I Became My Ex-Boyfriend’s Concubine - Chapter 34

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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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Episode 34

The moment they entered the forest path, deep shadow swallowed the procession whole.
Ancient trees ringed them on all sides, standing like colossal bars against the sky.
Hooves crushed dry earth beneath them, and only the clatter of soldiers’ armor disturbed the silence of the mountain.
Hyeon held the reins at the very front of the column.
Each time the red robe streaming down his back rippled in the wind, Danbi’s gaze followed suit, trembling along with it.
The terrain grew steeper, and the air began to carry the thick scent of damp soil.
Danbi bit her lip, watching the empty leather pouch hanging from her saddle.
She could no longer contain the question that had been rising in her throat since they departed.
She urged her horse faster, drawing up beside Hyeon.
“Your Highness.”
Hyeon did not answer. His gaze remained fixed on the dark forest path ahead.
“Why can’t you give me a bow? We’ve come all this way.”
Danbi, unable to bear her frustration, brought her horse closer. Yet Hyeon offered her no glance, only tightened his grip on the reins.
“Would I readily hand a bow to someone so reckless?”
“Reckless? Me?”
Danbi gave a bitter laugh, shaking her head.
He kept her at his side all the while, had her do every menial task, and now he called her reckless.
“Then why teach me Archery in the first place? Why show me the skill if you won’t give me a bow when I actually need one? What sort of game is this?”
“Did you not boast that you would guard the royal person? For one who stands at the king’s side, Archery is a fundamental skill.”
“And that’s exactly why I’ve been practicing so hard! Don’t you know better than anyone how painful it is—every single day, blood beading on my fingers?”
Danbi thrust out her index finger to show the calloused, bruised skin, her voice trembling with complaint.
Only then did Hyeon’s gaze brush briefly across her fingertips. His eyes narrowed slightly.
He had assumed she was equally skilled with other weapons—a reasonable inference, given the graceful Swordsmanship she had wielded against him.
Yet she could scarcely manage the bow, let alone stay balanced on horseback while holding it.
“……I did not realize you were so unskilled.”
“But that’s natural for someone picking up a bow for the first time, isn’t it?”
For the first time.
Hyeon glanced at Danbi. Her pouty face, lips pushed out, bristling with frustration.
He searched behind that innocent grumbling for hidden malice, but found only the unmistakable air of wounded pride.
“Look, Your Highness. You told me to protect you. So shouldn’t you give me a bow so I can actually protect something? What am I supposed to do if some wild beast suddenly charges out of nowhere?”
“That is not my concern.”
Hyeon cut her off coldly.
“Do whatever you can with that body of yours. You promised to guard the royal person, so isn’t it your duty to throw yourself in the way and stop them?”
“Unbelievable……this is too much.”
Danbi glared at the back of Hyeon’s head in disbelief.
In truth, she already understood why he wouldn’t give her a bow. He was still preoccupied with what happened at Uisang-go, when she crossed swords with him.
It was hardly surprising.
Danbi had picked up on it herself—that the reason he kept insisting she stay beside him, supposedly to guard him, might actually be surveillance.
But this was going too far.
Danbi tightened her grip on the reins, her lips pressed thin.
She could understand his doubts about her word, but she never thought he’d refuse her a weapon in a hunting ground.
During practice, he’d made her hold a bow endlessly. This was pure mockery.
“Your Highness, wait just a moment! Listen to me—!”
Snort-snort! Crash!
That was when heavy breathing erupted from beyond the brush. An unfamiliar presence grazed the back of Danbi’s neck, and she turned her head.
“Crash!”
A massive shadow tore through the undergrowth and charged forward at terrifying speed.
A wild boar, massive as a house.
Before she could even panic, the beast, tusks gleaming wickedly, surged toward the flank of Danbi’s horse.
“Ahhh!”
Danbi screamed and gripped the horse’s mane with all her strength.
But Hyeon remained motionless. Even as the beast hurtled toward him, he did not draw an arrow.
As if watching to see what reaction the terrified girl would show, his gaze followed relentlessly behind her.
Danbi, however, only squeezed her eyes shut and cried out.
Finally, just before the boar collided with them, Hyeon drew an arrow swiftly. The moment he nocked it, the shaft flew true, piercing the beast’s brow with perfect precision.
Boom—!
Danbi’s eyes flew open, and she stared back and forth between the beast sprawled across the ground and Hyeon.
“……Gasp, ah—”
She gripped her chest with trembling hands. The sharp, iron smell of blood pouring from the animal’s corpse thrummed against her nostrils.
Hyeon remained mounted, looking down at Danbi without lowering his bow. His gaze still burned with the intensity of someone verifying something.
“……Did you do that on purpose?”
Danbi shot the question at Hyeon in breathless rushes.
“You wanted to see how I’d react—you just watched while I nearly died!”
“Nearly died? My arrows are in fine form.”
“That was genuinely dangerous just now!”
“Was it.”
The words she’d been holding back burst forth in a surge. Hyeon seemed to find her reaction amusing, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“I didn’t expect you to scream like that and nearly tumble from your horse.”
“Your Highness!”
That was when it happened.
Crack, crack—!
The wild boar’s cry, as if it were a signal flare, sent the surrounding brush undulating in an eerie wave.
Not just one. Dozens of eyes glinted in the darkness, circling the procession.
“Your Highness, it’s a herd of wild boars!”
With the soldiers’ shout, the forest erupted into chaos. The beasts emerged through the dawn air, growling low as they closed in.
“……How intriguing.”
Yet Hyeon showed no sign of alarm, drawing three arrows from his quiver at once.
Whoosh, crack—!
His arrows shot through the air toward the beasts.
As the arrowheads pierced cleanly between their eyes, Hyeon called out to Lang standing behind him.
“Lang!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Form up the line.”
“I hear and obey!”
As the horses reared in terror, Lang drew his sword from the center of the formation and roared like thunder.
The moment Hyeon’s order fell, he thrust his right hand holding the blade upward.
“Hold your nerve! All soldiers, dismount and lock shields!”
The Gold Guard, scattering in panic, stumbled but planted their feet in unison at the sharp command.
Lang swept his sword across all directions, pouring out orders without pause.
“Lower your positions to match the beasts’ shoulders! Spear-bearers, set your blades through the gaps in the shields! Not a single creature, not a single step past this line!”
Click.
The shields locked together, encircling Hyeon and Danbi in a protective ring.
Hyeon drew a fresh arrow within that solid wall.
His gaze was already fixed on the leader of the herd—a beast whose body was distinctly more bloated than the rest.
It was certainly strange.
Wild boars do not normally attack a human formation head-on. Such a thing should never happen unless someone deliberately provoked them.
Hyeon’s eyes narrowed. His burning gaze pierced the creature’s brow. The bowstring, pulled taut, trembled not at all.
“Snort!”
Then it came.
Just as the low-growling beast lunged, an arrow left Hyeon’s fingers and split the air.
It was but an instant before the shaft tore through the creature’s skull.
“Shriek—!”
The enormous leader, house-sized, crashed to the ground with a final cry. A single, flawless strike.
“Your Highness!”
“A direct hit!”
The Gold Guard cheered, but Hyeon’s voice came down like stone.
“All of you—do not break formation!”
At the solemn command, the soldiers snapped their focus forward. Soon, a low rumble spread from all sides.
“……Mad.”
Hyeon murmured the word as an afterthought.
At the same moment, the remaining boars trampled over their leader’s corpse, shrieking. Their eyes had already burned black with madness, bloodlust forgotten.
It was rage—untethered by fear, consumed by frenzy.
Bang, crack—!
Dozens of beasts threw their massive bodies against the wall surrounding Hyeon. The shields buckled, and screams tore from the Gold Guard on all sides.
“Your Highness!”
“I know.”
Hyeon nodded at Rang’s urgent voice drawing near. With pupils dilated, he stared at the rushing beasts and muttered low.
“A stratagem.”
“Shall we secure a retreat?”
At Rang’s question, Hyeon seemed to deliberate for a moment before shaking his head.
“We’ll exterminate them all as they come.”
“But their numbers are too great.”
“I’ve already accounted for that. There’s no problem.”
Rang hesitated briefly, then bowed his head. Turning immediately, he issued fresh orders to the Gold Guard.
“All units! Take up spears!”
As the Gold Guard seized their weapons in response to his command, Hyeon slowly shifted his gaze.
He saw Danbi, gripping the reins so tightly they creaked, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
Hyeon’s eyes narrowed as he regarded her.

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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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