TCNS 05

Chapter 5: Intense Initiation (3)

“Who told you to butt in?”

This brat… To yell like that without appreciating the favor of being saved. But how could a nanny possibly get angry at a prince? I reluctantly bowed my head to him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t lie. You’re not sorry at all.”

It was such a sharp observation that it startled me.

‘He’s sharper than he looks.’

The Third Prince, Edwin, was full of surprises. He charged at someone much bigger without fear, and he spoke whatever was on his mind without a second thought.

‘I thought they called him the “Shabby Prince” because he was timid… but this…’

I stared at the boy looking directly into my eyes, meeting his sharp gaze.

‘He may look like an angel, but only on the outside.’

Then, Edwin asked me with a displeased expression. “The evil hag said you weren’t coming today because you were sick. Was that a lie?”

The evil hag?

The princess had used that term earlier as well. It seemed like the siblings held a grudge against the head maid.

“I just had a light headache, and it’s better now. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”

I bowed politely, but something felt off. Edwin was staring at me with an annoyed look.

“Your Highness, is there something wrong?”

Edwin tilted his head in response. “Somehow, you seem different than usual.”

“Do I? In what way?”

“You’re uglier than usual.”

“……?”

For a moment, I almost lost my words at his sudden insult.

“…Your Highness, have I done something to offend you?”

“Stop pretending we’re close. It’s annoying.”

I tried to keep my composure, but his response was still sharp.

“Even if you came on Emma’s recommendation, I don’t trust you.”

Emma’s recommendation?

I narrowed my eyes as I recalled what the head maid had said.

‘The head maid said I came here on Madam Conrad’s recommendation.’

So was Emma’s full name Emma Conrad?

‘Emma Conrad?’

The name sounded oddly familiar, and I frowned without realizing it.

‘No way… it must be someone else with the same name. The family name is different, after all.’

While I was lost in thought, the prince added in a sharp voice, “You’re on the evil hag’s side anyway. I know it all.”

His reaction was unexpected and quite perplexing.

‘At his age, you’d expect him to trust and follow his nanny.’

Seeing how wary he was, it seemed the original “Rachel Brown” wasn’t a very good nanny.

‘The head maid didn’t seem to like me either.’

What on earth had this nanny been doing to make so many enemies in just two weeks since arriving at the palace?

I deliberately put on a troubled expression and bowed my head. After all, if I was to stay here for the time being, I had to fulfill my role.

“Your Highness, I am only here to serve as your nanny.”

“Ha!”

Edwin crossed his arms and snorted.

“That’s a lie. I bet the evil hag told you I was here.”

“……”

“She’s trying to drag me back, isn’t she? Gonna put me on house arrest again?”

Did the head maid have the authority to put a prince under house arrest?

I set the question aside and silently bowed my head to him. When faced with difficult questions, silence was often the best answer.

The prince kept glancing at me before suddenly asking a question. “Anyway, how did you know earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

When I asked, the prince shouted as if frustrated. “How did you know those guys were cheating?!”

“I just saw it.”

I recalled Gale’s clumsy sleight of hand.

The trick with the orange-haired boy had started from the second round. If they’d cheated from the beginning, their opponent might not have acknowledged the game.

‘They must have thought I’d fall for it too.’

They hadn’t realized that I had let myself be fooled in the second round.

‘Hmph, as if. Who do they think they’re fooling with such a sloppy trick?’

I clicked my tongue, recalling all the “con artists” I’d seen in the backstreets. Compared to their nimble fingers, Gale’s skills were like a pond skater splashing around.

But Edwin seemed unwilling to accept my explanation, pouting his lips.

“You’re lying. I didn’t see it.”

“It was probably Your Highness’s first time seeing something like that. It’s not strange.”

Hearing my words, he raised an eyebrow. “So, you’ve seen it a lot, then?”

“Well, yes, I suppose.”

“How? Do nobles often see that kind of thing?”

I looked into the prince’s innocent eyes. They were still fierce and filled with wariness, but I could see the unhidden innocence behind them. Eyes like those were something I could never have.

Suddenly, I thought of the place where I’d spent my life.

‘This kid wouldn’t survive half a day there.’

To survive in that place, you had to be a cunning swindler, and I was no different.

“I’ve just seen it a few times on the streets.”

I smiled gently at him, as if it were nothing.

“His movements were slower than those I’ve seen before.”

“So, they weren’t that impressive, then?”

Edwin looked frustrated.

“It was inevitable that Your Highness got tricked…”

“I wasn’t tricked! Don’t act all high and mighty when you’re uglier than me.”

This brat… maybe a good smack would set him straight. Should I just hit him lightly?

I clenched my fist, struggling to control myself.

‘If it gets out that the nanny hit the prince, I’d be kicked out immediately.’

Besides, Edwin wasn’t entirely wrong. I stared at him for a moment before smiling brightly.

“Your Highness, do you know something?”

“What?”

“Thinking someone looks ugly means your own heart is ugly.”

Edwin blinked at my words. His face twisted in an instant.

“Are you saying my heart is ugly?! Are you insulting me, a prince?!”

A child is still a child.

I smiled calmly at the fuming boy. “I am not insulting you, Your Highness. It is sincere advice, hoping you will have a kind heart.”

I added gently, watching Edwin fume, “I am your nanny, after all.”

He glared at me with blazing eyes and shouted, “Don’t be ridiculous. I hate people like you the most! Do you understand?”

The prince huffed and pointed a finger at me.

‘So rude.’

I also can’t stand arrogant brats.

I looked at him with an indifferent face, hiding a fake smile.

Edwin stared at me for a long time before snatching the bracelet from my hand. Then, without another word, he ran off towards the palace. I hadn’t expected a thank you, but still, his reaction was a bit much.

I raised an eyebrow as I watched him flee. “What’s up with him?”

***

“My lord?”

The man was so lost in thought that he forgot to respond to his subordinate’s call.

He was thinking about what he had just seen.

The man placed his hand near his solar plexus.

Slightly tousled ash-brown hair. The hem of her skirt fluttering in the breeze. And eyes like dark green topaz.

The ‘thing’ that easily leaped over a wall taller than herself had something special that caught his eye.

The fact that she had noticed his gaze, even though he had hidden himself in the shadows, was impressive.

“I’m curious.”

A slight smile tugged at the man’s lips. Meanwhile, his aide, Oliver Green, frowned at the remark.

“My lord, did you hit your head or something?”

He was immediately hit on the top of his head for daring to question his lord’s sanity.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

“A smack is the cure for an insolent subordinate.”

Oliver covered his head, looking aggrieved. “I was worried because you disappeared without a word, and then when you came back, you wouldn’t say anything!”

“Am I the kind of person you should be worried about?”

“My lord, you’d survive if you were dropped in the middle of a desert, but still…”

Oliver trailed off.

Seeing his lord so calm made his concern feel entirely pointless.

Dressed in pitch-black attire that seemed to shroud him like a cloak of darkness, the man exuded strength from head to toe. His golden eyes, glinting like those of a predator, were enough to make anyone’s knees shake.

“Ha, anyway, we’re deep in enemy territory.”

Oliver sighed, looking into those fierce eyes that he still hadn’t gotten used to.

“Please refrain from doing anything that would draw attention.”

His lord only smiled at the aide’s sincere advice. Oliver’s eyes narrowed as if sensing something ominous.

“My lord, don’t.”

Suddenly saying no, the man raised an eyebrow. “What?”

The aide frowned and added, “I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is, don’t.”

He looked at his lord with narrowed eyes. “Every time you make that face, I feel like my life gets shorter.”

“You’re worrying about pointless things.”

The man twisted his neck to either side as if tired and stared straight ahead with a lazy gaze.

“Don’t worry, I know my priorities.”

“That sounds like you’re saying you’ll take care of things first and then do whatever you want.”

“I like my perceptive aide.”

Oliver sighed. “My lord, are you still looking for that woman?”

He lowered his voice with a troubled expression.

“Kyla Angel, I mean.”