The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 1

1. The Rewound Time (1)

November 01, 2023

“Why on earth…”

A chilling voice washed over Rosette. She had been listlessly hanging her head, but at the sound of that voice, she strained to lift it.

Her vision was blurred, and she couldn’t quite make out the face of the man standing before her, but she knew who it was. It was unmistakable.

Joshua Ernhardt, the first prince of the Ernhardt Empire, seemed to collapse before Rosette, utterly broken.

Tears of sorrow streamed from his bloodshot eyes, the capillaries visibly burst and red.

“Why did you do it?”

In her twenty years, Rosette had never seen a grown man cry like this, especially not the prince, who always seemed so composed and perfect in front of everyone.

Cold, and often cynical.

“What crime did my teacher and Daniel commit to deserve death! Why!”

He, who hadn’t even shed a tear when he lost his mother, the former empress, was now sobbing like a child.

That touched something deep within Rosette’s heart. She barely managed to move her chapped and torn lips.

“I…”

But she couldn’t say anything. As he said, it was Rosette who had killed his teacher, Duke Adrian, and his close friend, Daniel Adrian.

The fact that Rosette had a curse on her heart, and that her body moved according to the orders of Marquis Dallas because of that curse, was no excuse.

It wasn’t her will, but Rosette had undeniably killed them.

Rosette couldn’t bring herself to speak. She couldn’t bear to see Joshua’s suffering, so she hung her head low.

The cold stone floor was stained with his tears. Rosette silently endured his raw anger.

After a while, the man stood up. His face, now suppressing his emotions, was chillingly cold.

“Your execution date has been set.”

Perhaps because she had expected it, Rosette wasn’t particularly surprised by his words. However, she couldn’t help but be shaken by what followed.

“Your death won’t bring them back, but it might honor their spirits. If you have even a shred of remorse, atone until the moment you die.”

Those words struck Rosette’s heart once more. She bit her lip to hold back the emotions surging within.

She felt like crying, but she didn’t want to cry in front of him. She was a sinner, and even crying was a privilege she didn’t deserve in his presence.

The man looked at Rosette with an unreadable expression before turning and leaving. Rosette was left alone in the prison, with only the dim moonlight streaming in.

Only then did Rosette burst into the tears she had been holding back. Tears fell once more onto the tear stains that had begun to dry.

“I…”

The moment she killed Duke Adrian and Daniel ten days ago was still vividly etched in her mind.

-Aren’t you tormented by being used by the Marquis?

Even knowing that Rosette had come to kill him, he couldn’t easily attack her.

-You remind me of my daughter. It’s not too late now. Go back. You don’t belong in this.

It was the first time. There had been many people who had died by Rosette’s hand, but they had all knelt before her and begged or cursed her.

He was the first to say such words to her.

Nevertheless, Rosette killed Duke Adrian. The reason she could kill a Sword Master so easily was perhaps because he had no intention of attacking her.

From the moment she killed him, Rosette had constantly regretted her life stained with blood.

If only she could go back, she wouldn’t have taken Marquis Dallas’s hand….

‘Go back?’

Rosette had a sudden realization and bit her tongue. She began to draw a magic circle with the blood flowing from her teeth. Her limbs were tied, so she had no choice.

She bit her tongue several times because the blood wasn’t flowing properly, and she persevered even when her mind became hazy.

A forbidden magic now, because no one had ever succeeded. It was a magic from an ancient book that Marquis Dallas had forced her to read in the past.

-Keep the magic circle in mind in case of an emergency.

Perhaps the Marquis intended to use the magic to turn back time as a last resort if his plans failed.

‘Marquis Dallas probably didn’t know I would use it like this.’

And maybe this isn’t even possible.

Rosette collapsed and activated the magic circle.

The light that erupted from the magic circle enveloped her body. Rosette looked at the now-faint tear stains and vowed.

If I go back, then I will….

* * *

When she opened her eyes again, she saw a ceiling that was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar.

Rosette, looking at the cracked ceiling that seemed ready to collapse at any moment, soon remembered where she was.

It was the orphanage where she had lived before being adopted into the Dallas family.

‘Did I really go back?’

Rosette looked at her body in bewilderment. Short arms and legs, tiny hands like maple leaves.

She was just as skinny as before, but her body was smaller overall. It looked like the body of a child, not an adult.

‘Was that really possible?’

Even when she activated the magic circle, she wasn’t sure if it would succeed. So she didn’t know if she had turned back time or if she was just dreaming.

Just as Rosette was touching her cheeks to figure out if this was a dream or reality,

“Rose, are you still sleeping?”

A child slowly opened the door and came in. Rosette recognized the child with reddish-brown hair and green eyes at a glance.

“Jane, is that you?”

It was Jane, who cherished her like a real sister. Rosette crawled on her knees and hugged Jane.

Jane, who she touched, was warm. It was a vivid sensation that didn’t feel like a dream.

‘I came back.’

Only then did Rosette burst into tears at the overwhelming emotion.

“Rose? Why are you crying? Did you have a nightmare?”

Rosette shook her head in Jane’s arms.

“No, I’m happy… I’m happy to see you again.”

Jane had died for some reason ten years ago. Seeing Jane again, Rosette was seized with a sense of elation that she could now set everything right.

‘I will change it.’

Jane’s future, and the future of the Adrian ducal family.

‘And that man’s future too.’

But the person she needed to take care of first was Jane, who was right in front of her.

Rosette recalled the old memories that were still vivid as if they had happened yesterday, even though it had been 13 years.

A few months before Rosette was adopted into the Dallas family, Jane, who had gone to the village, was accused of being a thief. The problem was the dress she was wearing.

The villagers misunderstood that she had stolen the dress, which Jane had bought with the money she had rightfully earned from delivering milk.

-Hey, where did you get that!

-Didn’t you steal it?

To make matters worse, the owner of the clothing store who had sold it to her had also forgotten that Jane had bought the clothes.

Whether he had really forgotten or was pretending not to know, the owner also accused Jane of being a thief.

-I bought this with my own money!

-How could you!

-I saved money by delivering milk!

Jane vehemently insisted on her innocence, but no one believed her. Eventually, they tried to take off Jane’s clothes.

When Jane huddled and resisted, they even started throwing stones at her. Where would they hit on a small body of a ten-year-old child?

At the time, Rosette had gone to look for Jane, who hadn’t returned even though it was time to come back, and witnessed the scene.

-…!

Rosette knew better than anyone that Jane was not a thief. But she couldn’t come forward in front of the people. She was afraid that she would also be stoned if she did something wrong.

So she hid far away and watched the scene. She couldn’t even shout not to do it, even though bright red blood was flowing from Jane’s head.

And Jane, who had shed a lot of blood, died before receiving treatment from the doctor. Rosette belatedly squatted next to her and burst into tears.

Rosette regretted that incident over and over again until she died.

‘Of course, nothing would have changed even if I had stepped forward.’

In the worst case, Rosette might have been stoned and died the same way.

But still, wouldn’t it have been a little different if I had stepped forward? That thought always held Rosette back.

“Sister, I’m so, so sorry.”

Rosette muttered the apology that she had always thought of in her heart. Tears fell again.

“I’m really sorry.”

Fortunately, Jane didn’t take her apology seriously.

“What, did you have another dream again?”

Rosette vigorously nodded her face, which was covered in tears, up and down. If it was a dream, it was a dream. All those terrible things had now become things that hadn’t happened because Rosette had turned back time.

However, just because it was a lost future didn’t mean that the event had never happened. If this continued, Jane would be accused of being a thief and die again.

‘But I can change it.’

To save Jane. And run away from Marquis Dallas. Then she wouldn’t be used by him, and she wouldn’t kill Duke Adrian.

Rosette first asked Jane what the date was today.

Fortunately, Jane answered without much suspicion. On the contrary, she looked very excited. She had been teaching Rosette numbers these days.

“January 5th! You’re just starting to learn numbers, so you’re confused, right? Yesterday was the 4th, so today is the 5th!”

Jane had been interested in teaching Rosette since she was young. Other children looked at her pitifully, saying what’s the use of orphans learning to read and write, but Jane had great ambitions.

She gradually learned to read and write from the bookstore owner in the village who was relatively friendly to her, and she taught it to Rosette.

It was all thanks to Jane that Rosette was able to follow the class without much difficulty when she first went to the Dallas family.

“It’s almost my birthday.”

Rosette’s birthday was January 22nd. Since she didn’t know her exact birthday, she took the day she first came to the orphanage as her birthday.

Jane smiled subtly as if she had seized an opportunity at Rosette’s muttering.

“Okay, Rose. After this birthday, how old will Rose be?”

She didn’t know that she was having this long Q&A right now. But instead of saying that, Rosette roughly guessed her age based on her appearance.

“Six… years old?”

“땡! [Sound of buzzer indicating incorrect answer] Six is one less than seven. You’re seven years old now, so you have to add one.”

“Ah, eight years old.”

I’m turning eight soon. My body is smaller than I thought.

Rosette, who was vaguely thinking, suddenly felt goosebumps and shuddered.