Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 291

I felt uneasy the entire way back from meeting Sungwon Seja’s court ladies.

‘Something’s strange.’

Sungwon Seja had passed away a long time ago, and the world had changed, so I thought their attitude would have changed a lot compared to how they were in the past.

It was certainly a bit more relaxed than before.

But fundamentally, nothing had changed.

Why are they so confident? There’s no one to protect them anymore.

‘And their faces were brighter than I expected.’

It wasn’t that they should be in mourning for 10 or 20 years because Sungwon Seja died.

However, the things they tried to grasp at the same time as Sungwon Seja’s death could never be hoped for again, so how could they be so calm?

I would have understood if they seemed to have given up their greed, but they didn’t seem like it.

‘I don’t know what they’re thinking. Are they still loyal to Sungwon Seja?’

But as someone who was close to Sungwon Seja, I knew something.

Sungwon Seja didn’t want that.

He was so incompatible with them that if he was surrounded by only those kinds of people, he would have felt suffocated and miserable.

‘So that’s why they looked so comfortable when they saw me and Grand Prince Yeongwon.’

Since Grand Prince Yeongwon and I were royalty, they couldn’t harass us even if they didn’t like us, but I wondered if the Seja’s wife had been bullied a lot by them.

I just sighed.

If I had known sooner, I might have been able to do something for her.

Of course, whether I could have done that at the time was another matter.

“Ongju [Princess], what’s wrong?”

Soi, who was next to me, looked worried, so I hesitated and asked.

“What is loyalty?”

“Are you suddenly curious about that?”

Soi seemed to be asking why I was suddenly asking such a thing.

Her voice implied that it was so obvious that she didn’t even know why I was curious about it.

“Isn’t it natural for us to follow Ongju?”

“It’s strange that it’s too natural, or something.”

“?”

In fact, most of the court ladies were similarly blindly devoted.

‘In this era, no, loyalty education is originally a bit of brainwashing….’

It was cruel to ask Soi, who had grown up as a court lady since she was young, about such things.

Well, Sungwon Seja’s court ladies might have been similar.

In fact, even in modern times, if you give them a salary and guarantee their livelihood, there seemed to be quite a few people who voluntarily pledged their loyalty, so Soi was not strange in the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897].

I returned to the palace, took a breather, and this time I asked Cheonho.

“Then what about Cheonho?”

“Yes?”

“Yeah. Loyalty and stuff like that.”

“Me? Um. In my case… I think I ended up like this because Ongju is always in danger, so I followed her without even realizing it. I also saw it at Siyoungwon [a place or event].”

“Hmph. So, if my guards increase and my safety is guaranteed, does that mean Cheonho can retire?”

Cheonho’s face turned serious at my words, and he shook his head.

“Ugh. Don’t say it like that.”

“Really?”

“It’s not that, I… I want to protect Ongju, by her side.”

When he said the last words, ‘by her side,’ his voice was so small that it was barely audible, but I could hear it in my ear because I was so close.

“Oh, um….”

I had a little trouble answering.

‘I keep wondering if this is a misunderstanding or not… Somehow, I think Cheonho likes me?’

It wasn’t that I was saying it wasn’t, but Cheonho’s attitude towards me had changed a bit before and after I grew up.

Of course, it would be a problem if it was the same.

Maybe it’s because of the attention of the people around us, but he seems to be subtly 신경 쓰다 [caring/mindful] when there is physical contact.

In fact, if you only look at my age and Cheonho’s age, it’s not strange.

There is a big difference in status, but at this age, you can’t even 신경 쓰다 [worry] about such things.

When I was young, it was a protective instinct, but now, um, it wouldn’t be strange to say that he likes me, right?

‘Wow. I feel like my face is getting hot just thinking about it.’

Why am I embarrassed?

I tried to think logically, but I couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

It’s not like I’ve never seen a boy who likes me before.

‘Of course, I’m seeing him for the first time here.’

My childhood was long, and there were no boys of my age around me, so it was impossible.

But when I thought about that, I felt strange again.

‘Cheonho knows when I was little, so does he feel that way?’

Then isn’t that a little strange…? I think he would have felt like a young sibling at best. Of course, I’m actually older, though?

Cheonho’s sullen voice called me, as if he had noticed that I was having embarrassing thoughts alone.

“Ongju, you’re thinking strange things again, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not!”

I denied it reflexively, but it wasn’t like it wasn’t true.

How does he know that again? I must have looked at him with strange eyes without even realizing it.

As I looked at Cheonho, I suddenly realized one thing.

“Come to think of it, Cheonho’s clothes are torn again.”

“Ah.”

It seemed like he wasn’t even 신경 쓰고 [aware] about it himself.

He saw blood while fighting with the strange man earlier, so his clothes were naturally damaged.

“It’s suspicious, but they deny it, so we have no choice but to just report it.”

“Is it meaningful since there’s a high possibility that they’ve already run away somewhere else?”

“Even if it’s meaningless, reporting it itself is meaningful. It’s evidence that the people there are suspicious, right?”

“That’s true, but….”

It would be nice if something was caught on that side as well, but the evidence seemed too insufficient.

“By the way, Cheonho seems to tear his clothes whenever he’s next to me.”

“It’s not intentional.”

“Really? I was going to get you some new clothes.”

Cheonho’s stiff head lowered at that moment.

“I will be loyal. Ongju.”

“Your loyalty is too light.”

***

‘I’m training a lot, but my reaction speed isn’t getting faster as I thought it would.’

Cheonho, recalling the unidentified 괴한 [thug/assailant] who attacked Ongju yesterday, participated in training again from dawn today, but felt somewhat lacking.

‘Since there’s no Sung Gyeom Sabok or uncle… it feels lacking. I thought it would be nice that the training wasn’t difficult, but it’s not good that it’s not helpful either.’

He even felt a little sorry for himself for being able to handle training that others would find painful without any difficulty now.

‘But protecting Ongju’s side is definitely… there are many 위험 요소 [dangerous elements], so I can’t neglect training. Of course, the benefits are good, too.’

Cheonho wiped away his sweat with a sigh.

He was planning to change his clothes before going to Ongju again today.

Perhaps it was because he had been riding a horse for a long time yesterday, Ongju’s wake-up time was especially late today.

‘I should go looking a little cleaner if possible.’

Unless she’s someone with a unique taste who likes the smell of sweat, she’ll naturally hate it.

Whyooo-

Cawww-

“?”

As Cheonho was about to change his clothes, he heard a familiar cry.

“Are you guys fighting again?”

It was the cat and crow that were a little confusing as to whether they were Ongju’s pets or not.

‘It’s a relief if they’re doing that when there’s someone to stop them.’

Thinking so, he looked around, but he couldn’t see anyone suitable.

In fact, those two even picked people and didn’t even pretend to listen if they thought someone was easy to deal with.

The one who listened the best was naturally Ongju, and in Cheonho’s case, he knew that he was strong, so he listened to him fairly well.

“Ongju will be sad if you guys get hurt.”

Wasn’t she someone who seemed strangely 냉정한 [cold/detached] but took care of everything?

Cheonho grabbed the cat that was fighting with the crow in the tree.

Whyooo-

“Let’s be quiet. 응 [Huh]?”

The kitten raised its claws as if asking why he was interfering, but Cheonho, who had already become accustomed to handling the kitten, didn’t 신경 쓰고 [mind] much. After all, it’s winter, so the clothes are thick.

“You’re not scary at all even if you do that.”

Whyooo-

Ignoring the cry full of complaints, Cheonho held the kitten in his arms and waved one hand to chase away the crow that was chasing after him.

It was now a familiar sight to those working at Ongju’s residence, so some of the court ladies watched the scene with a pleased smile.

And in such a familiar daily life, things that are not repeated also happen.

Something sparkling was lying in the spot where Cheonho had passed.

“Ah, the crow will pick it up.”

The 나인 [court lady], who was happily watching the contest between the animals and the handsome boy today, hurriedly picked up the sparkling object in the spot where Cheonho had passed.

“옥가락지 [jade ring]? The string he was wearing around his neck broke.”

The 나인 [court lady] smiled and followed Cheonho’s 뒷모습 [departing figure] with the 옥가락지 [jade ring], but he was already out of sight because he walked so fast.

“Anyway, Cheonho will go to Ongju, so I can leave it to Ongju.”

The 나인 [court lady], who was on her way to prepare Ongju’s 후식 [dessert], hurried her steps.

***

“Ugh. I’m still tired.”

“I think you overdid it yesterday.”

“Is that so.”

I thought I would be okay since I had ridden a horse for a long distance before, but is it harder because my body has grown?

After eating the meal and even the 후식 [dessert], I felt so tired that I felt like falling asleep again.

Still, I couldn’t show myself dozing off with Ongju’s 체면 [face/prestige], so I held back for a while, and then Soi, after confirming that the table was being taken out, came in with something in her hand.

“Ongju.”

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing Soi smiling 싱글싱글 [brightly], I blinked to chase away the drowsiness, thinking that she must have brought something fun.

“Just now, a 나인 [court lady] child brought this, saying it was something Cheonho had dropped.”

“Cheonho? What is it?”

It was 갑작스럽긴 [sudden], but since a familiar name came up, I held out my hand to Soi.

“It’s a 옥가락지 [jade ring]. It seems that he was wearing it like a necklace, but the string broke and it fell off, and the 나인 [court lady] who happened to be passing by found it and brought it here right away.”

“What 옥가락지 [jade ring] does a young child have….”

가락지 [ring], which means a pair of rings, is usually an accessory worn by married women, so it was an item that Cheonho, who was still young, had no connection with.

‘Ah, maybe it’s a memento from his mother or something.’

After all, that seemed more likely than it being his own.

The 옥가락지 [jade ring], which was Sungwon Seja’s memento that I lost, was originally a memento from his birth mother.

Thinking that, I unknowingly stroked the 옥가락지 [jade ring] that Soi handed me.

And then I realized that something was wrong.

“……?”