The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: First Trial (2)

“…Rachel?”

Edwin blankly repeated his nanny’s name.

Meanwhile, Rachel had thrown her whole body into the side of the monster lunging at the prince and rolled across the ground.

While the monster stumbled and was pushed aside, she immediately launched a counterattack.

Her movements were so swift that one might wonder if a human could truly move like that.

Rachel swiftly drove a dagger into the monster’s slick nape.

Kyaaa―!

Unfortunately, it didn’t sever its windpipe—only enraged it further.

Contrary to its appearance, the monster’s outer shell was quite thick.

Though she had stabbed with all her strength, the dagger left only a small scratch and seemed to have little effect.

But Rachel was unfazed.

No, rather than being shaken, she charged at the monster again.

Dodging its fangs and claws with ease, she continued stabbing the same spot over and over.

Thud, thud, crunch.

Until the tiny scratch became a gaping wound.

Rachel’s hand did not stop.

As she fought the monster, she looked like a beast herself.

‘It’s like watching monsters fight each other.’

While Edwin watched in awe with a stunned face, the battle finally ended.

Thud.

The monster’s massive body collapsed with a loud crash.

The victor was his nanny, Rachel.

***

“Tsk.”

The dagger I had taken from the thief was completely dulled.

It had been old to begin with, and forcing it too hard must’ve broken it.

I tossed the dagger to the ground and turned around.

Edwin was staring at me with a dazed look.

He looked even more of a mess than when we first met.

His hair was tangled with dirt and twigs, both hands covered in wounds, and the hems of his pants and shoes were torn.

“Rachel, how did you…?”

Tears still brimmed in Edwin’s large eyes.

Well, he had nearly died, so it was understandable.

“How do you think? I ran.”

“No, I mean, that’s not what I…”

My straightforward answer left him flustered.

Well, I suppose he was wondering how a mere nanny could take down a monster.

But I had no intention of giving him the answer he wanted.

‘Can’t tell him. Absolutely not.’

How could I tell a child that I wasn’t the real Rachel but a former assassin leader in my past life?

So I deliberately changed the subject.

“Let’s start with a slap.”

“What? Ow!”

Edwin clutched his head after getting flicked on the forehead.

He blinked in confusion, his mouth opening and closing.

“Who told you to do something so reckless? Using yourself as bait against a monster—did Your Highness think you were capable of such a thing?”

“I…”

“No, it doesn’t even count as bait. What Your Highness did was nothing more than a suicidal act. Why would you do something so insane? Have you forgotten all the advice I gave you regarding Prince Lloyd?”

My sharp tone made Edwin shrink.

“There’s nothing more meaningless in this world than a pointless death!”

Normally, I might’ve backed off at this point, but not this time.

Trying to face a monster without even the strength to protect yourself? Had he lost his mind?

“Does Your Highness not value your one and only life?!”

It had been a while since I raised my voice this much.

Even Edwin looked surprised, curling up with wide eyes.

“Why won’t you answer? Say something! You have a mouth, don’t you, Your Highness?!”

Edwin caught his breath for a long moment before pouting.

As if holding back tears, he said with a stuffy nose, “I… I don’t know why you’re angry.”

He kept wiping his eyes with his palms as he continued, “I just… I wanted to be helpful too! Everyone got hurt and died because of me! I hate that! I don’t want to see that anymore!”

His trembling voice grew louder until it became almost a wail.

“It’s all because of me! All of it was my fault, so I didn’t want it to happen again! I wanted to be helpful too! But I can’t be like you! I thought about it a lot too!”

“Thought about what? That it wouldn’t matter if someone like me died?”

“That’s…”

Instead of answering, Edwin dropped his head.

Looking down at his round crown, I said, “I ran into Leo on the way here. He was bawling his eyes out. He said he was worried because Your Highness was in danger.”

I also heard what Edwin had said to him.

That unlike himself, Leo was someone the villagers needed, so he had to survive and run.

“…Leo did?”

He didn’t seem able to believe that someone he’d just met today was worried about him.

“He saw you being chased by a monster right before his eyes. Wouldn’t it be stranger not to worry?”

I squatted in front of him as he stared only at his feet.

“Your Highness, you said you didn’t understand why I was angry.”

Edwin sniffled and nodded slightly at my words.

I pulled out ointment from my pocket and unfolded his right hand.

Blood was dripping from the palm scraped by stones.

“The reason I was angry, as I’ve told you before, is because you charged in without properly assessing your opponent.”

There’s only a paper-thin difference between courage and recklessness.

And that thin paper can determine life or death.

Those who walk the line between must learn the discernment to tell the two apart.

“And more than anything.”

I applied ointment to his wound.

It was quite deep—it would probably leave a scar.

“…I was angry that Your Highness was thinking that way.”

The Edwin in front of me was a child before he was a prince.

He didn’t have the strength to protect himself, nor the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

And yet he was already thinking he was worthless.

There were mountains of adults in this world who deserved death far more.

How could a mere child think that way? It was unacceptable.

“What I mean is, everything Your Highness has been through isn’t all your fault. So don’t blame yourself.”

“But…”

“No buts, Your Highness,” I cut him off firmly. “The only fault you have is recklessly charging at that monster today. Understood?”

Edwin tried to argue but quickly nodded under my sharp glare.

They say every choice comes with responsibility.

But this child hadn’t even been given a choice until now.

Even so, he was blaming himself for everything.

‘I was too harsh about the Lloyd matter.’

Back then, I hadn’t planned to take responsibility for Edwin or Emilia, so I’d intentionally pushed them away.

‘But now things have changed.’

I took out a clean handkerchief and wrapped Edwin’s wound.

“Hey.”

Edwin stared at his hand wrapped in the cloth, then murmured quietly.

“…I want to be strong like you.”

At those words, I paused and met his gaze.

In his bright blue eyes, I saw both despair and yearning.

“Do you think I can?”

“Your Highness, when we return.”

I looked into the eyes of the young prince who looked about to cry and placed my hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll help Your Highness be able to choose anything you want.”

Edwin tilted his head, puzzled by my answer.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean.”

I bared my teeth in a grin.

“I’ll make Your Highness stronger than anyone else.”

***

Right after narrowly rescuing the prince from the monster’s jaws.

Sage looked at us returning home and wore a completely nonchalant expression.

“Well, the important thing is that both of you survived, right?”

Even after hearing that the two boys had nearly been bitten to death by a monster, Sage remained utterly calm.

“For someone who intentionally sent them into danger, you show no signs of remorse.”

Sage flared up at my words. “Intentionally? Hey, I might be an oddball, but I’m not some lunatic who’d toss kids into a monster’s mouth, all right? I’m still in my right mind!”

“Your Highness, my apologies. I underestimated just how insane this man is. Let’s go. We’ll have to find another teacher.”

“Are you ignoring me right now? A youngster’s ignoring his elder—!”

Meanwhile, Edwin had turned pale, as if deeply shocked by our conversation.

“Don’t tell me… You knew monsters would appear and still sent me and Leo there…?”

“For heaven’s sake, I said it’s not like that! Now even a brat who’s barely dried behind the ears is ignoring me?”

Sage smacked his own chest in frustration, then grew serious.

“Fine, let’s say I did send you there knowing monsters would appear. So what?”

“What?”

“There’s no such thing as a trial without hardship in this world, don’t you agree?”

Sage narrowed his eyes at Edwin, who was much smaller than him.

“If you had used Leo as a shield and run away, I would’ve grabbed you by the collar myself and thrown you into the monster’s mouth.”

At Sage’s words, Edwin gave a hiccup of surprise.

“Of course, if you charged the monster head-on and died, that’d be the end of it. I don’t take fools like that as disciples.”

“So you never considered he could’ve died while running away? Some great sage you are.”

“I don’t take unlucky kids as disciples either. Their bad luck might rub off on me.”

What an incomparable lunatic.

Grinding my teeth internally, I watched as he turned toward Edwin.

“Anyway, did you find your answer? Little prince.”

“What?”

“Didn’t I tell you to prove whether you’re worth teaching?”

What the hell is there to prove in this situation?

Should I just go ahead and prove that even sages die when bitten by monsters?

“Your Highness, I believe I made a misjudgment.”

I stepped in front of Edwin, glaring at the grumpy old sage.

“This kind of person is hardly worthy of being a teacher. Let’s look for someone el—”

Just then, a small voice came from behind me. It was Edwin.

“I’ve been thinking about it. I still don’t really know what kind of ‘anyone’ you meant.”

Edwin wore a very serious expression.

“But if by ‘anyone’ you mean someone who’s no different from everyone else, then I…”

His bright blue eyes turned toward Sage.

“I don’t think I can be your disciple, sir. I’m sorry.”