The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: The Duke and the Nanny (2)

“W-what did you say?”

Jerome twisted his face as if he couldn’t comprehend my answer.

“You say you can’t trust a duke of a nation? What’s your reason for that?”

There were more than enough reasons.

I recalled the memory of a battlefield where I first met Jerome Crowner.

At the time, I had sneaked into his tent to follow the organization’s order to assassinate the duke.

“A woman, huh. So you’re the infamous ‘Reaper of the Silver Thread’?”

But the junior member of the organization who was deployed with me as an assistant made a mistake.

Thanks to that, Jerome Crowner realized our presence right away.

“Let that one go.”

I dropped to my knees before Jerome Crowner.

That junior member had not even undergone the coming-of-age ceremony—he was just a child.

A child sold off to the organization because his family had too many mouths to feed.

“I’ll reveal who ordered the assassination, so please just let him go.”

An assassin must not beg for their life from the target.

Nor must they reveal who ordered the assassination.

But I couldn’t let a child, who still had baby fat on his face, die meaninglessly.

‘I just need to buy time for him to escape safely.’

Thinking that, I tried to make up stories to get the junior member out.

But the boy had already lost his mind, collapsed on the spot, and even wet himself.

“You’re going to tell me who ordered you to kill me?”

Jerome mulled over my words, then grinned.

“Not really curious, what now?”

Rather, he seemed intrigued that the one aiming for his life on the battlefield was the infamous ‘Reaper of the Silver Thread.’

“Instead, Reaper of the Silver Thread, if you defeat me, I’ll let not only that boy go but you as well. How about it?”

What were the odds of an assassin defeating the empire’s greatest knight in a head-on battle?

A meaningless question. Regardless of the odds, I had no choice at the time.

“I wondered what kind of amazing person you’d be! Turns out you’re not much compared to your reputation!”

“Same goes for you, Jerome Crowner.”

At first, I was overpowered by Duke Crowner.

But as time passed, the tide began to turn in my favor.

No, to be precise, I turned the tide in my favor.

Grrraaagh!

I launched a series of surprise attacks with the weapons hidden inside my clothes.

Caught off guard, Jerome eventually dropped to one knee before me.

‘I shouldn’t have let my guard down then.’

No, more accurately, I shouldn’t have trusted a person.

“As promised, I’ve won, so I’ll take my leave. There will be no more assassination attempts, so rest assured…”

Just as I took the frightened junior’s hand and tried to leave the tent.

Slaaash—

Blood splattered across the floor, and the child screamed.

When I turned around, one of his arms was gone.

“Where do you think you’re running off to, you rat!”

The enraged Jerome swung his sword wildly.

The narrow tent was completely wrecked, and the canvas torn to shreds.

“Reaper, where are you running off to! If I ever meet you again, I’ll kill you for sure! Do you think you’ll get away unscathed after trying to kill a duke of this country, you murderous fiend!”

His terrifying curses chased after me, but I ignored them.

I carried the child on my back and ran like mad.

Thanks to that, I barely managed to escape the camp, but I failed to save the boy.

The bleeding was too severe for such a small body to endure.

“My reason, well.”

One cannot trust a person who can change their stance depending on their emotions and circumstances.

If that’s a reason not to trust Jerome, then so be it.

“I don’t think status or position alone are reasons to trust someone.”

After hearing my response, Jerome remained silent for quite a while.

His eyes looked rather conflicted.

“Then I really must go. I need to attend to Their Highnesses tomorrow as well.”

“Hey! Wait a moment!”

“If you plan to make that kind of offer again, ask His Highness directly next time, not me.”

“Wait! Just a moment…”

I quickly walked away, leaving Jerome who tried to stop me again.

I could feel a burning gaze at the back of my head, but I forced myself to ignore it.

‘What a shame.’

The empire’s greatest knight offering to be the prince’s teacher.

At first glance, it was not a bad offer.

Originally, it would’ve been one worth accepting even at the cost of incurring the wrath of the Second Consort.

‘But who in their right mind would accept such an offer after hearing those words?’

Duke Crowner did not approach me with pure intentions.

He merely saw Edwin as a substitute for the First Prince.

Didn’t I overhear his conversation with the Emperor?

‘A substitute is just that—a substitute. There’s no way he intends to place Edwin on the throne instead of the First Prince.’

What he wants is likely just a shield for the First Prince.

He probably intended to train Edwin first, then decide how to use him.

‘Whether to set him up as a puppet emperor or mold him into a blind loyalist.’

In the end, the duke simply needed a puppet.

A puppet who could fulfill the will of Cavelius III and protect his nephew.

‘If the First Prince dies early, then maybe…’

But even if the First Prince dies and Edwin ascends the throne—

Would that throne truly be his?

A powerless emperor is worth less than a stray dog on the street.

“I won’t be fooled a second time.”

He surely thought I would accept his offer.

I couldn’t help but smirk with a sense of bitter satisfaction.

‘Where did I bury that boy again…’

Though the image of the child who died that day soon resurfaced and dampened my mood again.

***

In the middle of the Gloria Knights’ training ground.

“Salute the commander!”

With a loud shout, the knights gave a disciplined salute.

Their eyes were fixed on the podium.

Jerome, standing atop the platform, scanned his subordinates with a sharp gaze.

“I saw your monster subjugation skills yesterday.”

The duke somehow seemed angrier than usual today.

“They were utterly pathetic.”

At Jerome’s low voice, the knights flinched slightly.

Their faces, tanned from training, turned pale.

“It took you half a day to kill just a few wyverns. Didn’t you feel anything watching the Adamant Knights finish off a monster in just a few minutes?”

His biting tone radiated fury.

“And you still dare call yourselves imperial knights!”

“No, sir!”

Though he said “just a few wyverns,” they were over ten giant wyverns, each more than ten feet long.

Still, that was the only answer they could give.

“You’re getting cocky from being called the best knight order in the empire! I’ll fix that rotten attitude of yours today!”

Jerome looked like a demon that had crawled out of hell.

“Starting today, training will be doubled!”

It was a bolt from the blue.

Twenty full-armored mountain climbs back and forth.

The knights screamed silently and glanced at each other.

But none dared to rebel against their commander.

No, they couldn’t. They knew better than anyone how terrifying the duke was.

“What are you dawdling for! Run!”

At the duke’s explosive command, the knights immediately lined up and started running.

Just then, as the clashing of armor echoed across the field—

“You there, stop.”

Jerome called out to the one at the end of the line.

“Prince Edwin.”

Edwin, who never imagined he’d be called, looked up at Jerome in surprise.

“…Me?”

“Is there another Edwin here besides you, Your Highness?”

Jerome approached the prince, who had frozen in place.

A small boy he had to look far down to see.

This time, Jerome said in a gentle voice, “Let’s have a quick chat.”

***

“Jerome Crowner, huh. It’s been a while since I heard that name.”

Sage muttered as he sorted the herbs he had grown himself.

“You’re lucky. That monstrous man didn’t recognize who you are?”

“Humans are always vulnerable to what they see. He’s no different in that regard.”

I leaned back over the backrest with both legs on Sage’s desk.

“Besides, anyone looking at me now would think I’m just a plain woman.”

“True. I thought your disguise was unusually good this time. How did you shrink your height? Some potion?”

Sage looked at me with curious eyes.

“…Something like that.”

I had no intention of telling him the truth just yet.

If he found out I died and came back in someone else’s body—

‘He’d pester me a hundred times worse with dissections and experiments.’

I quietly observed Sage’s cabin.

Set up behind the annex, this place was a hideout solely for Sage the gardener.

Surrounded by tall trees and thick brush, with only a small herb garden nearby, it wasn’t easily spotted by others.

“So why bring up Duke Crowner all of a sudden?”

I shrugged. “Just wondering if you knew anything about him.”

“Wouldn’t you know better than I do? You fought him.”

“I don’t know him. What I know is the ‘knight’ Jerome Crowner, not the ‘man’ Jerome.”

Sage seemed to ponder for a moment, then spoke again, “Well, the only thing I know is that he’s not the legitimate heir of the ducal house.”

“Not the legitimate heir? What do you mean?”

“He’s adopted. The previous duke brought him in for succession.”

“You mean he’s an illegitimate child?”

“Hmm, it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

Sage waved his finger through the air as if drawing a family tree.

“They say the previous duke’s ex-wife had an affair with a commoner knight and gave birth to him.”