The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 12

12. Sweeter Than Syrup (2)

2023.11.12.

Lucas, with a spirited shout, led Rosette to the dining hall.

“A good person is one who gives you delicious food!” he declared.

He spouted words Rosette couldn’t understand and then gave the chef instructions with an overly enthusiastic attitude.

A moment later, the breakfast the maids brought was distinctly different from yesterday’s.

Instead of being served individually on plates, the food was arranged in dishes in the center of the table like a buffet, and everyone served themselves.

Rosette stared, mouth agape, at the mountain of pancakes, and Lucas, sitting next to her, said proudly, “We sometimes eat like this when Father isn’t here. There’s no need to be formal.”

He grabbed a pancake the size of his face and poured maple syrup all over it. Then, he cut off a large piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

It was hard to tell whether he was trying to feed Rosette or was just incredibly hungry himself.

Rosette watched him eat, then looked at the food on the table.

Next to the mountain of pancakes was a plate of crispy bacon and sausages glistening with fat.

Beside that was a thick omelet made with cheese and chopped vegetables, and next to that were roasted vegetables. There were also salads, cheeses, and many other things to eat.

Rosette swore that she had never seen so much food at once in her life, not even in her previous one.

As Rosette blinked, still holding her fork, Lucas, who had already finished one pancake, asked, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you eating?”

“I, I don’t know what to eat first.”

“Why don’t you know? Just eat what you want. What do you want to eat the most?”

“Ummm…….”

Rosette was lost in thought.

In her entire life, no one had ever been asked her opinion about food.

Whether at the orphanage, where food was scarce, or at the Dallas family, she had only ever received and eaten what was given to her. She had never asked for what she wanted to eat first.

In fact, there were very few people who had ever asked her opinion at all.

Rosette looked at the pancake crumbs on Lucas’s lips and barely managed to answer, “I want to eat the same thing as you, Oppa [term of endearment for older brother or male friend].”

“Really? I’ll get some for you.”

Lucas, looking somewhat smug, placed a pancake on Rosette’s plate.

“What do you want to put on top?”

“The same thing you put on…….”

“Okay, I’ll put maple syrup on it.”

After pouring the syrup, Lucas continued to ask, “What do you want to eat with the pancake? Cream? Fruit?”

“Fruit…….”

“What kind of fruit? Banana? Strawberry? Blueberry? Kiwi?”

She had managed to follow Lucas up to the syrup. But now, a question came up that she couldn’t follow.

And why were there so many choices? Rosette felt like her head was spinning. She felt like she would disappoint Lucas if she answered wrong here.

But she didn’t even know what she wanted to eat. In the end, Rosette mumbled, “I don’t, I don’t know.”

There was a slight tear in her voice as she answered. Lucas visibly panicked.

“Hey, hey. Don’t cry over something like this. What’s the big deal! Okay, eat it all. Just eat it all.”

He brought the entire plate of fruit to Rosette and served her all kinds of fruit.

Rosette’s eyes widened as she asked, “Can I eat all of this?”

“Of course!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Eat as much as you want!”

Lucas grinned and even put a pancake and all kinds of fruit on his own plate.

“Come on, let’s eat together.”

Rosette finally nodded in relief.

“Yes!”

She carefully put a pancake in her mouth. The pancake, soaked in syrup, was honestly so sweet that it stung her tongue. She couldn’t even taste the sweetness of the fruit she ate afterward.

But it was so delicious that it brought tears to her eyes. Or perhaps, what was so good that it brought tears to her eyes was Lucas’s kindness.

Again, Rosette sniffled and dipped a fruit in syrup, and Lucas asked with a pleased expression, “Is it good?”

“Yes.”

“Am I the best?”

“Yes.”

“You like me more than Daniel Hyung [term of endearment for older brother or male friend], right?”

“…….”

Rosette couldn’t answer that question. It wasn’t that she had any special feelings to say who she liked more.

Lucas seemed to take it that way and grumbled, “I even made you a special pancake, but I’m still not as good as Hyung? I don’t know why everyone likes Daniel Hyung so much.”

“No, it’s not!”

Rosette quickly swallowed what was in her mouth and denied it. Lucas asked back with a glimmer of hope.

“Then?”

Rosette mumbled softly.

“I…… like everyone.”

“So you like me too?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s good enough.”

Lucas, whose ears had turned red, scratched his cheek.

“Eat quickly. Let’s go see the mansion when you’re done.”

Rosette nodded and began to eat the pancake diligently. As if in a competition, Lucas began to gobble it down.

Only the two of them didn’t know that the employees were watching the two siblings with pleased faces.

* * *

Lucas continued to pile food onto Rosette’s plate like a person obsessed with feeding her.

Not only that, but he praised her for eating well whenever she emptied her plate.

‘I feel good,’ Rosette thought.

Rosette liked the way Lucas chattered and ate and ate. She finally put down her fork when her flat stomach became round.

“I can’t eat anymore.”

“Really? Just a little more.”

“I really can’t eat anymore. If I eat any more…….”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that she might throw up everything she had eaten.

Lucas seemed to notice her omitted words and didn’t force her any further. Instead, he hurriedly ate the food he had set aside for himself and got up from his seat.

“Okay. Now I’ll give you a tour of the mansion!”

It was then. A displeased voice came from the entrance.

“Where are you going in that state?”

It was Isabel Adrian. She smelled of flower soap, as if she had finished her dawn training and taken a shower.

Lucas pouted.

“Why? What’s wrong with my state?”

Isabel retorted sharply. “You stink.”

Lucas made a shocked expression and sniffed his arm. Soon, his face turned red.

“I don’t stink!”

But unlike his words, he slowly moved away from Rosette and Isabel.

“Little one, I’ll go wash up, so wait here—no, in your room! I’ll come get you soon!”

Then he ran out of the dining hall like an arrow. Rosette, who had been laughing silently at his retreating figure, suddenly turned her head at the gaze she felt from the side. Isabel was staring at her intently.

“Why……, why are you doing that?”

“Just,” she muttered indifferently. “I was just wondering if you had become close with that idiot. Did you have breakfast?”

“Yes. With Lucas…… Oppa.”

“I don’t even have to see it to know you ate a mountain of food.”

Rosette quickly shook her head, but Isabel clicked her tongue as if she knew it.

“Anyway, what’s with your state?”

“Ah……,” Rosette mumbled, looking at herself as if she had borrowed her sister’s clothes. “I wore the smallest one…….”

Isabel instructed the exclusive maid standing behind her. “Call Mrs. Wide as soon as possible. We need to get her fitted for clothes.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As if that instruction wasn’t enough, Isabel came a little closer and grabbed Rosette’s hair.

“Even if we can’t help the clothes, you have to have proper manners. What’s with your hair? It’s like a bird’s nest.”

Rosette was a little intimidated and smoothed her hair with her palm. Rosette’s natural hair was good, but it became rougher towards the ends because she didn’t eat properly and didn’t take care of it.

Still, she had the best hair when she was in the orphanage, but compared to Isabel’s silky hair, the difference was clear.

While Rosette was feeling awkward, Isabel brushed her hair with her fingers. Then, she braided it quite skillfully and finished it with the ribbon she was wearing.

Isabel, who had put the braided hair down to one side, nodded.

“Okay, now you look a little better.”

She left those words and sat down at the table to eat.

Rosette fiddled with her braided hair for no reason. Although she was prim, Isabel seemed like a good family member, no less than Lucas or Daniel.

* * *

Daniel headed to the Imperial Palace early in the morning with Duke Adrian. It was to see Joshua, an old friend and prince.

Daniel thought he had misheard when his father, Duke Adrian, told him to go to the Imperial Palace early in the morning. But he was quite surprised by his father’s subsequent words.

-His Highness the Prince was startled by a nightmare?

-Yes. He urgently asked about me and you, wondering what kind of dream he had.

-He’s not the type to be like that just because of a dream, so it’s a strange thing.

-He didn’t tell me what kind of dream it was, but it must have been a pretty terrible nightmare. He said he would come to see you soon, but as a subject, how can I tell His Highness the Prince to come and go?

That was why the two of them had entered the Imperial Palace early in the morning.

Duke Adrian wasn’t the type to do that, but Daniel thought his father was exaggerating. That was because Joshua, as he knew him, wasn’t the type to be swayed by a mere dream.

Joshua Ernhardt was arrogant and cynical. As someone who had learned royal studies since he was young, he was not swayed by personal feelings.

For him to be shaken by a dream, of all things. It was hard to believe. So, until Daniel actually saw Joshua, he thought he wanted to see him and was just making a light joke.

But…….

“Daniel!”

As soon as he met him, Joshua ran over and hugged him tightly. Even though it had only been a week since they had last seen each other, Joshua acted like he was seeing someone after a long time.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Joshua grabbed Daniel’s shoulders and looked him up and down. Daniel shrugged.

“As you can see, I’m fine, Your Highness.”

“What about your legs? How are your legs?”

“I guess I hurt my legs in the dream.”

Daniel, who had been joking with a smile, became serious when he saw Joshua’s serious face.

“As you can see, I’m fine.”

“Really? Walk once.”

Even though he thought it was an absurd request, Daniel walked across the room as he wished. As a knight-in-training who was said to be unmatched among his peers, his walk was cool and disciplined.

Joshua, who was watching him with his chin in his hand, said nonchalantly. “No problem.”

Daniel, who sat down again, laughed and brushed it off.

“Are you making fun of me?”

“To think you’re only realizing that now. Your sense has gotten a lot slower.”

Joshua smiled and lifted his teacup. Only then did Joshua’s appearance that Daniel knew come out. Daniel changed the subject in relief.

“By the way, what kind of dream did you have that made you worry so much about me and my father?”