The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Between Those Who Share the Same Dream (2)

‘It was a mistake to underestimate the Third Prince.’

Howard ground his teeth in silence.

Who would’ve thought that the Shabby Prince, who had nothing but a useless body, would make contact with Duke Crowner, win his favor, and end up joining the knight order training?

‘Still, no unusual variable happens more than once.’

In the end, the one who becomes emperor will be my grandson, Second Prince Lloyd.

Howard dared to be that certain.

“Anyway, I hope you’ll remember that from now on, you mustn’t let your guard down even a little.”

The marquis’s sharp gaze curved in what looked almost affectionate.

“Both of you.”

It didn’t seem like he wanted an answer.

As soon as he finished saying what he had to say, Howard rose from his seat.

“Are you leaving already?”

At Lloyd’s polite question, the marquis answered kindly, “I came to attend the nobles’ council, and I stopped by for a moment to see my family’s faces. Now that I’ve seen the face of our adorable grandson, I should be on my way.”

“I’ll see you out….”

“No. An old man can’t waste Your Highness’s precious time. It’s more comfortable for me to go alone. Then.”

Howard lightly patted the young prince’s shoulder.

Then he shot a glare at Helena, who still couldn’t even lift her head, and calmly left the room.

Creak, thud.

The huge wooden door closed with a heavy sound.

Silence flowed through the reception room.

“Did you hear him?”

Then Helena, who’d been standing there wordlessly, spoke for the first time.

“Did you hear what your grandfather said?”

Helena slowly turned and walked toward Lloyd.

When she didn’t get an answer right away, she suddenly swung her palm at her son’s face.

“Wh….”

Lloyd clutched his stinging cheek and stared at his mother with shocked eyes.

“Is what your mother says funny? Answer me!”

Helena shouted in a shrill voice. The side of her cheek that the handkerchief had been hiding was red and swollen, just like Lloyd’s.

“If you’d done your role as a prince properly, I wouldn’t have had to suffer this humiliation!”

His cheek throbbed.

Lloyd let out a ragged breath.

It felt like flames were surging up inside his chest.

But when he saw the Second Consort’s cheek, red like his own, he forced himself to swallow his anger.

“To be compared to that useless thing! There’s no greater humiliation in the world!”

By “that useless thing,” she meant Third Prince Edwin.

Blue veins stood out beneath Helena’s thin, translucent skin.

“Maybe it’d be one thing if it were the First Prince, but you mustn’t ever get caught by the Third Prince! If you lose to a bastard like that, you’re not even my child! Do you understand?!”

“…That won’t happen, Mother.”

“You answer well enough! Lloyd, what do you have to show besides the sword? You’ve got to stand out with the one thing you’re good at! And you couldn’t even do that properly!”

In the end, Helena couldn’t hold back her fury and threw the glass that was on the table.

Crash.

The expensive porcelain imported from the Eastern Continent shattered with a loud sound.

“I can’t stand the sight of you! Get out!”

At his mother’s furious command, Lloyd left the room with his head bowed.

The prince’s eyes held a cold, vicious light that didn’t suit his age.

‘Yeah, that won’t ever happen.’

Not Adrian, and certainly not some shabby prince like that, will ever take his place.

As he walked down the long corridor, Lloyd clenched his fist tight.

‘Because I’m going to become it, no matter what.’

The Emperor of the Empire of Ventrume.

Up to this very moment, he’d lived only to seize that seat.

‘And when that day comes….’

A fierce rage flared up inside the Second Prince.

‘Everything will be under my feet.’

With grim resolve, Lloyd clenched his fist.

Calluses had formed on his palm, and before he knew it, a bead of blood welled up inside it.

***

Behind the Gloria Knights’ barracks.

I was watching Philip and Edwin spar.

‘He’s improving by leaps and bounds.’

Edwin’s movements were so quick and clean they couldn’t even be compared to before the founding festival.

Whoosh.

Philip immediately followed up with the next strike at Edwin, who’d just dodged his attack.

Edwin quickly twisted his body and avoided it.

‘Not bad.’

Watching Edwin, who looked so excited he might be thrilled, I curled one corner of my mouth.

“It seems you’re not scared anymore.”

“I’m a little used to it now.”

Edwin and Philip stood close enough to reach out and touch each other, trading a few playful words.

Then they started clashing swords again.

‘Still, Philip’s pretty good too.’

I recalled the rules Philip proposed for this spar.

‘Adding the condition that he must never leave the spot he’s standing in when he dodges.’

The words were simple, but the content was quite demanding.

Dodging irregular attacks while keeping your body fixed to one place was very difficult.

‘At first he didn’t seem to get the hang of it, but….’

Before long, Edwin was dodging Philip’s attacks flying at him quite well.

When an attack came in aiming for his legs, he even lightly jumped in place to avoid it.

‘But.’

Maybe because he was still young.

Edwin’s focus didn’t last very long.

Philip seized the moment Edwin’s attention wavered and struck between his ribs with the flat of his blade.

“Argh! Ugh….”

Edwin immediately crouched on the spot and let out a groan.

“Let’s stop here for today. The next lesson is the day after tomorrow. I’ll be going, then.”

Looking down at Edwin, who couldn’t get up easily, Philip announced the end of the spar.

He gave a quick greeting and ran straight back toward the knights’ barracks.

‘They say the order’s been busy with monster subjugation lately. Looks like he’s swamped too.’

I walked over to Edwin, who was still slumped down, and handed him a towel.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

“I’m not all right at all.”

“To be honest, you didn’t look all right to me either. It seems like you can’t focus on training today.”

At my words, Edwin clamped his mouth shut like a clam.

After fidgeting for quite a while, he spoke in a very cautious voice.

“…Rachel, I’ve got something to say.”

Judging by his expression, it seemed like, in his own way, it was a pretty serious matter.

I watched Edwin for a moment, then pointed to the long bench beside us.

“Should we sit and talk?”

“Yeah.”

I sat on the long bench with Edwin beside me.

“What is it you want to say?”

“W-well….”

Edwin interlaced his fingers and fidgeted with them.

“You know. If I keep training like this, can I really become strong?”

“Of course.”

“Then why do I have to become strong?”

What is this kid talking about now?

I raised one eyebrow and asked, “You said you wanted to become strong, Your Highness.”

“I did, but….”

Edwin made an intentionally serious face.

“I feel like if I only become strong like this, I won’t be able to achieve my dream.”

“…Your dream?”

A dream.

Isn’t that something you have when you’re asleep?

It was an extremely unfamiliar word to me.

“Yeah, a dream. It’s like a goal, but since the chances of achieving it are slim, they call it that.”

“…I see.”

I looked at Edwin.

“Then what is Your Highness’s dream?”

“To protect all my people. And to live happily with those people.”

Is that a dream?

I looked at him with a puzzled gaze.

“I know that too. That’s why you’re trying to become strong.”

“Yeah. And you said you’d let me be able to make choices.”

Instead of answering, I gave a small nod.

Someone with power has more choices in life.

At least, in the world I belonged to, it was always like that.

“But just because I’m good with a sword, just because I know a lot, does that mean I can achieve my dream?”

Edwin lifted his head and looked straight at me.

“I want to keep living happily in this ‘Imperial Palace’ with you, Catherine, and Emilia, Rachel.”

When he said ‘Imperial Palace,’ his voice was packed with determination.

Only then did I understand what the young prince meant.

“Rachel, I.”

Those clear blue eyes that held the sky shone more intensely than ever.

“I want to become emperor.”

***

“…Emperor.”

Before dawn, when everyone was asleep.

I was lying on the roof of the Third Prince’s Palace.

A long time ago, one of my subordinates said you couldn’t fall asleep if you looked at the night sky with nothing over your head. Something about it being scary.

‘It’s quiet, and it’s just nice.’

It even felt cozy.

I liked this calm feeling, where I couldn’t sense anything but myself.

‘Edwin.’

As I blankly counted the stars in the night sky, Edwin’s eyes came to mind.

They were eyes I’d never seen even once in the world I used to live in.

In those eyes, shining with innocence, something was clearly set.

That must be the look in the eyes of someone who has a ‘dream.’

‘A dream.’

Did I ever have one? No, I didn’t.

For a child born in the slums, raised without even knowing who her parents were, dreams were a luxury.

If Emma hadn’t taken me in and cared for me, I would’ve starved to death long ago.

‘Maybe my dream was simply surviving.’

Thankfully, my original body was born big-boned and sturdy, so even when I couldn’t eat well, I stayed healthy. Healthy enough to pass through the epidemics that swept through each season without trouble.

‘After I parted from Emma….’

Alone again, I became a street thief.

I was quick and my senses were sharp, so I’d steal things without getting caught.

Mostly bread or fruit.

I’d share it with the children in the slums who were too weak to even go out and beg.

Every time I did, the slum boys who thought they were tough would pick fights, but they couldn’t bring themselves to attack outright.

‘Even back then….’

After I parted from Emma, paradoxically, I discovered a hidden talent.

At some point, I’d built a reputation as the girl who fought best in the slums.