Another Chance, Time & World

Caretaker of the Hidden Princess

Jin

He remember wishing that there were more females with curious nature whom were free to express themselves freely in this world. How impressed he had been by the fact that the 4th prince did not rein in his wife's curious nature. But he had not realized how exhausting curiosity could be when he had to look after someone with a curious nature.

It was right after the rainfall while he was celebrating the rain with all the other guards when he had been pulled away due to a summon relayed to him by one of the 4th prince's servants. Not ignoring the order, he quickly went to where the 4th prince will be, right outside Cheondokjeon before his audience with the King. Imagine his surprise, when he was simply given a letter by the 4th prince while he had been standing a roof shaking the excess water from his hair.

A royal child was here in Songak. The child that was held at knife-point at the bandit's hideout was the missing child of the 4th prince and Lady Soo. Not to mention, this child's existence had been a complete secret from all of their families. His orders were simple, go undercover as a commoner and protect the hidden princess with his life as her caretaker. Even in silence, he could remember the narrowed look in the 4th prince's eyes as he had turned to look at Jin, promising him a painful death if anything happens to his daughter just by the look in his eyes.

Though he was shocked, Jin had bowed to signal that he understood and quickly had went to his quarters to change out of his royal guard uniform to one of the more rougher hanbok, not black sadly but a dark blue plain one. Then after concealing multiple weapons on his body, he pack a very simple luggage in a cloth before quietly sneaking out of the palace. Before the sun had set, he had arrived at the house where the princess currently was residing and the lady of the house silently showed him the way to the princess's room.

He remembered getting ready to act like a harmless man to a toddler, and quietly entering the room. The room the princess was in was small but it was enough for a child and an adult to live. The princess rather than the silk pink robe he had seen on her in the previous night, she was in a rougher cotton hanbok of faded pink top and darker pink skirt and bow. Just like a commoner, only thing that showed that she was different was that her hair had a luxurious ribbon that held a braid together the top of her hair. The princess was sitting on a mattress with her back facing him so he could not see her face. Still, he had performed the proper bow as a greeting to the royal while introducing himself as Jin, her new caretaker. When he sat down on the floor, that was when the princess finally seem to acknowledge his presence.

"Appa, is he well?" It was a clear musical voice and in the time it took him to blink, the princess turns to face him. People had to be blind to not notice the similarities of this child to Lady Soo. Her eyes, her skin, her cheeks it was like an exact copy of her mother. But the slight sharpness of her eyes, her strong chin and nose that was all the 4th prince's. "Don't hide. I know Appa sent you, Jin. Is he well?..What about Eomoni?"

He had let a small smile appear on his face then, that look of determination while trying to look stern was something that he had witnessed Lady Soo doing many times during the relief trip. But that force behind her voice was just like her father's. This child was a perfect mix of her father and mother. But since it was so obvious to him, it just meant that protecting her identity will be harder as the princess's identity was a secret. But first he had to reply to the question asked by the child in front of him.

"Both of them are well, Seol Agasshi." That must be what the princess was waiting for since her frown turn into a bright smile then he had been bombarded with questions. Her want for knowledge knew no bounds. Everything from her parents, the King, the royal family, where were the best hiding places, where can she see a lot of butterflies and so on. That had been the first time Jin had understood just exhausting it could be to answer questions after questions of a curious child. If he had been anything like this when he was young, no wonder his siblings got annoyed with him so often.