The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 126

126. The Hunting Competition (3)

March 5, 2024

“Silver!”

Rosette hugged Silver tightly as he lifted his front paws and snuggled into her. Silver wagged his tail and licked her cheek.

People’s attention turned to Rosette and Silver. Some were astonished, while others watched with great interest.

Rosette whispered to Silver, unconcerned about their gazes.

“Silver, where is His Highness?”

[Woof!]

Just then, a stern voice came from behind the wolf.

“Silver, stop.”

It was Joshua. At the same time, Silver’s tail, which had been wagging enthusiastically, drooped, and he began to whine.

Joshua approached Silver and said sternly again.

“I told you to stop.”

Whine, whine. Silver whimpered again, then moved away from Rosette and stood on all fours.

Silver straightened, exuding dignity as if he had never acted spoiled.

Rosette chuckled at Silver’s change, then composed herself and looked back at Joshua.

Today, Joshua was wearing a close-fitting hunting suit like the others, and he looked even more dignified than usual.

Though he moved with more agility than the other knights, he also seemed very solid and dependable.

Rosette, who had been unconsciously scanning Joshua, quickly came to her senses under his gaze and gave a slight curtsy.

“Greetings to His Highness the Prince.”

“The greetings are enough.”

Rosette hesitated for a moment in an awkward posture before straightening.

“Is Your Highness also participating in the hunting competition today?”

“Yes.”

“Then……”

Rosette fiddled with her handbag again.

As if noticing, Silver put his snout to the handbag and sniffed. But Joshua scolded, “Silver,” and he whimpered and stepped back.

“Then… have a safe trip.”

Rosette, conscious of the surrounding gazes, hid her handbag behind her back. Joshua looked at her hand disappearing with a puzzled expression but said nothing.

“Okay, I understand.”

Joshua chuckled and left with Silver. Silver’s tail was still drooping, and he looked back at Rosette several times.

Rosette waved at Silver and joined Clara and Theresa.

Her two friends stared at Rosette with strange faces. Clara, in particular, was grinning, looking like Lucas looking at Isabel with Lord Roten [a reference to a previous event or inside joke].

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Hmm, just because.”

Instead of Clara, who made a meaningful humming sound, Theresa asked,

“Rosette, are you very close to His Highness?”

“Huh? Well, I don’t know.”

Should she say they were close?

Rosette took the question as an opportunity to reflect on her relationship with Joshua.

‘I guess you could say we’re close, right?’

The two shared a secret that they could never tell others. Moreover, they often met and interacted.

Objectively speaking, they could be said to be close. But she couldn’t state that fact outright, so she denied it for now.

“Not really.”

“For someone who isn’t, His Highness’s familiar seems to like you a lot?”

“Maybe it’s because of Pipi? Pipi and Silver are close.”

“Ah, I see.”

Rosette summoned Pipi, trying to avoid Clara’s still strange gaze. It was to divert her two friends’ attention.

[Pip? Peek?]

Seeing Pipi, who appeared with a pop in the air, Clara and Theresa focused on the little bird as Rosette had hoped.

“Wow, Pipi. Long time no see.”

“You’re still so small!”

[Peep!]

Pipi also flapped its wings and greeted the two.

Meanwhile, Rosette followed Joshua with her eyes. Before she knew it, Louis Ernhardt was standing next to him as he stood on the platform prepared by the servants.

Listening to the two princes giving speeches to the people, Rosette was newly immersed in emotion.

‘Come to think of it, it seems like it was around this time that I turned back time.’

It was around the summer of her twentieth year that she killed Duke Adrian and Daniel. Chronologically, it would have been around now.

‘Actually, I thought everything would be over by now.’

The two were alive, and Marquis Dallas was gone, but there was still so much left. Joshua was still a prince without being appointed as crown prince, and Ophelia was still being threatened.

‘But it’ll be okay.’

While Rosette clenched her fists timidly, the two princes’ speeches ended.

Rosette hesitated as she watched Joshua being surrounded by people. Before she knew it, she took out a handkerchief from her bag and carefully held it in her hand.

After hesitating several times, Rosette approached Joshua, who was checking his sword while refusing the handkerchiefs of several young ladies.

[Woof!]

Silver greeted her before Joshua did. Rosette smiled awkwardly at Silver and looked up at Joshua.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, that……”

Joshua, who had checked the handkerchief in her hand, smiled slightly.

“Is that perhaps for me?”

“I made one more while making Lucas’s. It’s not like I made it specifically to give to Your Highness, but……”

Rosette, who was mumbling, suddenly turned her gaze to Joshua’s sword handle.

‘That is……?’

A handkerchief was tied to the sword handle. It was the one Rosette gave him when Joshua went out to subjugate monsters. The crooked embroidery was still embarrassing, but at the same time, she was happy.

‘You still have it.’

To be honest, she didn’t think he would still have it like this.

For some reason, Rosette, who gained courage from it, handed over the handkerchief.

“If you don’t mind, please accept this.”

Unlike the other handkerchiefs he refused, Joshua accepted it without hesitation.

“I will gladly accept it.”

“Thank you. Then have a safe trip.”

Joshua tried to add something, but Rosette, conscious of the surrounding gazes, quickly finished the conversation and returned to her friends.

Clara and Theresa, who were playing with Pipi, pretended not to notice Rosette’s slightly reddened cheeks.

“You were here.”

While Rosette was cupping her cheeks and cooling her hot cheeks, a beautiful voice was heard. When she raised her head, Michael was looking down at her.

“Ah, Michael.”

Michael, wearing a hunting suit, smiled brightly.

“Don’t you have a handkerchief for me?”

“Oh, uh-uh.”

“That’s too bad.”

Michael, who smiled meaningfully, tapped Rosette’s head.

“Then I’ll be off.”

“Yeah, have a safe trip.”

Rosette waved at him carefully.

Finally, everyone participating in the hunting competition left for the hunting grounds.

While people went out hunting, Rosette sat on a mat with Clara and Theresa, chatting. Actually, she thought there wouldn’t be much to do, but time passed quickly as they talked.

That’s how much time had passed.

“Hello, Princess Adrian.”

A group of girls approached them. There were familiar faces and faces she was seeing for the first time.

“Can we talk with you?”

Rosette glanced at Clara and Theresa before nodding.

“Yes, come on in.”

As they sat on the mat that the servant brought, more and more children began to gather. In an instant, Rosette’s surroundings began to bustle.

Rosette couldn’t figure out what was going on and closed her mouth, but someone spoke first.

“I wanted to meet you, Princess.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re so famous.”

Rosette looked at the faces of the people who were looking at her with great interest. She couldn’t find any hostility in them.

The curious eyes were a bit burdensome, but at least they didn’t seem to be harming her.

“I heard you went through a lot this time. I’m glad things worked out.”

“I know, right? I heard the culprit was Elisha Dallas? I saw her when I was young, and she’s always had a nasty heart.”

“I think she thought she was the same as the Princess. She didn’t know her place.”

“Still, I’m so glad that Elisha Dallas paid the price for her sins.”

“Yes.”

Rosette roughly agreed to their conversation before getting up from her seat.

“I’m going for a walk for a bit.”

“I’ll go with you……”

“No, I just want to look around alone.”

When Rosette winked at Pipi, the little bird, who was confused in the crowd, fluttered and landed on her shoulder.

Clara and Theresa also exchanged glances before getting up from their seats.

“Shall we go for a walk too?”

“I’m getting restless just sitting here.”

The two followed Rosette, who was disappearing into the promenade with Joseph [likely a servant or guard].

[Peep?]

Why are you so upset?

Pipi rubbed its face against Rosette’s neck, asking as they got some distance from the people. Rosette tickled Pipi’s chin.

“I’m not upset. I was just uncomfortable with so many people.”

[Peep?]

“Really.”

Rosette smiled, placing Pipi on her finger.

She wasn’t really upset. Elisha Dallas did something worthy of criticism, and she had no feelings about being criticized for it.

However, the moment she found a young lady who used to be close to Elisha in the group that was cursing, she felt a little strange.

‘If something happens to me, they’ll turn their backs on me quickly.’

So she couldn’t approach them with an open mind.

Rosette was smiling bitterly when Clara and Theresa, who had been following closely behind her, gasped for breath.

“Rosette, why are you walking so fast?”

“It was so hard to keep up.”

Rosette looked at her two friends and widened her eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s going on? We came because we couldn’t leave you alone.”

“Actually, that place was uncomfortable too.”

“That’s right. I hated seeing them pretending to be close to Rosette now.”

“There was even a kid who used to ignore you before.”

Rosette looked at her two friends and burst into laughter.

‘Still, my life wasn’t in vain.’

Rosette started walking forward again. Her steps were lighter than before.

That’s how they were talking and walking into the promenade.

Rosette stopped walking at the strange energy she felt from somewhere. Clara, who was following behind, couldn’t stop in time and bumped into Rosette’s back.

“Ah. Rosette, what’s wrong?”

Rosette silently stared at something far away.

Clearly, the sky was clear without a single cloud. But for some reason, she began to feel ominous.