Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 136

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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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I was born as the daughter of a mere concubine.
Chapter 136
“It’s simply that she so rarely received visitors. When a distant uncle she’d never even spoken to came calling, she was curious enough to look at his face.”
…….
Searching her memory of those days, it was so long ago that she couldn’t quite recall whether Song Bi had been there at all. Perhaps Song Bi had been younger then, her features entirely different from now.
Seong Yoon abandoned his excuses and simply fell silent. He knew that Song Bi would never be the sort to cause trouble for the Princess.
“Of course, I understand that Seong Gyeom-sabok is not that sort of person. But even if unintentional, it would be unforgivable to put the Princess in difficulty for no good reason.”
Palace maids are frightening.
Seong Gyeom-sabok realized for the first time that Song Bi, who had always seemed so gentle and affectionate, could wear a face this cold.
Perhaps, had she not become a concubine and had time simply passed, she too would have become like this.
But that was merely a meaningless hypothetical.
“I harbor no intention of bringing shame upon the Princess. I left the Capital long before she was even born and remained away for years—a fact not difficult to prove. There is no reason for strange misunderstandings to arise, so please do not worry. I simply wish to be of whatever help I can to the Princess. I have never had anyone I could truly call family, after all. If you would only permit me to think of myself as the blood relation of my cousin’s daughter, would that not be acceptable?”
Song Bi seemed troubled by his words, and suddenly she spoke a name no one expected.
“……The former concubine, no—Si-ae. Your sister.”
……!
“She was very lonely. Coming into the Palace, she could barely cling to the few friendships she made there, yet someone carelessly shook her world.”
…….
Seong Gyeom-sabok could not fail to understand that her words were directed at him.
Those childhood days when they had been together.
He, telling the girl not to leave, promising he would surely return.
He could not explain the details, but he had heard that as a Body Exploration operative, one could earn great wealth.
He knew it was dangerous work, but he was confident he would survive.
He had every reason to come back alive.
That child, orphaned and eating the bread of charity in a relative’s house.
With no home of her own and circumstances little different from his own, they had clung to each other—but as one year passed, then two, then three, he came to understand that things could not remain as they were.
So he became a Body Exploration operative.
The training was agonizing, but he could endure anything. She was waiting for him.
He would earn much money and return; then they would live together.
That was the promise they had made, childish as it was.
But when he became a Body Exploration operative and finally returned home, Si-ae was no longer there.
Another family lived in that house, and after searching among the neighbors, he learned that Si-ae had unexpectedly become a palace maid.
A palace maid was guaranteed food and shelter, but she was not free, and marriage was forbidden to her.
A palace maid—a station that could never lead to family.
Yet there had been one more chance.
“I never told anyone else, but I could tell that when my sister met that person, she came back very excited.”
“Did she……?”
Flustered, shy—and perhaps a little happy?
When he had first come calling as a distant uncle, Si-ae had been angry.
‘I will definitely come back for you. Wait for me.’
When he said that, Si-ae—more mature now than memory had held her—wore an expression of someone who did not dare to hope.
He wanted to see her smile, but he thought he would see it whenever he returned next time.
As a Body Exploration operative, if he ventured into danger and returned with merit, he would earn the chance to be with Si-ae.
By all accounts, the King was a man of compassion and showed little interest in concubines or palace maids—surely he would grant a life-or-death request.
Perhaps his reasoning had not been entirely wrong.
Only the most crucial part of his calculation was flawed.
Confident Seong Yoon never returned, and those who remained had surely reported to Si-ae that he was dead.
“And one day, instead of the person she was waiting for, she received only news she did not wish to believe.”
…….
Perhaps it would have been kinder had no word reached her at all.
Perhaps it would have been better had she waited endlessly, however hard it was.
But Song Bi’s words did not end there.
“Moreover, she lost not only that hope, but the dearest friends who sustained her through it. She was truly forsaken by fortune.”
“What?”
At the unexpected words, Seong Gyeom-sabok’s voice faltered.
“Around the first anniversary of her closest friends’ passing, my sister took a solitary walk one night and happened to receive the King’s favor. No one had anticipated it. Fortunately or unfortunately, she conceived, and the Princess was born.”
Si-ae had wanted a family.
To receive the King’s favor was perhaps the only way for an orphan with no family and no relations, a palace maid who could never marry, to have a family of her own.
He recalled Si-ae’s rough hands, as he had last seen them, working in the labor quarter.
Had she become a concubine, those hands would never have grown rough again—perhaps that much was fortunate.
Knowing this truth, he left again.
She had no wish to become a flaw in the eyes of others.
But in a place where she had thought death might come for her, she had returned to life once more.
Yet in her absence, she learned that Si-ae—whom she had assumed would live well as a Royal Concubine—had died.
Before grief could even take root, those entangled in that death had already been exposed and punished.
With a hollow heart, she stopped by her hometown and sent word that she would return to the Capital City one last time, then visited the grave.
The unexpectedly grand tomb drew a bitter laugh from her.
‘If only I had known it would come to this…….’
How could anyone have foreseen that she, who had only just gained a family, would leave this world so soon?
She had lost the child in her womb, but the young Princess Si-a remained alive.
She had heard rumors that the child was frail.
When she first returned to the Capital City and was asked to accept an official post, she had wanted to refuse.
But after seeing the tomb and grieving fully, her resolve changed.
How could she rest easy knowing that only a young girl remained in that desolate Palace?
It was presumptuous to harbor such feelings toward Princess Si-a, but as Si-ae’s daughter, the child was family.
When she went to the Palace and met His Majesty, she had thought—might she not catch a glimpse of Princess Si-a’s face, even by chance?
Might she not see Si-ae’s daughter, even from a distance?
‘And yet, it was not at the Palace but outside Namdaemun where we met.’
The fourth day of the fourth lunar month.
A spirited child she encountered on the way into the Capital City after meeting an old colleague for a drink.
She had thought the girl’s face resembled Si-ae when they parted that day, but she never expected to meet her again in the Palace.
‘Come to think of it, I had my beard plucked the day we formally introduced ourselves.’
Now, with the passage of years, it had been beautified into a precious memory, though it was hardly a gentle encounter by any measure.
Yet because of it, she could be beside her now, rather than watching from afar.
“Princess Si-a was born and brought much joy.”
“I am relieved. And……thank you.”
There must have been a reason for conveying this.
“My expression must have appeared rather pitiful.”
“There are many sharp-eyed people within the Palace. It is unwise to invite misunderstanding. Go now to Princess Si-a.”
Song Bi spoke thus and strode toward Princess Si-a.
“Princess Si-a. Seong Gyeom-sabok has arrived.”
“Oh, when did Seong Gyeom-sabok arrive?”
“Just now, Your Highness.”
Si-a, who had been holding and soothing a cat, spotted Seong Gyeom-sabok and came running with a bright smile of delight.
‘If this is what it was for, I would have my beard plucked a thousand times over.’
As Si-ae’s daughter, the child was family.
Though it might seem presumptuous, she wanted to protect her from ever facing such danger again.
“I have something to report regarding Heo Yeon-tae.”
“Hmm. Understood.”
Still cradling the cat in her arms, the Princess directed everyone else to fall back and walk with Seong Gyeom-sabok alone for a moment.
Being so young and still a child, Princess Si-a was surprisingly free to act as she wished in such matters.
“Well, then. Have you finished investigating Heo Yeon-tae to your satisfaction?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
She still had not decided how much to tell Princess Si-a.
But she had to convey some truth. No matter how safe it seemed now, it might be revealed later, and the Princess ought to know.
She had organized what needed to be said and come, but the Princess herself smiled and waved a hand.
“If Seong Gyeom-sabok has concluded there is no further reason to doubt, that suffices. There is no need to elaborate.”
“But Your Highness.”
“What good is it to know too deeply of another’s family affairs?”
“Then you had already guessed it concerned family matters.”
“All people’s lives are much the same. Are they not?”
“That……is so.”
She spoke only of what the Princess would naturally learn later.
That a medical woman named Geumbee, who had written the medical text, had originally been a physician’s apprentice at Naeiiwon with connections to Heo Yeon-tae, but had become inadvertently entangled in Yeokdo.
The Princess seemed briefly startled but, lost in thought for a moment, pursued the matter no further.
“That will do.”
“Are you certain, Your Highness?”
“She herself did no wrong, and if the responsible party has already departed this world, I have no intention of assigning blame. Do not worry—simply keep your tongue still.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
She had thought the Princess, being of royal blood, would be especially sensitive about Yeokdo, yet she showed no sign of disturbance.
Indeed, despite her youth, the Princess possessed depth of character.
After all, she’d never had an ordinary childhood.
Seong Gyeom-sabok found himself reluctant to speak of the Palace’s darker secrets or her origins—it seemed cruel to burden one so young with further weight, when she’d already shouldered so much.
“You’ve worked hard these past months too. Rest now before you go.”
“I’m afraid there’s no rest—I have duties waiting.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Si-a ushered him into her Residence and had simple refreshments brought out, meaning he should eat something light before leaving. But when he admitted he’d skipped his meal, she had proper food laid out instead.
The secrets had been shared; now came the easier talk.
“What of Cheonho?”
“Quick to adapt.”
“The boy has talent worth cultivating. Though I must say, you seem rather pleased with yourself about it.”
“Do I? Well, that’s good then.”
An awkward voice cut between them.
“Perhaps such conversations might be held elsewhere—without my presence?”
“He has talent, and he seems to follow you well. I’d like to develop him further.”
“Then let’s do that.”
“Your Highness?!”
With his opinion summarily ignored and his training schedule decided by decree, Cheonho ate his portion of sweets with a dejected expression.
‘I still don’t truly understand his purpose. He tried to save her without knowing who she was, so he doesn’t seem like a bad sort. There’s a good chance he’ll eventually serve the Crown Prince. I can see he has talent, and somehow I find myself wanting to cultivate it. But keeping a child at her side full-time would be difficult.’
After all, it was hard to ask so young a boy to be a constant guardian.
Having him assist him for now, then placing him elsewhere later—that would suffice.
What she truly needed at her side wasn’t someone passing through, but someone who existed entirely for her sake.
From what he’d observed, both His Majesty and the Crown Prince clearly cherished her.
That much was beyond doubt.
But they were the King and Crown Prince.
They could never make her their sole priority.
Even her abduction had been politically exploited to their advantage, had it not?
Si-a herself seemed unbothered by it, but men like Seong Gyeom-sabok couldn’t help harboring resentment.
Not that it mattered what a Gyeom-sa-bok or Palace Maid thought to those of such station.

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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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