The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 71

71. Elisha Dallas’s Check

Clara, grinning, grabbed Rosette’s hand and led her inside.

“Let’s hurry. Theresa is already inside.”

“Really? I wanted to see Theresa too.”

“Theresa was so excited when she heard you were coming today.”

As the two girls entered the garden where the tea party was being held, Theresa, who had been talking with other children, jumped up.

“Rosette!”

She ran over and hugged Rosette tightly.

“It’s been so long!”

“It’s been two years since you both visited Adrian Territory, so it’s been two years.”

“Oh my gosh! Has it already been that long?”

Rosette stroked Theresa’s back, feeling sentimental.

‘It’s so nice to have friends who wait for me.’

To be honest, Rosette, Clara, and Theresa hadn’t met very often. Counting the times, Rosette left Adrian Territory not long after meeting her two friends.

A farewell that came before they could even become close. So Rosette thought her two friends would forget her. They were her first friends of the same age and social standing, so it was quite disappointing.

But Clara and Theresa didn’t forget Rosette and wrote to her first. From then on, the three girls wrote to each other once a month and built their friendship.

‘We became much closer when the two of them came to visit two years ago.’

Fortunately, the Cheller and Southern families, to which the two belonged, were not aligned with the Dallas Marquisate or the Lilith Duchy.

Strictly speaking, the Cheller family had frequent exchanges with the Adrian family, and the Southern family maintained neutrality.

Thanks to this, Rosette could interact with the two without worrying about complicated political interests. The two also treated Rosette regardless of political relations.

As Rosette approached the table with Clara and Theresa’s hands in hers, everyone showed interest.

“Is that perhaps…?”

Clara proudly introduced Rosette.

“That’s right! This is my longtime friend, Rosette Adrian. As you all know, she’s the youngest daughter of Duke Adrian.”

“Oh…”

The reactions of the dozen or so children already sitting at the table varied.

Some looked at Rosette with curiosity, and others looked up to her.

Of course, there were also children who didn’t like her.

‘Probably because of my commoner background.’

For the past five years, Rosette had been working hard to blend into the aristocratic world. In particular, she struggled to learn the etiquette she hadn’t learned in the Dallas family.

Rosette had quite a hard time with etiquette because she hadn’t even learned how to use cutlery when she was in the Dallas family.

Mrs. Noir kindly told her that it was fortunate that even the genius princess had a human side. Isabel also served as a good role model.

As a result, if a stranger saw her now, Rosette looked like a child who had been born and raised in an aristocratic family.

That was a fact that even Isabel, who demonstrated more perfect etiquette and demeanor than anyone else, acknowledged.

However, there were still nobles who held prejudices.

‘It’s okay. It happens.’

In the past, she would have been intimidated by those hostile eyes, but not now.

Rosette smiled at them instead and sat down. They looked slightly embarrassed and began to whisper among themselves.

They were probably talking about how she was from a commoner background and lacked refinement.

“Anyway, tell me how you’ve been. We couldn’t share many stories in our letters.”

Clara urged. Theresa also looked at her with expectant eyes.

“Actually, nothing as special as you guys think happened. You guys in the capital probably have more interesting stories.”

“Still, tell us. There’s not much known about the Adrian Territory, so it’s amazing to hear your stories.”

“Hmm…”

Rosette reminisced and told them about what had happened over the past two years. Some of the children surrounded her and focused on the story. Of course, there were still children who looked at her with displeasure.

In the meantime, the tea party began. Maids brought tea and refreshments, and everyone enjoyed the desserts and chatted.

It was when the tea party was in full swing.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. I’m late.”

Someone walked into the garden with the maid’s guidance. Rosette immediately recognized the voice.

‘Elisha?’

The blonde girl, hiding her face with a fan and smiling, was Elisha Dallas.

The Dallas Marquis’s daughter, whom he cherished like his own life—no, more than his own life.

Elisha liked to be the center of attention wherever she went, and she had even been heard planning at the mansion to deliberately appear late to the party, like today, to act like the main character.

Moreover, she was all dressed up today for some reason.

Her honey-blonde hair was curled with a hair iron, and her face shone brightly as if she had applied powder with pearl dust.

Anyone who saw her would mistake her for the host, not Elisha.

Noticing that, the host Clara’s expression was not good. Theresa also muttered to herself, ‘Why did you invite her?’ before composing her expression.

Here, it was customary to say things like, ‘No, I’m glad you came even though you’re late.’

But Clara couldn’t hold back what she wanted to say.

“I’m sorry. It seems I forgot to write the time on the invitation for the Young Lady.”

It was a noble way of saying, ‘You must be blind if you can’t even see the time properly. Pay attention to the time.’

Rosette, Theresa, and a few other children lowered their heads and burst into laughter. Elisha’s ears turned bright red.

“Ahem, anyway, what were you all talking about?”

She hurriedly sat in an empty seat and asked the children around her.

“We were talking about the Adrian Princess.”

“The Adrian Princess? She came here…?”

Elisha, thinking of Isabel, replied absentmindedly, then her eyes met Rosette’s.

“Oh my,” Elisha exclaimed softly and then smiled.

“There’s someone I’ve never seen before.”

Green eyes, resembling the color of trees, scanned Rosette up and down.

It was the same look as in the past. It was different from the past when she openly ignored her, but those eyes subtly dismissed her.

Rosette had definitely changed. She was no longer bound by the past, and she knew how to love herself.

But seeing Elisha’s face still looking down on her made her heart beat unpleasantly.

Although it wouldn’t happen, it felt like Elisha would come up to her at any moment, grab her hair, and laugh, ‘Look at this. Do you think this hair color suits Adrian? Hahaha!’

Rosette barely recalled what Isabel had said.

-That’s right. You are a proud Adrian. Even if someone ignores you, which I doubt, never forget that fact.

She was able to calm her mind with a cold yet affectionate voice.

‘I am Adrian.’

She was no longer Rosette Dallas.

Rosette smiled at Elisha.

When she remained silent, Elisha sneered.

“I was the first to acknowledge you, but you’re not introducing yourself? You should at least say hello.”

Then she said to herself, quietly, but loud enough for others to hear.

“It’s been five years, and she still hasn’t learned all the etiquette.”

The children around her laughed, and Clara’s face turned red with anger.

Rosette grabbed Clara’s arm, who was about to jump up and say something.

“You know who I am, Young Lady.”

“Of course, I know. How many nobles have that pink hair?”

“But do I have to say hello first?”

Adrian does not greet first.

No other reason was needed. It was simply because she was ‘Adrian.’

Elisha’s face slightly crumpled as if she realized what Rosette’s words meant.

‘She must be offended that I, who used to ignore her because she was from a commoner background, am now mentioning Adrian.’

Rosette deliberately said nothing and waited.

Soon, Elisha, with a face that looked like she was about to die of frustration, stood up, approached Rosette, and held out her hand.

“I’m Elisha Dallas. The youngest daughter of the Dallas Marquis.”

When Rosette took her hand, Elisha squeezed it tightly.

However, the grip of a tenderfoot who had never lifted anything heavy or done any physical training was weak.

Rosette wasn’t strong either, but she was better than this. Rosette gave strength in return. Then Elisha groaned, “Ouch.”

The children who were close to Elisha made a fuss, asking what was wrong. Rosette pretended not to know anything.

“What’s wrong?”

Elisha, not wanting to lose, managed her expression as if nothing was wrong.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Then she returned to her seat with a sulky face.

Clara, who was sitting next to Rosette, poked Rosette’s side with her elbow.

“Not bad?”

“Wasn’t it childish?”

Rosette belatedly regretted her actions.

She felt good because she seemed to have given Elisha a taste of her own medicine, but looking back, she wondered if she had acted too childishly.

‘I feel like I’ve become the same person as Elisha.’

She was feeling a little depressed when Clara chuckled.

“Childish? I liked it. I could see her ignoring you.”

“That’s right, serves her right. Who does she think she is to ignore Rosette?”

Theresa agreed. Thanks to them, Rosette’s heart softened like a marshmallow.

After that, a strange atmosphere lingered in the garden.

Although they were clearly in the same space, the children were divided into the Elisha faction and the Clara faction, and they talked separately.

They also glanced at each other from time to time, engaging in a war of nerves.

Rosette felt sorry for Clara.

“I think I did something unnecessary.”

“No. You did well. Think about what she did. Did you see her deliberately being late? She’s doing that to get attention. She’s famous for it. There are so many kids who have been hurt by her.”

“I see.”

“Actually, I didn’t want to invite her, but my father told me to invite her once, so I had no choice.”

“The Count did?”

“Yeah.”

Why? Originally, Count Cheller wouldn’t even shake hands with the Dallas family.

‘What’s gotten into him?’

Rosette was furrowing her brows as she pondered, when Clara explained.

“Duke Adrian has been in the territory all this time. So my dad’s position has become a bit ambiguous. So, well, it seems like he’s trying to interact with various families.”

“Okay.”

Rosette put her mind at ease at Clara’s seemingly indifferent attitude and chatted with the children around her.

The children of her age, who were Clara’s friends, were quite kind to her, and they were able to quickly drop the honorifics and become friends.

“Speaking of which.”

When the children, divided into two factions, were not mixing at all, Elisha raised her hand and drew everyone’s attention.

“I heard that the Adrian Princess has already summoned a familiar [a magical creature bonded to a mage], is that true?”