Chapter Two: I am... a nanny?! nanny?! (2)
I have never in my life been in contact with children. My head was so fuzzy I felt dizzy.
(Well… if she came here on a recommendation, she must be a noble woman.)
This was my first hypothesis about Rachel Brown, but I quickly rejected it. I have never heard in the Empire of a noble family bearing the name “Brown.” Noble titles are always resonant and carry grandeur.
(Or perhaps she is a girl from a small noble family.)
It is most likely of the second category. Even if she was a maid from a prominent family, the noblewoman would not have worn such rags.
At that moment, a severe headache hit my head, as if it was waiting for an opportunity. A frighteningly familiar voice echoed in my ears:
“Then take this opportunity to think carefully...why am I doing this.”
His ghost that I had tried to forget clearly came back to life.
“…in the other world.”
I felt like I had swallowed a hot coal. My chest began to burn, as if the cursed flame that had consumed me before had returned to burn my heart again.
“...Ian.”
I didn't mean to say his name. I shouldn't have said out loud the name of that bastard who killed me. However, tears ran down my burning cheeks as my chest burned.
"Achille, are you crying? Are you hurt?"
Then the little girl—Princess Emilia—hugged me tightly on my knees.
"Achille, don't be in pain! Waaa!"
“Wait…wait…”
The little princess burst into loud cries, following my tears as if they were a reflection of her own. I looked at her in confusion, then quietly placed my hand on her shaggy, golden hair.
It had been a long time since I had tried to comfort a child, so I felt confused.
“…Please, don’t cry.”
I stroked her soft hair lightly, unsure if that would work. But fortunately, Emilia calmed down quickly.
“Mmm… So Achille, you won’t cry anymore, right?”
"Yes. I won't cry anymore."
“Then Leia won't cry too!”
The princess wiped away her tears seriously and pursed her small lips stubbornly. Somehow, seeing her like this restored my sanity.
Yes. Now that I have died and come back to life, fleeting feelings are no longer important.
I remembered his words.
“Burn her. Don’t leave even ashes.”
Ian wanted to completely obliterate my existence. But, against his wishes, my soul came back to life in a new body.
(Wait for me, Ian.)
I gritted my teeth as I conjured the face of that traitorous lover.
(Whatever the reason...)
The fate of the traitor is the same: death. This is what the organization's strict rules taught me.
(I will never forgive you.)
The day I woke up in the body of an “Imperial Nanny” instead of the leader of the greatest assassination organization on the continent, I swore to live this second life solely for the sake of revenge.
“Achille, Achille.”
While I was burning with the fire of revenge inside me, Emilia pulled my skirt and moaned:
“Oba ran away. Find him.”
oppa? Oh, right. The butler had asked me to find Prince Edwin.
“You mean Prince Edwin, right?”
I remembered her status as a princess, and modified my speech to her.
"Yes! Oppa's name is Edwin!"
I nodded, then frowned.
(Wait, why am I still standing here?)
Escaping from the palace was easy for me. I know of more than five secret exits now.
(But even if I leave, how will I find Ian?)
I don't know how long it's been since I died, and I don't have any money. Leaving without a plan would be foolish.
(And my body now is not the same as the previously trained body. Any reckless movement could quickly kill me.)
I looked at the little princess in front of me, and made my decision. Now... I have to live in the role of “nanny” temporarily.
With a firm face, she opened the door. And from here my new life really began.
Finding the prince was easier than she expected. The reason was that Emilia knew where he was.
“Are you sure he's really there?”
"Yes! Aoba always plays there!"
As she stumbled behind me, I picked her up in my arms and walked quickly.
(Why is it so light?)
The princess was very light, almost flying with a breeze. Her golden, curly hair exuded a light, sweet scent.
(Honestly, it's closer to cotton candy than a fur ball.)
She wrapped her arms around my neck and laughed innocently.
“Achille, we're high!”
I didn't understand what was funny, but she kept playing with my hair as I walked.
(See...how was Edwin again?)
Although I had entered and left the palace countless times before my death, this was the first time I had entered the Third Prince's Pavilion.
(And as for Amir’s palace…)
Archways surround it, the place is vast… but empty.
(Miserable.)
It was an abandoned palace in every sense of the word.
(Ah...I remembered.)
Third Prince Edwin Anaxinian Ventrum. The only son of Emperor Kavilius III and the third Empress Edith Lionel.
But Edith died three years ago during childbirth. She died of hemorrhage immediately after giving birth to Emilia, leaving two weak and helpless children.
(She had no choice. She was a foreigner with no influence. Sold as a political hostage, how could she have support here?)
As for Lionel's kingdom itself, it was preoccupied with its own problems.
So, Prince Edwin and Princess Emilia were just two faded presences, gradually disappearing from the palace as if they had never existed.
(No wonder my memory of him was faint. His existence is marginal.)
But the hardest thing for servants is serving masters without authority. If I stay here, I will suffer a lot.
(I'd better run away soon.)
I reached the back garden of the pavilion lost in thought.
(Hmm, something's wrong.)
There was no sign of the prince. I closed my eyes and focused my senses to catch any movement. Just then, I picked up a noise behind the garden wall. I moved quickly towards her.
“This is…”
In the corner of the garden, there was a small hole hidden behind bushes. When I moved it it came out clearly. The grass around him is crushed, as if a child had passed by.
(No other choice.)
I lowered Emilia to the ground.
“Achille?”
“Your Highness, please stay here. Understood?”
“Stay?”
She muttered hesitantly: “Leah is hungry...”
She's been saying that ever since we met. But there was no other solution. I can't take it outside with me. I must return the prince quickly before this is discovered.
“I'll be right back. Just wait a minute.”
“Well… come back quickly, right?”
I nodded, then took a deep breath. With one motion, she jumped over the wall.
"Achille! Amazing!"
I heard her surprise behind me. Fortunately, my new body isn't so weak. As I was wiping the dust off my hands, I felt a look. It wasn't evil, but it wasn't comfortable either. I turned around quickly... but nothing.
(Are you delusional?)
I narrowed my eyes, and was about to move on when I heard a scream:
“Give it back to me!”
It was a child's voice, like crying.
The source of the noise was at the palace stables near the Third Prince's Pavilion.
"Give it back to me! I told you to give it back!"
Under a wooden shed, a group of older boys surrounded a young child.
“Give it back to me!”
“Give it back~”
They were making fun of him as they enjoyed seeing him weaken. From their clothes, they did not appear to be common people.
(Their faces are small but their bodies are large... Junior nobles? Maybe apprentices?)
And among them...there were those who were completely different.
(I found it.)
Prince Edwin. The child I came looking for