The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 63

“Catch that bird!”

[Chirp!]

Bbi-Bbi nimbly dodged the hands reaching for him, flying away from the carriage.

“Stop the carriage,” Rosette warned in a low voice, gathering mana in her hand.

“You know I’m still young, right? I’m not good at controlling mana, so I might end up blowing up this entire carriage.”

“Then you wouldn’t be safe either, would you?”

“I have a way to get myself out of it. So…”

The woman laughed. “Then go ahead and try.”

At that moment, Rosette unleashed her mana. The carriage began to shake violently.

The man took out a dagger he had been hiding, and the woman cast a defensive spell. They seemed quite surprised by Rosette’s skill, as if they hadn’t expected her to be this capable.

“You’re quite something,” the woman said.

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Rosette gathered her mana once more and detonated it. Her mana struck the barrier surrounding the carriage walls, and cracks began to form in the air.

“Can’t you stop?” The woman grabbed her shoulder to stop her, but Rosette didn’t stop.

‘Just a little more!’

Now, cracks were forming even on the ceiling of the carriage. It was the moment Rosette unleashed her mana even more forcefully.

With a bang, the carriage wall was torn away. Rosette quickly cast a defensive spell around her entire body. One of the carriage wheels broke, and the carriage tilted.

The three people inside were thrown from the carriage.

“Ugh!”

“Cough!”

Unlike Rosette, who had used a defensive spell, the two who rolled defenselessly on the ground were injured.

But Rosette wasn’t unscathed either. She had been late in casting her defensive spell, so she hadn’t completely mitigated the impact.

She groaned, momentarily curling up from the impact of hitting the ground, before barely managing to stand up.

The three people, including the coachman, were still lying on the ground. The man who had disguised himself as her father was trembling as he rose to his feet.

Rosette swallowed hard.

‘Even if I run away, I’ll get caught. It’s better to aim for that man’s vital points…!’

The moment Rosette thought that, her body froze.

She knew how to end that man’s life right now.

It was knowledge she had learned in the past. And she had resolved to turn back time and never use that magic.

She had thought that she would never use magic that harmed people again, that she would only save people from now on.

But to be thinking like this.

She felt disgusted with herself.

It was a fleeting moment of hesitation for Rosette. The man quickly ran up and put his dagger to her neck.

“Alright, kid. Let’s stop playing around now.”

“Don’t call me a kid!”

“Okay, okay. I understand, so now…”

Rosette was wondering if she should bite the man’s arm when she felt a tingling sensation at the back of her head and flinched.

At the same time, a dagger covered in aura [magical energy] flew from behind and pierced the man’s arm.

“Aaaagh!”

As he faltered, Rosette struck his solar plexus with her elbow and broke free. She turned around and started running.

‘Father!’

Only a Sword Master could imbue a sword with aura. And among the four Sword Masters in the empire, the only one who would come to save her was Duke Adrian.

In the distance, she could see the Duke’s black horse kicking up dust as it galloped towards her.

[Chirp!]

Rosette ran and ran. But soon, the man grabbed her by the hair.

“Ouch!”

“Damn it, you little brat!”

The man pressed the bloodied dagger tightly against Rosette’s neck again. This time, she felt a slight stinging sensation as a small cut formed.

“Rose!”

Duke Adrian, who had ridden his horse right up to them, dismounted and drew his sword.

He warned, “You’d better let that child go. If she gets even a scratch…”

The man sneered. “Oh dear, what should I do? It seems like she’s already been scratched.”

The man tightened his grip. This time, blood flowed down Rosette’s neck. Duke Adrian gripped his sword even tighter.

“You rats, how dare you lay a hand on my daughter…!”

He readjusted his grip on his sword and was about to rush forward, but he was blocked by men who suddenly appeared.

“Stop him from coming!”

However, every time Duke Adrian swung his sword and unleashed his sword energy, three men fell simultaneously. He had only swung his sword a few times, but the men blocking him had all fallen.

“Damn it.”

The man holding Rosette dragged her towards the horse tied to the carriage.

Just as he cut the ropes holding the horse and carriage together with his dagger…

“Cough!”

The man coughed up red blood and collapsed over Rosette’s head.

As Rosette watched the blood dripping onto the ground, she was about to scream when a gentle hand embraced her.

“It’s okay, Rose. It’s okay now.”

“Father…”

Rosette held back her tears and hugged him.

“Father.”

“Yes, I’m sorry I was late.”

Just as Rosette was about to burst into tears, she sensed the flow of mana again and erected a barrier.

A beat later, arrows made of mana rained down on the barrier.

“Ha…”

Turning around, she saw the woman limping backward.

“What, that little brat…!”

Rosette quickly said to Duke Adrian, “That person isn’t my mother. She said she was going to sell me to some strange noble!”

Duke Adrian’s eyes gleamed coldly.

Just moments ago, he had been holding Rosette, but now he had completely vanished.

He moved so quickly that Rosette’s dynamic vision couldn’t keep up. He struck the woman’s solar plexus with the hilt of his sword.

“!”

The woman didn’t even scream before collapsing forward. Duke Adrian carried her over his shoulder and approached Rosette again.

“Rose, let’s go home now. Everyone is waiting for you.”

Rosette nodded with tearful eyes.

“Yes!”

Soon, several knights rode up on horses with Bbi-Bbi.

“Lord!”

[Chirp!]

“Bbi-Bbi!”

Rosette held Bbi-Bbi in her hands and kissed him on the head.

“You brought Father to me properly. Thank you!”

[Chirp!]

While Rosette and Bbi-Bbi were having an emotional reunion, Duke Adrian instructed the knights to clean up the mess.

“Take that woman and lock her in the dungeon. She will pay dearly for what she did today. And since she seems to know how to use magic, tell Celine to keep an eye on her.”

“Understood.”

He relaxed his expression and picked up Rosette, placing her on the horse. The Duke easily mounted behind her and pulled on the reins.

The horse began to walk slowly towards the mansion, unlike when it had arrived.

“But Father, how did you get here so quickly?”

The mansion was quite a distance away. Bbi-Bbi’s small wings wouldn’t have been able to reach the mansion this quickly.

“I found out belatedly that those people weren’t your parents and was looking for you. It turned out that the person claiming to be your father wasn’t related to you by blood.”

“Ah.”

“I was urgently tracking the carriage when Bbi-Bbi flew over and told me where you were. He’s very commendable.”

[Chirp.]

Bbi-Bbi was shy, and Rosette proudly agreed.

“That’s right. Bbi-Bbi is an excellent familiar [magical companion].”

The two people and one bird traveled, finally arriving at the mansion.

As Duke Adrian carried Rosette, who was covered in dirt and dust, inside, the three siblings ran out.

“Kid! What’s wrong?”

“Did something happen to Rose again?”

“It’s nothing much.”

Duke Adrian held Rosette even tighter and headed to the third floor. The three siblings looked at each other with puzzled faces before scattering to their respective rooms.

But the serious look on Duke Adrian’s face made them go to their rooms.

“Rose.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Do you want to see your biological parents?”

Rosette couldn’t answer that question.

‘I didn’t particularly want to see them.’

She had wanted to meet them, but now that she was trying to find the reason, there was nothing to grasp.

She had never particularly missed her biological parents in either her past or present life.

They were heartless parents who had abandoned her in front of an orphanage as soon as she was born. She felt more resentment than longing.

Even when she met people who might be her biological parents, she didn’t feel anything special. The awkwardness after meeting them was greater than before.

But when she heard that they were con artists, she felt empty.

‘What was I hoping for?’

She didn’t know.

Did she want to ask if they had continued to miss her, like the parents who came to the orphanage again?

Did she want to think that they had continued to search for her in her past life, and that they simply couldn’t find her because she was confined to the Dalles mansion?

For what?

When Rosette didn’t say anything, Duke Adrian asked with difficulty.

“If you want to see your biological parents, I will try to find them.”

“Pardon?”

“It will be difficult because there isn’t much information, but if I keep looking, I might be able to find them…”

“No!”

Rosette finally found her voice. They were people who had never thought of looking for her in either her past or present life. Meeting the people who had appeared as her biological parents this time made it even clearer.

“I don’t want to see my biological parents. To be honest, I felt uncomfortable when I was with those people earlier, and I wanted to come home. I wanted to have dinner with Father, my brothers, and my sister.”

“…Is that so?”

Rosette looked up at Duke Adrian with a determined face.

“Yes, I am an Adrian. This is where I belong.”

The Duke looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to hear such words, and then stroked her hair.

He didn’t say anything.

But Rosette felt from his careful touch that her father was relieved.

She was an Adrian.

Her family was also the Adrian family.

Their hair color was different, and their talents were different, but the fact that they were family remained unchanged.

It had been that way for the past six months, and it would continue to be that way in the future. She already had a family that she wouldn’t trade for anything.

* * *

That evening, it started to drizzle, and by the time she went to bed, it was pouring so hard that she couldn’t see in front of her.

[Chirp…]

Bbi-Bbi was terrified and hid in Rosette’s sleeve.

“It’s okay. It’s not scary. I’m here.”

In the past, when it rained like this, the fragile and small Bbi-Bbi would tremble. Rosette would always comfort Bbi-Bbi. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t feel scared herself.

Even now, Rosette was more worried about Bbi-Bbi than the rain outside.

‘Some things are the same as before.’

Even as Rosette chuckled and stroked Bbi-Bbi’s head, the rain continued to fall.

Then, the outside of the window flashed, and thunder rumbled so loudly that the mansion seemed to shake.

[Chirp!]

It was only natural that Bbi-Bbi was startled.

“It’s okay. The sun will rise again tomorrow. Shall I sing you a lullaby?”

[Chirp.]

Just as Rosette was humming a lullaby, she heard the doorknob turning and someone quietly entered.

It was Lucas.