The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 49

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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 49. Knight Commander Jerome Crowner (2)

“What did you say your name was again? Was it Reina?”

“It’s not Reina, it’s Rachel. Commander.”

His shortly cropped red hair and ruggedly masculine features suited him far too well.

His still massive frame and bulging muscles made one doubt the fact that he was over forty years old.

‘Even as he ages, I can see why women still follow him around like that.’

Meanwhile, the Vice-Captain who had accompanied him answered in my place and glanced over at me.

“She says she’s The 3rd Prince’s caretaker.”

“Caretaker?”

At the word caretaker, one of the Count’s eyebrows shot up.

“So, what business does The 3rd Prince’s caretaker have with me?”

Having just finished training, the Count was in comfortable clothes and sweating.

He roughly wiped away his sweat with the towel the Vice-Captain handed him and plopped down on the sofa.

There wasn’t a trace of aristocratic bearing to be found in his appearance.

‘Not that I’m particularly surprised.’

The ‘Jerome Crowner’ I knew had always been that kind of person.

“Oh, I haven’t even offered our guest a seat. Please sit. You, bring some tea.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Having finished all his instructions with a jerk of his chin, he sent me a look asking why I wasn’t sitting down yet.

At that look, I silently settled into the seat across from him.

Then, Jerome’s voice came from above my head.

“Well now, it’s curious that a caretaker has more guts than my subordinates.”

Only then did I realize that I had forgotten the difference in status between the Count and myself.

As I hastily tried to get up from my seat, the Count waved his hand with a good-natured laugh.

“Well, enough with the pleasantries. I couldn’t even remember your name properly either. Let’s call it even for mutual rudeness.”

Then he shouldn’t have said that in the first place.

I hid my displeasure and stood up from my seat, bowing my head.

“…It’s my pleasure to meet you. My name is Rachel Brown.”

“I heard earlier that your name is Rachel, not Reina. I’m not that much of a birdbrain.”

With his arms draped over the backrest and his legs crossed, he looked quite arrogant.

“So, what is this favor you want to ask of me?”

He told someone to bring tea, but brought up the main topic before the tea even arrived.

‘Still as impatient as ever.’

I sat in a demure posture and looked straight into his gray eyes.

“It’s a request regarding Prince Edwin.”

When Edwin’s name came up, Jerome’s brow furrowed slightly.

He clearly looked uncomfortable somehow.

“His Highness…”

“Wait.”

Jerome suddenly showed his palm and cut off my words.

As if he already knew what I was going to say.

“Let me tell you in advance, I decline troublesome positions like being a prince’s swordsmanship instructor. I even refused my sister’s request.”

Before even hearing my proposal, Jerome ran his hand through his hair with an arrogant expression.

“I even turned down the position of swordsmanship instructor for my one and only nephew. So if you’re here to ask me for such a favor, you’d better go back…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to ask you for such a favor.”

“You’re not?”

As if it was an unexpected answer, one of Jerome’s eyebrows rose at an angle.

“Then what is this favor related to His Highness that you want to ask of me? There shouldn’t be anything else besides that.”

Just as I was about to answer, the door opened again.

The Vice-Captain who had gone to get tea entered with a young servant.

On the tray the servant was carrying were tea and refreshments.

“I’ve brought the tea, Commander.”

“Ah, good work. Set it down here and you may leave.”

At the commander’s nod, just as the servant was hurriedly trying to place the teacups on the table.

“Ah—!”

In his nervousness, the servant dropped the teacup.

The teacup in the boy’s hands flew through the air.

Right toward my right thigh.

“Danger…!”

Not only the servant but even the Vice-Captain panicked and reached out their hands.

However, I pushed past both of them and faster than anyone else caught the falling teacup, then tried to catch the flying tea back into the cup…

‘No!’

A caretaker shouldn’t know how to use her body like that.

I suppressed my reflexes with superhuman patience.

In the end, the teacup fell onto my thigh, and the hot tea thoroughly soaked my skirt.

“A-Are you alright!”

“Quickly, get something to wipe it with!”

The panicked knights bustled about, not knowing what to do.

I diligently wiped my thigh with the towel the servant handed me.

“Sh-Should I bring an ice pack?”

“It’s not that serious. Thank you for your concern.”

“P-Perhaps you should go home today and quickly wash and change your clothes…”

“No.”

I shook my head firmly with a resolute expression.

“I came here today to ask a favor of the Count. I have no intention of leaving until the Count agrees to hear me out.”

“You, step back.”

Count Crowner sent the servant to the back at my words.

He looked at my wet skirt and frowned.

“I’m sorry about this. But are you really alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Didn’t you get burned?”

“I don’t think so.”

I deliberately spoke in a slightly agitated voice in response to Jerome’s words.

“Even if I did get burned, my thigh isn’t a part that others normally see, so it’s really fine. It shouldn’t interfere with marriage either.”

If an unmarried woman got burned on her body, it would be a big problem.

In the Empire, there was a tendency not to prefer women with scars on their bodies as brides.

I deliberately brought up marriage to maximize any guilt he might feel, and it seemed to work well.

“A-Ahem.”

Jerome kept clearing his throat as if my words bothered him.

“Alright, then tell me.”

Steam was still rising from the tea that had been poured back into the cup.

“What is this favor you want to ask of me so badly that you’re being this stubborn?”

“…Will you grant it?”

Jerome seemed to think for a moment, then sighed.

“I’ll grant it. As long as it’s not a request to arrange an audience with His Majesty the Emperor, or to become The 3rd Prince’s swordsmanship instructor.”

“Don’t worry. I have absolutely no intention of making such requests.”

I gave him a triumphant smile at his words.

“Instead, for just three months, I’d like you to let His Highness participate in the knights’ training.”

* * *

“Commander, do you truly intend to grant that woman’s request?”

“There’s nothing I can’t accommodate. You’re just asking to be included in basic training.”

Jerome, the captain of the Gloria Knight Order, sat on the edge of his study desk, flipping through documents as he continued speaking.

“It’s not like you’re asking me to become a mentor, so it doesn’t matter.”

“But!”

“And didn’t you say The 3rd Prince personally made this request? Then there’s no particular reason to refuse.”

“The 2nd Imperial Consort won’t stay quiet about this. If she finds out that you rejected her request but accepted The 3rd Prince’s request…”

“You’ve gotten more worried as you’ve aged, Philip.”

He let out a chuckle at the words of his vice-captain, Philip.

The woman who had dared to threaten him by bringing up his ‘true identity’ after he refused her request to become her child’s swordsmanship instructor.

While he had certainly been surprised by her sudden threat, he hadn’t felt intimidated.

After all, his background was an open secret that anyone who needed to know already knew.

So there was absolutely no reason to be afraid.

“When have I ever paid attention to that marquis family’s wench?”

“…I apologize.”

“What, there’s no need to apologize for something like that.”

Jerome waved his hand dismissively as if it didn’t matter.

But Philip hesitated and didn’t back down easily.

“Still, this doesn’t seem right. Not the 1st Prince, but The 3rd Prince? It’s better not to get involved with him.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You know this well too, Captain. There are still three years left until the crown prince designation. But in these times…”

Then, Jerome cut off Philip’s words.

“Right, so you’re saying that in these times, supporting The 3rd Prince, who can’t even be considered a candidate for imperial succession, could harm the knight order?”

The current imperial family had two candidates for imperial succession.

The 1st Prince ‘Adrian Sapiens Bentrum’ and the 2nd Prince ‘Lloyd Catalonian Bentrum’.

The 3rd Prince ‘Edwin’, who was shunned by The Emperor and had no proper backing, had long been excluded from candidacy.

Moreover, the power struggle between the 1st Prince and 2nd Prince had reached its peak.

In such a situation, the ‘Gloria Knight Order’, led by The Empress’s brother, had declared neutrality.

“As you decided, Captain, we pledged loyalty only to His Imperial Majesty The Emperor. But suddenly The 3rd Prince?”

“I understand your concern, but don’t worry too much about it. Even if we let him participate in training, how many days do you think that young prince will last?”

Jerome continued in an indifferent tone.

“If he trains hard with the 3rd company kids for two or three days, he’ll drop out on his own. We can just kick him out then.”

Seeing his resolute manner as he finished speaking, Philip finally sighed and stepped back.

“Understood. Then I’ll inform the knights in advance.”

“Right. Also tell them not to unnecessarily act familiar when they meet The 3rd Prince. I hate it when troublesome situations arise.”

“Yes.”

At his words, the vice-captain gave a brief bow and left the room.

Left alone in the study, Jerome recalled the woman he had met earlier.

‘The 3rd Prince’s caretaker, Rachel Brown.’

It was such a common name with such a common surname.

With her frail build that looked like she’d collapse at a touch and her infinitely gentle appearance.

Yet somehow, she was a strange woman who was oddly irritating.

Jerome recalled The Caretaker’s composed attitude even after being doused with hot tea.

“…Should I at least mention this to His Majesty?”

Jerome, who had been staring out the window with sharp eyes, soon stood up from his seat.

He stretched languidly like a lion waking from sleep.

“Ugh— desk work really isn’t for me. I should go spar instead.”

Yawning and smacking his lips, Jerome picked up the sword he had placed beside him.

It wasn’t hard to imagine his subordinates, who had been sparring with him just moments before, screaming again.

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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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