Chapter 38
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Prince's Close Escort
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Eirana silently stared at the tea spread out before her, then reached out and popped a fruit into her mouth with her bare hand.
Watching this, Ross, who had summoned Eirana, clicked his tongue softly.
“That doesn’t seem fitting for someone in charge of the princess’s etiquette training.”
At Ross’s remark, Eirana shrugged as if to say, What’s the problem?
“There’s a saying: ‘If you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime.’”
“That’s not a very good saying.”
“It’s fine. I’m not a good person anyway.”
Ross let out a chuckle at Eirana’s brazen response.
“Watching you makes me think you must have gotten scolded quite a bit by Erannis back in your hatchling days.”
At those words, Eirana furrowed her brow.
“Even if I hadn’t been rebellious, Mom would’ve found some weird reason to scold me. My personality turned out like this because of her parenting style.”
As she said that, Eirana suddenly paused.
She pondered seriously for a moment, then nodded silently without a word. Ross gave her a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just realized my personality like this probably isn’t Mom’s fault.”
“Karman’s, then?”
“No, I’ve been like this since birth.”
“……”
It was an answer brimming with sincerity.
Ross wore an exasperated expression for a moment at Eirana’s words.
“Still, I never caused any incidents during my hatchling days.”
Considering that everyone tends to cause at least one major incident in their hatchling phase, Eirana had lived an exemplary childhood.
Of course, that didn’t mean her personality was good by any stretch.
Ross shook his head as he gazed silently at Eirana, who spoke with a straight face.
“Anyway.”
Eirana could tell from the way Ross clapped his hands lightly and straightened his posture that he was about to get to the main point.
As Winsus’s closest confidant, Ross was a busy man.
He rarely had time for private chats like this with Eirana.
In Eirana’s case, while she handled the princess’s private lessons, her other time was spent leisurely.
Aside from wielding a sword in the field during that recent mission, she had been thoroughly excluded from important meetings or duties.
It was only natural, since entrusting such tasks to someone hired for money would be ridiculous in the first place.
“Things have gotten a bit complicated.”
Eirana lifted her teacup to her lips as she eyed Ross, who skipped straight to the conclusion.
“Is this about that incident where they saw my face before?”
“You knew?”
“There’s been surveillance on me lately.”
Eirana muttered with a displeased expression.
Having lived under constant threat from assassins in her previous life, she had a sharp reaction to anyone lurking around her, suppressing her presence as she did.
In fact, the reason Ha Yu-hyun had died was because of assassins.
She wanted to deal with them right away, but she couldn’t shed blood inside the palace, so she held back.
Ross gave her an odd look as he observed Eirana.
Even with surveillance, pinpointing the cause so quickly wasn’t easy.
Dragons who had just become young dragons lacked worldly experience, making them somewhat clumsy in many ways.
Ross, who had lived an unimaginably long time by human standards, knew well how many rookie mistakes dragons made during their first outing.
But Eirana showed none of that. If anything, she was seasoned.
She’s precociously mature beyond her years. Erannis didn’t seem like the type to raise a child that well.
With that thought in mind, Ross spoke up.
“They might keep you under close watch from now on.”
Eirana’s face twisted in annoyance at his words.
Being surveilled wasn’t pleasant. Especially when you knew about their existence—it doubled the irritation.
Should I flip this?
As she pondered that inwardly, Ross continued.
“Which is why.”
“……?”
Eirana looked at him quizzically.
Ross smiled as he regarded her.
“How about serving as the crown prince’s close escort?”
Eirana frowned slightly at the suggestion.
Ross looked puzzled at her blatantly displeased expression.
“Why?”
“That guy creeps me out with how he fawns over me.”
Ross burst out laughing at Eirana’s words.
“Of course he does—you’re beautiful.”
Eirana was beautiful. Even in her previous life as a man, her looks had attracted guys more than once!
She was a woman now, but dislike was dislike.
“The crown prince is a fine match. Talented, good personality, handsome face.”
Ross leaned back against the chair.
“I think dating him wouldn’t be bad. He’d make a good boyfriend or even husband.”
Eirana crossed her legs, rested her chin on her hand, and gave a bored look.
Ross wore a strange expression as he watched her.
“Want me to play matchmaker?”
“That might lead to a dramatic scene.”
Eirana flashed a bright smile, but Ross clicked his tongue, sensing the violence lurking beneath it.
“Anyway, the escort job’s not a bad offer.”
With that, Ross stood from his seat.
“Is it okay for an outsider like me to just take on the crown prince’s close guard duty?”
Ross shrugged as if it were no issue.
“If I recommend you, it’s fine. I’ve already talked it over. If you refuse, I’ll be in a real bind.”
“……”
Eirana narrowed her eyes and glared at Ross.
She couldn’t throw a tantrum at an adult, after all.
As Eirana grumbled softly, Ross muttered to himself inwardly.
Should I try raising a kid myself sometime?
Winsus eyed the woman standing before him with a slightly odd expression.
Eirana stared blankly yet sharply at Winsus, who towered a full head and a half above her.
“You look like you have a lot of complaints on your face.”
Winsus smiled as he spoke, and Eirana replied.
“My workload increased.”
“You weren’t handling that much to begin with, were you?”
“An increase is an increase.”
Eirana’s tone was indifferent.
Her reaction felt utterly fresh to Winsus.
All the women he’d encountered up to now had done their utmost to impress him.
Winsus sat at his desk, watching Eirana openly display her annoyance with an amused expression.
“By the way, it’s bold of you to use a mere employee like me as a close escort.”
As she spoke, Eirana glanced around Winsus’s office.
She sensed four presences.
They were hidden so perfectly that she wouldn’t have noticed without focusing.
As expected of a crown prince—on another level.
Of course, Eirana wasn’t thrilled about the concealed guards.
“If Lord Ross recommends you, that’s trustworthy enough.”
Winsus smiled charmingly, chin resting on his interlaced hands.
It was an alluring smile, but it stirred nothing in Eirana.
And so, Eirana’s duties expanded to private tutor for Princess Leria and close escort to the crown prince.
For others, it was a glorious opportunity to directly face the royal family—something they’d scheme for—but Eirana felt nothing.
No, if anything, it was just a hassle.
The crown prince’s day began with sword training.
His routine started with light sparring against his direct guard unit at the training grounds in his detached palace.
Arriving early in the morning—when she’d normally be asleep—Eirana watched Winsus warming up at one side of the training grounds.
His muscles, visible through his movement-friendly attire, showed he was highly trained.
He wasn’t unnecessarily bulky. Just the right amount of muscle where it mattered.
This indicated that Winsus didn’t practice swordsmanship merely for health.
In truth, his sword skills were quite advanced.
Even with a figure like him as crown prince, the throne isn’t secured? Does that mean the grand duke is just as capable? What a pain.
Eirana muttered with a bored expression.
Then someone approached her—Calvin, whom she’d met during the Gold Sky Merchant Group incident.
“You look extremely bored.”
“Can’t help it.”
Calvin chuckled at Eirana’s words.
She appeared to be a beautiful woman on the surface. Of course, she had an untouchable charisma, but for Calvin, it was astonishing that this woman was a swordsman skilled enough to duel Rocana.
Had Calvin been there then, his limbs would’ve been severed in an instant, leaving him a corpse.
“If you’re bored, why not train with us? Plenty here view you unkindly, actually.”
At Calvin’s words, Eirana scanned the training grounds.
The crown prince’s direct guards were intensely training there.
If Calvin was an unnamed close escort, these were Winsus’s publicly known elite guards.
Their skills were top-tier among kingdom knights, and their pride must be considerable.
Of course, Eirana had no desire to mingle with them.
Suddenly inserting herself as the crown prince’s new close escort wouldn’t be welcome. Especially since most were nobles.
“Could lead to bloodshed.”
From that response, Calvin instantly grasped that Eirana’s personality was far from pleasant.
How does someone with that temperament tutor the princess? Is she lenient with kids despite appearances?
Of course, absolutely not.
After morning training, Winsus’s official duties began in earnest.
As the second in the power hierarchy of the Adea Kingdom, he bore commensurate responsibilities.
Thus, his workload was immense.
Eirana guarded him in his office.
Of course, his escorts still protected him from hidden spots.
Once the morning schedule ended, Eirana headed to Leria’s room for her tutoring.
Leria had become quite obedient lately, so instances of Eirana using force—or Leria suffering—had decreased significantly.
Though Leria’s fear of Eirana remained intact.
Since the crown prince’s escort duty wasn’t solely hers, Eirana didn’t stick to him constantly.