The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 61

61. The Appearance of Biological Parents (1)

December 31, 2023

Several days passed. Duke Adrian didn’t mention anything specific, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Rosette and Lucas gradually forgot about that day.

Then, one afternoon,

While the two children were sprawled on the floor, engrossed in their coloring books, a commotion erupted outside.

It was Bbibbi, who was playing outside, creating the ruckus.

[Bbeep! Bbeee!]

“What’s Bbibbi saying?”

“Someone’s looking for you downstairs.”

“Me? Who? Please don’t tell me it’s that damn Huxley?”

“No, they said it’s a man and a woman.”

Rosette didn’t give it much thought. She wasn’t expecting any visitors, especially adults, so she assumed Bbibbi must be mistaken.

‘If someone were really here to see me, Sebastian would have notified me.’

But despite waiting, Sebastian didn’t appear to be looking for her.

Just then, Lucas grinned and stood up.

“Shorty, don’t you smell something fishy?”

Rosette sniffed her arm.

“I took a shower today.”

“Not that kind of smell! I’m asking if you sense something suspicious.”

“I don’t know.”

“Geez, really.”

Lucas pulled Rosette to her feet.

“Remember the other day? Father and Sebastian were talking about you. And now, someone’s here looking for you. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”

“I don’t…”

“Let’s go downstairs, shorty. Father’s out today, so this is our chance to investigate.”

Before Rosette could even say, “Huh?” Lucas was already dragging her out of the room. They hurried down the hallway and descended the stairs when it happened.

“Oh, shorty.”

Lucas, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped. Rosette, caught off guard, bumped her nose into his back.

“Ouch.”

Rosette rubbed her nose and poked Lucas’s arm, who remained motionless.

“Why did you stop?”

“No, that…”

He raised his hand and pointed toward the hall.

“That woman…”

Rosette peeked out from behind Lucas and looked in the direction he indicated. There, a man and a woman, who appeared to be in their thirties, were standing.

But the woman Lucas was pointing at…

“Has the same pink hair as you?”

She had thick, wavy pink hair.

Pink hair was rare. Rosette had never encountered anyone with pink hair before.

Yet, a woman with pink hair had come to the Adrian household.

Could it be a mere coincidence? Or…

Rosette was still blinking in confusion when it happened.

The woman, abruptly turning her head, locked eyes with Rosette and exclaimed.

“There, she’s over there!”

Me?

Rosette pointed at herself. Lucas instinctively shielded his younger sister, spreading his arms wide.

“Rosette! It’s Mommy, Mommy’s here!”

The woman desperately tried to reach them, but the guards blocked her path.

Rosette and Lucas both latched onto the word she used.

“Mommy?”

“Shorty, is that your mother?”

“I don’t know. I…”

She had never known her mother. She had been abandoned in front of an orphanage shortly after birth.

But this woman was claiming to be her mother? What was going on?

Just then, Sebastian appeared and approached the woman.

“The Duke is currently out. This is quite troubling. Please leave.”

“Just let me see our Rose… Just let me see Rose.”

“You must have the Duke’s permission. Now…”

“Can’t a mother even see her daughter!”

The woman shifted her focus and desperately reached out to Rosette.

“Rose, my baby. Come here. Come to Mommy.”

Tears streamed down her face.

“Mommy’s so sorry. Mommy was, it was too difficult. But I’ve never forgotten you.”

Lucas glanced back at Rosette with a worried expression.

“Hey, shorty. What are you going to do?”

But Rosette was lost in thought.

‘I never really thought I’d ever meet my parents.’

During her time in the orphanage, she had both longed for and resented her parents.

But she hadn’t expected them to appear. She didn’t think they would even remember her.

However, one thing was clear.

‘If I meet that person here, Father will be upset.’

Judging by the situation, this wasn’t the first time the woman had come here. If so, Duke Adrian must be aware of her existence.

But the fact that he hadn’t even mentioned her biological mother to Rosette suggested a reason.

Perhaps the woman’s identity was questionable.

Therefore, she didn’t want to cause trouble by meeting the woman here.

“Let’s go inside, Oppa [older brother].”

“Huh? But she’s your mother…”

“I don’t want to meet her right now.”

Rosette spoke with unusual firmness and started back up the stairs.

Lucas made confused noises, looked back at the woman, and then followed Rosette back to her room.

“Rose! Rosette!”

The woman’s voice echoed loudly in the mansion, but Rosette didn’t turn around.

Rosette entered her room and silently opened a book. But her mind was racing, making it impossible to focus on the words.

Lucas watched Rosette, who had been staring at the same page for a while, and asked.

“Hey, shorty. Are you okay?”

“…?”

“I mean, about your mother. She seemed to miss you a lot.”

“I don’t know.”

Rosette trailed off.

‘In the past, it was also known that the adopted child of the Dallas family had pink hair and that her name was Rosette.’

But why were her parents, who hadn’t appeared in the past, showing up now?

Even if that woman was her real biological mother, it was clear that her motives were suspect.

“If she missed me, she would have come sooner.”

“Huh?”

“Why did she only come now, after I was no longer in the orphanage? It would have been easier to find me when I was still there.”

“Is that… so?”

“Yes.”

Lucas slowly approached Rosette, who was staring at the book again.

“Didn’t you want to see her? I want to see my mother.”

“I…”

Rosette finally closed the book.

“I’ve never seen my mother before. How can I miss someone I’ve never met?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Rosette blankly stared at the same page repeatedly, and Lucas watched his younger sister, and time passed.

About an hour later, Duke Adrian, having heard the news, came to see the children.

“Rose, Lucas.”

“Father.”

“Father!”

Lucas and Rosette ran to him. The Duke, embracing both children, picked up Rosette.

“You were reading a book.”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

The Duke, forcing a smile, whispered.

“Shall we talk for a moment?”

“Yes.”

“Lucas, go to your room for a while.”

Lucas went to his room without complaint.

Duke Adrian sat across from Rosette.

“I heard about what happened today from Sebastian.”

“Yes.”

Duke Adrian studied Rosette’s expression. But even he, who was usually attuned to children’s emotions, found it difficult to gauge his youngest daughter’s feelings.

Rosette wore a complicated expression.

He hesitated for a moment and decided to be honest.

“Actually, some time ago, people claiming to be your parents came. They were the ones you and Lucas saw earlier.”

“…”

“Don’t you resent Father?”

“No.”

Rosette answered without hesitation. In truth, she didn’t have any strong feelings toward the Duke.

“Father is a smart adult. I figured there must be a reason why Father did that. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Duke Adrian tapped his thigh. Rosette carefully sat on his lap.

“First of all, I needed time to investigate whether those people were your real parents. It’s been so long since you were separated, and there was no information about your parents.”

“Yes.”

“And even if they are your biological parents, I had to consider whether it was right to let you meet them.”

“Why?”

“That…”

Rosette directly asked the Duke, who was hesitating.

“Are you worried that those people might want something from me? Like money.”

“Oh my, Rose. Who put that idea in your head?”

“It was just my thought.”

Duke Adrian groaned softly.

“Yes, that’s right. You’ve been attracting a lot of attention since the last incident. I found it very suspicious that someone claiming to be your parents appeared at this time. I suspect they may not be who they say they are.”

“…”

“So, I want you to wait until the investigation is complete, is that okay?”

“Yes.”

Again, her answer was immediate.

“I’m okay.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

He lightly kissed Rosette’s cheek and left the room.

Rosette couldn’t turn the book page for a long time afterward.

* * *

Duke Adrian read the documents handed over by his aide with a serious expression.

“Are they really mother and daughter?”

“Yes. The exact relationship needs to be confirmed through a blood relation test, but the initial test indicates a high probability of a family connection.”

“I see. You may leave.”

Duke Adrian rubbed his throbbing eyes and pondered.

‘What are they up to?’

On the first day that those claiming to be Rosette’s parents arrived, the Duke had heard the details from Sebastian.

When they were young, they couldn’t afford to raise a child, so they left Rosette at an orphanage. But they never forgot her and always planned to take her back someday when their situation improved.

Recently, their financial situation had improved, and they went to the orphanage to retrieve Rosette, only to learn that she had been adopted by the Adrian family, so they came here.

‘This is a real headache.’

At first, Duke Adrian had assumed they would make a financial demand. He would have been willing to give them as much money as they wanted. After all, he was able to meet his lovely Rosette because of them.

But they wanted to take Rosette away. Moreover, they were planning to leave for the Ivelyn Kingdom soon.

If they had their way, Adrian would have to send Rosette to the Ivelyn Kingdom. If she stayed in the Empire, he could at least visit her, but this would be a permanent separation.

Duke Adrian, who already considered Rosette his own daughter, tried to dissuade them as much as possible.

He promised to raise her in the Adrian family, providing her with everything she could ever need.

But they were adamant.

-We want to live with Rosette. If you don’t send Rosette, we will do everything we can.

That’s why he couldn’t tell Rosette the truth. He feared that the child, who had longed for her biological parents, would follow them without hesitation.

It was a cowardly tactic, but it was the only option the Duke saw at the moment.

He also needed to confirm whether they were truly Rosette’s biological parents.

‘But they say there’s a high probability that they’re family…’

For more accurate information, he needed to use the blood relation test artifact owned by the Imperial Family to confirm.

But obtaining permission would take time, and in the meantime, those claiming to be Rosette’s parents would continue to cause a scene.

Adrian, filled with worry, made a decision.