Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 322

I noticed his gaze, and Cheonho turned his head towards me.

“Did I make you uncomfortable, Princess? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, I was just thinking that it seems like it’s about time for you to become independent, Cheonho.”

Cheonho frowned again, as if dissatisfied with something.

“I told you, I’m not going to. I’ll stay by your side, Princess.”

“Hmm. I can’t say that’s a good thing.”

“Do you dislike it?”

Looking at Cheonho, who resembled a sulky puppy, I stroked his head.

‘He’s so tall, it’s a bit difficult.’

Cheonho’s slightly tilting his head to make it easier to stroke, despite his grumpy expression, was quite cute. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t need to grow this much.

“You’re still a child.”

Soon, Lord Kim Seon-ik, who had been falsely accused, would have his name cleared.

Then Cheonho’s uncle wouldn’t stay still, and even if Cheonho didn’t want to, his identity would be revealed.

“…Come to think of it, Cheonho, have you met your uncle?”

I knew that Officer Seong, who had left with him, had arrived first, but Cheonho’s uncle had also arrived afterward.

However, he hadn’t encountered me, so it was unlikely that Cheonho, who had been with me almost the entire time, had met him either.

“I couldn’t leave your side, Princess, so I only heard that he’s doing well.”

“Oh dear. Go see his face.”

“After this is over. My uncle is perfectly fine, no one’s going to target him, and he’s as strong as a monster, so he’ll be alright.”

Having unwavering trust in one’s guardian is a good thing in any sense, but this reaction was a bit much.

“No credit for raising a child, they say…”

“Yes?”

Well, I couldn’t know what happened between them during his upbringing, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

“No matter. It seems like those two will keep doing that, so I should tell them to bring out a drinking table instead of tea.”

Recently, Crown Prince Seongwon had said that he wanted to drink with the now-grown Crown Prince, so today was the perfect day.

Even though it was my private residence, the situation was what it was, so I thought it would be better to check myself. After confirming the sight of the two brothers getting along, I quietly left the scene.

‘Sehwa and Cheonho still haven’t talked, I wonder when they’ll find out.’

It would be a relief if they both knew now.

Well, they’ll find out anyway when it’s revealed soon, so there’s no need to rush.

I decided to relax and focus on other things.

‘There are too many people in this house right now.’

Thanks to that, the servants, who suddenly had a lot more work, were initially at a loss.

Still, I had brought Songbi and the maids with me when I left the palace, so I wasn’t worried about the food. Besides that, Yeongseon was surprisingly good at controlling everything else, so I wasn’t too concerned.

What was a bit annoying was that the former Imperial Guards and spies who were escorting Crown Prince Seongwon were subtly keeping each other in check.

Since everyone knew to some extent about the treason, they seemed to be on edge, thinking that the other side might betray them at any moment. So, I threatened them that if they kept fighting, I wouldn’t give them Gamlan Rice Cake.

To Crown Prince Seongwon.

‘If you keep doing this, I won’t give it to you or my brother, so be aware.’

‘How could you do this with food? That’s too much. You know how much he’s been longing for it…’

Besides, the former Imperial Guards who had been with Crown Prince Seongwon during his Crown Prince days still remembered the taste of Gamlan Rice Cake.

Of course, they hadn’t been able to eat it since they left the palace after Crown Prince Seongwon’s death.

‘So, don’t fight. If you’re going to fight, go somewhere else. Don’t even think about fighting in my house.’

‘Yes… I understand, Princess.’

When I told them that, as they smacked their lips, they all became a bit quieter, perhaps realizing that they looked a bit foolish.

The spies also became quiet for no reason, perhaps because I occasionally shared Gamlan Rice Cake with them.

In the first place, they listened to me well.

Besides, Si Yeongwon and Si Wolgak, the kids who knew my identity(?), came flocking in, saying they were worried…

I couldn’t just coldly kick out the people who came because they were worried, so I fed them and told them to rest. Then they got excited and started playing among themselves.

It was absurd, but the older men seemed embarrassed by the young kids next to them, so they became quiet, and the atmosphere seemed good, so I left them alone.

There were side effects, though.

‘Oh my. Our household’s Engel’s coefficient [proportion of income spent on food] has suddenly skyrocketed… Should I have given everyone some work to do?’

I couldn’t give the kids work, and if I gave the people who had too much energy and kept threatening to fight tasks like chopping firewood, there wouldn’t be any firewood left.

It would be nice to lock them in a small room and have them weave straw shoes, but then there wouldn’t be enough guards.

‘The Crown Prince brought some people as guards when he came here, but they’re going to leave soon anyway.’

Because the Crown Prince would only be staying here for tonight at most.

Well, this would be fine after some time. For a while, everyone was tense because of the treason, and both sides were doing this for the sake of their lords.

“Princess. It’s ready.”

“Okay. Thank you for your hard work. I’m sorry for making you work again after you came out here.”

“We’re doing the same work no matter where we are. It’s more comfortable here, actually.”

“That’s a relief.”

It was only natural, since the atmosphere inside the palace couldn’t be good right now.

I found the brothers again, who were having a cozy conversation with the drinking table that Songbi had prepared herself. They were still on the veranda, talking about something, so I told them to go inside because it was cold.

Then, I sat with them for a while and talked about old times before leaving appropriately.

It was because my two older brothers were being overprotective.

‘How old am I that they make such a fuss when I try to drink?’

When my body wasn’t growing, I avoided it for my health, but there’s no reason to do that now.

I thought about shattering their illusions by chugging from a bottle in front of them, but I figured that if those two were drinking, at least the homeowner should be in their right mind, so I stopped.

‘I can’t get drunk when I don’t even know my alcohol tolerance yet.’

Even if it doesn’t look like it, if I actually drink and turn out to be an alcohol 쓰레기 [Korean slang for someone who can’t hold their liquor], I might leak things I shouldn’t in my drunkenness.

‘It’s not like it’s hard to drink secretly later.’

I, who was finally on the verge of independence, chuckled.

***

‘He fell asleep drunk…’

Crown Prince Seongwon smiled warmly as he saw his brother, who had been drinking with him, fall asleep and pass out.

He had never dared to imagine that there would be a day when he could share a drink with his brother after leaving the palace, but such a day had come.

‘I feel at peace.’

The brother who had become the Crown Prince told him that his maternal uncle would soon be exiled to Jeju Island.

He also said that he would try to prevent him from being given poison, if possible.

He told him not to worry about it, but this kind brother seemed to be concerned that his incompetent brother would worry about his maternal uncle and be upset.

The maternal uncle, who had been arrested by the Uigeumbu [Royal Investigation Bureau], would not have yielded easily given his personality, so even if he survived, his remaining life would probably not be easy.

But to pity him, the maternal uncle had committed too many misdeeds.

‘There are probably many things I don’t know about.’

Even if he lived his whole life atoning, he would not be able to repay all his sins, and he was not the type to reflect at all.

‘Perhaps living a long and painful life is a more appropriate way to pay for his sins than being sentenced to death right away.’

It might be a convenient self-justification, but thanks to it, he felt truly at peace.

The floor was warm, but since the door was open, he was worried that the night breeze was still cold, so he took off his outer garment and draped it over his brother’s shoulders.

He was a carefree person, so if he caught a cold, he could just cover himself with a blanket and warm himself in the heated room, but this person was the one and only Crown Prince of Joseon.

The freedom to be sick without worry was now his, not his brother’s.

Seeing his tired face, he felt pity and guilt, but his younger brother was more suited for the position of Crown Prince than he was.

“I have passed a great burden onto Your Highness. But I believe that Your Highness will surely become a wise ruler in the future.”

Thump, thump.

Crown Prince Seongwon, knowing that someone was coming this way thanks to the deliberately loud footsteps, poured himself another drink as if nothing had happened.

Originally, it was not right to leave the Crown Prince alone with him to drink without any attendants, but everyone had retreated with the door open at the Crown Prince’s insistence.

Therefore, everyone deliberately made noise when they brought food or drinks.

“I apologize. Your Highness…”

“Shh. It seems His Highness has fallen asleep.”

The person who approached was someone Crown Prince Seongwon also knew.

“What’s the matter, Doctor?”

“I thought it would be good to put on more clothes since the night air is cold, so I received them from the servants…”

Sehwa’s gaze turned to the sleeping Crown Prince and the outer garment draped over his shoulders.

And at the same time, Sehwa realized that Crown Prince Seongwon’s outer garment was gone. Without saying anything, Sehwa covered the Crown Prince with one of the clothes she had brought as planned, and handed the other one to Crown Prince Seongwon.

“The Princess will be angry if you catch a cold.”

“That would be a scary thing.”

A light smile appeared on both of their faces as they talked about the Princess.

After Sehwa came out, Crown Prince Seongwon closed the open door halfway so that Sehwa could check on the Crown Prince, then followed her outside and stood at a distance from her.

“Actually, there was something I wanted to say to you for a while, but I couldn’t find the opportunity.”

“To me?”

“Yes. Thank you for curing my brother… Sia’s illness.”

“…I was just doing what I had to do.”

“But perhaps if it weren’t for you, Doctor, Sia would still be the same as the last image I remember. I can’t tell you how happy and relieved I was to see him grown up.”

“Were you perhaps watching him?”

At Sehwa’s words, Crown Prince Seongwon nodded shyly.

“I would occasionally check on him from afar to see if he was doing well. I didn’t dare to appear before him, but when I heard that he wasn’t growing, I couldn’t help but check. After that, I even searched for doctors who were said to be skilled, wondering if there was any way to cure him. Of course, it was all in vain. Everyone said they had never even heard of a cure for such a disease. Well, she’s the Princess, so of course His Majesty would have gathered famous doctors to find a cure, but I still couldn’t just stand by.”

“…”

“Seeing that you cured the Princess’s illness, it seems I wasn’t diligent enough. If I had searched harder back then, I might have been able to cure the Princess’s illness sooner…”

Looking at him smiling awkwardly, Sehwa shook her head with a calm face.

“Perhaps, you wouldn’t have been able to find me.”

“Were you perhaps in some deep mountain?”

“Yes. My family was ruined by treason, so I was running away and hiding.”