Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 2

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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 the daughter of a lowborn concubine.
Chapter 2
“……?!”
A thunderous crash from the floor and a sudden, powerful force yanked me downward.
‘What—’
“Are you hurt?”
When I opened my eyes, the face of a boy who looked to be about thirteen filled my entire vision.
It seemed he had thrown himself through the air just before I hit the ground, catching me in his arms.
‘Who is this?’
My crying stopped in surprise, and as I stared at him with wide eyes, the boy smiled gently as if relieved, then carefully repositioned me in his embrace.
“You seem unharmed.”
For the record, I’d stopped because I was startled—not because he was handsome.
Besides, the clothes he was wearing had an unusual hue from the very first glance. I definitely recognized them, yet they weren’t something you’d see every day.
‘Is that possibly… a Gonryongpo?’
The kind you see often in historical dramas, impressive with its golden-threaded dragon embroidery—garments only the king and Crown Prince were permitted to wear.
In Joseon times, royal families married early, and it wasn’t uncommon for women to be older, making early parenthood frequent, but there was no way this boy could be my birth father. So there was only one answer.
Actually, just seeing the Gonryongpo in blue made it obvious enough.
“Good heavens, Your Highness the Crown Prince!!”
The moment I reached my conclusion, those around me forcibly provided the answer.
“Are you well, Your Highness?”
“Are you uninjured, Your Highness?”
The boy waved them back with a gesture, rose while still holding me, and seeing my stunned, overwhelmed expression, smiled softly.
“I am fine.”
Those around him busied themselves attending to the Crown Prince, yet his gaze never left me.
And my eyes naturally drifted toward him—and toward the robes he wore.
“It seems our little sister is well too.”
“Wha—?!”
Good heavens, dirt on the Gonryongpo! The Four-Clawed Dragon emblem was scraped across the ground?!
A stupid sound escaped my mouth at this shocking fact I hadn’t noticed when I could only see his face.
The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed with concern as he noticed my reaction.
“……Does something pain you?”
“Kee—?!”
At his worried tone, I flailed my hand toward the Gonryongpo, and seeing where my gaze had gone, the boy laughed brightly.
“Oh, are you worried I might be hurt? The robe is scuffed, that’s all—no need to fret.”
“Mm-mm.”
He may be fine, but the palace seamstresses will have to stitch it all again—and they’ll hardly share his cheerful outlook about it! That has to be handwork!!
Paying no mind to my silent protest, the boy held me and patted my back gently.
“You must have been terribly frightened, yet you didn’t even cry. Our youngest sibling is quite brave.”
The mind inside may actually be older than you?
“Mm-mm.”
That’s just because I can’t speak yet.
At any rate, learning he was the Crown Prince’s youngest sibling confirmed my earlier guesses were sound.
‘So I’ve gained a half-brother I never expected to have.’
I rested my chin on the shoulders of the future wielder of power and let out a sigh of relief.
The Crown Prince, being raised far more privileged than the daughter of a lowborn concubine like me, was willing to throw himself into danger for his young sibling—so at least I could trust his character.
As I relaxed into his arms, a voice I’d forgotten about rang out.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince. Why have you ventured to this place?”
“Born sickly and unable to have a hundredth-day celebration, I wished to see my sibling’s face, so I stopped by briefly—only to nearly witness a terrible accident.”
“……!”
Though I couldn’t see behind me, I knew everyone had tensed instantly.
“So, Yeongbin—what is the meaning of this?”
“Your Highness, I beg you not to misunderstand. His Majesty entrusted the child’s care to me, and I was in the process of bringing her to Chwiyeongdang, my residence. It was only that Steward Yun was impudent enough to refuse to part with the child, and that caused this commotion.”
The boy’s voice, which had been tender until the moment he called me “sister,” deepened as he heard Yeongbin’s explanation.
“I am asking why my sister—the King’s only daughter—was placed in such danger.”
“I… I am deeply sorry, Your Highness.”
“Do not forget what it means that His Majesty placed the child in your care, Yeongbin.”
What does it mean, exactly?
I wish someone would explain that to me too…….
Knowing nothing about Yeongbin, I couldn’t fathom what he was implying.
The Crown Prince patted my back soothingly and spoke to Yeongbin in a slightly gentler voice than before.
“Perhaps if her mother, Concubine Yun, were to comfort her a bit more before taking her away, wouldn’t that be better?”
“The Royal Command is grave, and how could I dare to defy it?”
“It cannot be easy to separate a newborn who has only just risen from her sickbed. Would it not be fitting for Yeongbin to show more tenderness? And for me to report directly to the King regarding the Princess’s well-being is no difficult matter.”
“Your Highness is wise, and I pray you do not mistake my meaning. How could I be unaware of your deep concern for the young Princess? I shall grant Concubine Yun permission.”
So the Crown Prince, now worrying over me, told Yeongbin to hold off and take me later. Yeongbin bristled back, claiming she was simply following orders. Then the Crown Prince twisted the knife—what if he reported this situation to the King? In the end, Yeongbin relented: “Very well, if you insist, I’ll wait a little longer.”
‘That was… rather bold.’
I’d thought that being born a Royal Princess meant I wouldn’t have to worry about survival, but it seemed I had far graver concerns to contend with.
Palace intrigue is fascinating only when it doesn’t involve me.
Standing at the center of it was anything but pleasant.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince. You are late for Seokgang.”
“Ah…”
At the eunuch’s cautious words, the Crown Prince’s face grew troubled.
Yet even if he remained longer, he could not lightly defy a Royal Command.
“Waaah!”
Don’t go. Don’t leave me…
Sensing what was about to happen, I grabbed at his sleeve and clung to him. The Crown Prince’s expression grew sorrowful, and he patted my back one last time, whispering softly.
“Don’t worry yourself. I shall speak to Father about this.”
“Uhhh…”
Did he really think a newborn could understand what he was saying?
Of course, I understood perfectly.
The Crown Prince went to my mother—my birth mother—to entrust me to her care, then turned back to Yeongbin with one final request.
“Yeongbin, I entrust her to your care.”
“Have no concerns. Your brother, Gyeongeon-gun, is waiting eagerly for his one and only younger sister.”
Hmm. It seemed there was at least one other prince.
But that remark meant she was planning to take me back to her quarters soon, didn’t it? Even after the Crown Prince had asked her to wait.
‘This is unsettling. A concubine who openly defies the Crown Prince and has borne a prince—my future looks precarious.’
Still, for now I was grateful to the Crown Prince; I wouldn’t be separated from my mother just yet.
I clung to my mother as tightly as I could, resolved not to part from her this time.
Unable to take me away under such circumstances, Yeongbin relented, and I was able to return to the familiar quarters of my mother.
My mother held my tiny hand, tears streaming down her face.
“Mm-mm.”
I wanted to comfort her, but I had no words, and my arms were too short.
When I began to cry, my mother smiled faintly.
“It’s all right. There’s nothing to be done about it.”
When our parents passed away and we were left alone, she held me like this and wept.
“Sniff…”
As I began to whimper, my mother gently tried to soothe me, telling me not to be afraid.
Perhaps the day’s events had been too much of a shock for my infant body. Exhausted from crying, I drifted off to sleep in my mother’s arms.
‘Perhaps it would have been better for her if I didn’t exist.’
Without me, my mother might have had an easier life.
If I had been born a prince instead…
***
“Hey, hey. Wake up.”
Someone was poking me while I slept peacefully, troubling me awake.
‘There goes Yun Siwun again.’
Born as the youngest, the late-arriving sole son, Yun Siwun had little regard for propriety as a child and would often kick at his older sisters in play. Our parents merely found him adorable and neglected proper discipline.
With parents who spoiled him excessively, his education fell to his two older sisters.
As we grew older, we realized he couldn’t be raised that way. So whenever our parents weren’t watching, my sister and I would give him rather rigorous lessons—rolling him up in a mat, so to speak.
No matter how much the brat resisted, there was no way he could overcome sisters who were eight years his senior.
Thanks to our stern education, our younger brother’s temperament improved, and he became quite popular among girls his age.
Of course, his natural looks helped too.
‘Education really is important.’
You can’t make a hopeless case into something he’s not, but you can at least make him into a decent human being.
Yet all our careful efforts came to nothing when he died in an accident, senseless and sudden.
‘…So who is kicking me now?’
The moment I remembered my brother’s death, my eyes flew open, and reality crashed back in an instant.
“…!”
“Oh? You’re awake.”
Opening my eyes, I found a young boy with sharply upturned eyes looking down at me.

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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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