The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 100

Chapter 100: A Sleepless Night (2)

“……”

Silently, I turned my head toward the door.

‘Is it really all right for me to leave like this?’

If I walked out now, the King of Adamant would have no choice but to sleep alone.

At this hour, it wasn’t as if he could summon another woman whose identity could be verified and whose presence posed no danger.

Besides, he hadn’t truly wanted someone to serve him in bed in the first place.

“…If we’re talking about who was rude first, that would be me.”

At my words, Kayden’s shoulders twitched slightly.

“I’d like to make it up to Your Majesty, if only to atone for my discourtesy.”

Kayden slowly turned around at that. He lifted the water bottle to his lips and asked, “Are you serious?”

“If Your Majesty would grant me the chance to apologize for my rudeness as nothing more than a nanny.”

It would’ve been troublesome if Kayden decided to make an issue out of tonight’s events later on.

‘A person’s mind can change as easily as turning a hand over.’

This was the same man who’d casually said he’d report the poor hospitality of the Third Prince’s Palace to the Emperor.

Turning a joke into a threat—or a threat into a joke—would come easily to a king like him.

“To be honest.”

I folded my hands politely and looked at Kayden.

“It’s not even a difficult thing.”

Before I died, I lived surrounded by rough men. To survive missions, I’d even stripped and jumped into freezing rivers with them. Sharing a bed was nothing.

“…Not a difficult thing, you say.”

Kayden looked at me as if I were something strange.

It was only natural. A woman who wasn’t married saying she’d willingly sleep beside a man—it sounded odd.

“I’ll stay only until dawn.”

I quickly climbed onto the bed and leaned against the headboard.

“Please, go to sleep.”

Kayden glanced at me, sitting comfortably on his bed, and chuckled.

But since he didn’t seem to dislike the idea, he didn’t send me away.

“Then I won’t refuse.”

Kayden climbed into bed slowly and settled beside me.

He lay on his back for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, then turned toward me.

“Are you planning to stay like that all night?”

“Is there a problem, Your Majesty?”

“You’ll be uncomfortable.”

It seemed he was bothered by the way I was sitting up straight. Kayden looked at me with mild disapproval.

“Just lie down.”

“I’m used to this, so don’t mind me.”

“…Used to it?”

That response seemed to catch his attention, his golden eyes widening slightly.

“You mean you usually spend the night sitting like that?”

“…I have insomnia. I sit this way until I eventually fall asleep.”

In truth, it was simply a habit formed from years of never letting my guard down, always ready for an ambush. But I couldn’t exactly tell him that.

“Well.”

Kayden rolled his eyes thoughtfully before nodding in apparent understanding.

“If that’s what you say, I’ll believe it.”

He sank his head halfway into the pillow. But even then, his gaze stayed fixed on me.

“If you keep staring like that, Your Majesty, you’ll have trouble falling asleep.”

I deliberately avoided looking his way.

“Close your eyes.”

“…You even seem used to putting people to sleep.”

More used to killing than putting them to sleep, honestly.

‘Though lately, I’ve gotten used to the latter too.’

I bowed my head quietly instead of replying.

“Because you’re a nanny, perhaps?”

“Maybe the reason Your Majesty can’t sleep isn’t because no one’s beside you, but because there is.”

“…That’s a very polite way of telling me to stop talking and go to sleep.”

Kayden gave a faint laugh, then closed his eyes.

He looked like the kind of man who’d never listened to anyone in his life, yet he did as I said without complaint.

‘He can’t sleep alone, but he listens surprisingly well.’

Just like a child.

Though calling a man with that face and build a child seemed absurd.

‘Besides, he’s far too….’

Too handsome for that.

Even lying still with his eyes closed, Kayden looked almost unreal.

‘Maybe Edwin will look like this when he grows up.’

Without realizing it, I found myself comparing the two in my head. And then, out of nowhere, Kayden spoke again.

“…Just asking, but.”

Was he about to scold me for staring at his face?

But the words that came next were completely unexpected.

“Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

The golden eyes hidden beneath his lids opened once more. In that moment, they reflected only me.

‘Met before, you say.’

We met in the garden, didn’t we?

“Not that time. Not in the garden.”

I replied with my eyes still closed, “…I don’t think so. How could a lowly nanny like me have had a chance to meet a king of a nation?”

“…Is that so?”

Even without looking, I could tell. Kayden was staring at me intently.

‘If he keeps that up, he’s going to burn a hole in my face.’

I opened my mouth again. “I was an orphan. I entered the palace to serve as a nanny in the Prince’s Palace. The first time I saw Your Majesty was in that garden.”

“An orphan? You weren’t born a noble?” Kayden asked back in slight surprise.

“I am now. I was adopted into a count’s family.”

Was he perhaps offended that someone without noble blood dared to stand next to a king?

“By any chance,” I hesitated for a moment before speaking, “does it make you uncomfortable that I’m not a noble?”

“If you were a noble, it would’ve been even more uncomfortable.”

“…Ah.”

Right, I’d almost forgotten that the King of Adamant was born a commoner.

Kayden saw my expression and let out a quiet laugh.

“Well, never mind.”

He waved a hand dismissively and turned his body.

“Forget what I said earlier. It was nothing important.”

After that, there was no more sound. I cautiously turned my head toward him.

‘He’s already asleep?’

The young king was lying there, gazing at the ceiling, now sleeping soundly. Watching his chest rise and fall steadily left me speechless.

‘So defenseless, even with a stranger beside him.’

Was it that he was simple-minded enough not to worry, or just that confident in his own strength?

‘Maybe both.’

I stared at Kayden’s face for a while.

Once your gaze landed on such a face, it wasn’t easy to look away.

‘I guess I can understand why women throw themselves at him despite being afraid.’

His high forehead, straight nose, and lips of just the right fullness.

Those long lashes resting perfectly beneath sharply drawn brows.

The flawless balance and harmony of his features reminded me of a statue of a young god straight out of myth.

‘They really do look alike.’

I found similarities between Kayden and Edwin and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

‘Beautiful things all tend to look alike, I suppose.’

Come to think of it, maybe this was part of my work, too.

Putting children to sleep was also one of a nanny’s duties, after all.

‘Funny, isn’t it?’

Before I died, my main job had been to silently kill sleeping people. And now, my job was to guard others as they slept.

Not that I disliked this work.

It just still felt strange sometimes.

“Haa.”

I quietly sighed and turned my head away.

Judging by how dark it still was outside the window, dawn was a long way off.

It seemed that tonight, sleep would not come easily.

***

Rustle, rustle.

Kayden slowly opened his eyes at the faint tickling sensation brushing against his face.

A cool morning breeze was blowing through the slightly open window, carrying with it the strands of hair brushing against his eyes.

He reached out toward the empty space beside him. The sheets were slightly rumpled and still faintly warm.

“…Leaving without permission, are you?”

His voice was low and rough from sleep, yet a hint of amusement colored it.

In truth, Kayden had already been awake when Rachel left the room earlier that morning.

‘What a funny woman.’

The Third Prince’s nanny, Rachel Brown.

It was strange. She wasn’t afraid of him at all. Instead, she’d looked him straight in the eyes and said everything she wanted to say.

He’d seen countless men who’d marched across battlefields with him, but none had ever shown the same nerve and composure as that small woman.

Kayden ran a hand over his face and let out a short laugh.

“…So it’s not just the eyes.”

He muttered something under his breath, the meaning known only to him.

Just then, a knock came from the door.

“Your Majesty, it’s me.”

At the familiar voice of his aide, Kayden rose from the bed.

He picked up the trousers lying nearby and pulled them on before grabbing the water bottle from the table.

“Come in.”

With permission granted, Oliver stepped inside.

He looked far too disheveled for someone who’d supposedly just woken up from a night’s rest. His dark cloak and leather armor were smeared with mud and grass.

“Did Your Majesty sleep well?”

“So-so.”

“I haven’t had a wink of sleep since arriving in the Empire, having to carry out the orders Your Majesty gave me… yet I’m relieved to see you at least got some rest.”

“Talking back to your superior first thing in the morning? Sounds like you could go a couple more nights without sleep.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”

As Kayden put on a clean shirt from the wall hook, he continued speaking.

“So? What did you find out?”

“Your prediction was correct.”

Oliver bowed his head respectfully toward his one and only lord.

“The last trace of the ‘Angel’ was found here in the Empire.”