The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: How to Become a Hunter (2)

“Nanny, what’s the matter all of a sudden?”

When I abruptly stood up, water splashed over the edge of the grand bath.

Catherine, holding Emilia in her arms, looked at me in confusion.

“Catherine.”

I stepped out of the bath and threw on a new nightgown.

Then I twisted two towels together and gripped them in my hand.

“I’ll be stepping out first.”

“Huh? But Her Highness the Princess is almost done bathing too. Why don’t you leave with us?”

“I urgently need the restroom, so I’ll go ahead.”

I made up a quick excuse and left the grand bath.

As I exited the annex where the bath was located, the killing intent thickened.

‘Two?’

I sensed two presences.

They were well-trained assassins.

‘This might actually be fortunate.’

At first, I was annoyed that my relaxing bath time had been disturbed, but on second thought, it might have been a good opportunity.

‘Let’s test this out.’

It was a chance.

What kind of results would come from training in the body of Rachel Brown rather than Kyla Angel?

Tap.

I leapt toward the presence of the uninvited nighttime guests who had entered the Third Prince’s palace without permission.

To deal with them before the head maid and the imperial siblings noticed their presence.

***

“The target’s the Third Prince, right?”

“Yeah. Supposed to be a twelve-year-old brat.”

The men in black from head to toe were masked.

They were known as the “Human Hunters,” the Gilbert brothers.

Gil, the older brother, and Bert, the younger, always worked as a pair and were fairly infamous among assassins.

“Sounds easy. Let’s finish quickly and go.”

“Yeah.”

The two looked around.

“Hard to believe this is the Imperial Palace. The security’s pathetic.”

“Seriously. One of us would’ve been more than enough.”

Looking around the desolate grounds of the Third Prince’s palace, they scaled the wall and quietly slipped through a window.

They made no sound as they infiltrated the residence.

Exchanging glances, the two nodded silently.

Bert went up the stairs first to check the area.

Creak—

Just then, a chilling sound rang out through the quiet hallway.

And then, Bert, who had gone up first, collapsed to the side like a puppet with its neck broken.

“W-What…!”

Gil’s eyes widened as he saw his brother fall right in front of him.

‘A guard knight? But they said there were none.’

His panic lasted only a moment. Without hesitation, Gil drew a dagger.

‘Hmph! Even if it’s a knight, we’re at an advantage in the dark. Now that they’ve sensed us, this one’s dead meat…’

But something was off.

The presence he’d sensed beyond the corner of the hallway suddenly vanished.

“What the—grhk!”

Just as he was reeling from the unexpected turn of events, a long white towel wrapped around his nose and mouth, tightening fiercely.

A tepid breath brushed against the back of his neck.

“Sending two rats. Your master must be rolling in money.”

The voice was chilling, like a snake slithering up one’s limbs.

Gil froze on the spot.

This wasn’t some ordinary knight.

‘One of my kind!’

And possibly one stronger than himself.

He hadn’t even sensed them approaching his back.

‘They were just beyond that wall.’

When had they gotten behind him?

Sweating cold bullets, Gil’s eyes darted around.

The stranger let out a quiet, derisive laugh.

“Speak. Who sent you?”

Muffled by the towel, Gil thrashed violently.

“Not talking, are you?”

“Mmmghhh—!”

The voice was far too relaxed for the situation, and it infuriated Gil.

Putting all his strength into it, he managed to throw the other off.

“Tch.”

“Damn you!”

The hallway was dark, so he couldn’t see their face.

Gil scowled, “How dare you harm my brother…!”

The figure now faintly visible in the shadows was smaller than expected.

“Brother?”

“You’ll regret crossing us!”

“You two… are you the Human Hunter brothers?”

Damn it, they even knew who they were.

Gil growled, trying to hide his panic.

“Hah, knowing who we are… you must be someone well-known too…”

“Hardly. Though you might want to say ‘we were’ now.”

At those words, veins bulged on Gil’s forehead.

“You’re dead!”

He slashed his dagger with incredible force.

But the opponent dodged with ease.

As if the blade cut nothing but air.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

He never expected it to turn out like this.

He was told the mission wouldn’t be dangerous. So why had it come to this?

‘Who is this freak? Who hired them?’

With every swing, Gil’s face turned paler.

“Calling this a warm-up would be generous. You’re pathetic.”

“What… what did you say?”

The opponent, who had only been dodging, suddenly stopped in place.

“Hey, do you know the most basic skill a hunter must have?”

The figure hidden in the darkness let out a low, mocking laugh.

“To completely conceal your presence so the prey doesn’t notice.”

The moment those words ended, the presence of the opponent dispersed into the air.

As if they had never existed.

“Damn it…”

Gil had lived for twenty years as an assassin who operated in darkness.

But never before had the darkness felt so terrifying as it did now.

Just as the terrified man hurled himself with all his might toward the window—

“The moment I caught your presence, your fate was sealed.”

Crack—

There wasn’t even time to scream.

Gil ended up like his younger brother, slamming to the floor.

The mysterious figure silently bent down and picked up the towel.

Under the moonlight, the side of the figure’s face was revealed.

“Tsk.”

The Third Prince’s nanny, Rachel Brown.

Her emerald eyes gleamed dully.

“I had high hopes since they were so notorious.”

The Human Hunter brothers were assassins Rachel already knew well.

They had once been members of the Breath of the Angel, but had left midway and worked independently, known for their poor relationship with the organization.

“Hmm, let’s see.”

Rachel rummaged through the belongings of the now-dead Human Hunter brothers.

She found various weapons including daggers, and also five gold coins.

“Well, they were at least worth their meals.”

An unexpectedly profitable haul.

Rachel flipped a coin in the air, caught it, and stuffed it deep into the pocket of her nightgown.

“Now then.”

She shook her still-damp hair and tilted her head.

“What should I do about the cleanup?”

***

A peaceful morning like any other.

Noticing Rachel’s absence, Edwin frowned. “Catherine, where’s Rachel?”

“Oh, the nanny?”

Catherine responded while scooping food onto Emilia’s plate.

“She went out early this morning to help the gardener in his vegetable garden.”

“Vegetable garden?”

“Yes. She said she was going to spread fertilizer.”

Edwin recalled the garden located behind his teacher’s hut.

A patch of land where all kinds of herbs and poisonous plants grew.

Fertilizing that place, out of the blue?

Edwin frowned. “Why would Rachel do that? That’s something Master usually handles himself.”

“Well, the gardener is getting old, and it’s hard work. Since he doesn’t let the other maids even set foot near the place, there’s no one else to help.”

“Hmph.”

It was Rachel who had suggested limiting access to the maids.

She did so to prevent the risk of Sage being discovered as the Great Sage.

‘Still, fertilizer, seriously?’

Why did Master drag the nanny into such work?

Edwin pouted and stabbed at a piece of meat with his fork.

“By the way, Your Highness, how was the snack this time?”

“Oh, right.”

Catherine still occasionally delivered snacks to the Gloria Knights.

Maybe because of that, she had earned the title of the knights’ saintess among the Third Unit.

“They all loved it.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Yeah. They said since Catherine is like an angel, her food tastes heavenly too.”

“Heavens, those rascals! But at least they’ve got good taste!”

Catherine chuckled in delight.

“Hmm? Catherine is an angel?”

While enthusiastically spooning her soup, Emilia tilted her head with a drop of soup on her chin.

“Catherine isn’t human?”

“Oh, Your Highness the Princess. I am human, of course. Though I admit it might be a bit confusing since I resemble an angel?”

Catherine joked as she wiped Emilia’s chin.

“Still, it’s unfortunate. I already have someone in mind. I can’t accept all those knights’ feelings.”

Edwin’s eyes widened at Catherine’s words. “What? Someone in mind?”

“Your Highness, do you think I’ve been delivering snacks to the knights every other day for no reason?”

“…Weren’t you coming to cheer me on?”

“Oh, of course, that was my original reason!”

Catherine clutched her cheeks and blushed.

“But later on, it was like killing two birds with one stone. Cheering and courting in one go.”

Edwin gave her a flat look. “So there’s someone you like in the knights?”

“Yes! I knew the moment we met. That man is mine!”

What kind of nonsense is that?

As Edwin chewed his sliced meat, he asked, “Who is it?”

Catherine covered her mouth and let out a mischievous chuckle.

“Fufu, who it is, you ask…”

She leaned close to Edwin’s ear and whispered a name.

“Whaaaat?!”

Edwin jerked back in shock.

The name that came out of her mouth belonged to someone the prince knew all too well.