I Was Born as the King’s Daughter – Chapter 76

Ch 76

The Princes Being Trained by Kim Sang-hui

◈◈◈

Kim Sang-hui was very disappointed. It was because Hwan-hyeok, who had come to greet her, had returned, saying he had work at the Royal Palace. Kim Sang-hui also thought.

‘I should also stop by the Royal Palace first.’

But she couldn’t. It was because Kim Hwan-seong strongly insisted, “Since we’re going that way anyway, let’s stop by.”

Kim Sang-hui, Chris, and Kim Hwan-seong. And lastly, Lee Ju-hyung, though unseen. The place they arrived at, guided by Chris, was a very shocking place, at least for Kim Sang-hui.

Chris raised his hand and covered Princess Kim Sang-hui’s eyes.

“Princess Sang-hui should prepare herself mentally.”

And then, he quickly said as if making an excuse.

“If I don’t do this, Princess Kim Sang-hui will be very shocked, so I have no choice, Prince nim.”

Kim Hwan-seong frowned. That guy. Something doesn’t sit right with him. That sight of him covering Kim Sang-hui’s eyes. It really doesn’t sit right with him. He’s annoyed, but he couldn’t find a reason to tell him not to. ‘She’s my younger sister, so don’t touch her! If you’re going to touch her, get my permission first! Though I’d never give you permission.’ He couldn’t say that.

Kim Sang-hui prepared herself mentally. She could roughly guess what kind of place it was. While preparing herself mentally, she also had some doubts about Chris.

‘He could have covered my sight with magic.’

He could have done it with magic, but he’s using his hand. She took a step.

“I’m taking my hand off now. Brace yourself. You probably have a rough idea of what kind of place it is, so you can stop if you don’t want to see it.”

“No. I’m ready.”

Kim Sang-hui wanted to experience a different world. There was a common saying she often heard when she was on Earth. How can a member of the National Assembly who has not experienced the lives of ordinary people create policies for them? It’s the same thing.

‘I can’t just live as a princess.’

She didn’t know when it would be, whether it would be possible or impossible, but she hated this world. She didn’t want a world where women ruled over men, but at least she wanted a world where people could live like human beings. Before that. At the very least, she had to see how commoner women lived, even if she couldn’t experience it herself.

‘I’m living a very happy life compared to them.’

Chris removed his hand that was covering Kim Sang-hui’s eyes. Kim Sang-hui swallowed hard.

‘As I thought… a red-light district…’

It wasn’t much different from Earth. There were transparent glass windows on both sides, and inside, women were completely naked, showing off their bodies. Even though it was broad daylight. Men were walking arrogantly, picking out women to pursue pleasure with.

‘There are women too.’

Kim Sang-hui was shocked once again. Not only were there male customers, but there were also many women.

‘Come to think of it, it’s only natural.’

This world has an overwhelming number of women. Women are people too. It would be a lie to say they don’t have sexual desires. Kim Sang-hui was still young, so she didn’t have such strong desires, but it was different on Earth. At least when she had a loved one by her side. That is, when Jin-soo was by her side, Kim Sang-hui had even initiated things first. Anyway, she did have sexual desires, but she couldn’t dare ask a man to fulfill them, so she bought another woman and satisfied her desires through her.

Chris asked me.

“This isn’t something you can see in books, is it?”

“……..”

Kim Sang-hui couldn’t answer. There was no such world in the world she experienced through books. It was inevitable. The books Kim Sang-hui had access to were in the Royal Palace’s ‘Hall of Records,’ and the books there didn’t cover the stories of these back alleys.

Someone spoke loudly with a megaphone.

“There’s a 7-year-old girl who came in yesterday. She’s a complete virgin.”

Kim Sang-hui clenched her fist. She bit her lip. A 7-year-old girl, and a virgin. She saw men heading towards that place. It seemed like they were going to hold an auction.

Kim Sang-hui forced a smile and looked at Kim Hwan-seong. She didn’t just look at him, she even linked her arm with his. Naturally, Kim Hwan-seong’s face bloomed with a smile.

“Older Brother.”

“Why?”

Kim Hwan-seong didn’t think much of it. A red-light district like this. He wasn’t very interested in it. He didn’t care about it. This kind of thing was just like a common tree on the street. That’s how it was for Kim Hwan-seong.

“That child is so pitiful.”

“Why?”

Kim Sang-hui couldn’t ignore that child who was holding back her tears. If you asked what that had to do with changing this world, she wouldn’t be able to answer. If you asked if that kind of child was the only one in this world, she would have to say no. The same kind of thing was probably happening frequently somewhere else right now.

‘But… I absolutely can’t just stand by and watch.’

She didn’t care if it was meddling or acting kind.

‘How can they use a 7-year-old girl as a tool for satisfying their desires?’

Those crazy bastards. She cursed them in her mind.

“Since Sujin came as my maid, wouldn’t there be a shortage of maids in the Royal Palace?”

Kim Hwan-seong tilted his head.

“Why is that?”

Kim Hwan-seong didn’t care about that. Whether there was a shortage of maids in the Royal Palace or not, what did that have to do with him? Kim Sang-hui pondered.

‘Should I… take another step forward now?’

Until now, she had been very passive. Even when she wanted something, she had never directly said, ‘Give it to me.’

‘Is it… okay?’

Kim Sang-hui thought a lot in a short amount of time. When you want something, there’s a big difference between saying, ‘That’s so pretty’ and saying, ‘Please buy that for me.’ Especially when the other person is Kim Hwan-seong. A transformed brat and a prince of the Goryeo Kingdom.

‘It’s a mountain I have to climb over someday anyway.’

It’s always the first time that’s difficult, and after that, it’s easy.

‘It’s a relief that the other person is the Second Brat.’

If the other person had been Kim Hwan-seok, she wouldn’t have even tried. Kim Hwan-seok would have definitely said, ‘Shut up.’

‘But our Second Brat is still a little kinder than the First Brat.’

In the end, she mustered her courage and spoke. She added flattery because she was scared.

“Oppa. Could you buy that child for me?”

Kim Hwan-seong’s mouth dropped open. It seemed like Kim Sang-hui’s worries were unnecessary from the start.

“Lee Ju-hyung!”

The Special Knight appeared.

“Yes, Prince nim.”

As if mocking Kim Sang-hui’s worries, he suddenly said.

“Buy that and bring it here.”

“…Yes?”

Kim Hwan-seong smiled brightly.

“I don’t have my wallet.”

Lee Ju-hyung looked like he was about to cry.

“I’ll pay you back. I said I’ll pay you back. So hurry up and buy it.”

“Y-you’ll really pay me back?”

Kim Sang-hui let out a sigh of relief. Kim Hwan-seong. He was easy after all. When she asked him to buy it, he just bought it. Thinking about it logically, it doesn’t make any sense. How could a princess dare to ask a prince to buy something for her? And how could the prince buy it for her? What’s even more interesting is that Lee Ju-hyung, who was watching the situation, didn’t find anything particularly strange about it. If the scholars of Goryeo had seen this situation, they would have foamed at the mouth and collapsed, or they might have said to Alex, ‘Let’s adopt Sang-hui Studies as a formal academic discipline right now!’

Here’s a service. I’ll go full service today. Kim Sang-hui poured out lip service to her heart’s content.

“It’s so fortunate that you’re my older brother, Oppa. You’re so reliable. You’re the most wonderful older brother in the world.”

At those words, Kim Hwan-seong’s cheekbones rose high.

◈◈◈

Oppa. It’s the first time I’ve said it more than three times at once. I try not to do it often. Because if I do it too often, the impact will decrease.

Our Brat puffed out his chest.

“Ahem. Right?”

“Princess nim. The money is coming out of my wallet, though.”

The Brat said curtly.

“I said I’ll pay you back?”

“Until when?”

“Anyway, I’ll pay you back soon!”

But then Knight Lee Ju-hyung said something strange.

“In any case, it’s my money that’s going out. Right now.”

“I know. I know. Hurry up and go buy it. Before the auction ends!”

Knight Lee Ju-hyung looked at me.

“Princess nim. This is coming out of my money for now, you know?”

I had to read the room. What the heck does that Ajusshi want… I thought about it, and it wasn’t that difficult.

‘Could it be?’

That Ajusshi doesn’t want to hear ‘Oppa’ too, does he? No way. That Ajusshi. As far as I know, he’s over 30 years old. I don’t know exactly, but I heard he’s in his early to mid-30s. Ah. Of course, he looks like he’s in his early to mid-20s. These guys have this ridiculous cheat ability called magic, so their growth is fast and their aging is slow.

“I’m also very grateful to Knight Lee Ju-hyung nim. Thank you so much.”

“Hmph…”

Knight Lee Ju-hyung frowned, as if that wasn’t the answer he wanted, but he couldn’t object because my words didn’t violate etiquette.

‘Still, he has the face of a Special Knight, so he can’t ask me to call him Oppa.’

But I lost. The face of a Special Knight. It seems like he doesn’t have that.

“I want to hear ‘Older Brother’ too.”

…Ah. Yes… Older Brother.

◈◈◈

Someone said.

“300 million.”

The auction house became quiet. 300 million? What crazy bastard is calling out such a ridiculous number? Everyone looked behind them. The person looked to be in their mid-teens.

The host of the auction also seemed flustered. Until just now, the highest bid was 80 million. In fact, a discarded girl from a noble family could fetch over 100 million, but this girl wasn’t that special. She wasn’t very pretty either. She was just a virgin and 7 years old. Her rarity was recognized, and that’s why the price went up to 80 million.

One of the people looked at him as if he was dumbfounded. He spoke sternly, as if telling him to stop playing around.

“Hey. Kid. 300 million? Are you crazy?”

“Why? If you have the money, you can pay, right?”

Oh my. That’s absurd. If you have 300 million, show it to me. Everyone thought it was absurd. There was no way a kid in their mid-teens would have that much money. Even if they did, who would spend 300 million on such a young girl? They would rather buy a house.

The boy took out a 300 million check from his wallet. It was a check issued by the Imperial Bank, the most authoritative bank.

“Is this enough?”

Even the experienced host stuttered.

“3, 3, 3, 300 million! 3, 300 million! Is there, is there anyone else!”

This is… a real jackpot. I thought 80 million was a lot, but 300 million. A real jackpot has been hit!

Knight Lee Ju-hyung frowned.

“Prince nim. He caused an accident.”

“You don’t even have 300 million?”

“What 300 million would a salaryman like me have?”

Special Knights don’t have that high of a salary. Of course, it’s much higher than ordinary people. In terms of annual salary, it’s over 100 million. From the start, they don’t become Special Knights because of money. If they were going to do it for money, they would quit being Special Knights and use their experience to start a mercenary company. That would be much better.

Kim Hwan-seong was dissatisfied. Just a mere 300 million. It’s money that would just come out if you shook the piggy bank. It was a mistake not bringing his wallet. 300 million? That’s funny. He could call out 3 billion. Because it was the ‘first’ ‘thing’ that Princess Kim Sang-hui had said she wanted.

Kim Hwan-seong said.

“Aish. Hey. Chris. Sell that to me.”

“I can’t.”

“I’ll give you 3 billion.”

“I refuse.”

“Then 30 billion.”

Cold sweat ran down Lee Ju-hyung’s back. Prince nim. Are you crazy? 30 billion to buy such a girl? What kind of nonsense is that? I wanted to say, ‘Just take 100 million out of that and give it to me.’

Chris still refused.

“I can’t. Princess Kim Sang-hui said she wanted that child, so I’m going to give it to her as a gift.”

Kim Sang-hui secretly sighed. Isn’t this where the difference is clearly shown? Chris referred to that girl as a ‘child,’ and Kim Hwan-seong referred to her as ‘that.’ Their perception of women was completely different.

Kim Hwan-seong spoke as if he still couldn’t understand.

“Are you an idiot? 30 billion is a lot of money even for me.”

“Why are you trying to spend such a large sum of money like that?”

“W-well…”

Kim Hwan-seong was shocked. Come to think of it, why am I? Why? Why am I trying to spend 30 billion? It’s not just a few coins. 300 million is one thing. No. Even 3 billion is a lot of money. Even if he was a prince of the Goryeo Royal Family, 30 billion was by no means a small amount. Kim Hwan-seong fell into a dilemma. He seemed to be going crazy. When he snapped back to his senses, he felt like he had been possessed by something.

Kim Sang-hui skillfully took advantage of that gap.

“Older Brother. It’s okay. I’ll just accept your heart.”

She deliberately called him ‘Older Brother’ instead of ‘Oppa.’ Kim Hwan-seong looked like he was about to cry. Kim Sang-hui continued.

“I’ll receive Older Brother’s gift next time. Even though it’s just your heart, I’m so happy.”

In other words, there was no ‘actual item,’ and only a ‘heart.’ She said it very cleverly. Furthermore, she secured her advantage by saying, ‘I’ll receive it next time.’ In fact, objectively speaking, a gift is something you gratefully accept if someone gives it to you, and if they don’t, there’s nothing you can do about it. But she deliberately twisted her words, making Kim Hwan-seong feel like a ‘bad guy’ if he didn’t give her one. In fact, Kim Hwan-seong was now caught in the feeling of becoming a bad older brother.

Chris paid and moved to pick up the girl. While looking at Chris’s back, Kim Hwan-seong gnashed his teeth.

‘Something feels uneasy.’

He had loudly declared that he was the strongest older brother in the world, but he felt like he had lost to Chris. He felt like he had been robbed of the first gift he was going to give his younger sister ━ the one she had said she wanted with her own mouth.

Kim Hwan-seong grumbled.

“Something’s annoying.”

But then, someone approached.

“Are you here to sell this girl?”

For reference, Kim Hwan-seong is not in a good mood right now.

“Hmm. Judging by her condition, she seems like a daughter of a noble family.”

A chuckle was heard.

“You saw that worthless girl get sold for 300 million, right? This girl could fetch an even higher price.”

For reference, Special Knight Lee Ju-hyung is also next to him right now. The prince of the Goryeo Royal Family, Kim Hwan-seong, who is currently in a very bad mood, and Special Knight Lee Ju-hyung simultaneously looked at the man.

Chris, who had finished the handover, also came.

“What’s going on?”

The man recognized Chris. A huge rich man who spent 300 million on a lowly girl! In other words, a pushover. A rich pushover. If he could catch this pushover again, he could hit the jackpot again. He bowed to Chris.

“It seems like they’re here to sell this child.”

There was a strange expectation in his eyes. This child. Isn’t she much prettier and fairer than that girl you just bought? He seemed to be subtly asserting that.

‘Please fall for it!’

He spent 300 million without batting an eye. If so, this girl could be traded at a much higher price!

Kim Hwan-seong, Lee Ju-hyung, and even Chris looked at the man. Three men looked at him at the same time. The man felt something was off. But besides those three men. He heard another man’s voice.

“Hey. What kind of guy are you?”

It was a voice that Kim Sang-hui also knew well.

━————————–= Afterword =—————————=

“I’ll receive Older Brother’s gift next time. Even though it’s just your heart, I’m so happy.”

Let’s interpret this phrase again, directly:

→ In the end, you didn’t give me a gift. You only gave me your heart. So, give it to me again next time.

But Kim Hwan-seong doesn’t know that. For some unknown reason, he fell into guilt as if he had become a bad older brother. Ah. The Brat is gone. He fell into a swamp ㅠㅠ.