The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 28

29. Joshua Ernhardt’s Circumstances (3)

The assassin’s identity was revealed surprisingly quickly.

“Rosette Dallas?”

Joshua asked, his voice laced with anger. The aide elaborated.

“Yes. She’s said to be the adopted daughter of Duke Dallas, adopted about ten years ago.”

He’d heard of her.

“The Dallas heiress who once caused a stir in society.”

Thirteen years prior, rumors circulated that Marquis Dallas had adopted a commoner girl from an orphanage. Public curiosity was piqued, but Marquis Dallas never introduced her to society.

Information about her remained scarce.

The only known details were her name, ‘Rosette Dallas,’ and her aptitude for magic.

Rosette Dallas made her debut at her coming-of-age ball.

Joshua saw her for the first time that day. Rosette Dallas wasn’t particularly striking in appearance.

She wore a fancy dress and jewelry befitting a member of the Dallas family, but she was petite, her hair and skin were rough, and her demeanor lacked aristocratic polish.

Moreover, she concealed half her face with an ornate mask, obscuring her features.

People sneered, dismissing her as a mere commoner.

However, Joshua noticed her because of the immense mana [magical energy] surrounding her.

‘Marquis Dallas adopted Rosette Dallas for that reason,’ he surmised.

It was a pity. Had he discovered her first, he could have nurtured her into a great magician. But she had fallen into Marquis Dallas’s hands first.

But that was the extent of his thoughts. He didn’t dwell on Marquis Dallas’s daughter.

Later, as the party wore on, Joshua, seeking refuge in the garden, encountered Rosette Dallas again.

“This place is too stuffy, BbiBbi.”

[Bbiit!]

“You think so too, right?”

The voice emanating from the bushes was soft and clear, like a song shared with a small bird.

Joshua moved toward the sound as if drawn by an invisible force.

There was Rosette Dallas. She had removed her mask and placed it beside her.

“I want to go back to my room and talk with you.”

[Bbiik!]

“BbiBbi, you’re the only one for me.”

She kissed the beak of a small white bird perched on her hand.

Joshua stared, mesmerized.

Rosette Dallas possessed a strange charm.

Her pink hair, striking even in the dim light, had a captivating glow, despite its roughness, and her skin was as pale as if she had never been exposed to the sun.

When she sensed his presence and turned to him, he was even more taken aback.

A pair of blue eyes stared at him, sparkling like jewels. Pure, untainted emotions radiated from her gaze.

He couldn’t look away. He had encountered people from all walks of life, but had he ever met someone as captivating as her?

What was this unfamiliar feeling?

[Bbit!]

Joshua, who had been staring intently, snapped back to reality when the white bird moved protectively in front of Rosette. He stammered an apology.

“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop…”

Before he could finish, Rosette reacted unexpectedly. She donned her mask, jumped up, and fled as if escaping.

Running away instead of greeting a member of the imperial family with courtesy. It was absurd, yet he didn’t feel offended.

He simply chuckled.

He wanted to follow her and talk, but he knew he shouldn’t. She was, after all, Marquis Dallas’s daughter.

Joshua lingered near the bushes where Rosette had been sitting before returning to the party.

Joshua hadn’t given her much thought since that day. Rosette Dallas also disappeared from society, and he didn’t seek her out.

However, he retained a faint, positive impression of her.

But that Rosette Dallas had done this? That girl with the clear eyes, really?

Joshua clenched his fists until they trembled.

“Were there any other intruders besides her?”

The aide replied in a disbelieving tone.

“According to the investigation, there weren’t.”

“None? Are you saying that Rosette Dallas alone bypassed the strict security and killed my master and Daniel?”

“I’m sorry, but yes.”

Joshua barely suppressed the urge to seize the incompetent aide by the collar and shake him. He pressed on.

“There must have been someone from the Dallas family who supported her.”

“That’s… The Dallas family claims that this was Rosette Dallas’s solo act. Marquis Dallas also claims he knew nothing about it and has severed ties with her.”

“Ha, solo?”

Joshua slammed his fist on the desk.

“That’s ridiculous. Are you telling me to believe that nonsense?”

“That’s…”

The aide hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Many nobles are supporting that claim.”

“For example?”

“The Lillies ducal family is the most vocal.”

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

The Lillies ducal family. The maternal family of the current empress. Joshua twisted his lips, recalling the current empress, Leonie Ernhardt.

“So that’s how it is.”

Thirteen years ago, after the death of the former empress, Ophelia Ernhardt, the nobles clamored for a new empress as if they had been waiting for it.

The emperor reluctantly appointed Leonie Lillies, then a duchess, as the new empress. It wasn’t even three months after Ophelia’s death.

Joshua was deeply disturbed by his father’s actions. Regardless of the loveless nature of the marriage, how could he bring in a new empress so quickly?

But what was even more shocking was the child Leonie brought with her, Louis. The nine-year-old boy, who introduced himself as Leonie’s son, Louis Lillies, had blonde hair and golden eyes.

“……!”

Golden eyes were a symbol of the Ernhardt imperial family. That meant that Louis was not simply a bastard but the emperor’s child.

After a formal paternity test, it was confirmed that the child was indeed the emperor’s son with Leonie. Subsequently, the emperor bestowed the Ernhardt surname upon Louis as if he had been anticipating it.

Thus, the second prince appeared in the imperial family, where there had only been the first prince, Joshua.

Before Louis’s arrival, everyone naturally assumed that Joshua would inherit the throne. But afterward, the succession dynamics shifted subtly.

Unfortunately, Joshua lacked a strong support base. His maternal family, the Kingdom of Iverrin, was too weak to influence the empire’s succession.

It was his master, Adrian, who supported him.

In essence, the noble factions were divided between the Adrian ducal family and the Lillies ducal family.

‘And the Dallas family is a prominent force within the Lillies ducal family.’

It was clear to anyone that this was a plot by the Dallas ducal family to eliminate their rivals.

However, Joshua faced an unexpected hurdle. The emperor was attempting to swiftly conclude the incident as a solo act by Rosette Dallas.

“I am also saddened by the deaths of Duke Adrian and his successor. But, Prince, there is no evidence that Marquis Dallas instigated it.”

“If we investigate further…!”

“Didn’t I say that we have already investigated sufficiently?”

Thirteen years ago, when his wife, Ophelia Ernhardt, was poisoned, the emperor had wrapped up the case just as quickly.

Even when Joshua cried and pleaded for a more thorough investigation, insisting that a mere maid couldn’t have orchestrated it alone, he refused to listen.

Joshua belatedly realized that this was another cleverly orchestrated scheme, just like before. The death of Duke Adrian had been carried out with the emperor’s tacit approval.

Unfortunately, there was nothing more Joshua could do. He wanted to meet Rosette Dallas and ask her if it was a plot by Marquis Dallas, but he refrained. It would be futile.

“I will definitely uncover the truth behind my father’s death. As Duke Adrian, I will not condone this,” he vowed to Isabel, who had inherited the position of successor overnight.

“When I ascend the throne, I will definitely reinvestigate this matter.”

However, he seethed with fury at being forced to stand idly by. Joshua secretly visited Rosette Dallas the day before her execution, after consuming an unusual amount of alcohol.

“Why did you do it?”

“…….”

“What crime did my master and Daniel commit to deserve being killed! Why!”

He cried and questioned her like a child, unsure of what reaction he expected from her.

But Rosette Dallas responded unexpectedly once again.

She was still so small and frail that it was hard to believe she was an adult, and she wept. It was as if she regretted killing the two men.

Regret? That was absurd. If she felt so much regret, she shouldn’t have done it in the first place.

“I’m…”

Rosette Dallas moved her lips, but she couldn’t continue and simply cried.

There were many things she wanted to say, but what was the point now?

“Your execution date has been set.”

“…….”

“Your death won’t bring them back, but it will honor their spirits. If you have any sense of guilt, atone until the moment you die.”

Joshua barely managed to utter those words and returned to his room, unable to sleep all night.

Would everything be resolved if Rosette Dallas, that child, was executed? She was merely a pawn of Duke Lillies and Marquis Dallas in the end.

Her death would not honor the spirits of Duke Adrian and Daniel.

‘But what can I do?’

What could he do in this situation without his master and Daniel!

Joshua, consumed by rage, eventually fell asleep as if he had fainted.

When he awoke again.

“……!”

He was back to being twelve years old.

“What on earth…?”

At first, he thought he was dreaming, but all his senses were sharp and clear. He had never experienced such a vivid dream.

His bewildered gaze fell upon the necklace he always wore. It was inlaid with a jewel that shimmered with various colors like an opal.

It had been given to him by his mother, the empress of the empire and the princess of Iverrin, and he had heard that it was a heirloom passed down in the Iverrin royal family.

At the time, Ophelia had whispered meaningful words as she placed it in his hand.

“This will save you someday.”