The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: How to Become a Hunter (1)

“You’re going to the hunting competition too?” Edwin looked at me with surprised eyes.

“Do you disapprove?”

The imperial family and nobles usually take attendants with them to hunting competitions.

They need someone to load game onto the carriage and to retrieve game that fell far away.

But since the Third Prince’s palace had no such attendants, I decided to take on that role.

“No, when did I say that? I was just asking. Can you ride a horse?”

“Roughly.”

“What about archery?”

“I shoot better than Your Highness.”

“What—”

Though he grumbled, Edwin couldn’t hide his smile.

Grinning brightly, he even greeted the horse.

“Hello, nice to meet you.”

He certainly was brusque with people, yet endlessly kind to animals.

“Lia too, Lia too wants a hooorse! I really want a horse! Waaaah!”

Meanwhile, Emilia, held in Catherine’s arms, flailed and burst into tears.

“Your Highness the Princess is still too young. It’s too dangerous.”

“Lia is not too young! Lia’s all grown uuuup!”

“Oh dear, what should I do?”

Catherine tried to soothe Emilia while signaling me for help.

“Your Highness Emilia.”

At my voice, the princess turned her tear-streaked face slightly.

“When Your Highness grows a bit more, I will personally find a horse that suits you. So please dry your tears.”

“Sniff… a horse that suits me?”

“Yes. How about a snow-white steed or one that shines golden all over?”

At my words, Emilia’s eyes sparkled. “A white horse! Lia likes white horses!”

“Understood. Then until I bring you a white horse, you must grow well.”

“Okay, then when can Lia ride a horse?”

“When Your Highness is as tall as Prince Edwin is now.”

At that, Emilia began to well up with tears again.

“That’ll take so loooong! I want to ride right noooow!”

“If you try your best, it won’t take that long.”

I wiped Emilia’s tear-stained face with my sleeve.

That adorable face, enough to fill anyone’s heart just by looking at it, was too precious to be smeared with tears and snot.

“If you eat a variety of foods and go to bed early to sleep well, you’ll grow quickly.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Until then, please be content with this.”

“Yaaaay! A fairy tale!”

I promptly handed over the storybook I had hidden in my coat.

Emilia let out a happy squeal and stopped crying.

It seemed she had completely forgotten about the horse.

“Nanny, but how did you manage to get two such splendid horses?”

Catherine asked while adjusting Emilia, who was hugging the book and swaying side to side.

“I thought the funds I gave you wouldn’t be nearly enough.”

“…No, it was just right.”

“Nanny? Why the hesitation in your answer?”

“Must be your imagination.”

I avoided Catherine’s suspicious gaze.

‘Anyway, I’d been worried that Gale might try to pull something again.’

But the horses Gale delivered were in much better condition than I had expected.

Especially the black horse that was mine, I liked him best.

‘They say a fierce horse is a fine horse.’

I smirked as I looked at the snorting black stallion.

‘All that hassle squeezing Gale paid off.’

Originally, both horses were supposed to be sent to the Second Prince’s stables, so their quality was guaranteed.

“But what’s with this riding outfit? I’ve never seen it before.”

Back in his room, Edwin held the riding outfit against himself and asked.

It was far more ornate than his usual clothes, and he seemed fascinated.

“Oh, that was sent by Her Majesty the Empress.”

Honestly, it was unexpected.

The Empress seemed to have no interest in Edwin, yet she had sent him a riding outfit personally.

‘I even wondered if she’d hidden a poisoned needle or some strange mechanism in it.’

But upon inspection, the outfit she sent was just ordinary clothing.

Well, not ordinary, considering the luxurious fabric and the delicately embroidered stitches.

“Do you not like it? If not, we can prepare something else…”

“No, I like it!”

Edwin answered loudly and began fiddling with the outfit.

“I’ve just never worn something like this before.”

He seemed quite fascinated with the newly received riding gear.

But we didn’t have time to leisurely admire new clothes.

“Shall we begin right away?”

“Huh? Begin what?”

“What else?”

No one knew when the hunting competition would be held.

Before then, I had to turn him into the best hunter.

“Hunting competition training, of course.”

***

Dudududu―

Along with the sound of galloping hooves, my voice echoed across the training field.

“Keep your back straight! And square your shoulders!”

“Keep your legs together!”

“Who told you to grip the reins so tightly?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to maintain balance!”

Perhaps thanks to my constant nagging, Edwin’s horseback riding skills were improving by the day.

“Grrrgh…”

Every night he collapsed groaning, but still, he continued participating in the knight training without fail.

Even for someone like me who was stingy with praise, I couldn’t help but acknowledge his effort.

‘I’ve thought this before, but he’s surprisingly gifted physically.’

I didn’t know whom he took after, but Edwin had outstanding motor skills.

Did he take after the emperor, who was said to wield a sword as skillfully as Duke Crowner?

“You’re riding quite well now.”

By the time Edwin could ride with his hands free after just a week, I decided it was time to move to the next stage.

“I think it’s time we move on.”

Edwin, who had been playing with the horse’s mane, blinked. “Next stage?”

“You’ll need to know how to shoot as well if you want to hunt.”

I opened a box in front of Edwin.

Inside were the bow and arrows gifted by the King of Adamant.

“Have you ever handled a bow before?”

“N-No.”

Edwin answered my question in a hesitant voice.

“I’ve seen it a lot, but I’ve never actually used one.”

“I see.”

I took the bow from the box and handed it to Edwin.

“I checked it a little earlier, and it’s in perfect condition. Try drawing it.”

“O-Okay.”

At my words, Edwin awkwardly took the bow.

He clumsily hooked his fingers onto the bowstring.

“Ugh―!”

The moment he tried to pull it, Edwin’s pale face flushed red like heated iron.

But despite his effort, the bowstring barely budged.

“How are you supposed to pull this? This is impossible!”

“It is possible.”

I took the bow from him and demonstrated.

Seeing the string stretch easily in my hands, Edwin’s eyes widened in shock.

“If I can pull it, why wouldn’t Your Highness be able to?”

“Because you’re strong!”

“With practice, anyone can learn to handle a bow.”

I handed the bow back to Edwin.

“From now on, pull this bowstring one thousand times a day.”

Edwin gaped and jumped. “What? That’s insane! I can’t even pull it properly!”

“Whether you can or not, you will pull it a thousand times a day,” I demanded firmly. “Understood, Your Highness?”

“But still!”

“You said you wanted to become strong like me. If you’re already giving up at something like this, how do you expect to become strong?”

Edwin frowned deeply and glared at me, then nodded slightly.

I lightly tousled the top of his head.

“When it comes to physical training, sweat and effort never betray. You know that well, don’t you?”

At first, he couldn’t even keep up with the Third Unit’s footsteps, but now he followed the training without much difficulty.

“You’re doing very well, Your Highness.”

I smiled lightly at Edwin as he looked up at me.

“So believe in yourself and try just a little harder.”

***

Splashhhh.

Catherine poured hot water over herself.

She melted into a half-limp puddle.

“Aaahhh, this completely washes away the fatigue!”

“Lia too! All the fatigue is gone!”

I swept back my wet hair as I watched Emilia and Catherine enter the large bath.

‘I thought it was only big, but it’s better than expected.’

Though the Third Prince’s palace was bleak and desolate, it had one luxury other palaces lacked: a grand, enormous bathhouse.

‘At first, I mistook it for an old pond site.’

This was due to the former head maid’s complete neglect of the auxiliary facilities.

But after Catherine became head maid, the bath finally regained its original state.

‘Normally it would’ve been reserved for the imperial family and honored guests.’

Thanks to Emilia, who disliked bathing alone, we often bathed here together.

‘Well, I get to enjoy this luxury too, so I suppose it’s a win.’

Polished and scrubbed, the bath now seemed better than even the one said to be in the Emperor’s annex.

Especially the terrace outside featured a small open-air bath, something the empire’s hot spring lovers would die for.

‘Soaking in hot water under the open sky while watching the moon…’

There’s no greater luxury.

I massaged the back of my neck and admired the moon in the sky.

In that moment, Emilia swam over to me in a dog paddle and clung to my shoulder.

“Achel, Catherine keeps trying to eat Lia’s hair!”

“You need to wash your hair, Your Highness.”

“Lia hates washing hair!”

Emilia clung to me and whined.

Then suddenly, with her small chubby finger, she poked the middle of my back.

“Achel! There’s a worm on your back!”

“A worm?”

I didn’t feel any bug.

I groped at the spot she poked.

But I couldn’t feel anything.

“It looks like a worm! Right, Catherine?”

Catherine, who had come closer, picked up Emilia with one arm and tilted her head.

“Oh my, there’s a very unusual mole on your back.”

“A mole?”

“Yes, it’s a round-shaped mole like it was drawn on.”

Still holding the squirming Emilia, Catherine continued, “It looks like a curled-up worm. But to me, it looks more like a snake coiled into a circle…”

“Waaah! Lia wants to run away! Achel, help me!”

Just as I was watching the two of them bicker playfully, a familiar sensation crawled up my spine, raising every hair on end.

‘…Killing intent?’

Refined as it was, that killing intent wasn’t aimed here.

It was directed toward the main residence—

Where the Third Prince, Edwin, was.