The Crown Prince's Nanny

Surely, Code X's hearing had failed her. There was no other obvious explanation behind the Empress's odd request. If she, instead, had been the one making the decision, the answer would have been clear. A useless pawn would be a discarded one.

In fact, without additional thought, she would have immediately dismissed the aging and slightly deteriorating Nanny Rong. There was little the nanny could do or contribute to, if not mess things up.

And if she wasn't mistaken, the Crown Prince was the title of the heir to the entire empire, hardly an unimportant figure. One wrong move with its future heir, and the entire empire could crumble.

Unless…

"Empress…" Code X feigned a cough, her voice purposefully shaking to act confused. "Did you happen to say 'Crown Prince?' by any chance? My ears aren't as well as they used to be." She tried to emphasize the flaws with her failing senses while subtly massaging her bruised arm.

More than anything, she hoped that it was only a slip of the Empress's tongue or an issue with her own hearing. If not…

A tinge of impatience crossed the Empress's flawless face, but it was quickly masked behind an elegant smile.

"My dearest Nanny Rong, it's really touching to see you excelling so much in your work despite your advanced age." She twirled a ruby ring between her fingertips, a gleam in her eyes. "But I wouldn't entrust the Crown Prince to anyone but you. After all, you are the most senior in the palace, and who else would be able to teach the young Crown Prince about all that he needs to know to survive in the palace?"

At that split moment, Code X was sure that the Empress did not want this supposed Crown Prince to live in the palace, at least not well. Or even further, she doubted that the Empress wanted the Crown Prince to live at all.

If Code X had a child she cared about, the last thing to do would be to entrust the kid to someone in the physical state of Nanny Rong.

After all, the hidden message behind the Empress's tone was all too familiar — it was the very same voice that her customers had used when speaking to her.

"Dispatch this man."

"Get rid of her."

"Make sure I never have to worry about that person again."

No matter how the words rearranged themselves or how they were spoken, some straightforward and others illusive, the end assignment was always the same: kill the target.

"The Crown Prince hasn't been back in the palace for years, and he was a mere infant when he had left. Nanny Rong, I'm trusting you to take good care of him when he returns in a few days."

The Empress slid the ruby ring onto her index finger, slightly shifting her hands side to side so that the blood-red gem glimmered dangerously in the sunlight.

"With your countless years of experience, you will teach him well. He's been quite distant from both me and his Father Emperor, and we want him to enjoy his life. The late Empress would have wanted that too, wouldn't you agree?"

She stressed the words "late Empress," nearly spitting them out with double the force. Her perfect features crinkled for a single moment, however brief it was.

The picture became clear to Code X. The Empress was trying to use Nanny Rong's old age and resulting failing senses to "accidentally" remove the young Crown Prince. It wasn't like he was her child by birth anyways.

Code X immediately recoiled from her seat, scampering to the floor. Her stiff joints let out a few groans of protest, and her bones rattled in their awkward positions. If she accepted this job, when something inevitably happens to the Crown Prince, her second life would be as good as gone. The crime of negligence would be more than enough to cost her for her life. No one then would consider her old age when they announced her death sentence.

She fell to the floor, pressing her forehead to the ground as she racked her mind for a reasonable excuse. To directly reject the Empress would bring an even swifter death, and it wasn't the wise choice in this position. "I… Your Humble Servant has not returned home in countless decades."

She gulped, seeing that the Empress's small smile had already turned colder.

"Your Humble Servant was wondering if a few days worth of break would be possible before fully devoting myself to serving the Crown Prince."

Dry coughing a few times, she glanced at the Empress again for any new changes in expression.

"I thought you never had any family outside of the palace? Was that not what your documents recorded? You had been an orphan brought into the palace when you were younger, and you never married nor had any children." The Empress slammed her hand into the armrest, her metal ring band clanging against the hardwood chair. "Did you dare lie to the Imperial Family!"

Code X wanted to slap herself for making up such an excuse. Why had it been that her reactions and impromptu acts consistently failed ever since transmigrating into this body? She silently cursed Death once more for his foolish incompetence, but the pain of this kneeling position constantly reminded of her unfortunate but unchangeable circumstances.

"Your Humble Servant has not seen the outside world for a long time." Her back seemed to be breaking by every passing second, and the hard stone was torture against her kneecaps. "Your Humble Servant fears forgetting what the outside world looks like before never being able to see it again."

That was at least the partial truth. Heck, she had never even seen the so-called outside world in this new time. She had so many people to save, and so many things to do. If she was to become a scapegoat in the palace, she would be sure to fail Death's mission.

The silence was unbearable, and the Empress stared at the kneeling old nanny emotionlessly, her eyes barely blinking in careful scrutiny. Was this Nanny Rong truly degenerating as they all said? For some reason, this woman in front of her tingled at her senses.

But it would be foolish for her to fear an old palace maid, she reasoned. She was the Empress after all, and what was the most that this shivering fool could do to her?

"One day." After much thought and hesitation, the Empress waved over the maids to help her up from her throne. The poor woman would soon be gone from the world anyway. It didn't hurt to give in to this peasant's one final wish.

Standing up, she towered above Code X even more, her slender figure casting a long shadow on Code X. The shadows formed by her ornate headdress seemed to be projections of little ghouls, and despite the sweltering heat, by virtue of the Empress's coldness, Code X felt the temperature drop by a few degrees.

"But my personal guards will accompany you." She smiled, her control of her facial expressions perfect, almost as if she had practiced to a mirror countless numbers of times. "After all, my Dear Nanny Rong, there's not many people like you in the palace. And if something happens to you, what will we do about our little Crown Prince?"

The Empress turned out of the garden.