The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 27

27. Joshua Ernhardt’s Circumstances (1)

November 27, 2023

Duke Adrian laughed heartily, seemingly pleased with the answer. Then, he scooped up Rosette and settled her on his lap.

“Then, how did you know about Joseph Oser’s situation?”

“I asked Pipi. I told her to let me know if anything happened to my family. That day, Pipi was flying around, watching the mansion, and she told me there was a suspicious person!”

[Pip!]

Pipi flapped her wings on the bed as if agreeing. Rosette lowered her voice, as if embarrassed.

“I wanted to protect my family.”

Duke Adrian looked down at Rosette’s head for a moment, as if considering something.

In truth, a few things still didn’t quite add up. Was that really why she specifically told him to be careful of Daniel? And why did Rosette specifically ask Pipi to patrol the mansion?

However, Rosette’s answer seemed plausible enough. So, Duke Adrian didn’t press further and simply stroked his youngest daughter’s hair.

“Yes, you did well.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I should give you a reward.”

[Piiiip!]

“Yes. Pipi, I’ll give you a reward too.”

[Pip, pip.]

Duke Adrian and Rosette burst into laughter as they watched Pipi preen her feathers contentedly.

The breeze coming in through the slightly open window was already much warmer.

It was full spring.

* * *

“Are you alright, Miss?”

“I heard you saved the Lord. You’re really amazing.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

The next day, when Rosette entered the training grounds in the morning, the knights who were doing their physical training all flocked to her at once.

Now quite used to the knights, Rosette wasn’t intimidated by their large size. Rather, she felt a sense of warmth.

‘They were very worried about me.’

She hadn’t realized before how good it felt to have people who cared about her.

The knights, relieved by Rosette’s bright smile, bombarded her with questions again.

“But is it alright for you to be training already?”

“You seem to have gotten even smaller. Are you eating properly?”

Looking at their worried faces, Rosette clenched her fists.

“I can do it. I’m eating well too.”

Yesterday evening, after hearing Celine and the physician say, ‘You can train, but…’, Rosette decided to resume her early morning training right away.

Even Lucas, who had trained her so rigorously, insisted, ‘Are you sure you’re okay? Let’s rest a little more!’, but she had no intention of changing her mind.

‘I need to build up my stamina quickly and strengthen my mana core.’

After this incident, Rosette realized one thing very acutely.

Regardless of her innate abilities, she was still a tiny eight-year-old.

She was so knowledgeable about formulas that she could cast high-level magic right away, but unfortunately, her body couldn’t keep up.

Her mana core was so small that she could barely cast simple spells, and her stamina was weak.

This time, she was lucky enough to summon Pipi and prevent a major accident, but there was no guarantee that would happen in the future.

To safely protect Adrian from Dallas in the future, she needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

‘I couldn’t even reveal that Marquis Dallas was behind this. Marquis Dallas might be planning something else soon.’

It was when the knights were fussing over how cute Rosette looked with her serious face that Lucas, who was coming from afar with a wooden sword, spotted the knights gathered around Rosette and rushed over.

“Didn’t I tell you guys that the youngest one gets scared when you all crowd around like that?”

He quickly approached Rosette, gripped the wooden sword tightly with both hands, and swung it in the air. The knights retreated without hesitation at the rather fierce momentum.

“I’m warning you in advance, if anyone even shows interest in our youngest, I won’t let it go.”

*Sigh*, it’s not like that.

Rosette, shaking her head at Lucas’s overprotectiveness, spotted Joseph with Melody in a corner of the training grounds.

“Melody, why did you come out without sleeping more?”

“I like being with Oppa [older brother] more! Does Oppa not like being with me?”

“Of course, Oppa likes being with our Melody too. But you need to get enough sleep to grow taller.”

“I slept a lot, a lot. Don’t worry too much!”

Rosette smiled as she watched the affectionate siblings.

Joseph, sensing her gaze, turned towards her and quickly bowed. Melody also bowed, following her brother.

Joseph, straightening up, mumbled something with his lips. She couldn’t quite make out everything, but she knew he said ‘Thank you’ at the end.

It was the moment Rosette was about to say something. Lucas spread his arms and blocked her way.

“Okay, kid. Don’t look over there and run quickly. You said you would do morning training on your own, so you have to keep your word.”

It seemed Lucas still mistakenly believed that Rosette was interested in Joseph.

‘I told you it’s not like that.’

Rosette shook her head and gritted her teeth, slowly starting to run around the training grounds.

It was a peaceful day.

* * *

“I heard something big happened to Master.”

Joshua said, instead of greeting Daniel, whom he had met after a long time. It was before the servant had even brought out the refreshments.

Daniel smiled wryly, recalling that dizzying day.

“Yes, it did.”

“What exactly happened? I asked Father, but he didn’t tell me the details.”

“Actually, I don’t know the details either.”

“You can tell me as much as you know.”

“Well….”

Daniel hesitated for a moment.

It was true that he didn’t know all the details. It happened early in the morning, close to dawn, so he was asleep at the time.

He woke up later, sensing the chaotic atmosphere of the mansion, but he still didn’t know anything concrete.

Duke Adrian, who returned to the mansion holding the unconscious Rosette, also didn’t tell him exactly what had happened.

He only knew that there had been an incident targeting Duke Adrian, and Rosette had dealt with it and fallen into a coma.

However, there was another reason why he was reluctant to answer now.

‘Father issued a gag order.’

Currently, the Adrian family was preventing rumors about that day from spreading.

It was for Rosette’s sake, not Duke Adrian’s. She was already receiving a lot of attention, and if it became known that she was a magical genius, Rosette would be in quite a difficult situation.

But should he tell Joshua about that day?

‘It should be okay to say something simple.’

Daniel soon came to that conclusion. Joshua was Duke Adrian’s only swordsmanship disciple and Daniel’s best friend. He could trust him.

“I heard that a spy disguised as a servant sprinkled a magical substance on Father’s carriage. So, the carriage suddenly exploded, and Father was almost engulfed in flames.”

“But how did he get out safely? Did he use mana [magical energy]?”

“That’s….”

To answer that, Rosette’s name would inevitably have to come up. But even if the other person was Joshua, he shouldn’t mention that.

In the end, Daniel vaguely glossed over it.

“I don’t know the specifics. Wouldn’t that be roughly it?”

“Hmm, I see.”

Joshua’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

‘He’s lying.’

As someone born into a noble family and trained as an heir, Daniel was skilled at managing his expressions. Even if he lied, it wasn’t obvious.

However, Joshua had been with Daniel since he was a baby. He keenly noticed the fleeting embarrassment on Daniel’s face at a very brief moment.

It seemed there was an assistant who helped the Duke, given the circumstances. And the Adrian family seemed to be hiding the identity of that assistant.

‘But even if I ask, he won’t tell me.’

Whoever helped, it was enough as long as Duke Adrian was safe. More important than that was something else right now.

Joshua poured tea directly into Daniel’s teacup, changing the subject.

“But how about you?”

“Me?”

“Were you perhaps in Master’s carriage that day?”

“No. I was at the mansion at that time.”

“You were at the mansion?”

Joshua asked in a meaningful voice. Daniel didn’t notice anything particularly strange and replied.

“Yes. It was such an early hour.”

“Why did Master leave the mansion at that early hour?”

“Well, I don’t know that either.”

“Well, anyway, it’s a relief. The advice to be careful of the carriage should have been given to Master, not you.”

“You’re right.”

“But just in case, be careful of the carriage for the time being.”

Daniel looked puzzled but soon smiled and replied.

“Yes, I understand.”

“By the way.”

Joshua put down his teacup and changed the subject.

“When will I finally get to meet the Adrian family’s precious young lady?”

“I’ve felt this before, but you’re very concerned about Rose.”

“Isn’t it the talk of the town, not just me? Everyone is wondering when ‘that’ youngest lady will officially reveal herself.”

“It’s still too early.”

“What’s too early about it?”

Daniel hesitated and muttered.

“Rose is like, a newborn baby bird.”

“A baby bird?”

“Yes. She has to adapt to the harsh world, and there’s a lot to learn.”

A deep smile spread across Daniel’s lips.

“Of course, she’s also just as cute.”

“But it’s not good to hide her away too much. Gossipers are already chattering.”

“Adrian can protect her enough from that.”

“Well, if Adrian thinks so, I have nothing more to say. But you know.”

Joshua decided to ask what he had been curious about all along, but couldn’t bring himself to ask Duke Adrian directly.

“How did you end up adopting that youngest lady? Did Master originally have plans to adopt a child?”

“No, it wasn’t like that. It was a sudden decision.”

“Everyone’s curious, so you can tell me that much, right?”

“That’s true.”

Daniel told him the story of how he first met Rosette, step by step.

“Rose instinctively used healing magic to save a child who was like her older sister. Father discovered that. It seems Father recognized Rose’s abilities and wanted to teach her.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be enough to sponsor her?”

“You’re saying the same thing as Bell. Of course, that would work, but Father said he kept being drawn to Rose for some reason. So, he decided to take her in as his adopted daughter so he could keep her by his side and take care of her.”

“That youngest lady must have liked it. To be adopted into the Adrian family, not just any family.”

“No.”

Daniel smiled a little bitterly.

“She refused at first.”

“She refused? Why?”

“Perhaps she was burdened by being separated from people like her family and being adopted into a noble family.”

“I guess that could be the case. Not just any noble family, but Adrian.”

Joshua, who was about to wrap up the story around that point, suddenly asked.

“But is the Adrian lady’s name Rose?”