The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: How to Keep a Nanny

“…She’s quitting as our nanny? You mean she’s leaving?”

“Yeah, what do we do? Lia likes Achel. I don’t want Achel to leave!”

Edwin looked shocked, then turned away with a hardened face.

“Let her do what she wants.”

“What? Whyyy—! Are you happy Achel’s leaving?”

“If she says she doesn’t want to stay, what can we do? Let her go.” Mumbling under the blanket, Edwin muttered, “…That kind of woman, let her leave or not.”

Thinking of the nanny, Edwin clenched his fists.

That cold voice, sharp like a blade, that pointed out his shortcomings without mercy.

Just the thought of her now made something stir deep in his chest.

“Ugh! You’re so stupid, Brother!”

Disappointed by his lack of reaction, Emilia threw a cushion at him.

“Achel’s so good to us! She gives us yummy food, hugs me every day, and protects Lia—!”

The princess pounded on Edwin’s torso with her tiny fists.

“I hate you! Hate you! Hate you!”

After hitting him for a while, Emilia huffed and climbed down from the bed.

“You’re a fool, Brother!”

Yelling with determination, she grabbed the doorknob, then paused to glance back at him.

Ever since the day they encountered the Second Prince in the garden, Edwin had been like this.

Except at mealtimes, he always curled up in bed, silent.

Even when he saw Emilia, he merely gave her a faint smile and no longer acted warm like before.

In fact, his face looked pained whenever he saw her.

Normally, the moment his only sister got upset, he would have chased after her to cheer her up.

But not today.

Emilia’s face drooped, then she pressed her lips tightly together and walked out.

“Just wait. Lia won’t let Achel leave.”

Determination flickered in the young princess’s blue eyes.

***

“…What is this?”

“It’s for Achel!”

“Mine?”

I looked down at the gold trinket Emilia handed me.

A gold bracelet with delicately inlaid opals—clearly meant for a child.

“Yeah, it was Lia’s, but I’m giving it to Achel.”

“No, I can’t possibly take something of yours.”

“No! Take it!”

When I tried to return the bracelet, Emilia stomped her foot and shook her head.

Reluctantly taking the bracelet, I saw her face brighten.

Then she suddenly ran to the corner of the room and dragged over a box almost as big as she was.

Inside were all the toys she usually treasured.

“I’m giving all of these to Achel too!”

“All of this?”

“Yeah! They’re Lia’s favorites, but I’m giving them all to you.”

Emilia pulled out dolls from the box and piled them around me.

Before long, I was surrounded by the princess’s precious dolls.

“Your Highness, I’m fine. And these are all things you cherish.”

“It’s okay! Lia likes Achel more!”

Climbing over the wall of dolls, Emilia crawled into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Achel likes Lia too, right?”

The princess slowly blinked her big eyes.

Even I had to admit—she looked quite adorable.

With this much charm already, whoever became the princess’s husband was in for a rough road.

“Achel, why aren’t you answering?”

“…Yes, I like Your Highness too.”

“Then you’ll stay with Lia forever, right?”

If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have let her overhear that conversation with Catherine.

I sighed.

“Your Highness, no one in this world can stay together forever.”

“Nooo! Lia’s going to stay with Achel until I’m a grandma!”

This was troubling.

It hadn’t even been a month since we met, so why was she so attached to me?

‘I haven’t even done much for her.’

This is why you shouldn’t get involved with kids.

Show them a little kindness, and they latch onto you.

I gently lifted Emilia from my lap and set her on the floor.

“Your Highness, by the time you become a grandmother, I’ll already be a skeleton.”

“Skeleton? What’s that?”

“…It means I’ll be even older than a grandmother.”

“Hmm? But Achel’s already older than Lia. It’s fine!”

No, a skeleton would not be fine.

I couldn’t bring myself to explain it further and left it vague, but that didn’t seem to help.

“Achel, I gave you everything I love, so you’ll stay with me forever, right?”

“……”

“Hurry, hurry! Promise!”

Emilia drew something with her finger on my palm.

“Lia wrote her name, so now it’s a promise, right?”

“Princess Emilia.”

“Promise! Promise! If you don’t, Lia will cry all day!”

The princess flopped onto the floor and waved her arms wildly.

“Promise me—!”

“Your Highness, I do not make promises I cannot keep.”

I lifted Emilia from the floor.

“So I cannot give you an answer. I’m sorry.”

My refusal must have been quite a shock.

Emilia, who had been staring at me blankly, soon burst into tears.

“Waaaah—! Achel, I hate youuu!”

“Your Highness, please don’t cr—”

“Waaaahhh—!”

Just then, the door opened and Catherine came in with wide, startled eyes.

“Your Highness? Nanny, what happened?”

“Catherine, it’s just that…”

There was no time for excuses.

Emilia ran to Catherine and threw herself into her arms.

“Catherine, Achel, Acheeel—!”

“Yes, Your Highness. Please tell me.”

Catherine gently wiped away the princess’s tearful face and soothed her.

“What happened that made our dear princess cry so sadly?”

Prompted by her soft voice, Emilia let out a wail. “Achel said she won’t stay with Lia—! She said she’s leaving—! Even though I gave her everything I liked—!”

“What? That can’t be.”

Patting the princess on the back, Catherine looked at me.

Her eyes demanded, Why aren’t you comforting her already?

“Nanny will stay in the palace. Isn’t that right, Nanny?”

Catherine seemed to be hoping I would make at least a white lie to reassure her.

“Nanny?”

“…It’s true that I’m leaving this place, is it not?”

“N-Nanny!”

I stood up, stepping over the circle of dolls Emilia had laid out like a magic circle.

“Let me say it again—I do not make promises I cannot keep.”

I spoke firmly to Emilia, who was still clinging to Catherine’s skirt.

“I will leave. So…”

“I hate you, Achel! I hate everyone!”

Emilia stormed out of the room, face flushed with anger.

“Your Highness—! Nanny, why would you say that and make things worse?!”

“Would you rather I say something untrue?”

“Princess Emilia is just a child! Did you really have to be so harsh to a child?”

“Precisely because she is a child, I had to be firm.”

“What?”

I gathered the dolls scattered across the floor.

“Children believe every promise an adult makes.”

They don’t know it might be a lie—and they believe it with all their heart.

“I have no interest in telling lies that benefit no one.”

I picked up the last cloth doll.

Its golden yarn hair resembled its owner.

After staring at the cloth doll for a while, I tossed it into the box.

The way it slumped over looked especially pitiful.

***

“Achel, I hate you.”

Emilia wiped her tears while hiding behind a pillar.

“Achel, stupid, dummy.”

The princess recited all the harsh words she knew.

“Poop dog, dog poop, poop dog, ant, seaweed—!”

Her limited vocabulary had turned it into a word chain game.

“Lia doesn’t need Achel either, hmph!”

Sniffling, Emilia turned away.

“Lia still has Brother!”

The little princess marched off toward the Third Prince’s quarters.

“Brother, Lia’s here!”

Without knocking, Emilia flung the door open and ran to the bed.

As expected, Edwin was still lying in bed.

“Brother, Lia’s here!”

The bed, made for the prince, was too high for the young princess.

Standing on tiptoe, she peered at Edwin’s face.

“Brother, I said Lia’s here!”

“Mmm…”

But something was off about Edwin’s complexion.

“Brother?”

Sensing something was wrong, Emilia called him again, but there was no response.

“Haa… Haa…”

Prince Edwin was red in the face and breathing heavily.

***

“What should we do?”

Catherine placed a damp cloth on the prince’s forehead, looking concerned.

“It seems to be a cold, but the fever’s too high. We should call a physician.”

Hearing this, Emilia looked at me with teary eyes. “Achel, is Brother going to die?”

“…Humans don’t die that easily. Don’t worry.”

At my words, Catherine gave me a horrified look, then gently stroked Emilia’s hair. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. He’s sick now, but he’ll get better soon.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Nanny, I’ll go call the physician. Please stay with His Highness in the meantime—”

Just as Catherine stood to go—

Edwin grabbed the hem of her sleeve.

“N-no…”

He muttered with a cracked voice.

“No physician… No.”

“Your Highness, but still—”

“They won’t come anyway… cough, cough!”

Unable to finish, Edwin broke into a fit of coughing, then passed out.

“Your Highness, Prince Edwin! What do we do?! Please wake up!”

“Brotheeer—! Don’t die! Lia was wrong—! Lia doesn’t hate you!”

The two were so frantic it was hard to focus.

I calmly soothed Emilia first. “Princess Emilia, Prince Edwin isn’t dead yet. Don’t cry.”

While patting her back, I turned to Catherine. “Do you happen to know why His Highness doesn’t want a physician called?”