Chapter 7
Chapter 7. The Young Grand Prince Danjong Gathers Courage
“Father, Mother!”
Instead of going to King Sejong and Queen Soheon, the Grandson stood by Yunseo, placed his hands on his forehead, and bowed.
“Father, Mother, are you well tonight?”
The Grandson, who had asked after them in a lisp, plopped down next to Yunseo.
Then, Noble Lady Yang, who had bowed with the Grandson, made an excuse on his behalf with an embarrassed face.
“Your servant has been exceedingly busy handling the affairs that Queen Soheon usually oversees. Therefore, as he has been mostly with Kwon Ga, the maid, His Highness the Grandson is shy today.”
“Oh my, you must have been lonely, our His Highness the Grandson. Come here, come here, Grandson. Grandmother will play with you now.”
Queen Soheon called out.
However, Hongwi instead pulled back and glanced nervously towards where the King and Queen were.
“Our Hongwi, I missed you. Come to this grandfather quickly.”
A dignified voice called out to the Grandson kindly.
It was King Sejong the Great.
Suppressing the urge to lift his head and confirm the Visage of the great man, Yunseo slightly straightened his body and examined Hongwi’s face.
Why is our Hongwi so stubborn, when he is so intelligent that he has memorized the Thousand Character Classic?
“······.”
Hongwi pouted, tightly gripped Yunseo’s jeogori sleeve with his left hand, and glanced sideways at the King.
His rapidly pounding heart could be clearly felt even from the side.
It was body language indicating fear of what was there, and also a sign language that the person he could now trust was here.
Yunseo, designated as Hongwi’s trustworthy person, subtly lifted his head and surveyed where the Grandson’s gaze was directed.
To Queen Soheon’s left sat Prince Dowon.
Beside him sat a woman, grown into a beauty, who must be Grand Prince Suyang’s wife, Lady Yun!
‘So that’s why our Hongwi!’
Yunseo gritted his teeth.
Hongwi must have suffered untold pain from that pair, Prince Dowon and Lady Yun.
And amidst the adults who always insisted that he must be dignified, intelligent, and flawless as the Grandson, young Hongwi had no one to turn to about this torment.
Yunseo looked at the small fist tightly gripping her skirt hem.
She moved her bowed body back slightly, and Yunseo gently clasped Hongwi’s trembling fist with her hand.
I’m here, Hongwi. You don’t have to tremble alone anymore.
“Our Gaettongi, come here, come to Grandmother.”
Queen Soheon called Hongwi again by his childhood name.
Then, the Grandson stood up and, instead of going to his grandmother, raised his small finger and pointed at Prince Dowon.
“He hit me.”
“······?”
“······!?”
Everyone’s gaze followed the Grandson’s cute fingertip to Prince Dowon.
“He hit me, right here.”
Hongwi pointed to his head, where a samo was worn, and spoke clearly once more.
Then, Lady Yun, Grand Prince Suyang’s wife, who was sitting next to Prince Dowon, turned ashen.
“Your Highness the Grandson, our Hyundong would never do such a thing.”
Lady Yun denied Hongwi’s words in a strong tone.
Across from Lady Yun, Consort Shin, who had been sitting prettily, also slightly bowed her head towards King Sejong and the Queen.
“His Highness the Grandson must have had a dream. Children his age cannot distinguish well between dreams and reality, can they?”
It was a statement defending Prince Dowon and Lady Yun.
“That’s right. Our Hyundong and His Highness the Grandson haven’t met at all lately.”
Gaining Consort Shin’s support, Lady Yun tried to make the Grandson out to be a liar.
How dare she!
Yunseo stood up, hugged Hongwi, who had begun to tremble, tightly, and sat him on her lap.
It was to give Hongwi, who had shown such courage at the young age of not yet two full years old, confirmation and comfort that he was not alone in this world and that she was by his side.
“Hongwi, did you have a dream? How could Hyundong dare to hit you? That’s impossible. So come here, come to Grandmother.”
“Waaah, he hit me because he was angry!”
The Grandson cried pitifully and hugged Yunseo’s neck.
For a moment, it felt as if a large sword had pierced her chest.
Yunseo hugged the Grandson tighter, lowered her head, and stated resolutely.
“I, a humble palace lady, dare to speak. Two days ago, His Highness the Grandson met Princess Myeongnyegung and Princess Heerakdang. It was when His Highness the Grandson was playing fishing in the small pond in the courtyard.”
“How insolent!”
Before Yunseo could even finish speaking, Lady Kim Shinbin and Lady Yun glared at Yunseo as if they wanted to kill her.
“How dare you, a mere maid, slander my son? Your Majesty, Your Highness, I am wronged. It is true that I entered the palace with Hyundong the other day to prepare for the arrival of the two Princesses, along with Consort Shin. But for our Hyundong to bully His Highness the Grandson? It is an utterly preposterous slander!”
Lady Yun actively defended her son.
However, Consort Shin merely glared at Yunseo coldly with her beautiful eyes.
It was an elegant anger mixed with relief that the Grandson had not accused her son.
Yunseo wracked her memory once more.
She had not directly seen Prince Dowon hit Hongwi.
But immediately after she had looked away for a moment to check the snack table, Hongwi had just whimpered and asked to be held, unable to say anything.
‘This child, having no one to take his side, couldn’t complain!’
Children are surprisingly perceptive.
With their immature judgment, they had concluded that there was no one there who truly wanted to protect them or could protect them.
But here, in Gyotaejeon, he was reporting to the King and Queen.
Sitting on my lap.
Relying on my promise to protect him. Using my warmth as a stepping stone.
That Prince Dowon had been tormenting him.
Yunseo tightened her grip on Hongwi with her arms.
“When His Highness the Grandson was fishing, the two Princesses arrived, and many palace servants saw His Highness the Grandson rubbing his head and whimpering. Please investigate and confirm. Our His Highness the Grandson is not yet old enough to concoct elaborate lies.”
“...Not old enough to concoct elaborate lies, what does that mean?”
King Sejong suddenly asked in an intrigued voice.
“On what grounds do you say that lies also require age?”
King Sejong asked!
Even while her heart burned for Hongwi, she trembled, her breath catching.
Yunseo tightened her grip on Hongwi and took several deep breaths, relaxing her over-excited sympathetic nerves, then calmly stated again.
“To concoct lies requires sophisticated cognitive ability. It means our little one is not old enough to fabricate something that did not happen while accurately recalling the place of an event two days ago.”
“So, you mean that one can infer a child’s cognitive ability or developmental stage from their lies?”
King Sejong asked again,
“Your Majesty, that is not what is important right now!”
Queen Soheon suddenly snapped at King Sejong.
It was a strong reprimand, questioning if this was the time and place to explore new knowledge.
“······.”
King Sejong remained silent, and Yunseo buried her face in Hongwi’s back to hide a snicker.
Then, Noble Lady Yang, who had been silent all along, stepped forward.
“Since it happened within Yanghwadang, I will confirm with my subordinates and report.”
“Noble Lady Yang······.”
Lady Yun called out to Noble Lady Yang, looking flustered.
But Noble Lady Yang was a woman with sharp political acumen.
She instinctively knew that this was a golden opportunity to block the moves of Grand Prince Suyang and Lady Yun, who were beginning to subtly win over royalty and officials with their vast wealth.
“Although Princess Myeongnyegung and Princess Heerakdang are still young, should they not show proper respect to His Highness the Grandson? If this matter leaks outside, we will face criticism that the royal family’s discipline has broken down.”
Noble Lady Yang implicated Consort Shin’s child, a rival concubine, all at once.
Sensing Noble Lady Yang’s intention, Consort Shin quickly filled her beautiful eyes with tears and trembled her lips before bowing.
“I apologize. It is all my fault for being foolish.”
As Consort Shin admitted fault so easily, Lady Yun, wife of Grand Prince Suyang, who could no longer deny it, also bowed low.
“Father, Mother, I apologize.”
“Grandfather, Grandmother, please forgive me.”
Even six-year-old Prince Dowon bowed.
“······.”
“······.”
King Sejong merely grunted unpleasantly and kept his mouth shut.
It was a matter of the Inner Court.
Queen Soheon looked at the Grandson and Yunseo, who was holding him.
The Queen’s gaze towards Yunseo was far from kind.
It was filled with anger for causing turmoil within the royal family.
But Yunseo was confident.
‘Queen Soheon cherishes her first grandson, Prince Dowon, greatly, but not to the extent that it would shake the Grandson’s position. She is the head of the Inner Court. She knows well how the dignity of the royal family must be maintained.’
And Yunseo’s prediction proved correct.
“Grandson, come here. Come to Grandmother.”
Queen Soheon called Hongwi again. Her voice was gentle.
Yunseo quickly whispered firmly into Hongwi’s ear.
“You must go.”
The Grandson lifted his face, which had been buried in her chest, and looked into Yunseo’s eyes.
Yunseo nodded at the child, tears welling up.
‘Go, go and solidify your position!’
Then, the three-year-old Grandson slid off Yunseo’s lap and ran towards the Queen with his short legs.
And as he was embraced by his grandmother, he shouted once more.
“Grandmother, Little One was hurt.”
“···You were. Our Gaettongi was hurt.”
The Queen’s sigh-filled reply contained complex emotions.
She could not take the side of her beloved first grandson, Prince Dowon, nor could she falsely accuse the words of the Grandson, who would inherit the throne.
“······.”
“······.”
“······.”
A heavy silence fell upon Gyotaejeon.
In the deep silence, Yunseo read the common fear and dread that royal women possessed.
A life lived treading on the blade of life and death, following the direction of royal authority.
Even Queen Soheon, who was holding the Grandson at that moment, could only maintain her position as Queen by sacrificing her own father, Sim On’s life, and her mother and siblings, who were reduced to servants.
Then, what about me.
‘As a mere maid with no family or anything else, a Dimensional Traveler.’
In this brutal arena of struggle, where I am risking everything to live in glory,
What must I sacrifice to safely protect that young child and preserve my own life?
It was when Yunseo quietly asked herself.
“···Hyundong must have asked you to play, Hongwi.”
The long silence was broken when the Queen spoke.
The highest authority in the Inner Court, no longer needing to offer sacrifices, tilted subtly towards her first grandson, Prince Dowon.
And that subtle weight ultimately became the price for that child’s life.
Yunseo clenched her fist again.
Her fingernails dug into her palm from disappointment.
But it was premature disappointment.
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