The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: The Imperial Hunting Competition (2)

“A person…?”

Edwin shuddered as he looked at the man who had fallen from the tree.

“An assassin.”

“W-What, an assassin?”

At the word assassin, Edwin’s eyes filled with shock.

No matter how naïve he was, he understood what it meant for an assassin to be here.

The fact that someone had sent a killer after him could only be shocking.

‘Tsk, how long has it been since they sent assassins into the Prince’s Palace?’

And now they were trying the same foolish thing again.

I clicked my tongue as I pulled Edwin, who was hiding behind me, into my arms.

‘Well, it’s not like I didn’t expect this.’

A hunting competition. What better opportunity could there be?

It was the perfect stage to eliminate an obstacle.

Still holding Edwin close, I pulled the arrow lodged in the assassin’s shoulder.

“Ugh.”

Judging by the groan, he wasn’t dead, just unconscious.

It seemed he had hit his head when he fell from the tree.

Just in case, I tied up his limbs and hid him in the bushes.

“Your Highness.”

Meanwhile, Edwin was fidgeting nervously, staring at me.

When I called him, he flinched and lifted his head.

“Y-Yes?”

His already pale face turned even whiter, like flour dusted over his skin.

“It seems there is a dangerous beast nearby.”

“A beast?”

Edwin tilted his head.

He looked at me with deeply worried eyes.

“But they said the knights wouldn’t release anything too dangerous for the competition, like bears or lions…”

“It may have wandered in from somewhere else.”

I pried Edwin off me as he clung like a leech.

Then I knelt down to meet his eyes.

“I will go check. Stay right here and do not move.”

“B-But…”

“The man I tied up will not wake for at least half a day. You don’t need to be afraid.”

Edwin slowly nodded instead of answering.

I smoothed his hair once before standing.

“I’ll be back soon. If you’re scared, stay on the horse. It’s timid but clever. If danger comes near, it will find a safe path.”

“R-Rachel!”

As I mounted the horse and headed deeper into the forest, Edwin called after me.

“You really have to come back soon!”

I lightly nodded to ease his worried plea.

Then I spurred the horse’s side.

The fierce black horse charged straight into the thickets.

‘How dare they.’

I lowered my body and gritted my teeth.

‘How dare they touch what I am protecting right before my eyes?’

I shook the reins harder.

I had no intention of forgiving those who tried to harm a prince within the Imperial Palace.

This time, I would uncover the true mastermind behind the attempt on Edwin’s life.

***

Swoosh, snap.

“Damn it! Another miss!”

Second Prince Lloyd cursed as the rabbit escaped his arrow.

He was already irritated that the number of prey had decreased noticeably.

And as time passed, his accuracy worsened, making him furious.

“Your Highness, perhaps you should try another area…”

“I already went everywhere else, didn’t I?”

“There are still some places left…”

“Shut up!”

Lloyd growled, ignoring his retainer’s advice.

He knew well there was still an area he hadn’t gone to yet.

But in that area, Duke Crowner and First Prince Adrian were hunting together.

‘I’m not going near them just to get compared.’

His half-brother Adrian had always been sickly, so his swordsmanship never improved, but his archery skills had surpassed Lloyd’s since childhood. That fact never failed to irritate him.

“Then, Your Highness, perhaps we should return to His Majesty…”

“Damn it, you’re all annoying!”

Lloyd snapped at the voices buzzing in his ear.

Suddenly, he yanked the reins and galloped alone into the forest.

“P-Prince Lloyd! It’s dangerous to go alone!”

His attendants belatedly tried to stop him, but the prince’s horse was already far ahead.

“Your Highness! Prince Lloyd!”

“Haha, serves you right! Catch up if you can, you idiots!”

Lloyd smirked as the voices chasing him grew fainter.

How long had he run?

When he no longer felt anyone following, Lloyd slowed down.

“Tch, not even a hair of an animal here either.”

He frowned with displeasure.

He looked around, hoping to spot decent prey, but there weren’t even tracks.

“This is boring.”

Just as he grumbled and was about to turn the reins.

“When will she come back?”

A very familiar voice came from not far away.

Lloyd stilled and quietly guided his horse through the bushes.

Through the leaves, a familiar figure appeared.

It was Third Prince Edwin.

“Ha!”

Lloyd let out a short laugh.

His half-brother, the thorn in his side, had a cart piled high with game.

Not as much as he had hunted himself, but this was Edwin.

The very same boy who until recently was called the Shabby Prince and had never even held a bow properly.

To see him succeed this much was unbelievable.

‘How the hell did he manage that?’

Lloyd glared at Edwin as if he wanted to devour him.

He was alone, sitting on horseback guarding the cart.

There wasn’t a single attendant in sight.

‘Hmph, so he’s alone?’

There was no way he had hunted that much by himself. His attendant must have stepped away for a moment.

At that moment, Lloyd’s hands clenched tightly.

‘That bastard dared to talk with my fiancée.’

He suddenly remembered the sight of Edwin speaking familiarly with Brigitte right before the competition.

Even Brigitte, who had coldly ignored him, had spoken to Edwin first.

Lloyd bit his lip.

Creak.

The Second Prince quietly raised the bow he had been holding.

The arrowhead was aimed at his half-brother in the distance.

“…Ugh.”

But though he had drawn the arrow without hesitation, the tip of the arrow trembled violently.

No matter how vicious his thoughts, he was still just a child.

Lloyd hesitated, guilt pricking at his conscience as his fingers loosened.

Screech.

A large bird suddenly flew into the Second Prince’s face.

“Ah!”

Startled, Lloyd released the string.

Unfortunately, the arrow had not yet been lowered.

Whoosh—

In an instant, the arrow flew and grazed Edwin’s cheek.

“Aaah!”

Edwin screamed in shock at the sudden arrow.

The horse he was riding reared up in fright.

“No, stop!”

Edwin hastily grabbed the reins of the panicked horse.

But the horse had already lost its senses and bolted madly.

“Urgh!”

All the young prince could do atop the frenzied horse was hold on with all his might to avoid being thrown off.

‘Rachel…!’

The wind stung his wounded cheek.

He remembered his nanny’s warning to stay put and squeezed his eyes shut.

Regrettably, he couldn’t keep her words this time.

And so, the young prince’s horse dashed into the darkness of the forest.

Toward an endless black.

***

“Stop right there!”

The assassins who had attacked Edwin seemed to have decided to escape the hunting grounds altogether.

Well, for assassins, nothing was more dangerous than being exposed.

Normally, they would have eliminated both Edwin and me before their identities could be discovered. But this was the Imperial Hunting Competition.

If they killed anyone other than their target and the problem escalated, not only they but also their client would be exposed.

‘Assassinations must always be cautious and hidden.’

They must never be seen or known.

That was the assassin’s iron rule.

‘Still, these men are skilled. Much better than the ones before.’

I recalled the assassin brothers who had sneaked into the Third Prince’s Palace last time.

Those two had been laughably poor.

‘But these ones…’

From horseback, I drew my bow once more.

My target was the leg of the nearest assassin.

“Grrk!”

An assassin struck fell from the tree and rolled across the ground.

Judging by how the others quickly abandoned him, they had chosen to leave him behind.

“You should have stopped when I told you to.”

The fallen assassin clutched his bleeding leg as he staggered to his feet.

He glared at me with eyes burning with murder.

“Oh, how frightening,” I muttered in a flat tone. “Do you think I’ll run away just because you glare at me like that?”

“You bastard, who the hell are you!”

“That’s my line.”

I once again set an arrow to the string.

As the arrow aimed at him with a creak, his pupils wavered slightly.

“It will be better for you to talk while I am giving you the chance.”

I bared my teeth in a smile at the man frozen in place.

“Who sent you here to kill the Third Prince?”