The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 254
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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 254. An Unexpected Proposal (3)
‘I had my suspicions.’
Seeing that not a single letter of greeting had been exchanged all this time, I thought that the Brown Count and Countess weren’t particularly close to the real Rachel.
‘They said she was an adopted child, but was there really no affection at all?’
Moreover, she wasn’t adopted as a young child, but rather after she had grown somewhat, so it would have been even more difficult for the Count and Countess to grow close to Rachel.
‘Then why did they adopt a grown girl? I understand that noble families generally adopt boys.’
The more I thought about it, the more questions arose.
I silently stared at the Brown Count and Countess.
‘The relationship between the couple doesn’t seem particularly special either.’
They sat side by side in front of me, only glancing at each other.
It was as if they were waiting for the other to speak first.
“I apologize for not being able to contact you all this time. Have you been well?”
When I belatedly offered a formal greeting, the Count looked surprised.
“After staying in the Imperial Capital for so long, your manner of speaking has become quite formal.”
“…Yes, it’s like an occupational hazard, I suppose.”
“I see, it must be inevitable when you’re assisting His Highness the Prince so closely.”
The conversation paused there for a moment.
“Something unpleasant came along with the letter.”
I decided to speak first.
I took a sip of the tea the attendant had brought and continued.
“They say the eldest son of Count Molton’s family wants to marry me.”
Raily Molton, the eldest son of Count Molton’s family.
He was twenty-five years old this year, more skilled in swordsmanship than academics, a year or two older than the real Rachel, and destined to become the next Count Molton – that was all I could learn from the marriage proposal.
“Y-yes. You must have been confused by such a sudden letter?”
This time it was Mrs. Brown who answered first.
Dressed in a neat dress that was out of fashion but clean, with only minimal hair ornaments, she was a beauty with a modest and proper appearance.
“But where could you find a better match than this? Although Count Molton’s family may be distant from politics, unlike us, they’re an old noble family with a long history.”
The Brown Count and Countess were commoners who had bought their count title with money.
So there would be no issue more important than securing a solid foundation in noble society through union with an authentic noble family.
“But you said he’s the eldest son, not the second son. If I marry him, who will inherit the Brown Count’s surname?”
“You don’t need to worry about that problem. If you become a daughter-in-law of the Molton family, the Count has promised to allow all of us to use the Molton surname.”
Allowing in-laws with no blood relation to use the same surname.
Could it be that they intended to accept the Brown Count and Countess as their collateral relatives?
‘I can’t understand what they’re thinking with this scheme.’
It was almost a foregone conclusion that Ian was behind Count Molton’s family.
Although I hadn’t seen him even on the day I directly attacked the Count’s family, I was certain.
‘He’s skilled at backstabbing and tormenting people like this.’
As I set down my teacup and pondered silently.
Brown Count joined in supporting his wife’s words.
“Rachel, as you know, this is an opportunity that won’t come again. Not just for our family, but for you as well.”
“For me?”
“Yes, you’re The 3rd Prince’s caretaker, aren’t you? Count Molton’s family thinks The 3rd Prince is the most suitable prince for the next throne.”
It was quite absurd.
In the Empire, everyone knew that Count Molton’s family was close to the faction supporting Duke of Crowner and the 1st Prince.
‘But now they’re saying they’ll support Edwin?’
Ian, what is that bastard really scheming?
My head was complicated. I even felt intermittent pain as if someone was poking my temples with a needle.
‘Both the real count and the fake count are dead. Seeing that the one who proposed to me is the count’s eldest son, not the count himself, did Ian spare the heir?’
I made various speculations but couldn’t find a clear answer.
Well, from long ago, Ian was someone who seemed transparent but sometimes you couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
‘Ian, you seem to be spacing out a lot lately.’
I couldn’t remember exactly when it started.
But at some point, Ian often stared into the distance, half-dazed, even when he was with me.
‘Are you okay, Ian?’
When I asked if he was okay, Ian would finally turn his head toward me.
His empty gray eyes would be confused for a while before taking on their usual mischievous light.
‘Sorry, I was just thinking about something else.’
‘What other thoughts were you having with me right in front of you? It wasn’t about another woman, was it?’
‘Oh, of course not. How could I have feelings for any woman when I have our captain?’
The precarious appearance, like standing at the edge of a cliff, disappeared instantly. Even when spacing out, Ian would smile with his usual smooth talk.
‘Kayla.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Do you love me?’
‘Why are you asking something so obvious?’
‘Do you love me?’
‘Of course. I love you.’
‘…I love you too.’
Asking me if I loved him was Ian’s habit.
Only after hearing me say I loved him would he pull me into a tight embrace.
‘Really, I truly love you, Kayla.’
Along with an even deeper confession of love.
I squeezed my eyes shut at the emerging old memories.
As I reflexively pressed my hand to my forehead, Mrs. Brown spoke again.
“Of course, we’re not saying you should marry right away. But since a proposal has come, how about meeting the person involved once?”
“Yes, these days even nobles with arranged marriages meet about three times before deciding whether to marry or not.”
Perhaps because my expression wasn’t very good.
The Brown Count and Countess spoke in gentle voices as if trying to persuade me.
“I heard that the eldest son of the Molton family is famous for being handsome in his territory. They also say he has a very domestic personality for someone who wields a sword.”
“It’s hard to find such a man in today’s world, indeed.”
The Brown Count and Countess acted like matchmakers sent for marriage talks with Count Molton’s family, rather than my parents.
“Most importantly, if you become Mrs. Molton, wouldn’t she be happy too?”
“…She?”
“Mrs. Conrad.”
Mrs. Conrad meant Emma.
The one who raised me when I was Kayla, the ‘real’ Rachel.
“Honestly, we wanted a boy. But she persuaded us that we absolutely had to adopt you.”
“…Persuaded?”
“Yes, she said you were born lucky and that good things would happen to us if we adopted you.”
Born lucky. That couldn’t be true.
How could someone born lucky become an orphan and grow up in a temple?
“She was right though. You were the only survivor of the assassins’ attack on the orphanage.”
“…An assassins’ attack?”
“Yes, wasn’t that a story you already knew? You’re reacting as if you’re hearing it for the first time.”
Of course it was the first time I was hearing it.
I remained still with my eyes wide open.
‘An assassins’ attack? When are they talking about? I killed all the assassins The Captain sent. After that, I promised not to meet Emma again, and The Organization promised never to touch Emma again…’
We made a promise, but still.
Originally, promises could be broken at any time.
“Rachel? What’s wrong?”
“…I don’t know that story. Maybe I heard it long ago and forgot.”
I gave a vague response and then asked the count and his wife.
“But how did Mrs. Conrad end up being attacked by assassins?”
“Well. We didn’t hear the details either. But apparently, she tried to extract a child she used to raise from the assassin’s guild, and in doing so incurred the wrath of their leader, so she fled from where she originally lived.”
A child she tried to extract from the assassin’s guild.
I instinctively knew that child was me.
“She definitely said that, didn’t she, dear?”
“That’s right, that’s how I remember it too. Mrs. Conrad is truly remarkable. For a sheltered noble lady to go alone to find the assassin’s guild and try to negotiate.”
I recalled the last image of Emma I had seen when I was Kayla.
I couldn’t understand why her face appeared more vividly now than it had back then.
‘Take care, Kayla.’
She had definitely said she would leave with a bright smile.
But Emma’s face when she said those words was pale and haggard, and her small shoulders were trembling finely.
‘Why didn’t I notice back then?’
She wasn’t the type of person to say goodbye first.
She wasn’t someone who would leave first just to be happy by herself.
I gripped my skirt tightly.
‘The Captain back then would never forgive such an act. I don’t even know how Emma found out about the organization and went there in the first place…’
In any case, what was certain was that Emma had gone to the assassin’s guild and made unreasonable demands to the Captain, wanting me to quit assassination work, only to face retaliation.
‘The Captain knew that if he killed Emma, I would go berserk. So to keep Emma far away from me, he killed all the children she was caring for.’
For reasons unknown, he spared just one person—the real Rachel Brown.
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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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