The Emperor's Invitation (1)
Ever since the day I decided to stay here as a nanny, I had been steadily adding small amounts of poison to Edwin and Emilia’s meals.
It was to build up their immunity to toxins.
‘Assassination attempts can happen at any time.’
Starting a few days ago, I had increased both the variety and dosage of poison in Edwin’s food.
Edwin clutched his chest and stared at me with resentful eyes.
It was a little pitiful, but there was nothing I could do about it.
‘This is the only thing I can teach him myself.’
I couldn’t teach the prince how to kill, but I could teach him how to survive those who did.
It was one of the few things I could offer Edwin.
“Scorpion venom affects the nervous system. A lethal dose can kill a healthy adult male within two hours.”
I asked as casually as if I were inquiring about the flavor of a dish.
“How do you feel right now?”
Even while panting, Edwin stubbornly opened his mouth.
“…It’s hard to breathe.”
Compared to the first time I had given him poison—when he had been too terrified to speak—this was a huge improvement.
“That’s normal.”
Since it had been a very small amount, the effects wouldn’t last long.
I didn’t forget to give a word of advice to Edwin, whose breathing was slowly beginning to stabilize.
“Remember the taste of the poison and the sensation of being poisoned. One day, those memories may save Your Highness’s life.”
Edwin’s eyes glistened with tears at the corners as he made a pitiful face.
He quickly grabbed the glass of water on the desk and gulped it down.
“How can something that doesn’t even have a taste hurt this much?”
“That’s what makes poison so dangerous. If it tasted bitter, who would ever swallow it?”
Yes. The real danger of poison was that it could be consumed without anyone realizing what it was.
Suddenly, the words whispered by the man who had killed me flashed through my mind.
At the time, I had thought it was just a common metaphor comparing love to something sweet. But now, looking back, he had simply been stating a fact.
Just as I had been a sweet poison to him, Ian had become poison to me as well.
“Hey, are you okay?”
While I was momentarily lost in the remnants of the past, Edwin called out to me.
He was looking at me with worried eyes.
“I asked if you’re okay.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your expression looks bad.”
“Mine?”
“Yeah.”
Edwin frowned.
“You’re not sick, are you?”
Had I really looked that unwell?
I shook my head, forcefully pushing away Ian’s face that kept resurfacing.
“Not at all. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“…About the bird that stabbed me in the back and ran away. No. The bastard who ran away.”
To be precise, it was the son of a bitch who had stabbed me in the back and fled.
‘Come to think of it, I had forgotten for a while. My ultimate goal.’
Because I had been so focused on fulfilling my promise to Emma and devoting myself to my nanny duties, I had completely forgotten the reason I had been reborn in the first place.
‘I’ll need to go outside the palace soon.’
It seemed like it was time to start gathering information about the organization and Ian.
It was right when Edwin picked up his empty bowl and stepped out into the hallway.
“Nanny! Nanny!”
Catherine came running from far down the corridor.
Behind her, Sage followed with a displeased expression, carrying Emilia on his back.
“Have you heard the news?”
“What news?”
“They say the King of Adamanth is coming to the imperial palace again next month!”
Next month would be the Founding Festival period.
‘Kaiden Ram.’
I recalled the young king of Adamanth, the one who had worn a meaningful smile.
‘He really is a suspicious fellow.’
The way he had smiled at me, the way he had smelled faintly of the soap I used before I died, and the way he had suddenly sent a bow and arrows to Edwin as a get-well gift.
Everything about him was utterly suspicious.
“When you say the King of Adamanth, you mean Kaiden Ram Adamanth, right?”
At that moment, Sage joined the conversation.
He casually shook the whining Emilia with both hands as he continued.
“The man who destroyed the Lionel royal family and founded the Adamanth Kingdom.”
“Do you know anything about him?”
“Not personally, no. But he’s so famous that everyone knows about him.”
Catherine nodded at Sage’s words.
“That’s right! They say fairy tale books based on his heroic tales are selling like hotcakes even in the empire!”
Fairy tales? To make a man like that the protagonist of a children’s story—what on earth was the author thinking?
“Fairy tale? Ria likes fairy tales!”
At that moment, Emilia yanked on Sage’s hair and shouted.
“Ria wants to read a fairy tale too! A heroic fairy tale!”
“Your Highness, it’s not a heroic fairy tale, it’s a heroic tale.”
“Uung, whatever! I want to read it! I want to read it!”
As soon as Emilia began throwing a tantrum, Catherine’s face filled with distress.
“Oh, what should we do? That book isn’t in the Prince’s Palace library.”
“Is it in any other library?”
“N-no, probably not. Since it’s meant for children and also praises a foreign king, it’s highly likely they didn’t bring it in.”
At Catherine’s words, Emilia’s face crumpled as if she were about to cry any second.
“Ria… wants a fairy taaaale……”
“I will buy it for you, Your Highness.”
I cut in before Emilia could start wailing like a crow.
“I’ll be going out soon anyway. When I do, I’ll purchase the fairy tale book Your Highness wants to read. So please don’t cry.”
“Uung, really?”
“Yes, really.”
At my promise, Emilia broke into a bright smile again.
“Ung! Nanny, I like you!”
“Yes, I like you too, Your Highness.”
“Ung! You have to buy the fairy tale book quickly!”
I swallowed a sigh as I lifted Emilia, who was reaching out to me, into my arms with both hands.
It looked like I would have to move up my outing schedule sooner than expected.
‘It’s finally today.’
Edwin clutched his excitedly pounding chest.
Today was the day he would receive his first private swordsmanship lesson from Philip.
At least, that’s what would have happened if the schedule had gone as planned.
“You lot are always so full of energy.”
“Y-Your Imperial Majesty!”
Before the 3rd Division knights who had just come down from the mountain, the Emperor, Cabelius III, appeared.
Duke Jerome Crown, the commander, was with him.
“We greet our lord!”
As knights who had sworn loyalty directly to the Emperor, their greeting was on another level.
Calling him their lord, they knelt in perfect unison.
Among them, there was only one person who couldn’t kneel or stand properly and remained awkwardly in between.
The Emperor looked at him with an expressionless face and greeted him.
“It’s been a while, Edwin.”
“I greet… Father.”
He lowered his head toward the Emperor, who stood imposingly before him.
The man who had brought him into this world, yet at the same time, the most awkward person in it.
The Emperor’s gaze swept over Edwin’s entire body.
“You look better than before.”
What did he mean by that?
As Edwin bit his lip, the Emperor added,
“Since we’ve met after so long, shall we have some tea?”
“…Pardon?”
Leaving the flustered Edwin behind, the Emperor turned to Jerome.
“Is there a reception room in the residence?”
“Please use my office. I will have tea prepared.”
“Thank you.”
The Emperor immediately turned on his heel.
When Edwin stood there in a daze, the Emperor turned his head again.
“What are you doing standing there? Do you dislike having tea with your father?”
“N-no, not at all!”
Edwin hurriedly followed behind the Emperor.
Curious gazes poured onto the backs of the two as they entered the residence.
“Who was the one who called the Third Prince a mangy mutt?”
“Yeah, who was it? Come out. I’ll teach you a lesson.”
“So the rumors weren’t true after all?”
“Even a father and son can have tea together. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Still, for His Majesty to come all the way here despite being so busy… there must be a reason, right?”
Amid the murmuring knights, Philip stood silently.
The Emperor was not someone who moved without reason.
Even if it was simply having tea with his own child, it would be a thoroughly calculated action.
Philip quietly watched Edwin’s small back as the boy followed the Emperor.
It was the back of an ordinary, small, and unremarkable child—far too insignificant to draw the Emperor’s attention.
‘But……’
Nevertheless, since the Emperor had sought him out, no one could predict what would happen.
What changes would come to that young prince’s fate after today.
“It really has been a long time since the two of us sat face to face like this.”
“I-I apologize.”
“There is no need to apologize. After all, I never sought you out either.”
The conversation between father and son, seated across from each other with only a single table between them, was far from warm.
“How is the training? Is it manageable?”
“…It was difficult at first, but it’s fine now.”
“I see. That’s good to hear.”
The Emperor quietly sipped his tea.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“What is the reason?”
“Pardon?”
“The reason you suddenly decided to participate in the knights’ training.”
He gazed at Edwin while gently turning his teacup.
“You are not the kind of child who would do something like that.”
“That is… well……”
What should he say?
Edwin broke out in a cold sweat.
“Did you suddenly decide you wanted to act like a proper prince?”
“T-that’s not……”
The Emperor’s face was utterly indifferent.
Seeing that he couldn’t bring himself to answer, the Emperor tilted his head.
“I met your nanny again. She is quite a bold woman.”
At the word nanny, Edwin’s face turned ashen.
“The previous nanny also came to me directly to make a request. It seems you are blessed with good people around you.”
At the mention of the dead nanny, Edwin’s complexion grew even paler.
“That woman told me you said you wanted to become stronger. Is that true?”