opened her mouth.

“Actually, one of the reasons I was considering marrying that shameless man was my father.”

“Youngsun’s father…”

“Yes, he was taken away for treason.”

I only knew that much, not the details.

I didn’t think Youngsun knew that much either.

“I didn’t know if he was alive or dead, but even if he was alive, I thought I would never see him again because he was doing hard labor.”

When it comes to this, the next thing to say was obvious.

“Are you saying that father appeared in front of you?”

“That’s right.”

“A traitor is wandering around near my Saga…”

How are they managing the officials….

I couldn’t interfere with that side of things, so I felt frustrated, but the important thing was that Youngsun’s father was loitering around here.

“Ah, no. Actually, I also told people about my father’s appearance so that he couldn’t come near.”

“……”

That meant she treated him the same as a stalker. It would be nice to catch him and hand him over to the government office, but it wouldn’t be easy if he was also on guard.

“My father was a coercive person, so he forced me to marry that man. He said that since he was originally going to marry me, it was only right to do as my father said, and my mother also said that I should follow my father’s wishes, so it was difficult to refuse.”

“That… I understand.”

No matter what the relationship with her father was like, no matter how wrong her father was, it was difficult to accuse her own father and push him to a path that might lead to death.

As a human being, there was affection even in small memories, and above all, the very act of harming one’s parents was in many ways unreasonable for Joseon people who had been instilled with filial piety since childhood.

Even if the parents are traitors.

“Still, after breaking off the engagement with that man and making a fuss so that he couldn’t approach this place, I had hoped that it would pass by as it was because I had less contact with my father… But recently, my mother secretly discovered that she was secretly exchanging letters with my father.”

“Umm.”

That’s troublesome.

But isn’t that strange? A traitor who was dragged into hard labor is wandering around so freely.

“Was Youngsun’s father released because his sentence was over?”

His wife and daughter are still slaves because they are the family of a traitor, but the main culprit’s punishment cannot be light.

“I don’t know exactly, but it seems like he’s living under a different identity.”

“That’s… suspicious.”

“Actually, he’s my father, but I didn’t think he was a great person, so I didn’t think he was doing anything great… But when I heard that something big had happened to Ongju-sama, I had a thought.”

“Thank you for worrying.”

“…No. I heard that when that shameless man was beaten and kicked out of this house, he dared to curse Ongju-sama and said something about a tiger…”

Youngsun’s eyes turned red as she said that. It seemed like she was blaming herself a lot for connecting it to that.

“What ability would such a con artist have? He must have just said whatever came to mind. Besides, as a result, I shot the tiger and only gained fame, didn’t I? Don’t worry about it.”

“Yes. Ongju-sama.”

Even while sniffing, Youngsun tried to smile.

Hmm. By the way, how are they managing the hard labor camp that a traitor escaped?

Besides, if Youngsun’s father had malicious intentions, it would be troublesome in many ways. Well, I don’t know how great a treason he’s plotting.

For now, his existence alone was likely to hold back Youngsun, who was living well now.

Like the marriage.

In fact, the bigger problem in this matter was with Youngsun’s mother.

“Is Youngsun’s mother still the same?”

“Yes. She still scolds me for being an unfilial child for not following my father, and says that I should leave this place where we are living now and take care of my father even if it’s difficult. But I know very well what it means to live as a slave without Ongju-sama’s protection. I’ve explained it to my mother several times, but…”

“Um. But it didn’t work?”

“I’m sorry.”

I guess she wanted to grind her daughter to fulfill her duty.

Honestly, there was only one answer to this.

“Then send her.”

“Yes?”