Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 38

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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 concubine of the lowest rank.
Chapter 38
I doubted my own ears.
‘Didn’t you just tell me something about the Three Obediences?’
I never would have imagined the Crown Prince saying such a thing!
And the young lady seemed equally bewildered, her voice turning faint and distant.
“Pardon?”
“Why would you say such a thing?”
“I’ve never heard anyone speak in such a manner before.”
“Is that so.”
The Crown Prince’s smile, somewhat shy, would have been delightful from a reader’s or viewer’s perspective, but from the standpoint of blood relations, it was nothing short of irksome.
Yet from those lips came words I hadn’t quite expected.
“I have a younger sister who is quite clever.”
I was his only sister, wasn’t I?
“You mean Jihwa?”
“Yes. She is clever, but also peculiar and obstinate—sometimes when she falls into deep thought, I worry what on earth goes through that small head of hers, for she comes up with ideas no one else would have conceived.”
Oh no. I’m being painted in wildly flattering colors.
“I’ve wondered if it’s possible to confine her within the framework of the world as I understand it, but it seems that’s impossible after all.”
“Surely you’re not saying you quarreled with my sister…?”
The young lady’s intuition was, as always, uncannily sharp.
The Crown Prince quietly evaded a direct answer.
“When I see her, I often think it would be a waste indeed to lock her away in her chambers simply because she is a woman and squander such talents. I wonder if there are not many other women of genuine ability who cannot express what they truly possess.”
Wait—why is he talking about me just now?
He should be pursuing romance! With her!
He needs to seduce her!
‘Now that I think about it, I did throw the book and storm out earlier.’
Wondering why he was acting this way, I felt a pang of conscience.
But watching him lavish such praise in front of others, I found myself feeling a little sorry.
And unexpectedly, his behavior seemed to be winning her favor.
If he were calculating, it would have been clever of him.
“I’ve never heard such thinking from anyone before.”
“Who else would I speak such thoughts to?”
“Why not tell my sister herself?”
“If I say such things to a child who might do anything next, I won’t be able to manage the consequences.”
“Pardon?”
Then the two of them burst into delighted laughter together.
And with that, the Crown Prince suddenly took the young lady’s hand.
At times like this, I really ought to be crunching on something savory and satisfying, but all I had was sweet Castella cake—it was truly lamentable.
“I need a Crown Princess. And if only you can fill that role, would you not reconsider?”
……
The girl, her hand caught, looked away in confusion.
Oh, is he using his looks as a weapon?
‘Right—he needs to marry quickly and secure his position.’
She clearly understood now that finding a Crown Princess was difficult, her self-awareness of her status having grown accordingly.
But in stark contrast to such rational judgment, my own face twisted involuntarily into a sour expression.
And at the same time, the child behind me, wearing an equally displeased face, could no longer bear watching my blood relative flirt, and bolted from the room.
I should have supplied more Castella—that was my mistake.
“Sister!”
“Sucheon?!”
The romantic moment of the main couple was shattered by the arrival of the brother.
‘In a way, you could call it perfect timing.’
If she’d fallen for his charms and said yes, we might have had an early ending…or would we?
“Where on earth did you go? Do you have any idea how much we’ve searched?”
Despite her sharp tone, the girl spun her brother around, checking him for any sign of injury.
“Why is your arm like that?”
“I’m not hurt, I’m not hurt.”
The young lady’s eyes grew fierce as she noticed the soiling on his sleeve caused by the crow.
I, who was also the cause of the injury to the child, had no choice but to step back out with a sigh. The Crown Prince, who had been watching the siblings’ reunion, wore a displeased expression.
“Why are you coming out from there?”
“Mia was following me, so I was attempting to return her to the Inner Palace. Your Highness.”
Since there were eyes watching, I addressed them with proper respect.
The girl, belatedly aware of my presence, brought forward her younger brother and made him bow his head.
“Forgive our late greeting. This girl is called Sucheon Kim, younger brother to myself. Sucheon, offer your respects to the Crown Prince.”
“I am called Sucheon Kim.”
Oh, come to think of it, I hadn’t known his name either.
“Pardon me, but is the person beside you perhaps Princess Sunyoung?”
“Indeed. My one and only sister, Princess Sunyoung.”
“Your Highness. This girl is called Jihwa Kim. For finding my younger brother, I hardly know how to express my gratitude.”
……
Sucheon, standing beside her, simply widened his eyes and stared at me instead of bowing, until his sister pinched his side.
I watched Jihwa mouth the word ‘bow’ silently to her brother.
“I, I am Sucheon Kim.”
“My apologies, Your Highness. My younger brother is still young and lacks refinement in his manners. I hope he has not committed any discourtesy.”
“Not at all. A crow came at me, and this young lord chased it away. If anything, I am the one who should thank you.”
As I answered with a slight smile, the Crown Prince suddenly grabbed me in surprise and spun me around.
“A crow? Are you hurt?”
“No, he chased it away for me……”
“Good. That’s a relief. But why were you wandering about alone?”
As if someone of my weakness could lose to a crow.
I nearly kicked at him for the unspoken implication, but held back because there were watchful eyes present.
It’s entirely possible to lose to a crow! I’m not a sparrow, after all.
“And what was my brother doing in such a place? I was too embarrassed to come out.”
“Well, I, what was I looking at, exactly.”
“The atmosphere seemed nice.”
Since I happened to be standing behind Jihwa and her brother, I swayed slightly and grinned, and the Crown Prince’s face flushed red.
‘This is good timing, isn’t it.’
“Ahem. I don’t understand what you’re saying. In any case, it’s dangerous, so be sure to walk with the palace attendants. Gai was looking for you just now.”
“Oh my. I didn’t know.”
Just leave me alone for a bit.
Though if something happens while I’m by myself, it could be a real problem.
There’s no one within the palace who poses a threat to me now, but who knows? Perhaps someone connected to Gyeong-eon still remains.
‘The household was ruined and both of them were so disagreeable by nature that I doubt anyone still follows them.’
Jihwa, pretending not to notice our bickering and smiling, held her brother’s hand firmly and bowed to us.
“Since we have found my brother, this girl shall take her leave now. Would you inform the Inner Palace on my behalf that my brother has been found?”
“You don’t know the paths within the palace. How could I let you go alone?”
Right. He should escort her.
The atmosphere between the two seemed pleasant.
Indeed, if the Crown Prince married quickly and secured his position, nothing could be better.
But at the same time, an ominous foreboding crept over me.
‘But will it be alright?’
In the original story, the Prime Minister brought down the heroine’s family by accusing them of high treason to prevent the Crown Prince from taking the Crown Princess.
‘And in that process, it seems all her family died except for the heroine herself.’
I watched the small boy struggling to slip his hand free from Jihwa’s grip and furrowed my brow.
‘In the original timeline, he was destined to die too.’
But the Prime Minister had fallen from power, and there was no reason for the heroine’s father to be accused of high treason, so perhaps things could work out smoothly for them both.
‘So why do I feel so anxious?’
The two of them were chatting animatedly.
They maintained a pleasant conversation centered on their shared experience of having younger siblings.
‘In the original story, the Crown Prince seemed more forceful. Even before parting, he half-forced her to meet him on Buddha’s Birthday.’
Even with the Neo-Confucian suppression policies of the Joseon era, Confucianism could never replace Buddhism.
Therefore, though the Lantern Viewing Festival was never as grand as it had been in Goryeo, it continued as a folk celebration, and every Buddha’s Birthday the Lantern Viewing Festival would be held in great splendor, or so I’d heard.
The same was true in this world as well—on Buddha’s Birthday, every household set up flagpoles and hung lanterns, which was said to be quite a sight.
‘People view the lanterns on the Cheonggyecheon bridge and make wishes, I hear.’
In my past life, I’d seen the one they held at Jongno, and compared to that, the lanterns here were probably smaller, weren’t they?
Lost in thought, I realized their conversation had circled back to its starting point.
“So won’t you reconsider?”
“It is too great a burden for this girl. Above all, the palace is a place of strict propriety, and someone like me, who prefers to enjoy festivals throughout the seasons outside the palace walls, would be unsuited to it.”
“Festivals?”
“In spring, we go to the mountains to view blossoms; in summer, we visit valleys; in autumn, we go to see the autumn leaves. And soon, on Buddha’s Birthday, I will view the lanterns at Cheonggyecheon. We watch fireworks too.”
“Ah, you speak of the birthday of Shakyamuni. Do you always go to view the sights?”
“When I was young, I used to go with my parents.”
Jihwa said this while glancing back at her brother.
Did she mean she goes with him now?
“I grew up only within the palace, so I’ve never been to such a place. When I was still a prince, I thought that once I came of age and left the palace, I would certainly go there—but I became someone who cannot leave so easily.”
“How could I not understand the weight of the Crown Prince’s position?”
“If you think so… then would you not show me the Lantern Viewing Festival?”
“Pardon?”
Oh, she’s quite the charmer.
‘Even when the palace attendants cast glances at him, he remained unmoved.’
He had such a deep distrust of people, it couldn’t be helped.
Rather, it seemed her refusal to become the Crown Princess was what had captured his interest.
‘Sigh…’
I’d hoped my unease was baseless, but a sigh escaped me all the same. Sensing a gaze upon me, I turned to find Jihwa’s younger brother watching me intently.
“What?”
“Oh, it’s nothing… nothing at all.”
As if he’d been scolded by his sister, his speech suddenly became more formal, and he seemed to droop somehow, looking dejected.
‘Like a puppy.’
Nothing like his sister.
‘If the plot I remember actually unfolds as it did, then this child will meet a terrible end.’
The Crown Prince’s death and the failed poisoning of the Eternal Prince—everything from the original story had actually come to pass.
Sometimes I found myself thinking about it.
That perhaps I survived because I was merely a side character in this tale.
If that were true, then Jihwa, being the heroine, would certainly survive no matter what happened.
But what of this boy?
With his puppy-like smile when looking at me, he was endearingly cute.
‘If things unfold as in the original, will he die?’
Thanks to the last historical drama script I’d seen, I remembered fairly well what became of the heroine’s household. Now that I thought about it, these two seemed more like a historical drama couple than a novel couple.
‘The male lead in the drama seemed gentler than in the novel.’
The male lead in the novel was rather… more discourteous.
Whether the two had already exchanged glances or not, watching the protagonist couple arrange a date for Buddha’s Birthday—still months away—I leaned over and whispered to the boy.
“When your sister goes out on Buddha’s Birthday, you must follow her without fail.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll be going out too.”
“What?!”
The boy’s eyes went wide, his large eyes blinking. He didn’t seem to understand why I was telling him to come along.
“If you come, I’ll give you that pastry we had earlier.”
“I’ll do it!”
His answer came without hesitation, and I smiled broadly.
Children really could be won over with sweets.
Thus, a double date of protective guardians, each bringing along a younger sibling, was successfully arranged.
Of course, the two people ahead of us would likely have quite different opinions on whether this arrangement was successful.

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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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