The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 289

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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 289. Deal (2)

“So then….”

Edwin slowly blinked his eyes.

He felt like the Emperor’s words were swirling chaotically in his head.

“Instead of appointing me as Crown Prince, you’re going to banish Rachel from the imperial palace, from this country?”

“That’s right.”

The Emperor answered in a cold voice.

“I cannot keep a criminal who deceived the royal family and made a mockery of the nation here.”

Rachel was a criminal who deceived the royal family and made a mockery of the nation.

Edwin stared into empty space with clenched fists.

‘Prince Edwin.’

My caretaker who, though not affectionate, always stayed by my side.

He knew better than anyone that she, who always wore a stern expression, was actually the most caring person of all.

“…If.”

Edwin, who had maintained silence for a long time, slowly opened his mouth.

“If the condition for me becoming Crown Prince is banishing Rachel.”

The prince was no longer just a child.

His sky-blue eyes held a straight, unwavering gaze.

“I will not become Crown Prince.”

“What….”

It was before the shocked Jerome could shout anything.

The Emperor raised one hand and nodded his chin as if telling him to continue speaking.

“You said Rachel’s past life was the leader of a notorious assassination guild. But that’s nothing more than a past life, isn’t it?”

Edwin continued speaking, trying to steady his trembling voice.

Thin veins stood out on his tightly clenched hands.

“I, the reason I wanted to become Crown Prince was to protect those precious to me. To become strong and become someone who could choose anything.”

Who he was, where he should be, who he should be with.

Edwin’s dream was to reach a position where he could choose all of that.

“Until now, I thought only Emilia was precious to me, but that wasn’t true. I couldn’t have come this far without the people who helped me.”

Catherine, Seiji, Philip and the people of the 3rd Knight Order.

Kaiden, the King of Adamant, and even Emperor Johannes.

And being able to form connections with all these people was thanks to one person.

“Rachel is not a criminal but my benefactor.”

Edwin continued speaking while meeting the Emperor’s gaze head-on.

“If it’s a Crown Prince position where I can’t even protect someone precious to me, then I don’t need it.”

A heart that purely cared for someone.

Jerome unconsciously frowned.

“Yes, Edwin, I’ve heard your intentions well. But there seems to be something you’re misunderstanding.”

Something he was misunderstanding.

Edwin unconsciously furrowed his brow at the Emperor’s words.

“Do you think that woman won’t be banished just because you refuse the Crown Prince position?”

The Emperor’s eyes rose sharply.

“Rather, if you don’t accept the Crown Prince position, that woman will lose her head instead of being banished. Will you still refuse the Crown Prince position?”

“What? What do you mean….”

It was when Edwin’s face turned pale.

Jerome wore an expression more serious and grave than when supervising knight training.

“Prince Edwin, an assassin resurrected through black magic interfered in imperial affairs. Moreover, she wasn’t just any ordinary assassin, but the former leader of the assassination guild that led this rebellion.”

Jerome continued in a cold voice, as if devoid of emotion.

“In the council meeting, the overwhelming opinion was to execute that woman. However, I argued to keep her alive, and His Majesty supported my opinion.”

With the Emperor’s permission, Jerome interrogated Rachel Brown alone.

And during that process, Rachel Brown begged for her life and swore never to interfere in the affairs of the Ventrum Empire’s imperial palace, including the princes and princess, again.

“That’s a lie!”

Edwin shouted without realizing it.

“Rachel wouldn’t do that! Rachel begging for her life, saying she wouldn’t meet us anymore…!”

“Prince Edwin, don’t be emotional and grasp the essence of the problem.”

Jerome continued in a stern voice.

“Public opinion about assassins is very poor because of what happened on the night of rebellion. And among the surviving nobles, rumors are rampant that Rachel is also from an assassin background, that she’s in league with the Breath of Angels.”

Currently, Rachel Brown was a person whose very existence caused anxiety and danger.

“When the council heard that Prince Edwin would take the Crown Prince position instead of Prince Adrian, there was much talk.”

Though he claimed ignorance, as long as Rachel was ‘Kayla Angel’ herself, Edwin would become a prince who received an assassin’s education.

“The majority were clamoring that he was unqualified, that he would have lost his dignity as royalty.”

The person who silenced those who spoke so harshly was none other than Duke Jerome Crowner.

“However, no matter what anyone says, the Crowner family will support Prince Edwin.”

It was the will of the Emperor and Duke to protect imperial authority, but it was also the will of 1st Prince Adrian.

“Prince Adrian also said he fully supports Prince Edwin, who will inherit his position.”

He should have been happy to hear that someone supported him, but somehow he felt suffocated and afraid like a beast caught in a net.

Edwin could only stare at Jerome without saying anything.

“After Prince Edwin ascends to the Crown Prince position, Rachel will immediately be banished from the Empire. Officially, she’ll be processed as having died under torture.”

It was a kind of compromise.

Driving Rachel away was the only way to reassure the sharp-edged nobles and allow Edwin to ascend to the Crown Prince position somewhat stably.

“Edwin.”

The Emperor called to Edwin, who was standing half-dazed.

“If that woman is so precious to you, I won’t stop you if you say you’ll give up the Crown Prince position and leave together.”

Blue eyes the same color as Edwin’s took on a cold and chilly light.

“But is that woman the only thing precious to you? Can you abandon your sister, those who follow you, and those staying in the 3rd Prince’s Palace?”

He couldn’t take all his precious people and run away.

Unlike himself, Emilia was still too young, and the Emperor wouldn’t let his only daughter go outside either.

‘That’s realistically impossible.’

Edwin frowned as if frustrated.

“You said you wanted to become Crown Prince to protect those precious to you.”

Meanwhile, the Emperor looked at Edwin and spoke in a cold voice.

“Then, what could you protect from outside when you’re neither royalty nor Crown Prince?”

If you took away the title of prince from Edwin, only a young boy not even fifteen years old would remain.

“Do you think you can become something outside just because you can handle a sword? Even if you run away with that woman, rumors about her have spread across the entire continent, so you’ll spend your life being chased.”

Edwin bit his lower lip so hard it turned bright red at the Emperor’s words.

“You won’t be protecting something precious, but just living a life desperately running away to save your life. Without ever meeting your other precious people for the rest of your life.”

It felt like being driven to the edge of a cliff.

Edwin glared at the Emperor with eyes that looked ready to cry.

“Look at yourself. Even now, you can’t do anything but come running to me and plead.”

The Emperor spoke coldly despite having a pale complexion that looked ready to collapse.

“Do you understand now? You’re not yet in a position to choose anything, Edwin.”

Nothing could be changed.

Nothing would change.

Despair surged beneath Edwin’s feet.

“…Still, you don’t need to worry too much, 3rd Prince.”

Empress Melanie, who had maintained silence until now, opened her mouth.

“Rachel Brown, that woman also readily promised to leave the Empire and never return.”

At that moment, Edwin’s eyes drooped powerlessly.

Like someone who had lost all hope in a single instant.

* * *

“Pack as quickly as possible and come out. You need to leave the Imperial Capital before His Highness the Prince and Her Highness the Princess return.”

I silently entered the chamber at the knight’s urging.

The quarters I returned to after so long had fewer belongings than I expected.

Perhaps it was because I had decided from the beginning not to accumulate possessions.

Click.

As I fastened the clasp of my travel bag and stood up, the green dress hanging on the wall caught my eye. It was the first outfit I wore as a caretaker when I first opened my eyes in this place.

‘Edwin and Catherine are at the Imperial Palace, and Emilia is playing with the Krauner Duke’s daughter at the Empress’s Palace.’

I knew that someday we would have to part ways.

But I never thought we would separate like this without even saying goodbye.

I slowly reached out and fingered the hem of the green dress.

“…This is right.”

With the Emperor’s mercy that wasn’t quite mercy, once I leave the Imperial Capital, Edwin will safely become the Crown Prince.

“Yes, this is right.”

Then Catherine will become a maid of higher rank, and Seiji will be able to shed his status as a criminal and become free.

‘Emilia will be able to live more happily too.’

No longer a despised burden, she will grow up as a beloved princess and live a life where she can obtain whatever she desires.

‘In the end, I’ve achieved everything.’

I safely protected Edwin and Emilia and made Edwin the Crown Prince.

On top of that, I even completed my revenge, so I couldn’t have performed my mission more perfectly than this.

“…It’s really over.”

When an assassin’s mission ends, they must return to where they originally belonged.

Into the shadows of the Back Alleys, into the darkness that no one knows.

‘It’s nothing new.’

Strength entered my fingertips that had been fingering the hem of the green dress.

‘I achieved everything I wished for, so why do I feel like this.’

Why do I feel like this…

I stood there frowning for a long time, unable to think of the words that should follow.

“Contact with a criminal is forbidden! You cannot!”

“You must not enter! I said you cannot…”

Just then, I heard the sound of an argument outside the door.

The knights were shouting something when someone urgently opened the door and entered.

“Are you really planning to leave like this!”

“…Catherine?”

The one who suddenly burst in was none other than the Maid Captain, Catherine.

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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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