The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 105

105. The Shelton Kingdom Delegation

February 13, 2024

‘Joshua, we can’t let him have Rosette. It’s better to nip it in the bud [stop it before it starts].’

If Rosette were to marry Joshua, it would become troublesome.

The Adrian family, which has maintained neutrality, at least on the surface, would openly support Joshua, and the noble families that follow him would strive to make him the Crown Prince.

However, targeting Rosette’s life wasn’t easy. Unlike the foolish Ophelia, she had the power to protect herself. Moreover, Adrian was firmly behind her.

Dealing with Rosette without touching Adrian was absolutely not easy.

‘In that case, it’s better to deal with all the troublesome Adrians.’

Lilith smiled once more and left the Imperial Palace with Elisha.

* * *

Rosette couldn’t concentrate on the poetry reading because she was thinking about Elisha.

Perhaps noticing her thoughts, Ophelia cautiously asked after the reading.

“Did you not enjoy the reading?”

“No!”

Rosette quickly denied.

“It was good. It was a beneficial time.”

“But you had a thoughtful look on your face…”

“Actually, I have something on my mind. I’m sorry, Empress. You invited me all this way.”

“What is there to be sorry about to me? I hope whatever is troubling you disappears soon. If you ever need my help, tell me.”

“Yes, I understand. Actually, I’m grateful just for your words.”

Rosette smiled and asked what she had been wondering about.

“Come to think of it, the Prince isn’t here today.”

Joshua used to come out to greet Rosette and escort her whenever she came to the Empress’s Palace.

This time, Rosette was secretly hoping that he would escort her, but Joshua was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah, are you talking about Joshua?”

Ophelia smiled, amused by Rosette’s serious face.

“Do you miss him because he’s not here?”

“No!”

Rosette denied again.

“It’s not that! I was just curious because he wasn’t here. And I wanted to see Silver, too.”

“Ah, I see.”

Rosette tried to avoid Ophelia’s gaze as she smiled as if she found her cute.

“Joshua went to suppress the pirates again.”

“Pirates?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, we found out the pirates’ base.”

The pirate Rosette caught when she returned to the Empire was the right-hand man of the man called the Pirate King.

She had heard that Joshua would interrogate him, and it seemed he had found out the base in the meantime.

“But the delegation from the Shelton Kingdom will be here soon, right? If the Prince isn’t here…”

“That’s why I tried to stop him, but he said he had to handle it himself. He said he couldn’t delay and had to go quickly.”

Rosette murmured with regret.

“I didn’t even know the Prince had set sail.”

It would have been nice if he had sent Silver to let her know before leaving. Of course, Joshua had no obligation to tell her, but she felt a little sad.

‘No, it’s not something related to me, so why would the Prince tell me? This is natural.’

Rosette tried to think that way and changed the subject.

“Anyway, if he manages to take care of the leader this time, the Prince’s position will rise a lot.”

“Yes, it will.”

The only reason Joshua directly took to suppressing the pirates was to gather a weaker support base compared to Louis.

Many nobles supported Louis. Especially the high-ranking nobles.

So, Joshua turned his eyes elsewhere rather than trying to win them over. He decided to win over nobles who mainly engaged in trade or merchants.

Even though they were not nobles, if he gained the support of the wealthy merchants who contributed to the Empire’s economy, the Emperor would not be able to ignore Joshua.

Even though it was a happy thing, Ophelia’s expression was not good. She sighed and revealed her inner thoughts a little.

“I’m giving him a lot of burdens because I’m incompetent. If I had established a better foundation here…”

Ophelia, who had been muttering absentmindedly, waved her hand as if it was nothing.

“I’m saying all sorts of things. Forget it.”

“Yes.”

Rosette appropriately ended the conversation with Ophelia and returned to the mansion with Ines.

* * *

“Hey, kid, what’s wrong? Did something bad happen at the Empress’s Palace?”

During dinner, Lucas cautiously asked Rosette, who was blankly recalling Elisha’s face.

Rosette raised her head and noticed that all her family’s eyes were on her.

Even Ines Rivera had a worried look on her face.

“No, nothing happened. I’m just a little tired.”

Lucas brought his face close to Rosette’s.

“That’s not just a tired face, is it?”

Rosette pushed Lucas’s cheek with her palm.

“Ouch, the kid is hitting her brother! She’s all grown up and acting up!”

Rosette chuckled at Lucas’s exaggerated reaction. Only then did Lucas playfully raise the corners of his mouth.

“You’re smiling now. You looked so depressed a little while ago. Anyone would think there was a funeral.”

Rosette touched her face.

“Anyway, it’s nothing.”

After denying it, she tried to eat as if nothing was wrong, but Rosette still couldn’t shake off her thoughts about Elisha Dallas.

In the end, Rosette followed Duke Adrian, who was heading to his office after dinner.

“Um, Father.”

The Duke, who had been pretending not to notice that she was following him, quickly turned around. He had also been concerned about his youngest daughter, who had been strangely dispirited all evening.

“What is it, Rose?”

“Actually, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me.”

Rosette glanced around the empty hallway for no reason.

“I don’t think it’s something I can say here.”

“Then let’s do it in my office.”

Rosette sat facing Duke Adrian. She refused the Duke’s offer to have tea and cautiously began the introduction.

“Actually, I met Princess Lilith today. At the Imperial Palace.”

Duke Adrian stiffened very slightly.

“Yes, you did. So, did something happen?”

“Nothing special happened. However…”

Rosette lowered her voice.

“Princess Lilith had Elisha with her. As a maid.”

“Elisha, you mean…?”

“That’s right. Elisha Dallas.”

This time, Duke Adrian’s expression clearly changed. Enraged, he gripped the armrest of the chair tightly. A cracking sound was heard, and the wooden handle cracked.

“She has Elisha Dallas. So that’s what it was.”

Muttering to himself, he suppressed his anger and asked.

“So, what happened?”

He looked like he was about to rush to Princess Lilith’s mansion and protest if she said something had happened.

“As I kept saying, nothing much happened. I’m just telling you because I thought it was something Father should know.”

After parting with Elisha, Rosette roughly guessed how she had been doing.

‘She must have been hiding her on purpose.’

At the time of that incident, Elisha was only eleven years old.

She and Princess Lilith were like mother and daughter, so there would have been no interaction, and the people of the Lilith ducal residence would not have known who Elisha was.

She had been quietly keeping her like that and showed her off to Rosette as if to show off.

It was a kind of declaration of war. That’s why she decided to tell Duke Adrian.

“Yes, you did well, Rose.”

“Yes.”

“This father will take care of everything, so don’t worry about it.”

Rosette, who had always obediently followed the Duke’s words, rebelled this time.

“No. I’m going to worry about it too.”

“…?”

“I’m an adult too. As a member of Adrian, I want to do what I have to do. Besides, the Dallas family’s affairs are related to me too. So, please let me know what happens in the future.”

“Rose.”

“Of course, it’s nice to live under the care of Father, Sister, and Brothers. But I can’t do that forever.”

Because I decided to protect her this time. Because I’ve been running until now to do that.

I can’t tell you all the facts, but I hope Father understands my sincerity.

Rosette stared at the Duke with glowing eyes without saying a word. The Duke, who had been quietly looking at her for a while, sighed softly.

“You’ve grown up a lot, my daughter.”

He smiled with a face that was hard to tell whether he was happy or sad.

“It’s already been 12 years since I met you. When I first saw you, you were very small and fragile. But your heart to protect Jane was strong.”

“…”

“You are still strong. So much so that we no longer need to protect you. It’s definitely a happy thing, but I feel a little sad. I wish I could have watched you grow up like this.”

“Father…”

Duke Adrian got up from his seat and moved to Rosette’s side. He carefully stroked her hair.

“I understand what you’re saying. If anything happens, I’ll be sure to tell you. Instead, Rose, promise your father too. Promise to trust and follow your father too.”

“Yes, Father.”

Rosette, whose eyes were a little red, nodded vigorously.

Even though she said she didn’t need protection, she still didn’t mind being protected.

* * *

Rosette kept a close eye on Elisha’s movements and prepared to welcome the delegation from the Shelton Kingdom.

First, she made a new dress that incorporated the traditional clothes of the Shelton Kingdom with Mrs. Wide. She also read books related to the Shelton Kingdom and learned about the culture and simple greetings.

In the meantime, news came that Joshua had succeeded in completely suppressing the Pirate King. It was faster than expected.

‘That’s really fortunate. If he comes back like this, he can come to the party to welcome the delegation.’

As time passed, the day the delegation arrived came.

Rosette moved busily from morning to welcome the delegation and headed to the Imperial Palace.

“Oh, Rosette. So you came too?”

As she entered a hall of the Imperial Palace, Anthony Huxley greeted her. It was the first time they had met since the debutante party.

Rosette deliberately made a joke.

“Yeah, of course, I came. What about you? I didn’t expect you to come at all.”

“Even though I look like this, I’m a graduate of the Ivelin Royal Academy. Of course, I have to come. But what’s with that expression? It looks like you don’t trust my skills?”

“Of course not.”

As Rosette deliberately spoke coldly, Anthony’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“Did you just find out?”

As Rosette laughed softly, Anthony laughed along.

As the two were having a simple conversation with the other members of the welcoming party, a servant announced that the delegation from the Shelton Kingdom had arrived.

Rosette straightened her body and carefully examined the faces of the delegation entering.

‘Huh? That person is…?’

She found a familiar face in the delegation from the Shelton Kingdom.