A Wish and a Promise (2)
I'll grant the second wish right away as well.
Emma took my hand with a sorrowful expression. She looked up at me—I was now much taller than her—and forced a smile.
"If the work you're doing now gets too hard, come back anytime. You know that, right, Kyla?"
Even though she knew I could never return, she said those words anyway.
"Even if we're not connected by blood, we're family."
Yes. She was my only family. The sole person I considered family.
Emma patted my shoulder and laughed playfully.
"I should save the last wish. You might vanish without a word again, after all."
She glanced at the setting sun, then startled and spun around.
"Oh, it's already this late."
She started to run inside but paused and looked back at me.
"Kyla, would you like to stay for dinner? I happened to make your favorite stew."
That day, the sunset was exceptionally beautiful. At Emma's invitation to stay for stew, I cried for the first and last time.
"K-Kyla, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
I had no choice but to cry. I had to turn my back on this person who, even knowing I was a killing machine, still asked me to stay for dinner. As Kyla Angel, I knew bone-deep that I could never remain at her side again.
That was the fate of those who lived by taking lives. Those who walked in the night could never stay with those who lived in the day. They were only permitted to meet in passing, like two worlds brushing against each other in the fleeting moment when day and night crossed.
Before the sunset faded completely, I parted from her. I had to return to the world I belonged to before night fell.
"Using the last wish in this manner—you've become quite cunning while I wasn't looking."
It was truly ridiculous. It felt as though she had deliberately saved the final wish, knowing things would turn out exactly like this.
"......"
I clenched my fist. In truth, I could have simply ignored a request from a dead woman. It wasn't even for her own sake. Why should I waste time on a child who meant nothing to me?
Damn it.
But that wasn't the case anymore. Edwin and Emilia were no longer unrelated to me. In the end, they had become something more.
You can just protect me! You're my nanny!
Ria likes Neiche!
When dizziness clouded my mind and I closed my eyes, the princess's recent question resurfaced.
What is Neiche afraid of?
What was I afraid of?
Things like this.
When I opened my eyes again, Edwin stood before me. The sight of the boy burning with fever after losing what he held dear.
As expected, the scariest thing is.
The heart one person holds for another. Emotions that reason cannot control.
"......Ha."
I let out a weary sigh. Regardless, a promise was a promise. If Emma's final request was for the third prince to find happiness, then I quietly studied Edwin as he clung to my hand like a lifeline.
If that's truly all it is.
I had no choice but to grant it. Even if it meant delaying my revenge.
"Nanny, is it true?"
Catherine shot up from her seat the moment she heard me. "You're serious, right?" Her eyes sparkled with pure joy. "You're really not quitting your post as nanny?"
"That's what I said."
"Oh my! What a wonderful decision!"
Catherine circled the desk and threw her arms around me in a fierce hug. It was so sudden I couldn't dodge. I froze for a second, then frowned and pushed her away.
"It's suffocating."
"Ah, I'm sorry!"
She quickly stepped back and offered her right hand. "Please take good care of me from now on as well."
I hesitated briefly before shaking it.
"But Nanny, you mentioned you had something important you needed to do. Will that be all right?"
Catherine, still glowing from the handshake, asked with sudden worry. "You didn't have to abandon that task because of this job, did you?"
"Not at all."
Continuing as their nanny didn't mean I would give up my search for Ian. Instead, I would change my approach—use this place as my base and begin by venturing outside to gather information. It would be safer when dealing with Ian.
No matter who Ian is, directly infiltrating the imperial palace carries too much risk.
I was still thinking I should head out soon to look into him when Catherine spoke again.
"But Nanny, have you told Their Highnesses separately?"
"Told them what?"
"That you're not leaving."
"Do I need to tell them that specifically?"
"Of course you do! They all believe you're departing!"
It did feel awkward to announce I wasn't leaving after I had already declared that I was. "His Highness Edwin also thinks so because he heard something from Her Highness Emilia!"
The day before yesterday, after fully shaking off his cold, Edwin had begun ignoring me completely. As if there was nothing left to say to someone who would soon be gone.
"Then, Catherine, why don't you tell them for me?"
At that, Catherine's eyebrows shot up. "Nanny, what did you tell me last time?"
"What did I say?"
"You said the nanny is someone who takes full responsibility for her own affairs! So you need to see this through properly too."
Catherine refused to budge even after seeing my reluctant expression. "Since you were the one who told Her Highness Emilia you were leaving, you should explain it yourself. Understood?"
"But..."
"Come on, you should hurry and deliver the happy news. Nanny, dispatch—!"
In the end, I was pushed out the door by Catherine. I felt a small pang of regret for ever letting her out of that storage room.
Today as well, Edwin was ignoring me with every fiber of his being. Or rather, he seemed painfully aware of my presence.
The boy sat in the middle of the backyard, keeping his distance. "Brother, can't Neiche play with you?"
"No."
Edwin was twisting clovers together to make a flower crown for his sister. Emilia watched his hands with a gloomy face.
"Why not? Ria wants to play with Neiche too."
"She's going to abandon us and leave tomorrow anyway. Why would you want to play with a woman like that?"
At Edwin's words, Emilia's expression grew even more downcast. "Don't worry. Ria has her brother. We don't need a woman like that."
"But brother is weak."
"...What?"
"It's true."
The princess continued, unaware of the look on her brother's face. Though young, Emilia was sharper than most children her age. She simply lacked the vocabulary to express herself fully.
"Brother always gets beaten by the bad guys. But Neiche always saves Ria."
On that stormy night. On the day the devil-like second prince attacked. It had never been the prince who saved the princess.
"But brother is always getting sick. You're weaker than Ria. You can't protect Ria."
There wasn't a trace of malice in her words. She was simply stating facts. Yet it was more than enough to shred the already tattered pride of the young prince.
"Uwaaaaaah—!"
"Your Highness!"
I had been listening from afar and rushed over the moment Edwin suddenly shoved his sister's shoulder. Emilia landed hard on her bottom in the grass.
"Hwaaaaaah—! Neiche—! Brother pushed me!"
I quickly scooped the princess into my arms and looked at Edwin. This was the first time he had ever been so rough with her. These were the same children who once shared even a single bean. What had happened?
"Your Highness, why did you..."
I couldn't finish. Tears were streaming down Edwin's face.
"I... I don't need someone like you either...!"
His face burned crimson as he bit his lip. The instant our eyes met, he hurled the clover in his hand straight at my face.
"I don't need someone like you—!"
Having shouted what he wanted, the boy turned and ran off into the distance. He had thrown grass in my face and fled without so much as an apology.
"Ptui."
I frowned and spat out the leaves that had landed in my mouth. Meanwhile, Emilia—shocked by her brother's words—began crying even harder.
"Heooooong—! Brother said he doesn't need Ria—! I hate you, Brother—!"
"Nanny, what happened—!"
Thanks to the princess's loud wails, Catherine came bursting out of the office.
"It's nothing. Please watch Her Highness for a moment."
"What? If it's nothing, then why is she crying?"
I handed Emilia to Catherine and adjusted my shoes.
"Nanny?"
"I'll bring him back."
"Bring who?"
Who else? That insolent little prince. Instead of answering, I kicked off the ground and ran.
"Nanny! Wait! Where are you going!"
"To fetch His Highness the Prince—!"
"That doesn't look like fetching, it looks more like you're going to beat him up—oh dear, what am I saying! It looks like you're going to catch him..."
I left Catherine's worried muttering behind and kept running. I was going to catch that adorable prince who still didn't know how to properly vent his anger.