Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 305

I wondered if someone had written another accusation against a corrupt official, so I opened one of the sealed letters. The contents were unexpected.

“What is this….”

“What’s wrong?”

I could see Chunho and Soun panicking at my reaction, but I had no time to reassure them.

“Just a moment….”

I rose from my seat and rummaged through the stationery chest.

“I’m sure I put it somewhere… Ah. Here it is.”

“??”

Chunho and Soun looked puzzled, but I didn’t have time to explain.

I carefully placed the object I took out of the stationery chest on the floor and closed the chest.

It was a box containing the things Crown Prince Seongwon had given me when I was young.

In addition to the gifts, I had collected everything that could be considered Crown Prince Seongwon’s belongings, taking them out from time to time to reminisce.

Most of them were cute little props and accessories for children that I had received when I was young, but there were also writings and poems he had personally written for my birthday.

Swish-

‘The paper is at the bottom, so it’s around here….’

I roughly took out the props to find what I wanted and rummaged through the bottom of the box, finally finding it.

A handwritten letter left to me by Crown Prince Seongwon.

I checked the part where my name was written in the letter I received through Yeongseon today, and compared it to the part where my name was written in the letter Crown Prince Seongwon had written in the past.

‘Same handwriting….’

I couldn’t say there were no slight changes, but it was undeniably the same person’s handwriting.

“Princess? What’s wrong?”

“……It’s nothing.”

I carefully organized the things I had taken out, put them back in the box, and placed it back in the stationery chest.

Now that I had confirmed the handwriting, it was time to address the contents.

‘He wants to meet me…?’

The contents of the letter were simple. It stated that there seemed to be a misunderstanding between me and Crown Prince Seongwon, and he wished to meet and talk in person.

‘What misunderstanding?’

I had just finished the herbal medicine Sehwa brought and was peacefully warming myself in the heated floor when he sent me this letter to bother me.

I clenched my fist without realizing it.

“Princess… are you okay?”

“Yeah. For now.”

I had been out yesterday, so I couldn’t postpone my work because I wasn’t feeling well today. I was doing my work slowly, but I felt like I was getting a fever again.

‘My brothers are really not helpful in their younger sister’s life….’

I hadn’t expected Crown Prince Seongwon to do something like this.

“Ugh.”

“Um. Princess, should I call the doctor again?”

“No. It’s no use calling the doctor… I have something to think about, so I need to walk a bit.”

“Yes. Please dress warmly… Would you like to hold Kkoma?”

“Good.”

Kkoma, who had been melting with me in the warm floor, suddenly faced an unwanted outing.

Thanks to the palace maids who bundled me up well, I was so wrapped up that it was hard to walk. I held Kkoma and took a walk with Chunho behind me.

It was warm to hold Kkoma, but he was a bit heavy.

‘Ha… my joints ache….’

I had the palace maids, including Soun, step back, creating a quiet atmosphere around me. I sat in the gazebo for a while with a groan.

“Aigo, my back.”

“Oh, are you okay?”

“Um… I’m okay.”

I stopped Chunho from panicking, reassuring him appropriately.

“Could it be because you rode a horse for the first time in a while yesterday?”

“Well, it could be.”

Compared to Chunho, I was probably lacking in exercise, so that might be the reason.

‘I liked it when I was young.’

My joints didn’t hurt then, either.

When I stared blankly at the scenery and turned my gaze to Chunho, I noticed he was quite restless.

I needed to check how much he had heard yesterday before more time passed.

“Chunho. How much did you hear yesterday in the mountains when I was talking to those… people?”

“No. I couldn’t hear that far because the distance was too great.”

The timing of his arrow shot was so perfect that I thought he had been listening.

“Really? Then what were you thinking when you shot the arrow?”

“As I said, I heard some men talking by the stream, and no matter how I looked at it, the contents of their conversation were the conversations of rebels….”

It seemed that some of the men I saw were by the stream.

Chunho had been hiding and eavesdropping on their conversation, realizing the danger.

“I was looking for you, Princess, and then I saw those men confidently taking you to an empty house, so I assumed they were the ones living there. The atmosphere was a bit suspicious.”

“Hmm. So you shot an arrow?”

When I questioned him, Chunho made excuses, his face stiff.

“That’s because I thought your expression looked bad at the time, Princess, so I thought I should help… Did I do something wrong? I didn’t hit them, I just grazed them.”

“No, you did well. It was exactly when I thought I should run away.”

“Is that so.”

Only then did a look of relief appear on Chunho’s face.

I had run away yesterday and collapsed right away, so I hadn’t had enough time to explain. He must have been anxious.

‘I should have explained it last night.’

I was too busy going to see the Crown Prince, geez. I was too tired to do anything after coming back.

‘Besides, I don’t really want to explain it….’

It was painful to think about Crown Prince Seongwon.

I couldn’t sleep well all night.

I pretended to be okay in front of him, but I still couldn’t believe it.

“Chunho.”

“Yes.”

“What should I do if someone I’ve trusted for a long time actually stabs me in the back?”

At my words, Chunho hesitated for a moment, then bit his lip and pondered before opening his mouth.

“If it’s someone you trusted and relied on, Princess… wouldn’t there be a reason why you trusted them? Since it’s that kind of person, wouldn’t there be a reason why they acted that way…?”

“They might have a reason in their own way. But in my opinion, it’s a reason I can’t accept.”

The Crown Prince? Crown Prince Seongwon?

What do you mean rebellion is the best way to protect the current Crown Prince? I thought about it all night, but it didn’t make sense.

‘If he had revealed that he was alive and come to me confidently….’

If he had done that instead of plotting a rebellion, it would have been possible to push out the current Crown Prince, whose foundation was still unstable.

No matter what, wouldn’t the King, who cherishes the Crown Prince, have been shaken?

‘I don’t know what the King is thinking.’

Not to mention the Queen, she would be horrified if Crown Prince Seongwon came back alive.

Because the current Crown Prince’s position would be threatened.

While I was lost in thought, Chunho, who had also been silent, opened his mouth with difficulty.

Unlike usual, his voice was a little desperate and… heavy, as if something significant had happened.

“……Can’t you trust him?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t it someone you… trusted, Princess? You’re worried because you don’t think he’s the kind of person who would do that, right?”

“…….”

“If it’s someone you trusted, there must be a reason why you thought he was trustworthy. You have seen what kind of person he is, so that’s why you think that way, right? So… can’t you trust him one more time? At least, can’t you listen to his excuse?”

“……Is that so.”

I don’t know why he was saying this so seriously, but my heart wavered at Chunho’s words.

That’s right. Crown Prince Seongwon wasn’t the kind of person who would do that.

No matter how confident he was that he could protect me and the Crown Prince by succeeding in the rebellion, he wasn’t the kind of person who would lead to the bloodshed of so many innocent people.

“Okay. I have to check if my eyes are wrong at least once so I don’t regret it later.”

“Princess…!”

Chunho’s face brightened as if he was moved by the fact that I had accepted his advice.

“I’ll have to meet him again tomorrow.”

“……Yes? What do you mean….”