The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 208
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 208. The Boy and the Assassin (3)
“…That doesn’t seem like the right question to ask someone who just saved your life.”
Why did you save me?
Kayla seemed to ponder for a moment, then answered in an uninterested voice.
“I think I mentioned this before. I don’t kill women or children.”
Does that mean she never intended to kill me from the start?
Kaiden stared intently at Kayla’s profile.
“Weren’t you an assassin?”
“That’s right.”
“But is it okay to be so selective about who you kill?”
It was a question that had been floating around in his mind throughout their time together.
This woman named Kayla who was now by his side was fundamentally no different from the assassins who pursued him.
He could tell from how she mercilessly eliminated the occasional bandits they encountered or other assassins who came after Kaiden.
‘Someone accustomed to killing.’
Yet despite that, someone who didn’t want to show herself committing murder.
‘She said it wasn’t a scene fit to show a child.’
Kaiden found it curious how this assassin would cover his eyes or make him turn away whenever she had to kill someone.
‘I’m familiar with death too.’
Just because someone was a child didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t accustomed to death.
Kaiden too had been born with barbarian blood and lived as a slave before entering the royal palace.
For the boy, death was something closer and more familiar than life itself.
“I thought assassins were supposed to kill anyone, regardless of who they were, as long as they received payment.”
Kayla chuckled softly after hearing Kaiden’s words.
“Anyone listening would think you’re an assassin yourself.”
“Am I wrong?”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Then why did you save me?”
Such a persistent little one.
Kayla sighed softly and turned her head.
Kaiden had somehow moved close beside her and was looking at her with sparkling eyes.
Through his jet-black hair, she could see an expression full of anticipation.
“Do you really want to hear the reason that badly?”
Kayla watched the boy nod eagerly.
Then she turned her gaze back toward the burning campfire.
“…Someone who raised me long ago used to say this.”
Kayla murmured softly with her eyes half-closed.
“Those with power should use that power to save people, not kill them.”
“The person who raised you said that?”
“Sounds ridiculous even to you, doesn’t it? Since it’s not fitting words for an assassin.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant…”
“I used to think they were just empty words too. I thought it was just righteous talk from a woman who didn’t know what the real world was like.”
Kaiden stared blankly at Kayla’s face, tinted crimson by the firelight.
With her mask down, the assassin looked no different from any ordinary person you’d pass on the streets during the day.
“But it seems like such words are what make the world go round.”
More precisely, through those who put such words into practice.
Kayla brought a small leather water bottle to her lips.
“You asked why I saved you, kid.”
Instead of answering, Kaiden held his breath and waited for what would come next.
“There’s no particular special reason. I just happened to be there, you just happened to be a child, and I just happened to remember Emma’s words the moment I saw you.”
Emma? Was that the name of the person who raised her?
The joy of learning one more piece of information about Kayla was brief.
Kaiden had to feel a strange disappointment at her words that there was no special reason for saving him.
‘Why?’
Since he didn’t know what he had expected from the beginning, it was natural that he couldn’t even realize what he was disappointed about.
He was only certain that he wasn’t satisfied with the answer that came from Kayla’s mouth.
‘Why do I feel like this…’
Kaiden buried his head between his knees that he had pulled up to his chest.
Wishing that this time of just sitting side by side in front of the campfire would never end.
* * *
“But kid.”
How many more days had they walked?
One evening as they were settling down to sleep in a shabby cabin.
Kayla suddenly asked a question.
“Don’t you have any family?”
“…Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Well, no matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like a barbarian, but you suddenly asked me to take you to where the barbarians are.”
“I’m half barbarian.”
Kaiden answered with an expressionless face.
“My mother was a slave of barbarian origin.”
“…Then is your mother there?”
“No, she’s dead.”
An uncomfortable silence followed his answer.
Kayla stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again.
“Me too.”
“Your mother died?”
“No, both of them.”
She seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged one shoulder.
“There was someone like a mother to me, but that person left too.”
“That person died too?”
“No, she just went far away.”
“Why?”
“She said she met a good person and was getting married. It’s been about 5 years, so by now she’s probably had children and is living well.”
“Does getting married and having children mean living well?”
“I guess not necessarily. But that person loved children.”
She loved even other people’s children so much, so how much more would she love her own?
Kayla quietly closed her eyes and murmured.
“Well, if they’re children who resemble that person, they’d be kind and adorable.”
Kaiden glanced at Kayla’s profile as she held his hand again today.
“You must have really liked that person.”
“…Why do you think that?”
“When you talk about someone you like, only the corner of your right eye curves slightly.”
The moonlight seeping through the gaps in the cabin ceiling was enough.
To see what expression Kayla lying beside him was making.
“You’re quite perceptive for a little kid.”
“I’m not a little kid.”
“You look like a little kid to anyone who sees you, so what do you mean you’re not?”
Always calling me little kid, little kid. I’ve grown up plenty.
Kaiden suddenly turned toward Kayla lying beside him.
“I’m not a little kid. I’m thirteen years old.”
“…What?”
This time she seemed genuinely surprised.
Kayla slowly turned her head to look at Kaiden.
She stared intently at the boy for a long while, then frowned.
“Not seven years old?”
Seven years old.
Kaiden’s face instantly flushed red.
Just how much like a little child did he look for such an absurd number to come out of her mouth?
“Who said I was seven years old!”
“But no matter how I look at you…”
Skinny arms and legs with a small frame.
A tiny height that barely reached her solar plexus.
Kayla kept tilting her head in confusion.
“Even being generous, you don’t look older than ten.”
“I just haven’t grown tall yet! I’ll get taller soon! Taller than you!”
“What, so you do know how to throw a tantrum, little one?”
“Don’t call me little one!”
Her surprise at his actual age was brief.
Kayla smiled softly as she watched Kaiden burst into anger.
“Acting like that makes you really seem like a child.”
“What? What did you just say…”
“Enough, go to sleep.”
“Did you just ignore me? Hurry up and take back calling me little one! My name is…”
Kaiden couldn’t continue speaking.
The assassin had covered his mouth with one hand while pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Don’t say it.”
Kayla whispered quietly while holding the boy who was much smaller than herself.
“You don’t just tell your name to anyone.”
You’re not just anyone, are you? Can’t I at least tell my name to my lifesaver? Why have you never once asked for my name?
Though he had plenty of things he wanted to question her about, Kaiden quietly closed his mouth.
“Especially not to an assassin.”
Mysterious green eyes gazed down at him quietly.
With each breath, a refreshing yet sweet floral scent filled his lungs.
“…You know you’re really strange, right?”
Kaiden spoke as soon as Kayla removed her hand.
“I’ve never met anyone like you in my life.”
An assassin who saves people, an assassin who smells like flowers – such a strange person.
An assassin who never asks for names.
“I see.”
Kayla grinned as she looked at the boy in her arms.
“I’ve never seen such a naive little one like you either.”
“There you go calling me little one again…!”
“Dawn is breaking. Sleep quickly. We have to walk tomorrow too.”
Under the pale moonlight streaming down from above.
The two of them settled down to sleep with their backs against each other.
‘Really such a strange person.’
Kaiden slowly closed his eyes, feeling an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
Even if he felt disappointed, even if he was called little one, he imagined how nice it would be if the two of them could continue together in this peaceful darkness.
* * *
“I wondered what was going on.”
Contrary to Kaiden’s wishes, their seemingly endless journey together was gradually racing toward its end.
“So you were wasting time on another pointless matter like this, Kayla?”
“Shut up, how did you find this place?”
“I’m saying this because I’m worried about you!”
In the early dawn when darkness had not yet lifted.
Kaiden’s eyes snapped open at the unfamiliar voice coming from outside the cave.
‘A man?’
The unknown man was standing at the cave entrance, having a conversation with Kayla.
“What are you going to do if The Captain finds out? He’s already furious that you haven’t returned even though your mission is over.”
“You can just make up a good excuse for me.”
“Am I your subordinate? I’m your lover! I’ve been waiting for you this whole time too! But after over a week with no contact, you think sending one measly note is enough?”
Lover.
Kaiden felt his heart sink in an instant.
“Before being my lover, you’re my subordinate.”
“Kayla!”
“I’ll come right after I finish this job. So don’t worry and go back first…”
“…You always only think about yourself.”
“Ian.”
Kayla brought her hand to the dejected man’s cheek.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you. So don’t be angry.”
“…You’re good with words.”
The faces of the two people who had been staring at each other gradually drew closer.
Kaiden watched the scene blankly, then immediately turned over.
Thump, thump, thump.
He could feel his heart beating as if it would burst. The boy gritted his teeth.
The name of that emotion that was dizzying and burning enough to bring tears was jealousy.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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