Siena Dating Agency - Chapter 53

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

53.

For a moment, Castillian flinched.

He had closed his eyes to fall asleep, but now he opened them to look.

“Uh, huh? Unreasonable demands…?”

“Bad things, I mean.”

“…”

“I think etiquette teachers are different from ordinary teachers. If Your Highness has suffered any injustice from that teacher, I will immediately report everything to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“…”

“I must protect Your Highness Castillian.”

Hedia gazed intently at Castillian lying in bed.

It was an affectionate look, as if she were looking at her own child.

Hedia stroked his golden hair.

“For that to happen, Your Highness must also have the courage to protect yourself.”

“…”

“Right now, it’s just Your Highness and me here. So you can speak honestly.”

“…”

“Whatever it is, it’s not Your Highness’s fault.”

Castillian met her gaze silently for a while.

‘Bad things…, injustice.’

Then he shook his head.

“No, nanny. Nothing like that happened. It’s not like that at all.”

Castillian’s concept of bad people was simple.

People who harm others, people who hurt others, people who pour out cruel words.

But Sepia didn’t fit into any of these categories.

‘Teacher has never hit me, and she always speaks in a gentle tone.’

And if I tell nanny about what happens with teacher, then I’ll be the bad person.

So he showed her a smile.

“Really, nothing happened at all.”

“…Your Highness.”

“Nanny, I’m sleepy. My eyes keep closing.”

However, Hedia didn’t abandon her suspicions.

‘Something feels off. It’s not that nothing happened.’

That teacher made it so His Highness Castillian can’t say anything.

‘I need to find out myself.’

The next day, during Sepia’s etiquette lesson.

Suddenly, Hedia entered the room.

“I will observe the lesson.”

Sepia’s expression immediately turned cold.

“You want to… observe?”

“Yes.”

“What is this about? Do you act this rudely to other teachers as well?”

“This is not rude. I’m simply doing what must be done.”

Hedia placed her hand on her chest.

“I am the nanny of His Highness the First Prince. I have been by His Highness’s side since the moment he was born into this world.”

“…”

“And I will definitely protect His Highness until he grows into a proper adult.”

“…”

“I need to know what His Highness learns during lessons and what stories he hears.”

Sepia could no longer respond.

A little later, she spoke in a sullen voice.

“…Let’s begin.”

Castillian watched Sepia’s mood.

She looked displeased throughout the entire lesson.

She didn’t even make Castillian do the things she usually made him do every day.

Finally, when the lesson ended, Sepia whispered intimately to Castillian.

“Your Highness Castillian, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can continue the lessons anymore.”

“What…?”

Castillian’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

Sepia glanced at Hedia sitting in a corner of the room.

“I don’t want to be carelessly criticized. I’ve never done anything deserving of criticism.”

“…”

“But Your Highness’s nanny doesn’t seem to understand me. She’s treating me like a criminal when I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“…”

“The one who can teach Your Highness Castillian many things is not the nanny, but me…”

Sepia trailed off and bit her lip.

Her eyes reddened, and tears finally fell.

‘Teacher is crying.’

Seeing that, his heart immediately softened.

“Please don’t cry, teacher…”

“Does Your Highness hate me like Hedia Kindeste does?”

“No. I don’t hate you, teacher. And nanny doesn’t hate you either…”

“Then do you like me?”

Sepia cut off Castillian’s words and asked that.

Her reddened eyes instantly returned to their original color.

Castillian blinked and answered.

“Yes…”

Then Sepia’s lips curved into a faint arc.

“Then promise me. That you’ll be with me forever.”

“…What?”

“Originally, student and teacher should be together forever. That’s the student’s duty to the teacher.”

There wasn’t a trace of wavering in her crimson eyes.

Castillian stared blankly at Sepia and nodded.

“Yes, teacher. I promise.”

He hadn’t answered with much sincerity.

Castillian simply wanted to comfort the sad Sepia.

‘I hope teacher doesn’t cry.’

I hope she doesn’t get hurt.

Sepia seemed satisfied with his answer.

She extended her hand.

“Let’s pinky promise.”

When Castillian hooked his pinky finger, she whispered.

“You’ll be with me forever.”

“…”

“No matter what happens.”

It was a strangely eerie tone, as if she were chanting a spell.

Though he had been swept up by Sepia into making the promise, he didn’t really know if it was wrong at the time.

‘Teacher must care about me a lot.’

The vow from that day, which he had dismissed as insignificant, eventually became shackles that bound Castillian’s ankles.

* * *

It was a sweltering summer day.

And today was Sepia’s last lesson day.

However, on that particular day, Sepia offered him tea.

“I bought this tea thinking of Your Highness Castillian.”

Castillian didn’t have any particular suspicions.

That was because Sepia had often brought gifts from outside the palace until now.

“Thank you, teacher.”

Castillian drank the tea.

And then… he opened his eyes.

“…Huh?”

He had clearly been receiving lessons in his room…

When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he was trapped in some dark, narrow space.

Clatter, clatter.

Mysterious sounds were flowing in from outside, and occasionally he felt the floor jolting.

Castillian soon realized he was inside a carriage.

“When… when did I get in a carriage?”

Where am I going right now…

His anxious eye movements were brief.

Castillian quickly furrowed his brow.

“What is this…”

The carriage was filled with an unidentifiable fishy smell.

“Ugh.”

As Castillian felt nauseous, he realized the smell was coming from very close by.

A large form was sitting in the seat next to him.

When he reached out his arm, something cold and squishy was caught in his grasp.

“…!”

Startled, Castillian threw away what he had been holding in his hand.

‘What is this? This is strange.’

Due to the darkness inside the carriage, he couldn’t identify what it was.

Castillian waited for his vision to adapt to the darkness.

After a little while, the shape of whatever was next to him began to take form.

“…A person?”

Before long, Castillian realized that the mysterious something was human.

No, that it was a ‘corpse’.

“Why, why is there a dead person…”

The woman was dead with her eyes open.

Her unfocused golden eyes were directed toward the ceiling.

Castillian, who had been narrowing his eyes, suddenly turned his gaze back.

He muttered as if whispering.

“…Nanny.”

The corpse placed next to him was Nanny Hedia.

That day, Castillian witnessed a corpse for the first time in his life.

But for it to be his nanny’s.

“He, Hedia Nanny…”

Thud.

Suddenly the carriage body shook greatly.

Hedia’s head, which had been leaning against the window frame, fell onto the seat with a thump.

Only then did he realize.

‘The fishy smell filling the carriage…’

It was the smell of his nanny’s blood.

Tears welled up instantly.

Castillian mumbled in a voice tinged with crying.

“Nanny, wake up. Hedia Nanny…”

“…”

“Why won’t you answer… Please, please talk to me. Okay? Nanny…”

The nanny gave no response.

No one was reflected in her eyes that had turned milky white.

Only the golden hairpin stuck in her hair glowed softly even in the darkness.

A few hours later, the carriage came to a stop.

The sound of someone walking could be heard.

Creak.

Soon the carriage door opened and bleak moonlight seeped in.

Castillian frowned.

“Castillian.”

But at the familiar voice calling his name, his eyes widened.

It was Sepia’s voice.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————