The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Save the Master! (1)

“Nanny, are you listening to me?”

Catherine must have felt resentful that I didn’t even spare her a glance.

She sat across from me, glaring.

I ignored her and gently patted the sleeping Emilia’s belly.

It was the princess’s nap time.

“I didn’t know the head maid had such a leisurely position.”

“Leisurely? I’m incredibly busy! I squeezed time out of my hectic schedule just to be with you, Nanny!”

Catherine fired back in a lowered voice, afraid of waking the princess.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I wanted to get closer to you…”

Catherine trailed off, narrowing her eyes at me.

“You know, it seems like you really don’t know how to make friends.”

“Excuse me? Me?”

“Are you aware the other maids are afraid of you? They say you’re like a walking blizzard!”

I tilted my head at her words.

‘Well, that’s not the only reason, I’m sure.’

The rumors had spread after the incident where the previous head maid was dismissed.

It was said I had thrown her to the ground and cursed her out.

‘Who on earth spread that?’

She had tripped on her own, and I hadn’t uttered a single curse.

“I’m under no obligation to be kind to the other maids.”

Hearing my answer, Catherine raised an eyebrow. “Nanny, be honest.”

She took a deep breath and whispered, “You don’t have any friends, do you?”

“……”

“Oh my, look at that. You can’t even answer. You really don’t have any, do you.”

“…It’s not that I don’t have friends. I just choose not to make any.”

“And what’s so wrong with making friends?!”

She shouted in disbelief.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to open up and talk to someone? Isn’t it lonely, building walls around yourself like that?”

Lonely, huh.

Even after living decades with others, I still couldn’t grasp their true selves.

So what did it matter whether I was lonely or not?

Humans are always alone.

Whether together or apart.

That was the only truth I had learned in the moment my body turned to ash.

“The closer someone is, the more dangerous they are.”

“Huh?”

“In a world where even family stabs you in the back, what makes you think friends wouldn’t?”

“Goodness, anyone hearing this would think you’ve been betrayed by a friend.”

“……”

Well, it wasn’t a friend—it was a lover who stabbed me.

Literally, in the back.

“Still, I want to be close to you, Nanny. I’d like to be friends, if possible.”

Catherine kicked her toes at the floor, looking disgruntled.

“You and me? Friends?”

“Yes. Did you know we’re the same age?”

She’s the same age as me?

She barely looked like she was in her early twenties—was she really thirty-three?

I stared at her in surprise, and Catherine beamed. “We’re both twenty-one. Let’s get along, okay?”

“…Both twenty-one, huh.”

That’s when it hit me again—I was no longer ‘Kyla Angel.’

Right, the real ‘Rachel Brown’ was just a twenty-one-year-old girl.

‘Twelve years younger… I suppose I should consider myself lucky.’

Who else gets to turn back time without paying a price?

Then again, saying there was no price would be wrong, considering how miserable my last moments were.

“Nanny? What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… you’re so young.”

“Most people my age are already married and have kids.”

Catherine rested her chin on her hand with a bitter expression.

“People like me without money tend to marry later.”

I was puzzled.

Catherine was the daughter of Viscount Vale.

Even if they weren’t wealthy, nobles rarely had trouble arranging marriages for their daughters.

“But you’re still a noble.”

“Nobles come in all kinds. I’m a noble by name only.”

She let out a deep sigh.

“We used to have enough money to buy a title, but now there’s nothing left.”

“Why’s that?”

“My father gambled everything away.”

“Oh dear.”

So gambling had ruined yet another life.

“That’s why I’m still working at this age.”

Catherine threw both arms up in exasperation.

“I want to get married too—! I want a bear-like husband and bunny-like children and live happily ever after—!”

“If it’s marriage you want, why not consider a matchmaker?”

“No way! I absolutely refuse arranged marriages! I’m going to marry for love!”

“Is that so?”

“Besides, I don’t have money to hire a matchmaker anyway. I’m the only one covering living expenses for my family.”

Catherine pressed her forehead and shook her head.

“At this rate, I don’t even know if I’ll ever date, let alone get married. I came all the way to the capital just to find a decent guy.”

She shivered, just thinking about it.

“There really wasn’t a single decent guy, you know? They’re all obsessed with women.”

Catherine went on for quite a while about the flaws of the men from her hometown.

She was so good at changing topics and chatting away, there was never a dull moment.

“Ah, right!”

“What is it?”

“I forgot to bring Prince Edwin his snack!”

Edwin should’ve been studying diligently in the annex by now.

Today was his once-a-week tutoring day.

“You can give it to him after the lesson. It’s not like His Highness is fond of snacks.”

“You think so?”

“You don’t have to bring the snack.”

“Kyaaah—! Y-Your Highness Edwin?”

Catherine shrieked in surprise at Edwin’s sudden appearance.

Thankfully, I had quickly covered the princess’s ears, so the sleeping child didn’t wake and cry.

“Gasp, I-I’m so sorry. Her Highness Emilia is sleeping!”

“It’s fine.”

That wasn’t the problem right now.

“Your Highness, it’s not yet time for your lesson to end. Why are you here?”

“Ah, well.”

Edwin looked somewhat glum.

Instead of answering, he held out a letter.

“The teacher didn’t show up, so I kept waiting. Then a maid brought this.”

The letter was full of long-winded explanations, but the main point was clear.

He would no longer teach the prince.

“That’s quite the dramatic way to say he’s quitting.”

“Huh? He’s quitting?”

Catherine sounded utterly stunned.

“But just last week, he even took next month’s tuition in advance!”

Did he run off with the money?

That guy should’ve been a merchant, not a scholar.

“If he says he’s quitting because of a family emergency, what can we say?”

“But how are we going to find a new tutor?”

Catherine whispered to me while glancing at Edwin.

“We were turned down by every well-educated noble. Even that man was barely persuaded.”

“Turned down? Why?”

“Why do you think? Because all they care about is advancing their own careers.”

Catherine shook her head in genuine frustration.

“Typically, people assume being a prince’s tutor guarantees a future spot as an academy dean or something. Greedy as they come.”

But Edwin was a prince with nothing.

Not the emperor’s favorite, not even guaranteed any important role in the future.

Who would want to be tutor to such a prince?

After hearing Catherine, I turned to Edwin.

He was clutching a thick history book, looking dejected.

Probably blaming himself again, thinking the tutor left because he was pathetic.

‘What to do?’

Finding a suitable tutor for the prince was no easy task.

Nobles who were both scholarly and clean in private life were rare to begin with.

And for an orphaned noble lady like ‘Rachel Brown’ to recruit someone like that was nearly impossible.

‘No choice then.’

I threw the letter I had been holding onto the table.

“Your Highness, do you need a tutor?”

But if it was Kyla Angel, things were different.

“If you do, I’ll go find one.”

For someone like me—once leader of the continent’s most powerful assassination guild.

***

It was dawn, just before sunrise.

Having quietly slipped out of the Third Prince’s Palace, I arrived at the castle gate used by the palace servants.

The only gate open all day for shift-changing attendants.

Even at this early hour, the gate buzzed with people returning home and others entering the palace.

“We’re really going?”

“Keep your voice down, Your Highness.”

I raised a finger to my lips toward the small figure beside me, hood pulled low.

Despite my warning, the Third Prince, Edwin, couldn’t hide his excitement.

Typical childish enthusiasm.

“What’s all that stuff?” Edwin pointed to the large pile of luggage strapped to the roof of the carriage.

“Gifts for the one who will become Your Highness’s tutor.”

In truth, they weren’t gifts, but ‘props’ we would need.

But there was no reason he had to know that.