The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 21

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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 21. What I Failed to Protect (1)

“Fine, I’ll let it slide even though you refused to tell Ria a princess story and left early, but I don’t know what you were doing that made you sleep so late.”

Edwin pouted and waved his hand dismissively.

“I can do just fine without you.”

That brat, did he take what I said yesterday to heart?

He’s more petty than he looks.

“Then I’ll just get a quick nap and return.”

I obediently bowed my head to Edwin and stepped back.

“Catherine! Ria wants more of this!”

“Oh my, Princess Emilia eats so well, you’ll grow up big and strong!”

“I want more too.”

“Oh my, it seems to suit Prince Edwin’s taste as well. What a relief!”

Catherine was genuinely delighted watching the children devour their food.

‘As expected, she’s much better suited to be a caretaker.’

I chuckled softly and quietly left the dining room.

I had no idea at the time.

That I would regret this moment when I left my post for the rest of my life.

* * *

The Housekeeper of the 3rd Prince’s Palace, Catherine Bale.

She was the eldest daughter among the four sons and three daughters of the Veil Viscount Family.

With a significant age gap between her and her siblings, she was confident in caring for young children.

After all, she had always looked after her siblings in place of her busy parents.

But there was one fact she had overlooked.

“Huff, gasp, Princess Emilia, how about we return to your room now?”

“No way, no way! Why is the horse talking?”

“Neigh, neighhhh!”

Princess Emilia was a far more peculiar child than her siblings.

Catherine crawled earnestly on all fours across the grass.

With the young princess riding on her back.

Catherine never dreamed she would become the partner for the princess’s beloved ‘horseback riding game.’

“Giddyup! You need to go faster!”

Emilia swung two strands of Catherine’s hair as if they were reins.

“Neigh, neighhhh!”

Catherine gasped for breath and whimpered.

“Your, Your Highness, couldn’t we play a different game?”

Even though the princess was just a young child, she was too heavy to carry on her back while crawling around continuously.

How on earth had The Caretaker managed to do this for hours?

“A different game?”

“Yes! Prince Edwin seems to be bored by himself too!”

“Hmm? Big brother?”

Emilia turned her head toward her brother.

As she said, Edwin was sitting on the grass, plucking at it with his hands.

He looked quite bored to anyone watching.

Emilia tilted her head as she observed him.

“Is that so? Then what game do you want to play?”

“Well, you see…”

Catherine seized the moment to set Emilia down on the ground and stood up.

Just then, Edwin jumped up from his spot.

“I’m thirsty.”

“Oh my, it must be snack time already. Shall we go to the annex? I’ll bake you some delicious apple pie.”

“I want to eat here. When you’re done making it, bring it here.”

“Pardon? Uh…”

Catherine hesitated momentarily at Edwin’s firm command.

She was reluctant to leave the two young prince and princess alone.

Rachel was away from her post right now too.

Meanwhile, Edwin added more words as if he had noticed her hesitation.

“Ria and I will wait here, so hurry and bring it.”

“Um, Your Highness, if you could wait inside instead…”

“Are you planning to defy a prince’s command?”

“No, no! I’ll bring it right away! Please wait just a moment!”

Catherine finally gave in to the prince’s anger and ran toward the annex at full speed.

Watching her retreating figure, Edwin lifted one corner of his mouth.

Unlike that woman who didn’t even blink when he used his princely status, the housekeeper was a very loyal subordinate.

Which also made her easy to deceive.

Edwin turned to his sister with an excited expression, unlike before.

“Ria, let’s go outside.”

“Hmm? Is that okay?”

“Yeah. You said you wanted to visit the Central Garden again last time, right?”

“Yes! Ria wants to go!”

The young prince and princess ran hand in hand.

They headed toward the wall behind the annex.

* * *

“Ca, Caretakerrrrr!”

What woke me from my nap was Catherine’s shrill scream.

Her face, as she entered without knocking, was covered in tears.

With an ominous feeling, I hurriedly got up from my seat.

“What’s wrong?”

“Their Highnesses, Their Highnesses have disappeared!”

“What did you say?”

It was truly a bolt from the blue.

* * *

“Big brother, the butterfly can’t fly.”

“Butterfly?”

Edwin looked down at Emilia’s words.

What his sister was crouching down and peering at wasn’t a butterfly, but a flower.

“Is it hurt?”

Emilia was looking at the flower with worried eyes.

Seeing this, Edwin burst into laughter without realizing it.

“Ria, that’s not a butterfly, it’s a flower.”

“A flower?”

“Yeah, it’s a pansy, but you’re right that it looks like a butterfly.”

“It was a flower! It’s pretty!”

Emilia reached out toward the flower in admiration.

It was Edwin who stopped the princess from picking the flower without hesitation.

“You can’t pick it, Emilia. It would hurt the flower.”

“Huh? Why would the flower hurt? Did the flower say it would hurt?”

The prince was left speechless by Emilia’s innocent but sharp question.

He had only heard from Emma when he was young that flowers shouldn’t be picked.

“Well, not exactly.”

“Then Ria will take it with me. It’s going to be Ria’s friend.”

“Wait!”

“Huh?”

Edwin grabbed his sister’s tiny hand and said.

“Emilia, you like the palace where you’re living now, don’t you?”

“Yeah! I like it because big brother and Rachel are there, and Catherine too!”

“This one might feel the same way, don’t you think? All its friends are here too, and it’s living here happily, but if Ria takes it away without asking, it’ll be sad.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“And Ria, flowers wither when you pick them. Wouldn’t it be sad if such a pretty thing withered away?”

Emilia made a dejected face at Edwin’s persistent persuasion.

“I’ll ask them to plant some in our garden later too. So let’s let these ones live here, okay?”

When the prince spoke soothingly, Emilia finally nodded her head.

“Okay, I understand.”

“Good girl.”

Edwin smiled brightly and patted his sister’s head.

Emilia, who had been giggling as she followed her brother, yawned.

“Yaaawn.”

“Ria, are you sleepy?”

“Yeah. I’m getting sleepy because big brother is patting my head.”

Come to think of it, around this time was when Emilia usually took her afternoon nap.

“Should we take a little nap then?”

“Yeah.”

“Come here.”

Edwin took off his jacket and covered his sister who had curled up and laid down beside him.

Watching that scene, he somehow felt drowsiness washing over him too.

“Yaaawn.”

Edwin stretched and lay down next to Emilia.

By now, Catherine would probably be flustered after discovering they had disappeared.

Just imagining that scene was amusing.

Edwin chuckled softly and looked up at the sky with his arms supporting his head.

This place, where he used to come often with Emma when she was alive, was the prince’s only sanctuary.

It was the most secluded spot in the Central Garden, where no one except the guards ever passed through.

Whenever he missed Emma, he would secretly escape and come here.

Recently, he hadn’t been able to come because he’d been too busy dealing with that strange new caretaker.

Perhaps because his heart felt at peace, the prince’s eyes gradually closed as well.

And so, their sweet afternoon nap time passed.

The first one to open her eyes was Emilia.

“Mmm.”

Emilia rubbed her eyes and sat up, then looked around while glancing at Edwin who was still asleep.

That’s when something caught the young princess’s eye.

It was a cat with white fur and yellow stripes.

The creature swished its tail as if calling to the princess, then disappeared into the thicket.

“A cat!”

Emilia’s eyes sparkled with joy.

For the princess who had a weakness for cats, this was an opportunity she couldn’t miss.

“Kitty! Kitty—!”

Emilia jumped up and ran into the thicket.

It really happened in an instant.

By the time Edwin stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes upon realizing the spot next to him was empty, the princess had already disappeared.

“…Emilia?”

Edwin called his sister’s name with a bewildered expression.

But no answer came back.

“Ria? Emilia!”

With an ominous feeling, Edwin shot up from his spot.

“Emilia—! Where are you—!”

The young prince’s voice was more desperate than anyone’s.

* * *

“Kitty, where are you?”

Emilia was crawling on the ground on all fours.

Cats were such magnificent creatures that they could make the Empire’s first princess get on her knees.

“Kitty, come out. Let’s play with Ria.”

Emilia called for the cat in a deliberately lowered voice, but no answer came back.

“It definitely went this way…”

The princess stood up with a disappointed expression.

That’s when it happened.

Meooow—!

A sharp cat’s cry came from somewhere.

“It’s the cat!”

Emilia ran toward the sound, excited at the prospect of finally meeting the cat.

But when the young princess pushed through the dense thicket and arrived at the spot, it wasn’t just the cat that was there.

“Kitty…!”

The smile gradually faded from Emilia’s face as she had been calling for the cat with a bright expression.

There were well-dressed boys gathered in that place.

“Hahahaha—! You idiot, you can’t even hit that?”

“Shut up! It’s because that thing keeps struggling so much!”

The orange-haired boy threw a tantrum and picked up a stone from the ground.

His gaze was directed toward a cat hanging upside down from a tree branch.

It was the very cat that Emilia had been chasing.

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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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