Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 25

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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 25. Bok-hee
Keeping a distance of about ten paces, I stared at Bok-hee with wide, unblinking eyes.
“….”
Bok-hee shifted nervously and averted her gaze.
A ten-year-old wouldn’t ordinarily fear a mere four-year-old, yet ever since the incident at the West Side of Chwisuondang, Bok-hee had been avoiding me.
‘That day, she was more of an accomplice than the ringleader, really.’
Still, the events that had unfolded around me afterward were rather dramatic.
After I fell into the pond, the King himself came searching for me.
Moreover, Bok-hee must have heard that I was summoned by the King today.
As expected, she kept stealing glances at me, gauging my mood.
“Bok-hee.”
“…Huh? What is it?”
Bok-hee licked her lips anxiously and cast a furtive glance my way.
I crept slowly toward her.
Bok-hee crept slowly backward.
“Are you still very angry? That time was my fault….”
All I had done was take a few steps forward.
This child was far more timid than she appeared.
“That’s not it, Your Highness.”
I glanced around cautiously. Fortunately, I sensed no one nearby.
“Wait a moment.”
I dashed toward Bok-hee and seized her hand, then led her whimpering protests toward a secluded corner.
“Your Highness.”
“Mm.”
“….”
It was an intentional silence.
There were limits to how much authority a four-year-old’s diminutive and adorable appearance could command.
As I anticipated, Bok-hee—squirming and growing increasingly anxious as the silence stretched—finally broke first.
“You’re going to tell the King, aren’t you? That I bullied you? Please, just forgive me this once, won’t you? I didn’t mean to say such harsh things, but Yong-hee kept….”
There it was. The truth spilled out effortlessly.
Yong-hee was the name of the taller palace maid who had been present that day.
Certainly, Yong-hee had been far more malicious than Bok-hee.
“Stop.”
I cut off Bok-hee’s rambling words.
“I’m not telling. I have something to say to you.”
“What do you mean…?”
I fixed Bok-hee with the strongest gaze I could muster and spoke.
“I met Suk-bin.”
I deliberately left the sentence ambiguous.
“I met” could mean “I met her,” but “I met?” could become a question—”Did you meet her?”
And it worked.
“Wait, we met…. How did you know?”
Just as I suspected. Bok-hee was definitely Suk-bin’s spy.
But Suk-bin’s true intentions remained utterly opaque.
Recruiting mere ten-year-olds as informants—by any measure, it was far from ordinary.
‘No, actually. It might even be a brilliant strategy.’
Children are psychologically easy to manipulate.
Even if suspicion arose, she could escape accountability by blaming their tender age.
‘And disposing of them later would be simple enough….’
The memory of Suk-bin’s expression—how she’d beaten the child until blood ran, then spoken to me with such composure—sent a chill down my spine.
But I quickly steadied myself.
“I have something for you.”
Speaking in hushed tones as though sharing some tremendous secret, I carefully withdrew a bundle from my sleeve and unfolded it with deliberate care.
When the dasik emerged, Bok-hee’s eyes widened in astonishment.
The reaction was entirely justified. Dasik made with pine pollen was a delicacy so precious that even a Palace Maid could scarcely dare to taste it.
“Is that…dasik?”
“Yes. Suk-bin gave it to me. She said I should eat it all myself.”
A necessary lie to win Bok-hee’s affection.
The dasik had been a gift from the King, after all.
Bok-hee, with no way of knowing this, fell for the deception innocently.
“Dasik…I’ve never even tasted it before….”
“Take it.”
With a generous expression suggesting it was nothing special, I placed a single piece of dasik into Bok-hee’s trembling hand.
…But really, it’s just a snack. There’s no need for her hands to shake like that.
Bok-hee’s downturned eyes glistened with emotion.
“I’m sorry…. You’re so kind…. And I only said such terrible things….”
“It’s fine.”
Ten years old is an age easily swayed in any direction.
Of course, one shouldn’t forgive all wrongdoing simply because of youth, but truthfully, Bok-hee seemed far too clumsy to be called truly wicked.
“It’s so delicious. Sniff….”
Besides, after tasting the dasik, she was practically lost in rapture.
There. A gesture of goodwill!
When I offered her another piece, Bok-hee’s expression became as though she would pluck stars from the sky for me.
“To receive something so precious—you’re truly fortunate. I only ever received harsh scolding….”
“I’m rather special, you see.”
I couldn’t shake the thought of how shameless I was being, but I decided to press forward with confidence.
“Is Suk-bin frightening? I wouldn’t really know….”
“She’s terrifying. I’ve never even managed to speak properly in front of her….”
“I see.”
Pat, pat. I gently tapped Bok-hee’s back in comfort.
“So you’re looking into that matter too, Bong-bong?”
Bok-hee, now completely disarmed, asked the question.
‘That matter,’ she called it.
I had no certainty, but I threw it out anyway.
“West Side of Chwisuondang.”
At the same moment, Bok-hee’s head bobbed in recognition.
“Ah, so that’s it. Then you were there for that reason—Yong-hee and I had no idea…”
“Shh. It’s a secret.”
“A secret?”
“Yes. A secret from Yong-hee.”
I furrowed my brow with the utmost seriousness, my gaze grave. It was an expression meant to convey the gravity of the matter.
“Yong-hee… is suspicious.”
I leaned close to Bok-hee’s ear and whispered.
“Untrustworthy, they say.”
I phrased it that way to make it sound as though the words came from Suk-bin’s own lips.
“Gasp, truly…?”
“Shh.”
“Yes, shh.”
Bok-hee sealed her lips shut.
That was enough about Yong-hee. Elaborating further would only backfire.
Now it was time to relay Suk-bin’s words and gauge her reaction.
“Lend me your ear. I have something to tell you.”
“Yes.”
“… The full moon night.”
“Oh. That again.”
“…”
‘That again’—she had received the same order before.
Bok-hee’s lips were so easily loosened; I could press her further about Suk-bin.
But I decided to stop here.
Today was only about winning her favor. I had already gained sufficient intelligence.
“In any case, be careful. Don’t tell Yong-hee about me.”
“I won’t. Absolutely not. I don’t stay close to Yong-hee because I like her anyway.”
Their relationship had seemed hierarchical, but now it was clear that cracks had already begun to form.
“But Bong-bong… You’ve been to see His Majesty, haven’t you? Everyone in Chwisuondang has been talking about nothing but you.”
Since everyone had witnessed my departure with Head Sang-gung, there was little reason to deny it.
I nodded composedly.
“Yes. I went.”
“I’m so curious… May I ask why His Majesty summoned you?”
Bok-hee was already gauging my reaction.
I answered generously, as though bestowing a favor.
“They say I resemble Princess Myeong-an. The late younger sister of the Queen Mother.”
The King had indeed spoken of seeing me and being reminded of Princess Myeong-an, so there was truth in her words.
“Ah, so that’s why he takes such care of you. I’ve found it strange ever since you fell into the pond. A mere palace maid catching His Majesty’s eye… And on top of that, all the ladies favor you too. I’m truly envious…”
To secure Bok-hee’s complete admiration, I delivered my final blow.
I fished out the hair ribbon I’d tucked away in my pocket.
It was a beautiful silk ribbon that Seol-hyang had given me when she heard I was going to the Royal Chambers.
“His Majesty gave me this.”
I boasted shamelessly without batting an eye.
My nose seemed to be growing longer by the moment.
“Wow! That’s incredible!”
Bok-hee covered her mouth with her hand.
She was now looking at me with eyes full of admiration.
“You can touch it if you’d like.”
After bestowing such generosity, I tested Bok-hee one final time.
“Bok-hee.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a wish?”
“A wish?”
I asked the question hoping it might help me win her over, but her face flushed immediately.
“I… I have just one wish. To become a palace maid serving at Jeoseungjeon…”
What?
This was an answer I hadn’t anticipated.
“I want to become a maid serving the Crown Prince… I’ll work hard and make it happen no matter what…”
Well, the Crown Prince was quite handsome, so it made sense that a ten-year-old maid would be smitten with him.
But there was something about my conversation with Bok-hee that particularly bothered me.
It was her remark about working hard to become the Crown Prince’s maid.
“What do you mean by working hard?”
“Ah. That is…”
Bok-hee seemed to hesitate for a moment, uncertain whether she should say more.
I seized the moment and pressed another pastry into her hand.
Overcome with gratitude, Bok-hee spilled secrets I hadn’t even asked about.
“Suk-bin promised me. If I find something suspicious on the West Side of Chwisuondang, she’ll send me to Jeoseungjeon…”
Ah.
So that’s how it came to be.
I’d obtained information that Bok-hee had been won over by Suk-bin because of her romantic feelings for the Crown Prince.
Then…
‘What promise did Yong-hee receive?’
I became quite curious.

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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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