The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 27

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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 27. How to Keep The Caretaker

“…You won’t be The Caretaker anymore? You mean you’re quitting?”

“Yeah, what should I do? Ria likes Neitche. Ria doesn’t want Neitche to leave!”

Edwin looked shocked for a moment, then lay back down with a hardened expression.

“Do whatever you want.”

“What? Why—! Brother, would you be happy if Neitche left?”

“If she says she doesn’t want to, what can I do? Do whatever you want.”

Edwin muttered while pulling the blanket over his head.

“…That woman, whether she leaves or not.”

Edwin clenched his fist tightly as he thought of The Caretaker.

That blade-like cold voice that clearly pointed out his place.

Now just thinking of her made his chest tighten with emotion.

“Eeek! Brother is stupid!”

When her brother didn’t show the reaction she wanted, Emilia threw a cushion that was beside her.

“Neitche is so good! She gives me delicious things, always hugs me, and says she’ll protect Ria—!”

The princess pounded Edwin’s body with her small fists.

“Brother, I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”

After hitting Edwin for a while, Emilia huffed and got down from the bed.

“Brother is stupid!”

The princess shouted spiritedly, then stopped pulling the door handle and looked back at her brother.

Ever since the day he encountered the 2nd Prince in the garden, Edwin had been in that state.

Except for meal times, he always lay curled up silently on the bed.

Even when he saw his younger sister Emilia, he only smiled faintly, not acting as friendly as before.

Rather, he looked pained whenever he saw Emilia.

Moreover, normally he would have immediately followed his only younger sister when she got upset to cheer her up.

But today he didn’t do that either.

Emilia made a sullen face, then bit her lip and walked outside.

“Just wait and see. Ria will stop Neitche from leaving.”

A resolute determination dwelled in the young princess’s blue eyes.

* * *

“…What is this?”

“It’s for Neitche!”

“For me?”

I looked down at the gold item Emilia had pressed into my hands.

The gold bracelet with delicately crafted opals embedded in it was clearly for a child.

“Yeah, it was originally Ria’s, but I’ll give it to Neitche.”

“No. How could I take Your Highness’s belongings.”

“No! Take it!”

When I tried to return the bracelet, Emilia stamped her feet and shook her head.

When I reluctantly accepted the bracelet, color returned to the child’s face.

Then suddenly she ran to a corner of the room and dragged over a box as big as herself.

The box was full of toys that the princess usually treasured.

“I’ll give all of these to Neitche too!”

“All of this?”

“Yeah! These are Ria’s most precious things, but I’ll give them all to you.”

Emilia took out the dolls from the box and piled them around me.

Before long, I was surrounded by the princess’s beloved dolls.

“Your Highness, I’m fine. And aren’t all these things that Your Highness treasures?”

“It’s okay! Ria likes Neitche more!”

Emilia climbed over the army of dolls onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Neitche likes Ria too, right?”

The princess slowly blinked her large eyes.

Even to my eyes, it was quite an adorable sight.

With this much charm overflowing already, whoever becomes the princess’s husband in the future is clearly in for a hard time.

“Neitche, why aren’t you answering?”

“…Yes, I like Your Highness too.”

“Then you’ll stay with Ria forever, right?”

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have let her overhear my conversation with Catherine.

I sighed.

“Your Highness, no one in the world can stay together forever.”

“No! Ria will be with Neitche until she becomes a grandmother!”

This was troublesome.

We haven’t even known each other for a month, so why is she so attached to me?

‘It’s not like I’ve been particularly good to her.’

This is why you shouldn’t get involved with little kids.

They get attached even if you’re just a little nice to them.

I lifted Emilia from my arms and set her on the floor.

“Your Highness, when Your Highness becomes a grandmother, I’ll already be a skeleton.”

“Skeleton? What’s a skeleton?”

“…Someone older than a grandmother.”

“Huh? Neitche is already older than Ria anyway. It’s okay!”

Well, even so, being bones probably wouldn’t be okay.

I couldn’t bring myself to explain what a skeleton was and mumbled vaguely, but that didn’t seem to be a good strategy either.

“Neitche, Ria gave you everything she likes, so you’ll stay with Ria forever, right?”

“….”

“Quickly, quickly! Promise!”

Emilia wiggled her finger on my palm, drawing something.

“Ria wrote her name, so that’s a promise, right?”

“Princess Emilia.”

“Promise! Promise! If you don’t promise, Ria will cry all day!”

The princess flopped down on the floor and flailed her arms.

“Promise—!”

“Your Highness, I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

I helped Emilia up from where she was.

“So I cannot give you an answer. I’m sorry.”

My rejection seemed quite shocking to her.

Emilia stared at me blankly, then burst into tears.

“Waaaaaah—! Neitche, I hate youuuu!”

“Your Highness, please don’t cry….”

“Waaaaaaah—!”

Just then, the door opened and Catherine entered with surprised eyes.

“Your Highness? Caretaker, what’s wrong?”

“Catherine, well….”

I didn’t even have time to make excuses.

Emilia immediately ran to Catherine and hugged her.

“Catherine, Neitche, Neitcheee!”

“Yes, Your Highness. Please tell me.”

Catherine wiped away the princess’s tears and comforted her.

“What could have happened to make our princess cry so sadly?”

At the gentle voice, Emilia finally cried out sorrowfully.

“Neitche won’t stay with Ria anymore—! She’s going to leave—! Even though I gave her everything Ria likes—!”

“What? That can’t be.”

Catherine patted the princess’s bottom and sent me a look.

It was a gaze asking what I was doing instead of quickly soothing her.

“The Caretaker will continue to stay at the Imperial Palace. Right, Caretaker?”

Catherine seemed to want me to make even a false promise to the child.

“Caretaker?”

“…It is true that I will be leaving this place.”

“C-Caretaker!”

I broke through the doll magic circle Emilia had created and stood up.

“Let me say this once more: I do not make promises I cannot keep.”

I spoke firmly to Emilia, who was clutching Catherine’s skirt.

“I will be leaving. So….”

“I hate Neitche! I hate everyone!”

Emilia ran out of the room with a furious expression.

“Your Highness—! No, Caretaker, why did you say such things and make this situation worse!”

“Then should I say the truth is a lie?”

“Princess Emilia is young! Did you have to speak so harshly to a child?”

“Because she’s a child, I have to speak harshly.”

“What?”

I gathered up the dolls scattered on the floor.

“Children believe the promises adults make at face value.”

Without knowing they’re lies, with the utmost desperation.

“I don’t want to tell such lies that benefit no one.”

I picked up the last remaining cloth doll.

It was one with golden yarn hair that looked just like its owner.

I stared at the cloth doll for a while before throwing it into the box.

The drooping cloth doll looked particularly pitiful.

* * *

“I hate Neitche.”

Emilia hid behind a pillar and wiped away her tears.

“Neitche, stupid, idiot.”

The princess rattled off all the harsh words she knew.

“Mutt, dog poop, mutt, ant, seaweed—!”

Though her limited vocabulary turned it into a word association game.

“Ria doesn’t need Neitche either, hmph!”

Emilia huffed and turned her steps away.

“Ria has big brother too!”

The young princess headed toward the 3rd Prince’s chamber.

“Big brother, Ria’s here!”

Emilia burst through the door without knocking and ran to the bedside.

Sure enough, Edwin was still lying in bed.

“Big brother, I said Ria’s here?”

The bed made for a prince was too high for the young princess.

Emilia stood on her tiptoes and peered at Edwin’s face.

“Big brother, I said Ria’s here!”

“Mmm….”

But somehow Edwin’s complexion looked unusual.

“Big brother?”

Sensing something was wrong, Emilia called to him once more, but there was no answer.

“Haa, haa….”

Prince Edwin was only breathing heavily with his face flushed bright red.

* * *

“What should we do?”

Catherine placed a wet cloth on the prince’s forehead with a worried expression.

“It seems like a cold, but his fever is too high. We should call a physician.”

At her words, Emilia looked at me with a tearful face.

“Neitche, big brother, dying?”

“…Humans don’t die that easily. Don’t worry.”

At my words, Catherine sent me a horrified look and stroked Emilia’s head.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. He’s unwell now, but he’ll get better soon.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Caretaker, I’ll go to the medical office. In the meantime, please stay by His Highness’s side….”

Just as Catherine was about to get up to call a physician.

Edwin grabbed her sleeve.

“N-no….”

He muttered in a cracked voice.

“I don’t want a physician. No.”

“Your Highness, but still….”

“They won’t come anyway, cough, cough!”

Edwin couldn’t finish his words and kept coughing, then fainted.

“Your Highness, Prince Edwin! What do we do! Please wake up!”

“Big brother—! Don’t die! Ria was wrong—! Ria doesn’t hate big brother!”

Thanks to the two panicked people, it was complete chaos.

I calmly soothed Emilia first.

“Princess Emilia, Prince Edwin hasn’t passed away yet. Please don’t cry.”

I patted Emilia’s bottom and asked Catherine.

“Do you happen to know why His Highness said not to call a physician?”

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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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