The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 25

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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 25. Reflection (1)

After the commotion in the Central Garden.

We safely returned to the 3rd Prince’s Palace.

I immediately examined Emilia’s injuries.

Fortunately, she only had severe bruising on her skin, with no damage to bones or muscles.

To end up with only this much after being kicked by a growing boy was truly fortunate.

“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry, Your Highness. If only I hadn’t left my post, this wouldn’t have happened!”

Meanwhile, Catherine was horrified upon seeing Emilia’s dark bruise marks.

She couldn’t stop crying until the princess’s treatment was finished.

Sitting by the bedside with a swollen face, she looked truly pitiful.

“Crying won’t heal Her Highness’s wounds. So please stop crying. You’ll wake Her Highness.”

“C-Caretaker…”

I ignored the sniffling Catherine and gathered the ointment and towels.

“Why did you carelessly leave your post in the first place?”

“T-That’s…”

“It’s not like you could take responsibility if something happened to Their Highnesses.”

At my words, tears flowed even more fiercely from Catherine’s eyes.

Seeing those large eyes filled with guilt made me feel unpleasant.

“…As the caretaker who left my post, I bear the greatest fault. It’s not entirely your mistake.”

“N-No! That’s not true, Caretaker! You did nothing wrong! It’s because I overstepped my bounds and insisted on attending to Their Highnesses…”

“Enough. What’s done is done. We must ensure this never happens again.”

“*Sob* Yes! This will never happen again! Never!”

Catherine wiped her tears and nodded vigorously.

I stood up from my seat.

“Then I’ll go check on Prince Edwin. Call a maid to watch over Her Highness…”

“No, I’ll stay here today.”

“What about your duties as head maid?”

“I can do them tomorrow. Children are fragile. She might develop a fever later, or other problems could arise…”

Catherine couldn’t take her eyes off the princess.

Catherine’s gentle brown eyes looking at the child were filled with regret and sorrow.

“Understood. Then.”

I quietly left the room.

A good-hearted sinner needed time to properly atone.

* * *

“I’m coming in.”

I indifferently pushed open the door to the prince’s chamber, which had no response despite my knocking.

Edwin was standing blankly in front of the window.

Heavy rain was now pouring outside.

“Your Highness, your wounds…”

“How is Emilia?”

He asked while still looking out the window.

His voice had no strength at all.

“Her Highness just finished treatment and fell asleep.”

“Is she badly hurt?”

“It’s just severe bruising that looks worse than it is. She’ll recover quickly.”

The prince nodded slightly after hearing my words.

“Your Highness should also have your wounds treated.”

“I’m fine.”

“I saw injuries on your face earlier. Some ointment…”

I approached Edwin and reached out my hand.

Then he swatted my arm away and shouted.

“I said I’m fine—!”

The medicine bottle I was holding clattered noisily as it rolled across the floor.

“Ah…”

Edwin was flustered and didn’t know what to do about his own actions.

He hunched his shoulders and raised his voice unnecessarily.

“I told you I’m fine, so why— Ugh!”

“You don’t look fine to me.”

Edwin’s face reddened as I suddenly grabbed his chin.

“W-What are you doing! Touching a prince’s face so carelessly…”

“Your Highness, when you realize your own mistakes, you should be angry at yourself. Not at others.”

The young prince’s eyes wavered at my emotionless, cold voice.

“So don’t blame others like this.”

Edwin’s eyelashes trembled.

He lowered his eyes without saying a word.

‘Now he’s finally being obedient.’

Only then could I examine Edwin’s wounds.

Despite taking just one punch, his lip was split.

“You took quite a hit.”

“Ow, it hurts!”

“You said you were fine earlier.”

I held down the whimpering boy and applied ointment to his wound.

Fortunately, it seemed only his face was injured.

“Prince Edwin made two mistakes today.”

“What?”

“First, leaving the Prince’s Palace with the princess without any attendants.”

I released Edwin’s chin.

“Second, charging at an opponent stronger than yourself without any plan.”

“Then should I have just cowardly watched in that situation!”

“The weak should be cowardly.”

Edwin’s eyes widened at my words.

“Because that’s how they survive.”

Edwin frowned deeply and raised his voice.

“Is surviving all that matters? Even if you’re treated worse than an insect, as long as you survive, that’s enough?”

“Of course.”

I answered firmly with an expressionless face.

“Nothing in life takes priority over survival.”

“But…!”

“And the rebellion of those who don’t know their place only provokes their opponent’s anger.”

Edwin finally looked hurt at my words.

“So you’re saying I should have just stood there even when Emilia was being kicked?”

“You should have begged.”

“…What?”

For a moment, his large blue eyes wavered.

“Your Highness remained silent when the 2nd Prince compared Princess Emilia to a beast. You also remained silent when the 2nd Prince poured tea on Princess Emilia’s hands.”

I asked with an expressionless face.

“Why didn’t you endure until the end?”

“That’s, that’s!”

“Shall I tell you the answer? The first and second times were simply bearable. You could get through them by being cowardly for a moment.”

Edwin’s face turned bright red in an instant.

The boy clenched his fists and argued back.

“Well, verbal insults can just go in one ear and out the other, and the tea wasn’t even hot…!”

“I am not criticizing Your Highness’s cowardice. Rather, I think you did well.”

I looked down at Edwin with cold eyes.

“The problem was at the end. You were too reckless.”

If you had just remained cowardly, things wouldn’t have escalated.

The problem arose because you recklessly charged forward at the end without a plan.

“If it were me, I would have rather appeased the 2nd Prince, restrained Princess Emilia, and then tried to escape that place somehow.”

Even if it meant being called cowardly, that method would have been best for Edwin as he is now.

“Your Highness, do you remember the promise you made to Her Highness the Princess last night?”

I continued speaking while looking into Edwin’s large, clear eyes.

“A promise to protect someone should not be made carelessly.”

Edwin bit his lips at my words.

“If His Majesty hadn’t stepped in at the right moment, no one knows what would have happened to both Your Highnesses.”

“I, I…”

Edwin finally hung his head toward the floor.

“You said you wouldn’t live as a coward. But for Your Highness as you are now, it would be better to live that way.”

I continued speaking while looking at the boy’s dejected head.

“For Princess Emilia’s sake, and for Your Highness’s own sake as well.”

Even to my own ears, it was a ruthless voice devoid of any emotion.

But it couldn’t be helped.

‘I won’t be able to help you like this time in the future.’

I looked at Edwin, who was quietly hanging his head, and turned my back.

Just as I was about to quietly leave the Prince’s Chamber.

“Wait.”

Edwin was now looking at me with eyes full of doubt.

“But how did you know that Emilia was going through such a thing?”

The boy was frowning as if he couldn’t understand.

“You appeared when I was fighting with Brother Lloyd.”

Unnecessarily sharp, this boy.

I glanced to the side for a moment and answered honestly.

“I arrived there much earlier than that.”

“What? Then you saw everything that happened to Emilia and me?”

Edwin looked up at me with hurt eyes.

“And yet you just kept watching and only came out then?”

“Yes.”

I had arrived at the scene right when Edwin found Emilia.

But I deliberately didn’t step forward.

It was because of what Catherine, who had followed along, said when she saw the 2nd Prince.

– What should we do! The 2nd Prince always bullies Prince Edwin whenever he sees him!

Her words overlapped with the fear that appeared on Edwin’s face.

So I deliberately watched.

I wanted to see if the boy could really handle things well on his own, even in front of someone he feared.

“Why? You’re my caretaker! You said you’d protect me!”

Edwin looked aggrieved, like someone who had been betrayed.

“You’re on my side! But why!”

The boy grabbed onto my skirt and clung to it.

“Why didn’t you help me? Why did you just watch?”

I looked down at the young prince.

A pure and innocent child.

A boy who could easily speak words about protecting and not being cowardly.

That’s why I wanted this boy to realize desperately.

How heavy the weight of the words he spoke truly was.

I slowly removed the boy’s hands that were gripping my skirt.

“I helped you as much as I could.”

Just interfering in the fight between the two princes was already a big deal for me.

A mere caretaker could have died for meddling in the princes’ affairs.

In fact, if the Emperor or the Adamant Kingdom hadn’t stepped in at that moment, I would have been the one in real danger.

“Your Highness, please remember this.”

I spoke sincerely to the young prince.

“As long as you remain weak, you cannot protect yourself, others, or anything else without becoming cowardly.”

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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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