The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 48

48. Acknowledgment (2)

December 18, 2023

Rosette bit her cherry-like lips so hard they turned white.

‘Those people aren’t family.’

Once, she had considered them family. Or, more precisely, she had strived to fit within their definition of ‘family.’

Marquis Dallas seemed to sense her thoughts, whispering sweet words whenever she seemed to tire.

-Yes, that’s my daughter.

Each time Rosette heard those words, she believed she had finally become part of their family.

But she realized she had been completely deceived.

‘That’s not what family is.’

If Marquis Dallas truly loved her like a daughter, like he doted on Elisha, he would never have asked her to do such things.

However, the Adrian family was different. They never forced Rosette to do anything. Instead, they even sacrificed for her sake.

How could she compare Adrian and Dallas on the same level?

“I was never a Dallas. Marquis Dallas isn’t my father either.”

“But I remember Marquis Dallas coddling you.”

“That’s just because he was worried I’d run away. He only ever used me. That’s not what family is.”

Rosette shuddered. Joshua watched her, thinking seriously.

‘She’s definitely changed.’

Rosette had changed so much that she seemed like a completely different person from who he had known in the past.

Seeing her so vehemently opposed, it seemed unlikely she would ever join hands with Marquis Dallas, even if they were to meet in the future.

‘Still, it’s unsettling to leave her in Adrian.’

Joshua made a proposition to Rosette, who was trembling slightly.

“Then why not go somewhere where you won’t have to meet Marquis Dallas?”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t you say before that you didn’t want to get involved with Marquis Dallas in the first place?”

He continued, not giving Rosette a chance to object.

“I intend to repay you sufficiently for helping me. Even if you leave the Adrian family, you’ll live without any lack for the rest of your life.”

“……”

“I’ll buy you a mansion wherever you want, and you’ll receive all the education you desire. I’ll place trustworthy people as your servants. When you reach marriageable age, I’ll find you a suitable husband. Besides that, I’ll give you a generous reward separately.”

It was an extraordinary offer. As he said, she could live as luxuriously as she did in Adrian with that.

No, objectively, she could live even more comfortably. She wouldn’t have to get involved in troublesome matters.

But…….

“I didn’t say I would stay in Adrian just to live comfortably. I told you, I want to protect my family as an Adrian.”

“Of course, I plan to protect the Adrian family safely as well. Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“But……!”

All her counterarguments were blocked.

Rosette gripped her skirt tightly with both hands, trying to think of another reason, but nothing plausible came to mind.

Even if she did, it was clear that Joshua’s logic would block them all.

Nevertheless, she didn’t want to leave.

“I…….”

Rosette revealed her last remaining sincerity.

“I love Adrian.”

“……?”

“That’s why I want to stay here. There’s no other reason. That’s just how I feel.”

Joshua listened to her in silence. Encouraged by this, she spoke haphazardly.

“Of course, I could live without envying others as the Prince said. But my family isn’t there.”

Rosette placed her right hand over her left chest. She could feel her heart beating pleasantly beneath her palm.

“So I want to continue living here with my family.”

Joshua stared blankly at Rosette.

She was wearing an expression he had never seen before. It was resolute, yet also seemed happy just thinking about her family.

‘I was originally trying to chase her out no matter what…….’

Even when he gave her the grace period, he had intended to expel Rosette from Adrian without fail.

If he succeeded in saving Ophelia, he would give her appropriate compensation, and if not, she would leave empty-handed.

He thought it was fine since he hadn’t promised to let Rosette stay in Adrian anyway.

However, his heart softened a little after seeing Rosette at the Empress’s Palace. Because she had acted with genuine sincerity.

And even now, his heart wavered.

‘Besides, my teacher seems to cherish that child more than I thought. If she disappears, he’ll find her no matter what it takes.’

Joshua unconsciously began to rationalize his actions.

“Alright.”

“If you give me one more chance……. Yes?”

“I said alright.”

Rosette blinked, not understanding his words.

“Then……?”

“I’ll extend the grace period a little longer.”

“How long is the period?”

“It’s undecided for now.”

Joshua chuckled.

“I’ll be watching, and if you do anything foolish, I’ll expel you mercilessly by any means necessary.”

He knew it would be difficult. The longer Rosette stayed in Adrian, the harder it would be to send her away.

Yet, Joshua decided to leave her be. It was an emotional decision he himself couldn’t understand.

“Kyaa!”

Rosette, who had been extremely nervous, raised both hands high into the air.

“Bbi-Bbi, did you hear? The Prince said I can stay in the Adrian family!”

[Bbit! Bbiik!]

Bbi-Bbi, sharing Rosette’s joy, hopped on top of the wolf’s head.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yes, of course!”

Rosette clenched both fists.

“I’ll do really well. I won’t do anything foolish, and I’ll protect Marquis Adrian well from now on. I’ll protect the Empress so nothing bad happens, and I’ll protect my family!”

She shouted excitedly.

“And the Prince too……!”

“……Me? What are you going to do to me?”

Rosette realized what she had said and unfolded her clenched fists.

“Ahem, hmm. It’s just that.”

She could never say that she was going to protect Joshua.

Joshua’s eyes narrowed. Rosette slowly backed away towards the wolf.

“You’re happy too, Wolf, right?”

The wolf answered by rubbing its snout against Rosette’s cheek. Rosette changed the subject altogether, fearing that Joshua would persistently question her.

“By the way, Prince, why are you keeping the fact that you summoned a familiar a secret?”

He looked at Rosette with a slightly pitiful expression.

“What kind of reaction do you think people will have if someone who didn’t show any signs of summoning a familiar suddenly summons one?”

“Oh, they’d be very surprised.”

“And?”

“They’ll wonder if you summoned a familiar by doing something bad.”

“Yes, they would. So I’m waiting for the right time.”

“Ah, I see.”

Rosette nodded.

“Then how old were you when you originally summoned your familiar?”

“Fourteen.”

“You summoned it really early.”

“I don’t think I should be hearing that from you. How old were you when you originally summoned your familiar?”

“Eleven years old. I created my mana core when I was nine.”

Joshua didn’t offer any words of praise. However, his slightly widened eyes showed that he was surprised.

Rosette feigned modesty.

“It’s not a big deal.”

Joshua let out a hollow laugh.

“I didn’t say it was a big deal.”

Then he asked in return.

“But why did you summon your familiar right away? Didn’t you think everyone would be suspicious?”

“I did.”

“But why did you summon it anyway? Did you want to be called a genius?”

“No!”

Rosette quickly denied.

“I just! Wanted to protect Daniel!”

At the unexpected answer, Joshua pressed his lips together. Rosette, who had plopped down on a tree stump, continued to explain while swinging her legs back and forth.

“As you know, Prince, Daniel originally got into a carriage accident and injured his leg. I wanted to prevent that. But I didn’t know exactly when and how it would happen because it was before I was adopted into the Dallas family. I roughly discovered the spy from the Dallas family that I had seen in the past, but that alone wasn’t enough.”

“So?”

“So I summoned it. I needed Bbi-Bbi to track the spy. Besides, you can use higher-level magic if you summon a familiar. In the worst-case scenario, I wanted to heal my brother if he ended up limping.”

“……”

“Actually, I was able to resolve the accident thanks to Bbi-Bbi. It was a bit unexpected that the accident targeted my father instead of Daniel, but I’m glad I was able to resolve it anyway. So I think it was fortunate that I summoned Bbi-Bbi even a day earlier.”

Rosette quickly added.

“Ah, and I saved the Empress too.”

[Bbit!]

Bbi-Bbi once again boasted about its achievements.

“And I missed Bbi-Bbi. Because it’s my only friend.”

[Bbii.]

Bbi-Bbi rubbed its face against Rosette’s cheek with an affectionate gesture.

Rosette, bursting into laughter, asked Joshua again.

“Isn’t that why you summoned your familiar too, Prince? Because you missed your friend?”

Joshua only shrugged in response. In fact, Rosette, who had expected him to deny it with a sneer, was a little taken aback by the unexpected reaction.

“Did you really miss the wolf, Prince?”

“…….”

Rosette realized that he would never answer and changed the subject.

“Come to think of it, Prince. What’s the name of your familiar?”

“Name?”

“Yes, name. You can’t just keep calling it ‘Wolf’ forever. Actually, I asked the wolf for its name, but I couldn’t understand the wolf’s words.”

Joshua made a face as if he had heard something strange.

“It doesn’t have a name.”

“Why?”

This time, Rosette widened her eyes as if she had heard something absurd.

The two stared at each other silently with faces that seemed to need understanding.

It was Joshua who broke the silence first.

“Does a familiar need a name?”

“Of course! A familiar is a friend! You should definitely give a friend a name!”

Rosette tickled Bbi-Bbi’s chin.

“As you already know, my familiar’s name is Bbi-Bbi. I named it Bbi-Bbi because it beeps. Lucas didn’t even know that and called Bbi-Bbi ‘Ppiyak’ while I was asleep. Lucas is an idiot.”

[Bbit!]

That’s right, an idiot. Bbi-Bbi chimed in.

“So? Are you really just going to call the wolf ‘Wolf’?”

Rosette looked up at Joshua with sparkling eyes. It was a sign to quickly name the wolf.

Joshua was dumbfounded looking at her.

‘She’s fearless.’

The child who had been trembling when he first saw her was gone now.

Rosette now treated Joshua very comfortably. Daniel was the only one who had treated him like this before.

‘But it’s not bad.’

He chuckled.