The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 319

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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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Side Story 2. The Princess’s First Love (5)

“Brother Leo!”

That clear and cheerful voice calling for him had become so familiar that he’d feel empty without it. Leo stopped sharpening his sword and turned his head.

“Princess Emilia.”

“What are you doing here?”

The rear garden of the 3rd Prince’s Palace.

Leo was in the place that Edwin had been using as a training ground instead of the official one for a long time.

“Ah, I was sharpening my sword.”

“Sharpening your sword?”

“Yes, swords need to be sharpened regularly to prevent the blade from rusting. That’s how you maintain their sharpness.”

Emilia stared intently at the sword Leo was holding.

The sword, cleaned of rust, sparkled like waves reflecting the midday sunlight.

“It looks like fish scales.”

“My sword?”

“Yeah, it glitters every time you move it.”

Leo looked at his sword in response to Emilia’s words.

Then he smiled as if he found the young princess’s expression amusing.

“It really does. Princess, you’re very good at expressing things.”

Instead of answering, Emilia pursed her lips.

‘She must be pleased with the compliment.’

It had already been a week since Leo started staying at the Prince’s Palace.

When he first saw that expression on the princess’s face, he had worried anxiously that she might be upset.

‘Princess seems to really like Leo. She doesn’t make that expression just anytime.’

‘That expression means she’s in a good mood?’

‘Yes, she’s happy but feels shy about it, so she makes that face. She’s being bashful.’

Thanks to the kind explanations from the Maid Captain Catherine that followed, Leo could now generally read the princess’s expressions.

“But why are you here?”

Leo knew not only the princess’s expressions but also her schedule.

Staying as a guest at the Prince’s Palace, it was information he naturally came to know without trying.

“Mmm, Brother Adrian said he’s busy today, so I can’t go.”

“I see.”

“Yeah.”

The conversation that seemed to be flowing well was cut off and silence fell.

Leo felt cold sweat forming on his forehead as he racked his brain.

‘What kind of conversation should I have with high-born young ladies?’

Leo had taken care of young children in Luksen for a long time.

He prided himself on having some expertise in childcare, but dealing with the young princess was an extremely difficult and tricky task.

‘Since the riding accident, she seems to think of me fondly.’

Emilia was just like a cat.

When he was bedridden after the riding accident, she came to visit every day but never said a word. Since then, she would approach him like today and start conversations first, but when he tried to continue the conversation, she would often give vague answers or leave.

‘But if I approach her first, she runs away. I don’t know what to do.’

Since he would be leaving soon anyway, there was no need to make an effort to get along well with the young princess. Still, the reason he found himself watching Emilia’s mood was probably because she was his close friend’s sister.

“Princess, um…”

“Here, I’ll give this to Brother Leo.”

“Pardon?”

Leo’s eyes widened.

“I said I’m giving you this.”

Emilia extended her small hand toward Leo.

The small child’s chubby cheeks were flushed with a rosy blush.

“Uh…”

Leo stood there dazed for a moment, then quickly lowered his posture and extended both hands forward.

Until now, they had only exchanged greetings, or the princess would bombard him with questions one-sidedly before disappearing. But this was the first time she tried to give him something directly.

‘What is this?’

What landed on Leo’s palm was something small wrapped in packaging.

When he carefully unwrapped it, it was a round, pill-like object with a jet-black color.

“Um, Princess. What is this?”

“Chocolate. It’s Ria’s favorite.”

“Chocolate?”

“Yeah, it’s really sweet and delicious. But Ria eats it a lot normally, so I’ll give it to Brother Leo.”

Cacao, the main ingredient of chocolate, was a precious ingredient that was only presented to the emperor.

However, Leo, who hadn’t been out of Luksen for long, had no way of knowing this fact.

“Wow, thank you! I’ll enjoy it, Princess!”

Leo smiled brightly and popped the chocolate treat into his mouth.

Without knowing that the treat the princess had given him was precious food that only royalty could eat.

“It’s really delicious! This is the first time I’ve had such a sweet snack.”

Seeing Leo’s surprised expression, Emilia’s eyes sparkled and she lowered her head halfway.

“Yeah, tell me if you want to eat more. I can bring it every day.”

“Really? But isn’t this a snack that you like too, Princess? If you share it with me, what about you?”

“It’s okay.”

Emilia lowered her gaze halfway and tapped the ground with her toes.

“Ria gets full just watching you eat deliciously, so I don’t need to eat.”

It was exactly the kind of thing a parent would say to a child.

Leo burst into laughter at Emilia’s words and gently ruffled her golden hair.

“Ah!”

Then, realizing that the princess had disliked it when he touched her hair before, he hastily pulled his hand away.

But unlike before, Emilia just stood there and stared at him blankly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, I thought you didn’t like having your hair touched.”

Emilia seemed to think for a moment, then muttered quietly.

“I don’t dislike it.”

“Pardon?”

“Brother Leo is okay.”

Suddenly, a sweet scent brushed past his nose.

Leo looked down in surprise at Emilia, who had wrapped her arms around his waist.

“So do it more, the head patting!”

A smile that seemed to have completely let down her guard.

At that expression that was remarkably similar to Edwin’s, Leo found himself smiling along with the princess without realizing it.

And so, the laughter of the two people echoed for quite a while in the back of the Prince’s Palace.

* * *

“It’s shocking.”

Edwin had a half-dazed expression on his face.

He stirred the stew in front of him with his spoon.

“Rachel, do you know what Ria said to me yesterday?”

“What did she say?”

“More than me.”

Edwin looked at me with shocked eyes.

“She said she likes Leo more than me.”

What truly surprising news.

I silently served food onto an empty plate.

“No, how can that be? I’m her real brother, aren’t I? How can she say she likes Leo more than me? She said she wants to go with him when Leo returns to Luksen!”

“…Princess Emilia seems to be quite fond of Leo.”

It was a fact I was well aware of.

Lately, Emilia’s only interest was Leo.

“These days, she gave Leo chocolate that she wouldn’t even share with me! Isn’t that really too much? Rachel, have you ever received chocolate from Ria?”

I had received some, but it was quite a long time ago.

As Emilia grew a year or two older, her attachment to ‘her things’ increased, and recently she hadn’t been sharing her snacks with anyone first.

“Sigh, and do you know what else she said?”

Edwin lightly struck the table with his hand gripping the spoon.

“She said she’d marry Leo when she grows up! Leo says it’s just a joke, but in my eyes, Emilia is serious! The child has been reading strange novels since she was young, and now she’s already talking about marriage and romance. Catherine just says it’s cute….”

Marriage?

I flinched while setting down the plate I was holding in front of Edwin.

‘Rachel!’

Emilia was a child who could barely reach my knees.

She was a child who always prioritized her brother and me, her caretaker.

‘I’m getting married!’

At that moment, I unconsciously imagined a grown-up Emilia clinging to some man and declaring she would marry him.

“R-Rachel?”

Edwin looked at me with bewildered eyes.

“I don’t know what mistake I made, but how about calming down a bit?”

“Pardon? What mistake did The Prince make?”

“Then why are you suddenly acting like this?”

I looked at Edwin with eyes that showed I didn’t understand.

Then he carefully pointed to the plate I was holding.

“Well, the plate is cracked….”

As Edwin said, there was a crack along the edge of the plate I was holding.

“…I apologize.”

“No, there’s nothing to apologize for….”

“And Princess Emilia’s statement seems like it could become problematic.”

I murmured quietly while clearing away the broken plate.

“…I’ll take appropriate measures, so please don’t worry too much.”

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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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