The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 94

94. Antoni’s Confession

2024.02.02.

Soon after, Chris came in. He greeted Rosette and then casually kissed Joan on the temple.

Joan, her face as red as a tomato, gently pushed him away.

“Rosette and Melody are here, you know.”

Melody grinned.

“We were just about to leave anyway. We’ll be at the party until late, so don’t worry about us and go spend some time alone.”

“Melody, what about Oppa [Korean term for ‘older brother’ or ‘boyfriend’]?”

“Well, Oppa can go out and grab a beer in the city or something.”

“Alone?”

“Who else would you go with? I told you to get a girlfriend sooner.”

Chris chuckled. Joseph glared at him, and then Rosette and Melody left the room.

* * *

In front of the girls’ dormitory, male students dressed to the nines were waiting for their dates. Among them was Antoni Huxley.

“Rosette.”

He spotted Rosette, approached, and offered his hand.

His hair, usually tousled and carefree, was slicked back with pomade, and he wore a burgundy dress coat, making him quite handsome.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Rosette took Antoni’s arm, and they entered the hall. The party, which she was attending for the first time, was incredibly glamorous and lively.

In fact, Rosette hadn’t been expecting much from the graduation party. But as she chatted with friends from the academy under the glittering chandeliers, she gradually became more excited.

Moreover, after drinking two cocktails that Antoni brought her, she felt even more lighthearted.

As they laughed and talked, a dance tune began to play. Antoni, who had been talking with the other boys, approached and offered his hand.

“Rosette, shall we dance?”

“Shall we?”

She hadn’t originally planned to dance, but perhaps due to the alcohol, she readily agreed.

“It’s been so long since I practiced dancing, I might step on your feet.”

“It’s okay, Rosette. I might step on yours too. Though I’ll try not to, of course.”

The two giggled and began to dance among the other students. Contrary to their warnings, neither of them stepped on the other’s feet.

Rather, their dance flowed as naturally as if they were long-time partners.

After that, Rosette and Antoni each danced a few more times with other people before heading out to the garden for some fresh air.

It was early spring, but the night air was quite chilly.

“Wow, the breeze is refreshing. It was so hot inside with so many people. And I think I drank more cocktails than I realized.”

“Aren’t you cold, though? Should I take off my coat for you?”

“No, it’s okay. You’ll be cold too.”

“I don’t get cold easily.”

Without hesitation, Antoni took off his coat and draped it over Rosette’s shoulders. Rosette smiled in gratitude.

Several couples were already in the garden, lost in their own world. Amidst the couples confirming their affection for each other, the two walked awkwardly.

“You know.”

“Actually…….”

Rosette and Antoni spoke at the same time and were surprised.

“You go first.”

“No, you go first.”

“Actually, mine wasn’t important. I was just thinking about heading back inside.”

“Ah, I see. Then can I speak now?”

“Yes.”

With Rosette’s permission, Antoni spoke seriously.

“Rosette, can you believe it? It’s already been 12 years since we met.”

“That’s right. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but it really has.”

“I still can’t forget the day I first met you.”

“Me neither.”

Rosette chuckled.

“You said I looked like a scrawny colt back then.”

“That was……!”

Antoni’s face turned red.

“Please forget about it. I was wrong.”

“No way! I’m going to keep telling people that you said I looked like a scrawny colt, even 10 or 20 years from now.”

“Ugh, please, Rosette.”

Rosette laughed loudly.

“So, what about that day?”

“Just… I always feel grateful because I don’t think I would be who I am today if you hadn’t been there that day.”

“You’ve said that so many times.”

“Still, thank you again.”

“You should forget about it already. You’ve thanked me enough.”

“Okay.”

Antoni hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“Rosette, actually, I think I fell for you that day.”

“…….”

Both Antoni and Rosette became serious.

“At first, I thought it was just puppy love. But the more time I spent with you, the deeper my feelings became. I couldn’t deny my feelings any longer.”

Antoni stared intently into Rosette’s eyes and whispered.

“I like you, Rosette. I’ve liked you a lot for a long time.”

At that moment, the image of Joshua surfaced in Rosette’s mind once again. It was a strange phenomenon.

But it wasn’t right to think about Joshua while standing in front of Antoni. That would be impolite.

Rosette tried her best to erase Joshua from her mind.

‘I had a vague idea.’

Rosette wasn’t particularly perceptive, but she wasn’t completely oblivious either.

Of course, when Antoni sent her letters and gifts as a child, she thought it would only be a passing phase.

She also thought that his enrollment in the Ivelin Royal Academy had nothing to do with her.

However, she had watched how his attitude towards her had changed over the past seven years while spending time with him.

It would be stranger if she didn’t know that he had feelings for her.

That’s why she had hesitated before accepting his offer to be partners.

‘I knew that we would have to talk about this topic someday. I wanted to avoid it if possible, but…….’

From the moment Antoni asked her to be his partner, this topic was unavoidable.

Rosette smiled bitterly. There was only one answer she could give.

“Thank you for your courage, Antoni. But I’m sorry. I don’t think I can accept your feelings.”

“Is there someone else you like?”

Someone she likes.

At Antoni’s question, Rosette shook her head slightly, as if someone she had erased from her mind was becoming clear again.

She had never liked anyone with the same feelings as the boys who confessed to her.

“No, it’s not like that. But I think it would be worse to accept your confession without having feelings for you.”

“I see, I thought that might be the case.”

Antoni smiled, almost relieved.

Rosette, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable.

The boys who had confessed to Rosette until now were friends who would be difficult to meet again once they went to the Empire.

But Antoni was different. To Rosette, he was a good friend with whom she wanted to maintain a friendship in the future.

Are we still friends, though? She wanted to ask, but she couldn’t bring herself to. It would be insincere.

But as if he knew her feelings, Antoni smiled brightly and asked instead.

“We’re still friends, right?”

“Huh?”

Antoni asked again, seeing Rosette’s bewildered expression.

“You’re not going to pretend you don’t know me just because I confessed, are you? We have a friendship that we’ve built up over the years.”

“That’s…….”

“You’re not going to say that our friendship was so insignificant, are you?”

“Of course not! Antoni, you’re my fifth friend.”

Antoni burst out laughing.

“What’s with that ambiguous number? Who are the other four? Pipi, Melody, Clara, Theresa?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Hmm, thinking about those four, it feels natural that I’m fifth. No, maybe I should be honored to be fifth.”

Antoni laughed once more. His face looked so refreshed that it was impossible to tell whether he was really okay or if he was hiding his emotions.

“Anyway, that means we’re still friends, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then promise me.”

Antoni held out his pinky finger.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know me in the future.”

“Of course not. You don’t ignore me either.”

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

Rosette carefully hooked her pinky finger with his. She felt grateful for Antoni’s consideration.

The 7 years of academy life came to an end like that.

* * *

The next day, Rosette said her goodbyes to her friends from the Ivelin Kingdom.

“Be sure to write. Come visit the Empire sometime.”

“Okay, I will. Rosette, you come visit the kingdom again later too.”

“Okay. Then I’m really leaving. I’m going to miss you a lot.”

“Goodbye!”

Rosette, Melody, and Antoni headed to the harbor in the same carriage. They spent the night there and boarded a large passenger ship.

“The weather is really nice.”

Antoni smiled as he looked at the sunlit sky. Several magic students from the Empire who were standing next to him laughed in agreement.

“You’re right. It’s the perfect day to return.”

The students who had initially planned to return by land followed Rosette after hearing that she was taking a ship. They said that as long as she was with them, they wouldn’t have to worry even if pirates appeared.

Rosette felt a little burdened by their trust, but she took it in stride.

Contrary to their worries, nothing happened on the ship for a week. Rosette spent her time talking or playing games with the other kids on board.

It was so peaceful that it was almost boring.

That was until the tenth day. The weather became cloudy, and it started to rain. The waves were also rough, causing the ship to shake quite a bit.

“I’m going to dieee.”

Antoni, who had come to Rosette’s room, grabbed onto the desk and trembled. Melody, unusually, felt sorry for him and patted him on the back.

“Did you take your seasickness medicine?”

“I did, but I threw up everything, even the medicine.”

“Ew.”

Melody cautiously moved away from him.

“Why don’t you go get some sleep instead?”

“I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel more seasick when I’m alone. I’ll stay here.”

“Okay, do that.”

That’s how the three children were spending their afternoon, each doing their own thing.

Suddenly, it became noisy outside.

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, Pipi and GuGu, who had gone outside to see what was happening, cried out excitedly.

[Pii! Piii!]

[Guuu! Gugu!]

“What?”

Rosette, who understood Pipi’s words, jumped up from her seat. Melody asked with a serious face.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me…….”

“Yeah.”

Rosette rolled up her sleeves.

“Pirates have appeared.”

“I’ll go with you…….”

Rosette sat Antoni back down, who was staggering as he tried to get up.

“You stay here. Melody and I will go check it out.”

“Okay. You’ll only be a hindrance right now.”

“…….”

“Then let’s go, Pipi!”

“Gold, you come too!”

Rosette and Melody took their familiars and went out on deck. Ships with flags bearing skull patterns were already surrounding the ship. There was no doubt that they were pirates.

The crew members were moving busily.

“Prepare the cannons! Don’t let the pirate ships get too close! It’s over the moment they get on deck!”

“Yes, sir!”

However, before the ship could even fire its cannons, the nearest pirate ship caught fire, and a large cannonball was launched.

“Everyone, take cover!”

As everyone scrambled in confusion, Rosette cast a defensive spell. It was a wide defensive spell that covered the entire large ship.

The cannonball, flying at high speed, bounced off an invisible wall. Rosette controlled the direction of the magic, and the cannonball flew straight towards the pirate ship.