I Became My Ex-Boyfriend’s Concubine - Chapter 63

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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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Round 63

“Your Majesty. The Noble Consort has arrived.”
At the maidservant’s voice from outside the Joong-gung-jeon, the heavy door swung open.
Dan-bi entered the chamber with measured steps. The moment she lifted her gaze, her brow furrowed unbidden at the familiar face before her.
Seated at the place of honor was Ha-rin.
Backed by an ornate screen embroidered with phoenixes, she sat poised upon the cushioned seat, her elaborate headdress heavy upon her head yet her posture immaculate as she regarded Dan-bi.
Then, with an elegant flutter of the hand holding her teacup, she gestured silently.
“You’ve come, Noble Consort.”
“……I bow before you, Your Majesty.”
Dan-bi clenched her teeth and lowered her head. Her stiff, bowed spine prickled with strain, but she endured it with desperate resolve.
Each time she faced Ha-rin, the memory of her wicked smile in reality overlaid itself, yet this was no moment to be swayed by personal grievance.
The cause of the previous attempt’s failure was clear: she had lost her reason and responded poorly by projecting real-world figures onto game characters.
Before entering the Joong-gung-jeon, Dan-bi had repeated to herself several times that these people were not those from reality. She could not afford to let old resentments ruin this task as well.
Yet the instant she faced that loathsome visage, rage surged hot within her chest.
Dan-bi forced the anger down and painted a smile across her face. She then settled herself across from the Queen, who set her teacup gently upon the table.
Their gazes met sharply across the void between them.
“It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other that I’d nearly forgotten your face. How pleasant to see it again.”
It was a barbed comment, openly needling her for the months of absence, but Dan-bi had no intention of faltering over such provocation.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I’ve been occupied of late and have been remiss in paying my respects.”
“Oh dear, occupied? How was I unaware of this?”
Unaware? What nonsense.
Dan-bi barely restrained the urge to slap that serene face.
She was the very one who had forbidden Dan-bi entry to the Sang-ui-won.
To know full well that Dan-bi walked the Sang-ui-won’s threshold daily, impose a ban, and now feign ignorance with talk of being too busy—it was infuriating.
Dan-bi recalled the real Ha-rin, who had brazenly stolen her designs, and offered a wry smile.
The method was chillingly identical: binding someone’s feet, then pleading innocence.
Right. So the ban doesn’t concern you, and you know nothing of it—is that it?
Dan-bi let her lips curl and met the Queen’s gaze head-on.
“True enough. It would be pleasant to idle away the hours enjoying the spring flowers, but the King himself has entrusted me with urgent matters, and I’ve scarcely had time to breathe.”
The Queen’s brow flickered slightly. The thrust had struck home.
The Queen was mistress of the Nae-myeong-bu, while Dan-bi was a concubine whose rank had recently risen from attendant to Noble Consort.
Rumors were already rife throughout the palace that the King’s favor had turned toward her.
Though Dan-bi knew better than anyone that this favor was not born of the King’s genuine affection, there was no reason to deny it.
In a place where the King’s favor was power itself, such rumors became a formidable shield.
A concubine monopolizing her husband’s love, and a legitimate wife forced to bear witness.
Dan-bi had decided to weaponize this tiresome drama deliberately.
“As Your Majesty knows, does the King not regard me with particular favor? Entrusted as I am with his direct commission, I cannot slight such a task. I’ve sacrificed even sleep to attend to it—which is why my courtesy calls have fallen by the wayside.”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed. Dan-bi perceived her discomfort and swallowed an inward laugh.
The barb had landed precisely where intended.
Yet after a moment’s silence, when the Queen spoke again, her face wore the same serene smile as before, as if nothing had transpired.
“How capable you must be. Indeed, there are many whispers throughout the palace and beyond of the Noble Consort’s remarkable skill. A commission from the King is no small matter, yet I confess I was unaware that the Sang-ui-won had become the stage for such talent. And yet—”
The Queen narrowed her eyes and swirled her teacup.
“A flower is most beautiful in its proper place. Should a wildflower forget its station and take root anywhere it pleases, it will only be treated as a weed, will it not?”
It was a naked insult.
A warning: ‘Know your place, and do not grovel among the craftsmen of the Sang-ui-won like a weed.’
Dan-bi grasped the meaning and barely suppressed a snort. She let her gaze drift to the Flower Vase resting upon the small table beside the Queen.
“A weed, you say? Though they do possess a certain vitality. But Your Majesty—”
Dan-bi met the Queen’s eyes directly.
She had no intention of retreating. Instead, she faced those arrogant eyes squarely and held her ground without yielding an inch.
“Is it not rather inconsistent for one who plucks beautiful flowers meant to remain in their place and arranges them in her own Flower Vase to speak so?”
The Queen’s eyes sharpened to slits.
The sound of the teacup striking the table echoed through the silent chamber. The tea within trembled violently in her grip.
“You carry yourself like the master of the Sang-ui-won, showing no restraint. Now it seems there is nothing beneath your notice.”
She continued, her expression hardening.
“This is not the Sang-ui-won, Noble Consort.”
“I am aware. Which is precisely why I offer this counsel.”
Dan-bi gestured with her chin toward the Flower Vase resting behind the Queen’s shoulder.
They bloomed in splendor, yet with their stems severed, they were pitiful creatures sustained by nothing more than a sip of water.
“Does Your Majesty truly believe those flowers will remain beautiful forever? A flower with its roots cut off, trapped in a vase, can only wait for the day it withers away.”
The Queen Consort’s eyebrows trembled slightly. Dan-bi did not miss the opening.
“I do not mind being a weed. I can stand on my own feet, face the rain, and survive by any means necessary. Surely that is far better than being a flower broken and imprisoned in someone’s chamber as mere decoration?”
“Concubine!”
“I shall manage the affairs of the Sang-ui-won myself. After all, it was work I received direct permission from His Majesty to undertake.”
“Ha.”
The Queen Consort let out a scornful laugh, as if at a loss for words. Then she continued in a low, measured voice.
“A concubine falls under the law of the Nae-myeong-bu and is within my domain. No matter how His Majesty may decree it, if I, the nation’s queen mother, forbid it, then the concubine has no choice but to—”
“Your Majesty the Queen Consort, the Prime Minister has arrived!”
Along with the servant’s cry from outside, the heavy doors of Joong-gung-jeon swung open.
Dan-bi narrowed her eyes, studying the man who entered.
The Prime Minister. Surely the announcement had said Prime Minister.
It was a familiar face she had encountered several times in reality.
Park Dae-young—chairman of Neon Beauty and Ha-rin’s father.
This was her first encounter with him inside the game, yet his characteristic oppressive presence remained unchanged.
The Queen Consort brightened at once, rising to greet him.
“Prime Minister, how is it you’ve come without warning? You are most welcome. I was just now—”
The Queen Consort’s words had scarcely begun.
The Prime Minister bowed respectfully to the Queen Consort, then immediately turned his gaze toward Dan-bi and lowered his head.
“I hear that Concubine Dan-bi has labored greatly in the preparations for the Gi-u-je.”
“…Prime Minister?”
At the Prime Minister’s sudden praise for her efforts with the Gi-u-je and his extreme courtesy toward Dan-bi, the Queen Consort’s pupils wavered.
The Prime Minister, as if unaware of the Queen Consort’s gaze, bowed once more.
“Your Majesty, I have come unbidden, taking the liberty of interrupting, for I have an urgent matter to discuss.”
“What could this matter be?”
He paused for a moment, glancing at Dan-bi, then spoke in a low, measured tone.
“I humbly beg that you permit Concubine Dan-bi access to the Sang-ui-won once more.”

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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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