The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 52

52. I’m Grateful to You

2023.12.22.

Joshua didn’t elaborate further, as if he had just tossed the words out casually. Rosette looked at him and then resumed reading her book.

Joshua watched her silently before speaking, as if in passing.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever properly thanked you.”

“……Pardon?”

Rosette, who had been pondering the meaning of his words, shook her head more vigorously than before.

“No, you already did! Back in that forest.”

“I know. I’m talking about something else.”

“……Something else?”

“About you turning back time.”

Joshua continued in a nonchalant tone.

“What you did changed a lot for me. If it weren’t for you, I would have been living unhappily in a world where I lost all my loved ones. Maybe I would have gone wrong too. Everyone wanted that, after all.”

“That’s…….”

As she was about to deny it, Joshua raised his hand to stop her.

“I still don’t know exactly what you were thinking when you turned back time. I’m not sure if it was to fix everything, as you said, or simply to save your own life.”

“…….”

“Still, you succeeded in turning back time and gave me another chance. For that alone, I am grateful to you.”

Rosette fidgeted with her toes inside her shoes, feeling embarrassed.

Her life had always been stained with criticism. She had tried to be loved, but her magic only earned her the resentment of many.

Even her family had turned away from her.

Even though she had succeeded in turning back time and saved many people who had died in the past, she never thought she would receive a thank you. Because she had only done what was obvious.

Besides, no one remembered the past, so there was no one to say such things to her.

But the man who had resented her was thanking her.

It felt strange. She thought she had learned more emotions while living in the Adrian family than in the past, but it seemed there were still unfamiliar feelings left.

She felt ashamed. The inside of her throat tickled. Rosette scratched her neck with her fingernails and muttered.

“I don’t think I deserve to be thanked, but I’m glad I was able to help you, Your Highness.”

Then it suddenly occurred to her.

‘But how does His Highness remember the past?’

If he didn’t remember the past, she wouldn’t have heard these words.

Was there a flaw in her magic? What if there was someone else besides Joshua who remembered the past?

What if they were people from Duke Dallas and Duke Lilith?

Rosette turned pale and asked.

“But, Your Highness, why do you remember? If it’s because the magic went wrong, doesn’t that mean there’s someone else who remembers the past too?”

“Ah, that.”

Unlike the worried Rosette, Joshua was nonchalant.

“You don’t have to worry too much. I’m probably the only one who remembers.”

“How can you be so sure, Your Highness? I thought I was the only one.”

“That’s…….”

Joshua hesitated and then opened his mouth again.

“There’s a reason. I can’t tell you why, but you don’t have to worry.”

“Th-That’s… okay.”

Rosette stopped trying to pry. He wouldn’t tell her anyway.

“Anyway, the story is over, so let’s get back to the book.”

“Yes!”

Rosette began reading the plant encyclopedia with Pipi, as he had said.

How long had it been? When she looked up again, she found Joshua deep in thought.

“Is something bothering you?”

“Ah.”

Joshua seemed about to say something but shook his head.

“It’s not something I can tell a little kid like you.”

It was a jab at Lucas calling Rosette a ‘little kid.’ Rosette bristled without realizing it.

“I’m not a little kid.”

She didn’t mind Lucas treating her like a child, but strangely, she felt upset when Joshua did.

“I was twenty years old before I turned back time.”

“You didn’t exactly look like it, though.”

Joshua whispered very softly. When Rosette didn’t catch it and asked, “Pardon?” he waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s nothing. And I was twenty-four.”

“……So?”

“Do you know how big a four-year difference is?”

“Well…….”

She wanted to argue that it wasn’t a big deal, but Rosette couldn’t refute it. From her perspective, Joshua was definitely much bigger than her.

She took another look at Joshua. He was as tall and broad-shouldered as the large Adrian family members.

He wasn’t muscular because he focused more on magic lessons than swordsmanship, but his body looked solid enough. Looking at Joshua, Rosette was reminded of the jaguar she had once read about in an encyclopedia.

He was also a head taller than Rosette, so it was natural that he saw her as a little kid.

‘The physical difference was even greater before I turned back time.’

So, instead of saying she wasn’t a little kid, Rosette tried to persuade him with other words.

“Still, I might be able to help. After all, I did turn back time. Wouldn’t it be better to put our heads together?”

Rosette didn’t expect Joshua to tell her anyway. But after a moment of consideration, he opened his mouth.

“I’m worried about who to appoint as Her Majesty’s physician. I need to bring in someone trustworthy this time. It’s something that didn’t happen in the past, so I have nothing to refer to.”

“Hmm.”

Rosette thought about it too, but no one immediately came to mind. Joshua clicked his tongue as if he expected it.

“What did I say? I told you it was useless to talk to a little kid, didn’t I?”

“You just said it wasn’t something to tell a little kid, not that it was useless.”

“Are you talking back to me now?”

“……No.”

“Come to think of it, Lucas often said that the little kid talks back.”

“I’m telling you, that’s not it.”

It was when Rosette was grumbling. A chuckle was heard.

‘……?’

Puzzled, Rosette raised her head and was quite surprised by the sight before her.

Joshua, who was always cynical and only let out hollow laughs when he smiled, was laughing out loud.

It wasn’t a refreshing smile like Daniel’s, but it was quite a pleasant one.

Then, Rosette belatedly realized that he was smiling and stammered.

“Why, why are you laughing?”

Joshua, also realizing that he was laughing at the question, erased his smile.

“Who said I was laughing?”

“No, just now…….”

Rosette pulled the corners of her mouth up with her fingers.

“You were smiling like this.”

“You must have seen wrong.”

“But…….”

“I said you saw wrong.”

Joshua became serious. Rosette quietly shut her mouth, sensing the mood.

‘But it was nice to see.’

The expressions Rosette had seen on Joshua’s face so far were mostly negative. It was only natural since he didn’t like Rosette.

He mostly frowned, twisted his lips, or sighed.

In fact, those expressions suited his atmosphere well. They suited him so well that she couldn’t imagine him smiling.

But his smile, which she actually saw, suited him quite well. It wasn’t like the sunshine of spring, but it wasn’t like the cool wind of winter either.

How could she describe it?

‘I think I’d know if I saw him smile again.’

How could she see Joshua smile again?

The desire that had briefly disappeared while living in the Adrian family sprouted again in Rosette’s heart. The desire to work hard to hear someone’s praise.

‘I want him to smile again.’

Rosette, who was thinking about what to do in her head, was already wearing a faint smile.

* * *

“Come and visit anytime.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Come often to read books in the library, chat with me, and play.”

“Okay!”

Rosette, blushing shyly, left the Empress’s Palace with Lucas.

Joshua stood by the window, quietly watching the two figures disappear into the distance. To be precise, his gaze was fixed on the back of Rosette’s head.

Ophelia, surprised by her son’s appearance, widened her eyes and then smiled.

‘Could it be…….’

Joshua seemed quite pleased with the Adrian family’s three siblings visiting the Imperial Palace. Perhaps because he had grown up as an only child, he seemed to regard the three children as siblings.

However, apart from that, he didn’t show any attachment when they left. It was due to his personality.

Joshua had a tendency to pretend he didn’t like things even when he did.

So, even when he was young, he never looked out the window with regret when the three of them returned.

But today, for the first time, he was looking out the window.

‘Well, that child was charming.’

Ophelia recalled Rosette, who was like a rose that had just bloomed in early summer. That fresh child who made her smile just by looking at her.

She was sure she was seeing her for the first time today, but could it be that Joshua had fallen in love with her at first sight?

Ophelia suppressed a smile and asked casually.

“What’s wrong, Joshua?”

Joshua, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to his senses at the voice.

“It’s nothing, Mother.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like nothing to me.”

“It’s really nothing.”

Only then did Joshua move away from the window and sit opposite Ophelia.

“For someone who says that, you were looking out the window quite seriously.”

“I was just looking at the pretty roses.”

“Yes. The roses outside the window are indeed pretty.”

Summer roses were slowly beginning to bloom in the garden visible from the reception room window of the Empress’s Palace.

However, both she and Joshua knew that the ‘roses’ that the Empress had mentioned jokingly meant something else.

But Joshua pretended not to understand and closed his mouth. Ophelia asked a little mischievously this time.

“Did you like that child a little while ago?”

“No!”

Joshua’s voice, refuting, was a little sharper than usual.

The Empress hadn’t expected him to react so strongly. For a child who was always indifferent to everything to show such a reaction.

‘There must be something going on.’

The Empress’s purple eyes sparkled with interest. She covered her mouth with a fan and smiled.

“Then? You don’t like her?”

“Well, it’s not like I can confidently say that I don’t…….”

Joshua, who had been muttering absentmindedly, realized something and trailed off.

Why couldn’t he confidently answer ‘yes’ to the question of whether he ‘didn’t like’ Rosette? There were many, many reasons to dislike her.

‘But…….’

He recalled the image of Rosette that he had seen and experienced so far.

She had a strange charm. A charm that made him want to keep looking at her and not take his eyes off her.

Of course, she was pretty. But in terms of appearance, Isabel was just as beautiful, but he didn’t get this feeling from her.

As Joshua was thinking about what his feelings for Rosette were, Ophelia said casually.

“Come to think of it, His Majesty seems to be eyeing that child as your match.”