The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Guest of the Prince’s Palace (8)

‘I’ve lost my mind.’

Yes, I must’ve completely lost it.

What was I thinking, distracted with something else while the target was right in front of me?

The dagger stuck in the ground a few steps ahead snapped me back to my senses.

‘He threw a dagger just from sensing a faint breath?’

That wasn’t just sharp intuition. No wonder he was called the God of War.

‘Stay focused.’

I steadied my breathing and erased my presence again.

At the same time, Kayden slowly turned toward his men.

“It was nothing. I thought someone was here.”

“Pardon? There’s no one here but us, Your Majesty. We made sure this area was empty before your arrival.”

“Must’ve been a wild animal, then.”

As expected, getting any closer would be risky.

Kayden’s senses were sharper than I’d anticipated. If I approached any further, I’d be caught for sure.

‘At this distance, I can probably still hear their conversation.’

So I stayed hidden and listened from afar.

Unfortunately, the sound of their voices was drowned out by the reeds swaying in the wind.

“The report from that day… the survivor of….”

“No matter what we do… there’s no end to it.”

While focusing on their faint words, I saw Kayden suddenly raise his hand.

The knights fell silent and stepped back about ten paces.

‘What now?’

I couldn’t tell what was happening.

Crouched in the bushes, I watched him carefully.

He suddenly dropped to one knee.

‘What the….’

I couldn’t make sense of his sudden action. But then I saw where he was kneeling, and my eyes widened.

The ground there was blackened and burnt, unlike the rest of the soil. Like something had scorched it.

Rustle.

The reeds brushed together again, whispering in the night breeze.

A sharp pain spread through my chest, as if something were burning inside me.

“Burn it. Leave not even ashes.”

I covered my mouth.

Sweat rolled down my forehead and fell to the ground, staining the dirt dark.

‘No way.’

So that’s why this place had felt so familiar.

I gritted my teeth as I looked at the reeds along the riverbank. This was where I’d been killed by Ian a year ago.

‘The day I assassinated the noble who made a deal with the Holy Emperor. On my way back, I was stabbed in the back.’

By the man I loved more than anyone in the world. My lover, Ian.

Memories I’d tried to bury to avoid the pain came flooding back, making my vision blur.

Barely keeping my mind steady, I lifted my gaze.

Kayden was crouched down, touching the scorched soil. The dry dirt crumbled in his hand like dust.

“……”

He said nothing. The way he kept touching the ground looked strangely lonely, almost mournful.

I clutched my still-burning chest and stared at him. Then, the passing moonlight illuminated his face.

‘Is he… crying?’

I wasn’t mistaken.

The stoic face of the young king of Adamant was wet with tears.

Silent tears streamed down from his hollow eyes.

‘Why?’

Why would a king cry alone by a foreign riverbank?

What could possibly bring him such sorrow?

“…la.”

Then, Kayden murmured something to himself.

I instinctively read his lips, and froze.

‘Kyla.’

The word that came out of his mouth was too familiar.

Because it was my name from my previous life.

Crunch.

As I hastily rose, a sound escaped me, but I didn’t care.

I turned and ran.

I thought I could feel his gaze following me, but I ignored it.

I just wanted to get away from there.

To escape the burning pain in my chest.

***

Bang.

After returning to the Prince’s Palace, I immediately locked the door and sank to the floor.

‘How?’

On the way back, my mind wasn’t filled with thoughts of revenge against Ian, but with one burning question about Kayden.

‘Kayden… how does he know my name?’

No, even if he somehow knew the name, that wasn’t the issue.

I’d once been the head of the most notorious assassin organization on the continent. For someone like Kayden, it wouldn’t have been impossible to know who I was.

‘But why there, with that face….’

Why had he cried, calling my name as if he’d lost something precious? I couldn’t understand it.

‘Did I know him?’

No matter how much I searched my memory, I found nothing. No recollection of a Kayden, no similar face, not even a name that sounded close.

Someone who knew me, but whom I didn’t know.

‘Who are you?’

I bit my lip, recalling the expressionless face of Kayden as tears slid down his cheeks.

The night grew heavier, filled with confusion unlike any I’d felt before.

***

[Your Majesty, it’s rather improper to contact me at this hour, don’t you think….]

Aurel appeared within the crystal orb’s projection, yawning so wide it looked painful.

He complained for a moment about his disturbed sleep, but when he noticed the grave look on his master’s face, his expression quickly turned serious.

[Did something happen? Is this about a disagreement with the Emperor over the monster issue…?]

“I think I’ve found something.”

[What do you mean? Found what?]

Kayden continued, his expression cold as ice, “The one who killed Kyla.”

The one who killed Kyla? Was he still unable to let that woman go?

Aurel frowned slightly at his king’s words.

[Your Majesty, what good would avenging a dead woman do? She’s already—]

“And I think I might be able to find Kyla too.”

[What? Is that true?]

Aurel’s eyes widened, his sleepiness vanishing in an instant. He rubbed his eyes, muttering as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

[But I thought that black magic ritual was a complete failure. We searched the entire continent and never found a trace of her.]

Kayden stood still in the dark, unlit room, his fists clenched tightly.

On the nightstand beside his bed sat a small box that hadn’t been there before.

A faint, burnt scent seeped out of it.

“Aurel.”

Kayden spoke softly, calling the mage’s name.

“That black mage said if the ritual succeeded, there’d be a mark left behind on the body of the resurrected one, didn’t he?”

Aurel stifled another yawn and replied, [Yes, that’s correct.]

“I went to the place where Kyla was killed today.”

[What? Wait, Your Majesty, are you saying that while you were supposed to be attending the Imperial Palace as a guest, you wandered around the Empire without the Emperor’s permission?]

“The soil was hot. Unlike before.”

If her body had remained, it would’ve borne traces of the ritual. But Kyla Angel’s body hadn’t even been left behind. Whoever killed her had burned her to nothing, not even ash.

“There was still warmth in the earth.”

[…Then the ritual really must’ve succeeded.]

Aurel let out a low groan that sounded almost like despair.

[If there’s no corpse, then the cause of death manifests at the place where they died.]

Kayden slowly reached out toward the small box on the nightstand.

Inside was soil from the lakeside. It was still faintly warm, almost like human body heat.

“…Of course. She wouldn’t disappear that easily.”

In his golden eyes, a mad joy stirred quietly, swirling beneath the calm.

“My angel,” Kayden murmured softly to himself, his voice filled with a devotion that bordered on obsession.

***

The founding festival had officially begun.

The Imperial Capital of the Ventrume Empire was more vibrant and bustling than ever before.

The streets overflowed with songs that never stopped and the mouthwatering scent of food filled every corner.

Warm wind carried the Empire’s banners and rose petals fluttering through the air.

“My goodness.”

The atmosphere within the Imperial Palace was no different from that outside.

In celebration of the festival, attendants received special bonuses, and even those who weren’t nobles were given rare, high-grade meat and wine.

“Your Highness, you look absolutely splendid!”

Perhaps that was why Catherine’s voice was unusually bright and lively as she admired Edwin dressed in his formal attire.

“If clothes make the man, then this proves that the man makes the clothes!”

The ceremonial robe was made of silk as white as snow, embroidered with golden thread so intricate it could have easily overpowered his features, but Edwin wore it flawlessly.

If anything, the outfit made his light hair and blue eyes stand out even more, sharpening his delicate features. The boy, who already looked like a doll, now seemed more like a flawless porcelain figure, untouched by a single speck of dust.

“Oh my, oh my, which nation could boast a prince this handsome?”

Edwin flushed bright red at the endless praise, rubbing the tip of his nose awkwardly.

“Don’t you think so too, Nanny? Among all the princes, isn’t our Prince Edwin the most charming?”

I had been standing blankly for a moment before Catherine’s words brought me back to myself.

“…I suppose so.”

I nodded vaguely, my expression unreadable. Edwin looked disappointed by my indifferent tone.

“Nanny, are you alright?”

Catherine, too, seemed to sense that something was off and subtly stepped closer to me.

Glancing at Edwin, she lowered her voice and whispered to me softly, “Surely nothing happened that day, right?”

“That day?”

Her eyes trembled slightly, as if she might burst into tears depending on my answer.

“The day you went into His Majesty the King of Adamant’s chambers in my place.”