The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: The Sage, Sage Rill (1)

“H-how did you…?”

It must have surprised Edwin that Sage instantly deduced he was a prince.

His eyes widened to the fullest.

“That outfit you’re wearing. That’s Asha Kingdom’s silk—nearly impossible to get unless you’re royalty. If you’re going to wear a disguise, at least do it right.”

At Sage’s words, Edwin looked up at him in dismay.

He seemed astonished that someone could guess his identity just from his clothes.

“So, you’re saying you want me to become this brat’s teacher in exchange for my life?”

“Yes.”

“Becoming a teacher isn’t hard.”

Sage looked down at Edwin with an arrogant expression.

“But I don’t take just anyone as my disciple.”

“A prince isn’t just anyone, is he?”

“Well, that depends on the prince, doesn’t it?”

Sage snorted and continued, “To be honest, I wouldn’t mind paying my life debt with my actual life. I’ve lived long enough, and I’ve got no attachments to this world.”

What an excuse.

I knew full well that was a blatant lie.

There was no one in this world more desperate to leave behind a legacy than this man.

Sage brushed over the parchment stacked on his table with his fingers and continued, “Still, I’ve started thinking it might not be so bad to raise one last disciple before I die.”

“Then there’s nothing to hesitate about. Let’s depart imme—”

Just as I offered to escort him by carriage immediately, Sage stopped me.

“I told you, didn’t I? I don’t take just anyone as my disciple.”

His sharp gaze turned again to Edwin.

“So prove it, little prince. Prove that you’re not just ‘anyone.’”

The smile on the old sage’s wrinkled face had a mischievous edge to it.

***

The Great Sage, Viscount Sage Rill.

Forty years ago, when he had just turned twenty, he had earned the rank of full professor at the Imperial Academy—despite being of common birth.

He was the first scholar to break the unspoken rule that no commoner, no matter how brilliant, could become a professor.

From literature, history, politics, and philosophy to even medicine, he had mastered it all—so perhaps it was only natural.

Even more unusually, despite his ill temper, he often proposed policies to support the lower classes.

Those who envied him called him a hypocrite and tried to defame him.

But that didn’t erase his achievements.

Most of the empire’s relief policies in effect today had originated in his mind.

The emperor himself had granted him a noble title in recognition of his contributions.

People hailed him as “The Great Sage, Sage Rill.”

But like many geniuses, Sage had his eccentricities.

“Prove that you’re not just anyone.”

For example, taking things far too seriously with children.

“Uhh…”

Edwin looked troubled.

The beads of sweat forming on his forehead spoke volumes about his anxiety.

This foul-tempered old man—why does he have to be so difficult?

“Viscount Rill, have you forgotten your deal with me—no, with Guildmaster Kyla? A life debt must always be repaid, no conditions attached.”

“I just said, didn’t I? I could just skip the repayment and jump off a cliff instead.”

“You’ve got to be—”

Does he think I came all this way just to deal with this nonsense?

Part of me wanted to scream that I was Kyla and that if he kept being uncooperative, I might throw him off that cliff myself.

Just as my patience was running thin, Edwin slowly opened his mouth.

“…What do I need to do to prove it?”

He was now wearing a resolute expression as he stared straight at Sage.

He was still sweating, but even so.

“What do I have to do to prove I’m not just anyone… so I can become your student, sir—Grandpa—um, Sage?”

“Hm, not bad. I thought you’d turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble.”

Even I was surprised.

Given Edwin’s personality, I thought approaching someone new like this would be nearly impossible.

But right now, he was looking straight at Sage and speaking his mind.

“Puhaha!”

Sage, who had been observing him from above, burst into laughter.

“Little prince, how old are you?”

“Twelve.”

“Twelve, huh. That’s about when your brain starts working properly. Still, I don’t like smart kids.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because even when they grow up, they all end up dumber than me anyway! Puhaha!”

“……”

After laughing so raucously, Sage abruptly turned serious again.

“That’s why I don’t look here,”

He tapped Edwin on the forehead with his index finger, then lowered his hand.

“I look here instead.”

The place his finger, dry as an old tree branch, pointed to was the center of the chest.

Looking down at his own chest, Edwin blinked in confusion.

Sage gave the prince a faint smile, then suddenly threw open the back door.

“Leo! Leo! Come here!”

“I’m busy—why are you calling me again?”

The one who responded to Sage’s call was a boy.

‘He’s grown a lot.’

I recognized him right away.

He was the local boy from Luxen whom Sage had basically raised.

“What? I’ve still got a lot of firewood left to chop.”

He looked about fifteen and replied bluntly as he glanced this way.

Despite his youthful face, his sharp eyes and sturdy build made a strong impression.

“Ah, I forgot to introduce him. This kid’s Leo. He’s about your age. Practically my assistant.”

Leo irritably swatted away Sage’s hand from his head. “Assistant, my foot. Why’d you call me? I haven’t finished splitting the wood.”

“Forget the wood. Go dig up some stones with this kid. And don’t forget to check on the villagers along the way.”

“Got it.”

Pushed out by Sage, Edwin stiffened when he saw the boy standing in front of him.

“Uh, um…”

Leo was a full two heads taller than Edwin.

There was an undefinable hostility and pressure coming from him, and Edwin looked thoroughly tense.

Leo, who had been staring down at Edwin for a while, turned around indifferently.

“What are you doing? Not coming?”

He called back to Edwin, who stood between me and Sage, glancing back and forth.

“Didn’t you hear? You’re coming with me.”

“Uh, uh…”

“If you don’t, I’m leaving.”

“Wait, I’m coming!”

After looking back at me one last time, Edwin followed Leo when I gave a slight nod.

***

Once the two boys disappeared, the house fell completely silent.

It was Sage who broke the quiet.

“Alright, I’ll test how capable the little prince is later.”

With his arms crossed, Sage narrowed his eyes at me.

“You’re really strange.”

Standing five paces away, Sage slowly walked toward me.

“You seem like an attendant, but you don’t really act like you’re serving the prince. Nor do you seem to be protecting him.”

He muttered in genuine curiosity.

“You came here without even a guard, and you let the prince walk around outside alone? No sane attendant would ever do that.”

True. No one who didn’t know this place wasn’t as dangerous as it seemed would’ve acted that way.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m perfectly sane, Viscount Rill.”

“That tone of yours is odd too. What exactly are you?”

What’s wrong with my tone?

I simply stared at him in silence instead of replying.

Sage furrowed his brow as if in thought, then asked again, “So, how do you know Kyla?”

“…We’ve been close for a very long time.”

“So you’re friends?”

“…Something like that.”

“Don’t lie! You expect me to believe that? That girl doesn’t have any friends! Even I don’t!”

This old man…?

“Believe what you want. But I’m only here because Kyla told me to come.”

At my words, Sage pulled a sour face, then tilted his head. “Hmm. Well, you must’ve been close. My residence is practically a state secret.”

He accepted my explanation more easily than expected.

Well, Kyla was practically his lifesaver.

‘Still, I thought he’d be more suspicious than this.’

It felt a bit burdensome that a scholar who doubted everything in the world didn’t question me at all.

After hesitating for a while, Sage spoke again. “Is she still alive, that Kyla girl?”

Hmm, should I say she’s somewhere between living and dead?

Her body had perished, but her soul lived on—right here.

“She’s not dead. So don’t worry.”

“…Really?”

His face changed for a brief moment at my answer, but it was fleeting.

Then he snapped irritably. “Damn that wicked girl! If she stuck me in a place like this, she should at least show her face from time to time! Not a single message in four years!”

I didn’t reply. I just stared at the wrinkles on his face.

Once full of confidence and arrogance, the face of the great sage now only held loneliness.

‘How strange.’

In my memory, he was far more fierce and sharp.

“People outside have long forgotten the name ‘Sage Rill.’ That’s how people are. They never forget their enemies, but they forget their saviors so easily.”

Now, he simply looked tired.

He had devoted his life to the empire and its people—only to be met with cold indifference.

“I was a fool. I thought I knew everything, but in truth, I was just a naive idiot who didn’t understand the world at all.”