After the garden incident
After the chaos in the central park, we returned safely to the Third Prince's Palace.
She immediately took the initiative to examine Princess Emilia's injuries. Fortunately, it was only severe bruising on her skin, without any damage to the bones or muscles.
To be kicked by a growing boy and come away with just such injuries...that in itself is great luck.
"I apologize! I'm so sorry, Your Highness! If I had not left my place, this would never have happened!"
Catherine was crying profusely as she looked at the dark bruises on the princess's body. She did not calm down until the treatment was over. She sat next to the bed, her face swollen from crying, looking extremely miserable.
I said coldly: “Crying will not heal her wounds. Stop now, or you will wake her up.”
“Oh... my nanny...”
I ignored her sobs and grabbed the ointment and the washcloth.
“Why did you leave your place so recklessly?”
“H-This...”
“If something happened to one of their Highnesses, you wouldn’t be able to take responsibility.”
Catherine burst into more tears, and I felt uncomfortable looking into her guilt-filled eyes.
I finally sighed: “The biggest mistake is mine, as I left my place. It is not your fault alone.”
She cried, crying: “No! This is not true! You did nothing wrong! It was my fault because I insisted on accompanying them...”
"It's enough. What's done is done. What matters is that it doesn't happen again."
"Yes! I promise! Never again!"
She wiped her tears and nodded resolutely. "Then I will go to see Prince Edwin," said I. "I will send a maid to look after Her Highness—"
She interrupted me: “No, I will stay here tonight.”
“And your duties as butler?”
“I will do it tomorrow. Children have fragile bodies, they may develop a fever later or feel pain...”
She did not take her eyes off the sleeping princess, her hazel eyes shining with remorse and sorrow.
“Understood,” I said calmly. “I’ll leave it to you.” Then she left the room.
The good-hearted sinner had to receive his share of atonement himself.
Encountering Prince Edwin
I knocked on the door but did not receive a response, so I opened the prince's room without hesitation.
He was standing in front of the window, staring at the pouring rain.
“Your Highness, your surgeon—”
“How is Emilia?”
He spoke without turning around, his voice weak and without strength.
“She had treatment and just fell asleep,” I said.
“Was she seriously injured?”
“The bruises look serious, but they will heal quickly.”
He nodded slightly.
“Your wounds must be treated as well, Your Highness,” I said.
"I'm fine."
“I saw the wound on your face. Let me put the ointment on you—”
I extended my hand, and he slapped it away and shouted:
“I said I was fine—!”
The medicine bowl fell and hit the ground causing a noise.
He froze, looking confused by what he had done. Then he raised his voice nervously:
“I told you it was fine! Why do you insist—!”
I suddenly grabbed his chin and said coldly:
“That's not a good face.”
His face turned red: “W-What are you doing?! You can’t touch Amir’s face—!”
I answered him with cold severity: “When you realize your mistake, you should be angry with yourself, not with others. So stop taking your anger out on others.”
His eyelashes trembled, then he lowered his gaze. Only then did she start treating his wound.
“You took a big hit.”
"Ah! It hurts!"
“You said you were fine.”
I ignored his complaining and finished applying the ointment. He was only injured in his face.
I said: “Today you made two mistakes, Your Highness.”
He raised his head: “What?”
“First, you left the palace with the princess without an escort.”
I moved his chin and continued: “Secondly, you rushed to attack someone stronger than you without a plan.”
He shouted in protest: “Do you want me to stand there as a coward?!”
“Weak people must be cowards.”
His eyes widened: “To stay alive.”
He snarled: “Then it is enough just to survive? Even if we are treated as worse than insects, it is enough for us to survive?!”
I answered him without hesitation: “Of course. There is nothing more valuable than life.”
Then she added coldly: “A meaningless rebellion by someone who is ignorant of his destiny brings nothing but the curse of the powerful.”
His face convulsed in pain.
She whispered: “Shouldn’t you have endured until the end?”
He was confused: “That… that because…!”
I interrupted him: “You endured the first and second insults because you could. But you could not restrain yourself for the third.”
He said angrily: “The insult can be ignored... and the tea was not even hot...”
I replied: “I don’t blame you because you were a coward. Rather, I say well done.”
His shoulders trembled. I continued, “But your problem was your final rush without a plan. If I were you, I would calm the second prince, catch the princess, and then find a way out.”
I looked into his blue eyes and said:
“The promise to protect someone is not an idle word.”
He bit his lip until blood flowed, then lowered his head in shame.
“You said you didn’t want to be a coward,” I said sternly, “but now, for Emilia’s sake and for yourself, it’s better to be.”
Prince's disappointment
I turned to leave, and his voice stopped me:
“Wait.”
He looked up at me, hesitating: “How did you know what happened to Emilia? You came while I was fighting with Lloyd.”
“I've been there before,” I replied.
His eyes widened: “So you saw everything? And you didn’t interfere?”
"Yes."
His face constricted as if he had been stabbed by betrayal:
“But… you are my nanny! You promised to protect me! Why did you leave me?! Why did you just stand and watch?!”
Please hold my dress. I looked at him silently. A pure, naive child, he easily talks about protecting others and rejecting cowardice.
But he had to learn the weight of those words from bitter experience.
I slowly removed his hands from my dress and said coldly:
“I helped you as much as I could.”
My intervention in a conflict between the princes was risky enough to get my governess executed. If it weren't for the intervention of the Emperor and the Adamant King, I would have perished a while ago.
I told him honestly:
“Remember, Your Highness: As long as you are weak, if you do not learn how to be a coward, you will not be able to protect yourself... nor anyone else.”