Surviving as Jang Hee-bin's Child Court Lady - Chapter 88

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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 88. Where Is Hwang Jin-gi?
Suk-bin swallowed hard, her throat dry.
Fearful that the sound might reach the King’s ears, she held her breath.
Despite her efforts to maintain composure, a chill ran down her spine.
Bound by one’s own rope.
The phrase that came to Suk-bin’s mind as she stared at the curse doll cast before her eyes.
It was Yong-hee, a young maidservant, who had brought the curse doll to Suk-bin.
Yong-hee had claimed the doll belonged to Jang Hee-bin.
Though Suk-bin suspected Yong-hee’s words held no truth, she said nothing and kept the doll hidden away.
After all, the truth mattered little.
The day when Queen Min’s death would arrive—fragile as a candle before the wind.
Suk-bin had been quietly waiting for that day.
When it came, she had planned to take the doll to the King.
To tell him such a vile object had come from Chwisuondang.
That here lay undeniable proof—Jang Hee-bin had cursed the Queen.
That Jang Hee-bin’s malicious jealousy had driven the Queen to her death.
She had meant to appeal to him through tears.
But now the curse doll—the evidence that would have destroyed Jang Hee-bin—rested in the King’s hands.
It was Suk-bin who had realized the doll had vanished shortly after the Geumgun searched Bogyeong Hall.
The doll’s whereabouts had been her most pressing concern.
Had an idle Geumgun taken it out of curiosity?
Or had it fallen into the hands of the Naegumwi commander?
Or perhaps…
Had it passed through both the Geumgun and the Naegumwi commander before finally reaching the King?
And now Suk-bin sat facing the answer.
The worst answer.
The answer she had least desired.
“I asked where this object came from. Your answer is late in coming.”
The King’s voice was quiet yet oppressive.
“….”
Suk-bin ceased her thoughts.
She had realized that further scheming was pointless.
Suk-bin was clever.
Even now, she could craft an elaborate lie and escape the situation immediately.
But her opponent was the King.
The King was a man without weakness, thorough in all things.
Lies, the more meticulously one polishes them, the more cracks they reveal.
Suk-bin made her decision.
She would escape this crisis with the simplest words possible.
A transparent lie, the kind a child might tell.
The space was completely open on all sides, making it impossible to pinpoint any gaps—a lie that was, paradoxically, airtight.
“I… I found it, Your Majesty.”
“Found it? Where?”
“While passing near Chwisuondang, I happened upon it by chance and picked it up.”
“…”
The King said nothing for a long moment.
Suk-bin, who had lifted her gaze slightly, realized the King was glaring at her.
Suk-bin could sense it.
The King did not believe her words.
But how could I admit now that it was a lie?
I certainly could not speak of planting a spy named Yong-hee in Chwisuondang.
There was only one way forward.
To push through with this flimsy, transparent lie like a thin sheet of paper.
“Suk-bin.”
The King’s voice reached her.
“Would you truly be the sort to keep such a thing in your private chamber, even if you had found it?”
“It did not appear to be an ordinary doll, so I brought it with me. I wished to determine what it was used for.”
The King’s sharp gaze fixed upon Suk-bin.
A sensation as though my innermost thoughts were being laid bare.
Suk-bin had to exert all her strength to keep her body from trembling.
“I ask again. You mean to say it is not yours?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It is not mine. It is something I found.”
A deafening silence.
Feeling goosebumps prickle along my forearms like needles, Suk-bin waited for the King’s words.
“There was a time when I held you in great favor, Suk-bin.”
…The word “was,” cut like a blade.
Yet Suk-bin gave no sign of it.
“I remember your guilelessness. I believed you to be a pure woman, innocent of the harshness that dwells within the Inner Palace. And yet…”
A cynical smile flickered across the King’s lips.
“As time has passed, it seems Suk-bin has come to harbor secrets of her own.”
“Your Majesty. This concubine has never been anything but forthright in your presence.”
“Is that so? Then perhaps my judgment has grown clouded.”
“That is not what I meant to convey, Your Majesty. Please, I beg you…”
The King made a low sound.
Close your mouth.
It was a sound that felt like a command.
“It is difficult to trust one who wears a mask.”
“…”
“It is only natural that the heart turns toward those who bare their emotions honestly, even if one must overlook certain things from time to time.”
The one wearing the mask is Suk-bin.
A person who opens their heart—that phrase referred to Jang Hee-bin.
My hands trembled.
Suk-bin clenched the hand hidden beneath her skirt.
The humiliation of being compared to Jang Hee-bin.
And the desperation of having my deception seen through by the King clouded her reason.
“I have always spoken only the truth, Your Majesty. Please, I beg you to trust this humble concubine.”
Yet the King’s voice remained glacial.
“I have no interest in truths that demand belief. Trust is not something achieved through effort, is it?”
The King rose from his seat.
He did not bother to pick up the curse doll again.
“If one person claims this doll was lost, and another claims it was found—”
His piercing gaze swept across Suk-bin’s frozen face.
“Then whoever found this doll must be either a fortunate discoverer or a thief. One of the two.”
“…Who, Your Majesty? The person who lost this doll—is that not a Palace Maid of Chwisuondang?”
Uncharacteristically, the question spilled from Suk-bin’s lips before she could gather her thoughts.
“Enough.”
The King turned away. His crimson dragon robe billowed, stirring a gentle breeze.
Without thinking, Suk-bin shuddered violently.
As she followed behind to escort the King, she cast a furtive glance at the curse doll left in her chamber.
Prepared as evidence to bring down Jang Hee-bin, now rendered useless.
No—worse than useless. It had become a noose around her own neck.
“…”
The mask had fallen away.
The face watching the King’s retreating form twisted into something pitiful and broken.
***
I was walking as fast as my short legs would allow.
Park Moon-soo strode after me with long, purposeful steps.
True to his perceptive nature, the Young Nobleman refrained from asking unnecessary questions about where we were headed.
‘He talks a lot, but at least he knows when to speak and when to stay silent.’
I was making my way toward the most secluded location within Changgyeong Palace.
The Forest North of Jeoseung-jeon, to be precise.
That was my destination.
As we approached the verdant forest, a sudden thought of Heuk-mak flickered through my mind.
‘I wonder if they’re doing well?’
I wanted to call out their name, but now wasn’t the time.
I calmly surveyed my surroundings.
I felt certain that no one would venture this far.
So I spun around abruptly.
Park Moon-soo, who had been following close behind, stopped short in surprise.
Our eyes met, and we both spoke at once.
“How do you know my brother?”
“How did you end up becoming a Palace Maid?”
This situation needed clarification.
Though my heart raced with urgency, it seemed I should answer first this time.
“I’m four years old. My parents passed away, and my brother is missing and presumed dead, so I have nowhere to go. That’s why I became a Palace Maid.”
“Ah… I had no idea you carried such a burden. You must have endured tremendous hardship, struggling alone all this time…”
Park Moon-soo’s brows arched with sudden sympathy as he gazed at me.
“Don’t look at me with that pitying expression. You’ve only just learned about me.”
“Your circumstances weigh heavily on my heart.”
“I’m forbidding unnecessary sympathy.”
“Ah… I apologize for bringing up such painful matters.”
“Apologies are forbidden too.”
“Ah… well…”
I was momentarily considering whether to ban his “ah”s and “well”s as well.
“But there’s something strange. Your brother seemed completely unaware that you’re a Palace Maid. He believed you’d been sold to a Gisaeng House.”
“A Gisaeng House?”
What on earth was he talking about?
Though I was bewildered by this sudden revelation.
I recalled Song Scholar’s Woman, who had boasted about how I would have been sold to such a place if she hadn’t taken me in.
‘Did that woman feed false information to Hwang Jin-gi?’
As I pondered this.
Park Moon-soo’s expression seemed oddly disgruntled.
Why? Did he have some grievance with me?
“I never imagined you were a Palace Maid. Why didn’t you tell me your true status?”
Well… you were talking so much, I just said whatever came to mind to escape quickly.
“Surely you didn’t take me for someone so petty as to treat people differently based on their station? You’ve misjudged me! As the ancient sage Laozi once said….”
“That’s enough. How did you come to know my brother?”
Sensing another tedious monologue about to unfold, I quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.
“It was pure chance. There was this tall fellow—towering like a bamboo pole—standing in front of a Gisaeng House weeping like his heart would break. He seemed to have quite a story, so I approached him out of sympathy.”
“….”
Without realizing it, I pressed my lips together.
That young boy who had been weeping so bitterly.
Perhaps Hwang Jin-gi was still searching for me, his younger sister, even at this very moment.
‘No, that can’t be. Park Moon-soo saw me at Dongmyo, so Hwang Jin-gi must have heard the news by now.’
At least Hwang Jin-gi wasn’t suffering needlessly.
That one thing was a mercy.
Park Moon-soo continued.
“So when I spoke to him, he said he was searching for a younger sister named Hwang Bong-mok. The name sounded familiar, and when I thought about it, your name came to mind.”
“But it could have been someone else with a similar name, couldn’t it?”
“I thought the same thing. However….”
Park Moon-soo glanced sideways at my arm.
“When I mentioned that you had a red mark on your arm, he became absolutely certain it was his sister and started jumping around excitedly.”
He hastily added an explanation.
“I wasn’t trying to look on purpose—it just showed briefly when you were shooting the slingshot at the Shell Game Area.”
“…I understand.”
Yes. Now I understood the situation completely, and all my questions were answered.
Only one thing remained.
“You told my brother that you’d seen me, didn’t you? So where is he now?”
“Well….”
In that instant, Park Moon-soo’s expression clouded over.
“Um…. Well….”
I should have definitely forbidden this.
“What’s wrong?”
“That’s the thing…. I don’t actually know where your brother is right now.”
“…Why not?”
“Remember what you said the day we first met? That you’d come from somewhere far away, not from Hanyang.”
“….”
“So…. I told him that you must be living outside of Hanyang.”
My words caught in my throat.
Park Moon-soo continued with an embarrassed expression.
“The moment your brother heard that, he left. He said he had to find you, that he needed to leave Hanyang.”
…What?
“Ha.”
A short sigh escaped me.

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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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