Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 15

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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 minor concubine.
Chapter 15
Thanks to Nain, Gyeong-eon seemed to have forgotten my existence for a moment, but I couldn’t flee that place.
‘If something goes wrong like this, what will become of Nain?’
In truth, running would have been the sensible choice, but looking back on it later, I realize I was in a state of diminished rational judgment at that moment.
The instant he raised his hand to strike terrified Nain across the face, I threw my entire body forward and shoved Gyeong-eon’s leg.
When Gyeong-eon raised his hand to strike Nain, who was kneeling, his weight was concentrated on one leg—and in that split second, I thought that even with my small child’s strength, I might manage to push him off balance. It was an act committed in the blink of an eye.
But the result exceeded my expectations.
“Wha—?!”
Gyeong-eon let out a startled cry as his strike went wide,
Splash!
A loud splash echoed through the air.
“Ah… uh?”
Unable to stop the force of his own descending blow, Gyeong-eon lost his balance and toppled forward.
I nearly fell with him, but Nain’s hand caught me, keeping me from hitting the ground. When I lifted my head, her face was etched with confusion.
And Gyeong-eon was nowhere to be seen.
Not in front of me, not in front of Nain—and there came another splash from the pond.
‘Did he… fall in?’
Had I perhaps been stronger than I thought?
Was Gyeong-won’s pain every time I struck him not a jest, but real?
While I stood blinking blankly, lost in contemplation of my own strength, Nain recovered first, set me down, and searched the pond for Gyeong-eon.
“My lord! Lord Gyeong-eon! Are you well?”
“You… you wretches…!”
Even as he thrashed in the water, Gyeong-eon glared at me with blazing eyes.
And grasping the situation quickly, I…
“Ah… waahhh!”
I began to deploy the tearful performance I had inadvertently honed since my rebirth.
I’m sorry, it was an accident. I was startled too.
That was the general meaning conveyed by my tears.
“Is anyone there? Lord Gyeong-eon has fallen into the pond!”
Nain looked about frantically, crying out for help, then pulled me far away from the water’s edge, shut her eyes tight, and dove straight in after him.
She began to flounder at once, unable to swim.
‘Perhaps she thought it better to simply jump in rather than face blame later for merely standing by and watching.’
Fortunately, someone—whether drawn by my crying or Nain’s shouts—came running and dove into the pond, fishing both Nain and Gyeong-eon out.
If Gyeong-eon had come to harm in the pond because of me, it would have weighed on my conscience; his safe rescue was a blessing.
“Young lady! Are you unharmed?”
“Sniffle.”
“There, there. That must have frightened you terribly.”
The palace attendants who had followed behind called out to me, and I reached out my hands to them with a whimper.
“We were not meant to let Lord Gyeong-eon take you away…”
The attendants checked that I was safe, and only then, relieved, held me close as they sank to the ground.
‘The commotion must have brought the attendants from Chui-yeong Hall running.’
Over there they were making a fuss about summoning a physician, but both he and Nain seemed perfectly fine.
In fact, they looked so fine that Gyeong-eon was already approaching us.
His face flushed, breathing heavily, his eyes glinted with venom as he drew near.
‘No, I really didn’t do it on purpose.’
I had only meant to stop the assault happening before my eyes.
What had he intended to do with me in the first place when he dragged me here?
The palace attendants comforting me sensed something dangerous in Gyeong-eon’s expression and moved to shield me.
‘Perhaps it would be better if I took the blow myself… no. If anything happened to me, these women would fare no better.’
Their duty was to protect and care for me; if I came to harm, they could not escape responsibility.
Of course, they were hardly in a position to resist a royal.
“What on earth is the meaning of this?”
Just then, a familiar voice cut through the air.
“Oh.”
“Gyeong-eon? Sister? What could have happened that Gyeong-eon is soaked through, and you are crying like this?”
“Wail…”
Behind the Crown Prince stood our quarters’ attendant, who had run off in a different direction earlier; she was catching her breath and exchanging glances with the other attendants.
‘Has fortune smiled on me by bringing the Crown Prince here?’
It was not unusual—the Crown Prince frequently visited the Concubine Quarters whenever he had time to see me.
He always sent people to confirm my whereabouts, so it seemed we’d crossed paths by chance.
***
That day’s commotion ended there. No matter how disagreeable Gyeong-eon’s nature was, he wasn’t fool enough to openly abuse me in front of the Crown Prince.
But the problem came after.
“Eeek!”
“Shh, can’t you keep quiet?”
Dead animal carcasses began appearing more frequently in our quarters.
At first they seemed to be natural deaths, so I thought they were the work of beasts or mere accident, but as I found bodies in progressively worse condition, I couldn’t help but recognize deliberate intent behind it.
Everyone whispered among themselves, but they let it pass without comment for fear of burdening my sister, who wasn’t yet fully recovered.
Since I was just a child, people didn’t bother hiding gossip from me—I simply picked up on it naturally.
‘This has to be that lunatic’s doing.’
Damn it, I should have realized when he threw that kitten into the water.
So I’d really caught his attention after all.
Gyeong-eon was almost certainly venting his unspent anger toward me in this way.
‘More than me, I wonder if Nain is all right.’
Whatever he’d been planning to do to me, it seemed Nain’s intervention had saved me from harm. But I was worried whether she herself had come through unscathed.
There was no way for me to find out about someone else’s quarters.
After hearing roughly what happened that day, the Crown Prince gave the court ladies strict orders never to let me out, no matter what Gyeong-eon said.
I heard he’d also given Gyeong-eon a warning, along with words of caution.
‘That probably made him even angrier.’
I’d noticed before that he seemed to dislike the Crown Prince.
In any case, unless he was a complete fool, he wouldn’t be able to openly torment me again for some time.
Thanks to that, I’d been bustling about much as before.
Trying to train so I could escape at any moment…… but there was no way to overcome the difference in age.
‘Will things get better when I’m older?’
When I grow up…… even if I fear future complications, I could go crying to the King or the Crown Prince with pleas.
‘But the real question is whether they’d actually take my side if Gyeong-eon and I came into conflict.’
True, their father-son relationship appeared distant, but surely a prince still mattered more than a princess, didn’t he? Especially in the King’s eyes?
‘Oh, speaking of which…’
I recalled the place where I’d encountered the King last time.
At the same moment, I felt a desire to see the Main Hall with my own eyes and to actually observe how officials moved about.
Would it be like a historical drama? Would it be very different?
‘In a few years, once I’m old enough to understand what’s being said, I won’t have an excuse to wander freely…… should I go now?’
Quite some time had passed since the last escape incident when I’d run into the Crown Prince and Gyeong-won, so the court ladies would likely be off their guard.
The key to successful occasional escapes was maintaining normally proper behavior most of the time.
They wouldn’t suspect me of going there again, since I’d already been to that area once before.
It might look like I wandered about randomly, but I was actually familiarizing myself with the layout of the palace.
I’d memorized that route from last time, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to attempt it again.
‘Even if we happened to meet, he probably wouldn’t touch me for a while.’
Though hoping he wouldn’t cause a fuss after what happened was probably too much to ask.
Maybe I shouldn’t go out.
“Hmm.”
“What is it, Miss? Do you want to go out?”
“Yes.”
So-un, who had been away for some time on some task, seemed to notice my troubled expression and studied my face carefully.
She and Song-bi had taken a beating last time and suffered for days afterward, but she’d recovered and was back attending to me again.
“Don’t worry, Miss. I heard that Gyeong-eon—that man—went to the Back Garden. Whatever he’s planning, you should be fine as long as you avoid that spot.”
“Hmm?”
“You seemed frustrated, Miss, so I went and found out everything.”
Nain watched So-un announce this with her hands on her hips, standing there proudly, and let out a weary laugh.
“…… So it’s you who wants to get out. If you stick by the Miss’s side, you won’t end up wandering alone like last time and getting dragged off for a beating.”
“I’m already marked anyway—it’s only natural. Miss, why don’t we slip out to the pond for a quick moment, nothing far?”
“Yes!”
Of course.
I hurried to put on the clothes Nain provided.
‘If I’m going, I should go when there aren’t many people around—that way I won’t get caught before reaching the Main Hall…… or rather, my escape chances will be higher. It’s already getting a bit late, but I can’t go at night either.’
I walked without stopping, hoping we wouldn’t run into anyone, but there were limits to a child’s pace.
With short legs, everything took time.
But my resolve was firm.
‘Let’s go.’
And on days like this, failure was almost inevitable.
‘No, why is he there?’
For some reason, the king—her biological father—stood once again at the entrance to the Main Hall.
“Your Majesty. Why do you leave the Queen’s Palace vacant for so long?”
“I am well, the Crown Prince is well, and the Queen Mother is present. What could possibly be so urgent that you press me on this, Left Prime Minister? Besides, there are far more pressing state matters to attend to than selecting a consort. How could I devote myself to such a task?”
He was saying there was too much to do, and the minister should stop meddling in other people’s family affairs.
It seemed he truly despised the business of selecting a consort.
‘He’s still at it.’
And the way he was gripping his head suggested his condition wasn’t good either. Perhaps that was why he was here at this hour.
If I were spotted now, it would become tiresome in all sorts of ways.
I, hiding behind a tree to observe, let out a sigh.
‘Should I slip away before I’m discovered?’
But I had overlooked one thing.
Discovery was inevitable.
The attendants following me were biting their lips and suppressing laughter as they mimicked my attempt to hide, and there was no way such a group could go unnoticed.
Worse still, my eyes met those of a familiar eunuch attending the king.
‘Oh no.’
I shook my head, silently pleading for him to pretend ignorance, and the eunuch obliged with a smiling nod.
‘Ah, it worked?’
And naturally, the eunuch betrayed me with a grin on his face.
“Your Majesty, do you see someone behind that tree over there?”
“Hmm?”
Wow, I didn’t think he was the type.
He hears everything, doesn’t he?
“It appears the young princess wishes to see Your Majesty.”
“Is that so? But why is she hiding?”
“Perhaps she wishes to startle Your Majesty?”
“Ah, I see?”
No, no, that’s not it.
Though I wanted to shake my head in denial, the king was already walking toward me with an expression full of anticipation.
‘Wait, do I have to live up to his expectations?’
Me, at this age, having to do something like that for my biological father?
Faced with this unexpected obstacle, I took an uncertain step backward.
‘This day is already ruined anyway. Should I just bolt?’
This time several ministers were visible, and the situation still looked difficult to slip through.
But that man—my biological father—had such hopeful eyes, and there were so many watching from behind.
‘Seeing how harried he is by all those old men, he almost seems pitiful…?’
After fierce internal debate, I decided to exercise a small measure of grace.
As the king drew near, I spread my arms wide and rushed forward.
“Surprise!”
“Oh! You startled me. Have you come all this way again because you missed your father?”
That wasn’t quite it, but considering he was making the effort to feign surprise, I’d go with that story.
‘This is also business filial piety.’
I quickly calculated the situation and approached with an affected, tinkling laugh, and the king hurried toward me, scooping me into his arms.
“Heh heh. Clever indeed. Truly my daughter.”
I’m intelligent because it’s my second life, not because of genetics.
“…Your Majesty.”
“I shall take the young princess for a walk, so, Left Prime Minister, you are dismissed. My head aches from all these ministers.”
Of course, Grandfather did not withdraw easily.
‘Oh, this grandfather really does have the face of a villain.’
I thought I’d seen him once before in the Royal Hall, perhaps. By the eye of someone who’d watched historical dramas for over a decade, he had the visage of an excellent antagonist.
Of course, one cannot judge people by their faces alone.
The grandfather Left Prime Minister approached with a sinister expression and pleaded in a somber voice.
“Years ago, when Shin Heo-do plotted rebellion, was it not this old minister who exposed them and attended Your Majesty? You said that day you would not forget my merit, yet how do you dismiss this old man so coldly?”
“Shin Heo-do too presented himself as a loyal servant until that point. Perhaps he came to teach the lesson that we must be cautious in bestowing power.”
“…!”
Why are they the only two who know about this?
‘It seems the Left Prime Minister is presenting his merit in uncovering rebellion, but to speak to the king like this—it’s almost like blackmail.’
They don’t seem to get along at all?
But are they fighting right now? Couldn’t they put me down and quarrel somewhere else?
Fortunately, the king’s words seemed to have an effect; the Left Prime Minister fell silent with a disgruntled expression.
I smiled as if I hadn’t heard a thing, waving my hands to the elders.
‘What could a baby like me possibly know? They won’t spit on a smiling face. Though, if this were a historical drama, there’d probably be some plot twist where that elder was actually the mastermind behind the rebellion and framed someone named Shin or whatever, but here we are.’
I noticed murmurs from behind, but my biological father spoke to me before I could dwell on it.
“Since Sia has come to visit, I should go to Yoon Sook-won this evening.”
“Mm.”
There was nothing wrong with the king visiting the Concubine Quarters frequently.
‘Come to think of it, does he know what happened last time? Even if he does, he wouldn’t know the real truth.’
Only I, Gyeong-eon, and Gyeong-eon’s three attendants knew the full truth of that day.
That attendant from Chui-yeong Hall would never speak the truth, so it would stay buried.
‘Hmm. For a peaceful future ahead, I suppose I need to build a stable relationship with my father from here on out.’
Of course, if I were in the position to receive the king’s favor to the degree that Yeongjo showed toward Hwawan Princess—utterly doting—life would be easier.
But that wouldn’t be healthy either.
Since brooding wouldn’t bring answers, I simply leaned my head back and relaxed into his arms.
“My, you seem exhausted from the journey here.”
“Mm.”
Both the Crown Prince and the king had a particular fondness for holding me—perhaps they found it soothing to hold a baby when worn out.
‘Well then… sigh. I’ll indulge them.’
There wasn’t much else to find comforting in this place anyway, so I could bear this much.
‘Consider it part of the bargain.’
He was chuckling and grinning now as he held me, but not long ago my biological father’s complexion had looked anything but pleasant.
Yet despite hoping for such a peaceful evening, the quarters I returned to were far from peaceful.

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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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