The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 120

Chapter 120: First Prince Adrian (1)

“…I’ve never been told I’m oblivious in my life.”

I’d lived as an assassin for nearly twenty years.

If I were oblivious, I’d have met my end a long time ago.

Kayden simply stared at me for a moment.

[Sounds like you’ve never had an honest person around you.]

As if. The problem was that everyone was brutally honest, to the point it bordered on rude.

I thought of the people I worked with in the organization, then pushed the thought away.

[Or you’re not very good at looking at yourself objectively. At this rate, I might end up regretting trusting you and forming this alliance.]

What’s he basing this on, saying I’m oblivious and I lack self-awareness? If anyone’s oblivious, it’s your mouth, rattling on while failing to recognize a former assassination squad leader….

‘Calm down, Kyla Angel. He’s a king.’

I need to be more patient than usual.

If my inner thoughts slip out of my mouth, that’ll be a problem.

I forced down the eyebrow that twitched reflexively and replied politely.

“Don’t worry. You won’t regret it.”

Kayden let out a short laugh.

[That confidence, at least, I like.]

“I’ll contact you right away if I learn any new information about Breath of the Angel.”

[I’ll wait.]

“Then I’ll be going….”

I tried to end the call quickly, but Kayden raised a hand in a hurry.

[Wait.]

“Why?”

[There’s one more thing I want to ask of you.]

“What is it?”

At my question, Kayden gave a meaningful smile.

[Can you keep an eye out for anyone suspicious among the temple people who come and go in the Imperial Palace?]

Temple people. Did he mean the clerics of the Holy Kingdom of Rion?

Why bring up clerics all of a sudden?

“I can do that. It’s not difficult. But….”

I hesitated, then continued, “May I ask why you’re making this request?”

[Unfortunately, I don’t think I can tell you just yet.]

Kayden tilted one corner of his mouth.

[But if my guess is right, you’ll soon find out naturally why I asked.]

What exactly is he guessing?

I frowned in confusion.

[Then it was nice seeing you, Lady Brown. Until we meet again, I hope you stay well.]

I didn’t even have time to respond.

The call ended unilaterally with Kayden’s farewell.

I stared blankly at the orb, now dark.

“…Huh.”

And only then did I realize.

He’d moved first so he could end the call before I did.

***

The Imperial Central Library.

Since it was attached right beside the Imperial Palace, it was the largest library of all, holding an uncountable number of books.

It was bigger than most palaces, yet it was as quiet as a grave.

Since only members of the imperial family and nobles with permission could use it, there were always few people inside compared to its size.

“It should be around here….”

It had been a long time since Third Prince Edwin visited the central library, rather than the library attached to his own residence.

“The book Teacher mentioned…”

The prince was wandering the vast hall in search of the book Sage asked him to find.

His teacher couldn’t stop thinking about the mutated monster that appeared in Luxen Village, so he asked Edwin to borrow books related to monsters and mana stones.

“I’m sure the librarian said it’d be this way….”

It was when he passed dozens of towering bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling and turned the last visible corner.

“Ah.”

Edwin let out an exclamation without meaning to.

Someone was reading at a wide table set by the window.

It was the First Prince, Adrian.

‘Brother Adrian.’

First Prince Adrian Sapiens Ventrume.

The fifteen-year-old prince was a sickly boy with red hair and gray eyes.

His slightly drooping eye corners resembled the Emperor’s, but overall he looked like the Empress, so even at a glance he looked like someone from House Crowner.

Still, unlike his maternal uncle, Duke Crowner, there was a gentle, intellectual air about him.

‘Now that I think about it, Brother is a notorious bookworm.’

Edwin found himself staring blankly at Adrian reading.

Bathed in sunlight pouring through the windows, the First Prince looked strangely captivating.

‘Ah, I should greet him….’

Should he?

Edwin hesitated, half hiding himself beside a bookshelf.

If his relationship with Second Prince Lloyd was outright hostility, his relationship with First Prince Adrian was far more subtle.

Not exactly close, but not distant either.

First of all, the First Prince showed no interest in him at all.

‘Well, I’ve never seen Brother Adrian show interest in anyone.’

First Prince Adrian was evenly indifferent to everyone.

Unless the Empress said something, he never greeted others first, and he never acted familiar.

‘He always looks so expressionless. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.’

His expression was always calm and relaxed, so there was no way to tell whether he cared or not.

Even when Melanie drank poison at the Empress’s Palace, Adrian looked as impassive as ever.

‘Maybe that’s what it means to be someone destined to become Crown Prince.’

The noble faction strongly pushed Second Prince Lloyd as the next emperor, but the families that supported the Emperor, including House Crowner, all wanted to put forward the First Prince as the next emperor.

Aside from the flaw of being physically weak, his learning and refinement were beyond reproach.

‘Still, one thing’s clear. He really does love books.’

With his gaze fixed on the book, Adrian looked more at ease than usual.

Seeing that made Edwin feel like he didn’t want to disturb the First Prince’s reading time.

‘I should probably just go back.’

Edwin turned to leave.

That was when.

“Since you’re here, sit.”

“Ah, yes?”

“Aren’t you here to read? There’s an empty seat, so sit.”

He didn’t come to read. He came to borrow a book.

Flustered, Edwin fidgeted in place, then grabbed a random book.

He awkwardly pulled out the chair across from Adrian and sat.

“…It’s been a while, Brother Adrian.”

Edwin forced himself past his shyness and greeted him first.

But for someone who’d invited him to sit, Adrian’s reaction was unbelievably lukewarm.

He kept his eyes on the book he was reading and didn’t respond.

“…Ah, I should read.”

Edwin let out an awkward chuckle and opened the book he’d chosen without even looking at the title.

[The Scariest Wizard Story in the World]

Unfortunately, the book the Third Prince picked had a childish title, the kind of fairy tale a little kid would read before bed.

Of all times, he had to pick a book like this in front of Adrian.

Edwin’s face flushed with embarrassment.

He tried to flip the pages as if it was nothing, but the farther he went, the more illustrations appeared instead of text.

And they were bizarre, too. Scenes like the world’s scariest wizard stuffing children into a cauldron and boiling them alive.

“How unexpected.”

Edwin was debating whether he should get a different book even now, when a voice came from across the table.

“I didn’t think you’d be interested in something like that.”

“…Yes?”

“Aren’t you interested in ancient civilizations?”

Ancient civilizations?

Edwin looked at Adrian with a bewildered expression.

“That book records the scholarly basis for the claim that with forbidden ancient magic sealed away by the Holy Kingdom of Rion, you can artificially create the world’s strongest wizard….”

Adrian, who’d been firing off words like a rapid volley, stiffened slightly.

Looking at Edwin, still wearing a dazed expression, he let out a small sigh.

“So you just grabbed a random book. I thought you might be interested in ancient civilizations like I am. If you’re not interested, never mind….”

“No! I am! Ancient civilizations!”

Edwin cut in quickly.

Only then did he notice, belatedly, that the books piled like a mountain beside the First Prince were all related to ancient civilizations.

“So you’re really interested in ancient civilizations too, Brother Adrian! I didn’t know!”

“…You’re really interested?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Truthfully, Edwin wasn’t all that interested in ancient civilizations.

Sage had mentioned the vanished ancient civilizations in passing during lessons, but that was all.

And it made sense.

Knowledge of ancient civilizations wasn’t necessary at all for becoming an emperor.

“I thought the story about Atran was fascinating. A kingdom where people live underwater, it’s so strange.”

“You know Atran?”

“I do! I told you I like it!”

Atran was the name of an ancient underwater kingdom said to have disappeared from the continent.

Merchants who traveled across the continent claimed there was an island called “Atran” at the far end of the western sea, where mermaids lived, but there was no way to tell if that was true.

That was why scholars who studied continental history had long since concluded that Atran was a kingdom that didn’t exist.

If Sage hadn’t told him, Edwin wouldn’t have known it existed at all.

“…They say when someone suddenly changes, it means their death is close.”

Adrian stared at Edwin and continued, “Do you think so too?”

The sudden question made Edwin break out in a cold sweat.

For some reason, it felt like Adrian’s question was aimed at him.

“I don’t think so.”

Fortunately, Adrian answered his own question.

“My death is close, but I’m always the same.”