Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 289

I was born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine. (289) [This likely refers to a ranking system within the palace, indicating the concubine’s status.]

Even though Chunho is my close aide, this could be interpreted as me confessing to secretly releasing a traitor’s son, which is a very sensitive matter.

The fewer people who know about it, the better.

In fact, among my close aides, only Gai and Songbi, who were with me that day, are aware of it.

Therefore, even Soi, who has been closest to me recently, remains in the dark.

Of course, the Crown Prince’s aides who were present that day also don’t know the full story.

‘Just like I don’t know the real reason why the Crown Prince and Jihwa broke up.’

That’s why, when I questioned Chunho about my uncle, I made sure to separate everyone else, just in case.

If Chunho isn’t connected to Suchun or Lord Kim Sunik, then my question will simply be an embarrassing blunder.

More than that, what am I even supposed to ask? Should I just come right out and say…

‘Are you perhaps the son of the traitor Kim Sunik?’

What kind of response would that elicit?

‘Princess, have you perhaps… been overworking and lost your mind…? I’ll summon a doctor immediately.’

Of course, no one would dare to give such a brazen answer to a Princess!

But it’s obvious that the response would carry a similar implication.

Besides, even if it were true, there’s no advantage in revealing it, so he wouldn’t confess honestly.

Chunho isn’t that naive.

I was sighing when Chunho, who had been speaking with someone nearby, returned.

“My lady, there’s a temple on the outskirts of the village, and most of the court ladies who came from the palace are staying near there.”

“Ah. Thank you for your trouble. But if it’s on the outskirts of the village, would it be better to travel by horse?”

“The road is slippery around here because it snowed recently. Even if it’s uncomfortable to walk, it’s safer on foot.”

“It does seem like a rather isolated neighborhood.”

Why would they build a village in a place like this?

Because the sun doesn’t reach it easily, the snow lingers, making the road muddy, and it feels chilly, perhaps due to the shade.

‘Well, it might be cold in the winter, but it would be cool in the summer.’

Trying to find a positive aspect, Soi and I dismounted and entered the village, following Chunho’s lead.

“Is the temple within the village itself?”

“It’s towards the foothills, so we need to cross through the village.”

“Hmm.”

I was a little curious since it was my first time in this area, so I looked around and noticed villagers passing by. Many of them stared at us with curious eyes, as if outsiders rarely visited.

Some of them made eye contact with me, then quickly looked away, seemingly frightened, as if they had done something wrong.

‘I don’t think I have such a scary face.’

It’s not as if those people would have any reason to fear me…

I decided to ask the person among us who would provide the most objective opinion.

“Chunho, do I look intimidating? Enough to make people avoid eye contact with me?”

“Yes? There’s no way… Who on earth said that? They probably couldn’t even look a carp in the eye.”

Why a carp of all things? I took Chunho’s words as a joke.

“Hmm, I think I’d be a little intimidated to make eye contact with a carp…”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I was walking carefully because the ground was slippery, and I found Chunho’s reaction amusing, so I smiled and playfully extended my foot.

And as I was being playful, I slipped on something with a whoosh.

“I was just saying that because people seem to avoid me… Ahhh?”

“Ah, my lady!”

I squeezed my eyes shut at Soi’s scream from beside me, but I opened them when I realized that the expected pain hadn’t come.

“Are you, are you alright?”

“Um, I’m okay. Thank you.”

Chunho’s face was right in front of me.

‘This is like, we’re doing some kind of waltz.’

Both I, embarrassed by the close proximity of our faces, and Chunho, who seemed to be thinking something similar, slowly straightened up with stiff expressions.

“Haaah. I’m alive.”

“Please be careful, as the road is slippery.”

“It’s worth having Chunho around.”

“I, I’m glad…”

Why is he so flustered?

‘This is like that one thing.’

Seeing Chunho scrambling to get up, a sudden thought struck me, and I hugged him tightly.

“Gasp!!!!”

With a gasp, Chunho’s body stiffened.

I patted Chunho’s back and whispered in his ear.

“Chunho, are you hiding something from me?”

“You, you’re being too sudden, so I can’t think straight right now. If I’ve done something wrong, could you just tell me normally?”

“…Breathe while you talk.”

His reaction is more extreme than I anticipated. Did he really do something wrong? What on earth did he do to sound so scared?

‘Hmm. But could this be? Nah. It can’t be.’

Feeling like I was bullying a child for no reason, I released Chunho and focused on regaining my balance.

“Chunho, are you okay? Didn’t you slip?”

“I’m fine… But why did you suddenly say that earlier?”

“It’s nothing…”

Looking at Chunho’s reddened face, I wondered if I had asked something unnecessary.

But Chunho is important to me…

“I’m…”

“Ahhh!”

At that moment, there was a commotion from where Soi was. It sounded like she had slipped and fallen.

“Ah.”

“Ahht.”

Chunho and I hurriedly got up and turned our gaze to where the scream came from.

Soi was sitting on the floor with a painful expression.

If I had let go of Chunho a little sooner, he might have been able to catch Soi too.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay…”

Feeling sorry, I approached and helped Soi up with Chunho.

“Ughhh.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay, I’ll probably just get a bruise.”

Soi smiled as if it was nothing, but it was worrying to see from the side.

“Your clothes are wet; you might catch a cold.”

“Let’s go to the temple quickly. They probably have a fire going since it’s winter.”

“Yes. That would be good.”

Chunho and I supported Soi, whose clothes were wet, from both sides.

I felt sorry for Soi, but thanks to her, I was able to think about something else instead of dwelling on unnecessary thoughts.

‘It seems like I don’t slip as easily when I walk like this.’

But I can’t keep walking like this indefinitely.

When we arrived at the temple, the few monks inside rushed out to help us.

And after a while, Soi had to lie down in a heated room in the temple to warm her body.

“Thank you for your help. I was worried because we slipped on the snowy road, but you were a great help.”

“I’m glad if it was helpful. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like you’re seriously injured, so it’s best to rest until your clothes are dry.”

While Chunho was talking to the monk, I was checking on Soi’s condition and massaging her arms and legs.

“Ah, no…!”

“What do you mean no?”

She probably means she doesn’t dare to receive a massage from a Princess, but I didn’t care.

And the monk who was watching us from outside seemed to have misunderstood something, and a pleased voice drifted in.

“It seems that the sisters share a close bond; it’s very nice to see.”

“Yes. Well…”

Chunho didn’t bother to correct the misunderstanding and continued the conversation.

“The temple is quite large; are there many people here?”

“Several court ladies and attendants who used to work in the palace are staying and helping with the work.”

“Ah, I see.”

“If you need medicine, I’ll ask them…”

“It’s okay. We’re already imposing enough.”

Seeing the conversation getting longer, it seemed like Chunho was planning to gather information while talking.

‘I don’t know if he learned it from Sung Gyeom-sabok, or if he was born with it.’

I told Soi to rest and quietly slipped out of the room.

Chunho can handle things there, and I needed to explore on my own.

‘It’s nice to be able to walk around the temple grounds freely thanks to Chunho.’

There didn’t seem to be many monks in the temple anyway, so I could wander around without much fear.

If I get caught, I’ll just say I was looking for the restroom.

Thinking that, I suddenly noticed something familiar: a newspaper.

‘Wow, it even reaches a place like this.’

Well, it’s not the remote countryside, and this is close to the metropolitan area, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to get a newspaper.

Without realizing it, I picked it up and opened it, and I saw the advertisement I had placed.

‘To be exact, it’s more like a wanted poster than an advertisement.’

The name, age, face, characteristics, etc., of the person I was looking for were written in considerable detail.

They were the people from the Crown Prince’s Guard when Crown Prince Seongwon was alive.

I was also looking for the people from the Royal Guards at the time, but it seemed like it would take time because not many people knew their current whereabouts.

‘Quite a few of the Royal Guard officers who were in charge of guarding Crown Prince Seongwon had already died at the time, so there weren’t many people left to search for.’

So I placed an ad in the newspaper.

There were still people in the palace who remembered the Royal Guard members from that time, so I investigated and wrote down their names and characteristics, hoping I would be able to find them soon.

It cost a lot of money, but it’s my property anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

I also placed an ad for Yeon Seono.

It sounds a bit insensitive to say this, but it shouldn’t be difficult to find him since he has a prominent scar on his face.

‘Looking back, I should have done this sooner and not made Sung Gyeom-sabok suffer in vain.’

It was a pity, but I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.

I put down the newspaper and scanned the surroundings again.

Of course, it was good to see that they were reading the newspaper, but I came to see if the former court ladies were here, so I had to focus on my primary objective.

‘Hmm. But the temple is quite large.’

They said that retired court ladies were residing here, but I don’t know where to find them.

In fact, there was someone I needed to meet more than the other court ladies.

‘Like Royal Attendant Im, who was Crown Prince Seongwon’s chief attendant.’

People who used to work in organizations don’t easily disobey their former superiors, even after retirement, especially if they live in the same place. It was more efficient than finding the other court ladies and asking them individually about their experiences.

She also possesses the most knowledge about what happened when the Crown Prince died.

‘She’s also the person who disliked me the most.’

Of course, I didn’t particularly want to meet her either.

When Crown Prince Seongwon was alive, Royal Attendant Im was always behind him, looking at me with a disapproving expression.

It was impossible not to notice that Royal Attendant Im harbored animosity towards me.

‘I don’t know why she disliked me so much. Honestly, even after hearing various stories from the Queen, I still don’t quite understand it.’

She treated me that way even when I was small and innocent, so I don’t expect her to be happy to see me now, but I didn’t come here seeking her approval.

As I recalled Royal Attendant Im’s stern face and walked around stealthily, I spotted a group of women who were likely (former) court ladies.

It wasn’t difficult to identify them as such.

“Royal Attendant Im has been acting a little strange lately, hasn’t she?”

“Yeah. She definitely has.”

“Is it a man again?”

“Hey. She’s old.”

It was because the name ‘Royal Attendant Im’ came up in their conversation.

They were subtly complaining about their superior with suppressed laughter and naturally began to grumble together.

“Don’t you think we’re working too much all day long?”

“It was better when we were in the palace.”

I sensed that the conversation was about to shift away from gossip about their boss, so I hid behind the middle gate.

Maybe they’ll reveal something informative?