The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: How to Be a Hunter (3)

“But Catherine, that person is…”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness.”

Catherine raised her palm in front of the prince’s concerned face.

“Believe it or not, back in my hometown, they called me a ‘hunter.’”

“A h-hunter?”

“Yes, and a very skilled one at that. Once I set my sights on prey, I never miss.”

With a solemn expression, Catherine made a vow in front of the prince.

“Just wait and see. I’ll definitely make that man mine!”

“Uh, uhm, okay.”

The fiery determination of a woman at the prime age for marriage was overwhelming for the young prince, who had yet to experience even puppy love.

“W-Well, I’ll cheer you on too.”

“Lia too! Lia cheers for Catherine too!”

All Edwin could do was quietly wish the head maid luck along with his younger sister.

***

“Your Highness Edwin, I heard you’re entering the hunting competition?”

On the day before the event, Edwin was training with the knights from the morning as usual.

When one knight asked, others chimed in.

“That one tomorrow? Our commander said he’s joining too.”

“Of course he is. All the top nobles of the Empire are participating.”

“What’s gotten into them? Those lords usually never budge from their seats.”

“Maybe it’s because His Majesty ordered all the princes to attend?”

“Then a lot of noble ladies will be there too, huh?”

“I heard even the Second Unit guys are throwing a fit trying to join. So jealous.”

“I don’t care. I have Lady Vale!”

“In your dreams! Lady Vale wouldn’t even look at a turkey like you.”

“What? You rooster-headed—!”

“Did you just call me crap in the most roundabout way possible? Want to die?”

As the knights bickered, Edwin could only smile awkwardly.

He was still a prince who found mingling and chatting with many people difficult.

Amid the boisterous chatter, time passed quickly.

Before long, they had come down from the mountain.

“Your Highness.”

While he was catching his breath, someone approached him.

It was the vice commander, Philip Meyer.

“Sir Philip?”

“I heard you’re participating in the hunting competition tomorrow,” Philip said in his usual calm voice.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Your Highness? Why won’t you meet my eyes?”

“Huh? I—I’m not avoiding you!”

Startled, Edwin quickly turned to face him.

‘Was it that obvious?’

Whenever he looked at Philip, Edwin couldn’t help but think of Catherine, which made him feel awkward.

‘But I can’t help being curious!’

He had heard that Catherine liked Sir Philip. There was no helping it.

It was all very awkward and embarrassing, yet also a bit fascinating.

For Edwin, romantic feelings were still a distant concept.

“I see. I must have been mistaken.”

Philip seemed to dismiss Edwin’s odd behavior lightly.

“By the way, I heard Your Highness doesn’t have a personal guard. Have you arranged an attendant for the competition?”

“Oh, Rachel is going with me!”

At the mention of the nanny’s name, Philip’s brows furrowed slightly.

“Rachel? You mean Your Highness’s nanny?”

“Yeah! Rachel’s better at archery than me!”

“…She’s good at archery?”

“Yeah, Rachel is a noble too. She said she learned it a long time ago.”

Philip recalled the first time he met the Third Prince’s nanny.

She had seemed like a completely ordinary woman with nothing remarkable, and yet…

There was something peculiar and composed about her presence that made it hard to let his guard down.

‘Why does she feel like a predator?’

Truly, he couldn’t make sense of it.

Lost in thought, Philip was brought back by the prince’s voice.

“So Rachel’s going with me as my attendant.”

“Ahem, I see.”

Clearing his throat, Philip continued, “If Your Highness didn’t have one, I was going to assign you a squire.”

“For me? Why?”

“It was the commander’s order. He said it would look bad for the imperial family if a prince appeared without an attendant.”

Sir Jerome?

Edwin’s eyes widened.

‘Wait, didn’t he start disliking me?’

The prince recalled the day he had spoken with Jerome alone.

Then Philip spoke up again. “Your Highness, you should head in for today.”

“Huh? Why?”

“You’ll be competing tomorrow. It’s best you get some rest today.”

“But I…”

He felt like skipping even one day of training would make him revert to his weak old self.

The self who could do nothing in front of monsters or even the Second Consort.

Seeing Edwin’s hesitation, Philip said again, “If you must, would you like to practice archery instead of training?”

“What? Can I?”

“Since the competition is tomorrow, I’ll allow it.”

Philip’s gaze turned to the bow that Edwin had been carrying like a part of himself lately.

“That’s quite a fine bow. Did you get it for the competition?”

“No? It was a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yeah, His Majesty the King of Adamant sent it to me as a get-well present.”

The King of Adamant?

Philip’s eyes widened slightly before returning to normal.

“I see.”

A faint concern passed through the vice commander’s eyes.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“If anyone asks what that bow is made of, just say it’s made of refined iron and mithril.”

At the completely unexpected request, Edwin tilted his head.

He had never once wondered what the bow gifted by the King of Adamant was made of.

“Is this made of iron and mithril?”

“No, but if anyone asks, it’s better to say so. And don’t mention that it was a gift. Just say it’s something that’s been in the Third Prince’s palace for a long time.”

Philip added quite seriously, “For Your Highness’s sake.”

“Y-Yeah.” Edwin nodded blankly.

“Then let’s go.”

Only after hearing Edwin’s response did Philip finally relax his expression.

He pointed behind the training grounds. “If you go around that way, there’s a place where you can practice archery. Practice arrows are also prepared…”

“Oh, thank you! Sir Philip!”

Before Philip could finish, Edwin had already dashed off.

“……”

Philip stared at the spot where the prince had vanished, looking dumbfounded.

The knights watching burst into laughter.

“Probably only His Highness Edwin could run off in the middle of a conversation with the vice commander.”

“Well, there’s one more. The guest who came to the quarters today…”

Just as their chatter was about to get louder, Philip emitted a murderous aura.

“You lot don’t have time to loaf around, do you?”

At the vice commander’s shout, the knights scrambled.

“Eek, we’re going!”

“Vice commander, please don’t be mad!”

“We’re working really hard!”

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

They quickly formed ranks and began climbing the ladders.

Philip could only sigh as he watched his cheeky subordinates act as if nothing had happened.

***

“Here it is!”

Edwin brightened as he found the archery range.

He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the proper target.

‘Rachel’s great and all, but sometimes she’s a bit too intense. Are all noble ladies like that? But Catherine is gentle, though.’

He recalled the human-shaped targets Rachel had made.

The heads even had actual human faces drawn on them… utterly grotesque.

“This feels much easier.”

Edwin took his stance and picked up a practice arrow with no tip.

After practicing pulling the bowstring, he began aiming.

For the past few days, he had been firing a hundred arrows daily.

“You must shoot a hundred arrows every day.”

As he nocked the arrow, Rachel’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Remember, only the arrows that hit count.”

Edwin drew the bowstring with all his strength.

He vowed not to return to the prince’s palace until he hit a hundred shots today.

***

“I told you not to visit the quarters.”

Jerome, commander of the Gloria Knights, looked troubled by the sudden visitor.

“I said it’s dangerous here because it’s full of men.”

Unlike usual, his voice was soft and kind, filled with concern.

“Brigitte, please listen to your father.”

“You forbid me from coming here just because there are men?”

A sharp voice snapped back at the duke.

“I cannot accept a command that makes no sense.”

“This isn’t a command. It’s a request.”

“A request with force is still a command.”

The girl rebuffed Jerome’s words point by point.

Her name was Brigitte Crowner.

She was Jerome’s only child, and the sole reason he had to become Duke Crowner.

“Why won’t you speak?”

At Brigitte’s words, Jerome chuckled helplessly. “Yes, Brigitte. You’re absolutely right.”

“Obviously.”

Jerome watched her pout and turn her head away, smiling foolishly.

“Oh, who did you take after to be so clever? It’s exhausting for your father.”

“Are you displeased that your one and only daughter is clever?”

“Well, um, Brigitte. By the way, when do you plan to fix that strange way of speaking?”

Brigitte widened her eyes at his comment. “Are you displeased?”

“N-No, not at all! You’re always your father’s joy.”

Jerome had never believed the saying about children being precious enough to not hurt even if swallowed by the eye.

But now, he gazed at his daughter tapping her dangling feet against the floor with a proud smile.

“Right, we were supposed to practice archery today, weren’t we? Perfect timing. There’s still time before the meeting…”

Just then, the office door burst open without warning, and a knight ran in, panting.

“Commander! There’s trouble! A monster appeared at the south gate!”

A vein popped out on Jerome’s forehead.

It looked like the peaceful archery lesson between father and daughter would have to wait.