The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 32

Chapter 32. Clover Vow

“Sniff.”

Edwin was crouched beneath the wall behind the annex.

Swallowing his sobs as if out of frustration, he looked utterly pitiful.

As I approached, Edwin lifted his head.

The corners of his eyes were tinged red.

“What do you want? Why did you follow me?”

“Why do you think?”

I handed a handkerchief to the sniffly boy.

“If your nanny doesn’t follow you, then who will?”

“Go away.”

Edwin ignored the handkerchief and buried his face between his knees.

“Don’t mind me. You never cared about me in the first place.”

“How could a nanny not care about her charge…”

Before I could finish, Edwin jumped to his feet and shouted, “You said you’d quit being my nanny!”

“When did I say that?”

“Emilia told me everything! She said you told her you were quitting!”

“Well, I will quit eventually.”

“What?”

“But that’s not now.”

At my words, Edwin furrowed his brow. “So you’re saying you’ll leave someday.”

He lowered his head again. “You don’t like working for a pathetic prince like me. I know.”

“Your Highness.”

I looked at him and continued, “Do you remember what I told you before?”

“What do you mean?”

“That the weak must be cowardly—or else they can’t protect themselves, anyone else, or anything at all.”

“…I remember.”

At my words, Edwin’s brow twisted.

He seemed upset recalling that day.

“But.”

I looked him straight in the eyes.

“There is a way.”

“What?”

“There’s a way to protect everything without becoming a coward.”

Edwin slowly raised his head, seemingly intrigued. “What is it.”

“Become strong.”

“…What?”

Unlike the weak, the strong don’t need to be cowardly.

No—more precisely, they don’t need to be.

“There are cruel and vicious strong people in this world, yes. But not cowardly ones. Because they simply don’t need to be.”

I placed a hand on one of Edwin’s shoulders.

Emma had wanted this child to be happy.

‘Happiness, huh.’

Honestly, I didn’t know the path to happiness myself.

I had dreamed of it once, only to meet a most miserable end.

But even so, there was one thing I knew well.

‘In this cruel world, the weak can never afford the luxury of happiness.’

I studied the Third Prince before me.

Small, skinny frame. Uneasy eyes.

Anyone would see a typical, easy target.

“Your Highness is weak. Just as Princess Emilia said.”

“You—!”

“But that’s fine.”

“…What?”

“Because I will make Your Highness strong.”

It wasn’t a proposal. It was a declaration.

Edwin slowly blinked his large eyes at my words.

“Why?”

But then, an unexpected question came from him.

“Why would you say that all of a sudden? It’s not like you care what happens to me.”

He frowned in confusion.

“A promise is a promise.”

One made before someone died, and another made last night.

“So I won’t be leaving Your Highness’s side.”

Even if he ordered me to go.

“At least not until Your Highness no longer needs me.”

Of course, I would be the one to decide when that was.

“What are you even saying?”

Edwin frowned, clearly unable to understand.

It seemed he didn’t remember what had happened last night.

“What promise? With who?”

“Enough chit-chat. Let’s head back.”

“Back? Where?”

“Where else?”

I took his hand and gave it a gentle tug.

“We have to go calm down Princess Emilia.”

***

“I’m sorry, Lia. It was my fault.”

“Hmph!”

“I really am sorry. Can’t you forgive me?”

“Hmph!”

Emilia turned her head away at the sight of her brother’s return.

She was clearly quite upset.

“Princess Emilia, why not forgive His Highness the Prince? Look how sorry he is.”

Catherine coaxed her gently as she held her in her arms, and only then did Emilia open her mouth.

“He bullied me like a villain. Why should Lia forgive him?”

Edwin, who was kneeling on the lawn, looked devastated at the word ‘villain.’

Just like that, he had been lumped into the same category as Lloyd.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll never be mean to you again. Okay?”

“Hmph, hmph!”

“If I ever bully Lia again, then…”

Before Edwin could finish, I cut in. “Then I’ll give His Highness a proper scolding.”

“Achel will?”

Emilia turned her head, clearly intrigued by the idea.

But then she sulked again.

“Hmph! Achel’s going to leave Lia anyway. That was a lie!”

“No, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Achel, you’re really staying?”

At my answer, Emilia looked up.

“Yes, I’m not going.”

“Reaally? You’re really not going? You’ll stay by Lia’s side?”

“Yes.”

“Kyaaah—!”

At that moment, Emilia broke free from Catherine’s arms and threw herself at me.

“Your Highness, you’ll get hurt like that!”

“Achel, I looove you—!”

Emilia wrapped her arms around my neck and nuzzled into me.

Frozen like a rock for a moment, I slowly placed a hand on the child’s back.

This kind of blind affection with no clear reason was still difficult for me.

But I couldn’t reject it.

Because I was the one who had chosen to remain by their side.

“Lia, what about Brother?” Edwin looked at his sister with a sulky expression.

Then Emilia snorted grandly as if being generous. “Fine. Since Achel’s staying, I’ll forgive Brother!”

The little princess narrowed her big eyes and glared at Edwin. “But! You have to make me flower rings and a flower crown! Or I won’t forgive you!”

“Ah, okay! Just wait a bit! I’ll make them right away!”

Pressed by his sister’s demand, Edwin hurriedly began picking clover.

Not even a rabbit searching for food would be that desperate.

“Pfft.”

Catherine, watching the scene, finally burst into the laughter she’d been holding in.

“Ahahaha—!”

“What?! Why are you laughing!”

I looked away from the sulking Edwin.

Then Emilia’s eyes widened as she muttered, “Achel, you just laughed, didn’t you?”

“…Not at all. That didn’t happen.”

“That’s not true! Achel did laugh!”

“I did not.”

“Hmph! Why’s everyone laughing!”

That day, Edwin was only forgiven by his sister after he gave all three women clover crowns.

***

“How is the Third Prince doing?”

“He’s the same as usual. Yesterday, he enjoyed flower viewing with Her Highness the Princess.”

“How fitting for that slow-witted child. Playing with flowers like a little girl.”

Helena, the Second Empress of the Empire, looked pleased as she examined her perfectly polished nails.

“Nothing foolish going on?”

“No. There’s been no particular movement.”

“Good. At least he’s not doing anything to hasten his own death.”

Helena glanced up from the jewelry box the maid brought.

“By the way, did you look into that nanny?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The masked man kneeling at a distance bowed his head.

“Her name is Rachel Brown. She’s twenty-one this year and entered the palace a month ago.”

“Brown? A noble family?”

“Yes. She’s the adopted daughter of Count Brown, a frontier noble. The previous nanny gave her a letter of recommendation to enter the palace.”

“So she’s connected to the deceased nanny?”

“Yes. The previous nanny, who also came from an orphan background, arranged for Rachel to be adopted into the count’s family.”

“Hmm.”

An adopted daughter of an insignificant border noble—not even a biological daughter.

‘And an orphan, no less?’

Helena narrowed her eyes.

‘Didn’t Feline seem to like her quite a bit?’

She recalled a conversation she had with her confidante, Countess Feline Katrina, at a recent banquet.

“You needn’t worry too much about the Third Prince.”

“Why is that?”

“He’s always the same. And the new nanny is rather decent.”

“What do you mean by ‘decent’?”

“She’s polite, doesn’t talk back, and most importantly, her eyes are dead.”

“Dead eyes?”

“Your Highness knows well that I’m a good judge of character, right?”

“Of course. So she doesn’t seem dangerous?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Why?”

“People with those eyes only care about filling their own bellies. They’re not the type to act for anyone else.”

Feline, who had dealt with all sorts of nobles, was a master of reading people.

So her words were trustworthy.

‘Just thinking about that incident with Lloyd still boils my blood, but there’s no helping it.’

She had told her son to forget about it on purpose.

‘A lowborn woman daring to humiliate a prince?’

Helena didn’t like the Third Prince’s nanny either.

But this wasn’t just anyone—it was someone the Emperor had publicly declared forgiven.

She didn’t want to provoke unnecessary rumors by interfering.

Helena waved her hand as if even thinking about it had become tiresome.

“Enough. I don’t have the energy to waste on some backwater noble’s adopted daughter. You’re dismissed.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The masked man bowed respectfully and disappeared like a shadow.

The moment he was gone, Helena called to the maids outside the door.

“Attend me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I need to rest. Prepare refreshments in the back garden.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Helena, leading a string of maids behind her, headed for the rear garden.

Clearly intent on truly relaxing now.

But she didn’t know.

That Feline’s keen eye would be of no use against someone who had mastered the art of hiding their true self.