SHYL 06

Chapter 6

“A persimmon or a crab?”

The Crown Prince, who had been staring at me in bewilderment, let out an “Ah.”

“So you want to eat a persimmon. Let me see… Yes, as it happens, I have one.”

He rummaged through the folds of his robe.

“It’s a dried persimmon. I happened to have brought it with—”

“D-dried persimmon?!”

The moment the Crown Prince held out the dried persimmon in front of me.

“Don’t come near! Go away! Ew!”

It happened before I knew it.

Whoosh!

Snatching the dried persimmon, I hurled it away with all my might, as if it were a grenade.

Only after hearing the thud-thud of the dried persimmon rolling away did I come to my senses.

…What on earth have I just done?

There must be a problem with the part of my brain that controls impulses, having been reincarnated into a child’s body.

I saw the Crown Prince staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

How on earth was I going to get out of this predicament?

“W-well, you see. Persimmons are bad!”

“Why would a persimmon be bad?”

Blink, blink. The Crown Prince asked with a puzzled face.

If there was any consolation, it was that he didn’t look displeased or angry.

“Th-there are such things. Haven’t you heard? If you eat too many persimmons, you can catch a terrible disease where your poop becomes hard…”

Stop it. Please stop.

Whenever I open my mouth, even though I think like an adult, nonsense that a child might say keeps popping out.

Sigh.

Maybe the truly bad thing is my unruly trap.

At the same time, I felt sorry for the Crown Prince.

Persimmons and crabs were ingredients suspected of later driving him to his death.

Should I tell him not to eat persimmons or crabs from now on?

For a moment the thought crossed my mind, but I put it aside.

What matters to me right now is my own survival. I don’t have the luxury to worry about someone else’s life.

I wasn’t in a comfortable enough position to worry about the Crown Prince’s death, which would happen some twenty years later.

So stop fussing over useless things and just look after myself.

“Are you alright?”

It was the Crown Prince’s concerned voice that brought me back from my thoughts.

Even after I had thrown away the dried persimmon, he was this generous. As expected, his character was worthy of a prince.

Realizing that I had been wearing a serious expression unbefitting of a child, I gave a shy smile.

It was a ‘harmless smile’ I had mastered through several days of practice.

“Yes. I’m fine, Your Highness. The Head Court Lady might come looking for me, so I’ll be going now.”

“Very well. Ah, by the way, what is your name?”

“Hwambom… bo…”

…Another failure.

“Hwang, Bong, Bong-yi.”

“…That’s a fine name.”

For some reason, I saw the corners of the Crown Prince’s mouth twitch.

“Anyway, Bong-bong. See you again.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I bowed my head toward the Crown Prince and thought.

I should try to maintain a friendly relationship with the Crown Prince. After all, he will become king one day.

Of course, seeing the Crown Prince become king would only be possible if I stayed alive myself.

Later that night? Actually next morning *(Note: The original has a section break with ***)

The next morning.

Unlike the previous day, Hee-bin did not turn me away at the door.

“Hee-bin Jeo-ja [addressing a royal consort]. The child court lady Hwam Bong-bong greets you.”

Just as Seol-hyang had taught me, I waddled and performed a deep bow.

I almost tripped on my skirt, but I managed to avoid disaster.

“Alright. I accept your greeting. Listen well to Head Court Lady Han and the other court ladies.”

“Yes, Hee-bin Jeo-ja.”

While answering, I stealthily scanned the room.

The only place I hadn’t been able to investigate when looking into the new shrine that was allegedly set up west of Chwiseondang in the beginning of spring was Hee-bin’s own bedchamber.

There was nothing particularly noticeable or suspicious.

Of course. She wouldn’t have installed a shamanistic shrine where the king frequently visits.

Thinking that, I cautiously raised my head.

“Hee-bin Jeo-ja. I have something to tell you…”

Originally, I had planned to captivate her with a poetic phrase I had prepared all night: ‘Among the swaying flowers, I sensed the sandalwood of the Jeo-ja.’

But the moment I saw Hee-bin’s face head-on, I was simply struck dumb.

Stunningly beautiful.

A face as smooth as white porcelain, slightly upturned eyes, a sculpted, straight nose, intensely red lips.

She was a cold beauty, enough to make one lose their wits.

“Go on, speak.”

“Uh, there was a scent of flowers. And then it suddenly swayed…”

What am I saying.

Hee-bin looked at me, rambling, with an unimpressed gaze, and her answer was a single word.

“Leave.”

That was all.

“…Yes.”

In the end, I had no choice but to trudge out of the bedchamber.

I was a little dejected, but I decided not to be too disappointed.

The most important thing now was that I had confirmed that no shrine currently existed.

It’s not the worst-case scenario. So let’s not be too impatient.

Then the next goal.

Palace exploration!

I ran to Seol-hyang and asked.

“Seol-hyang Hama-nim (Elder sister).”

“What?”

“Can I go outside Chwiseondang?”

“Outside? Hmm… You don’t have any particular duties right now, so I don’t see why not. But don’t go too far. You’ll get lost.”

“Yes. I’ll be careful.”

I had roughly figured out the layout of Chwiseondang. Now it was time to look around the palace.

The moment I stepped confidently out of Chwiseondang, a genuine palace vista unfolded before me.

It was Changgyeonggung, which I had visited countless times in my previous life, but it looked completely different from my memory.

Many of the buildings were lost during the Japanese colonial period.

Only now did I truly feel that I was inside real history.

My heart raced. The instincts of a history nerd began to stir.

That was only natural.

Because the title of the thesis I, a graduate student, had been staying up all night to write was none other than:

<A History of the Daily Lives of Royal Women as Seen Through Records from the Reign of King Sukjong>

Just as I was about to scurry off with excitement—

Oh. It’s those kids from yesterday.

That’s when I spotted the two child court ladies.

They were carrying heavy water jugs on a wooden frame.

Apparently, the crime of damaging the Spring Calligraphy had been so severe that they had been assigned hard labor for the time being.

…But what were they talking about?

“We need to find the evidence quickly…”

“They say if we only find proof, we’ll receive a big reward…”

For a moment, my head spun.

From the mouths of those two already suspicious child court ladies came words like ‘evidence’ and ‘big reward’.

Could they be… spies?

In an instant, my suspicion hardened into conviction.

There was just one problem.

…Why are they coming toward me?

I wanted to eavesdrop more, but unfortunately, there was no suitable place to hide.

In the end, I decided to retreat and started dashing away.

And as soon as I turned the corner—

Thud!

“Whoa!”

I ended up crashing right into the middle of someone’s silk skirt.

“I-I’m terribly sorry.”

Though extremely flustered, I tried to quickly assess the situation.

First, the color of the skirt the woman was wearing was not ordinary.

It wasn’t the blue skirt worn by head court ladies or regular court ladies, but a bright, pale pink that rippled before my eyes.

She’s definitely a royal concubine.

I sprang to my feet and bowed my head ninety degrees.

Just as I was about to apologize again, politely.

“Goodness. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a young child court lady. Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

A warm and kind voice came.

At least it didn’t sound like I was about to be scolded, so I raised my head and said.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Oh my, what a pretty little thing. But I haven’t seen your face before. How long have you been in the palace?”

“Uh… five days, or maybe six…”

“Oh dear. You’ve been here less than ten days? A mere babe, indeed.”

The woman had an elegant impression.

With her slightly drooping eyebrows and eyes, her face gave off an innocent look.

Who is she?

I listed the names of the royal concubines who existed in the palace at this time.

Besides Queen Inhyeon and Jang Hee-bin, there were many other concubines.

Choi Suk-bin, Kim Gwi-in, Park Suk-ui, Yu Suk-ui…

Even if he is the king, enough is enough.

Suppressing my antipathy toward King Sukjong, I smiled brightly at the concubine.

Then the woman spoke.

“A good idea has come to me. Little one. I will take you to my residence.”

…Excuse me? Me? Suddenly?

She was looking me up and down. Despite her mild appearance, her gaze was quite sharp.

“His Highness Prince Yeoning is often lonely, so he will treat you like a little sister. I can already see how pleased my son will be.”

Heh— my mouth fell open involuntarily.

Did she just say Prince Yeoning?

Prince Yeoning was the princely title of the person who would later be recorded in history as King Yeongjo the Great.

That meant the woman before me was…

Choi Suk-bin, the birth mother of King Yeongjo.

A figure who formed a fierce rivalry with Jang Hee-bin over King Sukjong.

And she wanted to take me to her residence?

Fireworks exploded in my head in an instant.

Does that mean I can escape from Chwiseondang?

If I could become a court lady at Choi Suk-bin’s residence, everything would be safe.

After Queen Inhyeon’s death, the bloody storm that swept through the palace only brought down Jang Hee-bin; it caused no harm to Choi Suk-bin.

That was only natural.

Because it was Choi Suk-bin who reported that Jang Hee-bin had cursed Queen Inhyeon.

In the media, Choi Suk-bin is usually portrayed as a good and righteous woman.

But as a student of history, I knew she wasn’t that innocent.

Rather, she was a clever strategist. That’s how she survived to the end.

Which meant…

If I can get to Choi Suk-bin’s residence, my survival is practically guaranteed.

My heart began to pound.

Escape. Survival.

An ordinary life, unrelated to the bloody storm.

A switch from a survival drama to an adorable slice-of-life!

That was it. Choi Suk-bin was my lifeline.

“So, which residence do you belong to? I’ll send word to the supervising head court lady to bring you to Bogyeongdang…”

That was when it happened.

Tap-tap-tap-tap — the sound of footsteps was unusual.

On the wind came a strong floral scent, one I felt I had smelled before.

“Suk-bin.”

…Why was Jang Hee-bin here?

“This child belongs to Chwiseondang.”

Jang Hee-bin’s voice was terrifyingly cold.

“How dare you covet what is mine?”

In an instant, goosebumps rose all the way up to my neck.

…Damn it. Transfer failed.