A Stormy Night (2)
“Rayche?”
Emilia sat up on instinct, calling out her nanny’s name.
As if she had been waiting just outside, the door swung open.
“You truly were not asleep, Your Highness.”
Dressed in her nightclothes, Rachel stood on the threshold, holding a lantern in one hand.
“Rayche—!”
Tears clinging to her eyelashes, Emilia hurled herself into the folds of Rachel’s skirts.
“It seemed your light had gone out, so I came to check on you.”
Rachel scooped up the clinging child and carried her over to the bed. She set the young princess down upon the mattress, then transferred the flame from her lantern to the bedside lamp.
“Lia didn’t blow it out. When Lia woke up, it was already dark.”
“It is a fierce storm tonight. The wind must have snuffed it through the draft.”
Rachel inspected the window frame, fastening the latch with an extra, firm turn.
“Well then, I shall take my leave.”
“R-Rayche!”
The moment Rachel moved to leave, Emilia grabbed her sleeve in a panic.
“What is the matter, Your Highness?”
“Rayche, Lia’s sca—”
Before she could finish the word, a deafening crack rattled the walls.
Rumble, crash—!
At the sound of the violent thunder echoing through the chamber, the little princess finally burst into sobs.
“Lia’s scared—! I hate lightning—!”
“Pardon me for a moment, then.”
With an unbothered calm, Rachel climbed smoothly onto the bed and lay down right beside the trembling girl. Emilia blinked through her tears, staring in bewilderment.
“Rayche?”
“I will remain by your side until the thunder ceases.”
Rachel pulled the princess close, drawing the quilt all the way over both their heads. “This should muffle the sound a bit.”
Emilia’s eyes rounded in wonder. Beneath the heavy fabric, the roar of the storm truly sounded far more distant.
“How is that?”
“Mm. It sounds small now.”
“Are you still frightened?”
“Mm… just a tiny bit.”
Emilia gazed quietly at the nanny lying next to her. In the darkness, she could not make out her face, but she could hear the steady rhythm of her breathing and feel the gentle warmth radiating from her skin. It felt wonderfully snug.
She wriggled her small fingers.
It was strange, really. Even though it was the very same darkness, having someone beside her made it feel so comforting.
Emma was like this too.
The face of her former nanny, who was no longer here, drifted into Emilia’s mind. Emma had forbidden lights as well, yet whenever a storm raged through the night, she had always held her close, humming sweet lullabies until sleep took over.
Without realizing it, the young princess burrowed deeper into Rachel’s embrace.
Rachel’s entire body went rigid for an instant at the sudden press of tiny, innocent warmth.
“Rayche.”
“…Yes.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Of what, Your Highness?”
“The dark. And the thunder.”
“I am not afraid.”
The nanny added in a cool, matter-of-fact tone, “Because it will all pass.”
“It passes?”
Once the night ended, morning would come. Once the thunder ceased, clear skies would return. It had always been that way.
“That is why there is nothing to fear,” Rachel murmured, her fingers gently brushing through Emilia’s soft golden hair. “Your Highness has no need to be frightened of such things either. They will soon pass.”
“Mm.”
It will soon pass. This scary darkness, the screaming thunder… all of it.
Emilia repeated the words in her mind, her eyelids growing heavy. With fear replaced by relief, a wave of drowsiness washed over her, perhaps carried by the faint, comforting scent of flowers lingering on Rachel’s skin.
“Mmm… then what is Rayche scared of?”
“Me?”
“Mm.”
Rachel fell silent for a long time. She looked down at the little princess, whose eyelashes were already fluttering shut against her cheek.
“…Who knows.”
Outside, the storm rolled into the distance. The nanny spoke no more, her eyes resting steadily on the child sleeping peacefully in her arms as the stormy night drifted away.
Ever since that stormy night, Emilia had become downright glued to me.
“Rayche, play with Lia!”
“Rayche, eat with Lia!”
“Rayche, carry Lia on your back!”
Her clinginess, naturally, came with an extra helping of whining.
“Rayche, tell Lia a story!”
“The hour is late, Your Highness. Would it not be better to sleep?”
“Lia will go right to sleep if you tell a story!”
The little princess pulled her silk duvet up to her chin, her blue eyes gleaming with stubborn expectation.
Well, there goes getting to bed on time tonight.
Just as I was letting out a silent sigh, Edwin chimed in from the side.
“Just tell her one. It’s not like it’s that hard.”
Ever since he heard about what happened during the storm, Edwin had taken to watching over his sister until she fell asleep before heading off to his own bedchamber. Say what you will about the boy, his devotion to his sister was absolute.
“What sort of story do you desire, Your Highness?”
“Tell me a princess story!”
A princess asking to hear a story about a princess? I could never understand children.
“Are you not already a princess, Your Highness?”
“Lia isn’t a princess! Lia’s an Imperial Princess!”
Isn’t that practically the same thing? How tiresome.
I found myself at an utter loss.
A princess story, of all things…
What on earth was I supposed to tell her? Every princess I had ever met in my past life fell into one of two categories: the kind who paid me to assassinate a political rival, or the kind who paid me to murder their husband.
Could I really recite tales like that to a child who hadn’t even reached her tenth year?
“Another princess story?” Edwin frowned, scowling down at his little sister. “Aren’t you sick of princesses yet, Lia?”
“I’m not sick of them at all! Do you hate princesses, Brother?”
“…Yeah. I do.”
“Why? Why do you hate princesses? Princesses are pretty and nice!”
“Because they’re weak.”
Did someone specific come to his mind? Edwin’s voice dropped low.
“I hate weakness.”
“Then do you hate Lia too?” Emilia looked up at him with wounded eyes. “Lia is weak too.”
“Silly. You’re a baby, so of course you’re weak.” Edwin gave her nose an affectionate pinch, breaking into a grin. “Besides, it doesn’t matter, because I’m going to protect you.”
“That’s right! Because Brother is a prince! Princes are the strongest in the whole wide world!”
“Did it take you until now to figure that out?”
Look at these two putting on a show.
The boy couldn’t even hold his own against a single page in sword practice, yet here he was, talking grandly about protecting people.
“And who, pray tell, protects Your Highness?”
“What? Well, that’s…” Edwin stammered, entirely unprepared for the question. Flustered, he flared up defensively and raised his voice. “You’ll protect me! You’re my nanny!”
I paused for a brief beat.
“Your Highness.”
“What! What is it? You got a problem with that?”
“You must not rely on others to protect you. You need to learn to defend yourself.”
Edwin’s eyes widened at my words. Then, his brow furrowed deeply as he gnawed on his lower lip.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying you won’t protect me?”
“Of course not. As your nanny, it is my duty to ensure your safety.”
“Then what?”
“However, I cannot remain glued to Your Highness twenty-four hours a day, can I?”
“That’s—!”
Edwin opened his mouth to argue, then clamped it shut. He shot me a sour, resentful glare before jerking his chin away.
“Hmph. Nagging me over a simple joke. I know how to look after myself!”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah!” Fully irritated now, he puffed up his chest. “I can do just fine without anyone protecting me, got it?”
“If so, that is a relief.”
Reaching over, I blew out the bedside lantern.
“Now, it is truly time to sleep.”
“What about the princess story?!”
“Ah, the princess.”
Right, I had promised one. Glancing out the window at the high moon, I bowed slightly.
“The hour is far too late. Both of Your Highnesses must sleep now.”
“Noooo—! Rayche, you promised you’d tell a story!”
Emilia whined in protest, but there was no helping it. I could hardly regale her with the tale of an enraged princess hiring an assassin to poison her husband after catching him in bed with her maid.
“Instead, I shall ask the head maid to visit tomorrow. She surely knows far more entertaining tales than I.”
“Really? Cath’rin’s gonna tell a story?”
“Yes.”
Well, I hadn’t actually discussed it with Catherine, but she was hardly the type to refuse if asked nicely. It was a pity to dump it on her, but I had no choice—otherwise I would have been stuck trying to squeeze a bedtime fairy tale out of a dried-up assassin’s brain until dawn.
“Good night, then.”
In any case, another day’s duties as a nanny drew to a peaceful close. Now, it was time for myself.
“Nanny, did you not sleep well last night?”
Watching me suppress yawn after yawn, Catherine wore a look of deep concern.
“Yes, well…”
I quickly clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle another one.
To think I had gotten so absorbed in training in my room that I didn’t even realize the sun had come up.
Am I truly that desperate?
If I ever wanted to step out into the wider world and uncover the truth behind my death, I needed to whip this frail shell into something remotely functional. The problem was that no matter how hard I trained, the body simply refused to keep pace.
In my past life, I had been blessed with the physique of a born warrior. Subjecting the soft, delicate frame of an ordinary noblewoman to the brutal conditioning of an elite assassin was nothing short of agonizing.
“I merely tossed and turned a bit.”
“Shall I brew you some herbal tea to help you sleep?”
“No, I am fine.” I waved a dismissive hand, rubbing my bleary eyes.
Catherine took one look at my haggard state and planted her hands firmly on her hips.
“This won’t do at all. Go close your eyes, even if it’s just for half an hour.”
“Pardon?”
“Nanny, your eyes can’t even focus right now! How do you expect to attend to Their Highnesses in that state? Am I right or am I right?”
She began herding me toward the door with irresistible force.
“I will look after Their Highnesses for a while, so go get some rest.”
“Still…”
I had never liked dumping my duties onto other people. I hesitated, glancing back toward the dining table. Emilia and Edwin were chattering away over their morning meal.
Would stepping away for just a little while truly hurt?
It isn’t as though there’s no one to watch over them.
Unable to resist the sweet pull of sleep, I eventually relented.
“Then… I shall leave them in your care for a short while.”
“Yes, yes, leave everything to me!”
Just as I tried to slip quietly from the hall, both children turned their heads in unison. Meeting those bright, observant eyes made an uncomfortable prickle of guilt run through me.
“We haven’t even finished eating yet,” Edwin pointed out, his brow furrowing in clear displeasure as he saw me heading for the exit.
“Your Highness, it seems Nanny had a restless night. Perhaps you might allow her to take a brief rest?”
“A restless night?”
Edwin cast a sharp, reproachful glare straight at me.
“You went to bed early last night—what on earth were you doing that kept you up?”