Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 26

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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 26. A Gift
After parting ways with Bok-hee and returning to Chwisuondang, I faced a considerable task ahead of me.
The King’s summons had come without warning.
Just as Bok-hee had said, the palace maids of Chwisuondang would be intensely curious.
“It’s Hwang Bong-bong!”
“Hwang Bong-bong, did you have a good time?”
“What on earth is happening? Did you really meet with His Majesty?”
As expected.
I was instantly surrounded by the palace maids of Chwisuondang.
…Still, it felt like home. The atmosphere was entirely different from when I’d been surrounded by the maids of Bogyeong Hall earlier.
“Now, now. What recklessness is this? Hwang Bong-bong must attend to Jang Hee-bin, so everyone step aside.”
Han Sang-gung appeared in an instant, swiftly resolved the situation, and escorted me to Jang Hee-bin’s quarters.
The moment I stepped into the room, Jang Hee-bin’s urgent question flew toward me.
“Why did His Majesty summon you?”
“Well, Your Highness said that I resembled Princess Myeong-an. She said that looking at me brings back old memories….”
I deliberately avoided mentioning the red mark or anything about the Chuk family in front of Jang Hee-bin.
I felt certain it was a secret between the King and me.
“He said you resembled Princess Myeong-an? Ah, now I understand.”
Fortunately, Jang Hee-bin believed my words without suspicion.
Well, it would be difficult not to believe a child with such an innocent face.
“His Majesty often speaks of the Princess. His affection for his younger sister was truly tender….”
Jang Hee-bin stroked my head as if pleased with me.
“But…. Did he mention anything else?”
Jang Hee-bin’s voice became cautious.
It was clear she was wondering whether anything about herself had come up.
I suddenly felt sympathy for Jang Hee-bin, anxiously harboring expectations before a mere child attendant.
“Well, Your Highness.”
“Yes. Tell me.”
“His Majesty will be coming to Chwisuondang.”
“His Majesty will visit? To see you again?”
At Jang Hee-bin’s question, I shook my head gently.
“No. Not because of me, but to see you, Your Highness.”
“….”
Jang Hee-bin’s expression went blank for a moment. She blinked slowly.
“…To see me? His Majesty?”
“Yes. He promised me that.”
“His Majesty made a promise? Tell me what happened.”
Jang Hee-bin leaned toward me eagerly, as if overcome with anticipation.
…So their reunion was that desperately longed for.
“I told His Majesty to come to Chwisuondang to see you, Your Highness.”
I wasn’t one to boast ordinarily, but this time was different.
I made every effort to showcase that the King’s visit was an achievement I had orchestrated.
After all, there are moments when displaying one’s accomplishments becomes necessary.
Especially now, when I desperately needed to earn Jang Hee-bin’s trust.
Now that a symbiotic relationship had been established—where my survival depended on keeping Jang Hee-bin alive—we had to stand as one.
“You…? What did you tell him?”
“I told His Majesty that you missed him, my lady.”
Jang Hee-bin’s eyes wavered with confusion.
Her expression was bewildered—as if she couldn’t decide whether my words were truth or the prattling of a child.
“How could a little thing like you know that I long for the King?”
“I noticed because you often looked sad, my lady. When you heard His Majesty pass by in the distance, and when you gazed toward Changdeok Palace….”
“….”
I saw Jang Hee-bin’s lips tremble.
Even if I truly were just a four-year-old child with no perception whatsoever.
How could I not understand?
Why she gazed beyond the wall with such tender longing.
Why she repeated the cycle of adorning herself beautifully, only to be disappointed, then adorning herself again….
“My lady.”
“…Yes?”
“I wish you would smile every day and never be sad again.”
“Ah….”
A sigh escaped from Jang Hee-bin’s lips.
When she suddenly pulled me into her embrace, I hadn’t anticipated it at all.
Her arms around me were remarkably warm.
“I’ve always been so lonely. I thought there was no one who understood my heart. But…you, so small and young, are cradling my heart.”
Her shoulders trembled softly.
Patter, patter. Teardrops fell onto the crown of my head.
“Please don’t cry, my lady.”
“Sniff….”
“Really, you mustn’t. Understand?”
The King could arrive any night now, and puffy eyes would be rather inconvenient.
“My lady. There, there.”
Only after hearing my words did Jang Hee-bin’s tears cease.
“My, to show such weakness before a child….”
I watched as she hurriedly wiped away her tears.
…Should I have just let her keep crying?
Jang Hee-bin’s sorrowful beauty, glistening with tears, was truly breathtaking.
“There, that’s enough. I won’t cry anymore. Our little treasure, I’ll smile from now on, just as you said.”
Jang Hee-bin smiled at me radiantly.
‘Absolutely captivating.’
I quickly corrected the thought that had just crossed my mind.
That’s right—Jang Hee-bin’s smile truly was her most beautiful feature.
***
Late afternoon.
The Crown Prince came looking for me.
More precisely, he had stopped by while paying his respects to Jang Hee-bin.
Since I had been taking an afternoon nap, I stumbled out to the courtyard with tousled hair, and the Crown Prince thrust something into my hands.
“Hwang Bong-bong, take this.”
“What is it?”
I accepted the object wrapped in fine silk cloth that the Crown Prince offered.
“Open it and see.”
Though I wanted to tear it open eagerly, I made an effort to maintain composure and carefully untied the silk knot, then unfolded the cloth.
“Oh?”
What emerged from within the silk was a small doll.
Not that eyesore like Bom-bomi still sitting in my room.
A rather cute-looking girl doll made with cotton stuffed inside silk.
“I realized I have little to give you. So I asked the chambermaid to prepare this, though I wonder if it pleases you.”
Well, um.
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly fond of dolls. I’d had several experiences recently that had soured me on them.
But this doll was….
‘This is a historically significant artifact made by the chambermaid herself!’
Had it been preserved to modern times, it would have been displayed in a museum as “a precious cultural heritage offering a glimpse into the play culture of Joseon Dynasty royal children.”
“Yes! I love it!”
Genuinely delighted, I cried out almost as if cheering.
Clutching the artwork born stitch by stitch from the hands of a palace maid, I beamed at the Crown Prince.
“Hwang Bong-bong is so excited! The doll is so adorable!”
“You like it that much?”
“Yes! So very much!”
While receiving such a precious gift was joyful in itself, what moved me even more was the Crown Prince’s warm consideration woven into it.
‘He must have been troubled by what I said about my brother passing away.’
The Crown Prince was thirteen years old this year.
Yet the depth of his heart was greater and more profound than that of any adult in the Royal Palace.
‘What a good person.’
Suddenly, I found myself hoping that someday I too could be of some small help to the Crown Prince.
“Say, Hwang Bong-bong. What if you were to give the doll a name?”
“A name?”
“Yes. You’ve been carrying around that other doll and calling it by a name—wasn’t it Bom-bomi?”
To compare Bom-bomi to this precious doll was unthinkable.
“Well…. This doll’s name is….”
I racked my brain to meet the Crown Prince’s expectant gaze, but honestly, I had no talent for naming things.
Then, suddenly, it came to me.
“I’ve decided on a name!”
“Have you? What shall we call her?”
“Barbie!”
The Crown Prince blinked rapidly.
“…Rice?”
…Crown Prince. Does he think I’m some sort of glutton?
“No, not rice—Barbie! Barbie!”
“Barbie, you say…. How peculiar…. No, what a lovely name it is. Very well. Let us call her Barbie.”
“Yes! Thank you so much for giving me Barbie as a gift!”
I bowed ninety degrees toward the Crown Prince with utmost respect and formality.
The Crown Prince let out a soft laugh.
And so I came to possess humanity’s first Barbie doll!
…And then, the very next day.
A tremendous shockwave struck Chwisuondang.

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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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