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Chapter 5
Intense Introduction (3)
“Who told you to interfere?”
This guy? He didn’t even know gratitude after being saved and still raised his voice.
But how could a nanny dare to get angry at a prince?
I forced myself to lower my head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t lie. You’re not sorry at all.”
It was an unexpectedly sharp observation.
‘He’s sharper than he looks.’
The Third Prince Edwin I was meeting for the first time had many surprising sides.
He rushed at someone much bigger than himself without fear.
He spoke bluntly without thinking.
‘I thought the “ragged-haired prince” would be timid… but this is something else.’
I looked straight into his eyes with a sharp gaze.
‘So only his face is angelic.’
At that moment, Edwin asked me with an unpleasant expression.
“I heard the old witch couldn’t come today because she was sick. Was it just an excuse?”
Old witch?
The princess said the same thing earlier.
Do these siblings both hate the head maid that much?
“It was just a mild headache. She recovered quickly. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”
I bowed politely, but something felt off.
Edwin was staring at me with displeasure.
“Your Highness, is something wrong?”
Edwin tilted his head at my question.
“You feel different today.”
“Is that so? In what way?”
“You’re uglier than usual.”
“…?”
For a moment, I was speechless at his sudden personal attack.
“Your Highness… did I do something disrespectful to you?”
“Stop acting friendly. It’s annoying.”
I kept my composure and asked again, but his answer was still cold.
“Even if you came here through Emma’s recommendation, I don’t trust you.”
Emma’s recommendation?
I narrowed my eyes and recalled what the head maid had said.
‘She said I came here through Lady Conrad’s recommendation.’
So Lady Conrad’s name is Emma?
‘Emma Conrad?’
The familiar name made me frown.
‘…No way. Just a coincidence. Different surname anyway.’
While I was thinking, the prince added in a sharp voice:
“You’re on that old witch’s side anyway. I know everything.”
This was more difficult than expected.
‘At this age, they should normally trust their nanny.’
But he was too guarded.
So the original Rachel Brown probably wasn’t a very good nanny.
‘Even the head maid seems to dislike me.’
I had only been in the palace for about half a month—what did this nanny do to make so many enemies?
I sighed and lowered my head as if troubled.
Anyway, if I wanted to stay here for now, I had to play my role.
“Your Highness, I am simply your nanny.”
“Hah!”
Edwin scoffed and crossed his arms.
“Lies. You’re the one the old witch told about me being here, right?”
“……”
“Did she tell you to bring me back? What, are you going to lock me up again?”
Did the head maid even have authority to forbid the prince from going out?
I pushed the question aside and stayed silent.
Silence is best when answering is difficult.
Edwin glanced at me, then suddenly asked:
“By the way… how did you know earlier?”
“Know what?”
“About them cheating!”
“Oh, that.”
I remembered Gale’s clumsy movements.
He only started cheating properly on the second round.
If he had done it from the beginning, the opponent might not have accepted the match.
‘He probably thought it would work on me too.’
Not realizing I let him succeed the second time on purpose.
‘Tch. Amateur tricks.’
I thought of all the conmen I had seen in the backstreets.
Compared to them, Gale’s skills were like a water strider splashing clumsily on water.
But Edwin didn’t want to accept my answer.
“Lies. I didn’t see anything.”
“You were seeing such things for the first time, Your Highness. It’s not strange.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“So you’re saying you’ve seen it a lot?”
“…Yes, something like that.”
“How? Do nobles see that kind of thing often?”
I looked into the prince’s innocent eyes.
Still sharp and guarded, but with a hidden innocence he couldn’t conceal.
Eyes I could never have in my entire life.
Suddenly, I remembered where I had lived.
‘If he went there, he wouldn’t last half a day.’
To survive there, you had to become a skilled trickster.
And I was no different.
“I saw it a few times on the streets.”
I smiled gently as if it was nothing.
“Their hands were slower than people I’ve seen before.”
“Then they really weren’t anything special.”
Edwin looked slightly offended.
“So you getting fooled was unavoidable…”
“I wasn’t fooled. Don’t act smart when you’re uglier than me.”
This kid… maybe I should just hit him once to fix his attitude.
I barely suppressed my clenched fist.
‘If a nanny hits a prince, I’ll be thrown out immediately.’
Strictly speaking, he wasn’t even wrong.
I looked at him quietly, then smiled faintly.
“Your Highness, do you know something?”
“What?”
“Thinking someone looks ugly says more about the person who sees it than the person being seen.”
Edwin blinked.
His face twisted in an instant.
“What? Are you saying my heart is ugly? Are you insulting me, the prince?!”
Kids really are kids.
I gave him a calm smile as he exploded.
“I am not insulting Your Highness. I am offering advice so you may have a righteous heart.”
I continued calmly as he fumed.
“I am your nanny after all.”
He glared at me fiercely, then shouted:
“Shut up! I hate people like you the most!”
The prince pointed at me angrily.
‘He’s really loud.’
I hate arrogant brats too.
I looked at him with an emotionless face under a fake smile.
Edwin stared at me for a while, then suddenly snatched the bracelet from my hand.
Then he ran straight toward the prince’s palace.
I hadn’t expected gratitude, but this was still surprising.
I watched his retreating back and raised an eyebrow.
“What is wrong with that kid?”
“My lord?”
The man did not answer his subordinate.
He was still thinking about what he had just seen.
How should I describe it…
The man placed a hand near his chest.
Lightly messy ash-brown hair.
A fluttering skirt in the wind.
And eyes like dark green topaz.
The “thing” that easily jumped over a wall taller than itself had left a strong impression.
Even noticing his gaze from the shadows proved that.
“How interesting.”
A faint smile formed on the man’s lips.
His subordinate, Oliver Green, frowned.
“My lord, did you get hit in the head or something?”
He had worried about his lord’s condition, but ended up getting hit on the crown of his head.
“It hurts!”
“Discipline is necessary for a rude subordinate.”
Oliver held his head in frustration.
“I was worried when you disappeared without a word, and now you’re back acting even stranger!”
“Since when was I someone you needed to worry about?”
“You are someone who could survive even if dropped in the middle of a desert, yes, but still…”
Oliver stopped mid-sentence.
Looking at his lord’s calm expression made his worry feel pointless.
The man, wrapped in darkness from head to toe, radiated overwhelming strength.
His golden eyes, like a predator’s, were enough to make anyone freeze.
“Sigh… anyway, this is enemy territory.”
Oliver sighed while meeting that intimidating gaze.
“There are too many eyes watching. Please try not to draw attention.”
The man only smiled faintly at his subordinate’s sincere advice.
That smile felt ominous.
“Lord, no.”
At the sudden refusal, the man raised an eyebrow.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know what it is, but no.”
He looked at his lord with wide eyes.
“Every time you make that face, I feel like my lifespan is shortening.”
“You worry about meaningless things.”
The man rolled his neck as if tired and looked forward lazily.
“I know my priorities. Don’t worry.”
“That sounds like you’ll finish your work and wander off again.”
“My subordinate is quite sharp.”
“Sigh… Lord. Are you still looking for that woman?”
Oliver lowered his voice with a doubtful expression.
“Kailla Angel.”
