A Guest in the Third Prince's Palace (1)
‘This is strange.’
There had definitely been a suspicious presence.
I frowned as I searched the area around the prince’s palace.
‘Did I imagine it?’
It was true that my senses had grown duller since waking up in Rachel Brown’s body. Relatively speaking, at least.
‘Maybe I got the presence mixed up because so many outsiders have been coming and going.’
If I kept searching with no results, there was no point in continuing. I turned the corner of a long corridor to head back to the main building.
Thud.
My face slammed into a solid wall.
‘What? Why is there a wall here…’
I clutched my aching nose and looked up to identify the mysterious wall.
But what stood before me wasn’t a wall. It was a person.
‘What the…’
He was an incredibly massive man.
From head to toe, he seemed cloaked in pure black darkness. Yet his eyes shone with a brilliant golden hue, like starlight.
Still the same.
“It’s been a while.”
The soft, low voice resonated near my ear.
I unconsciously held my breath and took a step back.
“Judging by your expression, it seems you haven’t forgotten me.”
I had guessed from the string of titles he carried at such a young age, the body hidden beneath his clothes, and the aura he gave off that he wasn’t ordinary.
‘But this much…’
I silently looked up at Kaiden.
Not the slightest presence emanated from him. Even though he stood right in front of me, he felt as if he weren’t there at all.
“Seeing you this close…”
Kaiden stared at me for a moment before his lips curved into a smile. A strange glint flashed through his golden eyes.
“Your eye color is quite unique.”
“…Pardon?”
What was this all of a sudden?
I stared at the man in bewilderment.
“I like it.”
Now it had gone beyond ridiculous and straight into unpleasant.
He suddenly appeared, nearly smashed my nose in, and now he was spouting nonsense about liking my eye color.
‘If I had my way, I’d test whether his philtrum is harder or my fist is harder, but I suppose I’ll have to hold back.’
I was a nanny, and he was the king of a nation. There was only one thing I could do right now.
“…I greet Your Majesty King Kaiden.”
As I reluctantly bowed my head, a stifled laugh came from above.
When I lifted my head with a frown, my eyes met Kaiden’s.
“That’s quite the expression.”
“…May I ask what kind of expression I’m making?”
“Hmm. A very funny one.”
Just as my fist was about to clench on its own, a voice rang out from afar.
“Nanny! Naaaanny! Nooooo!”
Catherine was running toward us in a frantic hurry.
Good grief. What on earth had I done for her to shout “no” without even checking properly?
“Head Maid.”
“Huff, huff, Nanny, that…”
Catherine, who had finally reached me, was gasping for breath. She seemed too winded to speak properly.
“Hah, huff. I’m late, aren’t I? Her Highness Emilia suddenly said she needed the bathroom urgently…”
That was entirely believable coming from Emilia. She had been standing since dawn at the emperor’s palace, receiving greetings from every delegation.
It was more impressive that she had held it in this long.
“Huff, hah. Ah, forgive me, Your Majesty. To leave such an honored guest standing here while I stepped away… please accept my deepest apologies…”
“There’s no need for forgiveness.”
Kaiden smiled at the still-breathless Catherine.
“It was an unavoidable situation. Naturally, I should understand.”
“Th-thank you. I’m truly grateful for your understanding.”
Catherine’s face flushed red as she bowed her head deeply.
Why was her body suddenly twisting like that? How strange.
“By the way.”
Kaiden glanced around before turning back to me.
“I’m not sure where I’m supposed to stay. Could you show me the way?”
“Oh my, where are my manners! I’ll guide you right away. Please follow me…”
Just as Catherine hurriedly moved to lead the way, Kaiden spoke again.
“Before that, I don’t think I’ve received an apology yet.”
“Pardon? An apology?”
“Not you. Her.”
Kaiden turned his body toward me.
“You crashed into my chest without permission earlier and didn’t even apologize.”
Shouldn’t I be the one receiving the apology?
He was the one who strutted around with his chest puffed out, nearly destroying someone else’s nose, yet here he was causing trouble.
“Did that happen? Goodness, Nanny, apologize at once!”
Ah, why did I have to wake up in a nanny’s body of all things?
If only I had opened my eyes in the emperor’s body, I could have beaten up every bastard I disliked to my heart’s content.
“…I apologize.”
I forced the words out.
“Please generously forgive the rudeness I have committed against Your Majesty…”
“Not ‘Your Majesty.’ Kaiden.”
Once again, an unexpected answer slipped from the man’s lips.
“…Pardon?”
“I’ll forgive your rudeness, so call me Lord Kaiden.”
It was rather surprising.
I had assumed the founder of a nation would have an authoritarian personality, yet here he was, forgiving rudeness in exchange for being called by name.
‘Does he prefer to interact with his subordinates without formalities?’
Well, he was originally a commoner, so perhaps he was indifferent to differences in status.
“Understood, Lord Kaiden.”
The moment I answered obediently, the man—Kaiden—narrowed his eyes in a gentle smile.
“Then it’s your turn now.”
My turn?
When I looked at him in confusion, he added, “Your name.”
“…Are you asking for my name?”
“We met before, but I don’t think I got to ask then.”
What did he want with my name?
Why would the king of a nation be curious about the name of a prince’s nanny?
My instinctive wariness must have shown in my eyes.
Kaiden, as if reading my mind, offered an explanation.
“I’m asking purely out of curiosity, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look at me with such suspicion. Everyone knows my name, but I don’t know everyone’s names.”
He smiled softly at me as I stared at him silently.
“Isn’t it natural to be curious about the names of people who know me?”
Despite his suspicious entrance, his tone was surprisingly gentle.
Looking at his appearance alone, one would think he might force the answer out if I refused.
“…My name is Rachel Brown.”
“Rachel, is it?”
Kaiden murmured my name, then grinned.
“A name that suits a nanny well.”
As he walked past me, he muttered as if to himself. The hint of laughter in his voice made it clear he was teasing.
“Though you don’t seem very suited to the position of nanny.”
What?
I frowned and turned my head, but Kaiden had already walked far ahead.
“Ah, the room we prepared for Your Majesty has its own bath. As for meals…”
Catherine’s voice, now following behind the king instead of leading the way, gradually faded as well.
I glared at the backs of the two retreating figures.
‘There’s a stench.’
From Kaiden Ram, the King of Adamanth, I caught a scent similar to that of Duke Crowner. The smell of a strong man, and somewhere beneath it, the stench of something rotten.
‘He’s definitely the type who says one thing and does another.’
Ha. He liked my eye color?
I shuddered as I recalled his words.
‘Even Ian never said such cringeworthy things to me.’
I had held some slight expectations because he was the founding king, but to think he was a man who would spout such nonsense to a woman he had just met.
‘It would be troublesome if I got unnecessarily entangled by getting too close.’
From what I could guess, Kaiden was likely on par with Jerome or even stronger.
If he ever caught onto my true identity, it would become exhausting. Of course, that wasn’t the biggest reason.
‘If he starts pestering me about my eyes like earlier, it’ll be hard to shake him off.’
I, Rachel Brown, was not from a legitimate noble lineage and was an unmarried woman. Even though I was the prince’s nanny, if a king openly showed interest, it would be difficult to refuse.
‘At least I won’t be able to train Edwin during this time, and I have no obligation to entertain guests, so maybe it’s a good thing.’
Avoiding the guest staying in the prince’s palace throughout the entire Founding Festival period would be incredibly tricky and annoying.
But it couldn’t be helped. Bombs didn’t avoid people, so I had no choice but to avoid the bomb myself.
“This is such a hassle.”
With an irritated expression, I slowly began to walk.
Completely unaware of what kind of trouble the guest at the prince’s palace would bring me in the future.
Splash.
The hot spring water filling the enormous marble bath rippled gently.
Kaiden sat half-submerged in the bath, running a hand through his hair.
His jet-black hair, grown down to his neck, gleamed with an even deeper shade.
“Transmit.”
At that moment, Kaiden uttered a single short word.
A small crystal orb shot up from the water into the air.
Whirrr.
The crystal orb emitted a faint vibration before projecting a translucent screen into the empty space.
On the screen stood a slender man. His eyes widened in surprise, as if he could see Kaiden on the other side.
> [Your Majesty Kaiden?]
Dark violet hair braided long down his back, narrow eyes that made it impossible to tell if they were open or closed. The man with the striking appearance was named Aurel Dragoon.
He was Adamanth’s chief court mage and the one called Kaiden’s right hand within the kingdom.