Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 118

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Born as the daughter of a lowly concubine.
Chapter 118
……But if she says she won’t do it, what can I say? She’ll figure it out herself.
‘People who are meant to fall in love will fall in love, and people meant to marry will marry.’
Of course, there are those who refuse even unto death, but overall, more people do it than don’t.
And even if this is the Joseon era, I have no desire to force anyone.
What matters is that once I received the Palace Confinement Order, I couldn’t visit Siyeongwon for a while.
‘It can’t be helped…… but it does feel a bit lonely.’
I’ve been out and about quite a lot recently, and as a result, I did get kidnapped and worried a lot of people.
“But it wasn’t my fault!”
“It certainly wasn’t this humble servant’s fault either.”
So-i, who had been scolded right alongside me because of my actions, spoke with a pale face.
“It’s not your fault, So-i.”
“Please tell that to my sister as well.”
“I did.”
She just won’t listen.
Because this incident was too significant to pass over quietly, the fact that the princess who had snuck out of the palace was kidnapped spread far and wide—so far, in fact, that even the children working elsewhere as educators or under stewards’ supervision sent letters expressing their shock.
A few threatened to come up to the Capital City, only to be barely dissuaded by Min Sanggung, I hear.
‘Surely the news hasn’t reached Jeollado yet.’
Rumors do travel fast though.
Letters from the children in Chungcheongdo and Hwanghaedo have already arrived.
‘The serious ones are genuinely worried, but the others…… are sending letters at the level of internet comments. Should I call them in and re-educate them?’
Just as I was beginning to seriously worry about the children’s academic standards, the Crown Prince summoned all the people involved in the princess kidnapping case to the East Palace and commended them.
Among them was naturally Cheon Ho, who had rescued me.
“Princess. It has been a long time since we last met.”
“It has indeed.”
Since I had been tending to the victims first, I felt a bit sorry that I hadn’t properly looked after the person who had helped me, but fortunately the Crown Prince hadn’t forgotten.
“You should take better care of those who helped you.”
“But brother, you dragged me away so forcefully…… Your Highness.”
It couldn’t be helped. Once I confirmed that matters had been settled to a reasonable degree, I was apparently so relieved that I simply let consciousness slip away and fell asleep.
Since there were physicians present, they all confirmed that I had simply fallen asleep and were reassured, but that doesn’t mean they stopped worrying.
The Crown Prince, thinking the princess must have been very startled and exhausted, brought me back to the palace as I was, so I hear.
Right. Father must have been worried too, of course.
I really did get scolded terribly by the King and the Queen Consort, but I was genuinely nothing more than an innocent person grabbed off the street.
Still, since we couldn’t hide everything, So-i and Seong Gyeom-sabok laid bare everything connected to this incident before the Crown Prince, I’m told.
Everything…….
Thanks to that, the story reaching the King and Queen Consort was somewhat curtailed, but the Crown Prince learned far too much.
And I was scolded quite severely by the Crown Prince. Though it didn’t really get me down.
Learning how I had come to know Cheon Ho, the Crown Prince became quite favorable toward him.
There are indeed many things I don’t know about Cheon Ho, but the fact remains unchanged that he risked danger for someone whose even identity he didn’t know.
“By the way, why did you chase after me that day?”
“In truth, this humble servant’s uncle originally made quite a name for himself in Hamgyeongdo as a member of the Chakho-gun.”
“The Chakho-gun?”
Since the Chakho-gun was the name of a special unit that hunted tigers, the Crown Prince, listening to the tale, wore an interested expression.
“It seems that for that reason, people often come to him offering generous payment to work with them. On the day I met the young lady…… the princess at a Kisaeng House, such men had called upon my uncle and were there as well. But when I revealed to him through my actions that they were the criminals who had kidnapped the young lady, my uncle, seeing through their pretense of partnership while investigating their background, sensed that they were engaged in dangerous activities.”
“Human trafficking, you mean.”
“Yes. My uncle warned me not to involve myself any further and alone pursued them in secret. I later heard that while following them that day, he discovered the slave market being opened and reported it to the Podo Bureau.”
“So the tip that came to the Podo Bureau originated from your uncle.”
Ah, so that’s how it all connected.
No wonder it came so quickly.
“At the time, I did not know this fact, but thinking that the young lady might become entangled with them, I was loitering about near Hye Minser to tell her it was dangerous and to avoid them if she saw them. Then I spotted the young lady near Hye Minser, and at that moment, I saw some man carrying her away. Alarmed, I gave chase.”
Oh dear. The timing was poor.
That kidnapper carried me into some shabby civilian house, and soon came out dragging a large cart.
The moment he saw that, he intuited I was inside the cart and followed. When he realized I’d been locked in a shed, he examined the surroundings and briefly approached, and by good fortune even obtained my Jade Tablet, so I’m told.
Saying this, Cheon Ho produced my Jade Tablet.
“I forgot to return it that day and have brought it with me.”
“Ah.”
“You had forgotten about it.”
The Crown Prince chided me as though exasperated, but I hadn’t left the palace, so I had no reason to search for it.
“Still, thanks to you, we were able to rescue the princess. Thank you truly.”
“If only I’d been a moment quicker, such a calamity might never have befallen you. I’m deeply sorry.”
“Who would say such a thing to someone who threw themselves into danger faster than anyone else to save the Princess? Never mind that—your wounds, are they healing well?”
“I’ve only a few scratches. Nothing serious, Your Highness.”
“You haven’t visited the Clinic since then?”
“The injury is trivial.”
Cheon Ho said this with a touch of exaggeration, as though boasting.
“I’ve even caught tigers—compared to that, this is nothing.”
“How on earth did you catch a tiger?”
“It’s true. The uncle who raised me was none other than a captain of the Chakho-gun.”
That had at least a ring of plausibility to it.
The Crown Prince opened his mouth as he watched Cheon Ho and me bantering back and forth.
“I’d like to give you a reward. Is there anything you desire?”
“I’ve done nothing to deserve one, Your Highness.”
“Nothing? You performed a great service. And I’ve seen with my own eyes that your martial skill is exceptional.”
“However skilled my martial arts may be, I’m still a novice. How could I presume to accept a reward? If I may make one request instead……”
Cheon Ho paused for a moment, then glanced toward me before continuing.
“I wish to serve at the Princess’s side.”
You as well……?
This was the second person to ask, after Seong Gyeom-sabok. The Crown Prince would naturally ask why.
“Why is that?”
“When I first arrived in the Capital City, I happened to eat some pastries that the Princess had made at Hye Minser. That was the reason.”
Surely not you too……?
Though I do occasionally make them and have them distributed at Hye Minser, I’m quite certain I’ve never met this boy before.
‘With such a large frame and such a distinctive face, I couldn’t possibly have forgotten meeting him.’
But perhaps because there was already precedent, the Crown Prince was quick to accept it.
“Everyone does love the pastries she makes.”
“And having someone like me nearby might not be entirely unwelcome, given how recklessly the Princess wanders about.”
“Ugh.”
“That’s reasonable enough.”
While I found his remark rather distasteful, the Crown Prince seemed quite pleased with it.
Had Cheon Ho asked for a position of rank, the Crown Prince might have suspected ulterior motives. But like Seong Gyeom-sabok, he simply wanted to remain at the Princess’s side—and somehow that deflated the Crown Prince’s skepticism entirely.
After all, it was already difficult enough that Seong Gyeom-sabok, juggling his other duties, had to constantly trail after me.
‘Though I suppose the Crown Prince has to embrace even those who come seeking power and influence. Still, there’s something about this that feels more genuine.’
But the reason being pastries gave me pause.
‘I don’t even understand why Seong Gyeom-sabok is so unfailingly loyal to me.’
He seemed to treat me almost like a niece, so I wasn’t as suspicious of him. But this boy—I couldn’t fathom what he was thinking.
Regardless of my confusion, an interview of sorts was unfolding beside me.
“How old are you?”
“Fifteen, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince stopped short at the answer to his first question, visibly startled.
“Truly? Fifteen?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The boy blushed slightly, as though accustomed to such reactions, but remained composed. The Crown Prince, by contrast, seemed genuinely taken aback.
“But surely when I saw you last time, there wasn’t such a great difference between us in height……”
There wasn’t.
He’s still growing, so he may become even taller.
“If you’re fifteen, you’re a year younger than I am. Should I have you call me elder sister?”
“Haha. How could I be so disrespectful to the Princess?”
The Crown Prince was flustered by the realization that this boy of comparable build was still quite young, yet at the same time, his face showed that he now understood why someone motivated by pastries would want to stay by my side.
“Still, Seong Gyeom-sabok has his hands rather full trying to keep up with Si-a whenever she manages to slip away.”
Was he criticizing me, or was he criticizing Seong Gyeom-sabok?
“What do you think? Though not necessarily a permanent position, I suspect it would do no harm to have someone dedicated solely to accompanying you.”
“…… Does that mean I’m permitted to go out?”
“What is this constant urge you have to run about everywhere?”
“I have much to do.”
“There’s no stopping you, is there?”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I had always been fond of the Crown Prince precisely because, for all his protests, he could never deny me.
***
“Actually, Hye Minser, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Seong Ji, who had sought out Hye Minser to consult about medical texts, stopped in her tracks when she noticed Se Hwa quietly taking hold of her arm, glancing around them with barely concealed urgency.
They had made an agreement to learn from each other humbly if either discovered gaps in their knowledge, so it wasn’t unusual for Se Hwa to take her arm—but not like this, not with such deliberate secrecy.
“Se Hwa? What is it? Something about your training?”
“No, it’s not that. It concerns the Princess.”
“Is something wrong with the Princess?”
“Nothing is wrong, exactly. It’s just…….”
Se Hwa recalled the last time she had taken the Princess’s pulse.
‘That peculiar pulse was, indeed…….’
She’d thought about it ever since hearing the rumors of the Princess who wouldn’t grow. Perhaps it was a condition she could actually heal.
Her master, eccentric as he was but possessed of skills worthy of an immortal sage, had taught her medical arts that included treatment for a disease that matched the Princess’s exact symptoms.
The only problem was she had never once performed such a treatment on anyone.
“I might be able to heal her.”
“Is that truly possible?”
Seong Ji’s eyes widened with shock.
Until now, not a single physician in the realm had found even the slightest clue to curing the Princess’s condition.
And now this young healer was claiming she could do what none had accomplished?
“Why are you only telling me this now? Both His Majesty and the Crown Prince have worked tirelessly to cure her.”
“But I am only a healer, and I know the treatment method only in theory. I have never actually treated anyone using this method, so how could I presume to speak of it with confidence?”
“That’s…… a fair point.”
The Princess’s condition was believed to stem from poisoning. Yet no one knew what poison it was, and there were no other patients with the same symptoms.
So all anyone could do was give thanks that she had escaped death, and accept that she must live out her life suffering the lingering effects of that poison.
“Would you truly entrust yourself to my care and accept my treatment?”
“……And if I fail, I can take no responsibility for the consequences.”
“Life is singular and irreplaceable.”
The Princess’s life, and her own.
If something arose that didn’t match even slightly with what she thought she knew, what would become of the Princess?
Though she had seen the Princess only a few times, Se Hwa understood well enough what kind of person she was.
Despite her youth, she saved countless lives.
If there was a disease, if Se Hwa could treat it, she wanted to make the Princess well.
But if she failed, what would become of such a person?
“Let me study more first. There might be similar cases recorded somewhere.”
“…… Yes.”
“If there’s any way at all, I want to heal her. The Princess is truly a good person.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
When the Princess had brought her those Gamran Jeonbyeong pastries not long ago, Se Hwa had felt tears threatening to spill.
That unforgettable day from childhood.
They tasted exactly as they had then—that same flavor that melted away on her tongue as she walked the mountain paths with her nurse, fleeing the Capital City.
***
“Are you truly certain I may have one?”
“Of course. I asked Song Bi to make these especially.”
The Princess, with her round, endearing face, was beaming with unrestrained joy at the prospect of being able to go out and play again.
Cheon Ho gazed at the appetizing treats before him with delighted eyes before bringing one to his mouth.
“It’s delicious.”
“Isn’t it?”
The young Princess, declaring that Song Bi’s creations were the most delicious of all, worked her mouth contentedly around the pastry.
‘So adorable.’
When he had first seen the small young lady guiding her younger siblings before Hye Minser, he had doubted both his eyes and his memory.
Of course, he had heard the rumors that the Princess didn’t grow, but he had hoped it wasn’t true.
He had given money to a child holding pastries given by the young lady, beseeching them for half of what the child carried, and had managed to taste it.
It was the same flavor he had eaten the day he first met the Princess.
That sweet taste he could find nowhere else.
It was true, then. The Princess had not grown.
As a child, he had believed that someday when he met his first love again, she would surely be a beautiful young girl.
And as he aged, he came to understand that he would likely never see that precious young lady again.
Yet miraculously, when he met his first love again, it happened far more easily than he could have imagined—and she had not changed at all since that last day.
She was exactly as she had appeared then.
He had not failed to hear the rumors that the Princess didn’t grow.
But he had never truly believed such an impossible thing could actually occur. He had thought it merely a strange rumor, nothing more.
He had wished desperately that such a terrible misfortune had not befallen the Princess.
Reality was just as it appeared.
‘But if that were the case, we wouldn’t be sitting across from each other eating sweets like this.’
In a way, this too was not so bad.
The sweets given by the child who had been his first love were still sweet, and the child was still endearing, and the moment he looked away, he had no idea what dangerous mischief she might get into.
Cheon Ho thought that if he could watch over the child who had protected him that day in this way, by her side, that would not be so bad either.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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