The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Vice Commander Philip Meyer (2)

It had already been about a month since the Third Prince Edwin had joined the knights’ training.

Unlike at first, Edwin now looked quite proficient in the drills.

As he ran among the Third Unit knights, one of them spoke to him.

“You’re keeping up quite well now.”

At the knight’s words, Edwin sheepishly rubbed beneath his nose.

Seeing this, the other knights began chiming in one after another.

“Yeah, at first, you were barely able to follow our shadows.”

“You’ve definitely improved a lot compared to when you started.”

“At this rate, Your Highness might become a Gloria knight too.”

“Right, once His Highness joins, you can leave.”

“What? You punk?”

Edwin laughed softly at their teasing.

It was a scene unimaginable from their first meeting.

‘That’s all thanks to Catherine.’

Edwin recalled the day Catherine first visited the barracks.

It must have been about a week after he started training.

Catherine had come to the knights with Rachel.

‘Rachel was one thing, but I didn’t expect Catherine to come too.’

Rachel, on the other hand, had a sour face, as if she really hadn’t wanted to be there.

“Oh my~ Hello, knights! You must be working hard with all that training!”

It wasn’t only Edwin who was surprised. The Third Unit knights were too.

Unlike noble-born knights, most of them were commoners who rarely met anyone from the imperial household.

And now, two women who worked in the palace had shown up before them.

While the Third Unit knights trembled like bachelors dragged to a millstone—

“Oh dear, how forgetful of me. I’m Catherine Vale, serving His Highness the Third Prince.”

Catherine placed her hand over her chest and bowed.

She then took the large basket from Rachel and showed it to the knights.

“I brought some snacks to cheer you on. Please help yourselves!”

Inside the basket were sliced ham, apple pie, and milk.

The knights’ faces brightened instantly upon seeing the contents.

“As His Highness commanded, I prepared plenty, so eat as much as you like~!”

At Catherine’s words, Edwin tilted his head.

He had never given such an order.

Just as he was about to object, Catherine smiled and subtly shook her head.

Rachel, standing beside her, also raised her index finger to her lips.

While Edwin stood there blankly, confused by these inexplicable signals—

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

The knights’ resounding voices filled the training grounds.

That was probably the beginning.

The moment the Third Unit knights’ view of the prince began to change.

***

After that, Catherine continued to visit the knights’ order every two days with snacks in hand.

Thanks to that, Edwin’s popularity among the Third Unit knights soared day by day.

“Your Highness, that lady… does she have someone she’s seriously seeing?”

“That lady?”

“The angel with the ivory hair.”

“Ah, you mean Catherine?”

“Yes!”

“I’m not sure, but probably not.”

Whoooooa—

At Edwin’s reply, the knights let out a strange cheer.

Catherine’s popularity was also climbing fast.

“Right. Thanks to her, I’ve been eating so well that I feel heavier now.”

“Gasp, Vice Commander! Since when were you here!”

But while they had been absorbed in their chatter, they had been caught up by Philip, who was following behind.

“Add 10 round trips.”

“Aaaagh! Vice Commander—! That’s too much—!”

Just as the knights began to wail and resume running, Edwin also let out a sigh and moved to follow them.

“Your Highness.”

But Philip stopped him.

“Could you spare me a moment of your time?”

It was an unexpected request.

Edwin looked at him, eyes wide.

But he didn’t refuse.

“Huh? Uh, sure.”

“Then this way.”

Philip turned as if to say ‘follow me.’

It was rare for someone outside the Third Prince’s palace to be the one to call for him first.

Half-anxious, half-excited, Edwin trailed after him.

“Um, Sir Philip?”

Edwin hesitated and stopped walking.

The place Philip had brought him to was his office.

Was it because he didn’t like how Edwin was training? Had he brought him here to say he shouldn’t come anymore?

The young prince’s eyes trembled nervously. “What’s this about, bringing me all the way here…”

“Please take this.”

“Huh?”

Contrary to Edwin’s expectation, Philip neither scolded him nor kicked him out.

He simply took something out of a drawer and handed it to him.

‘Gloves?’

Edwin accepted the gloves he offered.

They were leather gloves with a dark brown sheen and a peculiar luster.

“They’re gloves made of wyvern leather. Use them when climbing ladders.”

“Ah.”

Edwin looked down at his hands.

His small, pale hands were now covered in blisters and calluses from the grueling training.

“Still, I’m the only one getting something like this…”

“You don’t need to worry about the other Third Unit knights.”

The Gloria knights had trained steadily for years and gripped swords daily.

They couldn’t be compared to the soft palms of a young prince.

“You could probably get better gloves if you wished. If you don’t like these, you can throw them away…”

“No! I’d never throw them away!”

Edwin’s voice rose at once.

He carefully put on the gifted gloves.

The prince’s eyes sparkled brightly as he looked down at his gloved hands.

To an almost burdensome degree.

“…Do you like them?”

“Yeah!”

Edwin nodded with a radiant smile.

It was like a small, long-asleep flower bud blooming at last.

“Thank you, Sir Philip!”

“…Think nothing of it.”

Philip awkwardly watched the prince enjoy the new gloves, moving his fingers nonstop.

To be that happy over something so trivial made him feel oddly embarrassed.

‘It’s not like he’s never received a gift before.’

As that thought crossed his mind, Edwin flashed him a bright smile, as if reading his heart.

“It’s the first time I’ve gotten a gift from someone other than Emma!”

“…What?”

“Oh, no, Leo too. You’re the third, Sir Philip!”

Philip was quite taken aback.

No matter how broke he was, he was still a prince, so how had he never properly received a gift before?

“R-really?”

“What, that you’re the third?”

“No, I mean that this is the third gift you’ve ever received.”

“Yeah, it’s true.” After thinking for a moment, Edwin answered with confidence, “This is the third gift I’ve ever gotten directly from someone.”

But usually, gifts for a prince are presented in person by the giver.

Unless they’re sent from a faraway domain or country.

“…I’m honored to be the third, then.”

He held back the many things he wanted to say.

Philip quietly watched the prince fidget with the gloves, not knowing what to do, then opened his mouth again.

“…Prince Edwin.”

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t mind—”

Edwin looked at Philip, eyes wide.

Meeting the prince’s gaze directly, he continued, “May I teach you swordsmanship?”

***

“Sir Philip, you say?”

“Yeah!”

I gazed gently at the thrilled Edwin.

Having just returned from knights’ training, he seemed particularly energetic today.

“Sir Philip said if I’m okay with it, he’d teach me swordsmanship!”

Edwin leaned toward me like he might topple over any second.

“Can I learn swordsmanship? Please?”

For someone so flawless in table manners, he was unusually excited at the dining table.

‘Did he really want to learn swordsmanship that badly?’

The only reason I’d sent him to the knight order was to build his stamina.

I figured no one would want to teach him swordsmanship anyway.

‘Not like I could teach him the swordsmanship I use, so maybe this is for the best.’

Just as a knight’s swordsmanship is unmistakably that of a knight, an assassin’s swordsmanship is just as obvious.

If a prince of the empire wielded an assassin’s sword, everyone would surely point fingers.

‘It’s swordsmanship purely for killing.’

No grace or beauty—just a fatal, one-strike killing art.

Not only swordsmanship. Everything I learned from the organization was the same.

A mindset that didn’t balk at any means to take a life, and techniques to efficiently kill without being caught.

‘Things like that.’

I quietly looked down at Edwin, who clutched my sleeve with sparkling eyes.

‘I can’t teach this kid that.’

Hmm. Philip Meyer.

A commoner-born knight and the vice commander of the empire’s top knight order.

‘That’s not bad at all.’

I chuckled, recalling the man I’d once run into at the knight order.

A fairly stiff, inflexible type, if memory served.

A man like that would have honest skill.

He wouldn’t know how to cut corners.

‘Sounds like the perfect teacher for this one.’

I gave a small nod to Edwin, who was still gazing at me earnestly. “It’s a great opportunity. Do as you wish, Your Highness.”

“Really? Truly?”

“Yes. But I think it’s best not to let others know.”

There were plenty in the palace who wouldn’t take it lightly if they found out Edwin was receiving swordsmanship training. Like the Second Consort, who wished her son to become emperor.

“I’ll speak to Sir Philip myself.”

“Okay!”

Edwin nodded vigorously.

Then he happily began eating the food in front of him.

But as time passed, his face turned pale.

“…Ugh.”

In the end, after taking a spoonful of the last soup, Edwin dropped his spoon.

“I thought you’d be used to it by now, but I guess not,” I said nonchalantly to him as he panted roughly. “It’s desert scorpion venom. How is it?”