Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 6

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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 6
The palace attendants seemed to think their chatter had woken me, and they belatedly clapped hands over each other’s mouths—though it was far too late.
“Oh, what are we to do? And His Majesty isn’t even here.”
“Should we bring the young lady to His Majesty?”
They all knew that once I started crying, nothing would stop me short of the King or Crown Prince arriving. One of the attendants tried to pick me up and soothe me, but how was I to know which of them was close to Young Bin? Trusting no one in that moment, I rejected every hand that reached toward me and shrieked.
“Eeeeek! Wah—waaaaaaah!!”
“Oh my goodness, young lady!”
“Should we perhaps fetch His Majesty?”
“Fetching His Majesty… well, in any case we must inform someone…!”
And just as the attendants were about to dash from the room and try to gather me up again, the door swung open.
Creak—
“What in the world is happening?”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
It was the Crown Prince who arrived, now familiar to me at last.
“Hic… hic.”
“There, there. It’s your brother. You gave yourself quite a fright, didn’t you?”
When I reached out my hands to him in relief, the Crown Prince quickly gathered me into his arms and wiped away my tears, cradling me.
“What has occurred?”
“Forgive us, Your Highness. It appears the young Princess awoke from her afternoon nap and, upon discovering His Majesty was not present, took quite a fright.”
“Why did His Majesty leave the Princess unattended?”
“He stepped away briefly to discuss a matter with Minister Yeong Sang.”
Hearing the attendants’ explanation, the Crown Prince stroked my trembling back and assessed my condition.
“You woke up and didn’t see Father, so you were frightened, weren’t you?”
“Mm-hm.”
The world was simply too harsh for such a small thing.
Just as I’d begun to calm and rest my head against the Crown Prince’s chest, he said something rather unkind.
“But I’m afraid I must go now as well.”
At that, I shook my head frantically.
“Uuuuu.”
“Hmm. Then will you come with your brother?”
“Yes.”
I nodded eagerly without hesitation.
“Your Highness, if I may…”
“The child is so lonely—how could I leave her behind? If Mother asks, tell her I took her with me. She will not reproach any of you for it.”
So saying, the Crown Prince dressed me carefully and swept me up, departing the Main Palace Hall.
“Whoa…?”
“Now that I think of it, this is the first time you’ve been outside like this, isn’t it?”
“Mm?”
When I looked about curiously, the Crown Prince seemed to realize something just then and adjusted the way he held me so I could see my surroundings more clearly.
Having spent my time without any sense of hours passing, I hadn’t realized it until now—leaving the chambers was nearly a first for me.
The day Young Bin had taken me away, my mind was too scattered to notice anything.
Now that I was outside at last, the air felt fresh and my spirits lifted.
“Wow, how nice!”
“There, there. You’re feeling better now, are you?”
“Mm.”
But where exactly was he taking me?
‘Hmm. Is he taking me to the Crown Prince’s Residence?’
A small curiosity stirred in me, and I settled contentedly against the Crown Prince, taking in the passing scenery.
Come to think of it, given his age, he might already have a Crown Princess consort, mightn’t he?
‘The Crown Prince seems like a good person, so I hope his consort is good too.’
And yet, when the Crown Prince finally brought me to our destination, it turned out to be a pavilion with a lovely view—entirely unexpected.
“Forgive my tardiness, Master.”
“Ah…?”
And there, a bearded gentleman sat waiting with a book, attending the Crown Prince. It seemed he’d been made to wait because the Crown Prince was delayed on account of me.
“Your Highness… surely the child you’re holding is not…?”
“She is my younger sister.”
“Huh?”
What sort of Crown Prince brings his baby sister along to his studies? Surely he was joking?
This wasn’t like some middle schooler showing up to tutoring with an infant sibling in tow??
‘This one’s certainly not normal, either.’
I found myself laughing with a kind of detached amusement, waving a hand at the Crown Prince’s Tutor, who was desperately trying to hide his bewildered expression.
Was the Crown Prince’s Tutor called by that formal title? The old gentleman seemed to offer a somewhat awkward bow in response to my gesture.
“I’ve heard that Your Highness has been occupied caring for the Princess, and finds it quite taxing…”
“Surely Your Highness ought to take a moment’s rest as well. The child does have particular preferences about who tends to her, after all.”
Looking at the bearded gentleman seated before the Crown Prince and me, his expression was stern, yet something about his face suggested he was fond of meddling and inclined to poke his nose into others’ affairs. This assessment was based on years of accumulated facial readings from historical drama actors, so I couldn’t vouch for its accuracy, but that was the impression I got.
Well, the Crown Prince must have had his reasons for bringing him along.
Seeing that he held outdoor lessons on fine days suggested he was a flexible sort of fellow.
Of course, I was grateful for the Crown Prince’s consideration, but I couldn’t very well interfere with his studies, could I?
I crawled out of the Crown Prince’s lap and moved to the side.
A book lay open before the Crown Prince for his studies, so I climbed onto the table and tapped the pages insistently, fixing him with my gaze.
“Oo-oo!”
“…Study, you mean?”
“Mm!”
“Pfft!”
When I nodded, the Crown Prince bit his lip hard, as if stifling a laugh.
Don’t laugh.
As I furrowed my brow and tapped the book again, the Crown Prince abandoned all pretense and nodded, his face bright with suppressed amusement.
“Understood. Since your older brother has come to study, he really ought to focus on his work. The child should sit quietly, yes?”
“Oo!”
“…The Princess is truly remarkable in her understanding.”
“You don’t know how clever our child is. Why, she even chose her own courtesy name without help.”
“Ah, indeed so.”
As the Crown Prince boasted with a pleased smile, the Tutor laughed emptily along with him.
That expression clearly meant ‘he’s making that up’….
Stop it, Crown Prince. I’m embarrassed….
As I shook my head at him in disapproval, a stifled laugh escaped from somewhere behind us.
Among the Crown Prince’s usually stoic attendants—masters of emotional control, it seemed—the only one whose lips were trembling with suppressed laughter was the young military official who stood closest to him. A Royal Guard, perhaps?
‘What were they called again? The익위사? Something like that?’
As I crawled about, glancing around, I turned my attention toward the standing attendants of the Crown Prince’s household.
Behind me, the Crown Prince was busy reading aloud from his books and interpreting them in his clear voice, but I had nothing pressing to occupy me.
It seemed better to seek the companionship of the palace ladies than to be a nuisance while the Crown Prince studied.
Yet when I’d been carried over in his arms, I hadn’t noticed—but now, as I approached them, I saw the attendants’ expressions subtly darken.
‘Why? Do they think I was disrupting his studies?’
Even the devoted attendants of the Main Palace Hall fretted without their sovereign nearby; for them to show such obvious displeasure was another matter entirely.
Though I supposed I should be grateful for their loyalty.
‘I’d better avoid them.’
I wasn’t bold enough to approach people who wore their dislike so plainly.
Instead, I made my way toward the only one who had shown any reaction—the Royal Guard.
Struggling to crawl over to the railing and reaching out my little arm toward the guard beyond it, he looked at a loss, while the attendants behind me darkened their expressions once more.
What on earth was the matter with all of them?
“Hmph.”
Feeling put out, I turned to crawl back toward the Crown Prince.
Just then, our eyes met—he’d been watching me.
“Hmm?”
“Finished playing?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Keeping one’s eyes on a child is supposedly proper childcare technique….
‘Just study….’
His lips were clearly enunciating his lessons clearly, so why was his gaze fixed on me? Though I was grateful he’d memorized it all, at least.
When I moved, he seemed to lose focus, so I had no choice but to sit quietly on his lap and watch him study.
If I were a real child, sitting still like this would have been torture, but for me it was simple enough. Besides, above my head, the Crown Prince was reading from his book in a soft voice.
Sleep began to pull at me, and I let my eyes drift shut drowsily—but something irritating interrupted.
‘Stop that.’
The Crown Prince’s hand never ceased fidgeting with my small fingers.
And whenever he grew bored, he’d squeeze my soft cheeks. I felt like a stress-relief toy.
“Squeak!”
“Oh?”
Exasperated beyond measure, I let out a sharp protest and scrambled out of his embrace, crawling toward the gentleman who had been tutoring him.
“Your Highness?”
“Mm.”
The stranger’s lap seemed a bit unwelcoming, so she settled herself on the floor just in front of it, then looked at the Crown Prince and patted the book spread open before the man with her palm.
Pat-pat-pat—
“Oh!”
“It appears… the Princess is suggesting to Your Highness that you focus on your studies rather than be distracted.”
“That is indeed how it appears to me as well.”
“Waah!”
She struck the book again with her palm, and the Crown Prince’s carefully composed expression crumbled once more.
“All right. I’ll study hard, brother.”
“Mm!”
“I’ll work very hard.”
“Yes!”
When I nodded that I understood, the Crown Prince nodded back. By the giddy look on his face, he didn’t seem particularly serious about it… but that was fine. As long as he tried hard, that was enough.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince proved to be sincere, applying himself with genuine focus to the lesson.
Each time his tutor praised his progress, I clapped like a seal and let out cheers of “Woo-ah!”, whether or not this actually improved his scholarly output—he laughed in response regardless.
“Sister, will you continue to come along during my Formal Studies from now on?”
“Uh-uh-uh.”
Once today’s lesson was finished and he had settled me back onto his lap, I shook my head at his question.
“Do you dislike your brother?”
“Uh-huh?”
The Crown Prince’s tutor, who had been watching us play with what appeared to be genuine contentment, stroked his beard and smiled.
“Hehe. Seeing Your Highness care so fondly for the Princess suggests that a Marriage Ceremony might be due rather soon.”
Ah. The Crown Prince was still unmarried, then.
“Haha. Is it not rather hasty of you, tutor, to jump to such conclusions?”
The Crown Prince’s face—despite being teased about doting on his younger sibling and needing to marry—clearly read ‘What does that possibly have to do with anything?’ though of course the tutor was undeterred.
“Once the vacant position of Central Palace is decided, preparations for Your Highness’s Marriage Ceremony will surely begin shortly.”
“Nothing has been decided as of yet.”
“But it shall be decided soon. A Queen Consort who can properly support Your Highness.”
“How can you speak so presumptuously?”
Sensing the mood beginning to sour, I quickly covered the Crown Prince’s mouth with my hand.
This was the time to laugh it off and let it pass. If he argued back, the conversation would only drag on needlessly—he still had much to learn. Though, admittedly, I was young myself.
“Waah!”
“Mmph? Ah, all right. I won’t say another word. Come now, let me play with just you. How’s that?”
“Mm.”
Forcibly silenced by my small fist, the Crown Prince showed no displeasure, only chuckled softly and rubbed his cheek against mine.
This one really does love babies.
“The Princess is truly dignified and clever. I had not expected her to neither cry nor cause any disturbance during the lesson.”
“Did I not tell you? The child is remarkably sharp.”
Ahem. At the praise directed at me, the Crown Prince’s shoulders lifted with evident delight.
‘These people really do find amusement in strange things.’
That they could be so pleased with a dull little thing like me.
The lesson had ended, and a warm atmosphere was settling in, when a familiar voice suddenly cut through.
“So the Crown Prince neglects his studies in favor of playing with his younger sister.”
“Father.”

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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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