The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: The Imperial Hunting Competition (4)

“…So there’s no helping it.”

The Emperor quietly muttered to himself at Jerome’s words.

He seemed to ponder for a moment, then stepped forward.

“I trust everyone enjoyed the hunt to their heart’s content. I offer my deepest thanks to all the participants who have graced this event with their presence today.”

At the sound of the Emperor’s voice, all eyes turned to him.

“Though it was arranged for your enjoyment, it is still a competition, and thus we must determine a victor.”

He slowly surveyed those gathered before him.

Right in front stood First Prince Adrian and Second Prince Lloyd with their entourages.

Adrian simply wore his usual indifferent expression, while Lloyd looked up at his father with a face full of anticipation.

‘The winner is me.’

No one here had hunted more beasts than the Second Prince.

By all appearances, the victory was clearly his.

At least until just a moment ago.

“Commander! His Highness the Third Prince has returned!”

Philip, who had briefly stepped away, came rushing back to announce the Third Prince’s return.

Since it happened right when the Emperor had paused speaking, his words were heard clearly by everyone present.

“…Edwin?”

At that moment, one pair of eyes wavered far too noticeably at the news of Edwin’s return.

It was Second Prince Lloyd. He bit his thumbnail, his face twisting.

“F-Forgive me for being late, Your Majesty.”

When Edwin finally appeared, he was breathing heavily.

Had he gone through something serious? The Third Prince’s appearance was in shambles.

His golden hair, coated with dust, had turned ashen, and his body was smeared with mud and weeds as if he had rolled through a swamp.

Edwin stammered, trailing off, “T-The moment I heard the horn, I came as quickly as I could…”

“…The winner has not yet been announced, so you are not late.”

The Emperor gave his youngest son a quick once-over before continuing, “But I don’t see your cart. Where’s the game you hunted?”

“Ah, th-that will be brought here shortly.”

The Emperor frowned at Edwin’s hesitant reply.

“Very well.”

He turned his head again and raised his hand.

“Then it is time to determine the victor. Officials, count the game each participant has hunted.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At the Emperor’s order, the officials quickly began tallying the game loaded onto the carts.

When the counting was done, some looked disappointed while others smiled with satisfaction. At last, the officials hurried to report back to the Emperor.

“Well then, who has taken the most game?”

The eldest official stepped forward and bowed deeply. “Yes, Your Majesty. The one who hunted the most was His Highness the Second Prince, with a total of thirty-five beasts…”

Just as the winner was about to be declared.

“Please wait a moment.”

A clear, polite voice rang out from the back.

The one who interrupted the announcement of the competition’s winner was none other than the Third Prince’s nanny, Rachel.

Arriving just a step later than her master, she was pulling a cart behind her.

“His Highness the Third Prince’s game has yet to be counted.”

At her words, nobles from the Second Prince’s faction erupted in anger.

“How dare a mere attendant interfere here!”

“What a useless disruption, when the outcome is already obvious.”

“Clearly trying to preserve her master’s pride.”

But Rachel ignored the scorn whispered at her back and went on. “I apologize for the interruption. However, a competition must be conducted fairly, must it not?”

At her words, one of the Emperor’s eyebrows twitched upward, though no one else noticed.

He silently regarded Rachel for a moment, then gave a small nod. “Count the Third Prince’s game as well.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

Though their expressions were reluctant, the officials promptly moved at the Emperor’s command.

They approached the cart Rachel had brought.

“N-No!”

“What is this!”

“Unbelievable!”

Cries burst forth all at once—half gasps of astonishment, half exclamations of awe.

As if they had just laid eyes on something they never should have seen.

***

“What’s going on?”

“Is there some problem?”

“Perhaps the Third Prince’s game was far too pitiful.”

Curious gazes turned toward the Third Prince’s cart.

The nobles craned their necks, eager to know the cause of the officials’ commotion.

“What is it?”

The Emperor too wore a displeased expression, unable to fathom the situation.

When he pressed them, the officials hesitated nervously.

“Y-Your Majesty, it is…”

“I asked what it is.”

“I-It is! His Highness the Third Prince has brought back a Silver-Horned Deer!”

At once, the gathering erupted.

The Silver-Horned Deer was famed for the beautiful silver antlers that crowned its head, and it was the very beast emblazoned on the Empire’s flag—a sacred animal.

“A Silver-Horned Deer…”

“Incredible!”

So few existed that it was a rarity beyond price, and it was known for its extreme wariness of humans.

There was even a superstition that in any year one encountered a living Silver-Horned Deer, no illness would strike and only blessings would follow.

“Prince Edwin, how could you!”

Before the Emperor could react, Second Consort Helena shot to her feet.

Her crimson eyes flashed with displeasure, though her voice was laced with refined grace.

“To hunt such a sacred beast without permission! How utterly disgraceful!”

She covered her mouth delicately with her fan as words poured out like rapid fire.

“Your Majesty, the Silver-Horned Deer is the Empire’s very symbol! No one may touch such a holy creature without your express leave! Even a prince cannot be allowed to get away with this!”

“She is right, Your Majesty.”

Seizing the moment, the nobles loyal to the Second Prince raised their voices in unison.

“Even if this is a hunting competition, to slay a sacred beast so recklessly…”

“His Highness must have known full well what he was doing. This calls for severe punishment to set an example…”

Just as public opinion began to turn in a dangerous direction, Rachel, who had brought the cart, stood at the Third Prince’s side.

She leaned in close to the flustered boy and whispered something in his ear.

At that, Edwin drew a deep breath as if steeling himself and stepped forward.

“Father.”

“Yes, Edwin.”

The Emperor looked down at his son with an emotionless gaze.

He asked to confirm the facts, “Did you truly hunt the Silver-Horned Deer?”

“I did hunt it, but I didn’t kill it.”

“…What?”

With a solemn face, Edwin approached the cart and carefully tugged at the rope.

Then something inside the cart stirred and slowly rose.

The beast looked around with its large, glistening eyes. It was without a doubt a living Silver-Horned Deer.

“Heavens.”

“A living Silver-Horned Deer! To think I would see it with my own eyes!”

“I had always heard it was impossible to capture one alive, as they are so sensitive…”

Yet even with the rope around its neck, the Silver-Horned Deer descended docilely from the cart, following Edwin without resistance.

It was a truly wondrous sight.

“Father.”

With careful hands, Edwin led the deer before the Emperor.

The young prince bowed his head respectfully to the man standing upon the dais.

“I, Third Prince Edwin, wish to present this Silver-Horned Deer to you, Father.”

At Edwin’s words, the Emperor’s eyes grew strange.

He looked back and forth between Edwin and the deer, then soon broke into a smile.

A satisfied smile.

“…Well done.”

At those words from the Emperor, the Second Consort’s face twisted miserably.

Nearby, Lloyd’s expression was equally contorted. The nobles following him looked no better.

“Hm, impressive.”

In contrast, the Empress and those supporting the First Prince showed little reaction.

Duke Crowner, however, seemed greatly intrigued by the fact that not only had Edwin returned safely, but he had also brought back such a rare creature.

His daughter Brigitte likewise stared fixedly at Edwin, curiosity shining in her eyes.

“They say even the most skilled hunters cannot capture a Silver-Horned Deer alive. And yet you, Edwin, accomplished it.”

Edwin merely lowered his head slightly in response.

Though he had indeed been the first to discover the deer, it was Rachel who had captured it.

He recalled his nanny clinging to the animal’s neck in the forest with movements swifter than a beast.

“I feared something terrible might have happened to you.”

When Rachel had come riding, her hair half undone, she had not scolded him.

She had simply checked him for injuries and brushed the dirt lightly from his hair.

“Since Your Highness found the deer after getting lost, one could say the heavens lent their aid.”

Rachel had knocked the Silver-Horned Deer unconscious and loaded it onto the cart.

And to Edwin, who kept trying to hide his face, she had said one last thing.

“As for that wound, we shall speak of it after the competition is over.”

Her tone had been so commanding that one might mistake her for the master and the prince for her charge.

Of course, the boy himself had not minded at all.

‘Well, it’s only natural Rachel wouldn’t let it pass.’

Edwin had let out a quiet, worried sigh.

At that moment, the Emperor spoke in a voice that carried across the grounds.

His face shone with satisfaction.

“To capture the hardest beast of all, who else but he deserves to be champion of the hunting competition?”

Though phrased like a question, it was in truth a declaration.

The victor of this Imperial Hunting Competition was none other than Third Prince Edwin.