The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 17

17. Joseph Ohser (2)

2023.11.17.

How could he, who had never had any contact with the Adrian family’s knights in the past, know this knight?

Rosette pondered for a moment before exclaiming,

“Ah……!”

She remembered where she had seen him.

‘This person was definitely among the Dallas family’s knights…….’

Rosette recalled the now somewhat hazy past.

At the time, she was in her mid-teens. She had gone to threaten a nobleman under the orders of the Marquis of Dallas, and this knight resembled one of the knights who had accompanied her as a guard.

However, she couldn’t be sure. She had seen the knight so few times that she didn’t remember his face clearly.

Moreover, the knight’s appearance was rather ordinary, and she might have confused him with someone similar.

At that moment, the knight smiled a little brighter. Upon closer inspection, there was a long scar on his chin. Seeing that, she became certain.

‘That’s right. He’s a Dallas family knight. Definitely.’

But why was a Dallas family knight here? That was the question.

Rosette wasn’t a knight, so she didn’t know much about chivalry. However, she knew that once someone became a knight of a noble family, they wouldn’t typically serve any other family besides that one.

If so, there was only one conclusion.

‘He’s originally from the Dallas family.’

The man before her was a spy from the Dallas family.

When thinking about Daniel’s accident, Rosette had expected that there might be a spy planted by the Dallas family in the mansion.

However, she had thought that they would be among the stable keepers or employees, as they needed easy access to the carriage.

Once she had established a certain position in the Adrian family, she had planned to find the spy to prevent accidents in advance.

But for the spy to come rolling in like this!

Rosette wore an ambiguous expression, unsure whether to be happy or embarrassed. The knight asked,

“Young lady, didn’t you say you were thirsty?”

“Ah? Y-yes.”

Rosette took the water bottle from the knight and quenched her thirst. The knight smiled brightly once more and returned to his companions.

Rosette narrowed her eyes, watching his retreating figure.

‘If my guess is correct, that person damaged the carriage.’

However, she only had suspicions and no evidence. Moreover, she couldn’t be sure that he was a spy. Rosette’s only suspicion was that he resembled a man she had seen in the past.

She was now staring at the knight as if she were about to burn a hole through him with her gaze when Lucas suddenly asked,

“Hey, kid. Why are you looking like that?”

Was she being too obvious? Rosette stuttered, even though Lucas couldn’t read her mind.

“No, I’m just, thankful…….”

Lucas narrowed his eyes with a dissatisfied expression.

“Don’t tell me you fell in love with him at first sight?”

“……Pardon?”

When Rosette asked back, not understanding the meaning, Lucas burst into anger.

“You can’t do that, kid! Is that why you said you were going to do dawn training?”

The knights, who were already showing interest in their interaction, watched the two kids with amused smiles.

Rosette was so surprised that she covered Lucas’s mouth with both hands.

“Mmph, mmph!”

Lucas struggled to remove her hands. Rosette shushed him repeatedly, dragging Lucas to a corner away from the knights.

There was no way Lucas could be overpowered by Rosette. However, he willingly allowed himself to be dragged by Rosette.

Rosette made sure that no one was around before letting go of Lucas. Lucas took a deep breath and snapped,

“Why are you doing this?”

“It’s because you’re saying strange things, Oppa [term of endearment for older brother or male friend].”

“Me? What did I say?”

Lucas tilted his head, as if he didn’t understand, then exclaimed as if he remembered.

“That you fell in love at first sight?”

“Shh, speak quietly.”

Rosette tried to cover his mouth again, but Lucas didn’t let her this time. As if he had only been playing along earlier, he skillfully avoided her hand.

Lucas asked Rosette, who was staring at her empty hand with a slightly bewildered expression,

“Then why were you staring so intently?”

“Ah…….”

Rosette frowned, racking her brains.

However, she couldn’t think of a plausible excuse and remained silent. Lucas muttered,

“I didn’t know that was your type…….”

“That’s not it!”

Rosette shouted without realizing it.

“It’s just that he looked like someone I know.”

“Really?”

Fortunately, Lucas didn’t suspect anything. Now that things had turned out this way, Rosette decided to extract information from this innocent Oppa.

“How long has that knight been here?”

“Well.”

Lucas answered without much suspicion this time as well.

“It’s not like I know all the knights’ information.”

“I see.”

“But he looked young, so he probably hasn’t been here for long. At most, 4 or 5 years?”

That wasn’t enough information. Rosette drooped her shoulders in disappointment. Lucas flapped his arms and rambled,

“W-well, Daniel Hyung [another term of endearment for older brother or male friend] might know, should I ask him? Or Father, maybe.”

Then he narrowed his eyes.

“You’re really not interested in him, are you?”

Rosette shook her head vigorously.

“I’m not, I told you.”

“Then that’s a relief. This Oppa won’t allow it!”

Rosette didn’t have the courage to deal with Lucas any longer, so she slowly walked towards the mansion.

“Hey, hey! Rose! Wait! You have to answer me before you go!”

Lucas trailed after her.

* * *

Rosette rolled up her skirt to her knees and sat quietly on a chair. The family’s physician examined her knees with a serious expression.

This was all the result of Lucas making a fuss as soon as he entered the mansion, shouting, ‘The youngest fell really hard!’

Rosette felt a little embarrassed.

‘I’m perfectly fine…….’

Her knees, still bony, had no scratches or even reddish marks. Yet, Lucas chattered on and on to the doctor beside her.

“The sound was really loud. Examine her carefully. Could her bones be broken? Look at her legs. It looks like they could break!”

The doctor, who was examining her with a magnifying glass, smiled.

“She’s fine, Young Master.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But just in case, I’ll apply some ointment in case bruises appear later.”

The doctor diligently applied the ointment and left the room. Lucas sighed in relief and sat next to Rosette.

“Thank goodness. Her bones aren’t broken.”

“There’s no way my bones would break from something like that.”

Lucas poked Rosette’s forehead with his index finger.

“Our youngest knows how to talk back?”

“…….”

Instead of denying it, Rosette dangled her legs. Lucas continued to chatter beside her, but she let it go in one ear while lost in thought.

‘How can I reveal that he’s a spy?’

The first thing that came to mind was the confession magic. It was a magic that made people tell the truth, and as the name suggested, it was mainly used when interrogating criminals.

‘But it won’t work.’

There were drawbacks to confession magic.

First, confession magic was a high-level mind control magic. Unlike the Rosette of the past, she couldn’t use it now with no mana core [source of magical power].

Second, even if she could use magic, it was a problem. If she used that magic, people would look at Rosette strangely. She was still an eight-year-old kid who hadn’t even learned the basics of magic.

Also, there was no excuse to give when asked why she used confession magic on that knight. She couldn’t just say that this person was suspicious.

Third.

‘I don’t want to.’

Confession magic was dangerous because it forcibly controlled the mind. In severe cases, the person subjected to the magic could develop mental problems.

In the past, she had used it a few times because she had no choice due to Marquis Dallas, but she didn’t want to do that now.

Rosette rubbed the area near her heart where Marquis Dallas had placed the spell in the past and furrowed her brow.

‘How can I reveal it naturally?’

It was then.

“Rose. Are you in a lot of pain?”

Rosette, who had been lost in thought, raised her head at the voice above her. Daniel was looking down at her and smiling. Lucas was nowhere to be seen, having left the room in the meantime.

“How did you get here?”

“I heard the news. Lucas’s voice was echoing in the hallway,” Daniel replied with a hint of laughter.

He sat in front of her and examined her knees.

“Fortunately, they’re not swollen or badly injured.”

“Lucas Oppa exaggerated.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I didn’t even fall that hard in the first place.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Daniel laughed and looked at Rosette’s face again.

“Then why were you frowning like that?”

“I was just worrying about something…….”

“Worrying? What about?”

“It’s just, something like that.”

Rosette couldn’t tell the truth or lie vaguely, so she mumbled. Fortunately, Daniel didn’t press further. Instead, he lightly patted Rosette’s head.

“Father said kids shouldn’t worry about things.”

That warm touch made the inside of her throat tickle once more. Rosette imagined this kind and warm Oppa unable to use one leg and walking with a cane.

It was a more painful sight than she had imagined, and she felt depressed. It was a different feeling from when she first met Daniel.

At that time, she had only felt sorry, but now it was a more heartbreaking feeling that she couldn’t express.

Rosette patted Daniel’s head as he had done to her. Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled, crinkling his eyes.

“Is there anything Oppa can help you with?”

“Oppa, you must be careful when riding the carriage.”

“I know. I’m checking it even now before I ride.”

Daniel took it quite seriously, even though he could have thought it was just a child’s vain fantasy.

However, Rosette wasn’t relieved by that, so she held out her pinky finger.

“Promise me.”

Daniel still had a smile on his face as he hooked his finger with hers.

“Okay, I promise.”

* * *

Returning to his room, Joseph Ohser checked to make sure no one was around and turned on a small communication magic tool. Soon, a low voice flowed from the magic tool.

[I told you not to contact me if possible.]

“That’s, it’s an emergency.”

[Speak.]

Joseph Ohser swallowed hard and whispered quietly.

“Daniel Adrian seems to have noticed.”

[Noticed? What does that mean?]

“That is, Daniel Adrian has been repeatedly warning to take good care of the horses and carriages these days.”

There was a moment of silence beyond the magic tool. After a while, a slightly more subdued voice questioned him.

[How did you handle things that made them notice?]

“I swear I haven’t done anything. I haven’t even been to the stables or the carriage storage even once.”

Joseph Ohser hurriedly explained, afraid that the other party might misunderstand.

There was a reason why he was so desperate. His one and only family member, his younger sister Melody, was being held hostage.