The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 155

155. The Unveiled Truth (2)

2024.04.03.

“May I examine those items?”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, looking dubious.

Joshua and the Emperor didn’t exactly have a warm father-son relationship. This was evident in Joshua addressing the Emperor as ‘Your Majesty’ rather than ‘Father’.

Perhaps because of this, Joshua only sought out the Emperor when something particularly important arose. The Emperor, in turn, didn’t bother summoning him.

So, for him to suddenly appear unannounced and ask to examine Marquis Dallas’s belongings?

A strange light flickered in the Emperor’s eyes.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’ve been studying magic more recently, and I thought it might be helpful. I recall hearing that Marquis Dallas had many rare magical texts in his collection.”

“Hmm, is that so.”

Joshua maintained a blank expression, carefully controlling his face.

Even if he seemed harmless now, the Emperor was the ruler of this empire. He was skilled at discerning people’s true intentions.

A moment of carelessness could reveal his anxiousness.

The Emperor observed Joshua for a moment before nodding.

“I grant permission. The head chamberlain will guide you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, and…”

The Emperor murmured to Joshua’s back as he was about to leave after bowing.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

* * *

“If there’s a specific book you’re looking for, I can bring it to you.”

“That’s alright. I’ll look through them myself, so you can leave.”

“Understood.”

As soon as the head chamberlain left, Joshua moved quickly.

Silver, sensing his urgent heart, followed closely behind Joshua, observing the bookshelves.

He frantically searched the shelves, over and over. He skipped the meals the chamberlain brought and stayed up all night.

Ophelia, hearing the news, came to visit, but he couldn’t even have a proper conversation with her.

“There’s no way they would have written such magic out in the open. Right, Silver?”

[Woof!]

“It must be written in code. Or maybe they wrote a book on a completely different subject.”

Joshua moved away from the bookshelf filled with magic books and searched in places he hadn’t looked before. After searching for a long time, a book suddenly caught his eye.

‘How to Revive a Ruined Dish.’

At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary cookbook. However, upon closer inspection, there were quite a few suspicious points.

Compared to the other books, which were worn and old, the book Joshua found looked brand new. The leather covering the book’s cover was also luxurious.

Just in case, he took out the book and felt the mana surrounding it. It was proof that a preservation spell had been cast on this book.

To put this much effort into a mere cookbook? That was absurd.

Moreover, it was suspicious that Marquis Dallas kept such a book in his personal library.

Joshua stood in front of the bookshelf and flipped through the book. The contents of the book were no different from an ordinary cookbook. The illustrations were also related to cooking.

Pots, ladles, fresh vegetables, meat, etc.

Joshua, who had secretly thought that there would be other content written in the book, was quite taken aback.

Was he being unnecessarily suspicious? Was this really just a simple cookbook?

As he quickly flipped through the pages in frustration, something suddenly caught his eye.

-It’s hard.

A doodle written in a round, bubbly font.

It was a handwriting he knew well. It was Rosette’s handwriting.

He had read the letters Rosette sent him dozens of times, so there was no way he could be mistaken.

Turning to the next page, another doodle was written in the same handwriting.

-Someone help me.

In this life, Rosette had never been to the Dallas estate. So, there was no way she could have doodled in this book.

However, Joshua was certain that this was written by Rosette. He guessed that it was a doodle she wrote when she lived in the Dallas family before he turned back time.

He didn’t know the principle, but he wondered if this doodle had also traveled back in time.

Joshua didn’t know exactly what kind of life Rosette lived before he turned back time.

-Well, I was an ugly duckling.

However, from his conversations with Rosette, he could roughly guess that she lived unhappily in the Dallas family.

Perhaps Marquis Dallas was abusing Rosette. No, he probably was.

Rosette Dallas, whom he saw in the underground prison that night, was so small and frail that it was hard to believe she was an adult.

She would have learned unwanted attack magic, assassinated people, and even learned ancient magic to turn back time in case of an emergency.

This doodle was definitely written at that time. It was a desperate cry for help from the hellish Dallas estate.

To Joshua, the doodle in the book felt as if the current Rosette was speaking.

“I will, I must…”

Joshua took out a writing tool and began to decipher the code. As the dark outside the window began to brighten little by little, he jumped up from his seat.

* * *

“Your Highness? What brings you here so early in the morning…”

“I need to see the Princess. Right now.”

Daniel looked troubled at Joshua, who had suddenly barged in without warning in the morning.

“Rose is still in a coma.”

“I know. That’s why I want to see her.”

“…Pardon?”

Joshua brushed past Daniel and went up the stairs. He entered Rosette’s room in one go, startling Lucas, who was dozing off by the bedside, awake.

“Your Highness? What’s going on…”

“Please give us a moment alone.”

Joshua pushed Lucas aside and sat in the chair he had been sitting in. He placed the pendant Ophelia had given her in Rosette’s hand.

“I’m going to bring the Princess back now.”

“Bring her back? How?”

“The Princess is wandering in the boundary of time right now. Someone has to go and bring her back in person.”

“The boundary of time? What are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain it when everything is resolved. There’s no time now. The more time passes, the harder it will be to find her trail.”

“No, what are you…”

Joshua held Rosette’s hand, which was holding the pendant, tightly with both hands. At the same time as a bright light emanated from the pendant, Joshua’s consciousness blurred.

* * *

Rosette was walking in endless darkness. A place without family, Joshua, or Bbibbi [Rosette’s familiar].

No matter how much she walked, she couldn’t see an exit.

She tried to light up the surroundings with magic, but she couldn’t do anything. She tried to summon Bbibbi, who was always by her side, but the connection with Bbibbi was cut off as if someone had cut it with a knife.

Rosette just walked and walked in the darkness.

How long had she been walking? She began to see hallucinations around her. They were the evil deeds she had committed in the past.

She saw herself killing innocent people because of Marquis Dallas, and eventually even killing Duke Adrian.

No. It’s hard. Help me.

Rosette sat down on the spot and covered her head with both hands.

She could feel her body disappearing little by little. She couldn’t see her body because there was no light, but she felt like her body was being broken down from her fingertips and toes.

She could instinctively realize it. This was the price she paid for turning back time with magic.

In fact, looking back, she had lasted a long time. She had lived for 12 years after turning back time.

But there were still things she had to do….

Marquis Dallas was already dead, but Duke Lilith would still be targeting her dad and family. She had to protect her loved ones.

She tried her best to get up, but every time she did, she couldn’t go more than a few steps and her body continued to collapse.

Rosette curled up like a child and trembled.

What would happen if I wasn’t here?

Would everyone be very sad?

I hope everyone wouldn’t be sad.

Tears welled up as she thought of the faces that smiled at her.

If I had known this would happen, I would have told them I loved them more.

It was when she was waiting for the future to come in regret.

“…shua.”

A familiar voice was heard from somewhere. Rosette squeezed out all her strength and raised her head.

“Your Highness?”

No, not Your Highness….

“Joshua?”

At this moment, she said the name she missed the most and reached out her hand, and she felt someone strongly pulling her hand. She felt her body being forcibly lifted and hugged by someone.

A firm yet warm embrace.

It was an embrace that gave a different feeling from Duke Adrian, who was always reliable.

Rosette guessed who the other person was and hugged his waist tightly.

And soon, the darkness that had been all she could see completely brightened.

* * *

Rosette struggled to open her closed eyes. It was bright everywhere. The sudden light made her eyes sting and tear up.

She reflexively closed her eyes and took a breath, and a welcome voice was heard above her head.

“Kiddo?”

It was Lucas’s voice.

“Oh my god, the kiddo woke up! Kiddo, are you conscious? Are you really awake?”

“Rose woke up?”

Daniel’s voice was also heard.

“Bring Father here right now. Immediately!”

Her head was spinning even though she was lying down. She had tinnitus [ringing in the ears] in both ears and felt nauseous.

But she mustered the courage to lift her eyelids.

The first thing she saw was.

“Rose.”

It was the face of Joshua Ernhardt. He was looking down at her with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

“Ah…”

Rosette couldn’t quite understand what had happened.

She tried to remember what had happened before she fell asleep, but her mind was hazy and she couldn’t remember anything.

However, she could tell that Joshua’s face, which was looking down at her, had become much thinner than the last time she saw it.

“Rose!”

Not long after, Duke Adrian also rushed into the room. He stood next to Rosette and stroked her gaunt cheek.

“Rose, baby. Are you conscious?”

Rosette blinked and opened her mouth. Her throat was hoarse and no voice came out, but she murmured with her lips.

I, I’m back.