The Concubine: Who changed from within

Chapter 1

Cameron barely managed to push his heavy eyelid up while feeling a severe headache. His whole body was in pain and heavy as if he had been beaten soundly by someone and then dipped into the water. It was strange since Cameron, who had gone through a lot of training, had never woken up in such a terrible condition as this.

Cameron opened his eyes wide as he tried to dig up his memories. It was because he had remembered what happened before he lost his consciousness.

"Your Highness! Have you finally woken up?"

When the shocked Cameron raised his body abruptly, his surroundings became noisy. Perhaps because he suddenly raised up his body, his vision was spinning for a while. Even this was something that Cameron had never experienced. When he opened his eyes back after closing them tightly as he massaged his forehead, the scenery in front of him began to come in little by little.

He saw a few court ladies and chamberlain's in front of the bed where he had woken up. They all were people from the Silver White Palace and were familiar to Cameron. 

Cameron quickly asked them as he had regained his memory.

"Is His Highness fine?"

Cameron—one of the guards who were protecting Silver White Palace—clearly remembered that when he did his regular patrol, he found His Highness the Concubine Cumulus fell into the pond in the garden.

A long time ago, Silver White Palace was a newly built palace for a concubine greatly favored by the King at that time. The pond was also built as big as the deep of the King's love, and it was a place known for its large size and deep water level. 

It might be possible for someone who had learned to swim, but for a concubine who had never worked a day, it was challenging to come out of the pond alone. Because it seemed like, among those court ladies who attended him, no one could skillfully swim and pull him out—since they could only scream 'Your Highness!' Cameron felt impatient and jumped into the water to save Concubine Cumulus.

That was what happened.

There was a faint memory that he had with Concubine Cumulus when he was saving him underwater, who acted as if he didn't want to come out and struggled to push Cameron out of the water. 

"Looking that I can open my eyes, fortunately, it seems like I didn't die." Cameron looked back at those who had somehow turned pale and trembled at his question.

"Don't tell me I couldn't save His Highness and come out alive alone?" He thought to himself as he said, "His Highness... is His Highness also had awak...?!"

"Your Highness! What do you mean by that...!"

However, Cameron couldn't complete his question correctly because the court ladies kneeling before him howled, "Your Highness!".

"I'm sure something must be happening here. There must be something wrong with His Highness." Cameron closed his eyes tightly. Regardless of His Highness' personality, Cameron's heart sank when he thought about the young concubine who had to experience such an accident that night.

When Cameron was about to ask about the detailed situation while barely able to grasp his faint senses, a court lady suddenly came to his side and touched his arm while talking with a teary face. "Your Highness, is your head hurt? Do you have problems remembering well what happened to you that night?"

"Wh-why are you like this?" Cameron became more surprised at the court lady's act—suddenly touching his arm. 

Cameron quickly swiped off the court lady's hand as he rose from the bed and then talked with an austere voice. "I know what happened to His Highness Concubine Cumulus is shocking for you, but you can't do this to me. Please calm... down..."

Cameron suddenly felt an odd feeling from the very start when he heard his own voice. Even though Cameron wasn't a man with a deep voice, he was a man with a common man's voice that could have quite a weight when he talked in a serious manner like this. 

Then, what about the voice he heard in his ear just now? It was a beautiful voice that no doubt could be called a sweet voice, and Cameron knew very well who was the owner of this voice.

"Your Highness, why are you like this?" The court lady turned on her side and shouted, "Hey there! Quickly call a doctor now! It seems like His Highness is very shocked!"

Cameron absentmindedly looked at the court lady, who kept worrying for him with his trembling gaze. As a close court lady to Concubine Cumulus, Anna was someone who had very much known Cumulus.

"Is this a dream? Why can't I wake up from this dream?" Cameron lowered his gaze and examined his appearance. He could see the delicate skirt covering down the tip of his feet. When he raised his hands, wide, long sleeves slid down gently against his skin. No matter how hard he looked at it, it wasn't the attire of a guard. The hands which came into view were no doubt the hands of someone who had never held a sword in his life.

"This... What on earth is this...."

The voices of those making a fuss around him slowly grew dim. He then once more recalled what happened that night.

The water of the pond was as cold as ice. Concubine Cumulus kept on struggling and refusing his help. When Cameron managed to grab Concubine Cumulus and came out to the edge of the pond, once again, Concubine Cumulus resisted him. Cameron's foot slipped, and he hit his head against the stone.