The Prince's Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Guest of the Prince’s Palace (2)

[Have you already arrived at the Imperial Palace? You arrived earlier than expected.]

At Aurel’s words, Kayden tilted his head back.

“That’s how it turned out. It’s not like I rushed.”

[Still, must you always activate the communicator while half-naked?]

Aurel frowned deeply, baring his front teeth.

[I have no desire to see my lord’s bare body. If it’s for that sort of display, show it to the women who throw themselves at Your Majesty instead.]

“The only person I want to show my naked body to right now is you, Aurel. I’m hurt you’d say such….”

[Sexual harassment is punishable by law in Adamant, Your Majesty.]

Kayden chuckled softly at the sight of his subordinate, who looked like he might have a fit at any moment.

“You act as if it’s new. You used to see me like this all the time during the war.”

[Precisely because I saw it too often back then, I never want to see it again.]

“How picky.”

[Enough with the foolish jokes.]

Aurel’s expression quickly turned serious.

[So, what’s the atmosphere like in the Empire?]

At his subordinate’s question, Kayden shrugged.

“Hard to say. It’s neither good nor bad.”

He stirred the bathwater with his hand, as if it was nothing worth noting.

“The gazes I got weren’t as hostile as I expected. They even gave me a room with a private bath.”

[What if that water’s poisoned?]

“If it were, then by now….”

Kayden smiled sweetly toward the screen.

“Everyone in this place would already be dead.”

Silence filled the vast bath chamber.

Aurel spoke up with a grim expression.

[You do realize that would cause a huge problem, don’t you? It’s still too soon to wage a full-scale war against the Empire….]

“Aurel, your problem is that you’re far too serious.”

Kayden lowered his brows, feigning disappointment.

“Can’t I even joke a little?”

[It’s not a joke when it comes from Your Majesty. That’s the problem.]

The King of Adamant was a man who could face an entire legion alone.

He was resistant to most poisons, and his regenerative ability surpassed that of any ordinary human. Wounds that would take others weeks to heal disappeared within a day or two for him.

So when such a man spoke of killing, no one could take it lightly.

[Anyway….]

Aurel sighed deeply.

He looked at Kayden, who was still idly splashing the water with one hand.

[How are the Third Prince and the First Princess?]

Instead of answering, Kayden stopped stirring the water.

A droplet hanging from his lowered lashes fell with a small splash.

[Why are you silent?]

Aurel frowned at his lord’s lack of response.

[Don’t tell me you haven’t met them yet?]

“My quarters are in the Third Prince’s palace. Of course I’ve met them.”

[Then at least tell me how they’re doing.]

Aurel pressed, sounding impatient.

Kayden replied flatly, “How do you think? They both still look naive. The princess was so small, I almost missed her.”

It was a lie.

The moment he entered the hall, Kayden had recognized the princess immediately.

She had the face of someone he could never forget.

“They both take after their mother quite a lot.”

[You mean they resemble Princess Edith?]

“Yes. Almost like they were made from the same mold. Except for their eye color, they’re the spitting image of my sister Edith.”

[Good grief.]

Aurel scratched his cheek with a troubled smile.

[It’s nice to hear the princess resembles Princess Edith, but to think the prince does too….]

He clicked his tongue, as if the thought alone was giving him a headache.

[If a boy inherits that kind of beauty, he’ll make plenty of women cry when he grows up.]

Men rise and fall because of women, after all.

If too many women gathered around him, he was bound to suffer for it.

The Third Prince’s future didn’t look easy, unless he met a strong-willed woman to keep him in line early on.

[By the way, is it true what the rumors say? That he’s been cast aside?]

Rumor had it that the Empire’s Third Prince, Edwin, had long been excluded from the imperial power struggle.

Yet not only had he attended the recent imperial hunting competition, but he’d also taken first place, throwing the Empire’s political balance into chaos.

“The rumor about him being a failure seems false. The Emperor even introduced him to me as his son.”

[Hmm. That’s a relief.]

Aurel stroked his smooth, beardless chin with a grin.

[I couldn’t stand the thought of Your Majesty’s only nephews being mistreated.]

***

The founder and king of Adamant, Kayden Ram.

The world knew him as a common-born knight king who destroyed the corrupt Lionel royal family and established a new monarchy, but the truth was a little different.

‘A filthy bastard born between the King of Lionel and a barbarian slave dancer.’

Kayden recalled the label that had followed him since childhood, curling his lips in a bitter smile.

If he’d been born into a normal household, he might have become a knight serving the Lionel royal family. But fate had dictated even his choices.

“How dare you! You ungrateful bastard, you don’t even know the mercy that raised you!”

He remembered the image of his half-brother shouting from behind the throne.

That gaze filled with hatred, staring straight at him.

“That’s strange, brother. I don’t recall ever being raised by you.”

Kayden had taken the head of his half-brother, the King of Lionel, and ascended the throne.

Not as a brother by blood, but as a usurper of the crown.

[It must feel strange, doesn’t it?]

From beyond the screen, Aurel spoke in a congratulatory tone.

[They’re the only ones left alive who share your blood, after all.]

Edwin’s birth mother, Edith, the Third Consort, was Kayden’s half-sister.

She was the only one who had ever treated him like a person when he was being worked like a slave in the Lionel royal palace.

To the young, twisted Kayden, Edith had always said the same thing.

“We share the same blood, so we’re family. Don’t ever forget that, no matter where you are, Kayden.”

A woman with foolishly naive beliefs.

Perhaps that was why she hadn’t seemed very sad when she was sold off, almost like being sent away, to marry into the Empire.

Kayden remembered her smiling as she boarded the carriage.

“Don’t cry, Kayden. If you ever miss me, you can come visit anytime.”

What a carefree thing to say.

Surely she’d known that a royal bastard like him could never go to see the Empire’s consort whenever he wanted.

“No matter how far apart we are, the fact that we’re family will never change.”

No, that was wrong.

Even family tied by blood could become worse than strangers, and once out of sight, even the closest of relationships eventually turned into nothing.

Just like Edith, who’d been forgotten entirely in Lionel after being taken to the Empire’s palace.

“…What a joke.”

Kayden lifted one corner of his mouth, glaring at Aurel through the screen.

“I haven’t acknowledged those kids as my nephews yet.”

[But still….]

“Enough chatter.”

The young king of Adamant raised his hand to cut off his subordinate’s words.

“How’s the investigation I ordered?”

At his lord’s question, Aurel raised his brows helplessly.

[We still haven’t determined the cause of the sudden increase in monsters, but!]

He stopped speaking midway and walked toward the wall behind him.

On the massive continental map hanging there, colorful dots and small arrows were scattered and tangled together.

[While tracing the migration paths of monster species that move in packs, like orcs, ogres, and lycans, we discovered something interesting.]

Aurel pointed to a specific spot with his long finger.

[They all came from the same place.]

Kayden frowned as he looked at where his subordinate was pointing.

“Are you serious?”

[When have I ever joked about matters like this?]

“…I was hoping you’d say you were joking this time.”

On the vast continental map, the place Aurel indicated was far too unexpected.

A place that should have no connection to monsters whatsoever.

“The Holy Kingdom of Rion.”

The sacred nation ruled by the Holy Emperor, ‘The Holy Kingdom of Rion.’

From the start, divine power and mana were complete opposites.

And yet, monsters were appearing in a land overflowing with divine power.

‘If the reason for the monsters’ sudden increase lies within the Holy Kingdom, things will become troublesome.’

The Holy Kingdom of Rion was the only neutral nation on the continent, ruled by the Holy Emperor.

There, only priests, paladins, and the faithful who followed them lived.

Normally, they acted gentle and peaceful under the doctrine of divine mercy, but once their faith was attacked, they became something else entirely.

“I’d rather spend a whole year fighting monsters.”

Kayden brushed back his wet hair and frowned.

“So, Aurel, are you saying the Holy Kingdom’s behind the monster outbreak? That the Holy Emperor’s become their leader or something?”