The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 136

136. Boat Ride (2)

2024.03.15.

“May I call you Rosette?”

A gentle voice, like carried on the wind. Rosette, captivated by Joshua’s expression and voice, was a little slow to grasp his meaning.

“…Pardon?”

She involuntarily questioned, then raised her voice, almost shouting.

“Pardon meee?”

Rosette belatedly became aware of the surrounding gazes and covered her mouth with both hands. Joshua chuckled softly and asked,

“Is that such a surprising thing?”

“Of course it is…”

Rosette mumbled, cutting her words short.

‘First of all, it’s too sudden.’

Joshua had always been close to Daniel and Lucas, whom he had grown up with like family, calling them by their first names. Although it wasn’t the case now, he had also called Isabel by her first name when they were younger.

However, Rosette had hardly ever been called by her first name.

‘I don’t think I ever have been.’

Besides Adrian, Joshua didn’t call anyone else by their first name. It was because of the weight that names carried.

In the aristocratic society of the Ernhardt Empire, where Rosette lived, titles were quite strictly distinguished.

Usually, people were addressed by their surname along with a title indicating their position.

Calling someone by their first name was only possible between family, friends, or lovers—those with a special relationship.

So, the fact that Joshua hadn’t called Rosette by her first name until now meant that he had kept his distance from her.

Wasn’t it after she became an adult that the term of address changed from ‘you’ to ‘thee’?

But why, now, was Joshua suddenly declaring that he wanted to call her by her first name?

As she was deep in thought, trying to figure out his intentions and unable to answer his question, Joshua frowned slightly and asked again.

“Am I perhaps upsetting you?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Rosette could say this much for sure.

She wasn’t upset. It was just sudden.

She studied Joshua’s expression, trying to gauge his intentions, but as always, she couldn’t read his mind. In the end, Rosette asked directly.

“May I ask why you’re suddenly saying such a thing?”

“Does there need to be a reason?”

“Not necessarily, but you’ve never done this before.”

“Hmm.”

Joshua looked at Rosette’s face and then rowed the boat further away from the others. She could hear Silver diligently swimming after them.

“Would it be insufficient to say that I suddenly wanted to?”

“I’m curious as to why you suddenly felt that way.”

“Would it be the same reason I call Daniel or Lucas by their first names?”

“But you don’t call Isabel by her first name.”

“I consider myself to be closer to you than to Sir Adrian. Besides, if I were to be picky, Sir Adrian is a knight of the Imperial Guard, so I’m trying to treat him accordingly.”

“I see.”

Joshua leaned his body slightly towards Rosette.

“So, do you dislike it? You can tell me honestly if I’m making an unreasonable request.”

“That’s…”

Rosette avoided Joshua’s gaze, glancing sideways. Silver and Pipi were floating beside the boat, seemingly observing the situation with great interest.

“It’s not that I dislike it…”

If anything, she liked it.

The name ‘Rosette’ that Joshua had whispered a moment ago sounded sweet.

The desire for him to call her by her first name was gradually sprouting in Rosette’s heart.

But was it okay to do so? If other people heard…

“If you’re worried about people’s attention, I’ll only call you that when we’re alone.”

Joshua spoke as if he had read her mind. Rosette hesitated, then nodded.

“If that’s the case, I think it would be okay.”

“Alright, Rosette.”

Once again, Rosette’s face flushed as the name came from his lips.

Rosette. A name given by the people at the orphanage because her pink hair resembled a rose.

There were times when she liked her name because the people at the orphanage, including Jane, called it affectionately, but there were also times when she hated it.

-For someone like you to have such an unsuitable and extravagant name. Where does that dull pink color look like a rose color?

Elisha, who was no longer in this world, used to laugh at her name in the past.

But just as she had come to like her pink hair, which she used to see as a complex, she was able to love her name to her heart’s content as she listened to her family calling her name with affection.

However, the name that came from Joshua’s lips felt different from when her family called it.

When her family called it, she felt loved, but when Joshua called it, she felt shy and happy.

Even though Joshua was probably calling her name without any special feelings, it felt special.

Rosette cupped her cheeks, trying to calm her pounding heart, when Joshua spoke again.

“Rosette, if it’s okay with you, could you also call me…”

However, his words were not completed. In the middle of speaking, he seemed to realize something and shut his mouth tightly.

“Yes?”

Rosette looked into his eyes and asked back, but he shook his head lightly.

“No. That seems too fast.”

“Too fast?”

“Yes.”

What was too fast? Rosette was curious, but she didn’t bother to ask. Knowing Joshua’s personality, he wouldn’t answer even if she asked.

‘Surely he’s not going to ask me to call him by his first name, is he?’

She briefly had such a thought, but soon denied it.

Just as the name of a noble carried great weight, the name of a royal carried even greater weight. No, it couldn’t even be compared to that of a noble.

For royalty, a name was something that only family, especially direct family with strong blood ties, could call. There were even cases where direct family members didn’t call each other by name.

The current emperor also called Joshua ‘Prince’ instead of his name.

And yet, he was about to ask her to call Joshua by his first name. What a misunderstanding.

Rosette decided not to pay any more attention to what Joshua was about to say. Instead, she put her hand back into the water and decided to enjoy this time.

“Come to think of it, isn’t it almost His Highness’s birthday?”

Rosette calculated the date in her head. She didn’t remember Joshua’s birthday exactly, but it seemed to be around summer.

“Yes. It’s next month.”

“It’s not long now. There will be a party, right?”

“Probably.”

“It’s the day His Highness is the main character, but you don’t seem very interested?”

“Is there a reason to be particularly interested?”

“Well, it’s your birthday.”

Joshua chuckled and muttered as if he was bored.

“Birthdays are just a nuisance. Receiving insincere congratulations is only good once or twice. I’m tired of receiving unwanted congratulations now.”

“But…”

Rosette recalled the first birthday she had after coming to the Adrian estate.

After her eighth birthday, Duke Adrian and his three children seriously put their heads together every year to decide what kind of birthday party to throw for her this time.

Rosette was against having a noisy party with a lot of people. However, they invited the children from the orphanage, including Jane, and invited close friends for dinner.

Rosette, who had only thought of her birthday as the day she was abandoned at the orphanage, still looked forward to her birthday even as an adult.

She felt a little sorry for Joshua, who didn’t know the joy of birthdays.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’ll try to make His Highness’s birthday more enjoyable than ever.”

“You?”

“Yes!”

Rosette was full of energy.

“Actually, I wasn’t very interested in birthdays either. The orphanage I lived in didn’t have enough money to celebrate birthdays lavishly, and everyone at the Dallas barony didn’t even know when my birthday was.”

“…”

“Besides, my birthday wasn’t so much the day I was born as the day I was abandoned at the orphanage, so it didn’t feel special. But after listening to Daniel, I changed my mind.”

“What did Daniel say to make you do that?”

“He said that my birthday wasn’t the day I was abandoned, but the day that helped me meet Adrian. Because that day, I was able to meet my family because I went to that orphanage.”

Joshua readily agreed.

“That’s true.”

“His Highness’s birthday is the same.”

Joshua nodded, then frowned again.

“My birthday?”

“Because that day was the day I was able to meet His Highness. You said you only heard insincere congratulations? But was there really no sincerity in them at all?”

Rosette continued to explain.

“The Empress, Father [Duke Adrian], and Daniel all sincerely congratulated His Highness on his birthday. Even Silver!”

Silver, who had been listening quietly, barked in agreement.

“And now I’m here too. I couldn’t take care of it before because I was young, well, I can’t say I was young, but anyway, I can take care of it now.”

“A birthday that you celebrate.”

Joshua muttered softly and chuckled.

“That would be quite enjoyable.”

“Right?”

“I’ll look forward to what kind of birthday you’ll prepare.”

Rosette suddenly came to her senses and mumbled.

“D-don’t get your hopes up.”

“When did you say you were going to sincerely congratulate me, and now you’re telling me not to expect anything?”

“I’ll sincerely congratulate you. But I’m not confident in things like parties…”

“Things like parties are fine.”

Joshua interrupted her.

“The important thing is your sincerity.”

“That…”

“Hey, kid!”

Rosette was about to retort.

Lucas’s voice echoed loudly from behind Rosette.

Joshua, confirming who it was, rubbed his temple.

“He followed us after all.”

Rosette turned around. Lucas, alone on his boat, was rowing towards them with a fearsome momentum.