The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 118

118. The Revealed Culprit

Rosette shot up.

“The real culprit?”

“Yes!”

Lukas explained, his face flushed with excitement.

“Lord Belzer from the Shelton delegation confessed everything!”

“Lord Belzer?”

“Yes!”

Rosette knew instinctively that Michael was behind it all. She didn’t know how—whether he had persuaded or threatened him.

But what was clear was that Ines could now clear her name.

“So? What did Lord Belzer do?”

“The real poison used on Her Majesty was made from a flower native to the Shelton Kingdom. Just now, after using a detoxification incense made by a physician from the Shelton Kingdom, Her Majesty regained consciousness.”

“Really!”

“Yes.”

Rosette quickly followed up.

“Then who is the real culprit? Did Lord Belzer act alone?”

Lukas’s face turned serious.

“Don’t be surprised, Rose.”

As Rosette swallowed hard, Lukas murmured softly.

“It was Elisha Dallas.”

* * *

Rosette still couldn’t quite grasp how Michael had found Lord Belzer and gotten him to confess.

However, after Lord Belzer’s confession, the truth of the incident quickly came to light.

Elisha Dallas denied it, but many people came forward saying they saw her in the kitchen on the day of the incident.

After questioning by the knights, she eventually admitted to some of the crimes. She confessed to putting the poison she received from Lord Belzer in the lemon that Ophelia was to eat, and then poisoning Ophelia’s maid as well.

A few hours later, after hearing all the news, Rosette went to see Elisha. She tried to go secretly, but the quick-witted Joseph followed her.

“Lady, where are you going?”

“Oh, just for a moment…”

“If the master finds out…”

“That’s why I’m going secretly.”

Rosette put her finger to her lips and made a shushing sound, and Joseph quietly followed without saying anything more.

[Cheep.]

Pipi, sitting on Rosette’s shoulder, chirped worriedly.

Are you really going? Don’t go. You don’t need to go.

Rosette tapped Pipi’s head, reassuring him.

“It’s okay, Pipi. Elisha won’t do anything to me now.”

As Pipi said, there was no real reason for Rosette to go to Elisha. Even without her, everything would now be resolved as it should be.

However, there was something she wanted to ask before Elisha disappeared completely from the world.

A question she had never asked, past or present.

She had already escaped from the shadows of Marquis Dallas and Elisha, but there was one thing she wanted to know.

Marquis Dallas aside, why had Elisha tormented her so much?

She felt that she needed to know that to completely shake off the past with a clear conscience.

Rosette headed to the underground prison where Elisha was, with Joseph. Coincidentally, it was the same place where Ines had been held until recently.

Rosette looked down at Elisha with a stern face.

In the past, she had been afraid of the child before her. Whenever she saw her cold gaze looking down on her, her whole body would tremble like an aspen tree.

Didn’t she get scared when she first saw her after turning back time?

‘But was Elisha always this small?’

Elisha, kneeling with her arms and legs tied, and looking up at Rosette, was very petite. Not that she was actually small. Elisha was taller than Rosette.

However, the child who had seemed so big in the past looked pathetic.

That venomous gaze was no longer frightening.

“Why did you do that?”

Rosette carefully opened her mouth. Elisha, who had been dozing off with her head down, perked up at her voice.

“You…! How did you!”

Elisha lunged at Rosette. Joseph instinctively reached for his waist, but he couldn’t draw his sword because he had left it at the entrance of the dark underground prison.

But since there were bars between Rosette and Elisha anyway, Elisha couldn’t reach Rosette.

Elisha shook the bars violently and screamed.

“It’s all, all because of you! You ruined everything!”

Rosette didn’t flinch at the outburst and continued what she wanted to say.

“Why did you hate me so much?”

In fact, this was a question she was asking not to the Elisha in front of her, but to her past self.

I was only eight years old when I went to the Dallas family.

What did I do so wrong that you tormented me?

Was it because I was a commoner? But Adrian warmly embraced me.

Of course, Isabel initially opposed my adoption and was cold to me, but she cared for and cherished me more than anyone else.

But what did I do wrong that you tormented me and Pipi so much?

She thought the past didn’t linger in her mind. But it seemed that resentment remained without her knowing it.

Silent questions poured out of Rosette’s mouth.

But that was all in the past. It was something she couldn’t ask or get an answer from the current Elisha.

Instead, Rosette asked a different question.

“I did nothing wrong to you, Dallas.”

As soon as she heard those words, Elisha’s outburst intensified. She came so close to Rosette that the chains restraining her wrists became taut.

She looked like she would tear her apart right away, but Rosette didn’t flinch.

“Did nothing wrong? You ruined everything! My father died, the Dallas family was destroyed, and I ended up like this all because of you!”

“Why is that my fault?”

Rosette’s voice, in response, was calm, unlike Elisha’s, who was very agitated.

“We need to clarify the cause and effect. Your father, Marquis Dallas, kidnapped innocent me and other children for no reason.”

“That’s…!”

Elisha hesitated for a moment, then shouted fiercely.

“That’s because your existence itself is wrong! If you hadn’t been adopted by Adrian, my father wouldn’t have done such a thing!”

The moment she heard those spiteful words, Rosette realized.

‘She just needed someone to vent her anger on.’

There was no real reason for Elisha to torment Rosette. For her, tormenting Rosette was just entertainment.

Marquis Dallas even tacitly allowed it, and how fun would it have been since Rosette didn’t resist and only trembled?

As she realized that, she felt relieved.

Now, 12 years later, she could finally shake off the resentment completely.

* * *

Just because the identity of the Seail flower was revealed didn’t mean that Ines Rivera’s guilt completely disappeared. After all, it was true that poison came from the Asherah statue she had gifted.

However, as a result of Joshua’s persistent investigation, he found the woman who directly handed the Annette poison to the sculptor. She was a maid who had taken care of Elisha since she was young.

So, all the Annette poison was Elisha’s doing.

“Then what will happen to the Lilith family and Lady Lilith?”

Rosette questioned after hearing all the facts from Joshua.

“The Lilith family employed Elisha, and Lady Lilith has had her as a maid for some time.”

Joshua’s voice flowed from the silver necklace.

“Cut off the tail?”

“That’s true.”

Rosette murmured gloomily.

‘The Dallas family really didn’t take responsibility until the end back then.’

She had expected it to happen. But hearing that it actually happened made her feel strange.

Joshua clenched his teeth and said.

Rosette could read Joshua’s thoughts that were omitted.

‘Perhaps His Majesty knew about this incident.’

She hoped that wasn’t the case, but she couldn’t completely shake off the suspicion that this poisoning was done with the Emperor’s tacit consent. Joshua would also be suspicious.

“Um…”

She was about to tell him not to worry too much even if that was the case.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

He chuckled.

“Yes.”

Rosette said honestly, as there was no need to hide it.

“I thought there would be a helper in the delegation. But I couldn’t investigate the delegation with just suspicion. It could turn into a diplomatic issue.”

“Yes. I didn’t expect Michael to help so willingly.”

Rosette belatedly realized and asked.

“I hope this doesn’t cause a diplomatic conflict with the Shelton Kingdom?”

Joshua also answered honestly.

“That’s a relief.”

Just as Joshua was about to say something, there was a knock, and Lukas’s voice was heard from outside.

“Kid, what are you doing?”

His voice, which had been subdued for the past few days, was as bright as before.

The quick-witted Silver looked at Rosette’s embarrassed face and quickly jumped out the window.

Rosette belatedly opened the door, and Lukas smiled brightly.

“Why did you open it so late?”

“I was just lazing around in bed…”

“Oh, you pretty kid.”

Lukas ruffled Rosette’s hair and pulled her hand.

“Let’s go meet Lady Rivera quickly!”

“Yes!”

The Adrian siblings rode in a carriage to the Imperial Palace. All the way there, Daniel wrung his hands anxiously, trembling.

Rosette glanced at him and placed her hand on his.

“It’s okay, Brother.”

She smiled at him, meeting his eyes.

“Ines will be happy to welcome you too.”

“Yes, Rose. Thank you.”

Still, Daniel was still pale. But when the carriage stopped and he saw Ines walking towards them in the distance, he couldn’t hide his tears and ran to her.

“Ines!”

“Da…niel.”

Ines also teared up and hugged him tightly.

“You’ve been through a lot. I’m sorry. I should have been by your side.”

“No, Daniel. Thank you for believing in me and waiting for me.”

Rosette, standing next to Lukas, also teared up as she watched the two lovers.

‘I’m glad, really.’

It was a difficult process, but it was a happy day to be able to protect precious people.

* * *

“We shouldn’t have taken that child in.”

Lady Lilith shed tears in front of the Emperor. Her appearance, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and sobbing, looked as pitiful as a rose.

However, the Emperor’s gaze towards her was not entirely favorable. It didn’t look like the eyes of a man looking at his beloved lover.

“I felt sorry for her because she lost her father at a young age and was stripped of her noble title, so I took her in, but I never knew she would do such a thing. I really didn’t know. Really.”

Still, when the Emperor didn’t say anything, the Lady looked at him a little anxiously.

“Richard, are you very angry?”

She hooked her arm around the Emperor’s arm and made a nasal sound.

“Calm down. I’ll apologize on her behalf like this.”

“Leonie, you were too hasty this time.”

“…Yes?”