The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 8

8. To Be a Child (1)

2023.11.08.

A maid with auburn hair, who introduced herself as Joan, approached with a smile.

“It’s alright. We’ll just prepare everything and wait outside the screen.”

“Really?”

“Yes. That’s what Lady Isabelle does too.”

“Lady Isabelle… I mean, my sister too?”

“Yes.”

Rosette, emboldened by those words, took a step forward.

“Okay.”

Thanks to that, Rosette was able to finish her bath smoothly on her own. It was a little unnerving to have three maids standing just beyond the screen, but she knew she had to get used to it if she was going to stay here.

After washing up alone, the maids helped her change. The three maids made a fuss as they looked at Rosette in her new clothes.

“Oh my, you’re so beautiful, miss.”

“Like an angel.”

“So lovely.”

Rosette thought they were exaggerating to get on her good side.

‘I know very well that I’m not pretty.’

Dallas’s beloved youngest daughter, Elisha, always said this to Rosette.

-I’ve never seen such an ugly kid like you. How can you be so ugly? Your hair is such a drab pink color.

Elisha constantly belittled Rosette, and Rosette was almost brainwashed by those words. As a result, Rosette thought of herself as hideous.

“Please, look in the mirror. See how cute you are.”

“No. I don’t want to.”

Rosette desperately covered her face and avoided the mirror. Joan, who had been about to show her a hand mirror, was inwardly surprised by the strong rejection, but she put the mirror away without showing it.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“Then shall we go for breakfast? Everyone is waiting.”

“Okay.”

Rosette headed to the first-floor dining room, guided by the kind Joan. As Joan had said, the other children were already there.

Rosette’s cheeks flushed, feeling self-conscious that she was late. Fortunately, Duke Adrian had not yet arrived.

“I’m sorry.”

She hurried to the chair that the servant pulled out for her and sat down. Lucas was the first to respond.

“No! We came early.”

He rubbed his stomach with an exaggerated gesture, not at all like a child from a noble family.

“I worked hard during morning training, so I was so hungry that I hurried over.”

“Lucas.”

Isabelle scolded her younger brother.

“You’re being frivolous.”

Lucas just smiled, even though he could have been upset. Rosette thought he was like a puppy she often saw at the orphanage – a white puppy that wagged its tail and chased after the children no matter what happened.

“Pfft.”

She laughed without realizing it, and everyone’s attention turned to her. Rosette belatedly felt the gazes on her and quickly composed herself.

“It’s nothing.”

“I don’t know what you were thinking, but you look good when you smile.”

Daniel, who was sitting across from Rosette, smiled.

“Do you like the room?”

“Yes, very much!”

As she was about to speak excitedly, she felt Isabelle’s gaze and lowered her voice.

“I like it very much.”

“I’m glad.”

Just then, Duke Adrian entered the dining room. As soon as he sat at the head of the table, the appetizers began to be served.

‘Ah…….’

Rosette bit her lip slightly as she looked at the salad in front of her.

‘Shrimp.’

She was allergic to shrimp. It wasn’t so severe that she couldn’t breathe and her life was in danger, but she would get itchy all over her body every time she ate it.

She first found out that she was allergic to shrimp when she went to the Marquis of Dallas’s family. The orphanage where Rosette was located was far from the sea, and it was difficult to come into contact with seafood.

‘I was scolded if I didn’t eat shrimp.’

Even though the Marquis of Dallas knew that Rosette was allergic to shrimp, he forced her to eat it. Would she be scolded here too if she didn’t eat shrimp?

Lucas, who was sitting diagonally across from her, intervened, perhaps misinterpreting Rosette’s hesitation.

“Isn’t it difficult because you haven’t learned table manners yet? Use the outermost fork first! It’s not difficult at all!”

He seemed to think that Rosette was worried about which of the many forks to use.

‘I know all the table manners…….’

She learned at the Marquis of Dallas’s family, getting hit on the back of her hand with a whip every time she made a mistake. Thanks to that, she could now confidently say that she could eat as perfectly as any other noble.

Still, when Rosette hesitated, Isabelle, who was sitting next to her, picked up the salad fork and put it in Rosette’s right hand.

“Didn’t you hear? I’m telling you to use this.”

“Ah, yes.”

If I don’t eat it, I’ll be scolded for being picky. I don’t want to be scolded. I don’t want to be kicked out even more.

Rosette gripped the fork so hard that her already white hands turned even whiter, and then she poked a shrimp and put it in her mouth.

She chewed the shrimp tightly with her molars. It was delicious. In fact, Rosette didn’t dislike the taste of shrimp, she was just allergic to it.

Daniel praised Rosette, who had cleaned up the salad, including the shrimp.

“You eat your vegetables well, that’s good.”

Rosette blushed slightly and put the last shrimp into her mouth without hesitation.

‘I’m glad I ate it.’

……she praised herself.

After that, the meal continued without any problems. Fortunately, the allergic reaction did not appear quickly.

It was a little unusual that meat was served from breakfast, perhaps because everyone had been training.

As Rosette blinked in surprise at the steak, which was larger than her palm, Isabelle once again placed a knife and fork in her hand.

“What are you just looking at? Eat quickly.”

“Yes? Yes, yes.”

When Rosette tried to cut the meat with children’s cutlery, Daniel simply took her plate away.

“I’ll cut it for you.”

Then, he cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and returned the plate. Rosette swallowed as she looked at the pink flesh of the meat.

“Eat up!”

Lucas urged. He seemed curious about Rosette’s reaction to eating the steak.

Rosette took a piece of steak with a determined face and brought it to her mouth. As she bit into it, the juice from the meat flowed out. The meat melted softly even though she only chewed it a few times.

Even though she had lived in the Marquis of Dallas’s residence for over ten years, she had never eaten such a tender and delicious steak. The meat she had eaten was always tough and hard.

‘I was discriminated against.’

A belated realization washed over her. No wonder she couldn’t relate when Elisha praised the chef, saying that the steak melted in her mouth.

Perhaps because of her belated upset, or perhaps because of the emotion from the meat, Rosette shed a tear. Then Lucas burst out laughing.

“Is it that delicious?”

“Ugh, yes.”

Rosette continued to eat the steak.

However, the happiness did not last long. By the time dessert came out, allergic reactions began to appear. First, her arm started to itch, and then her neck gradually started to itch.

Rosette scratched her arm violently under the table. It seemed like she had broken the skin, as her arm was stinging.

“What’s wrong?”

Duke Adrian, who had keenly noticed her change, asked. Rosette shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

“Then why aren’t you eating dessert? Our chef makes the best custard pudding!”

Lucas tilted his head.

“That…….”

If she raised her arm to eat the dessert, she might reveal the red rash marks. If that happened, her shrimp allergy would be exposed.

At that moment, Duke Adrian approached with a stern face. He knelt down on one knee next to Rosette and carefully grabbed her arm.

“……!”

The Duke, seeing the rash and red scratches on her arm, said quietly to Sebastian, who was waiting on one side.

“Quickly, call the family doctor.”

* * *

The Adrian family’s doctor, whose hair was as gray as Sebastian’s, examined Rosette. Duke Adrian was watching the doctor and Rosette from a step back.

The Adrian family’s three siblings, seeing their father’s concerned and slightly angry appearance, had gone to their rooms on their own.

Rosette hung her head as if she had become a sinner. Even so, she felt the Duke’s intense gaze on her.

“It seems to be an allergy.”

The doctor concluded after the examination.

“Allergy?”

“Yes. I heard that shrimp was served as an appetizer today. Shrimp allergies are more common in the Empire than you think. However, it seems that she didn’t know she had an allergy until now because she had been in an environment where it was difficult to come into contact with seafood.”

“…….”

“The rash will subside quickly if you take allergy medicine. However, the scratches on your arm may leave scars.”

“Okay, I understand. You may leave.”

“Yes.”

Even after the doctor left, Duke Adrian’s stern face did not soften. Rosette hesitated and took the allergy medicine he handed her.

Only after Rosette drank a whole cup of water did the Duke open his mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“……?”

“I should have found out if you had any allergies in advance. It was my fault.”

Rosette couldn’t understand why Duke Adrian was apologizing. Duke Dallas said that she was wrong for having an allergy.

Dallas’s beloved youngest daughter, Elisha, ridiculed her, saying, “Because you were born inferior, you can’t eat such high-class food. If you had eaten it since you were young like me, you wouldn’t have allergies like that.”

If anyone should apologize, it should be her.

But why was Duke Adrian apologizing?

She wanted to ask. But after moving her lips, what Rosette said was completely different.

“I’m sorry.”

Duke Adrian finally relaxed his expression. He knelt down on one knee in front of Rosette, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and took her hand.

“It’s not your fault.”

“No. I have flaws…… I shouldn’t have allergies like this…….”

Duke Adrian keenly noticed that there was something strange about Rosette’s words. The child not only calmly accepted the fact that she had an allergy, but also naturally considered it a flaw.

Then…….

“You already knew you had an allergy.”

“…….”

“Who said that was bad?”

“…….”

“Did the orphanage director say that?”

Rosette shook her head violently.

“No.”

“Then who said that?”

“…….”

When Rosette closed her mouth tightly like a clam, the Duke changed his question.

“Why did you eat it knowing you had an allergy?”

“…….”

“Rosette.”

“…….”

“Rosette Adrian.”

Rosette sensed that she was about to be scolded. However, she couldn’t figure out the reason.

She ate the shrimp, enduring the pain, to avoid being scolded, but in the end, she was being scolded? It wasn’t unfair, but it was scary.

The Marquis of Dallas was a wizard, but Duke Adrian was a knight. There was a difference in physique, and the difference in strength was even greater. How much would it hurt if he hit her?

Rosette mumbled, holding her hands together.

“……because.”

“Huh?”

“Because being picky is bad.”