Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 11

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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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Chapter 11. A Warning from Fortune’s Child
He has departed.
Ah. Love… I do not harbor such feelings, but in any case, my king has gone.
After King Sukjong left, I fell into complete despondency.
‘Jang Hee-bin must be terribly disappointed.’
I was afraid to even look at her.
Not only did I need to explain the circumstances of my accompanying the king, but what troubled me far more was the cold demeanor he had displayed.
Having witnessed Jang Hee-bin’s face bloom with radiance the moment she saw him, my heart felt even heavier.
‘…My scalp tingles with dread.’
It was the moment I sensed her gaze and hesitantly turned my head.
“Oh my, our little fortune!”
Pardon? I’m Hwang Bong-bong, not fortune…
Jang Hee-bin was beaming with a radiant smile.
‘What is this? Does she transform suffering into laughter…?’
That’s frightening, honestly.
Then it happened.
“Where did such a precious little thing come rolling in from? How is it you only do the most adorable things?”
Jang Hee-bin’s hands began kneading my cheeks without mercy.
“So our Hwang Bong-bong knows how to play with that Geum-deok. The king cannot resist Geum-deok, so he will surely come again to see you, Hwang Bong-bong. Yes, absolutely.”
As Jang Hee-bin stroked my head, she issued a command to Han Sang-gung.
“Han Sang-gung. Perhaps the child hasn’t been eating well—she’s far too small for her age. Go prepare a deer antler tonic. Children look healthiest when their cheeks are plump and rosy.”
“Yes, madam. I shall attend to it at once.”
Deer antler tonic? That’s medicine, isn’t it?
‘I hate bitter things.’
…No, wait. Deer antler tonic is an extraordinarily expensive health supplement.
‘Then I must eat it!’
As my childish aversion to bitter flavors clashed with my people’s obsession with nourishing the body, Jang Hee-bin grasped my hand.
“Come, little one. Since you’ve been so good, I shall reward you with some honey candies.”
Honey candies? Those are absolutely delicious!
***
“Your Highness.”
“Oh my, our little blessing, what is it?”
Seol-hyang pinched my cheek and giggled.
Little blessing.
That was the new nickname given to me after the storm King Sukjong had brought passed.
“Do you happen to have a mirror?”
“I do. Why? Will you borrow it?”
“Yes, please. Just for a moment.”
Seol-hyang carefully retrieved the mirror from deep within the half-open cabinet.
“It’s a precious item we Palace Maids share among ourselves, so you mustn’t break it, understand?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Gaining Jang Hee-bin’s favor was important, but what lingered in my mind was something King Sukjong had said.
‘You resemble someone.’
Those words he’d uttered after scrutinizing my face intently.
I was dying to know who he thought I resembled.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t even know what I look like.’
I’d caught glimpses of my reflection in water before, but I’d never bothered to examine my own appearance carefully.
Though there was one thing I’d learned a few days ago.
A red mark in the middle of my arm.
‘My goodness, you have such a peculiar mark. It looks just like a plum blossom.’
It was Seol-hyang, not I, who had made me aware of the mark’s existence.
Only then did I realize I had such a strange mark on my arm—as if someone had stamped a floral seal upon it.
In any case, I lifted the mirror Seol-hyang handed me and faced Hwang Bong-bong’s face for the first time.
‘…She’s incredibly cute.’
Though it sounds like excessive self-love, I still lacked a sense of identity with ‘Hwang Bong-bong’ as myself.
In other words, my perspective was quite objective.
Hwang Bong-bong was a very pretty child.
Her eyes were large and round, her cheeks plump like a squirrel’s, and even her small nose had a well-defined bridge.
And those small, full lips were such a vivid red that they resembled….
‘Hwang Bong-bong. You look like a hamster.’
Now that I saw myself, I understood why everyone kept pinching those cheeks.
“Seol-hyang. Is there perhaps someone in the Royal Palace who resembles me?”
“Someone who resembles you? I’m not sure? I don’t know?”
At Seol-hyang’s response, I asked with a more serious expression.
“Don’t I resemble Jang Hee-bin?”
“What on earth did you eat?”
…Tsk.
Unable to find an answer, I obediently returned the mirror.
“By the way, Your Highness. May I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“The western side of Chwisuondang. Why can’t the young maid go there?”
“There’s no particular reason. It’s just that Suk-jeong, the younger lady, dislikes commotion, so we avoid it.”
Seol-hyang answered casually, then suddenly posed a question of her own.
“But where did you hear that? Don’t tell me it was from those ten-year-olds again?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh, those troublemakers, really….”
Seol-hyang pressed her temples. It seemed those young maids had quite a history of causing problems.
‘I need to find evidence quickly….’
‘If I just find proof, I’ll receive a great reward….’
Fragments of the conversation those young maids had been sharing came back to me, but I still lacked sufficient information.
If I simply blurted out, “Those girls are definitely spies!” no one would believe me.
‘I need to keep a close watch on their movements going forward.’
I was contemplating this with a serious expression when it happened.
“Our Hwang Bong-bong, are you frightened of the younger lady? Don’t worry too much. You just need to avoid the nights when the full moon and new moon rise.”
“Why the full moon and new moon?”
“Ah. The younger lady visits Chwisuondang on those nights. She sprinkles salt to purify something or other…. It’s only the cleaners who suffer, really.”
…Sigh. She’s full of surprises, truly.
Seeing my exhausted expression, Seol-hyang gently patted my back to comfort me.
“Since she comes so frequently, there’s no point worrying—it’ll only exhaust you. When the younger lady is here, just stay locked in your room. I’ll tell everyone you’re studying letters. Understood?”
“Yes. Thank you, Seol-hyang.”
As I bowed respectfully, a warm smile graced Seol-hyang’s lips.
…The more I see her, the more I appreciate Seol-hyang.
‘Anyway, there are only a few days until the new moon, so Suk-jeong will visit again.’
My objective going forward was clear.
Prevent the installation of a shrine and thwart the ‘Queen Inhyeon curse incident.’
‘First, I need to stop Suk-jeong from treating Chwisuondang like her own home.’
But how?
I recalled the information about Suk-jeong that Seol-hyang had shared.
‘She torments the palace maids with all sorts of superstitious nonsense. Turning your back to the sunrise brings bad luck, killing spiders is extremely inauspicious, salt must be sprinkled on nights when the full moon and new moon rise….’
‘Oh! What about that?’
In that instant, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind like lightning.
“Seol-hyang. Can I use this cotton pouch?”
“Of course. But why do you need a pouch?”
“To keep the sweets you all give me….”
“Oh my, is that so, our little blessing?”
Seol-hyang affectionately stroked my head.
Even as she did, I was recalling Suk-jeong’s cold, expressionless gaze.
‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’
Superstition against superstition—that’s how it goes.
***
On the new moon, west of Chwisuondang.
Suk-jeong performed her ritual as she did every evening.
Sprinkling salt and chanting incantations to purify the earth’s essence.
‘I’ve invested a year of effort into this. Soon I must bring a mudang here to establish a shrine.’
…But what was that?
A single pale sheet of paper affixed to the wall of the long-abandoned pavilion.
The wind-caught paper fluttered with an eerie whisper.
Suk-jeong approached the wall notice.
“Hmm?”
The notice was crammed with dense Hangul characters.
[This letter first began in Joseon and brought great fortune or misfortune to those who received it….]
‘What in the world is this nonsense…?’
Suk-jeong’s eyes fell upon the next passage.
[If you wish to divine good or ill fortune, execute this at once.
Two steps to the right, then two steps backward, and there stamp your feet thump-thump-thump!]
Divining fortune—it was something Suk-jeong could never resist.
Her feet moved in obedience to the instructions as she stared at the notice.
Two steps, then two steps back, and there thump-thump-thump….
‘What has possessed me? Why am I following these commands?’
It was the moment Suk-jeong froze, seized by an eerie and unsettling dread.
Crunch.
Something writhed beneath her feet.
‘What, what is it?’
As her gaze descended slowly, what entered her sight was….
“Sp, spiders! Ahhhhh!”
Suk-jeong shrieked and leaped into the air upon witnessing the countless spider corpses crushed beneath her feet.
In her panic, the notice fluttered.
Her lips trembled as Suk-jeong discovered the final line at the bottom of the notice.
[You who have encountered great misfortune, never curse another or harbor wickedness in your heart!
Postscript: To avoid catastrophic misfortune, destroy this letter at once.]
“Catastrophic misfortune? No, this cannot be!”
***
On the western side of Chwisuondang.
‘Everything is proceeding according to plan.’
Hidden in the narrow gap between pavilions, a satisfied smile bloomed across my lips as I observed Suk-jeong.
‘All the effort spent catching spiders should prove worthwhile.’
That posted notice is my official warning to Suk-jeong.
Someone as consumed by superstition as Suk-jeong could never escape the terror of ‘great misfortune’.
As I predicted, Suk-jeong’s hands trembled visibly even from a distance as she held the notice.
‘Now it’s time for her to tear it apart or burn it….’
Only then would my plan conclude as the perfect crime.
‘…What?’
But I was wrong.
What unfolded before me was a sight I could never have imagined.
‘What in the world is she doing…?’
Suk-jeong, who had been staring intently at the notice—
…crunch, crunch.
She crumpled the notice and shoved it directly into her mouth!
In the dimness, Suk-jeong’s face had turned a terrifying crimson.
Even as she gagged, Suk-jeong continued to chew the paper frantically before finally swallowing it down.
‘No matter how devoted to superstition, could she truly be this severe?’
After Suk-jeong departed, coughing.
“Hah….”
Shocked into forgetting even to breathe, I exhaled a long sigh.
‘This is true madness….’
A chill ran through me. I was now certain I was facing an adversary far more grotesque than anticipated.
‘Still, I must finish what I’ve started.’
After confirming no one was nearby, I carefully emerged to bury the dead spiders.
With this, all evidence would be completely erased.
The spiders beneath the earth, the letter within Suk-jeong’s belly.
I offered a sincere prayer for the spiders’ repose before hurrying back to my quarters.

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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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