The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 147

Chapter 147. The Prophet and the Guardian (5)

“Right, then. Let’s get…”

“Lord Johannes.”

Just then, a voice like metal scraping against metal rang out.

It belonged to the mysterious man who always followed Johan.

Unlike Johan, this man frightened the people of the slum with his hulking size and blunt manner. Though the enormous greatsword strapped to his back was, of course, the biggest reason.

“We can’t afford any further delays.”

The man’s dark red hooded cloak was so worn that it looked brown, and something clattered whenever he moved. It seemed to be the sound of the silver armor glimpsed beneath it knocking together.

“It’s all right, Karl. They won’t catch us anyway.”

Johan smiled brightly at the man following him, Karl.

“And even if they do catch up, you’ll protect me.”

He winked at Karl.

“My guardian is the finest knight there is. Isn’t that right?”

Karl heaved a sigh at Johan’s playful grin.

“How did I end up serving someone as unruly as a colt….”

“Haha, isn’t it all God’s will?”

Johan, or rather, Johannes, laughed merrily and walked toward the girl.

“Come on, let’s go.”

As he strode confidently through the slum with the midday sun at his back, something about him radiated a sacred aura.

***

“That arrived sooner than I expected.”

Leaning back against the bed, I unfolded the letter.

It’d only been a few days since I wrote to the Golden Goose Trading Company asking them to investigate the future Holy Emperor.

Yet Somnia’s reply contained an extremely detailed account of his background.

It was hard to believe she’d gathered so much in such a short time.

‘Johannes Milo.’

I stared intently at the name on the first line.

‘Nineteen this year, and the youngest-ever candidate for Holy Emperor, elected by a unanimous vote.’

Johannes, the future Holy Emperor, was born in the Holy Kingdom of Rion to its most storied family of holy knights.

With a background as sacred as could be, he graduated at the top of his class from the Holy Kingdom’s most renowned seminary and was immediately called upon to serve as high priest in various kingdoms.

His innate divine power was so vast and potent that he could reportedly handle most disasters or incurable diseases alone. No wonder he was so sought after.

‘Upon returning to the Holy Kingdom of Rion at eighteen, he was immediately appointed the next Holy Emperor, but….’

I frowned as I read the next sentence.

“Currently missing and wanted by the Holy Kingdom?”

What on earth was that supposed to mean?

It was absurd enough that the future Holy Emperor was missing, but the Holy Kingdom had issued a warrant for him?

‘Why?’

I couldn’t understand it.

People wanted by the Holy Kingdom were usually accused of blasphemy.

Most of them committed minor offenses, such as rejecting the Holy Kingdom’s doctrine or being disrespectful to a priest.

‘Does that mean this Johannes fellow committed a crime like that?’

It made no sense. How could someone who rejected the Holy Kingdom’s doctrine be appointed the next Holy Emperor in the first place?

Besides, even if the future Holy Emperor was rude to another priest, it could hardly count as wrongdoing unless he killed or injured them.

‘The Holy Kingdom has a much more rigid class system than the outside world.’

Its social hierarchy was stricter than that of the outside world, with all its royalty and nobility.

The Holy Emperor was practically a god, and his successor, destined to become a god after him, was revered as someone almost equally exalted.

‘And yet the Holy Kingdom issued a warrant for someone like that.’

It was truly bizarre.

With one eyebrow raised, I turned the page.

Fortunately, another page contained the information I wanted.

‘Believed to be traveling the continent with a single holy knight, serving the lower classes.’

Johannes’s guardian, the holy knight protecting him, was reportedly one of the Holy Kingdom’s finest. His instincts were so sharp that he shook off every pursuer who followed them.

‘Extensive experience escorting pilgrimages and a naturally suspicious disposition make him impossible to track. Currently monitoring only their approximate location.’

In other words, locating the future Holy Emperor himself was impossible.

Just how formidable was this holy knight that even the head of the Golden Goose Trading Company, who claimed nothing was impossible, would say such a thing?

‘And the last place Johannes and his companion were seen….’

A slum near the Mondragon Mountains.

I narrowed my eyes at the letter.

‘The Mondragon Mountains aren’t far from the Empire.’

I didn’t know where Johannes, the future Holy Emperor, was headed next, but anywhere near the Empire was dangerous.

It would be a serious problem if other priests from the Holy Kingdom spotted him, or if the mercenaries hired by the House of Radcliffe captured him.

‘Still, if the Holy Kingdom has issued a warrant for him, Johannes and the current Holy Emperor must not be on good terms….’

The House of Radcliffe might be searching for Johannes simply to gain the next Holy Emperor’s trust, but the opposite could also be true.

‘If the successor dies, the Holy Emperor’s term is extended until another qualified successor is elected.’

It was only conjecture, but this Johannes seemed to be a priest who truly carried out God’s will, a rarity these days.

He offered his divine power to the lower classes without expecting anything in return, despite his exalted position as the future Holy Emperor.

‘He’s the complete opposite of the current Holy Emperor.’

A lazy, selfish, greedy old man, and a passionate, honest, devoted young man.

Which of the two would be easier to handle? The answer was obvious.

‘Then the reason the House of Radcliffe is searching for Johannes….’

Was it to remove an obstacle?

To gain even the slightest advantage in the imperial succession, they’d be better off with a Holy Emperor susceptible to threats or persuasion.

‘It wouldn’t be easy to coax a young priest with his head on straight into doing what they wanted.’

Perhaps the Holy Kingdom had promised the Marquis of Radcliffe something, too. In exchange for eliminating Johannes.

‘There’s a lot about the Holy Kingdom that doesn’t sit right with me. The mutant monsters, the imperial succession….’

I still had no way of knowing the precise nature of the collusion between the Holy Kingdom and the House of Radcliffe. One thing was certain, though. Whatever their motives, they were cooperating in some way.

Crackle.

I tossed Somnia’s letter into the fireplace. The fine stationery gave off a pleasant scent as it burned to ash.

‘Johannes is a piece I can’t do without.’

To make Edwin emperor, or failing that, to stop the other princes from becoming emperor.

But I couldn’t track Johannes down myself, nor could I hire someone to do it as the others had.

‘It looks as though the others have all but given up the chase anyway.’

Even the members of Breath of the Angel I personally sent to hell failed to find Johannes and his companion.

‘Then, after all…’

I clenched my fist as I watched the embers flicker scarlet.

“…Do I have no choice but to summon that bastard?”

An acquaintance from my past whom, unlike Sage or Somnia, I never wanted to face again.

It seemed I would have to meet him after all.

“No. No.”

After agonizing over it for a long time, I shook my head like a madwoman.

“The best thing to do is stay away from that lunatic whenever possible. I’ll have to find some other way to locate Johannes.”

I should only summon that damned bastard when I had absolutely no other choice.

Unless my life was in danger, I shouldn’t even think of him.

I tried to erase his name from my mind.

Though it did little good.

***

Kieeeeeek!

The beast-shaped monster, its legs bound in chains, let out a chillingly bizarre cry.

Even restrained, it thrashed its head and tail violently, threatening the knights around it.

“Your Highness, now!”

At the shout from the knight beside him, Edwin, the Third Prince, sprang into the air.

His gleaming blade shattered the monster’s teeth, then pierced its skull.

“Waaaaah!”

Cheers erupted among the knights.

Seeing that his strike landed cleanly, Edwin moved to raise his sword in delight.

But he lost his balance, stepped in the monster’s bodily fluids, and slipped.

“W-whoa?”

The knights couldn’t help laughing at Edwin as he floundered on the ground, covered in translucent fluid.

“Wahahaha! Your Highness, you still need to work on your finish!”

“Hey, stop laughing and help him up! He can’t get to his feet!”

The courteous, kindhearted knights took Edwin by both arms and pulled him up, while the mischievous ones clapped and heckled him.

“Well done, Your Highness! Though you might want to check your footing before you celebrate.”

“I said stop teasing him, you insolent lot. This is why those fellows in the First Unit still call you barbarians.”

His cheeks flushed, Edwin found a place among the knights and sat down.

While the Third Unit knights bickered among themselves, he wiped himself off with an old towel.

‘Monsters. Monsters….’

Edwin quietly steadied his breathing and sank into thought.

The young prince’s little head was full of worries.

“Nothing’s certain yet, but it seems they’ll soon be mustering a large allied force to exterminate the monsters.”

His nanny, Rachel, told him in a very matter-of-fact tone.

“And His Majesty the Emperor seems to intend to send all the princes into battle.”

That meant the campaign would effectively be a crucial test to determine who was fit to become Crown Prince.

‘Can I really accomplish something so great?’

He did learn a little about fighting monsters during his stay with the knights.

Though all he’d managed was to plunge his sword into the vital spots of half-dead monsters, just as he did now.

Deep worry clouded the young prince’s innocent face.